Chapter 48
Chapter 48
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Chapter 5: Special Abilities (6)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jung Gwang gritted his teeth and swung his Pae Sword.
He had to clash and overpower her to break through.
But the White Bone Witch refused to take on all three greatswords.
She was an expert, and cunning.
Kwachik! Woojikkeun!
She watched the fiercely unfolding Pae Sword strikes as if waiting for them, dodging at the perfect moment. The powerful sword strike from the Pae Sword carved up a tree trunk behind her.
Amid the scattering leaves, a sharp whistling sound rang out.
Swaeok!
It was a hidden weapon laced with deadly poison. Not just one, but three flew at once.
“Keut!”
Jung Gwang gritted his teeth and leaned his body back.
The formation of the three Heaven-Destroying Squad members broke apart.
The White Bone Witch was swift and supple. She danced between the trees like a ghost rather than a human.
“Fall back!”
This wouldn’t do. He pulled the two warriors back and took a large step forward.
Tteong!
The ground shook with the force of his stance.
His muscles swelled, and his inner energy gathered at the sword tip.
The greatsword trembled. The essence of the Pae Sword boiled within the Blade God.
Star-Picking Breakthrough, the ultimate technique unfolded.
Kwang!
The slashing strike exploded like a bomb, sweeping across the White Bone Witch’s front. Even she, who had seemed leisurely throughout, couldn’t afford to be relaxed this time. She left black-and-white afterimages as she urgently retreated.
“Advance!”
Jung Gwang couldn’t follow immediately.
He had unleashed his inner energy all at once.
Instead, as his feet stopped, the two Heaven-Destroying Squad warriors took over the follow-up attack.
Two Pae Swords sliced in sharply.
Swaeshaeshaeshaesak!
The White Bone Witch didn’t just take it. Her counterattack was fierce.
Three streaks, followed by five more hidden weapons poured out. The two Pae Swords aiming for the White Bone Witch abruptly changed direction. The two warriors’ cross defense covered up to Jung Gwang’s front.
Chaenchaenchaeng!
The hidden weapons bounced off in all directions.
She laughed.
“Hohohoho. So mean.”
The collar of her upper garment was torn.
It wasn’t from sword energy. There was no blood. It seemed she had been grazed by the splintered wood from the Star-Picking Breakthrough. If it had dipped just a bit lower, her chest would have been fully exposed.
“Sly bitch!”
She stroked her exposed chest with one hand as if kneading it.
A faint demonic energy spread out. It even carried a sweet fragrance. Amid the deadly exchanges, the word “lust” burrowed into their minds.
It was妖術, seductive sorcery.
Now he understood why she kept her hidden weapons in her chest.
It was another bewitching spell linked to that ghostly soul-seizing technique. Anyone who hadn’t cultivated orthodox inner arts would have their mind shaken just by the sight. Non-martial artists would surely lose their senses and drool.
“Enough with the needless provocations.”
It had no effect on Jung Gwang.
He didn’t even avert his gaze. With unshaken eyes, he regarded her like a vicious weapon. He blocked the pouring demonic energy, regulated his breathing, and swiftly recovered even his depleted energy reserves.
“My pride’s hurt. That’s why the Nine Great Sects and Six Clans are such a pain. They always have some hidden trump card.”
She, who had moved like a serpent in her bewitching allure, raised her white bone club high.
As if revealing her true nature, the seductive charm vanished, replaced by chilling killing intent filling her entire body.
She lured them in to kill.
The purpose of lust wasn’t emotion in the end. It was death.
For the first time, she launched a preemptive strike.
Incredibly fierce.
The white bone club thrust straight toward Jung Gwang’s heart.
Jjeong!
The Pae Sword deflected the white bone club. Her body bounced back with it.
“!!”
He had anticipated it from the frontal charge.
The moment she collided with Jung Gwang, the White Bone Witch launched herself into the air, twisting her direction. Gyu Tae’s Pae Sword aimed for her waist, but she deftly deflected it and accelerated.
