Chapter 357
Chapter 357
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 357
Chapter Title: The Warrior Jin Do-ha
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As the two men stood in the training arena, an atmosphere formed that felt like a brutal swordfight could erupt at any moment.
Jin Do-ha, who had been standing among the various Murim Alliance dignitaries, was an entirely different person from the Jin Do-ha standing alone in the center of the arena.
The Jin Do-ha mingling with others was a politician, but the Jin Do-ha standing here now was a warrior. And that warrior Jin Do-ha was the true version of him that Soo-hyuk knew.
The hairs on his arms stood on end. The night sky bathed in moonlight turned blue, revealing a vast, brilliant expanse of land.
Jin Do-ha's aura was truly that of the blue heavens.
A cool, refreshing, and invigorating presence.
But he couldn't let it deceive him. The moment he closed his eyes even briefly to savor that fresh breeze, his head would be rolling on the ground.
When Soo-hyuk didn't respond, Jin Do-ha asked again.
"Do you know me?"
"How could I not?"
Soo-hyuk removed the bamboo hat he was wearing. Beneath it, his masked face came into view.
"You're more famous than the Alliance Leader himself."
That wasn't what the question meant. He was asking if they'd met before.
Feeling the answer unsatisfactory, Jin Do-ha rubbed his own face with his hand in a gesture.
Meaning: take off the mask.
At his gesture, Soo-hyuk removed his mask without hesitation.
A glint flashed in Jin Do-ha's eyes.
'Without a second thought?'
He'd expected some resistance, at least once or twice. With the dramatic bamboo hat and mask, he naturally assumed the man was hiding his identity.
But the opponent removed his mask without the slightest hesitation at the demand to show his face.
Was hiding his face not the goal from the start?
Jin Do-ha frowned at the unmasked face.
'An unfamiliar face.'
He'd been certain someone he knew was concealed beneath. That notion had crept in subconsciously.
His instincts were usually spot on in such cases.
Thud.
Jin Do-ha strode toward Soo-hyuk. The distance closed until a drawn sword would reach each other.
Soo-hyuk showed no reaction. Even as the wrinkled, massive palm covered his face, he stood still.
Go ahead if you dare. Jin Do-ha saw that defiance in Soo-hyuk's eyes between his fingers.
And soon enough.
"It's the real face."
Jin Do-ha confirmed there was nothing covering Soo-hyuk's face.
No need to peel off skin to check. At this range, with no sense of incongruity despite bringing his hand so close, it meant the face was genuine.
"I see now. What gave Hwa-young the confidence to defy me. Why she defended you all so fiercely."
Stepping back, Jin Do-ha extended his palm forward, blocking Soo-hyuk's face from view.
Only then did his true identity reveal itself.
"Lee Soo-hyuk."
Whoosh—.
The moment the name left his lips, the killing intent pouring from Jin Do-ha enveloped the training arena.
They were close enough that a drawn sword would reach each other. And the one drawing it was Jin Do-ha, called the Martial God.
Draw the sword and sever that neck. Doing so would cleanly remove the thorn lodged in his throat all this time.
But Jin Do-ha did not.
"What are you thinking?"
Soo-hyuk had deliberately revealed himself.
Showing his face. The aura that didn't yield an inch. It was closer to brazenly strutting around, demanding he be found, rather than hiding tightly.
It wasn't him finding Soo-hyuk—it was Soo-hyuk calling him out.
"At least you're not blind."
Soo-hyuk grinned.
Jin Do-ha frowned at the relaxed expression on the man before him, even with him right there.
For a moment, he felt the impulse to draw his sword and decapitate him on the spot.
But he couldn't.
After all, he was a guest of the Alliance Leader in the Murim Alliance. Attacking him would be seen as a declaration of war against the Alliance Leader himself.
But even so.
'If I can take Bell, I can bear it.'
Jin Do-ha envisioned drawing his sword and slicing Soo-hyuk's neck in his mind.
Or tried to.
But the scene simply wouldn't form.
Could he truly fell Lee Soo-hyuk with one stroke?
He knew the Lee Soo-hyuk before him wasn't the one from the past. He'd confirmed it through talks with Kim Il-su, who knew him better than anyone.
But no matter how faded, Lee Soo-hyuk was still Lee Soo-hyuk.
And sure enough.
"Are you confident?"
Twitch.
Jin Do-ha's hand, inching toward his sword, stopped.
"And you? I... am confident."
Soo-hyuk was asking if he was sure he could kill him in one stroke. If he failed, things would escalate.
He might even be framed as the murderer of the Chief Strategist.
Then the neutrals would flock to the Alliance Leader's side en masse.
"Was revealing yourself here meant to provoke me into attacking?"
"Would you?"
Soo-hyuk seemed to genuinely hope for it.
"Forget it."
Letting out a huff, Jin Do-ha released his sword hilt.
"Our reckoning should happen somewhere more decisive than this. Too many people here."
Somewhere decisive meant a place they could go all out.
Without interference. A deathmatch where one would die.
