Chapter 153
Chapter 153
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 153
Chapter Title: Unexpected Reinforcements
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The culprit, without a doubt, was Seok U-haeng.
The guests, composed of masters from the Orthodox Faction, could become a military force to aid the Longsword Manor at any moment.
He had released a qi-scattering poison in advance, poisoning the guests of the Longsword Manor.
“It's mixed with a foul odor that induces vomiting, but it seems to be a qi-scattering poison!”
one of the guests with medical knowledge shouted.
The only silver lining was that it was a qi-scattering poison, not a lethal one. Moreover, most of the martial artists present were skilled enough to expel the poison with their internal energy.
“Please stand guard for us!”
The fallen martial artists sat cross-legged and began to expel the poison with all their might.
The remaining warriors of the Longsword Manor were flustered. Instead of lending a hand, they now had to protect the guests.
*‘It will be over soon.’*
Myo Cheon-u, who was unleashing the Myeolin Palm, wore a triumphant smile.
Seok U-haeng’s plan was meticulous. He single-handedly threw the Longsword Manor's warriors into chaos and subdued the Taoists from the Zhongnan and Kongtong sects.
Now, all he had to do was take Han Seong's head, and everything would be over.
*Chiiing!*
But suddenly, the clear ring of a sword echoed through the sky.
“…!”
At the same moment, a storm of white sword energy rained down on Myo Cheon-u's head.
“What?”
Myo Cheon-u quickly tried to evade the descending sword energy.
*Hwiik!*
But the pouring sword energy suddenly vanished before his eyes and then dug into his back.
“Pyohyangjeolun Sword?”
The descending sword energy was the same technique as the Pyohyangjeolun Sword that Han Seong used.
But its subtlety and cleverness surpassed Han Seong's, striking from an angle impossible to evade.
“Kuh.”
Myo Cheon-u was forced to spin like a top, unleashing his palm energy.
It was the life-saving ultimate technique of the Myeolin Palm, Myeolinbeoncheonjohwa.
*Parararak.*
The palm energy, spreading out in successive circles, enveloped Myo Cheon-u's entire body.
But despite using his ultimate life-saving technique, the sword energy pierced through and left a deep wound on his forearm.
*‘Damn it!’*
Myo Cheon-u, struck on the left forearm, was greatly flustered.
The physical wound was not severe, but the internal energy contained within the sword qi had blocked the meridians in his left arm.
*Taak.*
Simultaneously, a slender figure descended from the air beside Han Seong.
“Cheong-mae?”
Han Seong's mouth fell open as he recognized the woman who had landed beside him.
The woman, dressed in white, held a precious sword gleaming with white light. She was the Dae-ui-go-su from the Emei Sect, Cheong Cho-hyeon.
“What are you doing here?”
As a bewildered Han Seong shouted at her,
*Hwiiik!*
this time, a sharp sound of something cutting through the air, accompanied by a low sword ring, echoed above Seok U-haeng, who was fighting the Zhongnan and Kongtong Taoists.
*Swaeaek!*
The sound suddenly became a deafening roar that tore through the air, aimed at Seok U-haeng's head.
Seok U-haeng tried to dodge, but Gang Jung-ryang and Du Ak, sensing his intent, desperately blocked his escape route.
*Paat!*
In the end, the sharply fired sword energy struck Seok U-haeng's side, drawing a spray of blood.
*Taak.*
At the same time, a large figure landed from the air in front of the Zhongnan and Kongtong Taoists.
The figure was a man dressed in indigo martial arts robes.
His eyes were full of spirit, and a sharp aura emanated from his entire body.
Furthermore, a unique longsword with a tip as slender as an arrow was slung at his waist.
“The Diancang Sect?”
Seok U-haeng's eyes flashed as he recognized the sword as one used by the warriors of the Diancang Sect.
“…A Dae-ui-go-su.”
The man grinned and nodded.
“Gwan Seok-cheon of Diancang.”
Diancang had produced two Dae-ui-go-su. One was Yeong Ji-wi, who had joined Diancang late. The other was Gwan Seok-cheon, one of the first-generation disciples.
—Why has a Dae-ui-go-su from Diancang appeared here?
As this unexpected situation unfolded, the spectating martial artists began to murmur among themselves.
“Seok-cheon. What are you doing here?”
Gwan Seok-cheon approached and answered Han Seong's question playfully.
“It's been a while, Young Manor Lord Han.”
Han Seong's face turned red.
“Are you still teasing me about that?”
