Chapter 34
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Trap (2)
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There was no way of knowing how it had been settled in the original future.
Cheon Wigang had never said a word about it.
‘However, the Family Head had clearly suffered a severe internal injury and was plagued by its aftereffects until his sudden death.’
Whether it was because of the duel with the Wandering King.
Or due to a third party's intervention, he couldn't be sure, but now, it was certain.
‘The Demonic Cult was definitely involved.’
Swoooosh!
Even the blowing wind felt desolate.
Cheon Muryang found himself facing the darkened sky that had descended upon Makgan Mountain.
“Well, well, this completely ruins the mood.”
The Wandering King spat on the ground.
He didn't like this whole series of events at all.
“How dare they use me as a pawn?”
The Wandering King was known to the world as a rough and rude man, but at the same time, he was a figure who commanded great respect.
This was because the Wandering King was a man who moved by conviction alone, unbound by the orthodox, unorthodox, or demonic factions.
For a man who lived by conviction to be used because of that very conviction, it was only natural for him to be furious.
“But it is true that human trafficking is happening, and it is also true that the Cheon Family is behind it.”
The Wandering King was a straightforward man, but he also possessed the caution to not act without certainty.
He had confirmed circumstantial evidence of the Cheon Family's involvement, and to verify its truth, the Wandering King had called out Cheon Wigang.
“What, then, is the truth?”
“You've crossed swords with him, so you should know. Does the Family Head seem like that kind of person?”
“...”
It was just as Cheon Muryang said.
Cheon Wigang was not that kind of man.
Having crossed swords with him, the Wandering King could tell.
“The ones behind them are not the Cheon Family, but the Demonic Cult.”
Suddenly, the Wandering King aimed his great blade at Cheon Muryang.
“Those words.”
Fwoom!
A pressure like Mount Tai was bearing down on him.
But Cheon Muryang stood firm and met his gaze.
“Are you certain?”
“I'd bet my life on it.”
“...”
The Wandering King, who had been staring at Cheon Muryang, burst into laughter and withdrew his great blade.
“Good. First, let's chew up and spit out those damned bastards.”
Cheon Muryang smiled.
For once, he and the Wandering King were in agreement.
They were thinking the same thing.
“Sounds good.”
“Brat, don't you dare hold me back.”
“You first.”
“Such an arrogant brat.”
“...Both of you, focus.”
“By the way, what about that fellow?”
Geumsan could be seen sprawled on the ground.
Looking at the unconscious man, the Wandering King clicked his tongue.
“What a feeble fellow.”
The Wandering King struck the nearby ground hard with his great blade.
Thunk!
A hole large enough for one person was created.
“Let's just put him in there for now. He's the witness to a historic duel; we can't just let him die, can we?”
“...”
Cheon Muryang grabbed Geumsan by the scruff of his neck and pushed him into the pit.
He then covered him with dirt.
“Just hang in there for a bit.”
After poking a few air holes, Cheon Muryang stood next to the Wandering King, who was bursting with laughter as if something was incredibly amusing.
“It seems you and I are fated to cross paths.”
“Shut up.”
With Cheon Muryang in the center, Cheon Wigang stood to his right and the Wandering King to his left.
The three of them waited for the Demonic Cult's forces that would soon arrive.
Zing.
A group of warriors arrived.
Dressed in black wind robes, they were beings who conjured darkness.
“...”
They knew no fear.
Thus, even before the absolute masters that were the Wandering King and Cheon Wigang, they radiated killing intent.
“Look at these punks.”
The Wandering King smirked.
Their spirit was quite impressive, but how could mere rabble like them possibly kill him?
“You think you can take me on with just these guys? Not a chance, you bastards.”
The Wandering King was actually angry.
The very idea that they judged this number sufficient to face him was laughable.
Cheon Muryang was also suspicious.
‘Is this really all they have?’
Even if their numbers were large.
With the Wandering King's blade and Cheon Wigang's sword, they could be wiped out in a single blow.
‘No. There must be something more.’
Cheon Wigang had clearly overcome a brush with death and barely made it back alive.
