Chapter 159
Chapter 159
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 159
Chapter Title: Hwangju Merchants (5)
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The fight wasn't going smoothly.
My injured thigh kept me from weaving through the White Dragon Hall members.
I had no choice but to helplessly endure Baek Mu-ha's energy attacks.
After blocking his energy time and time again, I was forced to change my approach.
Kill.
I had avoided killing until now, but not anymore.
From now on, I wouldn't hold back.
The moment I made that decision, the method of attack I chose was...
*KABOOM!*
...the Battle Lord Arrow.
“Get back!”
A bolt of lightning shot from my little finger, striking the White Dragon Hall members.
*BOOM!*
One man, unable to react in time, had his entire shoulder blown off.
Seeing this, the others quickly swung their swords and lunged, but it was useless.
If they blocked it, it changed direction and struck. If they dodged, it chased them down and killed them.
An attack that surpassed the physical limits of a human.
Its power was truly worthy of a divine weapon that could contend for the title of the world's greatest.
*‘I would’ve died without this.’*
I had to offer my condolences and thanks to the Dark Poison Corps member I'd grabbed by the collar.
Of course.
*CRASH! BOOM!*
Baek Mu-ha’s sharp and swift sword energy was still formidable.
I blocked it with the War Dragon Energy, but the number of my wounds continued to grow.
He seemed to be pouring all his strength into protecting his subordinates.
I endured and endured.
All the while chewing on the maxim that rings true in the world of coin trading: ‘He who holds on, wins.’
*Thwack.*
“Guh!”
By the time my entire body was covered in blood from the countless wounds...
“Hah! Hah!”
...I had succeeded in incapacitating fifteen of the twenty White Dragon Hall members.
I had no idea how many of them were dead.
It was my first time fighting with the Battle Lord Arrow.
If all the fallen were dead, I wouldn't be able to escape serious charges, even if it was self-defense.
But that wasn't what mattered right now.
So, what did matter?
“...So you finally open the gates of hell.”
Surviving the immediate moment was what mattered.
“That’s why you should’ve backed off when you had the chance.”
Immobilized as I was, it wasn't easy to handle Baek Mu-ha's swift sword.
Moreover, unlike fighting with the War King Arts, using the Battle Lord Arrow meant I couldn't recover my internal energy while fighting, so my mana pool was starting to run dry.
“How about you take your men and leave now?”
“Do you think you can just walk away?”
“So we’re fighting to the end?”
“We have to.”
“Senior, I didn't take you for this kind of person. You’re asking for trouble. If you die at your age, no one will remember you. You have to stay alive to become a hero. Once you're dead, it’s over.”
*Shing.*
Baek Mu-ha flicked his sword out of habit and a cruel smile formed on his lips.
“Why do you assume I’ll be the one to die?”
And I felt the same way.
“Because I don't think I'm going to die.”
*Grin.*
A smile appeared on my face without me realizing it.
“Isn't it only natural for a novice to die at the hands of a master?”
For some reason, I just couldn't imagine losing to this guy...
*Stab!*
“Keuk!”
Well, maybe there was a 10% chance of losing, but at that point, you might as well call it a win.
*Kwoooosh!*
I unleashed my War Dragon Energy to block the incoming energy.
*Swoosh! Pow.*
The Battle Lord Arrow shot through the air, grating on Baek Mu-ha's nerves.
His lightning-fast sword deflected the arrow, but it was futile.
As long as it wasn't completely destroyed, the Battle Lord Arrow would not stop its attack.
“Kill him!”
“Get him!”
Seizing the opportunity, the five remaining White Dragon Hall members charged.
They knew I was focused on the Battle Lord Arrow.
Multitasking.
Unless I had mastered some art that let me fight two opponents at once, or the Battle Lord Arrow had an AI installed, this was a clear crisis.
But I had the War King Arts.
The War Dragon Energy blocked the sword energies coming from all directions.
And I took the barrage of swift strikes with my Dragon Scale Armor and my body.
*BOOM!*
The Explosive Death Force detonated, sending a sword-wielding White Dragon Hall member flying.
I did that five times.
