Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Mission, Intelligence (12)
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Two swords that had pierced through O Gang-ak's body were pulled out.
Mok Ri-won drew in a sharp 'Hup!' breath, shaking off the trembling sensation in his fingertips.
The sensation of slicing through human flesh and piercing a body continued to torment him even now.
“…Is it really over?”
Thud.
Mok Ri-won collapsed flat onto the ground.
His voice drained of strength, he asked the question, and Namgung Jincheon nodded as he plopped down onto his rear on the floor as well.
His gaze was fixed on O Gang-ak, who had collapsed like a lump of charred coal.
“Yeah, his breathing…”
Namgung Jincheon's eyes narrowed.
He was searching for signs of life like breathing from O Gang-ak.
After a moment, Namgung Jincheon clicked his tongue and spoke.
“…He's still hanging on. Though he looks like he's about to croak any second.”
What a tenacious life force. Even after drawing on his innate true qi, he was still clinging to life.
Of course, the fact that Mok Ri-won and he had shattered his dantian in the process must have played a part, but even accounting for that, it was ridiculous.
“Like a cockroach.”
“Heh heh, couldn't agree more.”
Mok Ri-won chuckled, his body shaking as he lay on the ground.
O Gang-ak would likely never use martial arts again or even take a single step on his own two feet—he'd be a cripple for life—but Mok Ri-won felt no pity over it.
After all, was he some ordinary villain?
On the way here, hadn't they witnessed with their own eyes the atrocities he'd committed?
‘Anyway.’
They'd repelled him, and that was that.
Mok Ri-won closed his eyes.
He replayed the battle that had just ended.
‘Mysterious.’
It was a moment he could only describe as mysterious.
The new sword paths formed as their swords intertwined, and the feeling that he could read his opponent's intentions without a single word exchanged.
“…We passed, huh. Felt pretty good.”
When Mok Ri-won said that, Namgung Jincheon snorted.
It was his usual curt response, but the intensity behind it had died down considerably.
A sign of agreement, perhaps.
Mok Ri-won grinned at that and said,
“Mind if I call you Brother Namgung?”
The words slipped out amid the surge of camaraderie and elation.
He'd said it thinking they might grow a bit closer, but the response that came back stung.
“Want me to kill you?”
Namgung Jincheon's eyes widened.
Contempt seeped from his bloodshot glare.
Mok Ri-won flinched and replied glumly.
“…I didn't mean it like that.”
“Disgusting.”
“Sheesh…”
Mok Ri-won pouted.
The mood naturally grew awkward, and that was when Dang Hwa-seo appeared.
“Are you alright?!”
She was alone.
Her face was thick with worry, clearly shocked by the devastation here.
It was unavoidable.
During the fight with O Gang-ak, explosions had rung out nonstop, and the ground had been torn up entirely.
On top of that, just look at Mok Ri-won's condition.
His upper garments were completely burned away, leaving not a scrap.
Most of the exposed skin was charred.
“How the hell do you fight to end up like this?!”
Dang Hwa-seo yelled as she strode right up to Mok Ri-won.
She poked at various spots on his body to check his condition.
Fortunately, no major wounds.
With that judgment made, she let out a deep sigh, and Namgung Jincheon spoke up.
“Check on the demon instead. He'll die at this rate.”
Only then did Dang Hwa-seo notice the demon and make a horrified face.
“…He's alive?”
She hadn't even realized it was a demon until Namgung Jincheon pointed it out.
It was that badly charred.
“Can you treat him?”
“I can keep him breathing, at least. The rest we'll leave to the Alliance…”
She got the sense it had been an incredibly fierce battle.
If luck had been just a bit worse, she might have arrived to find Mok Ri-won or Namgung Jincheon collapsed instead.
As such thoughts filled her mind, Mok Ri-won asked,
“Oh, right—where are the others?”
No sooner had his mind eased than he started worrying about everyone else. What a consistent guy.
Dang Hwa-seo gave a wry smile and said,
“They're looking after the rescued hostages. Not sure how many survived, though…”
From what she'd heard, the demons had been here for a month.
In that time, the hostages had been crammed into rooms like livestock being fattened up.
They were all emaciated to the extreme, and some had already died of starvation.
It was such a gruesome scene that she felt relieved Mok Ri-won hadn't seen it.
‘…No, success is success, regardless.’
Dang Hwa-seo shook her head to clear her thoughts.
And said,
“Then let's go. Time to wrap things up.”
*
The nighttime procession was noisy.
The townsfolk gawked in confusion and horror at the ragged hostages passing through the streets, while the squad members stayed vigilant against any lurking demons.
They arrived at the manor like that.
“Mother!”
Seon-u spotted the hostages and, at the forefront, a certain woman—shouting in a shrill voice, he rushed forward.
The woman spread her arms with a tear-streaked face, and Seon-u threw himself into her embrace.
“Seon-u!”
“Mother!”
Seon-u burst into sobs.
The woman finally shed tears as well.
Fortunately, Seon-u's mother was still alive.
Deeply weakened, yes, but proper meals would have her recovering in no time.
In any case, that wasn't the important thing right now.
“What a heartwarming sight.”
Mok Ri-won smiled despite the exhaustion etched on his face.
This was better.
No matter how much it was all an act, making others smile beat oppressing them any day.
