Chapter 93

Toward Aquila, who maintained a cold and emotionless gaze, Biryeong quietly raised her hand and gave the order.

“Begin.”

At that single word, the experts of the Divine Sect moved in perfect unison, as if they had been waiting for the signal.

Words were unnecessary among experts who had already established a high level of coordination.

Shadows of spears and swords wavered like waves, covering the surroundings.

Their once-divergent trajectories soon merged into a single, massive surge of murderous intent, pouring toward Aquila.

“A useless struggle.”

A fishy smile played on the lips of Aquila, who had taken control of Erin’s body. As she lightly raised her hand, the cylinder wrapped around her body like a snake began to vibrate minutely with an eerie sound, emitting a wail.

“Something is coming! Dodge!”

Yeonjeoksan felt an ominous energy and shouted a loud warning, but it was already too late.

Dozens of blue beams, each as thick as a finger, shot out from the surface of the cylinder, raining down like a torrential downpour aimed at the martial artists’ bodies.

There was no room to evade.

In an instant, the trajectories of light crossing the space pierced straight through the experts of the Divine Sect.

“Kugh?!”

“Keuh…”

As the beams that had embroidered the air vanished, all that remained were the expressions of the martial artists, overwhelmed by shock and fear.

Soon after, blood began to pour from someone’s body onto the grass of the prairie.

With holes pierced precisely through their chests and heads, the martial artists holding their weapons collapsed helplessly.

Experts who stood at the very top of the Central Plains’ Martial World, having stepped forward with the pride of the Divine Sect, had crumbled without being able to offer any resistance. There could be no sight more shocking than this.

“I can’t believe it…”

A murmur, like a scream, escaped the lips of Hwang Gae as he witnessed the gruesome end. Ma Widong and Yeonjeoksan also froze, their expressions hardening in shock.

‘This is beyond my expectations…’

Taewoon wiped the cold sweat from his palms and slowly took in the scene of the battlefield.

He had been wary of the technology from beyond the heavens from the start, but witnessing such overwhelming power with his own eyes was an entirely different matter.

‘…It’s not even comparable to the soldiers from beyond the heavens I saw in the 1st Cycle.’

The Fleet from Beyond the Heavens were indeed fearsome beings, but their strength lay in the power of a ‘group,’ utilizing tactical movements and sheer numbers.

If comparing the strength of a single individual, the Aquila before him was on a far superior level.

‘Damn it, what on earth do I have to do to face that thing?’

Taewoon felt helplessness and fear tightening his chest. However, he soon steadied his heart and gripped Barata firmly once more.

“What shall we do, Taewoon?”

Hwang Gae asked urgently. Fear and tension were embedded in his voice.

“We have no choice but to fight. Even if we retreat, I don’t think that thing will let us go.”

Taewoon answered without a moment’s hesitation. He exchanged glances with Hwang Gae, hardening his resolve.

Seeing Taewoon gripping the spear shaft with sweat-soaked palms, Aquila smiled calmly.

“Have you finally begun to realize reality? It is not too late even now. Follow me. That is the only way you can survive.”

However, Aquila’s words reached no one’s heart.

Such is the nature of a martial artist; once a decision has been made, retreat cannot exist.

“Damn it… If I knew it would be like this, I should have practiced our coordination more often.”

As Hwang Gae grumbled and complained, Yeonjeoksan looked back at him as if he were absurd.

“I never thought such words would come out of your mouth, Hwang Gae.”

“Tsk, didn’t you see it too? That thing is a monster. Unless the three of us join forces, we won’t even get a decent opportunity.”

The men, who had been arguing, fell silent for a moment and looked at Aquila.

“It is a being that possesses power beyond the Flower Realm, or… perhaps even more.”

Ma Widong’s lips twitched with a dissatisfied face, but his thoughts were not much different.

Yeonjeoksan also nodded with a serious expression, agreeing.

“We must be prepared to be buried in the ground here. Perhaps even thinking of leaving a corpse will be a luxury.”

“Hmph, are you thinking of losing before we even fight? Shut up and just follow this elder.”

The three men, showing solemn expressions, took their stances. Because they knew each other well, they finished their communication with a single glance and decided on their respective roles.

Hwang Gae swung his Black Whip Staff toward the air and let out a roar filled with his characteristic spirit.

“This old man will take the front! You know what to do, right?”

“Of course!”

Yeonjeoksan watched the movements of the other two and prepared the secret art of the Soul-Chasing Eight Ghost Spear. An eerie energy, as if souls were being burned, gathered at the sharpened tip of the spear.

“It seems we need to give it our all from the very beginning…”

In the next moment, Hwang Gae’s Black Whip Staff, filled with internal energy, sliced through the atmosphere, pouring out several afterimages toward Aquila.

“Hup!”

Simultaneously, Hwang Gae’s left hand stretched out, and the powerful palm force emitted from it shook the surroundings.

“Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms, Dragon Soars with Regret!”

The palm force, possessing a truly terrifying aura, surged in like a wave, but the unprecedented energy emitted from the cylinder blocked it perfectly.

Following that, with just a light movement of her body, Aquila caused the consecutive strikes of the Black Whip Staff—which blended the principles of strength and illusion—to slice vainly through the empty air.

“How can this be…”

As Aquila, having evaded Hwang Gae’s attack, manipulated the cylinder, dozens of sharp beams poured out, aiming for Hwang Gae’s head and heart.

As if waiting for that exact moment, Yeonjeoksan, who had approached unnoticed, showcased the secret art of the Soul-Chasing Eight Ghost Spear.

“…Soul Chasing Path Destruction.”

Eight lines of Spear Shadow extending from the tip of the spear exquisitely blocked Aquila’s beams, cutting off the flow of energy and erasing their traces.

‘Did it work?’

A flicker of hope crossed Taewoon’s eyes as he watched, but it was only momentary.

The moment Aquila smiled and moved the cylinder again, a violent light of a completely different level than before erupted like a storm, splitting the space between them.

“This is…”

Before Yeonjeoksan could finish his sentence, a dazzling flash covered his vision.

Along with the sound of something being pierced, hundreds of beams poured down upon the bodies of Hwang Gae and Yeonjeoksan.

“Aaaagh!”

“Keuh…”

It happened in an instant. When the beams vanished, the bodies of the two men had already suffered such profound damage that they could no longer be called intact.

The corpses of the two experts fell coldly to the ground, and Taewoon squeezed his eyes shut.

“You…”

The moment he witnessed the gruesome deaths of his old friends, Ma Widong grit his teeth hard and poured out his condensed rage.

“You arrogant brat, this elder shall cut your life short to soothe the souls of those foolish old men!”

Enraged, Ma Widong exploded the True Qi of his entire body in a single instant. His physical body was enveloped in an intense energy, as if he were burning.

“Die, you monster!”

Executing an explosive Step Technique, Ma Widong left several afterimages and dove behind Aquila with an aura that seemed as if he would tear through space itself.

It was a level of movement that differed in dimension from anything seen from Ma Widong until now. However, Aquila’s gaze had been clearly perceiving his movements all along.

“A meaningless act.”

With a cold voice, the cylinder wrapped around her body emitted a fierce light.

Ma Widong’s mace stretched out in the shape of a hawk’s talon, landing a strike containing everything he had upon Aquila, but the mace was helplessly repelled, unable to penetrate the transparent energy barrier surrounding the cylinder.

When the dust settled, his body was already riddled with holes, making it harder to find a spot that was still intact.

Soon, Ma Widong, who had collapsed to his knees on the ground, coughed up blood and muttered painfully.

“Ha… ha… Just what… are you…”

The final question directed toward the void received no answer. Ma Widong’s vision gradually blurred, and his eyes, filled with sorrow and despair, slowly lost their light.

“…Damn, it.”

With a short lament as his last, his breath ceased.

Thus, three experts of the Flower Realm, who had earned fame in the Central Plains’ Martial World, lost their lives in vain.

“….”

Taewoon watched the scene in silence.

Even while seeing his comrades fall cruelly before his eyes, Taewoon could not move a single step.

It was because a heavy sense of responsibility—that he must survive somehow to obtain even a little more information—was holding him back.

Taewoon’s fingertips trembled.

Anger at his own helplessness and resentment toward the unavoidable situation filled his heart.

‘Damn it, I didn’t come all this way for this…’

His desire to lose his reason and jump blindly into the fight was greater than anyone’s. But at the same time, he realized instinctively. The fact that, as he was now, he could never face Aquila with force.

‘I must at least obtain some information about that thing.’

Having made his decision, Taewoon gripped Barata tightly and slowly stood up. Calming the emotions boiling within, he pondered what the best choice would be in the current situation.

It was at that moment.

Yeonjeoksan, whom he thought had already died, began to slowly raise his blood-soaked body.

Blood that had not yet stopped flowed incessantly through the large hole pierced in the center of his chest.

“…Elder?”

When Taewoon called him in confusion, Yeonjeoksan smiled despite the thick scent of blood and squeezed out his remaining strength to lift his spear.

“In the place where I stayed… there will be a book. I have left all my Heart’s Attainment within it.”

His voice was infinitely clear, despite facing death. Yeonjeoksan barely held onto his fading vision and took a step forward toward Aquila.

“And right now… I have witnessed the realm I craved my entire life. I shall show it to you, so do not miss a single moment and carve it clearly into your eyes.”

With those final words, Yeonjeoksan poured all the internal energy and mental strength of his entire body into the tip of the spear.

Not simply fast, but a Single Line that pierced through everything.

With a truly perfect motion, the final Spear Path of Yeonjeoksan’s life stretched out fiercely toward Aquila.