WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ Damned Transmigration ◈
Chapter 156: Dark King 4
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Orca had come to realise that raising someone was a very difficult thing.
She had never given birth, nor had she ever wanted to. But she had wanted a disciple, so she was raising one.
Whether one gave birth to them or not, children and disciples were not so different when it came to raising them.
Besides, Elena was Orca’s adopted daughter. Both disciple and child. That was why Orca wanted to raise her with even more care, into someone outstanding.
If someone like that wished for something, could it make a person somehow endure troublesome hardships they would never have chosen for themselves? Orca recalled the journey that had brought her here.
She would never have done this alone. It had been exhausting and bothersome.
Crossing the Central Sea aboard an airship had been hard enough. The weather had turned bad just as they were about to depart.
The captain had been horrified, calling it suicide to fly an airship in such weather, but Orca had somehow persuaded him to take off.
Taking off did not mean they could travel safely. Orca herself had to protect and steer the airship through the storm’s rain and wind.
Crossing the Central Sea had taken far longer than expected. She had barely slept while protecting the airship, and that was not all.
There was a dangerous living bomb aboard, one that could go boom! at the slightest mistake.
Elena.
Even if Elena did explode, Orca would survive unscathed. But the disciple Orca had decided to stake her life on would be left irreparably broken.
That could never be allowed to happen. Elena wore restraints made by Alfreon over her entire body, but an imbalance between Soul Power and consciousness like this was rare.
That was why Orca checked Elena’s condition whenever she had the time.
“How are you feeling?”
Orca asked Elena, seated across from her. Elena had grown terribly haggard over the past ten days. Her face was pale enough to resemble that of an invalid, with dark circles beneath her eyes.
“...I’m fine.”
Elena knew that her stubbornness had put her master through great hardship. That was why she did not urge her to move faster.
The reason they were travelling by carriage instead of using Thunder God’s Mirage was Elena’s instability.
Thunder God’s Mirage transformed the body into lightning for travel, making it difficult for Elena, burdened with so many imbalances, to travel alongside Orca.
“There is no need to rush.”
Orca sank comfortably into the carriage seat.
“If we were the only ones who could help, we would need to hurry. But that is not the case. The Sword Emperor and Cruel Mayhem, who left before us, have likely joined the battle already. Before them, Baek Eun-mu-hu and the Faceless Killer were there as well.”
“...”
“I owe the Faceless Killer a great deal, so I have reason to join the fight against the Dang Family. But Yuri alone has gathered enough strength to destroy the Dang Family several times over. We can repay that debt to the Faceless Killer another time.”
“I’m holding you back in so many ways, Master.”
Elena muttered, her shoulders drooping. Orca chuckled softly and stroked Elena’s hair.
“This is an unusual experience for me too, so it is fine. My strength is not desperately needed, and the Faceless Killer did not directly ask for my help. It would be better to repay the debt of saving my life another time, not over this.”
“...Yuri and Haryeong... They’ll be alright, won’t they?”
Elena asked hesitantly.
She had heard that Yuri was safe. She knew great powers had gathered to rescue the kidnapped Haryeong. Still, she could not stop worrying.
What if something happened to Haryeong? Elena remembered the time she had spent with Haryeong. The words Haryeong had given her the day before she left, along with the recent letters she had sent, lingered in her mind.
“They will be.”
Even Orca could not put much certainty into those words.
Yuri would be fine. Charging the Dang Family alone would be suicide, but with three Martial Apex Venerables aiding him, dying would be harder.
But Haryeong was another matter. Tang Yu-shin must have taken her for a clear purpose, so surely he would not kill her... Yet what Tang Yu-shin might do when cornered was the variable.
“...?”
Orca’s body jolted as her fingers ran through Elena’s hair.
“Master?”
“Wait here.”
The moment Orca opened the window, her body became a bolt of lightning. She shot upward in an instant, narrowed her eyes, and looked into the distance beyond the night sky.
On the far side of the black sky, which looked ready to pour rain at any moment, a man was running on two feet. Orca let out a hollow laugh at the sight and became lightning again.
“Heavenly Thunder?”
Chuk-sin-doo steadied his ragged breathing and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
It was not an ordinary sight for a Martial Apex Venerable like him to be panting and sweating. Even his signature white tracksuit was filthy with dust.
“...Where did you run from? Don’t tell me you crossed the Central Sea on foot?”
“Even I can’t do that.”
