Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Opponent
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The third match had concluded.
The audience was once again enveloped in silence.
“.......”
“.......”
Some blinked in confusion, unable to comprehend the situation, while others let out hollow laughs.
Still others gazed at the young man with eyes filled with fear.
Without exception, their reactions were negative—unable to understand, astonished, or terrified.
At the end of those gazes was a sight no one present had anticipated.
On the arena stage stood two people.
One was upright, while the other lay motionless on the ground.
One side had won, and the other had lost.
For combatants on the arena stage, it was a perfectly natural outcome.
What the spectators hadn't expected was the direction of victory and defeat.
The peerless master renowned across the martial world, Sun-chang's Cho Un-yeop, versus a nameless young warrior of unknown origin.
Everyone had been certain of the former's victory.
Everyone had been certain of the latter's defeat.
Yet the result before their eyes was the complete opposite.
The spear had left its master's hand and was pathetically rolling across the arena stage,
while the sword remained firmly gripped in its master's hand.
Amid the silence from this unbelievable outcome, the referee climbed onto the arena stage.
After confirming that Un-yeop's opponent remained utterly still, the referee took several deep breaths, clearly shocked himself, before announcing the result.
“The third match is... a victory for the Namgung family!”
Even with the referee's declaration, no cheers rang out.
A result too unbelievable even after seeing it with their own eyes.
Rather than sending praise to the victor, the spectators were busy murmuring among themselves.
-What the hell is that guy's identity?
-He's participating in the tournament, so he must be a warrior from the Namgung family, right?
-Did the Namgung family have a monster like that? Then why have they been getting pushed around by Tyrant Heaven Fortress until now?
Those who knew the inside story of the conflicts between Tyrant Heaven Fortress and the Namgung family were confused, unable to make sense of the circumstances.
-Was Sun-chang's sudden collapse due to blood loss after all?
-That must be it. The amount of blood was no joke. Getting careless early on was the big mistake.
-Tsk tsk. Carelessness brought disaster. He didn't even properly circulate his protective energy....
Meanwhile, the warriors who had come to spectate the tournament analyzed the reasons for Un-yeop's defeat among themselves.
-Did you see that just now? What kind of person...!
-I saw it. Flashing east, flashing west... Is that even human?
-S-Scary... He's not a person, he's a ghost, isn't he?
The common folk of Hebi suspected the young man was a ghost and trembled in fear.
It was a stark contrast to the previous match with Namgung Hyeon, which had drawn all sorts of admiration.
This reaction left the Namgung father and son feeling embarrassed instead.
‘He stepped up for the Namgung family, and this is the response...’
Though they bore no responsibility for the current situation, they couldn't suppress their embarrassment.
“Hmm...”
But the young man himself didn't seem particularly bothered by the surrounding reactions.
No, it would be more accurate to say he had no time to care.
He was busy examining the unconscious Un-yeop.
-Tuk! Tuk!
He laid the limp body flat and prodded various points on it.
He gave instructions to the Tyrant Heaven Fortress warriors fidgeting nearby, having them carry Un-yeop away.
With Un-yeop transported off, only the young man and the referee remained on the arena stage.
The referee glanced briefly at the now-empty seats on Tyrant Heaven Fortress's side before shouting loudly.
“Tyrant Heaven Fortress's third combatant, come forward!”
The shout echoed thunderously through the tournament grounds.
But no one stepped forward.
Tyrant Heaven Fortress hadn't prepared a third combatant.
They had been that confident in Cho Un-yeop's victory.
Now, that confidence had turned into poison boomeranging back at them.
“Tyrant Heaven Fortress's combatant, ascend the arena stage!”
The referee called for a combatant once more.
Still, no one climbed onto the arena stage.
-Whoa, does this mean the Namgung family keeps control of Hebi?
-Tyrant Heaven Fortress must have prepared for this for a long time too. This must be a headache for them.
Murmurs arose from somewhere in the spectator seats.
Hearing them all too clearly, Chilji felt her composure twist as she let out a small scoff.
‘Yeah, a whole year of effort has crumbled to nothing.’
On top of that, Tyrant Heaven Fortress now looked utterly ridiculous.
As mentioned earlier, Tyrant Heaven Fortress had spent a full year greatly diminishing the Namgung family's forces.
The current Namgung family was, without exaggeration, the weakest it had ever been in its long history.
Yet they had lost to such a Namgung family.
It was as good as Tyrant Heaven Fortress publicly declaring themselves weaker than the already enfeebled Namgung family.
‘It's all because of that bastard.’
Chilji glared at the young man standing arrogantly on the arena stage, gazing toward the branch leader's side.
The thought that one guy had ruined everything made her seethe with rage, but at the same time, her desire to dominate him grew even stronger.
‘Right now... that's impossible. I'll have to bide my time.’
