Chapter 31
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Earth Core (1)
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According to the informant, the only one to be wary of was Jegal Biyeon.
She was the only third-class warrior; the other three were just apprentices.
So, while the risk was high, he'd thought it would be a relatively easy mission.
But what in the world was that guy?
That thing is an apprentice?
Is this the current standard of the Orthodox Faction?
What a load of bullshit.
If a place had apprentices like that, it would mean the Murim Alliance wasn't just the representative of the Orthodox Faction, but the greatest power representing the entire martial world.
With a single swing of the boulders embedded in both his hands, his subordinates were sent flying.
"Uwaaah!"
"What kind of attack is this?!"
*Whoosh!*
There were no renowned techniques or forms. He was just swinging.
With those boulders of overwhelming mass.
Is he human? He looks human on the outside.
To even scratch those boulders, sword ki would be essential. To split them, one would need to be at least proficient in its use.
Yes. Like a Sword Master.
Because the Black Kill Unit was unstable due to his father's illness, he had been forced to leave most of his experts back at the main base.
"This is why I shouldn't have trusted the Orthodox Faction."
Heuk Mugwang nocked his last remaining arrow.
It was then.
"I will step forward."
The man he had brought along, one of his father's subordinates, blocked Heuk Mugwang's path.
He was only here because their opinions aligned; Heuk Mugwang had never once considered him his own subordinate.
"Do you have a reason for this?"
Cheon Yabang of the Three Swords of Black Kill.
One of the three warriors cherished by the leader of the Black Kill Sect.
Cheon Yabang answered in a firm voice.
"Does one need any other reason to serve their lord?"
Seeing the sincere look in Cheon Yabang's eyes, Heuk Mugwang finally understood.
"I see. So you were not my father's subordinate, but mine."
"Please give the order."
If this continued, they would all die.
This was the territory of the Orthodox Faction.
Reinforcements might arrive soon, drawn by the commotion.
Time was not on their side.
Dragging this out was disadvantageous for them.
Therefore, a choice had to be made.
Either end this fight quickly, or sacrifice someone to escape the battlefield.
Heuk Mugwang said.
"I am a pathetic master who failed to recognize his subordinate's loyalty, but if I return alive, I will never make this mistake again."
"Your servant, Cheon Yabang, awaits your command!"
Cheon Yabang shot forward.
At the same time, Heuk Mugwang shouted.
"All units! Retreat!"
At Heuk Mugwang's cry, the members of the Black Kill Sect retreated in unison.
***
Just as the enemies retreated in unison, an old warrior began charging toward Ha Yuseong's group.
Namgung Yuya and Hae Myo were nearly out of stamina. Just when they thought a truly dangerous moment might come if the fight dragged on any longer, they were grateful that the enemies had retreated on their own.
As the two were catching their breath.
Ha Yuseong was also bewildered by the enemies' sudden withdrawal.
"Did they run away?"
As he thought that, Jegal Biyeon's sharp voice rang out.
"Yuseong! Duck!"
Ha Yuseong instinctively ducked his head.
*Swish!*
Strands of his hair were cut, fluttering in the air.
If he had been even a fraction of a second late in ducking, it wouldn't have been his hair that was cut, but what lay beneath it.
‘He's different!’
He was on a completely different level from the ones they had fought so far.
"Hoh! As expected of the Murim Alliance."
The warrior's voice came from directly above. For a moment, Ha Yuseong's mind went blank, unsure of what to do next.
"Your arms. Raise them!"
A clear voice snapped him out of it.
Ha Yuseong immediately raised his arms.
And the massive, sturdy weapon that had been protecting them until just a moment ago was sliced apart in a single blow.
*Slice!*
"Huh?"
The huge boulders on his hands were cut. Only then could he clearly see his opponent's identity.
It was the gray-haired warrior who had been standing next to the one shooting arrows earlier.
"Old man."
And one of the three types of people to be wary of in the martial world.
"Such a rude young whelp."
The warrior was already preparing his next move.
He spun around and swung his sword.
A sword interposed itself between Ha Yuseong and Cheon Yabang.
*Clang!*
"Senior Biyeon!"
Jegal Biyeon's sword, which had parried the warrior's, was trembling incessantly. And her arm was trembling even more.
She knew instinctively.
"Everyone. Run."
Jegal Biyeon spoke calmly.
"This mission... is a failure."
At those words, Ha Yuseong, Namgung Yuya, and Hae Myo could do nothing.
"Hurry! I can't hold him for more than a quarter of an hour!"
The three of them stood still, unable to make a choice.
A state of confusion caused by their lack of experience.
Just then, Hae Myo lost his senses and charged forward, screaming.
"Uwaaaaaaah!"
Seeing this, Namgung Yuya charged with him. As if they had practiced together for a long time, Hae Myo attacked Cheon Yabang from the right, and Namgung Yuya from the left, simultaneously.
"No! He's—!"
Jegal Biyeon, whose sword was locked with his, knew. This man was holding back his strength.
She felt the power draining from his locked blade. Jegal Biyeon pushed harder, trying to prevent his sword from moving elsewhere.
"You are skilled for your age, but still just a child."
Cheon Yabang pushed his sword away, and Jegal Biyeon was sent flying back lightly.
Cheon Yabang was now free.
*Smirk.*
Cheon Yabang had no intention of leaving this place alive today.
He knew very well that the moment he was left behind, he was meant to die here.
‘Two of them, at least!’
I won't be lonely on my way to the afterlife.
Cheon Yabang's eyes glinted. Sword ki poured from his blade like a cascade.
It began to twist, one strand, then two.
Jegal Biyeon realized what it was.
A Sword Master!
