Chapter 265
Chapter 265
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 265
Chapter Title: Dongting Lake (2)
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When we arrived at the scene, not only were the warriors who had supposedly gotten into a fight missing, but there was no trace of them at all.
Given the War King Gate's semi-military system, it was impossible for them to have moved without reporting in.
Nine times out of ten, something had happened to them.
"I'd rather not see blood on my honeymoon..."
The five members of the Six Paths who came with me immediately began questioning the nearby merchants, but for some reason, they all kept their mouths shut.
At this, Woo Je-jun nodded.
"Feel free to use force."
I didn't like it, but I had no choice right now.
If we wasted any more time, the men could be in real danger.
A moment later.
*CRASH!*
A loud noise erupted, and one of the members dragged someone out of the inn next door.
*Thud.*
"I brought a suspicious one."
"Kugh."
He had the build of a farmhand, but he was dressed like a scholar from a wealthy family.
"Hmph! No matter how you threaten me, I have nothing to say to the dogs of the Lion Alliance!"
It seemed there was some kind of misunderstanding.
"Look, we're not the dogs of the Lion Alliance..."
"Hmph! Try wiping the 'evil' written all over your face before you speak!"
"I'm telling you, we have nothing to do with the Lion Alliance!"
"Don't make me laugh! Who else but the Lion Alliance could mobilize a hundred cavalry?"
"Well, that's..."
"The vengeful spirits of the people you've killed have long since reached the heavens! The Supreme Emperor will never forgive you!"
"No."
Isn't he jumping the gun a little?
There was no getting through to him.
But we couldn't afford to waste any more time.
"..."
It can't be helped. You can't persuade someone who won't listen.
The only way is to threaten him until he talks.
"If you don't want to talk, so be it. Men! Mince this man from his toes to the top of his head. I'll be watching to see at which point he opens his mouth."
However, there was one problem I hadn't anticipated.
The mental state of my men, who were seeing red after their comrades were kidnapped.
*CRACK! Crunch.*
"Kuaargh!"
The moment my words were out, the man who'd brought the scholar smashed the butt of his spear into his toes.
Blood burst from inside the scholar's shoe, his instep likely shattered.
"Aaargh!"
"..."
I looked down at the scholar writhing on the ground, clutching his foot, and sent a telepathic message.
[Hey! What are you doing?! I just wanted you to scare him!]
[Oh, is that so? I thought you really meant for me to smash him...]
We're not some demonic sect. No matter how urgent the situation, wasn't this a bit too extreme?
He must have been influenced by Woo Je-jun.
'I need to add the Tao Te Ching to the training curriculum...'
It can't be helped. What's done is done, and without a medic, there's no fixing it.
I figured I might as well play the villain, so I grabbed the scholar by the hair.
"Do I need to smash your precious jewels for you to come to your senses?!"
The ultimate threat, one that would make any man tremble just hearing it.
The scholar's eyes began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Oh, my lord!"
*Thump.*
A young man in shabby clothes ran out from somewhere and knelt beside the scholar.
"Chilbok, you fool! What is a mere servant doing interfering in his master's affairs! Go, go back at once. Leave before you get hurt too!"
"I cannot, master. If your... place... were to be smashed, the Yi family line would end. What a disgrace that would be to the late family head."
"...Kugh."
The servant looked at me, tears streaming down his face.
"The warriors in black robes... they're at the Heaven-Piercing Sword Sect. I've told you, so please, let my master go. *Sob*."
"Y-You fool! Why would you tell them that!"
At this melodrama, the surrounding commoners began to whisper among themselves, their faces filled with terror.
'What utterly wicked men...'
'What's King Yama doing? He should be dragging scoundrels like them away.'
'They'll be punished by the heavens.'
'That's the Lion Alliance for you...'
"..."
Seriously, you've got it all wrong...
* * *
[Act. And the way will open. — Jin Mujeon]
Following the motto I always held in my heart, I summoned the hundred members of the Six Paths who were camped outside Yueyang.
"There are those who dare to harm our comrades. What should we do?"
"We must kill them!"
"No, we rescue them first... Is your goal to kill every person you see?"
"..."
"Enough. We move out now. Anyone who stands in our way, cripple them. Cut off an arm or a leg, but don't kill them."
I won't kill them. Because I am merciful.
And so, I set the hundred cavalry in motion.
*Th-thump, th-thump, th-thump.*
About half an hour later.
"It's the Lion Alliance bastards!"
A large estate with a sign that read 'Heaven-Piercing Fist Sect' came into view.
"Hiyah."
*Neigh!*
*Thud-thud-thud-thud.*
Huidungi understood my intent perfectly and broke into a full gallop.
