WeTried Translations

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 76: The Variable (5)

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Jin-hyeok was deeply shaken by this new side of Mumu.

He knew Mumu possessed monstrous strength, but he had never imagined even Master-level experts, on par with the academy's instructors, would be no match for him.

Could overwhelming strength really render a master of Martial Arts this helpless?

‘Is that even possible?’

Could physical strength truly surpass ki?

His thoughts were a complete mess.

What he had just witnessed shattered everything he believed to be common sense.

And besides...

‘...Is this kid really unaffected?’

He had killed them so brutally, yet his expression was the same as always.

He wore that innocent, guileless look, as though this were just another ordinary day.

‘Don't tell me...’

Watching Mumu's expression, Jin-hyeok felt like he understood something.

Before coming down from the mountains with his father, Mumu had barely interacted with other people. The boundaries between good and evil, or between what was acceptable and what was too far, were blurred for him.

The reason Mumu looked no different than usual was likely because killing an enemy brought him no particular emotional reaction beyond the fact itself.

‘Haah... He's going to take a lot of work.’

There seemed to be much Jin-hyeok would need to teach Mumu.

It was not necessarily wrong to kill an enemy brutally, but having no sense of boundaries at all could lead Mumu into dangerous situations.

Unlike Jin-hyeok, Hae Ryang could not hide his excitement.

‘I'd known he was strong, but...’

To think he was this strong.

This had already gone beyond the level of an academy cadet.

How many people in the academy could kill three Master-level experts with such overwhelming force?

It seemed like something only the Six Stars of Heaven could manage.

‘Kuh. I made the right choice.’

He had chosen the right person to follow.

If he stayed by Mumu's side, scraps would practically fall into his lap without him doing anything.

All the regret he had felt earlier vanished without a trace.

‘Still...’

He had no idea what the others would think of Mumu's brutal methods.

Even Hae Ryang, who came from the Hao clan and was closely connected to the underworld, had nearly felt sick when he saw heads being crushed.

Jin-hyeok was his sworn brother, so that was one thing, but to the women at the academy...

Drip!

A nosebleed ran from Tang So-so's nose.

‘He's fucking sexy.’

More than the process or outcome, Mumu standing there and staring at his blood-soaked hands looked unbearably melancholy to Tang So-so.

When she noticed her nosebleed, she hurriedly turned away and covered her nose.

Hae Ryang frowned at the sight.

‘...What is this?’

Her reaction seemed strange.

Why did it feel like she was not bleeding because she had been hurt?

He had assumed the other senior women would find this unpleasant, but then...

“Hmm.”

Gu Yang Seo-rin looked at Mumu with clear interest.

Even after seeing his brutal actions just moments ago, her gaze toward him had changed so much that it was hard to understand.

And it was exactly as it seemed.

‘So he isn't some brat after all.’

When she saw him at the dormitory assignment ceremony, he had seemed like nothing more than a promising junior.

Yet the wild, pure strength he had shown now powerfully stirred another kind of curiosity within her.

‘Grandfather will like him quite a bit.’

Gu Yang Seo-rin ran her tongue over her upper lip and smacked her lips.

‘...’

Hae Ryang's narrowed eyes became even narrower.

Even Ma Yeon-hwa, who had been facing off against Go Heon-beom, glanced at Mumu and, for some reason, flushed slightly.

Hae Ryang found himself seriously wondering.

‘No way. Do young ladies these days like that sort of thing?’

The thought even crossed his mind.

At that moment, Ma Yeon-hwa seemed to realize what she had done. She tore her gaze away from Mumu and sent a sword strike at Go Heon-beom.

Go Heon-beom had been distracted by Mumu, but there was no way they would fail to block it.

Clang!

Ma Yeon-hwa spoke to Go Heon-beom after her sword was blocked.

“Surrender. You've lost.”

“Lost?”

“Do you think you can beat that guy?”

The person Ma Yeon-hwa indicated with her eyes was naturally Mumu.

Go Heon-beom's Martial Arts were not overwhelmingly superior to the others'.

