Chapter 62
‘Your Majesty, why do you rarely use the sword?’
‘It’s troublesome to carry around.’
‘That’s why we gave you a subspace to store it in.’
At his subordinate’s look that said “don’t talk nonsense,” Cheon Mujin—the one who had once been the Demon King—smiled faintly.
Even after he had ascended to the throne of the Demon King, there were always plenty of rebellious factions.
Because of that, there had never been a day without bloodshed in the Demon Realm, and Cheon Mujin always led those who followed him into battle.
Those who were most dissatisfied with his reluctance to use the sword were the demons who called themselves the “Kings of the Sword.”
They resented that Cheon Mujin, who had defeated them with a sword, rarely used it on the battlefield.
But in truth, there were two reasons he didn’t use it often:
Carrying it around was a hassle.
And when he used it, things became too easy.
During his conquest of the Demon Realm, the so-called kings each had their own specialty.
Cheon Mujin found it more amusing to crush them using their own specialties rather than relying on the sword, so he avoided it.
Later on, when the desire to return home grew stronger, he wanted to save time and often used the sword to quickly finish things.
But after returning to the past, he refrained from using it.
The same went for other weapons.
His body had been too incomplete back then, too immature to properly control weapons with any confidence.
Now, however, his body had reached the level of a first-rate expert, imbued with plenty of demonic energy, allowing him much finer control.
If he had to withstand the powerful strikes of dragon-level beasts, it was obvious that a weapon of metal would be better than mere flesh and blood. That was why he had chosen to use the sword again.
“Still… this is a little underwhelming.”
In less than a minute, Cheon Mujin had already cut down over twenty monsters. He clicked his tongue.
As expected of a weapon designed purely for slaughter, killing was far quicker with a blade than with bare fists.
However—
‘Absorbing demonic energy is a bit trickier like this.’
It was cumbersome to absorb demonic energy indirectly through a weapon.
From corpses, it could still be absorbed without direct contact, but it wasn’t very efficient.
Still—
“Not bad.”
Cheon Mujin chuckled at the sight of the terrified monsters.
Unlike when he fought barehanded, this battle was filled with spurting blood and splitting flesh, which spread fear much more effectively.
Of course, if he fought with pure strength, his fists could create a more gruesome spectacle—but that wasn’t his style.
There were about ninety monsters in total.
He had slain twenty already, so seventy or so remained.
Since those first twenty had been weaker ones, it wouldn’t be over quickly, but—
“An hour should be enough. Lady Seol, just keep the ones who try to escape in check.”
“Yes.”
Hearing Seol Yuhwa’s reply, Cheon Mujin charged fearlessly into the monster horde.
A Seoldongwi swung an axe at him in desperation. Mujin cut straight through both the wooden handle and the creature’s neck, the wound splitting wide and spraying blood like a fountain as the giant collapsed.
Another Seoldongwi lunged at his back, but Mujin easily dodged and let his sword’s arc flow seamlessly into the next strike.
The creature shrieked as its chest was slashed wide open, and when Mujin twisted his blade into a thrust, it pierced the monster’s heart.
His sword changed trajectory as freely as he willed, cutting through monsters with unreal ease.
“…Heh.”
Watching, Hyun Gowoon could only let out a hollow laugh.
He had heard the rumors that Mujin had changed considerably, but this was beyond anything imaginable.
‘His natural talent wasn’t supposed to be this good.’
Since internal energy techniques formed the foundation of martial arts, the harmony of inner strength and physical body defined a martial artist’s level.
By that measure, Cheon Mujin was indeed “first-rate.”
And yet—
‘This strength goes beyond reason…’
Mujin displayed a level of power sometimes seen in external-arts masters who had trained their bodies to the extreme while ignoring internal energy.
But the shocking part was—Mujin wasn’t even an external-arts specialist.
He had none of their distinctive traits, and his swordsmanship wasn’t that of a body-forging fighter either.
It was closer to that of a supreme sword master deliberately fighting under restrictions, limiting his own inner strength.
‘He reminds me of him…’
Hyun Gowoon thought of his father’s friend, one of the divine sect’s stars, a peerless swordmaster. But he quickly shook his head.
No, it was too much to compare a first-rate expert with such a man.
‘In any case, he’s more than qualified.’
Gowoon wasn’t so incompetent as to dismiss such a talent for fear of him being a liability against a dragon-class monster.
In fact, with this level of skill, Mujin wasn’t a risk to avoid—he was someone to beg for help.
With Mujin on their side, the number of casualties would plummet.
The northern front valued valor highly, but Gowoon valued survival just as much.
Many glorified noble sacrifices, but Gowoon wanted the warriors of the north to survive and return to their families.
Mujin could help make that happen.
Having decided to recruit him, Gowoon’s mind was already racing with plans.
Mujin truly looked as though he would wipe out the entire monster horde within the day.
Of course, Gowoon planned to intervene before Mujin exhausted himself, but at least half of the monsters would certainly be dead by then.
If tomorrow their forces could finish the rest, the coming battle against the dragon-class beast would be much easier.
Reducing the number beforehand meant fewer monsters interfering while his father fought the beast itself.
Some dragon-class monsters could even devour others to recover during battle—cutting off that option was only basic preparation.
And beyond that—
‘Depending on the situation, he might even be able to assist Father.’
