WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 48: Episode 7: Assigned Mission (5)

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The scent was rapidly growing fainter.

Ise moved like the wind and darted out of the alley.

He sprang from rooftop to rooftop across Cheongsan City, steadily picking up speed.

The cool autumn wind struck his body.

The scent had already left Cheongsan City.

The bastard must have realized they were being hunted, judging by how desperately they were fleeing at full speed.

A long chase followed.

Whenever he thought he had closed the distance, it widened again. Then he would close it once more, only for it to widen again.

Even using Dokkaebi Steps, he could not catch up easily. The bastard must have possessed a spirit artifact that increased their speed.

Still, the distance was definitely shrinking, if only little by little.

At this rate, he would catch them within the day before Scent-Chasing Water lost its effect.

The pursuit continued.

The runner and the pursuer both pushed themselves without giving up.

After running for half a day without rest, Ise finally began to catch occasional glimpses of the independent cultivator's back.

The vegetation grew denser. By the time the figure moving through the trees came fully into view, the distance had closed rapidly.

The spirit artifact the bastard had been using must have run out of power.

They were already far from the Great Exorcist Order, but that no longer mattered.

This was no longer a hunt.

It was a battle.

Without stopping, Ise stretched out a hand.

Earth Spear, an earth-element spell, shot straight ahead.

The independent cultivator instinctively leaped aside and turned around.

Anxiety flashed across their face. They must have realized they had failed to shake off their pursuer.

“You persistent little bastard... How many spirit artifacts did you burn through...?”

While Ise caught his breath, the independent cultivator quickly scanned the surroundings. Silence lingered for a moment.

At first, frustration crossed their face. It became confusion, then finally shock.

They had confirmed that Ise had come alone.

The independent cultivator's expression hardened, almost furious.

“Don't tell me... you followed me alone?”

“Did you kill the Great Exorcist Order entry disciples?”

“I even used a Swiftbody Talisman, a talisman that speeds the body, and you were chasing me alone?”

“So it was you.”

“You arrogant brat. This senior asks you a question, and you only say what you want?”

Ise continued walking toward them. The independent cultivator narrowed their eyes.

“You little whelp...!”

They slowly straightened.

“Not content with playing tricks, you dare challenge me alone? Even if you're the top entry disciple, do you think a mere gap in realms amounts to nothing?”

As expected, the independent cultivator had already identified Ise.

No further proof was needed.

He only needed to capture them and recover the victims' belongings, or force a confession if the belongings were gone. The Great Exorcist Order's senior cultivators would take care of the rest.

Ise raised his hand, and Fireball surged forth.

The independent cultivator reached behind them. A yellow shield appeared from nowhere and took the Fireball head-on.

A loud boom rang out. The shield was completely unscathed.

Large words were written across the spirit artifact.

Yellow Great Parasol.

Ise had thought the bastard was bluffing. They actually possessed such a spirit artifact.

Yet that was not what truly surprised him.

Yellow Great Parasol was too large to conceal inside one's clothes.

That left only one possibility.

A storage pouch.

The bastard had a storage pouch...!

Ise's eyes gleamed. This was an unexpected prize.

For Qi Condensation Realm cultivators, it was the spirit artifact of their dreams. If not for its impossible price, Ise would have emptied every resource he owned to obtain one. And now, that highest-priority artifact was right before his eyes.

He restrained the desire rising within him. Defeating the enemy before him came first.

Earth Spear and Fireball flew out in turns.

He launched the spells quickly and with force, but Yellow Great Parasol blocked every one.

As described, it was a defensive spirit artifact perfectly suited for the left hand. It might even block one or two spells from a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator.

“I thought you were at the fourth star, but you're at the fifth. Your spellcasting is decent for someone who just reached the fifth star, but that's all.”

The independent cultivator seemed to have recovered their composure, wearing a confident expression. It was true that it would be difficult to hurt them by firing spells from afar.

“The Great Exorcist Order will lose one promising disciple today. I will drink a toast with your blood.”

“You really don't shut up.”

Ise dismissed them with a few words, gripped his hatchet, and leaped forward.

The independent cultivator formed hand seals and fired three flaming arrows.

Ping! Ping! Ping! Ise dodged the fire arrows that tore through the air by shifting to the side. He blocked the next fire arrow with Water Wall, a water-element spell.

The independent cultivator relentlessly pressed him, mixing spells cast through hand seals with spells triggered through spirit artifacts.

Before long, Ise was on the defensive. The absurd number of spirit artifacts was certainly troublesome.

Putting aside the pointless thought that it was a shame to waste such valuable spirit artifacts, Ise unleashed the Shadow Net Formation of the Dokkaebi Shadow-Hunting Demonic Art.

Shadows pulled free from the trees, transformed into a net, and rushed at the independent cultivator.