As her thoughts solidified around dominating the young man, Chilji pondered ways to break through his mental barriers.
‘...Should I try the honey trap?’
Chilji recalled how she had dominated the young members of the Heaven Light Brigade.
She had gathered the ones who secretly eyed her and flashed a bit of skin, and soon enough, their minds crumbled on one side.
He was much younger than those members, so maybe even easier...?
‘...No.’
He didn't seem like someone who would fall for that.
She ran through all the methods she'd used before, but none seemed suitable.
Letting out a small sigh, Chilji thought to look for a better way as she rose from her seat.
With the tournament ending in this worst possible outcome, there was no longer any reason to stay.
She would return and devise countermeasures...
-Tuk
“...Young Fortress Lord?”
Chilji looked at Ho-jeong, who had suddenly placed his foot on the railing.
No, why was he putting his foot there all of a sudden...?
“Tyrant Heaven Fortress's combatant! I'm right here!”
“Y-Young Fortress Lord?!”
-Boom!
Startled by Ho-jeong's sudden impulsive action, Chilji tried to stop him, but with a short explosive sound, Ho-jeong vanished from before her eyes.
“Wha—what...?”
Where did that guy go?
As Chilji looked around frantically for Ho-jeong, her gaze inadvertently turned toward the arena stage.
And in her eyes was captured the back of Ho-jeong flying toward the arena stage.
“Th-that...?”
Ho-jeong, arcing through the air toward the arena stage, then—
-Kwang!
“Ow!?”
He rolled unsightly across the arena stage.
“.......”
“.......”
A cold silence flowed through the tournament grounds.
Ignoring it completely, Ho-jeong sprang to his feet, flung off the hood he was wearing, and revealed his face to the spectators.
-I-Isn't that Tyrant Heaven Fortress's Young Fortress Lord?
-First Sun-chang, now even the Young Fortress Lord is entering the match?
“Damn it...!”
Hearing the piercing murmurs, Chilji barely swallowed the curse rising to her throat.
*
Using the forms of Heavenly Thunderclap to fell Cho Un-yeop and receiving the victory judgment from the referee, I immediately laid the unconscious Un-yeop flat and checked his condition.
And I clicked my tongue briefly.
“Tsk.”
Because he hadn't properly staunched the bleeding and had moved his body so violently, the already serious wound had torn open even further.
Still, if I just stopped the bleeding, he should pull through somehow?
I tapped various points on Un-yeop's body to halt the blood flow, then handed him over to the hesitant Tyrant Heaven Fortress warriors and had them take him to a physician.
“Ahem...”
As I watched his retreating back, an awkward cough came from behind me.
I turned my head to see the referee, who had been staring at Tyrant Heaven Fortress's empty seats, shouting loudly.
“Tyrant Heaven Fortress's third combatant, come forward!”
The shout reverberated throughout the entire tournament grounds.
But of course, no one responded to the call, and not a single person approached the arena stage.
“Ehem....”
The referee's expression soured even more as he shouted loudly once again.
“Tyrant Heaven Fortress's combatant, ascend the arena stage!”
Please, just have someone—anyone—come up.
It was a shout laced with such desperation.
I followed the referee's gaze, which kept flicking back behind me.
At its end was Hebi's Branch Leader Ji-hyeon, his face flushed red and badly contorted, clearly seething with anger.
Well, of course. He must have been elated thinking he'd soon seize all the Namgung family's assets.
For it to fall apart like this, naturally he'd be furious.
But what could he do? It wouldn't end with just failing to make some money.
Recalling the letter I'd found in Ji-hyeon's room and the falsified land registry, I chuckled inwardly before subtly shifting my gaze to the side.
Next to Ji-hyeon, at the center of the platform, sat the Branch Leader.
Unlike Ji-hyeon, who was turning red and blue with rage, his complexion seemed outwardly no different from usual.
On the surface, he really looked like someone completely uninvolved in Tyrant Heaven Fortress's scheme.
Hmm, whether his true feelings match his appearance... I'll confirm that soon enough.
“Tyrant Heaven Fortress's combatant! I'm right here!”
“...Huh?”
I turned at the shout from behind me.
Then, someone soaring through the air—whoooosh—entered my view.
A hooded man landed dashingly on the arena stage...
-Kwang!
“Ow!?”
He didn't.
The man rolled clumsily across the arena stage, which was already a mess from the continuous matches.
Letting out a pained groan, he immediately sprang to his feet and tossed away his hood.
“You...!”
Confirming the finally revealed face, I hardened my expression.
The man who had suddenly flown in from the spectator seats claiming to be Tyrant Heaven Fortress's combatant was none other than their Young Fortress Lord, Joo Ho-jeong.
Having brushed off the dirt from his martial robes, which were soiled here and there from rolling on the arena stage, Joo Ho-jeong grinned at me as if delighted to see me.