Chapter 268
Chapter 268
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 268
Chapter Title: Red Tiger Chae Leader's Demise
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“What the hell kind of internal energy...”
The Red Tiger Chae Leader, who had staggered back three or four steps, glanced at the fist that had blocked the single blade carrying a fierce gale.
A trickle of blood ran down his rock-like fist, leaving a bloody streak etched into the skin.
'Not only did it block the Great Power Tiger King Fist... but it even wounded me...'
His brow furrowed deeply.
It had been ages since he'd last been injured.
After mastering the Great Power Tiger King Fist, he had conquered the Red Tiger Band without a single scratch and ruled like a king for a full decade.
It was that exceptional a fist technique.
All those who had challenged him before had failed to even graze him before falling...
But this guy was different.
'No wonder the Nine Great Sects are called what they are.'
Though still young, the footwork and swordsmanship he displayed were on another level entirely from anyone he'd faced before.
Brutishly rough and blindingly fast footwork.
Combined with sword strikes brimming with killing intent, it was more than enough to match the Great Power Tiger King Fist.
The Red Tiger Chae Leader shook his stinging hand, clenched his fist tight, and raised his head.
Puk!
Meanwhile, Danri Gwancheon, who had just slammed his blade into the ground, lifted his head as well.
His eyes blazed fiercely.
He'd thought a mere mountain bandit was decent enough, but his opponent's skill had surpassed mere excellence.
'No wonder the Evil-Black Alliance tried to keep the Green Forest bandits in their pocket.'
Danri Gwancheon glared at the Red Tiger Chae Leader and slowly pulled his blade from the ground.
Dirt clinging to the blade fell away.
Swipe—
The narrow blade pointed straight at the Red Tiger Chae Leader in a single horizontal line.
At that moment.
Thud!
A heavy pressure descended.
Danri Gwancheon circulated his internal energy.
Qi surged from his entire body in streams, coiling around the blade.
At the same time, the wind began to stir.
A sharp, chilling north wind.
As if possessed by a spirit, Danri Gwancheon, enveloped in the wind, took a step forward.
Step—
The moment the tip of his leather shoe touched the cold earth, his vision warped.
Buun Yakpyo.
The Qingcheng Sect's exquisite lightness skill had closed the distance to the Red Tiger Chae Leader in an instant.
Thus, the north wind became a gale.
Whoosh!
The Red Tiger Chae Leader, facing the charging Danri Gwancheon, bent his knees and channeled his energy.
His thighs bulged massively, stretching his trousers to the tearing point, as his soles sank deeper into the cold dirt.
Like a frog crouching low.
At that moment, Danri Gwancheon twisted his wrist.
The brief motion transmitted to the blade.
And the Gale Blade Art unfolded.
Killing intent poured from the blade, shredding the air like it was mocking it.
The tangible killing intent soon blossomed into fierce blade qi along the edge.
And then.
Screeech!
The Gale Blade Art engulfed the Red Tiger Chae Leader.
A violent vortex raged fiercely.
Danri Gwancheon's black hair whipped in the wind like crashing waves, his eyes half-closed.
At that moment.
“Where do you think you're going...”
A cold voice stabbed into his ears like a needle from right below.
Looking down, he saw the Red Tiger Chae Leader staring up.
His bluish eyes gleamed menacingly.
They looked like the eyes of a serpent that had long awaited its prey.
The Red Tiger Chae Leader shot upward abruptly.
His taut trousers tore in an instant, unleashing an explosive shockwave.
The fierce wave spread from him at the center.
Detonating the internal energy in his thighs and feet, he used the surging force to unleash the Great Power Tiger King Fist with savage power.
Fwoosh!
The massive fist, marked by a single bloody streak, pierced the gale and ascended.
Soon, fist met blade.
Boom!
The fallen leaves scattered around them exploded in an instant.
'Urk!'
Danri Gwancheon groaned inwardly.
It was a strike of tremendous power.
