The God of Death and the God of War - Chapter 45

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Evil Hegemon Martial God

 

Chapter 45

 

“Puhehe, such an expression. No matter how I think about it, it’s truly a masterpiece.”

 

Jeok-un, who had exited the abandoned mine and was walking along the winding mountain path, couldn’t help but let out laughter no matter how much he tried to hold it back.

 

It was still vivid in his mind.

 

Upon hearing that she had to figure out the formula on her own, Hyeol-hu’s completely dumbfounded expression.

 

However, Hae-yeon was not beside Jeok-un as he made his way through the mountain path.

 

-Well, since the work is done, go back first.

 

-…What?

 

It was because he had sent her back to Changsha alone as soon as they left the abandoned mine.

 

There was one reason.

 

‘Because I still have things left to do.’

 

Rustle.

 

Jeok-un suddenly stopped walking.

 

Then he suddenly began muttering to himself.

 

“Night mountain travel would be dangerous, but since I used many spiritual medicines during treatment, her martial arts should have improved. There’s no need to worry much.”

 

Jeok-un suddenly mumbled.

 

One might think it was talking to himself.

 

But it wasn’t talking to himself.

 

Because Jeok-un, left alone, was looking at the thick thicket as he spoke.

 

“Isn’t that right, old man?”

 

Whoosh.

 

Only the sound of wind moved, touching the branches and thicket.

 

The sound of wind seemed to soothe, as if asking whether he was mistaken.

 

But Jeok-un didn’t withdraw his gaze.

 

If someone had been there, they would have surely been convinced that Jeok-un was mistaken.

 

The thicket rustled and someone emerged.

 

“…As expected, you knew.”

 

A limping old man with silver hair.

 

It was Hwang-no.

 

Jeok-un shrugged his shoulders and said.

 

“How could I not know? Ever since leaving Changsha, you’ve been following me, clinging like a cicada. You followed me well even into that dark abandoned mine.”

 

“…”

 

Had he known from the beginning?

 

Hwang-no’s eyes turned cold. Then naturally, a chilling aura like a blade’s edge subtly emanated.

 

In the tension that seemed ready to pounce at any moment, a strange light quietly rose in Jeok-un’s eyes.

 

‘His leg was fine too, it seems.’

 

Hwang-no was definitely a limping cripple.

 

But now he wasn’t limping.

 

His movements seemed to have no problems, and furthermore, even intense martial arts wouldn’t be burdensome.

 

When Jeok-un finished his inner assessment, Hwang-no slowly opened his mouth.

 

“First, I apologize for my rudeness. However, having committed such discourtesy to the Daeju, I cannot shamelessly remain under the Daeju’s command.”

 

“Hmm, is that so? That’s unfortunate.”

 

At their first meeting, Jeok-un had warned Hwang-no like this.

 

-But you’ll have to decide by the time I return.

 

-Because I have no intention of keeping a ‘shadow’ whose identity I don’t know under me.

 

In response to that warning, Hwang-no chose to leave, and Jeok-un didn’t stop him.

 

“However, having already committed one transgression, may I commit one more discourtesy?”

 

“Go ahead.”

 

“Regarding Hae-yeon, that child – while the Daeju did bestow life-saving grace upon her, demanding the impossible while keeping her by your side seems a bit excessive.”

 

“Continue.”

 

“Even if you know the ingredients, asking her to figure out the mixing ratios with just that knowledge is like asking someone to find a needle in a desert with just a magnet, isn’t it?”

 

As mentioned earlier, Hwang-no had also secretly followed them into the mine tunnel.

 

He had heard all the orders Jeok-un gave to Hae-yeon there.

 

In situations with limited information and experience, certainty tends to become biased, and Hwang-no made the same mistake.

 

He misunderstood the true intention behind the task Jeok-un assigned.

 

“Aren’t you giving her an unsolvable task to keep that child tied to you for as long as possible?”

 

Hwang-no thought he had hit the mark. But Jeok-un’s expression didn’t look like someone who had been caught off guard.

