Chronicles of the Mad Demon - Chapter 46

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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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Chapter 46. The Virtue of Transactions (6)

 

Go Cheok, the Grand Elder of Ten Swords Gate, grabbed Hwang Gyu’s sleeve.

 

“Sect Leader, please calm down.”

 

His low voice was filled with urgency.

 

Flap!

 

Hwang Gyu shook off Go Cheok’s hand and walked out, radiating intense killing intent.

 

‘This is…!’

 

Endlessly calm, but once he exploded, he couldn’t distinguish between front and back.

 

Go Cheok knew the sect leader’s temperament better than anyone. Because he knew his own nature, he had viewed favorably the sect leader’s attitude of constantly striving to remain calm.

 

But today, the sect leader had lost his composure.

 

‘Though it can’t be helped.’

 

Go Cheok looked at Moyong Bi with bewildered eyes.

 

‘What is that bastard relying on?’

 

There was no way Moyong Bi had actually learned demonic arts. Those who learned demonic arts were different from their very temperament. He had actually seen a few in his youth.

 

Yet he boldly provoked the sect leader?

 

‘Does he have something he’s relying on?!’

 

If so, he didn’t know what it could be, but there was nothing wrong with being cautious.

 

Go Cheok stepped back three or four paces and spoke to the White Dragon Captain.

 

“In preparation for any unforeseen situation…”

 

That’s when it happened.

 

“Whoever wins or loses, it’s a one-on-one match, so you’re not planning to cowardly swarm the winner and beat them up, are you?”

 

Go Cheok had no choice but to acknowledge it. That Moyong Bi had learned a world-class demonic art that would work even on the greatest masters under heaven.

 

The name of that demonic art was Provocation.

 

“Stop spouting nonsense and come out here!”

 

At Hwang Gyu’s booming voice, the crowd shrank their necks.

 

Go Cheok felt anxious.

 

‘This isn’t good.’

 

He didn’t think the sect leader would lose, but every action he showed in front of the crowd was too rough.

 

Until just a moment ago, one could at least make excuses that he was angry due to injustice, but now it was different.

 

Even his manner of speech seemed tainted by that Moyong Bi fellow. He seemed to have cast aside the dignity befitting a Ten Swords Sect Leader who should be noble.

 

“Sect Leader, please calm down.”

 

His quietly muttered voice was carried away by the wind and scattered at will.

 

Moyong Bi scratched his head with his staff tip and said.

 

“You’re saying that even if I beat you, those White Dragon Squad or White Snake Unit guys won’t retaliate, is that it?”

 

“Shut up and come out in front of me, I said!”

 

“Huh? You’re not answering again this time?”

 

Moyong Bi shrugged his shoulders while looking at the crowd.

 

“Are you going to fight while scared?”

 

The crowd glanced at Hwang Gyu.

 

Hwang Gyu, who was about to burst out shouting, took a deep breath instead.

 

‘Hold back.’

 

If he lost his temper one more time, it felt like his reason and everything else would truly fly away.

 

Go Cheok unconsciously clenched his fists.

 

‘Good!’

 

Taking a deep breath meant he was starting to think.

 

That was enough. In fact, it was even better. Being able to think while maintaining anger meant his emotions and reason were balanced.

 

“You want a one-on-one match? Fine. I’ll play along with your tune.”

 

Actually, that was what I wanted more.

 

“But you need to understand this. This fight is what you wanted. Whether you lose your life or limbs get severed, don’t you dare whine about it being unfair.”

 

“Will that be enough?”

 

“What now!”

 

Anger filled his voice again.

 

Moyong Bi tapped Hwang Ji Hwa’s head with his wooden staff.

 

“How often do you get a chance to see the Ten Swords Sect Leader fight directly? We should put up prizes for such an entertaining fight.”

 

“…Remove that club from Ji Hwa’s head.”

 

“Don’t you like your daughter as a prize?”

 

“I can take her anyway once you’re dead.”

 

“What if I win?”

 

“What?”

 

“If I win, what will you give me?”

 

“You crazy bastard! Give what exactly?!”

 

Moyong Bi’s expression changed completely.

 

“Look at this son of a bitch. He’s trying not to lose anything until the very end?”

 

Hwang Gyu’s face turned pale.

 

After joking around, his expression hardened as he cursed, and a rage of a completely different dimension surged up.

 

“If you won’t put up a betting prize, I’ll tell you what I want instead.”

 

Moyong Bi pointed at Go Cheok with his wooden staff.

 

“Grand Elder.”

 

“…?”

 

“If you die or are defeated, the Grand Elder will also commit suicide.”

 

“What?”

