Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Moon Woman Ha Ah-rin - [3]
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Gu Ja-seong was the Bandit Alliance Leader, but he hadn't been indicted over the previous incident.
The position of Alliance Leader was purely honorary. Officially, Gu Ja-seong had long since retired from all bandit affairs. He claimed he hadn't been involved in their operations for the past ten years. Thus, he had no connection to the recent mess the bandits had caused.
Of course, no one bought that. What did it matter if he wasn't involved in day-to-day operations? Power came from strength, and Gu Ja-seong was a peerless master. No political argument could drag him down from his throne as the bandits' supreme boss.
He remained the ruler of the bandits. He might dodge legal responsibility, but morally, he couldn't escape blame for the prior incident.
Yet in front of all the cameras pointed his way, Gu Ja-seong offered no groveling apology like "I have nothing to say to the public."
"As you all know, back in my youth, I was something of an independence fighter. It brings back memories of my comrades from those days. From Teacher Heo Pung-gae on down..."
Heo Pung-gae seethed inwardly at Gu Ja-seong's words. That bastard, calling me a comrade?
"And Lady Moon Woman is not just a respected elder, but a comrade who endured those same harsh times alongside us."
More nonsense. Heo Pung-gae knew that after liberation, Moon Woman and Gu Ja-seong had become bitter political enemies.
What was truly absurd was the applause that erupted from the crowd.
Goddamn that bastard.
Heo Pung-gae had never liked that bandit scum. He'd suffered humiliating defeats at his hands multiple times, and the "independence activities" the man boasted about were repulsive too.
On top of that, lumping Moon Woman, Heo Pung-gae, and that bandit chief together as the "Three Heroes of the Modern Martial World" made his stomach turn.
Meanwhile, martial artists continued to gather at Full Moon Mountain. Bandits, members of the Martial Alliance, and independents alike filled the seats one by one.
Then, when the Greatest Sword of Gangnam made his appearance, all eyes turned to him. His betrayal was now public knowledge.
"That traitor's got some nerve showing up..."
Someone from the Martial Alliance growled, but the Greatest Sword of Gangnam just scoffed.
Beside him, an old man spoke up. Everyone recognized him as the Wudang Sect Taoist priest hired by President Park as a martial arts instructor.
"You thugs got no respect. You think you can harass our president's martial instructor?"
Only then did the sharp-eyed martial artists notice the Dahe Group name tag pinned to the Greatest Sword of Gangnam's chest and flinch.
A few still glared, but with the cameras everywhere, no one dared act.
Heo Pung-gae, however, couldn't ignore the weapon in the Greatest Sword of Gangnam's hand.
"Why'd you bring a Japanese sword?"
The Wudang priest was about to snap at him to scram like the thug he was but held back. No need to mouth off to another peerless master.
The Greatest Sword of Gangnam replied.
"The Great Hero of Japan wields a Japanese sword, doesn't he? You expect me to use a Korean curved saber instead?"
"Screw your curved sabers. Who're you planning to gut with that murder weapon?"
"It's a peerless master we're facing. Should I bring a wooden sword?"
"Shut up and grab something without a blade, or get a real wooden one."
"Or what?"
Heo Pung-gae steadied his breathing for a moment. It was meant to calm his rage, but it did little good now.
"Last time, you told me to come down and fight."
Heo Pung-gae slipped on his leather gloves.
"I'm down here now."
The Greatest Sword of Gangnam laughed. With him, screams erupted from all directions.
"That crazy bastard!"
Without warning, the Greatest Sword of Gangnam drew his sword and slashed down. It was iaijutsu on par with swinging a blade you'd been gripping from the start.
His mindset made sense: no hesitation against a superior foe. No loosening his grip or pulling punches to avoid injury—he wouldn't entertain such thoughts from the outset.
Coming with a live blade to subdue rather than kill Moon Woman fit the same logic.
But Heo Pung-gae's fury boiled solely at how keenly sharpened that sword was.
He usually shied away from facing drawn steel barehanded, but now he had no patience for flicking away BB bullets. Self-preservation didn't even cross his mind.
Heo Pung-gae thrust out his hand. With a flick, he struck the side of the oncoming blade—too fast to track.
The exquisite force barely deviated its path. The Greatest Sword of Gangnam didn't even notice the contact.
