Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 302 – Diabolic Beast (4)

The Demon-Subduing Pavilion Master was so startled that he couldn’t close his mouth.

What on earth just happened?

The other Demon-Subduing monks were the same.

They witnessed what had just occurred with their own eyes, but they were so shocked that they were at a loss for words.

“Just now… What was that?”

“Wh-what in the world is this?”

Mok Gyeong-un, who suddenly appeared, leaped down from above onto the head of the diabolic beast Alyu.

From this point on, unbelievable things were already happening.

His weight couldn’t have been that heavy, but Alyu toppled forward, and its head was soon buried in the cave floor.

At that moment, the Demon-Subduing Pavilion Master opened his mouth.

“Patron, where on earth have you been?”

“The cave walls were weaker than I thought. By the way, I wasn’t gone for long, but it seems the situation has gotten a bit out of hand.”

“Cough cough.”

“But for something you said you had subdued once before, it looks like you’re in quite a predicament, am I right?”

“Are you being sarcastic right now… Patron!”

Just as the Demon-Subduing Pavilion Master was about to say something out of anger, he suddenly shouted in surprise.

That was because the tail of the diabolic beast Alyu, whose head was buried in the ground, suddenly flew towards Mok Gyeong-un like a whip.

The force was tremendous, but Mok Gyeong-un raised his arm in the direction the tail was flying.

-Whoosh!

With a sound like flesh being torn, the end of the tail wrapped around Mok Gyeong-un’s wrist.

Seeing this, the Demon-Subduing Pavilion Master couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

It was clear that the force of the flying tail seemed to be trying to send Mok Gyeong-un flying from above his head.

But the tail was wrapped around his wrist, so did it have another trick up its sleeve?

‘What is this bastard?’

Of course, that wasn’t the case.

The diabolic beast Alyu couldn’t hide its inner confusion.

Although it didn’t know what exactly had happened, Alyu, whose head was suddenly stepped on by Mok Gyeong-un, became furious and tried to quickly raise its head.

However, Alyu couldn’t lift its head.

Thinking that he might have used some magical technique, Alyu first tried to shake off Mok Gyeong-un with its tail.

It naturally expected Mok Gyeong-un to be sent flying after being hit by its tail.

But that expectation was off the mark.

‘What strength does this bastard have?’

The reason Alyu’s tail was wrapped around Mok Gyeong-un’s arm was because, despite receiving the impact, he endured it like a massive old tree that had taken root for hundreds of years.

-Tighten!

It was useless even when it concentrated its demonic power on its tail to try and sever his wrist.

Of course, pulling didn’t work either.

What the hell is this bastard?

Suddenly, it felt completely different from before.

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un’s voice reached the diabolic beast Alyu’s ears.

“This is my first time using the Thousand-Pound Weight, but it seems quite heavy for you. Seeing how you’re stuck to the ground and can’t even budge.”

‘You damn human bastard!’

-Grit!

The diabolic beast Alyu couldn’t hold back its anger at Mok Gyeong-un’s provocative words.

A mere human climbed on top of its head and made disparaging remarks, making it want to tear him to pieces right away.

The Demon-Subduing Pavilion Master, worried about Mok Gyeong-un’s provocation, warned him.

“Cough cough. Patron. Don’t provoke the demon too much. For now, just keep it tied up like that. Reinforcements will arrive soon. At that time, this humble monk and the Demon-Subduing monks will restrain it again with the restraints…”

-Grrrr!

Before he could even finish speaking.

The cave floor shook as if an earthquake had occurred.

It was a phenomenon caused not only by the tug-of-war between Mok Gyeong-un, who was using the Thousand-Pound Weight, and the diabolic beast Alyu, who was trying to get up by putting strength into its hooves.

“Huh?”

“Priest!”

At this, the nearby Demon-Subduing monks hurriedly supported the staggering Demon-Subduing Pavilion Master in front of Alyu’s head and moved as far away as possible.

-Grrrr! Crackle crackle!

The floor shook even more violently and even began to crack.

Nevertheless, Mok Gyeong-un still remained motionless on top of the diabolic beast Alyu’s head.

-Groan! Groan!

Then, the diabolic beast Alyu’s demonic power surged to an extreme, and its red fur stood up like thorns, and a purple smoke of acid spewed out from there.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

The diabolic beast Alyu’s head swayed, and then it spewed out a purple smoke from its mouth.

As a result, the floor melted, and the terrible acid began to spread in all directions along the floor.

“Dodge it! Get out of the way!”

“H-how can we deal with this?”

The Demon-Subduing monks near the dented iron door might not know, but without mastering the Light Body Technique, there was no way they could avoid the smoke that would melt anything it touched in this brief moment.

But at that instant, Mok Gyeong-un quickly formed hand seals in a simplified manner.

-Pak! Pak! Pak!

Soldier (兵)! Fight (鬪)! Split (裂)! Formation (陳)!

