Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 105

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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 105. The Sword Demon’s Defense
“Clan Leader, the enemy formation is in disarray. Over a hundred corpses are being thrown beyond the wooden palisades. Moreover, the Cannibal Cult has been reported broken.”
At the report from Dan Li Chu, the master of the Black Five Vanguard, Dan Li Hwan, the head of the Dan Li Clan, went rigid.
‘So it was true……!’
Two quarter hours earlier, Namgung Ho Yeon had arrived with impossible news.
“After surveying the area just now, Jin Heuk Cheon was not among their force. He’s currently heading toward Buyang.”
Dan Li Hwan couldn’t believe it.
No matter how much a Peak Realm Master he might be, to move alone, separated from his own force?
It was reckless to the point of audacity.
‘But it was true……!’
Dan Li Hwan bit his lip.
His thoughts turned to the family waiting in Buyang.
Yet he couldn’t move himself.
‘The ten thousand soldiers of Geum Su Chae and the Twin Masters of Silver remain intact. I cannot afford to split the forces too thin.’
So he hastily dispatched the Ten-Character Heavenly Blade Formation masters, Dan Li Il, and Dan Li Pae—the three supreme masters who guarded Mong Seong—toward Buyang.
‘From Mong Seong to Buyang, without stopping, they could arrive in roughly two double hours—about four hours.’
Depending on one’s mastery of the Divine Method, covering three hundred leagues in two double hours was faster than the words themselves.
The regular report that arrived from the clan each day had come precisely two double hours ago.
Which meant the clan had faced no calamity until two double hours prior.
‘Can they hold out for two double hours……?’
The enemy was alone, yes—but a Peak Realm Master nonetheless.
Generally speaking, a Peak Realm Master was a monster who could single-handedly annihilate even a middling sect.
Though the Dan Li Clan was a great power aspiring to join the Top Ten Families, all their elite forces were now concentrated at Mong Seong.
‘It will be fine. The main house is protected by various arrays. It will…… be fine.’
Crunch.
As Dan Li Hwan’s fist clenched hard, Namgung Ho Yeon’s words echoed in his mind.
“This is both crisis and opportunity. You must seize fully the moment when their full strength has withdrawn. The instant the First Elder returns from Wa Yang, shift to the offensive. In the meantime, I shall make for Buyang.”
Having spoken thus, Namgung Ho Yeon departed first toward Buyang.
‘Namgung, I beg you—arrive at the main house as swiftly as you can!’
Now Dan Li Hwan had no choice but to trust Namgung Ho Yeon.
He gave his orders.
“When the First Elder returns, launch the full assault! Drive back the enemy and return swiftly to the clan!”
* * *
Early morning.
A carriage came to a stop before the main gate of the Dan Li Clan compound.
“We’ve arrived, guest.”
Creak. Thump.
At the driver’s words, a tall, lean man descended from the carriage.
Dressed in black robes and wearing a bamboo hat, his identity remained concealed.
“That will be five silver pieces.”
“Here you are. Go buy yourself something good to eat.”
“Much obliged, thank you kindly!”
Rumble.
After payment was made, the carriage departed, and the man walked slowly toward the Dan Li Clan compound, his black robes fluttering.
“Hehehehe.”
Beneath the bamboo hat, a smile began to spread slowly across his lips.
“Halt! Who goes there!”
“State your business!”
“Just looking for a meal. I’ve heard the hospitality here is quite generous, no?”
The gatekeepers who stopped him looked him up and down before answering.
“If you’ve come seeking to become a dining guest, you’ve found the wrong place. The main house is currently under martial conditions and does not receive ordinary visitors.”
“If you’re a wandering swordsman, try heading for Mong Seong. War rages there now—you could make yourself quite a fortune.”
“Hehehehe!”
The man’s smile deepened at the gatekeeper’s words.
“I’m just returning from Mong Seong. But one must enjoy the appetizer before tasting the main course, no?”
“What do you mean by—”
Flash. Slice.
The gatekeeper’s head was severed even as his brow furrowed.
Jin Heuk Cheon, gripping the floating head, caught the streaming blood in his mouth and drank.
Gulp. Gulp.
“Ahhh! The thirst from such a long journey—finally quenched!”
“W-what in the—?!”
Snap!
The remaining gate keeper jerked back in shock, raising his spear to ward off the man.
As he did, the bamboo slip fell from Jin Heuk Cheon’s tilted head.
His hair, tied back, was silver-white, and his face—appearing to be in his mid-forties—bore the refined composure of a scholar.
“Hah—ghk!”
But the moment the gate keeper saw the blood trickling from the corners of his lips and the demonic qi rising like black flame from his pupils, he recognized who stood before him and recoiled in terror.