“Hah! Hah!”
All the White Dragon Hall members were down.
At the same time, I thought about my next move.
My body was fine. My head, protected by the War Dragon Energy, was also fine.
The problem areas were my arms and legs.
In particular, the coin-sized wound that pierced my left thigh made it difficult to use my leg.
But.
If the left foot doesn't move, you use the right.
*‘One step.’*
That was the distance I needed to catch him.
*Thump!*
I mustered all my strength and took a step, executing a Phantom Step.
“...!”
Baek Mu-ha, who had just deflected the Battle Lord Arrow, swung his sword in alarm.
*Slice!*
The blade grazed my forearm, tearing off a piece of flesh, but it didn't matter.
*Crack.*
The joy of having caught him meant I didn't feel a shred of pain.
I immediately spun my body and slammed him into the ground.
*Thud.*
A shoulder throw.
The goal was to drag him into a dogfight.
Bewilderment filled the eyes of the thrown Baek Mu-ha.
It was natural. He couldn't possibly have ever fought like this before.
I was exploiting that very opening.
My mana pool was empty.
Though his probably was too.
“I told you, didn't I? You're going to die here, Senior.”
*Smack.*
I smashed my torn-up arm into his face.
Blood splattered everywhere, but I didn't care.
Right now, what mattered was smashing Baek Mu-ha's face.
*Smack. Smack. Crunch.*
After a couple more hits, I heard the sound of his nose breaking, and at the same time, Baek Mu-ha's sword came at me.
To swing a sword from that position.
A genius is a genius, after all.
As I twisted to dodge, Baek Mu-ha sprang to his feet.
He immediately unleashed his Sunlight Sword, which flashed like a ray of light.
*CLANG!*
Fortunately, his internal energy was depleted, so its speed and power weren't what they used to be.
On top of that, I had my Dragon Scale Armor.
“Ugh!”
I quickly twisted my body, taking the sword strike aimed at my neck with my shoulder.
*Thunk.*
There was an impact, but seeing Baek Mu-ha's stunned expression was almost enjoyable.
His hand must have gone numb from the recoil, as he was slow to retract his sword.
Following the retracting blade, I headbutted his broken nose.
*CRACK!*
“Gaaah!”
A pained scream echoed as he staggered backward.
Of course, there was no reason to just stand and watch.
*Whoosh. Thwack.*
I leaped into the air and kicked his body.
*Thud.*
“Keuk.”
He fell to the ground again.
*WHAM!*
I immediately landed a soccer kick to the back of his head.
It was a blow without any internal energy, but the power from my steel-like body was enough to shatter the stump of a decent-sized tree.
*Stagger.*
Baek Mu-ha's head whipped back violently.
“Die, you bastard!”
*Thump, thump, thump.*
I got into a ground-and-pound position and mercilessly hammered his jaw.
After about twenty punches, bloody foam erupted from Baek Mu-ha's mouth and the focus vanished from his eyes.
He was unconscious.
“Hahh...”
After confirming it was over, I collapsed next to him.
If I hadn't obtained the Battle Lord Arrow, I would have died in today's fight.
Fighting Baek Mu-ha alone might have been one thing, but I couldn't have handled twenty members of the White Dragon Hall as well.
I looked down at Baek Mu-ha for a moment.
I remembered how this guy had tormented me back at the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion.
*‘Should I kill him here?’*
He never laid a hand on me directly.
Instead, he incited his underclassmen who followed him—the current members of the Heavenly Dragon Society—to bully me.
Thanks to him, I was beaten to a pulp during every sparring session.
The reason was obvious.
He couldn't stand the sight of a homeless beggar like me in the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion.
But ironically, Baek Mu-ha's actions were also the driving force that made me stronger.
It made me think that if I didn't get stronger fast, I would die.
Thanks to that, I achieved the absurd feat of graduating at the top of my class at the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion.
“Hah... No. Let's stop.”
The killing intent rose within me, but I quickly shook my head.
It was all in the past anyway.
Beating him to a pulp like this had relieved some of the resentment.
Still, I felt a little regretful.