Chuk-sin-doo pulled a large water bottle from Subspace and drained it in huge gulps.
“The fastest airship was at a port in the far west, so I ran from there.”
“Your destination is obvious, seeing you here, but I’ll ask anyway. Where are you going?”
“Well...”
Chuk-sin-doo had been about to answer naturally, but the words caught in his throat. Orca knew Yuri was a Transmigrator. But she did not know he was UrMumSpammer. Lacey and Thor had their suspicions, but no proof.
In that situation, saying, “I’m going to my younger brother,” could put Yuri in an awkward position in many ways.
Was Yuri not already suffering from the absurd misunderstanding that he was an apostle of the Evil God? Besides, Thor likely held various grudges against UrMumSpammer...
“I’m going to help Cloud Dragon, a junior Fist Wolf cherishes.”
“Fist Wolf?”
“Yes. You know, don’t you? The spar at Rutlan left me deeply impressed by the man called Fist Wolf Bakerd.”
It was not a suspicious story. He had told Orca that he had met Fist Wolf once after their spar.
“Recently, a false rumour spread that his disciple, Cloud Dragon, had died in Gangyu. I contacted Fist Wolf because I worried he might suffer an Inner Demon, and that is how I learned what happened.”
That part was true. Yuri had not contacted Chuk-sin-doo separately, but he had informed Fist Wolf through the Faceless Killer.
“Fist Wolf is currently unable to move due to other business... But I am not. Fist Wolf Bakerd is a martial artist I sincerely acknowledge! The same goes for Cloud Dragon, the junior he cherishes!”
“Is that really enough to make you so enraged when you only crossed paths three years ago?”
Orca asked with an uncertain expression, but Chuk-sin-doo clenched both fists.
“I am going in Fist Wolf’s place!”
“Hmm... I see.”
“Heavenly Thunder, aren’t you doing the same?”
“I am going for my disciple.”
“Your disciple?”
Chuk-sin-doo immediately looked for the carriage. He saw Elena leaning her head out the window, wearing an anxious expression.
“Hm. Your disciple was Cloud Dragon’s childhood friend, was she not? I can understand why she would worry...”
Little bastard...
Chuk-sin-doo nodded as he breathed in the fresh scent of youth.
“Anyway, I am going to lend Cloud Dragon my strength in Fist Wolf’s place. If you have no further business with me, I will be on my way... Heavenly Thunder, why are you travelling by carriage?”
“There are various reasons.”
“Is that so? Well, I have no reason to adjust to your circumstances. I will go first.”
“Do not tell Yuri that Elena and I are coming.”
Chuk-sin-doo looked puzzled.
“Why?”
“I want to surprise him.”
Orca said it while glancing toward Elena in the carriage. Chuk-sin-doo looked at Elena again.
“Hm... I see.”
Ah, fresh youth. Chuk-sin-doo nodded as he looked at Elena, who might perhaps become his future sister-in-law.
“Well, take your time. Since I am going, your strength will not be needed.”
“Yours will not be needed either.”
“What?”
Chuk-sin-doo’s eyes rounded as he asked, and Orca calmly answered.
“Cloud Dragon seems determined to erase the Dang Family completely from this world. Baek Eun-mu-hu, the Sword Emperor, Cruel Mayhem, and the Faceless Killer will be with him.”
“What... did you say...?!”
“I do not know whether they have already left, but by the time you arrive, the Dang Family may already be destroyed.”
Chuk-sin-doo’s shoulders trembled at those words. He barely held back his twisting expression, then stepped forward with his halted foot.
“The only time my feet rest... is when my career ends.”
“?”
“I do not stop.”
Whoosh!
Chuk-sin-doo rushed forward. Orca shook her head as she watched his back vanish into the distance in an instant.
“He is still talking nonsense.”
Chuk-sin-doo swallowed the shout he wanted to unleash.
‘You motherfucking bastard!’
He had not lied to Orca. He had heard Yuri’s circumstances from Fist Wolf.
Yuri, who had spread the false rumour of his own death, had sent word through the Faceless Killer that he was alive because he worried Fist Wolf might be shaken.
He had also sent word saying that Fist Wolf did not need to come. Chuk-sin-doo could understand that. Fist Wolf was currently wandering around the Demon Subjugation Palace in search of his enemy, so Yuri likely did not want to interfere with that.
‘Then why did he not tell me...?! Why did he not ask me for help?!’
