Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: The Sword Bearing the Emperor's Majesty
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“You seem perfectly fine. What the hell have you been doing?”
“Ah… how do I put this? Having a battle of wills, I guess….”
“…What nonsense is that?”
Yeah, tell me about it.
I have no idea what I’m even saying myself.
Shrugging my shoulders, I turned my gaze back to the Heavenly Light Troops.
In the meantime, the aura radiating from over fifty men was growing ever more murderous.
“Kill them all—!”
The tension swelling like it was about to burst finally exploded with Chilji’s sharp shout.
“Waaah!”
The Heavenly Light Troops charged forward with a battle cry.
The sight of more than fifty warriors barreling straight at us carried an overwhelming pressure.
Seeing them charge, my companions gripped their weapons tighter.
But exhaustion was plain on every one of their faces.
“Fall back. I’ll handle this.”
It was obvious at a glance that none of them could fight anymore.
Confirming as much, I held them back and stepped forward.
“Young Master Goon, what are…? You’re not thinking of facing them alone, are you?”
“I’ve kinda been sitting this one out unintentionally, so I need to make up for it somehow.”
“That’s reckless! They’re one of Tyrant Heaven Fortress’s elite units. They’re nothing like mere ronin. No matter how skilled you are, Young Master Goon…!”
Turning to Hwa-ryeon, who was desperately trying to stop me, I flashed a grin.
Meeting my smile, she looked anxious, so I added a reassuring word.
“Don’t worry too much. The final piece of the picture I’ve been chasing just fell into place.”
“…Pardon?”
During my mental clash with Chilji, my subconscious—taking the form of Grandfather—had spoken.
-Set your will and think.
Set your will and think.
In other words, intent.
Why is martial arts called martial arts, the study of the warrior’s way?
Because it’s not just about learning how to swing a weapon.
You learn, train in, and comprehend the imagery and intent embedded within the martial arts themselves.
That’s why it’s called a study.
For over a decade of training, I’d focused solely on the forms, never truly pondering the meaning they contained.
In short, my martial arts had form but no intent.
Up until now, that hadn’t been a big issue.
This fake martial world didn’t even have the concept of infusing intent.
But from here on, things would change.
If I truly wanted to change this world, I had to change first.
Infusing intent and imagery into my martial arts.
That would be my first step.
I’d gained that realization from my fight with Chilji.
And that realization became the final piece of the unfinished picture.
The final piece of the Emperor’s Sword Form.
Staring down the charging Heavenly Light Troops, I called out to Namgoong-hyeon.
“Young Lord.”
“Yes?”
His surprised voice responded to the sudden call.
Without turning, I continued.
“Watch closely. I won’t be doing this twice.”
“Twice? What do you—”
Leaving Namgoong-hyeon’s unfinished question behind, I stepped forward.
The Heavenly Light Troops were now just a few paces away.
Taking a deep breath at the sight, I stomped down hard.
-Boom!
“Guh?!”
At the same instant, the shockwave I unleashed crushed the dozens of Heavenly Light Troops all at once.
Over fifty warriors dropped to their knees, unable to withstand the pressure of my aura.
Up to this point, it was exactly what I’d envisioned before.
Overwhelming their bodies with aura pressure to subdue them.
That’s what I’d thought was the essence of the Emperor’s Sword Form.
But now I knew better.
I knew it was completely wrong.
Why is it called the Emperor’s Sword Form?
Because it is literally the sword of an emperor, a ruler.
I recalled the Branch Commander’s presence from earlier today.
Even though he hadn’t properly trained in martial arts as a civilian, he’d momentarily overwhelmed me with his sheer presence.
How was that possible?
Because he had no doubt whatsoever that he was a ruler.
That unshakable conviction that he was the one in command had manifested as an overpowering presence that dominated everyone.
That was the final piece needed for the Emperor’s Sword Form.
A sword of the emperor must naturally carry the mindset of an emperor.
The conviction that I myself am the master and ruler of my life, my story, my fate.
I loaded that intent into my aura.
“Guh, ugh…!”
The faces of the kneeling Heavenly Light Troops turned deathly pale.
Their bodies were crushed by the intense aura flowing from me,
And their minds were overwhelmed by the imperial majesty infused in that aura.
“This is…!”
Amazed voices rose from my companions behind me.
Ahead, beyond the subdued Heavenly Light Troops, a sharp cry of alarm erupted.
“W-What!? What did you just do?!”
