Chapter 1060: Your Voice Won't Reach Him (Part 5)

The eerie crimson bloodlust pouring from his eyes was chilling. Add to that the obscure demonic energy swirling around him like a malevolent spirit. The bishop, with half of his sanity lost, rushing forward, seemed to mercilessly shatter the fundamental fear inherent in humanity.

From his gaping mouth, wide enough to tear apart, erupted a howl more beastly than any animal. Jang Ilso, hearing the ear-piercing scream, raised the corners of his mouth.

Truly fascinating.

Those commonly referred to as absolute masters, whether they like it or not, become aware of the position they hold. To put it positively, they maintain dignity, but negatively, they become hypocrites.

However, these practitioners of the demonic arts seem to lack such 'restraint.' What you could see in that bishop was just raw, unbridled savagery. It seemed to prove that humans were nothing more than beasts.

No, perhaps that was the true face of fanaticism. A true believer sees everyone as equal under the divine. So, there's no need to assert oneself.

"But even so...."

The lips, appearing even redder against the pale face, drew a creepy smile.

"Isn't this too grotesque?"

With a chilling aura, Jang Ilso accelerated even more, charging forward. His torn cloak fluttered in the gust of wind.

"Kaaaaa!"

In the bishop's hands, devoid of any remaining sanity, demonic energy gathered. Each strand of demonic energy, gathering like smoke, was stronger and more destructive than the aura emitted by a grandmaster. Even a slight brush would twist bones and burst flesh.

Danjagang rushed forward at a speed that defied processing, swinging his hand towards Jang Ilso's head.

It was an attack that was nothing like a conventional martial arts move.

However, the deadly magic surrounding his hand transformed the berserker's assault into an unstoppable, transcendent strike. At that moment, Jang Ilso's hand shot out like lightning.

'I've already seen enough, what can I do about it!'

Just as Danjagang's hand was about to touch his head, Jang Ilso's palm struck and twisted the bishop's elbow first. The surging magic barely grazed Jang Ilso's head, slamming into the ground.

Seizing the momentary opening, Jang Ilso leaped forward again.

However, as if expected, Danjagang swung the other hand preemptively, attacking Jang Ilso who was diving in.

"That's it!"

Maintaining the momentum, Jang Ilso twisted his body as he approached.

Towards the flying hand, Jang Ilso's cloak fluttered. Jang Ilso, as if his arm was made of ice, rotated as if sliding. Swirling his cloak, he advanced not towards the bishop's chest but his side.

'Is it still left?'

Even if his impression had faded, there must be lingering marks in the bishop's mind. The figure of Chung Myung, the swordsman, relentlessly digging into the bishop's arms with a mid-range weapon called a sword! When humans face danger, they instinctively try to avoid such situations. So when Jang Ilso rushes forward, the bishop will naturally try to block him!

From the exploded demonic energy embedded in the ground, a belated shock struck Jang Ilso's back. It was a momentary shock, so intense that blood seemed to flow backward, but Jang Ilso not only avoided it but embraced it.

And in an instant, he plunged into the completely empty side of the bishop.

"So this is how it's done."

Jang Ilso's hand, stained with a bluish hue, struck the bishop's side without hesitation.

Bam!

Before the bishop's body could fully recoil, Jang Ilso's fist struck consecutively in the same spot like lightning.

Having inserted dozens of punches into the bishop's side in one breath, Jang Ilso, attempting to reach out again, hesitated and pounded the ground. Then, he stuck to the bouncing bishop.

'No! Nope!'

It wasn't just about striking. The crucial thing was not giving the enemy a chance to catch their breath!

Bam!

As the bishop bounced away, he swung his arm in the air. The rough and obscure demonic energy flew sideways towards Jang Ilso, resembling the act of scattering ink with a giant brush in the air.

Jang Ilso lowered his posture as if sticking to the ground, narrowly avoiding it. The eerie aura passing right above his head sent shivers down his spine for a moment.

But the more it happened, the more Jang Ilso's face began to be tinged with a creepy joy.

"That guy is even crazier than I thought, huh? Hahaha!"

Exploding with mad laughter, Jang Ilso advanced, pushing forward towards the bishop.

Having experienced it firsthand, he understood now. Why that crazy Taoist fought like that.

Jang Ilso had already fought Chung Myung once at the Black Dragon House [idk, the cliff ig]. At that time, he thought it was just a rare occurrence of a madman from a righteous sect. However, watching and fighting directly against the bishop in this way, he seems to understand.

'It's not that he fights like that!'

Shaaaak!

The wide sleeves of the robe momentarily hardened like steel. The surging inner energy transformed the edge of the sleeve into a sharp blade, ruthlessly slashing the bishop's hand for a moment.

'That's the only way to fight!'

This guy was strong. Unbelievably strong.

In particular, his inner energy was so vast that even Jang Ilso, one of the most experienced martial artists in the world, was experiencing it for the first time. Before seeing this guy in person, no one would have thought that a person could handle such an amount of inner energy.

Compared to this immense inner energy, placing Beopjeong of the Shaolin Sect, known as extraordinary in the martial world, beside them would make him seem nothing more than an ordinary man.

