Heaven-Defying Hero - Chapter 61

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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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#061

 

Hwangbo Taejin felt as if he were dreaming.

 

‘Why did I become the Lord?’

 

He even had such thoughts.

 

“So you’re saying the main house was ransacked?”

 

If this were a dream, he thought now would be the perfect time to wake up.

 

But why wasn’t he waking up from this dream?

 

“All the guest quarters of the main house burned down and collapsed completely.”

 

When he realized it wasn’t a dream, anger surged through him.

 

“We return to the main house immediately!”

 

His anger also contained the selfishness of trying to shed his own mistakes.

 

‘It’s my fault.’

 

He had personally decided all of this.

 

He never imagined they would abandon their own manor and attack the opponent’s main house.

 

Even if that were the case, he couldn’t have calculated that the Hwangbo Clan’s main house would fall to just two people.

 

The remaining warriors alone had enough power to completely sweep away any decent small or medium sect without a trace.

 

But total annihilation by two people.

 

Moreover, all the guest quarters that could be called the history of the Hwangbo Clan had been lost to the flames.

 

‘I was wrong.’

 

There was nothing he could do except get angry.

 

“I’ll kill them. I’ll kill everyone related to Deungmyeong Manor with my own hands!”

 

Now only revenge remained.

 

It wasn’t revenge for his father and brother.

 

It was revenge for himself.

 

But the subordinate receiving his anger didn’t turn around immediately and remained in place.

 

“Is there more to report?”

 

“Are we withdrawing completely from Jiao-nan? We still haven’t found the eldest young master.”

 

He had completely forgotten.

 

Hwangbo Taesan, who was being forgotten from everyone’s memory, was in an unexpected place.

 

“Ugh…”

 

Hwangbo Taesan, who opened his eyes with a groan in the forest, instinctively grabbed his aching head.

 

As he pressed down on his throbbing head and raised his upper body, he felt something strange.

 

“Huh?”

 

The chains that had bound his body were gone.

 

He quickly realized the reality and opened his eyes wide, looking around.

 

It was a forest not far from the main road.

 

“I was definitely being dragged by that Subordinate bastard.”

 

All the people from Deungmyeong Manor boarded the boat, but Subordinate and the Tall Man dragged him to a different location.

 

While being tied to a cart and dragged along, the Tall Man suddenly collapsed.

 

He had lost consciousness from that shock and was only now opening his eyes.

 

“What happened?”

 

At first he was full of questions, but one thing was certain.

 

“Now is my chance.”

 

It had been a time of shamefully prolonging his life while only waiting for the day he would die. The long period of despair had even dimmed his emotions of revenge.

 

“Let’s move.”

 

He quickly got up and left that place.

 

After Hwangbo Taesan disappeared, two people came down from a nearby tree.

 

It was Cheon-gu and Pansuk.

 

“Subordinate Hyeongnim. Is it okay to let him go like that?”

 

“Yes. Right now, that’s the only way he’s useful.”

 

“But he knows several secrets of our manor.”

 

“Don’t worry. He won’t have time to tell them.”

 

Cheon-gu took out an empty medicine bottle from his chest and showed it.

 

“Ah. You made him take that?”

 

Pansuk knew well what that medicine was for. Each bottle had a different color and he was required to memorize their uses.

 

“But Subordinate Hyeongnim. If we’re going to kill him anyway, couldn’t we just handle it cleanly?”

 

“It would be a waste to just kill him. He should be able to leave a dying message at least.”

 

When Pansuk didn’t understand, Cheon-gu explained in detail as usual.

 

The reason Pansuk respected and liked Cheon-gu wasn’t simply because he was Ja-gang-cheon’s friend.

 

He was the only person who would explain things over and over until he understood.

 

Even Song Ja-in would change methods if learning was slow, but Cheon-gu didn’t do that. Even if it was frustrating, he would continue explaining as if dealing with an ordinary person.

 

Listening to explanations like that, he gradually understood. This was why Pansuk particularly focused on Cheon-gu’s stories.

 

“Right now, Hwangbo Taejin’s position is greatly shaken. He suffered too much damage due to his wrong judgment. The reason the clan warriors still follow him is because the situation is too urgent. So we’re going to show them. That his older brother was alive not far away, but couldn’t be found due to Hwangbo Taejin’s passive search. It was originally the biggest purpose of this expedition, but he didn’t even attempt to carry it out.”

