Moorim Pochang - Chapter 106

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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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Chapter 106. Counterattack (2).

As Yang Jung sat alone brewing tea, Dok-go Eun’s voice reached his ears.
“By the way, where is Master Yang?”
“He’s cultivating his martial arts.”
“Is that so? I have something to tell him. Your younger sister is quite disappointed with Master Yang.”
What?
Yang Jung’s ears perked up.
‘Why would Miss Baek be disappointed? What have I done wrong…?’
As he stood bewildered, Dok-go Eun’s voice came again.
“She seemed furious that he’s smitten with that woman Gu Ya. I doubt he’ll see her face for a while.”
“Sam-ryong should be fine.”
“True enough. Once he parts with your younger sister, there will be other women lining up for him.”
Kang Jo thought this was apt.
‘Let’s teach this wretch a lesson.’
This might be a good opportunity to cure him of that nasty habit.
“That fellow has no real interest in Miss Baek anyway.”
Yang Jung could not bear to listen in silence any longer.
“What do you mean I have no interest? Brother…!”
He burst out with a shout, leaping into view and glaring at Kang Jo with a hiss.
“Oh…you were there?”
Kang Jo played innocent.
Then Yang Jung raised his voice even higher.
“Do you have to tease me like this to satisfy yourself? Brother…!”
He was well aware that Kang Jo was teasing him.
Had there been other women present, he would have emerged with a bright laugh and spoken in a gentle voice to protest.
But Yeon Ja-seol and Dok-go Eun were different from other women.
His heart already belonged to his brother’s lady, so there was no need to make an effort to appear better than he was.
Yang Jung’s face flushed red, and Kang Jo’s hands began to clench into fists.
“So what are you going to do about it?”
“It’s not about doing anything—I’m just too wronged to stand it.”
“Wronged? What’s there to be wronged about, you fool?”
Yang Jung sensed the atmosphere growing colder by the moment.
‘If I’m not careful, I’ll be humiliated in front of Miss Yeon and Miss Dok-go.’
He quickly turned to leave.
“I’ll be going to the stable now, brother.”
Kang Jo could only watch Yang Jung’s retreating form.
As he moved, he seemed to dissolve into the darkness and vanish.
‘That damned fool never listens.’
The faint presence of the departed Yang Jung was felt on the Guest Inn’s roof.
Dok-go Eun, who had been watching the two of them with a dazed expression, spoke up.
“Were the two of you talking about something before I arrived?”
Yeon Ja-seol, also watching the pair, turned his eyes away.
“Master Kang was discussing how to counter the Steel Whip.”
Hehehe…
“I thought the two of you were enjoying a secret meeting.”
Once her laughter ceased, Dok-go Eun began to speak slowly.
“The Steel Whip… that won’t be easy. My sect has masters who wield the Steel Whip, so Ma-gyo has some experience with it. But I’ve yet to see a master of the Murim Alliance who uses the Steel Whip.”
The words floating through Gangho’s martial world—”Ten-Thousand-Day Sword,” “Thousand-Day Spear,” “Hundred-Day Blade”—were mere gossip from those who knew nothing.
Martial arts that were easy to cultivate were not strong martial arts.
Yet the martial art she found most formidable was the one wielding the Steel Whip.

*

The middle-aged Geol-gae exerted every ounce of his strength, moving with lightness across to the Murim Alliance.
Gasp…gasp…
Having ridden through day and night, he stood breathless, gazing up at the towering Murim Alliance before him.
‘I’m not too late after all.’
The Murim Alliance still stood in all its grandeur.
“Urgent report…!”
As he cried out, deploying his Body Technique at speed, the martial artists at the main gate quickly cleared a path.
Geol-gae burst through the entrance and nearly collided with Shin Pung-gae, who sat resting in one corner of the Training Ground.
“What brings you here in such haste?”
Shin Pung-gae rose to his feet, speaking first.
Huff… huff….
“A… a grave matter, Bangju.”
“Your breath seems about ready to abandon you entirely.”
Gasp… gasp…
“Please… stop joking. I can barely… breathe. Masters from every Branch of the Cheon Sa-gyo are converging on a single location.”
At Geol-gae’s report, Shin Pung-gae asked urgently.
“Where are they converging?”
“Seven hundred li distant, Bangju. It seems their target is this Alliance itself.”
The moment he heard Geol-gae’s answer, he bolted toward the Chief Administrator’s Hall.
And moments later, a thunderous bell-toll shook the Murim Alliance.
Dong……! Dong……! Dong……..!
*

