Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: A Blood Star Descends Upon the New Frontier (2)
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Dam Ho's strike had an effect even on Eun Ha-seong.
Wuuung!
Eun Ha-seong's pupils shook momentarily from the intense shockwave that rattled his eardrums. For a brief instant, objects doubled in his vision, and he lost his balance.
But he was the possessor of peerless inner energy. Using his tremendous inner power, he blocked the sound waves piercing his ears and regained his original state.
Shyaaak!
In the meantime, the saber he swung had merely sliced through empty air.
"Where are you?"
Eun Ha-seong's gaze chased after Dam Ho's figure.
Dam Ho had already retreated exactly one step back. No more, no less—just enough distance to evade the saber strike Eun Ha-seong had unleashed.
"You bastard!"
Eun Ha-seong bellowed furiously as he poured energy into his crimson saber. With it came a haze, and the saber's blade extended another three feet.
It was saber qi.
Though he hadn't achieved enlightenment to form saber gang, the power of saber qi infused with his immense energy was no less formidable.
Eun Ha-seong thought that if he could just slash Dam Ho's body even once, it would all be over.
Moreover, Dam Ho was a cripple. No one knew how he had mastered such powerful martial arts, but without proper footwork to support it, its might would be halved.
The upper body accounted for three parts, the lower body for seven. The saying "upper three, lower seven" hadn't arisen in vain.
Eun Ha-seong unleashed his secret footwork, the Wind Heaven Step, to pursue Dam Ho.
In an instant, his form seemed to multiply into over a dozen. The variations of the Wind Heaven Step were that dazzling.
"Chaaat! Die!"
Among his unique art, the Mad Heaven Discord Saber, he deployed the initial stance of Ghost Eye Blood Lineage, the one with the greatest destructive power.
Tszzzutszzz!
Seven saber strikes flew successively toward Dam Ho.
Though Eun Ha-seong hadn't mastered the Blood Demon's legacy, he believed the inner energy loaded into his saber strikes alone would suffice to kill Dam Ho.
'I'll kill the bastard and master the Blood Demon's legacy. Then head into the Central Plains. Heh heh!'
He dreamed.
Of mastering the Blood Demon's martial arts and dominating the world.
Eun Ha-seong's voice echoed within the Blood Demon Vault.
"Turn to dust and scatter."
It was then.
Dam Ho, who had only dodged until now, suddenly thrust out his hand.
His five splayed fingers spiraled as they reached toward the saber strikes.
Kwaaakwaang!
An explosion erupted.
The seven saber strikes were blocked by Dam Ho's palm.
"This can't be!"
Eun Ha-seong's eyes widened in disbelief. The sharpness and sturdiness of his crimson saber could rival the world's best.
Human flesh should have been sliced like paper even without infused energy. Yet it was stopped by Dam Ho's hand.
Upon closer inspection, there was a minute gap between Dam Ho's palm and the saber. The light energy Dam Ho emitted had protected his hand from the saber. But Eun Ha-seong failed to notice this fact.
Silver Net Hand.
Minute strands of qi tangled and wove into a complex net of energy. This qi net shielded Dam Ho's hand.
It was a technique he had created from insights gained in Bamboo Leaf Hand, Tiger-Cub Fist, and Six Harmonies Fist.
The swiftness of Bamboo Leaf Hand, the heaviness of Tiger-Cub Fist, and the variability of Six Harmonies Fist were exquisitely fused into this single move.
Dam Ho's hand, touching the saber, unleashed an intense burst of qi at that moment.
Huuung!
The saber let out a scream-like ringing.
The intense vibration nearly caused Eun Ha-seong to lose his grip on the saber.
It was all in a fleeting instant—an extremely brief moment that ordinary people couldn't even perceive. Yet to a master like Eun Ha-seong, it felt like an eternity.
Eun Ha-seong instinctively realized that the air surrounding him had changed.
A sense of crisis flooded his mind.
'It's coming.'
An ominous energy surged in like a storm.
Shyaaaang!
Eun Ha-seong retreated while swinging his saber.
Ghost Heaven Eclipse.
A defensive stance from his unique Mad Heaven Discord Saber. It involved swinging the saber eighteen times in one breath to form a saber membrane for protection.
It was the ultimate defense Eun Ha-seong could muster without mastering the Blood Demon's legacy.
Strict defense followed by counterattack. That was Eun Ha-seong's plan.
In his intense tension, Eun Ha-seong blinked.
The moment he closed and opened his eyes, he beheld an unbelievable sight.
Dam Ho's face suddenly appeared. He had pierced through the Ghost Heaven Eclipse and closed in right before him.
'How?'
Disbelief etched across his face.
He couldn't comprehend how Dam Ho had breached the eighteen consecutive saber strikes of Ghost Heaven Eclipse without any clash and reached point-blank range.
A fierce wind assailed him. Terrifying pressure stabbed his entire face like thousands of needles.
'A storm?'
Eun Ha-seong felt a dizzying isolation, as if adrift in a small boat in the vast ocean.
Towering waves crashing like mountains, savage gales threatening to sweep the world away—all driven by Dam Ho.
Grab!
Dam Ho's two hands seized his collar.
Even then, Eun Ha-seong just blinked in confusion, unable to grasp the situation.
Squeeelch!
In that instant, his head tore from the ground like a tree uprooted, and his body lifted upward.
Swept into a Dragon Coiling Wind, Eun Ha-seong's body was held by Dam Ho and hurled a yard into the air.
"Kuhuk!"
Regaining his senses too late, Eun Ha-seong tried to escape Dam Ho's arm. But Dam Ho's grip was too vise-like to break free.
