Almighty God of War - Chapter 207

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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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207

Guyang Cheongang, left alone, picked up his cold teacup.

A faint sigh scattered through the empty pavilion.

‘Akasha.’

As he called out, an immediate response echoed in his mind.

[Yes, Doctor. Please speak.]

‘You said you’d transform my body into an indestructible vajra form, but you never mentioned making me into some demon-like handsome man.’

It was clearly a complaint.

Though his original appearance before Akasha’s intervention had been handsome, it was incomparable to now.

‘Thanks to you, it’s difficult to show my face comfortably wherever I go.’

It wasn’t an empty complaint.

Since leaving Pungnimgok, Guyang Cheongang had to endure the gazes of not only Namgung Ram but everyone they encountered on the road.

Since he couldn’t hide under his bamboo hat all day, there were inevitably moments when his bare face was revealed.

Each time, the scenery would freeze in unison.

People would hold their breath and whisper as if by agreement, and Guyang Cheongang found their blatant gazes mixed with admiration and awe quite troublesome.

[It’s my preference. Please respect it.]

Akasha’s following voice was utterly shameless.

[When activating the body modification process, I set the aesthetic standards entirely myself. I pursued the optimal proportions and aesthetic harmony that humans can achieve, and I am extremely satisfied with this result.]

‘…What?’

[Doctor’s appearance is the greatest work of art I have created. Any further complaints are irrational.]

At her utterly shameless words, Guyang Cheongang swallowed a hollow laugh.

Since there was no way to break Akasha’s stubbornness or restore his already transformed face, he had no choice but to back down.

‘…Fine. Let’s stop this.’

His surrender was swift.

He set down his teacup and raised his head to look up at the night sky.

It was a peaceful night where cascading stars formed the Milky Way, and the full moon’s light gently bathed the world.

Tomorrow they would set foot in Jiangxi Province’s territory.

He would bid farewell to Namgung Ram, and the distance to the Guyang Family Estate would be shortened accordingly.

The arduous journey home was now racing toward its end.

But that would not be a period, merely another beginning.

Though he couldn’t know what turmoil awaited in Jiangxi Province, or what bonds and enmities would intertwine there, the story would continue to flow without stopping.

Guyang Cheongang left the pavilion and headed toward his room.

The next morning.

Namgung Ram, along with the Changung Sword Disciples, saw off Guyang Cheongang’s party as they headed toward Jeun Mountain.

Dressed in pure white light armor and martial robes, she performed a disciplined cupped fist salute, and Guyang Cheongang returned the courtesy.

“Hero Guyang, I pray for your continued good health until the moment you set foot in the Guyang Family Estate. Please take care of yourself.”

Guyang Cheongang nodded lightly.

“Thank you, Young Lady Namgung.”

Though it was a brief response, it contained the unspoken trust built over more than ten days.

The Changung Sword Disciples also performed cupped fist salutes in unison, wishing for the hero’s safety, and soon the party turned their horses toward Jeun Mountain.

Namgung Ram watched their retreating figures for a long while.

As she watched Guyang Cheongang’s back, shimmering in the sunlight, fade into the distance, one of the sword disciples approached her.

“Miss, it’s time we should return.”

Namgung Ram turned around cleanly and mounted her horse.

As if not wanting to leave any lingering attachment, she cracked her whip without looking back even once.

“Let’s go.”

* * *

Jeun Mountain was a massive mountain range spanning the border between Anhui and Gangxi.

Though it was a vast mountain extending hundreds of li in all directions, the altitude wasn’t very high, making the paths gentle.

The road worn by merchants traveling between the two cities was well-maintained like an official road, perfectly adequate for horseback travel.

Around mid-afternoon, the party entered the proper mountain path.

Occasionally, merchants they encountered on the road would yield the way and bow their heads, overwhelmed by Guyang Cheongang’s party’s imposing presence.

Darkness falls quickly in the mountains.

When all directions were shrouded in darkness, Neungnam Gwang approached Guyang Cheongang and spoke.

“This brother has crossed this path more than ten times.”

His voice carried the weight of a wandering warrior who had roamed Gangho his entire life.

“When you live a drifting life for long, even mountain paths like this become second nature. Just by looking at the terrain, you can tell where’s suitable for ambushes and where’s good for spending the night.”

Neungnam Gwang skillfully led the party off the mountain path into a forest thick with massive rocks and old pines.

Though it was a pathless forest, Neungnam Gwang’s steps showed no hesitation.

After going about a hundred zhang, old stone pillars with completely worn inscriptions appeared, and beyond them, a ruined shrine revealed itself.

A half-collapsed roof, blackened walls, and a courtyard overgrown with weeds.

The place was pervaded by the desolation of long abandonment.

“Here it is.”

Neungnam Gwang dismounted his horse and laughed heartily.

“This is when a lifetime of eating at different homes and sleeping in different places while roaming the rivers and mountains pays off. This shrine is a secret place known only to those who know.”

Inside the shrine, the party secured a space with remaining roof to shelter from wind and rain, unpacked their belongings, and lit a fire.

Guyang Cheongang sat Baek Muwok beside him to tend to his energy, while Neungnam Gwang walked around examining every corner of the shrine.

When the sun completely set, the world was plunged into deep darkness.

Only the flickering light of the campfire illuminated the shrine’s interior, while beyond lay nothing but chilling darkness.

As the night deepened, an unexpected change began to occur.

A drizzle started to fall.

What began as fine raindrops gradually caused the humidity to rise abnormally, making the air settle heavy and damp.

And along with the rain, a strange current pressed down on the shrine.

It felt like black clouds had descended right above the roof.

The sound of grass swaying in the rainwater seemed like precarious screams, and the darkness grew thicker and more viscous.

