Chapter 298 – Everyone Has a Plan (5)

Kang Hwan’s body crashed down like a black meteor, hitting the ground where it was suspected that the mastermind behind this ghostly disturbance was located.

Kwaaaaaaaang!!

Despite the considerable distance, the noise was deafening enough to make my ears ring. Trees and debris flew through the air, and vibrations shook the ground beneath my feet.

I couldn’t help but gape at the sight of the partially destroyed mountain, feeling as if I had just been bombed.

“Damn, that was intense!”

I felt relieved knowing that HongYeon-hwa was on our side, and a sense of security washed over me.

It seemed like everyone else felt the same way, as they all looked towards the direction of the explosion while brandishing their weapons.

“Focus! They may not be much, but if we get hit, we’ll be in a world of trouble like the Surak Swordsmen!” Hong Yeon-hwa shouted.

“Yes!” we all replied in unison.

We tried to focus on the enemy in front of us again, but I couldn’t help but feel that these guys were weaklings, except for the fact that they had a sinister red aura surrounding them.

However, they were perfect prey for me, as I was used to fighting weaker opponents.

I swung my weapon in a wide arc, cutting down the ghosts around me with ease.

They tried to resist by swinging their weapons or using their energy, but it was no match for my Geomgaek.

Swoosh!

The ghosts fell one by one, and I took advantage of the temporary gap in their formation to stretch out my left leg and twist my body to the limit.

I crouched down like a tightly coiled spring, waiting for the right moment to strike.

As the ghosts rushed towards me, I spun my body with elastic force, creating a powerful momentum that flowed from my knees, waist, shoulders, elbows, and wrists, all the way to my sword.

My sword, which was as bright as starlight, shattered into pieces, raining down on the enemy in front of me like a meteor shower.

It was a beautiful sight, but also incredibly powerful.

This was the baptism of the Geomgaek’s fragments.

Papabat! Eujik!

I heard the sound of something piercing through the air and crushing the ground, creating a fan-shaped pile of dirt in front of me.

There was no one who could withstand my attack. All the ghosts within range turned into piles of dirt.

I had only used this technique a few times during my sparring sessions with Hong Yeon-hwa, but it was much stronger than I had anticipated.

Of course, it was different from my usual Hyeongsogeomgaek that I used in everyday battles.

Basically, it’s the same Chosik, using the same technique… but with the addition of Kang Ki Gong that I learned from Hong Yeon-hwa, it can be applied like this.

Instead of a sword that contains Kang Ki, it shoots out the fragments of Kang Ki itself, so it has the advantage of being able to penetrate the opponent… but it requires a little preparation time, doesn’t have the same effect as Hyeongsogeomgaek that blocks the opponent’s view, and a high-level expert like Hwakyung can easily deflect the flying fragments of Kang Ki.

There are various disadvantages, so I can’t say that this is better than the other techniques.

However, against opponents who are clearly weaker than me, and especially those with weak bodies, this technique is much more efficient.

This is my first time using it in a real battle, but it’s really good.

With a satisfied smile, I adjusted my posture once again.

And then, the second Hyeongsogeomgaek.

Every time I swung my sword, I threw out Kang Ki, so the consumption of my inner energy was considerable… but this level of consumption is not a burden to me.

I have an abundance of inner energy, and if necessary, I can temporarily draw in the natural energy around me through the Muryeongshingong.

I could do this all day.

The others were also slaughtering the ghosts in their own ways.

Paengsoso destroyed the area where the crawling ghosts were gathered with a solid blow.

Sama Mang ran around quickly, assisting Paengsoso and making sure that any lucky survivors were finished off.

Although there was a risk of getting in each other’s way while running around, it was helpful to have had the experience of sparring with the executives for a day.

It seems like we are all fighting well, keeping our distance from each other, so there’s no need to worry about that.

As for Sama Yeoryeong, she wasn’t fighting directly, but was focusing on preventing the ominous energy that flowed from the rotten blood from sticking to the others every time they defeated a ghost with Myeongwoljin.

