Almighty God of War - Chapter 84

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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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084

On the outskirts of the Imperial Capital, in the study of an old manor where no one treads.

In the dim darkness where only a single lantern flickered, two men sat facing each other.

One was a middle-aged man with a bamboo-thin frame and long fingers, while the other was a man with an ordinary appearance you could find anywhere.

“This is an order directly issued by that person from Golden Tower Manor.”

The slender man, Sa-an, the Imperial Capital branch leader of the Blood Vein organization, spoke in a cold voice mixed with metallic tones.

“Tonight, we burn down all the warehouses owned by Yeom Estate.”

The ordinary-looking man, Jeokgui, asked cautiously.

“You mean those warehouses that Shangguan Wana built for her salt monopoly business? But those places are only filled with useless oil and bamboo containers. Is there really a need to go that far?”

“How foolish.”

Sa-an clicked his tongue.

“Shangguan Wana is persuading the imperial court, claiming she can lower salt prices by half. The things she personally prepared with massive funding – how could they be useless?”

“I apologize. My thinking was shallow, Branch Leader.”

Sa-an’s eyes glittered with killing intent.

“Jeokgui, more importantly, there’s that man called Hahou Gang who’s been staying at that warehouse these past few days. Our superiors suspect he’s the one who provided Shangguan Wana with the innovative salt production method.”

“Does Shangguan Wana really know an innovative salt production method?”

“Those above believe the possibility is high. Otherwise, there would be no reason for her to invest such enormous funds and risk sharp confrontation with the Main Villa and Geumsan-ru just to obtain the salt license.”

Sa-an continued.

“Our superiors suspect that this man called Hahou Gang possesses blueprints containing the salt field plans and salt production techniques.”

After a moment of silence, Jeokgui asked.

“Is there evidence to suspect this Hahou Gang?”

“Shangguan Wana and Yeom Pung treated him with utmost hospitality when he suddenly visited, and allowed him to stay in the warehouse. How likely is it that Ten Thousand Gold Mountain Villa, which was originally distant from the salt business, would suddenly develop innovative salt production methods?”

“Ah…”

“Ten Thousand Gold Mountain Villa must have received outside assistance, and this man Hahou Gang appeared at just such a time. Quite suspicious indeed.”

“So it’s not a matter of just burning down the warehouses and ending it.”

“Exactly. If possible, we must capture Hahou Gang. We need to find out who’s behind him.”

Sa-an continued in a resolute tone.

“Tomorrow night, we turn the warehouse to ash and get both Hahou Gang and the blueprints in our hands.”

He continued speaking.

“We execute a triple operation. Jeokgui, make all necessary preparations for it.”

“Understood, Branch Leader. What should I prepare?”

“First, hire thirty first-rate wandering warriors. They are expendable. Their role is to set fire to the warehouse. It doesn’t matter if they all die.”

“Yes.”

“Second, call for Shadowless Blade Ya Wol. He will obtain the blueprints.”

A cold smile spread across Sa-an’s lips.

“And third… considering possible variables, we deploy the Shadow Fourteen. They will capture Hahou Gang, and if other problems arise, they’ll clean up everything.”

Jeokgui bowed his head and said.

“I will prepare it, Branch Leader.”

* * *

The next night at midnight, at Yeom Estate’s warehouse.

Guyang Cheongang was circulating the Transcendent Impermanence Divine Art while concentrating all his mental energy on engraving the ‘Solar Energy Integration Circuit,’ the core of the Heavenly Fire Solar Flame Formation.

Ten thousand nanobots moved like dancers on the oil, changing the molecular structure of the oil.

Where they passed, geometric patterns invisible to the naked eye were being carved.

[Doctor, it’s already been four days since all available nanobots have been deployed for engraving work, leaving the external surveillance system deactivated.]

Akasha’s worried voice echoed in his mind.

[Currently, I’m in a state no different from being completely blind and deaf. If we’re ambushed from outside at a time like this, it would be extremely dangerous.]

‘Akasha, don’t you think you’ve been nagging too much lately? About eighty more times and you’ll reach a hundred.’

[Still…]

‘I’m not unconcerned about that either. But to shorten the work time, we have no choice but to do it this way. Let’s trust the guard warriors.’

[Sigh…]

Outside the warehouse, thirty warriors personally selected by Yeom Pung from the Second Family Head were standing guard.

Rumble!

Thunder roared across the night sky.

After the thunder passed, the world was briefly enveloped in suffocating silence.

Patter… pitter-patter…

Soon, bean-sized raindrops began hitting the warehouse roof.

The sound quickly intensified, turning into a torrential downpour as if a hole had been punched in the sky.

Whoooosh-

Rumble!

At the very moment when earth-shaking thunder split the night sky,

in the flashing lightning, dozens of shadows approaching the warehouse were revealed.

Do Cheol, the warrior in charge of security who had been muttering that tonight’s duty was hell while looking at the sky, suddenly changed expression.

“Enemies!”

Before his shout even ended, the shadows had already rushed right up to the guard warriors’ throats.

“Kill them! No need to leave survivors!”

With the cruel shout from the wandering warriors’ leader, fierce battle began.

Clang! Clash! Scrape!

From all directions came the dull sounds of bone and flesh colliding and the sharp whistling of blades cutting through air, tearing at their ears.

Despite the torrential rain, the nauseating smell of blood, rough breathing, and sweat grew stronger instead of being washed away.

Thud thud thud!

The battlefield instantly turned into a scene of carnage.

Do Cheol and the guard warriors fought with all their might, prepared to die.

