Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: The Real Boss Emerges
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Ha Taegon smirked smugly as he thrust his blade at Nangong Hyeok.
The razor-sharp edge glinted, as if ready to sever Nangong Hyeok's neck at any moment.
"Heh heh heh! Can't you see what's happening here?"
Geum Cheomsang jumped in alarm and glared at Ha Taegon.
"Wh-what the hell is this?!"
"Can't you tell just by looking?"
"You bastard! Is the lowly Heaven-Earth Sect threatening Nangong Family's Second Young Master right now?!"
"Lowly?"
"You think the Nangong Family will let the Heaven-Earth Sect get away with this?!"
Ha Taegon grinned wickedly.
"Can't grasp the situation, huh?"
"......!"
"You think I'd be scared of talk like that?"
"Gasp!"
Geum Cheomsang sucked in a breath and looked around.
Bandits blocked the front, while Heaven-Earth Sect warriors in the rear brandished gleaming blue blades, their auras surging menacingly.
His legs went weak at the dire scene, and he swallowed dryly as he sidled up to Nangong Hyeok.
"Kuhahaha! Looks like you're finally getting the picture! But... you still don't get it, do you?"
Ha Taegon sneered at Geum Cheomsang's cowering, but his face twisted at Nangong Hyeok's utterly composed demeanor.
The guy's nonchalance was infuriating.
Does this bastard not even see the blade at his throat?
It was then, as Ha Taegon furrowed his brow.
Geon Cheon-hwi let out a disbelieving scoff.
"Ha, you actually went through with it?"
Tak Hyeok-dong chimed in from the side.
"Yeah, damn. The Young Master's call was spot on."
"It's so predictable it's embarrassing for me."
"Hmm! How'd you predict this? You saw through their formation at a glance?"
"I caught on when the Young Master floated the idea."
"Ha, sharp as ever. How'd you know? The Family Head isn't just anyone, huh."
Tak Hyeok-dong gave a thumbs-up in admiration.
Geon Cheon-hwi raised his fist.
"Hand it over."
"...You weren't kidding?"
"Dead serious."
"...F-fine, I'll pay up."
Ha Taegon's face filled with bewilderment as he watched the two chatter.
'What the hell are these idiots doing?'
Can't they see the situation right in front of them?
Heaven-Earth Sect warriors and bandits surrounding them front and back—not seeing that?
Over a hundred in number, no less. How can they spout nonsense and act all relaxed?
They must take after their fool of a master.
Or maybe they were confident in their skills.
But none of that mattered.
'Their master's caught, and they're still acting like this?'
They'd drop dead at Nangong Hyeok's word, yet here they were, cool as cucumbers?
'Bluffing!'
Ha Taegon bellowed in a thunderous voice.
"You lot! Don't you see this?! Drop your weapons and surrender, or your master's head rolls!"
His inner energy-laced shout, along with a burst of menace and killing intent, washed over the Thunder Dragon Squad.
Any normal group would quake or panic.
But the Thunder Dragon Squad's reaction was different.
"Pfft!"
Huh? A laugh?
Did he just laugh?
Geon Cheon-hwi shook his head with a smirk.
What's with this guy's reaction?
Bear-like Tak Hyeok-dong cackled.
"Stupid bastard! He's digging his own grave."
Grave?
What nonsense are these lunatics spouting?!
Ha Taegon pressed the blade tight against Nangong Hyeok's neck and scowled fiercely.
"You crazy bastards! Don't you know your lives are worth less than flies?! Surrender, or I cut his head off!"
Ha Taegon roared at Geon Cheon-hwi, veins bulging in his neck.
Geon Cheon-hwi glanced at Nangong Hyeok.
"Young Master, what now?"
Nangong Hyeok flicked a look at the blade at his throat, then nodded curtly.
Geon Cheon-hwi bowed deeply.
"Yes! As you command!"
Ha Taegon rolled his eyes side to side, twisting his face like a demon.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?! Think I'm joking?!"
Geon Cheon-hwi chuckled softly and turned around.
"You bastard, if you move one more—"
Mid-sentence, Ha Taegon faltered in shock.
What?
He told them to surrender, so why are they turning toward the Heaven-Earth Sect warriors?
As confusion dawned on Ha Taegon's face.
Tak Hyeok-dong cracked his neck side to side and strode boldly toward the bandit stronghold.
