Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Conducting the Sect Battle (3)
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'If I wait silently, my time will surely come.'
The Heavenly Demon, who had been watching the battle, believed this without a doubt.
Before long, the match had progressed to its finale, and the Heavenly Demon's faith was on the verge of being realized.
"Huff!"
Shadowless Sword Yang Dae-un noticed that Extreme Fine Sword Guest Jeon Il-gwang's breathing had grown ragged compared to the start, his focus disrupted. He immediately went for the decisive blow.
Extreme Shadow Pursuit Sword!
All strikes pursue extreme speed while incorporating linear thrusting motions.
He unleashed the pinnacle technique of the Ghost Weep Shadow Pursuit Sword Technique, honed alongside the Heavenly Demon solely for this day.
Shwaaaaa!
The technique swept forward in a refreshingly straight line, as if blowing away all the frustrations of Yang Dae-un, the late-blooming martial artist.
Some watching the dazzlingly beautiful and swift sword path felt awe, others deep emotion.
Slish!
At last, the Extreme Shadow Pursuit Sword stroke sliced off the left arm of Extreme Fine Sword Guest Jeon Il-gwang, the head of the Fine Sword Sect who had reigned as the worst faction threatening Ghost Sword Manor, accompanied by a chilling sound that made one's hair stand on end just hearing it.
"Argh! Aaaargh!"
Jeon Il-gwang lost his left arm in the blink of an eye.
For a swordsman pursuing the sword path, an arm was more precious than anything, and losing it shattered his mind completely.
Moreover, the mental agony outweighed the physical pain.
'Me, the Extreme Fine Sword Guest, defeated by that Shadowless Sword Yang Dae-un whom I despised as worthless?'
Jeon Il-gwang could hardly believe it.
He had been at least two—no, three moves ahead of Yang Dae-un.
Jeon Il-gwang was in his prime, while Yang Dae-un had passed his peak long ago and was declining day by day from managing Ghost Sword Manor.
Yet this had happened.
Astonishingly, it was Yang Dae-un who seized victory and turned the tide.
"Grgh!"
Jeon Il-gwang showed he was the father, outperforming his son.
Even in the extreme situation of losing his left arm, he tried to regain his balance and stand, but before he could...
Thud!
Yang Dae-un's sword, which had severed his left arm, had already slid past the arm to point at Jeon Il-gwang's throat.
"Shall we continue?"
Yang Dae-un said.
Even he himself was inwardly startled by how chillingly calm his own voice was.
The meaning was simple.
The match was already over. If he refused to accept defeat and resisted, it wouldn't be the arm next time—it would be his neck. A stern warning.
"I... I..."
Jeon Il-gwang trembled pitifully like a cornered child, unable to endure the onslaught of physical and mental pain.
"Sect Leader!"
"Are you alright?"
More bewildering than defeat were the cries of his subordinates and the gazes of those around him.
Having suffered a惨 defeat against an enemy he had mocked, he felt utterly exposed.
He flew into a rage.
Under everyone's condescending stares, Jeon Il-gwang tried to stand, but before he could...
Swish!
Yang Dae-un's sword gleamed coldly, poised to sever his neck at the slightest further movement.
"I..."
There was only one way to survive.
"I admit defeat."
To acknowledge his loss outright.
Jeon Il-gwang dropped his head in despair, unable to contain his anguish.
Roooar!
With Jeon Il-gwang's declaration of defeat, cheers and exclamations of admiration echoed throughout the arena.
It was inevitable. Delicate Sword Jeon Il-gwang, the strongest warrior in the western Yonyeong Province, had lost to Shadowless Sword Yang Dae-un, long past his prime. It was akin to a miracle.
"Incredible! As expected of the descendants of the Loyal Ghost Sword!"
"If the Loyal Ghost Sword's martial arts had been properly preserved, what Fine Sword Sect? Even the Moyong Clan, the top power in Yonyeong Province, couldn't match them!"
"First Yang Yeon-hwa, now Great Hero Yang Dae-un! They've grown tremendously strong."
The crowd acknowledged Ghost Sword Manor's potential, wondering if the glory of the Loyal Ghost Sword might return.
Now, all the spectators gazed up at Yang Dae-un with eyes of admiration and envy.
"Finally... I... I..."
Yang Dae-un, now the object of everyone's envy.
He was overwhelmed by a whirlwind of emotions—gratitude for the hardships repaid all at once.
'I thought my youth and prime, devoted entirely to Ghost Sword Manor and its people, had vanished into emptiness without recognition.'
Sometimes he had wondered if his sacrifices and devotion were meaningless, if anyone would even remember. Now it felt like all that toil was rewarded in one go.
This was all thanks to the man who restored his martial arts and youth: the First Heavenly Demon.
"Gunryong!"
Regaining his senses late, Yang Dae-un realized his victory and approached the Heavenly Demon immediately.
"This is all thanks to you."
"Nonsense. It's all because you did well, Manor Lord."
The Heavenly Demon was just as thrilled by Yang Dae-un's victory.
Like when Yang Yeon-hwa won, he felt a slight lump in his throat for Yang Dae-un, who had suffered more than anyone at Ghost Sword Manor and devoted his entire youth.
He was overjoyed to repay even a fraction of the loyalty offered by Yang U-ryang.
"Manor Lord!"
"Father!"
Yang Yeon-hwa and the Ghost Sword Manor members were equally moved.
