Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: The Final Stand
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“Oh?”
The first group to arrive consisted entirely of boys carrying broadswords.
After them, more groups armed with a variety of weapons arrived one after another.
‘Was it him?’
Bu Eun-seol’s eyes narrowed as he scanned the factions that had fanned out around them.
He was a boy of such exquisite features that one might mistake him for a demure girl at a glance.
But his body was as solid as twisted steel, and his expression was nonchalant, devoid of any worry or concern.
It was the very same boy who had come to Bu Eun-seol’s cave and proposed they form a group.
‘He must think I can’t recognize him.’
His line of work involved studying bodies more than faces.
No matter that the boy had worn a mask and loose-fitting clothes; Bu Eun-seol had remembered the masked man's physique as if he could see right through the fabric.
And among the crowd, that handsome boy’s build was a perfect match for the masked man he remembered.
“Does staring at rice cook it into a meal?”
A boy carrying a long saber on his back spoke with irritation.
“Instead of just eyeing each other like this, let’s kill those two first.”
“I agree.”
As one of the others nodded in agreement, another voice cut in.
“That one is Bu Eun-seol.”
A boy with an iron sword on his back suddenly pointed at Bu Eun-seol and shouted.
“He’s the one who learned the Yasudo of Nang-ya-gak. He’s quite strong.”
At that, a girl holding a white whip pointed at Seo Jin-ha and smirked.
“My, my, it looks like those two have already formed a group.”
Then, a boy with crescent-shaped eyes, standing empty-handed, pointed at Seo Jin-ha.
“That one is Seo Jin-ha. He’s not to be underestimated. His swordsmanship is considerable, and he’s the type to have already investigated all the other trainees.”
The groups were well-informed about Seo Jin-ha’s background as well.
“With those two teamed up, this will be a rather difficult hunt.”
Just then, a boy with abnormally developed forearms flexed his fists.
“Instead of wasting time talking, why don’t we just attack all at once?”
At his words, Bu Eun-seol and Seo Jin-ha naturally moved back-to-back and lowered their stances.
No matter how strong the two of them were, facing twenty skilled opponents at once would be difficult.
“……”
“……!”
Bu Eun-seol and Seo Jin-ha glanced at each other at the same time.
As their eyes met, they gave a slight nod, as if their minds were connected.
“It’s Yeongchwisan!”
Seo Jin-ha suddenly roared, pulling a small pouch from his leather bag and scattering a fine powder in all directions as he dashed forward.
“The Yeongchwisan from Jiok-hyeol-seong?”
The groups, utterly shocked, covered their mouths.
Jiok-hyeol-seong’s Yeongchwisan was a rare poison said to make a person feel completely drunk with just a single whiff.
*Tap, tap, tap.*
In that moment of chaos, Bu Eun-seol and Seo Jin-ha escaped into the forest.
However, a girl staring at the powder on the ground shouted.
“This isn’t Yeongchwisan! It’s the antidote for Galmi-dok!”
At her cry, the others looked dumbfounded.
“Damn it! Where did he get that leather pouch? We were completely fooled!”
“Get them, quickly!”
The groups immediately gave chase after Bu Eun-seol.
Meanwhile, Bu Eun-seol and Seo Jin-ha, having escaped the forest, were running toward the same destination as if by prior agreement.
Their target was the stone mountain where the trainees had been staying.
If they could get inside a narrow cave, they could prevent the others from attacking all at once.
‘But.’
Seo Jin-ha bit his lip.
Most of the caves had large entrances and wide interiors, making them unsuitable for fending off multiple enemies.
‘We need to find a suitable cave and get inside right away.’
The one thing Seo Jin-ha hadn't paid any attention to was the trainees' living quarters.
Observing such places too closely could have made him stand out from the very beginning.
“I know a place.”
Bu Eun-seol said, having grasped Seo Jin-ha’s thoughts.
“The cave I stayed in not only has a narrow entrance but also a long passage inside. It should be fine there.”
Bu Eun-seol’s cave was a natural fortress, difficult for a large number of enemies to enter.
“What pathetic footwork!”
A boy, riding a gale of wind, had already caught up and was hot on Seo Jin-ha’s heels.
“Did you want to show off your speed?”
Just then, Seo Jin-ha spun around, unleashing a flash of cold light.
*Flash!*
Along with the brilliant gleam, blood spurted from the boy’s neck.
‘The Hwau-byeok-roe-geom.’
