Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Chapter 4: Hebei Peng Clan (5)
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“A little further!”
Cheonwi shouted, twisting the tip of his sword backward.
Chiiing!
It grazed the thrusting Narrow Peak Sword before piercing through with a crunch!
Black blood sprayed from the chest of the black-clad, masked assailant. The forest in the darkness was a space where everything appeared in shades of black and white. Only the golden blade stood out vividly. The assailant’s body slumped into the shadow of a tree.
Shiiik! Sugagak!
Blood scattered along the trail of the golden sword tip.
The swordsmen wielding Narrow Peak Swords couldn’t find a way to counter the blade that sliced through so effortlessly. The reason was always the same. He had struck at the fundamental weakness inherent in their martial arts.
Chiring! Kwajik!
Cheonwi’s golden sword shattered the thigh of a black-clad warrior.
In an instant, he had felled three. Yet the Narrow Peak Sword wielders showed no sign of retreat. They were like zealots. No, they seemed truly possessed as they mindlessly thrust their swords at Cheonwi.
‘Not yet…!’
There was no time to stand still.
The moment he caught his breath, he kicked off the ground and followed behind Jeonno.
He passed a slope like a hill and entered a thicket of spindly trees stretching out in rows.
That was as far as they got.
The encroaching enemies had finally closed in from the front. He could see Jeonno ahead, clutching Hyang while swinging his sword. They were surrounded.
Chaeng! Jjeoeong!
Once his speed slowed even slightly, there was no way to pick it up again. They were closing in layer by layer. The powerful aura sensed from afar was also rapidly narrowing the distance.
“We’re done for!”
Jeonno warned in a shrill voice.
Before the warning finished, Hyang’s scream—“Kyaaak!”—tore through the forest. A White Sword Squad warrior’s sword, aimed at Jeonno, had grazed her shoulder. Jeonno gritted his teeth. Unlike before, he swung his sword with savage ferocity. A Narrow Peak Sword wielder’s entire arm flew off.
Shyik! Shugak!
‘Damn it!’
Cheonwi, surrounded by over a dozen foes, was in an even worse spot.
Blood welled from Cheonwi’s lower back. He twisted his golden sword backward to pursue the retreating brown-robed warrior in tattered clothes. The tip of Cheonwi’s blade scraped the enemy’s nape. With a gurgling sound, the body tumbled to the ground.
“Go on ahead first!!”
Cheonwi yelled.
Jeonno pushed forward with Hyang. Enemies poured in from all sides. A gap opened behind Jeonno as he swung his sword. The foes didn’t miss it. Two club-wielding warriors in mottled clothes struck from behind Jeonno. Cheonwi gritted his teeth. Ignoring the three enemies charging at him, he launched himself to aid Jeonno.
Shying! Sgagagak!
The golden blade drew a golden crescent. Blood erupted with a splash! The two club-wielding warriors in mottled clothes plummeted to the ground.
Pook!
Cheonwi wasn’t unscathed. Hyang’s eyes, clutched in Jeonno’s arm, widened in horror.
The tip of a slender Narrow Peak Sword protruded sharply before Cheonwi’s chest. It had pierced clean through from his back.
Shyik! Kagak!
The golden sword belatedly severed the wrist gripping the Narrow Peak Sword. Cheonwi spun, blocking a sword thrusting in from the right. He could see a hand dangling from the hilt of the Narrow Peak Sword embedded in his back.
“Keulk!”
Cheonwi spat out a glob of blood, legs spread wide to steady himself.
There was no time to stand idle. He didn’t even have a moment to pull out the sword skewering him like a kebab.
“A-are you… okay?”
It was an utterly pointless question. Hyang’s face crumpled in distress.
Cheonwi’s sword tip traced a dazzling golden arc. It was an unnatural sight. With a sword thrust from back to chest, he showed no sign of pain.
“What are you doing! Go!!”
Cheonwi bellowed in a heated tone.
But it wasn’t so easy.
It wasn’t that they couldn’t abandon Cheonwi. The encirclement was too thick. It was thickening layer by layer even now. Even Jeonno couldn’t break through in one go.
“Tch!!”
Cha chaeng! Chaeng!
Cheonwi had no choice.
Ignoring his own safety entirely, he devoted all his strength to guarding Jeonno’s rear. Jeonno’s advance gained some momentum without the burden behind him.
Pishut!
“Kuhk!”
Still, it was unavoidable.
Blood welled once more from Cheonwi’s lower back. The wrist that had been dangling from the embedded Narrow Peak Sword was nowhere to be seen. Dark red blood gushed endlessly from his body along the blade.
“This won’t do! Let me instead!”
She must have acted out of desperation, unable to bear watching Cheonwi and Jeonno’s peril.
Hyang bit her lip hard and tried to wrench free from Jeonno.
It was the worst possible move. Jeonno’s body twisted mid-swing, losing balance. The lurking enemies pounced like wolves on a stumbled fawn.
Jjeoeong! Pook!
Foolish mistakes always draw blood.
Warm wetness soaked one side of Cheonwi’s flank. A sharp dagger. The blade had sunk so deep the hilt was flush.
‘You damn…!’
He’d half-expected her to cause trouble eventually.
Grinding his teeth, he swung the golden sword.
Cha chaeng! Chaaeng! Cha chaeng!
