Chapter 179
Chapter 179
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 179
Chapter Title: Two Men Dyed Red
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Meanwhile, in front of the Great Heavenly Pavilion after Goon Ja-seong had left, Geun-yeong and Hwa-ryeon's group continued their standoff against the Crouching Dragon Squad.
"Give it up already. It's all over."
After learning that Jegal Cheon-sang's grand scheme had failed, Su-kyeong wore a triumphant smile as if he had never been angry in the first place.
He then urged them to surrender, as if bestowing some great mercy.
"If you surrender now, we'll let today's events slide. It's too fine a day to ruin over something this trivial, don't you think?"
Of course, it was a lie.
Not a single one of those who knew about the family's disgrace—researching demonic arts—could be left alive.
The same went for those trying to ruin the family's prosperity.
Even his capable and trustworthy eldest son, or lifelong comrades, would be no exception.
'To betray me at the very end. How could he make such a foolish choice?'
Su-kyeong inwardly clicked his tongue at the incomprehensible actions of Jegal Sun, waiting for Geun-yeong's declaration of surrender.
But Geun-yeong did not surrender; instead, he shouted even more defiantly.
"Nothing will go as you wish, Family Head!"
Goon Ja-seong had headed toward Jegal Cheon-sang.
Surely, he would defeat Jegal Cheon-sang and set everything right.
Geun-yeong held that firm belief.
Of course, in Su-kyeong's judgment, it was nothing but a vain delusion.
With a scoff, he asked,
"You're pinning your hopes on that Goon Ja-seong punk? He's certainly no ordinary man, but against Cheon-sang with his boundless inner energy, it's hopeless. He'll just meet a pointless death."
"That's something we'll see. You should worry about yourself, Family Head."
Geun-yeong pointed the sword in his hand at his father, Su-kyeong.
There was not a shred of hesitation in his eyes.
'I can't leave everything to Young Master Goon.'
At the very least, he would take down his father, Su-kyeong, with his own hands.
"Hmph, you unfilial wretch."
Su-kyeong let out a small snort at his son, then extended his hand toward the clan's elders who had been dithering behind him.
"Someone hand over a sword."
They couldn't comprehend the unfolding situation at all, but it was the family head's order.
In the end, one of the pavilion leaders stepped forward and offered his sword to Su-kyeong.
"...Here you are, Family Head."
Su-kyeong drew the proffered sword and aimed it at his own son.
Thus, father and son faced each other with sword tips pointed.
Seeing this, Jegal Seung approached Su-kyeong and whispered,
"The First Young Master is using some mysterious footwork we've never seen before. Be careful."
"...Footwork, is it."
Recalling his conversation with Goon Ja-seong in the office upon Jegal Seung's report, Su-kyeong twisted his lips.
It seemed the technique was a footwork created by referencing the Jegal clan's martial arts.
'Did he really invent a new technique in just a few days?'
Surprised, a thread of anticipation rose within him.
The Changgung Mu-ae Sword he had seen during the banquet spar had been an astonishing sword art; he was curious what this footwork would be like.
'Could it possibly bridge the gap between me and that Geun-yeong brat?'
As one might expect, the gap between Geun-yeong and Su-kyeong was impossible to close.
In martial attainment, in the quantity of inner energy.
The years they had lived were different; it was inevitable.
But if, by some chance, this new footwork from Goon Ja-seong closed that gap...
'It would be a shame to let Cheon-sang kill him.'
Su-kyeong decided to witness the footwork himself before choosing whether to spare or kill Goon Ja-seong.
With a relaxed expression tinged with eager anticipation, he said to Geun-yeong,
"I'll yield the first move. Come at me."
"...Then, here I come."
Geun-yeong, not refusing the concession, charged straight at Su-kyeong.
Meanwhile, Jegal Seung, who had been anxiously watching over the family head he was duty-bound to protect, soon engaged a new opponent.
"I'll be in your care for a bout."
Stepping forward in Geun-yeong's place was none other than Hwa-ryeon.
Jegal Seung glanced sidelong at Yeo Dae-un, who had already completely neutralized five Crouching Dragon Squad members, now teaming up with Yoo Seol against the remaining four, and asked,
"Surely you won't act so boldly and refuse to back down? Impressive that you handled three of my men at once, but that won't work on me."
He subtly conveyed that his own prowess clearly surpassed three Crouching Dragon Squad members, but Hwa-ryeon did not retreat.
"Perfect. I was just getting warmed up against those three anyway."
"...Young lady, you're arrogant."
Jegal Seung hardened his face and raised his sword, and soon sharp metallic clashes rang out repeatedly in the courtyard before the Great Heavenly Pavilion.
-Kagang!
Hwa-ryeon's sword, with its striking blue hilt, clashed against Jegal Seung's dark, grimy blade.
The result was a deadlock.
Gripping each other's swords, the two stood evenly matched without giving an inch.
"Urgh...!"
Jegal Seung swallowed a groan at the power emanating from Hwa-ryeon's sword.
He already knew she was the former Tyrant Heaven Fortress Lord's sole daughter, but clashing blades directly confirmed the extraordinary force in her sword.
'As expected of Tyrant Heaven Fortress's princess.'
She had probably consumed all sorts of elixirs since childhood and learned supreme martial arts.
She must have had countless opportunities that he had always craved.
Jegal Seung thought only of what suited him, giving no mind to the misfortunes Hwa-ryeon must have endured.
Jealousy welled up at the sight of someone blessed with such a fortunate life.
He gripped his sword hilt tightly, suppressing that base emotion.
"Haaap!"
"...!"
