WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Alyo

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◈ Memoir of a Regressor ◈

Chapter 53: The Day the Torrential Rain Fell

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It began to rain.

Not a drizzle, but a torrential downpour.

“Ah... The weather today... Tch.”

No one liked it when it rained. Especially not people leading a merchant caravan.

When traveling mountain roads, rain changed even the feel of the ground beneath one’s feet. It was impossible not to be irritated.

There was nothing to be done about it.

Yu Su-myeong, the General Steward overseeing the Jong Clan caravan, gave the servants an order.

They would rest for a while.

He spoke politely to the martial artists.

“Please rest for a moment.”

Everyone understood.

It was just as they began preparing to rest.

Step. Step.

Footsteps pierced through the sound of the rain and reached everyone’s ears.

They all turned their heads at once.

A man was walking toward them through the rain.

He held a brightly glowing sword in his right hand. It was an unusual blade, with a dragon rising upward along one side and another dragon plunging downward along the other.

He was remarkably handsome. Nearly six feet tall, his rain-soaked clothes clung to his body, revealing the muscles beneath.

Anyone could see that he was a martial artist.

And an extremely well-trained one at that.

Before anyone could ask who he was, the pattern embroidered on his robes caught their attention.

A white carriage.

And four red flames.

“...The Asura Sword Sect?”

It felt as though lightning had struck their minds.

Not long ago, a new Branch Leader had been appointed in Three Phoenix County.

He was a man known for his cruel methods, and even his epithet was far from ordinary.

The Cruel Demonic Blade.

Yi Do.

He brushed back his hair.

“Are you Yu Su-myeong, General Steward of the Jong Clan?”

“...I am. But why has the Asura Sword Sect’s new Branch Leader come through such a torrential downpour to see us?”

Yu Su-myeong’s expression had stiffened, but his tone was quite aggressive.

It could not be helped.

No matter how formidable Yi Do was, he was alone.

The people here were the Jong Clan’s finest martial artists. There were twenty at the Five Dragons Honoring the Sage stage, ten at the Twin Sun Manifestation stage, and...

“So a demonic fiend has become a Branch Leader of the Asura Sword Sect. What a sight.”

The enormous man who spoke was a master at the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown stage.

No one could face this many people alone.

Above all else.

The man sheltering from the rain beneath a tree in the corner was a branch member of the Heaven-Breaking Fist Sect’s Jangam Branch.

He was at the Five Dragons Honoring the Sage stage.

Yu Su-myeong was confident.

He naturally stepped back.

Yi Do slowly approached.

“Yesterday, a merchant caravan in Three Phoenix County was massacred.”

Internal energy slowly suffused Yi Do’s sword. Its distinct light cut through the torrential rain and branded itself into everyone’s eyes.

“After doing something like that, did you think nothing would happen?”

Seo Hong, the martial artist at the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown stage, snorted.

“We have nothing to do with that.”

“Do you truly believe that?”

Seo Hong flinched.

Yi Do’s eyes... were far too strange.

They were clearly human eyes, yet how could killing intent gleam from them to such a degree?

“I thought and thought again. In the end, I found no room to doubt the information the Heavenly Intelligence Gate gave me. It simply laid out the facts, and those facts allowed me to understand the entire situation.”

Yi Do did not stop walking.

Neither did he stop speaking.

“You had done similar things many times in the past. Three Phoenix County is relatively small compared to Jangam County. Whenever a merchant caravan was massacred as it was yesterday, the clans of Three Phoenix County would be cowed and halt their trade for a while. During that time, your Jangam County caravans monopolized Bibong Mountain and made enormous profits. It certainly was not a bad strategy. It clearly worked. However.”

A gentle smile bloomed on Yi Do’s lips.

“Now it is your turn.”

Seo Hong furrowed his brow and signaled to the martial artists around him.

Bury that bastard here.

Those who exchanged signals kicked off the ground at once. The distance between them and Yi Do vanished in an instant.

And then.

Seo Hong saw a dragon.