She thrust her sword with all the speed she could muster.
But her eyes widened. Her opponent wasn't defending at all.
In that moment, Jegal Biyeon read his mind.
‘This man. He has no will to live.’
‘He's determined. He's going to kill those two.’
More blood trickled from her tightly bitten lip.
She couldn't think of what to do.
She wasn't strong enough.
As their senior, as their comrade, she had failed to protect them.
Self-loathing washed over her.
And then.
"I'll figure something out."
A man moved past her.
His movements were unhesitating.
***
The opponent was strong.
So strong, it was impossible to gauge what kind of master he was.
Well, seeing him draw out so much sword ki from his blade, he seemed to be at least a first-class warrior.
Hae Myo and Namgung Yuya seemed incapable of rational thought due to their fear.
Ha Yuseong had seen countless people like them on numerous battlefields.
Those seized by fear.
Ever since his days as a third-rate ronin, Ha Yuseong had always focused on doing the best he could.
That was also the reason he had been able to survive for thirty years as a third-rate ronin.
However, even he sometimes broke that rule, and today was one of those times.
But that, too, was a thoroughly calculated action.
He couldn't save everyone.
That was a given.
Because he was weak.
Nevertheless, Ha Yuseong always held one principle in his heart.
At least, in front of my eyes.
Save those who want to live.
‘I don't trust myself.’
Ha Yuseong always trusted things other than himself.
His surroundings, the environment, and so on.
He used everything he could.
That was the real reason Ha Yuseong had survived for thirty years.
Ha Yuseong picked up an arrow he had deflected.
*Snap!*
He broke the shaft, leaving only the arrowhead. The sharp point pierced Ha Yuseong's skin, drawing blood. The poison coated on it entered his body.
-Your body has a very high resistance to poison.
The first principle Ha Yuseong believed in.
He didn't know what kind of poison it was, but he felt nothing.
Ha Yuseong threw the arrowhead with all his might.
*Thud!*
The arrowhead lodged in the warrior's thigh. In that instant, the warrior's sword wavered slightly. It seemed the poison, whatever it was, had worked.
But that alone was not enough.
-And your body is tough. Most things you can roughly imagine will be possible. So don't restrain yourself.
-For the martial way begins with imagination.
The second principle.
Ha Yuseong circulated his internal energy.
In his body, tempered by the Muscle-Tendon Change Classic, he could feel the flow of his internal energy more clearly than ever before.
He felt he could now guide his internal energy at will.
That said, Ha Yuseong couldn't perform feats like drawing out sword ki like the warrior before him, or creating a protective aura by wrapping his body in internal energy.
Until now, all Ha Yuseong had done was use his internal energy to make his body faster or heavier.
That had been the limit of his imagination at the time.
After meeting two former grandmasters, Ha Yuseong saw that there were quite diverse ways to use internal energy.
The former Poison King had demonstrated incredible control, splitting his internal energy into hundreds, even thousands of strands and manipulating each one individually.
The former Fist King had shown unbelievable power by concentrating his internal energy into a single point.
-First, eliminate your limits. That is your assignment for this mission.
Ha Yuseong spread his internal energy throughout his entire body.
As he did, he imagined himself becoming harder.
The ultimate physique, capable of repelling any attack.
Adamantine Body...
It wouldn't be the real thing, but maybe a fake Adamantine Body would be possible!
The internal energy moved according to Ha Yuseong's will.
Along new paths, different from before.
The wide-open meridians were empty.
New paths were forged where unrefined ones had been.
His internal energy moved unhindered along those paths.
Ha Yuseong could feel every detail of its movement.
A flash appeared before Ha Yuseong's eyes as the Sword Master reached him at high speed.
‘I believe!’
Ha Yuseong grabbed Namgung Yuya and Hae Myo and threw them far away.
"Have you come to die, brat!"
The Sword Master descended upon him.
*Slice!*
***
*Slice!*
A head was severed.
*Slice!*
With every swing of the sword, a neck.
*Slice.*
An arm.
*Slice.*
A leg.
*Slice.*
A life was extinguished.
"Tsk, tsk. Useless things."
An old man in green robes looked down at a young man who was staring up at him, shedding tears of blood.
"Do you feel wronged?"
"I will kill you! Even if I go to the afterlife, I will tear you to shreds!"
"You Heretic bastards always say that when you're about to die. Filthy creatures."
"I will definitely kill you!"
"Kekeke. For a Heretic bastard, you're just like the rest, spewing curses as you die."
*Slice.*
Heuk Mugwang's head was severed.
Countless corpses were scattered around him.
The green-robed man who had cut off Heuk Mugwang's head wiped his sword on Heuk Mugwang's body, as if his blade had been tainted by something filthy.
"I was hoping to take the easy way, but I guess life never goes as planned."
The old man in green robes.
He was one of the five elders of the Tang Family of Sichuan.
The first of the Five Poisons of the Tang Family.
The Insect King Poison, Dang Guyu.
"Devour them."
As soon as he spoke, insects began to creep out from the ground.
Their numbers soon grew to hundreds, no! Thousands.
The roughly thirty corpses vanished in an instant.
As if they had never been there in the first place.
"Well then, shall we go enjoy the banquet?"
What was to be presented at this Tang Family banquet was something very special, even for them.
It was a top secret known only to a select few within the Tang Family.
The inner core of a thousand-year-old centipede.
The Earth Core!
For those who use poison, earth energy was crucial.
This is because it is used to protect one's body from poison and to buffer the poison, converting it into one's own power—internal energy.
"Now! Let's finish this quickly before the insects from the Murim Alliance are drawn here."
"Ssk ssk ssk!"
Thousands of insects replied.