WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Satori

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◈ Wanderer of the Martial World ◈

Chapter 11

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Azure Balance Righteous Sword.

The Sect Leader of Azure Balance Gate, a martial artist who remained active as Sect Leader despite being past sixty.

And one of only two Peak Realm martial artists in Yeongheung County.

The prevailing opinion in the county was that he was stronger than the other one, the leader of the Black Sword Gang.

In other words, he was the strongest martial artist in Yeongheung County.

A man who had reached the level of manifesting sword qi outside his body, someone who could crush someone like me to death with a single finger.

When Gwak Ha-jun revealed his identity, goosebumps rose all over my body without me realizing it.

What if I had cut down Gwak Ha-jun just now?

A terrible end would have awaited me.

"Why are you here?"

Gwak Un-seok's voice was cold.

His grandson, Gwak Ha-jun, answered with a nervous stammer.

"Th-that... some yokai I'd never seen before appeared, so I took shelter..."

Even so, Gwak Ha-jun said nothing about Wang Gang.

"...Took shelter?"

"Yes. It was difficult to face them..."

Thud!

"Agh!"

Just then, Gwak Ha-jun cried out as though something had been thrown at him.

My view was blocked by the mounted riders, so I could not see exactly what had happened.

"You call yourself a direct descendant of Azure Balance Gate, yet you abandoned your subordinates and ran away?!"

The roar that made my heart tremble rang out through the wilderness at night.

"Ran... away? No, I didn't run away."

"Then what was it?"

"A strategic retreat..."

Thud!

"Argh!"

Gwak Ha-jun cried out again.

"One member of the Azure Balance Sword Squad endured his injuries and ran back to inform the sect! He is between life and death right now! Yet you, with that perfectly healthy body, are resting here?!"

Azure Balance Righteous Sword seemed extremely angry.

I wondered whether I should quietly slip away.

But that would be difficult, since I had been close to them when I tried to speak with Yi Pyeong earlier.

If I moved now, they would certainly spot me.

So I held my breath while staying as low to the ground as possible.

"I'm not... perfectly healthy. Here..."

I could picture the scene just from his words.

He was probably showing his side.

Thud!

"Agh!"

"You bastard..."

Azure Balance Righteous Sword sounded utterly furious.

"...This is urgent, so go back and confine yourself. Your punishment will be decided later."

"What? No!"

"Shut up! Say one more word and I'll tear your mouth apart."

As expected of someone mad enough to reach the Peak Realm, he spoke like a serial killer.

"...Yes."

Gwak Ha-jun's voice nearly crawled into the ground.

"Who are these people? And who is that rat hiding over there?"

As Azure Balance Righteous Sword spoke as though swallowing his anger, I had a strong feeling that I was the rat in question.

"What? Ah. They're the wandering martial artists who helped me."

Only then did I rise.

The mounted martial artists near me were glaring at me.

Sweat trickled down my back without me realizing it.

"Hmph! Useless lot. Let's go!"

"Yes!"

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

The martial artists led by Azure Balance Righteous Sword swiftly left the clearing.

They really must have something urgent to deal with.

And I could roughly guess what it was.

The bipedal yokai that resembled Sanhwi, which I had thought was at the level of a demonic beast.

They were likely hurrying to kill it.

A Peak Realm martial artist could kill a demonic beast.

"Jun."

After the martial artists left, only two remained.

One was the middle-aged Young Gate Master I had seen before, the Blue Chivalrous Sword.

In other words, Gwak Ha-jun's father.

"...Father."

"Hoo... I'll assign you a disciple for now, so return with him."

"What? Thank you."

"Hoo..."

Blue Chivalrous Sword sighed as though he pitied him, then looked over the faces of Yi Pyeong's group, including mine.

As though he intended to remember every one of us.

That was when I realized my plan to kill someone had gone completely wrong.

Now that Blue Chivalrous Sword knew who I was, dealing with Gwak Ha-jun would be difficult.

Especially with the martial artist assigned to him.

Suppressing the sigh that tried to escape, I turned my gaze away slightly.

Blue Chivalrous Sword had been watching me for an uncomfortably long time.

We took a brief rest not far from Yeongheung County.

I learned from the martial artist Blue Chivalrous Sword had sent along that Gwak Ha-jun's standing within the sect was terrible.

Even though he was mounted, he had not yielded his horse to Gwak Ha-jun.

As a result, the young master of Azure Balance Gate walked while that bastard rode.

Even during our rest, he stood far away and watched us with a look that said we were pathetic.

"Jeong-un."

Yi Pyeong sat beside me and spoke softly.

The plan I had considered yesterday had ended before I could even put it into action.

Without showing the lingering bitterness in my heart, I answered him.

"Yes."

"Um... Were you asked too?"

"Asked what?"

"Uh... The young master said he wanted us to escort him."

"..."

Gwak Ha-jun had kept running around and talking to people throughout our journey.

Only now did I understand why.

I also realized why he had not mentioned what he said to me.

It would not be good for others to know that he had arranged outside cooperation.

"Hoo... I'm going to do it."

"What?"

Could he not see how things were going?

Had Gwak Ha-jun not told him that Wang Gang had tried to kill him?

As though he had read my expression, he stared blankly into the air and spoke.

"I know. I heard about what happened with Wang Gang yesterday, too."

Yi Pyeong had scraped by as a wandering martial artist for decades.

There was no way someone like him would fail to understand what I understood at once.

"Even so, I'm going to do it."

A man who had spent decades as a wandering martial artist without advancing beyond third-rate.

I could understand well enough why he had made this choice.

It was because of martial arts.

"It'll be dangerous."

"Hahaha. I know. But when has it ever not been dangerous?"