Eun Ha-seong changed tactics, aiming his saber at Dam Ho's neck.
Whiiik!
At that moment, Eun Ha-seong's body spun around.
Head down, legs toward the sky.
Heaven and earth flipped. And his body plummeted toward the ground.
Squeeeeeal! Kwaajik!
Eun Ha-seong's body smashed headfirst into the earth. Upside down.
The face that had gleamed with fierce eyes just moments ago burst like a pumpkin, its contents splattering everywhere.
Not even a scream.
For a titan who had dominated beyond the New Frontier toward Central Plains hegemony, it was an utterly pathetic end. The sight evoked futility in onlookers, but those who witnessed it felt chills rack their entire bodies.
The sequence unfolded so swiftly it felt like a dream. Unreal, like a nightmare on a midsummer night.
The crimson saber in Eun Ha-seong's hand lay fallen far away, emitting a pitiful ring.
Dam Ho released Eun Ha-seong's corpse and stood.
The sight of Dam Ho, not even a breath disturbed, filled everyone with shock and terror.
The ruler of Western Sky Manor had been slain without landing a proper blow. Using a bizarre technique none had seen before.
Sim Su-myeong suddenly looked down at his own hand. The one gripping the Bloodscale Sword was drenched in sweat.
His body reacted on its own to the shocking scene he had never imagined.
Earth Heaven Strike.
That was the name of the stance Dam Ho had unleashed.
Earth Heaven Strike had been born accidentally while breaking rocks and carrying them from an underground cavern.
To escape the cavern, he had to shatter the underground bedrock. But it didn't end with breaking; he had to haul the fragments to clear a path.
At first, he carried the rocks one by one, but later, he got the knack and hurled them. After hundreds, thousands of repetitions, he naturally comprehended the method of slamming rocks into the ground to destroy them.
One day, the thought struck him.
What if, instead of a rock, it was a person he slammed into the ground?
Earth Heaven Strike was the technique born from that hypothesis.
A vicious attack that weaponized the very earth humans tread upon.
Finding its power more than satisfactory, Dam Ho turned to gaze at Sim Su-myeong. Sim Su-myeong flinched involuntarily.
Nor was it just Sim Su-myeong. The warriors he had led and Sim Ok all trembled.
'A death god.'
'Where did this monster come from...'
They were seasoned fighters who had battled countless times. Ronin by nature, unyielding to anyone—yet terror flickered in their eyes.
They had never dreamed such a warrior existed. For the ruler of Western Sky Manor, Eun Ha-seong, to die with his head exploded without a single proper attack.
If the world learned of this, shock would ensue.
Suffocating silence dominated the underground space. But silence never lasts forever. Representing all, Sim Su-myeong spoke.
"Who might you be, great hero? How did you dispatch Eun Ha-seong so..."
Sim Su-myeong's voice trembled slightly. But in his extreme tension, he didn't even notice.
Dam Ho tilted his head.
"Eun Ha-seong?"
"The master of Western Sky Manor you just killed."
"Not a big deal."
"Not a big deal? What do you..."
Sim Su-myeong wore an incredulous expression, but Dam Ho's thoughts remained unchanged.
Eun Ha-seong certainly possessed excellent conditions.
The famed saber that could slice skin with its mere murderous intent, and the immense inner energy left by the Blood Demon—they were impressive.
But as a warrior, Eun Ha-seong was unremarkable. His martial arts might be strong, but his instantaneous reactions, adaptability, situational judgment, and decisiveness fell short.
A true warrior's nerves should be razor-sharp, senses wide open. But Eun Ha-seong, long accustomed to ruling, lacked that feral instinct.
If the sword was the weapon, inner energy was the power supporting its use.
A sword missed its mark harmlessly, and vast inner energy was useless without contact.
Fights weren't won by the strongest. Victory belonged to those who seized the decisive breath in a fleeting moment and pulled the momentum their way.
By that measure, Eun Ha-seong merely owned a fine weapon and great power but was a fool who couldn't wield them properly. At least by Dam Ho's standards.
Dam Ho's gaze suddenly turned to Sim Ok. Her cheek, struck by Dam Ho, was still grossly swollen red. But Sim Ok dared not question him. Dam Ho's overwhelming presence crushed her, making even breathing difficult.
Sim Ok's pupils shook. The image of Dam Ho reflected in her eyes shook along with them.
"You... have brought a storm of blood."
"..."
"You could have avoided it."
"Why should I?"
"That's..."
Sim Ok couldn't find words.
Dam Ho's gaze fell upon Sim Su-myeong, Sim Ok's father.
"Do you think I should have as well?"
"I..."
Sim Su-myeong gritted his teeth.
He wanted to deny Dam Ho's words. To fight. But he couldn't.
Though he prided himself on surviving countless battles and bloodbaths, before the hellscape unfolding now, he couldn't utter a word.
One thing was certain: the man before him differed from any warrior he'd ever seen.
It wasn't about martial prowess or temperament.
This man was simply inhuman. Beyond the judgment or comprehension of ordinary nerves.
"Hoo!"
In the end, Sim Su-myeong let out a sigh instead of an answer. A sigh laden with many meanings.
As Dam Ho passed by Sim Su-myeong, he said,
"Handle the cleanup."
"Under...stood."
He had brought the full force of the Bloodscale Death Veil, only to be left with cleanup. But Sim Su-myeong couldn't voice complaint.
His gaze clung to Dam Ho's receding back.
"A Blood Star has descended upon the New Frontier."
Sim Su-myeong's quavering voice spoke for everyone's hearts.