He had to remember that.
Leaving the momentarily hesitant Cheon Muryang behind, the Wandering King stepped forward triumphantly.
“Kid, I'll handle this myself.”
“...”
Cheon Muryang decided to watch.
At that, the Wandering King swung his great blade and advanced.
Swiiish!
Although he had suffered a minor internal injury, it wasn't fatal, so the Wandering King's movements were as swift as ever.
Swoosh!
He cut down several of them in a single strike.
It was disappointingly simple.
But Cheon Muryang did not let his guard down.
Drip.
Drip, drip.
And so, he saw it.
Smoke was rising from the ground where their blood had fallen.
Fsssh.
The black smoke was ominous.
A burning smell, the scent was clearly gunpowder.
“Get back!”
“What?”
The moment the Wandering King asked.
The blood caught fire, and flames began to surge back up towards the headless corpse.
Flinch!
Only then did the Wandering King realize something was wrong and tried to create distance.
“...!”
But the burning corpse, which he had thought dead, was clutching his ankle.
“You son of a bitch!”
A single scream.
KABOOOOOM!
It was drowned out by the explosion.
Smoke rising from the explosion engulfed Cheon Muryang and Cheon Wigang.
“Muryang! Stay sharp.”
“Family Head, you must get away.”
“...”
Within the thick smoke.
The men in black wind robes were charging, ready to sacrifice their lives.
Each and every one of them was essentially a Thunderclap Bomb of terrifying power.
“You expect me to leave you behind and flee?”
Cheon Wigang was an iron wall.
Had he not taken up the sword to protect the family, and achieved his current level of mastery?
“To protect. That is.”
The Sword of the Iron Wall.
“My sword.”
Fwooom!
From within the thick smoke, a single sword rose clearly.
KRA-KA-KA-BOOM!
With the explosions, the gray smoke was soon dyed with red flames.
“Ah...”
Cheon Muryang was completely unharmed.
It was thanks to Cheon Wigang's sword, standing just one step in front of him.
Fwoooom!
He now understood why it was called the Iron Wall.
He was witnessing Cheon Wigang's true sword, something even Nameless had never seen.
Fwoosh!
The flames could never melt the iron wall.
Uncollapsing, unbreakable, the iron wall stood firm.
Swoooosh!
The smoke cleared.
Cheon Wigang stood there, alone and resolute.
“Did you see?”
“Yes. I saw.”
Cheon Wigang's sky was not free.
But one could feel the history of the Cheon Family within it.
‘So this is how high the sky, refined over generations, has become.’
In exchange for losing freedom.
The sky of the Cheon Family was resolute.
The sword that held the hopes of his ancestors was Cheon Wigang's sword.
‘As expected...’
Cheon Muryang felt a sense of relief watching the unwavering Cheon Wigang.
‘He's become stronger.’
Cheon Muryang was certain.
He had reached a level even higher than the one Cheon Wigang was supposed to have achieved in the original timeline.
‘The future has changed...’
At last, he felt relieved.
Cheon Wigang would not die.
However, the situation was not good.
The number of enemies swarming them showed no sign of decreasing.
‘How could they have failed to notice a force of this size on the move?’
It was proof that the Demonic Cult had already deeply infiltrated the Central Plains' martial world.
‘No, perhaps they knew but chose not to stop it.’
Although they belonged to the orthodox martial world, there were still struggles for power and interest within it.
‘Especially if it was the Beggars' Sect... even more so.’
Their relationship with the Beggars' Sect had been poor for generations, so it was only natural that intelligence from them would not be shared.
‘We need intelligence. The Cheon Family is far too blind.’
Not just martial strength.
They needed to have intelligence as well.
The eyes of the Cheon Family were blind.
“This is fucking ridiculous.”
Just then, the Wandering King's irritated voice was heard.
He had somehow dug out the buried Geumsan and slung him over his shoulder.
“I can't take this anymore... I'll open a path, so just follow me.”
Cheon Muryang and Cheon Wigang followed behind the Wandering King, who had hastily stepped forward.