Her target was obvious.
At the end of her path were Seol and Hyang.
At the same time, the gaunt skull-masked figures hanging from the trees like spectators leaped toward Jung Gwang and the two.
He knew it would come to this.
There was no way she’d fight fair. The White Bone Witch kicked off branches, gliding through the night sky like a ghost. Her upper body was nearly bare, exposing swathes of pale skin, but it only made her more eerie in her unnatural state. To Seol and Hyang, it was nothing but a terrifying sight.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Jeong Hae shouted and unleashed his Pae Sword.
Swinging it with one poisoned arm dangling, the momentum was no less than a two-handed strike.
Jjeoeong! The Heaven-Destroying Squad’s spirit was high indeed, but the White Bone Witch’s demonic power was a cut above.
Jeong Hae’s body staggered backward.
Riding the momentum, the White Bone Witch aimed the spikes at the end of her club for Jeong Hae’s nape. The tips gleamed. A stab would be fatal. Jeong Hae instinctively knew they were coated in deadly poison.
He bounced backward, rolling on the ground.
If his left arm had been fine, he could have flipped and countered immediately, but he had completely lost his balance.
He scrambled up hastily. The White Bone Witch didn’t charge. She hadn’t targeted Jeong Hae from the start.
“Deng Ju!”
Jung Gwang pursued the White Bone Witch with all his might, but the skull masks’ interference was relentless.
The pale white bone club fell toward Deng Ju, who was in a cross-legged stance.
Seol and Hyang’s faces turned ashen. There was nothing they could do.
Jjeong!!
Instead of the sound of a head bursting, a sharp metallic clash erupted.
What blocked the white bone club was, astonishingly, Deng Ju’s own sword. Blood poured from his mouth and nose as he held the greatsword above his head and rose to his feet.
“Dream on.”
The Heaven-Destroying Squad’s fighting spirit blazed in his eyes.
The White Bone Witch laughed.
“Hohoho. That’s my line. You’re cute, kid.”
She seemed to withdraw the white bone club, then suddenly swung it sideways.
A terrifying speed left a pale afterimage.
Peoeok!
This time, he couldn’t block.
It struck true into his side.
Deng Ju’s entire body lifted into the air. He flew over ten feet, crashed into a tree, and fell to the ground. Deng Ju didn’t rise again. It was uncertain if he was even alive.
Jeong Hae, regaining his stance, charged at the White Bone Witch’s flank.
The White Bone Witch casually swung her hand.
Swaeok!
The whistling cut through the air. A hidden weapon.
Teoeong! Ttaang!
Her claim of using them all up had been a lie, of course.
Jeong Hae urgently stomped the ground and swung his greatsword to deflect the hidden weapon. The White Bone Witch didn’t miss the opening in his haste.
Huuk!
The white bone club smashed down on Jeong Hae’s thigh—his left side, unbalanced from the poison. A gruesome sound rang out.
Kwachik!
“Keuuk!”
Even the Heaven-Destroying Squad’s grueling training couldn’t stifle his groan.
Jeong Hae had to roll on the ground once more.
Kwaang!
The White Bone Witch was merciless. The white bone club crashing down shattered a rock, sending dirt, dust, and weeds flying. If he hadn’t dodged immediately, he’d be dead. With both his left arm and leg unusable, he struggled to prop up his upper body, planting his greatsword in the ground to defend against more hidden weapons.
“Stop it!”
With a shout, Jung Gwang shook off the skull masks and arrived before the White Bone Witch.
The White Bone Witch didn’t pursue Jeong Hae. Not because Jung Gwang told her to stop. Jeong Hae was already out of the fight.
“Hohoho.”
The White Bone Witch laughed flirtatiously.
Jung Gwang gritted his teeth and glared at her.
They faced off one-on-one again.
Gyu Tae and Han Seo were still held back by the skull masks.
