Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Descendant of the Blade King
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The Paeng Family warriors had surrounded the man and the blue-robed figure from all sides. He could have easily evaded them, but the man did not. Instead, he scrutinized each of their faces one by one.
‘……None!’
Yi Hwan was nowhere to be seen.
The blue-robed figure sent a transmission voice.
[That man is not here!]
‘Is this a scheme he devised?’
A bitter smile curled at the corner of the man’s mouth. He felt as though he had been played.
Staring straight at Paeng Mu-wi, he asked,
“Is this a scheme plotted by the Great Prince?”
“What nonsense is this bastard spouting! If you don’t want to die, reveal your identity, you scum!”
Ignoring him, the man turned his gaze to Song Hoe. He posed the same question.
“Is this a scheme plotted by the Great Prince?”
“Reveal your identity first.”
Song Hoe remained composed.
The man swept his eyes around the surroundings. His demeanor treated Paeng Mu-wi and the others right in front of him as if they were beneath notice.
A bitter smile once again tugged at his lips.
“How pathetic this has become.”
* * *
‘The Paeng Family warriors mean nothing to him? Then I suppose I’ll have to check if he truly has the skill to back that up.’
Five strands of energy rose from Yi Hwan’s fingertips.
Unlike before, they held no color at all. The five strands flew silently, striking the greatswords held by the Paeng Family warriors.
Clang!
“Uh!”
In the taut tension, it was no different from an attack signal.
Paeng Mu-wi charged toward the man. Even amidst the bushes rising to his waist, his movements were astonishingly swift.
But the man’s reaction was even faster. With a sword already drawn in an instant, he swatted away the incoming greatsword.
Boom!
Whoosh!
The impact sent severed bushes and raindrops flying in all directions.
The blue-robed figure shouted,
“Shall we fight?”
“Avoid killing them if possible.”
“Understood.”
“Attack!”
The Paeng Family warriors rushed in all at once.
That was when it happened.
[Fall back.]
Yi Hwan’s transmission voice flowed into Song Hoe’s ear. Though reluctant, Song Hoe had no choice but to obey Yi Hwan’s command and quietly retreat.
Clang!
Whoosh!
Song Hoe’s eyes soon filled with shock.
Against Paeng Mu-wi and the Paeng Family warriors, the man and the blue-robed figure fought with overwhelming ease.
‘Where did such experts come from…….’
* * *
‘As expected, not ordinary at all.’
Yi Hwan could not tear his eyes from the man’s movements. With minimal motion, he was blocking Paeng Mu-wi’s attacks while steadily closing the gap.
What was strange was that no killing intent emanated from his sword at all. The same went for the blue-robed figure.
‘Not killing is harder than killing. Now I’m even more curious about your identities.’
That was when it happened.
[Are you there?]
“……!”
A single transmission voice burrowed into Yi Hwan’s ear.
‘Echoing Voice Technique!’
The Echoing Voice Technique was an advanced martial art that only supreme experts beyond the transcendent level could master, allowing transmission voice over a wide radius without knowing the target’s exact position.
‘So he wasn’t even going all out.’
It was astonishing.
To hold off Paeng Mu-wi and the Paeng Family warriors so leisurely without giving his all—and even using the Echoing Voice Technique at that.
It was a realm not easily surpassed.
Yi Hwan calmed his gaze.
Then he sent a transmission voice toward the man.
[What’s your reason for pursuing the Soul Separation Technique?]
[I have people I must find.]
[You mean the Sword King’s descendants?]
[I heard you’re searching for the Sword King’s descendants too. Mind sharing your reason?]
Clang!
Crunch!
Even as their conversation continued, Paeng Mu-wi’s fierce assaults were repeatedly blocked by the man’s sword. Other Paeng Family warriors joined in attacking him, but it was all for naught.
[How about revealing your identity first?]
[That’s my line.]
[And if I can’t?]
[I’ll have to kill everyone here. Including your deputy general.]
[Do as you like.]
[……!]
* * *
‘Damn it!’
Paeng Mu-wi’s face flushed beet red.
He could hardly believe the reality before his eyes. It felt like swinging a blade at an immovable mountain.
This sense of powerlessness was the first since he had begun his life as a warrior.
“Huh?”
In that instant, Paeng Mu-wi realized it. The man’s eyes, visible beyond his mask, occasionally glanced not at him, but elsewhere.
Whoosh!
Heat rose from his entire body. Overwhelmed by shame, uncontrollable rage surged.
To a warrior, this was a greater humiliation and insult than death itself.
“Look at me, you bastard!”
Swoosh!
Boom!
“Urk!”
A sharp groan escaped Paeng Mu-wi’s lips. His rage-fueled strike was perfectly blocked, and an even greater shock rattled through his body.
That was when it happened.
Flash!
The man vanished.
As Paeng Mu-wi widened his eyes, the man landed beside Song Hoe.
[You’d better decide quickly. Or I’ll start with your deputy general.]
Song Hoe thought the man was hesitating to attack. He wanted to charge in immediately, but Yi Hwan’s order had not come.
[Do you really intend to let that man die?]
[Just one question.]
[You’ll keep playing it like this to the end?]
Crackle!
Blue sword energy flared like flames at the tip of the man’s sword. It was sword energy he had never revealed even against Paeng Mu-wi.
As Song Hoe’s face turned pale in the reflected glow, Yi Hwan’s transmission voice shook the man’s gaze profoundly.
[Are you a descendant of Mu-gwang?]
Tremble……
* * *
Tremble……
Yi Hwan’s eyes shook greatly as he gazed at the sword energy rising from the man’s sword.
