WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Damned Transmigration ◈
Chapter 120: Winter 1
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A group made its way along a snow-covered mountain path.
More precisely, not all of them were walking. The woman with snow-white hair pinned up with a blue hairpin and fluffy fur draped over her shoulders left no footprints in the deep snow.
Her feet hovered slightly above the ground. It was a technique far beyond leaving no trace while treading on snow. To her, it was as natural as breathing.
Baek Eun-mu-hu.
The Silver Empress of War, Yeonri Sangah, was a supreme expert of the Yeonri Family, one of the Five Great Families. Even among Martial Apex Venerables, she was considered to possess exceptional martial prowess.
Yeonri Sangah climbed the mountain with her hands behind her back, then raised her head.
<Uicheon Sword Gate>
Her eyes turned cold as she looked at the plaque inscribed in a bold hand.
The Yeonri Family and the Uicheon Sword Gate had been allies for generations, and the current leader of the Uicheon Sword Gate, Hundred Swords Gongsun Myeong, was Yeonri Sangah’s sworn younger brother.
Their relationship was not merely formal. They were as close as true siblings.
Still, she had not come this time to see her sworn brother, nor to strengthen their alliance.
“We’re almost there.”
‘If I can meet her and receive Baptism... it’ll be a worthwhile experience.’
The head of the Hwangbo Family, who had received Baptism in his youth, had supported his son’s bold decision.
‘Cloud Dragon...’
The Calamity Star was not the only reason Hwangbo Jin-cheol’s heart raced. He had heard so many rumors about Cloud Dragon that his ears had practically grown calluses.
‘Just how strong is he?’
Cloud Dragon had reached the fifth tier at twenty-two, the same age as the Sword Dragon. Hwangbo Jin-cheol had reached the fifth tier at twenty-five, and at the time, people had said this.
The next generation would be led by the Hegemon Dragon of the Hwangbo Family and the True Dragon of the Severing Blade Sect. Someday, they would divide the martial world between them as the leading figures of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance and the Black Dragon Society.
No one said that anymore.
Only a year had passed, yet public opinion had completely changed. The admiration and expectations once focused on the Hegemon Dragon and the True Dragon had shifted to the Sword Dragon and Cloud Dragon.
It wounded his pride and stirred his competitive spirit. A martial artist’s standing was not decided simply by age.
‘The world doesn’t know.’
Hwangbo Jin-cheol clenched his fist.
He understood why people praised young geniuses. In the end, none of the dragons of this era had ever truly fought one another.
‘Cloud Dragon defeated the Sword Dragon in a spar, but that Sword Dragon has never faced me, Hwangbo Jin-cheol.’
Before Cloud Dragon appeared, the world had called the Sword Dragon of the Orsia Family the foremost among dragons.
It was an understandable assessment. The Sword Dragon had learned the sword from the Sword Emperor since childhood and reached the fifth tier at twenty-two. Judging only by his background and talent, he could be called the best.
But a martial artist’s standing was not decided by youth and talent. It was decided by skill.
Hwangbo Jin-cheol had grand ambitions.
‘I will prove that I am the foremost among dragons.’
He had yet to meet the True Dragon, but if he sparred with and defeated Cloud Dragon and the Sword Dragon, the world would recognize the Hegemon Dragon as the true dragon among dragons.
“Are you coming?”
A cold voice came from beside him as he resolved to become the dragon among dragons.
Snow Princess Yeonri Eunha. Though she was the same age as Hwangbo Jin-cheol, her hair was white, and she wore clothes similar to Yeonri Sangah’s.
She narrowed her eyes and looked him up and down.
“I asked if you’re coming.”
He had stopped walking while lost in his thoughts.
“Leave him alone. It looks like Brother has entered his own little world again. Let’s go ahead without him, Sister.”
As though she had been waiting for the chance, the woman behind them wrapped herself around Yeonri Eunha’s arm. She was Azure Sky Sword Blossom Namgung Yeon-bi, whose face still retained a youthful softness.
“The snow’s getting heavier, and I want to get back and rest soon. Don’t you, Sister?”
Namgung Yeon-bi was a direct descendant of the Namgung Family head and an affiliated disciple of the Uicheon Sword Gate.
There was no chance that the youngest daughter, Namgung Yeon-bi, would become the head of the Namgung Family even if the sky fell, so she had long ago been sent to the Uicheon Sword Gate as an affiliated disciple.
“I forgot to buy the gifts they told me to bring. They won’t scold me over that, right? If my senior brothers and sisters try to scold me, you have to protect me, Sister. Okay?”
Whenever Yeonri Eunha heard Namgung Yeon-bi chattering away, her eyes grew colder.
Just as her gaze slowly shifted to the arm clinging to her, Namgung Yeon-bi casually let go and shot Hwangbo Jin-cheol a look.
“How long are you going to stand there? Let’s go already. Baek Eun-mu-hu is waiting!”
“Mm, my apologies.”
Baek Eun-mu-hu was not looking at her disciple and juniors.