Baek Eun-mu-hu? The Sword Emperor? Cruel Mayhem? Why had Yuri asked those three for help but not him?
He did not know what connections Yuri had formed with those three, but Chuk-sin-doo was a Transmigrator known to the entire world... Yuri, who wished to conceal his identity, probably had not wanted to call Chuk-sin-doo...
“Fuck, Cruel Mayhem is a Transmigrator too.”
Chuk-sin-doo’s face finally twisted. Why call Cruel Mayhem but not him?
“...Even so, I love my worthless little brother.”
Chuk-sin-doo muttered as he calmed his boiling emotions. There was no point dwelling on it. He would not find the answer.
What mattered now was reaching the Dang Family before it was all over and showing Yuri just how powerful Full Moon Killing Kick was.
‘I will crush Myriad Heavenly Flower Rain with Heavenly Downpour.’
Once Yuri saw that, he would regret not contacting him sooner and beg Chuk-sin-doo to teach him Full Moon Killing Kick.
* * *
Death could be felt from every direction.
Dozens of elite and first-rate assassins, along with around a hundred second-rate assassins. The forces of the Dang Family and Salmun in Bi-gok Forest were rapidly dwindling.
They held the advantage of terrain. There was a darkness so black that not even starlight fell upon it. They had superior numbers as well. Yet all of that was meaningless before an overwhelming gap in power.
Even if fortune smiled upon them and they survived today, the Dang Family had no future once all its primary assassins were dead.
“...”
Tang Yu-shin’s face had twisted beyond recognition. He had never imagined the family would end in his generation.
To change the already certain outcome even slightly, Tang Yu-shin had to join the others.
He had to, but Cloud Dragon and Sword Dragon’s resistance was too fierce. He had meant to kill them in a swift battle, yet he had failed even at that.
“Hah...”
Tang Yu-shin released a long sigh and wiped his face with one hand.
Murderous intent boiled within him. Had he ever felt such violent killing intent? If not for those two bastards, today would never have happened.
Tang Yu-shin did not regret trying to kill them in Gangyu. But he regretted, to the bone, failing to finish them then.
“Even if the Dang Family and Salmun fall today, I will make certain you two die.”
“Yeah, dumbfuck. Go ahead.”
“Fuck, you are acting tough as hell.”
He had spoken with hatred and determination, making no effort to calm his boiling killing intent... Yet answers came at once.
Yuri spat and clenched his fist, while Estor snorted and crooked a finger at him.
Cloud Dragon, said to be the greatest among the rising stars of his generation, and Sword Dragon, the young master of the Orsia Family. Yet the way they spoke was no different from alleyway trash.
“...How utterly lacking in dignity...!”
“Of all people, the head assassin is talking about dignity.”
“For a head assassin, you cannot even kill people properly. You kidnap your little sister too. Judging by what you have done, you are probably why the Poison King developed an Inner Demon.”
Those words pierced Tang Yu-shin’s heart with perfect accuracy. His tightly pressed lips trembled, and Yuri’s eyes gleamed as he sneered.
“Looks like it is true. You drove a stake through your dad’s heart, huh? You fucking bastard.”
Shrrrkk!
Thousands of Black Scales circled Tang Yu-shin. This was not Myriad Heavenly Flower Rain like before. Tang Yu-shin gathered his Intent and glared at Yuri and Estor.
He no longer intended to listen to the nonsense spilling from their mouths. He would kill them. Tang Yu-shin’s Intent expanded amid his overflowing murderous intent.
“Hngh...!”
The intense Intent and killing intent made the Martial Apex Venerables, who had been dealing with the assassins, react. The Sword Emperor sharply turned his head and shouted.
“Tang Yu-shin! You would use Conceptual Apotheosis against juniors so far beneath you? Have you no shame? If you are so eager to show off your Conceptual Apotheosis, I, the Sword Emperor, will face you!”
“Family Head!”
Estor shouted, cutting off the Sword Emperor. Tension and exhilaration flashed in his blue eyes.
This was Estor’s first time experiencing Conceptual Apotheosis. He could not hide his excitement at personally facing martial arts beyond the ordinary.
“This is our battle now.”
Intent filled Tang Yu-shin’s black force aura. Shredded qi became thin threads that linked the Black Scales together. Thousands of Black Scales joined as one and wrapped around Tang Yu-shin’s body.
Dark Battle, Strange Night Garb.
