Chapter 277: I’ll Gladly Take the Title of Sword God.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 277: I’ll Gladly Take the Title of Sword God.
Baek Dang-gi, the gatekeeper responsible for the opening and closing of the North Sea Ice Palace’s main gates, was feeling incredibly flustered.
Currently, the North Sea was strictly prohibiting the entry of outsiders. This was because a wind of purging was blowing through the region.
Twenty years ago, the Evil Demon Ju Do-san and his Demon Troops had invaded the North Sea Ice Palace. At the time, the Palace had been practically defenseless, as the Palace Master and the core forces were away. The villainous invaders had seized that exact moment to strike.
The remaining martial artists of the Ice Palace had gathered their strength and resisted desperately, but in the end, they were crushed by the demonic power of the invaders. While the Demon Troops were monsters in their own right, the primary reason for the defeat was that no one could stop the absolute master, the Evil Demon Ju Do-san.
Ultimately, every martial artist in the Ice Palace was purged, and the invaders took complete control.
The first thing they did after occupying the North Sea Ice Palace was slaughter every Blood-Sweating Horse in the village. It was a measure to prevent the villagers from escaping. Since leaving the vicinity of the Ice Palace without a Blood-Sweating Horse was tantamount to suicide, the villagers had no choice but to submit to the rule of the Evil Demon and his Demon Troops.
Having seized the Palace, the Evil Demon and his troops committed countless atrocities and plundered the villagers. The Evil Demon introduced a system called the Right of the First Night, decreeing that for any marriage to take place, the bride’s first night had to be surrendered to him.
The Demon Troops were even more heinous than their leader. If they saw a woman they liked on the street—whether she was a married woman, a virgin, or even an elderly lady—they would habitually drag her into a nearby house and ravage her.
Though they refrained from wanton slaughter under the Evil Demon’s strict orders, their habit of killing whenever they were displeased remained. Over the course of twenty years, nearly a hundred people lost their lives simply to serve as their entertainment.
To the villagers, they were devils. They were enemies they longed to kill with every fiber of their being.
Everyone craved revenge, but no one dared to step forward. The enemy was simply too powerful. Each member of the Demon Troops was an expert at or above the Peak Realm, and their leader, the Evil Demon, was an absolute master who had reached the Absolute Realm. There was no way the villagers, who had never learned a lick of martial arts, could oppose them.
Furthermore, the invaders sold the villagers' labor to merchants frequenting the Ice Palace, effectively reducing the people to slaves of the Evil Demon and foreign traders. This went on for twenty long years.
But then, the collar of slavery was finally snapped. It was thanks to a great hero who appeared like a comet.
One day, a beautiful woman appeared in the village. She was a striking beauty with snow-white hair and skin as smooth as white jade. Upon entering the village, she claimed to be the rightful owner of the North Sea Ice Palace and declared that she had come to reclaim it.
The villagers turned pale upon hearing her words. If a patrolling member of the Demon Troops heard this, the entire village would surely be thrown into chaos. They rebuked her harshly, telling her that if she wanted to die, she should do it alone instead of dragging them down with her. They even warned her never to speak such nonsense again.
In response, the woman gave a faint smile and produced a small tablet from her robes. Upon seeing it, the villagers were struck with awe. The tablet was the Hanryeong Tablet, the symbol of the North Sea Ice Palace Master.
The villagers couldn't help but be shocked. Wasn't the Hanryeong Tablet supposed to be enshrined deep within the Ice Palace, currently occupied by the Evil Demon and his troops? How could the woman before them possibly possess it?
To the questioning villagers, the woman spoke: she had already granted death to every demon currently inside the North Sea Ice Palace.
The villagers looked at her with eyes full of disbelief. Even if the main forces, including the Evil Demon, had left the Palace, those remaining were still formidable experts. In particular, the vice-commander, Seo Pil, was a master of the Super-Peak Realm. How could she have killed them all?
However, the villagers were forced to believe her words after her next action. With a mere wave of her hand, a pillar of ice—tall enough to dwarf most pavilions—soared into the sky.
Seeing that sight, the villagers were reminded of someone: the absolute ruler who had governed the North Sea twenty years ago. The Ice Demon.
The villagers immediately prostrated themselves on the ground to welcome their new ruler. Having gained their recognition, the woman made a loud proclamation: a wind of purging would blow.
She then gave an order: while the purge was underway, let no one in and let no one out.
The villagers understood her instructions perfectly and carried them out. They knew she intended to severely punish those who had conspired with the Evil Demon to exploit the village.
Baek Dang-gi, the gatekeeper, was also faithfully executing her command. Three days had passed since she gave the order, and during that time, he had not permitted entry to a single soul. Many had voiced their complaints, and some had even threatened him, but he did not waver. He believed he could not let this golden opportunity to root out the corruption within the North Sea Ice Palace slip away.
Today, on the third day, he was still performing his duties diligently. A fairly large merchant group had visited the Ice Palace earlier. They had pleaded with him to open the gates, offering money, but Baek Dang-gi refused, stating that he could not open the gates despite their earnest requests.
