Almighty God of War - Chapter 206

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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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206

The next morning.

Guyang Cheongang was having breakfast with his companions and preparing to depart.

Knock knock knock.

The sound of cautious knocking came from the door.

“Who is it?”

“It’s the innkeeper, sir.”

When he opened the door, a boy who appeared to be around twelve years old was standing there.

“A guest has come to see you on the first floor. They said to tell you they’re from Namgung Sega.”

Guyang Cheongang’s eyes subtly changed.

“I understand. I’ll come down shortly.”

Pulling down his bamboo hat, Guyang Cheongang descended the stairs to the inn’s first floor, where eleven men and women came into view.

Ten martial artists dressed in neat silk martial robes with a bluish tint, and one peerless beauty.

The cool aura of the Azure-Robed Martial Artists standing in perfect formation while gripping their swords proved they were the elite of Namgung Sega, the Changung Sword Disciples.

Before them stood a woman with noble bearing.

Dressed in pure white light armor, she was as cold and radiant as a newly bloomed frost flower.

It was Namgung Ram, the White Phoenix.

A smile appeared on her lips as her eyes met Guyang Cheongang’s as he descended the stairs.

When he reached the first floor and stopped walking, she took a cupped fist salute and spoke.

“I am Namgung Ram of Namgung Sega, Hero Guyang.”

Her voice was clear and pure like rolling jade beads, becoming more pleasant the more one listened.

Guyang Cheongang returned the cupped fist salute and said.

“I am Guyang Cheongang.”

It was a dry greeting without any emotion mixed in.

The eyebrows of the Changung Sword Disciples twitched at his attitude of seemingly erecting an invisible wall.

“What brings you here?”

At the direct question, Namgung Ram smiled gently.

“Our Namgung Sega would like to escort Hero Guyang until you reach the borders of Jiangxi Province. Since there are quite a few who are targeting you, Hero, if you travel with us, you should be able to avoid unnecessary troubles.”

At that moment, Guyang Cheongang slightly furrowed his brow.

His expression hardened instantly, and cold light flashed from his eyes.

“There must be a reason for offering such kindness now, when we’ve already passed half of Anhui Province…”

His following voice was as cold as ice.

“It’s not very welcome. I decline your proposal.”

It was a clear and firm refusal.

Namgung Ram’s smile dimmed briefly, but she wasn’t flustered.

As if she had already expected this reaction, she took a deep breath and looked straight into Guyang Cheongang’s eyes.

“Your words are correct, Hero. I honestly admit that our judgment was delayed and we have caused you trouble. However…”

Weight entered her voice.

“Namgung Sega wishes to form good relations with you, Hero. I won’t deny that my proposal is both a strategic move for the future and a calculation pursuing practical benefits.”

She revealed her hand without hiding it, wearing a bitter smile.

“Just because sincere desire to help your journey is mixed with calculation and practical benefits, doesn’t that make the sincerity itself fake, does it?”

Guyang Cheongang was silent for a moment.

Her straightforward attitude of not beating around the bush gave him a strange sense of trust.

Though not pure, her honest display of human desires actually came across as not bad to him.

‘An honest woman.’

Guyang Cheongang narrowed his eyes as he looked at her.

He originally despised those who obscured the essence with clever rhetoric, or wrapped rotten pus in silk to package it as nobility.

Rather than those who coiled like snakes while speaking in circles, he much preferred Namgung Ram’s way of transparently revealing her desires.

That didn’t mean her proposal had become attractive, however.

Honesty and troublesomeness were separate issues.

Just as he was about to voice his refusal again, a familiar voice came from behind.

“Brother, how about not thinking so complicatedly and just accepting it?”

It was Neungnam Gwang.

He came down the stairs with a good-natured laugh, as if he had already grasped the situation.

“If Namgung Sega’s Changung Sword Disciples clear the path, we could walk to Jiangxi with our hands behind our backs. There’s no reason to waste energy wrestling with annoying riffraff, is there?”

It was extremely rational advice.

Guyang Cheongang looked at Neungnam Gwang once, then looked at Namgung Ram again.

From a practical perspective, there was no reason to refuse.