Neither paid them any mind as they moved, leaving Ha Taegon trembling with rage.
No matter how much he threatened, they ignored him completely.
Even a stray mutt wouldn't get this much disdain.
"Hey! Y-you bastards! Can't you see—"
Ha Taegon strained his neck with bulging veins, but Tak Hyeok-dong's shout drowned him out.
"Sweep 'em all away!"
In an instant, Tak Hyeok-dong charged ferociously at the stronghold.
The Thunder Dragon Squad followed, attacking the blocking bandits indiscriminately.
With a mighty rumble of the earth, the battle erupted.
"Huuaaaap!"
Tak Hyeok-dong barreled forward like a wild boar, slamming his shoulder into the bandits ahead.
"Wh-what?"
"Ugh!"
The bandits' pupils shook wildly.
It felt like just a few thumps of the heart, and suddenly he was right in their faces.
Kwaaang!
Like a carriage crashing into them, seven bandits flew back from the impact.
"Kaaaak!"
"Cough!"
"Hiaak!"
The bandits shot like arrows, sprawling over the wooden barricade.
Tak Hyeok-dong's eyes widened.
'...What? They're flying farther than I thought?'
His legs felt faster than before, his power heavier.
'Who cares, just smash!'
Tak Hyeok-dong shook off the thought and pounced on the panicking bandits.
"H-ha!"
"A-attack!"
"Kill—!"
"Ambush—!"
The Thunder Dragon Squad surged like a tidal wave at the terrified bandits.
They trampled the bandits trying to raise weapons in counterattack.
It was a momentum like wildfire.
Kwang! Jjeoeok! Kuwoong! Kwaang!
Kakakakang!
"Eeeek!"
"Kaaaaak!"
"Coooeok!"
Clouds of dust rose as bandits flew in every direction.
Jaws dislocated, backs bent, limbs twisted—they spun wildly before crashing to the ground.
The Thunder Dragon Squad fighting the bandits felt a twinge of surprise.
'Huh? Why's this so easy?'
'Why are these guys so weak?'
'Hm? No iron orbs weighing them down—feels light.'
'My inner energy flows better than before.'
Had the rest from ditching those oppressive iron orbs and brutal training restored them?
Power surged through them, movements quicker.
The Thunder Dragon Squad rampaged even fiercer.
Kuuguuguugung!
The two-to-one numbers meant nothing.
Like a swarm of autumn locusts stripping crops to bare stalks.
The Thunder Dragon Squad charged, and with a few strikes, bandits flew unfailingly, embedding in the dirt.
Ha Taegon gasped in horror at the sight.
"Ha, hap!"
Tak Hyeok-dong's massive arm muscles rippled as he grabbed two bandits by the head with both hands and swung them like axes.
Fuaaaang! Kwang kwang kwang!
His brute savagery and monstrous strength left mouths agape.
"St-stop! Stop! If you don't want to see the Second Young Master bastard die, drop your weapons and... drop..."
As he spat empty threats, Geon Cheon-hwi and Jang Ung led five more Thunder Dragon Squad members to charge the Heaven-Earth Sect warriors moving to aid the bandits.
Geon Cheon-hwi drew his sword in a blur, like the wind.
He flat-smacked the face of an oncoming Heaven-Earth Sect warrior with the blade's flat.
No forms, no techniques.
Jjeoeoeok!
With a bursting sound, the warrior flipped in midair and face-planted into the ground.
Jang Ung darted like a nimble squirrel, striking vital points.
Even glancing blows crippled; direct hits brought agony.
Peopeok!
"Kwaaaak!"
"Aaaak!"
Heaven-Earth Sect warriors screamed and crumpled.
In less than half a gak—mere minutes—half the bandits and Heaven-Earth Sect lay sprawled.
Ha Taegon's face contorted grotesquely.
'No... this can't be!'
Things had gone horribly wrong.
Was the Thunder Dragon Squad always this strong?
It didn't match the intel at all—utter chaos.
One thing clear: the Thunder Dragon Squad wasn't sparing a thought for Nangong Hyeok's safety as they mowed down the underlings.
It was only a matter of time before they finished the minions.
At this point, better to just kill Nangong Hyeok and leave the rest to him.
Killing intent flashed in Ha Taegon's eyes.
"Die—!"
The instant he swung to slit Nangong Hyeok's throat.
Nangong Hyeok flicked a finger against the blade's flat.
Jjeoeong!
