Absolute Regression Chapter 421 : I Can Handle The Cold Just Fine

Chapter 421: I Can Handle The Cold Just Fine

An involuntary exclamation of “Whoops!” burst out of Yang Seok’s mouth.

He had been so shocked that he nearly let out a curse. Who would’ve imagined that Geom Mugeuk was inside the carriage?

For a brief mont, as if ti had stopped, silence fell.

“Why didn’t you contact ?”

At Geom Mugeuk’s question, Yang Seok belatedly offered an excuse.

“Well… I also found out all of a sudden. I didn’t have ti to contact you. I was planning to reach out as soon as I figured it out.”

So flustered was he that Yang Seok’s voice trembled and his words stuttered.

“But, how did the Young Cult Leader know to co here?”

“How do you think I knew?”

Looking at Geom Mugeuk, who responded with a rhetorical question like he was posing a riddle, Yang Seok imdiately realized.

‘How else? He must’ve been tailing . Damn it! He didn’t trust and had soone watching for sure.’

It had been Yang Seok himself who had led Geom Mugeuk to the one with the Extre Cold Constitution.

‘I should’ve been more careful.’

He had been too excited by the thrill of uncovering the movent route.

Yang Seok wasn’t the only one startled by Geom Mugeuk’s appearance.

Standing at the rear, Ha Gyeol had been even more shocked. Not because Geom Mugeuk was inside the carriage.

‘They smuggled out soone with the Extre Cold Constitution.'

Sothing that absolutely should not have happened had just occurred. It had to have been the Drunken Demon who took them while the earlier drunken haze was settling in. He had to pursue the Drunken Demon imdiately.

‘He didn’t co this way. Behind the carriage. The opposite side.’

He strode toward the carriage with large steps. Pretending to approach Yang Seok, he planned to leap over the carriage and chase after the Drunken Demon in one go.

Since they were likely escaping with soone in their arms, if tid right, he might just catch them.

Neither the Young Cult Leader nor Yang Seok were on Ha Gyeol’s mind right now—only the Extre Cold Constitution was.

Geom Mugeuk saw right through his thoughts.

“You won’t get away anyway. Don’t even try.”

The mont Geom Mugeuk gave his warning, Ha Gyeol instead hurled his body forward.

Paat!

With a light thrust off the ground, Ha Gyeol’s lightness skill was impressive enough to ignore Geom Mugeuk’s warning.

Just as he leapt to soar over the carriage—

Paang!

An explosion burst out in midair, and Ha Gyeol ca crashing back down to where he had started.

As if teleporting in a blink, Geom Mugeuk had suddenly blocked his path and delivered a powerful strike.

Ha Gyeol, who had blocked the attack, felt a dull ache in his left arm.

‘Strong.’

This ti, it was Yang Seok who was even more shocked than Ha Gyeol, who had taken the hit. Had Geom Mugeuk leapt through the carriage roof to stop him, it wouldn’t have been as surprising.

But Geom Mugeuk had vanished in the blink of an eye and, before anyone realized it, blocked Ha Gyeol midair above the carriage. When had he even stepped out of the carriage and taken flight?

Even if he was the weakest in martial arts among the three here, wasn’t he still the heir of the Northern Blood Gate? And yet he had missed Geom Mugeuk’s movent with both eyes wide open. If Geom Mugeuk had tried to kill him, he would’ve died without even knowing why.

After sending Ha Gyeol back to his original spot, Geom Mugeuk sat perched on the roof of the carriage.

“Should a guard leap over the head of the person he serves?”

He wasn’t referring to himself, but rather pointing at Yang Seok who was standing beside the carriage.

Yang Seok shouted like tattling.

“He tried to kill !”

He finally realized that it was ti to carry out a killing with a borrowed knife. Although the Extre Cold Constitution he had attempted to smuggle away was now gone, the opportunity to kill Ha Gyeol had arrived.

