Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Find the Ghost Bow Squad (5)
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Time rewound to the moment when Abyss Hall and its lord, Chae So-ryeong, discovered traces of the Ghost Bow Squad.
"Is that really true? The Ghost Bow Squad is staying with the Great Bow Sect?"
Chae So-ryeong of Abyss Hall, who masked her face, could hardly believe this bizarre cohabitation akin to sworn enemies sharing the same boat, and she double-checked the information.
"That's the rumor we heard from the survivors of Hangsan Sect."
"They also said they were hit by arrows of tremendous power and lethality that no bow technique from the Great Bow Sect could possibly produce."
"That has to be the place!"
Multiple reports from reliable subordinates.
Having cross-verified them as well, Chae So-ryeong didn't hesitate and sought out Gunryong, the First Heavenly Demon staying at Ghost Sword Manor.
She reported every detail.
"What? The Great Bow Sect? That unorthodox Great Bow Sect?"
The Heavenly Demon was greatly surprised upon hearing this and asked several times to confirm.
"At the very least, it seems certain they're staying with the Great Bow Sect."
When even the Abyss Hall Lord was this confident, there was no choice but to believe her.
Moreover, they had already proven their excellent intelligence capabilities by locating Yang Hui-gun once before.
"See? We found them. Now it's your turn to keep your promise, Lord Gunryong."
Gunryong had promised that if Abyss Hall and its lord found the Great Bow Sect, he would reveal his identity.
A sly grin!
Finally obtaining what she desired, Chae So-ryeong flashed a seductive, alluring smile.
As the Abyss Hall Lord, she needed to possess all the information she wanted—that was the only way to satisfy her.
Her haughty smile was just about to pierce the heavens.
"Strictly speaking, not yet."
Unfortunately, Gunryong proved to be an even more formidable and unyielding figure than Chae So-ryeong had anticipated.
"P-Pardon?"
"I need to confirm with my own two eyes that they really are the Ghost Bow Squad. Am I wrong? Isn't that the proper procedure?"
His words were so logically sound yet infuriating that Chae So-ryeong fumed with frustration.
The Heavenly Demon gained the upper hand in their staredown once more and chuckled slyly.
"Just wait a bit. We'll know soon enough."
He dealt with Chae So-ryeong appropriately, then...
"Hui-gun! We're heading to the Great Bow Sect right now!"
made straight for the Great Bow Sect.
In his haste, he couldn't assemble proper forces, so from Ghost Sword Manor, he took only the strongest asset who wouldn't hold him back: none other than Ghost Shadow Sword Yang Hui-gun.
'If we miss their trail this time, we'll never find them.'
For some reason, the Heavenly Demon's sharp instincts warned him as such.
In truth, the Great Bow Sect was openly crushing Hangsan Sect while coveting the Ghost Bow Squad more boldly, so they needed to hurry even a moment sooner.
"Yes, Lord Gunryong."
As Yang Hui-gun hurriedly packed light gear and rushed over,
"Keep up. It'll be fast."
the Heavenly Demon demonstrated lightness skills beyond Yang Hui-gun's imagination and dashed forward.
The Great Bow Sect in Shanxi Province was too far from Liaoning Province, and even hurrying at full speed, delays were inevitable.
After a long, arduous journey through countless hardships, they finally arrived in Shanxi, where Hangsan Sect was closer than the Great Bow Sect.
The Heavenly Demon and Yang Hui-gun passed near Mount Hang, called Beakak.
"Hm?"
The Heavenly Demon faintly detected the sound of something slicing through the air near the summit of Mount Hang.
'Only two things can produce such a sound.'
Either sound-based arts using stringed instruments or archery drawing a bowstring—one or the other.
Moreover, he had received all information on the Ghost Bow Squad from Abyss Hall.
Thus, he knew they had allied with the Great Bow Sect for a large-scale battle to crush Hangsan Sect.
"Could it be?"
His thoughts reached that point, and intuition struck the Heavenly Demon.
"Hui-gun, the path up Mount Hang is steep and treacherous, so take it slow."
"Hah, huff... Y-Yes!"
Even as a superhuman who had reached the realm of transcendence, Yang Hui-gun struggled to keep up with the Heavenly Demon.
In truth, over a month of forced march, the fact that he hadn't fallen behind despite the Heavenly Demon's consideration was tremendous progress.
Heaven-Defying Soaring Art
Full-power lightness skill deployment
Whoosh!
Yang Hui-gun forgot even to catch his breath, staring blankly at the sight of the Heavenly Demon soaring like a massive phoenix spreading its wings high into the sky.
"As expected of my lord. Even while traveling with me, you weren't using your full lightness skill."
Realizing then that the Heavenly Demon had been holding back for his sake, Yang Hui-gun smiled brightly at the figure soaring freely through the heavens.
Leaving Yang Hui-gun behind, Heavenly Demon Gunryong ascended first toward the source of the presence.
Gunryong's lightness skill was swift and stealthy.
No one noticed his approach.
As he patrolled the surroundings, he finally spotted Black-Clothed Bow God Cheok Cheon, clad in black uniform with the distinctive hornbow of the Tianshan Yi Clan slung on his back, along with the Ghost Bow Squad.
'That attire and bow are unmistakably Tianshan Yi Clan!'
How could he forget that sight?
Closing his eyes even now brought back memories of Ghost Bow Flying King Cheok Dae-yeon patrolling enemy lines alongside him.
Cheok Cheon and the Ghost Bow Squad's attire was identical to Cheok Dae-yeon's from over 200 years ago.
Overjoyed at the sight, he nearly approached calling out familiarly, but the atmosphere felt strangely off.
Even more shocking was...
