WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Order
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◈ The Heaven-Slaying Sword ◈
Chapter 78: Chapter Nine - Mission, Espionage (9)
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While Namgung Jin-cheon caused a commotion, the other unit members entered the estate.
The inner residence, where the leader of the demonic practitioners was, lay at its deepest point.
They encountered no other demonic practitioners along the way.
“Most of their attention has been drawn to Sword Dragon. The demonic practitioners who have not appeared are likely the core forces guarding the inner residence.”
They could not extend their Qi Sense to confirm it.
If they spread their qi, the other side would notice their position as well.
All they could do was estimate the enemy’s strength and divide their forces accordingly.
“According to Seon-u, the hostages are being held in the Family Head’s bedchamber within the inner residence. Given the estate’s layout, there is no way to reach it without being noticed.”
Under ordinary circumstances, that would be true.
“Jegal San.”
Dang Hwa-seo looked at Jegal San.
He smiled faintly.
“Leave it to me.”
Jegal San’s simple formation array and footwork were perfectly suited to moving under cover of night.
No one was better suited to deceiving the enemy’s senses and rescuing the hostages.
Still, they could not leave everything to Jegal San alone.
The demonic practitioners in the inner residence were their elite forces, so they needed to draw their attention away.
“Master Il-un and White Phoenix will deal with the other demonic practitioners with me. From what we have heard, they outnumber us by one, but I believe we have a good chance of winning.”
Hye-un and Il-un nodded.
Once Dang Hwa-seo saw that, she spoke to Mok Ri-won.
“Young Hero Mok.”
“Speak.”
“You must capture their leader. Of everyone here, you are the most accomplished fighter. Can you do it?”
Mok Ri-won nodded, his expression resolute.
“I’ll try. No, I will succeed.”
After being so stubborn about it, he ought to be the one taking the most dangerous path.
With that thought, Mok Ri-won rose.
The other unit members rose with him.
“Jegal San. Move once the battle begins.”
“I wish you martial fortune.”
“Then let’s go.”
Tap!
Dang Hwa-seo leaped up, and the unit members scattered.
* * *
Flame Demon Oh Gang-ak was still lying in the room.
His eyes were closed, and he did not move at all. He looked like a corpse, but the occasional twitch of his toes showed that he was still alive.
‘The Heavenly Slaughter Star...’
Oh Gang-ak turned the words over in his mind.
His expression twisted.
A certain person came to mind.
The man who had always looked down on him with scarlet eyes.
The man who had taken his place, one he hated so deeply that even tearing him apart would not be enough.
The current Young Cult Leader.
-I will let you live. It is the greatest mercy I can offer.
Oh Gang-ak rubbed his face.
Whenever he thought of him, the skin the Young Cult Leader had torn from Oh Gang-ak’s face throbbed.
‘Vermin.’
The corner of Oh Gang-ak’s mouth curled crookedly.
‘He lost one lousy star and turned into a cripple. How laughable.’
Oh Gang-ak mocked the Young Cult Leader inwardly.
His dark red eyes, hardened after losing the Heavenly Slaughter Star, his drug-riddled state, even this invasion of the Central Plains because he could not let go, all of it was laughable beyond measure.
According to his orders, the thief had to be kept alive.
The thief needed to live for the star to be recovered.
But...
‘Why should I do that?’
Oh Gang-ak had no intention of letting him live.
If he broke the Heavenly Slaughter Star’s neck himself, the star would be lost forever.
Then he could give that damned bastard eternal despair.
“Keuheuk!”
Oh Gang-ak shook with laughter.
“Heavenly Demooon deeeescends!”
My ass.
“That place is not for vermin who depend on a star.”
Oh Gang-ak slowly rose.
He could sense a presence.
“Well, then. Time to welcome our guest.”
Clotted blood dripped from his body.
At the same time, demonic qi rose around him.
The surging demonic qi transformed into blood-red calamity flames that wrapped around Oh Gang-ak’s body.
