Chapter 65: The Holy Fire’s Breach

Elder Dam Ho-pung jumped over the wall and advanced like a storm.

Every time his sword was drawn, the heads of the Mortu Nocturn members fell one by one, accompanied by a flash of light.

Lee Tae-sung followed closely behind Dam Ho-pung, looking for any opportunity to step in.

However, that advance did not last long.

“You crazy bastards! Do you have any idea where you are…!”

“They really invaded!!”

They were no longer encountering low-level guards, but the proper members of Mortu Nocturn.

They weren’t just standing there, either.

They were chanting an unknown spell, and after looking at the invading Flying Dragon Sect members in a panic, they began to radiate mana.

It wasn’t for an attack, but to activate a magic circle buried in the ground.

*Whirrr!*

*Flash!*

Dark light exploded from the ground, and a magic circle revealed itself.

It was a massive magic circle that covered the entire manor of the Mortu Nocturn branch!

“This is…!?”

“Ugh… my body is…!?”

The bodies of the Flying Dragon Sect elders who were leading the charge, including Dam Ho-pung, suddenly froze.

The special-grade and first-grade members following behind were the same.

A sinister energy drifted out from the magic circle on the floor, wrapping around and suppressing them.

A man who appeared to hold a fairly high rank in Mortu Nocturn walked over and smirked.

“Heh. Even when we received intelligence that the Flying Dragon Sect would target us, I thought we had obtained the wrong information. I didn’t expect you to actually invade.”

“You… what did you do!”

“I simply activated the defensive magic circle in preparation for an intrusion. Did you forget that this is a branch of Mortu Nocturn?”

Black magic, necromancy, dark spirit arts, and more.

Mortu Nocturn was called the home of all things evil and sinister.

‘To think a magic circle of this scale exists even if it’s just a branch and not the headquarters…’ Dam Ho-pung thought with a look of frustration.

He hadn’t expected an easy victory, but he never imagined there would be such a colossal magic circle.

He glanced at the other elders.

They were also struggling, but they hadn’t fallen into despair yet.

They could escape if they raised their internal energy to its maximum.

However, they would inevitably suffer losses in the process, and the possibility of losing the war would increase, even if only slightly.

Furthermore, there was no guarantee that the special-grade or first-grade members could escape.

‘Huh?’

Lee Tae-sung flinched as he wiggled his fingers.

Black energy was certainly wrapping around his entire body, but as soon as it entered his body, it burned away and disappeared.

At first, he wondered what was happening, but he soon realized the reason.

It was the Heavenly Flower Holy Law Art.

This hybrid of holy power and flame refused to allow the foul energy to enter his body.

Gradually, his freedom of movement was returning.

‘If it’s this…’

Lee Tae-sung glanced at the man who appeared to be the person in charge of Mortu Nocturn, who was currently mocking the elders.

Perhaps believing in the magic circle’s absolute power, the man completely ignored the ordinary members, including Lee Tae-sung.

While he was somewhat prepared for the elders, he was showing his back to this side of the battlefield.

‘Now!’

*Boom!*

Lee Tae-sung used the Secret Flower Shadow Burst to leap behind the man in an instant.

Then, he delivered his most powerful strike.

The blazing palm technique of the Heavenly Net Flame Palm shot toward the man’s heart from behind.

“Wh-What!? How did you escape that…?”

*Crunch!*

The man noticed Lee Tae-sung’s approach one beat late, but he couldn’t defend in time and allowed the hit.

Since he was wearing a robe, he appeared to be a mage type, and perhaps because he was vulnerable to surprise attacks, his chest was pierced in a single blow.

*Ding!*

**[You have defeated a powerful enemy alone.]**

**[You have earned a massive amount of experience points.]**

**[Level Up!]**

*Ding!*

**[Proficiency for Heavenly Net Flame Palm has increased.]**

**[The skill level for Heavenly Net Flame Palm has risen.]**

**[Heavenly Net Flame Palm (Lv. 3) -> Heavenly Net Flame Palm (Lv. 4)]**

“!”

To think he leveled up once and gained a skill level in proficiency just by killing one person?

Furthermore, the holy fire of the Heavenly Flower Holy Law Art bloomed on the ground where Lee Tae-sung had moved using the Secret Flower Shadow Burst.

As the pale white flames flickered, they caused damage to the magic circle on the floor.

“Little Brother!! You did excellent!!”

Dam Ho-pung shattered the magic circle binding him and shouted as he cut the necks of the surrounding Mortu Nocturn members.

Not only had Lee Tae-sung killed the enemy’s leader, but he had also weakened the magic circle, allowing them to escape with fewer losses than expected.

The other elders also began to run wild, slaughtering the Mortu Nocturn members.

“Was it Lee Tae-sung? Come to me after this is over! You’re on my line now!” one of the elders shouted excitedly.

Lee Tae-sung wondered what kind of networking this was, but Dam Ho-pung shouted back angrily.

“Don’t eye my little brother, you damn bastard! I’ll stitch your mouth shut before I deal with Mortu Nocturn!”

“Bwahaha! Since you’re like that, Dam Ho-pung, I want him even more! Come visit me secretly next time! Got it?”

“This bastard! Do you really want to die!?”

“……”

‘I’m glad I didn’t open my mouth.’

Lee Tae-sung felt slightly relieved and joined the ranks of the elders.

***

Lee Tae-sung’s role was to move around diligently and destroy the magic circle on the floor.

Although the elders had started moving, the special-grade and first-grade members were still heavily restricted.

At this moment, only Lee Tae-sung, who used the Heavenly Flower Holy Law Art, could liberate them.