The impacts transmitted through his hands were no joke. Two holes pierced his body. His breathing couldn’t flow properly.
“Cut the nonsense! It’s not just you who’ll die!”
Hyang flinched, her face paling at Cheonwi’s barked words.
Swiiik! Pishut!
Even screaming was a luxury here.
A hidden weapon from somewhere grazed Cheonwi’s forearm. Blood sprayed as expected. It had gouged nearly an inch deep. The back of his sword hand throbbed. His muscles were damaged.
He couldn’t put proper strength into it.
Anyone could see his swordplay was precarious.
Hyang’s face crumpled further. A constant patter sounded at Cheonwi’s feet. It was the blood pouring from his body dripping into the shadows.
“You’ll… die like that…….”
Her voice crept out, trembling.
It all felt like her fault.
If she hadn’t moved recklessly, things wouldn’t have come to this. No, if she hadn’t sought them out in the first place, he wouldn’t be bleeding like this.
Tears she’d held back for so long clouded her eyes with a hazy veil.
Through the blur, she saw Cheonwi take another hit from a blade.
Death was drawing near.
“Don’t give up.”
Cheonwi’s voice reached her.
Suddenly, he raised his golden sword toward the sky.
Hyang closed her eyes once, then opened them.
Tears fell in drops. In her cleared vision, a golden beam sliced through the darkness.
A golden arrow, the golden flash.
“It’s here.”
She heard Cheonwi’s voice.
Pasasasasa! Pasasasak!
She jerked her head upward. A whooshing sound came from the sky.
Like birds in flight, leaping over the highest branches. Not one, but many. Eight shadows crossed overhead.
Cheonwi’s golden sword, raised to the heavens, descended. The blade gleamed, capturing starlight.
Paralarararak!
Cheonwi struck first at the foes before him, the sword descending like a response.
A waterfall of blades.
Straight down.
With momentum to soak the entire world.
Jjeojeok!
The charging black-clad warriors were cleaved from top to bottom in a single stroke, splitting apart.
Paralarararak! Pakang!
It came again.
One, two, three… eight.
A rain of swords from the heavens.
Kwajik! Jjeojeok! Jjeojeojeok!
Blood from clean bisecting sprays adorned their descent gorgeously. The warriors encircling Cheonwi crumbled in an instant.
Jjeoeok! Teoreong!
They all wore the same clothes.
Yellowish-brown silk robes with stark black collars. Golden peng flower leaves stood out vividly on the black blade-like collars.
They all wielded the same swords.
Oodachi with blades over three cheok long. The might of the oodachi cleaving the darkness was like falling lightning.
Eight thunderbolts struck at once. Their power was utter devastation.
Kwajik!
Enemies toppled in droves.
Kkung, kkuwoong!
The thuds of their landing were heavy.
Silence filled the surroundings. No one could utter a word.
Eight oodachi. Eight swordsmen.
The ones from the sky rose from the corpses they had split. An overwhelming heroic aura emanated outward.
A presence so tremendous it felt unreal.
It was as if Cheonwi, cornered, had summoned heavenly warriors from above.
“Hebei… Peng Clan……!”
It was a flashy, shocking entrance.
They glared at the enemies around them.
All bore large frames, their auras upright and mighty.
“Why are they here……?”
Stifled groans escaped the lips of the foes who had been swinging their weapons silently.
Anyone roaming the martial world would recognize them.
The oodachi warriors with black collars—their appearance alone was enough. Moreover, the name of the clan that raised them was etched clearly on the sword guards of their oodachi.
Peng Clan. Those two characters.
The foremost sword clan of Hebei, the name of the family. One of the great six clans vying for supremacy in the Central Plains, the cradle of peerless sword arts aspiring to be the world’s best—a string of accolades followed.
Cheok, cheok, chiiing!
The eight Hebei Peng Clan oodachi warriors leveled their sword tips forward.
A sight to behold in itself.
The Peng Clan’s signature formation: the Peng Direct Lineage Sword Array. A resonant hum spread from the oodachi extended in all directions.
“You’re late.”
Cheonwi said curtly.
Dried blood crusted his lips, and gashes torn across his body yawned open everywhere.
But the Peng swordsmen showed little reaction. Of the eight, only one turned to look at Cheonwi.
“…….”
The Peng swordsman’s gaze was icy cold. Cheonwi didn’t meet his eyes. His gaze lingered not on the swordsman, but on Hyang. Cheonwi tossed out the words.
“I kept my promise. I’ve handed her over to safety.”
Hyang stared at him with a tear-streaked face. A foreboding premonition flashed through her mind, and she spoke with trembling lips.
“Handed over? To safety… What…….”
“Look. These are the elites of the Hebei Peng Clan, one of the six great clans. Where you stand is the safest place in this city.”
“W-what about you, warrior…….”
“This is as far as I go. My part’s done.”
Cheonwi grinned. A smile so bright it sent chills.
“Go on now, kid. They’ll protect you.”
“……!”
Jeonno said nothing.
He merely held unspeakable emotions in his eyes. Jeonno pulled Hyang along. She raised her voice.
“As far as here?! What are you thinking?!”
“Look at me. Someone’s gotta die anyway. Gambling’s always a matter of staking your life.”
“Warrior, don’t do this. Please…….”
Cheonwi smiled again. This time, it was bitter.