With the strength Mumu had just shown, he could easily subdue Go Heon-beom.

‘And I haven't even revealed my hidden card yet.’

Ma Yeon-hwa did not voice that thought.

She could not use her true Martial Arts within Changcheon Martial Academy anyway.

Even without them, she was confident she would not lose to any opponent.

No, she had to be.

‘Until I rebuild the cult, I cannot lose to anyone.’

Go Heon-beom swallowed dryly and looked at Ma Yeon-hwa.

No, they scanned the surroundings as well.

Everyone had been taken down, and only four masked figures remained.

Where had the plan gone wrong?

Who could have imagined that the beginning of the great plan they had prepared for so long would be derailed by mere academy cadets?

Crunch!

Go Heon-beom ground their teeth.

Seeing that reaction, Ma Yeon-hwa pointed Black Dragon and White Phoenix at them.

“Surrender. And if you reveal why you did this, you may yet keep your li...”

Then Go Heon-beom shouted.

“Fifth Precept!”

The remaining masked figures' eyes shook violently the instant the command rang out.

Fear and hesitation both showed in their eyes.

As the person giving that order, Go Heon-beom knew why the masked figures reacted that way, but there was no other choice.

‘These bastards have to die here.’

Otherwise, the beginning of the great plan would be shaken.

And that inhuman monster was the worst possible variable.

If they could not deal with him here somehow, there was no telling how great an obstacle he would become in the future.

[For this day, we have endured humiliation and hardship as we waited. Do not fail under any circumstances.]

For that person's sake, they had to kill them by any means necessary.

Even if it meant using this.

One of the masked figures spoke in a flustered voice.

“B-Brigade leader, but that wasn't part of the plan...”

“Shut up!”

‘If we do not kill these bastards here, the plan will be thrown even further off course.’

Go Heon-beom did not say the rest aloud, but the masked figures understood how dire the situation was. In the end, they had no choice but to follow the order.

“Damn it!”

One masked figure pulled away from Jin-hyeok, whom they had been fighting, then suddenly used acupoint strike on their own body with a resolute expression.

Tap tap tap tap tap!

‘What are they doing?’

Sensing that something was wrong, Jin-hyeok shot forward to stop them.

‘Eight-Form Leg Technique, Fifth Movement, Lofty Flash Kick!’

Jin-hyeok leaped into the air and unleashed a kick at the masked figure.

The technique of Lofty Flash Kick came crashing down on them with the force of a mountain pressing down from above.

Then the masked figure caught Jin-hyeok's kick with one hand.

Tap!

‘What?’

Jin-hyeok could not hide his shock.

Each masked figure had skills nearly equal to his, or slightly below them.

Yet they had stopped Lofty Flash Kick this easily.

Bulge! Bulge!

‘What is this?’

Jin-hyeok frowned.

The only exposed part of the masked figure's face was around the eyes.

Yet the veins around their eyes swelled and darkened to a blackish red, and the whites of their eyes soon turned black.

“You... made... me... use... even this... I will... show you... hell!”

An ominous feeling radiated from the masked figure.

“Let go!”

Jin-hyeok hurriedly sent another kick at the masked figure's face, trying to free the leg they held.

But the masked figure was faster than Jin-hyeok.

Thud!

The masked figure drove a fist into Jin-hyeok's abdomen.

“Guhk!”

Jin-hyeok coughed up blood and was thrown back, rolling across the ground.

After tumbling several times before coming to a stop, his eyes shook.

‘Their Force of ki?’

The masked figure's Force of ki had grown more than twice as strong.

There had not been much difference between them just moments ago, but this strike had been powerful enough to break through even his protective ki.

Twitch! Twitch!

The change was not limited to the masked figure's face.

The veins on their exposed hand swelled like those around their eyes, darkening to a blackish red.

Whatever they had done, it was an unnatural transformation.

Go Heon-beom watched with a meaningful look.

‘You brought this upon yourselves.’

Aberrant Blood Demonic Art.