 

“Ah. Then they won’t be able to trust Hwangbo Taejin.”

 

“Right. They’ll start questioning all of Hwangbo Taejin’s orders. On top of that, what if the young lord who was at least formally recognized dies before their eyes?”

 

“Hmm. That’s still difficult for me to understand.”

 

“People naturally become obsessed with what they’ve lost. The current Lord will seem smaller. His shortcomings will be more highlighted. The cracks start from there.”

 

Pansuk let out an exclamation of admiration.

 

“Hyeongnim, how do you know all these things?”

 

“I had nothing, and I was small too. For someone like that to have ambitions of success, I only developed my intuition.”

 

“So I’m slow-witted because I’m big.”

 

“Hyeong is slow-witted because you’re fair. If you were that strong and smart too, it would be too unfair.”

 

“Hehe. Is that so?”

 

Cheon-gu highlighted Pansuk’s strengths while making him forget his weaknesses.

 

“Anyway, let’s move too.”

 

“Where are we going now?”

 

“We’re supposed to meet up with the Lord of Jangpungpyo Kingdom. We’re planning to devour the Hwangbo Clan’s businesses on the outskirts of Shandong Province one by one.”

 

“If they’re important places, won’t the security be tight? Jangju Hyeongnim told us not to do dangerous things.”

 

“By now, everyone who could be called elite is probably rushing to Jinan. With the main house collapsed and the command system gone, they have no choice but to confirm with their own eyes. We’ll target that gap. We need to make sure they have nowhere to return to.”

 

“Ah! Is that it? Then let’s hurry!”

 

At Pansuk’s excited shout, Cheon-gu nodded.

 

“We need to lighten Gangcheon’s burden even a little.”

 

“Yes! Hyeongnim!”

 

They left Jiao-nan behind and ran toward the center of Shandong Province.

 

***

 

“Kugh!”

 

Hwangbo Taesan, who had escaped the forest, found the main road without difficulty.

 

Something felt constricted around his chest, making him feel stuffy, but he couldn’t stop walking.

 

‘I need to get as far away as possible.’

 

It was when he had that thought.

 

Sensing a group approaching with an ominous aura from somewhere, he quickly hid his body in the forest.

 

But when Hwangbo Taesan saw the clothing of the people who appeared, he instinctively rushed out of the forest.

 

“Stop!”

 

The group that appeared was from the Hwangbo Clan.

 

Hwangbo Taesan showed a bright expression at the unexpected encounter, but this appearance seemed strange to the Huang-bo Clan Warriors.

 

A man in tattered clothes, covered in wounds and battered all over, blocked their path with disheveled hair.

 

With him shouting commands in such an intimidating manner, they had no choice but to be on guard.

 

‘Is he insane?’

 

Many warriors thought so, but among them was one who had the habit of observing his opponents.

 

A familiar voice and manner of speaking.

 

And he recognized the facial features visible through the disheveled hair.

 

“Y-Young Lord?”

 

He was a warrior from the main family who had been particularly close to Hwangbo Taesan, the former Young Lord.

 

As was typical among clan members, they were related by blood, and having been the same age since childhood, they had grown up like friends.

 

Though they had grown apart as they aged according to their respective positions, whenever they endured difficult times with the elders during holidays, they would invariably meet separately to drink.

 

“It’s Myeong-gon.”

 

“Young Lord!”

 

Hwangbo Myeong-gon, hearing his name called, grasped Hwangbo Taesan’s hands firmly.

 

“What on earth happened?”

 

“It’s a long story. But where is this place, and where are you all headed?”

 

“Pardon?”

 

Though Myeong-gon received a puzzling question, he first stated the facts.

 

“This is near Jiao-nan, and we’re on our way back to Jinan.”

 

It was then that he spoke.

 

“Hyeongnim. You’re alive.”

 

Hwangbo Taejin approached with an expressionless face and offered his greeting.

 

Everyone showed smiles at the fact that the Young Lord had survived, but Hwangbo Taejin, who held the position of interim Lord, did not. So even his greeting was curt.

 

Seeing his younger brother who wasn’t pleased by his survival, Hwangbo Taesan spoke coldly.

 

“You must be greatly disappointed.”

 

“What do you mean by that?”

 

“Aren’t you even curious about this hyeongnim’s life or death? You didn’t even conduct a search.”

 

“There were too many urgent matters for that.”

 

“You mean rescuing me wasn’t an urgent matter?”

