Chapter 260
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 260
Chapter Title: Die, All of You!
Ha Mu-baek's sword underwent a change.
A pitch-black sword aura formed along the pristine white blade.
The protectors charging toward him, radiating killing intent in thick waves.
This was to deal with them.
Each of their swords bore their own sword auras.
And now, the latter half of the Imperial Sword Form, which had become all too familiar.
Ha Mu-baek hurled himself first into their midst.
His sword whipped out in all directions.
Pitch-black lines streaked through the air.
Swords and protectors cleaved apart along those lines.
"Kaaaargh!"
Blood sprayed, and screams filled the air.
It was all too anticlimactic.
Even unleashing the latter half of the Imperial Sword Form, not a single one could properly block Ha Mu-baek's strike.
Their skill level was still insufficient to manifest the form of the Imperial Sword.
They gritted their teeth and swung their blades, but it was nothing more than futile gestures.
They collapsed, splattering blood across Ha Mu-baek's sword.
In an instant, ten protectors met their end.
At that astonishing feat,
time seemed to freeze for a moment.
No one moved.
Ha Mu-baek continued displaying what seemed like an unreal sight.
The Namgung Clan warriors had lost count of how many times they'd been left dumbfounded today.
He was a monster, sure.
But to fell a full unit of Elder Council protectors in a single breath?
Not even anyone from the Namgung Clan could have done it.
No, who in the current martial world could?
Could even Righteous Heaven Alliance Leader So Hwi-woong, the supreme under heaven, manage it?
Such doubts flickered through their minds.
Namgung Hwa-hyun ground his teeth.
How on earth were they supposed to stop that monster?
"As expected of Ha Mu-baek."
Six new figures appeared then.
They too were elders of the Elder Council.
However, they followed a different faction from Namgung Hyeon-cheol.
These were collateral branch members who had entered the council.
Thus, they spent their time simply as elders, without holding protector positions.
The one who stepped forward first among them.
Ha Mu-baek's gaze turned to him.
"Namgung Jong."
Ha Mu-baek murmured softly.
"It's been a while. Seven or eight years, perhaps?"
With those words, he drew his sword.
At the same moment, the other five drew theirs.
They surrounded Ha Mu-baek.
At the sight, color returned to Namgung Hyeon-cheol's face.
They were from a rival faction.
They clashed at every turn.
But when facing a common enemy like this, they were reliable allies.
It wasn't easy for collateral branch members to enter the Elder Council.
It meant they were truly exceptional.
The direct-line elders who followed Namgung Hyeon-cheol had all just perished by Ha Mu-baek's hand.
A tragic loss.
Namgung Hyeon-cheol bit his lip as he gazed at Namgung Jong and the other collateral elders.
Praying they would stop that monster.
Namgung Jong stared steadily at Ha Mu-baek, sword in hand.
"Having to face you as an enemy like this... I think I understand how the Demonic Cult and Blood Cult bastards feel."
A bitter smile crossed his face.
"Can't you sheathe your sword?"
Ha Mu-baek's question.
"As a member of the Namgung Clan, the command of the Emperor's Clear Sky Sword is absolute."
"Even after hearing everything?"
"Yes. The current clan head is the clan head."
The old man was stubbornly set in his ways.
Ha Mu-baek raised his sword.
He didn't want to, but...
This old man had once been a comrade on the battlefield.
Now, he had to cross blades with him.
"Taa-hat!"
Namgung Jong kicked off the ground with a mighty shout.
The other five launched themselves at the same time.
Thus, six swords formed a sword formation and flew toward Ha Mu-baek.
The Sky Palace Infinite Sword formation, executed with the Sky Palace Infinite Sword.
A formation designed for a small group to face a single powerful foe.
Swords flew precisely interlocked toward Ha Mu-baek.
Chaeng! Chae-chaeng!
Kang!
Sword auras clashed, resounding with a deafening clamor.
Ha Mu-baek's single stroke, which none of the protectors could withstand.
The collateral elders were blocking it.
Because Ha Mu-baek had held back his killing intent.
Because they wielded the Sky Palace Infinite Sword, not the Imperial Sword Form.
Because no trace of the Imperial Sword Form lingered on them.
'A Namgung is still a Namgung, after all.'
He'd thought the clan rotten to the core.
Yet upright individuals like these still remained.
They were the kind the new Namgung Clan needed.
Namgung Ji-yu had demanded that Namgung Hwa-u dissolve the Elder Council.
Thus, he'd been harsher against the elders.
No, seeing they'd mastered the latter half of the Imperial Sword Form, he suspected some deal with Namgung Hwa-hyun.
But these men were different.
They wielded their swords with genuine pride.
A pure sword, utterly unlike the muddy strikes of the protectors moments ago.
