Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Unleashing the Protective Aura of the Five Elements Divine Art
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The Red Flying Swallow Sword stormed into the Dong-ro Branch while we were having dinner.
“Branch Master! Someone from the Dong-ro Regional Branch of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union is here!”
Yang Lim, who also served as the gatekeeper, rushed over in a panic, reporting loudly as if a natural disaster had struck.
Instantly, everyone’s eyes focused on me.
This was because I was the one who had decimated the Dong-ro Regional Branch of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union.
An Do-pil glanced at me before asking Yang Lim.
“Who is it?”
“The Dong-ro Regional Master and a young man!”
A thought occurred to me, and I asked.
“A pretty-looking young man?”
“Yes.”
Both Sang Gang-jo and I instantly realized that the Dong-ro Regional Master, Wi Heun-chang, had brought the Red Flying Swallow Sword with him.
It wasn’t so strange for the Grand Commander of the Sword Demon Union, who had been searching for Sang Gang-jo, to show up at the Dong-ro Regional Branch.
She must have heard about me from Wi Heun-chang, which was why she had come.
An Do-pil looked at me and asked respectfully.
“What should we do?”
“Let’s go see.”
The branch members were startled to see An Do-pil speaking to me with such deference, while I addressed him so casually. Moreover, An Do-pil had asked me what to do.
An Do-pil had planned to announce during dinner that I had become the Grand Branch Master, but the Red Flying Swallow Sword had arrived before he could.
I stood up and looked at Sang Gang-jo, who was sitting at the same table.
“You should stay here.”
“Understood.”
The branch members were once again surprised, their gazes shifting between me and Sang Gang-jo.
An Do-pil, Hyeong In-geol, and the other branch members led the way, while my three team members and I ambled along behind them.
Dam Geum-hu, Deung Bo, and Yeon Cheong flanked me as if they were my personal guards.
Inside the firmly shut main gate stood Wi Heun-chang, and beside him, just as I’d suspected, was the Red Flying Swallow Sword, a woman disguised as a man. She was still wearing a crimson silk tunic.
Although Wi Heun-chang’s right shoulder was broken and hung limply, his face was full of confidence.
He had no doubt that the Lord of the Sword Demon Union, the Red Flying Swallow Sword, would crush me, the Team Three Leader.
An Do-pil stopped five paces from Wi Heun-chang and spoke quietly.
“What is it?”
With me standing behind him, An Do-pil wasn't the least bit intimidated.
“An Do-pil! Where is the Team Three Leader?”
Wi Heun-chang and the Red Flying Swallow Sword hadn't spotted me standing behind the other branch members.
An Do-pil’s eyebrow twitched.
“Wi Heun-chang! Did you come here because you want to be killed by the Team Three Leader for good this time?”
Since Wi Heun-chang spoke informally, An Do-pil shot back just as casually.
Just a few days ago, An Do-pil wouldn't have dared to even look him in the eye, but having been thoroughly humbled by me, Wi Heun-chang couldn’t lash out.
Hyeong In-geol chimed in.
“Wi Heun-chang! Who do you think you are, shouting in a place like this?”
Hyeong In-geol had grown a spine of steel. It seemed everyone who spent time with me did.
This atmosphere wasn't so bad. A pleased smile touched my lips.
Wi Heun-chang’s face twisted into an ugly scowl, but again, he didn’t lash out. He suspected I was somewhere nearby.
Just then, the Red Flying Swallow Sword stepped forward.
“Step aside.”
“Ah! My apologies.”
Wi Heun-chang bowed so low his forehead nearly touched the ground.
Unsure who this person was that had Wi Heun-chang groveling, An Do-pil and the branch members grew tense.
The Red Flying Swallow Sword placed her hands on her hips and spoke arrogantly.
“Who is the Team Three Leader?”
Silence. As if by unspoken agreement, none of the branch members said a word.
The Red Flying Swallow Sword raised her voice slightly.
“I asked who the Team Three Leader is!”
“Girl. Why are you causing a ruckus in someone else’s home?”
