Chapter 207
Chapter 207
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 207
Chapter Title: Unleashed Fury
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“Ye-rang.”
“……?”
Cradling Yun An-ro, Shin Ye-rang turned at Kim San's call.
And soon, she realized why he had called her.
Warriors, their eyes gleaming menacingly, were approaching.
Could these men be…?
“What is the meaning of this!”
“Step aside.”
As Chang Seo approached, Gong Yang-eun, a warrior of the Namgung Family, blocked his path.
“The Sword Emperor is fighting.”
“I am aware.”
“What?”
“I have already received my orders.”
“What do you mean?”
Gong Yang-eun scowled and glared at Zhuge Min, who stood a short distance away.
“The young master desires a certain victory.”
“Even so! How can men who call themselves warriors do such a thing? Do you have no pride as martial artists?”
“……Pride?”
Chang Seo scoffed at Gong Yang-eun's words.
“What is that?”
“What did you say?”
“We have never considered anything more important than our orders…”
“You insolent…!”
“The young master asked. If the Sword Emperor falls, will you take responsibility?”
“Silence! Are you disrespecting the Sword Emperor!”
“Well… if he does, then you can take responsibility.”
“What?”
“If the Sword Emperor is defeated, the Namgung Family's reputation will be ruined. And you will also have to bear the responsibility for letting Neung Un-bi escape.”
“……”
“Are you fine with that? Even after seeing the situation over there?”
Gong Yang-eun's eye twitched at Chang Seo's cold gaze, which seemed ready for a fight.
Even against an enemy, there was a code of conduct to be upheld…
But a quick glance revealed that the Sword Emperor was not faring well. For some reason, he wasn't displaying the level of skill he was known for.
If, as Chang Seo said, the Sword Emperor were to be defeated… The possibility was extremely slim, but what if… what if it really happened?
“Will you step aside?”
“Umm….”
The fear born from that 'what if' made Gong Yang-eun lower his head. In the end, he had no choice but to have the Namgung warriors step back and clear a path for Chang Seo.
As Chang Seo and his men, their path now clear, approached, Shin Ye-rang hugged Yun An-ro tightly, and Kim San drew his sword.
“Tsk, with that old body of yours… Hand over Yun An-ro. If you do, what little life you have left might be extended.”
“Silence!”
“Is that so? Then I have no choice.”
A cruel smile played on Chang Seo's lips at Kim San's shout, and his men attacked Kim San all at once.
Kim San, swiftly evading with the Three Nothings Footwork, swung his sword at one of the warriors attacking him.
Thrust!
The sword plunged deep, piercing the man's body, and Kim San immediately tried to find his next target.
But the sword wouldn't move as he willed.
“You're caught, fool!”
“……!?”
The warrior, his abdomen pierced, was gripping the sword tightly.
“You, you bastard!”
“Did you really think we wouldn't have analyzed you?”
“What?”
“We saw it in the previous fight. Your specialty is using your swift movement technique to advance and retreat while wielding your sword, isn't it?”
“Th-this is…!”
Seeing the cruel smile of the warrior who had sealed his sword with his own body, a panicked Kim San tried to let go of his sword and retreat.
But that brief moment of panic sealed his fate.
Stab! Stab! Stab!
Five swords embedded themselves in his body.
“San!”
Seeing Kim San stagger back, Shin Ye-rang's eyes widened as she screamed his name.
“Guuh….”
But Kim San could no longer stand. He took a few steps back, then his legs seemed to give out, and he collapsed to the ground.
“Ye… rang….”
“San….”
“I'm… sor… ry…”
Stab, stab, stab!
As if five swords weren't enough, blades repeatedly plunged into and pulled out of Kim San's fallen body.
Kim San's body convulsed each time a sword was driven in and withdrawn.
The end of his wavering gaze was still fixed on Shin Ye-rang.
Though he had already stopped breathing, a mixture of blood and tears flowed from his eyes, soaking the ground.
A friend he had spent a lifetime with.
A comrade who had chosen to work in the shadows, never doubting his belief that a world would come where right was recognized as right and wrong was always punished.
At his death, tears streamed endlessly from Shin Ye-rang's eyes.
“That's one down.”
Standing on Kim San's corpse, Chang Seo licked his lips with his red tongue and smiled cruelly.
“Saaaaan!”
Overcome with grief, Shin Ye-rang let out a guttural scream that seemed to tear her vocal cords.
“You bastard! I'll kill you!”
