Chapter 664
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 664
Chapter Title: What About You?
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"Terrifying. It was utterly chilling."
The voice answering Ha Mu-baek's question trembled ever so slightly.
Ha Mu-baek grinned as he looked at Yeon Gong-hu.
"You experienced it properly."
With that, he turned his gaze away.
Go Gwang-un, who had been sent flying alongside Do with Ha Mu-baek's strike, had steadied himself and was now staring at Ha Mu-baek.
"And that one?"
"He's the chief steward of the main family."
"To even win over the chief steward... impressive."
Now that he thought about it, it was a face he'd seen somewhere before, at least once.
As the chief steward of the Yeon Clan, it was possible their paths had crossed during Ha Mu-baek's time as Hocheon Corps Leader.
Go Gwang-un glared at Ha Mu-baek, who had suddenly appeared before him, and spoke slowly.
"This is an internal affair of the main family. I ask that an outsider stay out of it."
It was a polite request.
But Ha Mu-baek shook his head.
"Until just recently, that's why I held back and tried to observe as much as possible without interfering."
It was the truth.
As long as no great crisis befell Yeon Ha-min, he had no intention of stepping in.
But things had changed just moments ago.
"There's something down here that forces me to get involved. And I need to figure out which of you two is the rat."
"Both of them?"
Yeon Gong-hu asked in surprise at Ha Mu-baek's words.
Go Gwang-un was equally shocked.
"How could a lust-crazed fool activate the mechanisms?"
Ha Mu-baek asked, looking down at the iron door in the floor.
"Ah..."
It was certainly true.
His uncle hadn't done anything to trigger the mechanisms.
"Anyway, that's why I have to go. If you're going to try to stop me over being an outsider, then do it."
Ha Mu-baek grinned at Go Gwang-un.
"Of course, you'll die if you do."
The moment he finished speaking, the killing intent exploding from Ha Mu-baek's body...
It went beyond mere ferocity, embodying an ultimate terror.
"Ugh... ugh..."
Go Gwang-un, the focus of that intent, groaned and staggered back.
Yeon Gong-hu couldn't even imagine what Go Gwang-un was going through right now.
And that made sense, because even he, who was spared the brunt of it nearby, was too terrified to twitch a finger.
This, despite having already experienced Ha Mu-baek's killing intent before.
Just where did the limits of that man's strength end?
Thud.
Ha Mu-baek took one step forward.
Stagger.
Go Gwang-un retreated one step.
Thud.
Ha Mu-baek stepped forward again.
Stagger.
Go Gwang-un fell back by the same distance.
In this way, Ha Mu-baek reached the iron door.
"Not going to stop me?"
Go Gwang-un could only tremble at Ha Mu-baek's question, unable to do anything.
'This is the power of the killing intent wielded by one of overwhelming strength...'
Ha Mu-baek was demonstrating exactly what he'd told Yeon Gong-hu.
Killing intent that pinned even a mid-Peak Realm master in place.
All Yeon Gong-hu could do was marvel.
Ha Mu-baek stared intently at Go Gwang-un.
Go Gwang-un couldn't even endure that gaze.
Thwack.
With a light swing of his fist, Ha Mu-baek sent Go Gwang-un flying.
Boom!
He crashed into the wall.
"Cough."
Go Gwang-un spat blood from the deep internal injury.
"Groan..."
After letting out a groan filled with agony, he went limp.
He had lost consciousness.
Ha Mu-baek shifted his gaze to the floor.
The massive iron door blocking it.
He raised his fist and brought it down.
KABOOM!
With a deafening roar, the iron door shattered.
Having sensed with his energy perception that no one was below, Ha Mu-baek struck without hesitation.
The space revealed after smashing the door was a passageway.
Yeon Gong-hu, who followed behind, was stunned.
He never imagined there would be a place like this beneath the family head's residence.
"Seems like an evacuation route prepared for emergencies..."
Ha Mu-baek looked down the passageway stretching to one side.