A perfectly formed mass of internal power, gleaming with killing intent while carrying an incomparably pure aura.

There was no time to gather his energy.

Craaaash!

Seo Hong’s head exploded in an instant.

The Cloud Dragon Sword flashed past the spot.

Everyone stood frozen.

They could not understand what had just happened.

Even the Heaven-Breaking Fist Sect branch member who had been leisurely watching from beneath the tree pushed himself away from it.

Yi Do did not stop.

He retrieved his sword and charged forward, bringing it down upon the martial artist before him.

Rumble!

With the sound of thunder, the man’s body split in two.

Thud. Thud.

Yi Do vanished from that spot in an instant.

Rainwater splashed as another martial artist’s head flew into the air.

Before anyone could relax, another head rose into the sky.

One man’s heart was pierced.

Another body was split in half.

Another head was impaled.

All of it happened before one could count to four.

Just as the Heaven-Breaking Fist Sect branch member was about to rush forward.

He jerked his head back with a horrified expression.

The back of his head struck the tree, but that was better.

Slash!

A sword passed right before his eyes.

The man holding it was rugged-looking. The robes he wore bore the Asura Sword Sect’s insignia as well.

All white.

He was clearly a branch member.

The Heaven-Breaking Fist Sect member furrowed his brow.

“What is your name?”

“You do not need to know.”

Un Do-hyeon swung his sword.

The Heaven-Breaking Fist Sect branch member thrust out a fist as well, but he was too late.

Bang!

His fist was knocked away.

Un Do-hyeon immediately kicked off the ground and rammed his shoulder into the branch member.

The branch member flew back and crashed into a tree.

He tried to recover, but once again, he was too late.

Thrust!

Un Do-hyeon’s sword pierced his throat.

Un Do-hyeon spoke.

“Go on ahead. Before long, I will send every one of your branch members after you.”

The tragedy of the Three Phoenix Branch, where Un Do-hyeon’s sister had belonged.

Of course, the Heaven-Breaking Fist Sect had been involved in that tragedy as well.

Un Do-hyeon’s revenge was not over.

His revenge would only end when all of Jangam County had been drenched in blood.

And Un Do-hyeon believed without doubt that it would happen soon.

He twisted his sword.

Crack!

After knocking the corpse aside, he turned his head.

Amid the torrential rain falling as if a hole had opened in the sky.

Yi Do held his sword to a man’s throat.

There were no martial artists left alive.

The corpses piled behind Yi Do proved it.

Throats had been cut, hearts pierced, bodies split in half.

A gentle smile formed on Un Do-hyeon’s lips, despite the situation.

It resembled Yi Do’s.

He was someone who shone.

Someone worth serving.

Un Do-hyeon gestured behind him.

The Hong Clan martial artists who had hidden in the brush returned, along with the Hong Clan martial artists who had gone to hunt down and kill every porter who had fled.

All of them were looking at Yi Do.

Before long, Yi Do swung his sword.

Slash!

The head of Yu Su-myeong, the General Steward overseeing the Jong Clan caravan, flew into the air.

Yi Do raised his head.

Un Do-hyeon was the first to kneel.

The Hong Clan martial artists behind him knelt as well.

“Take everything. We are returning to the county.”

“Yes, sir!”

* * *

I stood in the rain for a while, thinking.

As I watched the Hong Clan martial artists gather the goods, I beckoned Un Do-hyeon over.

He quickly approached.

“Un Do-hyeon.”

“Yes, Branch Leader.”

“Take them and return.”

“...Aren’t you coming with us?”

“I have somewhere to stop by.”

“...”

“Once you return, take one tenth of those goods to the Heavenly Intelligence Gate, three tenths to the Hong Clan, and place the rest in the branch basement.”

No answer came.

“Are you not going to answer?”

“...I want to come with you.”

Longing filled Un Do-hyeon’s eyes.

I understood well enough.

I gripped his shoulder.

“Not yet.”

“...Branch Leader...”

“You do not meet my standards yet.”

