Chapter 199
Chapter 199
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 199
Chapter Title: The Betrayers' Assault
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‘When did he get there? Has he been listening to our conversation from above since the beginning?’
‘I couldn’t sense a thing.’
The man’s and Zan-chil’s expressions hardened.
Especially the assassin Zan-chil’s face grew grave, his scar twisting grotesquely.
‘If that had been an assassin...?’
An image flashed in his mind: his own corpse, pierced through the crown of the head, dead in an instant. Then it vanished.
“Haha, what are you talking about?”
At that moment, the man stepped forward.
A smile had returned to his lips as he looked up at Cheonhwi and spoke.
“The sparring match is already over. Why try to kill us now...?”
“Remove the old, establish the new.”
“...What do you mean?”
“What else? It’s what you’re after.”
Cheonhwi spoke calmly and lightly leaped down from the tree branch.
He landed as softly as a feather and met the man’s eyes with a smile.
“You planned to discard the old factions and raise up new ones in their place, right?”
“...”
The man’s smile slowly faded.
“You heard everything from the start.”
“Even without hearing, I’d guessed as much the moment you forfeited. You’re not the type to just bow out gracefully.”
“...So you never trusted us from the beginning?”
“What? Trust?”
Cheonhwi’s lip curled into a wide sneer.
He alternated glances between the man and Zan-chil before speaking.
“Trust my ass. Would you trust a puppet you propped up and the guy hiding behind him?”
“...”
The man whipped his head around at the cutting remark, locking eyes with Zan-chil.
『We need to attack together.』
The man sent a transmission.
Zan-chil nodded.
He would normally refuse a joint assault, but the opponent before them was no ordinary foe.
After exchanging a brief glance, the two sprang apart without warning.
They drew their swords in unison and unleashed their signature sword arts.
Screeeech!
Two ferocious strikes laced with powerful inner energy enveloped Cheonhwi from both sides, along with the massive tree.
Boom!
A massive explosion erupted.
The tree split in half and crashed down, smothering the Golden Radiance Division and Soul Subduing Sect warriors.
“Ugh, aaah!”
“R-Run!”
The warriors scrambled backward in panic.
Thud!
“Hah, hah! W-We survived.”
“Thought we were done for.”
As they sighed in relief, having barely escaped the falling tree...
Crackle...
The shattered trunk shuddered.
Moments later, the bisected colossal tree lifted upward, revealing Cheonhwi emerging unscathed from beneath.
“Pretty quick reactions.”
Cheonhwi casually held the tree—four or five times his size—in one hand, tossing it aside like insignificant debris.
Thud!
Dust billowed with the impact.
A chilling silence fell.
The man and Zan-chil, along with the distant onlookers, all held their breath.
“Now it’s my turn, right?”
Cheonhwi brushed the dust and leaves from his robes, fixing his gaze on the man.
As he took a step forward...
Shing!
A sword blade thrust out from behind Cheonhwi, hurtling toward his unguarded back.
A sharp edge cloaked in crimson energy.
Zan-chil’s sword—the one that had felled the White Wave Army—closed in at blinding speed.
But...
“Too slow.”
Clang!
Cheonhwi, sword already drawn, whipped it around to smack Zan-chil’s incoming blade aside.
Watching Zan-chil fly backward from the impact, Cheonhwi’s head tilted downward.
“You’re the same.”
Cheonhwi slammed his sword down.
In an instant, the blade multiplied, brutally gouging the earth.
Pfsh!
Holes riddled the ground, and red liquid slowly welled up.
As the sticky blood and metallic scent spread, Cheonhwi lifted his sword from the holes and scanned the surroundings.
“As expected of assassins—you don’t act rashly even when a comrade dies.”
The dense thicket of trees and the mountain path weaving through it.
It all seemed like mere scenery.
But they were hiding within.
Suppressing their breaths and presence.
So stealthily that most warriors wouldn’t detect them.
“I’ll deal with you lot later. First, the one who needs handling.”
Cheonhwi whipped his head around and swung at the man who had ambushed him.
At that instant...
Roooar!
Sword qi hurtled in with a thunderous roar.
Qi poised to cleave the overgrown bushes clean in half.
Clang!
A sharp metallic ring exploded.
The man, who had been biding his time, channeled inner energy into his slender sword to block the incoming sword qi.
“Ngh!”
But he was gradually being pushed back.
‘This is Mount Hua’s swordsmanship?’
Disbelief surged.
He’d heard Mount Hua’s sword arts were flashy, yet this strike was entirely different.
Overbearing and heavy.
And above all, thick with killing intent.
‘Damn it!’
Gritting his teeth against the savage qi intent on bisecting him, the man poured more energy into his sword.
The qi enveloping his slender blade thickened.
Kiiiiing...
An grating screech erupted.
The sword qi pressed relentlessly, threatening to snap the slender blade.
Then the man angled his sword aside.
Aiming to deflect the trajectory.
As planned, the incoming qi began tilting sideways with the sword’s motion.
Clang!
It finally ricocheted left.
The redirected qi sliced through the bushes, felling every tree in its path.
Gulp.
The man swallowed dryly.
He’d blocked and deflected it, dissipating about half the power.
Yet that remaining half shredded trees and wrecked the thicket.
‘Even at full power, I couldn’t do that.’
Gnashing his teeth, he glared at Cheonhwi.
Both the techniques from the prior spar and this strike showed the opponent was no mere expert.
Yet Cheonhwi, who had unleashed such astonishing sword qi, casually worked his mouth.
“What’s with the shock? It was just a light swing.”
The man’s face twisted at Cheonhwi’s subtly condescending tone.