As Danri Gwancheon tried to recover his blade from the impact,
Whoosh—
the Red Tiger Chae Leader's form blurred suddenly, reappearing at his side.
Displaying agility unfitting his massive bulk, he targeted Danri Gwancheon's exposed flank.
Danri Gwancheon's thoughts raced.
'If that hits, I'm in danger.'
His warrior's instinct screamed warning.
But the situation was already upon him.
His mind accelerated in that split second.
'Too late to dodge with Buun Yakpyo. Block with the blade? But even then, the impact...'
As he searched for a way out,
『Step forward with your left foot toward him, take the hit on purpose, then swing that blade art diagonally.』
A voice pierced his mind.
'This voice... the Division Leader's...?'
Danri Gwancheon panicked for a moment.
Startled by the sudden transmission, but more so by the advice—like jumping into flames like a moth.
『For now, give flesh to take bone. You know that, right?』
The follow-up transmission made him frown.
It was correct.
Among the options flashing through his mind, the Division Leader's was the most viable.
He gritted his teeth and stepped forward with his left foot.
Step—
Just one step.
But it allowed the Red Tiger Chae Leader's fist to slam into his side.
Thud!
A heavy blow pierced his flank.
The clothing on the opposite side tore and fluttered away.
'Guh!'
Danri Gwancheon's mind went white.
His consciousness nearly fled.
But he endured.
He had to.
To hold onto the thread of awareness.
Sneer—
The Red Tiger Chae Leader smirked at Danri Gwancheon's contorted face in agony.
'Nailed him good.'
He felt it through his embedded fist.
But the smile didn't last.
Danri Gwancheon hadn't fallen. Instead, he stood tall, raising his blade with bloodshot eyes.
'No way...!'
As the horrified Red Tiger Chae Leader realized,
Screeech!
Danri Gwancheon swung his blade wildly, engulfing him in a gale.
The Gale Blade Art, ravaging the air, finally carved a long trajectory.
A red line slashed diagonally across the Red Tiger Chae Leader's chest.
Blood spread along the line.
“Urk!”
The Red Tiger Chae Leader groaned and staggered back a step.
His eyes shook violently.
“Mutual destruction...?!”
Then Danri Gwancheon wobbled.
He'd closed in deliberately before fully executing the technique, but the power wasn't diminished.
“Kuhuk!”
Unable to hold back, Danri Gwancheon doubled over and vomited blood.
Blackish, congealed blood mixed with organ fragments splattered onto the dirt.
His face paled.
Vomiting so much blood at once made his mind reel.
'Dizzy.'
His vision was already blurred.
Focus wouldn't settle; even the Red Tiger Chae Leader ahead was indistinct.
He wanted to collapse right then.
But he had to stand.
As long as the enemy hadn't fallen.
As he forcibly steadied his shaking body, several figures approached.
“Chae Leader!”
“A-Are you alright?”
The bandits, who hadn't dared approach the duel of masters, rushed over frantically.
“K-Kill that bastard... Urk!”
The Red Tiger Chae Leader snapped at his subordinates, clutching his chest and staggering.
Luckily not fatal, but blood poured generously through his fingers.
“What are you waiting for? Kill him now!”
he barked irritably.
The bandits hesitated, but nodded upon seeing the tottering Danri Gwancheon and gripped their weapons.
They charged all at once.
Tat!
Danri Gwancheon's eyes wavered.
As he strained to grip his blade amid the blurring distorted figures closing in,
Slash!
A gruesome sound echoed.
Red flooded his warped vision as the charging figures tumbled.
And someone appeared before him abruptly.
Red and black mingled...
A familiar color scheme.
“Division Leader...?”
Danri Gwancheon barely whispered through clenched teeth.
'Th-This can't be...'
The Red Tiger Chae Leader felt a chill down his spine.
He'd seen nothing.
Just a sword flash, and six charging subordinates lay dead. That was it.
Cheonhwi, glancing coolly at the slain bandits, raised his head.
He looked at the Red Tiger Chae Leader and smiled.
