Chapter 160
Chapter 160
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Translator: penny
Chapter Title: Seo Ok-rang (5)
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"When you're feeling like shit, you gotta go blow off some steam."
That's what he said, and I thought maybe he wanted to share a farewell drink or something.
But I was wrong.
- Blockhead of Bronze Hall.
The place he dragged me to out of nowhere was a cave far from So-ho.
'What the hell is this place?'
A musty smell wafted from the cave, next to which the words "Demon Sword Cave" were carved.
"Hold on. Demon Sword Cave...?"
A gathering spot for wandering ronin who bought and sold death.
A dangerous marketplace where those with no tomorrow lived.
Blockhead strode boldly into that place and bellowed,
"What're you waiting for, you bastards! We've got customers!"
At his shout, dozens of murderous gazes from inside the cave turned our way.
Clang! Clang-clang!
Sword gleams began flashing everywhere in the Demon Sword Cave.
'Kyaaah!'
Seo Ok-rang screamed inwardly as she gripped her sword until her knuckles turned white.
In her vision, a ronin was slowly toppling backward.
Behind him, more ronin charged with even fiercer momentum.
'This crazy bastard!'
Apologize now, before it's too late!
She screamed inside her head, but it was already too late.
Far from apologizing, Blockhead had stepped on the falling ronin's head and unleashed a flurry of punches.
Thud! Thud!
Two sounds rang out, and five charging ronin crumpled smoothly to the ground.
She didn't know what trick he'd used, but she could tell he'd struck with astonishingly exquisite technique.
"Gahk!"
"Shit!"
As their comrades fell, the other ronin kicked off and joined the fray.
Ronin who would sell their lives or even betray their brothers for money—but when a common enemy appeared, they united with surprising speed.
'Maybe this is the real terror of ronin.'
She had no time for such idle thoughts.
Thud-thud!
The ronin Blockhead had brushed off from the front were now surging toward her.
"Lady Seo!"
Il-pyo hurriedly jumped in front of her, unleashing a barrage of sword flashes.
Swoosh!
It was swordsmanship worthy of a Silver Hall student.
But his opponents were battle-hardened ronin.
Thud-thud!
They scoffed at his straightforward strikes, dodging with ease before slashing at his throat with eerie gleams.
"Urk!"
Clang! Clang-clang!
Il-pyo instantly shifted his footwork while wildly swinging his sword left and right to meet the sudden four-way assault.
Clang! Clatter!
With clean counters that smacked away their swords and blades, sparks flew as he repelled all four weapons in an instant.
But.
Thud-thud.
Unlike Il-pyo, who used the rebound to retreat, the ronin were seasoned.
Splat! Thud!
Instead of pulling back, they kicked up dirt from the ground, making Il-pyo gasp in surprise.
"Kuhk!"
Right. She'd forgotten.
'This happened before too.'
She recalled the lecherous bastard's petty trick from her memories, but her vision was already blurring.
"Kuhk!"
She quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve, but they weren't about to miss that split-second opening.
"Not bad skills."
"Still just a greenhorn."
"Die!"
Slash!
As sword gleams sliced his shoulder and side, Il-pyo realized.
'Too late.'
Just like before.
But something was different this time.
"Young Master Il!"
Clang!
Seo Ok-rang's sharp cry rang out as she propelled her body forward with her toes and wedged herself in.
Fine Stream Step.
The Qingcheng Sect's secret technique mimicking flowing stream water.
Her petite frame slipped between the deadly sword gleams, facing off against all four attackers.
Clang!
With her right hand, she unleashed a stance from the Ascending Dragon Palm Technique, smacking their sword blades.
Thud-thud!
Leaning her upper body back as if to fall, she kicked up with her toes, striking the wrists of the ronin mid-strike.
Splat!
Then, launching into the air with a somersault, she followed with Clear Wind Swordsmanship.
Clang-clang-clang!
Seo Ok-rang barely pushed back the four and instinctively chained her sword forms, pursuing them.
Swoosh-swoosh!
The razor-sharp strikes made the ronin hiss and retreat.
"Damn it!"
"Hah... hah."
Seo Ok-rang's shoulders heaved as she marveled at her own prowess.
'My body's so light?'
The combo she'd unleashed unconsciously felt so natural.
'I thought it'd be tough since I've neglected my martial arts for a while.'
Had her dormant instincts awakened in the face of death?
'Maybe.'
A tiny spark ignited in her heart.
Swoosh!
By the time she snapped back to reality, a sword gleam was splitting the air behind her.
Clang!
"Young Master Il!"
Back-to-back with her, Il-pyo scraped the ground with his sword tip.
"Watch your back. Isn't this dangerous?"
Seo Ok-rang smiled at Il-pyo, who'd chosen to stand by her side instead of fleeing.
A soft curve graced her lips for the first time in ages.
"Pretty reliable, huh?"
But her smile didn't last.
"Blockhead! Behind you! Behind!"
"Whoa!"
