Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 542



542

”'< Chapter 543 > Sword Demon.

As the sun set night fell.

Through the thicket countless figures moved swiftly.

“Run fast!”

“Form up! We must not scatter!”

Though they had different appearances the expressions on each face were the same.

Tension.

Their faces were filled with tension.

Tap-!

The speed gradually increased.

From the way they cut through the forest path it was clear that they were all martial artists.

Martial arts uniforms fluttered as they rushed and the insignia emblazoned on them was clear even in the night.

That insignia signified only one thing.

Murim Alliance.

The identities of those racing through the night were martial artists belonging to the Murim Alliance.

Among these individuals filled with deep tension stood a man at the forefront.

Seodong the Vice Captain of the Murim Alliance’s Guangdong branch the Flying Dragon Corps rolled his eyes.

‘Damn it.’

One hand gripped the hilt of his sword.

He focused his qi center using all kinds of qi as a sensation.

The energy spread out enveloping the surrounding forest.

The qi was brimming with power.

To express such a level of qi one had to surpass the barriers of a martial artist.

This hinted that Seodong’s mastery had surpassed its peak.

This meant that.

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A strong warrior like him was this tense.

‘Of all times when we have so few people…!’

Currently there were only seven in total.

The individuals he brought were all top-tier martial artists yet it was still a problem.

The current number was woefully insufficient.

‘A red-grade demonic beast…’

To catch one that is.

One peak-level and six top-tier.

Just a few years ago this was enough strength to hunt demonic beasts.

Seodong alone could have slaughtered a blue-grade demonic beast.

The emergence of demonic beasts was not that dangerous.

‘Damn it.’

But now it was different.

Just three years ago.

Starting from Sichuan new grades of demonic gates began to open.

No it wouldn’t be right to call them new.

They were simply grades that had existed before reappearing.

One.

The changes that had befallen the world were not trivial enough to be explained so simply.

“Warm up! Don’t let your guard down!”

At the shout the martial artists behind him flinched and raised their energy.

The qi of the martial artists began to mix with the air spreading heat.

A grade that had not appeared for centuries.

Red-grade demonic gates.

This grade unfamiliar to the people of this era had begun to appear a few years ago.

Monsters so strong they could not even be compared to blue-grade demonic beasts.

They possessed barriers that could block qi and had the strength to crush even peak-level martial artists.

Moreover they were so ferocious that every time they appeared they turned the surroundings into chaos.

This was enough to be called another disaster.

The only fortunate thing was that proportional to the difference in grades.

The frequency of their appearance was significantly low.

Of course that didn’t change the fact that the appearance of a red-grade demonic beast was a disaster.

Seodong raised his head.

“…Gulp…!”

As he looked beyond the void his teeth clenched involuntarily.

He saw light.

A very red light.

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This signified only one thing.

‘Just before it appears.’

It meant that a demonic beast was about to burst forth from the red-grade demonic gate.

The best time to hunt it was just as it emerged from the demonic gate.

In those few seconds of hesitation unable to adapt to the new environment.

That would dictate the direction of the battle.

Especially with this number of people a direct confrontation would be akin to suicide so they had to time their attack perfectly.

‘It’s too late.’

Now was far too late.

The report of the demonic gate’s appearance was delayed and it took far too long to prepare.

At this rate the demonic beast would burst forth from the demonic gate.

If that happened.

‘There are many houses nearby.’

If things went wrong a massive slaughter would ensue.

It was an absolutely critical situation that had to be prevented.

‘Why is that?’

As he increased his speed Seodong pondered.

‘It seems like the frequency is increasing.’

For some reason he felt that the number of reports regarding red-grade demonic gates had been rising recently.

When it was first discovered there were at most twenty reports a year.

Now it was already past twenty at the start of spring in the new year.

It was increasing.

Not just him but most of the sword corps members must have felt this sense of dread.

At that moment.

Kuuuuung-!

“…!”

At the sound that echoed from the other side Seodong’s eyes widened.

He bit his lip.

That sound was definitely.

‘A demonic beast has appeared.’

The roar of a red-grade demonic beast.

The light he saw meant that a red demonic beast had appeared below.

Crack.

Seodong who had clenched his teeth drew his sword.

Swish-!

As Seodong drew his sword the martial artists behind him also unsheathed their swords without hesitation.

Everyone must have sensed it.

That if they made a mistake they could die from this incident.

‘…Why did the Captains have to disappear at this time…!’

If even one Captain-level martial artist had been present things wouldn’t have escalated to this point.

But now all of them were out on missions.

The incident involving the death of the former demonic beast commander.

They had been dispatched to investigate that. Since it involved Samaoje a Captain-level had to be involved.

Who would have thought that would be a problem?

There should have been two seasoned peak-level martial artists yet they had to face this with such a meager number.

‘This is nothing short of suicide.’

If he was going to retire he should have done it sooner.

Was it a sin not to have done so?

Seodong had to force himself to suppress his feelings of despair.

If he left it as it was it was certain that the surroundings would turn into chaos and he couldn’t just stand by.

“We’ll be there soon…”

Seodong’s voice which had been clear until just now sounded uneasy.

“I’ll take the lead. You all support from behind.”

“Vice Captain…!”

At Seodong’s words one martial artist expressed concern.

But there were no further words to follow.

Everyone knew there was no other way.

Tick-!

Finally all the members arrived at the source of the light.

Seodong filled with tension gripped his sword tightly.