They were the hand seals of the Nine Hand Seals.

In an instant, four pillars shot up in the direction the smoke was spreading, along with tremendous spirit power.

-Rumble!

Seeing this scene, the Demon-Subduing monks stuck to the end of the cave wall couldn’t hide their astonishment.

As Demon-Subduing monks who had mastered dharmic powers, they could see things with their naked eyes that ordinary people couldn’t, such as spirit power and demonic power.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

Mok Gyeong-un put his sword fingers to his mouth and muttered softly.

“Four Peaks Linking Technique.”

-Whoosh!

Surfaces were formed by the four pillars.

As the surfaces were formed, the purple smoke that had been spreading towards the Demon-Subduing monks was soon blocked by the wall of spirit power.

The smoke made of acid was blocked at a critical moment.

Seeing this scene, some of the young Demon-Subduing monks couldn’t help but cheer involuntarily.

“Wow!”

“Gasp!”

But they soon closed their mouths as they noticed the looks from the Demon-Subduing Pavilion Master and their senior monks.

However, the Demon-Subduing Pavilion Master himself couldn’t hide his inner astonishment at Mok Gyeong-un’s magical technique skills.

Although he didn’t acknowledge magical techniques, he understood that they were also performed through the harmony of spirit power and technique formulas.

‘Fast.’

But the speed at which the technique formula was completed was tremendous.

This was because the spirit power quickly took shape.

If it had been just a little slower, everyone in the cave would have melted in that smoke made of acid.

However, the astonishment was short-lived.

‘Huh?’

-Grip!

At that moment, when Mok Gyeong-un made a gesture of clenching his hand, the pillars began to move and gradually narrow the distance.

Then, the smoke that had been blocked by the surface of spirit power was also pushed and gathered.

At this, the Demon-Subduing Pavilion Master shouted in surprise.

“Patron! What are you doing? Stop it right now!”

It was a crazy act.

If the pillars narrowed, the smoke would inevitably gather in one direction.

The wall made of spirit power might be able to block that smoke infused with demonic power, but that patron with a mere human body couldn’t.

He could melt and die from the acid.

“Patron!”

But inside the Four Peaks Linking Technique, as if his voice couldn’t reach, Mok Gyeong-un couldn’t hear his shout at all.

Rather, as if trying to finish it off inside,

-Swish!

He raised his fist on the opposite side that wasn’t tied by the tail, and then,

-Bam!

He strongly struck down on the crown between the horns of the diabolic beast Alyu, who had barely lifted its body halfway up while spewing smoke.

“Kekekekek!”

As soon as he did that, the diabolic beast Alyu stopped spewing out the acidic smoke in pain and let out a roar of agony.

However, this scene couldn’t be seen from the outside.

Because at some point, the four sides of the Four Peaks Linking Technique were obscured by the purple smoke.

It was impossible to know what was happening inside that smoke.

The only thing that could be guessed was,

-Bam! Bam! Bam!

The intense booming sounds that shook the cave floor.

The Demon-Subduing Pavilion Master and the Demon-Subduing monks could only watch this absentmindedly.

“Kiriririri!”

The diabolic beast Alyu, suffering from the continuous punches, released its tail that had been holding Mok Gyeong-un’s wrist and moved its head in an attempt to somehow get him off its head.

-Whoosh! Bam!

“Get down! Get down right now!”

Mok Gyeong-un, who was standing while holding the horns of the diabolic beast Alyu, chuckled.

Then, he raised his fist once more and strongly struck down on the crown of the diabolic beast Alyu.

-Bam!

“Kekekek!”

-Crash!

The jaw of the diabolic beast Alyu, hit by the fist, finally fell to the ground.

It tried to endure it somehow with anger, but the diabolic beast Alyu was now on the verge of losing consciousness due to the repeated pain inflicted on its head.

Regardless, Mok Gyeong-un struck down on the diabolic beast Alyu’s head once again.

-Bam!

The jaw of Alyu, whose head was hit, dug into the ground.

Not stopping there, Mok Gyeong-un continued to strike down on Alyu’s head with a constant force.

-Bam! Bam! Bam!

With the repeated pain, Alyu finally cried out.

“Kiririk! St-stop! Stoooop!”

It was too painful, and there was no pride or anything.

However, Mok Gyeong-un paid no heed to this and kept striking down on the diabolic beast Alyu’s head.

-Bam! Bam! Bam! Crunch!

No matter how much he struck with uniform force, if this continued, it would naturally break and collapse.

“Kekekekeke!”

The image of that past flashed through the diabolic beast Alyu’s mind.

The miserable sight of its kin’s heads being shattered and torn off by the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox.

Recalling this, the diabolic beast Alyu, who hadn’t felt fear even when it was dragged by the Demon-Subduing monks of Shaolin, suddenly became terrified and pleaded like crazy.

“Kirik kirik! Sp-spare me! Please spare me!”

