Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Snap Out of It
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A resounding clash of metal echoed through the air, shoving Han Ibi out of the formation.
The chubby masked man who had been spectating had joined the fray.
Truly, you couldn't judge people by their appearances.
The short, pudgy fellow in black robes and a mask—who looked utterly mismatched, like some corporate executive stuffed into the outfit...
...was shockingly more skilled with swift sword strikes than even the skinny one.
He bellowed in a savage voice.
"You idiot! You can't even catch one greenhorn, and now look at this mess!"
The tall masked man, clutching his wounded shoulder, had nothing to say—not even if he grew two extra mouths.
"I'm sorry, Senior Brother."
The chubby one shouted.
"Split the battle path high and low!"
"Hang on, showing it off to a punk like this feels like a waste."
"Quit your bullshit. Who do you think we're doing this for? We've got work to do—kill him quick and get back to it."
"Got it."
With that, the two pressed right up against each other.
Judging by how natural it looked, it was a tactic they'd used plenty of times before.
The tall man yelled.
"Twin Eagle Swords!"
The short one barked back.
"You lunatic, what is this, a sparring match? Why tip him off with the technique name?"
If anyone were listening in, it might've been hilarious.
But the reality was the polar opposite of some comedy routine—it was brutally lethal.
Han Ibi had no choice but to tense up completely.
The tall man struck first.
Leveraging his long reach, he unleashed a barrage of overhead plunging strikes.
But the short one's sword was even more astonishing.
His draw was slower than the tall man's, yet it sliced toward Han Ibi's Achilles tendon with terrifying speed.
It was an insidious move designed to hobble the opponent.
Han Ibi couldn't decide in that split second where to block.
'Eight Trigrams Steps.'
He leaped into the Eight Trigrams Steps, searching for an opening.
Both the Kan and Dui positions glowed. But the light on Dui felt a bit dimmer.
'An illusion? I've never seen anything like this...'
Slash!
Blood sprayed from Han Ibi's thigh.
"Ow ow ow!"
Stepping on Kan let him easily dodge the tall man's downward slash, but even on Dui, he couldn't fully evade the short one's blade.
Only then did Han Ibi realize: incomplete paths showed as dim light.
The tall man cackled.
"How's that? Our brotherly prowess! If you kneel and beg right now..."
At that moment, the short masked man looked up at him.
"What, you gonna let him go just 'cause you feel like it?"
"N-no, not that, but..."
Suddenly, he thrust his sword at Han Ibi's shoulder and shouted.
"Just die already! No choice!"
At the same time, the short one rolled like a hedgehog, sliding across the ground.
It was an attack Han Ibi had never seen or heard of.
'Damn it all.'
The Eight Trigrams Steps showed Zhen and Qian lit up. Zhen was faint, as expected.
Han Ibi stepped on Qian to dodge the short one's assault, then Zhen to whip his Hanjo Sword upward.
Clang!
A massive ring echoed out.
At the same instant, Han Ibi's sword clashed with the tall man's again, sparking flames.
'Yes! I can dodge it!'
This pattern of attack and defense repeated for a while.
Against such swift-sword masters, pulling this off normally would've been unthinkable...
But Han Ibi managed to hold his own against the pair by tapping into the 'swift' property of his Hanjo Sword.
Then came the unexpected twist...
"Urk!"
Han Ibi let out a sharp cry.
Someone had grabbed his shoulders from behind.
Whirling around in shock, he saw Yun Bang-mun—drooling, eyes wild with madness.
And behind him, hordes of Qingcheng Sect disciples...
These 'elite zombies' who had survived the infighting and the explosive barrage were now charging at Han Ibi.
He screamed at the top of his lungs.
"What the hell's wrong with you all? You wanna die?!"
They weren't listening, of course.
Come to think of it, something was off. Why weren't they going after the masked guys?
They weren't ignoring them entirely—a few zombie disciples did try heading their way.
But the masked men grimaced and turned away. Some kind of evasion trick, apparently.
'Damn it.'
Then the tall masked man spoke up.
"Huh? Senior Brother, why's that guy's arm all veiny like that?"
Indeed.
The veins around Han Ibi's arms had turned pitch black. Now it was glaringly obvious.
At the same time, his anxiety over the Hongmong Great Law gnawing at his gut intensified.
"Please, snap out of it!"
Han Ibi shook his shoulders hard, throwing off Yun Bang-mun.
The normally sluggish man toppled onto his butt.
But that was far from the end.
Behind him, countless Qingcheng disciples swarmed like zombies toward Han Ibi.
'Oh, hell...'
He could cut them down easily enough...
But they were his senior brothers, at least on paper.
Slaughtering them outright would bring hell to pay later.
Best to evade, Han Ibi decided, and started moving.
That was when it happened.
"Where do you think you're going?"
The masked men blocked his path.
The tall one chuckled like it was all a game.
"You'd forget about us? That hurts."
Han Ibi raised his sword, facing them down.
