WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 535: King of the Sword Tomb (5)
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“You White Path brat!”
Iron Pagoda Divine Fist’s voice boomed through the clash of metal.
“I’m not a brat, damn it!!”
Nam Hwaseong charged in beside him, his eyes bloodshot.
The two lifted a Soul-Returning Iron Zombie and used it as a shield, driving two others toward the wall.
The pair of Soul-Returning Iron Zombies struggled wildly, but their teeth and claws could not get through the tough hide of the one being used as a shield.
While the two held back three Soul-Returning Iron Zombies, Gongsun Pung’s fist force and Cheonsim Seonsa’s palm force battered the Soul-Returning Iron Zombies.
Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow!
Boom!
While four people held down five Iron Zombies, the escape group behind them screamed and surged into the demonic beings.
“Charge!”
“Aaaaaah!!”
“Urgh...!”
The distinctive killing intent and suffocating poisonous aura radiating from those who cultivated demonic qi.
Yet...
“Aaargh!”
“Fuck, push them back!!!”
They no longer feared it. Not when they were driven by such desperate determination to survive.
“Kill them!”
“Strike!”
Sword qi, fist qi, qi force, and palm force.
They endured even the demonic qi seeping coldly into their bodies and crushed their opponents.
“Aaaaaah!”
“Let’s goooo!”
They scraped their dantians dry and squeezed every last drop of blood from their muscles as they surged forward.
Swish!
Their desperate will to live became a throwing knife, honed sharper than any blade in the darkness, and pierced their enemies’ hearts.
Whenever a demonic being fell, the martial artists approached and stabbed its heart again.
White Path or Black Path, those distinctions were useless now.
After each of them had been ambushed by demonic beings pretending to be dead, the martial world’s unwritten rule against desecrating a corpse had shattered completely.
“Black Flame Dragon!!!!”
Iron Pagoda Divine Fist shouted at the top of his lungs.
As though it were a signal, the Drifting Current Formless Sword, filled with golden Jade Clarity Celestial Phenomenon Force, cut through the Soul-Returning Iron Zombies without hesitation.
Whoosh!
Then the Sacred Flame Demon-Extinguishing Hand followed, tearing through their wounds.
Only then did Iron Pagoda Divine Fist and Nam Hwaseong finally release the Soul-Returning Iron Zombies they had barely been holding back.
Kraaaaaah!
The three Soul-Returning Iron Zombies, their entire bodies ablaze, writhed in agony and tried to throw themselves at their enemies.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Thud!
The Tyrant King Divine Fist struck, sending a Soul-Returning Iron Zombie sliding back onto the corpses of the demonic beings.
As if they had been waiting for it, the martial artists threw the bodies scattered across the ground at the Soul-Returning Iron Zombies, restricting their unnatural movements.
“Haa, haa, haa.”
The battle was so intense that their minds were going numb.
They clearly had the upper hand, but no one cheered.
“Gihwan...”
“...That bastard Cheolsam. I told him to stay back.”
Even when they learned that a comrade they had fought beside was dead, they did not grieve openly.
They only quietly announced the deaths and collected their identification tokens.
“Move!”
Victory and death were not the purpose of those gathered here.
“What are you all doing? Move, now!”
They pushed their joy and sorrow into a corner of their hearts and started walking again.
They had learned that their trial was not limited to those who blocked their path.
“Grrrrrr.”
“Woof! Woof!”
They looked like something between dogs and wolves, though each was as large as a calf.
There was no doubt they had been created through the Demonic Cult’s Heaven-Defying arts.
Asura Demon Hounds.
“Should we be glad they’re in front of us this time?”
At Gongsun Pung’s words, the group nodded after spotting the horrifying creatures.
When the hounds had appeared from behind, the rearguard had paid a terrible price.
“Aaaaaah!”
“Woof!”
Iron Pagoda Divine Fist struck an oncoming demon hound in the face. The hound clung to his hand and raked his fist guards with its claws.
Screeeech!
A scraping sound came from the fist guards, which were clearly made of no ordinary material.
Gongsun Pung, who wore no protective armor, sent out a blast of fist wind.
“Damn filthy things. When we get out, I’m having armor made.”
It was hard to believe such words had come from a martial artist who considered carrying armor or a shield disgraceful.
Still, every martial artist nodded at once.
Screeeech!
The Asura Demon Hounds’ claws far surpassed even those of the Soul-Returning Iron Zombies.
