Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Lunar Eclipse
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He took a step forward.
But the Heavenly Pillar Gate’s encirclement did not yield an inch.
Instead, it tightened.
Though many warriors moved to block his path to Bae Hyo-gang, layering themselves before him, he felt no pressure at all.
On the contrary, it felt like… he had more prey. Dammit, this demonic energy really is driving me mad.
This must be why those who fall to their demonic nature cause all sorts of trouble, creating a bad reputation for the Demonic Cult.
“My lord!”
“……?”
Just as he was about to take another step, Wang Cheon blocked his path.
“What? Are you stopping me again?”
“No, sir.”
“……?”
As Neung Un-bi glared murderously, Wang Cheon shook his head, his expression firm.
“How could I commit such an act of disloyalty again?”
“……”
Again?
So you do realize your actions so far have been disloyal.
As Neung Un-bi tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, Wang Cheon quickly continued.
“I know! I know what you’re thinking!”
Good thing you know.
“I must naturally ask for punishment. But given the circumstances, now is not the time.”
“So?”
“Please leave the small fry to us.”
“That’s right. Please leave them to us, my lord!”
“……”
Damn them, asking me to share now?
Shut up! This is my prey… no, wait. How dare these bastards try to make up for their insolence.
“My lord! Please entrust this to us!”
“……”
At the earnest pleas of Wang Cheon and Ju Seung, Neung Un-bi let out a sharp sigh through his nose.
Ha, dammit.
Neung Un-bi sighed and looked at Bae Hyo-gang.
Right, I can’t just get drunk on bloodlust and use up all my strength.
Bae Hyo-gang had yet to reveal his true power. The crafty bastard surely had a hidden card up his sleeve.
Wasn’t there a saying in the martial world to always hide three-tenths of your strength?
Barely suppressing his surging desire to kill, Neung Un-bi spoke.
“About fifty. Not a small number.”
“……”
“You can at least cover my back, right?”
He said this while keeping his eyes fixed solely on Bae Hyo-gang. Wang Cheon and Ju Seung looked at each other, then drew their weapons and replied with powerful voices.
“We will ensure there is not even a single pebble on your path, my lord!”
“……”
I told you to cover my back, not worry about pebbles.
But their expressions showed they wouldn’t listen. He could see their determination to redeem their past mistakes and avoid being cast out.
“Fine. I’ll forget your past disloyalty for this. But if you get in my way, you’d better be prepared.”
“As you command!”
Wang Cheon and Ju Seung spread out to Neung Un-bi’s left and right, forming a three-man formation and letting out a fierce aura.
“Shall we go, then?”
“Yes!”
With Wang Cheon and Ju Seung genuinely backing him up, he felt quite reassured.
Crack, crackle.
Neung Un-bi deliberately cracked his interlocked knuckles, creating an intimidating sound as he approached Bae Hyo-gang, filling the moonlit world with his viscous demonic energy.
“Hmm……”
Watching Neung Un-bi’s slow advance, Bae Hyo-gang’s brow furrowed.
As he got closer, he could feel it bit by bit.
Even without sensing the demonic energy directly, Neung Un-bi’s murderous atmosphere was palpable on his skin. The intensity of his aura, growing stronger with proximity, was enough to give him goosebumps.
Damn it, was the Cult Leader’s disciple this strong?
He wasn’t certain, but the man was at least his equal.
At least in terms of sheer presence.
The aura emanating from his subordinates was also unusually fierce.
There were only three of them, so he could handle them alone, but… to end this quickly, the more masters, the better.
Among the forces present, there was only one other person with skills comparable to his own.
And he was one who knew the martial arts of the Demonic Cult.
“Jong Se-in.”
“……?”
Bae Hyo-gang glanced at Jong Se-in.
“Are you going to just stand there?”
“What?”
“I’ve changed my mind. Since everything’s already gone wrong, I take back what I said earlier. I have a new proposal for you.”
“……?”
“I will guarantee your defection.”
“What does that mean?”
“I told you, didn’t I? Not even the leader of the Orthodox Murim Alliance can touch my backer.”
“Trust me. The only way for you to survive now is to take my hand.”
“……”
“I’ll take care of that wild ape running rampant over there. You handle his guards.”
“His guards?”
“Even if you can’t bite the master, you can still tear apart the others, can’t you?”
“……”
Jong Se-in hesitated.