“Young Cult Leader! I beg you—please teach him the grave lesson that in this martial world, there is a sacred hierarchy!”

Ha Gyeol sneered coldly. He had saved that man from dying in the Suicide Formation, and now he was shalessly lashing out.

“Didn’t I say you reeked of blood the first ti I saw you?”

Caught between frustration and reason, Ha Gyeol fell into contemplation at Geom Mugeuk’s calm deanor.

‘It’s already too late.’

If the person who took the one with the Extre Cold Constitution had been an ordinary martial artist, maybe there was still a chance. But if it was the Drunken Demon who had taken them, then they would already be too far away to pursue.

He had truly never expected a variable like this. He had let his guard down, assuming that Geom Mugeuk and the Drunken Demon were only focused on the death of the Forr Master Brewer. Either way, what he had to do now was clear.

‘I need to negotiate with the Young Cult Leader and retrieve the one with the Extre Cold Constitution.'

There were two ways to go about it. First, retreat and buy ti for a better opportunity later. It was a safe and wise option, but the longer it took, the slimr the chances beca of finding them.

The problem was his master.

‘Would Master really wait?’

His master had already reached the limits of patience in the Tank. If he were to report that they had lost the Extre Cold Constitution to Geom Mugeuk, the master would leap out of the tank imdiately.

‘In the end, I must settle this here and now.’

Could he really defeat this Young Cult Leader?

That single move shown earlier had been anything but trivial. And to make matters worse, there was another issue.

He couldn’t recklessly kill this Demonic Cult’s Young Cult Leader. If he did, the consequences would be even more severe than losing the Extre Cold Constitution.

But the stronger one is, the harder it is not to kill but to subdue.

While he was torn in this headache-inducing situation, Geom Mugeuk looked up at the sky from the roof of the carriage.

Ti was on his side. He held the hilt of the blade in this exchange. There was no need to press first—he would just watch and respond to whatever Ha Gyeol did.

Even in advantageous positions, the biggest reason things fall apart is because one can’t overco impatience. When you’re ahead, it feels like you’ll win, that everything will go better. And that simple desire to see a good result sooner—that’s what ruins it all.

Because it’s simple, that desire is powerful—and must be suppressed.

Once you start to crumble in an advantageous situation, it becos uncontrollable. Precisely because you're ahead, you get more impatient, more regretful, more frustrated. anwhile, your opponent will begin to build montum for a reversal. In the end, everything falls apart.

That’s why the heavens exist—for monts like this.

Watching Geom Mugeuk gaze up at the sky, Yang Seok felt sothing strange stir inside him.

“Don’t look at . Look at the sky.”

“Ah, yes!”

Startled by Geom Mugeuk’s words, Yang Seok hurriedly looked up. But in this mont, he couldn’t see anything in the sky at all.

‘Please, just kill him!’

His only thought was to eliminate Ha Gyeol first and think later. He believed he was deploying a killing with a borrowed knife tactic, but he hadn’t yet realized that he was rely a guide leading Geom Mugeuk straight to the Blood King.

Just then, the atmosphere began to shift. Ha Gyeol revealed the energy he had been concealing.

Earlier, he had exposed just a fraction to Yang Seok—now, he fully opened all of it.

His energy, both scorching and heavy, began to dominate the surroundings. Once he revealed his true form, he beca an entirely different person.

There was truly the stench of blood in his energy.

Yang Seok felt such suffocating fear that he nearly vomited. He had known Ha Gyeol was a master, but not to this degree.

‘Could it be that the Young Cult Leader might actually lose?’

To be honest, Yang Seok’s level of discernnt wasn’t enough to tell who was stronger. It was simply that Ha Gyeol’s presence, once fully revealed, was overwhelming.

But that wasn’t the only thing that terrified Yang Seok.

From a little distance behind Ha Gyeol, warriors of the Blood Guardians who had been on standby now stepped into view. There were seven in total. Just by their gaze and posture, one could tell they were experts. Every single one of them was capable of using the Suicide Formation.

