Almighty God of War - Chapter 137

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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137

 

Four months had passed since Guyang Cheongang arrived at Dongryeong Salt Field.

 

It had been late spring when he arrived, but before he knew it, autumn had come.

 

The time when he wasn’t teaching the Jagang Corps and Baek Muok was spent entirely in cultivation within the training room.

 

It was a process of hammering the rough molten metal of three cycles’ worth of internal energy, forging it into a single steel core.

 

As his cultivation entered its second month.

 

His dantian burned like boiling molten metal, and the meridians throughout his body screamed like iron being hammered.

 

Only the cold sweat pouring like rain from the forehead of him sitting with eyes closed in lotus position hinted at the depth of pain he was enduring.

 

Entering the third month, the chaos that had been raging within him gradually began to find order.

 

Guyang Cheongang slowly opened his eyes after finishing his energy circulation and breath control.

 

“Huuu…”

 

The breath expelled from his mouth became highly compressed pure vital energy that filled the room.

 

The vast ocean of internal energy that had previously filled his dantian was gone.

 

In its place, a clear core the size of a walnut was rotating, as if it had swallowed all the stars in the night sky.

 

The universe of three cycles’ worth of internal energy had condensed into a single star. Though its volume had decreased, its mass and density were incomparable to before.

 

It felt like compressing and forging a massive pile of coal to create a single diamond.

 

Guyang Cheongang slowly extended his hand toward midair.

 

Shiiiiiiik-!

 

The sword energy that bloomed from his fingertips was no longer thread-thin.

 

As thick as a fingernail and clear and transparent like sharply forged crystal, it contained a terrifying density.

 

From the fourth month of cultivation onward, strange things began happening in his dantian.

 

Though his internal energy continued to compress, his dantian did not shrink.

 

That place seemed to be reborn as an even more vast and deep abyss than before, one that absorbed everything.

 

The Transcendent Impermanence Divine Art, whose efficiency had increased more than fivefold, devoured natural energy like a predator, as if trying to fill that hungry abyss.

 

The internal energy accumulated this way was compressed again to create an even deeper abyss, and that abyss absorbed the world’s energy with even greater force.

 

It was a realm that could not be fully explained by the word “virtuous cycle.”

 

When his dantian absorbed the spiritual energy of the universe, that spiritual energy was compressed to create an even deeper and more vast void.

 

An infinite cycle where the more it was emptied, the more vastly it was filled, and the more it was filled, the deeper it became.

 

A living taiji had taken residence within his body.

 

And within that infinite cycle, he sensed another change.

 

The extreme yin energy of the vicious Nine Yin Severed Meridians that had constricted his very existence was losing power like darkness gradually fading before brilliant light.

 

On the day the fifth major acupoint collapsed, they had hidden deep within his meridians like defeated soldiers and could no longer pose a great threat.

 

Rather, their very existence was slowly evaporating before the power of the circulating taiji that had taken residence within his body.

 

Guyang Cheongang intuited that the tightly closed city gate of the sixth major acupoint would not hold out much longer.

 

It was one morning in the fifth month since arriving at the salt fields, four months having passed.

 

Seeing Guyang Cheongang emerge from the training room, Baek Muok unconsciously held his breath.

 

His master’s appearance was exactly the same as yesterday.

 

But something contained within had fundamentally become a different existence.

 

He had always had mysterious aspects, but now he felt like a vast ocean whose depths could not be fathomed.

 

And most of all….

 

“When I’m by Master’s side… somehow my heart feels at peace.”

 

Baek Muok spoke with a dazed expression.

 

“Is that so?”

 

“Yes. It’s like… standing under the shade of a giant tree that would never sway even if storms and rain came.”

 

At the child’s words, a faint smile appeared on Guyang Cheongang’s lips.

 

Four months of cultivation.

 

He was standing right at the threshold of the Transformation Realm.

 

Baek Muok, born with the Heavenly Killing Star, must have instinctively sensed that change in qi that ordinary people could not perceive.