Back when Han Seong was training in the Murim Alliance, he had once shouted, "I am the Young Manor Lord of the Longsword Manor!" to endure the grueling training.
Since that day, his nickname among the Dae-ui-go-su had become "Young Manor Lord Han."
“What brings you here? How did you come without any word?”
As Han Seong's eyes widened, Gwan Seok-cheon smiled.
“I heard news that the Longsword Manor was preparing to capture the Sip-ma-jeon-in. So I came to lend a hand.”
It sounded like a casual remark, but Han Seong's expression immediately stiffened.
The plan to trap the Sip-ma-jeon-in was a top-secret matter even within the Longsword Manor.
Yet he knew about it and came to help? Didn't that mean there was a spy among the Longsword Manor's leadership, leaking information to the outside?
Seeing Han Seong's expression, Gwan Seok-cheon sighed.
“Don't worry. You don't think I'd plant a spy in a friend's home, do you?”
His gaze was fixed not on Han Seong, but on Han Yeong-baek.
“Don't tell me... Father?”
Gwan Seok-cheon nodded and spoke softly.
“The Manor Lord secretly requested our help. He asked if we could assist, just in case things went wrong.”
Han Seong lowered his head in shame.
In the end, his father hadn't trusted his son's abilities and had asked for help.
And he had asked his son's closest friends, no less.
“Why didn't you tell me beforehand?”
“This had to be handled with extreme secrecy. If we deceived you, then they would be deceived as well.”
Han Seong was displeased but couldn't say a word.
If they hadn't come, the plan would have failed completely, and he himself would have been killed.
* * *
The sudden appearance of the Dae-ui-go-su from the Diancang and Emei sects.
Myo Cheon-u, who had been watching their conversation with Han Seong, sighed as he looked at Seok U-haeng.
“You didn't expect that?”
Seok U-haeng's expression was slightly stiff.
As an assassin, he had always anticipated unexpected situations and made thorough preparations.
But this time, a series of completely unforeseen events had occurred.
*‘Where on earth did the information leak from?’*
Seok U-haeng had spent a month thoroughly investigating the area around the Longsword Manor to kill Han Seong, and had seen through their trap.
So how could the Dae-ui-go-su have arrived without him noticing? How had Han Yeong-baek and the Dae-ui-go-su communicated in secret?
“So that's how it was.”
After some thought, he quickly found the answer.
“My own Pavilion is trying to get rid of me.”
Since entering the martial world, Seok U-haeng had been making a name for himself by eliminating one Dae-ui-go-su after another.
This must have been an eyesore for the Geuksalmilgak.
Because under no circumstances could Seok U-haeng be allowed to become the successor of the Demonic Hall.
“I should have created my own intelligence network first.”
Seok U-haeng muttered with a regretful expression.
He had always used the intelligence network under the Geuksalmilgak's command. Because of that, the Geuksalmilgak's forces could see right through his plans and movements.
And it was clear that someone among them had secretly leaked information to the Orthodox Faction to get Seok U-haeng captured.
“So that's how it was.”
Myo Cheon-u, having grasped Seok U-haeng's situation, laughed hollowly.
“My own Palace did the same thing. That's why I was ambushed in my first battle against a Dae-ui-go-su.”
Myo Cheon-u spoke calmly, as if he had given up on everything.
“From the moment we were on the Isle of Hell... no, from the moment we volunteered to become Sip-ma-jeon-in, we were destined to die.”
“No, this was also something I expected.”
“What did you say?”
“I never expected to assassinate a Dae-ui-go-su so easily every time.”
Then he raised his sword grimly and said in a low voice.
“I will never die. I will survive and become the successor of the Demonic Hall.”
A powerful gust of wind erupted from Seok U-haeng's body.
As he drew out his internal energy with all his might, the true qi circulating in his body began to rise like a heat haze.
“Hah, what incredible spirit.”
Gwan Seok-cheon exclaimed in admiration as he watched.
“The Sip-ma-jeon-in... If we had left those bastards alone for a few more years, we couldn't have guaranteed a victory.”
“But that won't happen.”
Cheong Cho-hyeon said coldly, drawing her sword.
“After we deal with them, we will hunt down and eliminate the remaining Sip-ma-jeon-in as well.”
At Cheong Cho-hyeon's words, Han Seong and Gwan Seok-cheon nodded and took their stances.
Then Gang Jung-ryang, Du Ak, and five Taoists each also surrounded Seok U-haeng and Myo Cheon-u.