Meanwhile, the Qingcheng disciples rushed from behind...
Ignoring their fancy fist and kick forms, they grabbed at his clothes like wild dogs.
Han Ibi's vision went dark.
'What... what do I do...'
That's when the masked men's Twin Eagle Swordplay flared up again.
He activated Eight Trigrams Steps, but...
The clustered Qingcheng disciples jammed the markers—no full activation.
No choice—he barely ducked one attack, clashed with the short one's sword...
But took a hooking feint curving up from his feet right in the side.
Blazing pain surged, along with boiling rage.
'It hurts! It hurts like hell!'
That was when it happened.
Agonizing pain exploded in his shoulder.
Turning, he saw Hyeon Jin-gi—completely lost to reason.
The lackey who'd been boozing with Seong Chun-don and his crew.
To Han Ibi, anyone from Seong Chun-don's clique looked like scum that made his blood boil on sight.
Then Hyeon Jin-gi wrapped around Han Ibi's arm.
Han Ibi thrashed in surprise, but true to form, the tenacious bastard clung like glue.
Couldn't just lash out wildly.
That was when it happened.
The short masked man surged in like the wind.
He seized the opening, thrusting like lightning at Han Ibi's heart.
Alarms blared in Han Ibi's mind.
In desperation, he whipped his head around and bit the back of Hyeon Jin-gi's hand.
"Gah!"
Even mindless, sensation remained—Hyeon Jin-gi shrieked grotesquely and let go.
Han Ibi shifted position at once.
Thud!
Too late.
The masked man's sword had plunged into his abdomen.
Not a deep stab—nonfatal—but enough to slow him down.
Then a black shadow loomed.
The tall man's sword dropping from above.
'Ah... is this it... the end...'
Han Ibi's mind went hazy.
In seconds, he'd be gone from the world forever.
That was when it happened.
A geyser erupted from his dantian.
"Guh... guh..."
A strange sound leaked from his lips as his veins surged with pitch-black light.
Ping!
His back snapped like a bowstring drawn taut.
The tall man's sword sliced empty air.
In that instant.
Han Ibi's torso rebounded, springing upward.
In the blink of an eye.
Crack!
Like a drum bursting, the tall masked man's teeth flew through the air.
Han Ibi's head had smashed his jaw with monstrous force.
At the same time, his Hanjo Sword shot forward, drawn by some unseen force.
'Wha... what's this...'
His lower body twisted like a corkscrew in the opposite direction.
Such a stance was impossible in real combat.
'What the hell? I can't control my own body...'
The Hanjo Sword halted right before the downed man.
'What... wasn't I supposed to strike...'
Then, like a snapped rubber band, the twist unwound—his arm whipped the other way.
In his sight: the short black-clad man lunging for a sneak attack.
His arm extended with centrifugal force.
Thud!
A gruesome sound...
The Hanjo Sword had sliced horizontally through the short man's stubby neck.
Bloodshot eyes stared in disbelief at Han Ibi...
He twitched his lips as if to speak, but the hole through his windpipe yielded only a gurgling rasp.
Schlick!
The sword yanked free in a flash.
Then Han Ibi's legs jerked—he leaped, soaring into the air.
Midair, he twisted his waist, rearing the Hanjo Sword back.
A targeting line in his vision!
It tracked the charging tall black-clad man automatically.
A ferocious energy welled from his dantian.
It flung his body forward like a slingshot.
Whoosh!
"Argh!"
A massive impact and the tall man's scream.
The Hanjo Sword had pierced his gut.
He crumpled to his knees, then sideways onto the ground.
The impaling blade forced him that way.
Muscle spasms wracked him...
His eyes bulged with desperate clinging to life.
Thud!
Han Ibi collapsed in a heap.
Thump thump thump thump thump thump!
His heartbeat thundered in his ears like lightning.
Controlling his body was impossible.
The Hongmong Great Law, having seized control once, wouldn't release him easily.
In his blurring vision, Qingcheng disciples swarmed toward the fallen man.
Then he spotted a familiar silhouette.
Yes.
So Eun-ri.
By some miracle, she had survived this hell.
So Eun-ri was covered in blood too.
Whose it was, he couldn't tell...
She must've fought through the chaos.
She strode toward Han Ibi, ready to pounce.
Their eyes met.
Boom!
Like a bomb in his skull...
A massive reverberation shook Han Ibi's mind.
The black in his veins faded slightly.
A spark of reason returned, if only briefly.
Han Ibi murmured.
"S-So... So Junior Sister..."
But So Eun-ri charged as if he were nothing, intent on grabbing him.
"Damn it..."
That's when she lunged.
Han Ibi forced himself up, stepping into footwork on instinct.
So Eun-ri wobbled, off-balance.
But she quickly recovered and rushed again.
Han Ibi staggered back three paces.
But then two more Qingcheng zombie disciples barreled toward So Eun-ri.
She was fixated on Han Ibi, barreling ahead heedless of all else.
'Damn it...'
(To be continued...)