Chapter 70
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Slaughter of the Shadows
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“Ugh, no matter how I look at it, it's the same.”
“Then that means it got switched out again in the meantime?”
Demon Shadow shook his head. That wasn't something he could judge right now. But there were far too many things that couldn't be explained any other way.
“Anyway, our target's that bastard. Just take him down, and we're done.”
Sword Shadow nodded at Demon Shadow's words.
“Right. His patrol route's predictable as hell. Let's finish him off today.”
Demon Shadow nodded. They'd been watching Dan Hyeong-u for days now. The Lord's command was to kill Dan Hyeong-u, and it hadn't been rescinded. Unless new orders came down, they had to eliminate him as quickly as possible.
“That said... Sword King and Sword Demon... Those two appeal to me more.”
Demon Shadow had to concede the point. He still had an unfinished duel with the Sword King, after all.
But they couldn't defy the Lord's command. As Demon Shadow mulled this over, Sword Shadow grumbled.
“Something about that guy just rubs me wrong. Won't even be fun.”
Demon Shadow felt much the same.
“No helping it. Deal with him first, then we can go after Sword King and Sword Demon.”
Sword Shadow nodded.
“The Lord'll understand that much.”
With that, Sword Shadow fell silent and began to move. His form melted seamlessly into the surroundings. He started shifting position with swift, stealthy grace.
As Sword Shadow moved, Demon Shadow leaped into motion, and the Sword Shadow Squad and Demon Shadow Squad lurking nearby surged forward in unison.
Fifty from Demon Shadow Squad and a hundred from Sword Shadow Squad—it should have stirred the air all around. Yet the surroundings remained utterly still.
Dan Hyeong-u's routine was strikingly simple. He'd swing by the bustling streets of Hechang, circle leisurely through the quieter spots, then head to the outskirts once enough time had passed. There, he'd eat at the same restaurant before returning to the Henan Escort Bureau.
He'd stuck to it without fail for the past ten days. Today was no different.
The route from Hechang's outskirts to the restaurant Dan Hyeong-u always frequented was profoundly secluded. And that was precisely the moment Demon Shadow and Sword Shadow had targeted—when he stepped onto that isolated path.
Dan Hyeong-u entered the secluded path. The instant he did, Sword Shadow and Demon Shadow launched themselves forward.
Sasasasa!
Sword Shadow Squad and Demon Shadow Squad encircled Dan Hyeong-u in a flash. Their movements were fluid and blindingly fast.
Dan Hyeong-u halted and scanned them. He'd known they'd been shadowing his loops around the area but hadn't bothered with them.
There was no reason to. They hadn't troubled any bystanders or laid a hand on him.
Sword Shadow and Demon Shadow positioned themselves at Dan Hyeong-u's front and rear. They intended a pincer attack as well.
Sword Shadow Squad and Demon Shadow Squad began stepping through bizarre footwork formations. They were forming an array.
The Blood Demon's forces might lag behind the Heavenly Qi Master in formations, but they weren't clueless by any means. They far outstripped most other renowned groups.
As such, each of the Blood Demon's shadows commanded a formation tailored to their own squad. Linking up with others amplified the effects dramatically.
Demon Shadow Squad moved first. With only fifty of them compared to Sword Shadow Squad's hundred, it made sense for the latter to hold the rear.
Kwaaaa!
Immense pressure zeroed in on Dan Hyeong-u. The sword formation even warped the flow of ambient qi around him. Dan Hyeong-u observed the qi currents with faintly intrigued eyes.
“Interesting.”
Gathering in such numbers and manipulating the surrounding qi flow with nothing but synchronized movement—it was a first for Dan Hyeong-u. Curiosity stirred, and he watched intently.
Only after confirming the mounting pressure on Dan Hyeong-u did Demon Shadow and Sword Shadow advance slowly. They both knew full well how formidable he was.
Demon Shadow especially—he'd experienced it firsthand. But no matter how strong, no one could slip free of the flawless array formed by both squads combined.
And inside it, surviving a pincer strike from Sword Shadow and Demon Shadow? No such person existed in this world.
“Taat!”
Sword Shadow struck first. He thrust his sword at the opening in Dan Hyeong-u's gaze with ferocious speed. He was certain it would land.
But astonishingly, Dan Hyeong-u evaded. With nothing more than a single sidestep.
In that instant, Demon Shadow brought his sword slashing down.
Shiiik!
Demon Shadow's eyes flew wide in shock. He'd been sure he'd connected, but Dan Hyeong-u's afterimage scattered into nothingness.
Dan Hyeong-u had merely taken one step.
“Do you seek death?”
The words slipping from Dan Hyeong-u's mouth were utterly devoid of inflection. Demon Shadow and Sword Shadow swallowed hard in unison. Then they lunged as one.
Dazzling radiance erupted from their blades. Sword aura.
“Die!”
Sword Shadow cried out before he knew it. It was a bid to quash the fear welling in his heart, laced with iron resolve to slay Dan Hyeong-u.
Kwaang!
The two sword auras shattered explosively. Dan Hyeong-u had drawn his blade in the blink of an eye.
Sword Shadow and Demon Shadow gaped. Dan Hyeong-u had done nothing but draw his sword and raise it. That single motion had pulverized their sword auras.
Dan Hyeong-u's eyes gleamed.
Bbang!
And lightning crashed down.
Demon Shadow Squad and Sword Shadow Squad couldn't believe the sight unfolding before them. Sword Shadow and Demon Shadow had been bisected without landing a single blow. By a bolt from the blue.
Dan Hyeong-u, having slain them, turned an impassive gaze on the encircling squads. Immense pressure bore down on his body, yet he moved with perfect naturalness, as if utterly unhindered.
The squads could only reel in shock. Dread followed swiftly. They'd encountered an opponent their sword formation couldn't touch. Yet they couldn't halt it.
They were already committed, riding a tiger. More accurately, they simply lacked the will to stop.
The array's flow had long since shifted from Sword Shadow Squad and Demon Shadow Squad... straight to Dan Hyeong-u.
Standing at the array's heart, Dan Hyeong-u commanded the currents. The qi churned visibly, tangible as if he could grasp it with his hands.
“Interesting.”
A smile curled Dan Hyeong-u's lips. Utterly chilling.
The moment Sword Shadow Squad and Demon Shadow Squad beheld it, gooseflesh erupted across their skin.
Puk puk puk!
Their bodies burst apart.
Blood haze blanketed everything. Dan Hyeong-u stood serene amid the carnage.
“Strangely infuriating.”
Dan Hyeong-u cocked his head. Nothing like this had happened before. It was the first since his return from hell to the world.
No, something similar had occurred. During the clash with the Black Sand Room. But this felt different. He'd been angry then, but not like this.
Still, fury seethed in his chest, morphing into killing intent that gnawed slowly at his surroundings.
It wasn't guilt over the killing. Guilt itself was an emotion he'd only recently begun to feel.
These people had sought death. He'd simply granted it. And yet the anger burned—directed inward.
Dan Hyeong-u trudged slowly across the blood- and flesh-strewn ground, mulling emotions he couldn't comprehend.
Chapter 8
Righteous Heaven Alliance
“Sword Shadow and Demon Shadow are down?”
“Yes.”
The Blood Demon scowled. Everything else was proceeding according to plan, but Dan Hyeong-u's involvement always threw a wrench in things.
“The bodies?”
“All shredded beyond recovery. We gathered what we could and burned them.”
The Blood Demon lapsed into silent thought. Blood Shadow bowed cautiously before him.
“A battle fierce enough to leave no corpses. He didn't strike me as that vicious.”
“Indeed. But there were no traces of combat.”
“He fought without a trace. Just remnants of Blood Shadow Squad and Sword Shadow Squad everywhere, right?”
Blood Shadow bowed lower. Precisely as the Blood Demon said. According to the Bird-Rat Squad's investigation, traces of the others littered the site—except for Dan Hyeong-u's. Only footprints remained, left after the slaughter had ended.
“An expert of that caliber could manage it easily. Quite the monster.”
The Blood Demon couldn't hazard a guess at Dan Hyeong-u's true realm. With him meddling, upcoming plans faced delays.
“Keep him under watch for now. Dig into everything. Him, his surroundings... and any other 'hims' lurking about.”
“Understood!”
Blood Shadow bowed deeply. The Blood Demon nodded, and Blood Shadow vanished.
The Blood Demon's scowl lingered. He despised these creeping disruptions to his schemes.
“Heavenly Qi Master... Can't drop my guard around you to the end. I put some real thought into this one, but no more games from here. I'll shatter everything you've built. Look forward to it. Keh keh keh keh.”
The Blood Demon's eerie laughter shook the curtain.
In Xinjiang lay the Tianshan Mountains. And amid those peaks stood Heavenly Demon Castle, sacred ground for demonic cultivators.
In the castle's highest chamber, a man gazed down upon the range through an open window.
The castle perched high in the Tianshan, vast and towering itself. The vista from its loftiest room was nothing short of breathtaking.
“It stirs the blood every time.”
The Heavenly Demon Castle Lord—the Heavenly Demon himself—spoke, and the men in the chamber bowed their heads.
“Beyond those mountains lies the Central Plains.”
The Heavenly Demon turned, eyeing the bowed figures.
“Blood Path Guest, say it again. What about Sword Demon?”
Blood Path Guest replied in a trembling voice.
“He entered the Henan Escort Bureau.”
“Right, joined the Escort Bureau. What, playing escort grunt now?”
“Not a grunt, exactly...”
“Hah, a man like that wouldn't settle for grunt work. Escort Leader at least, eh?”
Blood Path Guest wiped sweat from his brow at the Heavenly Demon's mockery and pressed on.
“No, he went there to check on someone.”
“Check on someone? Without even securing the Golden Demon Art?”
“Th-that's...”
Blood Path Guest trailed off. Truth be told, the failure to obtain the Golden Demon Art was entirely his own fault.
His guilt choked his words. And knowing the Heavenly Demon's temper all too well made it impossible to broach.
“Ugh, not a damn soul who can handle things right. And I trusted Sword Demon, of all people.”
The Heavenly Demon turned back to the window. The expansive view eased his mood somewhat. His rising ire subsided, allowing cooler, clearer judgment.
Thinking it over, something felt off.
Blood Path Guest might act rashly, but not Sword Demon. He wouldn't join an escort bureau to “observe” someone without completing his mission unless there was real cause.
The Heavenly Demon turned once more.
“Who was he there to check?”
Blood Path Guest dredged up the memory and spoke.
“Dan Hyeong-u, some no-account drifter, for sure.”
“No-account drifter?”
The Heavenly Demon's face twisted again.
Blood Path Guest inwardly cursed his slip, but the words were out. Still, someone like Dan Hyeong-u could pass for a hermit in hiding.
“A-a recluse disguised as a drifter.”
Blood Path Guest hurriedly corrected himself. The Heavenly Demon still scowled but nodded.
“Right. A hermit holed up in the Escort Bureau.”
“Y-yes, exactly.”
Blood Path Guest was groveling excessively. The Heavenly Demon eyed him with puzzlement.
“Blood Path Guest, you're off today.”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“Too meek. Overdoing it. Out with it. What'd you screw up?”
Blood Path Guest paled briefly but steadied himself and shook his head.
“What nonsense is that? More importantly, Sword Demon right now...”
The Heavenly Demon withdrew his suspicious gaze with a nod.
“Fine. Sword Demon. He's the priority now.”
The Heavenly Demon sank into thought.