Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Nine Deaths One Life (9)
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It seemed the situation had gotten thoroughly tangled.
I had Moyong Sua tucked firmly under my arm as I dashed through the trees and underbrush at full speed. I felt bad for turning her into little more than baggage all of a sudden, but I had no better options right now.
'At least I knocked out the most dangerous one. Things could have been worse.'
Of course, judging by their auras, the other warriors weren't pushovers either. Especially among them, the most dangerous one—thankfully the first I'd knocked out—was the warrior named Moyong Sa.
It wasn't for some trivial reason like him having those narrow, slitted eyes you often see in fiction. No, it was a raw, skin-crawling instinct that he was the most dangerous of the bunch gathered there.
That's why I'd chosen a sudden ambush to knock him out and flee. Killing him outright had been an option, but lethal strikes came with too many risks.
Reading killing intent and countering it was a common trope in martial arts tales. Any living being, human or not, instinctively reacts to the threat of death.
What if I swung a killing blow and he sensed the intent beforehand, blocking it? I didn't even want to imagine what would happen next. So I'd settled for just knocking him out.
'If I'd at least reached the Profound Realm, I could have taken them on properly.'
"This can't be... Brother..."
"Calm yourself."
"But...!!"
"Sua, listen to me carefully."
Was it because something unforeseen had befallen her precious family? Moyong Sua's eyes were shaking violently like reeds in the wind. I had to pause for a moment to calm her down.
I set her down, knelt on one knee, and locked eyes with her firmly. The tremor I felt through my hand on her small shoulder was proof of her deep anxiety.
"Your brother is still alive."
"What? But they said he was captured..."
"They said captured, not killed. They were probably holding him hostage to lure you in."
"Then..."
"Exactly. So we just go and rescue him ourselves."
In truth, I couldn't be absolutely certain. They might have already killed him and were using the lie to bait her. But there was no need to voice that worst-case scenario.
Fortunately, my words seemed to help a great deal. Her eyes, which had been flickering like a candle in the wind, now stared calmly at me as if nothing had happened.
"I apologize for my unseemly display, Great Hero."
"Do you have any guesses at all? Even something small—tell me everything you know."
"To start, Senior Brother Moyong Sa leads the Dragon Vanguard Squad."
"So the Dragon Vanguard Squad is a unit under the Dragon Hall."
"Yes. They're usually just called the Dragon Squad for short."
In martial arts stories, a squad leader was typically portrayed as lower rank than a hall master. Unless they'd earned enough recognition to lead an independent unit, that is. But she'd specifically said "under."
'Meaning the warriors chasing us are likely far below the Dragon Hall's elites in skill?'
Suddenly, a confidence I hadn't felt before surged sky-high. But I couldn't afford to get cocky. I hadn't reached a level where arrogance was justified yet.
Sharp killing intent had been relentlessly pricking at my back for a while now. I looked up toward the source. Roughly five—no, six of them?
When they'd first surrounded the thatched house, there had been at least ten warriors. Seeing that about half were pursuing us, the rest must have stayed behind to tend to their squad leader.
Only those who could move right away had chosen to give chase. I couldn't keep dragging this tail forever. The longer it got, the more likely it'd trip me up eventually.
And I was alone, with a child to protect besides. Their split forces made this the perfect chance. With a hardened expression, I drew my sword from my belt.
"No helping it."
"Gr-Great Hero? What are you planning?"
"To protect you, I have no choice. I'll hold back on lethal strikes as much as possible, but if they cross the line, I'll take their lives without hesitation."
"For my sake, you'd go that far..."
"Now turn around and close your eyes for a bit."
I didn't enjoy killing. Far from it—I wanted to avoid taking lives whenever possible. But from the killing intent bearing down on me, it seemed they had no intention of letting us off easily.
In that case, an eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth.
I'd have to go all out and kill them.
Soon, a chilling sword aura began flowing along the blade.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Meeting a peak expert in the martial world was harder than plucking a star from the night sky.
It was a joke warriors tossed around while clinking drinks at an inn, but even accounting for exaggeration, encountering a true peak expert was far rarer than one might think.
For one, there were precious few peak experts to begin with. And those rare few were usually holed up in their clans or sects, cultivating or training disciples.
So it was only natural that frog-in-the-well types popped up, arrogantly claiming peak status. An ignorant villager might have fallen for it.
