Chapter 183
Chapter 183
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 53
>Chapter Title: Submission (1)
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‘My lord... I apologize.’
Yi-ak Wi Maeng-cheon, possessing the body of his liege’s trusted retainer Jong-im, offered a silent apology in his mind.
If he could help it, he wanted to strike the back of the head of Jang Neung-ak, his former lord. But after becoming a spirit servant and grasping the principles of karmic bonds, he found he could not.
The fates of a spirit servant and its master were one and the same.
Even aside from that, the more he learned about Mok Kyung-un, the more fear took root in him.
‘What in the world was that monstrous bird from earlier?’
Truth be told, even in his former body, facing that many peak masters alone would have been an immense struggle.
Yet thanks to that suddenly appearing colossal bird, he had been able to subdue the martial artists.
This only made Wi Maeng-cheon fear Mok Kyung-un even more.
‘What on earth is his true nature?’
He never imagined a human could command such a bizarre entity.
How had something like that existed within the Heaven-Earth Society without anyone knowing?
It left him desperately curious about Mok Kyung-un’s real identity.
Just then, Mok Kyung-un vanished in an instant with an astonishing lightness skill, reappearing behind Jang Neung-ak and seizing his shoulder.
“You bastard!”
“Shh. Stay quiet and relax your shoulders. If you keep squirming like that, I might just feel like snapping them.”
A chill ran down Jang Neung-ak’s spine.
That sneering voice dripped with pure malice.
He had felt this sensation somewhere before.
‘Eldest senior brother?’
Yes.
It was strikingly similar to Eldest Senior Brother Na Yeol-ryang.
The same eerie lack of humanity.
At that moment, Ho Jong-hyeok, gripping the handle of his axe Myeong-bu—its blade shattered on one side—spoke up.
“Mok Kyung-un. Stop this.”
“Stop what? What have I even done?”
“I don’t know how you pulled this man in, but do you think you can handle the consequences?”
“That’s not for you to worry about.”
“Worry? Even if you threaten my lord’s life right now to get what you want, do you think you can keep my master and all the factions supporting my lord from finding out?”
“...”
“Stop now. No matter how strong you’ve become, this is reckless.”
With those words, Ho Jong-hyeok’s fingers, subtly angled backward, began to move.
He was signaling with hand signs.
The recipient was none other than his female guard standing behind him.
[Take this.]
[What is it?]
[It’s a signal flare.]
[A signal flare?]
[My master gave it to me.]
[Your master—Pabu King?]
[Yes. He gave it to me in case of emergencies. I doubt we’ll need it, but it’s better if you, as my guard, hold onto it.]
[Is it all right for me to have something like this...?]
[It’ll be more effective with you. If a crisis hits, I and the other Five Evils members will be under scrutiny anyway.]
What an ironic twist of fate.
He had entrusted her with the signal flare precisely for such an emergency.
Though given by his master to counter the eldest young master’s faction, he had thought there would be no need while the Society Leader lived.
He never imagined it would come to this so soon.
-Swish! Swish!
Ho Jong-hyeok signaled with his fingers, visible only to his female guard.
It was a prearranged code.
-Gulp!
Seo Hye-in of the Four Peaks, positioned at just the right angle to see, swallowed dryly.
She had heard about it from Ho Jong-hyeok and thus left the female guard here as a precaution.
‘Once the signal flare goes off...’
Pabu King Ho Tae-gang would rush here immediately.
Then Mok Kyung-un wouldn’t dare keep up his reckless threats.
To make that happen, she needed to hold his attention longer.
Seo Hye-in jumped in.
“Mok Kyung-un! Division Head Ho is right. Threats only work if you can sustain them. How do you plan to keep this up?”
Mok Kyung-un’s gaze naturally shifted to her.
Seo Hye-in inwardly cheered but kept her composure.
She just hoped Ho Jong-hyeok’s female guard would hurry and fire the flare.
To buy more time, she prepared to keep talking and hold his focus.
But then—
-Krunch!
Something shattered.
Did they use the flare?
‘Huh?’
Something was off.
A flare should shoot flames skyward with a bang.
But there was only the sound of breaking.
Unable to hold back, Seo Hye-in whipped her head toward the female guard.
In that instant,
‘No way?’
She couldn’t hide her shock.
Ho Jong-hyeok’s female guard had snapped the flare stick in two.
Had the woman lost her mind?
If she understood Division Head Ho’s signal, why do this...?
That was when Mok Kyung-un asked.
“What’s that?”
The woman replied,
“It’s a signal flare to call for help from Pabu King.”
‘You wench!’
Furious at her frank answer, Seo Hye-in was about to berate her.
But Ho Jong-hyeok spoke first.
“...Chae-rin. Were you his too?”
He had no choice but to suspect after she broke the flare.
At his question, the female guard—no, Go Chan possessing Ha Chae-rin’s body—shuddered and said,
“Ugh. This is so damn frustrating.”
“Chae-rin?”
“Enough! I’m done playing along with your whims.”
Ho Jong-hyeok’s expression hardened at Go Chan’s firm declaration.
He had occasionally glimpsed her rough, unladylike demeanor—so different from other women—and grown fond of her.
He had kept her close, intending to make her his woman rather than just a guard.
To face this betrayal left him hollow.
In a voice thick with lingering attachment, Ho Jong-hyeok said,
“All our time together... was it all lies...?”
“Yeah! All of it was fake, so save that overconfident bullshit for someone else.”