It was harsh, but it was true.

Un Do-hyeon’s eyes trembled violently.

A smile formed on my lips.

I liked people with a temperament like his.

“In the changing room beneath the branch, there will be two secret manuals at the back of the fifth compartment. Learn them. Understood?”

“...Yes.”

“There is no strength in your voice. Do you call yourself my subordinate with that kind of voice?”

Un Do-hyeon dropped to his knees.

“Yes, sir!”

I smiled in satisfaction.

After patting his shoulder, I turned away.

Had it not been raining.

Had it not been pouring down like this.

I probably would have returned to the county as well.

But that was not the case.

A torrential downpour like this had to be seen as an opportunity.

How dare they.

How dare they touch a clan in territory under my control.

They would pay the price.

I headed for Jangam County.

I traveled through the mountains.

The downpour continued.

It had been a long time since I had seen rain this heavy.

Entering Jangam County was easy.

When rain fell this heavily, people’s senses naturally dulled.

It was not difficult to conceal one’s presence beneath the sound of rain.

With a downpour like this, people’s senses were already dulled.

And if I concealed my presence as well?

They would not be able to detect me.

It would be different if there were someone who had reached a proper realm, but that did not matter.

If there was one person like that, I could deal with them somehow.

From the rooftop of what appeared to be an inn, I quietly looked ahead.

That was the Jong Clan.

Figures moved about inside the manor.

The clan’s layout.

The positions of the martial artists.

I took it all in.

I held my breath.

I concealed my presence.

Quietly.

As though blending into the world itself, I stilled everything.

Jangam County was certainly large.

It was clearly at least twice the size of Three Phoenix County.

There were many clans, and the number of martial artists was considerable.

Silently, I waited.

The number of people moving around gradually decreased.

The clan grew quiet.

It was already past nine at night.

Those who were going to sleep had fallen asleep, while those who needed to stay awake remained awake.

I waited longer.

The Hour of the Rat began, and time passed.

The only people moving were martial artists making patrols.

That was enough.

I awakened my senses and lightly kicked off the ground, like a bird taking flight.

I entered the Jong Clan with absurd ease.

The building I had noticed earlier.

I headed toward the place whose security was tighter than expected.

I drew my sword.

A guard at the entrance spotted me.

Before his mouth could open.

Slash!

I cut off his head.

The martial artist beside him drew his sword and was about to shout.

I spun and swept the Cloud Dragon Sword wide.

Slash!

His head fell to the ground.

One remained.

“Wh... Who...!”

He could not continue either.

Slash!

I pierced his head.

I immediately pulled out the sword.

His corpse collapsed to the floor.

I slowly opened the door.

I entered.

A martial artist was roaming inside.

His realm was the Circulation Realm.

I threw the Cloud Dragon Sword in my hand.

Thrust!

It lodged in his head.

He collapsed backward.

I immediately kicked off the ground and grabbed his collar before he could fall.

After pulling out the Cloud Dragon Sword, I laid the corpse on the floor.

I moved on.

Two martial artists came into view.

I killed them both.

Beyond them was another.

Their realm was Twin Sun Manifestation.

I immediately rushed over, struck their Adam’s apple, and tore off their head.

After carefully laying the corpse on the floor, I continued walking.

That was how I arrived.

I saw a man stretched out comfortably, snoring as he slept.

His thick beard was particularly striking.

I approached him.

The sleeping man opened his eyes at my presence.

According to the information report, his martial realm was Five Dragons Honoring the Sage.

The moment I saw him rise, I threw the Cloud Dragon Sword.

Thrust.

It lodged in his dantian.

I immediately rushed over and covered his mouth with my left hand.

Ghk. Ghk.

Who are you?

What are you?

That was what the man asked.

I questioned him instead.

“Are you Jong Nam-pyeong, Clan Head of the Jong Clan?”

His eyes widened.

A smile formed on my lips.

“Then that is enough.”

I immediately grabbed the top of his head with my right hand and mercilessly twisted it.

Crack!

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