Crimson Flame Demonic Arts.
It was the demonic art that had carried him to the Young Cult Leader’s position and earned him the title Flame Demon.
Oh Gang-ak dashed forward and kicked open the door.
As he did, he threw a punch.
Boom!
Mok Ri-won, who had been waiting outside for an opening, drew his sword and blocked the fist.
“What a pretty face you have!”
Oh Gang-ak cackled, and Mok Ri-won’s eyes sharpened.
“Demonic practitioner.”
“Die!”
The flames enveloping Oh Gang-ak suddenly swelled.
Then they exploded.
Boom!
Mok Ri-won was hurled away.
* * *
Mok Ri-won had been thinking about something on the way here.
‘Can I truly defeat a demonic practitioner without relying on the star?’
If he relied on the Heavenly Slaughter Star, it would be easy.
Even if the demonic practitioner had reached the transcendent peak, Mok Ri-won was certain he could defeat him easily by using the Heavenly Slaughter Star.
Why would that not be so?
The Heavenly Slaughter Star could grasp every bit of the opponent’s Killing Intent and every movement they made.
The Extreme Demon Physique could see through the essence of the demonic arts the opponent used.
A demonic practitioner was an opponent whose every move Mok Ri-won could see through.
No matter how strong the opponent was, he could not lose under those circumstances.
But he could not do that.
‘Killing Intent will consume me.’
Every path shown by the Heavenly Slaughter Star was a killing move.
The Extreme Demon Physique desired to stain his body with demonic qi.
-Ri-won, do you know why demonic arts are called demonic arts? It is because, even knowing they harm the body, they shackle the mental image with irresistible temptation. Once you taste them even once, you can never train as you did before.
Mok Ri-won knew.
He was not yet strong enough of heart to drive away that encroaching temptation.
Nor was he strong enough to turn that temptation against itself and cast it back.
The method he had used in his match with Namgung Jin-cheon had only been possible because Namgung Jin-cheon had not intended to kill him.
He could not use it this time.
A demonic practitioner’s Killing Intent would be far more blatant and vicious than Namgung Jin-cheon’s.
‘Fist Demon. There was only one reason I could not defeat him.’
Though he had vowed not to, he must have still relied on the Heavenly Slaughter Star somewhere deep down.
That must have been why he gambled on uncontrollable power whenever danger came.
So the method Mok Ri-won came up with was something else.
‘Forms.’
Moves carried through fixed paths with precise intent.
With that, he could cut down a demonic practitioner without being affected by Killing Intent.
As long as he did not stray from the sword forms, he would not accidentally strike a demonic practitioner’s vital points.
If he thought with absolute precision and mechanical focus, entrusting everything to the forms as he cut, he would not be swept away by temptation.
And there was a sword art he had created for that purpose.
‘Ten-Thousand Linking Principle Sword.’
A sword art he had personally created to overcome the lack of forms he had felt while facing Fist Demon Pae Ung-chu.
With it, he could face that demonic practitioner.
“Why are you testing the waters? Hm? If you are the Heavenly Slaughter Star, you should be more vicious.”
Oh Gang-ak snickered.
The blood-red calamity flames coiling around his body lashed their tongues, threatening Mok Ri-won.
Mok Ri-won asked, “...So you people do know about this star.”
“Of course we do.”
“How?”
Oh Gang-ak came to a stop.
For a moment, he looked blank. Then he burst into mad laughter.
“Khahahaha! How innocent. Why would you think I would tell you that?”
“Because if you do not, things will become very painful for you.”
“Well, look at that.”
“I am not joking.”
Mok Ri-won settled into his stance.
At some point, he had thrown his scabbard far away and gripped his sword with both hands.
“I will not kill you. But I will not let you live, either. I will make you suffer. I will make you hurt.”
It was the preparatory stance of a form.
Oh Gang-ak’s expression hardened.