A path beckoning him to come.
If it was a space made to hide from enemies, its purpose was obvious.
It was surely riddled with countless traps and mechanisms.
Designed solely to kill intruders.
There was no reason to play along with that purpose.
Ha Mu-baek's energy perception spread out in all directions—front, back, left, right, up, down—and quickly located Yeon Ha-min.
The current situation was...
"A crisis."
Indeed, Yeon Baek-pung in his current state was too much for Yeon Ha-min to handle alone.
No matter that she had stepped into the Peak Realm and could now manifest sword force.
Yeon Baek-pung had completely transformed as well.
Even the owner of future sight had limits.
That was why Ha Mu-baek had been able to kill the owner of future sight in the previous war.
"What?"
Yeon Gong-hu was startled by Ha Mu-baek's mutter.
He knew it was a crisis, but hearing it from Ha Mu-baek's mouth made it feel different.
The thought that it was truly a desperate situation sent chills down his spine.
"We need to hurry."
With those words, Ha Mu-baek raised his fist again.
Boom!
He smashed the wall.
Boom!
This time, the floor.
Boom!
The floor again.
Boom!
Now the wall.
After just four punches...
A space illuminated by night pearls came into view.
And there was Yeon Ha-min, gritting her teeth with her sword locked against her foe in a precarious standoff.
Behind her was a wide bed, and atop it, Jin Na-yeon watched Yeon Ha-min's back with anxious eyes.
It wasn't fear of Yeon Baek-pung.
Her eyes were filled only with worry for her daughter's safety.
Yeon Baek-pung's eyes had turned blood-red.
Blood Eyes suffused with black energy.
Eyes filled solely with lust.
"Tch."
Despite appearing amid deafening roars, Yeon Baek-pung exuded only lust toward Yeon Ha-min and Jin Na-yeon behind her.
Thud!
Ha Mu-baek's kick sent him tumbling backward in an instant.
But as if he felt no impact, Yeon Baek-pung kicked off the ground and charged at Ha Mu-baek.
His reason had been devoured by carnal desire.
In other words, Yeon Baek-pung was in no state to make rational judgments.
That was why...
He hadn't even heard the massive roars from the five destructions, including the iron door, and had been fixated on ravaging Jin Na-yeon and Yeon Ha-min.
Now, interrupted, he charged in pure rage.
The Wall Demon Heavenly Flower Sword unfolded from his blade.
A sword driven by instinct, yet its power was beyond imagination.
Perhaps even surpassing what a sane Yeon Baek-pung could unleash.
But that was only against a worthy opponent.
Ha Mu-baek deflected every attack with a casual wave of his hand.
"Raaarghhh!!!!!"
With Ha Mu-baek blocking the path right before Yeon Ha-min and Jin Na-yeon...
Yeon Baek-pung desperately tried to break through to violate them.
He didn't know or care who stood in his way.
He moved only as his lust and instincts commanded.
Sword force blazed as his blade targeted every vital point on Ha Mu-baek.
But Ha Mu-baek knew every variation of the Wall Demon Heavenly Flower Sword's first five forms and could mimic them perfectly.
Though the current Yeon Baek-pung's version was impressive, it fell short of Ha Mu-baek's.
Thus...
Ha Mu-baek didn't even draw his sword.
His hand slipped naturally between the sword paths.
Slap!!!
And struck Yeon Baek-pung across the cheek.
Yeon Baek-pung's head snapped around, his body spinning from the force as he collapsed.
Thud!
A loud crash echoed.
Ha Mu-baek then...
Kick!
Kicked Yeon Baek-pung squarely in the head.
Yeon Baek-pung flew into the air.
Pow!
Another punch sent him flying backward, rolling across the floor.
"Haa..."
A sigh of relief escaped Yeon Ha-min as she gazed at Ha Mu-baek's back.
The greatest roar, when the iron door shattered.
Hearing that, Yeon Ha-min had instantly known Ha Mu-baek had arrived.
