“Heuh...!”

His jaw was falling and clattering all on its own.

Human bodies were supposed to be controlled by consciousness, but that rule didn't always apply. Now was one such occasion.

'Please! Please move, you goddamn piece of sh*t!'

Unfortunately, this man's body didn't want to listen. His legs stopped heeding his commands a long time ago. They got paralyzed against his will, spasmed out of control, and seemingly did whatever they wanted.

'Please... Please! Move!'

The man begged, and then begged some more. No matter how much he begged, though, his attempt at infusing strength back into his weakened legs continued to fail.

In that case, what else could he do?

“Kkuh... Kkuh-huh...!”

The man desperately extended his hands forward. After stabbing his fingers into the cement, he dragged himself forward inch by agonizing inch. If his legs didn't want to listen, he better use his arms and escape!

So, he dragged himself forward again and again...

His fingernails hitting the hard, cold cement broke off, but the man couldn't pay attention to how painful that felt. Things like complaining about pain were too much of a luxury in this situation.

“Heuh-uhk...!”

He must flee. He must increase his distance, at least by a little bit! He must get away from that devil!

The man kept crawling away. He forcibly dragged his unwilling legs to push at the hard ground below. His stomach was roughly scraping against the cement, but the sensation didn't even register properly in his brain.

His pants were soaked from his piss since a while ago, but he didn't have the mental leeway to care about stuff like that.

Humiliation? Who cared about that in this kind of situation?!

This man finally learned what would happen to a person driven to an extreme corner. Such a person would morph into a completely different individual! Things like humiliation or saving face became useless trash. You were trying to survive, so such things wouldn't be useful toward achieving that goal!

The man wanted to live. Even if his life was extended by only one extra second, he still wanted to live longer!

“Sob, heuk...!”

Tears and snot freely streaming down turned his face into a pitiful mess. Drool trickled out of his slack jaw, but he couldn't even think about wiping them away.

All his being was focused on escaping from here. Escaping from here as soon as...

Step!

That was when the man's figure spasmed and shivered. That was because he heard someone's footsteps just then! Worse still, those footsteps came from somewhere near the man's waist!

The man cautiously raised his head. The first thing he saw was other people desperately running away with everything they had. And then, there was no one behind him. Absolutely no one. As for what could be next to him...

The man's head slowly shifted to the side. The way it creaked and stuttered was eerily similar to a piece of rusted machinery. He didn't want to find out. It might be better to just close his eyes and not look. Even then, his head still turned.

Was it because he was an idiot? Too dumb to know what was good for him? Of course not.

The unseen fear was much worse than the fear that could be seen. That was this man's reason for looking. Despite knowing who was standing next to him, he couldn't force himself to look away from reality.

The man's watery vision was greeted by the sight of the devil. And he wanted to squeeze his eyes shut. Because what he saw was too horrifying!

It seemed crimson rain had fallen on the world. And a creature soaked from head to toe in this rain to become a crimson devil was looking down at his next victim. Crimson blood soaking the devil's hair fell as large drops.

Drip...!

That noise should've been too soft to be heard, yet... A blood drop falling from a person's hair registered so vividly in the man's ears. However, the droplets weren't falling from the monster's hair only. From the ends of his clothes to the tip of the resting swords, even his sharply-chiseled jaw... Blood droplets fell like drizzle.

Yes, those droplets were all blood! Blood from countless corpses lying behind the devil! The devil who seemed to have taken a bath in blood!

What did this devil's face originally look like? The man on the ground couldn't remember. All he could see now was the devil with its face painted crimson like a savage in a jungle. Even if the man on the floor had clearly imprinted the devil's face without the blood paint on, the creature's current appearance was more than terrifying enough to completely overwrite that memory.

“Ah, ah...!”

The bringer of absolute death was standing behind his writhing back. And this grim reaper was staring at his next victim with unreadable eyes.

The man on the ground thought he was far too dehydrated by now to discharge more bodily fluids, yet something still seemed to leak out from somewhere.

A pure-white line cracked open on that crimson-red face. When the man on the ground realized that white line was a smirk, the one where the devil was baring its fangs... He couldn't hold it anymore.

“P-please, don't... kill... me...”