For a long moment, he stared at Mok Ri-won with an emotion Mok Ri-won could not understand. Then he murmured as if reciting something.
“...It is always like this.”
“Hmm?”
“You people. You people who possess stars.”
Thud.
Oh Gang-ak stepped forward.
Veins bulged across the half-flayed side of his face.
“You flaunt yourselves over a single star you were born with. When you take that away, you are nothing.”
Mok Ri-won frowned.
But he could not continue his thoughts.
Oh Gang-ak charged at him.
Whoosh!
The calamity flames shot forward.
At the same time, Oh Gang-ak’s right hand spread wide as it reached for Mok Ri-won’s face.
Was this what Killing Intent gathered from all the hatred in the world felt like?
Was this what emotion steeped in resentment and boiled until it seethed felt like?
Mok Ri-won’s eyes darkened at what came with that grasping hand.
“...If you will not tell me, I only need to find out myself.”
Mok Ri-won struck quickly.
From a blind spot beyond human perception, his sword began to dance.
Crunch!
In a single instant, exactly seven times.
Mok Ri-won’s sword cut across every joint in Oh Gang-ak’s fingers, his wrist, forearm, and elbow.
No flesh fell away.
Oh Gang-ak had gathered demonic qi in his arm at that moment.
Oh Gang-ak’s blood patterned the air as they passed each other and switched positions.
Yet neither stopped.
Oh Gang-ak stamped down and shot forward again.
This time, he extended his leg.
Flame Hammer Kick.
A leg wrapped in calamity flames flew toward Mok Ri-won’s solar plexus.
Ssssss.
Ink-dark Qi Waves flowed from Mok Ri-won’s body and wrapped around his sword.
Once more, Mok Ri-won swung his sword at a speed beyond perception.
Again, Mok Ri-won held the advantage.
Crunch.
Eleven times in total.
Swinging so fast that afterimages remained, Mok Ri-won cut from Oh Gang-ak’s toes to his waist as though he meant to grind his leg to pieces.
Even then, he did not stop.
After steadying his breath for a moment, Mok Ri-won swung even faster and pressed Oh Gang-ak hard.
The number of swings in each sequence increased.
Beginning at seven, it went beyond eleven to eighteen, then thirty-one.
Then forty-two and fifty-one.
The number of cuts increased so drastically, yet the time they took remained chillingly identical.
First Form of the Ten-Thousand Linking Principle Sword.
Soul-Seizing Swiftness.
The sword grew faster as Mok Ri-won continued the form he had created by gathering only the Martial Alliance’s quick sword techniques and linking their principles together.
At first, the sword had relied only on the strength of his arms. Now it accelerated further by using resistance, recoil, and the collision of Qi Waves.
Crunch!
The sounds of flesh and bone being cut continued without pause.
Now even Mok Ri-won’s form was becoming blurred.
Only the sparks flashing again and again showed that something was colliding there.
As he had promised, Mok Ri-won avoided every one of Oh Gang-ak’s vital points and overwhelmed him.
In the middle of it, Oh Gang-ak cackled.
“Idiot.”
Mok Ri-won’s expression stiffened.
Even as Oh Gang-ak’s entire body was being cut and torn apart, Mok Ri-won saw where his gaze was fixed.
Mok Ri-won’s solar plexus.
Looking down, Mok Ri-won realized that fire had already spread to him and was burning fiercely.
Dangerous.
Mok Ri-won broke off the form and quickly retreated.
Oh Gang-ak smiled even as he staggered.
He did not seem to care that the flesh across his body had been shredded.
“You idiot who thinks you are better than everyone else. That is why you fall.”
He clapped his palms together.
“You and that bastard alike.”
The flames clinging to Mok Ri-won’s solar plexus spread across his entire body.
Then they exploded.
Boom!
It was the fifth form of the Crimson Flame Demonic Arts, Flame Demon Fiend.
Footnotes:
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