Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: The Sword Bearing the Emperor's Majesty
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“No. That’s not a god. Quite the opposite.”
So-ha flatly denied Chilji’s words.
Unable to tolerate the continued blasphemy any longer, Chilji exploded.
“Kyahaak—! Then I’ll show you the true power granted by Him!”
The moment Chilji finished speaking, countless wooden vines began wrapping around her body.
In an instant, Chilji transformed in Ja-seong’s mental world into her previous form—a massive wooden monster—and let out a roar.
-Kkieeeek—!
Along with a chilling shriek that made one grimace just from hearing it, dozens of bundles of wooden vines whipped in all directions.
-Kwaang! Kwaaaang!
Buildings and walls alike shattered like sandcastles under the onslaught of Chilji’s wooden vines.
‘…Thank goodness it’s an empty house with no one inside.’
Otherwise, innocent people could have been hurt or killed.
Thinking that, So-ha brought her finger to her sword.
-Hwaruk!
A white flame ignited at the tip of her finger.
So-ha gently stroked the flat of the blade with her flaming finger, and the fire spread along her touch, enveloping the entire sword.
Aiming her now purely white, blazing sword at Chilji.
Seeing this, Chilji halted her rampage and charged at So-ha.
-Dieee—!
Her heavy footsteps thudding menacingly as she approached.
But to So-ha, it was utterly ridiculous.
‘Did she already forget how she burned away helplessly to the sacred flame just moments ago?’
To lose her reason and charge like this just because she’d insulted their god.
This was fanaticism for you…
Shaking her head inwardly, So-ha charged forward to meet her.
A hulking wooden monster barreling toward her, and a slender figure rushing to meet it.
“Hup!”
Just before collision, So-ha kicked off the ground and leaped high, her flaming sword slicing long through the wooden vines as she passed.
The flames that transferred to the severed vines spread throughout its body in an instant.
-Kya aaaak—!
Chilji thrashed wildly in agony as her entire body burned.
But the white flames consuming her wouldn’t extinguish no matter how she struggled.
In the end, the wooden monster turned to a pile of ash and vanished in moments.
Watching the white embers burn the last remnants of Chilji, So-ha turned to look behind her.
“It’s over now, so come on out. Or are you planning to get revenge for startling you last time?”
“…It’s not particularly that.”
A low voice accompanied the emergence of a figure.
The man who had chased after Chilji with a single sword in hand.
It was Ja-seong.
*
Right after annihilating the Heavenly Light Corps with the Imperial Sword Form, I realized Chilji had vanished and leaped over the crumbled wall to pursue her at once.
But I couldn’t find any trace of her when, suddenly, a familiar shriek echoed from afar.
-Kkieeeek—!
I rushed to the source and saw a devastated alley, along with Yeo So-ha slashing at a wooden monster with a sword wreathed in white flames.
-Kya aaaak—!
The wooden monster—Chilji—screamed in torment as she burned in the white flames.
Hiding in the corner, I watched Chilji get engulfed and reduced to ashes.
For that troublesome woman who wielded bizarre sorcery like soul-enslavement arts to go down so pathetically.
Moreover, that wooden monster form of Chilji had been tough enough that even I could barely cut through it after unleashing sword aura.
Yet those white flames incinerated her body in one go.
Of course, wood burning in fire was natural, but those flames felt fundamentally different.
It felt like samadhi true fire conjured from inner power, but it was completely unlike that.
As if it wasn’t inner power at all, but some entirely different force… What was it?
Lost in thoughts I couldn’t quite grasp myself, I kept watching Yeo So-ha when,
“It’s over now, so come on out. Or are you planning to get revenge for startling you last time?”
Damn, she’d noticed me from the start?
I thought I’d hidden my presence pretty well.
Clicking my tongue briefly, I had no choice but to step out from around the corner in front of Yeo So-ha.
“…It’s not particularly that.”
I glanced sidelong at her sword, still blazing white, and kept my guard up taut.
“Hm? Oh, because of this?”
Catching my gaze immediately, Yeo So-ha extinguished the flames on her sword and sheathed it obediently.
From her demeanor, she didn’t seem hostile toward me.
Easing my tension a bit, I cautiously asked a question.
“Why are you here?”
“Hm? Why? This is just an alley anyone can pass through.”
“…….”
I frowned at her innocent reply, and Yeo So-ha covered her mouth and chuckled softly.
A refined smile that didn’t suit the wrecked alley devastated by the rampaging wooden monster.
