Chapter 158
Chapter 158
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 158
Chapter Title: The Hwangju Guild (4)
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"Kuaaaargh!"
Ju Gyeong-ryun’s scream was loud enough to echo throughout the outer fortress.
He looked as if he was about to die, yet Baek Mu-ha and the warriors of the White Dragon Hall showed no reaction. No, they *couldn't*.
The saying that it’s best to avoid a madman didn’t come from nowhere.
"A bastard who's barely human, and yet you scream like one?"
I struck a blood point, and he lost consciousness.
I even stopped the bleeding, just in case he died from blood loss.
I turned my head toward Baek Mu-ha.
"What are you doing? Not moving?"
"...You're taking a risk. He is the master of the Hwangju Guild."
"Master of the guild, my ass. In my eyes, he's nothing but a human trafficker who sells off innocent people."
"...This act could be the death of you."
"We'll have to wait and see about that, won't we?"
I grabbed Ju Gyeong-ryun by the neck and moved forward.
As if on cue, the members of the White Dragon Hall surrounded me.
It seemed they intended to block my way.
I sneered at them.
"The way you're protecting him, there must be something going on, huh?"
A fiery killing intent erupted, but it didn't bother me.
It wasn't my first time in a situation like this.
"Oh? You're the one who came to the opening ceremony, aren't you? After enjoying a good meal, you should do me a favor."
As I taunted them, the killing intent from the White Dragon Hall members surged.
"Hey, let me pass."
I tightened my grip on Ju Gyeong-ryun's neck.
His neck could have snapped at any moment, but Baek Mu-ha and his men remained motionless.
Their icy composure felt out of place.
Come to think of it, their reaction earlier was strange too.
To remain so calm even after I’d torn off the arm of the person they were supposed to be protecting.
It's not like they were America refusing to negotiate with terrorists.
*‘Could it be?’*
The thought suddenly occurred to me that something was up.
"Let me ask you one thing."
"...Speak."
"Did you really come all this way to save this guy?"
"That's right."
"Why?"
"As I said before, the White Dragon Hall and the Hwangju Guild..."
"Bullshit. Don't spout nonsense when we both know the truth. The great Hall Master of the White Dragon Hall wouldn't be so soft-hearted, would he?"
"Believe it or not, it doesn't matter."
"Is that so?"
I stared into Baek Mu-ha's eyes and spoke.
"But you know, while I was talking with you, I extended my senses. From here all the way to the Hwangju Guild."
"...!"
A great tremor passed through Baek Mu-ha's eyes.
"More than ten people are rushing toward the Hwangju Guild. Do you know them?"
*Bang!*
I hoisted Ju Gyeong-ryun over my shoulder and jumped onto the wall in one motion.
Baek Mu-ha's shout came from behind me.
"After him!"
They hadn't come to save Ju Gyeong-ryun.
They came to buy time to retrieve something hidden inside the Hwangju Guild.
I focused all my senses on what was behind me.
A man like Baek Mu-ha would have surely calculated for a situation like this.
And my prediction was spot on.
*Clang!*
Baek Mu-ha's Sunlight Sword erupted, aiming for my back.
*Kwang! Rumble.*
I stomped down with a prepared foot, unleashing the War King Step.
Normally, I would have dodged it easily, but carrying Ju Gyeong-ryun, I barely managed to evade it by a hair's breadth.
A minute or so passed.
Arriving at the guild where the flames were dying down, I confirmed that my prediction was correct.
*Rumble.*
I could see members of the White Dragon Hall just about to enter the guild.
"Stop him!"
At Baek Mu-ha's shout, they drew their swords and charged at once.
"Hup!"
*Kwoong!*
I unleashed my inner force through the foot I planted on the wall.
It was the Flying Heavenly Wind combined with the War King Step.
*Whoosh!*
My surroundings blurred past me like an arrow.
I infused energy into the little finger wrapped with the Battle Lord Arrow.
*Chwareuk! Pak.*
The instantaneously extended thread lodged into the pavilion across the way, pulling my body forward.
*Thud.*
A method of movement I had only ever imagined.
*‘It actually works.’*
After entering the inner courtyard in one go, I threw Ju Gyeong-ryun into the pavilion where the girls were being held.
"Ughhhh..."
