WeTried Translations
Translator: Joy
Editor: Joy
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Damned Transmigration ◈
Chapter 58: Furious guest
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Estor Orsia.
It was a familiar name. The grandson of the Sword Emperor, who stood opposed to the Heavenly Demon among the Martial Apex Venerables. A genius who had reached the fifth tier at twenty-one.
The Sword Dragon, Estor Orsia.
For a rising star of the younger generation to have Dragon in their title meant they possessed extraordinary talent and skill. Among the rising martial artists over twenty in the current generation, only three bore such a title: the Sword Dragon of the Orsia Family, the Hegemon Dragon of the Hwangbo Family, and the True Dragon of the Severing Blade Sect.
And the Sword Dragon was by far considered the best of them. He had reached the fifth tier last year at the age of twenty-one. Hailed as the crowning achievement of the Orsia Family, the continent’s foremost martial house, he was considered someone who would one day surpass even the Sword Emperor.
His family was illustrious, and so was his name. Yuri could not help hearing rumors about him even without trying.
Naturally, this was Yuri’s first time seeing him in person.
‘What the hell is that bastard doing here?’
There was no excitement at seeing someone famous.
Yuri had never specifically investigated what the Sword Dragon did in his daily life or where he currently was. Still, it was not as though Yuri had no interest at all.
A genius praised as the Orsia Family’s greatest achievement.
Yuri could not rate the Sword Emperor or the Orsia Family very highly in the game, but that was only in the game. He had been warned until his ears bled not to equate the game with reality.
If the praise heaped upon the real Sword Emperor and Orsia Family was true, then just how great was the Sword Dragon’s talent? Yuri had wanted to compare himself with that celebrated genius at least once.
But not today.
The Sword Dragon’s presence and rampage were nothing but an unpredictable variable in this situation. Yuri’s infiltration of the gathering had not been based on any especially meticulous plan, but the Sword Dragon suddenly going wild was still wrecking everything.
“How dare you! How dare you!”
The Sword Dragon’s fury was not difficult to understand. As he had said, this was the outer district of Panteleon. The Orsia Family and the Selvis Mage Tower, which ruled Panteleon itself, did not regard the outer district as their territory and did not even issue its residents citizen cards.
To the Orsia Family, the people of the outer district were troublemakers who occupied land outside the city as they pleased, borrowed the city’s name, made their own rules, and did not even pay taxes.
It was not that they could not subdue the district by force. The Sword Emperor would not even need to step in. The family could clean up the outer district simply by sending in its knights.
The fact that they could do it but chose not to, leaving the place alone, could be called mercy in itself.
And after they had mercifully left it alone, a heretical sect had infiltrated the district and was holding a gathering. From the Sword Dragon’s perspective as the young master of the Orsia Family, his fury was only natural.
The problem was that he was alone.
The Sword Emperor was nowhere to be seen, nor did he appear to have brought even a single knight from the Orsia Family. The Sword Dragon was running wild by himself, constantly pouring golden sword aura from his long blade.
Even from the force of that sword aura, Yuri could tell that the Sword Dragon was strong. It was fierce, sharp, and imposing enough to make it hard to believe it belonged to someone only twenty-two years old.
“Orsia...!”
“Why is the Orsia Family here?!”
The cultists gathered for the meeting could not approach the Sword Dragon and kept retreating. His sword aura was powerful, but they were also intimidated by the name of the Orsia Family.
Some quick-witted people had already fled the underground chamber.
“Do not run!”
The Sword Dragon shouted. He leapt high to block an exit and swung his sword through the air.
Rumble!
The sword aura trailing behind his blade spread wide through the air, raining down slashes.
“Throw down your weapons and remove your masks! Kneel where you stand and blaspheme the Evil God! I will kill every one of you who refuses!”
He had blocked the nearest exit, but a place like this had more than one way out. The Sword Dragon continued shouting as he watched cultists escape.
“Running is useless! I will return with the family’s knights!”
‘That fucking bastard.’
Yuri’s face twisted behind his mask. That declaration proved the Sword Dragon really was alone. In other words, if the Sword Dragon did not return, the knights would not come.
“Throw down your weapons! Remove your masks! Kneel and blaspheme the Evil God! Then I will hear you out!”
The more the Sword Dragon’s furious shouts continued, the more the cultists’ attitudes changed.
Even if they fled now, it was a foregone conclusion that the Sword Dragon would return with the Orsia knights.
The Foul Village had remained a lawless place where strength ruled only because Panteleon had neglected it.
If the Orsia knights invaded, the Foul Village would collapse like a sandcastle. Criminals unrelated to the cult would be slaughtered first, and the cultists who desperately hid themselves would inevitably be caught afterward.
There was only one way to delay that outcome, even a little.
“Fight!”
