Heaven-Defying Hero - Chapter 101

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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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#101

“Huff. Huff.”

A young man in his twenties, breathing heavily, was climbing up a steep slope when he finally slipped.

Swoosh.

“Ugh.”

“Are you alright?”

Mugyeong extended his hand, but the young man instead lay flat on the ground and shook his head.

“I don’t think I can go any further.”

“Then will you just die at that bastard’s hands? Your father in the afterlife will weep once more.”

The young man gritted his teeth and grabbed Mugyeong’s hand.

“Let’s just go up to there.”

Where Mugyeong was looking, there was an abandoned temple.

Mt. Hang was a place with many small temples where people came to pray due to the symbolic nature of the Five Sacred Mountains. However, they were also easily abandoned due to threats from foreign tribes. That’s why Mt. Hang had particularly many abandoned temples.

“Hurry.”

The young man finally took Mugyeong’s hand.

Drip. Drip.

Their bodies were heavy, and now it was even raining.

They moved their trembling legs and entered the nearby abandoned temple.

The courtyard, scattered with fallen Buddha statues and pagodas, was full of traces of wild animals. It meant it had been abandoned for a long time.

Mugyeong supported the young man and entered the temple building where they could take shelter from the rain.

About half the rain leaked through the collapsed roof, but fortunately there was space to sit and rest.

“Huff. Huff.”

Mugyeong also sat beside him and caught his breath. Then he searched his clothes and took out medicine.

“This is the last of the medicine.”

“Just abandon me and go alone.”

“Abandon my friend’s son? That bastard in the afterlife will become an evil spirit and come to get me.”

“Even if you die and go to the afterlife, you’ll get cursed at just the same.”

“At least I’ll be proud.”

The young man couldn’t understand how Mugyeong could smile even at a moment like this.

“Uncle, you’ve done enough. At least one of us should survive to reveal Father’s injustice.”

“He’s just one among countless martial artists. Even if we tell of his injustice, who would care?”

“So you’re saying we should both die?”

“What are you talking about? I’ll save you and get revenge on those bastards who killed my friend.”

The young man decided to give up since this was something they’d repeated several times already. Instead, he brought up something he hadn’t said. It seemed like there wouldn’t be another chance if not now.

“I’m sorry, Uncle. You’re in danger because of me.”

“If you know that, don’t do it again. Going there alone was reckless.”

“If there’s a next time, I’ll listen to you well then.”

“Then we must survive and go to Deungmyeong Manor together. Going there will heal your lonely heart too.”

“Phew. Hearing about it so much, I’ve started wanting to go to this place called Deungmyeong Manor too.”

It was when the young man was laughing self-deprecatingly.

“Wait.”

Step.

An alien sound intruded among the sound of the drizzling rain.

What were the chances of an uninvited guest visiting such an abandoned temple deep in the mountains?

Mugyeong got up.

Sharp pain shot up from his injured right leg. The pain was getting worse because it hadn’t been properly treated.

For him, who considered maintaining distance most important, the leg injury had become a serious weakness.

Nevertheless, he couldn’t just give up his life, so he gripped his sword.

Step.

Another footstep was heard.

When he leaned over to look where the sound came from, Mugyeong froze completely.

A figure wearing a mask that only revealed the eyes and dressed in black armor stood in the courtyard of the abandoned temple.

Brazenly revealing himself, when their eyes met, he slowly turned his body. Though hidden by the mask, Mugyeong imagined he must be smiling.

“So this is as far as you go.”

Mugyeong gripped his sword and took a deep breath.

The roof that had been sheltering them from rain was no longer a safe zone.

“A spider’s web?”

The greatest assassin of the Martial Arts World had pursued them, and they were caught in a spider’s web.

“I can’t just die like this.”

He turned around and stood in front of the young man who was still leaning against the wall.

“Daewung.”

“Yes, Uncle.”