I looked around and saw the crippled martial artists groaning on the ground.
Seeing them in the same state as when I left, it seemed no one else remained in the guild.
*‘Well, of course.’*
After all the chaos I'd caused, it would be strange if they hadn't fled.
*Rumble.*
"Jin Mujeon!"
Just as I was admiring the scene I had created, Baek Mu-ha's voice rang out.
At a glance, there were more than twenty warriors.
They must have seen the fallen warriors of the Hwangju Guild, but they paid them no mind.
*Step, step.*
I walked out from between the pavilions, now extinguished and emitting only acrid smoke.
Twenty paces.
That was the distance between me and them.
"Sorry, but no one gets past this point."
The members of the White Dragon Hall drew their snow-white swords.
*Fwoosh!*
A killing intent, incomparably sharper than that of the Hwangju Guild's warriors, washed over me.
Baek Mu-ha, at the very front, raised his hand, and the presence vanished as if by magic.
In that silence, a telepathic message reached me.
[Let's end this here. If you just leave, I will give you what you want.]
I glanced toward the pavilion where the girls were trapped.
[Do you know what's in there?]
[...]
His silence suggested he had a good idea.
These bastards are always like this.
They follow the classic villain trope within the righteous factions, pretending to be clean on the outside while committing all sorts of filthy deeds behind the scenes.
"If you promise to send back every single girl you conspired with the Hwangju Guild to sell, I'll stop here. Of course, not one can be left behind, right?"
When I replied with my voice instead of telepathy, Baek Mu-ha's aura surged.
He glared at me as if to kill me and drew his sword.
I sneered, not at Baek Mu-ha, but at the members of the White Dragon Hall.
"Didn't you all hear? The higher-ups of the White Dragon Hall have been conspiring with the Hwangju Guild to sell the girls of this fortress! If I were you, I'd be so ashamed I'd stick a knife in my Hall Master..."
"You bastard!"
*Clang!*
A streak of sword energy, like a ray of light, burst forth.
It was the Sunlight Sword unleashed by Baek Mu-ha.
I immediately used the War King Step to dodge it.
*Thump. Crack!*
A swift sword, incomparably faster than before.
A chill ran down my spine, but I acted unfazed and provoked Baek Mu-ha.
"You haven't changed much, have you? Is that why you came with a whole crowd? Not confident enough to face me alone?"
"You will see!"
Baek Mu-ha charged at me alone.
*‘He took the bait.’*
My efforts to get under his skin had paid off.
Until he was in real danger or gave another order, the members of the White Dragon Hall wouldn't join the fight.
That was the pride of a warrior.
*Clang!*
The Sunlight Sword erupted again.
The ground split, leaving a sharp furrow.
I dodged it again, just barely.
It was to give him the hope that he could kill me.
Of course, my opponent was Baek Mu-ha, the genius of the White Dragon Hall.
Dodging all his attacks without giving it my all was a tall order.
A sword strike like a ray of light split diagonally as it came for me.
I slammed my inner force, imbued with the power of a thunderbolt, into the incredibly sharp sword energy.
*BOOM!*
A sound like a cannonball exploding erupted, and dust kicked up.
I used the War King Step to close in on him head-on.
"Hmph!"
*Flash.*
A different, no, an even faster sword strike descended upon me.
But. He wasn't my target.
*Fwip.*
With a single step combining the Flying Heavenly Wind and the War King Step, I slipped past his attack range.
*Screech!*
A hair-raising sound came from behind me.
The sword strike, which would have landed on my head had I been 0.2 seconds slower, sliced through the ground like tofu.
It looked similar, but it wasn't the Sunlight Sword.
It was a faster, sharper attack.
"Fierce, aren't you? Looks like you've learned a new sword art."
I provoked him again, but Baek Mu-ha didn't stop his assault.
Instead, riding his momentum, he unleashed even faster strikes.
A soundless, windless strike flew toward me, even faster than before.
"Gk!"
I immediately used the War King Step to dodge, but.
*Pshht.*
My neck was grazed, and blood spurted out.
"Damn...!"
"Die!"
I could no longer afford to be complacent.
*Screech!*
His swift sword was just that sharp.
*‘This…’*
The more I saw, the more extraordinary it seemed.