But the Dragon Vanguard Squad, affiliated with the Moyong Clan, was different. After all, the Moyong Clan had the exceptional peak expert Moyong Jin—and he'd even trained them personally.
"Some old man living alone in the mountains with no connections is a peak expert?"
"Ridiculous. The Young Lord must have been mistaken."
"Makes sense. He hasn't even fully reached first-rate yet."
"Haha! Isn't that true for all of us?"
When Moyong Hyeon first reported that a peak expert had helped him, no one in the Dragon Vanguard Squad believed it. A peak expert hiding in some no-name backwater village?
It defied common sense.
He must have mistaken a retired first-rate expert for one. It happened sometimes—people got dazzled by the mystique and polish of an aged master.
Moyong Hyeon's testimony that he hadn't seen the sword aura—a hallmark of the peak—only solidified their conviction. Still, a first-rate was a first-rate; they couldn't be ignored.
Under orders from the Patriarch, the Dragon Vanguard Squad had come to retrieve the young lady themselves. Their leader, Squad Leader Moyong Sa, grumbled about the assignment but didn't defy it.
It should have been easy.
Snatch the young lady back from some mysterious old man.
Yes, that's what it should have been.
They realized something was wrong when Squad Leader Moyong Sa went down in one strike. Moyong Sa was a bona fide first-rate expert, the strongest in the Dragon Vanguard Squad.
And he'd been taken out in a single blow? That's when they sensed things going south, but turning back now meant losing too much.
The Patriarch had promised them something when issuing the order: succeed, and the clan would fully support their breakthrough to first-rate.
"He got careless."
"Yeah. If it was really a peak expert, we'd all be dead already."
"And yet he chose to run. Why do you think that is?"
They pushed down the creeping unease and gave chase. The other warriors had urged them to wait and assess since the squad leader was down, but they pressed on recklessly.
There were more than a few warriors stuck in that awkward limbo between second- and first-rate. And they knew better than anyone how agonizing mediocre talent could be.
A lifetime of effort, and they couldn't even confidently claim they'd reach first-rate, let alone the peak. How many times had their hearts been torn apart by that reality? They didn't even dream of the peak anymore.
'If I could just fully reach first-rate... I'd gladly give my life for it.'
They'd come here with that desperate resolve, staking their lives. There was no going back for them now. By the time they noticed the anomaly, it was far too late.
For the first time, a ferocious energy made their skin crawl as if frozen. Only then did they truly face it: the razor-sharp sword aura flowing along the unassuming old man's blade.
⚔ SWORD AURA ⚔
The ultimate technique and symbol of those who have reached the absolute peak.
Surprisingly, not a single one of them immediately recognized it for what it was.
"That... no way, sword aura?"
"I-It can't be! Impossible!"
"That's not just sword aura flowing along the edge. It's completely enveloping the blade—I've never even heard of something like that...!!"
Cognitive dissonance. This sword aura was incomparable to what they'd seen countless times during training under the elder. If the elder's had been like a gentle mountain stream,
this unassuming old man's was an ocean—a vast, endless sea without a hint of land in sight. And the emotion felt by those adrift in such a boundless expanse was singular.
Despair.
Finally, Nameless raised his sword high overhead and swung it down with all his might. Nothing more, nothing less. A simple vertical slash, devoid of any flourish or form. Yet its power was overwhelming.
⚡ Vertical Slash ⚡
A devastating downward cleave that rends flesh and shaves the mountain itself.
The ferocious storm of sword aura didn't just shred the warriors' fragile flesh—it carved away part of the mountainside. A massive roar echoed, shaking the earth and sky.
As the dust settled, Moyong Sua—who had watched everything from behind—gasped in shock. The ground was cratered like an earthquake had struck, tree roots fully exposed.
'So this is the power of a peak expert I've only heard about. My legs are giving out from fear.'
Only now did she truly grasp how lofty and terrifying the peak realm was. An unassailable height with no higher peak, an immovable realm.
Does a butterfly's wingbeat shake Mount Tai?
Does the earth's tremor truly topple the heavens?
Unyielding to any external force, with absolute conviction that their path was true and unshakable—that's why they were called peak experts.
In other words...
'Second-rates who can't even wield sword aura.'
Nameless's misconception wouldn't be dispelled anytime soon.