Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: The Archer's Identity
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Despite Heuk Do-san's pressing and aggressive question, Seop Dae-gang showed no sign of fear or submission, instead smirking with a defiant glint in his eyes and shooting back with biting sarcasm about whether he would truly be killed or if the threats held any weight.
Thwack!
Heuk Do-san mercilessly struck the top of Seop Dae-gang's head with a sickening sound that caused blood to burst out instantly, staining his face as Seop Dae-gang, who had barely managed to rise from the ground, collapsed again with a heavy and final thud.
"Where is Golden Tortoise Island? I will not ask you again."
"You... will never... escape this place alive..."
Thwack!
This time, blood sprayed violently from the right side of his head, for the head was the only part of the human body that even the most advanced protective energy could not fully guard against when in such a vulnerable state.
Though Heuk Do-san had held back his true power somewhat, getting struck twice on the skull with a heavy iron staff like that was no joke and could easily shatter the bone into fragments.
Seop Dae-gang felt his mind growing hazy and distant, and compared to the throbbing, agonizing pain echoing through his entire brain, the earlier jolt to his internal organs felt like nothing at all.
"Where is Golden Tortoise..."
Heuk Do-san cut off his own question abruptly because Seop Dae-gang had suddenly lost consciousness entirely and slumped over like a broken doll.
Heuk Do-san lifted his foot to check the man's flipped-back head with a deep frown, seeing that it was completely gone and the man was far beyond saving with a splash of cold water or a desperate infusion of healing energy.
'Damn it, this guy's strength control is lacking!'
Even though he had intended to hit him lightly to keep him talking, it had still turned out this way, as some stray emotions must have crept into his hand and thrown off his delicate control at the critical moment.
There was no helping it now, and while he hadn't learned the exact location of Golden Tortoise Island, he'd taken out one incredibly dangerous foe in exchange, which wasn't a total loss in the grand scheme of things.
"Farewell, Seop Dae-gang. Your journey ends here."
Heuk Do-san raised his iron staff high to deliver a finishing blow, but at that exact moment, intense and sharp killing intent surged from behind him once again.
He whipped around with lightning speed to see a dark shadow plummeting down from the rafters, recognizing the very same night bird that had hounded him before, who had already loosed two heavy iron wheels mid-air that whistled through the darkness.
Ping! Ping!
Heuk Do-san lightly shook his upper body to dodge the spinning iron wheels, and in that brief interval, the night bird landed gracefully on the ground, sprang up with elastic force, and unfurled the soft sword coiled at her waist to thrust it straight toward his throat.
Shing!
Heuk Do-san deployed a defensive technique, bending his upper body sharply backward with incredible flexibility as the soft sword grazed perilously over his face before abruptly changing direction and slicing diagonally downward.
His heart lay right below the path of the blade as it thrust through with lethal intent.
Shing!
'Amazing swordsmanship! Her technique has reached a terrifying level.'
Heuk Do-san twisted his upper body aside while slamming his left palm into the floor to maintain his momentum, and using that powerful rebound, he shot up like a bolt of lightning and struck the vibrating sword blade with his right index finger.
Clang!
With the sharp sound of colliding metal, the night bird's sword wailed as if it were about to snap under the pressure and flew outward from the force.
Incredibly, the soft sword twisted in mid-air like a living, breathing serpent and came slicing at his side with renewed vigor, leading to a relentless storm of sword strikes raining down upon him.
Even with the iron staff in his hand, Heuk Do-san couldn't wield it freely because he felt a strange, lingering twinge of reluctance to harm a woman too severely.
'I must end this in one decisive blow before more guards arrive.'
Dodging the fierce onslaught without immediately countering, he retreated a full five steps to gain some distance, though the soft sword licked at his body like a poisonous snake's tongue each time he moved.
At one point, the soft sword coldly sliced across his chest, tearing his outer lapel with a loud rip as a few drops of fresh blood sprayed up into the air.
'Fine skill indeed! But your movements are still far too slow for me.'
The enraged night bird ignored his assessment and pressed in deep, unleashing her full-power strikes with desperate speed until the tip of the soft sword shot upward with a flick.
'A bold penetration followed by a clever feint!'
Heuk Do-san jerked his face aside sharply at the last possible second, but the writhing soft sword grazed his ear by a mere hair's breadth and sheared off a large chunk of his hair.
Strands of black hair scattered through the air, and amid them came a sudden barrage of needle-thin hidden weapons that were fine as bristles and nearly invisible to the naked eye.
'Ox-hair needles! What the hell is this woman thinking using such treacherous tools!'
It was a move unleashed before he even realized she'd drawn them, and being too close to dodge, Heuk Do-san thrust out his left palm with explosive force to create a swirling pressure.
The powerful palm force caught the ox-hair needles and falling hair strands, flinging them away with a sharp sound as they embedded themselves thickly into the left wall.