*‘Should I just cut off one of his arms?’*
It wouldn't be a bad idea to make him match his dad while I have the chance.
A father-son duo of one-armed swordsmen.
Doesn't that sound cool just hearing it?
Who knows, maybe the women of the martial world would swoon over it.
*Vmmm.*
As if reading my mind, the Battle Lord Arrow rose and brought me Baek Mu-ha's sword.
“...”
Then it started moving around, as if urging me to hurry up and cut.
Just as I picked up the sword, as if possessed...
“Stop!”
*Rumble.*
I saw over forty members of the White Dragon Hall entering the inner courtyard.
“Seriously.”
Why now of all times?
If they'd been a little later, I could have cut off his right arm.
As if he didn't care about my frustration, the man leading the White Dragon Hall shouted with a face like a demon.
“How dare you harm the Young Lord!”
“...”
Is this some kind of defense mechanism?
Makes them completely forget they attacked first?
I wanted to argue, but the situation wasn't in my favor.
If I provoked them, I could end up getting beaten... no, swarmed by swords and turned into minced meat.
“Now, now, I'll explain how this happened, so everyone just calm down...”
“Silence! Do you think you can survive after doing this?!”
*Clang, clang, clang.*
As soon as he finished speaking, the White Dragon Hall members drew their swords.
“We will avenge our comrades you killed!”
“Damn it.”
Nothing is going my way.
I had no choice.
It was time to start Hostage Situation: Part 2.
“Freeze. Move one step, and I'll put a hole in the Young Lord's neck.”
*Press.*
To set the mood, I lightly pricked Baek Mu-ha's neck, drawing blood.
The bloodthirsty White Dragon Hall members halted.
Amid the standoff that followed, I was buying time.
*‘It’s about time they showed up...’*
An hour had passed since the fire started. If a report was made to the Outer Hall, it would have arrived long ago.
But the Outer Hall hadn't dispatched anyone.
That meant someone had blocked the Outer Hall's gates.
And that someone was most likely the White Dragon Hall.
In other words, the Outer Hall wouldn't be coming here today.
So who was I waiting for?
Who else but the Demon King of the Black Sand Road?
*‘He said it was the Seventh Strike Stone.’*
The Underworld Sect member who helped me must have been keeping an eye on this place.
He would have informed Yong Ma-san that the White Dragon Hall was attacking.
Yong Ma-san and I were like blood brothers.
He would have calculated how to save me.
Whether they could resolve the situation on their own or not.
Naturally, he would have concluded that it was impossible.
Those guys can't fight.
That left only one solution.
Telling on them to our Flame Demon King.
*Fwoosh.*
Just like now.
Black flames erupted, separating me from the White Dragon Hall.
Despite having nothing to fuel them, the flames blazed fiercely, melting the very earth.
It was the Black Flame Dragon.
The Flame Demon King's voice echoed from the sky.
“Who dares to harm my disciple?”
Watching him land, he looked like Diablo himself, descended upon the earth.
*Thump.*
He descended from the sky, wearing his characteristic sneer.
“No one here will leave this place alive today.”
Fear filled the eyes of the White Dragon Hall members as they looked at him.
It was only natural.
The image of him turning Baek Jung-cheon's right arm to dust was still vivid in their minds.
It was for me, so how much more traumatic must it have been for them?
They'd probably get PTSD just from seeing Master Bukgung's face.
Anyway, that wasn't what was important right now.
“Um... Master? Are you planning to kill all of them?”
It was important to stop Bukgung Baek from doing something crazy.
But Bukgung Baek's reaction was far more extreme than I'd expected.
“Of course. They dared to gravely injure a descendant of the Bukgung Clan. They must be sent to a fiery hell.”
Seriously, one minute he's all about tough love, and the next he's being overprotective.
And I wasn't even that badly hurt.
I was sure that if Cheong So-so treated me, I'd be up and walking in three days.
“Please don't. Leave it to your disciple. I have a way to handle this.”
“If you're worried about me, don't be. I'll kill them all and melt off Baek Jung-cheon's head as well.”
“...Please.”
*I'm begging you, just stay out of this.*