That's why she held on with all her might.
Believing the Corps Leader—no, the instructor—would soon arrive, she gathered all her internal energy and pushed her future sight to the brink, eyes and head throbbing.
As a result, she endured unscathed.
Plop.
Exhausted of all strength, her tension released.
Yeon Ha-min collapsed to the floor.
Through the gashes in her clothes from Yeon Baek-pung's sword, her pale skin was revealed.
"Tch."
Ha Mu-baek glanced back briefly, clicked his tongue, tossed his thin overcoat to Yeon Ha-min, and approached the fallen Yeon Baek-pung.
"Arghhh! Gah! Heuk! Cough! Heuk! Heuk..."
Yeon Baek-pung spewed screams of pain and ragged breaths, his eyes slowly regaining focus.
The excruciating agony had shattered his instincts and restored his reason.
As he struggled to rise, he spotted Ha Mu-baek.
"H-How... you bastard..."
His voice trembled.
Ha Mu-baek continued walking, unperturbed.
Thud. Thud.
The sound of his footsteps echoed off the walls.
Simple footsteps.
Yet mingled with Ha Mu-baek's current aura, they evoked an eerie dread.
"Yeon Baek-pung."
"You dare... interfere with my great undertaking?!"
Calling his attempt to sate his lust a "great undertaking"—Yeon Baek-pung was far from sane.
Yeon Gong-hu couldn't help but frown at his uncle's state.
"You don't even realize what condition you're in, do you?"
"What are you talking about?"
Killing intent surged from his grinding teeth, rising around him.
It stemmed from rage at the interruption of his desires.
The lustful energy had fully transformed into fury.
His eyes still gleamed with bloodlight.
"So you were the pawn this time too."
Ha Mu-baek looked at Yeon Baek-pung pityingly as he spoke.
"You son of a bitch!!"
Whatever it meant, the strangely unsettling gaze provoked Yeon Baek-pung into lunging at Ha Mu-baek.
Sword force surged toward Ha Mu-baek's throat.
Thud!
But a single kick sent him flying back again.
This time, harder.
Boom!
Yeon Baek-pung embedded into the wall.
"Gah."
Pain wracking his body, he gasped.
Ha Mu-baek briefly averted his gaze from the shuddering Yeon Baek-pung and looked to one spot.
At the same time...
Whoosh.
His fist shot out in an instant, smashing the wall.
Boom!
A deafening explosion rang out.
Grip.
He seized someone by the collar and yanked them out.
"Urk."
The one clutching Ha Mu-baek's wrist and struggling...
Yeon Baek-woo.
"U-Uncle?"
Yeon Gong-hu stared in shock at Yeon Baek-woo.
"What about you? Pawn? Or rat?"
Ha Mu-baek asked in a cold voice.
"Kgh. Urgh."
But with his throat gripped tight, Yeon Baek-woo could only flail, unable to utter a word.
Toss.
Ha Mu-baek flung Yeon Baek-woo aside lightly.
"Ugh."
Yeon Baek-woo twisted midair and landed properly.
He stared at Ha Mu-baek incredulously and demanded,
"What do you mean by that?"
"You seem to have helped Yeon Baek-pung activate the mechanisms here. I'm asking if you're the rat who turned him into that, or just another pawn like him."
"I have no idea what you're talking about. More importantly, what is the meaning of this outrage? Even as Hocheon Corps Leader, how dare an outsider meddle in Yeon Clan affairs like this!"
"Raping your sister-in-law and niece is a Yeon Clan affair? Not an outrage against humanity itself?"
Ha Mu-baek's sharp retort.
"This is the Yeon Clan's business. And this is a place no unauthorized person can enter. Leave at once."
Yeon Baek-woo spouted nonsense.
He was slowly gathering his internal energy.
Ha Mu-baek grinned at the sight.
"You're the rat."
His voice brimmed with delight, laced with thick killing intent.
"What nonsense are y—"
"Demonic Cult."