The skull masks dragged out time with bizarre techniques defying common sense. Their power didn’t seem that high, but dealing with them was annoyingly troublesome. They were more than sufficient for blocking advances.
“What will you do if I don’t?”
The bigger problem was that Seol and Hyang were right beside the White Bone Witch.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the two women were already in the妖女’s grasp.
Kwa-gwang!
Right beside them, an explosion scattered leaves amid the roar.
The battle between Hwang Po-gwae and Gyeong Nambang was intensifying. The masked monster seemed incredibly strong, but the pride of the Shanxi Five Strongholds was no less.
Gyeong Nambang was demonstrating martial arts on par with Dongpungneung or Hwang Ryeo-man. It was a fierce clash full of lessons just from watching.
But there was no room to glance away.
Jung Gwang’s side was at a disadvantage.
The White Bone Witch was in a position to snatch Seol or Hyang at any moment. There was no guarantee she wouldn’t use lethal force.
And as if that wasn’t enough.
Black shadows emerged from between the trees.
‘Damn...’
Both sides were dragging out time in the same way.
For similar reasons.
Jung Gwang was waiting for the remaining three Heaven-Destroying Squad members and the eight Pae Clan General Force Unit’s Protection Squad.
The White Bone Witch was doing the same.
And in the end, she won the battle of time.
The newly appeared shadows all wore skull masks. There were seven of them.
Only he, Gyu Tae, and Han Seo could still fight properly. And in the midst of it, they had to protect Seol, Hyang, Jeong Hae, and Deng Ju.
“Well, now it’s clear, right?”
The skull masks closed in like a noose. She pointed at two skull masks with her finger, then at Seol and Hyang, her gaze fixed piercingly on Jung Gwang.
The two skull masks approached and pounced on Seol and Hyang. As Seol stumbled back, Hyang even swung a fist. Of course, it was futile. The two young women were subdued in an instant.
Jung Gwang ground his teeth and tried to throw himself forward, but he had to stop in his tracks.
The White Bone Witch was thorough. Even after securing Seol and Hyang, she didn’t let her guard down.
Her finger extended from Jeong Hae, who was holding himself up on one leg, to Deng Ju, collapsed and motionless. The skull masks slinked toward Jeong Hae and Deng Ju.
“I’m fine! Deng Ju first!”
Jeong Hae shouted. His voice was still unyielding.
“I’ll go.”
Gyu Tae, having just shaken off a skull mask, rushed to Deng Ju. Fortunately, he was still breathing, though faintly. Gyu Tae faced off against two skull masks with the fallen Deng Ju between them.
“Give up. Kid. We just need these two. Even if you’re the lowliest of the Six Clans, we don’t want to buy enmity with your lives. Retreat now, and we’ll let you live.”
It was an insult.
Had the Heaven-Destroying Squad ever suffered such humiliation?
Jung Gwang’s eyes twitched.
Kwa-kwang!
From the direction of Hwang Po-gwae and Gyeong Nambang’s fierce clash, another explosion rang out.
Gyeong Nambang’s voice followed as he retreated.
“You call yourself Pae Clan, yet pushed back by a half-naked wench? This is troubling.”
This was humiliation for the Heaven-Destroying Squad too.
Gyeong Nambang could be seen stepping back.
The Shanxi Five Strongholds were simply the strongest martial artists in Shanxi at present, not chosen in any order of righteousness.
Gyeong Nambang was a hero of sorts, but as the owner of a liquor house dealing in alcohol, he was deeply involved in Shanxi’s numerous taverns and back-alley shadows. On the surface, he didn’t stray far from the righteous path, but scandals involving lechery never ceased, and reports from the Pae Clan’s secret forces indicated he leaned more toward evil than good.
In other words, he wasn’t the type to stake his life on their side if the situation turned unfavorable. Indeed, Gyeong Nambang had loosened his tightly clenched fist, wearing an expression as if his fun had been spoiled.