I gave a slight nod at his lamenting words.

He was right.

At the same time, I understood why Gwak Ha-jun wanted these people as escorts.

Even without qi, they could protect him with their bodies.

He intended to use people as shields.

That was not uncommon either.

"Maybe we'll survive somehow."

"Is everyone doing it?"

"No. Yi So-gang and Jo Man-sik refused."

Yi So-gang, a wandering martial artist who felt more like a scholar, and Jo Man-sik, whom I had not known long enough to understand well.

"I see."

"Yes... Um... Never mind."

What had he been about to say?

Was he going to ask me to join them? Or say that he would not, then ask me to teach him my inner-energy method?

The latter was not something I could agree to.

Honestly, under normal circumstances, I might have taught Yi Pyeong my inner-energy method.

I had intended to teach Gu Deok at the inn as well.

But now I knew that the Yodan had produced a strange reaction.

If I taught it carelessly and the truth leaked out, I could suffer a terrible misfortune.

That was why I could never teach it to anyone.

Not long after that uncomfortable conversation, we entered Yeongheung County.

"Jeong-un! Go on in."

Yi So-gang and Jo Man-sik had already gone home.

With some concern in my heart, I said goodbye to Yi Pyeong.

They said they would immediately enter Azure Balance Gate with Gwak Ha-jun.

On my way home, I was exhausted.

No matter how much internal energy I had gained and how much stronger my stamina had become, spending time in the wilderness left me feeling drained.

It was a place where I had no choice but to remain tense all day.

And this time, I had fought a Gersu, fled like mad, and spent a sleepless night.

My body felt stiffer than usual.

I wanted to go home, wash up, sleep deeply, and spend time with Seoryeong.

Thinking of Seoryeong, it felt as though the fragrant scent of her flesh brushed past my nose.

I missed her soft skin and sweet lips.

Hm... I should wash up, at least steal a kiss, and then sleep.

I noticed something was wrong when I was nearly home.

More than ten people were dragging Seoryeong and Gyeong out of Seoryeong's house.

A blaze of anger rose inside me and clouded my mind.

"Stop!"

Perhaps because of that, a rough shout escaped me without thought.

Maybe my eyes had already gone wild, because I did not notice that they wore neat martial uniforms and had trained bodies.

No, I noticed, but did not register it.

I rushed toward them.

"Mister!"

Gyeong called for me as though screaming.

"No!"

I heard Seoryeong trying to stop me.

But I did not care.

I immediately lunged at the one standing on the outside.

My straight saber was already drawn, glinting in the sunlight as it swung at him.

A cut cleaner than usual poured toward him.

Clang!

But it was blocked by the sword he swiftly drew.

Only then did I realize these were not easy opponents.

But I had no other choice.

I had to save them.

After engraving a plan in my mind to make as much commotion as possible while fighting, I shouted loudly.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Whoosh.

A sword swung swiftly.

The sword that had blocked mine moments ago rushed toward me.

Clang!

Just as I blocked it and tried to counterattack, the sword came at me again.

Clang!

I blocked it again. But the blade was heavier than before, forcing me back.

I have to deflect it.

Muttering inwardly, I met his sword along its path and deflected it.

"Urgh!"

But I was pushed back anyway.

As I retreated, I glimpsed my opponent's face.

He wore a mocking expression.

As though he were playing with me.

"Hup!"

I drew in as much breath as I could and charged again.

I deliberately raised my saber high and swung it down in an exaggerated motion.

Then, as his gaze focused on my straight saber, I swiftly struck his knee with the tip of my leading foot.

I put as little strength into it as possible, focusing only on speed.

"Argh!"

He clutched his knee and staggered back.

Blood stained the tiny blade protruding from the tip of my shoe.

It was a hidden mechanism in a pair of short boots I had taken because they looked quite good while searching a corpse long ago.

I had resorted to a trick because I did not think I could defeat him through skill.

I pressed my toe, retracting the small blade.

It would hinder my movement while extended.

"You bastard!"

His eyes blazing, he charged at me.

He acted as though the wound to his knee did not matter.

But... his speed was no joke.

Keeping myself as calm as possible, I made a feint.

I pretended to thrust my sword, then slipped to the side.

Thud!

"Ugh."

But he was not fooled.

First Rate.

A monster who had opened every blood acupoint required by his qi circulation method was glaring at me with fury in his eyes.

Clang! Thud!

"Urgh."

The punch to my stomach left me unable to breathe.

I felt a hand grip my head, then my face was driven into his knee.

Stars flashed before my eyes.

I desperately swung my straight saber through my blurred vision, but my ankle was swept out from under me instead.

He was too fast for me to resist.

His skill was on an entirely different level from Gwak Ha-jun, whose realm alone was First Rate.

Thud! Thud!

Kicks repeatedly slammed into my side.

I moved my arm to block them, but now kicks struck my thigh.

I swung my blade again, but my hand was struck and the saber flew away.

Then my head was hit.

Light flashed before my eyes again, and another kick left me dazed.

Helplessness.

The miserable feeling I had known only as an unranked wandering martial artist bloomed in my heart alongside the pain.

Stay calm.

In my muddled state, I steadied myself again.

Pretending to roll backward, I drew the dagger from my thigh and held it where I expected his foot to come.

Stab!

"Agh! You bastard! Die!"

The timing must have been perfect, because his foot was pierced straight through by the dagger.

He stepped back slightly in pain and raised his sword.

I could not die like this.

I had to roll away with everything I had.

"He's our benefactor!"

"Stop."

Seoryeong's voice and a deep male voice sounded almost at the same time.

Feeling a chill, I turned my head to see my opponent's sword at my throat.

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