They had to capture the Sword Dragon. Keeping him imprisoned for even a few days, until the cultists of the Foul Village could escape, was the best option available to them.
“Do not kill him! Capture him!”
They could not afford the Orsia Family’s wrath if they killed him. That did not mean they intended to use him as a hostage, either.
“Good. Come at me!”
The Sword Dragon shouted back.
The underground chamber was filled with dozens wearing blue bracelets that signified the fifth tier and red bracelets that marked transmigrators. Whether he did not understand the situation or simply did not care, the Sword Dragon showed no fear.
‘He would be the same even if he knew.’
Considering how he had charged into a room of hundreds and started running wild, that just seemed to be his personality.
[Cat Panties, what should we do?]
Haryeong whispered as she looked around.
[We are hiding our identities, are we not? The cultists are one thing, but becoming involved with the Sword Dragon, with the Orsia Family, will make things troublesome.]
The Orsia Family belonged to the Pride, the name for the families of the highest rank and greatest history within the Cartel, the western alliance of noble houses. In terms of martial strength alone, the Orsia Family would hold one of the highest seats even within Pride.
[If we remain here and end up being grouped in with the cultists, it will be difficult to resolve the situation.]
There were ways, if it came to that. Yuri could contact Elena and prostrate himself for a guarantee from Heavenly Thunder Orca. If he did not want to do that, he could ask the Dang Family for help.
Naturally, neither option was something Yuri or Haryeong wanted.
[Let us run.]
That was why Haryeong suggested fleeing.
[C-Cat Panties, what do we do?]
The one speaking through magic was the Pointing Flame. He kept glancing nervously at the Sword Dragon.
[I think it would be better to join the other cultists and subdue the Sword Dragon.]
[That bastard is pretty strong, you know?]
It was an honest assessment.
Three cultists wearing blue bracelets, or four if the supporting mage in the rear was included. Two transmigrators wearing red bracelets occupied the blind spots and waited for an opportunity. Yet the Sword Dragon did not retreat.
Rather, it was the Sword Dragon who pressured them, constantly pouring out sword aura.
Being in the same tier did not mean their skill levels were similar. The difference might not be as great at lower tiers, but the higher the tier, the wider the gap even between people of the same tier.
The Sword Dragon was the crowning achievement of the Orsia Family, the continent’s foremost martial house.
To use a comparison, he was a thoroughbred refined to the absolute limit. Even without any training, his body would grow in a way that overwhelmed ordinary people. Not only his skeleton and muscles, but his organs and energy pathways had been born in optimal harmony for martial arts.
And that miraculous body had not been left without further refinement. He had also received the family’s unstinting support.
The difference was inevitable. It was not a slight difference, but an overwhelming one. The quality and quantity of internal energy filling his dantian were different. The sturdiness and breadth of the energy pathways through which that internal energy flowed were different. The strength of muscles enhanced by internal energy, the resilience of the skeleton that supported them, and every inborn sense were different.
The Sword Dragon’s perspective was also far too elevated. Someone at a similar level would have struggled under the attacks of multiple opponents, but for the Sword Dragon, who was already looking down from a great height, facing many opponents was not much of an inconvenience.
His senses were honed to a keen edge, and he had trained in combat close to the real thing since childhood. His inborn instincts wielded his sword through intuition, while the experience he had accumulated wielded it from the depths of his subconscious.
“Argh!”
A fifth-tier cultist who had blocked his sword head-on was cut in two. The Sword Dragon’s sword aura was so violent that it was difficult to believe it belonged to someone of the same tier. A few direct exchanges were enough to destroy the others’ sword aura and rapidly drain their internal energy.
‘Even a war of attrition would make him hard to capture.’
Yuri stepped back and assessed the Sword Dragon’s abilities. His internal energy was deep, and his control and cohesion were outstanding. He destroyed his opponents’ sword aura every time they clashed while keeping his own sword aura perfectly steady, the selfish bastard.
Yuri was similar, which meant they had both learned divine arts. Still, the Sword Dragon’s internal energy was likely much deeper.
Yuri had rapidly built up his internal energy through his talent for mana, but regardless of whose talent was superior, the Sword Dragon likely possessed mana affinity as well. On top of that, he had probably consumed as many spiritual elixirs as he wanted, things most martial artists would never obtain even one of in their entire lives.
‘Can I win?’
A competitive urge tickled at Yuri’s heart. But allowing that urge to sway him into attacking the Sword Dragon now was something only a complete madman would do.
[The Sword Dragon is strong, but if you help, Cat Panties, we can subdue him.]
[Hmm...]
[There is no point in running! We must keep the Sword Dragon here, if only for the sake of the other cultists!]
[I want to run, though...]
[If you run! I, I will report you to the sect as a traitor! And if I am subdued by the Sword Dragon here, then I will tell the Sword Dragon about you as well...]
‘Of course you would.’
Yuri nodded to himself.