And then.
*NEIGH—!*
*CRASH!*
It reared up and smashed the main gate of the Heaven-Piercing Fist Sect to pieces.
*Snort. Snort.*
Astonished gazes came from all around at the display of power, unbelievable for a mere horse.
"Where are my men?"
*Shing.*
The warriors of the Heaven-Piercing Sword Sect immediately drew their swords.
This is why I hate martial artists.
Are they gangsters? They don't even think of talking things out, just draw their swords first.
'Tsk.'
Well, what can you do.
If they resist, they'll just end up crippled.
"Enter!"
At Woo Je-jun's shout, a hundred cavalry poured through the main gate.
*Shaaa...*
I spread out my Seventh Sense Projection, a skill I had recently made great strides in, and began searching for the captured members.
In a fleeting moment, I grasped the rough layout of the surroundings and the locations of those inside.
'What is this?'
I felt something was wrong.
Apart from the dozen or so warriors in sight, I couldn't sense any other presence.
It was as if.
'They were waiting for us?'
Like they'd set a trap.
*KABOOM!*
And at that moment, an iron ball the size of a grown man came flying at me.
"!"
I instantly flew toward the iron ball and slammed the War King's Thirteen Strikes into it.
*BANG!*
*Screech.*
The destructive power from its sheer weight sent me skidding back dozens of meters in an instant.
'A master!'
"Kuhuhu, just as Master Jitong said. We've caught a big one!"
A short, round-faced middle-aged man ran out excitedly, swinging a meteor hammer once more.
*SWOOSH!*
A tempestuous gust of wind erupted as the giant iron ball targeted my men.
"Hngh!"
Black sword energy from Woo Je-jun's Je-am Sword Art streamed from his blade, shooting toward a single point.
*BOOM!*
"Kugh!"
*Neigh!*
Unable to withstand the shock, his horse collapsed, vomiting blood.
"..."
Just as I was stunned by the unexpected appearance of a master.
"The enemy has fallen into our trap!"
"How dare you set your sights on Yueyang! Do you think you'll leave here alive?"
"Men of the Juseon Gang, slaughter the dogs of the Lion Alliance!"
"Warriors of the Jocheon Association, you will die here today!"
"The Palgong Martial Hall..."
"The Yicheon Gate..."
Countless martial artists appeared, leaping over the walls.
And then.
"Surrender! I will stake my name and guarantee your lives!"
The "servant" who had revealed the location of the Heaven-Piercing Sword Sect appeared, now dressed as a scholar.
"Ah..."
Only then did I understand everything.
That's right.
We had fallen into a trap.
A perfect trap, meticulously planned from beginning to end.
'A master whose power is hard to gauge and a brilliant scholar...'
Those two must be the masterminds behind this trap.
I admit it.
With a trap of this caliber, even a considerable force would struggle to escape alive.
The proof was right there: the warriors of the Six Paths, veterans who had survived the war with the Ten Demon Alliance, were preparing for close combat with tense expressions.
But there was one thing they had overlooked.
They could not have anticipated the existence of the peerless genius born of the Nine Dragons Fortress, this Jin Mujeon.
"Wait here. I'll finish this quickly and be right back."
*Snort.*
I left Huidungi and looked around.
Roughly five hundred men.
I walked through the center of their formation and approached the master of the meteor hammer.
"I don't know what misunderstanding there is, but we are not members of the Lion Alliance."
"Hmph! Spouting lies now that you're at a disadvantage! Everyone in Yueyang knows that you lot, the Black Wind Brigade, committed a massacre in Pingjiang!"
"...I have no idea why you think we're the Black Wind Brigade, but we're really not. Besides, if we were with the Lion Alliance, would we be moving around so openly?"
"Are groups of a hundred cavalry so common? Then tell me, who are you!"
At his question, I took a step forward.
"Hah, if you ask my identity, it's only right that I answer. We are the War King Gate, one of the pillars of the Nine Dragons Fortress—the sky of the Righteous Path—who fought on the front lines in the war against the Ten Demon Alliance!"
*NEIGH—!*
With Huidungi's cry adding to the effect, it became the perfect introduction.
However, the roots of their misunderstanding ran deeper than I'd thought.
"...Don't lie! If you were from the War King Gate, how could you smash a man's foot? Such cruelty is unimaginable for a member of the Righteous Path!"
"No."
That was a mistake...
"Enough nonsense, come at me! Today, I shall unleash my killing intent and punish you demonic scoundrels."
"..."
At this point, I started to get angry.
I couldn't show a pathetic side to these bastards who had kidnapped my men and set a trap to kill us.