 

Rather, the fact that such a misunderstanding was possible, and that Hwang-no had such a misunderstanding.

 

He seemed quite amazed, as if it were fascinating.

 

‘He’s genuinely worried.’

 

Hae-yeon was a subordinate he cherished as well. If such a person had another family-like existence, it would be welcome, not something to avoid.

 

“She’s a child with many wounds that even the Daeju doesn’t know about. Though it may be presumptuous, please just use her appropriately and send her back to where she originally belongs…”

 

“Hey, old man.”

 

Jeok-un cut off Hwang-no’s words.

 

Before exchanging more words, he thought he should correct what was wrong.

 

“She’ll succeed. Don’t doubt it.”

 

“…!”

 

“That girl has more tremendous skill and talent than you think.”

 

Instead of rambling, Hwang-no silently looked into Jeok-un’s eyes.

 

There was no wavering in Jeok-un’s pupils.

 

Straight and upright. The kind of reaction that would only appear when he was certain of his words.

 

In other words, Jeok-un completely trusted Hae-yeon.

 

‘It won’t be easy, that’s true.’

 

Still, Jeok-un believed that Hae-yeon could do it.

 

Enough to bet his entire fortune if asked.

 

It had always been like that before his regression too.

 

Jeok-un believed in his brothers and took on challenges even in the face of impossible situations and reality.

 

And each time, his brothers succeeded as if to show him.

 

‘Now then, it’s about time to move on to the main topic.’

 

Jeok-un brought up the main topic at an appropriate moment.

 

The main topic was ‘Hwang-no’ himself.

 

“And I understand you’ve grown attached to Hae-yeon, but aren’t you treating her too much like your own granddaughter?”

 

“…!”

 

“I had no intention of digging into it. At first, I couldn’t guess your identity, but now I can see it.”

 

Hwang-no continued to remain silent.

 

He had heard countless probing words before.

 

But at the words that followed, Hwang-no couldn’t remain silent.

 

“Is this your return to Gangho after 35 years? Nice to meet you, assassin.”

 

Crash!

 

At Jeok-un’s single remark, Hwang-no rushed at him like lightning.

 

It was truly movement befitting an assassin.

 

But there was no killing intent.

 

Probably prioritizing suppression over killing, intending to extract how he knew his identity.

 

‘Then I should receive it. There’s no need to drag out the greeting.’

 

Assassins aim for one-strike kills.

 

An all-out attack with no way back.

 

Even now with the killing intent removed, it wasn’t much different.

 

Since he seemed intent on suppressing him with full force, he would receive this head-on.

 

‘Tamrang’s power should be enough.’

 

Jeok-un unleashed Tamrang’s power and faced him head-on.

 

Kuuuung…!

 

A dull sound echoed through the mountain, as if a massive boulder had fallen from a cliff.

 

“….”

 

As mountain birds suddenly took flight at the unexpected roar and wild beasts fled in surprise, Jeok-un spoke.

 

“Is time being cruel? No, that’s not it….”

 

Jeok-un tilted his head.

 

Judging by his presence and traces, the assassin’s martial prowess was at the Transcendent realm.

 

But that last strike only reached the Transformation realm, and it felt like he wasn’t clashing with full power but lacking follow-through.

 

From this, Jeok-un was certain that the assassin’s martial prowess hadn’t diminished with the passage of time, but was due to the aftereffects of injury.

 

“It’s the aftereffects of injury.”

 

“…!”

 

At his confident statement about the injury, Hwang-no unleashed his aura in waves.

 

As if he was determined to kill Jeok-un to silence him.

 

But Jeok-un replied calmly.

 

“Calm down. You’re someone Hae-yeon regards as family, so I have no intention of revealing such a person’s past to the world.”

 

While pacifying Hwang-no, Jeok-un recalled his true identity once more.

 

‘He’s as outstanding as I heard. If my original strength had been intact, it might have been quite dangerous.’

 

Hwang-no’s alias was the Shadowless Assassin, the world’s greatest killer from sixty years ago.