 

“What did you expect us to do for someone taken hostage whose life or death was unclear?”

 

Hwangbo Taejin vented his pent-up frustration at Hwangbo Taesan.

 

“If you were going to appear so perfectly fine, where have you been all this time? And what were you doing when Father passed away? Didn’t all of this start because of hyeongnim’s inadequacy?”

 

“What?”

 

“What right does a Young Lord who failed to protect the Lord have to blame anyone?”

 

“Shut up!”

 

Finally, Hwangbo Taesan raised his voice.

 

“That bastard has…”

 

He was about to say something he desperately wanted to convey but couldn’t.

 

It was a warning not to engage in direct combat with Ja-gang-cheon since he possessed the Bihuang Fist Technique.

 

But before he could even mention the Bihuang Fist Technique, something surged up from within him.

 

“Cough!”

 

As he expelled what had been lodged in his chest, his insides felt relieved.

 

Thanks to that, his chest felt refreshed, but the reactions around him were strange.

 

And belatedly, he saw what he had coughed up.

 

What had stained his younger brother’s silk clothes, who stood directly in front of him, was black blood. Only then did Hwangbo Taesan realize something was wrong.

 

“What is this… Cough!”

 

When he coughed up blood once more, instead of relief, he felt something snap in his head.

 

Thud!

 

Hwangbo Taesan collapsed and lay looking at the sky, convulsing.

 

“H-Hyeongnim…”

 

Hwangbo Taejin was also flustered. He had wished for his death, but not like this before his very eyes.

 

“Urgh…”

 

Finally, Hwangbo Taesan coughed up thick blood once more and died on the spot.

 

The Hwangbo Clan warriors who witnessed his terrible end wore complex expressions.

 

Among them, the most flustered was Hwangbo Taejin.

 

‘What on earth is happening?’

 

Since becoming Lord, nothing had gone as expected.

 

The various expressions of the Hwangbo Clan warriors certainly contained anger, but there was no way to know toward whom that anger was directed.

 

Was it toward Deungmyeong Manor, the source of all these incidents?

 

Or toward the interim Lord who had ruined everything?

 

When external enemies arise, the interior usually becomes more cohesive, but the atmosphere among the Hwangbo Clan warriors was somehow unsettled.

 

***

 

It was like an ant lion’s pit.

 

They had rushed here upon hearing news that the main family had fallen.

 

What awaited them was a swamp that would devour them all.

 

A poisonous swamp that burned flesh and melted bones.

 

“Aaaaah!”

 

Ten warriors from Sando Battlefield, who arrived first due to their proximity to Jinan, fell into despair upon encountering Dok-ja-mo before even reaching the Hwangbo Clan.

 

Though the warriors’ level was high as they managed the Hwangbo Clan’s core funds, they weren’t strong enough to defeat Dok-ja-mo.

 

“Don’t feel wronged. All the benefits you enjoyed in the shadow of the Hwangbo Clan were compensation for accepting today’s danger.”

 

There was one reason they died.

 

“You shouldn’t have touched Deungmyeong Manor. Not knowing your opponent is the greatest sin in Gangho.”

 

The Hwangbo Clan was paying a terrible price for it.

 

At the same time.

 

The same thing was happening south of Jinan.

 

The warriors dispatched from Shandong Medicine Shop had their own unique background.

 

Unlike other businesses, they required specialized knowledge, so they had developed independently.

 

Therefore, there were more who wielded weapons rather than practiced fist techniques.

 

The reason was simple: wild beasts were more threatening than people.

 

Due to the many herb gatherers, weapons were used more often than bare hands.

 

They mainly learned Thunder Shock Sword Technique and Taesan Eighteen Bend Sword, but these weren’t very suitable martial arts against Ja-gang-cheon.

 

“Urgh…”

 

“To think he’s this strong…”

 

The seven medicine shop warriors fell into the illusion of facing an unbeatable beast.

 

‘We can’t win.’

 

A wild beast encountered in the mountains.

 

If they couldn’t win, only death awaited.

 

As Hwangbo Clan warriors died both inside and outside, the entire atmosphere of Jinan became ominous.

 

When a sensitive atmosphere spread enough for the government office to take notice.

 

Once again, those who heralded change appeared.

 

“The Beggar Sect?”

 

“Yes. Gaebangdo have entered Jinan in large numbers.”

 

At Miho’s report, Ja-gang-cheon frowned.

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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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