Chapter 137
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: Demons and Ghosts (2)
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The splendid clothes she usually wore were now like a beggar's rags.
Not only that, her usually expressionless face was contorted with rage and fear, and her neatly styled hair was a disheveled mess. Her entire body, stained with blood, made her look like a soldier who had deserted the battlefield.
Seo Ryang was dumbfounded.
“What is that?”
A myriad of emotions was packed into that short mutter.
Just then, Hong Yeorin spotted the two of them.
“Hah!”
What a reaction.
The look on her face, as if she'd stopped breathing, was a masterpiece. Her complexion instantly turned pale, and a shadow of despair fell over her eyes.
It was akin to the feeling of someone fleeing a wolf only to run into a tiger.
Seo Ryang licked his lips. He figured he should at least ask what was going on.
But he missed his chance to speak.
“Don't tell me it was you?!”
“Huh?”
“You… you really…!”
Her eyebrows shot up. Her eyes, once a battleground of rage and fear, now filled with killing intent.
“Die!”
*Fwoosh!*
Hong Yeorin swung her sword with ferocious speed.
She was clearly exhausted to the point of breathlessness, yet she charged with considerable speed. It must have meant she was that furious.
Seo Ryang's face twisted.
“Has she lost her mind!”
*Claaang!*
A casual flick of his hand sent Hong Yeorin's sword flying. Her protective gear, already tattered, was completely torn apart by the blow.
“Who the hell do you think you are, swinging that nasty thing around without so much as a hello!”
*Thwack!*
Hong Yeorin's body flew into the air before crashing to the ground. As she lay there, only the whites of her eyes were visible.
It was a truly merciless punch. She was lucky her jaw wasn't broken.
Having swung her sword with killing intent, even Ma Dongpil couldn't look upon Hong Yeorin favorably. But the response was so brutal that even he flinched.
Seo Ryang said, panting with rage.
“This is one hell of a cursed fate. If I wasn't planning on taking over the Red Snake House, you would've been beaten to death right here… huh?”
In that instant, his eyes flashed.
Ma Dongpil's face hardened as well. He had sensed a powerful, sharp energy emanating from beyond the forest.
“Young Master?”
“Yeah, I felt it too. But...”
“I don't sense any demonic energy.”
Seo Ryang glanced down at Hong Yeorin. Unconscious, she couldn't even lift a finger.
“These are all sword wounds.”
Sharp cuts covered her blood-soaked body. And the powerful presence approaching from the distance was armed with the distinct, sharp energy of a swordsman.
*Shing!*
Drawing the Ink King Sword, Ma Dongpil stood in front of Seo Ryang.
A moment later, a group of warriors approached them.
“...Oho?”
A faint look of admiration appeared on Seo Ryang's face.
“They're the real deal.”
The stances of the seven swordsmen who appeared were perfect.
Though their stances were natural, they held an underlying discipline. Yet, it didn't seem restrictive at all. It looked as if they could unleash a fluid strike at any moment.
A perfect middle way, neither clumsy nor half-hearted. In terms of sheer power, they were all weaker than Ma Dongpil, but as swordsmen, their form was near perfection.
Even their unwavering minds.
“Who are you?”
The swordsman in the center, a robust man in his forties wearing a dark blue robe, asked.
Ma Dongpil's eyes deepened.
Ma Dongpil didn't answer. Seeing this, the robust man nodded.
“So, no need for questions, is that it?”
*Shhng.*
The robust man, the only one who hadn't drawn his sword, now drew his.
Seo Ryang's eyes widened in that instant.
“It doesn't matter. The moment you saw that woman, you were already dead. Blame your misfortune...”
*Slice!*
“Hmm?”
The robust man looked down.
His stoic face turned pale.
His shins, now marked with a red line, tilted and slowly slid apart.
*Fwoosh!*
“Kugh!”
Having lost both legs, the robust man collapsed.
It all happened in an instant. The swordsmen were bewildered, unable to comprehend what had just transpired.