A gentle, chiding voice came from behind the branch members.
The Red Flying Swallow Sword’s face turned fierce.
“Who was that? Show yourself!”
The branch members parted like a river, and I walked forward leisurely with my hands clasped behind my back.
I was rather looking forward to seeing how the Red Flying Swallow Sword would react when she saw me.
I stopped and looked at her with a faint smile.
“You…”
Spotting me, the Red Flying Swallow Sword looked as if she had seen a ghost.
Remembering what had happened earlier, her face flushed red.
“Why are you here?”
“This is my workplace.”
“Your workplace?”
The Red Flying Swallow Sword wore a look of bewildered disbelief.
“You… you’re one of those Martial Alliance Dong-ro Branch bastards?”
“Hey, girl! Watch who you’re calling a bastard.”
“G-Girl?”
My gentle rebuke made the Red Flying Swallow Sword look as if smoke would billow from her ears.
An Do-pil and the other branch members watched with broad smiles. They trusted me completely and were enjoying the current situation.
I pointed to the insignia on my left chest and shoulder.
“Look! It says right here: Martial Alliance Dong-ro, Team Three Leader.”
The Red Flying Swallow Sword’s full, red lips twitched in anger.
“Ugh! You bastard! To think you deceived me!”
“I didn’t deceive you. Your eyes were just blind.”
The thought of being verbally toyed with by a mere team leader from some rural branch infuriated her to no end.
Nevertheless, she smiled coldly. The thought of wringing the neck of this pathetic team leader and utterly destroying him instantly lifted her spirits.
But I wasn't about to let the girl feel good for long.
“Why were you looking for your big brother?”
“Who’s your big brother?”
“Who else but me would be the big brother to a foul-tempered girl like you?”
As I slowly approached, the Red Flying Swallow Sword shouted sharply.
“Die!”
*Whoosh!*
The Red Flying Swallow Sword had been gathering her internal energy for a while, and she suddenly unleashed a palm strike with her left hand.
It was a powerful blow, strong enough to shatter a boulder.
*‘Hmm.’*
I flinched. Lost in my teasing, I had forgotten that the Red Flying Swallow Sword was an enemy and regretted getting too close, but it was too late.
*‘Will my body react to this too?’*
*Thwack!*
“Hwaak!”
Struck squarely in the chest from a mere two paces away, I screamed as I was sent flying through the air like a dry leaf.
*‘Huh? It doesn’t hurt.’*
As I flew through the air, I felt no pain in my chest or anywhere else in my body. Perhaps the shock and pain were so intense that my body had gone numb.
So, while still in the air, I quickly circulated my energy.
It was working. My body was reacting to the Red Flying Swallow Sword’s surprise attack. After quickly circulating my internal energy for one full cycle, I found I wasn't injured at all.
This was the first time I’d been ambushed since I re-emerged in the world, so my body probably hadn't had time to react.
I could understand that. But after this learning experience, my body must never make such a mistake again.
But there was a certain energy humming in my chest.
Not only that, but my chest felt faintly… fortified. It wasn't pain, but rather a feeling like wearing a thick layer of fur clothing.
*‘What is this?’*
*Thud!*
“Ugh!”
I hit the ground hard, back first, and slid a good ten feet.
Only then did I realize I could have used my lightness technique in mid-air to land gracefully.
It was the first time I'd been in such a situation, so my body—no, my mind—hadn't thought of it in time.
But that was fine. This too was a learning experience. I would get better.
Since I was already down, I stayed on the ground for a moment longer. I wanted to see how the girl would react.
“Team Leader!”
I heard the piercing screams of Yeon Cheong, Deung Bo, and Dam Geum-hu, and the sound of their frantic footsteps.
Yeon Cheong was the first to reach me, throwing her arms around me as she cried.
“Team Leader!”
“Move!”
Dam Geum-hu grabbed Yeon Cheong by the scruff of her neck, tossed her aside, and helped me up.
“Captain, are you alright?”
Alright was an understatement. I was perfectly fine, without a single scratch.
