Chapter 162
Chapter 162
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 162
Chapter Title: There Are Things You Absolutely Must Not Touch (3)
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Damho’s gaze turned toward the people trembling in one corner of the inn. They looked back at him with uneasy eyes.
Damho spoke to them.
“Everyone, get out.”
The moment his words fell, the people moved carefully toward the inn’s door, as if entranced by something.
The Nangong Clan warriors who seemed ready to kill everyone in the inn were frightening enough, but they paled in comparison to Damho’s presence.
Some with weaker constitutions even wet themselves on the spot the instant their eyes met his.
A wolf might be fearsome, but it was nothing compared to a tiger.
That was exactly the emotion filling the inn right now.
They hurriedly fled outside. The Nangong Clan warriors watched them go but couldn’t muster the nerve to stop them.
Damho’s gaze held their ankles fast. The pressure made them feel like they’d be torn to shreds if they took even a single step. They could barely breathe.
Nangong Janggyeong was no different. He glared at Damho, grinding his teeth. Murderous intent flickered in his bloodshot eyes.
‘Of all places, to run into the Fist Demon, our clan’s mortal enemy, here.’
Damho had earned merit with the Murim Alliance during the escape of Hwang Hye-ryeong. Orders had already gone out to all sects and clans: if you encounter Damho, eliminate him or report to the Alliance.
The conditions for battle were already set. The problem was he had no confidence they could take Damho with their current forces.
As people slipped out of the inn, Nangong Janggyeong sent a transmission to his swiftest warrior.
—You, slip out the back door now and report to the clan that the Fist Demon has appeared.
—Understood.
The subordinate replied with a resolute expression.
Nangong Janggyeong stepped forward.
“How dare you interfere in Nangong Clan affairs? You must have a death wish, Fist Demon.”
He deliberately unleashed his aura.
Jongri Yeon and Hwano were right nearby, but they had long since been pushed from his mind.
Emboldened by Nangong Janggyeong’s aura, the Nangong Clan warriors regained their composure and circulated their qi.
That was when it happened.
Kwaang!
Suddenly, Damho shot out a fist strike toward the rear like a bolt of lightning.
“Keuk!”
A Nangong Clan warrior trying to slip out the back door screamed as he slammed into the wall. Damho had unleashed Striking Palm from Afar.
Without even glancing at the mangled corpse, Damho opened his mouth.
“Who said anyone could leave?”
“Kuhuk!”
Nangong Janggyeong’s face twisted in horror.
He never dreamed Damho would see through his intent and act.
No warrior could help but feel intimidated before the name Nangong Clan—even those from the Nine Great Sects.
The prestige of those four characters carried immense weight, built over centuries as a renowned orthodox clan. Yet Damho showed not the slightest intimidation against the mighty Nangong Clan. No, he was overwhelming them.
Jongri Yeon couldn’t believe the scene unfolding before her.
The Nangong Clan warriors shrinking back from the aura of a single man. It was like fierce-barking dogs tucking their tails upon encountering a tiger.
“People say the Fist Demon is terrifying for a reason.”
“Indeed. Ngh!”
Hwano let out a groan.
The overwhelming presence Damho displayed now was something even Hwano in his prime couldn’t have imagined.
Nangong Janggyeong shouted, refusing to lose his spirit.
“How dare you touch the Nangong Clan.”
“Watch your words. I didn’t start this. You did.”
“Euk!”
“I was here first, having a meal. And you tried to kill me.”
Damho took a step toward Nangong Janggyeong.
His uneven gait, dragging one foot, gripped Nangong Janggyeong’s soul with dread.
“I’m curious.”
“A-about what?”
“About your arrogance. Your entitled mindset. Why do you think you can bully others at will, yet crumble when it happens to you?”
“Euk!”
“I get it. You have power, so you want to. No one can properly resist your casual violence.”
Damho’s voice rang strangely clear in the ears of the Nangong Clan warriors.
“So I’m asking: is it fun? Doing that.”
“…….”
Nangong Janggyeong had no words.
His mind was full of retorts, but none could pass his lips.
Damho’s question touched something buried deep in his chest.
But he didn’t know what it was, so he couldn’t answer.
The inability to respond infuriated him. Damho’s words were shattering his pride as a Nangong Clan member at the root.
In the end, Nangong Janggyeong bellowed to hide his inner turmoil.
“I won’t listen to your nonsense anymore. Get him!”
“Waaah!”
As if they’d been waiting, the Nangong Clan warriors roared and charged at Damho.
Watching them swarm like a pack of dogs, Damho muttered.
“Not fun at all.”
He clenched his fist.
“This crap.”
Rage boiled up from deep within.
“Killing people. Not fun at all. But if I must… I won’t hesitate.”