"Let's get one thing straight."
*Crack.*
"You started this. So when you see your parents in the afterlife and they ask what happened, tell them you committed suicide because you missed them. Got it?"
"You bastard!"
* * *
*WHOOSH!*
The long iron chain pulled taut, and the iron ball came flying at an incredible speed.
"Hup!"
With the members of the Six Paths arrayed right behind me, I couldn't dodge. I struck out with Explosive Death Force to block the iron ball.
*KABOOM!*
A massive explosion rang out, and like two same-poled magnets repelling each other, the iron ball and I were pushed in opposite directions.
*Screech.*
Even if I wasn't using my full power, for my Explosive Death Force—the technique of Jin Mujeon who has reached the Profound Realm (True)—to not even leave a scratch...
'This is no ordinary weapon.'
I seem to be running into a lot of divine weapons lately.
But no matter how strong the enemy's weapon is, I just have to not fight it.
*Boom.*
"Die!"
I used Formless Transposition to move into his immediate vicinity...
*WHAM!*
...or I tried to, but a sudden kick caught me in the shoulder and sent me tumbling.
*Thud, crumble.*
I flew quite a distance before crashing into a pavilion pillar, leaving me stunned.
To see through my timing in less than 0.2 seconds and land a kick on me.
What kind of ridiculous divine skill was that?
"You're pretty good!"
When I came to my senses, the iron ball was flying toward me at a terrifying speed.
"Tsk!"
*Thud.*
I narrowly dodged it, and the iron ball completely demolished the pavilion pillar.
"Whoa..."
An exclamation escaped my lips at the power, which was even greater than I had imagined.
Of course.
*WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!*
I had to keep dodging the iron ball, so there was no time to admire it for long.
"This son of a bitch!"
*Fwoosh.*
I used Formless Transposition once again.
This time, I focused my mind and dodged his kick.
*BAM!*
I unleashed the War King's Thirteen Strikes, repeatedly hammering his side.
"Kgh."
The repulsive force from his protective aura felt incredibly dense against my fist.
But I couldn't waste the opening I'd just created.
*Crackle. Crack.*
I ignited the Chain Ring Force, pressing my attack.
"Die!"
"You die!"
And so the slugfest began.
*Thwack-thwack-thwack. Thwack.*
Hands clashed countless times as we aimed for each other's vital points.
My left hand shot out like lightning and smashed into his jaw.
"Having a short neck has its advantages, I see!"
*BAM!*
Another kick flew in and slammed into my chest.
*Crrrack.*
If not for the Dragon Scale Armor, the force would have been enough to break my ribs.
In that moment, I realized.
This man was a close-quarters combat specialist, no less skilled than I.
I have no choice.
I have to use my trump card.
'Give me strength, Grandmaster.'
I pictured the War King Grandmaster, probably playing dominoes in a corner of some Hanzhong gambling den.
Because the War King Arts I was about to unleash were the Grandmaster's style of War King Arts.
*Rumble.*
"...?"
As I extended my hand, a sound like rolling thunder echoed.
*BAM! BAM! BAM!*
I succeeded in punching a hole in his protective aura by unleashing a rapid-fire series of short, sharp bursts of Explosive Death Force.
Just in time, I took his incoming punch with my Dragon Scale Armor.
*BOOM.*
"Kgh."
My insides were rattled and bile rose in my throat, but.
*CRACK!*
In a move to trade flesh for bone, I succeeded in planting my fist in his nose.
"Die, you bastard!"
How could someone of my caliber miss an opportunity like this?
"Y-You bastard!"
*THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD.*
I unleashed more short bursts of Explosive Death Force, hammering his body while tripping him with my foot.
*Stagger.*
He staggered back, and I seized the opening to deliver a dropkick.
*BAM!*
A true dogfight.
As he was pushed back, I used the War King Step to close in on him.
I was going to chase him down and finish it.
Just as I was about to unleash a full-power Explosive Death Force.
*SWOOSH! CRASH!*
"Kuh!"
The iron ball flew in from somewhere and slammed into my side.
My vision flipped, and the surrounding scenery blurred and vanished in an instant.
*KRRRUMBLE...*
After flying a good distance, my body crashed into a wall.
"Kuuugh... *Cough. Blegh.*"
*Splat.*
The impact was so strong that blood poured out with my coughs.
I was wearing the Dragon Scale Armor, but I'd been hit without even having time to deploy my protective aura, leaving my insides severely rattled.
At this point, I had a good idea of who that guy was.
No, on second thought, it doesn't matter who he is.
"You're... dead."
Because I was going to kill you anyway.