Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Honeyed Words, Sword in the Belly (6)
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While Nameless was locked in a bloody fight with the Demonic Cult's masters, the situation atop the cliff began to settle down bit by bit. Especially unexpectedly, Seolhwa's exploits easily surpassed Sua's wildest imaginings.
As if to prove the fruits of her training under Nameless up to now, Seolhwa's swordplay—faithful to the basics—was far too heavy for mere third-rate warriors to withstand.
Seolhwa's crude yet powerful martial arts came as a fresh shock even to Nangong Yeon, who had witnessed and personally experienced the techniques of young geniuses at the Seonmu Academy. Her foundation was, at best, the Three Disasters Sword Art.
Nothing more, nothing less.
And yet, how in the world...
"How can such skill be possible...?"
The more powerful the martial art, the harder it was to master—but in turn, it boasted that much greater strength. That was Nangong Yeon's, no, every martial artist's common sense in the current martial world.
Of course, that didn't mean dismissing the efficiency of the Three Disasters Sword Art. No matter how much one honed it, it couldn't surpass the Nangong Clan's secret art, the Emperor Sword Form.
But the martial prowess Seolhwa displayed now was on par with the top geniuses renowned even at the Seonmu Academy. It was no wonder it defied understanding.
"The answer is simple. It's faith."
"Faith? Faith in what, exactly?"
"Faith that Master's martial arts are the strongest."
"Your devotion to your master is admirable... but the world isn't so lenient that mere mindset alone can achieve such feats."
He dismissed it as the naive prattle of a foolish child idolizing her teacher. Seolhwa's age wasn't much different from his own, but her mind was that of a seven-year-old.
Yet the moment their eyes met—those eerie red eyes gleaming through her white hair—Nangong Yeon had no choice but to retract his inner judgment. Blood scattered through the air like rain.
The blood of fools daring to oppose her master. Yet Seolhwa, drenched in blood and flesh, wore a smile on her lips, while her red eyes gazing at him remained coldly sunken.
"Senior bro— no... Junior sister? I'm still getting confused."
"......"
"One favor? Don't presume to judge my feelings for Master. Hearing someone who knows nothing arrogantly evaluate them..."
I might just want to kill you for real.
Just as personalities differ from person to person, so too does killing intent. But Seolhwa's killing intent was less human and more akin to a beast's.
Thanks to that, Nangong Yeon could say nothing, merely nodding. At once, Seolhwa reverted to her usual innocent expression, her killing intent vanishing entirely.
'What in the world has she been through...'
He had already grasped that Seolhwa had endured something unusual. But to think she harbored such killing intent. Human or beast, it was hard to tell.
For now, they needed to focus on finishing off the remaining villains.
With the disguised assailants—who had posed as escorts—now cleared out thanks to Seolhwa's beyond-expectations performance, it was the Hundred Great Experts who had directly joined the Demonic Cult who grew anxious instead.
The biggest variable, the Sword Demon, had been taken by the Demonic Cult themselves, and they held numerical superiority otherwise. Who could have foreseen a single betrayal twisting things this far? Did that even make sense?
No, even before that.
Why couldn't he use his arm?
Why was he being pushed back by that arrogant bastard?
At first, Baek Sanha had been confident. He was only inferior to Go Gyeom, but still firmly among the Hundred Great Experts. And now, having embraced demonic arts on top of that...
It wasn't an exaggeration to say he was several times stronger than before. Go Gyeom had even taken a surprise stab to the shoulder, rendering one arm unusable. Victory should have been impossible to lose.
But the impossible happened. In this perfect scenario where defeat was inconceivable—against a one-armed Go Gyeom—he was being utterly overwhelmed.
"You bastard...!!"
Paat! Kwarng!!
"Kuhk!!!"
A chilling sound sliced through the air as the invisible Iron Dragon Thread struck Baek Sanha's sword. No matter how he tried to evade with a form, the opponent anticipated and blocked it first.
Baek Sanha couldn't even properly execute his forms, gradually cornered. But charging recklessly would mean instant capture by the Iron Dragon Thread, his throat severed.
Yet dragging this out would lead to defeat from attrition. To break this, he had to act now, while still relatively intact.
'The situation is irreversible. I probably won't survive this place.'