Like Bu Eun-seol, Seo Jin-ha had also modified the Hwau-byeok-roe-geom into a practical combat form.
*Fwoosh!*
At that moment, a streak of light shot toward Seo Jin-ha’s back.
‘A hidden weapon that can fly this far?’
Seo Jin-ha was stunned, but it was already too late to dodge the projectile fired from behind.
*Clang!*
A loud metallic sound rang out just before the weapon could pierce his back.
Bu Eun-seol, moving like lightning, had deflected it with his black sword.
“Don’t let your guard down just because you killed an enemy.”
“Right.”
Left with nothing to say, Seo Jin-ha nodded and started running again.
*Whooosh.*
Just as Bu Eun-seol and Seo Jin-ha reached the vicinity of the stone mountain, a wind suddenly blew from the distant sky, and the surroundings seemed to darken.
‘Don’t tell me!’
In that instant, Bu Eun-seol felt a terribly unpleasant premonition.
And just as he feared…
*Heeeeee!*
A strange sound began to echo from all directions.
The area around the stone mountain had also become a restricted zone.
“Damn it! They made this a restricted zone the moment we started running this way!”
Seo Jin-ha skidded to a halt, his face a mask of dismay.
*Ssssss.*
Just then, a haze-like phenomenon rose from the ground in front of the distant stone mountain, and several shadows began to form one by one.
They were the slaughter fiends, clad in gray assassin’s uniforms.
“Damn it!”
Seo Jin-ha, having stopped in his tracks, cried out in frustration.
The stone mountain was right in front of them, yet they couldn’t enter!
“If we have to fight anyway, this isn’t so bad.”
“What did you say?”
Bu Eun-seol’s eyes flashed as he spoke.
“The slaughter fiends cannot move outside their designated area. In other words, the line where they are standing is the boundary.”
Seo Jin-ha’s eyes widened.
The place where the slaughter fiends stood was the restricted zone.
In short, if they stood with their backs to that line, it would be the same as standing in a cave with a blocked rear.
“But we can’t pick them off one by one… so it’s still a losing battle, isn’t it?”
Bu Eun-seol replied calmly to Seo Jin-ha’s words.
“We won’t know until we try.”
*Rustle. Whoosh.*
In the meantime, the groups pursuing Bu Eun-seol arrived one after another.
“Making us work for nothing.”
One of the boys from the first group to arrive glanced at the slaughter fiends behind them and smiled cruelly.
“Nowhere left to run. Hehehe.”
Then, a broad-shouldered boy shouted loudly.
“Let’s not drag this out! Attack all at once!”
*Schwing, shiiing.*
Simultaneously, Bu Eun-seol and Seo Jin-ha drew their black sword and iron sword.
With the slaughter fiends at their backs, they intended to face their pursuers with all their strength.
‘This is the final chapter.’
Feeling the end was near, Bu Eun-seol’s eyes glinted with a bloody light as he spoke.
“Come on.”
A battle of two against nineteen.
It was a bloody struggle so brutal one could hardly bear to watch, a series of moments where life and death hung in the balance.
*Swoosh.*
As the poisons and hidden weapons of Jiok-hyeol-seong flew toward their faces, the Hyeol-yeom-do-beop, capable of splitting mountains, rained down from behind.
If they managed to dodge and block the desperate attacks, the Hwau-geom would strike, and in between, the white whip and the Sa-ryeong-chang would fly in.
*Thwack, thwack, thwack.*
Crimson blood flowed endlessly from the bodies of Bu Eun-seol and Seo Jin-ha, which were now covered in wounds both large and small.
“Damn it.”
Seo Jin-ha gasped for breath, his sword held at the ready.
Some of the group members weren’t even attacking aggressively, looking as if they intended to savor the kill.
“Is this where I die?”
Seo Jin-ha spat out a mouthful of blood that had welled up in his mouth and bared his teeth.
“I have no regrets. I’ve given everything I have.”
‘No regrets?’
Bu Eun-seol slowly looked down at his own arms.
He could almost see the warm touch of his grandfather, Bu Jan-yang. But in the next moment, that vision was replaced by the sight of two brutally severed arms.
“I…”
A volcano of fire erupted in the eyes of Bu Eun-seol as he gripped his black sword.
“Cannot die in a place like this!”
*Swish. Paat!*
At that moment, the Hyeol-yeom-do and the white whip flew at Bu Eun-seol from his left and right.