Ha Gyeol spoke to Geom Mugeuk. The polite tone he had used earlier was gone.

“Where is the person who was inside the carriage?”

He had made up his mind: to pressure the Young Cult Leader here and extract the Extre Cold Constitution.

From that decision, Geom Mugeuk could tell for certain—his opponent needed the Extre Cold Constitution so badly that he was forced to reveal his full strength.

“I can handle the cold too—how about taking instead?”

Joking? In this situation? Ha Gyeol’s gaze toward Geom Mugeuk turned even colder.

“Just because you’re the Demonic Cult’s Young Cult Leader, don’t think I can’t kill you.”

“No. You people kill your own blood relatives too, don’t you? If you could, you’d probably try to kill my father as well.”

At those words, Yang Seok flinched internally. Because the one Geom Mugeuk was referring to—soone who would kill even their own blood—was none other than himself.

Ha Gyeol asked Geom Mugeuk,

“What is it you want?”

The fact that he stayed in the carriage ant he wanted sothing. Indeed, Geom Mugeuk had a goal.

“Let et the one you serve.”

Ha Gyeol didn’t show it outwardly, but internally he was shaken.

‘How does he know I have a master?’

Yang Seok, for a mont, misunderstood and thought that the person Geom Mugeuk referred to was his father.

‘Maybe… this is my chance.’

Now, he didn’t hesitate to entertain thoughts he shouldn’t have. The mont Ha Gyeol appeared here, he had taken it as proof that his father had completely abandoned him.

‘Which side should I choose?’

Now that he knew how formidable Ha Gyeol was, Yang Seok fell into serious doubt.

Siding with Ha Gyeol wasn’t the worst choice. He had saved him by killing even his own subordinate—surely he wouldn’t kill him now.

‘Should I go over to Ha Gyeol, even now? No… what if he loses to the Young Cult Leader?’

That would make him a traitor.

But Yang Seok soon reached a different conclusion.

‘At the very least, they won’t fight here, right?’

Think about it—the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult was a valuable figure. Would he really recklessly risk his life? And this wasn’t even a matter directly involving the Demonic Cult.

But things didn’t unfold the way he expected.

“What if I refuse?”

Ha Gyeol had no intention of letting him et his master.

Then Geom Mugeuk calmly said,

“Then the only reason to spare your life disappears.”

Ha Gyeol could feel that this wasn’t just an empty threat.

‘He really intends to kill .’

Which ant he believed he could actually do it.

Ha Gyeol began gathering his qi and scanned the area. He wanted to see if the Drunken Demon had returned. But there was no one nearby. Geom Mugeuk was truly intending to kill him alone.

He didn’t know how the outco would unfold, but he was confident he wouldn’t lose to Geom Mugeuk in spirit. No matter if he was the son of the Heavenly Demon, he was still too young. Even if he had inherited the martial arts of the Heavenly Demon and possessed internal energy beyond his age, he couldn’t fake experience.

Moreover, he had never once faced soone who used the Blood Arts he had mastered.

‘Let’s do this.’

The Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult would not stake his life over the Extre Cold Constitution.

‘If I can just subdue the Young Cult Leader!’

To survive, he would be forced to hand over the Extre Cold Constitution.

And if by any chance Geom Mugeuk died in the process? Then he’d have no choice but to pin the bla on the Northern Blood Gate Master. If he could just retrieve the Extre Cold Constitution, it would all be worth it.

“Our Young Cult Leader will have to get a taste of blood.”

The seven Blood Guardians stepped forward.

From the blades they simultaneously drew, a red aura flowed. They were experts who could wield Blood Qi like sword energy.

Ha Gyeol had thought that if they combined their attacks, they might not be able to kill Geom Mugeuk, but they could at least wound him. And with a bit of luck, in that mont, he might even get the chance to subdue him.

That’s what he truly believed.

But in the blink of an eye, Geom Mugeuk dashed toward the Blood Guardian on the left using Lightning Flash Step.