Who was he?
Gon Son-seung, the Hainan Swordsman!
One of Hainan’s top ten masters, nearly peerless.
Yet here he was, being dismissed by a mere boy far his junior.
‘Me, suffering this humiliation!’
Rage boiled up.
It wasn’t just the insult—it was that he couldn’t even refute it.
His sword hand trembled.
Glare fixed on Cheonhwi, he bit his lip until blood seeped and spoke.
“Charge. Even if you die, cling to him till the end.”
At his command...
Tap!
Several Soul Subduing Sect disciples surged forward, radiating vicious killing intent toward Cheonhwi.
“Gasp!”
“Th-There were more among us...?”
Gon Son-seung’s brows shot up.
‘A bit early to use them, but...’
These beast-like chargers were his final hidden card, meant for Zan-chil’s back or the woman later.
But...
‘Killing that one comes first.’
Eyes hardened, he mouthed.
“I’ll create an opening. The ambush is yours.”
No reply came.
But feeling the thick killing intent beside him vanish swiftly, the man gripped his slender sword tightly.
Gon Son-seung’s eyes locked on Cheonhwi.
Each time his sword sliced the air like a beam of light, the charging subordinates split in two without fail.
Splat...
Blood and entrails burst from bisected torsos, drenching the ground in gore.
Along with a foul, fishy stench.
‘Must kill him before he grows further.’
As Gon Son-seung pierced Cheonhwi with cold eyes, exuding murderous aura...
“Yeah, keep coming. The more, the better.”
Cheonhwi grinned.
Undeterred by comrades splitting and dying before them, they charged relentlessly.
Screech!
Staring at another straight thrust, Cheonhwi twisted his waist.
Then slashed upward from below.
Slice!
It cleft him from groin upward.
“Die!”
At the shout from behind, Cheonhwi swung.
His sword pierced the throat of the oncoming attacker amid sharp killing intent.
“Gurgle...”
Blood bubbling in his throat, the man’s eyes bulged with a grotesque sound.
His tear- and blood-streaked eyes brimmed with malice.
As Cheonhwi moved to withdraw his blade...
Grip!
The man thrust both hands up, seizing the embedded blade roughly.
Even as consciousness faded, his grip tightened with eerie strength, grinding ominously.
As if vowing not to release it in death.
“Hm, buying time?”
Cheonhwi muttered, grasping the intent.
Tap!
Suddenly, the others lunged, stabbing at Cheonhwi’s chest, shoulder, crown, abdomen, legs.
Over five blades at a glance.
Cheonhwi flashed a twisted smile and hurled the corpse at them.
“...!”
“Wha—!”
Unprepared for a flung corpse, they faltered.
Slash!
With a gruesome sound, the body split, and fierce eyes seized their vision from between.
Lightning flashed.
“Gah!”
Panicking at the throat-aimed quicksword, the man hastily raised his blade.
Clang!
But the honed qi-laden sword cleaved it and took his neck.
Thud...
Headless, he crumpled, convulsed briefly, then cooled completely.
“...”
For the first time, even these relentless chargers hesitated momentarily.
A brief exchange.
But witnessing the carnage, they encircled him warily instead of advancing.
“Out of the way.”
Gon Son-seung strode forward confidently, unlike his earlier trembling.
‘This way, I’ll just lose more men.’
He’d hoped to drain some stamina or energy, but the foe transcended such levels.
‘One strike. Settle it in one.’
Gon Son-seung stayed calm.
At his current level, victory against the young Taoist was impossible.
Thus, he targeted one thing alone.
Huuu...
He exhaled slowly.
Subtle inner energy rose like heat haze from his body.
Soon, he assumed a low stance.
Pointing at the ground, very low.
“Hm?”
Cheonhwi’s eyes gleamed.
The pose Gon Son-seung struck felt familiar.
‘Where have I seen it?’
Racking his brain briefly...
“Ah! Hainan Sect’s Reverse Hand Sword?”
“...!”
Gon Son-seung’s pupils quaked.
Recognizing his sect from just the stance implied profound insight.
‘Damn!’
Failure loomed larger.
But retreat was impossible.
‘No other technique can wound him.’
Whoosh!
Gon Son-seung steeled himself, kicked off, and charged.
His slender sword rose from below, quivering as it generated fierce energy waves.
Screeeeech!
Air tore with the sound.
Brilliant blue sword qi rippled toward Cheonhwi’s heart.
“Meteor Chasing Moon Sword, was it? Famous for its speed.”
Cheonhwi, instantly discerning the technique, drew his sword diagonally.
A late swing.
Yet its speed far outpaced the preemptive Meteor Chasing Moon Sword.
Soul Pursuing Sword!
One of the Ten Great Demonic Sword Arts, hailed as the fastest sword across righteous and demonic paths, overwhelming Meteor Chasing Moon Sword.
‘Th-This absurd speed!’
As Gon Son-seung blinked, the blade split his technique and closed in.
Crunch!
The lightning swing buried into his shoulder, blood spraying.
As it neared severing the arm...
“Ngh! Now!”
Gon Son-seung shouted skyward.
And in that instant...
Whoosh!
Zan-chil appeared, shedding his disguise.
Spitting azure light, he slashed his crimson sword at Cheonhwi’s throat.
A perfectly concise, swift ambush.
Even a master would fail to react, dying outright.
But the opponent was wrong.
Grab.
Cheonhwi extended his left hand, seizing the blade.
“...!”
Catching the qi-laden sword like a stick, Cheonhwi met Zan-chil’s shocked eyes.
After a moment, he chuckled softly.
“Hiding your presence the whole time... and that’s all you’ve got?”