No sound can be heard in the forest. In fact, no life form could be seen anywhere near the Madman’s shack, except for a hundred warriors, scattered across the unsuspecting trees.

The leader of the group was the crown prince, Chun Han. Unlike his hiding subordinates, he stood right in front of the shack.

“Crown prince, do not engage.”

Chun Han ignored the order.

“In Young, I will avenge your death.”

Pointing his spear towards the shack, he took a stance.

Heavenly Demon Oblivion.

With a single thrust, black ki engulfed the shack. This was his strongest attack. It was a single stab that was the culmination of his enlightenment that made him a Divine Master. Not even a second had passed when the entire shack burned into dust.

“May you rest in peace, In Young.”

It was then that an unkempt man grabbed his shoulder. Glowing crimson eyes full of insanity peeped out from the tangled mess of his hair.

'A Divine Master?’

"You found me?"

Chun Han moved the spear to cut off the man’s arm only to be blocked by a sword. Along with it came a fresh smell of plum blossoms.

'Another Divine Master? No. They're Puppet Divine Masters.'

The glowing crimson eyes was a sign that these two Divine Master's had been reanimated using a forbidden art.

Chun Han tried to back away but surprisingly, the hand kept him in place.

“Crown prince!”

His closest aide charged forward to help him. He was at the level of a Supreme Warrior, just a level below a Divine Master.

Only.

The unkempt man lifted his feet for a second. A moment later, his aide’s head slid off his neck.

‘I must escape.’

Heavenly Demon’s Aura.

Black fire erupted from Chun Han’s body, spreading onto the unkempt man’s arm. This was the undying fire that burned everything infinitely. However,

“You’re still wet behind the ears, kid.”

The fire that he was most proud of was seemingly absorbed by an old, decrepit man. Although Chun Han only felt a small amount of ki from the man, his senses told him it was the man that he was looking for revenge.

“Madman...” Chun Han mumbled.

"I know. It's a pretty awful nickname. I swear, you people give the worst nicknames ever."

“Why? Why did you have to kill her?”

“I don’t know who you’re talking about but if you think I did, then I did it. I just want to go home.”

“You killed her just because you want to go home?”

Chun Han seethed in anger. If he wanted to go home, then he should have done so.

“You won’t understand even if I tell you. And you don’t need to know. You’re dead anyway.”

At that moment, a scream was heard from inside the forest.

“Protect the crown prince!”

With a snake-eyed man in front, the elite warriors of the Heavenly Demon Sect bravely charged towards the Divine Masters.

"People of this world are foolish."

The Madman slowly raised his hand.

***

BOOM!

The forest shook as scorching hot wind blew in all directions.

“Master, it's there.”

Wang Jihu pointed at a huge pillar of fire. As the fire died down, the crisp bodies of the crown prince and several warriors were revealed. Near the bodies was the Madman and the two puppets.

“Disciple, go back to the valley. You can’t do anything here.”

“Yes, master.”

While Wang Jihu retreated, Yoo Jaemyung moved to attack.

“Those Heavenly Demon idiots!”

He said this out loud but inwardly, he was happy.

The initial plan was to ambush the shack altogether. If they really did that without knowing that there were two other Divine Masters, they would have suffered a lot. In the worst case scenario, they could have been wiped out like the Heavenly Demon Sect.

“Use the Subduing the Dragon formation.”

It was a formation specifically created for lower level warriors to face against a higher level monster. Although useful against monsters, its might haven’t been tested against humans.

With Yoo Jaemyung being titled as the greatest strategist, he was confident that he would be able to use the formation to kill the Madman.

“Heed my orders, we will extinguish the evil called the Madman.”

“Yes, sir.”

An ethereal dragon formed around Yoo Jaemyung’s formation as they attacked.

At the same time, two other Divine Masters jumped in.

“What did you do to my master!?”

Baek Yonggi from the Plum Blossom Sect aimed for the Madman, only to be blocked by the swordsman. From that single clash, petals seemed to bloom. The man who blocked him was his master. Sword clashed against sword as the master and disciple from the Plum Blossom Sect fought.

“The Tang Sect will have your head and place it at the stake in honor of the lives of the innocent men you have taken.”

Tang Jonghyuk threw a poison dagger made out of his ki towards the Madman but the unkempt man blocked it only with his bare body.

“Itchy.”

To his surprise, the poison had no effect on the man. It didn't even melt his skin.

At the same time, the warriors at the camp had also mobilized. Lin Fei had conveyed a message to all representatives to use any means possible to block the Madman’s possible escape.

“Use all warriors as fodder if you have to! We can't let the Madman escape.”

***

In front of the Wall Chief were the Squad Leaders from all ranks. They had just received instructions as to where they should stand by.