*Ding!*

**[Proficiency for Secret Flower Shadow Burst has increased.]**

**[The skill level for Secret Flower Shadow Burst has risen.]**

**[Secret Flower Shadow Burst (Lv. 3) -> Secret Flower Shadow Burst (Lv. 4)]**

*Ding!*

**[Proficiency for Heavenly Flower Holy Law Art has increased.]**

**[The skill level for Heavenly Flower Holy Law Art has risen.]**

**[Heavenly Flower Holy Law Art (Lv. 3) -> Heavenly Flower Holy Law Art (Lv. 4)]**

‘Heh. Is there some kind of event today? To think skill proficiency would rise so easily.’

The higher the grade of a skill, the harder it was to increase its proficiency.

It went without saying for things like the Heavenly Flower Holy Law Art or the Heavenly Net Flame Palm.

The easiest way was to win against an enemy stronger than oneself or to perform exceptionally well using the skill.

The magic circle of the Mortu Nocturn branch was judged to be a powerful enemy, so his skill proficiency soared as he destroyed it.

Before long, all the Flying Dragon Sect members regained their freedom and sought out enemies to attack.

*Boom!*

*Crunch!*

However, a commotion could be heard from far away on the other side as well.

“Brother. Did we attack other places as well?”

“No. It wasn’t easy for four elders to come here, so where would we have spare forces? That over there is the Red Magic Tower and the Dragon Knight Order.”

Even if it was just a branch, the Flying Dragon Sect alone could not be a match for Mortu Nocturn.

Similarly, reinforcements had come from other large factions, the Red Magic Tower and the Dragon Knight Order.

It was a pincer movement.

They were attacking the opposite side of Mortu Nocturn.

“Looking at the momentum, it seems the branch manager has gone over there. This will make things easier.”

Lee Tae-sung nodded at Dam Ho-pung’s words.

Even though the distance was quite far, the energy that drifted over occasionally was chilling.

It would be quite difficult if an enemy emitting such energy came here.

Since the Flying Dragon Sect only encountered moderate-level enemies, they were able to continue their advance.

The goal was the branch manager’s office, which would be in the middle of this place.

In addition, they planned to plunder everything, including warehouses and secret manual storage.

Lee Tae-sung reaped significant benefits while following behind the elders.

*Ding!*

**[You have contributed to defeating a powerful enemy.]**

**[Level Up!]**

The elders took on the most dangerous enemies, and Lee Tae-sung supported them from right behind.

He couldn’t face them head-on and could only attack once whenever he saw an opening, but even that allowed him to gain a tremendous amount of experience and skill proficiency.

‘If every day were a war, I’d get strong so quickly!’

The thought occurred to him naturally!

Of course, he was only able to have this opportunity because the elders thought highly of him and helped him by blocking dangerous attacks.

As a result, the Flying Dragon Sect arrived in front of the Mortu Nocturn branch manager’s office.

Just as Lee Tae-sung was about to walk in, Dam Ho-pung suddenly grabbed him and pulled him back.

“Wait!”

“!?”

*Sizzle!*

“!!!”

A pitch-black arrow flew and exploded right in front of where Lee Tae-sung had been standing.

Lee Tae-sung immediately raised his Heavenly Flower Holy Law Art to resist the shockwave fluttering before his eyes.

If it hadn’t been for Dam Ho-pung just now, he would have suffered a fatal injury at the very least.

“You Flying Dragon Sect bastards… how dare you crawl in here?”

The person walking from the direction the arrow had flown was a black mage spewing rage.

Seeing that his robes were torn in various places and blood was dripping, he was not in a normal state.

Dam Ho-pung’s face hardened.

“The branch manager…”

“Dam Ho-pung. Are you insane? Do you want to die?”

“Can you still say such things after seeing this situation?”

“What situation? A few underlings dying? Did you seriously think you won just because of that? While I am still alive?”

He was right.

“……”

The elders fell silent.

This was the branch manager of Elleun, a major city for Mortu Nocturn.

The reason four elder-class experts had come here was that it took at least that many to stand a chance against him.

The branch manager was a master on a completely different level.

However, they had brought in the Red Magic Tower and the Dragon Knight Order as a secret plan to deal with the branch manager, so how did he break through all that and reach this place?

“No matter who you are, there’s no way you’ve already defeated the Red Magic Tower and the Dragon Knight Order…”

“Those guys? They were persistent, but I shook them off and came here. I noticed you lot were approaching the branch manager’s office. It seems you are the ringleaders?”

“……”

The elders did not answer any further.

There was no need to give the enemy more information.

Sounds of explosions and powerful auras were still erupting from the direction the branch manager had come.

It meant that the branch manager had rushed back alone, and the other executives of the branch were struggling to hold them back.

‘We just need to buy time.’

‘Once the support from the Red Magic Tower and the Dragon Knight Order arrives, this guy is finished.’

The branch manager noticed the elders’ thoughts as well.

Smirking, he raised his hand.

The hand revealed between his robes was withered and covered in black flames.

“Heh. Your thoughts are obvious. Let’s see if you can actually stop me.”

As the branch manager flicked his hand, black spheres shot out and caused random explosions, and he charged directly into the chaos.

“Block him!”

The four elders of the Flying Dragon Sect formed a combined attack formation to respond.

Sword qi danced, and powerful martial techniques were unleashed.

Lee Tae-sung watched their battle from a step behind.

‘I can’t get involved in this.’

If he got caught in the crossfire by mistake, he would die instantly.

However, he didn’t distance himself either.

Crisis was opportunity.

If he could just endure and succeed in landing a single blow, he would surely gain massive experience and proficiency.

Therefore, Lee Tae-sung focused his mind to the limit and watched for his timing to intervene.

If the opportunity came just once, he would never let it go!