Star Instructor, Master Baek-Chapter 466: You Must Kill Him

RIIIP!
Baek Suryong landed without a sound, his crimson eyes glinting in the silvery moonlight. "So this is what siding with the Cult reduced you to. Repenting like a sinner before an altar of rice bowls. Pathetic. You think remorse will cleanse your folly?”
The Phantom King couldn't even let out a proper scream before his body, torn in two, was flung onto the ground. Tears of blood flowed from the eyeholes of the jade mask, intestines spilled out along with blood, and a disgusting metallic scent spread through the air.
THUD! THUD!
As the purple robe that had been twitching like it was having a seizure stopped moving, the jiangshi controlled by the Phantom King crumpled to the ground one after another.
"...It's hard to laugh at his misfortune when our situation isn't very good either." The Viridian Scholar let out a deep sigh and prepared for the Fourth Apostle's subsequent attack.
The Phantom King's sorcery had hindered the Fourth Apostle's movements even just a little, and the other martial artists were able to secure time to attack or defend during that opening. However, the balance that was barely being maintained had collapsed due to the bastard's betrayal just moments ago.
Although it was surprising and fortunate that the Fourth Apostle killed the Phantom King right away, the fact that they were at a disadvantage remained unchanged.
Above all, Senior Brother isn't in his normal state.
The Viridian Scholar glanced toward Baek Suryong, who was unable to display his true abilities for various reasons.
"Huff... huff..." Baek Suryong panted. He clenched his teeth, seemingly fighting harder than anyone else.
BOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM!
Since the fight began, he clashed head-on with the Fourth Apostle more frequently than anyone else, and hence suffered the most injuries. It was no exaggeration to say that he deflected the vast majority of the dangerous attacks. He had already saved the Viridian Scholar and Blue Eyed Freak several times.
Nevertheless, the Viridian Scholar felt that Baek Suryong wasn't performing at his usual level. His body moved sluggishly, as if he were carrying a ton of iron. His expression, normally confident, now flashed with agony whenever he swung his sword, as if he was reluctant to harm the enemy.
"Everyone, focus!" Baek Suryong shouted, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.
In truth, he was only pretending to be fine. His body was trembling from the aftermath of blocking the Fourth Apostle's reckless attacks, and he had sustained more serious injuries than anyone else.
We might have to bury our bones here.
As he watched that sight, the Viridian Scholar was struck by a sudden realization, prompting him to reflect deeply.
Since when...? Before I knew it, I was always relying on Senior Brother.
He had already guessed that Baek Suryong and the Blood Cult had a complicated history. He didn't know the detailed story of how the young man inherited the martial arts of the Bandit King, who fell into the Blood Cult's trap and was imprisoned, and he didn't bother to ask either. He believed that his Senior Brother would tell him someday, when he was ready.
Even now, his thoughts remained unchanged. He trusted Baek Suryong and depended on him. Also, he wanted to repay the kindness he received, even if only a little.
...Since I've only been receiving, I should repay him at least once.
The Viridian Scholar's eyes shone with determination as he assumed the starting stance of the Savage Tiger Fist.
The Fourth Apostle's pupils dilated in recognition.
BOOM!
The earth was pushed back with a single stomp as he narrowed the distance in an instant and reached for the Viridian Scholar.
"Dodge!" Baek Suryong immediately roared from behind the Fourth Apostle.
The Viridian Scholar ignored him. Instead, he calmed his breathing and prepared to receive his opponent's attack.
Just once.
He had practiced the martial arts left by the Bandit King for several decades. His past efforts greatly reduced the time he needed to master the Eighteen Strikes of the Viridian Forest. As such, he could predict the movements of the Fourth Apostle, who had also trained in the same martial arts, albeit just a little.
If it's just once... I can create an opening.
SWISH!
He boldly dove into the Fourth Apostle's embrace.
"!" Faint surprise appeared on the Fourth Apostle's face. It had been decades since an opponent had chosen to close in rather than fall back. Even when he sparred with the other apostles, they always kept their distance from Number Four.