“Y-you’re the Demon Eater! How—how did you get here—?!”
Crack!
In the blink of an eye, Jin Heuk Cheon’s hand shot out as smoothly as plucking a spring roll from a dish, tearing the gate keeper’s eyes from their sockets.
Wet. Wet.
“Ahhhhhhhhh!”
As the gate keeper shrieked, Jin Heuk Cheon nodded with evident satisfaction.
“For a meal, screams of despair suit far better than the sound of lute strings.”
Flutter!
Jin Heuk Cheon tossed aside his blood-stained robe and kicked the writhing gate keeper toward the main gate of the Dan Li Clan, bursting it open.
Boom—!
The gate swung wide, exploding into crimson splinters like fireworks.
Tap-tap-tap!
Jin Heuk Cheon sprinted inward at speed.
He meant to finish his meal before his prey scattered and fled.
Beyond the gate, the Dan Li Clan was consumed entirely by lush bamboo groves.
“Heh-heh! Quite the refined taste… hmm?”
Having traversed the bamboo forest in an instant, Jin Heuk Cheon’s brow twitched.
The forest should have ended, yet another bamboo grove appeared before him.
Glancing back, Jin Heuk Cheon realized he still stood before the main gate.
“Oho, an array? Now this is amusing.”
Confronted with so rare a formation, Jin Heuk Cheon’s lips curled into a smile.
‘A variation of the Mirae Array, perhaps.’
Generally, there exist two ways to overcome a Qimen Array formation such as this.
One was to locate the Gate of Life and break the array.
And the other was….
“Hehehehe! Parlor tricks! They mean nothing to one who has walked the walls between worlds!”
Cough-cough-cough!
When Jin Heuk Cheon drew forth the Yeol Heuk Sik Ma Gi from his Qi Sea, heat shimmer rippled around him and the temperature began to soar.
Whoooom—!
In mere moments, the surrounding heat rose to match the scorched ground of a midday desert.
At that instant, a latticed pattern of Gang Qi materialized in Jin Heuk Cheon’s right palm, woven tight as a mesh.
Gang Qi.
“The law of nature is the strong preying upon the weak! The weak are fated to become food for the strong. This array is no different!”
Boom!
Crack-crack-crack—!
As Jin Heuk Cheon struck the empty air with Gang Qi, the bamboo forest around him shattered like glass.
In its place appeared dozens of men, their faces twisted in terror, their arrows nocked and aimed at him.
“The outer array is broken!”
“Abandon the secondary gate!”
“Activate the Heaven Gate!”
Whoosh!
Yet it was but a moment’s respite.
The entire field of vision flashed blue, and the world around him transformed into an endless sky.
“Heh-heh! Money truly does rot away here.”
An ordinary man would have felt vertigo simply drifting in the sky, but Jin Heuk Cheon appeared as carefree as a young noble savoring idle entertainment.
Flap! Flap-flap!
“Oh!”
Butterflies then began to drift toward him, one after another.
They flew at Jin Heuk Cheon and passed right through him.
Then.
Snap!
Jin Heuk Cheon reached out and crushed one of the butterflies in his fist.
The butterfly transformed into an arrow, only to shatter in Jin Heuk Cheon’s grip.
Crack!
“Fools. I transcended the realm of sight itself long ago—the stage where one grasps truth merely through the eyes.”
Jin Heuk Cheon smiled coldly.
After the Mirae Array came the Hwanyeong Array?
Clever enough in its way, but utterly useless against one who had reached the Peak Realm.
All things in heaven and earth carry their own intrinsic Qi, and even mere objects bear the Intent Qi of their creation.
An arrow, born to wound and kill, pulses with Killing Intent.
How could he ever confuse the two?
“Hmph!”
Bang!
Crackle—crash!
As Jin Heuk Cheon thrust his palm forward again, the Qian Palace shattered.
Thwick-thwick-thwick!
The ground beneath him transformed into a vast swamp, pulling at his feet.
“Pathetic.”
Bang!
The Dui Palace crumbled under his single strike.
The Kun Palace’s earth gave way next, collapsing to dust.
The hellfire of the Li Palace could not even singe the hem of his robe.
The blade-wind of the Xun Palace, the thunder and lightning of the Zhen Palace, even the sacred mountain of the Gen Palace—none could slow his advance.
Boom-boom-crash!
Whoooosh!
The Yeol Heuk Sik Ma Gang Qi blazed through the air like scorched earth, and at last Jin Heuk Cheon stood before the final palace—the Central Palace of the Nine Palaces.
“No—a monster!”
“Jin Heuk Cheon of the Cannibal Cult! What brings you from Mong Seong?!”
“Has the evacuation been completed?!”
“N-no, not yet!”
The Dan Li Clan had been thrust into emergency.