While everyone gauged their reach, someone rushed out alone.
Screeeech!
Geumpyo charged forward with a shield as large as his body and forced an Asura Demon Hound back through sheer strength. As it flailed its front paws, he drove his sword deep into its mouth.
Thunk!
“Woof.”
The creature that had refused to die no matter how hard they struck its fur-covered body toppled limply to one side like a puppet with its strings cut.
“Fuck, I’ve never envied someone with a shield this much.”
Geumpyo grinned, showing his white teeth at Iron Pagoda Divine Fist’s words.
Dealing with the Asura Demon Hounds took longer than fighting the jiangshi and demonic beings, a combination they had begun to grow used to.
It was only natural that the wounded kept piling up.
“Haaa.”
“Hurk...”
Everyone drew ragged breaths.
The cave fell silent.
They all staggered as if they might collapse at any moment.
“Aaaaaah! Fuck!!!”
Hoping to raise everyone’s spirits, I shouted a curse.
Strangely, whenever it was hard to move even a single finger, shouting curses somehow gave me the strength to swing my sword again.
“F-fuuuck!!”
It did not seem unique to me. Starting with my cry of desperation, everyone began raising their voices.
“Amitabha!”
The monk shouted as though reaffirming his identity.
“Those damned Martial Group bastards! I’ll tear them all apart and kill them!!”
Someone burned with resentment.
“I won’t lose! I won’t lose!!!!!”
Others found strength.
Those with no room even for that could only scream.
“Aaaaaah!”
No, most of them screamed desperately.
“Argh!”
“Aaaaaah!!!!!”
Cries with no meaning filled the corridor.
Yet those cries were their will to live.
“Aaaaaah!!!!!!!”
Even after their legs began moving again, the battle cries continued, as though they prayed that the darkness would retreat, if only a little, before their voices.
Then.
“Ghk!”
Iron Pagoda Divine Fist’s eyes rolled back.
I quickly pressed his acupoints and activated his energy pathways.
His eyes barely returned to normal.
“Get to the back. You’re in the way.”
“...”
Iron Pagoda Divine Fist looked wronged, but there was nothing else he could do.
The more violently one fought, the more surely demonic qi accumulated.
Iron Pagoda Divine Fist had endured this long only because he was an exceptionally stubborn man, despite using the impure cultivation method characteristic of the Black Path.
Several people sensed the danger and switched places with the rearguard.
Those who had barely dispersed their demonic qi at the rear came forward, but there were far too few of them compared to those moving back.
The shortage of people had continued for some time now.
It was not because those at the rear hesitated to come forward.
“Let go! I said I’m going!”
“Grab this bastard! He’s about to suffer qi deviation!”
They simply had not had enough time to recover.
“...Are you all right?”
Bang Muryung, who had dispersed his demonic qi at the rear before returning to the front, asked me.
I was already suffering from demonic qi poisoning.
My eyes and entire body felt as if they were being stabbed, while my heart and head pounded violently as though they might burst.
I wanted to go to the rear and expel the demonic qi, if only for a moment.
But...
“Someone has to spot the enemy first.”
“Would it really be so bad if we were... a little late?”
Cheonsim Seonsa had lost half his internal energy. Gongsun Pung and Iron Pagoda Divine Fist were slower than I was at finding enemies, perhaps because their qi was less pure.
On top of that, I was using the Red Phoenix Bangle, a divine artifact. I could not hand it over to anyone else.
“I’ll stay here.”
“You don’t need to worry about me.”
“...You said you were from the Taeul Sect? If the White Path had more people like you...”
I was not foolish enough to miss that Bang Muryung’s words were praise.
“Hey, are you all right? You look terrible.”
“I’ve got a mushroom I saved. It’ll only make you dizzy, not upset your stomach. Eat it.”
The people who had come forward with Bang Muryung gradually filled the space beside me.
“...I’m not a beggar. You can eat the poisonous mushroom yourself, Great Hero.”
“That’s funny. You ate moss so eagerly earlier.”
After a few pointless jokes, the Red Phoenix Bangle began vibrating again.
It meant another enemy had appeared ahead.
“Enemy.”
“Damn it... They won’t even give us time to eat.”
“Hey, don’t call it eating. Call it time to eat moss. What, are you going to eat moss after we get out too?”
They traded jokes with bloodied faces, as though trying to shake off the tension, then gritted their teeth.
Bzzzz.
The vibrations warning of the Black King’s Wraith, the one I had feared, were gradually becoming less frequent.