Judging from Mujin’s skill, joining the fight against a dragon-class monster wasn’t unthinkable.
Not that it was likely, but having another trump card in reserve was always valuable.
While Gowoon calculated, Mujin’s battle reached its climax.
Most of the lesser monsters had already fallen, and now Mujin was cutting down mid-tier ones.
The chieftain, aroused by the smell of blood and death, charged wildly, swinging its weapon. But to Mujin, its strikes were clumsy and crude.
Of course, the beast’s speed and power far surpassed his own. He couldn’t just kill it instantly—especially with other monsters still nearby.
So he mixed defense and evasion, conserving his strength while gradually deepening the creature’s wounds.
That was the advantage of a bladed weapon: even incremental cuts led steadily toward victory.
The chieftain, drenched in blood, began to slow.
By the time sweat was beading Mujin’s brow—
Slash!
His sword finally carved through its neck.
The bone was too tough to sever completely, but with every muscle and vessel cut, its last drops of blood were squeezed out. Death was certain.
Taking a light breath before the collapsing corpse, Mujin scanned the battlefield.
Only about twenty monsters remained.
With their leader dead, it wouldn’t take long—though several were mid-tier, so it would take some time.
It wasn’t difficult, just tedious.
But as he stepped forward—
Whoosh!
A chill crawled up his spine, and he froze.
Then—
Clang!!
His instincts flared. He flooded his sword with demonic energy and unleashed a blade-aura, meeting a tremendous impact. The clash rang out with a deafening sound.
He had only used sword aura once before today—against the chieftain’s final moment. But now he had no choice but to unleash it at full power again, ignoring the tearing pain in his muscles.
He twisted his body, using the rebound of the impact to redirect his strike.
Even though his body screamed under the crushing force, the counterattack was worth the pain.
His sword sliced with such speed that even Mujin nearly lost sight of it—an utterly perfect strike.
And yet—
“…Tch.”
Looking into the amber eyes staring down at him, Mujin immediately accepted reality.
“The real one showed up, huh?”
He gave a bitter smile—then a kick smashed into his side, bending his waist.
His body flew, the shock screaming through his frame, before slamming against a tree and crashing to the ground.
Pain flared everywhere. Mujin clenched his teeth.
‘Broken.’
His left arm, which had reflexively shielded his chest, felt ominously numb.
“Run!!”
Hyun Gowoon’s shout rang out as he dashed in, blade flashing.
His swordsmanship, wielding a broad dao with incredible freedom, was impressive—but…
Grrrk?
Unfortunately, the opponent was far too strong.
The monster stood upright on two legs, its entire body covered in pale violet fur.
But it was nothing like a human. Its head was that of a wolf, its upper body huge and solid, its lower body monstrously different from any man’s.
“A Shisairen…”
“Young Master!”
“Lady Seol, run!”
“I’ll support you!”
“Heh, I can’t escape anyway.”
Smiling faintly, Mujin pushed Seol Yuhwa away, gripping his sword as he stepped forward.
“If I run too, that guy won’t last long.”
This was different from the half-formed creatures Mujin had slain earlier.
Those had all been incomplete monsters.
Even Mawonseong had only been taken down because it was half-formed and bound by sorcery.
A fully realized dragon-class beast couldn’t be slain head-on, no matter how much Mujin had grown.
But he could buy time.
“His guards already went to call for reinforcements. We just need to hold out. So don’t worry about me—get back to the barrier.”
“I refuse.”
Seol Yuhwa shook her head firmly. Mujin chuckled softly, drove his sword into the ground, and lifted Qinghua, passing the child into her arms.
Qinghua clung desperately to Mujin’s neck, trembling, refusing to let go. But this time, there was no helping it.
“Then please, take care of her.”
“Waaah!”
Qinghua cried, as if begging him not to go. Mujin stroked her head lightly, then pulled his sword free once more.
‘Tch. Won’t last long like this.’
The sword had been damaged in the earlier clash, and the flow of demonic energy through it was unstable.
Even a slight misstep, and it would snap.
“Phew.”
He’d just have to fight carefully to keep it intact.
“This is why swords are such a pain.”
Dragging his feet toward the beast, Mujin locked eyes with it.
They were sticky, glimmering with amusement and murderous intent.
Those eyes alone were enough to disgust him.
“Damn, you’re tough.”
The wound he had carved across its chest had already healed.
The only evidence was faint red stains on its fur.
This was the real thing: a dragon-class beast with overwhelming strength and the monstrous regeneration unique to its kind.
Hunting one alone required a master of the Flame Realm.
Without one, bringing it down without heavy losses would take four or five absolute masters working in harmony.
And yet here was Mujin, facing such a monster for the third time in just a few years.
He didn’t even have time to curse his fate.
The beast knocked Gowoon aside and lunged at Mujin. Mujin swung his sword in response.
He had to avoid its attacks at all costs.
He’d been lucky earlier—his broken bones were survivable. But if those fangs or claws landed, it would be far worse.
“Careful! Its claws are poisoned!”
See?
Clicking his tongue at Gowoon’s pale face and warning, Mujin deflected the monster’s blow with his sword and steadied his breathing.
There would only be one chance.
While the beast still thought of him as a mere toy.
His eyes gleamed coldly as he narrowed the distance, step by step, through the storm of monstrous strikes.
