WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Order
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◈ The Heaven-Slaying Sword ◈
Chapter 81: Chapter Nine - Mission, Espionage (12)
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Two swords withdrew from Oh Gang-ak's body.
Mok Ri-won drew a sharp breath and shook off the sensation that made their fingertips tremble.
Even now, the sensation of cutting through a human body and piercing it still troubled Mok Ri-won.
"...Is it really over?"
Thud.
Mok Ri-won fell flat onto the ground.
At the exhausted question, Namgung Jin-cheon, who was likewise sitting on the ground, nodded.
His gaze remained fixed on Oh Gang-ak, who lay collapsed like a lump of charcoal.
"Yes. His breathing..."
Namgung Jin-cheon's eyes narrowed.
He was searching Oh Gang-ak for signs of life, such as breathing.
After a moment, Namgung Jin-cheon clicked his tongue.
"...He's still alive. Though it looks like he won't last much longer."
What a tenacious life. Even after drawing upon his innate true qi, Oh Gang-ak still clung to life.
Of course, the fact that Mok Ri-won and Namgung Jin-cheon had destroyed his dantian in the process might have contributed, but even taking that into account, it was astonishing.
"Like a cockroach."
"Heh. I agree."
Still lying on the ground, Mok Ri-won shook with laughter.
Oh Gang-ak would likely never use martial arts again, nor take another step on his own. But Mok Ri-won felt no regret over that.
How could there be? Oh Gang-ak was no ordinary villain.
They had seen with their own eyes the devastation Oh Gang-ak had wrought on the way here.
'In any case.'
They had defeated him, so that should settle it.
Mok Ri-won closed their eyes.
Then they recalled the battle from moments ago.
'Mysterious.'
There was no other word for it.
The new sword paths created as their swords intertwined. The feeling that they understood the other's intentions without exchanging a single word.
"...That joint attack was quite good."
At that, Namgung Jin-cheon gave a dismissive snort.
As curt as ever, but there was little force behind it.
Perhaps he agreed to some extent.
Mok Ri-won smiled faintly.
"Can I call you Brother Namgung?"
It had slipped out in a sudden burst of closeness and excitement.
Mok Ri-won had thought they might become a little closer, but the response was harsh.
"May I kill you?"
Namgung Jin-cheon's eyes widened.
There was even contempt in the bloodshot eyes glaring at Mok Ri-won.
Mok Ri-won flinched and answered gloomily.
"...You didn't have to put it like that."
"Disgusting."
"Honestly..."
Mok Ri-won pouted.
The atmosphere naturally began to grow awkward. That was when Dang Hwa-seo appeared.
"Are you all right?!"
She was alone.
Her face was thick with worry. The devastation here seemed to have shocked her deeply.
It was only natural.
Explosions had not stopped throughout the battle with Oh Gang-ak, and the ground had been completely torn apart.
And what about Mok Ri-won's condition?
Not a scrap of their upper garments remained. Their exposed skin was scorched almost everywhere.
"What kind of fight leaves you like this?!"
Dang Hwa-seo marched toward Mok Ri-won, even raising her voice in anger.
Then she checked Mok Ri-won's condition, touching various parts of their body.
Thankfully, there were no major injuries.
Dang Hwa-seo let out a deep sigh after reaching that conclusion. Namgung Jin-cheon spoke.
"Check the Demonic practitioner. At this rate, he'll die."
Only then did Dang Hwa-seo notice the Demonic practitioner, her face turning pale.
"...Is that person alive?"
Until Namgung Jin-cheon mentioned it, she had not even realized that was a Demonic practitioner.
He had been burned black as charcoal.
"Can you treat him?"
"I can keep him alive for now. The rest will have to be left to the Alliance..."
She understood that the battle had been extremely fierce.
If they had been even slightly less fortunate, perhaps she would have found Mok Ri-won or Namgung Jin-cheon collapsed instead.
Even as such thoughts filled Dang Hwa-seo's mind, Mok Ri-won asked,
"Oh, right. Where are the others?"
The moment they felt at ease, they worried about everyone else. Mok Ri-won truly never changed.
Dang Hwa-seo gave a bitter smile.
"They are tending to the rescued hostages. I do not know how many people are still alive, but..."
Apparently, the Demonic practitioners had been here for a month.
During that time, the hostages had been confined in packed rooms like livestock being penned.
They were all weakened to the limit, and some had already starved to death.
The scene had been so horrible that Dang Hwa-seo was almost relieved Mok Ri-won had not seen it.
'...No. A success is still a success.'
Dang Hwa-seo shook her head, clearing away the thought.
Then she said,
"Let us go. We have work to finish."
* * *
The large nighttime procession was noisy.
The city's residents stared in confusion and horror as the bedraggled hostages passed through the streets, while the unit members stayed alert for any Demonic practitioners who might remain behind.
Eventually, they arrived at the estate.
"Mother!"
The moment Seon-u saw the hostages, the moment he spotted a woman standing at the front of the group, he cried out in a high voice and ran toward her.
The woman opened her arms, her face full of tears, and Seon-u rushed into them.
"Seon-u!"
"Mother!"
Seon-u let out a sob.
At last, the woman began to cry as well.
Fortunately, Seon-u's mother was alive.
She was extremely weak, but with proper meals, she would recover quickly.
In any case, that was not what mattered right now.
"It is truly a wonderful sight."
Though their face was full of exhaustion, Mok Ri-won smiled.
This was what Mok Ri-won preferred.
Even if it had been an act, making others smile like this was better than oppressing them.
Mok Ri-won was not the only one smiling.
