Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Raid on the Nangong Clan
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The rest of the group, following after Ja-seong who had burst out of the room first, headed straight toward the southern side of the manor.
It wasn't long before they encountered servants and maids fleeing with faces filled with terror.
“F-Family Head!”
Upon spotting Nangong Seonwoo, they lit up with relief and rushed over, pouring out their pleas.
“S-Suddenly, these masked bastards climbed over the clan walls and started killing everyone!”
“Sob… Uncle Wang, Chilbok, everyone… they were all cut down by swords….”
Nangong Seonwoo's face, which had been regarding Ja-seong's words with skepticism, hardened rigidly.
Sure enough, moments later, dozens of masked figures appeared before the group, proving their words true.
Nangong Seonwoo let out a roar upon recognizing the hulking figure at the forefront of the masked men.
“You bastard, Tak Cheolwoo! How dare you invade the Nangong Clan without permission and commit such atrocities!”
His shout echoed thunderously through the manor, twisting Cheolwoo's face as he bellowed back.
“Atrocities? Your very existence is the atrocity itself. Parasites who've sucked the blood of the common folk for centuries. Today, I'll sever those tenacious necks of yours.”
“W-What the…!”
Nangong Seonwoo and Nangong Hyeon were stunned beyond anger at Cheolwoo's words, which had turned him into a revolutionary fighter against tyranny in the mere hours since the martial tournament.
-Shing
The father and son drew their swords, channeling their exact sentiments into the motion.
Likewise drawing his sword and standing beside them, Dae-un glanced sidelong at the three women behind him.
“Miss, leave this to us. You ladies handle evacuating the people.”
“…Understood.”
Hwa-ryeon nodded.
Nangong Hyeon, standing next to Dae-un, spoke to Yakbing.
“Lady Bing, go with them.”
“Family Head, please be careful.”
Yakbing watched Nangong Hyeon's retreating back with a face full of worry before following after Hwa-ryeon.
Thus, the three women led the surviving servants toward the western main gate of the manor.
“Chase them!”
“Not on my watch!”
At Cheolwoo's order to pursue them, some of the masked Celestial Light Brigade members moved, but Nangong Hyeon intercepted them first.
“You won't pass here until you kill me!”
Cheolwoo sneered at Nangong Hyeon's bold declaration.
“Then we'll kill you all first and chase them down. Attack!”
At Cheolwoo's command, dozens of Celestial Light Brigade members drew their weapons simultaneously and charged at the three men.
“Hah!”
-Clang! Clang!
Dozens clashed against three.
Surprisingly, the momentum was evenly matched.
It began with Nangong Hyeon's Soaring Palace Flash Strike.
Nangong Hyeon stomped forward and lunged ahead.
His sword strike, flashing forth like an arrow, sliced long across the lead Celestial Light Brigade member charging at him.
“Argh!?”
Undeterred by their comrade collapsing and spraying blood before their eyes, three others thrust at Nangong Hyeon simultaneously.
Nangong Hyeon leaped back, evading the swords.
The three pairs of eyes visible through their masks widened in shock at the leap that transcended human limits.
To them flew the faint shadow of a sword bathed in moonlight.
Executed mid-air, the Sword Shadow Piercing Heaven—reduced to three shadows, half its usual number—stabbed the vitals of the three Celestial Light Brigade members.
“Guh…!”
“Keuk!”
“Grrgh…”
The three collapsed with distinct death rattles.
With four comrades down in an instant, the Celestial Light Brigade finally began to hesitate.
“Tch, out of the way!”
Pushing through his subordinates, the massive figure stepped forward and drew the enormous cleaver from his back.
“A rematch right away, then.”
“You sure you can handle it? I won't go easy like I did this afternoon.”
Nangong Hyeon countered Cheolwoo's muttering—with evident satisfaction—with icy provocation.
Though he said nothing, as the young master of the Nangong Clan, he harbored immense fury toward Cheolwoo for slaughtering his clansmen.
“Putting on a bluff you can't back up. You think you're the only one who held back? This time, I'll kill you and avenge the family head.”
Cheolwoo snarled viciously.
He still hadn't shed his misconception that Nangong Hyeon had killed Sa Gongchan.
The two glared at each other with fury-filled eyes before charging without regard for who struck first.
-Kaboom!
A thunderous explosion rocked the manor as the two warriors collided.
Nangong Seonwoo, realizing his only son was clashing with the enemy leader, felt unease even as he blocked the enemies' attacks.
Though Nangong Hyeon had won against Cheolwoo in the tournament, duels and real combat were worlds apart.
Cheolwoo possessed vast combat experience that Nangong Hyeon lacked.
‘I need to go help…!’
Unease bred impatience, and impatience dulled the sharpness of his sword strikes.
