Chapter 545
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 545
Chapter Title: Ah, Daddy...
Sword light flashed as a blade shot straight toward Seon-gyu's neck.
In that split second of realization, before Seon-gyu could even process what was happening, the tip of Yu Gwi-gwang's sword was already hurtling in to pierce his throat.
However.
Clang!!!
The sword of the man who had stealthily closed in two steps behind Seon-gyu flew like a streak of light, batting away Yu Gwi-gwang's blade.
"Huh? Uh? What, what is this?"
Only then did Seon-gyu notice the sword that had come right up to his neck before bouncing off. He jolted in shock and stumbled back a few steps.
"Pavilion Lord, you'd best fall back a bit."
The leader of the Fragrant Plum Gate warriors blocked Seon-gyu's path with a roguish grin.
The other Black Face Hall thugs didn't matter if they died, but Seon-gyu getting killed was a problem.
If he croaked, the Black Face Hall crew would scatter to the winds, and their plan to swallow up Yuun Martial Hall would fizzle out.
Now that the Fragrant Plum Gate had dipped their toes in this deep, they needed some kind of payoff, no matter what.
"Not bad for the lord of some podunk martial hall, huh? They said you were from the Fierce Dragon Corps in the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest. Impressive."
The man straightened his sword and stepped forward.
Yu Gwi-gwang shot a glance at the cowering Seon-gyu before turning his gaze to the figure now facing him.
"You don't look like you're from Black Face Hall."
"Heh. So what if I am?"
The warrior's speech and expression.
They unmistakably reeked of the black path.
The result of Sa Hoon's two days of special training shining through.
Yu Gwi-gwang cocked his head.
The swordsmanship clearly carried the scent of the orthodox sects, yet the expression and tone were pure black path.
He thrust his sword straight at Yu Gwi-gwang.
"From here on, I'll take over for the Pavilion Lord."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than he kicked off the ground, sword slicing toward Yu Gwi-gwang.
An attack tantamount to an ambush.
This was a man who would normally scorn such tactics, but Sa Hoon's desperate, brainwashing-like training over the past two days had made even this feel natural.
Boom!
Yu Gwi-gwang hurriedly raised his shield to block the incoming strike.
"Black path bastard, confirmed."
Yu Gwi-gwang muttered lowly as he sorted through his confusion.
Without the shield, he'd surely have taken a hit somewhere.
"That's right. Heh heh. Black path bastard it is."
He flicked his eyes backward, and five warriors from the Fragrant Plum Gate charged at Yu Gwi-gwang alongside him.
No words, no warning—they just whipped out their swords and lunged.
Yu Gwi-gwang's movements grew frantic.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Clang! Clang!
He busily swung his shield and sword to fend them off.
Yu Gwi-gwang was used to many-against-one battles in the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
One-against-many like this was a first.
His hands and feet felt tangled, but somehow he was holding them back.
No other reason.
Sure, he'd only fought many-against-one in the forest, but each opponent had been a monstrously powerful iron ghoul.
One iron ghoul's might outstripped these six combined.
Their strikes had been faster and fiercer than these swordsmen's blades.
Experience blocking those blows meant he could handle one sword, two, or three from these guys.
"This bastard's pretty good, bro?"
The second-strongest among the six attacking Yu Gwi-gwang called out to their leader.
"Shut your trap and stab."
A low, gravelly voice.
The six thrust and swung their swords wildly.
Their leader.
Fragrant Plum Gate's first-rate swordsman Yeong Wi-sang was inwardly rattled.
When he'd blocked the sword aimed at Seon-gyu, he'd sensed the opponent was also in the first-rate realm.
That's why he'd stepped up himself.
And to finish it quick, he'd called in his underlings.
Yet the bastard was holding out.
'Definitely first-rate, so how...'
Currently, two first-rates including himself, and four second-rates.
A total of six piling on.
Not some haphazard gang-up—they'd drilled this combo countless times, yet he was blocking it.
'Even I couldn't pull that off...'
The realm was clearly no different from his own, so what explained that lightning judgment and adaptability?
No matter that he'd been in the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
The Fierce Dragon Corps were just meat shields for the Demon-Sealing Corps.
Lowly scum no different from ronin selling their lives for coin.
Yet this movement.
'Damn bastards.'
Profanity bubbled up in Yu Gwi-gwang's mind, but he had no breath to spit it out.
It was a fight he'd steeled himself for, but tougher than expected.
Right now, keeping these six at bay was all he could manage.
And behind them, over thirty more were arrayed in formation.
If those thugs scaled the wall and stormed the hall?
Could he really hold them off with the shield techniques he'd crammed in just over two days?
And the kids in the hall?
His daughter and niece?
Would they be safe?
Yu Gwi-gwang ground his teeth.
He vowed he would make it so, even as he contemplated the worst-case scenario.
If it came to that, no choice.
He'd abandon everything and flee Sangnam.
Were there no other places in the world for a man to live?
In this vast realm under heaven, nowhere for him and his family to go?
'Gangseo Province, Anbok, was it?'
Pung Geon suddenly came to mind.
He'd said after his service he'd return to his sect, and to come find him there anytime.
Come to think of it, he had a destination.
Then there was nothing to regret.
As long as he, his family, and the hall's students made it out alive.
They could rebuild anywhere.
Wasn't a gentleman's revenge never too late, even after ten years?
But he couldn't just slink away meekly.
Yuun Martial Hall.
The home his Yu family had rooted in Sangnam for a century.
