Chapter 210: Chang Raegong (3)

Jang Woo-hyun, Seo Ryeom, and Mak Ya-wol kicked through the air, heading toward the place where the battle was raging.

The three of them stopped before a massive wall of wind.

Explosions and shockwaves continued to erupt from within, but the wall of wind was blocking everything.

“This… seems tricky to break through.”

Jang Woo-hyun agreed with Seo Ryeom’s assessment.

Originally, Im Gwan-hwa had raised the wind barrier to buy time and protect the group.

It was meant to stop Ha Do-gwang, who was inside, so breaking in from the outside could impact her with the backlash.

“Still, we can’t just wait around. Captain, what’s the plan?”

“Let’s observe the situation. If we break in wrong and Wu Hobup gets harmed by the backlash, it could be dangerous.”

Since even a small opening in a battle between top experts could result in devastating consequences, the three decided to bide their time and seize the right moment to intervene.

“Do you have a method?”

Seo Ryeom asked, his eyes fixed on the wind barrier.

“There actually is. Whether it’ll work or not, I’m not sure. And I think I’ll only know for sure after exchanging some blows.”

“So you’re saying it could fail?”

“That’s right.”

“I see.”

If Jang Woo-hyun’s method didn’t work, he would die. Ha Do-gwang’s strength was the real deal.

It was a grim situation where death was a real possibility, but the three remained calm.

They weren’t the type to flee out of fear, nor were they planning to avoid the fight.

“I can hold out for about three hundred strikes.”

Mak Ya-wol spoke, meaning he’d support Jang Woo-hyun rather than attack directly.

“I could last about three hundred fifty?”

Seo Ryeom casually added from the side.

“……”

Mak Ya-wol turned slightly toward Seo Ryeom, then spoke again.

“Come to think of it, I think I can endure four hundred strikes.”

“Now that I think about it, I could probably last four hundred ten.”

“Ryeom.”

“What?”

“Stop the pointless competition.”

“It’s not a competition. I genuinely think I can hold out against four hundred attacks somehow.”

Jang Woo-hyun laughed at the shameless tone, and Mak Ya-wol scowled.

“Then I—”

Just as Mak Ya-wol was about to speak again—

A thunderous roar shook the very space, and the wind barrier and the typhoon were split in half.

And from within, they saw Im Gwan-hwa, deeply wounded, falling.

“Now.”

Even before Jang Woo-hyun finished speaking, Seo Ryeom and Mak Ya-wol had already leaped forward.

* * *

While facing off against Won Gong and Neung So-yeon, two members of the Ten Golden ThunderS, Jang Woo-hyun thought they were similar to Ma Moon-gi, the Lord of the Thunder Sect whom he had encountered in the Lower Realm.

Ma Moon-gi had deliberately broken balance and pursued extreme speed, and the two from the Ten Golden ThunderS showed a similarly advanced level of speed compared to their overall abilities.

‘They’re not perfected yet.’

Their abilities weren’t fully formed. If described in stats, only one attribute stood out abnormally high.

Seeing their performance, Jang Woo-hyun figured Ha Do-gwang would be the same. Whether he had absorbed the power of the Thunder God or obtained some Dharma Treasure, that power was likely still incomplete.

‘That’s why he must not have made a move.’

Because it was incomplete, he must have avoided battle and stayed hidden.

And that incompleteness was the key to defeating Ha Do-gwang.

In the worst-case scenario, Ha Do-gwang might have perfected his power on Golden Frog Island.

But even if he had, Jang Woo-hyun had no intention of fleeing. If he ran, he would have to leave behind Im Gwan-hwa and Woo Il-do.

Jang Woo-hyun believed this was a fight worth taking.

Especially since he wasn’t alone—Seo Ryeom and Mak Ya-wol were with him.

* * *

As Jang Woo-hyun stood in Ha Do-gwang’s path to protect Im Gwan-hwa, he revised his assumption.