Even then, the night bird did not stop, thrusting straight for his heart in what warriors might call a display of bravery, though on the true battlefield, this was walking the thin line of death.
'Now is my chance!'
Heuk Do-san seized the writhing soft sword bare-handed and wrapped it around his wrist like a rope while driving his right fist toward the night bird's face with crushing momentum.
The night bird's eyes went wide with shock in the instant a flare exploded outside, lighting up the interior of the room with a brilliant flash and revealing her face in stark clarity.
'Dang Yak-ran...! It really is her!'
Dang Yak-ran had squeezed her eyes shut without thinking, but Heuk Do-san's fist halted a mere half-inch from her face, the gust of wind from the swing lifting her eyebrows and hair.
When nothing happened, Dang Yak-ran slowly opened her eyes and their gazes locked in the silent air, both filled with heavy meanings and past memories.
"......!"
"......!"
A heavy silence fell until it was broken by the sound of numerous approaching footsteps and loud shouts from the courtyard about searching every inch of the area.
The Shadow Ghost Shell Corps had arrived, and Heuk Do-san quickly used a capturing technique to wrench away the soft sword and point it at the unconscious Seop Dae-gang's neck.
"Try anything funny, and he dies before you can blink."
Just then, several men vaulted over the wall, and Heuk Do-san nodded toward the outside, signaling for her to handle the situation herself.
Dang Yak-ran flung the door wide open, causing the Shadow Ghost Shell Corps to freeze in surprise as they recognized their First Branch Leader standing before them.
"First Branch Leader! You're here!"
"What's with all this excessive commotion? Report what has happened!"
They explained that a man named Yeom Jin-sang had arrived with news of the Field Marshal Sword, but an unidentified master had burst in and injured the squad leaders before fleeing.
Dang Yak-ran sneaked a subtle sidelong glance at Heuk Do-san, who remained hidden, and he pressed the sword tip slightly into the neck of the prisoner as a warning.
Dang Yak-ran flinched and quickly began questioning them about the intruder and the condition of the Commander to distract them from the room.
'Well, well. Look at her go.'
She was stalling and using the conversation to probe for more information about his identity, showing she was as stubborn as ever and refused to take anyone at their word.
'You haven't changed one bit.'
But he couldn't give her any more time, so he pressed the soft sword again until the sharp tip drew a thin trickle of blood, causing Dang Yak-ran to flinch in visible alarm.
She quickly convinced the guards that the Commander was likely pursuing the fiend in secret and ordered them to seal the palace perimeter instead of searching the building.
'A deep thinker, as always. She knows how to manage a crisis and protect the reputation of the corps.'
Paradoxically, her words also served as a silent acknowledgment of Heuk Do-san as one of the elite masters of the world.
After she successfully sent the Shadow Ghost Shell Corps away, she turned back toward the room and demanded that he let the prisoner go.
Only then could Heuk Do-san take a good look at her face, seeing that her fair skin and clear eyes were just as lovely as he remembered from years ago.
'She hasn't changed a bit.'
"Not yet. We're not finished."
With those words, Heuk Do-san lunged at Dang Yak-ran like a sudden gust of wind, and despite her attempt to defend herself, he was far too fast and precise.
In an instant, he struck her paralysis points to stiffen her entire body and her silent points to quiet her tongue, catching her before she hit the floor.
There's an old saying in the world of martial arts about keeping distance from a poison user, so Heuk Do-san used the sword tip to open her sash and reveal her uniform beneath.
Dang Yak-ran was absolutely horrified and filled with rage, for while she could not move or speak, her mind was fully alert to the perceived disgrace of being stripped.
'You son of a... I'll kill you for this...!'
Heuk Do-san nudged the sash aside further and found a slender green snake slithered out, along with a bamboo tube and poisoned hidden weapons.
There was no sign of the special protective armor he'd painstakingly made for her long ago on that memorable moonlit night.
'Well, I suppose she wouldn't need it anymore anyway.'
Dang Yak-ran's eyelids trembled with humiliation as the intruder scanned her body, though he oddly took nothing but the small bamboo tube and then carefully restored her sash.
His touch felt strangely careful and almost respectful before he slipped out through the high ventilation shaft with movements as light as the midnight wind.
'What in the world was that all about? Who is he?'
Heuk Do-san climbed onto the roof and crouched low, realizing the Shadow Ghost Shell Corps was still nearby and discovery was only a matter of time unless he acted.
He shot forward across the tiles and dropped into a thick pine grove, holding up the stolen bamboo tube toward the western sky to pull the string.
The flare shot dozens of feet high into the air and burst in a magnificent shower of bright light that made the sky blaze like midday.
"The signal! It's over by White Dragon Hall! Move out!"
Heuk Do-san sensed the force searching Blue Dragon Hall diverting quickly toward the light, buying him the precious time he needed.
'Should I head back and finish what I started, or make my escape now?'