Beside them, Jegal San rubbed his nose and smiled. Dang Hwa-seo, Il-un, and Hye-un also wore pleased expressions.
Namgung Jin-cheon, perhaps feeling awkward, turned his eyes away from the scene for no reason.
Then Seon-u looked at the unit members.
A moment later, he sprang to his feet, approached them, and bowed.
"Great Heroes! Thank you! For saving my mother, I am so...!"
Perhaps he could not get the words out properly. His voice was overflowing with emotion.
Mok Ri-won shook their head.
"We did not save her."
"What?"
"You saved her."
Mok Ri-won smiled brightly.
"Did you not gather your courage and tell us the truth to save your mother? If you had not helped us, we could not have saved her."
Seon-u's eyes grew wide.
Soon, his face gradually grew wet with tears.
"Great Hero..."
"Thank you so much for finding that courage."
That was all.
The moment Mok Ri-won saw with their own eyes that everything was over, the exhaustion that had built beyond endurance finally overcame them.
Thud.
"Young Hero Mok!"
Mok Ri-won lost consciousness and collapsed where they stood.
* * *
Three days passed after that.
Martial artists from the Martial Alliance's Shaanxi Branch, Mount Hua Sect, and Zhongnan Sect all entered the city.
The city's atmosphere was already in complete turmoil.
How could it not be?
News of what had happened at So Family Estate had spread among them over the past three days.
Naturally, the most talked-about subject was the Dragon Phoenix Unit.
"They say those three half-brothers were this generation's Dragons and Phoenixes!"
"Of course! They were strange, weren't they? Where else would you find people who looked that bizarre? And their personalities were something else too!"
"Exactly! Oh, and did you hear about the merchants who suffered losses because of those half-brothers? Looking back, they say no one actually suffered any losses! The money they tossed out as if they were giving alms matched the damages exactly!"
"Was that all? They say that after everything ended, Poison Phoenix personally sought out every person she had harmed and apologized!"
People were simpler than one might think.
Once it became known that the villain who had shaken Shaanxi was actually a hero who had come to defeat the Demonic practitioners lurking here, public opinion turned over as easily as a hand.
Of all the Dragon Phoenix Unit's members, the one people talked about most was Dang Hwa-seo, its Division Leader.
How could it be otherwise? Even while acting, she had controlled every step of the operation. Once it was over, she had even made certain to apologize. Nothing could take precedence over her story.
That did not mean the others were not discussed.
"Have you heard? The Alliance questioned the surviving Demonic practitioners and learned that the one hiding in So Family Estate was Flame Demon Oh Gang-ak, one of the Six Demons!"
"Oh, Oh Gang-ak...!"
"The descendants of Demon Sword Oh Chun! It has been revealed that they are still at the heart of the Demonic Cult!"
"Good heavens...!"
"In any case, is that not the key point? Sword Dragon and Ink Dragon defeated the Flame Demon!"
"They truly deserve to be called the leading young talents!"
Stories of Mok Ri-won and Namgung Jin-cheon were especially irresistible conversation material among martial artists.
After all, were they not the figures of this era who had become a topic of discussion everywhere they appeared since the final match of the Dragon Phoenix Gathering?
Martial artists could hardly stay quiet after they achieved yet another astonishing feat.
"Still, Brother Wang, you are remarkably quick with news like this!"
"Ha ha! The truth is, ever since the day of the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, I have been following Ink Dragon's trail. I admire Ink Dragon so much as a martial artist."
The man called Brother Wang, Wang Heo, spoke as he puffed out his chest.
What more was there to say?
Wang Heo, a second-rate martial artist.
The moment he first saw Mok Ri-won at the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, he was captivated and predicted Mok Ri-won's victory. He had brought friends to the Dragon Phoenix Unit's founding ceremony to cheer Mok Ri-won on, and now he was spreading word of Mok Ri-won's accomplishments here as well. He was Mok Ri-won's devoted admirer.
'Though I only learned about what happened here by chance.'
He had merely been wandering through Shaanxi when he happened to stop in a village on the exact day the rumors spread, then gathered every scrap of information he could.
But that was not important.
Wang Heo had even begun to think that all of this might be fate connecting him to Mok Ri-won.
Then a man he had become acquainted with here asked,
"In any case, what is Ink Dragon doing now?"
"I-Ink Dragon?"
Wang Heo flinched, his shoulders jerking.
His eyes rolled anxiously.
'I have no idea.'
How could he know?
Wang Heo was merely a wandering martial artist who made friends easily and had a keen ear for rumors.
Yet for some reason, his pride would not let him say that outright.
The expectant look in the man's eyes stirred that pride.
"W-Well... Is Ink Dragon not meditating to consolidate the insight gained from the recent battle?"
"Ooooh!"
Wang Heo's hastily invented excuse was half right and half wrong.
"Brother Sword Dragon! Let us practice our joint attack! I think I will understand something if we do it just once more!"
"Get lost."
"Ah, Brother Sword Dragon!"
"I said get lost. And what sort of ridiculous form of address is Brother Sword Dragon?"
"You said you did not like Brother Namgung! So it is Brother Sword Dragon!"
"Disgusting. Stop it."
"You are a cold person!"
Mok Ri-won was following Namgung Jin-cheon, hoping to grasp the faint insight they had caught through their joint attack that day.
Namgung Jin-cheon was not entirely uninterested either, but the thought of having to coordinate with Mok Ri-won gave him chills, so he continued refusing.
The noisy chase between the two always ended the same way.
"Will you both be quiet?! There are so many patients here! Why are you shouting so loudly?!"
Dang Hwa-seo's scolding.
...A modest estate in Shaanxi passed another peaceful day.
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