Chilji, who had recovered enough to stand unsteadily on his own, stared at me with trembling eyes.
Meeting those eyes quaking with unease, I raised my sword overhead.
Then I gathered all my inner energy and wrapped it around the blade.
Clearer than ever before, the tangible qi coalesced around the sword and then exploded outward.
-Kuuung-!
Countless sword qi beams shot toward the sky from its center.
The sword qi swirling there was literally a storm-wreathed blade.
-Kwaaa!
Suddenly, a deafening roar like something shattering echoed from above.
At the same time, Chilji’s eyes widened as if they might tear.
“The formation…!?”
Chilji stared at me, his face paling in disbelief.
Snapping to his senses, he desperately shouted at the immobilized Heavenly Light Troops.
“R-Run! Get out of here now!”
The Heavenly Light Troops, turned into Chilji’s loyal dogs by his mind-enslavement spell.
But already cowed by my presence, they couldn’t even twitch a finger despite their master’s command.
I swung down the storm-wreathed sword toward the Heavenly Light Troops, who awaited judgment like condemned sinners.
-Kwagagang-!
The judgment of heaven—the emperor—swept them all away.
*
-Kwagagang-!
Amid the ear-shattering roar that seemed to devour space itself, Namgoong-hyeon stared blankly at Jaseong’s back and the sword he wielded.
-Watch closely. I won’t be doing it twice.
At first, he hadn’t understood what Jaseong meant.
But now, Namgoong-hyeon got it. He had no choice but to.
He meant to burn that sword into his eyes.
That storm of a sword, like heaven delivering divine punishment, sweeping away countless foes in one stroke.
“…Ah.”
It felt like his eyes, closed until now, snapped wide open.
From the representative sword art Heavenly Wind Sword to the fist art Heavenly Thunder Fist and the footwork Infinite Step.
All of the Namgoong family’s martial arts stemmed from the vast expanse of the sky.
Thus, the Namgoong family’s ultimate art should naturally be a sword like a storm, the sky’s wrath.
Jaseong had shown him the answer directly.
‘No, that’s not all.’
Namgoong-hyeon recalled Jaseong’s figure just before he swung the sword.
The way he dominated everything, overwhelming everyone.
Even from a distance, Namgoong-hyeon had been momentarily awed by that presence.
As if to prove it wasn’t his imagination, the Heavenly Light Troops had knelt before Jaseong’s presence.
Like sinners awaiting judgment.
Standing loftily before them, Jaseong had brought down the sword like an emperor pronouncing sentence.
‘…Emperor.’
The irreverent impression rose unbidden.
Namgoong-hyeon shook his head to dispel it, but it stuck like a brand, refusing to fade.
No, far from fading, it only grew clearer.
-That is the pinnacle the Namgoong must pursue.
Confused by the intrusive thought, the storm gradually subsided in the meantime.
“Hoo…!”
“Wow….”
The results were revealed.
Letting out hollow laughs and gasps of admiration, the group faced the scene before them.
The Heavenly Light Troops.
One of the fifteen combat units of Tyrant Heaven Fortress, the largest faction in the martial world—a force said to rival mid-sized sects on its own.
And they lay sprawled on the ground in miserable ruin from a single sword stroke.
Their bodies were riddled with gashes from sharp blades, and severed limbs were common.
A few lucky ones groaned faintly, still clinging to life, but it was only a matter of time.
Only one could be said to still be alive.
“Grrr…!”
In the midst of a sea of blood and corpses, a massive brute knelt, growling like a beast.
Needless to say, it was the Great Power Tyrant, Tak Cheol-woo.
“…Cough!”
Coughing up blackened dead blood, Cheol-woo.
Sensing death’s approach vividly, he laboriously lifted his head to gaze up at Jaseong standing before him.
“W-What was that just now…? Who the hell… are you…?”
What was that single sword stroke?
Who are you?
Voicing his final question, he slumped forward before he could hear an answer.
And never moved again.
Thus, the mighty Heavenly Light Troops were annihilated.
By one man’s hand, with a single sword stroke.
A ridiculously boring, joke of a situation.
Tell it to someone who didn’t witness it, and they’d just call you a liar.
“…We survived.”
Lost in their thoughts, the group snapped to attention at Seol-i’s quiet murmur and approached Jaseong.
But the moment they did, a displeased click of the tongue came from Jaseong’s mouth.
“Tch, he slipped away.”
Where Jaseong’s gaze fell, Chilji had vanished without a trace.