Of course, he knew that this devil wouldn't listen to his pleading. A devil wouldn't pity humans, after all! No, humans were nothing more than playthings for the devils. Toys that could be acquired far too easily and could be disposed of just as easily when the devil had grown bored with them!

Devils like that wouldn't pity their opponents. They wouldn't care what the life stories of their opponents were like.

Despite knowing all this, the man on the ground had to beg and plead. That was all he could do, after all.

Humans could only bring their hands together and pray fervently after encountering unstoppable death. Was there any difference between praying to an absolute being upstairs or pleading with the undeniable grim reaper standing before his eyes? No, not really.

Despite knowing this cold, hard truth, humans couldn't discard that one final ray of hope. That was how humans operated, after all!

“P-please, don't... kill me. Spare me...”

The devil cocked his head to the side. It seemed something amused him. After staring at his next victim for a little while, the devil leisurely raised his voice. “So, you want to be spared?”

His voice sounded sharp and grating like metal scratching against another metal. However, it was definitely not loud, either. Such a bizarre and subdued metallic noise crushed ruthlessly on the man.

“P-please, don't...”

“I'll think about it,” said the devil in a far too composed voice.

That tormented the man on the ground even more. How could the devil be so composed after causing so much bloodshed?! Even though the devil went crazy and stabbed the back of everyone running away from him? Even though he butchered them and chopped off their limbs... How could the devil be so calm?! Not only that, but how could his gaze remain so cold and composed while staring at the man on the ground?

Unlike how he looked on the outside, which was a crimson flame, the devil was icy-cold inside. And this fact only made the devil even scarier and more terrifying than before.

Kang Jin-Ho coldly muttered, “Why don't you think about it in my shoes? If I had fallen from your combined assault, would you have tried to spare my life?”

“...!”

“Or would you be filled with the desire to cut my head off and present it to your boss to earn some brownie points?”

“...!”

The man on the floor couldn't reply, knowing what his answer would've been.

“In that case, why should I spare your life? Humans are supposed to be on an equal standing. In that case, why should I be merciful to you when you weren't going to show the same mercy back to me?”

“B-but, that...”

“Now, answer me,” Kang Jin-Ho smirked deeply. “If you can convince me, I'll let you go.”

Obviously, that wouldn't be possible. All the excuses the man could think of had already been cut off by Kang Jin-Ho's logic, after all!

Kang Jin-Ho was right. If the shoe was on the other foot, the man would have celebrated the fact that he got to kill Kang Jin-Ho. He'd have smirked derisively even if Kang Jin-Ho begged and pleaded to be spared.

In that case, why should Kang Jin-Ho spare his enemies? He had no reason to do so.

They were on a battlefield. And there was only one rule here. The weak were killed while the strong got to live another day. So, what more was there to say?

“Answer me,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

Crrrrreak...

The Crimson Destiny in Kang Jin-Ho's grip scraped the ground while reaching the man's throat.

“Tell me why I must spare you.”

“I, I am...” The man stared soullessly at Kang Jin-Ho. The grim reaper's blade was touching his throat, and a rotting lifeline was dangling before his eyes. Grabbing the lifeline meant the man would fall to his death. If he didn't grab it, then he'd get beheaded instead. Such a choice could only be presented by the devil. A type of negotiation that was only possible because the other side was the devil!

“Heuh-euh...!”

Kang Jin-Ho bared his fangs in a ferocious grin. “So, you don't have anything convincing to say, then.”

“N-no! It's not true! I do! I... do have one!” The man cried out with a trembling voice. His words were weak, but his desperation was still palpable. He probably had never been this desperate in his entire life.

“Oh? I'm waiting.”

“I, I...!” The man gasped as his pleading gaze met Kang Jin-Ho's cold eyes. “I... I have a family back home.”

Unfortunately for the man, Kang Jin-Ho's withdrawn eyes didn't move or waver. “So?”

“A family is waiting... waiting for me to come home... T-that's why... Please...” The man's pleading became indecipherable as his sobbing had overtaken his words.

Kang Jin-Ho stared at the man, his expression still unchanging. “Tell me something. Doesn't everyone here have a family back home?”

“...!”

“A warrior who seeks pity from his enemies is no longer a warrior. No, you're just another dead man.” Kang Jin-Ho smirked before lightly swinging the Crimson Destiny.