Only after the sword dropped a full ninety degrees did he realize it hadn't hit its target.
Heo Pung-gae stepped forward.
The Greatest Sword of Gangnam's eyes widened. He tried to backpedal and create distance, but Heo Pung-gae was faster.
In an instant, the gap closed. Too close for a swing, perfect for a punch.
At that moment, the Greatest Sword of Gangnam didn't defend. He lived the truth that the best defense was offense.
To counter an enemy pressed against him, he gripped the middle of his blade with his off-hand, shortening his hold. Then he swung the grounded tip diagonally upward.
This slash was blindingly fast too, but Heo Pung-gae had caught bullets plenty of times lately.
He seized the blade barehanded and yanked.
Shock bloomed on the Greatest Sword of Gangnam's face as he was pulled in. Heo Pung-gae palm-struck his chest. He felt the wrist bones shatter against the ribs.
A choking gack, gack.
Drool spilling from his mouth, the Greatest Sword of Gangnam clutched his chest and collapsed.
Heo Pung-gae turned to the Wudang priest.
"I work as a doctor sometimes, so I know— this guy's in rough shape. Send him home."
"If knowing that makes you a doctor, then I guess I'm one too."
The Wudang priest muttered, but Heo Pung-gae ignored him. He just waved off a Martial Alliance martial artist approaching with ill intent.
In the end, after the Greatest Sword of Gangnam was carted off to the hospital, applause rang out for the victor—but Heo Pung-gae wanted none of it. Beating a so-called peerless master who was beneath him? Nothing to brag about.
Heo Pung-gae headed toward Yi Pung, who was hanging back at a distance. Yi Pung glanced warily around before asking with concern.
"You look satisfied after pounding that jerk, so what's with the face?"
"What?"
"First time seeing you like this. In a bad mood?"
"Yeah."
Yi Pung almost asked why but let it go.
This was the guy who'd stormed a broadcasting station because Moon Woman was getting trashed. He'd claimed it was for the prize money, but to Yi Pung, that was only half the story. He figured there was real revenge motive too.
Their talk halted. The Wudang priest approached.
Heo Pung-gae thought he might complain about his downed comrade, but no.
The priest said, "That guy's gonna get an earful from the president when he gets back."
"So why'd your president send him here?"
"He told us to just watch how things play out."
No intent to intervene. Heo Pung-gae bristled again but held it in.
The Wudang priest pressed on.
"You saw us last time, right? When the president came for that assassin. We introduced ourselves then, yeah?"
"No."
"Name's Jang Wei. Call me Elder Jang."
"Got it, Elder Jang."
"So, you're heading to Mount Mosan Sect?"
"Yes."
"Congrats. Teacher Invincible BB Bullet once told me he envied me."
"My master did?"
"Yeah. Said he was jealous of a martial artist like me making an honest living. Coming from someone way above my level, I didn't know how to humbly respond. Just laughed it off. But hearing his disciple's joining one of the Nine Great Sects? He'd be thrilled."
Meanwhile, the martial artists were still buzzing from the duel, chattering excitedly in clusters.
Unable to stand it, Elder Huang—the imperial master—stepped in to quiet them.
"Keep it down, folks. You'll have swords flying at you."
"Swords?"
"Lady Moon Woman's sword technique. It hears the noise from afar and comes flying."
The martial artists compared her position to the distance and asked.
"Even from that far, it'll reach here?"
"Yes."
"That's farther than a rifle's effective range..."
Elder Jang asked, "With everyone gathered like this, what's there to worry about?"
Heo Pung-gae shook his head.
"We should worry."
"No, why? We've got two peerless masters here. Even without them, while I tangle with the flying sword, the rest could rush Lady Moon Woman..."
"Tough."
Elder Jang frowned.
"Look, to a peerless master like you, I might seem like a scrub. But I've honed my skills sparring with peerless master President Park."
Heo Pung-gae said, "If that sword flies at us, even I couldn't beat it."
"You couldn't? A peerless master?"
"Think of that one sword as stronger than most peerless masters."
Elder Jang—and the surrounding martial artists—blinked in disbelief.
Heo Pung-gae continued, "You'd assume a self-moving sword is weaker than one wielded by a person, but reality's different. It swings with exactly the same power and speed as if its owner were wielding it..."