However, the simplicity of his attacks, shown in contrast to their massive inner energy, was unparalleled. Their martial arts were simply about overwhelming the opponent with their vast inner energy.

So, how should those who do not possess such immense inner energy deal with them?

All the answers were shown by Chung Myung.

To elevate the inner energy in the dantian and convert it into strength, a minimum amount of time was required. And the more massive the amount of inner energy to be raised, the longer time it took. The key was not to give them that time.

If they confronted each other within the distance where they could exchange blows, it was a defeat. The destructive power of their martial arts is so huge that it disregarded the purity of martial arts.

Therefore, one had no choice but to engage in a fierce melee battle, launching consecutive attacks in close proximity, not giving them the opportunity to gather inner energy.

However!

Kwaaaaah!

Jang Ilso swiftly tilted his waist backward. The suddenly soaring bishop's obscure hand had, in the meantime, barely grazed right above his nose.

'Easier said than done!'

This was just a method.

The opponent's inner energy was vast. Desperation to quickly raise even hastily gathered inner energy would turn the human body into a handful of blood essence, which could harm others.

So, what's the difference between this method and the saying that to survive in a spreading fire on a mountain, one has to break through in the direction where the fire is spreading? This was a method only for those who didn't care about their own lives.

But it existed. There was undoubtedly someone who could effortlessly carry out such crazy deeds.

So!

Kwaaaaah!

Emitting a creepy aura with his eyes, Jang Ilso aimed for the arm of the reaching Danjagang and threw his body toward it.

Inside! Inside! Faster!

'If I can't do it!'

Jang Ilso's elbow was embedded in Danjagang's forearm.

Thunk!

However, the sound of bones crunching echoed not from Danjagang's arm but from Jang Ilso's shoulder. The demonic energy that brushed past the shoulder effortlessly dislocated it.

His face involuntarily contorted in pain. Nevertheless, Jang Ilso, with a twisted expression, moved his body again. Towards a point very close to Danjagang.

'Aren't you embarrassed!'

Spinning rapidly like a top right in front of Danjagang, Jang Ilso thrust his shoulder into Danjagang's chest in a sweeping motion. The rotating force carried the shoulder strike, and it resounded intensely on Danjagang's chest.

Kwaaang!

Leveraging the recoil, he slightly lifted himself and kneed Danjagang's chin.

Thunk!

In an instant of whirling in the air, Jang Ilso unleashed dozens of consecutive strikes towards Danjagang's head. The blue energy emanating from his feet shot toward Danjagang like a waterfall.

"Ugh!"

The continuous strikes poured down like a torrent, and the groans escaped from Danjagang, who had lost his composure.

Thunk!

Rapidly accelerating through the air, Jang Ilso, with his face covered in traces of blood, rushed towards Danjagang again.

"Kaaaaah!"

In that moment, Danjagang roared and sent a fist like a lightning bolt. It was incomparably faster than any of the punches Danjagang had thrown so far.

Though he entrusted himself to the demonic energy, considering himself a beast, it seemed that a trace of reason still lingered. It was the most perfect strike he could deliver at this moment, reducing internal power to increase speed. An unstoppable strike that could neither be avoided nor blocked as Jang Ilso, accelerating through the air, had no way to dodge or defend.

'It looks like he still has a head!'

Yet, Jang Ilso, despite seeing Danjagang's fist coming at his face as if it were piercing through, neither slowed down nor changed direction.

A suicidal act. There was no way to describe this insane behavior other than with that word.

Without a moment of hesitation, Jang Ilso, rushing forward, raised the energy in both hands as if Danjagang's fist didn't exist.

In that moment.

Kwaaaang!

Chung Myung leaped into the air above Jang Ilso like a flash of light, unfolding his sword. Not the blade, but the back of the sword, not a cutting move but a sweeping strike!

The fist that aimed to pierce Jang Ilso's face was deflected. The trajectory of the fist deviated, grazing past Jang Ilso's cheek.

Thunk!

In an instant, skin tore, and bones twisted. However, Jang Ilso didn't blink an eye and immediately extended both hands towards Danjagang like a bolt of lightning. The energy flowing through his hands created irregular blue traces in the air. The vivid blue lines engraved in the most intense places were strangely beautiful, unbecoming of this grueling battle.

Kwaaaang!

Jang Ilso's paired palms struck Danjagang's abdomen. Surrounded by blue flames, his hands tore through Danjagang's attire and embedded two blue handprints on his abdomen.

Blood sprayed from Danjagang's mouth, covering Jang Ilso's face. Jang Ilso, stained with both his own self-shed blood and the enemy's blood, grinned, revealing white teeth.

"In the end, it is humans who catch and kill beasts."

Thunk!

Jang Ilso's palm struck Danjagang's chin. With his body partially lifted, Danjagang was sent flying, and Jang Ilso, fluttering his long robe as if possessed, closely pursued.

His face, a mixture of vitality, pleasure, and now, terror, depicted an intense expression unlike anything seen before.

'This!'

From the tip of his head to the soles of his feet, a sensation that seemed to penetrate everything overwhelmed Jang Ilso. His eyes flickered incessantly.

'An incredible sensation, isn't it?'

He was on a knife edge.