They deserved to be met in kind.
Ha Mu-baek's sword movements shifted.
A sword art unleashed with full sincerity.
The pitch-black sword aura had by now turned into a pristine white one.
Namgung Jong started in shock at the changing color of the sword aura.
It was a phenomenon he'd never witnessed before.
Undeterred, Ha Mu-baek's sword began radiating a majestic aura.
Infinite Freedom Eight Severing Sword Wave.
First Severance: Sky-Opening.
The sky-opening sword stance unfolded toward the Sky Palace Infinite Sword formation.
"Kuhk..."
An immense aura surged outward in all directions.
It wasn't just those in the formation.
The warriors still standing nearby felt their bodies prickle all over from the pressure.
Namgung Hyeon-cheol gritted his teeth and circulated his inner energy.
He stepped in front of Namgung Hwa-hyun.
This wasn't an aura the dantian-less Namgung Hwa-hyun could endure.
To counter the tremendous pressure, the sword formation shifted.
Six swords converged on a single point.
The tips met at one spot, and the explosive power bursting forth momentarily halted Ha Mu-baek's sky-opening aura.
The moment a smile of triumph touched someone's lips.
The balance of power shattered.
The aura they'd thought blocked exploded like a storm in an instant, snapping all six swords at once.
The sky manifested by the Sky Palace Infinite Sword formation.
Was overwhelmed by the sky Ha Mu-baek had torn open.
And utterly erased.
"Kuhk."
"Euhk."
Groans erupted as they knelt before Ha Mu-baek's sole existing sky.
All their swords were broken.
The only one still holding a sword upright.
Namgung Jong.
"Heh heh. As expected of Ha Mu-baek."
The sword aura on his blade faded gradually, it seemed.
Then,
Pa-sa-sak.
His sword crumbled into powder and scattered.
"Kuhk."
Namgung Jong spat out a mouthful of blood.
He had blocked Ha Mu-baek's sword at the formation's center.
Thanks to him, the other five's injuries were limited to that extent.
"You'll need at least three months of rest."
Thwack.
With those words, Ha Mu-baek struck the back of Namgung Jong's neck with his sword hilt.
Namgung Jong collapsed unconscious.
The other five elders followed suit.
"Who's next?"
Ha Mu-baek said, scanning his surroundings.
But no one moved.
How could they dare?
After witnessing that single strike just now.
It was a sword on another level entirely.
A sword that had split the Namgung Clan's sky and forged a new one.
"Then I'll be going."
Ha Mu-baek decided it was time to wrap things up.
His sword trembled once more.
In the dark night,
Ha Mu-baek tore open the sky again.
And a storm raged in all directions.
"Kuhk."
"Aak!"
Screams burst forth.
Thus, the sky opened and closed once more.
No warriors remained standing.
All lay suppressed on the ground.
Their bodies trembling in agony.
Those who had charged first and fallen now wore expressions of slightly easing pain.
In the vast Namgung Clan grounds, the only ones left standing were...
Namgung Hwa-hyun and Namgung Hyeon-cheol.
Aside from those behind Ha Mu-baek.
Ha Mu-baek's gaze turned to Namgung Hyeon-cheol.
"You?"
"Eek."
Namgung Hyeon-cheol ground his teeth at Ha Mu-baek's question.
He desperately wanted to tear that bastard apart right then.
But lacking the ability, he could only gnash his teeth.
"Not coming at me?"
At the follow-up, Namgung Hyeon-cheol's body shuddered.
He wanted to deny it, but it was the truth.
He was terrified.
Frightened.
Of that monster.
If he drew his sword and charged to fight him...
His head would roll.
The Emperor's Clear Sky Sword was still in Namgung Hwa-hyun's hand.
Unlike before, when he'd held it high with vigor,
Now it hung limp and powerless.
It had no choice.
No warrior remained to heed the Emperor's Clear Sky Sword's command.
Only two stood here.
And he himself was already a broken mess.
The limp Emperor's Clear Sky Sword.
A pitiful sight.
The clan head's divine artifact, capable of issuing absolute commands to all clan members.
Yet now, no retainer answered its call.
It wasn't just retainers absent.
Dignity, honor, power, dantian—all lost.
All the power he commanded had fallen to a single man's hand.
"Cowardly bastard."
Ha Mu-baek spat toward Namgung Hyeon-cheol.
Yet he remained blocking Namgung Hwa-hyun, trembling.
"The Emperor's Clear Sky Sword's command is absolute, right? Didn't you receive it too?"
"Euh."
Namgung Hyeon-cheol could only let out a small groan at Ha Mu-baek's words.
"U-Uncle?"
Namgung Hwa-hyun called softly to Namgung Hyeon-cheol.
"Kaaaargh!"