[If that is the case, I have no choice. Pointing Flame, attack first. I will move when an opening appears.]
[Understood.]
The Pointing Flame raised a finger. A bright red line flew toward the Sword Dragon.
Having just cut down a spear-wielding transmigrator, the Sword Dragon sharply turned his head.
Slash!
His golden, swift sword bisected the explosion.
“Crude trickery.”
The Sword Dragon growled with his eyes wide. He did not show even a trace of exhaustion. The Pointing Flame flinched under that murderous gaze and tapped Yuri on the shoulder.
[Q-Quickly...!]
Yuri drew up his internal energy.
[I am going.]
He raised both hands.
The Pointing Flame kept the finger aimed at the Sword Dragon and nodded repeatedly.
Crack!
Yuri kept his gaze fixed on the Sword Dragon and only threw his fist to the side. The casual no-look punch shattered the Pointing Flame’s jaw.
“Kurgh!”
The Pointing Flame’s body swayed. Yuri swung his hand again so that he could not scream or start flailing.
A hand wreathed in force aura filled the Pointing Flame’s vision.
That was the end.
“...?”
The Sword Dragon, who had been glaring in Yuri’s direction, opened his eyes wide. Haryeong, standing beside Yuri, blinked with equally wide eyes.
Under their gazes, Yuri slowly removed his mask.
“I never thought there would be someone who started running wild before I did.”
He had not yet undone his disguise art. Too many people were still watching. Yuri swept his gaze around the chamber as he continued.
“The Sword Dragon, Estor Orsia. I can see that your skill is exceptional, but you are arrogant beyond measure as well.”
“What are you?”
“Someone with the same goal as you.”
Yuri turned toward the cultists with deep disgust in his eyes.
“I went to the trouble of infiltrating this place to kill them, but Sword Dragon, you have made things troublesome.”
“What did you say?”
“Tsk. I was going to step in when they were stripping off their clothes and rolling around.”
Yuri looked at Haryeong, who was blinking beside him.
“Is that not right?”
“Yes. If they had been drunk on alcohol and drugs, shaking their asses, it would have been far easier to proceed. The Sword Dragon’s rampage has made things difficult.”
Haryeong matched his words without hesitation, despite Yuri having never explained anything beforehand.
“I had even decided whom to kill first to make the fight easier.”
“As expected of you, sister.”
Yuri agreed with her before looking back at the Sword Dragon.
The Sword Dragon wore an expression of utter confusion. He seemed to suspect that all of this might be an attempt to deceive him.
“You fight your own battle, Sword Dragon.”
Yuri did not try to convince him further with words.
Whoosh!
His body leapt lightly toward a cultist nearby who was staring in shock. The cultist swung a sword in panic, but mere sword energy could not stop Yuri’s foot.
Crunch!
Yuri’s leg broke through the sword energy and kicked the cultist in the head.
He stepped on the back of the collapsing corpse and leapt toward another cultist.
Haryeong did not remain still either. She gripped a dagger in each hand.
She could not freely use her hidden weapon arts with the Sword Dragon watching, but she did not need to throw her daggers to deal with the cultists. The fifth-tier fighters and transmigrators, those who could be called strong, had all gone after the Sword Dragon.
“Huh.”
Two people had suddenly appeared. Cultists were falling one after another. They had claimed to share his goal, and it did not seem to be a deception.
‘They are strong.’
Even as he swung his golden sword aura, the Sword Dragon watched Yuri and Haryeong.
Both appeared to be at least fifth tier from the way they handled force aura. The woman still had not removed her mask. Though she used daggers, short weapons, she handled their blades as skillfully as any competent swordsman. Her footwork, which repeatedly vanished and reappeared, and her snake-like attacks were especially striking.
‘It is not a martial art of the Righteous Path. It is from the Black Path, an assassin’s martial art.’
The woman’s skill also drew his attention. At another time, he would have watched more closely and admired it.
But he could not do that now.
His attention was drawn far more strongly to the man than the woman.
The man was deliberately not using either arm. The Sword Dragon could tell that at a glance. Yet his kicks were not crude. He restrained his internal energy precisely to the amount needed, and there was not a single unnecessary movement. He was skilled in battle.
He had never heard rumors of a martial artist who excelled at using their legs. It was difficult to judge by appearance alone, but the man did not seem very old either.
‘Who is he?’
After hearing rumors about the cultists, the Sword Dragon had infiltrated the Foul Village alone without informing his family.
He knew it was reckless.
Originally, he had intended only to assess the scale of the gathering, return, and bring the family’s knights. But he could not restrain himself. He had also thought there was no need to.
There were many of them, but there had been no strong opponent worth being wary of.
But that man had made the Sword Dragon feel tension.
If he really was a cultist...
‘Who is he?’
The Sword Dragon wondered once again.
Footnotes:
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