Myo Cheon-u gritted his teeth.
The meridians in his left arm were blocked, and Seok U-haeng was bleeding from a long wound in his side.
Now, all that was left was to die.
*Flash!*
The first attack was Gwan Seok-cheon's Sail Sword Art.
Following that, the Pyohyangjeolun Sword, the pinnacle of cloud sword techniques, rained down from both sides, while the Zhongnan Sect's Chwiu Sword and the Kongtong Sect's Chilsang Palm poured in like a storm from the rear.
In response, Myo Cheon-u deployed the Jonggeukmyeolin Palm, one of the three great palm arts of the Myeolin Palace.
And Seok U-haeng unleashed the Geuksalmilgak's Gangsakhyeolma Sword, ten types of hidden weapons, and five types of deadly poisons.
But the Jonggeukmyeolin Palm was blocked by the ceaselessly pouring Pyohyangjeolun Sword, and Seok U-haeng's swordsmanship and hidden weapons were sealed by Gwan Seok-cheon's Seonpungsail Style and the Taoists' sword shadows.
“Huu. Huu.”
Myo Cheon-u gasped for breath with one arm hanging limp, while Seok U-haeng, covered in blood, glared at their enemies.
“Truly the tenacious ones of the Ten Demonic Sects. How incredible.”
Gwan Seok-cheon couldn't help but admire them.
Though they looked on the verge of collapse, they tenaciously blocked the attacks, desperately trying to find a way out.
When an unstoppable technique came, they would turn their backs or buttocks to it to minimize the damage.
If this had been a one-on-one fight, victory would not have been so easily decided.
“But it's over now.”
Cheong Cho-hyeon raised her gleaming white sword above her head.
Having discerned that they no longer had the strength to resist, she was about to unleash a final technique to take their heads.
“Wait!”
Han Seong said with an aggrieved expression.
“This is the Longsword Manor. If you deliver the final blow, Cheong-mae, what will become of my honor?”
In truth, it wasn't about honor; he wanted the fame of having slain a Sip-ma-jeon-in.
Cheong Cho-hyeon glanced at Gwan Seok-cheon for a moment with a subtle smile, then nodded.
“Go ahead.”
Were Cheong Cho-hyeon and Gwan Seok-cheon, being indifferent to fame and fortune, truly intending to hand over the honor of slaying the Sip-ma-jeon-in to Han Seong?
Not a chance.
Over three hundred guests here had witnessed everything.
Even if Han Seong were to slay the Sip-ma-jeon-in, the contributions of Gwan Seok-cheon and Cheong Cho-hyeon could not be ignored.
*‘I have no choice. I have to do this, at least, to prevent the Manor's honor from being tarnished.’*
Of course, Han Seong was well aware of this fact.
But since every plan devised by the Longsword Manor had failed... he had to do this to maintain his dignity as the Young Manor Lord.
“Thank you.”
Han Seong drew his precious sword and stepped forward.
“Sip-ma-jeon-in. It is unfortunate, but you were born in the wrong era!”
Just as Han Seong's sword cut through the air, about to sever a neck,
*Flash!*
a meteor suddenly appeared in the sky.
“…!”
But this meteor wasn't just streaking across the heavens; it was plummeting fiercely toward the ground where Han Seong stood.
“Brother!”
Cheong Cho-hyeon, realizing it was a powerful stream of sword energy, quickly blocked Han Seong's path.
*Tarrararang!*
A series of ear-splitting metallic clangs rang out as her precious sword cut through the incoming sword energy.
“Ugh!”
A choked groan escaped Cheong Cho-hyeon's lips.
The pouring sword energy was so powerful that she couldn't dissipate it all at once.
“Haap!”
In the end, even Gwan Seok-cheon had to step in and push the sword energy aside.
*Ttaang!*
The sword energy, deflected by the Sail Sword Art, plunged into the ground beside Han Seong.
*Paang!*
An explosive sound followed, and a crater large enough to fit an ox appeared in that spot.
The onlookers stared with wide eyes at the sight.
—Who on earth could have unleashed such sword energy?
*Tssssss.*
But at that moment, a ghostly, masked figure suddenly rose from the ground in front of Seok U-haeng and Myo Cheon-u.
“You are...”
Seok U-haeng, who had been composed even in the face of death, now had eyes as sharp as blades.
“Bu Eun-seol…!”
Though the figure was masked, he recognized him as Bu Eun-seol from his eyes alone.