Chapter 1504 – 1504. Ascent To The Light
“These new recruits are really lacking.”
A man with a massive build, over two meters tall, spoke with irritation. His hair was as red as flames, and his face and body were covered in scars.
His name was Shin Ga-gyeom, and he held two titles.
One was Red Phoenix Ogre, and the other was Annihilation Squad Leader.
‘I’ve been assigned to the Annihilation Squad… so he’s essentially my superior.’
I stood at attention before the Annihilation Squad Leader, who was in a relationship with Yeon Ye-ha. Around us, over 100 Annihilation Squad members were watching with interest.
The aura they exuded was immense. The Annihilation Squad’s reputation was clearly not exaggerated. Especially the Annihilation Squad Leader in front of me; he was so strong that I couldn’t even see his limits at my current level.
“Why are you late?”
The Annihilation Squad Leader asked. I maintained my composure and replied,
“I got lost.”
In reality, I was late because I was having sex with Yeon Ye-ha.
“The Heavenly Demon Sect is indeed vast.”
The Annihilation Squad Leader turned his head to the side. His gaze landed on Yeon Ye-ha.
“And you… why were you late?”
There was a hint of bewilderment in the Annihilation Squad Leader’s voice. He knew Yeon Ye-ha’s identity.
The daughter of the Sword Demon, the third elder of the Heavenly Demon Sect.
Even the Annihilation Squad Leader couldn’t treat her carelessly.
“I got lost.”
At Yeon Ye-ha’s answer, he frowned. He looked back and forth between me and Yeon Ye-ha, then sighed.
“I’ll let it slide since it’s your first time. But next time, that excuse won’t fly. Baek San Witch, Yeon Ye-ha. You’re in Squad 4. I’ll teach you what the Squad 4 leader needs to do. For now, focus on learning the ropes.”
“Oh, we’ve got a new recruit to look after. I’m Ga-ha-ran, the leader of Squad 4. Please take care of me, newbie.”
A woman with her black hair tied up stepped forward. She had a scorpion tattoo on her neck. She smiled at Yeon Ye-ha. Her first impression was quite good.
“Please take care of me.”
Yeon Ye-ha followed Ga-ha-ran to the group of Squad 4. Squad 4 was an all-female squad.
“Lightning Flash, Yeom Gu-seok.”
The Annihilation Squad Leader called me.
“Yes, Squad Leader.”
“You’re in Squad 6. Focus on learning the ropes as well.”
The Squad 6 leader sauntered over. He was a man who looked like a beggar. His clothes were tattered, and he had four axes strapped to his waist.
“Hehe. Finally, we’ve got a newbie in our squad. How long has it been? 20 years?”
“Oh-bong. Don’t do anything unnecessary with the newbie.”
“Don’t worry, Squad Leader. I’ll teach the newbie well.”
Oh-bong gestured to me. I sighed inwardly and followed him. The men of Squad 6 greeted me. I immediately felt the urge to desert.
The Annihilation Squad Leader disappeared without a word. Yeon Ye-ha and I were led by our squad leaders to greet the Annihilation Squad members.
The Annihilation Squad members were very cautious around Yeon Ye-ha. On the other hand, they were very blunt when dealing with me.
‘This is going to be tiring.’
Should I just desert?
At that moment, Yeon Ye-ha and I made eye contact. We exchanged a silent, passionate signal.
‘Yeon Ye-ha. You’re the reason I’m holding on.’
***
“Our Squad 6 is a support squad.”
Oh-bong said, drinking alcohol.
“Do we handle things like supplying provisions?”
“No. There’s a separate unit that specializes in administrative supplies. We’re just called a support squad… in reality, we’re closer to a miscellaneous task squad. Should I explain it more simply?”
I answered, despite the annoyance.
“Yes.”
“Sometimes, other squads run short on manpower. That’s when they call us. We go to that squad and help out. Other than that, we do whatever the higher-ups tell us. We’ll probably be doing more miscellaneous tasks than supporting other squads.”
“I understand roughly. Then what do the other squads do?”
“The other squads? Squads 1 and 2 are combat specialists. Squads 3 and 4 handle special missions. Squad 5 does assassinations, and Squads 7, 8, 9, and 10 mainly carry out general missions. Got it?”
“I understand. So what do I do now?”
“First…”
Oh-bong looked at me with a nasty gaze and curled up the corners of his mouth.
“Let’s see what our newbie’s skills are like?”
I stood in the training grounds with Oh-bong. Oh-bong held an axe in one hand, and I held a sword in mine. Around the training grounds, not only Squad 6 but also people from other squads had gathered. The number was roughly 80 people.
It was something I had expected.
It was common for a newbie joining a group to go through an initiation ceremony.
‘Yeon Ye-ha isn’t here. She probably wouldn’t do this kind of thing.’
From the Annihilation Squad Leader, everyone was cautious in their attitude towards Yeon Ye-ha. They were wary of Yeon Ye-ha’s father, the Sword Demon.
‘Whether it’s this world or that world, having a solid backing makes things easier.’
How much of my skills should I show?
It’s simple.
It shouldn’t be excessive, and it shouldn’t be lacking either. Above average. Just enough to draw admiration from the onlookers would be perfect.
I wouldn’t use Lightning Sky Style, of course. Heavenly Demon Divine Art? Absolutely not. The martial art I should use now is only the Ghost Cutting Sword Technique that Yeom Gu-seok had learned since childhood.
“What are you doing? Are you going to waste all your time standing there?”
Oh-bong said, yawning.
“I’m coming.”
I stepped into the footwork of the Ghost Cutting Sword Technique. It was a crude footwork solely aimed at closing the distance between the enemy and oneself.