That meant it was no longer following us, or it had taken another route.
Of course, that brought no great comfort.
If it was not coming here, it meant it was slaughtering countless people along another path.
Did someone else have to die for me to live?
Did I have to die for someone else to live?
Caught between questions I could not answer, I chose not to think about it.
The plan had been made on the premise that we would accept whatever happened.
If we encountered the Black King’s Wraith, I would think about it then.
“Hahaha! This is insane. I’m at the point where jiangshi don’t even surprise me anymore.”
“If we get out alive, we won’t have to worry about free drinks for the rest of our lives.”
Growing used to dealing with the Soul-Returning Iron Zombies meant they had watched that many comrades die.
Still, they forced smiles onto their faces.
If they cried or let even a small grief consume them, they would collapse where they stood and never rise again.
-L-left. N-no, right.
Do Gwangsu had started hesitating over his choices some time ago.
-Don’t worry. Choose whichever way your instincts tell you. No one will blame you.
I said that because I trusted his instincts.
-Uh, but that feeling hasn’t been clear for a while now.
Do Gwangsu’s voice had lost much of its confidence.
-It’s fine. The paths have become a complete mess anyway. No one will resent you. Everyone still thinks I’m the one choosing.
Do Gwangsu did not answer.
He only told us left or right.
If I turned my head even slightly, a miserable sight came into view.
“...Haa, haa...”
“Get up, damn it! We have to move again!!”
“Haa, haa, I can’t go... any farther. Go on without me. I’ll rest for a while, then follow.”
“Rest after we get out! Just get out of here, get out of here and... I’ll get us rooms at the best inn.”
A White Path martial artist grabbed a Black Path martial artist’s hand.
But...
“Oh? I get free lodging paid for by some White Path bastard? Heh... but what can I do?”
The Black Path martial artist’s body did not move.
“My Black Path pride... won’t let me use... your money.”
“You damned bastard, you dog bastard...”
A broken blade was embedded deep in the chest of the Black Path martial artist lying on the ground.
A White Path martial artist who had once been a stranger to him, and had even been hostile to the Black Path, shed tears for him.
Even so, their legs kept moving.
They moved on, leaving behind the man who had been their enemy, then their comrade.
They moved while leaning against the wall, using the swords they had treasured as dearly as their own bodies as canes.
Moving forward was the only way to solve everything.
But as was so often the case in this world, the wish they had desperately clung to shattered into pieces.
“Damn it...”
“Haa...”
“Kraaaah!”
They had stepped over death, joy, and sorrow.
They had abandoned everything as they walked.
At the end of that road was...
“...Fuck.”
A dead end.
There had been no forks or side paths for a long distance before they reached it, making everyone’s despair even greater.
“...”
Do Gwangsu’s face turned pale.
I spoke as though it did not matter.
“We’re going back.”
There was no other option.
We could not risk collapsing the cave by trying to break through the wall.
Our chance of survival had only just improved a little.
The escape group struck their unmoving legs and began walking again.
They returned in despair, as much as they had advanced in hope.
Almost unbelievably, no enemies appeared until we returned to the fork we had chosen.
“I don’t know whether that’s good or bad.”
“Why does walking feel like I got to rest?”
Those who had expelled their demonic qi while resting began gathering strength, as though they had cast aside the despair they had felt moments ago.
Bzzzz.
Only I realized that our situation was not positive at all.
Bzzzz.
The intervals were shorter than ever.
Bzzzz.
Then.
“Uuugh...”
“...Hehehe...”
“Ugh, ugh.”
People throughout the group began showing strange symptoms.
Someone whispered that cursed name.
“The Black King’s Wraith...”
The people who had obsessively forced themselves to speak positively through every desperate situation now groaned as though they were about to die.
The thought that we had decided to accept either others dying or ourselves dying suddenly felt absurd.
They had never despaired in any crisis.
Yet these people, who had been so desperate to live, trembled at the approach of the Black King’s Wraith.
That sight made me angrier than anything else.
I had formed this escape group to save Yuseong’s group and Moyong Seol.
Had I come to consider not only the White Path martial artists with me, but even the Black Path martial artists, my comrades?
“I must be crazy...”
The plan was for the first escape group to encounter the Black King’s Wraith and resist to the end, buying time for the other groups to escape.
But I did not want to use Yuseong’s group, or even this escape group with me, as sacrifices.
I did not know why.
