Chapter 135 - Hunting the Hunter - 4

Lian launched herself against Mok Tong-Hyo. Her right fist had been placed back while charging power.

"Vibrating Fist."

Lian's fist went forward, colliding against the enemy's gauntlet. Unfortunately, the difference in power was too vast, and Lian suffered damage from the collision of the two techniques. Mok Tong-Hyo didn't miss the opportunity for a follow-up attack and moved his right arm forward at the level of Lian's stomach.

"Law of Poison, Poison Bird Talon."

"Law of Wood, Coating Bark."

Thump! Swoosh!

Lian was thrown down. The blue-haired young woman heavily spat blood from her mouth as she momentarily stopped breathing. The attack received had been extremely violent, and it wouldn't have been strange if she was on the brink of death. However, Lian had always been a careful though silent person. Shortly before receiving Mok Tong-Hyo's attack, she had wrapped one of her ribbons around her body. Using also a defensive technique of the Wood Law, Lian had further hardened the ribbon, giving it a brownish color similar to tree bark. In doing so, Lian was able to avoid fatal damage but was unknown if she was still able to continue fighting.

Tug!

Suddenly, Mok Tong-Hyo felt himself being pulled, and, after looking down, he realized that Lian's other ribbon was tied around his ankles. He was utterly amazed at the thinking process of the young blue-haired woman. For all the fight, she had limited herself to support, but her reading of the battle's flow was monstrous. Not only had she noticed the danger her partner was facing and saved him, but she had moved decisively not to let him breathe. Mok Tong-Hyo thought it was a move driven by despair but found that he was wrong. Everything had been calculated in detail, including getting a severe injury in the process. Just one wrong calculation or one wrong movement and Lian would have laid lifeless on the ground.

"YE! XING!" Hei screamed at his little sisters as he landed.

Ye and Xing also had an exceptional understanding of the battle's flow. So they quickly understood what their big brother meant. Ye reached out her tail and took Lian to the ground. Then she wrapped her tail on the ribbon tied to the enemy and began to pull with all her might. As for brute force, Ye was definitely the best of the four of them. Even Mok Tong-Hyo was unable to resist and was dragged by force downward.

When the pirate's body was crushed to the ground, Xing let out all the spiderwebs that she had managed to accumulate up until now. The divine beast spider had mainly two ways to weave - one was the normal production of spiderweb from the spinneret; the other was through her spirit power. By condensing spirit power in the spinneret, she was able to generate more silk in less time than her normal production. However, that process was exhausting for her if carried out continuously. So it was something she preferred not to use if possible. Unfortunately, it was now one of those occasions.

Xing's silk clumped into a finely crafted spiderweb dome. It wasn't very thick, so much so that Mok Tong-Hyo could still see outside. But Xing's goal wasn't to lock the pirate into a thick cage from which he couldn't get out. No. she had something else in her mind.

'Law of Illusions, Psychedelic Game of Lights.'

Using something that Mok Tong-Hyo never expected, Xing activated an Illusion Law technique. It was an external illusory technique that continually showed the enemy a series of lights of all possible colors and shapes that varied at every moment. Xing wasn't yet able enough to produce such an illusion only with her knowledge of the Illusion Law. Therefore, she devised a way to remedy her inexperience - use her own spiderweb as a medium and reflect the sunlight to create a game of lights. It was for this reason that she didn't generate a thick spiderweb but left it thin.

Mok Tong-Hyo was attacked by this storm of lights and put his hands to his eyes to obscure the view and protect himself from such a dazzling assault. But no matter how hard he tried to repair himself, the lights continued to be projected so intensely to result visible even though he was covering his eyes. Mok Tong-Hyo screamed wholeheartedly, but he couldn't move from there. Ye was still continuing to tighten the ribbon while Lian was conscious enough to hold the grip of her ribbon with her spirit power. Lastly, Xing's illusion didn't allow the enemy to use any of his techniques.

Left with no other alternative, Mok Tong-Hyo began to throw punches at random in front of him like a madman as he slowly advanced with his eyes closed. The psychedelic lights were still being projected, but he tried to resist and reached the layer of spiderweb that was keeping him locked up. Realizing that he had reached the spiderweb dome's structure, he railed even more forcefully against that prison. Had he continued like this, he would have been able to free himself before long.

