Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Ferocious Beasts 4
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Baek Moo-jin reached out and roughly wiped the blood caked all over his face. But it was a pointless effort. The more he wiped, the less the blood seemed to fade—instead, it felt like it was seeping deeper into his body.
‘Was blood always this sticky?’
Before he knew it, Baek Moo-jin’s pristine white robes were soaked through with the Iron Blood Gang Leader’s blood. The stain from Joo Ja-woon’s blood that had first splattered his collar was now diluted, mingled indistinguishably with the rest. Taking stock of his appearance, Baek Moo-jin finally understood what it meant to be stained by the martial world.
Baek Moo-jin scanned the battlefield for the man who had showered him with steel needles. But with the mist cleared, North Heaven Alliance forces and Iron Blood Gang remnants were clashing once more, churning up fresh clouds of dust.
The hidden weapon user was a classic assassin type.
He was probably lurking somewhere in the chaos, eyes fixed on Baek Moo-jin. Baek Moo-jin swept his gaze over the surroundings with chilling intensity.
‘He’s probably still alive.’
Finding the assassin could wait—something more pressing had come up.
‘The North Heaven Alliance Leader...’
Keeping the assassin in the back of his mind, Baek Moo-jin moved quietly through the fray. North Heaven Alliance members surged past him, flashing smiles of gratitude and awe.
They looked at him with eyes brimming with thanks and reverence for Baek Moo-jin.
Even as he slipped away wordlessly, the alliance members showed complete trust in him now.
Somehow, Baek Moo-jin had earned their unwavering faith.
Naturally, he set off to find the North Heaven Alliance Leader, who was locked in combat with the Nine Heavens Alliance’s top brass. Spotting him wasn’t hard.
Goo Yang-hoo’s movements and swordplay were nothing short of spectacular.
What’s more, he was facing down the Heavenly Dragon Society Leader and Heavenly Phoenix Society Leader simultaneously. All three were far beyond the ordinary—no one nearby dared intervene.
Baek Moo-jin found him at no great distance and paused to observe the trio’s fierce clash.
There were far more onlookers here than during his own duel with the Iron Blood Gang Leader. Yet the sword auras erupting sporadically from Goo Yang-hoo’s blade kept even the boldest at bay.
The Heavenly Dragon and Heavenly Phoenix Leaders’ assaults were equally thunderous.
The Heavenly Dragon Leader, draped in an ornate dragon robe, wielded a massive curved sword, while his rotund counterpart brandished a pair of slender blades that seemed utterly mismatched to his build.
As far as Baek Moo-jin could tell, the Nine Heavens Alliance leaders’ martial arts were as peculiar as they were unorthodox.
The Heavenly Dragon Leader’s curved sword was festooned with iron rings of mysterious purpose, clanging incessantly. The Heavenly Phoenix Leader, too, deliberately clashed his twin swords now and then to create noise—tactics meant to shatter Goo Yang-hoo’s focus while encircling him.
They seemed like cheap tricks befitting third-rate fighters, but backed by the leaders’ profound inner energy, even Goo Yang-hoo’s nerves were fraying.
Goo Yang-hoo’s bladework, fending off three weapons while hemmed in by two foes, was mesmerizing.
How could anyone parry them with such finesse?
Baek Moo-jin studied Goo Yang-hoo’s nimble footwork and sharp judgment for a moment.
Goo Yang-hoo deflected strikes with seeming clairvoyance of their paths, unleashing sword auras at key intervals.
Despite the two-on-one odds, neither side held a clear edge—the fight hung in perfect balance.
Baek Moo-jin held back from jumping in.
Goo Yang-hoo wasn’t losing ground, and it was unclear if he even wanted help. Still, to signal his arrival and rattle the two leaders psychologically, Baek Moo-jin called out tauntingly from nearby.
“The Iron Blood Gang Leader is dead.”
The leaders’ faces, intertwined with Goo Yang-hoo in combat, darkened in an instant.
Goo Yang-hoo’s sword aura lanced out with crisp precision.
Swaaaaa!
A deafening roar forced the pair to stagger back. Goo Yang-hoo halted his assault and roared with laughter at Baek Moo-jin’s announcement.
“Hahaha!”