This was Bae Hyo-gang, who had changed his tune in an instant. He was surely just trying to use him.
But as he said, it was his only way to survive. Now that the Third Young Master knew everything, he could return to neither the Demonic Cult nor his own sect.
“Fine. I will take care of the two guards.”
“Heh heh, good to be working together again.”
As Jong Se-in stepped up beside him, Bae Hyo-gang’s eyes glinted with killing intent.
Defection? As if.
Why would he bother with someone who was no longer useful?
He would use him for the fight and then discard him.
In the end, he would die. Along with that so-called Third Young Master.
“What are you all doing! Attack!”
At Bae Hyo-gang’s shout, the warriors of the Heavenly Pillar Gate, who had been tightening their encirclement, rushed toward the three-man formation of Neung Un-bi and his party.
“How dare you pebbles! Do you know whose path you block!”
As the attack on Neung Un-bi began, Wang Cheon quickly stepped forward.
THUD!
With a powerful stomp, a chilling cold erupted from the ground.
CRACKLE!
Ice flowers bloomed in unison, their blossoms bursting open instantly.
The White Lotus Flower of the Snow Mountain Manor.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The clearing was transformed into a winter scene in an instant, and the swords swung by the warriors bounced off the materialized frost.
SWOOSH!
At the same time, Ju Seung’s flowing sword strikes weaved through the warriors who had yet to steady their blades.
“Kuaargh!”
Screams echoed, and blood splattered.
Was it because of the color contrast?
The blood scattered across the moonlit, glistening ice seemed all the more crimson.
But Neung Un-bi simply continued forward, as if he had no interest in their fight.
They said they would cover him, so they would block with their own bodies if they had to. They said they would clear the path, so they would fight with all their might.
Weren’t they the kind of men who were nothing without their loyalty and ambition?
But the sight of crimson blood kept stimulating his killing intent.
He just couldn’t leave it to Wang Cheon and Ju Seung.
“...You all picked the wrong day.”
On a night where the moonlight shone a deathly blue.
Neung Un-bi walked, and in an instant, he had surpassed Wang Cheon and Ju Seung.
RUMBLE!
His powerful stomp shook the very earth as the brutal martial art of the Demonic Cult, Lunar Eclipse, unfolded in the clearing of Cheongjin Hermitage.
The Flying Swallow Sword lived up to its name, weaving through the enemies like a swallow in flight, while those who got too close were torn to shreds by Neung Un-bi’s claw-like hands.
“Kuaaargh!”
The air filled with agonized screams amidst a chaotic flurry of sword strikes and exploding energy.
* * *
On a tree branch a short distance from the clearing.
Hyang-i, concealed in the shadows with her presence erased, grimaced.
“Dammit… Maybe I shouldn’t have granted his request?”
A fight between the Heavenly Pillar Gate and the Third Young Master.
The Orthodox Murim Alliance would not take kindly to the fall of the Heavenly Pillar Gate, which held a tight grip on the northern Gansu region.
With this massive territory likely to be lost to nearby unorthodox sects due to the Demonic Cult’s influence, how could they possibly stand by and watch?
It wouldn’t be easily smoothed over unless the Demonic Cult’s main headquarters directly intervened.
But would they?
In a cult where, aside from the Cult Leader and a few others, most were eager to see the Third Young Master dead?
Her thoughts grew complicated.
Maybe she really had made a mistake by helping him…
KABOOM!
“……?”
At that moment, a crash loud enough to shatter her complex worries, followed by a powerful tremor from a stomp, reached her.
It was the work of the Third Young Master, Neung Un-bi, and his guards.
She thought he was just a fool, but he was quite something, wasn’t he?
“Hmm… Should’ve brought some snacks. It’s just a kids’ fight, but it’s pretty entertaining.”
A kids’ fight.
Though she was impressed, to her, that was all it was.
Wang Cheon’s martial skill, freezing the entire area with his cold energy, and Ju Seung’s, which added a dizzying number of slashes that seemed to cut the wind itself.
The difference in their levels was just too great.
However, Neung Un-bi was a little different. The viscous demonic scent emanating from him, fueled by the Demonic Spirit Divine Pill, was growing ever thicker.
In terms of energy alone, he had reached the very pinnacle of a master’s aura.
And on top of that, his eyes were sharp.
Hadn’t he already taken a step into one of the first stages of reaching the next realm—the transcendence of the five senses?