Setting Yun An-ro down, she gripped her dagger and charged at Chang Seo.
* * *
“Hm?”
Even as he fought for breath, Neung Un-bi relentlessly pressed Namgung Mu-wi, giving him no quarter. Then, a voice clearly reached his ears.
A glance revealed the limp form of Shin Ye-rang, her neck caught in Chang Seo's grasp.
Huh?
At the unexpected situation, the strength drained from his sword hand.
Clang!
The sound was lighter, crisper than before.
As the power vanished from Neung Un-bi's strike, Namgung Mu-wi, finally finding a moment to breathe, seized the opportunity and threw a palm strike.
Thwack!
The dull impact struck Neung Un-bi's side, sending him staggering back.
Whoosh!
Hyang-i's dagger flew in next, but to Namgung Mu-wi, who had seized the chance to counter, it was no longer a threat.
Clang!
As Namgung Mu-wi's sword simultaneously parried the dagger and swung at her, Hyang-i quickly retreated.
“Tch!”
Now that her coordinated attack with Neung Un-bi was broken, she could no longer attack from the shadows.
Moreover, Neung Un-bi was not in good shape. The impact from Namgung Mu-wi's palm strike must have been significant, yet his gaze was fixed on Yun An-ro and his companions.
“San….”
The name of the man who was already dead.
Crack.
“Ye-rang….”
The name of the woman whose neck had just been broken in Chang Seo's hand.
“…No.”
And seeing Chang Seo approach Yun An-ro, Neung Un-bi trembled and muttered.
“No!!”
Then, roaring, Neung Un-bi unleashed the Three Nothings Footwork and shot forward like an arrow.
Chang Seo was aiming his sword at Yun An-ro.
But he wasn't fast enough. He had expended too much energy fighting Namgung Mu-wi.
Stab!
The sight of Chang Seo plunging his sword into Yun An-ro's chest was vividly imprinted on Neung Un-bi's eyes.
And even the sight of the man smiling at him as he retreated as if fleeing.
A step too late, Neung Un-bi couldn't pursue Chang Seo and collapsed to his knees before Yun An-ro.
“Ahhh….”
His throat was choked with emotion, and no sound came out.
Neung Un-bi barely managed to lift his trembling hand and hold Yun An-ro's body.
It was still warm.
The blood, the blood gushing from his chest, had to be stopped.
He can live. No, he must live!
Neung Un-bi's hands moved frantically. He pressed down on the wound in his chest with all his might, but the blood seeping through his fingers was relentless.
“Young… Master… Neung…”
“Don't speak! Save your strength!”
“…I'm sorry. Because of me.”
“I told you not to speak!”
He shouted at the top of his lungs, but Yun An-ro seemed not to hear, his mouth continuing to move weakly.
It was just another death in the midst of a fierce battle, yet everyone watched with grim expressions.
[You bastard, what is the meaning of this?]
[My apologies, Sword Emperor. The situation being what it is… I will gladly accept my punishment later.]
As Namgung Mu-wi glared fiercely and demanded an explanation via telepathy, Zhuge Min sent back a reply of apology.
But to speak of the 'situation'? Didn't that mean he was worried that I would lose?
And how could someone who claimed he would accept punishment be so confident? His head was bowed, but the mouth hidden behind his fan was curved into a smile.
But Namgung Mu-wi couldn't say a word.
It was the truth.
It was a blow to his pride, but he had nearly been defeated. After losing to Dam Un-cheon, he had trained so diligently, yet now he had been wounded so badly by his disciple and a young girl who knew only assassination techniques.
In a way, Zhuge Min had actually saved his pride.
“Ahem!”
Clearing his throat, Namgung Mu-wi glared at Hyang-i and said.
“Since that one is in such a state, I'll have to kill you first. Now I see it was your dagger that took my son's head, wasn't it?”
As the sword tip turned towards her, Hyang-i scoffed and sneered.
“What a load of bullshit. I'm so dumbfounded I can't even speak.”
“……What did you say?”
“How the hell did a bastard like you get the title of Sword Emperor?”
Namgung Mu-wi's eye twitched at Hyang-i's venomous words.
“You were about to die, so this turned out great for you, didn't it?”
“Silence.”
“Why? Are you ashamed?”
“……”
“Shouldn't you be punishing those bastards who just disgraced the name of 'warrior' with their cheap tricks?”
“I told you to be silent!”
“Right, what's the point of talking to someone like you.”