It was a technique created over more than a decade by Heavenly Kill Valley and Paralysis Blade Estate, the two factions regarded as the strongest within the House of the Eight Villains. It was based on the forbidden demonic arts of the extinct Myriad Demon God Cult.

By combining the Reversed Blood Great Art and Blood Demon Art, this technique reversed the flow of energy through the whole body and burned all life energy, making the user several times stronger for half a gak.

‘Though the side effect is death.’

They had intended to sacrifice their lives here anyway.

This was not a technique that should have been revealed at the beginning of the great plan, but they had no choice.

To kill these people, they needed the Aberrant Blood Demonic Art.

‘I will kill that bastard!’

Like the masked figure who had unleashed the Aberrant Blood Demonic Art first, Go Heon-beom began using acupoint strike on their own body.

Tap tap tap tap tap!

The remaining masked figures followed suit and used acupoint strike on their own bodies.

Tap tap tap tap tap!

As they used acupoint strike and began reversing the flow of energy within their bodies, their strength was already rising severalfold...

Thud! Crash!

“Guhk!”

Crack!

“Ugh!”

‘!?’

Go Heon-beom's eyes shook wildly at what happened in an instant.

Two masked figures who had been unleashing the Aberrant Blood Demonic Art were driven into the ground by Mumu's punches and kicks, their waists snapping backward as their bodies folded in half.

“Y-you bastard...”

A masked figure who had nearly completed the transformation tried to rush at Mumu.

Crash!

With dirt exploding upward, Mumu reached the figure in an instant and clapped both hands over their head.

Slaaap!

The masked figure's head vanished under Mumu's clap.

Only blood flowed down between his palms.

Thud!

The headless body collapsed.

Even the group was left speechless by the sudden turn of events.

Jin-hyeok spoke in a stunned voice.

“M-Mumu, you...”

“Huh? I thought it would be better to deal with them quickly before they did anything.”

Mumu's words made it feel as if Go Heon-beom's blood was rushing backward.

Who could have expected the masked figures to die like this before they could even fully awaken through the Aberrant Blood Demonic Art?

‘You bastard!’

Consumed by rage, Go Heon-beom released all their energy.

“Craaaaaah!”

Woooooo!

An enormous surge of energy swept around them like a storm.

It was so intense that Ma Yeon-hwa, who had been standing directly before them, was pushed backward, while the surrounding brush shook violently.

Shrrrrrr!

It was a phenomenon caused by tangible ki pouring out from Go Heon-beom's body.

With a shocked expression, Ma Yeon-hwa crossed Black Dragon and White Phoenix.

‘Their Force of ki has surged. As expected, this is...’

Swish!

At that very moment, Go Heon-beom, radiating a storm of ki, appeared directly before Ma Yeon-hwa.

Their figure blurred and appeared like mist.

It was Extreme Swiftness.

‘They got faster...’

Claaang!

“Cough!”

She hurriedly blocked the sword, but blood surged up from within, and she was thrown backward.

She could not withstand the vastly increased Force of ki.

It was such a tremendous strike that she feared White Phoenix, her precious sword, might shatter.

Still, if she let her guard down here, she would be defeated.

Crunch!

Ma Yeon-hwa gritted her teeth and tried to regain her form.

But Go Heon-beom had already vanished.

‘What?’

Go Heon-beom appeared before Mumu in the next instant.

Ma Yeon-hwa had never been their target.

Go Heon-beom unleashed a sword technique at Mumu with everything they had and roared.

“You alone must di...”

Baaaaang!

Before the words could finish, a tremendous blast of wind pressure swept through the area. The wind raged so violently that no one could open their eyes.

When it finally died down, everyone was overcome with horror.

‘!!!!!’

Before Mumu, who had extended a fist, Go Heon-beom's lower body stood alone, trembling where their upper body had vanished.

Behind it, trees and brush, no, an entire stretch of forest nearly ten jang wide had been blown away in a fan-shaped path.

Seeing his friends standing open-mouthed and speechless, Mumu scratched his head.

‘...They looked sturdy, but I guess they weren't.’

Footnotes:

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