Chronicles of the Martial God’s Return - Chapter 157

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“What?”
“That is… well……”
“Well, what!?”
Du Ak-chil’s entire body trembled.
He didn’t understand why he should be shaking like this when he wasn’t even the one who’d caused the trouble in the first place—but the keen, razor-sharp killing intent radiating from Chu Mun-won’s frame left him barely able to form coherent words.
The man’s eyes had shifted, feral as a beast’s.
“They say the liquor is being moved toward the Royal Residence. It appears Master Hong Won-chang may have struck some sort of bargain with them……”
“Hong Won-chang? You mean that bastard from Ak-yang?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Damn it!”
How in blazes did the head of the Geum Hwan Merchant Group come to have any connection with someone like Hong Won-chang?
If it were just some ordinary magistrate’s clerk, he wouldn’t give it a second thought—but Hong Won-chang held the Royal Residence’s trust, and enjoyed considerable favor not only throughout Honam but in the capital as well.
The merchant heading to the Royal Residence alongside such a man?
And carrying liquor at that?
If that didn’t mean they were determined to drive the Chu Mun Family from Honam, then what did it mean?
Crack!
His teeth ground together.
Surely the woman from the Ho Yeon Family hadn’t orchestrated all of this by herself.
As that thought took shape, a single figure came into focus in Chu Mun-won’s mind.
“Make sure they never reach the Royal Residence! Kill Hong Won-chang and anyone else who gets in the way—wipe them all out! And drag that merchant bastard before me this instant!”
“Understood!”
Du Ak-chil hurried from the room.
Chu Mun-won watched him go, his breathing ragged.
His Internal Energy churned with the force of his rage.
The sudden surge of killing intent had robbed him of all composure.
This wouldn’t do. He’d gained this power through discipline—he couldn’t afford to be enslaved by it now.
Chu Mun-won’s lips twisted as he slumped back into his chair.
The scorching irritation refused to fade.
Whoever they were, having dared to provoke the Chu Mun Family, they would show no mercy.
‘I’ll slaughter them all. Every last one. Until not even a trace remains.’
Chu Mun-won’s eyes burned a brilliant crimson.