'Archers lying in ambush through the forest path where the Ghost Bow Squad is walking.'
The moment he detected the ambushers, the Heavenly Demon realized.
The Great Bow Sect was currently using the Ghost Bow Squad as hostages to threaten or coerce them.
Slipping forward!
His thoughts reached that point, and the Heavenly Demon carefully deployed stealth arts to approach.
Fortunately, the Great Bow Sect ambushers and Vice Division Leader Flying Death Blood Bow Go In-pyo were entirely focused on the Ghost Bow Squad, making it easy to sneak up.
"Crawl under our Great Bow Sect. Or else..."
The moment the Heavenly Demon drew near, Go In-pyo's final ultimatum continued.
"...homeless wretches of the Tianshan Yi Clan will be exterminated today."
"What?!"
Cheok Cheon and the Ghost Bow Squad were furious at Go In-pyo's words.
But behind them stood one even more enraged.
Naturally, it was Heavenly Demon Gunryong.
'How dare you insult the Yi Clan?'
Just as the First Heavenly Demon Gunryong was special and dear to the Yi Clan, the Yi Clan was equally dear to the Heavenly Demon.
Especially Ghost Bow Flying King Cheok Dae-yeon, the clan leader and representative, had been the first among the Demonic Cult's Five Kings to pledge absolute loyalty to Gunryong.
Gunryong and Cheok Dae-yeon.
They shared many fond memories, cherishing each other deeply.
'I'll kill him. I must kill him!'
Yet this fool spoke of exterminating the Yi Clan— the Heavenly Demon's eyes blazed with madness.
Slipping forward!
Enraged with boiling killing intent, his eyes naturally turned blood-red.
Go In-pyo remained utterly oblivious to the approaching furious Heavenly Demon.
A man-eating tiger would have been preferable; an angry Heavenly Demon approaching spelled absolute disaster.
"Come on, surrender quickly..."
He pressured the Ghost Bow Squad and Black-Clothed Bow King Cheok Cheon with his signature arrogance and smugness.
He even considered extracting their prized archery techniques if needed.
As he sketched his own plans alone—
Shattering Shadowless
Shadowless Man-Slaying Sword
Heavenly Demon Gunryong unleashed a technique he had self-sealed due to its thick killing aura, reminiscent of an assassin's art.
It was none other than the Shadowless Man-Slaying Sword.
A sword art that perfectly concealed its presence while reaping lives in an instant, akin to capital punishment.
One of its greatest features:
Swish!
Immense speed and power in its sword aura, yet producing minimal sound or noise.
Thus, it was ideal for ambushes or striking vulnerabilities.
The Heavenly Demon's choice was perfect.
Thud!
Before anyone could react, Go In-pyo's head drooped and fell like a broken handle.
Undoubtedly, even Go In-pyo himself wouldn't have known who killed him—his soul fled in a flash.
Even as the head rolled on the ground, the surreal scene left everyone around too stunned for any response.
And then, the Heavenly Demon's words followed.
"Who the hell are you to insult the Yi Clan?"
The Heavenly Demon recalled a promise he had made with Cheok Dae-yeon in the past.
He remembered the urgent moment they had made that vow.
"If you grant us this one request, I—no, our entire Yi Clan—will follow you, Lord Heavenly Demon, until the moment of our extermination."
"And what is that condition?"
To the Heavenly Demon's question back then, Cheok Dae-yeon had replied with unprecedented seriousness.
"Ensure that no one ever insults or discriminates against our Yi Clan as a tribe of slave origins."
"That is my earnest wish."
The Yi Clan had a tragic history of enduring slave-like treatment for a long time.
Thus, changing that perception was more important to Cheok Dae-yeon than anything.
The Heavenly Demon had promised.
"I promise."
"Even if it's the Emperor of the Central Plains or the Supreme Deity of the Immortal Realm, they won't be allowed to casually demean or insult the Tianshan Yi Clan."
"Absolutely."
And 200 years passed.
Over 200 years later, the Heavenly Demon had not forgotten that promise.
As proof, he unleashed his full fury upon Go In-pyo, who dared speak of exterminating the Yi Clan.
The result: no one could stop Go In-pyo's death.
"V-Vice Leader?!"
"Vice Leader Go In-pyo!"
"Aaaah! His head—it's gone!"
The scene was like time, frozen, finally resuming— the Great Bow Sect members reacted belatedly.
It couldn't have been anything but a shocking, gruesome moment.
"Who are you?"
"Who the hell is this guy?!"
A young warrior appeared out of nowhere, severing Go In-pyo's head with a clear, resonant voice.
At this sudden, shocking entrance, archers from both the Great Bow Sect and Ghost Bow Squad nocked arrows and aimed at the Heavenly Demon.
In this hair-trigger atmosphere where all eyes were on the Heavenly Demon, he spoke in a low voice.
"The Tianshan Yi Clan dwells in the particularly rugged and lofty mountains because they are descendants of the black falcon gliding from the highest heavens."
The Heavenly Demon spoke words no Tianshan Yi clansman could possibly not know.
The reason was simple.
Only two types knew this tale: Yi clansmen or their closest friends.
In other words, it meant they could trust and follow him unconditionally.
Tremble!
Even the bold Black-Clothed Bow King Cheok Cheon, unmoved by most things, shuddered, his white beard paling.
Combining the impossible killing sword art with the black falcon tale, Cheok Cheon realized this might be the lord he had awaited so long.
"Wh-Who might this superhuman be?"
Without realizing it, Cheok Cheon dropped to one knee and asked.
Never, in all his time at the Great Bow Sect, had anyone seen Cheok Cheon kneel or bow.
"I am Gunryong. The world sees me as an unparalleled demon and calls me the Heavenly Demon."