The instructor, trapped amid flashing swords from all sides, rolled across the ground—wiping the mirth from her face.
"Lady Seo! Watch your side!"
"Eek. Seriously."
Slash-clang!
Her hands busied themselves as she swung her upper body in a wide arc, shaking off the incoming blades.
That's why she didn't notice.
The man who'd gone far ahead had vanished.
The Demon Sword Cave had its rules.
The weak claimed spots near the entrance; the stronger, deeper inside.
It wasn't just about hierarchy.
It was pride—a declaration they wouldn't deal with random outsiders.
A rule made by elite ronin to filter out most at the entrance and only serve the real deals.
But how many true high-rollers came to this place anyway?
Gongshow clients were the daily norm.
Sang-gwang, who held the deepest spot in So-ho's Demon Sword Cave, was no exception.
'Should I look for some easy job?'
As he started feeling the pinch from fewer clients lately,
a slightly different sound echoed.
Clang-clang-clang!
Even in the deepest part, a lifelong sword-for-hire like him recognized it instantly.
"Some drifter must've picked a fight."
It happened occasionally.
Clients who couldn't handle the rough ronin causing trouble.
And the usual end was always the same.
"More fish for So-ho to devour."
But Sang-gwang soon had to retract his hasty judgment.
Clang-clang-clang!
"Holding out pretty long..."
Did some prestigious sect disciple show up?
'Doesn't matter. The gap's still there.'
No one trained in a dojo could outlast ronin.
Swords tempered in real battle weren't for thunderbolt brats to withstand.
They might last a bit longer, but they'd end up as minced meat scattered in So-ho all the same.
"Might as well sleep."
As he wrapped himself in his straw mat and turned over,
thud. Thud.
Unfamiliar footsteps echoed through the Demon Sword Cave, startling Sang-gwang.
'He broke through?'
Not if it was the entrance.
That was full of the weakest.
But this was different.
Countless experts lined the deep path here, some even he couldn't underestimate.
Warriors who could claim high seats in any sect.
Ferocious drifters forced to wander nonetheless.
Battle-hardened masters with pasts that drove them to death's door.
He'd brushed past all of them to reach here?
'God no. He didn't brush past—he ignored them.'
The footsteps toward this place were calm.
Leisurely, as if utterly unhindered.
That meant one thing.
'No one even sensed him.'
Realizing the difference, chills ran up Sang-gwang's spine.
Thud. Thud.
He listened intently to the approaching steps, reaching for the sword by his head.
But something was off.
'Huh!'
His hand grasped empty air instead of the sword that should have been there.
One he'd placed in the exact same spot for decades.
"So-ho Black Wolf. That you?"
'When!'
The voice close by made goosebumps erupt.
Thud!
He slapped the damp ground, flipping over and channeling his qi.
"Hah."
But he deflated with a sigh.
His sword—the one that belonged by his head—was in the opponent's hand.
'An unimaginable master.'
His fighting spirit evaporated.
"Quick on the uptake. Good."
Whoosh. Thud.
Sang-gwang stroked the sword that had flown in a parabola to his hand and spoke.
"What brings you here?"
"Got a job for you."
"You're a master I can't even touch. Why entrust it to someone like me?"
"Can't use a dragon-slaying blade to catch a chicken, right?"
Dragon-slaying blade, huh.
Sang-gwang nodded despite being floored by the man's arrogance.
'This guy's got the right to be arrogant.'
He might look like a scared mutt now, but So-ho Black Wolf was no light title.
And this man handled him like a child—what could he say?
'Today must be the day I die.'
Sensing his end, he still clung to his pride and asked,
"Can you tell me about the job?"
"If you want."
A hazy figure emerged from the darkness.
"Not that hard."
Who was this guy?
He stared into the shadows, but oddly, nothing stuck in his memory.
'His face won't come into focus.'
As he puzzled over it, the explanation continued, and Sang-gwang's expression grew strange.
"That's really it?"
"I'm a busy man. Not idle enough for chit-chat."
Chill.
Fresh goosebumps raced down his spine, and Sang-gwang quickly backpedaled.
"Not doubting you or anything."
For such a shocking entrance, the job was too simple.
One: Stop the fight at the entrance.
Two: Hand over the guy he pointed out.
Three: Give that guy to the unwelcome guests at the entrance.
"Why? Fellow ronin stirring some brotherhood?"
"As if."
They sold their own lives, after all.
Others' lives weighed like feathers.
Still.
"Someone like you could handle it yourself."
"Sometimes it's fun to borrow hands for a grand show."
"For that reason."
Hey, smooth talker.
"Like I said, I'm busy."
No time even for haggling.
Thud.
Sang-gwang opened the money pouch dropped before him and jolted.
"This is way too mu—"
But he realized.
No one was there anymore.
Thud.
Dropping the pouch, he rubbed his neck.
"Whew. The Grim Reaper paid a visit."
His terrified voice echoed through the Demon Sword Cave's darkness.