A purge was currently taking place inside the Palace. He could not recklessly allow outsiders in. Despite his firm refusal, they continued to plead, offering even more money. Hearing this, Baek Dang-gi felt insulted. He felt as though his sense of duty was being treated as a mere ploy to squeeze more money out of them.
Baek Dang-gi raised his voice even louder and rejected their proposal. They eventually gave up, and Baek Dang-gi finally covered his ears—a silent gesture that he no longer wished to continue the conversation. Eventually, the man who had been trying to persuade him returned to the wagons, and Baek Dang-gi smiled with satisfaction. They had finally given up and were leaving.
It was just as he was relaxing.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
The sound of footsteps sinking into the snow began to drift from ahead. Feeling curious, Baek Dang-gi looked up toward the source of the sound. He soon spotted a man walking toward the gate.
Baek Dang-gi was bewildered. Hadn't he just declared that he wouldn't open the gate? Why was this man walking toward him so relentlessly?
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
The man drew closer to the gate.
"Stop right there!" Baek Dang-gi shouted at the approaching man.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
But the man did not stop despite the shout.
"I clearly said we are not accepting visitors today!" Baek Dang-gi shouted again.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
The man simply kept walking. Soon, he came to a halt right in front of the gate.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Standing before the gate, the man raised his fist and knocked a few times.
"You damn bastard!"
Irritated by the noise, Baek Dang-gi scowled and spat out a curse. What on earth was he doing? Was he protesting because the gate wouldn't open?
"It's thick," the man muttered as he knocked.
Hearing his voice, Baek Dang-gi scoffed. "Gwahahaha! Are you thinking of breaking the gate? Give it up! The gates of the North Sea Ice Palace are made from an alloy of Cold Iron and steel. No matter how great a martial arts master you are, you can't break it!"
Baek Dang-gi looked down at the man with a face full of ridicule and let out a boisterous laugh.
Shring.
At that moment, the man slowly drew a long sword from the scabbard at his waist.
"Wh-what are you doing?!" Baek Dang-gi asked, his expression turning to one of confusion.
"I'm going to cut it," the man replied with a slight smile.
"Don't talk such nonsense! How can a sword cut through an iron gate mixed with Cold Iron?"
"You never know until you try," the man said calmly.
"Go ahead and try then! You'll only end up ruining your sword!" Baek Dang-gi shouted, shaking his head.
To him, it looked like nothing more than a reckless display of bravado. How could anyone cut through an iron gate reinforced with Cold Iron? Even the Evil Demon, who had occupied the Ice Palace for twenty years, had acted like a gentle lamb until the gates were opened for him. There was no way this man could achieve what the Evil Demon could not.
Snap.
Despite the warning, the man raised his sword. Then, he swung it rapidly toward the gate.
Baek Dang-gi’s eyes widened. He knew the sword had been swung because its position had changed. However, he hadn't seen how the blade moved. He had completely missed the motion.
'What... what was that...?'
Gulp.
Baek Dang-gi swallowed hard. He realized that the man he had been shouting at was actually a high-level martial artist. He slowly lowered his gaze to inspect the gate.
Fortunately, there wasn't even a scratch on it.
'Phew.'
He let out a sigh of relief inwardly. He had been startled by the realization that the man was a master, but it seemed even he wasn't enough to cut through a Cold Iron gate. Soon, a smirk began to form on Baek Dang-gi’s lips.
The man must be feeling incredibly embarrassed inside. He had put on such a show of bravado and failed to leave even a nick.
"Hahahaha! Did you see that? The iron gates of the North Sea Ice Palace can never be cut! Unless you're someone like the Sword God!"
Baek Dang-gi laughed even louder as he looked at the man. He imagined the man must be seething with rage. It was delightful. Seeing someone act so tough only to be humiliated was hilarious.
Was he angry at the mockery? The man simply turned around. Baek Dang-gi assumed the man would run away without looking back, a complete contrast to his slow, confident approach.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
The man walked a considerable distance back. He stopped about halfway between the wagons and the gate. Then, he turned around to face the gate again.
"The Sword God... that has a nice ring to it."
The man turned back toward Baek Dang-gi and gave a bright smile.
"Huh?"
Baek Dang-gi tilted his head in confusion. What was he talking about? More importantly, how could his voice carry so clearly from such a distance?
Just as numerous questions were swirling in his head—
Rumble...
A very strange sound began to grate on Baek Dang-gi’s ears. He looked confused. What was that noise? He quickly looked down toward the source.
And then, he saw it. Half of the gate was tilting forward.
RUMBLE!
The massive half of the iron gate crashed onto the ground.
BOOM!
As the gate hit the earth, a massive tremor shook the area, accompanied by a deafening roar.
"Uh... ah..."
Baek Dang-gi could only stare blankly at the surreal sight.
"Wh-what... what is this?" he stammered, his face pale with shock.
"I just cut it," the man's voice drifted to his ears once more.
Baek Dang-gi quickly looked up at him.
"I'll gladly take the title of Sword God," the man said with a bright smile.
Baek Dang-gi’s pupils began to shake violently. Terror toward the man who had performed the impossible began to well up within him.