Chapter 205
Chapter 205
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 205
Chapter Title: Rescuing the True Sa-do Lord
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I caught a beast.
I skinned it. I could trade it for daily necessities down in the village, but there was another reason as well.
I looked up at the neatly stacked hides. It was such a massive amount that storing them would be tricky, but...
Now I could freely manipulate the blazing yang energy and the chilling yin energy.
Using the two, I could preserve the hides without a speck of impurity.
A considerable pile had built up inside the makeshift hut. And accordingly, the number of people I'd killed had surpassed a hundred before I knew it.
The Sa-do Alliance folks were tenacious. Plenty of them staked their lives on honor too.
People who rampaged around, trying to catch the Windless Asura-that's me-without even knowing their own level.
Since they came at me swinging swords without warning, I split them in half. Then their companions would freak out and inevitably carry off the corpses.
The silver lining was that fewer people were showing up lately.
Their skill levels were getting higher by the day. But that didn't mean they could match me.
There was a Peak Realm expert who came seeking revenge for his disciple, but...
In the end, he was just a weirdo using the disciple as an excuse to recruit me.
I split him in two, and he melted into nature without a word.
Three months.
In that time, I reined in the energy I possessed.
I learned how to handle the overflowing power. And now, I could conceal myself perfectly, like an ordinary person with nothing to their name.
Not even a single wisp of energy leaking out.
At the same time, I heard rumors that the Sa-do Alliance was scaling back on conscripting civilians. Not just because of me, but because people inspired by my actions were popping up all over the alliance.
They called the current state of affairs bizarre and said even evil faction warriors had standards, drawing their swords. They preached about not abandoning a warrior's pride, all while invoking the name of the Windless Asura.
Were there really righteous souls even among the evil factions? I wasn't particularly moved by their actions.
I simply realized it was almost time for me to move again.
At the same time, I managed to track down news of Su-ah.
The money I'd taken from the wallets of slain warriors felt a bit dirty to use, but the situation was urgent.
I pooled everything I'd gathered and handed it over to a nearby information broker. In return, I luckily learned that a group of female warriors had crossed into the Divine Cult's territory.
Crossing into Divine Cult lands meant they'd safely reached the Demon Cult side.
And as if signaling that my seclusion was over now that I'd placed my worries to rest...
A man came looking for me.
"...Windless Asura. I am Song Nam-cheon, former Chief Steward of the Sa-do Alliance."
A familiar face.
The guy I'd crossed swords with on those castle walls back then.
"Help us."
I was about to refuse outright. No need to clash blades now, but no reason to help either.
But then a familiar name slipped from the man's lips.
"The real Sa-do Lord and the Evil Factions' Greatest Swordsman are being hunted."
The Evil Factions' Greatest Swordsman, Black Cloud.
I recalled our brief connection. As I fiddled with my sword for a moment, I glanced back.
My body was now perfectly visible. The traces of two spirits floating in the air like ghosts were in plain sight.
White Night and Black Lord.
I asked them.
What do you think I should do?
They replied.
Shouldn't we go collect the overdue payment?
"...Ah."
"Hey, you listening?"
The payment.
Right.
I'd forgotten about that.
Su-ah's sword. I'd arranged to get it from him. In exchange for the spirit beast's spirit core.
So... let's go claim it.
I'd done something rotten. As a father figure, vanishing without a word was no different.
It'd make a fine reunion gift. So off I went.
I had something owed to me by the Evil Factions' Greatest Swordsman, after all.
"Where?"
".......? Wait. That voice... I've definitely heard it somewhere..."
"We're not close enough to reminisce about old times."
"......!"
Song Nam-cheon staggered back. His hands trembled as if he'd seen something unbelievable.
"Y-You're supposed to be dead...!"
"Long time no see, Song Nam-cheon."
I removed my mask. No need to operate as the Windless Asura anymore.
Instead, I donned a bamboo hat I'd twisted together myself.
"Lead the way. To the Evil Factions' Greatest Swordsman."
"...A-Are you really some kind of immortal...?"
"Now's not the time for questions like that."
I sighed at his ghost-seeing eyes.
"Instead of gawking that a dead man walked again, shouldn't you focus on the fact that you're begging help from your former enemy?"
"......."
"If the real Sa-do Lord is being hunted... that means there's a fake Sa-do Lord, right? Explain that first."
"You'll... really help? Me, your enemy?"
"I'm not helping you."
I thought of Black Cloud.
That hefty-looking man.
"I'm helping the one who owes me payment."
...
Song Nam-cheon.
The former Sa-do Alliance Chief Steward explained the situation to me.
There was a lot of rambling, but the gist was one: he'd escaped before it was too late.
"...I don't know the current Sa-do Lord's true identity for sure. But she's definitely not her."
Song Nam-cheon wiped his face.
"The real Lord is on the run. The key point is... she's been branded a fake."
"The Sa-do Lord isn't some pushover woman."
"They say her condition is off. Like she's poisoned. But... it's her. Recognizing my liege is a steward's duty! The current Sa-do Lord is undoubtedly a fake!"
"Poisoned?"
Poisoned.
I suddenly thought of her.