“Out of the way! Out of the way!”
“...”
The Wandering King charged forward relentlessly.
But, likewise, the black wave of enemies continued unabated.
Drip.
Drip, drip.
To make matters worse, the Wandering King appeared to be bleeding.
Moreover, his blade, which would normally have cut them down indiscriminately, could be seen hesitating out of concern for the explosions.
“I'm going to kill these bastards...!”
The Wandering King's anger boiled over.
As someone who considered a fight against the strong a virtue, this type of battle was especially not to his liking.
“Tsk.”
At this, Cheon Muryang, unable to watch any longer, stepped forward.
“Step back.”
“What kind of plan could you possibly have?”
“I have one.”
“What?”
Cheon Muryang smiled.
Although his power was still woefully inadequate compared to the Wandering King and Cheon Wigang.
“There's such a thing as compatibility.”
What about the Five Elements?
While there are synergistic relationships, like Wood and Fire, aren't there also conflicting ones, like Fire melting Metal?
The Wandering King retorted.
“Compatibility?”
“That's right.”
Cheon Muryang looked at the sky that had unfurled over them.
It was the Darkened Sky.
Fwoooom!
The darkness of the Darkened Sky was different from the night.
Neither the moon, nor the sun.
It was a sky filled only with a darkness that permitted nothing else.
“Fortunately... I've had some practice cutting down a sky like this once or twice.”
In other words, he had reached a level of proficiency.
The Heavenly Light Sword soared high into the sky.
“...!”
The Wandering King couldn't believe his eyes.
The Heavenly Light Sword that shot into the sky looked like a sun driving away the Darkened Sky.
‘Did the sun... rise from the north?’
It was definitely not a delusion.
And so, the Wandering King stared, dumbfounded, at the newly risen sun.
“That, that sword is...?”
Cheon Muryang smiled and replied.
“Dark Sky Slash.”
Shwoong!
The slowly risen sun set rapidly.
Paaaat!
The darkness vanished.
“Kuaaaaaaaah!”
Those who were enthralled by the darkness let out pained screams for the first time.
It was hard to believe these were the same men who had disregarded even death.
“You pitiful and disgusting beings stained by the Darkened Sky, step aside.”
“...”
Cheon Muryang withdrew the Heavenly Light Sword.
All those who had been screaming stood in place as if time had stopped.
“Family Head, I will escort you.”
“Mm.”
Cheon Muryang approached them.
At that, they opened a path.
“What, what is this?”
Seeing this, the Wandering King's eyes widened.
How could this be possible?
It was beyond surprising; it was unbelievable.
“Not coming? I'm leaving first.”
They were specifically not hostile towards Cheon Muryang.
So, despite having only fallen behind for a moment, they directed their killing intent towards the Wandering King.
“Th-this arrogant brat...”
“If you're not coming, fine by me.”
“Let's go together.”
The Wandering King quickly fell in line behind Cheon Muryang.
And so, the three of them were able to leisurely escape the Makgan Mountain area.
“What in the world was that sword art?”
“You don't need to know.”
“Don't be like that, just tell me. We don't exactly have an ordinary connection, do we?”
The Wandering King pestered Cheon Muryang.
He seemed to have been deeply impressed by the Dark Sky Slash.
“It certainly isn't an ordinary connection.”
“Right?”
The Wandering King's face lit up.
Looking at him, Cheon Muryang replied with an expression that said 'not a chance'.
“Right. Because one day, I'm going to kick your ass. I'm not the type to live with a debt.”
“Are you still holding a grudge over something so petty? The Great Young Lord of the Cheon Family should be more magnanimous.”
“Bullshit.”
“Khuhuhu, you arrogant brat. Now I see I'm starting to like you.”
It seemed the Wandering King even liked Cheon Muryang's arrogance.
“You should be glad I'm not just all talk.”
“Enough. Give him to me and leave.”
The Wandering King was still carrying Geumsan over his shoulder.
“I can't do that. I still have questions for this guy.”
“...Wait, why did you bring Geumsan in the first place?”
“Why don't you ask him yourself?”
“...”