He couldn't hand it over just because the enemy outnumbered him.
Especially not to black path scum.
He'd resist to the utmost.
If that failed, he'd leave without a backward glance.
And etch this grudge into his bones, to repay it one day.
With resolve hardened, Yu Gwi-gwang's sword and shield work steadied.
He just had to watch if the enemy climbed the wall.
That was all.
"Ah, Daddy..."
Yu Seon-a, Yu Gwi-gwang's daughter clutched in her mother's arms, let out a voice thick with fear.
The plucky little lady who'd been swinging her wooden sword with gusto to protect the hall in her father's absence was gone, replaced by a terrified child.
It couldn't be helped.
When had this young girl ever faced such murderous aura and clamor?
From beyond the hall's distant wall came the clamor of fierce battle.
The clash of steel on steel, blades battering shields.
No wooden practice swords or blunted training blades.
These were real swords, honed razor-sharp to kill.
"It's okay, Seon-a. Everything's fine. Daddy will chase off all the bad guys."
Yu Gwi-gwang's wife spoke in endlessly gentle tones to soothe her daughter, but her face was etched with worry.
Yu Seon-a, face buried deep in her mother's bosom, simply couldn't see it.
Standing firm at the front of the inner quarters with shield raised, Yu Hyeon-gwang ground his teeth.
"Brother-in-law..."
He too could hear the sounds of battle raging at the hall's main gate against the Black Face Hall thugs.
How many exchanges had it been?
Despite their furious, relentless combo assault, Yu Gwi-gwang hadn't yielded a single step.
Not one.
Impossible.
For six Fragrant Plum Gate warriors to fail against the lord of a single martial hall.
"Switch! Damn it!"
A neurotic shout burst from Yeong Wi-sang's lips as four fell back and three others took their places.
Five first-rate warriors.
Every Fragrant Plum Gate swordsman who'd reached the first-rate realm charged at Yu Gwi-gwang.
Five first-rates made a difference.
The attack speed and power ramped up from before, their coordination tighter.
'What nonsense is this...'
Yu Gwi-gwang finally retreated two steps.
Impossible.
For a black path hall whose Pavilion Lord was a mere second-rate to boast five first-rate swordsmen?
Ridiculous.
One or two, maybe some twist of fate, but five?
With that kind of strength, they'd have set up a proper faction here long ago.
In all of Sangnam, only the Fragrant Plum Gate could muster five first-rates at once.
'No way.'
The thought flashed as he recalled the Fragrant Plum Gate.
And the feeling from first seeing the sword of the man before him.
Definitely orthodox swordsmanship.
The pieces clicked.
'Fragrant Plum Gate...'
They'd intervened for sure.
Even from the start, their excuse for rejecting mediation had hidden this scheme.
'Orthodox scum can't be trusted after all.'
Another bitter truth confirmed.
In this realm, there were no orthodox or unorthodox, white path or black.
Just desire-crazed demons with bloodshot eyes for their own gain.
Great heroes aside.
Yu Gwi-gwang recalled a man he'd witnessed with his own eyes.
A true great hero.
"Heh heh. Yeah, that's more like it. Now we're cooking, you bastard."
The crude, thuggish speech suited him perfectly.
Maybe not just Sa Hoon's training—perhaps this was their true nature all along.
Madness glinted in Yeong Wi-sang's eyes.
Fury from the self-loathing of failing to budge Yu Gwi-gwang even a step with six swords.
Once those two steps were yielded, unrelenting disadvantage set in.
As Yu Gwi-gwang staggered back, his back bumped into something.
He'd retreated all the way to the main gate.
"Smash it! Break through and storm inside!"
Yeong Wi-sang bellowed.
"Hey! Over the wall! And smash every skull inside!"
Seon-gyu barked the order, sensing his chance.
With Yu Gwi-gwang—the biggest obstacle—looking cornered, Seon-gyu's eyes gleamed.
For the first time.
Recalling how close that bastard Yu Gwi-gwang's sword had come to taking his head.
His grip tightened on the hand axe.
"I'll finish that bastard myself!"
Seon-gyu roared at Yeong Wi-sang's back.
'Is this it?'
Yu Gwi-gwang sensed he couldn't hold out any longer.
Outnumbered, inevitable.
Now that even the Fragrant Plum Gate was in.
One more target for vengeance.
Yu Gwi-gwang resolved to withdraw.
If they broke the gate and scaled the wall, it'd be worse.
Retreat first, evacuate with family and students, abandon Sangnam.
Empty the hall completely, and pursuers would thin out.
Someone had to stay to clean up here anyway.
Their goal was Yuun Martial Hall.
Though those gleaming eyes suggested they might want his head too.
More important were his daughter Seon-a and the family's safety.
Gwan Ha-kyeong and Pung Geon passed through the city gate without incident.
The pair tilted their heads at the atmosphere around them.
They'd heard it was a bustling city, but the scene beyond the east gate was downright dreary.
Those who'd passed through ahead of them must have sensed the mood too and hurried off—no shadows in sight.
"What is this?"
Pung Geon muttered in bewilderment.
The sun had fully set, darkness rapidly creeping in from the east.
"A battle!"
Gwan Ha-kyeong cried out, staring one way.
She leaped from her horse and sprinted at full speed.
The eerie vibe stemmed from the battle she sensed, she figured.
Pung Geon followed on her heels.
He felt the aura of combat too.
The two unleashed their lightness skills to the utmost.