Yeong-wol. The woman who'd poisoned even the Heavenly Demon in the Demon Cult.
If she'd poisoned the Sa-do Lord too, it wasn't entirely wrong. A warrior who felled the Heavenly Demon could hardly fail against the Sa-do Lord.
Which meant the current Sa-do Lord...
Was likely connected to Yeong-wol-or was Yeong-wol herself.
"......."
This tied into my unfinished mission too. Saving the hunted real Sa-do Lord would make uncovering her easier.
Su-ah might have to wait, but finishing everything before returning seemed best. I had to collect that payment anyway.
"So? Where are they?"
"...The ones being hunted are currently surrounded by the Heavenly Snare and Earthly Web, under orders from the current Sa-do Lord."
"Heavenly Snare and Earthly Web?"
I knew the term. The most infamous brutal tactic of the evil factions.
Overwhelm the target with sheer numbers until the end, never letting them rest, biting relentlessly until they devour their prey completely.
Human wave tactics. That's what it boiled down to. But crucially, every single member of this Heavenly Snare and Earthly Web was an elite.
Chasing the real Sa-do Lord. The fake would know her skills, so even poisoned, they'd go all out.
"...Windless Asura. Even with you stirring up the Sa-do Alliance like this, they didn't react because of that. Everyone's chasing the criminal claiming to be the Sa-do Lord. All the top elites have headed there-you could say that. Her condition's poor, but she's still the Lord... so she's shaken them off and fled so far."
"But there's a limit."
"Exactly. The Heavenly Snare and Earthly Web has them cornered where they can't escape, slowly tightening the noose. The pursuit teams are closing in. They can't even hide their tracks properly anymore."
"......."
Face the Heavenly Snare and Earthly Web head-on, packed with the Sa-do Alliance's supreme experts.
In the past, I wouldn't have dreamed of it. But now I'm different.
"O-Of course, I'll fight alongside you! I'll be useful for sure! So...!"
"Just guide me."
I stood. Tidied the hut, then swept my eyes over the stacked hides.
Enough to fill one side of the storage high. There was a reason I'd gathered so much.
"Nearby, there are men named Yuk Nam-pyeong and Yuk Hae-won."
"What?"
"Send someone to tell them this location. Say they can use the hides however they like."
That fully repaid the favor.
I tightened my black windbreaker. With the bamboo hat pulled low, I moved out.
"Let's go. To those being hunted."
...
Pursuit Team One Leader Gun Mu-ryeong spotted extinguished firewood and nearby dried bloodstains.
They're close. That fake.
"Leader. What now..."
"Stay sharp and advance."
Even a fake enemy had skill.
Those who charged blindly got butchered. Even the transcendent expert Ghost Mountain Blade Master got sliced.
At least a decent fighter. We had to press relentlessly, but no rushing.
Gun Mu-ryeong doggedly tracked the traces. He spotted a man and woman sitting on a rock and issued orders.
Elites charged out instantly. Of course, they were cut down in seconds. But one finally lodged his sword in the enemy's shoulder.
They fled again. But it was fine. Plenty of disposable bait.
All Gun Mu-ryeong wanted was to be the one to take their heads at the end.
Until then, just keep whittling them down like this. Using warriors we could afford to lose.
Time passed. Pursuit teams rotated, denying the enemy any rest, hounding them nonstop.
Dried bloodstains multiplied. They used some eerie power to partially heal, but their limits were clear.
The cycle repeated: charge, repel. But they grew wearier by the moment.
Like watching a beast slowly sink into a swamp. Gun Mu-ryeong, who'd held out for the finale, drew his sword with conviction.
---Kwaaaang!!!
The slashed transcendent sword aura slammed the enemy into a cliff face. The fake Sa-do Lord spat blood, grinding her teeth.
"You bastard... Gun Mu-ryeeeeong...! I'm the real one...!"
"Shut your nonsense. The Lord I know isn't this weak. With the real one right here, why listen to a fake?"
Gun Mu-ryeong subdued the incoming battered man. Pinned him to the ground and whispered.
"Honestly, fake or real doesn't matter to me. Whoever captures you, the current Lord said she'd make her closest aide."
"You bastard...!"
"So come quietly. But you're not her. Fake Evil Factions' Greatest Swordsman. You look just like that guy. If one's fake, so's the other. Just killing a fake is a bit less thrilling..."
Gun Mu-ryeong raised his sword high.
"But this has its own flavor. Watching a guy with the same face flail under me. I've always wanted to see that stiff face twist. Die, Evil Factions' Greatest Swordsman."
He swung down.
With all his might.
---Kwaaaaaang!!!!
The burst of energy's shockwave rippled through the surroundings. Mountains and trees wailed, everything nearby trembling in fear.
But.
For some reason, it was intact. The body under him.
Gun Mu-ryeong flinched. His full-power slash hadn't gone further-blocked by something.
The technique struck with everything. His blade tip still wrapped in fierce transcendent sword aura...
Yet blocked by nothing but a foot.
"Sheathe your sword."
A man had appeared before him unnoticed.
The freak who blocked transcendent sword aura with just his instep, emanating no presence, spoke.
"Now."