Chapter 169
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 169
Chapter Title: Anxiety Breeds Distrust (4)
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High-level experts' battles rarely dragged on for long.
Often, they didn't even clash swords—countless exchanges unfolded purely within their minds, with the outcome decided in a single exchange.
But.
Kaang—!
"Oh."
The fierce clash was stretching out surprisingly long.
Even outnumbered 1:3, Geum Sihyeon wasn't feeling any real sense of crisis despite being on the defensive.
Quite the opposite.
Though they had deployed the Three Talents Formation to press their assault, the members of the Justice Sword Squad were gradually accumulating mental pressure.
The seeds of doubt Geum Sihyeon had planted with his tongue were starting to sprout.
The most crucial prerequisite for a successful joint attack was trust in one's comrades.
They needed to coordinate so their movements didn't overlap, creating a beautiful harmony even in the chaos of battle—but they couldn't.
What if that sword tip suddenly turned toward me?
What if, the moment I launched an attack, the comrade meant to support me instead struck at the opening?
As the saying goes, anxiety breeds distrust. Petty suspicions were nibbling away at their offense, dulling it bit by bit.
If they had just betrayed early and made it a 2:2 fight, that would be one thing.
In short, their situation could be summed up more clearly as: no betrayer had betrayed.
And it was only getting worse.
"Wow! You know the Blood Wolf Sword Technique? Nice to meet you."
He had no idea what kind of guy this was, but he knew demonic arts inside and out.
Of course, Lee Jong-su had learned about it when they shared intel on Geum Sihyeon after receiving the mission, but he hadn't passed that info to the other two yet.
"……."
"How do you...!"
"What?!"
The three men's reactions split wide open.
And that very divergence in responses added another thread of certainty to the web of suspicion.
Along with that distrust.
There was the overriding premise that if any trace of righteous faction martial arts lingered on Geum Sihyeon's corpse, the entire plan would unravel.
"Hmm, but the execution is lacking. Blood Wolf Emergence has a clear weakness, after all."
Chae-aeng—
"Kuk—"
Wi Seongdae's side was etched with a thin red line from the sword strike that pinpointed the flaw.
It was a feat only Geum Sihyeon could pull off, having died to the Sword Demon in Mind-Image Sword Debate thousands of times and taken hits from every demonic art under the sun.
It was also the key reason the balance of power remained even despite the numbers disadvantage.
But.
"This won't do. We'll be the ones taken out first at this rate."
Lee Jong-su hadn't earned his "Gang Leader" moniker gambling—he clearly assessed the situation.
"Go all out. We can't bring back the body, but just making him vanish is enough to pin it on the Demonic Cult."
With those words, Lee Jong-su suppressed the demonic qi he'd been building.
It was a rational call.
"Hmm. So, after killing me, you'll sacrifice one of your own and frame him as the traitor, right?"
"……!"
"……."
His question nailed their intent, momentarily stunning Lee Jong-su into silence.
"……Do we really need to go that far?"
The rebuttal came a beat late.
But the other two were also absolute peak masters.
They weren't dull enough to miss what that pause implied.
Another crack.
Lee Jong-su sensed the fissure he'd sown with his tongue growing wider and struck first with his sword.
It traced a perfect arc, thrusting forward at a speed too fast to follow with the eye.
But.
Kaang—!
Geum Sihyeon's sword rose smoothly, defying gravity like a fish swimming upstream, perfectly blocking the path.
His eyes had already turned red.
Even as nonsense poured from his mouth, he tracked the flow of swords, his opponents' breaths, and the fleeting openings amid the chains of the Three Talents Formation.
Dodging lightning strikes from above, serpents' fangs surging from below.
"Kut...!"
The strike targeted Wi Seongdae in the human position, whose side wound hadn't healed, overwhelming his guard.
Chaeng, chae-chaeng, kang!
Despite the swamp of accumulated distrust, they barely blocked the cooperative strike to save their comrade.
With no chance to catch their breath amid the relentless chain attacks, under the pressure where one step back meant three blades closing in at once.
Geum Sihyeon never lost his composure.
And even against attacks stabbing toward him with exquisite precision—
"Now!"
"What—"
As Geum Sihyeon's tongue wove its wicked spell, the sword's momentum faltered for an instant.
That slightest hesitation was enough to flip the board in a flash.
After batting away Lee Jong-su's sword, Geum Sihyeon naturally targeted Wi Seongdae with his wounded side first.
No matter deeper ties with some, a swordsman may be sentimental, but his sword is merciless.
Just as Wi Seongdae raised his sword high with Mount Tai-like momentum.
His fingers, in sword formula position, twitched lightly.
A tiny motion.
But.
"Huk—?!"
No sound, no warning, no tell—but instinct slammed into Wi Seongdae. He dropped low and rolled across the ground.
But it wasn't a perfect dodge.
"Wh-what...!"
An invisible sword slashed deep into his shoulder before scattering into the air—a bizarre sight that left him stunned.
"Get it together! Wi Seongdae!"
Lee Jong-su barked urgently, but the momentary dropout shattered the formation's balance completely.
Geum Sihyeon wasn't fool enough to miss the chance.
"Not a chance—!"
He charged relentlessly at Wi Seongdae, who was staggering back.
Of course, such a reckless move left a huge opening, and Lee Jong-su's blade poured straight at his exposed back.
Kaang—!
"No...?"
In that instant, Geum Sihyeon's robes fluttered like living things, absorbing the strike whole.
The Heavenly Silken Black Dragon Robe’s defense, bolstered by the Blood Flower Chaos technique he'd stolen and mastered from Hong Sundok, unfolded flawlessly.
Using the rebound, Geum Sihyeon surged forward even faster and swung.
But even wounded, Wi Seongdae was a battle-hardened absolute peak master.
He wasn't clumsy enough to fail a straightforward frontal attack.
"Guk—."
The slash was a feint.
In truth, bloodstained claws materialized from his gesture, raking roughly across Wi Seongdae's chest.
The crimson energy dispersed into the air, but a geyser of blood sprayed up in its place.
Lee Jong-su, recognizing the technique, flared with rage in his eyes.
"You bastard...! What’s your connection to the Ghost Demon?!"
"Oh? You know Hong Sundok? She's a real nasty bitch!"
Geum Sihyeon flashed a bright smile as he casually deflected Hwang Dongseong's massive sword charging at him.
Staring at that brazen face, Lee Jong-su's mind raced to a conclusion.
"If you take us out, you'll pin it on the Blood Cult. You're utterly insane."
"Esakta!"
With a cry of unknown meaning, Geum Sihyeon—having collapsed one pillar of the Three Talents Formation—lunged at Lee Jong-su.
But his strikes lacked sharpness.
"Keuruk...."
Wi Seongdae had foamed at the mouth and passed out.
And he hadn't attacked Hwang Dongseong at all lately.
Lee Jong-su, concluding Hwang Dongseong was the traitor, hunkered into defense and prepared to retreat.
Hwang hadn't attacked him yet, and he didn't cling that desperately to life.
But if the society wanted that sly bastard quietly eliminated, surviving to expose the scheme publicly was the better path.
But.
"Keuk—"
In the loosened offense, Geum Sihyeon's sword—rippling with blood qi—severed Hwang Dongseong's neck.
Silence blanketed the woods for a moment.
Only then did Lee Jong-su grasp the full truth.
"There was no traitor from the start."
His hollow voice shattered the quiet.
Geum Sihyeon nodded silently in affirmation.
* * *
After crossing Gansu and Ningxia into Shaanxi.
Tension naturally gripped the Cult Leader's guard detail.
Since the Upright-Demonic Great War, no high-ranking Heavenly Demon Divine Cult figure had entered righteous faction territory—except for Lord Wei.
Though it was ancestral karma, they worried someone might appear seeking vengeance.
"No need to be so on edge. You're scaring the passersby."
Cheon Yuri soothed the guards with a gentle smile.
They were supposed to link up with the Martial Alliance contingent at Lian'an, but they hadn't arrived yet, and they couldn't just wait.
South, further south.
The Leader's group pressed on without pause, figuring they'd meet eventually.
And shortly after leaving Lian'an.
"Mm... daughter...?"
Suddenly, Cheon Yuri sensed a familiar presence.
Who else under heaven could wield Heart Moon Ancient Thought Art, paired with Heavenly Demon Divine Art, besides Cheon Luri?
Yet as it drew nearer, it felt subtly off.
The sheer magnitude was too vast for Cheon Luri's.
And not demonic qi, but something else—pure and refined, mingled with multiple energies.
"No way."
Only one possibility came to mind.
Cheon Luri had mentioned a man claiming it as his own, even implanting Soul Fusion Technique. Given her temperament, passing on Heart Moon Ancient Thought Art beyond that was entirely plausible.
Which meant.
The son-in-law she'd heard loved steamed buns!
"Hold on. Let's head that way."
Cheon Yuri's curiosity exploded.
But what soon came into view.
"......Oh dear."
A man staggering toward them, clearly bearing a serious wound.