Chapter 249
Chapter 249
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 249
Chapter Title: Victor's Conviction
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Those called knight-errants typically fell into one of two temperaments.
The first type thirsted for the attention and admiration that came with being hailed as a knight-errant by others. They craved the spotlight and support of the masses, eager to flaunt themselves.
Such individuals obsessed over how they appeared to others and their growing fame, so they wielded their martial arts boldly and without restraint.
The second type embodied the true essence of a knight-errant.
They stepped forward without hesitation whenever they believed it was the righteous path, regardless of whether anyone was watching.
Thus, they preferred handling matters quietly over making a name for themselves. For that reason, they avoided flashy martial techniques that drew attention.
And the Song Dowon standing before Hyeok Mulin right now clearly belonged to the latter category, no matter how one looked at it.
'He never sought fame, but his skill inevitably made his name known.'
In truth, Song Dowon rarely disclosed the numerous incidents where he had intervened as a knight-errant.
He simply focused on achieving his goals while evading the public eye.
However, his overwhelming prowess and results compared to others made it impossible to hide, thrusting him into the spotlight as a famed knight-errant.
'I've felt that firsthand while traveling with him all this time.'
Recently, he had been constantly on the lips of enthusiasts and common folk alike, grouped together with the Three Stars United as One.
Yet, over the past few days moving alongside him, Hyeok Mulin had noticed something: despite all that, hardly anyone recognized his face.
Scarcely anyone at ordinary inns or taverns had picked him out during meals.
That confirmed he was definitively the second type. Hyeok Mulin could thus infer the direction of his martial arts to some extent.
He would avoid grand, overt movements that put himself front and center or techniques that boomed with noise.
Thud!
So when Song Dowon took his first step like a thunderclap, Hyeok Mulin paid it no mind.
He merely fixed his gaze on what would follow that feint step.
True to Hyeok Mulin's expectations, Song Dowon charged straight ahead before abruptly veering off at a diagonal angle.
In an instant, he shifted direction as lightly as a drifting leaf, flowing past like a breeze while dragging his sword in a slanted line.
He simply held his sword and moved, slicing anything in his path.
Twang.
But Hyeok Mulin flicked the flat of the blade with his fingertip, sending it off course.
Song Dowon furrowed one eyebrow at the sight, withdrew his sword, and spun his body around.
A ripple of blue waves danced along his blade under the moonlight.
Gripping it anew, he lowered his stance and surged toward Hyeok Mulin.
Swish!
From his hand, which held the sword horizontally, three restrained straight lines etched the air.
From the throat to the shoulders, down both arms, then back across to slice the waist.
Not a wide range, but profound in depth—the Azure Flow Three Swords unfolded amid azure sword energy.
In response, Hyeok Mulin's fingertips darkened for a moment.
Slightly curling them, he grasped and twisted the lines traced across his body.
Crack!
The tip of Song Dowon's sword shattered under Hyeok Mulin's Black Rending Claw.
At the same time, the binding azure lines wavered in jet-black ripples before tearing apart, utterly losing their power.
Song Dowon witnessed it all up close but remained composed thus far.
This much was within his expectations.
It was common knowledge that the current Heavenly Demon, Hyeok Mulin, primarily wielded a sword.
But how could someone who had ascended to Cult Leader use only sword arts?
He undoubtedly possessed a variety of techniques befitting his fame, even if they didn't match his sword mastery.
Song Dowon had no intention of rushing ahead just because Hyeok Mulin hadn't drawn his sword from the start.
Instead, he prioritized slowly exchanging blows to gauge his opponent's level and fighting style.
Thus, he probed Hyeok Mulin from various angles with diverse sword forms, learning about the warrior before him.
And Hyeok Mulin was doing the same.
'Light on the blade, yet its weight feels profound.'
As one might guess from Song Dowon's slender, elongated sword, he specialized in swift swords rather than broadswords or heavy blades.
His strikes whipped out at blinding speeds—near instantaneous—always a step ahead of his foe, with almost no feints.
Every attack carried lethal intent, enough to mortally wound.
Most warriors wouldn't even track those thrusts with their eyes, collapsing covered in gashes.
'But that alone won't work on me.'
His opponent, however, was Hyeok Mulin—an unfortunate fact for Song Dowon.
With the Divine Demon Eyes awakened, he anticipated every sword path in advance. The elixir from the Southern Barbaric Beast Palace had granted him beast-like reflexes.
To such a Hyeok Mulin, ordinary swift swordplay yielded nothing—like trying to cleave the sea with water.
As his lunging strikes all came to naught, Song Dowon halted for a split second.
"Impressive. You have every reason for that confidence."