Sword energy reminiscent of blue flames.
It was the hallmark of the blade aura unleashed by Cheol Mu-gwang, the Blade King, one of the Three Kings of Daye Fortress.
No mistaking it.
He could not possibly misrecognize the traces of the Blade King, who had been like his own shadow.
[Who are you?]
The man’s transmission voice trembled faintly.
Yi Hwan smiled faintly.
[If you’re a descendant of Mu-gwang, come to my tent.]
* * *
The man suppressed his trembling heart.
‘How does this man know his name…….’
The Three Kings of Daye Fortress were known only by their titles: Sword King, Blade King, Poison King. In the current world, where all records of Daye Fortress had been erased from the martial world, there were even those ignorant of their titles.
Thus, only their direct descendants knew the Three Kings’ true names.
Yet Yi Hwan knew them.
The man turned to the blue-robed figure.
[We’re leaving.]
[Here?]
[Follow quietly.]
“…….”
* * *
Rumble!
Crackle!
Paeng Mu-wi dropped his greatsword and hung his head in emptiness. The Paeng Family warriors stared blankly into the darkness where the man and blue-robed figure had vanished.
“Argh!”
Paeng Mu-wi roared toward the sky.
Song Hoe took a deep breath and scanned the surroundings. But he could not find Yi Hwan.
‘It feels like I’ve been possessed by a ghost.’
Clink!
Song Hoe sheathed his sword and approached Paeng Mu-wi. Paeng Mu-wi trembled all over, his face flushed red with humiliation.
“What will you do?”
“Urgh…….”
Blood dripped from Paeng Mu-wi’s lips, bitten by his teeth.
They had caused too much commotion right at the border of Zhao Kingdom territory. Zhao warriors could arrive at any moment.
After agonizing, Paeng Mu-wi had no choice but to decide.
“……We’re heading back!”
* * *
Yi Hwan’s tent.
Song Cheon-mu and Cha Jung-kyeong discovered the man and blue-robed figure entering out of nowhere and hurriedly drew their swords.
Shing!
Cha Jung-kyeong, who knew them, felt his heart sink.
“How did you get in here…….”
That was when it happened.
Yi Hwan’s voice flowed from inside the room.
“They’re guests.”
Cha Jung-kyeong shouted,
“Great Prince! It’s them!”
“I said they’re guests.”
“……!”
“We’ll talk later.”
The man and blue-robed figure gave Cha Jung-kyeong cold stares before opening Yi Hwan’s door and entering.
Their gazes intertwined.
Yi Hwan was calm, but the man’s eyes still brimmed with turmoil. Yet the voice piercing his lips was chillingly cold.
“Reveal your identity, or you die.”
“Haven’t you answered my question yet?”
“Reveal your identity first.”
“You won’t believe it even if I do.”
“I’ll be the judge, so stop the word games.”
A volatile energy surged from the man’s entire body, as if it might explode at the slightest touch.
Seeing this, Yi Hwan let out a chuckle. It reminded him of the hot-tempered Blade King, who rarely listened to others and always pushed forward.
‘If it were him, he might’ve already drawn his blade and swung it.’
Wiping away his smile, Yi Hwan gave the answer he had prepared in advance.
“I am of the Lord of Daye Fortress’s lineage.”
Shing!
The man drew his sword. Thick killing intent immediately swirled through the room.
“That man left no heirs!”
“There are secret histories you don’t know. So fix your expression. And sheathe that sword.”
“……!”
At Yi Hwan’s composed attitude, confusion once again filled the man’s eyes.
“Prove it.”
Yi Hwan subtly furrowed his brow.
“Why does a descendant of the Blade King wield a sword?”
“Prove it first.”
“Well, we’ll get to that in time.”
Yi Hwan took a sip of cold water and continued, staring straight at the man.
He began recounting secret histories known only to the Blade King’s lineage. Some details were even unknown to the man.
As the story progressed, the man’s eyes shook more and more violently. The blue-robed figure sniffled, eyes reddening.
“I must find the sacred relic symbolizing the Fortress Lord too. I lost it along the way.”
With those words, Yi Hwan’s tale ended. He immediately followed with a question.
“Do you possess the Three Kings Token?”
“Recite the inscription on the Three Kings Token.”
His voice remained cold, but the man’s eyes were already growing moist.
‘I engraved it myself. The three names.’
Yi Hwan recited the inscription he had personally carved. Then he named the Three Kings one by one. Only when the name Cheol Mu-gwang emerged did the man collapse to his knees.
Thud!
“Mu-ok pays respects to my lord!”
“Mu-ok pays respects to my lord!”
* * *
Thud!
“Mu-ok pays respects to my lord!”
Hearing those words from inside the room, Song Cheon-mu and Cha Jung-kyeong exchanged glances, their eyes widening in shock.
“Suddenly?”
“My lord?”
Cha Jung-kyeong in particular nearly burst into the room, baffled by what was happening.
‘What? Why are those guys calling the Great Prince their lord?’
It felt like being possessed by a ghost.
That was when Yi Hwan’s voice came from beyond the door.
“Prepare tea.”
“Yes!”
As Song Cheon-mu hurriedly moved to go outside, the door opened and Song Hoe entered.
Clatter!
“You’re back?”
“Yes. But right now…….”
“Are you hurt!”
“No, it’s not that…….”
“What are these fools dawdling for!”
“No, well, you see…….”
“If you’re here, come in.”
At Yi Hwan’s voice, Song Hoe pushed the two aside and entered the room.