“Joking aside… Yeah. I was waiting nearby for that woman Chilji to flee out here.”
“It sounds like you knew the Nangong Clan was going to be attacked ahead of time.”
At my probing, Yeo So-ha nodded lightly.
“Yeah. One of my subordinates was keeping tabs on the Heavenly Light Corps’s movements. Thanks to that, I got a chance to take out Chilji.”
I didn’t ask something like, “If you knew ahead of time, couldn’t you have warned the Nangong Clan?”
Whether she knew about the attack or not, she had no duty or loyalty to inform them.
So I asked something else.
“Mind if I ask why you were after Chilji?”
“Simple. Because she’s our enemy.”
“Meaning you’re hostile to Tyrant Heaven Fortress?”
“Hm… That’s a bit tricky to answer.”
Yeo So-ha’s expression turned peculiar.
Like she was pondering how to explain it.
Just then, I sensed people gathering here and there around us.
They must have heard the commotion just now and come running.
“Oh dear, this isn’t a good time to talk. Looks like we’ll have to save the details for next time.”
“Next time? When do you think we’ll even meet again…?”
“We’ll see each other soon. I’ll come find you.”
With that, Yeo So-ha kicked off the ground and landed on a rooftop in a flash.
“Take care until then.”
“H-Hey!”
Despite my call, she vanished between the rooftops in an instant.
She’d concealed her presence and slipped away, and with my inner power running low, I couldn’t even think of chasing her.
In the end, all I gained was confirmation of Chilji’s death, and I had to return to the Nangong Clan empty-handed otherwise.
*
Four days had passed since that night’s attack.
In those four days—hardly a long time—a great many things had happened.
News of the Heavenly Light Corps’s midnight raid on the Nangong Clan spread throughout Hefei the next day, soon reaching the Branch Master’s ears.
Naturally, the Branch Master flew into a rage and rampaged, and the protest letter to Tyrant Heaven Fortress grew even longer.
Meanwhile, the investigator sent to probe Ji-hyun’s corruption confirmed his misdeeds and returned declaring his dismissal.
But most importantly, the Nangong Clan’s merchant caravan had returned.
Just as Nangong-hyeon had boasted, the caravan—escorted by soldiers—was of truly enormous scale.
It was so long that it took over two hours to fully pass by.
Well, the brighter the faces of Hefei’s people grew as it did, the better.
There was just one problem.
“I am Nangong Un-hyeon of the Nangong Clan. I challenge you to a duel.”
“…Again?”
The Nangong Clan warriors who’d returned with the caravan must have heard the stories and gotten fired up, because they kept coming to challenge me to duels every single day.
Playing along once or twice was fine, but repeating it dozens of times a day was exhausting to the point of death.
“Khuk… I yield.”
As the last challenger of the day, subdued in five exchanges, turned to leave, Hwa-ryeon and my master rotated in to the guest hall.
“You’ve had a tough day again.”
“It’s not tough, just boring.”
They might get hurt hearing that, but honestly, dealing with guys who couldn’t last ten breaths was neither fun nor anything but a hassle.
Maybe my feelings showed on my face, because Hwa-ryeon said exactly what I’d been waiting for.
“The talks with the Nangong Clan are done. We’ll leave the clan tomorrow.”
“Oh? That wrapped up faster than I thought.”
“Well, we did receive quite a bit.”
Received quite a bit, huh…
Thinking about it, a ton had happened in less than a month.
Investigating incidents, rescuing witnesses, the martial tournament, defending against the clan raid.
Felt more like two months had passed.
And now it was finally over.
“Then, shall we do one last check?”
“Check? What kind?”
“Something like this. Confirming if the butterfly properly hatched from its chrysalis.”
“...?”
Grinning at Hwa-ryeon’s head tilt, I promptly left the guest hall.
My destination, of course, the training grounds.
-Hap! Hap!
As I neared, familiar shouts rang out, as expected.
Entering, I saw Nangong-hyeon drenched in sweat, deep in training.
Spotting me, he brightened and set his sword down.
“Ah, Young Master Goon.”
“Did I interrupt?”
“No such thing. You’re always welcome, Young Master Goon.”
Wiping sweat with his training robe sleeve and smiling, Nangong-hyeon approached me.
Catching the faint hesitation in that smile, I smirked and asked,
“You’ve got a question, right? About the sword technique that swept away the Heavenly Light Corps back then.”