Though pushed to this brink, Baek Sanha was a young master who had earned his place among the Hundred Great Experts. He knew seizing the advantage now bordered on impossible.
Even if he miraculously survived, his future held no hope. So, what was the best he could do right now? No, he already knew.
His expression, stripped of hesitation, brimmed with resolute will. Seeing it, Go Gyeom realized this was Baek Sanha's final gambit. A brief silence fell.
"Hup!"
Breaking the silence first was Baek Sanha himself. If he let another Hundred Great Expert fall and join here, he'd lose even this last chance.
"Foolish. Is that truly your trump card?"
"Don't scorn my resolve, Go Gyeom."
"...?!"
The greatest hurdle in breaking the Iron Dragon Thread was its speed. Wielded too fast for the eye to follow, it was like assassins striking soundlessly.
But Baek Sanha had sparred countless times with Go Gyeom. Meaning he could predict it to some degree. Thus, he dodged the Iron Dragon Thread.
At the cost of sacrificing one arm. Its edge severed Baek Sanha's arm in an instant. But in that fleeting gap, his body lunged forward.
Having utterly abandoned any thought of survival.
A resolve for mutual destruction.
His sword tip, infused with desperate obsession, aimed for Go Gyeom's chest.
And finally, the sound of flesh tearing rang out.
Baek Sanha blankly looked down at his own chest. Go Gyeom's longsword had perfectly pierced his heart. Had he predicted this far and prepared?
"...I see. You bound and controlled it with the arm that can't use Iron Dragon Thread."
"A bit of deception in a life-or-death duel creates great variables. Unfortunately, you were far stronger in the past than now."
"Mocking me to the end, are you?"
"Not mockery—truth. Your actions, ensnared by demonic arts, became so simplistic they were easy to read. Even this final mutual destruction gambit."
"So in the end, my defeat came from getting drunk on power and forgetting the essence."
With those words, strength drained from Baek Sanha's body. Go Gyeom quietly withdrew his longsword and laid the corpse down. So resentful in death, even his eyes remained open.
"...Farewell."
Go Gyeom closed Baek Sanha's eyes with a bitter heart. Betrayal or not, severing the bond of old friendship proved harder than expected.
Something's off with the flow.
By the original plan, the fight should have ended long ago, with the Sword Demon's disciples captured. Yet half a shichen had passed, and no word.
The moment he realized it, hesitation crept into the two masters' attacks. It was almost instinctual. The sole reason the Sword Demon hadn't killed them yet was one.
Uncertainty about his disciples' safety. But once doubt about the tide gripped his mind, their attacks inevitably betrayed that worry, willing or not.
And Nameless wasn't fool enough to miss it. Bloodied, he boldly stood before them. He'd taken numerous wounds from big and small strikes.
Yet his strangely moving body felt no issue. The masked woman was aghast. Her nails were poisoned—why was he unscathed?
'No way... Has he reached the rumored Immunity to All Poisons?! Well, for the Sword Demon, it's no surprise...!!'
"Things aren't going according to plan, are they?"
"...Don't assume on your own. Your disciples are as good as captured."
"I see. So you haven't captured them yet."
"Kuhk!!!"
"That's all I need to know."
Nameless gripped his sword with both hands. Though he'd lost much blood and his mind fogged, the moment he did, his blurred vision sharpened anew.
In that instant, the Demonic Cult masters' choice was swift and clear. The hulking man exploded all his inner energy, charging at the Sword Demon. Pure destruction, shattering all.
Merely unleashing inner energy cratered the ground, fragments bursting outward. Yet facing this pinnacle of destruction, Nameless merely swung his sword.
A Vertical Slash?
No, not quite.
Right now, he felt he could reach a higher realm.
Pushed to his absolute limit, with life itself in peril, this irony ignited a desperate will to survive. Thus, the Three Disasters Sword Art's pinnacle swung once more.
Not a slash. An immense pressure crushing even Mount Tai crushed the body of this upper-echelon Demonic Cult master. The shockwave cracked the cliff, starting its collapse.
"...The last one fled, huh."
I see. While the other bought time, he chose to escape. Realizing the intent too late, Nameless clicked his tongue. He wanted to pursue and kill, but...
His body wasn't in good shape now.
And above all, the cliff was crumbling.
Leaving this place took priority.