Chapter 393
Chapter 393
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 103
>Chapter Title: Dismissing Axe King (3)
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“Master!”
‘!!!!!!’
Everyone was stunned by the sight of Jang Nung-ak, the second disciple of the Society Lord, dropping to one knee and showing proper respect.
Jang Nung-ak was no ordinary person—he was one of the candidates to lead the Heaven-Earth Society.
So why on earth was he suddenly calling Mok Kyung-un his master?
“What in the world?”
“Why is Young Master Jang...?”
Mok Kyung-un was merely a disciple of the Dark Sect Leader, with no succession qualifications whatsoever.
If he had shown such deference to the eldest young master, Na Yul-lyang, one might assume he had given up his claim to succession. But this scene was utterly incomprehensible.
Jang Nung-ak lifted his head toward them and raised his voice.
“Who dares to be rude to my master? No matter who it is, I, Jang Nung-ak, second disciple of the Heaven-Earth Society Lord, will not forgive them.”
After issuing his warning like a threat, Jang Nung-ak glanced slyly at Mok Kyung-un and mouthed, ‘Did I do well?’
It had been a long time since they’d met, and he was still watching for cues, overjoyed yet cautious.
-That bastard Go Chan. You arrived at just the right moment.
Mok Kyung-un gave a small nod of agreement at Cheong-ryeong’s words.
He hadn’t summoned him intentionally, but Go Chan—possessing the body of the second young master Jang Nung-ak—had shown up at the perfect time, making it easier to explain the situation.
With that, Mok Kyung-un turned to Ho Tae-gang, the Dismissing Axe King, who was at a loss for words in this unexpected turn.
“Does this answer your question, Dismissing Axe King?”
‘Dismissing Axe King?’
At Mok Kyung-un’s words, Go Chan—in Jang Nung-ak’s body—widened his eyes for a moment.
The familiar face from the body’s memories clicked into place; he now recognized him as one of the Five Kings, who had just earned the Eight Stars title.
‘No way. What’s going on here?’
Go Chan’s startled gaze naturally shifted to Ho Tae-gang’s broken wrist and wounds.
What the hell had happened?
-Swish!
Mok Kyung-un’s body bore not a single scratch, so it didn’t seem like they had fought. Then who had done this to the Dismissing Axe King?
Puzzled, Go Chan unwittingly locked eyes with Ho Tae-gang.
-Flinch!
As befitting a supreme master with the Eight Stars title, the intensity in his eyes was enough to make one want to look away instantly.
But maintaining the dignity of possessing the Society Lord’s second disciple, he barely held firm.
“......”
Watching him, a strange glint entered Ho Tae-gang’s eyes.
Regardless of what had transpired between them, it seemed the Society Lord’s second disciple, Jang Nung-ak, had instead chosen to serve Mok Kyung-un as his lord.
“Ha.”
It was utterly exasperating.
Had anything like this ever happened since the founding of the Heaven-Earth Society?
A disciple from a sect other than the Three Lines—one who was a hostage from the orthodox faction, no less—aiming for the top seat.
It was something no one had even imagined.
Most in the Heaven-Earth Society claimed to follow the strong, yet they drew one firm line in their minds.
The Society Lord’s seat belonged solely to the Three Lines.
Of course, among those Three Lines, the Heavenly Line was seen by most as the supreme bloodline with the greatest legitimacy.
‘Someone outside the Three Lines harboring such ambition.’
The message he planned to relay to the eldest young master, Na Yul-lyang, was nothing short of a declaration of war.
This monstrous figure’s goal was singular.
The seat of Society Lord.
‘He said he was giving me a choice—between the long, winding path or the short, rough one...’
Was it not a desperate measure, but an invitation to join his faction?
That would mean no need to struggle under the eldest young master; he had essentially warned that a clash with him was imminent.
At that moment, Mok Kyung-un pointed to the sole surviving masked watcher.
“I said I’d give you a choice, didn’t I? What will you do now?”