If he added keen hearing to that…
“He couldn’t have reached this point with talent alone. It makes me more and more curious. Just what kind of training has the Third Young Master undergone?”
The more she watched, the more amazing he seemed.
It was to the point where she wanted to examine the forbidden demonic art that had driven him into Qi Deviation.
“Hmm, does this make him the most advanced of the five disciples? Not just in skill, but in the level of his effort? Well, I suppose that’s why everyone’s so desperate to kill him.”
Hyang-i observed Neung Un-bi with eyes full of curiosity.
There were just so many strange things about him.
Watching his movements reminded her of a seasoned master.
She had heard he didn’t have much fighting experience…
And that footwork.
It seemed light, yet it glided across the ground, leaving minimal traces.
It was a step you rarely saw among Demonic Cultists, who typically risked their lives in direct confrontations.
Those with such footwork were usually assassins or stealth specialists.
With that added in, the Lunar Eclipse he performed felt even more powerful.
He knew how to see, how to dodge, and how to move with ease. How could the likes of the Heavenly Pillar Gate possibly stand against him?
CRACK! THWACK!
The sounds were crisp.
A well-placed fist.
Anyone hit would be at least severely injured, if not dead. They would probably collapse in one blow, unable to continue the fight.
That was the difference between Neung Un-bi and his two guards.
The most important thing in one-on-one combat.
In a way, it might be the difference between a master and a novice.
When facing a large number of enemies, there are two ways to fight.
If you possess overwhelming power, you break through the enemy lines and take the leader’s head.
If you are of similar skill, you reduce the enemy’s numbers as quickly as possible, then take the leader’s head.
Neung Un-bi was the latter. For now, that was the extent of his power.
His whole body was already covered in minor wounds. He had dodged the blades, but the force and wind pressure behind them had torn his clothes and cut his skin, drawing blood.
Wasn’t this a three-against-fifty fight to begin with?
But since the enemy’s strength wasn’t overwhelming, he was felling the maximum number of foes with minimal effort.
More than half the enemies were already down.
“Kahahaha! All of you, just die!”
“……”
And through it all, he was truly acting like a demon.
Despite his injuries, he fought even more fiercely, striking fear into his enemies.
Before long, the Gate Master of the Heavenly Pillar Gate seemed to feel the crisis, a look of panic clear on his face.
The sneaky bastard.
Seeing him hold back, it was obvious his plan was to use his subordinates to wear out Neung Un-bi and his guards.
Once they were exhausted, he would probably step forward with a grand air, strike them down, and boast about it.
But the subordinates he trusted were dwindling, while the spirit of Neung Un-bi and his guards showed no signs of fading.
They would be fighting soon.
Given Neung Un-bi’s skill, it seemed she wouldn’t have to intervene.
The problem was if the Gate Master decided to flee instead of fight.
“Heh, you think that’ll be easy? Not while I’m here.”
If she had just stayed an observer, maybe.
But by granting his request, she had become deeply involved and couldn’t just leave things be.
Besides, the Third Young Master was someone she had to protect.
It would be troublesome if the Gate Master escaped in this situation. Neung Un-bi would be targeted not only by assassins but also by the Heavenly Pillar Gate and, by extension, warriors of the Orthodox faction.
“Well, we can’t have that. For that to happen, everyone here has to die.”
Contrary to her bright smile, the words coming from her mouth were utterly ruthless.
But at some point, Hyang-i’s face, which had been enjoying the show, twisted in annoyance.
“Huh? What’s this now?”
She whipped her head around to look at the forest.
A short distance from the clearing.
The feeling on her skin was unusual.
And a thick demonic scent, one that seemed to burrow into her nostrils.
…These weren’t people who would be at some branch.
And their presence was subtle. They seemed to be assassins from the main headquarters.
They probably had a hard time tracking Neung Un-bi after he threw them off his trail.
But news of the Third Young Master’s arrival at the sect must have already spread, so they would have followed him here, albeit late.
“Dammit, I was trying to relax and enjoy the show for once, but they just won’t give me a break.”
Hyang-i stood up from the branch.
“Hmm, he’ll be fine, right?”
He wouldn’t abandon his subordinates and flee, would he? He was from the Orthodox faction, after all.
After one last glance at the Gate Master, Hyang-i stretched her body.
In that instant, her form vanished as if scattered by a sudden gust of wind.