 

‘But… there’s still a long way to go.’

 

Guyang Cheongang’s gaze was directed beyond the threshold, toward the new realm that appeared as distant as a mirage.

 

* * *

 

A pitch-black night with the moon hiding behind thick clouds.

 

A massive fleet was silently cutting through the sea, heading north.

 

The procession of fifty-two ships was like an endless black mountain range.

 

Im Bang, standing at the bow of the command ship, was lost in thought as he gazed at the sea shrouded in darkness.

 

A month and a half since Chae Mungyeong of Golden Tower Manor had visited Dongban Island.

 

Information gathering about Dongryeong Salt Field and preparations for the long-distance expedition were complete.

 

Sect Leader Hyeok Seung had entrusted him with three thousand troops, half of the White Whale Gang’s total strength, and ordered him to destroy Dongryeong Salt Field.

 

Over two thousand li of sea route from Dongban Island to this place.

 

Ten days had already passed since Im Bang completed all preparations and departed.

 

“Vice Sect Leader.”

 

Im Bang, who had been staring into the darkness from the bow of the command ship, turned around.

 

Jo Yang, his right-hand man with the Blood Right Sword, was striding toward him.

 

“What is it?”

 

“If the wind helps us, we’ll reach Dongryeong Salt Field in ten days. But….”

 

Jo Yang trailed off.

 

Fierce killing intent flashed in Im Bang’s eyes.

 

“Speak.”

 

“The subordinates are feeling a bit anxious. They’re asking if it’s really okay to mess with a place that’s rumored to be openly protected by the Emperor, not just some coastal village….”

 

“Kekeke.”

 

Im Bang’s laughter, like scraping metal, scattered on the night wind.

 

Jo Yang unconsciously shrank back at the chilling aura emanating from his entire body.

 

Im Bang spoke.

 

“It’s not like the Emperor will crawl out into the sea, so what are they afraid of? What’s so great about the Hwan Empire’s navy?”

 

“But….”

 

“Those bastards rotted by hundreds of years of maritime isolation policy – what could they do to us? Even if we clash head-on, we just need to run away. They have neither the guts nor the skill to chase us to the open sea.”

 

Im Bang’s eyes grew even sharper as he continued speaking.

 

“Don’t you still understand why the Sect Leader accepted Golden Tower Manor’s request? This is a matter of our survival.”

 

“Survival?”

 

“If Dongryeong Salt Field keeps pouring out salt like that, our illegal salt business will be ruined. What do you think will happen then?”

 

“Well, our subordinates’ complaints would pierce the heavens.”

 

“We’d be lucky if that’s all.”

 

“Are there other problems too?”

 

Im Bang bared his yellowed teeth in a grin and spat out a single phrase.

 

“Four Seas Trading Company.”

 

“What?”

 

“Complete maritime control of the Yellow Sea will pass to those bastards.”

 

Four Seas Trading Company belonged to the Great Merchant Alliance, one of the Five Great Powers Under Heaven, and had grown through maritime business.

 

The sound of bones cracking came from Im Bang’s tightly clenched fist.

 

“Right now we’re barely maintaining a balance of power with those sons of bitches. If we get caught up in internal strife at a time like this, do you think Four Seas Trading Company will just sit still?”

 

Jo Yang’s eyes turned murderous.

 

“They’ll immediately rush to tear our throats out.”

 

“Exactly. We can’t give those bastards that kind of opportunity. As you well know, even though Four Seas Trading Company is stronger than us, their advantage isn’t absolute.”

 

Jo Yang nodded.

 

“I understand. For them to completely destroy us, they’d have to be prepared to lose at least a third of their forces. That’s why they’ve been avoiding all-out war until now.”

 

The killing intent in Im Bang’s eyes grew even thicker.

 

“That’s why we must eliminate Dongryeong Salt Field. Even without Golden Tower Manor’s request, we would have had to strike at them soon anyway.”

 

Jo Yang nodded.

