Chapter 190
Chapter 190
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 190
Chapter Title: The Tiger and the Wolf
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"Hoo... heh heh...."
The collapsed Suma Geon let out a snicker right there on the spot.
And that soon evolved into...
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
A booming laugh that seemed to shake the heavens.
Amid the utter silence of everyone around him, he shook with laughter for a good long while before finally twitching the corner of his mouth and speaking up.
"Educating your kids, huh? It's been ages since I heard something this amusing."
But Suma Geon's mirth vanished in an instant.
His eyes flashed like a freshly sharpened blade as he let out a chilling voice.
"But I've got a question. I've never once received any teachings from you, Palace Lord. So what the hell kind of 'education' are you talking about? Didn't you just neglect us entirely? I've gotten absolutely nothing from you."
Suma Geon unleashed a torrent of words, clearly harboring a mountain of resentment.
Suritae listened in silence before finally exhaling a deep sigh from the depths of his lungs.
"Huu...."
Ignorant, or simply turning a blind eye?
Addressing his son, who had averted his gaze from the truth, Suritae opened his mouth.
"Do you truly believe you've received nothing from me?"
"Of course. It's common knowledge that the Palace Lord neglects his sons and daughters..."
"The fact that you're standing in that position!"
Suritae cut Suma Geon off with a roar.
"If you weren't my son, do you think you could've become Little Palace Lord that easily?!"
Suritae's words were undeniable fact.
The Namman Wild Beast Palace was a coalition of tribes and didn't obsess over bloodlines for the Palace Lord position, but even so, it was undeniably advantageous for the Lord's own child to ascend to Little Palace Lord.
The very status of prince or princess drew people's attention and support.
No matter how exceptional Suma Geon's political talents were, had he not been the Palace Lord's son, the path to Little Palace Lord would've been far more treacherous.
And Suma Geon knew that full well, which was why he couldn't muster a quick retort to his father's furious voice.
"I neglected you all because I couldn't tend to everyone."
While admitting his neglect of his children, Suritae explained the reason.
He had dozens of offspring under him, after all.
Caring for them one by one inevitably meant focus would concentrate on those with talent.
So Suritae had made a decision.
Rather than favoritism in attention, he'd give none equally.
Rather than deciding their limits before they grew, he'd let natural competition among siblings play out.
"But looking back now, I regret it deeply. And the result? An ungrateful wretch who betrays his father and tries to murder him."
"I wasn't trying to kill you, Father."
Shaking his head in denial, Suma Geon continued.
"I just wanted to crush you and claim that seat for myself."
"A fool's dream."
"Who knows? It's not over yet."
Suma Geon shot a sidelong glance at Hyeok Mulin and spoke.
"The Cult Leader's given me one more chance. Win this fight, and even he might change his mind."
Suritae nearly let out a hollow laugh at that.
Even facing such a desperate situation, he was still dreaming of the throne.
"But your premise is wrong from the start."
Suritae emanated a piercing, threatening aura as he stared him down and continued.
"Do you really think you can defeat me?"
Suma Geon rose to his feet, assuming a stance, and replied.
"Nothing's impossible. Judging by all the blood you've spilled, you're practically a walking corpse right now, aren't you?"
One hand on his chest, the other extended forward, Suma Geon cracked his knuckles.
Then he lifted his heel from the ground.
"So..."
He twisted it and shot forward in a single burst.
"I'll put you out of your misery quick!"
No way he'd lose.
Suma Geon knew the Palace Lord's exceptional prowess, but that very knowledge fueled his confidence. He believed he understood his father's condition better than anyone.
In his current state, just standing there must be excruciating.
He couldn't move like he used to.
Sure, he hadn't reacted to the previous ambush.
'That must've been his last spark.'
Reassuring himself like that, Suma Geon calmly launched his attack.
Assuming the stance of a unique claw technique, he whipped his hand through the air.
Wind Curve Wolf Claw.
Sharp wolf claws riding the wind lashed toward Suritae like a whip.
But...
"......"
Even as it closed in, Suritae made no move to respond—he simply watched.
Only when it was nearly upon him did he slowly turn his shoulder, qi gathering in his fist.
Then he thrust it straight ahead like firing a cannon.
Boom!
The shockwave of the Tiger Roar Fist nullified Suma Geon's attack in an instant.
Seeing that, Suma Geon furrowed one brow.
'He still had that much energy left?'
Tough bastard.
But it was just his final spasm.
Suma Geon lowered his body like a wolf and continued the fight with light footsteps.
He circled near Suritae, probing to wear down his stamina.
Yet after a moment had passed, Suma Geon's face stiffened unlike before as he swallowed hard.
'He's still holding out?'