Her cold eyes were fixed on the Uicheon Sword Gate’s plaque and what lay beyond its main gate.
* * *
“It has been a long time, Sister.”
“You seem to have been well, Myeong.”
At this point, Yeonri Sangah was the only one who could comfortably call the Uicheon Sword Gate’s leader, Gongsun Myeong, by his given name.
Looking into Gongsun Myeong’s eyes, which had grown deeper since she had last seen him, she continued.
“It seems you’ve made progress?”
“I’m pleased that you noticed.”
“My eyes are not blind. You should have been the one to join the ranks of Martial Apex Venerables, not those suspicious and unpleasant bastards known as the Death Realm.”
Displeasure settled naturally over Yeonri Sangah’s face when she mentioned the Death Realm.
“I hear you spar with the Calamity Star often. It seems that has helped your progress.”
Gongsun Myeong had made progress over the past few months because he had repeatedly sparred with Lorelia once a week in bouts that came close to fights to the death.
How many people in the martial world could Gongsun Myeong go all out against and still struggle to inflict even a single injury on?
Among that small number, there was likely no one else who stayed within his sect and gladly acted as his opponent without fail.
The higher one’s tier, the harder it became to repeat such experiences. Gongsun Myeong had encountered a wall and needed an opportunity, so he was quickly breaking through it.
“Yes. Without the Calamity Star’s help, I would have wandered at my current level for several more years.”
“If you were that desperate for help, why didn’t you ask me?”
“Haha... I appreciate the thought, but we both have our positions, do we not?”
“And the Calamity Star does not?”
“She belongs to neither a family nor a sect, and she appears and disappears so freely.”
“Hmph. Are you saying this because you believe my skill falls short of the Calamity Star’s?”
“Please don’t say that, Sister.”
“Enough. It is true that I lost to the Calamity Star in the past. But things will be different now.”
So that was her purpose. With a bitter smile, Gongsun Myeong looked behind Yeonri Sangah. Yeonri Eunha, Hwangbo Jin-cheol, and Namgung Yeon-bi stood there after finishing their greetings.
‘So she did not come along simply to protect the juniors.’
The martial world had seen many ominous events over the past few months. Two small sects affiliated with the Righteous Heavenly Alliance had been wiped out, while the Black Dragon Society had suffered similar losses.
Several renowned martial artists had also been found dead or had vanished without a trace.
If the damage had occurred only on the Eastern Continent, the Demonic Cult would have been suspected first. Yet according to their information, ominous events were happening on the Western Continent as well.
Something was happening.
“So, where is the Calamity Star?”
“She is currently at Sword Mountain Peak.”
The Calamity Star and the Three Heroes still stayed at the Righteous Sword Pavilion, but their training grounds had changed.
That meant their training had grown too violent and destructive for the sect’s practice grounds.
After leaving the building, Yeonri Sangah rose into the sky with her hands behind her back and turned her head.
The slightly lower mountain beside them was Sword Mountain Peak.
Rumble...
Sword Mountain Peak trembled lightly, then a raging wave of snow swept down from its summit and began racing downhill. An avalanche.
Yeonri Sangah watched it for a moment, then spoke with a dumbfounded expression.
“What kind of insane nonsense is that...?”
As a Martial Apex Venerable, Yeonri Sangah could see what was happening over there.
It was not a natural avalanche. Someone had shaken the entire peak to create one, like shaking snow-covered trees to make the snow fall.
Three young people were stopping that avalanche.
They punched, swung swords, and threw daggers. Then they leaped about and switched positions. Desperate not to be swept away, they were trying to defy the natural disaster born from violence and nature combined.
What was that supposed to be? Why were they doing that? Did they not value their lives? Yeonri Sangah stared blankly at Sword Mountain Peak, then her brow twitched.
The avalanche alone would be difficult for people at their level to handle, yet ominous attacks hid among the waves of white snow. It was the Calamity Star.
That insane priestess was not satisfied with causing an avalanche. She was personally attacking the Three Heroes as well.
“Is she trying to kill them...?”
She had heard it was training, but this was far beyond training. At that very moment, the Sword Dragon was kicked by the Calamity Star and swept away by the avalanche.
“Master?”
Yeonri Eunha, standing below, tilted her head.
Yeonri Sangah composed herself and raised her inner power. Hwangbo Jin-cheol and Yeonri Eunha’s bodies floated into the air and flew toward her.
“We can’t walk there. We’ll fly.”
“M-Me too!”
Namgung Yeon-bi hurriedly called out from behind. She straightened her clothes, quickly brushed the snow from her hair, and smiled brightly.
“I want to greet them too!”
Taking one more person would not burden her, so Yeonri Sangah silently lifted Namgung Yeon-bi into the air as well.
* * *
“What in the world...”
Having reached Sword Mountain Peak, Yeonri Sangah could not finish her sentence.
The vicious avalanche had stopped. One leg stood alone in the thickly piled snow, its sole facing the sky.
Startled, Yeonri Sangah reached toward the leg. She wanted to rescue whoever it belonged to because she could not leave them like that.