Perhaps it was because I was glad to see the White Path and Black Path sacrificing themselves for one another.
Or perhaps it was because it seemed so strange to watch them shed tears for each other’s deaths.
I did not know. The reason did not matter.
But.
“Get a hold of yourselves.”
This escape group looked far too much like the Sojeong Unit from my previous life.
“I’ll get you out alive... so get a hold of yourselves.”
Seeing them like this, as though someone had carved out my past and held it before my eyes, kept making me choose wrongly.
“What are you all doing? Move, now!”
When I unleashed the Lion’s Roar, they began moving despite their trembling.
They dragged along those who could not move and pulled at the robes of those who refused.
But their steps did not continue for long.
“Jin Sowoon, what are you doing? Why aren’t you moving?”
Their gazes turned toward me, standing alone at the rear.
“...I need to take care of something, so go on ahead.”
“You crazy bastard.”
Nam Hwaseong cursed and seized me by the collar.
I calmly pushed his hand away.
“Go quickly. If you delay, it will catch up.”
“Then move quickly! Stop dragging your feet!”
He threw back the words I had always said to him.
“What are you thinking?”
Cheonsim Seonsa looked at me more deeply than ever.
“I think I can buy some time.”
“How?”
“There isn’t time to explain every detail.”
“...I see. Understood.”
Cheonsim Seonsa nodded, stopped speaking, and stood beside me.
“...What are you doing?”
“You said you could buy time. Then of course I should help you.”
“...”
Then Gongsun Pung approached, his face pale.
“Whew. The White-Strike Fist Wanderer cannot run away twice.”
As though it were the natural thing to do, he took the position opposite Cheonsim Seonsa.
“...Have you all gone mad?”
“Are you doing this because you’re mad?”
“...”
“I had considered a plan like this to some extent from the beginning. I never thought someone else would have the same idea.”
Gongsun Pung had not even heard what the plan was, but he grinned at Cheonsim Seonsa.
“Besides, this time we have a bald monk with great Buddhist power.”
“Amitabha.”
Once Gongsun Pung stepped forward as well, people began trying to stay behind, each burning with determination.
I raised a hand.
“We are not staying to kill it. We are staying to buy time. Those who cannot demonstrate their skills will only get in the way.”
It was cruel, but no one objected.
Nothing in the mire they had crossed so far could be solved through reckless bravado.
They were frustrated, but none of them failed to assess their own condition.
Each of them had already reached their limit just by walking and running.
“Deputy Hall Master. Please lead everyone.”
“...”
Dang Seohui knew I had been finding our way with Do Gwangsu’s help, so she would be able to lead them well in my place.
If we could hold the Black King’s Wraith here, the others would be able to get out alive.
“Deputy Hall Master. No, Senior Dang. I believe in you.”
“Will you come back alive?”
“Is that even a question?”
“...If you lie, I’ll eat as much candied fruit as I want from now on.”
A small laugh escaped me at Dang Seohui’s threat.
“You don’t need to worry. You’ll still be eating only a limited amount of candied fruit for the rest of your life.”
Dang Seohui pressed her lips together as though holding something back. I patted her head.
“You can only get candied fruit from me.”
Dang Seohui nodded, apparently satisfied, then turned away without delay.
“First Senior Brother...”
Geumpyo looked as though he might cry at any moment.
“...If Martial Sister Hong finds out, she’ll try to kill you. No, she definitely will.”
“Then we’ll have to keep it a secret.”
Geumpyo lowered his head for a moment, then straightened up and spoke.
“I’ll keep the secret, but you have to buy me a proper drink.”
“Of course. We have suffered enough here, so I’ll buy you enough drinks that you’ll beg me to train you in martial arts.”
Geumpyo spoke as though he were calm, despite his expression, then turned away.
“We’re leaving!”
I watched the escape group run ahead, glancing back at us, hoping they could leave this place without changing too much.
-Please... be careful.
A familiar voice wrapped around my ears.
-...Please, be careful.
Moyong Seol was saying to me the words I had told her in my previous life when she left for the battlefield.
-There are... many things I want to talk to you about, Young Master.
How?
How could she say the exact words I had said to her in my previous life, without changing a single one?
For a moment, my heart pounded so hard that I forgot my fear of the Black King’s Wraith.
Of course, that moment was very brief.
Bzzzz.
Bzzzz.
The Red Phoenix Bangle shook violently.
It announced that the King of the Sword Tomb was approaching.
Footnotes:
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