Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 175

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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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175. Sword Demon Collects the Wedding Gift
A moonless night.
Guhua Mountain.
One of Buddhism’s four sacred peaks, its pilgrim paths had fallen silent since the Gubaek Sheng Pae began.
Once called Nine Sons Mountain, it had been renamed Guhua Mountain when the poet Li Bai observed that its nine peaks resembled lotus blossoms.
Yet Guhua Mountain held far more than nine peaks.
With nearly ninety major summits alone, its treacherous terrain had served as a natural fortress, holding back Docheon’s northern advance all this while.
Beneath Bokho Peak, some three hundred soldiers had gathered.
“Is everything ready?”
“It is, sir.”
“Good. Once the signal comes, we strike.”
Yu Ik Hwan, a captain of the Geumcheon Dao Men, gazed up at the darkened Bokho Peak with a smile.
“Heh heh. Sword Demon King. My apologies for the intrusion on the eve of your wedding, but do entertain these uninvited guests for a time.”
They had gathered to disrupt the wedding ceremony to be held in Cheongyang tomorrow.
Not only at Bokho Peak, but at Buyong Peak and Saja Peak as well, forces of the Hyeol Yeom Dao Men and Ho Jeop Dao Men stood ready.
The Sword Demon King, lost in honeyed dreams of wedded bliss, would be forced to come scrambling in whatever garb he wore to bed.
Naturally, tomorrow’s wedding would either be disrupted entirely or conducted in an atmosphere thick with unease.
He had not foreseen that forcing the wedding ceremony to boost morale would backfire in this way.
Whistle! Whoosh!
Then, fire arrows lit up the night sky in the distance, flashing bright.
“There’s the signal! All forces, charge! Seize the peak at once and take the Buddhist monks as hostages!”
“Yaaaaah!”
“Forward!”
“Show them the strength of the Geumcheon Dao Men!”
Thud-thud! Thud-thud-thud!
The Geumcheon Dao Men’s forces surged toward Bokho Peak in unison.
Despite the name Dao Men, their weapons were varied—swords, sabers, spears, axes, and more.
A hundred years prior, Jin Baekman, once called the strongest master of Gangseо, had founded the Geumcheon Dao Men by purchasing ronin and skilled fighters with gold—that was its origin.
“One silver tael per monk!”
“Har har! We’ll make quite a haul!”
“The only thing that shines isn’t just bald heads, I tell you!”
As the Geumcheon Dao Men’s forces charged forward—looking more like bandits than true martial artists—
Twang! Twang! Thwack!
Crack!
Arrows flew from the darkness, piercing through the heads of the Geumcheon Dao Men one after another.
“Who is it?!”
“Ambush!”
“There are forces hiding here!”
Just as the Geumcheon fighters faltered, a tremendous roar erupted across the entire Bokho Peak.
“Yaaaaaaah!”
“These enemies are nothing like the petty thieves of Gongryeongmun! Everyone, stay sharp!”
“Compared to the Captain’s Hundred Warrior Contest, this is nothing at all!”
Whoosh! Whoosh!
As if on cue, torches flared to life throughout the darkness.
And the forces now revealed appeared to outnumber the Geumcheon Dao Men by more than double.
“W-who are you?! Where did such a force come from…!”
Captain Yu Ik Hwan was stunned.
The forces of the Namgung Clan and Cheongyang Family should have been blocking the major peaks—Sipwang Peak, Cheondae Peak, Cheonju Peak, Jijang Peak, and others.
There was no way to know where such a number of soldiers could have come from.
“Don’t lose heart! They’re nothing but ragtag soldiers, however many! It seems they were in a rush and dragged in commoners from somewhere!”
Yu Ik Hwan made a swift assessment.
There was no way such a sudden force could all be elite warriors.
“Show them that merely holding a sword doesn’t make one a warrior!”
“Hyaaaah!”
“Die!”
At Yu Ik Hwan’s cry, the Geumcheon Dao Men surged forward once more, their spirits rekindled.
And yet—
Clang! Clash!
Scrape! Crack!
Contrary to his expectation, they were no ragtag soldiers at all.
“Uh, uh… wait? What’s happening?”
“Whoosh, hah! These bastards are nothing?”
“Why are they so weak? Could it be I’ve gotten stronger?”
“Is this the Killing Intent of the battlefield? Compared to the Danjushin’s Killing Intent, it’s like down?”
Some of the students faltered at their first taste of real combat.
But they quickly regained their composure and began pressing the Geumcheon Dao Men fighters harder.
Thud! Splurt-splurt-splurt!