“......”
Ho Tae-gang felt a peculiar sensation at Mok Kyung-un’s words.
Normally, he would have berated or attacked him on the spot for harboring rebellious intent as an orthodox faction hostage.
But the circumstances were entirely different.
Though lacking legitimacy and orthodoxy, this was a monster unlike any other.
Even the Heaven-Earth Society Lord—one of the Six Heavens at the pinnacle of the martial world—had he possessed such realm and ambition at this age?
As a martial artist himself, Ho Tae-gang couldn’t help but be inwardly drawn to this overwhelming talent.
The problem remained his origins.
Finally, having made up his mind, Ho Tae-gang reached out toward his fallen signature weapon, the massive axe on the ground.
-Thud!
Grabbing the axe’s handle, he approached the masked watcher and spoke.
“Your skills are formidable. Frankly, I wonder if anyone short of the Society Lord could match you.”
“But even the Society Lord isn’t in good health right now, is he?”
“......So you’re aiming for this moment?”
Mok Kyung-un shrugged at the question.
“Who knows. Even if the Society Lord were in perfect health, our goals would align, so his condition means little.”
“......”
Ho Tae-gang inwardly let out a sigh of admiration at the response.
Was it youthful bravado, or absolute confidence in his own prowess?
Lacking legitimacy and descent from the Three Lines, most sects in the Heaven-Earth Society would rebel and oppose him—yet he aimed for the top?
Had they met under different circumstances, he would have quite liked this young man.
However,
-Swish!
Ho Tae-gang aimed the axe blade at the watcher and spoke.
“What a pity.”
“What is?”
“With such skills and the ability to make even Second Young Master Jang submit, I can imagine the vastness of your vessel. But it’s not you.”
“......”
“If only you were the Society Lord’s disciple—or at least a descendant of the Earthly Line—I would have accepted your proposal without hesitation.”
“But you can’t accept it?”
“No matter how much our society reveres and worships the strong, there are certain established lines we cannot cross. Do you think an organization would function properly if we blindly followed whoever is strongest?”
“Are you refusing out of fear of that?”
“I acknowledge your strength, but you lack the crucial legitimacy. Without it, the goal you seek can never...”
-Swish!
At that moment, Mok Kyung-un gripped his sword scripture and assumed a starting stance.
Seeing this, Ho Tae-gang halted his axe swing midway, unable to tear his eyes from the stance.
The form Mok Kyung-un took resembled the Heavenly Sword Form.
Yet the aura was subtly different.
It was then.
-Slash!
Mok Kyung-un’s sword scripture traced a trajectory through the air.
The elegant path of the sword evoked the image of the moon, and Ho Tae-gang’s eyes widened as he watched.
‘No way?’
He had only seen a single technique, but something flashed through Ho Tae-gang’s mind.
It was none other than,
‘The Moon Sword Form?’
As one of the Five Kings from a top sect that had supported the Heaven-Earth Society for generations, he naturally knew the Heavenly and Earthly Sword Forms better than anyone.
He was so familiar with them that seeing their starting stances alone brought the techniques to mind. But the form Mok Kyung-un displayed was distinctly different from both.
‘No doubt about it.’
This was undoubtedly the Moon Sword Form, known only through oral tradition.
He wasn’t the only one who recognized it.
The Dark Sect Leader, Hwan Ya-seon, saw it too.
‘......So that’s it! The real reason Bright Sword King Son Yun brought hostages.’
Hwan Ya-seon had suspected there was a special reason why Bright Sword King Son Yun, on the Society Lord’s orders, had brought two hostages back from Timber Sword Manor.
Now, all the pieces fit together.
No matter how talented they were, sending outsiders—hostages, no less—to Bloodbath Valley out of nowhere had seemed odd.
If the goal was simply to kill them, there was no need to send them all the way to Bloodbath Valley.
But now it made sense: everything was connected to the society itself.
The Moon Line and its sword form, whose lineage had been severed for nearly a century.