“……”
“But you know what? I haven't even shown my true skills yet. And… most of the people who've talked with me this long have ended up dead.”
“You bitch! I'll shut that mouth of yours!”
His face flushed red with shame, Namgung Mu-wi's eyes narrowed as he swung his sword fiercely.
Shwaaaak!
The arc of the sword, filled with rage, seemed to split Hyang-i's body in two.
Saaaa…
But it scattered. As if it were an illusion, her severed body dispersed and vanished like scattering ash.
And in its place, darkness fell.
-Let's see how you fare, Sword Emperor.
“……?”
Hyang-i's voice echoed from an untraceable location, and soon, murderous daggers rained down from all directions.
The pinnacle of Hyang-i's assassination arts, Dark Sky Rain.
“This damn bitch!”
Only then realizing he was trapped in an assassin's killing technique, Namgung Mu-wi's eyes blazed with a brilliant light as he gripped his sword with both hands.
“Haaaap!”
With a powerful shout, the Emperor's Sword that had made Namgung Mu-wi the Sword Emperor revealed its divine might.
Krakooom!
* * *
The clash between Hyang-i and Namgung Mu-wi, accompanied by a tremendous explosion.
But Neung Un-bi's eyes and ears were focused solely on the dying Yun An-ro.
No matter how hard he pressed on the wound with his hands, the bleeding showed no signs of stopping.
“Young Master Neung… thank you….”
“……”
“Don't… try anymore….”
At the fading voice, Neung Un-bi bit his lower lip hard.
“……Wol-rin. I am Wol-rin.”
“……?”
“I am Wol-rin.”
“……!”
At Neung Un-bi's quiet voice, a flicker of strength returned to Yun An-ro's eyes.
“Wol-rin? Are you really Wol-rin?”
“Yes.”
“Ahh… you were alive. You were really alive all this time.”
“Yes.”
As if mustering the last of his strength, Yun An-ro waved a trembling hand in the air.
Can he… no longer see?
Neung Un-bi reached out with his own trembling hand and grasped both of his.
“Master….”
“Ah, Wol-rin. You were alive. You were alive.”
A smile appeared on his lips.
Though he must have known he was already dead, Yun An-ro smiled brightly with joy, as if seeing a phantom.
In response, Neung Un-bi also smiled back.
Thirty years ago. It felt as if they had returned to a past he could barely remember and met again.
“Thank goodness. I'm so glad. I was sorry. I was so sorry to you. I shouldn't have sent you away like that…”
“It wasn't your fault, Master. It was my choice.”
“No. I should never have sent you there. I'm sorry. I couldn't protect you.”
“Master…”
Was that it?
Did my death weigh so heavily on his heart?
“I'm sorry. Truly sor… ry. This foolish… brother… is sor… ry…”
But Yun An-ro couldn't even finish his apology.
Neung Un-bi gripped his limp hands even tighter.
He didn't want to let go.
How could this happen, after they had finally met again…
They hadn't even had the chance to properly reveal the past and share a drink…
“Master, Master!”
He called out again and again, but Yun An-ro no longer answered.
“Brother!”
Even though he finally said the word he had never dared to speak, Yun An-ro did not reply.
Dazed, Neung Un-bi's shoulders slumped as he stared at Yun An-ro's cooling body.
-What exactly does that man mean to you?
Jong Ri-gang had asked.
-He is my life.
He had answered.
Though it was a sentimental expression, it was the truth.
And now, that life had crumbled.
Since his revival, he had lived for the sole purpose of meeting him again…
Now even that was gone, leaving him to wander without purpose.
He felt empty. He had lost his entire reason for living.
What was he to do now?
What goal should he live for…?
At that moment, a voice reached him.
“Wol-rin? Brother? What's all that about?”
“……”
Neung Un-bi turned his head toward the voice that had reached his ears.
Zhuge Min. He was looking at him.
And next to him stood the man who had killed and trampled on Kim San, broken Shin Ye-rang's neck, and taken Yun An-ro's life.
“You….”
His bloodshot eyes turned crimson. The surging rage reached its peak, making his head spin.
And at that moment, the Demonic Spirit Divine Pill that had spread throughout Neung Un-bi's body began to rise like a black mist.
He couldn't think of anything.
Who he was, who he used to be.
Or even what he was doing here now.
“You… I'm going to kill you.”
However, with a voice that was downright eerie, Neung Un-bi fixed his gaze on Chang Seo and slowly rose to his feet.