Goo Yang-hoo turned to him, face alight with admiration.
“Magnificent work, Moo-jin. Join me.”
Baek Moo-jin nodded and took up position at Goo Yang-hoo’s side, staring down the leaders.
2.
The Heavenly Dragon and Heavenly Phoenix Leaders exchanged a brief glance. They had hounded Goo Yang-hoo relentlessly, yet failed to overpower him. Now the white ghost who’d slain the Iron Blood Gang Leader had arrived. No fools, they knew the odds had turned decisively against them.
With derisive snorts, the pair withdrew, and waiting Nine Heavens Alliance troops filled the gap.
Goo Yang-hoo irritably flicked his sword toward the leaders.
“Heavenly Dragon Leader, Heavenly Phoenix Leader... you planning to slink off like rats?”
The Heavenly Dragon Leader, shielding himself behind his men like a living barricade, let out a mocking laugh to bait Goo Yang-hoo.
“Wins and losses are the whims of the battlefield. The three of us couldn’t settle things. But that white ghost of yours is the real threat. We’ll finish this when the others arrive.”
The Heavenly Phoenix Leader mopped sweat from his brow with his sleeve.
“Next time, you’ll face all nine leaders together. And you—white ghost? Strutting around all cocky after taking down the Iron Blood Gang Leader.”
Baek Moo-jin cocked his head inwardly.
‘Not really?’
His face had always looked like this.
As the two turned to flee, Baek Moo-jin scoffed.
“Who sent you?”
Goo Yang-hoo and the leaders all turned to stare at him. The Nine Heavens still had ample forces in play.
Goo Yang-hoo eyed the leaders, then murmured to Baek Moo-jin.
“Moo-jin, can you take those two down?”
Baek Moo-jin nodded matter-of-factly.
“We can send some Nine Heavens grunts packing, but those two? Better not let them walk away alive.”
Impressed by his confidence, Goo Yang-hoo asked earnestly.
“How?”
Baek Moo-jin dropped into a low ready stance, sword angled downward, and laid out the plan in brief.
“Alliance Leader... this’ll open a chance for you.”
Simple words, but Goo Yang-hoo grasped the intent at once and tightened his grip on his blade.
Baek Moo-jin’s ice arts hampered enemy mobility; Goo Yang-hoo’s swordplay was pure aggression. In sync, they’d outmatch even the leaders’ combined might.
Baek Moo-jin strode toward the three or four layers of Nine Heavens blockers—then abruptly whipped his left palm in a bizarre arc.
Goo Yang-hoo witnessed something uncanny.
White flames blossomed from Baek Moo-jin’s left hand, streaking forward.
Goo Yang-hoo marveled inwardly.
‘What art is that? Shaped like flames...’
The oddity went beyond technique—Baek Moo-jin himself demanded reevaluation.
‘How is Moo-jin this strong? And why are his arts so utterly unique?’
Even Goo Yang-hoo found him an enigma.
Then came the real shock.
Baek Moo-jin kicked off and bolted like a comet, pursuing the white flames. As they hit their mark, sword qi erupted from his blade, cleaving them apart.
Roooaaar!
The air screamed from his sword tip. The white flames exploded outward in a deafening wave, swallowing the obstructing foes—like a tide of frost surging over the enemy.
Goo Yang-hoo couldn’t stand idle in awe. He vaulted skyward, slashing horizontally to unleash a barrage of linear sword auras.
‘This is the opening.’
Baek Moo-jin’s ice arts and Goo Yang-hoo’s sword qi wrought slaughter. Amid the screams, Goo Yang-hoo landed and nodded to himself.
‘We’ve got them.’
The Heavenly Dragon and Heavenly Phoenix Leaders blanched as the white flames devoured their men.
“Regroup with the others,” the Heavenly Dragon Leader said coolly.
“Let’s move.”
The Nine Heavens lines crumbled in seconds—formation shattered, morale in tatters—as they fell back opposite Baek Moo-jin. Emboldened North Heaven forces harried the fleeing Nine Heavens and Iron Blood stragglers without mercy, cutting them down.
In the chaos, Baek Moo-jin nodded to Goo Yang-hoo. Together, they sprang aloft, lightness skills carrying them in pursuit of the escaping leaders.
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