Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: There Is No Justice More Precious Than Human Lives (1)
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“Damn it!”
Jo Hyeol-san ground his teeth hard.
He had realized that no words would get through to Dam Ho anymore.
His opponent was a monster beyond common sense, unbeatable even by force.
‘Then there’s only one choice left.’
Jo Hyeol-san launched his body backward.
At this point, capturing Sim Ok was no longer the priority. He had to survive somehow and report this to Galaxy Star.
Jo Hyeol-san spread both hands wide.
Shuuuu!
In an instant, dozens of coins poured from his hands.
Gold coin darts, also known as Arhat coins, a type of hidden weapon.
They resembled coins but boasted superior cutting and piercing power compared to ordinary hidden weapons. Naturally, their lethality was unmatched.
Jo Hyeol-san was a master of gold coin darts and had killed countless people with them.
He didn’t think this one move would kill Dam Ho. But he believed it would buy him some time.
‘No matter how terrifying his martial arts, the guy’s a cripple. With lightness skill, he’ll never catch up.’
Jo Hyeol-san turned and ran without checking the results.
He was channeling his internal energy to maximize his lightness skill speed when—
Whiiiing!
Suddenly, from behind, a sound like tens of thousands of bees flapping their wings rang out, followed by an overwhelming wave of killing intent crashing over him like a tsunami.
Crunch!
It wasn’t just killing intent. A hand the size of a pot lid seized his nape.
“Urk!”
Jo Hyeol-san’s face twisted from the terrifying grip tightening around his neck. He tried to shake off Dam Ho’s hand. But it held like an iron clamp, immovable.
Jo Hyeol-san gathered his internal energy, but it was useless. His body went limp like an octopus stranded on land.
In that state, his body was spun around.
Dam Ho’s face was right in front of him. A face carved from stone, devoid of emotion.
But Jo Hyeol-san could feel it. Dam Ho’s killing intent.
The deeply sunken eyes rippled with savage light. That gaze alone nearly made Jo Hyeol-san pass out.
Jo Hyeol-san couldn’t comprehend the situation. The gold coin darts he had flung with full power were scattered on the ground, and Dam Ho’s body showed no wounds whatsoever.
Faced with a reality beyond his understanding, Jo Hyeol-san was consumed by terror.
“Sp... spare...”
In that moment, Dam Ho raised his hand high. Jo Hyeol-san’s body lifted into the air with it.
As Jo Hyeol-san’s legs flailed in midair, Dam Ho’s hand slammed down like lightning toward the ground.
Boom!
Jo Hyeol-san’s body crashed into the earth.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the meadow, and his body sank deep into the ground.
“Keuk!”
Jo Hyeol-san spewed blood.
The immense impact felt like his body was disintegrating. But his agony was far from over.
His body was yanked back into the air. And slammed down again.
Bang!
“Euk!”
A wretched scream tore from Jo Hyeol-san’s mouth.
Bang! Bang!
Dam Ho kept smashing Jo Hyeol-san into the ground. Each time, the pit deepened, and Jo Hyeol-san turned into a bloody mess.
“Guhhh! Spare...”
Jo Hyeol-san begged.
But Dam Ho remained unmoved. No words at all. That made it all the more terrifying.
If only he’d say something. Even asking if he wanted to die would be better. But mercilessly, Dam Ho merely raised the hand clutching Jo Hyeol-san’s neck once more.
“P... please...”
Kwaaang!
Jo Hyeol-san’s body was smashed into the pit again.
The difference this time was the louder boom echoing out, and Jo Hyeol-san’s movements ceased.
“Guhhh!”
A faint, flute-like groan leaked through Jo Hyeol-san’s crushed throat. Only when the feeble breathing finally stopped did Dam Ho straighten up.
Blood pooled in the pit where Jo Hyeol-san lay. He breathed his last, submerged in his own blood.
Dam Ho turned around.
“Hic!”
Geum So-hye suddenly hiccupped.
She wasn’t alone. All the survivors stared at Dam Ho with eyes filled with horror.
In Dam Ho, they saw hell itself.
The Dam Ho reflected in their eyes was no human.
He was a monster more terrifying than the Western Heaven Manor warriors. They couldn’t even dare meet his gaze.
They forgot he was their savior.
Everyone avoided his eyes. Everyone except Bang Jin-bo.
A suffocating silence descended on the horse ranch.
Dam Ho didn’t blame them. He could guess how he looked in their eyes.
His life and theirs had been shaped by different worlds.
Unlike them, with their ordinary sensibilities, his humanity had been worn away by repeated hardships, leaving him deficient somewhere. There was no way they could handle the hellscape he had created.