A sword strike that could slice through sound and air itself.
It occurred to me that Baek Jung-cheon must have used this sword art as a foundation to win the power struggle against his younger brother.
Of course, that wasn't what was important right now.
*‘No, when are my allies getting here?’*
*Screech!*
The rebound from stomping on the pavilion pushed my body away.
Baek Mu-ha's sword strike fell upon me.
So far, it had been manageable, but then a variable appeared.
"Attack together!"
Whether the effect of my taunts had worn off, Baek Mu-ha ordered a joint attack.
At the same time, the sword strike he unleashed was extraordinary.
Something blazing was coalescing on his sword.
*‘No way.’*
And just as I suspected.
*Fwoosh!*
An energy like the blazing sun was emanating from his sword.
It was definitely blade aura.
"You son of a bitch!"
Because it was an aura wielded with the White Dragon Hall's sword art, its speed was also incredible.
*Kwoong!*
I took a step that combined the Flying Heavenly Wind and the War King Step into one.
*Fwip.*
It was a move of Phantom Step.
*Sshaaa.*
There was no sound of impact, but a hole the size of a human head appeared in the pavilion.
As if it had been there from the beginning, in a natural shape.
"..."
The crisis didn't end there.
*Clang. Clang.*
The members of the White Dragon Hall began to unleash their swift swords.
Having just used the Phantom Step, I needed time before I could use it again.
I had no choice.
*Grit.*
I had to face them head-on.
*Kuaaaah!*
As my will moved, the War Dragon Aura shot out and devoured the incoming sword strikes.
"Ugh!"
"Keuk..."
The faces of the White Dragon Hall members who had swung their swords turned pale. They had suffered internal injuries from the power of the War Dragon Aura.
"Hup!"
To avoid Baek Mu-ha's sword strike, I closed the distance until I was right in front of them.
As long as they wore the mask of the righteous faction, they wouldn't attack their own allies.
And my prediction was spot on.
Baek Mu-ha's blade aura stopped coming.
Thanks to that, I could now face the White Dragon Hall members with some peace of mind.
"Hah!"
Their eyes widened in shock.
*Rumble. BOOM!*
I unleashed the Explosive Death Force right in the middle of them.
"Kkeueuk!"
Stifled groans erupted as the White Dragon Hall members stumbled back.
It was disappointing that the impact was less than I expected, but on second thought, it was only natural.
These were some of the most elite warriors in the Nine Dragons Fortress.
But if I was going to stop there, I wouldn't have started in the first place.
*Pang! Crack.*
I slammed the War King Thirteen Strikes into the body of a White Dragon Hall member whose posture had broken.
I felt the sensation of his ribs breaking through my hand, and his body collapsed.
"You bastard!"
A White Dragon Hall member who saw his comrade fall thrust his sword at me.
A swift sword, as expected.
Having just finished an attack, I couldn't summon the War Dragon Aura.
But.
*Ting.*
I had the Dragon Scale Armor, which boasted absolute defense.
As the warrior stared blankly at his sword sliding uselessly off me, I delivered a fist filled with inner force to his jaw.
*Clatter.*
His teeth were knocked out, scattering in all directions.
I pushed deeper into the formation of the White Dragon Hall members.
Realizing the existence of the Dragon Scale Armor, they began aiming for my limbs.
*Stab, stab.*
I deflected most of them, but a few sword strikes lodged quite deeply.
However, just as Bukgung Baek had said, the durability of the Adamantine Body was truly remarkable, and I had no trouble moving.
Which meant.
"Die, you bastards!"
That the ones in front of me were all dead.
*KWAAAAANG! Fwooom.*
An all-out Explosive Death Force detonated, creating a gravitational pull.
Five members of the White Dragon Hall were sent flying, their limbs broken, unable to even try to escape.
Baek Mu-ha did not miss that opening.
"Tsk!"
The moment I was separated from his men, he launched his full-power blade aura at me.
*Kuaaaah.*
The War Dragon Aura, sensing the danger, rose to meet it, but Baek Mu-ha was faster.
*Thwack.*
Unable to dissipate it in time, a fragment of the blade aura grazed my thigh.
*Spurt.*
It must have hit an artery, as blood gushed out like a fountain.
*‘I was careless!’*
I'm so fucked.