Damho stomped the floor.
Chungbo unfolded, followed by Paseongchu.
Kwang!
With a thunderous boom, a life snuffed out before his eyes.
Blood sprayed, flesh crumpled.
Damho’s body was stained with gore.
“You monster!”
Nangong Janggyeong’s anguished cry echoed through the inn.
In that instant, thunder crashed again.
Kuwaang!
The entire inn shook like an earthquake. Three more Nangong Clan warriors lost their lives at once.
“Iyaaah!”
Nangong Janggyeong swung his sword at Damho.
Shiaang!
Sword qi exploded along the blade, slicing the air.
Flash of Lightning Thirteen Sword Thunders.
One of the Nangong Clan’s top sword arts—an ultimate technique. Its most powerful form, Thunder Cloud Severing Break, hurtled toward Damho.
Nangong Janggyeong, who ranked highly even in the Heavenly Bow Hall, poured his full power into it. Its might was tremendous.
The problem was his opponent: Damho.
Though new to the jianghu, he had fought more foes than anyone.
His sense for grasping the flow of battle in an instant was unrivaled under heaven.
Damho instantly detected the flaw in Thunder Cloud Severing Break and launched himself.
Giiiing!
His right foot sliced through the air.
Bouncing Demon Kick.
Kwang!
Nangong Janggyeong’s Thunder Cloud Severing Break collided with it and vanished.
Damho’s body, executing the Bouncing Demon Kick, dropped toward the floor. In that moment, his left foot lightly tapped the ground, spinning his body. Then, like a whip, his right foot lashed out again.
Bouncing Demon Kick once more.
Kwang!
Thunder boomed, and Nangong Janggyeong staggered back wildly. Blood trickled from his mouth, and his neatly tied hair had long since come undone from the successive impacts.
“Eek!”
Nangong Janggyeong gritted his teeth for a counterattack. But no opportunity came.
Kwang!
Damho’s elbow slammed into his side.
As pain forced his eyes wide, Damho’s fist smashed his face.
Kwaduduk!
Nangong Janggyeong heard the crunch of shattering bone amid pain beyond imagination—pain he’d never conceived. He didn’t even register it was the bones of his own face breaking.
His breath had already stopped.
Thud!
The corpse of Nangong Janggyeong, face pulverized, collapsed limply.
“Euuh!”
“No way!”
The surviving Nangong Clan warriors trembled.
Nangong Janggyeong was a renowned master in both the clan and Heavenly Bow Hall. His death without meaningful resistance filled them with despair.
Tak!
The warriors retreating step by step hit the wall. Realizing there was nowhere left to go, they charged Damho in desperation.
“Euaaa!”
“Let’s die together, Fist Demon!”
Their desperate cries filled the inn.
At that moment, Jongri Yeon closed her eyes.
The outcome was obvious. Like an adult fighting children.
Kwang! Kwang!
Ear-piercing booms resounded. Lives in the room winked out one by one.
When she finally opened her eyes, all the warriors in the inn lay as cold corpses.
The warm space that had sheltered passing travelers was now thick with the aura of death.
It was a sight too much for Jongri Yeon, who made saving lives her calling.
“Uuek!”
She barely suppressed the urge to vomit. Her face was streaked with tears.
“Miss!”
Hwano hurriedly supported Jongri Yeon.
“I’m fine. I…”
Contrary to her words, her face was deathly pale.
“Please sit here for a moment.”
Hwano seated her in a nearby chair. Jongri Yeon sat, gasping for breath.
Hwano’s gaze turned to Damho.
Damho, drenched in blood from head to toe, eyes gleaming ferociously, was the stuff of nightmares.
Hwano prided himself on his vast jianghu experience, but he had never seen anyone instill such primal fear.
He steadied his breath.
Even he needed courage to stand before Damho.
Finally, he mustered it and spoke.
“Dam… Hero Damho!”
Damho looked up at Hwano.
Though prepared, meeting Damho’s eyes made Hwano flinch involuntarily. He quickly composed himself and offered a respectful clasped-hands salute.
“Thank you for your help.”
“I didn’t help you. No need to thank me.”
“But…”
“If they hadn’t touched me, they wouldn’t have died.”
Damho drew a clear line. Hwano could say no more.
“Phew!”
In the end, Hwano sighed softly and stepped back.
His long jianghu experience taught him to be extremely cautious with someone like Damho.
No need to provoke when boundaries were set.
While Hwano regained his calm, Jongri Yeon was still dazed.
A man standing at the opposite pole from her, who saved lives.
Death’s aura wafted from him.
‘Fist Demon… Bringer of death.’
Jongri Yeon could no longer look at Damho and closed her eyes. But his image lingered, tormenting her.