They were normal.
He was the abnormal one. So he harbored no resentment.
Dam Ho’s gaze turned to Sim Ok.
Her reaction was no different. No matter that she practiced martial arts, she was still a woman. She had never imagined a hellscape unfolding right before her eyes.
Dam Ho took a step toward her.
Sim Ok feared Dam Ho. She was insanely afraid of the man who had staged this blood-soaked hell. Yet she forced her eyes wide open and met his gaze.
Dam Ho finally stood before her. And spoke.
“Why did you flee here?”
His voice was rough and cracked, like he’d just emerged from a dusty mine. It grated on the ears, but no one dared say they didn’t want to hear it.
She clenched her small fists tight.
“I had no choice. I needed to get horses here.”
“Didn’t you know they’d follow you?”
“......”
Sim Ok gave no reply. Silence was her affirmation.
Dam Ho’s eyes flickered fiercely.
“Then you knew something like this could happen?”
“I told you, I had no choice. I have a duty to protect the peace of the martial world and the greater good.”
“The greater good? Is that more important than their lives?”
“I’m sorry about that. But if their deaths can preserve the martial world’s peace, it’s not so unjust. Please help me. You can stop Western Heaven Manor’s ambitions. For the peace of the martial world...”
In that instant, Dam Ho’s massive palm struck Sim Ok’s cheek.
Slap!
“Kyaaak!”
The unexpected blow sent Sim Ok tumbling across the ground. Her cheek swelled up instantly.
Sim Ok shook her head, unable to regain her senses. The tremendous shock made objects double and triple in her vision.
“Ah!”
Suddenly, excruciating pain flared in her mouth. It was filled with blood. She spat, and broken teeth came out mixed in.
“How...?”
Sim Ok murmured in a daze.
More than her broken teeth, the shock of being struck by someone stunned her.
She was not someone who deserved such treatment.
“I... I...”
Her voice trembled. She felt she had to say something, but didn’t know what.
Dam Ho looked down at her.
“You should have apologized to them first.”
“But the fate of the martial world... was in my hands.”
Sim Ok cried out like an excuse. But Dam Ho’s gaze remained cold.
“The martial world isn’t so great that you have to destroy their lives to protect it.”
“How can you say that...”
Sim Ok’s eyes shook.
Dam Ho’s words denied her entire worldview.
Dam Ho turned away. There was no reason to talk to Sim Ok anymore.
Dam Ho’s gaze shifted to Bang Jin-bo.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Bang Jin-bo nodded.
He had many questions but didn’t ask. Though covered in blood, Dam Ho didn’t seem as frightening as before.
A being who existed atop the deaths of others.
Perhaps that was Dam Ho’s truest essence.
Bang Jin-bo fetched his horse from the edge of the meadow and loaded his belongings. Meanwhile, Black Ghost approached Dam Ho. The silent beast had sensed his departure.
The Golden Horse Ranch folk watched the scene in a daze. Not one dared speak to them.
Dam Ho mounted Black Ghost. Bang Jin-bo followed. Still, no one spoke.
Dam Ho rode toward Geum Gwan-cheon.
“L-Lord...”
Geum Gwan-cheon’s voice trembled. He couldn’t speak casually anymore. No matter his years, he was an ordinary man. His nerves weren’t thick enough for this hellscape.
“I owe you much during my stay.”
“I...”
Geum Gwan-cheon’s eyes turned to the warriors. Unconcealed fear filled them.
Western Heaven Manor warriors had died here. Whatever the reason, they wouldn’t stay silent.
Little known in the Central Plains, but in Shinkang, Western Heaven Manor’s influence was immense. If they wished, erasing a mere horse ranch like this was no issue.
Then Dam Ho’s voice came again.
“What you fear won’t happen.”
“Lord?”
Geum Gwan-cheon looked up in surprise. But Dam Ho was already riding away on Black Ghost. All he could see was their backs.
Bang Jin-bo hurried after Dam Ho.
“Oppa.”
Geum So-hye called to Bang Jin-bo.
Her tear-streaked face pained him.
He wanted to stay, but he had to follow Dam Ho.
“I’ll come back for sure.”
“You have to.”
Geum So-hye waved her delicate hand.
“Yeah!”
Bang Jin-bo nodded vigorously and followed Dam Ho.
Once alongside him, Bang Jin-bo asked,
“But where are we going, brother? Straight to the Central Plains?”
Dam Ho shook his head.
Bang Jin-bo looked puzzled.
“Then?”
“To Western Heaven Manor.”
Dam Ho’s gaze turned to the western sky.