Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Ronin Band
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‘This crazy bastard...!’
Cheon-gyeong couldn’t hide his shock upon seeing Ja-seong standing arrogantly amid his groaning subordinates sprawled on the ground.
Sixty-three.
A whopping sixty-three.
That monster hadn’t spilled even a single drop of blood while facing off against that many ronin alone.
No, it wasn’t just that he hadn’t bled. Ja-seong had toyed with all sixty-three ronin.
He had unilaterally swept them aside with movements that no human could possibly make.
Moreover, seeing the subordinates writhing and groaning on the ground, it seemed he hadn’t killed a single one, just like yesterday.
It was a sight that made him doubt his own eyes.
First Squad Leader Gwak Jang-hyeon, who witnessed this, swallowed hard and whispered to Cheon-gyeong.
“What do we do? Even if the three of us charge at a monster like that, we have no chance of winning.”
It was infuriating to see the squad leader cower without even fighting, but Cheon-gyeong agreed with him.
He had thought they’d barely beaten the Third Squad, but he had completely misjudged Ja-seong’s strength.
‘That bastard Chun...! He should’ve explained properly!’
It wasn’t fair to just blame Third Squad Leader Im Chun, since Cheon-gyeong himself hadn’t really listened, but such trivial matters had long vanished from his mind.
His head was now filled solely with the dilemma of what to do in this moment.
‘What should I do? How?’
Just run away like this?
If they fled, that monster probably wouldn’t chase them.
He’d let the fallen subordinates go too.
The mission would ultimately fail, but in this situation, it would be the best outcome.
But,
-Crunch!
“...Fuck.”
He couldn’t. No, he didn’t want to.
They were scorned as ronin, but they were still martial artists.
A martial artist had his pride—how could he run without even fighting?
Moreover, as the band leader, he couldn’t abandon his men and flee.
“Phew. You two fall back.”
“Band Leader?”
Having made up his mind, Cheon-gyeong stepped forward alone.
The two squad leaders hesitated behind him, unable to grab their leader.
“...Oh?”
Ja-seong’s eyes lit up as he saw Cheon-gyeong approaching him alone.
He likewise stepped forward past the fallen ronin, and soon the two warriors faced each other.
“...Ha, up close you really are just a kid. Hey, how old are you?”
Cheon-gyeong’s tone shifted oddly.
It was a bit different from earlier, when he’d tried to maintain some dignity as a band leader.
His speech now sounded like some street thug, making Ja-seong chuckle as he answered honestly.
“Exactly twenty this year.”
“...Fuck, you’re a total greenhorn. Our Ronin Band got utterly wrecked by one damn kid?”
Cheon-gyeong’s gaze suddenly flicked behind Ja-seong.
Quite some time had passed since Ja-seong stepped forward, but the men who should have appeared were nowhere in sight.
“...So you already took care of the Third Squad guys too?”
“If you mean those bandits from yesterday, yeah. Don’t worry, I didn’t kill them.”
Ja-seong’s response twisted Cheon-gyeong’s face into a complicated expression.
Embarrassment at having his trick seen through mixed with the emptiness of total defeat.
But those emotions didn’t last long.
What he needed to do now wasn’t to feel embarrassed or defeated.
-Shing
Cheon-gyeong drew his sword and assumed a stance.
“I’m Wi Cheon-gyeong, leader of the Ronin Band.”
“Goon Ja-seong. No affiliation.”
“Independent? Where’d you learn your martial arts?”
“I did. Heavenly Wind Martial Hall.”
“You fucking...!”
Not from a prestigious sect, but some no-name martial hall?
‘How far are you gonna crush people’s pride...!’
Suppressing his boiling rage, Cheon-gyeong continued.
“Let’s do one-on-one. If I lose, I swear we won’t interfere with your procession anymore and withdraw quietly.”
“Now? After you’ve all been wiped out already...”
Cheon-gyeong’s pent-up fury finally exploded at Ja-seong’s cold expression.
“Save that shit for after you beat me!”
Feeling the inner energy coursing through his body invigorate him, Cheon-gyeong charged at Ja-seong.
*
I smirked slightly as I watched the guy named Wi Cheon-gyeong draw his sword and rush at me.
What could I say? He was so brazen, yet somehow not unlikable.
I kind of liked that he stepped up for a one-on-one despite having no chance of winning.
Probably his martial pride kicking in, right?
Would’ve been better if he’d done it before all his men went down, though.