Pushed back by the intensifying force with her shout, Hwa-ryeon twisted her sword to deflect it.
Her blade narrowly sliced through the sleeve of Jegal Seung's robe.
Without flinching, Hwa-ryeon closed in on Jegal Seung, raised her two-handed sword overhead, and brought it down with force.
-Kwang!
"Kuhk!?"
Jegal Seung blocked Hwa-ryeon's sword.
But the weight and pressure of the strike momentarily overwhelmed him, crumbling his stance.
One knee slammed into the ground, and his buckling sword pressed down on his shoulder.
His protective energy eroded helplessly.
Unable to bear his own sword shattering his protective energy in such an absurd manner, Jegal Seung summoned all his strength to flick it away.
"Kraaap!"
Hwa-ryeon retreated without regret at his desperate struggle.
She readjusted her grip on her sword, reflecting on her technique.
'Good. I've gotten used to infusing the essence of heavy swordplay into my blade.'
Hwa-ryeon suppressed her rising satisfaction at her dramatically improved martial art.
The Soaring Dragon Sword Technique she practiced was originally her father, Blade Lord Joo Cheon-mu's unique style.
The Soaring Dragon Sword Technique was so domineering that it earned him the moniker Blade Lord, making it ill-suited for a woman like Hwa-ryeon.
No matter how diligently she trained, she couldn't unleash its full power, so she had brute-forced the issue by pouring in more inner energy.
Naturally, her peerless reserves of inner energy depleted quickly.
Hwa-ryeon had long pondered a solution to this problem.
But look at the scene now.
With only half—no, a quarter of her previous inner energy, the power hadn't diminished at all.
All thanks to the guidance from Goon Ja-seong on inner energy circulation and the subtleties of the sword.
'Now I can win...!'
The opponent before her, Jegal Seung, was once a foe she couldn't confidently claim victory over.
But through that recent clash, Hwa-ryeon was certain.
Of her own victory.
Jegal Seung glared at her with bloodshot eyes.
Having been pushed back not only by the First Young Master but now by this young girl was an unbearable humiliation.
"Ugh, uwaaaah-!"
Enraged, Jegal Seung let out a beastly roar and charged at Hwa-ryeon.
Fearless, she raised her sword to meet him.
Pulling her sword back, she exploded true energy from the Yongcheon acupoint in her sole.
-Kwang-!
Her form shot forward like an arrow.
At the astonishing speed, Jegal Seung's eyes widened as he swung his sword, but Hwa-ryeon's blade had already sliced his side.
-Pukeok-!
"Khek!?"
A drum-like thud erupted from Jegal Seung's side, sending his body flying and rolling across the ground.
Soaring Dragon Wing Flight
The technique mimicking the Soaring Dragon's wingbeat emerged from Hwa-ryeon's hands in even more potent form.
Dirt-covered, Jegal Seung groaned and struggled to rise, but Hwa-ryeon's sword was already at his throat.
"My victory."
"......"
Hwa-ryeon's composed declaration.
She had already noticed. His protective energy was broken.
With no room for excuses, the defeated Jegal Seung grimaced and bowed his head.
Just then, the remaining four Crouching Dragon Squad members collapsed, unable to withstand the combined assault of Yeo Dae-un and Yoo Seol.
Only one battle remained.
The duel between Geun-yeong and Su-kyeong.
All eyes turned to the father and son.
'Tsk, useless fools.'
Confirming the Crouching Dragon Squad entirely defeated, Su-kyeong frowned and clicked his tongue.
As if rebuking him for having the leisure to survey his surroundings, a sword strike flew at him.
-Swaaek!
"You brat...!"
Su-kyeong dodged Geun-yeong's sword aimed at his opening, openly showing his irritation.
Having directly experienced Geun-yeong's new footwork, his conclusion was 'the world's most annoying footwork.'
Whenever he tried to attack, it slipped outside his sword's range; the moment he sensed an opening, it instantly closed in to strike his unguarded flank.
No matter how he countered, it evaded every which way, making him feel one-sidedly suppressed.
'Goon Ja-seong... I should keep that one alive.'
Annoying as it was, objectively speaking, Geun-yeong's unnamed new footwork was truly remarkable.
Hadn't it allowed Geun-yeong, who once couldn't last ten exchanges, to fight him on equal footing?
"Haaap!"
-Kang!
No, more than equal?
Alarmed by his protective energy eroding away, Su-kyeong clicked his tongue and gripped his sword with both hands.
A familiar stance for any Jegal clansman versed in the Little Dipper Sword Technique.
Shimmering Star Pierce
It was the final technique of the Little Dipper Sword Technique.
'...It's coming.'
Seeing it, Geun-yeong's eyes subtly gleamed.
The Shimmering Star Pierce, a full-power single-point thrust, boasted immense power but left a large opening as a result.
In other words, now was the perfect opportunity.
Just like when he subdued Jegal Sun, target the Tianzhu acupoint with Finger Force.
Geun-yeong sharpened not only his eyes but all his senses across his body.
How long did they standoff like that?
-Kwang!
Su-kyeong powerfully kicked off the ground and lunged.
His form displayed the Little Dipper Sword Technique with masterful skill honed over long years.
But that was all.
To Geun-yeong's eyes, the attack he once could never have dodged appeared excruciatingly slow.
Stepping the Heaven's Insight Foresight swiftly, Geun-yeong circled behind Su-kyeong in an instant, targeting both Tianzhu acupoints while his attack was still underway.
And the very moment he was about to unleash Finger Force,
"Kwaaaak-!"
A massive roar filled his vision with thick crimson blood.