“A non-elemental spell? You hid your realm...”

The net spread in every direction in an instant. The independent cultivator failed to react in time and was bound by the Shadow Net Formation.

Their physical abilities were certainly inferior to those of Great Exorcist Order disciples.

Still, they must have been hiding something else. Something inside their clothes flashed, and the Shadow Net Formation disappeared in an instant.

An automatic defensive talisman, apparently.

The independent cultivator had now lost their composure. Without a word, they took a black pellet from their clothes.

A poison pellet.

They swallowed an Antidote Pellet, then threw the poison pellet onto the ground.

Purple smoke spread like mountain mist.

Ise quickly leaped into a tree and disappeared from sight.

“You squirrel-like little bastard...!”

The independent cultivator fired flaming arrows in irritation. The trees caught fire, and smoke rose into the air.

“Die! Just die!”

Boom! Boom boom! Even with their vision obscured by the mist, the independent cultivator did not stop attacking.

It was as though they hoped Ise would be struck by a blind shot.

Then Ise burst from the smoke to their left.

The independent cultivator threw several bomb-like spirit artifacts in succession.

Ise moved like an afterimage and slipped past them all.

His hatchet flashed as he rushed in.

The independent cultivator grimaced and activated a spirit artifact. Ise retreated, and in the next moment, a massive Stone Hand appeared from thin air and struck the empty ground.

It was maddeningly uncanny.

No matter how many fairly valuable consumable spirit artifacts they threw, none of them hit him.

‘What kind of movement is that...?’

It was like watching a dokkaebi that appeared here one moment and there the next.

They were clearly in the same realm, and the independent cultivator had far more spirit artifacts. Yet the certainty that they could win was fading.

The bastard was a cultivator unbelievably accustomed to battle.

This was a threat unlike anything the independent cultivator had felt while hunting cultivators until now.

They were someone who laid traps, ambushed their prey, and enjoyed one-sided slaughter.

A direct battle of attrition was not their style.

‘Then I'll pour everything into this.’

After collecting their thoughts, the independent cultivator changed tactics and held Yellow Great Parasol before them.

They would block spells from afar with Yellow Great Parasol.

If Ise came close, they would drag out a battle of attrition while inflicting as much damage as possible. Whoever tired first would lose.

And if the bastard's hidden spiritual energy proved stronger than expected... they could use that.

Just as they finished thinking, a stream of water curved toward them. As expected, it struck Yellow Great Parasol and vanished.

At the same time, the young cultivator charged in.

The independent cultivator tried to leap backward and create distance.

Something caught their ankle.

“Ugh...!”

Their own shadow had wrapped around their ankle.

They barely avoided falling over, but as they staggered, Ise rushed at them.

The boy's expressionless face and gleaming hatchet made him look like a vicious fiend risen from hell.

Choosing that bastard as prey had been a mistake.

The independent cultivator readily admitted it.

But Ise had also made a mistake. He had chosen the wrong opponent.

At this distance, even a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator could not survive.

The independent cultivator opened their mouth.

“Ha ha ha! Die, you bastard!”

Needle-Launching Armor.

It was the fortuitous encounter that had saved their life through countless crises, and even allowed them to hunt senior independent cultivators.

The moment the treasure artifact activated, a storm of needles would turn the area into a wasteland.

Light began to seep from Needle-Launching Armor.

But it went out almost immediately.

It happened right after the boy pulled the banner spear from his back and planted it in the ground.

“Why isn't this...?”

The independent cultivator's hands trembled as they stared at the treasure artifact that would not activate.

The enemy's hatchet was already flying at them like the jaws of a beast.

They tried to cast a defensive spell, but their spiritual energy would not obey.

They had no idea what was happening.

Ise's hatchet poured out pitch-black darkness and severed the entire arm holding the shield.

“What is this...?!”

Before the scream could even leave their mouth, their other arm vanished.

The independent cultivator howled in agony as blood sprayed into the air.

Ise walked over slowly and picked up Yellow Great Parasol from the ground.

But the cultivator, having lost their spiritual energy, could not resist. They could only shriek helplessly.

“Don't touch that, it's mine...!”

“Why is this yours?”

Ise strapped Yellow Great Parasol to his wrist.

It had a pleasantly solid weight.

Then he used the Shadow Net Formation to bind the independent cultivator.

After kicking them to the ground, he searched their clothes. Spirit artifacts spilled out.

Among the talismans and bombs, a high-quality waist guard caught the light and gleamed.

And hanging from one side of it was a leather pouch.

A storage pouch.

“If you resist, I'll cut off both your legs too.”

The independent cultivator continued shouting that this was impossible, but Ise ignored them. He picked up the storage pouch and examined it from every angle.

A storage pouch.

It was a storage pouch.

Ise smiled silently.

Footnotes:

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