The speed and coordination of the two attacks were so exquisite that even the reflexes of the Yasudo couldn’t possibly evade them.
‘No!’
In that instant, a light that seemed to absorb everything emanated from Bu Eun-seol’s eyes.
*Flash!*
Simultaneously, black lightning crackled from the black sword, and fountains of blood erupted from the necks of the two attackers.
“Uwaaack!”
The screams of the two boys who met a sudden death were chilling enough to make one’s hair stand on end.
The killing sword of Cheon Un-gwang, rivaling the Hwau-geom—the Jeon-roe-mu-ssang-sik—had been unleashed once more.
“That bastard!”
“What kind of sword technique is that?!”
“Kill him now!”
With voices filled with bewilderment and rage, three members of the group suddenly lunged forward to attack Bu Eun-seol.
“We’ll take care of him!”
They were the ones with the most outstanding teamwork among the groups.
*Chwaaak! Piiing! Fwoosh!*
The Hwau-geom, the Hyeol-yeom-do, and the Sa-ryeong-chang poured down with the force of a thunderbolt.
A fan-like curtain of light sealed off Bu Eun-seol’s front and sides. They boasted a flawless combination attack, as if they had practiced together for decades.
“……!”
Bu Eun-seol’s eyes widened like a child seeing something new.
In truth, he had never learned the power or the martial arts needed to block such a coordinated attack.
*Whoosh.*
Just as the three weapons were about to transform into the claws of a death god and seize Bu Eun-seol’s throat…
*Sssssk.*
The black sword in his hand began to move on its own.
Faced with death, the instincts of the Yasudo and his emerging memories had guided Bu Eun-seol to another realm of skill.
—Have you not already learned this old man’s sword style?
Back then, for half a month, Bu Eun-seol had been relentlessly beaten by a single sword technique without a single break.
It was the practical swordsmanship of Sa-u, the master of Nang-ya-gak’s secret hall and a man who had reached the pinnacle of combat martial arts.
*Clang, chaeng! Taaang!*
Clear sounds rang out as Bu Eun-seol’s black sword struck the tips of the three incoming weapons.
Sa-u’s practical swordsmanship was being recreated in Bu Eun-seol’s hands.
“……”
As Bu Eun-seol’s sword technique unfolded, the three boys who had launched the attack wore expressions as if they had just awoken from a nightmare.
It was a sword style of transcendent skill, one that could not be blocked no matter how much strength they poured in, no matter what martial arts they had learned.
*Shnk, thud.*
There were no screams.
The three attackers simply collapsed to the ground, like snowmen melting away.
“Bu Eun-seol!”
At that moment, Seo Jin-ha’s roar echoed through the air.
A boy who had stealthily approached Bu Eun-seol had struck him squarely in the chest.
“Kuh.”
Bu Eun-seol instinctively raised his black sword into a defensive stance.
*Craaack!*
But the black sword shattered like glass upon impact with the fist.
*Booom!*
With a deafening roar, Bu Eun-seol was thrown backward like a cannonball.
*Thump, thump.*
Collapsing to the ground, Bu Eun-seol slowly pushed himself up, blood trickling from his lips.
His energy was gone, and it felt as if his very soul was melting away. His vision blurred, but Bu Eun-seol rose like a tilting doll.
“Bu Eun-seol! Get out of there, quickly!”
Seo Jin-ha shouted urgently as he watched.
“The slaughter fiends are behind you!”
Blasted backward by the punch, Bu Eun-seol had landed right at the feet of the slaughter fiends.
*Flash!*
In an instant, a sharp glint shot from the slaughter fiends’ eyes.
Even if he was a critically wounded man, he had entered the restricted zone, so there would be no exception.
*Thud, thud.*
A slaughter fiend slowly approached and reached out a sharp hand toward Bu Eun-seol.
*Goooong!*
Just then, the sound of a large gong shook the hellscape.
Simultaneously, a shout like the roar of a lion shook the heavens.
“Stooooop!”
As the earth-shaking cry reverberated, the slaughter fiend’s hand, which had been slicing through the air, froze in place.
*Drip.*
Blood trickled from Bu Eun-seol’s neck.
Even though the hand hadn’t touched him, its sharp energy had sliced his skin.
A deathly silence descended upon the air.
*Fwoosh.*
A shadow descended from the stone mountain, its movements as fluid as a bird taking flight after crouching.
“That’s enough!”
It was the Chief Instructor, Hyeok-ryeon Eung.