Chapter 96
Chapter 96
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: Why Pursue the Fugitive?
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"Why of all people are you looking for the man who ran away?" Jinmu asked, his voice cold and flat.
"Th-that..." No Yeong-chan stammered, his eyes darting around in search of an escape that didn't exist.
"Do you simply want to die right here?" Jinmu spoke with a terrifying calm about taking a life, a casualness that chilled the air.
"H-he seems to have truly run away, sir!"
Jinmu frowned and squatted down directly in front of the trembling man. "Where do you get off trying to feed me such obvious bullshit?" He raised his fist slightly, and No Yeong-chan turned a sickly shade of pale.
"I-it is the truth! Please believe me!" the man shouted, feeling utterly wronged. Why would he ever cover for those worthless fools when he was so terrified he might wet himself?
"We really have no deep connection to those scumbags, sir. Please believe me."
"More bullshit. You were hanging out with men you claim no relation to? Why are you making me want to kill you even more with every word?"
As the murderous intent in Jinmu's eyes thickened, No Yeong-chan spilled everything he knew in exhaustive detail, from Mok In-gyeom's initial proposal to every shred of information regarding their goals.
"A sword? He only asked for a single sword?" Jinmu repeated, his gaze shifting to Baekpyo. "Baekpyo, does your family own any legendary swords?"
Baekpyo racked his brains, searching through his memories of the Baek family manor’s long history. Something flashed through his mind—an item passed down through generations to the head of the family, which he had handed over to his sister, Baek Yeorin, before leaving.
"No way... You think they targeted the main house?" Baekpyo's eyes widened in horror. He realized Mok In-gyeom was skilled enough to make the leaders of the Tyrant Force kneel, and without a second thought, he kicked off the ground and shot away toward his home.
"Tch, what a hothead," Jinmu muttered at Baekpyo's rapidly vanishing back. He turned his attention back to No Yeong-chan, ordering him to dismiss all his troops and remain in place until called upon. Jinmu then slammed the ground and shot forward, his eyes gleaming with a lethal light as he vowed to catch Mok In-gyeom and force him to talk.
"Urk!"
Baek Yeorin let out a sharp groan as she was pushed back by the force of an attack. She gripped her saber diagonally and glared at the masked leader of the ambushers who had appeared just as the manor's main forces had left.
While she clashed with the leader, his five subordinates were efficiently butchering the remaining Baek family manor warriors. Screams and the scent of blood filled the air, and Baek Yeorin realized that despite their small numbers, these intruders were experts of the highest order.
"Are you assassins sent by the Tyrant Force?" she demanded, but the masked man merely stared at her before speaking.
"Hand over the Bloodless, and I will spare your life."
"The Bloodless?" she whispered, confused. The masked man pointed toward her nape, where a small, decorative sword—a symbol of her family's leadership—peeked out from her clothes. It was a mere heirloom that refused to even leave its sheath, yet these men were willing to kill for it.
Baek Yeorin refused to yield, her pride as the head of the Baek family manor and the overlord of Gyerim burning brightly. She gathered her energy, her saber emitting a clear metallic ring as she prepared to defend her family's honor to the end.
"Nothing leaves the Baek family manor while I still draw breath," she declared.
The masked man sighed. "I have no choice then; I will take your head along with it."
His form blurred suddenly, and a chilling energy approached from her left. Baek Yeorin spiraled her saber in a helix of qi, but the masked man was far superior, his transitions between sword and hand seamless and fast. A palm strike slammed into her chest, sending her flying backward, blood staining her lips and her clothes torn in the struggle.
As the enemy's sword closed in to deliver the final killing blow, a voice boomed over the wall. "Yeorin!"
Kaaaaang!
A metallic explosion followed as a hand roughly pressed her head down to safety, and the masked man's blade was deflected at a sharp angle. Baekpyo had arrived, his back blocking her path as he caught the incoming strike.
"B-brother?" she stammered, shocked to see him.
Baekpyo removed his upper garment and tossed it to her without turning his head. "The night wind is cold. Put it on," he said calmly.
Baek Yeorin stared at his exposed upper body, which was covered in a horrifying map of untreated scars—slash and pierce marks that numbered well over a dozen. It was the body of a warrior who had traversed a battlefield of asuras, a far cry from the butcher she thought she knew.
"Put it on," Baekpyo repeated, fixing the masked man with a steady, sinister glare. "This man is overkill for you, and we do not have much time to waste."