If they traveled with Namgung Sega leading the way, they could save time and effort dramatically.

Guyang Cheongang let out a short sigh and opened his mouth.

“…Very well. I gratefully accept Namgung Sega’s kindness.”

As soon as those words fell, a bright smile spread across Namgung Ram’s face.

“Thank you for your wise decision, Hero Guyang!”

After responding with a cupped fist salute, she immediately sent hand signals to the Changung Sword Disciples.

The Changung Sword Disciples all took cupped fist salutes and shouted in unison with discipline. Their voices resonated heavily through the inn’s air.

“It is an honor to escort Hero Guyang. So that not even a speck of obstacle can attach itself to your path, Hero, we Changung Sword Disciples will become an iron wall to serve you!”

In their perfectly coordinated movements without a moment’s disorder, the strict family traditions and discipline that Namgung Sega had maintained for hundreds of years were fully evident.

It was a strange sight where the one being escorted was annoyed, while those offering to escort were delighted as if they had achieved some great feat.

However, the atmosphere flowing between them had become much lighter than at first.

After Namgung Ram joined them, the group’s journey was peaceful.

At the front of the formation flew a blue flag symbolizing Namgung Sega’s majesty, with the elite Changung Sword Disciples providing ironclad escort on both sides.

Overwhelmed by their fierce aura, no one blocked their path.

Though unidentifiable figures lurked around the periphery, they dared not set foot under Namgung’s banner.

Nearly half a month’s journey passed smoothly without a single clash.

Thanks to this, the group was able to reach the foothills of Jeun Mountain, the border between Anhui Province and Jiangxi Province, faster than expected.

At the base of the mountain was a village where several hundred households lived clustered together.

Though not large in scale, it was quite lively as it was a crossroads where miraculous medicinal herbs and timber from the mountains gathered.

On one side of the village was Sojang Manor.

It was a villa where Namgung Sega people stayed when traveling to and from Jiangxi Province, with a resident caretaker who always kept it neat and tidy.

The group arrived around sunset.

The caretaker, who had received advance notice, rushed out to greet them with utmost courtesy, guided them to their rooms, and served a prepared dinner.

After the meal, the group dispersed to their assigned rooms.

About an hour later.

The sound of someone approaching Guyang Cheongang’s quarters could be heard.

That movement technique, light and elegant like a falling feather, was definitely that of a woman.

In front of the room stood two men and women like shadows.

A man in his mid-fifties with ordinary features and a plain woman in her early thirties. They were Gyo Myosangin and Lady Bloodrose, their identities concealed with human skin masks.

Before them stopped Namgung Ram in elegant attire, wearing a lustrous jade hairpin in her hair and dressed in a light blue silk skirt.

“I wish to see Hero Guyang.”

Her attitude was extremely respectful.

Dam Jin lightly bowed his head, went inside, and soon came back out.

“Please enter.”

As Namgung Ram crossed the threshold, she unconsciously swallowed dry saliva.

The moment she passed by Dam Jin and Hyang San, deep wonder flashed in her eyes.

‘These two people… what exactly are their identities?’

For the past ten-odd days, Dam Jin and Hyang San had thoroughly concealed their aura.

They served Guyang Cheongang with heads bowed like ordinary servants, never once showing signs of having learned martial arts.

But Namgung Ram’s senses could not be deceived.

Occasionally when their gazes met, chills that seemed to freeze her to the bone would rise, and instinctive fear would surge from her toes like a herbivore before a massive predator.

The overwhelming pressure made her, who had reached the early stages of the pinnacle realm, feel like a small child.

This was a phenomenon that only appeared when the gap in martial prowess was vastly different.

‘Even the servants are at least masters of the Transformation Realm level.’

A shiver ran through her entire body.

What kind of existence was Guyang Cheongang, who commanded such monster-like masters as his subordinates?

With an even more cautious heart, she passed through the garden and headed toward the pavilion.

It was a quiet night where gentle moonlight scattered over the lotus flowers in the pond.

In the pavilion at the center of the pond, where a single lantern cast soft light, Guyang Cheongang sat facing Baek Muok, teaching him something.