'Big brother, he'll be able to get out soon. I can't make spiderwebs while I'm focused on keeping the illusion active.' Xing warned in an alarmed voice. Since the enemy was stronger than her, regarding the cultivation, it was normal for her to struggle to keep him under the illusion.

"Don't worry. I'm ready." Hei confidently replied, reassuring his little sister.

Ever since Lian had pulled Mok Tong-Hyo to land, Hei had stopped to condense all his spirit power left over for one last final attack. An attack that would end the fight. But to do this, he needed time to prepare and charge the necessary power.

'Law of Poison + Snake Coiling + Beast Claws + Spider Lance, Poison Piercing Lance.'

Poisonous Piercing Spear. A variant of Spider Lance, derived from the fusion of three of the techniques learned by his mother with the Law of Poison. If Spider Lance was already a move with extreme lethal power, Poison Piercing Lance took that power to a higher level. Hei had no doubts that although his spirit power was no longer amplified and there was a cultivation gap between him and the enemy, Mok Tong-Hyo couldn't possibly survive his attack.

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When Mok Tong-Hyo was about to split the spiderweb that enclosed him, Hei sprinted forward using Spider Run, Two-Legged Mode. As soon as Mok Tong-Hyo emerged from the spiderweb dome, Hei reached out his left arm, the dominant one, and finally released the technique he had loaded.

Stab!

Hei's arm sharply broke Mok Tong-Hyo's layer of spirit power and stuck into the flesh at the level of his heart. The spirit soldier pirate had no escape - his heart was crushed as Hei's arm came out of his back. He didn't even have time to think about anything. As soon as he emerged from the spiderweb dome and the psychedelic lights dimmed, Mok Tong-Hyo heard a rustling sound near him. The next moment, however, it was all over, and he stopped hearing anything else. He was now lifeless and was only standing because his body was being supported by the Hei's left arm stuck inside.

Hei pulled his left arm back. Pieces of the heart he had crushed had been stuck on his nails while his hand had turned crimson red. Suddenly he felt dizzy as he staggered backward, ending up sitting on the ground. The battle this time had been truly demanding and had consumed all his strength. Furthermore, the damage reported was undoubtedly not minor. But all this didn't matter. He had succeeded in his intent - to show Ho Ri-Na their power and decrease the fighting power of Pirate General, the Red Devil, Jin-Sang. Now all that was missing was Ho Ri-Na's response to his proposal.

Xing came to his side. The eight eyes of the divine beast spider were all focused on him as she observed his condition. Xing was worried about her big brother.

"I'm fine. It's just an effect of having exhausted my spirit power. With a little rest, I will recover. But now we have to get out of here. Here it isn't safe." Hei consoled her little sister as he crawled to reach out and take Mok Tong-Hyo's space ring. Obviously, he wouldn't let go of his war booty.

Xing then lowered herself to allow Hei to climb onto her back. Ye instead picked up Lian with her tail. At that point, the two little divine beasts started running toward the port, where Old Tohyon was looking forward to their return. The news that Mok Tong-Hyo, one of Jin-Sang's spirit soldiers, was fighting against someone had spread like wildfire, and people anxiously awaited the outcome of the clash.

As soon as the hustle and bustle of the fighting ended, the guards went to the site of the fight. To their horror, what they found in the middle of that destruction was the corpse of Mok Tong-Hyo. On the chest, at the height of the heart, there was a huge hole, large enough to insert an entire arm inside. But the guards could only take a look when screams started spreading across the city.

The inhabitants of the city panicked as they ran away as far as possible. A spider and a snake three meters long each were running through the streets of Blue Lobster City. No one paid any attention to the two humans transported by those two beasts because they were all too busy running away and saved themselves.

Ye and Xing rushed into the city streets without worrying about the panic they were generating. In any case, they had already created a lot of fuss in the fight against Mok Tong-Hyo. There was no reason to be stealthy, not to mention that they were more concerned about bringing Hei and Lian to a safe place to rest and heal.

Old Tohyon noticed the crowd of people leaving the port. From a distance, he recognized the bodies of the spirit beasts that Hei treated as if they were his family, Ye, and Xing. Old Tohyon, therefore, began to prepare the artifact ship, and by the time Ye and Xing finally arrived at their destination, the ship was ready to sail instantly.