 

“Understood. Leave the subordinates to me. I’ll keep them well in line.”

 

“Tell them we’ll kill anyone who interferes with our White Whale Gang, no matter who they are. That’s our path to survival.”

 

The wind grew fierce.

 

Over fifty pirate ships cut through the pitch-black sea, heading north.

 

* * *

 

A night when dark clouds hung thick.

 

Sharp bell sounds that tore through the quiet stillness shook Dongryeong Salt Field.

 

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang-!

 

A middle-aged escort standing guard at the watchtower screamed.

 

“En… enemies! From the sea, enemy ships have appeared from the sea!”

 

At the tip of his trembling finger, beyond the pitch-black horizon, a massive fleet was lined up.

 

Without a single light. Dozens of large ships were approaching the coast at terrifying speed through eerie silence, like sea phantoms.

 

The first to rush out upon hearing the bell sounds were Guyang Cheongang and Jupyo.

 

Following behind them, the three hundred warriors of the Jagang Corps who had undergone hellish training for the past two months and over two hundred escorts gathered at the beach like lightning, grabbing their weapons.

 

Standing on the beach, Guyang Cheongang looked out at the dark sea with a stern expression.

 

The realm of Walking on Water Like Land or Crossing Water Like Flat Ground was still a distant domain even for him, who stood at the threshold of the Transformation Realm.

 

The sea had not yet granted him passage.

 

‘Akasha, let’s assess the situation first.’

 

[Understood, Doctor. Deploying reconnaissance nanobots into the air.]

 

From his body, thousands of nanobots invisible to the naked eye were launched dozens of zhang into the sky.

 

A moment later, a clear three-dimensional video unfolded in his mind, perfectly capturing the pitch-black sea.

 

[Enemy ships are Fujian-style large sailing ships, fifty-two in total. Distance 1 kilometer. Speed 5 knots. Estimated arrival at coast in 8 minutes. Each ship carries a minimum of forty to a maximum of sixty personnel. Total forces estimated between a minimum of two thousand and maximum of three thousand.]

 

Guyang Cheongang clicked his tongue inwardly.

 

‘That’s a lot…’

 

[The objective force ratio between enemy and ally is…]

 

‘No need to say it.’

 

Five hundred against at least two thousand.

 

Though objectively it could be called a desperate situation, Guyang Cheongang’s eyes showed no wavering.

 

Jupyo spoke with a dark expression.

 

“From the sea… This is an unexpected situation. Grand Young Master, can you see how many ships there are? This old man’s abilities are insufficient to confirm.”

 

“The number of enemy ships is fifty-two. Each ship seems to carry about forty to fifty people.”

 

Jupyo’s complexion hardened.

 

“Then that means there are over twenty-five hundred pirates… That’s a lot.”

 

“It is a lot. But don’t worry too much.”

 

“I know the Grand Young Master’s martial arts are Heavenly Beyond Heaven, but even so, twenty-five hundred is not a small number.”

 

“It looks that way by numbers alone, but in reality it’s different.”

 

Guyang Cheongang’s eyes turned cold.

 

“They are divided among separate ships. The enemies I’ll face at once are only about fifty.”

 

[Doctor is correct. The distance between ships is considerable, making mutual support difficult.]

 

Guyang Cheongang continued with a confident tone.

 

“It’s possible to divide and conquer them. So this is actually an advantageous situation for us.”

 

Jupyo’s eyes, having lived seventy years through the storms of Gangho, wavered.

 

‘An advantageous situation?’

 

His mind became complicated.

 

The boats at Dongryeong Salt Field were at most a few small fishing boats that could carry five or six people.

 

Launching such boats against a pirate fleet of dozens of sailing ships would be suicide, like carrying kindling into a fire.

 

And the Grand Young Master that Jupyo knew was never a heartless person who would drive his people into a death trap.

 

Then there was only one remaining possibility.

 

An unbelievable worst-case hypothesis arose in his mind.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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