Furthermore, this bandit's outer arts mastery wasn't trivial enough that he could ignore the man.
The Viridian Scholar smiled broadly as he met the Fourth Apostle's eyes. "There are few people who know how big guys think as well as I do."
WHIRL!
He twisted his body violently to add rotational force to his next attack. Then, with all of his energy, he slammed his shoulder into the Fourth Apostle's chest.
WHAM!
The Tiger Smashes the Mountain of the Savage Tiger Fist, which had blown away the Giant Spirit Boss in a single hit, struck the Fourth Apostle.
"It worked!" Blue Eyed Freak exclaimed, his deep blue eyes glittering as he rushed at the Fourth Apostle.
Similarly, the Soul Hunting Bow Phantom drew her bowstring with lightning speed.
This was an opportunity the Viridian Scholar had risked his life to seize. They had to inflict significant damage on the Fourth Apostle!
Despite the desperate situation, the Fourth Apostle remained calm. At the moment of impact, he relaxed the muscles of his entire body to disperse the shock and reached out to grab the Viridian Scholar's shoulder. At the same time, he rotated his body using his left foot as an axis, letting the Soul Hunting Bow Phantom's arrow graze past his face. He also kicked up his right foot to deflect Blue Eyed Freak's attack.
All of those movements happened in the blink of an eye.
"Urgh!" The Viridian Scholar tried to push the Fourth Apostle's hand away, but it didn't budge.
Ultimately, he had only recently mastered the Eighteen Strikes of the Viridian Forest. In contrast, the Fourth Apostle had already surpassed the late Bandit King.
CRACK!
"...!" The Viridian Scholar clenched his teeth in pain. His shoulder was dislocated. If he hadn't anticipated and prepared for the Fourth Apostle's retaliation in advance, his arm would have been torn off entirely.
The Fourth Apostle furrowed his brow and applied more force to his hand, determined to rip off the Viridian Scholar's arm and incapacitate him for good.
SWISH!
A blinding white sword flash cleaved down upon his arm.
The Fourth Apostle immediately let go of the Viridian Scholar and retreated. No regret was visible in the eyes. The Viridian Scholar was no longer in a state to fight.
"Junior Brother!" Baek Suryong shouted, grabbing the Viridian Scholar and pulling the man to the rear. "Junior Brother, are you okay?"
"...I'm fine," the Viridian Scholar mumbled, though he was breaking out in a cold sweat.
The shoulder dislocation wasn't his only injury. In that short moment, the Fourth Apostle had fractured all the bones in his right arm and damaged his muscles. If he did not get this injury treated in time, he might never be able to use his arm again.
"Sorry, Senior Brother... I tried to create an opportunity..."
"Shut up and rest here," Baek Suryong muttered, looking unspeakably pained.
After quickly sealing a few acupoints to prevent the Viridian Scholar's condition from worsening, he stepped forward again.
Now, along with the Phantom King, even the Viridian Scholar had retired from the battlefield. Their situation was getting more and more dire.
"Apostle!" Blue Eyed Freak screamed. His blue eyes were turning from blue to dark navy, proof that he was drawing upon more inner qi than he could handle.
He had held a grudge against the Blood Cult for a long time. Upon meeting the Fourth Apostle, a leader of the Cult, his pent-up resentment exploded like ignited gunpowder.
SLASH!
His sword drew blood, cutting the Fourth Apostle's forearm.
Blue Eyed Freak immediately leaped back and giggled. "It seems you get tired, too. Your enhanced protective qi is weaker than it was before."
"......"
The Blue Eyes Demonic Art was the martial art practiced by the Blood Demon's shadow bodyguards, and focused on training the eyes to the extreme. Having blue eyes was a side effect of that training.
Blue Eyed Freak examined the Fourth Apostle with his eye technique pushed to its limits. The bastard was by no means unscathed after the long battle. The section of skin hit by the Soul Hunting Bow Phantom's arrow was swollen, and he and the Viridian Scholar's repeated attacks had inflicted considerable damage on the man's thick muscles. Baek Suryong's sword had also scored several cuts on his skin.
