Chapter 196
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 196
Chapter Title: Shattered Peace
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All the siblings wanted was a peaceful life.
In a world where the strong reigned supreme and fights broke out at the drop of a hat, that was the reality for martial artists. But as the heir and daughter of the house, the two of them harbored no grand ambitions.
Her younger sister, Hwaryeong, dreamed of meeting someone she loved, getting married, and building a happy family. Cheonryeong dreamed of succeeding his father and inheriting a Sacheon House that embodied peace and harmony.
Though the world praised their talents, those weren't fields they were truly passionate about.
But everything fell apart after the death of their father, the former family head.
-Grooo... Groooooh...
Macheon, whose face had become half-mummified, let out agonized wails.
Hwaryeong fell silent in the face of this grim reality, while Cheonryeong screamed upon confirming his little sister's death.
The guilt of failing to protect his beloved family—especially his sister, whom he'd sworn to safeguard at all costs—gnawed at him. And atop that, an utter hatred for the elder council that had killed her and turned her into a jiangshi drove him to the brink.
Then, corrupted aura began to roil around him.
"B-Big Brother! No! Don't let the heart demon consume you!!"
"Ah... Aaaah."
Despite Hwaryeong's desperate cries, Cheonryeong's heart demon sank its claws even deeper.
If only he'd been stronger. If only he hadn't grown complacent in peace and trained harder instead. Then this horrific end wouldn't have awaited them.
And so, a monstrous evil spirit slowly raised its head from within him.
Ah. So this is a heart demon.
Cheonryeong immediately recognized his own condition.
But he couldn't resist it. Or rather, he chose not to.
Those ensnared by a heart demon gained tremendous power, if only briefly.
Of course, it ended in a gruesome death after exhausting all their internal energy, but Cheonryeong was already half-resigned to letting it take hold.
He'd spilled no small amount of blood trying to restore Macheon.
If his weak self could grow stronger and thrust a sword into those enemies just once...
He'd gladly become a monster for that.
The moment horrific madness and euphoric insanity enveloped him, and explosive internal energy surged around him—
Fwaaaah!!
The soaring sense of elation suddenly plummeted, and his mind cleared.
"Huh?"
Staring blankly at his hands, he realized the erratic aura that had tormented him—the heart demon—was gone.
The elements tormenting his mind remained, but the unstable flow of internal energy they'd caused had vanished.
How is this possible?
Leon’s voice struck Cheonryeong's ears as he stood there dazed.
"Look at this guy. You trying to get yourself killed or what?"
Cheonryeong gaped, dumbfounded by Leon's absurd feat of casually suppressing the heart demon's chaotic internal energy flow.
"Do you feel the same, Young Master?"
"Pardon? What do you...?"
"Do you desire revenge?"
"...Yes."
His youngest sister was dead.
His house was finished.
The elder council and the house's warriors were no longer family to Cheonryeong—they were blood enemies.
The instability from the heart demon was gone, but the darkness in his heart hadn't vanished.
The boy who had pursued peace and harmony now sought to become a vengeful ghost shedding tears of blood.
"I want to rip them apart. Tear their flesh, crush their bones, make them feel even a tenth of the pain Macheon endured."
When someone blindly charging forward breaks, the backlash is immense.
"Elder, at first I thought Hwaryeong was overly distrustful."
Cheonryeong continued in a low voice toward the elder.
"But that was a foolish judgment. I was blind not to see how rotten Sacheon had become..."
"Your father, the former family head, was a fool who couldn't read the currents of the world. Because Sacheon stayed out of the past war between Koral and Bata, your house's standing even fell within the alliance."
"Father was right. You're the ones who were wrong."
Sacheon House wasn't a stepping stone for their advancement.
Cheonryeong ignited sword aura along his blade and spoke coldly.
"What Father couldn't do, I'll accomplish now, even if it's late. I'll sever your neck with these hands."
Realizing even Cheonryeong had turned completely, the elder clicked his tongue.
In truth, he'd used Macheon as a hostage, but she was the elder council's most prized weapon in Sacheon House right now.
Sacrificing her for Cheonryeong would be foolish.
"Fool. How dare you think you can stand against me with your meager power?"
"If I have no arms, I'll use my legs. No legs, then my teeth to tear you apart..."
"Sorry to interrupt your dramatic monologue."
That was when Leon's voice cut between them.
"Young Master Cheonryeong, you're in the way. Mind stepping back?"
Cheonryeong stared blankly at Leon, who gestured dismissively with an annoyed tone.