The impact felt like his arm ripping off—Ha Taegon screamed silently.
Shuaaaak!
The shattered blade fragment spun wildly, grazing his cheek.
Drip.
Warm liquid trickled down his nape.
He touched it—his palm stained crimson.
"Wh... what?"
A blade bought for a hundred taels of silver had just nicked his own neck.
Chills crawling up his spine, Ha Taegon recoiled in terror.
"Hiiik!"
Seeing Nangong Hyeok's eerie smile, he finally realized something was terribly, terribly wrong.
Nangong Hyeok called out to the rampaging Tak Hyeok-dong.
"Go easy, real easy. Gotta sell 'em at the ronin market. Broken limbs drop the price."
Sell? What market?
Human trafficking by the Nangong Family?
But the response was even more absurd.
"Yes, Young Master! Easy does it!"
Tak Hyeok-dong flung the bandit whose head he was shaking and charged back at the foes.
"H-ha!"
"He's coming!"
"R-run!"
As Tak Hyeok-dong barreled in with furrowed brows, the bandits finally broke and fled.
"Don't let a single one escape—capture them all!"
With a booming roar, Tak Hyeok-dong began rounding up(?) the bandits.
The Thunder Dragon Squad caught the fleeing ones and forced them to their knees.
"Where you think you're going?"
"Hiiik!"
Ha Taegon gaped at the bandits being captured one by one and backed away further in panic.
'No way, this can't happen! What's going on?! Why doesn't it match the intel?!'
Nothing in Nangong Baek's info hinted at this.
No mention of Nangong Hyeok snapping a finger to cleave the White Lotus Pavilion's treasured blade, or the Thunder Dragon Squad boasting such prowess.
Something was massively off.
'No, not yet! It's not over.'
Nangong Baek had provided that expert called Gwisu.
In martial battles, one master could turn the tide.
He ranked in the top five of all warriors he'd met.
Ha Taegon turned toward the stronghold.
"Master—! Greeeat hero! Where are you?! Help us, Master—!"
He poured inner energy into a desperate shout.
Nangong Hyeok looked intrigued.
'Sure enough, there was someone else.'
A dimwit like Ha Taegon wouldn't dare touch Nangong Family assets.
And drag him to these wild mountains to kill him?
For what reason?
Whatever it was, Ha Taegon lacked justification to target his neck.
Unless some sudden mad urge to kill—which was bullshit.
So there had to be a backer, and conveniently, Ha Taegon was calling them out.
"Hmm."
Nangong Hyeok chuckled and glanced at the stronghold.
"That guy, huh?"
Thud. Thud.
A man in his thirties strode out from the stronghold.
No bandit vibe—slender build, sharp features.
He frowned slightly at the Thunder Dragon Squad wreaking havoc, then calmly drew his treasured blade as if unbothered.
Ha Taegon lit up and yelled.
"Master! Gwisu Master, help us! These guys are stronger than—"
"Pathetic fool."
"Hik."
Ha Taegon flinched and shut up under the icy glare.
The one called Gwisu lowered his blade and walked over.
Striking how he ignored the chaos around him.
Nangong Hyeok chuckled in amusement.
"Hey, the big shot's here."
At Nangong Hyeok's voice, Geon Cheon-hwi and Tak Hyeok-dong's eyes gleamed.
Tak Hyeok-dong tossed the bandit he held and turned toward Gwisu.
Geon Cheon-hwi sheathed his sword and eyed Gwisu sharply.
'...Different.'
Not like the sloppy Heaven-Earth Sect or bandits.
The controlled aura and presence marked Gwisu as a true martial expert.
"Bro, what're you waiting for?"
Tak Hyeok-dong drew his axe from behind, giving him a weird look.
"He's not like the others."
"Hmph! 'Course he's not. He's the boss."
"Not that."
"If you're chicken, I'll go first. Watch."
Tak Hyeok-dong spat roughly on the ground, spun his axe, and glared at Gwisu.
"Acting all high and mighty, you bandit scum."
After a quick scan of Gwisu, Tak Hyeok-dong planted his feet.
Thud!
"Huaaaap!"
With a shout, Tak Hyeok-dong lunged at Gwisu.
He swung his axe at Gwisu like a fierce tiger.
A massive arc, chopping powerfully at Gwisu's crown.
Bwooooong!
Kwaaaaang!
A deafening roar tore through the mountain wilds.