He should've depleted most of his energy before the fight even started, yet he was handling Suma Geon's attacks with ease.
As bewilderment etched onto his face from the unfolding mismatch to his plans, Suritae spoke.
"That all?"
"...?!"
"Then it's my turn."
What the hell is he—
Before the question could fully form in Suma Geon's mind...
Thud!
Suritae stomped the ground heavily and closed the distance to his front in a flash.
And at the same moment, the Hundred Strong Tiger Advance Fist erupted forth.
Strong. Strong. Strong. Strong. Strong. Strong. Strong. Strong. Strong. Strong.
There was no elegance or speed to this fist technique.
It was pure, savage force.
Like a tiger roaring in fury, raw power crushed down in a staggering hundred blows.
Suma Geon hunkered down into a defensive posture.
But...
"Gahk!"
It hurt.
Agonizingly so.
Felt like his bones would shatter.
He could block the first few just fine, but as the barrage continued, the accumulating pain doubled back with each hit, wracking his body.
Before he knew it, both arms raised to guard the punches were swollen red and puffy.
"W-Wait a second! Father!"
He pathetically cried out to his father, desperately begging for a pause.
But...
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
Suritae's "education" didn't stop.
Finally, his tattered arms slowly drooped.
Kaboom!
Right after, Suritae drove the final blow into his face.
Nose crushed, teeth sent flying.
At the same time, he soared through the air.
Splat.
He hit the ground looking like a frog splayed belly-up.
Tasting utter defeat, Suma Geon tremblingly lifted his head.
"Wh-Why......"
Suma Geon couldn't comprehend the situation at all.
How could a man on the brink of death be so invincible?
Even midway through, when his energy ran dry and he switched to bare-knuckled punches without qi, Suma Geon still couldn't stand against him.
Clack.
Suritae stood before him, gazing down with a shadowed expression.
And slowly opened his mouth.
"What a face—like you can't make sense of it."
Suma Geon looked up at him.
Suritae continued.
"The reason you can't beat me is simple. You were born a tiger's cub but chose to grow into a wolf."
"...!"
The tiger's path to becoming king of beasts is lonely and solitary.
And the tiger that overcomes every hardship and trial claims the singular throne at the end.
But the wolf was different from the start.
Didn't it form packs, sacrificing underlings to covet that position?
"So when you have to stand in a place where you bear responsibility alone, of course you can't beat a tiger."
A wolf is just a wolf.
A wolf cut off from its pack could never defeat the king of beasts.
"Th-That can't..."
Suma Geon took in the words with a hollow expression.
Then, clenching his fists in trembling rage, he spat out his fury.
"So you're saying this fight was decided from the start?!"
But Suritae replied in a frosty voice.
"You chose to grow as a wolf."
That must've made climbing to Little Palace Lord easy.
But that was it.
In a one-on-one clash, a wolf could never overcome the king of beasts.
"No way..."
Wrong from the very first button?
Suma Geon's pupils dimmed in despair.
Suritae stared down at him intently, pondering for a moment.
'Should I end him now?'
Having staged a rebellion, there was no way he'd survive anyway.
He debated killing him on the spot but soon shook his head.
'That's for the Cult Leader to decide, not me.'
Though it had all unfolded in a short time, Suritae had fully accepted his new position.
As he stepped back, Hyeok Mulin slowly approached Suma Geon.
Upon seeing Hyeok Mulin's face, Suma Geon's twisted in anguish.
"This is unfair."
"What is?"
"An outsider meddling in the palace's internal affairs—what kind of injustice is this?!"
No matter how he spun it, the conclusion was the same.
If Hyeok Mulin hadn't shown up out of nowhere...
If not for that guy, the rebellion would've succeeded!
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult sticking its nose into Namman Wild Beast Palace business.
Yeah, this wasn't a fair fight from the beginning.
Having rationalized it to himself, Suma Geon dumped all his resentment onto Hyeok Mulin.
Hyeok Mulin lightly lifted the corner of his mouth.
Then he crouched down and spoke to him in a soft, measured tone.
"You're saying something funny."
Gazing at him, Hyeok Mulin murmured in a voice so low only Suma Geon could hear.
"The one who brought outsiders into Namman..."
Hyeok Mulin's voice was extremely quiet, yet it stabbed firmly into Suma Geon's ear.
"...was you first, wasn't it?"
Suma Geon flinched!
The moment he heard those words, goosebumps erupted across his entire body.
He felt utterly exposed, as if stripped bare.
More than wondering how Hyeok Mulin knew, a chilling terror toward the man himself now took precedence.
"You... what... exactly...?"
Indescribable fear settled deeply over his ashen, paper-white face.