Though their numbers were similar, the difference in skill was too great.

With only Do Cheol being first-rate while the rest were second-rate, it was impossible for them to stop invaders composed entirely of first-rate wandering warriors.

Everywhere, guard warriors fell like straw with agonizing screams.

Do Cheol frantically blocked three blades rushing toward him.

Clang! Clash!

He gritted his teeth against the tearing pain in his grip.

What entered his vision was the cruel eyes of a wandering warrior seeming to mock him, and behind him, his subordinates collapsing while spraying blood.

Crack-

With a sharp shattering sound, even his sword broke.

The wandering warriors’ leader smiled grimly at him and raised his blade high.

At the same time, at the rear of the third warehouse.

In contrast to the deadly fight occurring at the warehouse’s front, this place was immersed in deep silence where only the sound of rain could be heard.

Swish…

A single black shadow was silently climbing up the massive warehouse’s outer wall like a spider.

His body was as light as if defying gravity, and his hands and feet gripping the minute cracks in the rain-soaked wall made not even the slightest sound.

He was Ya Wol, called the Shadowless Thief in the Imperial Capital’s underworld.

In his mind was a perfect layout of the warehouse’s detailed structure obtained in advance.

‘Second floor, the secret chamber at the eastern end. Where the blueprints of the innovative salt production method are stored.’

He silently squeezed his body through a second-floor window gap.

It was a stealth art that had never failed once in over ten years.

All of this was being watched by yet other shadows from the forest outside the warehouse.

Black face masks soaked in rain, and beneath them, ten pairs of cold eyes gleaming sharply.

They were the Shadow Ten Deaths, assassins of the Golden Tower Manor’s Imperial Capital branch that Sa-an had prepared for contingencies.

“Ya Wol has infiltrated.”

The one who appeared to be their leader spoke in an indifferent tone.

“The Wandering Warriors will capture Hahou Gang alive, and if Ya Wol succeeds, we withdraw quietly. If they fail, we erase everything.”

His words contained a ruthless coldness that regarded even his own allies’ lives as mere pawns on a chess board.

Guyang Cheongang’s eyebrows twitched as he continued the engraving work while circulating the Transcendent Impermanence Divine Art.

Through the torrential rain and thunder, his ears caught a very faint yet sharp metallic sound that should never have been mixed in.

‘What is that?’

As soon as he stopped his Energy Circulation and Breath Control, Akasha’s voice rang in his mind.

[Doctor, it appears a large-scale battle has broken out outside. I’m immediately stopping the engraving work and releasing two thousand nanobots outside the warehouse to assess the situation!]

After 2-3 seconds, Akasha’s voice came again.

[The intruders are thirty individuals with first-rate martial prowess. Our guard warriors are being overwhelmed one-sidedly. Some of the intruders are carrying torches that don’t go out even in the rain.]

‘So they plan to set fire to the warehouse.’

[Simultaneously, there’s someone infiltrating the third warehouse. This person has reached a considerable level in Stealth Art. Doctor, this appears to be a planned diversionary operation. The frontal attack seems to be targeting the warehouse and you.]

Guyang Cheongang frowned.

‘The third warehouse? That place only has account books related to oil and bamboo tube purchases. Why on earth would they…?’

[I suspect the enemies are mistakenly thinking that the secret manuals of the Heavenly Fire Solar Flame Formation and Heavenly Salt Secret Art are there, and they’re trying to steal them.]

Akasha continued in a cold voice.

[They must have analyzed with very insufficient information about this place, so they were bound to reach wrong conclusions.]

Guyang Cheongang was dumbfounded, but soon his eyes turned cold.

‘That means… they’re killing innocent people to get their hands on something that doesn’t even exist.’

Two frozen images were transmitted to his mind in real-time.

The sight of guard members collapsing covered in blood, and a masked thief infiltrating through a window gap.

Guyang Cheongang rose from his seat.

The thief who infiltrated the third warehouse could be dealt with later.

After all, there was nothing he could obtain from that place anyway.

What mattered now were the guard warriors risking their lives to protect him and the warehouse.

‘Akasha, in my current state, how long can I hold out until I deal with all of them?’

[Doctor, your current Internal Energy is 70% depleted. At this level, you can maintain ‘Maximum Combat Mode’ for 6 minutes.]

‘That’s enough.’

The next moment, his figure vanished from the spot without a trace.

“Is this the end…?”

Despair filled the eyes of Do Cheol, the guard captain, as he watched his opponent’s blade flying toward his neck.

Rumble—

The cruel eyes of the Wandering Warrior mocking him and the razor-sharp blade were clearly visible in the lightning’s flash.

That was when it happened.

Bang!

With a thunderous sound, the Wandering Warrior leader’s upper body was shattered along with the blade he was holding.

Instead of the blade, a spray of red blood covered Do Cheol’s entire body.

The fighting in the hall stopped instantly at this unimaginable turn of events.

Everyone’s gaze focused on one spot.

A man stood tall in the torrential rain, his entire body wrapped in a chilling killing intent colder than the rain and heavier than thunder.

It was Guyang Cheongang.

His two eyes blazed like will-o’-the-wisps, piercing through the darkness.

One of the Wandering Warriors, unable to overcome his fear, shouted.

“You… you… who are you?”

Guyang Cheongang answered with actions, not words.

Whoosh—!

His body movement using Flash Step flickered faintly once, and the next moment he was already standing in the middle of the Wandering Warrior group.

From his hands moving at invisible speed, a terrifying storm of palm shadows arose.

Crash crash crash crash crash—

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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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