"Luna, what do you want to handle first?"
"The corpse."
"Then I'll go with elder respect."
With those words, the space near Leon's hand shattered with a crack! He deftly spun and drew his dimensional sword, Electra.
But this time, it wasn't just Electra.
Space cracked open around Leon, and ordinary iron swords poured out, embedding themselves into the ground here and there.
"Koral's been cleaned up, so you're all that's left."
The elder's expression hardened at his words.
"Koral's been dealt with? What nonsense is that?"
"Curious?"
As Leon gestured, his shadow rippled, and something black slowly emerged.
An undead knight made from Sword Master Bachen's corpse.
The elder's eyes widened at the sight of the wraith knight.
"B-Bachen!"
"Clear the small fry."
At his command, the wraith knight moved.
Following him, wraith-like undead rose smoothly from the ground and trailed behind.
"Necromancy!"
"How can a swordsman command the dead?!"
Claaang!!!!
Leon struck one of the embedded swords with his dimensional sword.
The sword shot out at tremendous speed toward the Sacheon elder.
Creeeang!!!!
The elder reflexively drew his sword and deflected it, his eyes bulging.
He'd merely knocked away a plain iron sword, yet his hand trembled.
But he had no time for other thoughts.
Leon moved with swiftness beyond the elder's expectations, chilling him to the bone.
Kaang!! Kang!!
Yet the elder was a Sword Master too.
His pride as one, and as a survivor of countless battlefields longer than this brat's lifetime, wouldn't allow a one-sided defeat.
"Don't get cocky, you whelp!!!"
Aura exploded from the elder's entire body.
Martial artists of the Eastern Continent prided themselves on concealing a portion of their power.
But what good was hiding it if you died anyway?
Judging Leon a life-threatening foe, the elder unleashed everything he had.
'Leave the girl to Macheon. My focus is...'
Leon Cascadia alone.
The wraith knight Leon summoned might threaten the house's warriors, but not him.
"Haaap!!"
With a beastly roar, his hidden aura burst forth, enveloping his body.
His speed surged far beyond before, his strikes sharper.
He didn't know Leon's full potential.
But at the level Leon showed now, victory was assured.
Like ink splattered on white paper, his aura and sword danced fluidly.
Matching Leon's speed, his sword accelerated, smoothly parrying attacks.
"Oh."
Clearly, he held the advantage here.
Yet why?
Dozens of exchanges in mere seconds, yet nothing had changed.
Leon's speed remained just a notch faster, as at the start.
And his combat prowess was no joke.
Why!
By revealing his hidden cards, his power now exceeded before.
The gap between fighting at 70% and 100% wasn't small, yet it persisted unchanged. He couldn't comprehend it.
Worse, Leon's attacks felt oddly choppy, like he was holding back despite being able to overwhelm.
A filthy sensation.
Glancing over, Macheon screeched and lunged at Luna, but she effortlessly deflected every blow with minimal movement.
Luna's skill was one thing, but Macheon was an unfinished product incapable of clever attacks.
Meanwhile, Bachen's undead rampaged freely among the house warriors.
Reinforcements needed more time. Retreat seemed wise, but Leon's style bruised his pride.
His ego, forged over years as a powerhouse, couldn't tolerate being trampled by a boy who'd lived a third of his life.
Like being toyed with: Can you block this? What about this? How's this?
A profound humiliation.
The elder's fury grew as he gripped his sword. Leon's actions weren't just mockery—they spared his sister a gruesome sight.
At this rate, he'd wither without a reversal.
"Hear me, warriors of the house!!!!"
The elder parried Leon's sword and bellowed.
"Prioritize the others from now on!! Especially that little brat—don't let her live!!"
His rage now targeted Arsha.
If Leon and Luna wouldn't fall easily, he'd go for the weak first.
I won't let things go your way.
At his furious shout, the house warriors surged forward.
Or tried to.
Grgrgrk...
Their bodies froze as if clamped in a massive vise.
Leon's demeanor shifted completely from his restrained strikes.
No attack came, but the elder instinctively sensed greater danger than ever.
'This... this bastard...'
A heavy aura flow, incomparable to before, began crushing the entire area.
As Leon's presence changed, everyone halted, staring at him.
Even Macheon, mad with instinct, shuddered like a frightened beast and backed away stealthily.
"Arsha."
Arsha jolted at his icy voice.
The hatchling in her swaddling cloth trembled in fear, burrowing deeper into her embrace.