As I sat up, I saw the Red Flying Swallow Sword standing some distance away.
But she was grimacing, clutching her left arm with her right hand.
*‘Was it her left hand? But why?’*
A moment ago, it seemed the Red Flying Swallow Sword had struck me with her left palm. So why was she clutching her left arm?
Then I saw the deep frown on her face. Anyone could tell her left arm was in pain.
In a flash, a thought struck my mind.
*‘It's the rebound force!’*
I had taken a surprise palm strike to the chest from two paces away and was perfectly fine. And there was that humming in my chest, the feeling of wearing a thick fur coat.
*‘That’s it! It was a protective aura!’*
The moment her palm struck my chest, a protective aura had shielded me, leaving me unharmed.
On the other hand, the Red Flying Swallow Sword, who delivered the blow, must have felt excruciating pain in her hand and arm from the rebound of my protective aura.
Then, it suddenly came to me.
*‘Right! The Five Elements Divine Art!’*
Among the one hundred eighty-nine martial arts manuals I mastered on Gwalchang Mountain, twenty-five were miscellaneous texts on things like heart arts, divine arts, and medicine.
The Five Elements Divine Art focused on divine arts, but it had formed a protective aura around my body.
I'll forget every verse of the Five Elements Divine Art once this fight is over, but I must remember its name.
“Captain, are you alright?”
Dam Geum-hu asked again with the same worried tone as before.
This guy was acting like a subordinate.
“Team Leader…!”
Yeon Cheong, who was sobbing beside him, and Deung Bo, who looked like he was about to cry any second, had also come to see me as their superior.
I had paid these three no mind and treated them with indifference, but they had watched over me regardless.
*‘Tsk, tsk! What a strange bond.’*
“I’m fine. Let’s go.”
I shrugged off Dam Geum-hu’s support and walked slowly toward the Red Flying Swallow Sword.
An Do-pil and the branch members had been horrified when I was sent flying by the palm strike, but their faces showed relief as I walked back, seemingly unharmed.
I noticed the Red Flying Swallow Sword’s eyes were wavering.
After all, she must have been quite shocked to see me walking around perfectly fine after taking a direct palm strike at point-blank range, while her own attacking arm felt like it was about to break.
Unless she was a fool, she had guessed that I had manifested a protective aura. That’s why her pretty eyes were wide with astonishment.
Without stopping, I walked straight toward her. She flinched and took a hesitant step back.
I kept walking straight ahead, curious to see what she would do.
“Everyone, enter!”
The Red Flying Swallow Sword shouted sharply.
*Swoosh! Swish! Swoosh!*
In that instant, a dozen figures leaped over the main gate behind her.
“Aah!”
“Whoa!”
An Do-pil and the branch members were greatly alarmed and reflexively retreated.
[Team Leader! They are the Sword Demon Masters of the Sword Demon Union!]
Sang Gang-jo, who had been watching the situation from the Team Three Hall, sent a telepathic message.
[Don’t come out.]
[Will you be alright?]
[Haha! You don’t trust me?]
[My apologies. However, the Sword Demon Masters are the elite of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union's Sword Demon Union. Please be careful.]
[What’s that girl’s name?]
[It is Pan Ha-rin.]
Twelve Sword Demon Masters had appeared, lining up flawlessly to the left and right of the Red Flying Swallow Sword, Pan Ha-rin.
Pan Ha-rin was once again full of confidence.
“I have a question for you.”
I gestured for An Do-pil and the branch members to back away.
“Everyone, retreat thirty feet.”
“Team Leader!”
They all looked anxious, and Yeon Cheong cried out sharply.
An Do-pil turned and spread his arms, ushering everyone back.
I stood alone, ten feet away, facing Pan Ha-rin and her twelve Sword Demon Masters lined up in a row.
Pan Ha-rin wore an interrogating expression.
“Who are you?”
From behind me, An Do-pil answered proudly.
“He is our Grand Branch Master!”
“Grand… Branch Master? What is that?”
“It’s like a Grand Master of a clan or a Grand Sect Leader!”