The Gugung Jukgyeok Array had bought them precious moments, but not enough.
Still within the clan compound were the families of the warriors who had marched to war—women, children, the elderly, those without strength to fight.
“Khehe! Spirit, I have found the Way of Exquisite Sustenance. Grant me your teachings!”
Flutter!
Saliva dripped from Jin Heuk Cheon’s mouth, and in his black pupils, Black Flame began to dance.
“Ahhh!”
“Damn it…”
“The cursed beast!”
At the sight of this demon risen from hell itself, the atmosphere grew heavy and oppressive.
The thick reek of blood rolled across them, warning that this day might be their last.
“Prepare to die!”
“Buy time—no matter the cost!”
“Draw!”
Twang! Thunk-thunk-thunk!
Swoooosh!
The Dan Li warriors released their bowstrings.
A rain of arrows fell upon him, and Jin Heuk Cheon plunged straight into the storm.
“Hahahaha! Resist! Challenge me! Then this feast shall be all the richer!”
Jin Heuk Cheon shook his hands, and from within his robes two Sik Hoon Chae Do blades sprang forth into his palms.
Whirrr-whirrr!
Clang-clang-clash!
Inserting his index finger through the ring guard, Jin Heuk Cheon spun the blades in a whirlwind, deflecting every arrow that flew toward him.
“Flying Sword Heaven Net Array—open!”
The Dan Li warriors threw their flying swords desperately toward the approaching shadow of doom.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Hundreds of flying swords wove through the air, yet never once did they collide with one another.
As brilliant as the Ten Thousand Blossoms Rain of the Sichuan Dang Family, this formation spoke of years of relentless practice and masterful coordination.
In that moment, it seemed the net woven in the sky would ensnare the black beast.
“Hehehehe!”
Whooooom!
Whooooom!
Jin Heuk Cheon, who had infused Yeol Heuk Sik Ma Gi into his Sik Hoon Chae Do, unleashed a barrage of blade strikes in all directions.
“Sa Jeol Hoon Baek.”
Slash-slash-slash!
Crash!
The black beast swept its forelegs and tore the web asunder with raw force.
Sa Jeol Hoon Baek was originally Jin Heuk Cheon’s martial adaptation of a culinary cutting method—the delicate slicing used in cooking.
The blade art he had created was called the Cheon Jeol Man Dan Pan Gong.
It was, quite literally, the technique of chopping a thousand times and slicing ten thousand times, as if upon a cutting board.
“Hahahaha! What abundant provisions! I shall carve them most beautifully!”
Tap-tap-tap!
Whistle!
It was the moment Jin Heuk Cheon spun his Sik Hoon Chae Do and closed the distance to the terrified martial artists by one zhang.
“Hmm?!”
Thud!
Jin Heuk Cheon’s head snapped back rapidly toward the rooftop.
There stood a man in an unusual posture.
His left arm was bent in a curved shape, and he was drawing a sword against a red bowstring.
‘An archer? No—a swordsman with a bow.’
From the sharpness of the opponent’s murderous energy, Jin Heuk Cheon instinctively recognized him as a master swordsman of the highest caliber.
Cheon Se Geuk, aiming at Jin Heuk Cheon with the Ma Ryeong Sa Gung, released the bowstring.
Twang!
Boom-boom-boom!
The long sword carved through the air with intent qi like a tempest, creating the Ye Seon Poong.
Jin Heuk Cheon, unable to ignore the force, halted his steps and crossed his Sik Hoon Chae Do in defense.
Clang!
Crackle!
Driven back with furrows carved into the ground, Jin Heuk Cheon’s eyes widened.
Tap! Crash-crash-crash!
Four figures suddenly burst forth from the four corners and unleashed a coordinated assault.
“Hah!”
“Die!”
“Char!”
“Amitabha!”
Clang! Clash-clash-clash!
Crash!
“You wretches!”
Having defended against dozens of strikes in mere moments, Jin Heuk Cheon’s brow furrowed, and the four attackers swiftly withdrew.
“…Who are you?”
When Jin Heuk Cheon asked, Hye Il, Gwang Myeong, Un Am, and Nan A responded.
“We are the Nakjeon Clan!”
“Surrender! You are already dead!”
“Such a vile stench of blood. No further evil deeds shall be permitted.”
“Protection of the common people—violation is forbidden.”
Whoosh! Thud!
In that moment, Cheon Se Geuk somersaulted down from the rooftop and looked upon Jin Heuk Cheon with a murmur.
“I never thought the chance to repay a debt would come so soon. Fortune smiles on me.”
Jin Heuk Cheon regarded them with an expression of bewilderment before letting out a soft chuckle.
“An unexpected delicacy, indeed.”

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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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