It was clear that her yellow Cheonraemyeolhonsingong inner energy was somehow turning slightly blue.

Every time she waved her hand in that state, the dense inner energy around her disappeared into thin air.

It’s amazing.

I knew that Sama Yeoryeong had reached a certain level in her Sangcheongbigeol, but this is the first time I’ve seen her use it in a real battle.

The executives of Cheonmashingyo were also making progress.

Heukgeomdaejoo was spewing out black flames like Hong Yeon-hwa’s Cheonmashingong, and attacking with a unique sword technique.

Mamwae was quickly taking down the ghosts with a large, brutish middle sword that was appropriate for her size, and a flexible combat style that mixed in boxing techniques.

In addition, Kwonma and Hyeokokma were either guarding their blood energy, throwing punches, or striking and retreating to knock down the Togui.

Although their martial arts level is lower than mine, their movements were incredibly agile, and they seemed to have fought in this kind of encirclement more than once.

As I admired their skill for a moment…

Suddenly, Hong Yeon-hwa, who had already created a second Kanghwan, threw it again.

Ku-gua-a-a-a-a-ang!!

The Kanghwan fell near where she had thrown it.

Although it was clearly thrown on the ground, the soil rose high as if she had thrown a rock into a lake.

I knew that I had to focus on the enemies in front of me, but I couldn’t ignore the power of that attack.

It was an attack that could surprise the sky and shake the ground… literally a strike of the Kyungcheon Dongji.

As I continued to use the Hyeongsogeomgaek consecutively, I glanced at the San-dengsung-i, who revealed their weaknesses with each strike.

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, I felt like something was missing.

Even if the Togui crawled up from the ground after being knocked down, I expected that.

But the one hiding behind the Togui has been too quiet since earlier.

When I brought up that topic, Mamno, who was constantly using her martial arts with her pot-lid-sized hands without a break, replied as if it was nothing.

“Maybe they’re focusing on their main body and not paying attention to us.”

“Huh? Even if that’s the case, they can’t hit us all at once.”

“That’s true. But it’s still a powerful attack. Even if it just grazes us from a certain distance, we’ll still feel the shock.”

“Um…”

Well, if that’s the case, I can’t just casually control a Togui like I did earlier and talk comfortably.

But still, they become helpless with just this?

I thought that if I bombarded the entire mountain from a distance, it would work somehow, but this is too disappointing.

Mamno laughed at my mediocre reaction.

“I heard from Cheonma-nim that the Jeongsadaejeon was a full-scale battle, so in some ways, it was more intense than the Jeongma-daejeon.”

“I haven’t experienced the Jeongma-daejeon, so I can’t easily answer… but I almost died several times.”

Maybe that’s why I don’t feel like it’s difficult to fight against these endless Togui.

Kang Shi was a much stronger and more difficult opponent than this.

Thinking about that time, I used the Hyeongsogeomgaek even more powerfully.

Kwa-ga-ga-ga-gak!!

The strike that even crushed the pile of dirt that had accumulated from the dead Togui.

As I swept a wider range than usual, Mamno, who had more room to spare because she was fighting near me, swung her middle sword and retrieved a thrown intermediate sword, and spoke in a puzzled voice.

As I continued to fight against the endless Togui, suddenly Mamno shouted out a warning.

“We need to get out of here now!”

“What? But we’re winning, aren’t we?”

I was confused by her sudden outburst.

But Mamno was insistent.

“No, we need to leave now. Trust me.”

I didn’t know what was going on, but I trusted Mamno’s instincts. We quickly made our way out of the area, dodging the Togui as we went.

As we ran, Mamno explained the situation.

“There’s something else going on here. Something bigger than just these Togui. We need to regroup and figure out what’s happening.”

I nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation.

We made our way back to our base, where we met up with the rest of our team. They were just as confused as we were, but we quickly got to work trying to figure out what was happening.

As we discussed our next move, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease. Something big was happening, and I knew that we were in the middle of it.

But I was determined to see it through. Whatever was happening, we would face it head-on and come out victorious.