Grinning, he taunted, "...Curious. Will you be able to keep your mouth shut like now even if your limbs are cut off or a sword is stuck in your heart?"
"......" The Fourth Apostle didn't react to Blue Eyed Freak's provocation, nor did he reply. He simply stood there like a great mountain.
Blue Eyed Freak scowled like an evil spirit. "Do you know the Blue Eyes Demonic Art?" he asked drearily, his voice dripping with malice.
"......"
"It's one of the martial arts that you forced people to learn in the Blood Cult's laboratories. You kidnapped young children and forced them to learn how to kill while beating them. Even though you knew the majority of them would die, you still went ahead with it... Surely you won't try to deny it, will you?"
"......"
"...Are you saying I'm not even worth answering?"
Blue Eyed Freak's eyes burned with fury. It was no exaggeration to say that the screams and pain caused by the Blood Cult during his childhood had molded him into who he was now.
"If you bastards had any human emotions, you wouldn't have done such things in the first place."
He chuckled to himself. In the first place, he never sought a grand victory. He just craved revenge.
How many times have I imagined tearing my enemies apart and killing them for ruining my and my friends' lives?
"Kukuku..."
At this moment, he forgot that he was the leader of the Valley of Evil.
CRACK, CRACKLE!
He charged the Blue Eyes Demonic Art with full power. Veins bulged on his body, his muscles swelled, and an intense blue aura surrounded him.
RUMBLE!
He succumbed to the rampage of the demonic art. The inner qi forcefully running through the acupoints of his entire body gave him more than double his usual strength, but the toll it took on his body wouldn't be remedied with just a few days of recuperation.
He might become crippled or even die, but he didn't care. He would do anything to kill the enemy in front of his eyes.
"Do you see the vengeful spirits of my friends hovering around me? They're screaming for me to tear you to shreds!"
Blue-Eyed Freak rushed in like a thunderbolt, giggling like a madman. Dark, navy-colored qi swirled around the daggers he held in both hands, taking the form of saw blades.
"Blue-Eyed Freak! Stop!" Baek Suryong roared as he rushed at the Fourth Apostle with him, but Blue-Eyed Freak heard nothing.
"Die! I'm taking you down with me!"
Tears of blood dripped from the blue eyes that had drawn on inner qi beyond their limit. Blue-Eyed Freak's determination and power raised his attack power to a level that not even the Ten Supremes would dare underestimate.
SMASH!
Still, it was insufficient to bring down the martial artist with the most outstanding protective enhanced qi among the apostles.
The Fourth Apostle blocked Blue-Eyed Freak's attack with his left forearm, then immediately counterattacked by thrusting his right hand at the berserk demon's chest.
CRUNCH!
Blue Eyed Freak's chest caved in, and he vomited blood from his mouth. Thanks to Baek Suryong snatching the back of his neck and dragging him back at the moment of impact, though, he narrowly avoided instant death.
Still, even while blood poured from his eyes and mouth, he glared menacingly at the Fourth Apostle. "Cough! Cough! Is this all..."
SMACK THWACK WHACK!
The Fourth Apostle parried and deflected the Soul Hunting Bow Phantom's arrows, which rained down one after another. Unlike before, however, blood dripped every time he moved.
The wound Blue Eyed Freak left on him was by no means shallow. The last ditch move had successfully slashed through his defensive enhanced qi and tough muscles, leaving a forearm wound so deep that white bone was exposed.
Finally, he had sustained a severe injury.
"Baek Suryong..." Blue Eyed Freak reached out and gripped Baek Suryong's collar tightly, staring at him with a face full of desperation, malice, and simmering anger. "You must... kill him..."
"...Rest now."
Baek Suryong sealed Blue Eyed Freak's acupoints and set the bones as an emergency measure. Fortunately, the fool's life wasn't in immediate danger.
"Fuck."
Swearing, he rose back to his feet.