Jin Do-ha coveted Soo-hyuk's life.
"Did someone like you mobilize all those people to kill my friend?"
"You mean Hwang Gyu-seong?"
Jin Do-ha was the one who took Gyu-seong's life.
He was surprised Soo-hyuk knew he'd killed Hwang Gyu-seong. Even more surprising was how composed Soo-hyuk remained despite knowing.
He'd expected blind rage, no holds barred. That's the Lee Soo-hyuk he knew.
'He's changed a bit.'
Well, a dead man come back to life would change. He could provoke him more, but Jin Do-ha refrained.
"His death is regrettable."
"Wrong."
Soo-hyuk shook his head.
"You should have apologized to my friend."
"He fought the enemy and died in the process. Apologize for what?"
"Why do you think we became enemies? Senility make you forget?"
Jin Do-ha's eyes flashed at the spirited rebuke. When had he ever heard such insults?
Soo-hyuk spoke at the lack of remorse in his eyes.
"Get lost."
Jin Do-ha's forehead twitched.
"You telling me to back off?"
"Leave the Murim Alliance. Retire politically too. Don't go scavenging for scraps. Just grow old quietly and die."
"Why should I?"
"So you can live."
Soo-hyuk continued his provocations.
"Keep going like this, and I'll kill you."
Veins bulged on Jin Do-ha's forehead. He never imagined hearing such words.
For a brief moment, Jin Do-ha naturally imagined it.
Living quietly in retirement as Soo-hyuk said. Relinquishing power, abandoning the strength he'd built, living like an immortal.
'An immortal?'
Just imagining it dimmed his eyes like a dead man's.
Could that even be called living? Far from immortal—it was no different from being buried alive.
Naturally, Soo-hyuk's bold demand didn't sit well.
'Spouting this nonsense and claiming you don't want me to attack?'
He desperately wanted to sever the neck now, hack the corpse to bits.
But masking his inner fury, he let out a hollow laugh.
"I'll think about it."
Jin Do-ha turned sharply. He even left well-wishes.
"Since you're here, rest well. Enjoy good food and tea."
He walked away leisurely, but his eyes flickered fiercely as he turned his back.
Soo-hyuk watched Jin Do-ha's retreating back.
"Think my ass."
He was certain. He wouldn't follow his words.
The opposite, in fact.
Knowing Soo-hyuk was here meant he couldn't quietly seize the Murim Alliance. He'd escalate, choose more radical, destructive methods.
That was Jin Do-ha.
In the now-empty training arena, Soo-hyuk looked up at the sky again. The blue heavens faded, revealing a star-strewn night sky.
Imagining Gyu-seong's face above it, Soo-hyuk murmured.
"I'll send you up soon."
The next day, two guests visited the Murim Alliance.
They were weightier figures than all the previous visitors combined.
"You come here often these days."
"I was here just a few days ago."
It was Namgung Ga-hwi, called the World's Greatest Clan head, and Un Cheon-geuk, Lord of Shinryeon Castle.
These two were giants who moved the murim world. Even the Alliance Leader couldn't trifle with them.
Especially Namgung Ga-hwi, father to the Alliance Leader.
The Murim Alliance tensed as they entered, the air thick with anticipation of impending events.
Murim Alliance members friendly with Namgung Ga-hwi approached. Glancing at them, he clasped hands behind his back and asked.
"The Chief Strategist is dead?"
"Yes. Assassinated the night before last."
"Tsk. Should've picked his allies better, that guy."
As if assassins cared about alliances, but no one dared retort. Even Un Cheon-geuk beside him seemed utterly disinterested in the Chief Strategist's death.
His attention was elsewhere.
On the Murim Alliance's guest, bamboo hat low, face fully masked.
The moment their eyes met through the mask's slit, Un Cheon-geuk smiled faintly.
"What's that look?"
"Someone familiar."
The two headed not to the Alliance Leader's hall, but straight to Cheonryong Pavilion where Jin Do-ha waited.
Jin Do-ha had tea steeped and ready. After light greetings, Namgung Ga-hwi and Un Cheon-geuk sat opposite him.
"Glad you made it."
Jin Do-ha welcomed them warmly.
Three giants representing the current murim.
Among them, Namgung Ga-hwi spoke with displeasure.
"The Alliance Leader must be suffering because of that disobedient son."
He already called Jin Do-ha the Alliance Leader. No thought of who might overhear.
His mindset was Who am I to worry? Jin Do-ha's presence before him bolstered his confidence.
Jin Do-ha chuckled at the flattering title.
"He has his stubborn side. I tried seeing him favorably as the Clan Head's son, but the situation's poor."
"Is that why we came?"
"Still, be cautious. A grand wizard might appear on their side."
Namgung Ga-hwi shook his head at the warning.
"The grand wizard has gone to the Middle Realm."
"Certain?"
"Certain. It's been a while, no signs of return."
"I see."
Jin Do-ha toyed with his teacup. In this moment, he was at the final stage of deliberation before committing.
After long contemplation, he sipped his tea and decided.
"Then we sweep them all away."