Chapter 274
Chapter 274
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 274
Chapter Title: 274화
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 274
Chapter Title: Full Sky Flower Rain
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Hesitating, Dang Pae-gun staggered backward.
He wasn't aware that he had stepped back. It wasn't a rational decision—it was an instinctive reaction driven by fear.
The chilled Dang Pae-gun touched his neck. Fortunately, his head was still firmly attached.
'I could have been killed too.'
Dang Pae-gun hadn't even realized Ye-ryeong was this close.
Just five steps.
A distance close enough to call within arm's reach. Especially for the Dark King, claiming a life from here without even needing to close the gap would be no challenge at all.
Gulp-.
Dang Pae-gun's saliva forced its way down his throat.
Now, he was the only one left in this place. Uncheon-geuk was nowhere to be seen, leaving him in a one-on-one standoff with Kim Ye-ryeong.
Under normal circumstances, he would have been confident of victory. He had unleashed Man Dok Un Hae once, but the Sacheon Tang Clan still brimmed with reserve poison qi.
But the problem lay in how they had reached this point.
'I never saw it properly even once.'
Not when the thirteen high-rankers were dying. Not even when survivors like Sword Sage Hwa Mu-jin and Blade Sword Martial Emperor Pae Woo-do perished right before his eyes.
He had never once seen Kim Ye-ryeong kill anyone—how she did it.
The only death he had clearly witnessed was Geom Mu-rin, melting away in the Man Dok Un Hae.
"Why no answer?"
Step-.
Ye-ryeong took a step forward.
"Will you keep up this fine match?"
Crunch-.
His hand clenched fiercely. Before he knew it, a poison-coated hidden weapon was gripped in his palm.
'It's not over yet.'
He couldn't deny it. The opponent's skill surpassed his own.
But that didn't mean she was unbeatable in a fight.
'One strike.'
Dang Pae-gun's eyes gleamed.
'Land one strike, and I can seize the advantage.'
The two faced off, weapons in hand.
Hidden weapon against hidden weapon. Though they wielded the same type, Dang Pae-gun had one more invisible armament.
Poison.
Poison was the Sacheon Tang Clan's signature alongside hidden weapons. Every one of Dang Pae-gun's was laced with it.
And moreover.
'She can't be unscathed.'
No matter how formidable Ye-ryeong was, she had felled nearly twenty high-rankers here.
Assassin-class players drained more mana, stamina, and focus the stealthier their techniques.
Factoring that in, her current state seemed ripe for exploitation.
"Is this what you want?"
Swish-.
Dang Pae-gun drew a small vial from his bosom and shook it.
As expected, Ye-ryeong's eyes flashed.
"The poison that afflicted Lee Hyo-min is called Spirit Dream Poison."
"Spirit Dream Poison?"
"Indeed. A toxin unknown to most. Crafted from Soul Sinking Herb, it submerges the victim's soul in eternal slumber."
Eternal.
That word pierced Ye-ryeong's ears deepest. For an instant, she wondered if Hyo-min might never awaken.
"No need to worry. Just administer this antidote."
"Is that really the antidote?"
"Yes."
Dang Pae-gun nodded, shaking the vial in his hand.
"Here, take it and go. I concede defeat."
The moment he spoke.
"……!"
The vial slipped from Dang Pae-gun's grasp. It tumbled slowly toward the ground, precarious as could be.
Swoosh-.
That was when his hidden weapon launched.
The antidote to save her dear friend—bait cast, Dang Pae-gun hurled the sleeve-concealed weapon straight at Ye-ryeong's throat.
But.
Clang, clang-!
Two sparks erupted in mid-air.
Simultaneously, both bodies launched skyward.
Clang, clang, kkaang-!
Sparks burst repeatedly in the air. Ye-ryeong and Dang Pae-gun glared, thrusting daggers and flinging hidden weapons.
Dozens of clashes in the blink of an eye. The moment they landed, crash.
The dropped vial shattered. In the brief span of its fall, they had traded dozens of blows.
The opaque liquid spilled across the ground. Once poured, it couldn't be reclaimed.
Neither bore wounds. Dang Pae-gun stared at Ye-ryeong with trembling eyes.
"Of course."
Gazing at the spilled liquid, Ye-ryeong sneered.
"You seemed far too compliant."
Dang Pae-gun had aimed to overwhelm Ye-ryeong as she lunged for the vial. Even if not fully, at least claim superior ground.
But no.
"That was..."
He abandoned the ploy to unsettle her again with the lie of real medicine.
She hadn't flinched when he dropped the vial before her eyes. Mere words wouldn't sway her.
'Perfect.'
Ye-ryeong was the epitome of an assassin. Beyond mere prowess on display.
A mind like clear mirror, still water. Her heart serene, utterly unruffled.
Once battle commenced, no ploy could shake her.
Perhaps that was the Dark King's true dread.
'But this is Tang Clan ground.'
Poison intent darkened Dang Pae-gun's gaze.
A faint hope—and pride—spurred him anew.
Flash-.
Shattering the standoff, Dang Pae-gun struck first.
Handheld hidden weapon joined those bursting from sleeves, hurtling at Ye-ryeong.
Clang, zzzzing-!