“I’ll definitely create an opportunity, so run north no matter what. Once you cross the Northern Border, Salmak won’t pursue you anymore. After that, go to Deungmyeong Manor in Shandong Province and deliver news of me.”

“I’m already…”

“Promise me. As long as you have life left, keep moving. Do you understand?”

The young man called Daewung finally nodded.

“Yes. I’ll listen to anything you say, Uncle.”

“You’re finally growing up.”

Mugyeong smiled. Then he sat on the floor and concentrated his mind.

But the opponent was cruel.

Mugyeong waited with resolve to die, but the assassin didn’t make even a small sound.

Even though he knew it couldn’t be, he almost hoped that maybe the assassin had just left.

Night fell like that.

Mugyeong was exhausted.

Preparing for assassination was pressure that could break one’s mind. He had done this for four hours, and now darkness that made nothing visible had descended.

It had become the assassin’s time.

Mugyeong stayed tense until the end and somehow endured.

But the assassin waited again.

From the beginning, one couldn’t beat an assassin by waiting. Assassins were those who would wait for days for a single opportunity.

‘Persistent.’

After midnight passed, even that thought became hazy.

When everything was becoming blurred like that, one sound of wind was heard.

After a full seven hours, the ambush finally began.

But all that came was a single sharp nail.

Clang!

He barely twisted his body to dodge and looked in the direction the nail had come from.

‘Nothing there.’

The waiting began again.

‘Damn it.’

Now even his spirit was breaking.

‘Get it together! There’s someone I must protect!’

And finally the time came.

‘He’s really coming.’

It was instinctive wariness.

Senses honed through countless battles warned of danger.

Clang!

Metal caught on the sword he hastily swung.

It was a dagger.

‘Too late.’

Thud!

Though he had changed his trajectory, the dagger ultimately pierced his shoulder.

It was his right hand that held the sword, of all things.

‘I’ve lost.’

Leaving the dagger embedded in his shoulder, the assassin drew another hidden weapon.

It was an awl reeking of poison.

The assassin stabbed the poisoned tip of the awl into Mugyeong’s solar plexus without hesitation.

‘I need to create an opportunity.’

Sensing death, Mugyeong tried to grab the assassin’s hand.

“Run away!”

That was the last thing he could do.

That’s when it happened.

Slash!

The assassin’s wrist holding the awl was severed in an instant and fell to the ground.

Before the startled assassin could even scream, someone wrapped around his neck from behind.

“I’ve never lost at hide-and-seek.”

Crack!

The assassin’s neck twisted the wrong way and he collapsed lifelessly.

“Hello there, uncle. Good thing I wasn’t too late.”

The man who had killed the assassin spoke with a bright smile.

“Ja, Jangju? What in the world is this…”

Ja-gang-cheon whispered as if sharing a secret.

“Ah! These clothes? These are the Death Shadow Black Robes that the leader of Salmak used to wear. They’re clothes that erase one’s presence, so even assassins can’t detect them. Amazing, right?”

“Not the clothes—why are you here?”

He hadn’t even noticed the clothes to begin with.

“I came looking for you, uncle.”

He looked like a nephew who had come to find his uncle at mealtime. Mugyeong’s eyes shook violently upon seeing him.

“Why would you go this far?”

“I can’t just sit still when my family member has gone missing. Let’s treat your wounds first, so sit over there.”

Ja-gang-cheon seated Mugyeong next to the young man.

“Take this first, and I’ll apply some wound medicine too.”

Deungmyeong Divine Pills went into their mouths and Deungmyeong Golden Wound Salve was applied to their injuries.

“There are a few more assassins. I’ll take care of all of them, so stay put.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Ja-gang-cheon rushed out into the rain.

Splash!

A few afterimages appeared under the moonlight, then one of the black-robed figures hiding in the darkness collapsed. After that, Ja-gang-cheon came back into the building.

He had dealt with one person in an instant. Then he stood perfectly still holding a dagger, as if time had stopped.