The distance closed in an instant, and at the same time, I thrust my sword.
Ghost Cutting Sword Technique, One Wind Reversal.
Oh-bong’s hands moved. His two wrists drew circles around the blade. The blade couldn’t reach his wrists and stopped. The blade shook back and forth. The unreleased power rebounded.
‘Flower Shifting! He uses Flower Shifting as naturally as breathing?’
I had underestimated him because he seemed so carefree, but his skills were real.
I pulled my sword back.
“You were pretty fast. Hehe.”
Oh-bong laughed. His frivolous laughter made me feel terrible, and I swung my sword with murderous intent.
Ghost Cutting Sword Technique, Rakshasa Return Flash.
The blade rotated, emitting sword energy. The blue sword energy drew chaotic lines, aiming for Oh-bong’s vitals. Oh-bong’s hands grabbed the axes from his waist. He swung the axes and deflected the sword energy.
“If that’s all you’ve got, I’m disappointed.”
Neither I nor Yeom Gu-seok had the kind of personality that could tolerate provocation.
[Using Moment. Remaining stacks: 6]
With a moment of acceleration, a swift blade was swung. Oh-bong’s eyes changed in an instant. The moment the blade cut through his shabby top and reached his shoulder, an axe rose from below and deflected the sword. Immediately after, he used his lightness skill to spin backward like a fan.
“That was dangerous. I underestimated you too much. I apologize. Instead, how about this? I’ll take this seriously.”
Oh-bong threw the axes he held in both hands. Each axe stopped in mid-air and rotated clockwise.
Jeers erupted from the surroundings.
“He’s going to fight a newbie who just joined seriously?”
“Oh-bong, you crazy bastard!”
“Hehe. Using the Command Axe against a newbie? That guy’s gone too far.”
The two axes flew towards me. I swung my sword and deflected the axes. The axes flew to the opposite side, stopped in mid-air, and then flew back at me.
‘Is it like controlling swords with one’s mind? No, the power is too weak for that. And if he could use mind-controlled swords, he wouldn’t be a squad leader, but at least a squad leader-level.’
There’s a secret.
‘If it’s not a martial art, then the axes must be special.’
Mystic Artifacts. Objects with special powers.
Clang! Clang!
I kept deflecting the two axes that flew at me without a break, while thinking.
‘It doesn’t even come close to mind-controlled swords. The trajectories of these axes are simple. Deflecting them isn’t difficult.’
Just deflecting them won’t get me anywhere.
If I used Lightning Sky Style, I could seize victory in an instant, but I am Yeom Gu-seok now.
‘It’ll be difficult to win using only the Ghost Cutting Sword Technique.’
I decided to use a trick.
It’s a trick that heretics often use, so there shouldn’t be any problem.
Bang!
An explosion sound reached my ears. A sound smaller than a mosquito’s buzz came from my body.
The internal energy flowing through my meridians had exploded momentarily. I used that power as propulsion and leaped forward. My legs shot forward in an instant.
“He’s exploding his internal energy? This guy’s crazy…!”
Oh-bong, shocked, grinned.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
I kept exploding my internal energy and swung my sword. Oh-bong dodged skillfully. Sometimes, he used Flower Shifting to deflect my attacks.
Blood splattered from my hand. The skin on my palm had burst as the internal energy exploded.
‘It’s dangerous to go any further. This will be the last one.’
I took a stance. I gripped the sword hilt with both hands and lowered my waist slightly.
Ghost Cutting Sword Technique, Evil Cut.
A slash imbued with lightning flew towards Oh-bong. Oh-bong, with ghostly hand movements, pulled out the two remaining axes from his waist. He crossed the axes and blocked the slash. Oh-bong’s arms trembled.
“Stop! That’s enough! Newbie, I was wrong!”
Oh-bong cried out, feigning pain.
The two axes that were flying towards me fell weakly to the ground. I also sheathed my sword.
“Wow. A real demon has joined us!”
“Seeing him explode his meridians like that, he’s definitely a psycho.”
“Looking at his face, he’s full of rebellion. He’s the kind of guy who would start an uprising without a second thought, so we should get along with him as smoothly as possible.”
The reactions around me weren’t bad. It seemed I had firmly established my presence.
Oh-bong approached me. He slapped my back with his palm, chuckling vulgarly.
“You bastard! Go easy on me, go easy! This isn’t a life-or-death match, it’s just a normal sparring match, sparring!”
“I went easy.”
“Oh, really? We’ve got a good one here for the first time in a while.”
“What do we do now?”
“What else? You have to learn the Combined Formation.”
***
Half a year had passed since I joined the Annihilation Squad.
As newbies, Yeon Ye-ha and I learned the Annihilation Formation, a combined formation, in the Annihilation Squad and performed simple errands. Of course, we didn’t spend the half-year purely like that. There was an auto-progress function, so there was no need to spend boring time.
“Yeom Gu-seok! Mission!”
Oh-bong ran over and called me. I, who was preparing for combined formation training today, sighed and looked at him.
“What is it? Cleaning the Squad Leader’s room? Or getting snacks from the cafeteria?”
“No, this time it’s a real mission.”
The Annihilation Squad surprisingly didn’t carry out missions often.
At most, they carried out 4-5 missions a year. The rest of the time was given to them for their own purposes.
“What kind of mission is it?”
“There’s a city called Naeyusi in the sect’s territory. There’s been an anomaly in that city. Our mission is to investigate that anomaly.”
“…Does the Annihilation Squad do that kind of thing too?”
“The higher-ups don’t see it as a light matter, so they’ve assigned the mission to us. And I told you, our Annihilation Squad 6 is a miscellaneous task squad. Anyway, get ready to go to Naeyusi. You and I, just the two of us, are going.”