Yang Yeon-hwa, who knew better than anyone how much her father had sacrificed, shed tears.
The manor folk were overjoyed to have crushed the Fine Sword Sect, their archenemy that had threatened their safety for nearly a decade.
"Ghost Sword Manor wins the sect battle 2-0!"
"Victory for Ghost Sword Manor!"
"Fine Sword Sect, leave the Dome Green Mountain site as promised!"
Having savored the joy of victory, it was time to claim the spoils.
The Ghost Sword Manor warriors were on the verge of raising both hands in cheers.
"Tch."
"Impossible."
"How could this..."
Where there is a winner, there is a loser.
Unlike the jubilant Ghost Sword Manor, the Fine Sword Sect members' faces turned pale.
"Sect Leader. Are you okay?"
"What should we do?"
Even more troubling was that their sect leader, Jeon Il-gwang—the one who should rally the confused disciples— was severely wounded and out of it.
'This can't be happening!'
Jeon Il-gwang's mind had completely collapsed; he couldn't accept the reality.
He had believed they would win every sect battle, yet they were crushed unilaterally. Who could have foreseen it?
"Sect Leader Jeon Il-gwang."
In the midst of the chaos, now that the match was over, Yang Dae-un approached.
Meeting Yang Dae-un's eyes, Jeon Il-gwang's earlier bravado vanished; he cowered like a defeated pup, avoiding his gaze.
"You clearly promised that the losing faction in the sect battle would leave Dome Green Mountain. Since Ghost Sword Manor achieved a one-sided victory, I trust the Fine Sword Sect will duly depart! You'll leave as soon as possible, as agreed?"
Yang Dae-un asked.
Jeon Il-gwang wished he could flee from the interrogation.
But with so many spectators watching, there was no turning back.
"That is..."
As Jeon Il-gwang floundered without a clear answer, Fine Sword Absolute Art Gung Seung-u—the sect's top expert who hadn't even properly participated due to the 2-0 loss—slyly approached.
"Sect Leader."
Gung Seung-u whispered something into Jeon Il-gwang's ear.
Jeon Il-gwang's pale face suddenly calmed.
What had Gung Seung-u said?
"Urgh!"
Jeon Il-gwang hurriedly stanched the bleeding from his severed left arm and stood.
Not long after losing the arm, balancing was extremely difficult.
"Esteemed Manor Lord of Ghost Sword Manor, Great Hero Yang Dae-un."
Standing, Jeon Il-gwang politely bowed to Yang Dae-un, whom he had never treated as a proper person before.
'What scheme is this?'
Yang Dae-un wasn't a fool; he knew Jeon Il-gwang had taken Gung Seung-u's advice and was plotting something.
Otherwise, he wouldn't speak so meekly.
"What is it?"
"Indeed, our Fine Sword Sect has lost the sect battle. We fully acknowledge the defeat. However..."
Jeon Il-gwang racked his brains, forgetting the pain in his severed arm.
"The agreement states that the losing faction or clan withdraws as soon as possible, but it doesn't specify a deadline. Thus, I cannot guarantee when our Fine Sword Sect will withdraw from Dome Green Mountain."
Jeon Il-gwang pulled out the paper with the sect battle agreement between Fine Sword Sect and Ghost Sword Manor and pointed to it.
This was little more than wordplay.
Even without an exact date, "as soon as possible" conventionally meant within seven days and nights.
"Are you toying with me right now?"
Yang Dae-un's voice rose in disbelief, but then...
"So, I humbly make a proposal. I assure you, this will be a beneficial offer for your Ghost Sword Manor as well."
"Proposal?"
Yang Dae-un glanced at the Heavenly Demon, who might explode in anger before he could, signaling to hear it out.
The Heavenly Demon nodded, smirking amusedly.
'No matter what tricks they pull, I can slaughter them all before counting to ten.'
To the Heavenly Demon, the scheming Fine Sword Sect might as well have been talking corpses.
"Yes. There's still one sect battle left, isn't there? The showdown between the factions' top experts, the highlight of the sect battles. All these fellow disciples and warriors of Yonyeong Province have gathered here despite their busy schedules. It wouldn't be proper etiquette to let it go to waste."
Jeon Il-gwang prattled on as if his three-inch tongue alone could save Fine Sword Sect.
"Enough nonsense. What's your point?"
At Yang Dae-un's urging, Jeon Il-gwang smiled subserviently, pleading for mercy.
"The final battle between top experts. How about we stake everything—our Fine Sword Sect and your esteemed Ghost Sword Manor—on that match? The losing faction leaves Dome Green Mountain immediately without a word, naturally. And offers all its assets and wealth to the victor. No... the losers surrender all rights over life and death to the winning faction and become slaves."
The right over life and death meant exactly that: the power to decide an opponent's fate, akin to master and slave, with the slave's life in the master's hands.
Cornered with the imminent loss of their Dome Green Mountain base, Fine Sword Sect's desperate last ploy was to bet everything on the final top-expert match.
'Fine Sword Absolute Art Gung Seung-u is far superior to me, our sect leader! He's the greatest talent in Fine Sword Sect history!'
Jeon Il-gwang's confidence in staking it all had solid reason.
No matter how strong Ghost Sword Manor had become, he believed they couldn't surpass Gung Seung-u, the finest martial prodigy in Fine Sword Sect history.
"Hahaha!"
The Heavenly Demon burst into laughter at Jeon Il-gwang's proposal, laden with his last hopes and dreams.