“...”
Go Chan’s torrent of scolding left Ho Jong-hyeok stunned, as if struck.
Watching him, Go Chan snorted.
If not for being a spirit servant, he would have ditched this guy ages ago.
-That guy’s really pissed you off, huh.
-Yeah.
Seeing Go Chan like this, Mok Kyung-un chuckled softly.
He seemed almost accustomed to being in a woman’s body, enjoying it even—but apparently not.
Then Jang Neung-ak spoke.
“...What the hell are you?”
“What do you mean?”
“When did you even contact them?”
He couldn’t comprehend it.
Wi Maeng-cheon’s subordinate Jong-im, that woman—none of them had any apparent connection to Mok Kyung-un.
So how had he turned them into his people?
No matter how he racked his brain, he found no link. Then Mok Kyung-un whispered in his ear,
“Got any more hidden cards up your sleeve?”
“...”
Jang Neung-ak bit his lip at the question.
For now, he had no more ways to turn the tables.
In a voice seething with rage, Jang Neung-ak spat,
“Even so, you gain nothing from this.”
“Stubbornness won’t do you any good.”
“Kill me.”
‘!?’
Mok Kyung-un’s eyes gleamed at his words.
He was curious what reaction a man cornered, with all aces broken, would show.
He had expected submission.
But this unexpected defiance.
“Even rotten, you’re still a mackerel—they didn’t make you Society Leader’s disciple for nothing, huh.”
“Shut up. You’ll get nothing anyway. Even if you threaten with force, it’s only temporary.”
“Hmm.”
“You’re not stupid, so you know: your threats mean nothing if this young master doesn’t yield.”
“Well, sure.”
Jang Neung-ak frowned at Mok Kyung-un’s ready agreement.
He surely knew that, so why push this far?
With no other options, reminding him of repercussions was his only way to make him back off.
But then,
“Still, Young Master, you’ll submit to me. Like a dog wagging its tail.”
“You dare!”
-Crack!
“Arghhh!”
In that instant, Jang Neung-ak screamed as bones snapped.
“Ah. I did tell you to relax your shoulders.”
Mok Kyung-un smirked wickedly.
“Guh... Y-you!”
“My lord!”
Snapping out of it at Jang Neung-ak’s agony, Ho Jong-hyeok aimed his one-bladed Myeong-bu and shouted.
“Stop right now!”
“You should stop. Unless you want to watch your lord suffer.”
“You’re truly crossing the line.”
“Didn’t we cross it ages ago?”
Mok Kyung-un smiled faintly.
Ho Jong-hyeok was speechless at the malice radiating from him.
What was this guy’s real goal?
Provoking them like this would only make it harder to get what he wanted. Why go this far?
As he puzzled,
“No intention of submitting willingly, huh?”
“Ugh... You... This young master will never... to you...”
“Guess possession works better than control after all.”
“What?”
“Sleep for now.”
-Pop-pop-pop!
With his acupoints sealed, Jang Neung-ak lost consciousness.
-Thud!
“You dare!”
The moment Jang Neung-ak slumped over the table, Ho Jong-hyeok roared in fury and swung Myeong-bu at Mok Kyung-un’s head.
-Swoosh!
But—
-Pak!
The blade stopped in Mok Kyung-un’s hand.
“No learning ability, huh.”
-Crack-crack!
Black energy coated his hand, cracking the remaining blade.
Ho Jong-hyeok hastily unleashed a flurry of strikes to force him to release, but—
-Slither!
Mok Kyung-un’s form had already burrowed right in front of him.
Grinding his teeth at the palm flying toward his chin, Ho Jong-hyeok cursed inwardly.
‘Damn it!’
* * *
‘...He’s truly become a monster.’
Go Chan, possessing Ha Chae-rin’s body, stuck out his tongue in genuine awe.
The true One Evil Ho Jong-hyeok and Four Peaks’ Seo Hye-in lay unconscious, covered in blood.
They had desperately resisted, charging with all they had—but the result was惨烈.
In mere exchanges, they ended up like that.
Ho Jong-hyeok, at the pinnacle of superhuman realm, had even unleashed a hidden ultimate technique in a last stand, but it was futile.
It only bought a little more time.
‘How can a guy who started martial arts not long ago grow this fast?’
It was hard to believe.
The world felt utterly unfair.
Then Mok Kyung-un’s voice came.
“You two, come over here.”
‘Two? Oh!’
Go Chan glanced at the other man he suspected was possessed.
Jong-im, subordinate of the dead Yi-ak Wi Maeng-cheon, right?
He had sensed faint spirit energy, guessing a possessing ghost—and his hunch was spot on.
But when did he possess this one?
As he wondered, Jong-im—no, Wi Maeng-cheon possessing him—ascended to the hall, and Mok Kyung-un said,
“First time meeting, right?”
“...”
“...”
At Mok Kyung-un’s words, Go Chan and Wi Maeng-cheon exchanged odd looks.
*You too?* It was almost telepathic.
“Before greetings, shall we handle this first?”
“This?”
Mok Kyung-un pointed alternately at Society Leader’s second disciple Jang Neung-ak, slumped with acupoints sealed right in front of him, and the real One Evil Ho Jong-hyeok, out cold and bloody.
“We need to possess these two. Who wants the second young master?”
No sooner had he spoken—
-Pak!
Both Go Chan and Wi Maeng-cheon shot up their hands like lightning.
[Chapter 53: Submission (1)] End