One moment passed, then two.

Ja-gang-cheon was skilled at waiting.

Tap.

The moment a small sound was made, Ja-gang-cheon burst out again.

Bang!

A man with his head smashed fell behind an abandoned Buddha statue.

That made two.

This time Ja-gang-cheon hid his body behind a wall.

‘One left.’

Dealing with two assassins wasn’t entirely due to Ja-gang-cheon’s skill.

‘He threw his subordinates to gauge my abilities.’

And now the assassin who had given the orders remained.

‘One of the Osalsaeng.’

Even with Ja-gang-cheon’s five senses, he couldn’t pinpoint his location.

Eventually, a waiting game began just like with Mugyeong. However, Ja-gang-cheon had no reason to rush.

‘Take your time recovering.’

If he stalled for time, Mugyeong and Daewung could rest. Having taken medicine as well, they looked much more comfortable.

So Ja-gang-cheon endured slowly.

Even as night passed and morning came, neither moved first.

Drip. Drip.

The rain that had been falling for a long time stopped.

That’s when it happened.

‘Hm?’

The rain that had been disturbing his ears had stopped, but he could hear the sound of water tapping on the roof from somewhere.

‘A person.’

Water droplets remaining on clothes had fallen.

‘Right above.’

Ja-gang-cheon leaped up, swinging not his dagger but Mukryeomdo.

Crash!

Unlike before, tremendous internal energy struck the roof.

Bang!

A human figure was flying through the fragments of the roof that shattered into pieces.

He had dodged at a critical moment.

“If an assassin has revealed himself, one of us must die.”

Ja-gang-cheon pursued the assassin with Bicheon Shinbo. The distance between them closed instantly and Ja-gang-cheon struck the assassin’s neck with Mukryeomdo.

“Huh?”

The feeling in his hand was strange.

Instead of flesh and bone, it felt like thin boards breaking, and only clothes were cut away.

‘A trap!’

There was no person, only clothes.

He had clearly seen human movement, so how could this be?

Then, a hand shot out from around the waist area of what he thought were empty clothes.

‘A dwarf!’

It was someone with the height of a child, only reaching a normal person’s waist.

From the solar plexus to the head was just a wooden frame for shape, while the real body was hidden around the waist area before launching a surprise attack.

Sting!

A sharp needle pierced into Ja-gang-cheon’s body.

Ja-gang-cheon, momentarily paralyzed, rolled across the roof as he had been running and fell to the ground.

Thud!

“Hehe. Acting all high and mighty, serves you right.”

The dwarf assassin threw away the fake clothes and looked down at Ja-gang-cheon from the roof, laughing.

Ja-gang-cheon writhed in agony and twisted his body, then shuddered for a moment before moving no more.

Only then did the dwarf jump down from the roof.

That’s when it happened.

Ja-gang-cheon leaped toward the assassin as if he had been waiting.

The assassin, unable to change direction in mid-air, couldn’t avoid Ja-gang-cheon’s hand.

Grab!

Ja-gang-cheon seized the assassin’s neck.

“How…”

“Ah. I’ve eaten a lot of Dokgok Seongdan, you see. This kind of poison doesn’t work on me.”

Crack!

Ja-gang-cheon snapped the assassin’s neck.

Come to think of it, the one who had killed Ho-yeong, the Heavenly Flame Arrow Master, hadn’t caught Ja-gang-cheon’s eye at all. Being a dwarf, he had completely hidden his body.

“Lord. You really did it.”

“Were you worried?”

“You’re truly amazing.”

Following Mugyeong, the young man who had been with him walked forward to Ja-gang-cheon.

“My name is Han Dae-woong. Thank you for saving us.”

“He’s my friend’s son. We ended up being chased like this all because of this guy.”

“I’m sorry.”

Ja-gang-cheon became curious seeing the two who remained affectionate even in a crisis situation.

“What on earth happened?”

At his question, Mugyeong began to tell the story.

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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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