Scrape! Shriek!
“What, what on earth is this! Are they all martial artists?!”
Yu Ik Hwan stared in horror as corpses of his subordinates began piling up.
No matter that the Platinum Regiment was merely a lower battalion of the Geumcheon Dao Men, composed of third-rate and second-rate warriors.
They were still martial artists who made their living by the sword.
There was no way these students could push back such men unless they themselves were far from ragtag soldiers.
“Haaa! I, the sword guest Bangpung Gae, advance!”
“Kuhaha, I am the boss, Ak Du Gu of the Great Mountain Palm!”
“Puhut! If Mister Ak is the boss, then I must be Divine Archer?”
“This is real combat! Blood sprays, flesh tears, and life ends. Oh! Just now a blade four spans longer than mine barely grazed my nose. Hehehehe. So this is the world!”
Scrape! Scrape!
Crack! Splurt-splurt!
These were spring and summer students belonging to the Naktjeon Group, and they were discovering that the education they’d received at Baekmu Academy was far from wasted.
Above all, the nightly beatings from Ho Yeon had familiarized them with Killing Intent, which proved invaluable in actual combat.
Clang! Scrape!
“Watch out!”
“Ugh?!”
Of course, some students still made mistakes.
But each time, an invisible thin thread would fly through the air and save a student’s life.
Splurt!
“Gkk…….”
“Ugh, what, what is it?”
“Snap out of it!”
“Forward!”
“Keep pushing!”
The spring and summer students pressed forward with the momentum of wildfire consuming the plains.
Already occupying the high ground, they possessed every geographical advantage.
The Geumcheon Dao Men fighters were steadily pushed downhill.
“Damn it all!”
Slash! Tap-tap!
Yu Ik Hwan drew his single-edged straight sword and rushed toward a nearby cluster of enemies.
Combat hinges on momentum.
If he failed to display overwhelming force here and blunt the enemies’ sharp edge, the entire operation would crumble to failure.
Slash-slash-slash!
Four strands of crimson blade silk twisted from Yu Ik Hwan’s straight sword like twisted rope, climbing up the blade’s surface.
“Break!”
“Huh?”
Shriek!
Just before the crimson flash carved death’s arc and split the spring and summer student in two.
Ping-ping-ping!
“What, what is this?!”
An invisible thin thread hung in the air like a spider’s web, intercepting Yu Ik Hwan’s blade strike wrapped in blade silk.
Thump!
“Gasp! Gasp!”
The spring and summer student, whose name had been half-written in the ledger of the afterlife, felt his legs give way and collapsed.
From behind came the sharp click of a tongue.
“Tsk, how can you let your guard down? I’ve told you countless times to strike when the enemy hesitates.”
“D, Danjushin!”
At the familiar voice, the spring and summer student’s face brightened as he turned to look behind him.
There stood Ho Yeon, his hair loose and unbound.
Tap-tap!
Yu Ik Hwan retreated swiftly, his eyes wary as he regarded Ho Yeon and demanded, “Danjushin? So you’re the leader, are you?”

“Then what?”
“Capture the King by capturing his generals!”
Crack!
Yu Ik Hwan lowered his stance and rushed forward swiftly, analyzing his opponent.
‘He uses silk threads as weapons—threads that can’t be cut even by dao silk. He’s the type who exploits his surroundings. This entire area must be rigged with his traps. If that’s the case……!’
Slash! Crackle!
Yu Ik Hwan, who had been charging at Namgung Ho Yeon, suddenly changed direction and began slashing through the surrounding trees.
Boom-crash-crash!
“Hahaha! If I destroy the traps he’s set up, he’s done!”
Yu Ik Hwan demolished all the trees where threads might be caught and straightened his Straight Sword.
Click!
“Now your attacks are sealed! Mastery of thread techniques proves you lack confidence in close combat!”
“Hmm, perceptive.”
“Heh, I’m a famous-class ronin who’s trudged through battlefields for more than a decade! You’d better not treat me like some common rabble!”
“Is this the extent of Chang Gung Gi? I wonder what would happen if I poured Cheonrae Gi into it.”
“……What?”
Yu Ik Hwan gazed at his opponent upon hearing that strange remark and realized his reflection did not exist in those eyes.
Yu Ik Hwan’s lips trembled at his opponent’s indifference toward him.
“Tch! All bluster!”
Bang!
Screech!
Yu Ik Hwan charged toward Namgung Ho Yeon and brought his raised Straight Sword down in a semicircle.
Then.
Crackle!
