Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Sweet Words, Sword in the Belly (4)
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The unstable ground crumbled under the impact, sending me tumbling off the cliff along with two Demonic Cult bastards. Even as we plummeted, attacks came flying from below.
Fortunately, amidst the misfortune, I managed to fend them off somehow. I hit the ground first and craned my neck to gaze up at the sky. The cliff was far deeper than I'd imagined.
Climbing out by kicking off the wall a few times? No chance in hell. That meant ignoring these clowns right in front of me and scaling the cliff was out of the question.
I clicked my tongue and dropped my gaze lower. Down there was some beastly, hairy brute and a woman with black hair wearing an animal mask. What the hell was this?
"A beast imitating a human? Or a human imitating a beast?"
"Humans aren't one bit better than beasts to begin with, so why belittle us like that?"
"If you're going to spout nonsense like that, just drop dead right here."
This wasn't some modern era—we were in a time when babbling about beasts like this screamed brain damage or straight-up insanity, unless their brains had actually regressed to animal levels.
I had no time or reason to drag this out. I raised my sword to strike—until the woman in the black hair and mask spoke up.
"Kill us, and your disciple dies too."
"What kind of dogshit threat is..."
"Think about it. Up top, there are the Hundred Great Experts—not to mention our warriors planted among even the escorts. You really think your disciples can hold out against them?"
"......"
I shut my mouth. It was an argument I couldn't refute. My mind instantly concluded that my disciples' forces wouldn't last even a few seconds.
"Fine, let's say that's true a hundred times over. Does that mean you get to live?"
"Pretending not to notice? You can feel it in your bones right now—this overwhelming aura we're emitting."
"......You're talking about demonic qi."
"And most of those Hundred Great Experts fighting up top? They've sworn allegiance to the Demonic Cult. If there's one thing they can sense perfectly, it's demonic qi."
I got the picture now. If I killed these two here, my disciples—possibly captured as prisoners up above—would be executed on the spot.
A perfect no-win trap. Even so, I didn't let go of my sword. Instead, as my battle spirit flared, the woman tilted her head.
"You'd abandon your disciples? Cold-blooded as expected..."
"Don't jump to conclusions. When did I say I'd abandon them?"
"Then surrender right—"
"I'm not surrendering. Not until you drag my disciples right here in front of me."
The situation was undeniably grim. Even if I killed these two and climbed back up, if my disciples were captives, they'd be dead in those few seconds it took.
But I couldn't give up here. Because I'd never taught my disciple to surrender. So long as they kept fighting, so would I.
"Come at me. I'll carve you limb from limb."
With those words...
Our killing intents smashed together with full force.
Making the list of Hundred Great Experts was no easy feat, but maintaining that spot was arguably even harder. There were no formal exams, yet...
In today's murim, where skill was judged ruthlessly, the slightest dulling got noticed like a ghost spotting blood. Or maybe it was just the envy and jealousy from the masses.
From that angle, Go Gyeom and his peers were a blessed generation. Every single one of them had claimed a spot among the Hundred Great Experts.
No lip service—Go Gyeom genuinely took pride in himself and his fellow students. Plenty fell to the temptations of power and strayed down dark paths.
So when a blade suddenly struck his back, Go Gyeom felt the deepest betrayal. It was only because it was him that he avoided a fatal wound.
Anyone else would've dropped dead on the spot. No mercy in that killing strike—from a close friend, no less...
"What... the hell do you think you're doing?"
"......"
"I said, what the hell are you doing!!!"
Unable to contain the surging betrayal, Go Gyeom roared. Spitting crimson blood from his mouth, he looked like a demon himself.
"If it was a mistake, then even now..."
"No one swings a sword at a friend by accident."
"......You bastard."
The young man with sea-blue hair, Sea Cloud Sword Baek Sanha, smirked as he replied. Go Gyeom hadn't asked out of ignorance, of course.
Not with these sudden villains appearing, and his own escorts—trusted comrades—turning their blades on him. No way Go Gyeom hadn't pieced it together.
Yet he'd clung to that final question for one reason alone: he couldn't overcome his desire to believe in his friends to the very end.
"I can't understand it. Betraying the orthodox Murim Alliance and getting away with it? No, what glory or riches could possibly justify this monstrous betrayal...?"
"A genius like you wouldn't get our feelings even in death."
"......What do you...?"
"Need more chit-chat? We've made our choice. Your turn."
Go Gyeom silently glanced at his shoulder. True to his grand title of Sea Cloud Sword, the rippling thrust had turned it into a bloody waterfall.
"......Fine. I get it now. But you lot clearly don't grasp your own predicament."
"What?"
Whip!Flash!!
The iron whip hidden in his sleeve shot out, lunging for Sea Cloud Sword Baek Sanha's throat in an instant. Another Hundred Great Expert nearby barely deflected it in time.
Without that intervention, Baek Sanha would've been a corpse. Realizing it all too easily, a chill raced up his spine.
"Those five years honing our arts together at the Seonmu Academy..."
"......"
"Not a single one of you ever beat me. Forgotten that already?"
"......That's exactly why your arrogance is so repulsive, Go Gyeom."
"Call it confidence, not arrogance."
'Damn, the situation's not looking good.'
Never show weakness to the enemy—it was basic combat doctrine, beyond mere strategy. Knowing that, Go Gyeom still couldn't help grimacing.
The surprise attack had effectively sealed his signature technique. Go Gyeom wielded two whips of thread-thin iron chain.
They'd even earned him the overly grandiose moniker Twin Dragon Iron Threads. But with his shoulder pierced, he couldn't lift his arm in this fight.
From the start, his combat power was halved. Still, Go Gyeom quickly steeled himself with a wicked thought. Hadn't he just dodged death himself?
"Lucky me—I avoided a lethal hit. My arm and legs still work fine, so I should be grateful I can fight at all."
'Even in this disadvantage... he can smile? That monster...!!!'
Bleeding yet grinning, Go Gyeom raised his Iron Dragon Threads with his one good hand. Baek Sanha felt utterly overwhelmed once more.
Not just him—the other Hundred Great Experts were crushed by Go Gyeom's spirit. But one exception stepped forward boldly.
The burliest among them, bear-like, with a massive greatsword slung over his shoulder. Striding out like a triumphant general, it was Ma Gang.
"......Ha! This might work in your favor. You've never hidden your dislike for me."
"Yeah. That weasel-faced prick—always grated on me. Swore I'd fix that attitude someday."
"Looks like that day's today, huh?"
Go Gyeom hadn't expected much from Ma Gang—their time at Seonmu Academy had been rocky. But Ma Gang shook his head.
"Not today, at least."
"What?"
"Breaking our agreement now, Ma Gang?!"
"You broke it first."
Ma Gang had joined this ambush solely on the promise of facing Go Gyeom at full strength. But Go Gyeom wasn't at full power now.
"You violated the terms first. Why should I honor mine?"
"You bastard—don't you want to climb higher?!"
"What's the point if I don't earn it myself?"
"Pfft!!"
The sheer absurdity cracked Go Gyeom up. Friends he'd trusted for life betraying him, while the one he despised came to his aid.
"......I owe you one. This time only."
"Don't state the obvious."