"How do you know? You experienced her sword technique firsthand?"
Heo Pung-gae couldn't say he'd seen it plenty while hanging around her.
So he didn't explain with words.
A sword slid out from under Yi Pung's car like water and soared into the air. It reached Heo Pung-gae's back in a blink.
"Huh?"
As people panicked, mistaking it for Moon Woman's sword, Heo Pung-gae gestured clearly for all to see.
Responding, the sword slowly orbited him. Only then did they realize it wasn't her signaled sword but some Taijiquan blade.
Elder Jang's eyes bulged.
"Sword technique? You?"
"Yes."
The broadcasters, spotting it too, swung their cameras over. Heo Pung-gae hated the exposure but ignored it. This was for Moon Woman—he couldn't half-ass it or hide.
"How? You're no swordsman..."
"Same Mount Mosan Sect arts."
He launched into a briefing.
Last time he fought the thugs, the sword had moved on its own to help him—without any control.
Maybe Moon Woman's sword protected its owner the same way, acting independently.
So even acquaintances should be cautious. The sword lacked eyes or ears yet seemed to see and hear. But who could guarantee it had memory like a brain?
It picked targets selectively, but still—you never knew. Even Emperor Gojong could get skewered now...
"Even so, one flying sword? We could all gang up and take it down."
"I told you—that one's stronger than most peerless masters."
"Then how strong is Lady Moon Woman herself, acting separately?"
Heo Pung-gae answered Elder Jang's question.
"Last time, I fought a girl calling herself the Heavenly Demon. She was so strong, I wondered if she'd leaped from a novel."
Elder Jang had seen the footage and doubted his eyes too. Recalling it, he asked.
"As strong as her?"
"Way stronger."
"What?"
"That energy dominance didn't seem like her full power, but even so, it fell far short of Moon Woman's. I can use sword technique too, but mine's just for smashing windows. Hers is another level. Her personal skill is too."
Heo Pung-gae kept explaining.
In historical dramas, to amp the tragedy, they showed Moon Woman struggling alone before capture. In truth, the Japanese flailed. Even their peerless masters couldn't nab her despite trying everything. They half-hostaged Emperor Gojong and mobilized a full division to finally take her...
"She's the greatest master since Emperor Wanli. Only a returned Wanli could match her."
Yi Pung clicked his tongue. The guy had been sulky moments ago, but talking Moon Woman filled his voice with vigor. What was this, some idol obsession?
She was beautiful, sure, but rationally? The age gap. Because she was his junior sister...?
Then a broadcaster approached with a camera, thrusting a recorder forward.
"Doctor Heo Pung-gae?"
Heo Pung-gae flinched. The man compared a photo to the young master before him and continued.
"You look a lot like him. Build's different, but you could pass for his grandson. Are you?"
"No."
"Really no relation?"
"He's my master's disciple."
"Oh, really? So you're Teacher Invincible BB Bullet's disciple! I remember him attacking during that broadcast. What's his connection to Lady Moon Woman?"
"None."
The broadcaster eyed the Taijiquan sword floating behind Heo Pung-gae. Even after seeing her signaled sword, it was hard to believe? He couldn't look away.
"And the levitating sword magic's the same."
"Just same Mount Mosan Sect arts yielding similar results."
"Still, there must be some link? Even if you've met her a few times..."
Heo Pung-gae said, "I'm a thug punk. Connect me to her, and you're calling Lady Moon Woman a thug too?"
"Pardon?"
"Anyone linking me to her is insulting a national hero—a traitor. Got it?"
The broadcaster looked stunned rather than angry at the leap in logic.
As Yi Pung, proud of Heo Pung-gae's tie to Moon Woman, sighed, the man tried to ask more.
Then a massive voice boomed, drowning him out.
"Ahem, mic test. Mic test. Fellow warriors gathered here... Ah, too loud? Should I turn it down?"
The man who'd climbed onto the prepared podium was a Martial Alliance committee member.
Ignoring—or defying—the imperial master's warning, he bellowed into the mic.
And the sword moving via sword technique reacted to the sound, despite having no ears.
Everyone saw the blade flying in from afar.
All present rose, gripping their weapons.