Guyang Cheongang’s eyes flashed.

Neungnam Gwang, Dam Jin, and Hyang San also simultaneously sensed the alien energy and frowned.

This couldn’t be seen as ordinary weather changes.

It felt as if some living energy was tightly coiling around the entire shrine.

Neungnam Gwang clicked his tongue and muttered.

“Damn! Are uninvited guests baring their teeth as soon as we leave Anhui? Still, this is too soon.”

Guyang Cheongang rose from his seat and went outside.

The rainwater touching his face was cold, but within that fishy smell, unfamiliar impurities were mixed.

‘Akasha.’

[Doctor, I’ve detected abnormal high-energy reactions. The pattern is extremely sophisticated and intentional.]

Someone was casting an invisible net around the shrine.

Though subtle enough that anyone below Hwa Gyeong level wouldn’t notice, its concentration was growing thicker with time.

The rain continued, and the darkness enveloping the shrine now took on an eerie chill as it became distinct.

Beyond the rain-soaked black walls of the shrine and the bizarrely swaying grass grown to human height, something seemed to be breathing roughly.

Suddenly,

“Keuaaaaaaak-!”

A desperate wail tore through the silence from somewhere.

Simultaneously, the drizzle scattered in all directions.

The air around the shrine vibrated madly, and sinister energy swept over the party.

Guyang Cheongang slowly rose from his position.

“As they say, ‘The good do not come, and those who come are not good.'”

His voice was calm.

“How about you stop playing ghost and show yourself.”

A sinister laugh like scraping echoed from within the darkness.

“Hehehe, after slaughtering a few ghost soldiers of the Heavenly Death Department, this young brat has become insufferably arrogant.”

The shrine courtyard brightened as it was enveloped in eerie mist.

Two human silhouettes emerged beyond the swirling rain.

One was a half-gray blue-robed old man with icy eyes and protruding cheekbones, and the other a middle-aged man with distinctively long, blackened fingers.

Seeing them, Neungnam Gwang sent a sound transmission to Guyang Cheongang.

[Those are Black Wind Guest Jin Hoe and Five Poison Bird Bu Gyeom. Both are elders of the Gunma Alliance. They’re masters of the Fatal Brush Technique and Poison Eagle Claw Method respectively, and they’re no less skilled than Yohwarang and Dokpaja, so don’t let your guard down.]

Guyang Cheongang’s eyes narrowed.

Without showing the slightest sign of tension, he spoke in an indifferent tone.

“Seeing two elders of the Gunma Alliance grace this old shrine with their presence, you must be quite covetous of Pungnimgok’s treasures.”

His tone was clearly mocking.

In that instant, Jin Hoe’s eyes gleamed sinisterly.

They rarely appeared in Gangho, so while people knew their aliases, few could recognize their faces.

Yet Guyang Cheongang had seen through their identities at a glance.

Jin Hoe quickly scanned Neungnam Gwang, Dam Jin, and Hyang San standing beside Guyang Cheongang.

He was certain they had used sound transmission, but since they were disguised, he couldn’t identify them.

Guyang Cheongang’s cold, mocking words continued.

“You both know well that your strength alone cannot pressure me. If you miscalculate, you’ll face a terrible fate in your old age. You’d better reveal your hidden forces.”

A sinister smile spread across Jin Hoe’s face.

“The young master of the Guyang family has quite the silver tongue.”

He clasped his hands behind his back as he continued.

“You’re right. This protector has brought someone who would make even a brazen fool like you faint from shock.”

As if those words were a signal, laughter filled with terrifying internal energy that shook the entire shrine tore at their eardrums.

“Kekekekeke-!”

The shrine’s walls shook as if about to collapse, and the few remaining roof tiles came cascading down.

“They said you were troublesome enough, and indeed, it would have been disastrous if this lord hadn’t come personally.”

Before the voice had even faded.

Cutting through the pitch-black darkness, a shadow approached, hands clasped behind its back, stepping through midair as if on stairs.

Though merely a diminutive old man of five feet, as he glided through the air with his black robe fluttering, an indescribable sense of intimidation emanated from him.

With each step he took, there was an overwhelming presence as if the entire weight of Jeun Mountain was crashing down at once.

Seeing him, Neungnam Gwang’s complexion instantly turned ashen.

Even when facing Jin Hoe and Bu Gyeom, elders of the Gunma Alliance, though he felt surprise, his spirit had never been broken.

But the moment he witnessed the old man approaching with his black robe billowing, Neungnam Gwang’s composure crumbled like a sandcastle.

His eyes were filled with undisguisable primal fear, shaking violently.

Sharp tension flashed through Guyang Cheongang’s eyes like an arrow.

At the same time, Akasha’s voice hammered fiercely at his consciousness.

[The target’s aura exceeds the calculation range of mid-level Transformation Realm. 99% probability of being a high-level Transformation Realm master.]

Following that, Neungnam Gwang’s tense sound transmission struck Guyang Cheongang’s ears.

[Ah, brother… That elder demon is Elder Geumjong, the supreme elder of the Gunma Alliance. He’s the master of the Golden Bell Demonic Arts who shook All Under Heaven with a palm-sized golden bell. He’s already over one hundred twenty years old and is a legendary great demon who has only practiced in seclusion deep within the Gunma Alliance for decades…]

Guyang Cheongang’s gaze grew heavy.

Neungnam Gwang had confirmed Akasha’s words.

The fact that a being called an absolute master of high-level Transformation Realm had personally emerged meant the Gunma Alliance judged Guyang Cheongang to be a formidable enemy.

Elder Geumjong’s gaze, his black robe fluttering in the wind and rain, met Guyang Cheongang’s sunken eyes.

The air inside the shrine hardened like frozen steel.

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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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