Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Chapter 5: Supernatural Abilities (9)
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Yeom Seoksan spoke calmly.
“The leader of the yokai dares to charge at a Nuo Master like this.”
He stomped the ground, creating distance.
His hands formed an eerie mudra in front of his chest.
“And with an injured body, no less!”
That was the end of his human voice.
Yeom Seoksan’s lips trembled. A bizarre resonance emanated from between his clenched teeth.
“Kuht!”
Hwang Po-goe, who had been about to rush in, abruptly halted.
With his left hand—not the one gripping the crimson spear—he clutched at his mask.
“Do you think that’ll work!”
Wooong.
The voice echoing from Yeom Seoksan’s mouth amplified further. That intensely strange sound carried a rhythm that primordially stirred human fear.
“Cough!”
Hwang Po-goe couldn’t advance any farther.
A thick coughing sound followed, and black blood trickled from beneath his mask.
“How can a vile traitor of the gods, a mere altar master, wield the incantations to control the Demon God!”
Yeom Seoksan did not reply in human tongue.
Wooong!
Boom! Fresh blood erupted from Hwang Po-goe’s side.
Hwang Po-goe sensed it instinctively.
He would die like this.
Hwang Po-goe threw his head back. Blood he had vomited stained his nape. He unleashed a voice brimming with inner energy toward the sky.
“The altar master has arrived! Transfer control of the Bone Ghosts to me!”
His roar, like that of a Buddhist lion, swept through the surrounding forest. Leaves rained down from the trees like a storm.
The target was unmistakably the White Bone Witch.
He didn’t know how far away she was, but she would hear it. It wasn’t just infused with inner energy—it carried spell power as well.
Piiiik!
A whistle-like resonance sliced through the night sky.
It was the White Bone Witch’s response.
Soon, Hwang Po-goe’s eyes changed.
Even in the shadows of his mask, the shift in his gaze was clear. Hwang Po-goe raised his hand, pointing at Yeom Seoksan. He commanded the skulls.
“Seize him!”
The number of skull-masked figures had dwindled to five after Gyu Tae felled one amid the chaos.
The skull-masked figures, who had been sluggishly skirmishing, suddenly pulled back and lunged toward Yeom Seoksan. Gyu Tae and Han Seo couldn’t recklessly pursue the skull-masked ones. Jeong Hae still couldn’t rise, and Deung Ju’s survival was uncertain.
Instead, they had Danmun. He kicked off the ground.
Thud! Slash!
Danmun’s red blade blocked the path of the first skull-masked figure. He slashed viciously up and down with the tip, then flipped his body to circle behind it.
Slice!
It was shallow.
The skull-masked figure, bleeding, twisted its body and swung its limbs at Danmun. In that gap, four more joined.
Five against one was no easy fight, even for Danmun.
He should have killed the first one in a single strike. Danmun’s blade grew busy. He slashed and thrust, blocking the advance of the five skulls.
The moment he finally sliced one’s side, another ignored Danmun and charged at Yeom Seoksan.
That was right.
Their target wasn’t Danmun—it was Yeom Seoksan.
Danmun twisted desperately, pursuing the one lunging at Yeom Seoksan. His blade struck toward its back.
Flutter!
The skull-masked figure twisted, deflecting Danmun’s blade.
Though they obeyed Hwang Po-goe’s orders, what lurked inside the masks was unmistakably human, not puppets. They dodged when they needed to. The hand reaching to grab Yeom Seoksan narrowly missed.
Danmun shifted position, placing himself directly behind Yeom Seoksan.
Even with some of them slowed by wounds, blocking five wasn’t easy. One skull-masked figure’s toe finally grazed Yeom Seoksan’s shoulder.
Woooong! Woong!
The incantation leaking from Yeom Seoksan’s mouth faltered for a moment. An altar master’s spell required such intense concentration. It was a technique that restrained a powerhouse like Hwang Po-goe with mere chanting. It only made sense that it came with corresponding limitations.
Hwang Po-goe, who had been frozen, gripped his crimson spear again. With his left hand, he pressed an acupoint on his side wound once more. The bleeding slowed.
Hwang Po-goe didn’t charge immediately.
Instead of kicking off the ground, he simply raised his hand. His palm faced Danmun, who was nimbly wielding his blade ahead.
“Stop!”
Hwang Po-goe’s voice carried a demonic aura unlike anything he had shown before. Danmun’s blade tip quivered ever so slightly.
Five against one.
That tremor was enough to tip the scales in battle.
One skull-masked figure’s awl-like spear grazed Danmun’s elbow. The skull-masked ones pressed their fierce assault. Danmun fell into a momentary disadvantage.
Hwang Po-goe’s hand tracked Danmun’s movements again.
A mask’s power ultimately depended on the strength of its wearer. Hwang Po-goe was far superior to the White Bone Witch. Even borrowed, his power surpassed hers.
It was then that Hwang Po-goe parted his lips again.
But Danmun was a fraction faster.
With a wide horizontal slash, he seized the brief opening and swiftly removed his skull mask.
“……!”
Without the mask, the White Bone Witch’s control was meaningless.
Hwang Po-goe halted his demonic command and gnashed his teeth.
Danmun didn’t stop there.
Crack!
He channeled inner energy into his grip and crushed the skull mask in his hand.
Kiiiii!
A faint shriek scattered into the night sky.
“Cunning bastard……!”
Hwang Po-goe ground his teeth.
The judgment was swift, the response decisive. Danmun had swatted away the mask’s sorcery like an annoying fly.
Of course, the situation was still dire.