Slice!

Blood danced in the air along with the noise of human flesh being cut. And the man on the ground went limp.

Kang Jin-Ho stared at his latest victim before quietly muttering to no one in particular. “If you are not a martial artist, I don't have a reason to kill you.”

After withdrawing the Crimson Destiny, Kang Jin-Ho unhesitantly walked away. Since he had severed that man's tendons, he shouldn't be able to use martial arts ever again.

'I'm acting on my whims again...'

Kang Jin-Ho sighed. He was well aware that all enemies must die. They should never be spared. Wasn't that his ironclad rule? Even so, Kang Jin-Ho still spared that man.

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Why? Even Kang Jin-Ho didn't know.

He was literally acting on a whim. And maybe... It was a sign of his defiance, too. Defiance toward his boiling murderous rage, that was.

He was trying to rebel against himself, the man who proudly boasted he had changed so much, yet the sight of blood reverted him right back to his Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor persona.

At least, that was what Kang Jin-Ho wanted to neatly package this situation. After all, his action was idiotic. Foolish.

Kang Jin-Ho quietly licked his lips and was rewarded with the acrid metallic taste of blood. What a terribly familiar taste—and smell—this was. And the scene spreading all around him was just as familiar, too.

Kang Jin-Ho gently shook the Crimson Destiny, then resumed his march. The night was still at its beginning stage, after all.

***

“Sir! Lord Cai Kechang!”

“...”

“Lord Cai...”

“I heard you the first time, so shut the f*ck up!”

Wu Yuan hurriedly clamped his mouth shut when Cai Kechang yelled back in pure anger.

As for Cai Kechang, he was glaring sharply at the demonic cultivators that had broken through the defensive line. From the get-go, those people probably were planning to do this. However, the way they ran, it... Something felt a little different now.

'It's as if they are trying to get away from something...'

Indeed, it looked like even the demonic cultivators were trying to run far away from Kang Jin-Ho. The look of this place resembled the scene of two flocks of sheep previously fighting for territory busy scattering away in fright after a huge tiger had suddenly jumped into their midst. The only thing sheep could do in that situation... was to run away!

'This is all wrong...!'

Cai Kechang gritted his teeth. Obviously, his strategy had gone down the toilet. His plans were all thrown out the goddamn window!

Planning-wise, Cai Kechang failed to mobilize combat personnel strong enough to handle Kang Jin-Ho. Despite rocking up here with nearly one thousand martial artists, Cai Kechang's side was being one-sidedly pushed back. No matter how many dogs were brought in, they would still be dogs at the end of the day. It was impossible to kill a tiger with mere dogs.

At the very least, one would need to bring wolves for such a job. Cai Kechang knew he was guilty of greatly underestimating Kang Jin-Ho's power.

As for his strategy, it was also obviously a failure. Before Cai Kechang's men could fall victim to Kang Jin-Ho's god-like display of strength, he should have attacked the enemy as soon as possible. If only Cai Kechang had ordered his men to go on a full-on offensive before they could get scared... Things wouldn't have devolved into the current state.

Everything was undoubtedly Cai Kechang's fault. He failed to adequately learn more about his opponent. And he even failed to make adequate preparations after learning a few things about his opponent. As a result, the flow of this battle had left his control. The only thing he could do was watch helplessly from the sidelines.

Griiit!

Cai Kechang gritted his teeth, then chewed on his lip, causing pure-red fresh blood to stream down his chin.

'How am I supposed to report this situation to my liege?!'

This situation snowballed to the point where Cai Kechang cutting his own head off and neatly presenting it to the Crimson King still wouldn't be enough to absolve his sins. He needed to regain control of this situation before everything reached the absolute worst possible result, or Cai Kechang dying hundreds of times wouldn't be enough to pay for this costly mistake!

'I need to stop this! Somehow!'

But how? Kang Jin-Ho was rampaging around like a beast. How was Cai Kechang supposed to stop someone like that? All of his forces were too scared and freaked out to fight back, after all!

But then, something else happened. Cai Kechang's eyes glaring at the battlefield shot open wide in shock. “W-what?! How?”

From the distant pier, which was the destination for all these demonic cultivators, Cai Kechang could see... a burst of bright light!