It was Dae-un, fighting alongside him, who steadied Nangong Seonwoo shaken by paternal affection.
“Brother Nangong, steady your heart.”
“Brother Yeo, but…!”
Dae-un deflected a sword stabbing at his thigh, then thrust into his opponent's chest in retaliation, continuing.
“If you get taken down worrying about the young master, it'll be putting the cart before the horse. Focus on the enemies before you first.”
“Urk…!”
Unable to refute the irrefutable logic, Nangong Seonwoo gritted his teeth as another sword flew at him.
-Kaang!
But the sword failed to pierce his skin operating the Heavenly Thunder Divine Body Art and bounced off.
The right arm reeled back from the rebound force.
Nangong Seonwoo's sword pierced the now-exposed abdomen.
“Guh…!”
The Celestial Light Brigade member went limp, as if drained of strength.
Nangong Seonwoo kicked the chest, withdrawing his sword, and shouted loudly.
“Come on, who's next!”
His intent was to draw the enemies' attention to himself, preventing any from interfering in Cheolwoo and Nangong Hyeon's duel.
The ploy worked well; the remaining Celestial Light Brigade swarmed toward the two.
“Hah!”
Dae-un stepped forward in response.
Though not as fast as Soaring Palace Flash Strike, he charged at the Celestial Light Brigade members with astonishing speed.
Like a tiger amid sheep, he began felling them left and right.
‘…Is this really my movement?’
As he swung his sword, Dae-un suddenly thought.
The days over the past half-month struggling to learn inner energy release and its knack from Ja-seong, refining his circulation method, inner arts, swordsmanship, and more.
That headache-inducing time hadn't been wasted; Dae-un toyed with the Celestial Light Brigade members using movements even more exquisite than in his youth.
Of course, it wasn't all upsides.
-Whish!
“Urk…!”
Dae-un frowned at the burning pain in his forearm.
Unable to operate protective arts, he'd been wounded even by a blind thrust.
Moreover, as Ja-seong had predicted, the stances with the altered circulation method lacked their former power.
‘Still a long way to go.’
With circulation and swordsmanship not meshing, dissonance was inevitable.
Yet Dae-un felt anticipation rather than frustration.
It was middling now, but once he fully reestablished his swordsmanship and circulation?
‘How strong will I be then?’
His passion for martial arts, gradually cooling with age, reignited.
In his exhilarated state, Dae-un kept swinging his sword, toppling Celestial Light Brigade members, when he spotted some slyly trying to slip back.
“Where do you think you're going!”
His roar and attempt to block them were thwarted by others desperately barring his path.
“Brother Nangong, those guys…!”
Turning urgently to Nangong Seonwoo, Dae-un saw he too was surrounded.
In the end, the escaped Celestial Light Brigade members went chasing after Hwa-ryeon and the others.
“Where the hell is that kid, and what’s he doing?!”
Dae-un searched for Ja-seong, who had dashed out first and vanished, but the one felled by Chilji's Soul-Reaping Brew couldn't hear the shout.
*
“Huff…! Huff…!”
Harried breaths echoed repeatedly as they ran desperately.
“Just a bit further. Hang in there.”
Yakbing encouraged those lagging behind, while Hwa-ryeon and Seol stayed vigilant for pursuers.
Pressing on toward the western main gate, they finally reached it.
But their steps had been too delayed; over a dozen masked men already stood guard before the gate, waiting.
“Oh no…!”
“We're done for….”
The people despaired at the sight.
As the masked men approached with weapons drawn, sensing death imminent, the three women stepped forward.
Hwa-ryeon, Yakbing, and Seol drew their swords, declaring their intent to fight.
The Celestial Light Brigade members faltered at the sight, then let out low chuckles.
“Puhahaha…!”
“Keuh….”
Clear derision, plainly underestimating them.
Yakbing frowned, showing faint anger, while Hwa-ryeon and Seol's eyes sparkled instead.
-In real combat, an opponent underestimating you is a good thing. It means their reactions to your attacks will be that much slower.
Recalling Ja-seong's words from training one day, the two exchanged glances, biding their moment.
Meanwhile, three fully off-guard Celestial Light Brigade members stepped forward casually, spewing vulgarities.
“Hey, what's with those? Gonna do a sword dance?”
“Keuhehe… Not bad. Let's see your dancing skills.”
“Loosen those robes a bit for a better show?”
Crude obscenities dripping with base desire.
Eyes peering through masks roved over Hwa-ryeon and Yakbing's bodies.
The Celestial Light Brigade, one side of their minds shattered by Chilji's Soul-Enthralling Technique, vulnerable to desires.
To them, the two women's alluring figures wrapped in soft moonlight were fatally tempting.