Moyong Se and Eon So-ryong locked eyes.
The aura they radiated had shifted distinctly from before.
Still rough around the edges, yet the bearing of true masters was beginning to emerge.
Yeo Hwa stepped between them, her brow furrowed.
“A fierce bloodbath is about to unfold, so stop your posturing.”
Gu Ya, who stood beside her, laughed aloud.
Heh heh…
“Let them be. Men grow by testing their spirit against one another.”
She surveyed the masters of the Cheon Sa-gyo arrayed behind them.
The Blood Lord had not joined this battle personally, but he had sent his subordinates in force.
Kee kee kee……..
“The weak die young anyway.”
With those words, he dispatched not only Moyong Se but all his troops.
Over two thousand bore tattoos upon their faces, and more than two thousand more bore eyes hollowed white.
“If we’re clever, we could even topple the Murim Alliance itself, couldn’t we?”
“Thanks to the Patriarch. Even if we can’t kill Moon-do this time, we’ll slaughter every last one of his spawn.”
At Yeo Hwa’s grim smile, Gu Ya threw back her head in laughter.
Gal gal gal………..
Her laughter subsided, and she stepped forward to face Moyong Se and Eon So-ryong.
One by one, she caressed their cheeks.
“Your task is not to kill your old comrades—it’s to bring them to me alive. Especially the one with silver hair. Bring her before me.”
Her soft touch upon their cheeks stained their faces crimson.
Yeo Hwa did not approve of Gu Ya’s behavior.
But today she would let it pass.
“When do we begin?”
She turned her head and asked Cheol-goe.
“We begin now. The Guest Inn is not to be touched under any circumstances.”
Yeo Hwa offered no objection.
If they succeeded in overrunning the Murim Alliance, she would disregard Cheol-goe’s order.
But until then, she would pretend the Guest Inn did not exist.
Gu Ya spoke up.
“Why do you treasure that Guest Inn so?”
“I promised to eat Pheasant Dumplings there.”
Cheol-goe answered without the slightest change of expression.
Heh heh…
“Is that so? I’d like to eat a Tofu Dish there myself.”
Yeo Hwa moved with irritable haste, her Body Technique flaring to life.
“We can discuss cuisine later…!”

*
Kang Jo opened his eyes and rose from his bed, pulling on his clothes.
Yang Jung, who should have been sleeping on the adjacent cot, was nowhere to be seen again today.
‘I suppose I should be grateful he’s at least diligently practicing the Sal Gong.’
Sam-ryong had been waking earlier than him for days now.
Even in the mountains during martial arts training, that man had needed to be roused before he’d grudgingly crawl out of bed.
Kang Jo opened the door and stepped outside, where a cold wind slapped his face.
A sharp breath escaped him.
Yet the moment he crossed the threshold, Yang Jung’s face appeared directly before him.
“What, are you trying to scare me half to death?”
Kang Jo’s irritation died on his lips.
Something in the younger man’s expression was wrong.
“Brother. Hyeol-gyo has—”
Before Yang Jung could finish, Kang Jo turned his gaze toward the Guest Inn’s exterior.
In the same moment, his body moved.
The air whistled sharply.
The instant he cleared the collapsed wall, Yeo Hwa’s face came into view.
She turned her head from the Guest Inn, still moving with her Body Technique.
“Lucky bastards,” she murmured.
Wind shrieked and tore at the darkness.
Behind her, countless masters were whipping through the air with their Body Techniques, creating gales in their wake.
Two of the masters employing the Body Technique ceased their Lightness Skill.
They were Moyong Se and Eon So-ryong.
“One day I’ll strip you bare,” Moyong Se said.
Both men were mortal enemies of Kang Jo’s.
“Those bastards—”
Yang Jung, standing beside Kang Jo, trembled with fury.
Moyong Se sent a wave of Killing Intent toward him.
“I’ll strip you as well.”
“My brother and I are far better at peeling hides than you, you dog,” Yang Jung shot back without missing a beat.
His tongue was every bit as sharp as Moyong Se’s threats.
“I’ll rip that mouth of yours first.”
Moyong Se withdrew his Killing Intent and vanished into the darkness.
Eon So-ryong followed, glaring at Kang Jo and Yang Jung before launching himself into the night with his Body Technique.
“Brother, there are an enormous number of enemies out there.”
The moment they disappeared, worry flooded into Yang Jung’s voice.
The wind continued to howl and shriek in the darkness.
The movements of the enemies within the shadows showed no sign of stopping.
“This time it’s different,” Kang Jo said quietly.
His own concern ran just as deep.
If the Murim Alliance fell, the Guest Inn would not survive unscathed.
“What should we do, brother? Should I join the battle?”
Kang Jo turned to look at Yang Jung.
“Aren’t you afraid?”
“Are you asking me that seriously, brother? Of course I’m afraid. But isn’t it far better to die trying something than to die sitting idle and waiting for the end?”
Kang Jo’s lips curved into a faint smile.
This was why he found himself liking this man.
He was cowardly, yes, but when the moment came to act, he moved first.
“Are you sure you can manage it? If you bungle it like last time, you’ll be dead in an instant.”
“This time I’ll only go after the weak ones, brother.”
“If the situation turns against you, get out immediately.”
A low laugh escaped him.
“There’s no need to tell me that—I’ll be back in a flash anyway. Brother, please stay here at the Guest Inn. If you’re not here, I know I’ll panic, get caught, and die.”
“Now go on.”
“Yes, brother.”
With that, Yang Jung vanished into the murky wind and darkness, his Body Technique dissolving into shadow.
Kang Jo turned his attention back toward the Guest Inn’s exterior.
“When do you plan to come enjoy those Pheasant Dumplings?” he called out.
Cheol-goe, who had been moving slowly toward the Murim Alliance, glanced back slightly.
“Wait a little longer.”
“I’ll wait. It seems my brother will be joining the battle as well. If anything happens to him, you won’t be tasting those Pheasant Dumplings.”
“Is this a threat?”
“If it sounds like a threat, then perhaps it is.”
Whiisssh………….
Cheol-goe, who had nodded his head, vanished in an instant.
He had clearly wanted a word with Kang Jo.