A white flash erupted, and the trajectory of the Cheon Jam Sa, which had been hidden in the darkness, became visible.
“What is this…….”
Thanks to that, Yu Ik Hwan realized that the white silken threads were coiled around his entire body.
“The Gucheon Bong In. A knotting method that compresses nine vital acupuncture points.”
Clink-clink-clink!
Namgung Ho Yeon pulled the Cheon Jam Sa taut.
Instantly, the threads encircling Yu Ik Hwan contracted all at once.
Crunch! Crunch-crunch!
Thud-thud-thud!
“U-ugghhh!”
The Chunha disciple, who had been lying down, could not suppress his nausea as he watched a man turn into a mass of flesh in an instant, and he began to retch.
But Namgung Ho Yeon merely muttered in an indifferent tone.
“Hmm, Cheonrae Gi is definitely sharper. But visibility is a drawback. Chang Gung Gi suits assassination better. Besides, this looks too messy.”
Rustle! Rustle!
Namgung Ho Yeon then pulled a manual from his robe and began to examine it.
“This rope technique. It’s more interesting than I thought.”
―This insane brat. How does this count as pursuit-and-capture technique? It’s just a dismemberment method.
―Pfahahaha! Murder in all its glory!
The Cheonrae Geom was bewildered, while the Heukya Tae Geom was delighted.
The manual Namgung Ho Yeon was examining was titled the Che Beom Ji Seul.
It was a secret technique granted alongside the Ho Eun Secret Service Gold Badge.
Originally it was the Po Seung Seul, which explained how to restrain criminals.
But when Namgung Ho Yeon manipulated the Cheon Jam Sa using Uigi Yeondong, it transformed into a brutal killing method.
“The best capture is death. When they’re dead, transportation costs plummet. How economical.”
―My, what villainous logic from the scourge of the realm.
“This brings back memories. When I wielded the Cheonsa Geom Ryeong Gong, I often used combat methods like this.”
Namgung Ho Yeon murmured, lost in nostalgia.
It was no accident that Namgung Ho Yeon, during his Sword Demon days, had created the Cheonsa Geom Ryeong Gong.
The Cheonsa Geom Ryeong Gong was a mental cultivation method with perfect compatibility with Uigi Yeondong.
Manipulating thin threads of energy through Uigi Yeondong opened up infinite possibilities.
Though the adhesion and extension—the greatest hallmarks of Cheonsa Geom Ryeong Gi—were impossible.
Instead, when Cheon Jam Sa channels energy into itself, it releases a terrifying sharpness that slices through a human body as easily as tofu.
“This is more than worthy of becoming my hair ribbon. Yes.”
Swish! Swish! Snap!
Namgung Ho Yeon, having wrapped his hair with layered Cheon Jam Sa, surveyed his surroundings.
Glint! Clang-clang!
Squelch! Crunch!
For students unfamiliar with real combat, the Chunha cohort was proving remarkably skilled with blade and thrust.
In the Jianghu martial world, it was common enough to see masters who’d killed for the first time, lost their nerve in the shock, and fell uselessly to an enemy’s strike.
By contrast, the Chunha students—though their cultivation may have been shallow—possessed killing intent every bit as steely as any seasoned warrior.
‘Of course they do. Why would I have drilled them on moonlit nights for nothing? Anyone who hesitated at striking got their bones broken for it.’
Namgung Ho Yeon nodded with evident satisfaction.
Giving the Chunha students battlefield experience was a kind of reward he’d decided to grant them.
‘They didn’t complain when I told them we’d spend the practical term in Anhui. They simply came along.’
In truth, mobilizing outsiders from the Naktjeon Group for Namgung Clan business was asking much of them.
He’d expected more than half would refuse.
But when the moment came, every single murin of the Naktjeon Group boarded the ship bound for Cheongyang without hesitation.
‘The world works on exchange—give, and you receive in kind. If you follow me, I’ll look after you as I see fit.’
Namgung Ho Yeon nodded to himself.
His perspective on the Naktjeon Group had shifted ever since that small enlightenment at Samhyeop Jebang.
“Hurry up with the cleanup! Buyong Peak and Saja Peak finished long ago! If you don’t contribute wedding gifts, you’ll have to make up for it with sweat!”
“Ohohoho! We can’t fall behind Chunbae!”
“Silver—two ounces’ worth in kills!”
“Leader! You’ll see—I swear I’ll eat until the gift table breaks under the weight!”
At Namgung Ho Yeon’s call, the Chunha students roared and pressed forward, cutting through their enemies.
The Geumcheon Dao Men fighters, now leaderless, were finished within a moment.

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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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