Ma Dongpil turned around.
Demonic energy flickered in the eyes of Seo Ryang, who had already drawn the Seven Nights Saber.
“Dongpil.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“The other six. Wipe them all out.”
“As you command!”
*Kwoong!*
With a powerful stomp, golden demonic energy erupted from Ma Dongpil's body.
The swordsmen's eyes wavered.
Those who practiced demonic arts were generally not adept at concealing their presence. This was only natural, as demonic energy itself was attuned to emission and destruction.
To be able to perfectly conceal such powerful demonic energy meant that the opponent was on the verge of transcending human limits.
*Fwoosh!*
Ma Dongpil lunged at the swordsmen.
The robust man shouted. Even as he writhed in excruciating pain, he gave a cold command.
“Kill them!”
*Tung!*
Even with their leader having lost his legs, they didn't waver at the command.
Ma Dongpil clashed with the six swordsmen.
*Cl-cl-cl-clang! Kwarreung!*
Swords clashed against swords, scattering demonic energy and sharp sword qi.
With the Seven Nights Saber in hand, Seo Ryang walked toward the robust man.
The robust man, his face deathly pale and drenched in a cold sweat, asked.
“Who are you?!”
“That's what I'd like to ask.”
*Chk.*
Seo Ryang pointed the Seven Nights Saber at the man.
“That sword. Where did you get it?”
“What?”
“You seem to have some skill, but there's no way you could have infiltrated the Righteous Heaven Alliance and stolen it with just that level of ability.”
“...?!”
A deep killing intent surged in his demonic-energy-filled eyes.
“Judging by your energy signatures, you're definitely not from the Righteous Heaven Alliance. So how do you have the Dawn Sound Sword?”
“...!”
“What organization are you from?”
The robust man gritted his teeth.
“You... you're a demon practitioner. How do you recognize the Dawn Sound Sword?”
“I'm the one asking the questions.”
*Thwack!*
The man's pale face turned crimson.
He was slashing at the wounds that had been perfectly sealed to stop the bleeding. A truly cruel method; the sharp pain felt like it would make him lose consciousness.
“Regardless of where you're from, I can't let you go.”
They had intended to kill him just for seeing Hong Yeorin. That alone made them enemies.
Furthermore, they were carrying the Dawn Sound Sword, one of the Twenty-Eight Swords of Righteous Heaven, a treasure of the Righteous Heaven Alliance.
Just then, one of the swordsmen exchanging blows with Ma Dongpil glanced at Seo Ryang.
*Wooooong.*
A powerful sword energy rose from the swordsman's blade.
The corner of Seo Ryang's mouth lifted.
The robust man shouted.
“Don't...!”
*Craaaack! Fwoosh!*
A single saber strike, like a beam of light, shattered the sword, and the swordsman was split in two.
This was a different level of martial prowess. Without using the Calamity Saber Art or the Heaven-Sundering Three Sabers, even an ordinary strike was imbued with immense power and profound martial principles.
Seo Ryang said nonchalantly.
“Dongpil. You're letting their attention wander.”
*Kwajik!*
With a Soul-Severing strike, the chests of two swordsmen were split open. The merciless, powerful sword blow shattered their bones and severed their heart meridians, extinguishing their lives in an instant.
*Chiiiiik!*
The demonic energy of the Golden Yaksha concentrated in the Ink King Sword gave off a golden haze.
Ma Dongpil replied in a chilling voice.
“I will finish this quickly.”
*Fwoosh!*
Closing the distance in an instant, he executed the Dharma King Sword Art.
If the Demon-Protecting Sword Style was a basic art specialized in defense, the Dharma King Sword Art was a supreme sword art that integrated offense and defense.
However, since he had only been taught the first half, he had no choice but to create his own finishing moves. The secret techniques, the Soul-Severing and Heaven-Returning sword forms, were like children born from the Dharma King Sword Art.