***

The procession heading toward the Royal Residence—Hong Won-chang, Geum Eun-hak, and their party—cut a rather peculiar figure.
It appeared to be a merchant caravan at first glance, yet only two guards seemed to belong to the merchant group itself; the rest were constables.
It looked unmistakably like a merchant’s journey, so what in the world were all these constables doing here?
And with Hong Won-chang standing at the center of it all, onlookers exchanged bewildered glances.
It didn’t have the appearance of a prisoner transfer, yet it seemed as though the constables were escorting the merchant caravan.
Moreover, a proper merchant caravan would normally travel the main road—but this group was moving along a sparsely trafficked side route instead.
The procession had been traveling for roughly a double hour since leaving Ak-yang.
Honam’s provincial capital was Jangsa, and the Royal Residence where the provincial governor stayed was also in Jangsa.
The journey from Ak-yang to Jangsa typically took two double hours via the main road, but since this procession moved along back roads, their pace had been considerably slower.
“Even at best, it’ll take three or four double hours more. We’d move far faster on the main road……”
“Dan Woo-hyun is the one who chose this route. If you’ve got complaints, take them up with him.”
Namgung So-hye heaved a long sigh as well.
Here was an easier path available, yet he’d insisted on taking the harder one.
Worse, traveling this particular route—one so susceptible to bandits—was hardly ideal for a merchant caravan.
And yet Dan Woo-hyun had deliberately chosen this path.
‘He’s cast out bait, then. Waiting for them to come.’
It could be nothing else.
The military texts spoke of victory without fighting as the highest ideal, but Dan Woo-hyun seemed entirely unacquainted with such wisdom.
‘Though if a fight broke out on the main road, it would’ve been far worse.’
The main road was where countless merchants and travelers moved in constant flow.
It was a path where one could travel both safely and swiftly.
And so, if a battle erupted on that crowded main road, innocents would inevitably suffer.
By contrast, these quiet back roads were well-suited for a fight.
Namgung So-hye gripped her sword in one hand, poised to draw it at any moment as she watched the surroundings.
Dan Woo-hyun had warned her to be careful, so they would surely come.
By now she had come to trust his words absolutely, accepting them without question.
“What on earth could be so important about a bottle of liquor that it warrants all this……?”
Her sigh escaped as she kept her vigil, bewildered by the entire affair.
To think someone would try to kill over a single bottle of wine? She had no idea who or where they were, but whoever it was seemed thoroughly obsessed with drink.
“Ha, I anticipated this the moment I took on the task,” Geum Eun-hak said smoothly.
He smiled gently.
From the moment he decided to follow Dan Woo-hyun, his life was already forfeit in every sense.
Moreover, when he chose to draw in the Ho-yeon household, he knew a direct clash with the Chu Mun Family was inevitable.
“Aren’t you frightened, Merchant Lord Geum? You could die,” Namgung So-hye asked.
“How could I be afraid when such a beautiful lady as yourself stands guard beside me?”
“Well, that’s kind of you to say.”
Knowing it was flattery, Namgung So-hye didn’t take it at face value. Yet the truth remained—her life hung in the balance tonight.
Despite his affected composure, a glimmer of tension flickered in Geum Eun-hak’s eyes.
Still, the way he walked forward steadily suggested a man of considerable courage.
“By the way, when do you plan to hold your wedding ceremony, Lady Namgung?” Hong Won-chang asked suddenly from behind.
“Pardon?”
The abrupt question caught her off guard.
Hong Won-chang had traded his usual official robes for a martial outfit, with a massive blade strapped to his waist.
It was more than four times the width of a standard sword, so broad it hardly qualified as a blade, yet too strange to be called anything else.
He seemed so pleased with it that he hadn’t set it aside for a moment.
“A wedding? Whose?” Namgung So-hye asked.
“Yours and our lord’s, of course.”
“What?!”
Namgung So-hye’s eyes went wide with shock.
Even Kwon Mu-jin, who had shown no interest in their conversation until now, turned to look at her.
The remark was that startling.
“What do you mean……?”
“Isn’t that what marriage is?”
“That’s…… absolutely not!!”
“But you make quite the fitting pair, wouldn’t you say?”
“Well…… thank you, I suppose.”
Namgung So-hye’s eyes narrowed in displeasure. Of course, it would be a lie to say she felt nothing for Dan Woo-hyun, but that didn’t mean she’d been contemplating marriage.
Besides, wasn’t his temperament a bit rough around the edges?
He fell far short of her ideal.
Handsome, certainly, with enough wealth, tall and well-built, exceptionally skilled in martial arts, and occasionally able to brighten someone’s mood…….
‘That’s Dan Woo-hyun!’
The moment she thought of him while contemplating her ideal, Namgung So-hye frantically shook her head.
Even she found such embarrassment intolerable—she buried her face in the horse’s mane, trembling.
“Ha! Youth is a treasure, lady.”
“B…… be quiet.”
Finding her embarrassment amusing, snickers erupted from various quarters.
Then Kwon Mu-jin, riding at the front, suddenly pulled hard on the reins.
“Stop.”
He had felt a presence.
The sensation of countless gazes converging from all directions sent sharp warnings through his entire body.
The constables who had been laughing moments before now tensed, watching their surroundings. Namgung So-hye and Hong Won-chang drew their blades.
“Who goes there? Show yourself,” Kwon Mu-jin called out.
His brow furrowed as he drew his Dual Short Blades.
The weight of countless eyes pressed down on them.
At minimum, there were more than twenty.
‘Are they First-rate martial masters?’
They might be skilled below that level, but the killing intent radiating from them was formidable.
Then, cutting through the wind, something hurtled toward them.
Kwon Mu-jin leapt nimbly from his horse and deflected whatever was flying at the constables.
Clang!
An arrow.
It had come like a lightning bolt, aimed with deadly precision at a constable’s brow. The manner of attack suggested this was no amateur’s work.
‘But not a true professional assassin either.’
A professional assassin would have concealed his killing intent far more carefully.
Clap, clap, clap!
Then, from one side came the sound of applause.
Soon the undergrowth rustled in several places as figures emerged one by one.
They all fixed Hong Won-chang and his party with cold, murderous stares, their blades leveled.
None of them seemed inclined to back down.
Kwon Mu-jin surveyed them with an air of disdain.
They wore black garments and had their faces masked.
For men attempting to ambush the Magistrate in broad daylight, concealing their features was only natural.
Yet their rigid adherence to convention left him feeling almost disappointed.
“This is ridiculous…….”
Even Namgung So-hye opened her mouth with an expression of disbelief.
Even assassins these days didn’t parade around like this.
“What’s so amusing?”
The man who appeared to be their leader, irritated by the barely concealed smirks on both their faces, muttered in a voice grown tight with displeasure.
Yet Kwon Mu-jin and Namgung So-hye dismounted without answering.
Hong Won-chang also dismounted and stepped forward.
Though the Constables stood guard, against Martial Artists of First-rate caliber, they would be helpless—their throats cut in the blink of an eye.
“You others stay back and protect the merchant.”
“Yes, sir!”
Hong Won-chang nodded with satisfaction at the crisp response of the Constables.
They were no match for Martial Artists, perhaps, but none could be more dependable than these men.
He took a steady breath and gripped his blade.
This was his first real combat.
His first step as a martial artist—a man over forty, learning Martial Arts, treading the path of a swordsman.
Some anxiety gnawed at him, yet he trusted the Martial Arts that Dan Woo-hyun had taught him.
“You fools! Do you not know who I am, that you dare block my path?”
“The Magistrate of Ak-yang, Hong Won-chang…… Did you truly come here not knowing who you would face?”
“I suppose you’re right.”
Hong Won-chang laughed ruefully, while Kwon Mu-jin and Namgung So-hye exchanged awkward glances.
From the start, their attackers had set out with the resolve to kill, indifferent to whether their target was a magistrate of the prefectural office.
Then Namgung So-hye stepped forward.
“It irritates me how much this unfolds according to Dan Woo-hyun’s design…… but prepare yourselves. Not a single one of you will leave this place whole.”
“Hmph…… A brazen woman, aren’t you!”
“Hehe, quite bold for someone with such limited skill. To dare speak so to Namgung So-hye herself!”
Her eyes blazed as she shot forward like an arrow.
It was the Gung Shin Tan Form’s movement technique.
One of the startled ambushers barely raised his blade when a brilliant flash split the air—a blade arc traced itself through space.
Splash!
Spraying blood drenched the shocked faces of the men.
Yet what truly astonished them was…….
“Namgung So-hye?!”

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