Whoooom-! Sword qi surged through the blade.

He spread his qi far to assess the situation.

‘Where is it?’

The place where the light was visible was here.

Then the demonic beast should also be visible around here.

Especially since red-grade demonic beasts were mostly massive it shouldn’t be too difficult to spot.

‘What is this?’

Seodong felt something was off.

‘Why is it so quiet?’

An eerie silence hung in the air.

For a red-grade demonic beast it would be normal to be roaring and tearing everything apart.

But the area they arrived at was chillingly quiet.

The problem was that it wasn’t even detectable by his qi.

“…”

Seodong raised his hand and gestured low.

It was a signal to advance.

Erasing his presence he moved forward followed by the martial artists behind him.

They moved for several minutes.

Then.

…Creeeak-!

“…?”

A low sound came from afar.

Creeeak…. Thud… Crunch…!

It sounded like something was being crushed and ground.

Just hearing it sent chills down his spine.

Seodong felt every hair on his body stand on end.

Creeeak… Thud.

The sound grew louder with each step they took.

It must be close.

Thud-!

It was clear.

The sound was coming from just beyond the darkness.

With that his breathing grew ragged with tension.

His heart raced and cold sweat dripped down.

Is it a red-grade demonic beast? Is the demonic beast doing something?

As he thought this the moment Seodong took a trembling step forward.

“…Huh…!?”

He swallowed hard at the sight before him.

Beyond the thick darkness something was visible.

Thud thud-.

The first thing he saw was a blue glow.

Following that was a massive body.

Something with a large flexible frame was devouring a red-skinned demonic beast.

Creeeak-!

With the sound of bones shattering he could see the head of the demonic beast being crushed.

Drip-! Blood flowed soaking the ground.

Seodong’s eyes widened in shock.

Though it was in a state where its form was unrecognizable the shape of the devoured demonic beast resembled that of a tiger.

‘…That’s definitely.’

It was a monster so strong that it couldn’t even be compared to a lower-grade blue demonic beast requiring a seasoned peak-level martial artist to confront it.

Such a creature was now being devoured alive right before his eyes.

Given that there seemed to be no significant damage around it meant that the demonic beast had not been able to resist at all.

‘What the hell…. What is that?’

Something unknown was devouring the red-grade demonic beast.

It looked like a demonic beast but he couldn’t determine its grade.

At a glance it seemed to have a blue hue but upon closer inspection it was closer to black.

‘…Then is it a blue demonic beast?’

That couldn’t be. A blue demonic beast couldn’t do that.

Then what the hell is that….

Grrr….

‘Oh no…!’

As if finishing its meal the blue glow of the demonic beast turned towards Seodong.

In that instant Seodong tried to channel his strength into his sword.

Stiff-!

“Grrr…!”

As soon as he met its gaze his body froze in place.

This was bad.

At this rate…!

“Hey.”

“!!”

Seodong whose body had stiffened flinched at the sudden voice in his ear.

At the same time he felt an arm wrap around his shoulder.

Someone was embracing him like a friend.

“I have a question for you.”

A voice that sounded youthful yet slightly subdued.

It was a voice he had never heard before.

Seodong forced his stiff neck to turn and looked at the figure.

The first thing he saw was.

‘Eyes…?’

A blue glow resembling that of the unknown demonic beast in front of him.

Those eyes shone vividly even in the darkness.

It was hard to discern the face but judging by the voice the person didn’t seem very old.

Amidst this Seodong could clearly sense one thing.

‘I can’t win.’

It was the instinct of a loser.

He could tell just by looking into those eyes.

The reason this forest was so quiet was not because of the demonic beast ahead but because of the presence emanating from this figure.

He began to tremble as he looked at Seodong.

“I’m looking for someone. I was wondering if you might know.”

With a tone laced with amusement.

Seodong’s body trembled involuntarily at the dense presence contained within.

He forced the blocked throat to speak.

“…W-who are you…?”

“Hmm. I’ve heard that question twice today.”

Sweat poured down.

It felt as if his mind was about to be crushed at any moment.

“Just someone who enjoys traveling. Is that not enough? It should be.”

“…”

This clearly meant he didn’t want to reveal his identity.

Even knowing that Seodong couldn’t retort.

What would happen if he said no here?

“If you don’t it could get a bit troublesome.”

He could vaguely sense that.

Grrrrr.

The massive demonic beast growled low in front of him.

It seemed to be waiting for a command.

That meant this figure was taming that demonic beast.

‘That’s impossible.’

The idea of a human taming a demonic beast was unfathomable.

But.

“…Huff…huff….”

Even if he had questions and couldn’t understand this was not the time to ask.

“Who… who are you looking for?”

At Seodong’s response the figure smiled.

Though it was night and hard to see he could guess that the blue glow curved into a crescent indicating a smile.

Then the figure asked Seodong.

“Sword Demon…. No that’s not it. What was his name again? I think it was two syllables…”

After speaking he seemed to fall into thought for a moment.

“I don’t know the name.”

Then as if recalling something he spoke again.

“He’s a man probably around my age…. He uses a sword.”

Ah.

“His eyes are uniquely yellow you know?”

“…!”

At this Seodong’s body stiffened.

Seeing his reaction the figure smiled and asked.

“Do you know him?”

“…”

Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate.

Seodong also recognized the description. That was the information of someone who had recently gained notoriety for all the wrong reasons.”’