Tang Yu-shin’s eyes flashed from behind the Black Scales covering his entire body. The pitch-black scaled armour woven from Intent covered even his head, leaving only his eyes, bright with killing intent, visible.
To Yuri, it was a form of Conceptual Apotheosis that could only be called unexpected.
Armour covering Tang Yu-shin’s entire body seemed better suited to a direct fight than the combat style of an assassin who hid and fired concealed weapons.
It was an unexpected form, but Yuri could feel one thing for certain.
Tang Yu-shin was too much to handle after unleashing Conceptual Apotheosis. This was the divine transformation of a lifetime of martial arts, raised through his Intent.
Tang Yu-shin vanished. The darkness around him blended perfectly into the world.
Yuri’s Transcendent Sight saw through Tang Yu-shin’s concealment and movement, but seeing through it did not mean he could respond immediately.
A swing of Tang Yu-shin’s arm created hundreds of attacks. Yuri realised it then. Tang Yu-shin had always concealed weapons throughout his body, but this Intent Martial Form was far more blatant.
The Black Scales linked to his Intent became whatever form of concealed weapon Tang Yu-shin desired as he attacked. A simple swing of his arm sent hundreds of blades soaring, and a thrust of his hand fired hundreds of daggers.
Their power was not comparable to before. Unlike the concealed weapons from earlier, which could somehow be endured even after being struck, these attacks were heavy enough to knock the mind from his head the moment they landed.
Yuri focused as much as possible on his protective force aura and tried to read the trajectories, diverting or dodging the attacks, but nothing went as he wished.
“Urgh!”
Even Estor, who had achieved unity with Light Sword, could not endure a single blow and bent his knee.
But Estor did not collapse. Blood welled from his lips, and he twisted them into a smile.
Boom!
A flashing slash from Light Sword briefly lit the darkness, but hundreds of slashes created by another swing of Tang Yu-shin’s arm tore the light apart.
‘So this is Conceptual Apotheosis...!’
Dark King Tang Yu-shin was a fucking bastard. Still, Yuri could not help admiring the realm he had reached as a martial artist.
A form of Conceptual Apotheosis that erased the weaknesses of an assassin, who had to stake so much on ambushes. Yet it was not a form focused solely on frontal combat.
‘Where are the attacks coming from...?!’
Movement impossible to track even with one’s eyes wide open. He seemed to be right in front of them, only to appear behind them. After they were struck and looked again, he was at their side.
As he moved as though sliding, the scales shook and warped space. Tang Yu-shin flickered in and out like a phantom, confusing Estor’s senses.
Even Yuri’s Transcendent Sight struggled to see through that movement completely.
That armour blocked even the vital energy that could not normally be concealed, while the intense Intent dwelling in the Black Scales made Tang Yu-shin’s body appear as hundreds or thousands of points.
Those points scattered, gathered in one place, shot elsewhere, and swung around, making it difficult even for Transcendent Sight to distinguish the real from the false.
Splurt!
Blood burst from Estor’s chest. He had failed to dodge properly.
Yuri also spun his body to divert the attack, but he could not fully redirect it. His side grew hot as though seared by fire, then cold as though ice had been driven into it.
His protective force aura was being deeply shaved away. Every swing of Tang Yu-shin’s hand exploded with Myriad Heavenly Flower Rain. It was difficult to counter now as it had been before.
Only a brief time had passed since Tang Yu-shin unleashed Conceptual Apotheosis, yet the ground around them was soaked in Yuri and Estor’s blood.
Neither had given up yet. Even while his joints were being severed, Estor unleashed Light Sword and blocked Tang Yu-shin’s attacks head-on several times.
But for every few attacks Estor managed to cancel, hundreds of Tang Yu-shin’s attacks shredded through Estor’s body and protective force aura.
Yuri’s condition was no better. His hands had been cut so badly that it was difficult to clench them, and his body was riddled with holes. The wound in his thigh was especially severe, making it hard for him to move his leg.
At this rate, he would die. Was death still so far away? Yuri thought as blood he could not swallow streamed from his mouth.
No matter how many openings he sought, he had failed to inflict even the smallest wound on Tang Yu-shin. Even the greatest among the rising stars was not yet ready to stand before a Martial Apex Venerable.
He needed more time to overcome this gap.
A miracle was what let one leap beyond that time.
He saw a red flag.
Yuri did not hesitate. He grabbed it.
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