Just as her intangible energy was about to pull that leg from the snow like a radish.
Whoosh!
An interfering force scattered Yeonri Sangah’s intangible energy. Startled, she turned her head.
“It has been a long time!”
The Calamity Star floated in the bright daylight. Lorelia greeted her with a bright curve to her red eyes, but Yeonri Sangah could not smile.
“Ahem, Calamity Star. I am...”
“Baek Eun-mu-hu, was today the day you were coming?”
Hwangbo Jin-cheol wore a moved expression as he tried to introduce himself, but Lorelia did not even pretend to listen. She stared directly at Yeonri Sangah.
“Why did you stop me?”
It was true that they had not met in a long time, but Yeonri Sangah did not want to exchange pleasant greetings. She glanced at the leg still buried in snow.
“Are you really trying to kill them?”
“What are you talking about after suddenly arriving here?”
“This is not a disaster children can handle.”
The leg was right in front of them. When she widened her view, she saw the other two as well. One was completely buried in snow, while the other hung limply over a tree branch like laundry.
“What sin did they commit for you to torture them so horribly?”
“Torture? You have greatly misunderstood!”
Lorelia flailed her hands in alarm.
“This is only training!”
“Training...? This insanity is training?”
“Yes! If one seeks the transcendent realm, one must surpass the impossible! Baek Eun-mu-hu, did you not go through such experiences countless times as you reached that realm?”
“I... did not do something as insane as trying to stop an avalanche barehanded at that level.”
“That must be why you are the way you are now!”
A vein rose on Yeonri Sangah’s forehead at that smiling reply.
Whoosh!
The surrounding air froze, and white frost scattered through the air. Even the snowflakes falling from the sky froze solid and dropped with thud after thud.
“Only your manner of speaking has changed slightly. Your attitude remains as rude as ever.”
“Why are you angry? Did I, Lorelia, say something strange?”
Was she seriously asking because she did not know? She had always been out of her mind. Yeonri Sangah did not bother arguing further.
Boom!
Space split apart, and a crescent-bladed polearm with a blue blade stood upright in the snow.
“I will repay the humiliation from the past...”
“Not now!”
Before Yeonri Sangah could finish speaking as she gripped the polearm, Lorelia’s expression hardened and she cut her off.
“It is not over yet!”
“What...?”
What was not over? Yeonri Sangah looked around in disbelief.
The artificially created avalanche had been stopped by Lorelia’s Intent. The Three Heroes were scattered in different places, unconscious.
What could possibly remain in this madness, whether it was torture or training?
“Hmph.”
The lone leg lowered, and a black-haired young man rose from the snow.
“Ah, fuck...”
He tried to stand, but his body swayed sharply to one side. His left leg, which had remained outside the snow, had twisted half a turn below the knee.
Yet instead of screaming, the young man cursed. His face twisted with irritation rather than pain.
Crack!
His left leg, which had turned half a rotation, snapped back into its original direction. It could not be called treatment. His leg would still not move properly. Still, he could stand normally, and aside from the pain, the unnatural sensation had lessened.
After bracing his stiff leg with inner power, the young man stood straight and looked at Lorelia.
“Cloud Dragon...?”
A man with shaggy black hair could only be Cloud Dragon Yuri. Yeonri Sangah muttered in disbelief at his barbaric treatment, and Yuri turned his gaze toward Baek Eun-mu-hu.
“Are you Baek Eun-mu-hu?”
“...Yes. I am Baek Eun-mu-hu, Yeonri Sangah.”
“I did not know today was the day you were coming. I am Cloud Dragon Yuri.”
His greeting was so casual that it was hard to believe he was addressing Baek Eun-mu-hu. Yuri did not even wait for a reply before kicking off with his uninjured right foot.
A streak of red light cut across the white world. Yuri leaped to where Lorelia was in an instant and swung his fist.
Yeonri Sangah stood with one hand on the polearm’s shaft, staring with her mouth open.
He had just regained consciousness after being buried in snow, and one of his legs was barely usable. Yet he was charging at the Calamity Star. He did not seem sane in the slightest.
‘What is this?’
Her surprise slowly turned to shock.
‘Why is he so good at fighting?’
Lorelia seemed to be holding back considerably, yet Yuri evaded her attacks, redirected them, and even tried to counterattack. Even when hit, he did not get knocked away. He found his balance in midair and leaped about in every direction.
As she watched in stunned silence, the other two who had been unconscious elsewhere regained their senses and came over.
Haryeong, who had been hanging from a branch, rubbed her aching ribs and torso before spitting out blood.
She gave Yeonri Sangah a slight nod, then took concealed weapons from Subspace and attacked Lorelia.
Estor, covered from head to toe in snow and dragging his feet as he approached, also gave Yeonri Sangah a brief nod before gripping his sword. The faint light covering its blade immediately became Light Sword.
“...”
Yeonri Sangah removed her hand from the crescent-bladed polearm and blankly watched the Three Heroes and the Calamity Star tangle together in battle.
Footnotes:
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