With gentle movements, they passed Hei and Lian to Old Tohyon, who helped them lie on the ship's deck. Ye and Xing, therefore, reduced their size, returning to their normal state. Old Tohyon then set off at full speed, moving away from the Blue Lobster City, which was full of chaos.

*

Steam City, Ho Ri-Na's Office.

"Big sister, what do you want to do?" Ho Yeon-Hong asked her sister Ho Ri-Na.

The implication behind her question was clear. Hei had ended up killing the spirit soldier sent by Jin-Sang to retrieve the map fragments. And the spirit soldier killed was none other than Mok Tong-Hyo, the third most powerful after Jin-Sang himself and the Pirate General's right arm. The fact that they killed Mok Tong-Hyo had created a massive hole in the fighting power of the Red Devil's crew.

"In the battle against Kan Na-Kim, Jin-Sang lost one of his spirit soldiers. Kan Na-Kim attempted a suicide attack before dying, trying to bring the Red Devil with him, but he failed, only ending up involving one of his enemy's subordinates. Jin-Sang tried to hide that fact, but even he doesn't have the power to hide such a thing forever. We received confirmation a little while ago from our communications network." Ho Ri-Na revealed as she sighed. A furious battle was unfolding within her.

"Big sister, then does that mean-?"

"It means that with the death of Mok Tong-Hyo, the spirit soldiers in Jin-Sang's service fell to three. That is, we are now on a par with the number of spirit soldiers available on both sides."

"However, even if we are on par with the number of spirit soldiers, unfortunately, it doesn't mean we are on par regarding the battle power. Jin-Sang has more troops than ours, and if only one of the four of us were to lose their fight, the irreparable would happen, Lady Yeon." Won‌ ‌Byung-Chul‌ intervened, explaining the situation to Ho Yeon-Hong. As Ho Ri-Na's right arm, he was the only one who could speak freely without having to ask first to Ho Ri-Na.

Ho Ri-Na gave him an appreciative look because she was currently in the midst of an internal war. She had to choose the answer to provide to Hei. Inside her, she was still angry about how Hei had threatened her little sister; she couldn't forgive such an act as if nothing had happened. Furthermore, she couldn't deny that the treasure of the Pirate King Hae Seong aroused a strong appeal in her. Getting hold of it meant securing an inheritance for her and her men. But, on the other hand, she couldn't ignore the threat posed by Jin-Sang. The Red Devil wasn't the type to share power with others - he wanted everything or nothing; there were no half ways. No doubt, he wouldn't stop until he destroyed her or submitted her to him.

Ho Ri-Na would certainly have preferred death to become his slave. However, she couldn't act selfishly. She carried the weight of hundreds and hundreds of men who had died for her and were living to take her to the top of piracy's scene. Becoming the Pirate Queen was also a way to repay her debt to them. For this reason, Hei's offer was so tempting. And it had become even more so after the pair of young martial artists, along with their two spirit beasts, had managed to kill Mok Tong-Hyo, a third-stage spirit soldier. Without a doubt, it was a battle force that could turn the tables.

In the end, after many and many second thoughts, Ho Ri-Na made her decision. Such a decision would forever change the power game that has existed so far in the piracy's scene of the Forgotten Ocean.

"Call me the various groups listed on this list. Also, give our men every resource in stock unreservedly. Even if it is only a small advancement, we must do everything to increase our battle force. We will sail in a week - the destination will be the base of Jin-Sang. We will attack the Red Devil straight into his lair."

Ho Yeon-Hong smiled instinctively at the news but recomposed herself. Inside, she didn't know if she was happy because her sister would have a real chance of victory or because Hei's proposal had been accepted. Meanwhile, Won‌ Byung-Chul‌ asked a question. Since he had learned to recognize Ho Ri-Na's thoughts, it wasn't difficult for him to guess what her younger sister, Ho Yeon-Hong, was thinking.

"What about Hei and Lian? Should we warn them? "

"No, there is no need. People's eyes are on us now. They will immediately notice our advance when we set sail. Hei will surely understand my answer and how he should act." Ho Ri-Na said confidently. Although she didn't want to admit it, the bastard who had threatened her little sister was really a shrewd guy.