Since no one could read the text in the manual, no successor would ever appear—or so it seemed.
Yet Kyung-un—no, the master of Saint Harmony and its incarnation—had mastered the Moon Sword Form?
What an incredible coincidence.
Was that why the Society Lord had mentioned his fourth disciple—not for talent alone, but for this?
It was all unfolding as if predestined.
The one thing that didn’t make sense was,
‘Why keep it hidden until now?’
A successor to the Moon Line had appeared, one who had mastered its sword form.
Even as an orthodox faction hostage, this was a joyous event for the Heaven-Earth Society, filling the gap left by the lost third of the Three Lines.
So why conceal it?
Did he have some other purpose?
As he pondered this inwardly, it happened.
“Hahahahahaha!”
Ho Tae-gang, watching Mok Kyung-un’s Moon Sword Form, suddenly burst into laughter.
His subordinates couldn’t hide their confusion at the abrupt change.
“Elder?”
“What’s wrong?”
Ho Tae-gang soon stopped laughing, shaking his head slowly.
“I was the one who knew nothing.”
No sooner had he spoken than,
-Slash! Roll...
With lightning-fast axe work, Ho Tae-gang severed the neck of the sole surviving masked watcher.
‘This...’
Hwan Ya-seon’s expression hardened at the sight.
He had shown the Moon Sword Form, yet he still refused the proposal?
But then,
-Thud!
In that instant, Dismissing Axe King Ho Tae-gang dropped to one knee before Mok Kyung-un, clasped his hands together in respect, and declared.
“Ho Tae-gang, head of the Dismissing Axe Sect, wishes to join Young Master Mok Kyung-un, heir of the Moon Line. Accept this Ho’s pledge of loyalty, and please appoint me as the vanguard to take the head of Great Young Master Na Yul-lyang.”
‘!?’
What?
They thought he had beheaded the watcher to refuse and part ways.
But now he was swearing loyalty—what was going on?
Mok Kyung-un asked with an expressionless face.
“Unexpected. I thought you’d chosen the long, winding path.”
-Thud!
At his words, Ho Tae-gang bowed his head in apology.
“I apologize for beheading the watcher without a word. But once I pledge loyalty to you, even if this act stems from true devotion, should you insist on sending the message, my actions would be seen as disloyal. Thus, I acted first.”
“You struck first before pledging loyalty?”
“Indeed. I understand completely that clashing with Great Young Master Na Yul-lyang is a necessary step to subjugate the society, so sending such a message makes perfect sense.”
“You understand, yet you still took his head?”
“To make it certain.”
“Certain?”
“With your skills, facing Great Young Master Na Yul-lyang won’t be difficult. Yet even a tiger hunts a mere rabbit with full effort and no carelessness.”
“......”
“The watcher meant for the message heard too much. Even letting the first ones go already revealed how far your skills have advanced. There’s no need to immediately expose that you’re the Moon Line heir with succession rights or that you’ve taken me into your fold. Too much information only heightens the enemy’s needless vigilance.”
‘Well said.’
Dark Sect Leader Hwan Ya-seon nodded in agreement.
There was no flaw in his reasoning.
Rather than displaying confidence to provoke caution, luring them into carelessness until the end minimized variables.
“Should you have had other intentions, please reprimand this subordinate for my poor judgment.”
Mok Kyung-un smirked and shrugged.
There was nothing wrong with what he said—what was there to reprimand?
The Dismissing Axe King, whom he’d thought was merely hot-blooded, possessed surprising patience and insight.
He’d expected him to disregard everything for revenge over his son.
Approaching him as he still maintained respect, Mok Kyung-un said.
“With intentions like that, there’s nothing to reprimand.”
“Thank you for accepting my rudeness before the pledge as advice.”
“But honestly, it doesn’t matter much if Great Young Master Na Yul-lyang learns of it or not.”
“......What do you mean?”
“Whether we send the message or not, I was planning to head straight to him anyway.”
'!?'