Suddenly, Namgung Hyeon-cheol roared wildly and shook his sword.
The form of the Imperial Sword reappeared on him.
However.
The direction he faced.
Wasn't where Ha Mu-baek stood.
The exact opposite.
He launched himself with full power.
In the direction farthest from Ha Mu-baek.
Ha Mu-baek watched him with a look of utter disbelief.
Namgung Hwa-hyun's face went slack.
No one had anticipated Namgung Hyeon-cheol's actions.
He fled with all his might.
Pathetically trying to save at least his own life.
A desire to live.
Even Namgung Hyeon-cheol hadn't known.
How strong that desire burned within him.
Ha Mu-baek chuckled and kicked off the ground.
Lightning Light Thousand Li Step.
His swift movement technique unfolded,
And in an instant, he caught up behind Namgung Hyeon-cheol, seizing his nape and slamming him into the ground.
Kwang!
Namgung Hyeon-cheol crashed into the earth with a massive thud.
"Kuhk."
He spat blood and struggled to rise unsteadily, only to see the siblings before his eyes.
Namgung Ji-yu and Namgung Ji-hu.
The root cause of this entire fiasco.
Why did that thought cross his mind now?
'It's because of those damn brats...'
They'd stirred things up looking for their father.
And that rotten bastard Namgung Hwa-u had exploited it.
Who could've guessed Namgung Hwi was alive, and even that mongrel Chudong would show up.
He'd thrown everything away to flee.
Even that had failed.
That monstrous bastard's lightness skill was monstrously fast, reducing him to this state in seconds.
Now, he was as good as dead.
No path to survival in sight.
And right before his eyes stood the culprits of this disaster.
He couldn't die alone.
If he went down, he'd take them with him.
In that fleeting moment, those tangled thoughts flashed through Namgung Hyeon-cheol's mind.
And Namgung Hyeon-cheol unleashed his sword toward Namgung Ji-yu.
Namgung Ji-yu startled at the sword suddenly flying at her.
She hadn't anticipated it.
Namgung Hyeon-cheol unfolding the Imperial Sword Form to flee and crashing back here had taken mere seconds.
How could she foresee a sword coming at her like this?
Shocked, Namgung Ji-yu's body froze.
From beside her, a sword shot out.
Chaeng!
The one who blocked Namgung Hyeon-cheol's strike aimed at Namgung Ji-yu.
Namgung Ji-hu.
"Insolent whelp."
A deep ink-black sword aura cloaked Namgung Hyeon-cheol's blade.
A muddy hue matching his twisted nature.
A sword aura the color of the Imperial Sword Form.
In response, Namgung Ji-hu raised a white sword aura.
A pure, pristine white, almost transparent.
Namgung Hyeon-cheol pressed Namgung Ji-hu with the Imperial Sword Form, but Namgung Ji-hu calmly parried.
With the Sky Palace Infinite Sword, not the Imperial Sword Form.
No, it was the first half of the Imperial Sword Form infused with the subtleties of the Sky Palace Infinite Sword.
Great Chain Sword Technique, Sky Palace Infinite Sword.
The Imperial Sword Form embodying Namgung Ji-hu's enlightenment of those two sword arts.
'H-How...'
Namgung Hyeon-cheol was stunned.
Because in the sword blocking his path, he saw the sky. He saw the sea.
A different sky from what Ha Mu-baek had shown moments ago.
Deeply blue, towering high.
The Namgung Clan's sky.
To kill, he had to rip that sky apart.
Thus, he tried to raise the Imperial Sword.
Uluk.
Blood welled up in his mouth.
When Ha Mu-baek had hurled him earlier.
He'd sustained severe internal injuries.
His dantian throbbed painfully.
Ha Mu-baek, having returned, grabbed the left arm of Namgung Hwi, who was about to charge in.
Seeing Ha Mu-baek, Namgung Hwi steadied himself and watched Namgung Ji-hu's sword.
"Kaaak!"
Namgung Hyeon-cheol bellowed like a cornered beast.
The blood pooled in his mouth sprayed everywhere.
From that clash, Namgung Ji-hu staggered back two steps.
However.
Namgung Hyeon-cheol retreated five steps.
A clear advantage for Namgung Ji-hu.
Namgung Hyeon-cheol stared at Namgung Ji-hu in disbelief.
To a mere fledgling like that.
Even if he'd taken internal injuries.
To fail taking even one young punk's life...
"Well done."
Then Ha Mu-baek approached beside Namgung Ji-hu.
"Uh, uuh."
Despair flooded Namgung Hyeon-cheol's eyes,
Soon twisting into madness.
"Damn it all! Die, all of you!"
With those words,
Namgung Hyeon-cheol detonated his dantian.
A mutual destruction technique.
Self-explosion to take the foe down with him.