Shwik! Seoguk!

The sound of wind slicing and the crunch of a neck being severed rang out at the sa ti. It was unstoppable.

Before instinct or thought could even process Geom Mugeuk’s sudden appearance and attack, the blade had already swept past the man’s neck. It was an utterly overwhelming speed.

The nearest Blood Guardian swung his sword reflexively, but it only sliced through empty air. That missed strike ca at a heavy price.

Before the second Blood Guardian, whose heart had been pierced, could even collapse, Geom Mugeuk had already unleashed Dark Shadow Step.

Just as it seed he vanished before everyone’s eyes, Geom Mugeuk reappeared between the two Blood Guardians standing in the center.

Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!

Geom Mugeuk pierced the throats and hearts of the two Blood Guardians on either side in rapid succession. Once in the left heart, once in the right neck, once in the left neck, once in the right heart.

Those four strikes were so fast that they were practically invisible.

The two collapsed on the spot. Just as the fifth Blood Guardian’s face and body were turning red, preparing to unleash Suicide Formation—

Puoohng!

The one who fell to Blood Qi was yet another Blood Guardian.

Geom Mugeuk had instantly subdued the Blood Guardian attempting to use Suicide Formation and twisted him like a puppet, aiming his body at another Blood Guardian.

The sixth Blood Guardian fell, struck by Suicide Formation. The Blood Qi expelled by that technique was so powerful, even they couldn’t dodge or block it themselves.

The seventh Blood Guardian also tried to use Suicide Formation. But this ti, Geom Mugeuk was one step faster.

Puk puk puk puk puk!

The Black Demon Sword pierced his body repeatedly. In an instant, all his major blood vessels were severed. His reddened face returned to its original color. Geom Mugeuk’s sword was faster than the activation of Suicide Formation.

Just like that, all seven collapsed into corpses in the blink of an eye.

Yang Seok stood with eyes wide, trembling uncontrollably. He had experienced several real battles before, and had watched many others fight as well.

But now, he had this thought—none of those had been real fights.

Geom Mugeuk flicked the blood from his sword. Chaaaak. Blood sprayed in a perfect line on the ground.

“Tastes like lousy blood.”

Ha Gyeol’s expression had completely frozen. He had known that the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult would be strong. But this strong?

He had boasted that he would make Geom Mugeuk taste blood—but in the end, he was the one who had tasted the bloodshed Geom Mugeuk created.

“So it really is the Nine Calamities Demon Art.”

Of course, he assud it was the martial art of the Heavenly Demon. He’d never seen it before, after all.

“It’s not the Nine Calamities Demon Art. Aren’t you overestimating yourselves a bit? Did you really think I’d need to use that just to deal with your subordinates?”

“Your skills are like this without even using your unique martial art?”

Ha Gyeol’s shock was only natural. Those weren’t just ordinary subordinates. He had no idea how much ti and effort had gone into raising those seven. They were not people who should have died so easily.

“If you want to see the Nine Calamities Demon Art, take to your master.”

If what Geom Mugeuk said was true, then Ha Gyeol couldn’t win. Of course, it could also be a bluff—a tactic to rattle him and seize the advantage in the fight.

Either way, unless he said sothing about his master, Geom Mugeuk wasn’t going to let him go. But even if it cost him his life, he had no intention of speaking about his master.

Ha Gyeol drew his sword. A streak of crimson energy flowed along the blade. It was a level of power far beyond what had flowed through the blades of his fallen subordinates.

“Whether it’s the Nine Calamities Demon Art or not—I’ll find out myself.”

From the cold gaze directed at him and the searing Blood Qi that wrapped around the area, Geom Mugeuk knew. Ha Gyeol had resolved himself to die.

“Then I’ll give you just a little taste.”

From Geom Mugeuk’s mouth ca a question Ha Gyeol couldn’t comprehend.

“Which direction do you prefer—east, west, south, or north?”