***

-Rumble rumble!

‘!?’

Suddenly, an even greater number of warrior monks from the Arhat Pavilion rushed in and soon surrounded Mok Gyeong-un’s subordinates who were waiting in the center of the courtyard – the expelled monk Ja Geum-jeong, Mong Mu-yak, Seop Chun, Ma Ra-hyeon, and Holy Fire Priestess, who was the most important for this mission.

‘Why are they increasing the numbers even more?’

‘Something’s strange.’

Originally, they were surrounding them because of the Demonic Beast Heum-won, but the atmosphere was quite different.

The newly appeared warrior monks from the Arhat Pavilion had eyes full of wariness and were assuming the basic fighting stance, as if they were ready to fight at any moment.

Moreover, the formation in which they were surrounding them was clearly a battle formation.

Being in the middle of this, the air became heavy due to the energy of the formation, making it difficult to breathe.

At this, Seop Chun stepped forward and shouted.

“Our lord hasn’t even returned yet, so what are you doing?”

“Are you trying to break the agreement made by the elder of Shaolin?”

Mong Mu-yak also supported this.

In response to their protest, Grand Monk Museong of the Reverse Muscle Scripture Hall, also stepped forward and said,

“Amitabha. There seems to be some misunderstanding. Please calm down and wait a moment.”

After soothing them in this way, Grand Monk Museong turned his gaze to the warrior monks of the Arhat Pavilion and spoke.

“The patron who went to the Demon-Subduing Cave hasn’t returned yet, so why are the warrior monks of the Arhat Pavilion surrounding them? Dismantle the formation immediately.”

At the command of Grand Monk Museong, who was the eldest among them except for the Meditation Master of Shaolin, the warrior monks of the Arhat Pavilion hesitated for a moment, then turned their heads in unison and looked at someone behind them.

It was none other than,

“Amitabha.”

Precepts Hall Master Dae-deok, the overseer of the Precepts Hall.

Beside Precepts Hall Master Dae-deok, there was a military official wearing armor.

He was Commander Kang-hak of the Imperial Guards.

Seeing him standing arrogantly with his hands behind his back, Grand Monk Museong of the Reverse Muscle Scripture Hall, couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

“Why is a military official here?”

In response to that question, Precepts Hall Master Dae-deok stepped forward.

“Amitabha. Venerable Monk. This military official is the Commander of the Imperial Guards from the imperial palace in Kaifeng. He has come to our temple leading soldiers to pursue traitors, under the orders of His Majesty the Emperor.”

“His Majesty the Emperor? Traitors?”

At Precepts Hall Master Dae-deok’s words, even the warrior monks who knew nothing about it were at a loss.

What does he mean by traitors?

On the other hand, Mok Gyeong-un’s subordinates couldn’t hide their dilemma.

‘Damn it.’

The situation they had been most worried about had finally occurred.

They had been quite nervous because the demon beast Heum-won had been attacked by the Demon-Subduing monks and fell into the middle of Shaolin Temple, and as a result, they were stuck here.

But now, the pursuit from the imperial palace had finally reached this place.

‘What should we do about this?’

It seemed that the warrior monks would pressure them as traitors, regardless of the agreement.

They were perplexed because their lord hadn’t even arrived yet.

The warrior monks of the Arhat Pavilion had already surrounded them, so they couldn’t escape either.

The cheekbones of Precepts Hall Master Dae-deok twitched.

Although he tried his best not to show it, he couldn’t help but feel excited because things were going better than he had hoped.

‘Regardless of whether an agreement was made or not, now that we have the justification of them being traitors, we can act according to the rules. On top of that, if we can use this opportunity to retrieve the Nine Seals of Unobstructed Great Ability from the Virtue Gate, it will be killing two birds with one stone. Amitabha. All of this is the guidance of the Buddha. Hohoho.’

Precepts Hall Master Dae-deok was inwardly satisfied, then raised one hand in a half-fold posture, pointed at them, and spoke.

“Amitabha. Disciples of Shaolin, listen. They are traitors of the imperial palace…”

-Thud!

Before he could even finish speaking.

Suddenly, from somewhere, the ground of the courtyard shook with a booming sound.

What on earth was going on?

At that moment, someone among the warrior monks shouted.

“Lo-look over there!”

At this, everyone in the courtyard, including Precepts Hall Master Dae-deok who had been interrupted while speaking, turned their gazes in that direction.

It was the path leading to the back garden of Shaolin.

From there, a huge monster with red fur all over its body and horns on its head, resembling a dragon, was seen walking with its massive body.

But someone was riding on top of its head, and…

“My lord!”

Seop Chun, who recognized him first, shouted with a look of joy.

It was none other than Mok Gyeong-un.

Seeing him appearing majestically while riding the diabolic beast (Alyu, which should have been trapped in the Demon-Subduing Cave, the expression of Precepts Hall Master Dae-deok, immediately distorted.