Sparks flew once more, weapons colliding mid-air. Dang Pae-gun had moved first, yet they met squarely between them.
With that, he sprayed poison in all directions. Murky fumes blanketed the area.
Amid the dispersed poison qi, Ye-ryeong steadied her breath and ascended steadily alongside Dang Pae-gun.
Dang Pae-gun pelted the pursuing Ye-ryeong with hidden weapons; she countered, deflecting with her own.
The pair collided in a blaze, countless projectiles scattering and rebounding. Dang Pae-gun's struck ground, melting earth and birthing smoke.
After dozens of instant exchanges, Ye-ryeong's eyes narrowed sharply on Dang Pae-gun.
"Your eyes say you've resolved to die by my hand."
"Silence!"
Flutterflutter-.
Countless hidden weapons rocketed skyward. Far beyond what one person could carry.
These were the armaments Dang Pae-gun had seeded across the Sacheon Tang Clan. Obeying his will, they festooned the heavens, unfurling like floral buds.
Manchon Hwau (Full Sky Flower Rain)
Sacheon Tang Clan's ultimate secret art
Buds crumbled, petals cascading down.
A scene of breathtaking beauty. The uninformed might lose themselves, staring entranced.
Yet each petal bore exquisite deadly poison, enough to slay hundreds effortlessly.
'A mere graze would be fatal.'
Amid the deluge.
Ye-ryeong stood impassive.
'What? Surrendered?'
It was odd.
Dodging all might prove tricky, but this wasn't Ye-ryeong's style. She was a hidden weapon virtuoso even Dang Pae-gun acknowledged.
So what was this?
That air of resignation.
Ye-ryeong spoke then.
"Why assume every hidden weapon planted here is yours?"
Flutterflutter-.
Projectiles rained like downpour. Skill or no, evasion came too late.
Ye-ryeong's gaze fixed solely on Dang Pae-gun, ignoring the onslaught.
"Think I can't wield what you can?"
"What...?"
Dang Pae-gun pondered fleetingly.
Why still alive? Why the delay?
Ye-ryeong should be riddled; yet she stood unscathed. Her vicinity frozen, as if time halted.
The floral barrage stalled; Manchon Hwau unraveled.
No.
More than unraveled.
'Manchon Hwau...'
Creakkk-.
The airborne buds reversed course.
Poison-laced horde now targeted its originator: Dang Pae-gun.
"Manchon Hwau? Laughable. All you know is unleashing it."
Manchon Hwau—the Tang Clan's pinnacle secret, Dang Pae-gun's apex technique.
Yet Ye-ryeong commandeered it.
"True blooming is..."
Blossoms surged toward Dang Pae-gun. It felt dreamlike, surreal.
"Like this."
"...!"
Soon, it engulfed him.
"Enemy!"
"Intruders! Protect the family head!"
"Can't get close! That area's already...!"
"Evade! Poison cloud!"
The Sacheon Tang Clan was utter pandemonium.
The guest hall lay in ruins, a colossal poison cloud billowing forth. Beyond that, Dang Pae-gun's toxin haze birthed ground-level miasma, felling dozens of servants via indirect inhalation.
And not just that.
Boom-!
Something crimson plummeted from the sky, cratering the earth. Tang warriors, in disarray, identified it and recoiled in shock.
"Ca-Castle Lord?"
"Why is the Divine Lotus Castle Lord...?"
Swoosh-.
Uncheon-geuk, crashed to ground, swung his blade. Blind to surrounding Tang warriors, he showed zero restraint.
Blood Flame Wild Dance
Crimson blades whirl in frenzy
Blade-tip centered, scarlet arcs lashed wildly every direction. Entangled warriors shredded apart; through the carnage, Soo-hyuk's spear thrust forth.
Boom-!
Sword and spear collided. Techniques nullified each other; then Soo-hyuk plummeted like lightning.
Craaack-!
Spear and sword clashed, qi waves erupting outward. Lightning-wreathed Soo-hyuk's eyes locked on Uncheon-geuk from point-blank.
Thud-.
Skreeee-.
Uncheon-geuk whipped his sword in deflection, widening the gap. He gripped tight, bracing for Soo-hyuk's pursuit.
But briefly.
Ever so briefly, momentum stalled.
Soo-hyuk's gaze swept the Tang warriors felled by Uncheon-geuk's forms.
Tracing it, Uncheon-geuk at last realized the toll on his blade.
"Do you pity them?"
Soo-hyuk eyed Uncheon-geuk anew at the query.
More followed.
"Feeling guilt over their deaths, perhaps?"
Weaklings perishing amid battle held no novelty for Uncheon-geuk. Nor was it unprecedented.
For blood-soaked pathwalkers, it was routine. Thus his castle was christened.
"Wrong question."
Yet Soo-hyuk had never trod such a road.
"That's for you to feel."
"Proper mindset. Though it stirs nothing in me."
Indeed. No guilt.
Circumstances aside, Tang warriors deemed Soo-hyuk foe; Uncheon-geuk slew them.
No cause for responsibility in their deaths.
Yet treading the blood of fight-entangled fallen felt strangely off.
"Right."
That must be it.
"...So it seems."
Thump-.
His heart kindled after ages.
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