Danmun’s red blade remained sharp, but overcoming the numerical disadvantage didn’t look easy. The skull-masked figures kept darting out one by one, targeting Yeom Seoksan’s back.
Danmun defended in time each instance, but it inevitably disrupted Yeom Seoksan’s focus. To entrust one’s life fully required deep trust. And Yeom Seoksan and Danmun weren’t that close.
Hwang Po-goe saw through that fact easily.
The mask sensed it first. Yeom Seoksan’s spell was wavering.
Hwang Po-goe changed tactics, advancing step by step toward Yeom Seoksan. It was as if, in receiving the White Bone Witch’s demonic power, he had gained her cunning as well.
As Hwang Po-goe closed in one step at a time, Yeom Seoksan’s face flushed red. He was straining. Sweat beaded on his forehead.
The tide of battle had shifted countless times.
And now, it shifted once more.
The sound of rustling through the distant forest reached them.
Rustle! Rustle! Flutter!
Someone was coming. Not just one.
Incredibly fast. A heavy whoosh cut through the darkness.
‘Finally!’
Jung Gwang was the first to identify the approaching presences.
He knew from the sound alone.
And rightly so.
Infusing the Heaven-Earth Step with the Wonder of Qi Wind produced that noise. It was a movement technique for overwhelming charges, not stealthy approaches.
It was the Heaven-Destroying Squad.
Flutter! Thud!
Three silhouettes burst through the distant treetops, soaring into the air.
Even three felt like a heavenly army.
If the Heaven-Destroying Squad had arrived, the Protection Squad wouldn’t be far behind. A complete reversal. With three more from the Heaven-Destroying Squad joining, they could sweep away the skull-masked figures in an instant.
That would leave Hwang Po-goe alone.
No matter how skilled Hwang Po-goe was, handling this force while injured was impossible. He knew it well.
“Bone Ghosts, retrieve the ghost masks! Withdraw!”
It must have been the White Bone Witch’s demonic aura mixed in.
If it were the temperament Hwang Po-goe had shown at first, he surely wouldn’t have decided to retreat so promptly.
At Hwang Po-goe’s command, the skull-masked figures charging Danmun scattered at once. They snatched masks from their fallen, dead comrades. Danmun wasn’t about to let that happen. He lunged in an instant, stomping one’s nape.
The skull-masked figures panicked. Hwang Po-goe shouted.
“Leave them and go!”
The three from the Heaven-Destroying Squad were closing in.
The skull-masked figures hurled themselves into the forest shadows.
Now only Hwang Po-goe remained.
It was then that Hwang Po-goe tried to retreat.
Yeom Seoksan did not stop his incantation. He poured more power, focusing on Hwang Po-goe. Clear killing intent filled Yeom Seoksan’s eyes.
“Traitor, you dare!”
Hwang Po-goe, forcibly halted, ground his teeth.
And once again, he made a choice uncharacteristic of himself.
He raised his left hand to grip his mask. He couldn’t remove it freely. Veins and blood vessels bulged on the back of his hand. Thinking one hand wasn’t enough, perhaps. In desperation, he tossed aside his crimson spear and seized the mask with both hands.
Bending at the waist, he tore it off as if ripping his own face. His body immediately regained freedom. Head bowed, covering his face, he swept up the crimson spear. He kicked off the ground.
“Huh?!”
A single startled shout rang out—Gyeong Nambang’s.
From the moment Yeom Seoksan burst into the fray, he had been a mere observer. He alone had a clear view. His position allowed it. Shocked by Hwang Po-goe’s bare face, his expression had hardened completely.
Yet, despite being closest, he did not pursue Hwang Po-goe.
Even the newly arrived Heaven-Destroying Squad warriors couldn’t launch a chase. Tending to the wounded came first. This forest was still an unsafe battlefield. Just as they had pinpointed the location from Hwang Po-goe’s inner energy shout toward the White Bone Witch and raced here at full speed, others might still come. They needed to withdraw quickly.
The most urgent was Yeom Seoksan.
The moment Hwang Po-goe retreated, he whirled around and dashed to Hyang. Her forehead glowed blue.
“Thank you, truly. Leave the rest to me.”
“Is it alright to pull back now?”
“It’s fine. It’ll be fine.”
Jung Gwang rose, leaving her. Yeom Seoksan immediately sat down. He pulled something from his bosom—a single pill. He pried open Hyang’s jaw, fed her the pill, and examined her abdominal wound.
“It doesn’t look too deep. Still, pulling it out right away seems risky.”
Yeom Seoksan disagreed.
He brushed aside Hyang’s hand, spun the White Bone Witch’s awl dagger half a turn, and yanked it out.
Gush—fresh blood surged. Yeom Seoksan remained calm, pulling a cloth scrap from his bosom and balling it up. He pressed it firmly against Hyang’s abdomen, then lifted his head toward Jung Gwang. He spoke in a grave tone.
“I, Yeom Seoksan, have lost my base in the Merchant Guild, but my remaining assets are not insignificant. I shall formally request protection once more from the Hegemon of Hebei, the Peng Clan.”
Jung Gwang couldn’t readily agree or refuse.
The relationship between Yeom Seoksan and Hwang Po-goe, the spells Yeom Seoksan wielded, and the entire battle situation were matters too complex for a single Heaven-Destroying Squad leader to decide.
At that moment, as if seizing the opportunity, Gyeong Nambang approached and spoke.
“Guild Leader Yeom, you must have suffered. But that request— I could grant it, you know?”
Yeom Seoksan turned to Gyeong Nambang.
His gaze was icy.