*

Shhhhhhhh……………
Arrows erupted from the fortress walls in a volley.
Thunk-thunk-thunk………Ping-ping-ping……..
The arrows poured down like rain, embedding themselves in the earth or driving deep into the invaders’ bodies.
Ahhhhh…………….!
Arghhhh………!
The moment the white-eyed ghouls shrieked, another rain of arrows fell upon them.
Thunk-thunk-thunk……….Ping-ping-ping….
Clang-clang-clang………..!
The white-eyed ghouls took the arrows, but those bearing tattoos wielded their weapons to swat away the descending barrage.
Among the white-eyed ghouls, some had six or seven arrows lodged through their bodies.
Yet still they moved.
Creak………
The moment the Murim Alliance’s gate opened, Jamryong-hoe and Ma-gyo charged forth.
At their head stood Cho Yak, wielding a Mi-cheom Sword.
Slash….slash…….
She swung the Mi-cheom Sword, severing the necks of the white-eyed ghouls in succession.
“Make sure the white-eyed ghouls are dead……….!”
Behind her, Jamryong-hoe and Ma-gyo began cutting down the white-eyed ghouls.
“Cho Yak…..!”
A Crescent Blade fell through the dawn sky, wrapped in killing intent.
Cho Yak swung her Mi-cheom Sword toward the empty air.
Boom…………….!
Slash….rip….
While Yeo Hwa and Cho Yak clashed, Baek Won-yeong’s blade severed the enemy’s neck and tore open his chest.
Still cutting down foes in succession, he pivoted his body technique in urgency.
Boom…!
As blade met blade, a heavy sensation traveled through his arm.
“Moyong Se.”
Baek Won-yeong recognized his opponent at a glance by the tattoos covering him.

*

Cheol-goe paid no mind to the other masters of the Murim Alliance.
Baek Moon-do stood in his path.
“Moon-do.”
“Cheol-goe.”
The two exchanged greetings by calling each other’s names and titles.
“Let’s begin.”
Slash..
Cheol-goe’s spear moved first, and nearly simultaneously Baek Moon-do’s blade severed his neck.
Whiisssh..
As Cheol-goe’s head flew, the spearpoint drove into Baek Moon-do’s side.
Boom-boom-bang………..! Boom-bang…………!
The space where the two clashed remained inaccessible to all others.
Even the white-eyed ghouls twisted away from the flesh-tearing Ki Wave.

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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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