“Haat!”
Wi Cheon-gyeong’s sword aimed for my crown.
I sidestepped to evade, then swung at his neck.
Seeing my sword, Wi Cheon-gyeong quickly bent his knees and leaned back, narrowly dodging my blade.
Then, from his kneeling position, he spun his body and swept his sword at my ankle.
“Oh ho?”
Impressed by his unorthodox, irregular movements, I leaped back, flipped in a back aerial, and avoided the sword.
“Tch...!”
Wi Cheon-gyeong clicked his tongue in regret as he swiftly stood.
That was probably one of his prized techniques.
“Are you human or a ghost? What the hell are you?”
“Human. Just using my inner energy properly.”
“Using inner energy... properly?”
Wi Cheon-gyeong wore an expression like he couldn’t comprehend.
Well, seeing is believing.
So take a good look.
This time, I charged first.
He panicked as I shot forward in an instant; I swung at his side.
-Clang!
“Urk...!”
Wi Cheon-gyeong raised his sword to block.
But with less inner energy than me, he couldn’t hold against my strike.
Then he twisted his sword, slid it over mine, and lunged at me.
“Ha!”
I twisted my waist to dodge the sword flying at my side and let out an admiring breath.
Every one of Wi Cheon-gyeong’s moves was practical and unpredictable.
He’d probably seen far more real combat than me.
Thanks to that, the fight was actually fun.
How will he block this?
How about that?
Whoa, he counters like this?
Then try blocking this.
Dozens of exchanges followed, and Wi Cheon-gyeong kept impressing me.
Especially when he dropped the sword in his right hand, caught it with his left as it fell, and swung—it nearly gave me a serious wound.
To push me this hard with technique alone, despite poor inner energy control.
A thrill I hadn’t felt in the previous fights against dozens raced up my spine.
“...Damn it! Fight for real?!”
But apparently, to Wi Cheon-gyeong, I looked infuriatingly smug.
Suddenly his face twisted in rage.
Bewildered, I asked,
“What? What’s wrong?”
“What? You ask what’s wrong? Is it fun playing with me while grinning like that!”
“I’m not really playing... Doesn’t it amuse you?”
At my retort, Wi Cheon-gyeong stared at me like I was unbelievable.
Indeed, his eyes held no joy in clashing martial arts—only humiliation and anger.
Only then did I realize he hadn’t stepped up out of a martial artist’s pride.
He’d done it solely to save face as the band leader, the Ronin Band’s chief.
Realizing that, my excitement plummeted.
“...Yeah. Sorry about that. I’ll fight you properly now.”
“Huh?”
I assumed the stance for the second form of the Three Powers Sword Technique: Horizontal Sweep of the Little Heavenly Army, steadying my aura.
“W-Wait...!”
The bandit impersonator earlier, I’d crushed with Mt. Tai Pressing Down, embodying the heavy sword’s essence.
This was different.
Plant my lower body firmly, channel strength from my waist through shoulder, elbow, wrist into one strike.
Target: Wi Cheon-gyeong’s neck.
Swing my sword with full power along the straightest, fastest path from my blade to his neck.
This was the essence of the swift sword.
Wi Cheon-gyeong couldn’t even perceive the swing.
In the blink of an eye, he just gasped at the blade touching his neck.
“...I lose.”
Wi Cheon-gyeong glanced between the sword at his neck and my face, then shut his eyes and relaxed his sword hand.
“Take your men and go, as promised.”
“...Right.”
I withdrew my sword from his neck and quietly sheathed it.
Turning toward the procession, I saw the ronin I’d fought earlier rising here and there, clutching wounds.
As I approached, they flinched and parted left and right, making way.
What, like Moses in the wuxia world?
I passed between them, chuckling inwardly at the joke.
Their eyes, filled with fear and unable to meet mine properly, gave way to ones brimming with awe.
“You’ve worked hard, Young Hero Goon. Any injuries...?”
“None. Thank you for your concern.”
“Ah, yes.”
Passing the escorts bowing especially low, I finally returned to our carriage.
“Good work.”
Hwa-ryeon greeted me with those words, while inside the carriage flap, Miss Seol stared with eyes wide as saucers.
Recalling how she’d hidden her circumstances, a bit of cheer seeped into my slightly sunken mood.
“Now, why don’t you explain your situation yourself, Miss Runaway?”
At my words, Miss Seol’s face instantly turned beet red.