‘Was I wrong?’

The impact transmitted through Mukya was overwhelming. He barely managed to block the fast-approaching strike, but it didn’t end there.

A weighty force was followed by thunder energy that writhed around Mukya as if alive.

It was already a struggle to block the attack, and now he had to deal with the following thunder force as well.

He had thought Ha Do-gwang was an incomplete martial artist, but after clashing a few times, that idea quickly vanished.

Speed—yes. Power—yes. There were no flaws.

He was different from Won Gong and Neung So-yeon, who were just fast.

‘His attacks are linear, though.’

But that wasn’t a weakness right now. With Ha Do-gwang’s current prowess, he didn’t need trickery—he could simply bulldoze his way through with overwhelming power and speed.

Jang Woo-hyun barely managed to predict the trajectory and block Ha Do-gwang’s strike.

Each time they clashed, the impact shook his entire body.

And then came the writhing thunder energy. After only a few exchanges, he was already nearing his limit.

Fortunately, Jang Woo-hyun wasn’t alone.

“Uaaaah!”

Seo Ryeom’s sword swung as if to shred his opponent to pieces.

Space itself shattered. Ha Do-gwang, reacting slightly later, copied every one of those sword strikes.

Slash met slash, nullifying every attack. Seo Ryeom gritted his teeth as he witnessed it.

It was an absurd speed. Though Seo Ryeom was famed for his Swift Sword, he was no match for Ha Do-gwang.

A thunder spear shot from Ha Do-gwang’s hand, aiming for Seo Ryeom. He barely managed to evade and deflect the attack by pulling his body back.

Mak Ya-wol’s attack came crashing down like lightning, but Ha Do-gwang became real lightning and dodged the blow.

The attacks from Seo Ryeom and Mak Ya-wol failed to connect. Even when they expanded their will to dominate the area, everything crumbled under the thunder energy Ha Do-gwang unleashed.

Their cards were being played out one by one, while the opponent’s still came endlessly.

Jang Woo-hyun moved in behind Ha Do-gwang, gathering his energy. At the same time, he expanded his will.

The will to cut the enemy. The thought to cut the enemy.

Jang Woo-hyun’s will expanded, seizing the surrounding space.

The essence of the Heart Sword. Just thinking about it aimed at the opponent’s neck.

But the moment light flashed from Ha Do-gwang’s body, the formless blades all shattered. Jang Woo-hyun’s space broke, and that will vanished.

Nothing worked.

Ha Do-gwang, who had been facing the three of them, suddenly stepped back and brought his hands together in prayer.

And when his hands fell again—

“……!”

Though the three had long surpassed the limits of a human body, they felt every hair on their body stand on end.

‘Danger!’

Before their instincts could even fully scream in warning, thunder energy burst from Ha Do-gwang’s hands and spread across the world.

It was a river.

A thunderous river that destroyed everything in its path.

The Floating Stronghold exploded and the sky was torn. Everything was obliterated and vanished.

Seo Ryeom lost one of his eyes and part of his face facing that overwhelming destruction, and Mak Ya-wol had a massive hole torn through his shoulder. Only Jang Woo-hyun, who had deployed the Dragon Scale Armor using the Dragon King’s Scale, avoided serious injury.

“Damn it, this is insane.”

Seo Ryeom cursed as he looked at Jang Woo-hyun. His eyes were asking.

‘Captain, can we really win this?’

Jang Woo-hyun neither confirmed nor denied. He couldn’t afford to make a hasty judgment right now.

“You really thought you could face me with just this level of power?”

Ha Do-gwang asked, looking at the three who had been pushed back.

“I didn’t expect the Left Protector, no, the former Left Protector, to be this strong. So how about we fight again next time?”

Even in this dire situation, Seo Ryeom didn’t lose his grin.

He had already expected it would be tough. He had no plans to give up easily or to consider losing.