“You don't call in subordinates during a one-on-one life-or-death duel.”
“U-Ugh...”
Meeting those eyes, the Red Tiger Chae Leader backed away.
Instinct told him.
Even at full strength, he couldn't beat this Taoist before him.
Cheonhwi watched the Red Tiger Chae Leader retreat stealthily and raised his sword, Hwamwol.
A beautiful, bewitching blade.
But to the Red Tiger Chae Leader facing it, nothing could be more horrifying.
Cheonhwi drew Hwamwol sideways.
Swoooosh—
Hwamwol quietly parted the world.
The Red Tiger Chae Leader's eyes bulged as Hwamwol filled his vision.
And the next instant.
Thud.
His head hit the ground.
His eyes remained wide in death, unaware even of his own end.
Silence fell heavily around them.
Spurt—
Blood belatedly sprayed from the Red Tiger Chae Leader's headless body as it slowly toppled.
Thud!
A very quiet end.
Turning from the Red Tiger Chae Leader, Cheonhwi faced the swaying Danri Gwancheon.
“You lack endurance. If your hand hadn't shaken at the end of that blade art, you could've finished him in one stroke.”
“That is...”
Danri Gwancheon opened his mouth but bit his lip, unable to continue.
It was true.
Pain had disrupted the final form of the Gale Blade Art.
A minor flaw.
But it let the Red Tiger Chae Leader survive—and put him in peril.
“...My mistake.”
Cheonhwi nodded approvingly at Danri Gwancheon owning his error without excuse.
“Well, this area's wrapped up.”
Muttering, Cheonhwi's gaze shifted toward where the detachment's energy emanated.
“Might take a bit?”
Glancing steadily at Danri Gwancheon, he asked flatly.
“You can move, right?”
Danri Gwancheon nodded laboriously.
Perhaps from the brief rest, his blurred vision had stabilized.
“If it's just moving...”
Cheonhwi turned upon hearing the reply.
“Then let's finish cleaning up.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ “Damn it all!”
At a glance, the detachment seemed to overwhelm the bandits, but they'd faced crises several times midway.
“Behind you!”
At Ho Gwanggae's shout, Muhong swiftly unleashed the Mutual Injury Sword Art, deflecting the bandits' axes.
But then.
Whish— Whish—
The bandits' eyes bulged as they exchanged glances.
Flashing with killing intent, they discarded their useless axes, drew sharp hidden weapons from their bosoms, and hurled them with full force.
Puk!
“Urk! Dodge!”
Ho Gwanggae yelled urgently.
But Muhong's thigh and shoulder were already pierced, bleeding.
“Son of a bitch!”
Muhong, cursing unlike a Taoist, raised his sword high.
He thrust fiercely at the now-defenseless bandits who'd thrown their weapons.
Puk!
The sword pierced their collarbones.
The bandits grimaced in pain but charged again, eyes gleaming murderously at his mercy.
But then.
Thud!
A charging bandit's body pitched forward suddenly. A black figure emerged slowly behind.
“Division Leader?”
It was Cheonhwi.
Letting his bloodied sword hang low, he gazed at them impassively.
Then his closed lips parted.
“What do you think you're doing?”
A chilling voice flowed out.
“Showing mercy in the heat of battle... You trying to get yourselves killed?”
As he spat the sharp words,
Paht!
Six shadows loomed behind Cheonhwi. Bandits who had lain in wait for an opening.
Their sharp cleavers glinted in the sunlight, plunging lightning-fast toward his crown.
“Division Leader!”
“Division Leader!”
The detachment cried out in panic.
But Cheonhwi ignored them, continuing.
“I'll give you one incense stick's time.”
As he spoke, his eyes half-lidded.
A eerie red glow flashed, and Hwamwol quivered slightly.
In that instant.
Slash!
The bandits' bodies split in half, blood rain pouring.
An indescribable sight.
Beneath the deluge, Cheonhwi bared white teeth in a cold smile.
“Finish them all within that time.”