They had learned enough about each other.
Rather than waste stamina on strikes that didn't connect, Song Dowon decided to unleash his signature move.
This time, though, he folded away a layer of his ego.
Focusing not on speed but precision, an upright sword aura rose straight from his rigidly swung blade.
A forest thick with verdant bamboo.
Bamboos shot skyward between them, slicing through the wind as they hurtled toward Hyeok Mulin.
Azure Bamboo Wind-Breaking Sword.
No illusions appeared, yet in that instant, it felt as if his sword had multiplied several times over.
As that immense blade-length thrust bore down from the front, Hyeok Mulin—who had been staring it down—clapped his palms together.
Boom!
Song Dowon's pupils dilated.
He had prepared a follow-up assuming Hyeok Mulin would dodge by throwing himself aside, but the man hadn't budged from his spot.
And the astonishment didn't end there.
A single palm strike against that destructive thrust had nullified all its power.
It was a pure clash of strength where he had been overpowered.
'...Unbelievable.'
Song Dowon didn't overestimate his abilities, nor did he undervalue them.
Thus, he knew few in the world could match him once he drew his sword.
Even ascending to the Three Stars United as One alongside Old Martial Sovereign hadn't left him feeling deficient.
That is, until facing Hyeok Mulin now.
'Maintaining full power without even drawing his sword.'
Hyeok Mulin's blade remained sheathed at his waist.
He merely mixed palm and claw techniques, yet Song Dowon's assaults were repeatedly blocked, never touching his flesh.
'This is the true might of the Heavenly Demon...!'
The Heavenly Demon of rumors and the one before him were worlds apart.
As the fight dragged on, Song Dowon's expression grew clouded, thick beads of sweat trickling down his ears.
And in the moment his focus slipped as he swung downward—
Swish.
Hyeok Mulin twisted his body slightly to evade and closed in.
Song Dowon's eyes widened at the sight.
'Too late!'
Retrieving his extended sword was impossible now.
Hyeok Mulin was already within arm's reach.
All he could do was watch Hyeok Mulin's movements—until the man's hand stirred.
Like a swordsman's fluid dance, Hyeok Mulin's hand traced a gentle vortex.
It gradually converged to a single point, settling on Song Dowon's lower abdomen.
The instant demonic energy gathered in Hyeok Mulin's hand, the Dancing Vortex Carving Hand unfolded.
Lowering his gaze, Song Dowon realized he stood at a crossroads the moment he saw it.
Taking it head-on meant death.
Time was scant; thought impossible.
His body moved on instinct alone, not intellect—channeling inner energy into his toes and leaping backward at full speed.
That created the tiniest gap.
Through the slim space between Hyeok Mulin's hand and his lower abdomen, he bent his left arm and thrust his elbow in.
Crack!
Bone shattered with the sound, his left arm mangled cruelly.
The Dancing Vortex Carving Hand had pulverized bone and torn muscle in one blow.
But for Song Dowon, it was a satisfactory trade.
Had he not jammed that elbow at the end, it would have struck his solar plexus, leaving him unable to rise again.
The wound ached fiercely, but it wasn't over.
His right hand still gripped the sword.
Putting some distance between them, Song Dowon tore cloth from his garments to bind his left arm.
Then he raised his sword toward Hyeok Mulin once more.
Hyeok Mulin, standing still, gazed at him and spoke.
"A pity."
"What are you suddenly...?"
"Is this the end of a knight-errant's road?"
Song Dowon froze.
He stared at Hyeok Mulin and replied in a cold tone.
"This fight has nothing to do with knight-errantry. Are you just trying to disrupt my focus?"
Hyeok Mulin answered the question with one of his own.
"Do you truly believe you've upheld your knight-errant ideals?"
What nonsense in the midst of battle?
Though baffled, Song Dowon nodded.
"Of course. I've borne the weight of a knight-errant my whole life and can proudly say I've lived without shame... until now."
"Wrong."
Hyeok Mulin flatly denied it.
"Conviction is a right claimed only by the victor."
He fixed Song Dowon with an impassive stare and continued.
"The loser upholds no ideals."
Song Dowon's gaze turned icy as he listened.
He demanded of Hyeok Mulin.
"Why say such things to me now?"
Rumble!
As the question ended, explosive demonic energy erupted from Hyeok Mulin's entire body.
Billowing darkness shrouded the forest, dyed the water's edge, and blotted out the sky.
Proclaiming his presence to the world, Hyeok Mulin regarded him with emotionless eyes.
"The shallow knight-errantry you've clung to all this time."
He concluded in a voice as frigid as a northern blizzard.
"I'll tear it from you now."