‘This is bullshit. It’s useless to send them there. They'd just die

Wang Jin was angry. He too had experienced how it was to meaninglessly throw his life as a cannon fodder. But he also knew that it had to be done. The situation couldn’t be helped. They had to kill the Madman at all costs.

***

“Squad Leader, w-what was that explosion?”

I looked over to Yong Wonhi who asked. He looked like he was about to piss his pants.

“There’s an order. You don’t need to know the details. Just follow this map.”

The Squad Leader spoke in a somber expression. He tried his best to cover up his worry but his worried eyes betrayed him.

“Move out in pairs. Kim Sheon, take the kid with you. The higher ups said that whoever catches the criminal dead or alive, they would be given a huge promotion”

We each took a map and went out to fulfill our duties.

***

Explosions rang inside the Northern Mountain Range one after another. The Madman bombarded the Dragon’s Formation with hundreds of fireballs.

“Do not falter!”

Yoo Jaemyung shouted as another fireball struck the formation. The dragon made out of ki began to dim as the warriors depleted their ki.

“Do not give up. He’s dead once he runs out of mana.”

Suddenly, one of the warriors spat out blood and collapsed. A crack in the formation appeared.

“Keep yourselves together!”

From the side of the Plum Blossom master and disciple fight, both swordsmen had lost their left arm. Their identical martial arts couldn't find a weakness in their opponent. Petals bloomed each time their swords clashed.

"Master, even if I die, I will make sure to let your soul rest in peace."

Baek Yonggi raised his sword. Behind him was a silhouette of a plum blossom tree. Likewise, his master did the same. The only difference was the silhouette was that of a dead plum blossom tree.

"Master, I'm sorry."

Once again, their swords clashed.

In another side of the forest, Tang Jonghyuk struggled to defend from the barrage of kicks and punches from the unkempt man. None of his poison seemed to be working.

"You're from the Immortal Sect!"

But the unkempt man couldn't respond. He was nothing but a puppet. He threw another punch and this time, Tang Jonghyuk's dagger that had been receiving simultaneous attacks, shattered.

“No! ”

His head flew off his neck. He was a bad match for the puppet.

With the Divine Master from the Tang Sect killed, the puppet casted its eyes upon Yoo Jaemyung.

‘Shit. Why did he die so fast?’

"Formation 5!"

The moment he said that, the Divine Master arrived in front of his eyes. He was about to throw a fist when suddenly, the dimming dragon flashed with a bright light, engulfing the unkempt man within.

***

"H-hyung nim, it's scary."

Judging by the distant sound of the explosions, the fights were happening more than a kilometer away from us. Like Wonhi, I too, was scared. The ground underneath us shook every now and then. Not to mention, the thick leaves of the trees made it hard to traverse the forest.

"Don't worry. I'm sure they'll be able to handle it."

***

When the light subsided, only two people remained standing. One was a bloody Yoo Jaemyung and the other was the unkempt man who now had a missing arm. The rest of the Supreme Warriors with him all died.

Thud.

Yoo Jaemyung dropped on one knee as he stared at the man in front of him. His eyes showed no fear nor regret. He hugged the man's leg and screamed.

"City Head, this is your chance."

The unkempt man was about to severe his head when a sword blocked his fist.

“Jaemyung!”

The City Head who was looking for a chance to kill the Madman had, instead, rushed in to save him.

“No! You should aim for the Madman.”

“The life of my subordinate is more important.”

The Alliance Head kicked the puppet’s stomach, throwing it far away breaking many trees in the process. With the puppet far from its owner, it lost its will to move.

At the same time, they heard someone laugh.

“Rat, so you were hiding there.”

The Madman hid his left hand behind his back and secretly started to cast a spell.

“I felt another Divine Master nearby but I didn’t know where he was so I had to not use everything. So you’re still alive, City Head.”

Although the City Head was older than the Madman, the latter still looked older. Having reached the level of a Divine Master, the City Head had a longer lifespan. As for the Madman who looked old, although he practiced martial arts, he wasn't able to achieve the level of a Divine Master.

“Jinwoo, why are you doing this?”

“You will never understand.”

“If you tell me, I can help you.”

“Have you ever missed home?”

“If you miss your home, you can return to the city anytime. Your parents may have died 50 years in the past your sister is still alive.”

“She isn't my real sister. And that isn’t my home.”

Seo Jinwoo paused and pointed at the sky.

“My home is called Earth.”

“Er Tu?”

“It’s another world.”

“You’ve really gone mad.”

“I didn’t. I’ve always looked for a way and this time, I’ve found one. The Tower of Wishes is coming.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You people really talk a lot. Farewell.”

The ground beneath Yoo Jaemyung and the City Head shook. From the cracks, smoke billowed out. As if that wasn’t enough the puppet Plum Blossom Divine Master, with only the upper half of its body remaining, pinned down the City Head.

In its fight against his disciple, he came out as the winner.

“City Head!”

Not a second later, a pillar of fire swallowed them all.