 

“And one more thing.”

 

Moyong Bi threw the red ledger backward.

 

The ledger he threw without even looking landed perfectly in Moyong Su Hyang’s hands.

 

“I’m betting that ledger too. If you win, take it along with your daughter. What will you bet?”

 

“…Crazy.”

 

“Well, you’re such a thrifty person that it’s hard to bet anything, right? I’ll bet for you again this time.”

 

Moyong Bi’s eyes changed completely.

 

“The Ten Swords Gate signboard.”

 

“…?!”

 

“If you lose, Ten Swords Gate will be disbanded. Do you agree?”

 

Chaaaaang!

 

Hwang Gyu, who had drawn his sword, strode forward as he spoke.

 

“Fine, I’ll stake it all. I’ll bet everything, so stop flapping your mouth and come at me.”

 

Only then did Moyong Bi smile.

 

“A fight shines when everything is on the line. You understand the virtue of transactions.”

 

At that moment, Moyong Su Hyang spoke.

 

“Hey.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Are you confident?”

 

Her voice trembled involuntarily.

 

“Why? Are you worried?”

 

“If you’re ruined, the Main Family is ruined too, you damn fool.”

 

“Don’t worry.”

 

Moyong Bi turned around with a grin.

 

For a moment, Moyong Su Hyang’s eyes wavered.

 

She recalled a childhood memory she couldn’t even remember when it happened – her Elder Brother’s smile as he lifted her up when she had fallen while playing and was crying.

 

‘You’ll get better soon. Don’t worry.’

 

The face of her Elder Brother, who had been reliable but young, had changed into the face of a detestable and hateful scrawny man.

 

And the hatred and loathing that had covered that scrawny man’s face was being peeled away, layer by layer.

 

“The Main Family won’t be ruined because of one idiot like that.”

 

Moyong Bi turned his body and walked toward Hwang Gyu.

 

His emaciated body made even his clothes hang loose.

 

But why was it? In the eyes of Moyong Su Hyang and the Squad Members led by Jin Gwang, Moyong Bi’s back seemed to grow larger and larger.

 

A massive back that seemed like it would block everything – floods, lightning strikes, even landslides.

 

It was the advance of the great Master produced by the Moyong Noble Family, Martial Alliance Leader Gwangmyeong Mujon.

 

Thump!

 

“You bastard!”

 

Hwang Gyu, who kicked off the ground with a shout, suddenly widened his eyes.

 

‘What?!’

 

The moment he kicked off the ground, Moyong Bi was already charging at him.

 

Surprisingly, he couldn’t read that split second when the man charged. It wasn’t particularly fast nor did it have good elasticity, yet he was approaching like mist.

 

‘Crazy bastard, he’s coming to die on his own!’

 

He would toy with him slowly, very painfully, then kill him miserably.

 

Hwang Gyu smiled cruelly as he thrust his sword.

 

Whoosh!

 

It was a Single Sword Strike with no particular Martial Forms, but it was fast. In a flash, it had already reached one inch in front of Moyong Bi’s shoulder.

 

It was then that everyone’s eyes widened.

 

Swish.

 

The extended sword sliced through empty air, leaving only a small scratch on Moyong Bi’s shoulder.

 

‘What?!’

 

How did he dodge that?

 

Before the question could be resolved, something ominous came pushing toward his torso.

 

Thud!

 

“Urk!”

 

With a rotation, the tip of the wooden staff struck his side.

 

A sharp pain spread through him.

 

‘This bastard?’

 

He couldn’t tell when he had dodged or when he had struck. Flustered, Hwang Gyu immediately created distance.

 

Though he had only allowed one attack, his body reacted instinctively.

 

This guy was not someone to be taken lightly.

 

Thump!

 

Moyong Bi lowered his stance and approached Hwang Gyu.

 

‘Slow!’

 

With his legs spread wide and his upper body crouched low, Moyong Bi approached like a snake, swaying fluidly.

 

Whatever kind of movement this was, he wouldn’t miss this time.

 

Hwang Gyu’s sword fell vertically.

 

‘One arm first!’

 

That was when it happened.

 

Ting!

 

Hwang Gyu’s eyes wavered.

 

‘Deflected?!’

 

The tip of the wooden staff, which had somehow come up from below in an arc strike, hit the sword blade.

 

Despite having no particular power, the vertically falling sword suddenly changed course.

 

Hwang Gyu instinctively retrieved his sword and swung his left palm strike. It was a sharp move aimed at Moyong Bi’s chest.

 

However.

 

Crack!

 

“Gah!”

 

The wooden staff, drawing a circle, had somehow struck the center of his chest.