Despite his carefree reply, Ha Do-gwang showed no visible reaction.

“You will achieve nothing and die here.”

The words came from someone with overwhelming power, like a prophecy.

But the three didn’t care.

“Looks like we already achieved one thing? Wu Hobup got away.”

Thanks to the three jumping in immediately after the fight with Im Gwan-hwa, they were able to save her. Im Gwan-hwa had been taken away by Woo Il-do, who had been fighting alongside her.

“That’s true. Must be because you’re the ‘former’ Left Protector. Our own ‘former’ Captain’s a bit odd too, come to think of it.”

“…Are you talking about me?”

“Hmm? Are you perhaps called ‘former’ Captain?”

Even while gravely wounded, Seo Ryeom and Mak Ya-wol exchanged idle banter. Their bodies were battered, yet they acted like carefree drunks at an inn.

That ridiculous attitude finally irked Ha Do-gwang.

“Playtime is over.”

“We never played—ack!”

Seo Ryeom wildly swung his sword to face Ha Do-gwang’s attack. But he could barely block it.

His advantage had always been his speed, but even he struggled against Ha Do-gwang.

Mak Ya-wol and Jang Woo-hyun tried to flank Ha Do-gwang from behind, but nothing worked. Every time they thought they caught up, they’d find Ha Do-gwang already behind them.

As the exchanges went on, Seo Ryeom and Mak Ya-wol’s wounds increased.

The four hundred strikes they mentioned had already passed. With Ha Do-gwang’s speed, hundreds of moves took only moments.

“Guh…”

Eventually, a massive hole was pierced through Seo Ryeom’s side. It was a wound so severe, it could be said half his abdomen was gone.

Jang Woo-hyun stepped forward to block the next attack.

Dozens of shields formed from the Dragon King’s Scale floated around, but they all exploded the moment Ha Do-gwang approached.

Yet his speed didn’t falter.

Defending with the Dragon King’s Scale. Attacking with Mukya.

None of it mattered. Every time the golden lightning struck, a new wound appeared on Jang Woo-hyun’s body.

Left side, right cheek, left shoulder, thigh, right arm. The injuries piled up. Once in ten strikes, he might barely dodge or counter, but Ha Do-gwang easily avoided or deflected them.

‘Is he perfect?’

He had expected Ha Do-gwang to have a flaw. Like the warriors of the Twin-Winged Lotus who forcibly raised their realm. Or like the Ten Golden ThunderS’ Won Gong and Neung So-yeon.

But Ha Do-gwang had no shortcomings. In speed and destructive power alike.

His only weakness—simple attack patterns—didn’t even matter at that level.

‘Then what is this unease?’

Something continued to nag at him. It wasn’t intuition. There was definitely a problem, but he hadn’t found it yet.

RUMBLE!

Before he could figure out what it was, Ha Do-gwang’s next strike came. Thunder energy spread out from behind him like wings and reached toward the three of them.

Jang Woo-hyun and Mak Ya-wol managed to block it, but Seo Ryeom, heavily injured, couldn’t defend properly.

“Gaaah!”

Burned by the thunder, Seo Ryeom fell downward.

“Ryeom!”

Mak Ya-wol moved to help, but Ha Do-gwang was faster.

He closed the distance in an instant, aiming a hand at Seo Ryeom’s chest.

And then—

Seo Ryeom’s lips curled slightly, and his usually visible tail was nowhere to be seen. That missing tail suddenly appeared, aiming for Ha Do-gwang’s back.

Seo Ryeom’s hidden trump card. But it failed.

Ha Do-gwang didn’t counterattack—instead, he quickly leaped backward.

“Ah, I could’ve landed a hit.”

Seo Ryeom clicked his tongue in regret, having set a trap with his own body.

And Jang Woo-hyun sensed something strange in that brief moment.

‘He dodged that?’

Evading the attack made sense, but somehow, that one action felt like the key to ending this fight.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep