Chapter 177
Chapter 177
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 177
Chapter Title: Im Chun-sam
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Jegal Chief Steward... is he deceiving us?
No, at that point, there'd be no reason for him to do that.
My confusion didn't last long.
I had no choice but to halt my thoughts as Jegal Cheonsang came charging at me again, letting out another roar.
“Kraaaah—!”
Ever since falling into that berserk state, he seemed to have forgotten how to speak human words—he just kept roaring as he launched into another charge.
Fortunately, this time he wasn't aiming for Soso, but for me.
He barreled forward like a ferocious bull, swinging his sword at my neck.
At a glance, he looked like he'd completely lost his reason and was thrashing about wildly.
But that sword strike contained the essence of the Tiger Leaf Swordsmanship, which emulated the movements of a hunting tiger.
Even without his reason, his body remembered it?
Of course, it didn't matter—that was just a simple, straight-line charge without any infusion of internal energy release or the Suction Technique.
I didn't even need Heavenly Machine Foresight; I could dodge it easily just by reading his trajectory.
“Kraaak—!”
Jegal Cheonsang brushed right past me as I slipped aside.
Unable to control the power of the Blood Jade surging through his body, he slammed straight into the wall of the Elder Hall.
-Kwaaang!
The tremendous impact shattered the wall in an instant, crushing his body beneath the debris.
But he rose from the rubble as if nothing had happened.
He'd really turned into a monster.
“Krraaaang—!”
Far from feeling pain, he seemed even angrier, letting out a massive roar as the blood-red aura around him surged even stronger.
At this rate, it was probably visible even from outside the clan.
“…Even visible from the mountains.”
I turned my head, glanced up at Yungjung Mountain, and clicked my tongue.
*
“Hyu, hyungnim! Look over there…!”
The three martial squads—Ho-cheon, Ho-ji, and Ho-in—had set out for tiger hunting due to the sudden appearance of a man-eater.
Among them, Ho-ji Squad Leader Jegal Myeong spotted the anomaly at the clan first and raised his voice.
“…What the hell is that?”
Jegal Cheong and Jegal Ho, who had followed behind and confirmed the sight, frowned at the blood-red energy shooting up from the clan.
“Hey, what is that?”
“How should I know? I heard thunder crashing, turned around, and there it was.”
Jegal Myeong scratched his head irritably in response to Jegal Cheong's questioning, then turned to Jegal Ho.
“Hyungnim, what do we do?”
All eyes turned to him in an instant.
The entire martial squad was subtly awaiting his command.
Jegal Ho, who had already made his decision, spoke without hesitation.
“We're heading back. Confirming and responding to the clan's anomaly takes priority over a tiger we can't even see.”
“Yes, sir!”
The squad members, exhausted from searching for a tiger that showed no sign of appearing, responded vigorously.
The freeloaders could only panic at this sudden return to the clan.
One of the freeloaders asked Hyeok Ri-eum, whose face was stiff.
“Wh-what do we do? Should we stop them?”
“…Stop them how? They say something big's happened at the clan and they're going back—what excuse do we have to block them?”
Hyeok Ri-eum shot a cold glare at the freeloader for his idiotic question, bit her lip, then spoke again.
“Follow them first. We'll see the situation and block entry into the clan if we have to.”
“…Just us?”
The number of freeloaders who had climbed the mountain with the martial squad was only ten.
If it came to fighting the squad, they'd be at a brutal disadvantage, one against ten.
Hyeok Ri-eum's response to the anxious voice was icy.
“If you're scared, stay here.”
“No, that's not— Hey! Wait up!”
Hyeok Ri-eum moved to follow the martial squad, leaving those curt words behind.
Bewildered by her sharper-than-usual reaction, the freeloaders hurriedly followed her down the mountain.
‘…Dad, Oppa.’
Whether the freeloaders found it strange or not, Hyeok Ri-eum pushed down her growing anxiety and hurried her steps.
The freeloaders and martial squad quickened their pace and soon arrived at the main gate of Jegal Clan Manor.
“You're back sooner than I expected? What about the tiger hunt? Already over?”
“…Seoryeong?”
Jegal Seoryeong was blocking their path.
The martial squad was taken aback by her standing there like a statue in front of the main gate.
Jegal Ho stepped forward as their representative.
“We spotted an anomaly at the clan and rushed back. What happened?”
She glanced briefly at the blood-red energy shooting into the sky, then answered nonchalantly.
“Nothing much. So go back and keep hunting tigers.”
“…….”
Jegal Ho's eyes twitched at Seoryeong's obvious lie.
Sensing something suspicious, he took another step forward.
“Doesn't look like nothing to me. I need to check what's happening inside, so step aside.”
“Sorry, but no can do.”
Her stubborn blockade only heightened the suspicion.
In the end, Jegal Cheong and Jegal Myeong stepped forward as well.
“If it's nothing, then we can go inside the clan, right?”
“We're the Jegal clan's martial squad. You have no right to block our entry, Seoryeong.”
“…….”
Seoryeong clamped her mouth shut, at a loss for words.
Though she didn't show it, she was considerably flustered by the martial squad's sudden return.
‘They should've kept hunting that damn tiger instead of coming back…!’
Seoryeong standing here at the Jegal clan's main gate was purely as a precaution.
In case part of the squad returned, she'd confirm it and quickly alert the others.
That was why she'd been waiting here.
But not just part—the entire squad had come back.
‘If I let them into the clan like this, we're all done for.’
Especially that Jegal Ho—he might not be as bad as the Wyrm Squad Leader, but he was stubbornly loyal to the Patriarch, the kind who'd obey an order to bind the group without question.
With that judgment, she'd had no choice but to stand alone before the martial squad.
“…Sorry, but we can't afford to be held up by you. Myeong, Cheong—pull Seoryeong aside.”
“Yes, hyungnim.”
The two squad leaders advanced at Jegal Ho's order.
Seeing them approach slowly, Seoryeong drew her sword in a whatever-happens-happens mindset.
-Chang-!
“Wh-what are you doing!?”
Jegal Cheong and Jegal Myeong panicked at her brandishing the gleaming blade.
Aiming her sword at them, Seoryeong said coldly.
“Go back. Go hunt tigers.”
The two squad leaders were flustered.
Though they'd spoken casually, Seoryeong was direct lineage of the Patriarch.
For collaterals like them, facing her head-on carried too much weight.
“…Come on out.”
Instead of the hesitant pair, Jegal Ho drew his sword and stepped forward.
-Sreung
“Hyu, hyungnim…!”
“Don't worry. I'll take full responsibility.”
Passing Jegal Myeong and Jegal Cheong with firm words, Jegal Ho aimed his sword at Seoryeong.
“Last warning. Step aside.”
“…Can't.”
Though Seoryeong was direct lineage of the Jegal clan, like Seo-hee, she was a woman raised solely to marry an outstanding son-in-law with great martial talent.
She knew basic martial arts, but that was it.
In a proper bout with him, she wouldn't last a single exchange.
‘She must know that, yet she's blocking us this desperately.’
“What exactly are you plotting?”
Convinced by her inexplicable actions that something serious was happening inside the clan, Jegal Ho asked—but she remained silent.
‘She can't answer, but she's determined to block us somehow?’
Jegal Ho let out a small sigh at her stance, then raised his sword with a hardened expression, as if resolved.
“Just take a short nap.”
He swung his sword not with the edge, but the flat, intending to knock her out.
Seoryeong squeezed her eyes shut, not even thinking to resist.
At that moment, a massive shadow burst from inside the gate and deflected Jegal Ho's sword.
“Urgh…!”
Jegal Ho staggered back from the unexpected ambush and astonishing power.
Before him stood a man of enormous build.
Im Chun-sam.
Seoryeong's husband had appeared to protect his wife.
He glared murderously at Jegal Ho, who had tried to attack his wife, then turned to check on her.
“Y-you okay…?”
“Y-you…!”
Seoryeong's eyes widened in shock at the giant before her, then she smacked his back with her palm repeatedly.
“Why are you so late!”
“S-sorry…!”
The man, huge as a mountain, shrank in an instant.
Jegal Ho watched the absurd little drama, rotating his hand gripping the sword hilt to shake off the numbness.
Cautious of Chun-sam's strength, which he'd just experienced firsthand, he stepped forward again.
“No intention of retreating with your wife?”
At Jegal Ho's question, Chun-sam straightened his shoulders as if he'd never shrunk and spoke.
“N-no way. S-sorry, but pl-please wait here a bit.”
“…You're really going to fight us?”
“Y-you swung your sw-sword at my wife first.”
“We're just trying to check the clan's situation. You're the ones blocking us.”
“E-either way, can't let you in.”
Stalemate, then.
As Jegal Ho sighed softly, Jegal Cheong stepped forward brashly from behind.
“Hyungnim, I'll handle this guy. You go ahead inside.”
“Wait, Cheong.”
Ignoring the restraint, Jegal Cheong stood before Chun-sam.
He smirked at the weapon in Chun-sam's massive, rock-like hand.
“For your size, that's a pretty cute weapon you're carrying.”
What Chun-sam held was, of course, an axe.
But compared to the ones his two brothers used, it was quite small—and in Chun-sam's hand, the already small axe looked adorably dainty.
On top of that, it was blunt, like something a child would use, the blade not even properly sharpened.
“Guess the family didn't have money to buy a proper axe for the youngest son-in-law?”
Chun-sam's face hardened as he gripped the axe haft tightly at Jegal Cheong's mocking jab.
The all-black iron axe—from haft to head—trembled in his grasp, drawing a sneer from Jegal Cheong.
‘At best, a strong guy they brought in as a son-in-law. Martial arts from a third-rate sect like that? Predictable.’
Jegal Cheong took immense pride in being part of the Five Great Clans' Jegal clan.
Unwittingly dismissive of the mid-tier Wall Mountain Sect, he completely forgot that Jegal Ho had staggered back from Chun-sam's strike.
“Don't worry, I won't kill you. Just a lesson to know your place.”
With arrogant words, Jegal Cheong drew his sword and thrust at Chun-sam's shoulder.
Chun-sam raised his axe to counter the attack.
Watching from behind, Jegal Ho flinched and shouted loudly.
“Cheong, dodge!”
But the warning came a beat too late.
Chun-sam's full-force axe swing struck Jegal Cheong's shoulder,
-Kwaaaang!
and Jegal Cheong, unable to withstand the immense power in the small, blunt axe he'd mocked, crashed into the ground with a thunderous boom.