 

The opposite end of the staff that had hit the sword blade came up and naturally struck his chest. It wasn’t fast speed, but the natural flow of staff technique, and an attack that predicted where the opponent would come.

 

Whoosh!

 

Hwang Gyu’s hand came close to touching Moyong Bi’s nose before being pushed back.

 

If things had gone wrong, his nose bridge would have been broken, but Moyong Bi didn’t even blink.

 

This was a life-and-death battle. In a life-and-death battle, losing focus meant only one result: death.

 

Moyong Bi instantly became absorbed in the fight.

 

Thump thump thump!

 

The wooden staff shot toward the retreating Hwang Gyu.

 

Whoooosh!

 

‘What the hell is this!’

 

Before he knew it, the wooden staff had multiplied into five or six staffs.

 

The actual number of weapons couldn’t have increased. But to Hwang Gyu’s eyes, it truly looked like there were multiple wooden staffs.

 

The flexible movement of wrists protected by internal energy.

 

Gripping the end of the wooden staff and moving it back and forth in circular motions. It was a martial form that targeted only the opponent’s vital points.

 

‘That is!’

 

Shock appeared on Moyong Su Hyang’s face.

 

‘It’s the Crimson Sunset Staff Technique!’

 

The only staff technique housed in the Moyong Family.

 

She could recognize it because she had learned it herself. What her elder brother was displaying now was the Crimson Sunset Staff Technique.

 

But it was on a completely different level from the Crimson Sunset Staff Technique she practiced.

 

Clang clang clang!

 

Even though the wooden staff and real sword clashed, resonant sounds erupted.

 

Amazingly, the wooden staff Moyong Bi held was intact except for a few scratches. Despite clashing with a real sword, one that could be called a precious sword, it neither broke nor shattered.

 

‘It’s not because of internal energy.’

 

The internal energy infused in the wooden staff wasn’t that strong.

 

‘At the moment of impact, he subtly twisted it to nullify the cutting action of the sword itself!’

 

It was unbelievable skill.

 

Beyond the martial forms, his skill in handling the six-foot long staff was too proficient. It was as if he had trained only in staff techniques his entire life.

 

That wasn’t all.

 

Swish swish swish!

 

The wooden staff that had multiplied into five or six now even curved like a snake.

 

Aiming for the head then targeting the neck, aiming for the chest then targeting the ribs, aiming for the thigh then targeting the groin, aiming for the solar plexus then targeting the chin, and so on.

 

Each different wooden staff curved and became technique variations.

 

‘This is insane!’

 

Hwang Gyu kicked hard against the ground.

 

Whoosh!

 

In an instant, the distance widened considerably.

 

Creating distance against an inferior opponent was shameful.

 

But instinct moved his body rather than reason. He had no idea how to deflect or block this flashy yet irregular staff technique.

 

‘What kind of martial arts is this?!’

 

That’s when it happened.

 

‘…!!’

 

Hwang Gyu’s eyes widened.

 

Something flashed as it flew toward him.

 

‘A blade?!’

 

The jewel embedded in the handle sparkled in the sunlight.

 

It was the dagger he had given his elder daughter as a gift when she came of age.

 

He had secretly retrieved the dagger he had given to Yeon Pyeong and kept it hidden in his robes.

 

“Kuk!”

 

Swish!

 

He hastily turned his head, but the dagger had already sliced past his earlobe.

 

If he had been just a moment slower, his ear would have been pierced. Any later than that, and his eyeball would have been skewered.

 

Shiver!

 

He got goosebumps at the fact that he had almost become one-eyed from the dagger he had given his daughter as a gift.

 

“Where are you looking?”

 

Suddenly the world grew dark.

 

Hwang Gyu raised his head and gritted his teeth.

 

Moyong Bi, who had soared up as if gliding, was descending while holding a wooden staff with both hands.

 

‘Too late. I have to block it.’

 

It was time to bring out real martial arts.

 

Whooom!

 

Hwang Gyu’s sword, emanating a haze-like qi, struck the wooden staff.

 

Slice!

 

This time it cut cleanly.

 

The six-foot long staff was precisely transformed into a three-foot short staff.

 

‘Good… Huk!’

 

Thud!

 

It was fortunate that he instinctively pulled his leg back.

 

The sharply cut cross-section of the wooden staff pierced through his clothing and wounded his thigh. Moyong Bi had struck down with the severed short staff to attack his thigh.

 

If he had been just a moment slower, the staff would have been embedded in his thigh.

 

“This crazy bastard!”

 

Hwang Gyu raised his head.

 

Moyong Bi, who had already discarded the short staff, grabbed the long blade at his belt.

 

Shing.

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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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