“The essence of the Infinite Return to Origin Mind Method ultimately lies in circulation.”

Guyang Cheongang’s low voice flowed through the night air.

“All streams return to the source—all energy eventually returns to one origin, and that one unfolds again into infinite harmony. If you comprehend this principle, you will achieve mastery of the Infinite Return to Origin Mind Method.”

Baek Muok’s eyes sparkled as if he wouldn’t miss a single word of his master’s teaching.

As Namgung Ram approached the pavilion, Guyang Cheongang slowly raised his head to look at her.

He gave a faint smile and gestured to his disciple.

“Muwok, let’s stop here for today.”

“Yes, Master. Please rest comfortably.”

Baek Muok respectfully stood up and gave consecutive cupped fist salutes to both Guyang Cheongang and Namgung Ram before leaving the pavilion.

“Please sit.”

When Guyang Cheongang pointed to the seat across from him, Namgung Ram lightly arranged her skirt and sat down.

“I apologize for the intrusion at this late hour.”

“It’s fine. What brings you here?”

“Tomorrow, this journey together will come to an end.”

Namgung Ram continued while lifting her tea cup.

“Before we part, I wanted to have one last conversation with you, Hero.”

At that moment, Guyang Cheongang smiled faintly.

Unlike his usual nearly expressionless demeanor, his eyes under the moonlight were infinitely warm and gentle.

Namgung Ram’s gaze became momentarily dazed.

Though it was just an instant, feeling her heart pound violently as if it might drop, she hurriedly lowered her gaze.

‘This person really is…’

Despite watching him from close by for over ten days, his beauty was so unrealistic that it was difficult to get used to each time.

His appearance possessed a nobility that transcended gender, enough to make even herself, praised as one of Anhui Province’s three great beauties, feel shabby.

His features, as if carved by a sculptor who devoted his entire life to the work, even evoked the illusion that a demon had descended wearing human guise.

‘I need to pull myself together.’

Namgung Ram inwardly steadied herself.

However, her favorable feelings toward him weren’t solely due to his appearance.

Through their conversations over the past fortnight, she had become deeply fascinated by the inner character of the person called Guyang Cheongang.

He was exceptionally witty and completely lacked the pretense typical of prestigious family scions or the tiresome affectations that exhausted people.

Guyang Cheongang also felt a strange kinship with Namgung Ram.

She was intelligent and, above all, someone he could communicate with.

Few people were as comfortable to have by one’s side as a friend, so he felt considerable regret about the journey that would end tomorrow.

“When your party crosses into Jiangxi Province…”

Namgung Ram carefully began.

Her voice carried unmistakable concern.

“I’m worried that the bandits coveting the treasure will begin showing their true fangs. In Anhui, they’ve been lying low, intimidated by our main family’s name, but Jiangxi has no clear hegemon.”

She emphasized while gripping her tea cup tighter.

“They won’t hesitate to use any means necessary. The Heavenly Death Department suffered heavy losses to you, Hero, so they’ll likely lay low for a while, but the Gunma Alliance will be desperately determined to get their hands on you.”

Guyang Cheongang took a sip of tea, then set down his cup and replied calmly.

“Don’t worry. I have sufficient ability to take care of myself.”

His tone contained no exaggeration or bravado.

From his attitude of simply stating an immutable fact, an unapproachable confidence emanated.

Namgung Ram felt a strange sense of relief as she met those confident eyes.

‘If it’s this person, maybe he really will be fine.’

Afterward, their conversation flowed smoothly through the night air.

The topics were endless, from profound martial principles to trivial news of Gangho.

Before they knew it, half a shichen had passed like an arrow.

“I should withdraw now.”

Namgung Ram rose from her seat, leaving her regret behind.

“I feel I’ve taken up too much of your time, Hero.”

“Not at all. It was an enjoyable time.”

Guyang Cheongang also rose and escorted her outside the pavilion.

“I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

Namgung Ram’s retreating figure gradually disappeared into the darkness as she crossed the garden.

When the sound of her departing footsteps completely faded, the quiet stillness of night settled over Sojang Manor once again.

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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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