He wasn't the only one smiling.
Beside him, Jegal San rubbed his nose with a grin, while Dang Hwa-seo, Il-un, and Hye-un wore pleased expressions.
Namgung Jincheon awkwardly averted his eyes from the scene.
In the midst of it, Seon-u looked toward the squad members.
He shot to his feet, approached them, and bowed deeply.
“Great hero! Thank you! For saving my mother, I…”
His voice overflowed with emotion, words failing him.
Mok Ri-won shook his head.
“We didn't save her.”
“Huh?”
“You did.”
Mok Ri-won smiled broadly.
“You had the courage to speak the truth to save your mother. Without your help, we couldn't have rescued her.”
Seon-u's eyes widened.
Soon, tears welled up on his face.
“Great hero…”
“Thank you for being brave.”
With those words.
Having confirmed with his own eyes that everything was truly over, Mok Ri-won could no longer fight the exhaustion surging through him.
Thud.
“Young Hero Mok!”
He lost consciousness and collapsed right there.
*
Three days passed after that.
Warriors from the Murim Alliance's Shaanxi branch, along with those from Mount Hua Sect and Zhongnan Sect, all entered the city.
The city's atmosphere was already in high chaos.
Why wouldn't it be?
The events at the brewery over the past three days had spread like wildfire among them.
The biggest topic of conversation was, of course, the Dragon-Phoenix Squad.
“They say those three half-brothers were this tournament's phoenixes and dragons!”
“No kidding! It was weird from the start! Where else would you find people looking that bizarre? And their personalities!”
“Right, right! Oh, heard about this? The merchants who claimed those brothers caused them losses—turns out, upon second thought, they didn't actually suffer any damage! The money those guys tossed around like charity matched the exact loss amounts, they say!”
“And that's not all! Once everything was done, Poison Phoenix went around personally apologizing to every victim!”
People were simpler than you'd think.
Once word got out that the villain who'd shaken Shaanxi was actually a hero who'd come to exterminate the lurking demons, opinions flipped like a pancake.
The most talk centered on Dragon-Phoenix Squad Leader Dang Hwa-seo, naturally.
After all, she'd controlled the entire operation even while acting, and followed up with proper apologies afterward—who else's story could take precedence?
Of course, that didn't mean others got no attention.
“Heard this? From interrogating the surviving demons at the Alliance… Turns out the one hiding at the brewery was O Gang-ak, one of the Six Demons—Flame Demon himself!”
“O Gang-ak?!”
“Demonic Sword O Chun's successor! Proof the Demonic Cult's still active at its core!”
“Whoa…!”
“Anyway, huh? Point is, Sword Dragon and Ink Dragon took him down!”
“True representatives of the next generation!”
For the warriors especially, tales of Mok Ri-won and Namgung Jincheon were prime drinking fodder.
After all, weren't they the stars of this era, turning heads since the Dragon-Phoenix Tournament finals?
Warriors couldn't just sit idly when those two pulled off yet another jaw-dropping feat.
“But Brother Wang, you sure stay on top of this news!”
“Haha! Truth is, ever since that Dragon-Phoenix Tournament, I've been following Ink Dragon's trail. As a warrior, he's just too admirable, you know.”
The man called Brother Wang—Wang Heo—shrugged as he spoke.
What could he say?
Second-rate warrior Wang Heo.
From the moment he first saw Mok Ri-won at the Dragon-Phoenix Tournament, he'd been captivated, predicted his victory, dragged a friend to the squad's inauguration to cheer him on, and now spread word of his feats here—a devoted follower of Mok Ri-won.
‘Though I got lucky learning about this incident.’
He'd just been wandering Shaanxi when rumors broke on that exact day in a village he happened to visit, and he'd frantically gathered every scrap since.
But that hardly mattered.
Wang Heo even mused that this must all be fate connecting him to Mok Ri-won.
Meanwhile, a man he'd befriended here asked,
“Anyway, what's Ink Dragon up to now?”
“Ink… Dragon?”
Wang Heo startled, shoulders twitching.
His eyes darted about.
‘I have no idea.’
How would he know?
Wang Heo was just a wandering warrior who made friends easily and had sharp ears for gossip.
But admitting that straight-up bruised his pride for some reason.
The man's expectant gaze only poked at it more.
“W-Well… Probably meditating to consolidate his insights from the battle?”
“Ooooh!!!”
Wang Heo's hasty excuse.
It was half right, half wrong.
“Sword Dragon bro! Let's practice that combo again! I feel like one more time and I'll get it!”
“Scram.”
“Ah, Sword Dragon bro!”
“Told you to scram. And what's with that baseless nickname?”
“You didn't hate Namgung bro! So you're Sword Dragon bro!”
“Disgusting. Cut it out.”
“Sheesh, you're one cold guy!”
That day, to grasp the faint insight he'd touched during their combo, Mok Ri-won chased after Namgung Jincheon.
Namgung Jincheon wasn't uninterested either, but the thought of syncing with Mok Ri-won gave him chills, so he kept refusing.
Their pursuit always ended the same way.
“Will you two shut up already?! We've got patients here—quit yelling your heads off!”
With Dang Hwa-seo's scolding.
…Shaanxi's modest manor enjoyed another moment of peace that day.