*Kwang! Jjeojeojeong!*
He wielded the sword of judgment, meant to uphold the laws of the Divine Cult with the mountain-like power of the Golden Yaksha.
The remaining three swordsmen's faces turned pale under the onslaught of solemn, furious strikes. The blows weren't particularly fast, but the weight of each one was so immense that simply parrying them was a struggle.
Seo Ryang's eyes deepened.
‘That guy is definitely something else.’
To display such swordsmanship with only the first half of the art.
It meant Ma Dongpil's enlightenment had surpassed the level of the sword art itself. Although he was always impressed by Seo Ryang, Ma Dongpil, who had worked to death to catch up to him, was now showing the qualities of a master who had established his own school of thought.
‘If I put my mind to helping him, he could probably create his own way of the sword.’
Before him was a warrior who had grown strong quickly with his advice. He wasn't exactly a disciple, but Seo Ryang felt he should pay more attention to him from now on.
Some time passed like that.
*Slice!*
After lopping off the last swordsman's head with a lightning-fast sword technique, Ma Dongpil sheathed his blade with disciplined precision.
“Good work.”
“Not at all. I was too slow.”
Seo Ryang looked down at the robust man.
Fear finally crept onto his face, which was drenched in a cold sweat.
“You said the moment we saw that thieving wench, we were already dead?”
“...!”
“I think you need to correct that statement.”
*Tuduk!*
Seo Ryang ripped off the Dawn Sound Sword and its scabbard, then spoke coldly.
“The moment you picked up this piece of shit sword, your life was over. I happen to despise the Righteous Heaven Alliance.”
* * *
“Hah!”
Hong Yeorin sat up with a ragged breath, her face instantly contorting.
“Ugh!”
Her left cheek was swollen. She had been hit so hard that her jaw throbbed.
‘Where am I?’
She quickly scanned her surroundings. All she could see were countless trees.
Just then, a lazy voice came from her side.
“You're awake?”
“Hah!”
Startled, she looked toward the source of the voice.
Sitting at the base of a tree, a young man was leisurely eating meat. Next to him were three sabers of different sizes and an empty scabbard.
Killing intent filled Hong Yeorin's eyes.
“You...!”
*Thwack!*
She suppressed a groan that threatened to escape. Her face flushed with humiliation after being struck on the forehead with a deer's leg bone.
Seo Ryang dusted off his hands.
“You still want to see the world with both eyes, don't you?”
“What did you say?”
“I'm saying if you don't lose that look in your eyes, I'll pluck them out.”
Hong Yeorin swallowed without realizing it.
He spoke calmly, but she knew what a vicious and menacing man he was. The threat to gouge out her eyes was certainly not an empty one.
“Come sit. I have some questions for you.”
“...Before that.”
“Before what?”
Hong Yeorin asked in a trembling voice.
“Why didn't you kill me?”
Seo Ryang frowned.
“Sure, you're an obnoxious, clueless moron who throws tantrums. In some ways, I wonder if you're even crazier than Commander Wi. Now that I think about it, that's impressive in its own right.”
“...”
“But I haven't found a reason to kill you yet. Why did you think I had to?”
“Because… you people… my family...”
“Turned it upside down?”
“So it was you?”
“You know why they call bullshit bullshit? Because you can't make any sense of it.”
“What do you mean?”
“As an inspector, I turned your house upside down. But as an individual, I've never targeted or attacked your family.”
Seo Ryang pointed behind him with his thumb. Hong Yeorin's gaze followed his finger, and her face turned pale.
*Drip, drip, drip.*
The robust man, his legs cut off, was hanging from a tree, dripping blood. He wasn't dead yet, but he was clearly in a critical state.
“It's been this way since I was young. I hate nothing more than guys who snatch away the prey I've already marked.”
“...”
“So tell me.”
*Stab.*
Seo Ryang stabbed a piece of deer meat with his red saber and shoved it into the bonfire.
“Your family. How badly have they been butchered?”