 

* * *

 

The Shadowless Assassin’s appearance in Gangho was exactly sixty years ago, a full cycle.

 

When the assassin went on his first killing mission, one of the hundred great masters fell.

 

After that, until he disappeared, as many as two of the Ten Greatest Heroes of the Martial World met their deaths.

 

The Ten Greatest Heroes of the Martial World.

 

Two out of the ten strongest masters in the world.

 

One can easily imagine what great turmoil swept through Gangho.

 

But no information about the Shadowless Assassin was revealed.

 

Gender, age, appearance, martial arts, and so on.

 

No information whatsoever was revealed.

 

Excluding the alias Shadowless Assassin, only one thing was revealed.

 

That the assassin was from Sal-mun.

 

That was the last known information, from thirty-five years ago.

 

Because thirty-five years ago, he disappeared after his last assassination.

 

People speculated variously that the assassin had met another master and died, or had retired, but the truth was different.

 

“My son and daughter-in-law who left saying they would quit being assassins, and my granddaughter, met gruesome deaths.”

 

“….”

 

So the assassin wandered for 14 years to avenge his mortal enemies.

 

Finally, 21 years ago, he discovered the identity of the enemies hidden in secret.

 

But they had also found the Shadowless Assassin, and unable to achieve revenge against their unexpectedly powerful force, he was instead pursued and fell from the thousand-foot cliff.

 

“And since you were first confirmed in Sadocheon 20 years ago, you must have entered beneath Sadocheon to hide your identity while recovering from your injuries.”

 

But seeing that you haven’t left Sadocheon until now, it seems your injuries haven’t fully healed.

 

In the meantime, seeing Hae-yeon and being reminded of your granddaughter, you must have risked danger to pass on some of your martial arts to her.

 

“….”

 

Hwang-no, who had been quietly listening to Jeok-un’s deduction, finally opened his mouth.

 

“You bastard, were you in league with them?”

 

“What?”

 

“Don’t give me that nonsense about hearing it from Jegal Sega’s library. If Jegal Sega knew, the Martial Arts Alliance would know too, and if the Martial Arts Alliance knew, they would never leave me alone.”

 

“Ah, right. One of the Ten Greatest Heroes you killed was from Namgung.”

 

Swish.

 

As Hwang-no took another step forward, Jeok-un said.

 

“Listen, old man. It’s a misunderstanding.”

 

Step.

 

As Hwang-no ignored him and took another step closer, Jeok-un spoke casually as if tossing the words out.

 

It was the line he had been waiting for this moment to say.

 

“I didn’t hear it from that side. It’s the opposite. I heard it from the ones you’re chasing.”

 

“…!”

 

The ones he’s chasing?

 

How does he know that?

 

The moment Hwang-no hesitated, Jeok-un smirked.

 

Hwang-no immediately hardened his expression and glared at Jeok-un with fierce eyes.

 

“Don’t talk nonsense. Do you know who I’m chasing?”

 

As soon as Hwang-no finished speaking, Jeok-un answered as if he had been waiting.

 

“The Demonic Cult.”

 

“…!!”

 

Hwang-no’s eyes widened as if they would tear.

 

That’s right, the mortal enemies who killed Hwang-no’s son and daughter-in-law, even his granddaughter, were none other than the Demonic Cult.

 

Jeok-un’s recognition of Hwang-no and his detailed knowledge about him were thanks to his bitter fights with the Demonic Cult before his regression.

 

During the ongoing battles with the Demonic Cult, he had once secured documents about the assassin.

 

At that time, Jeok-un had paid considerable attention to Hwang-no, because his actions were noteworthy enough to be remarkable.

 

‘Fighting the Demonic Cult alone for so long and so bitterly isn’t easy.’

 

This was exactly the point Jeok-un had noted.

 

He hadn’t risen to the pinnacle of a faction like himself.

 

Yet alone, he had continued playing hide-and-seek for over twenty years while persistently pursuing the Demonic Cult.

 

Hwang-no was that capable a person, which is why Jeok-un had rambled on like this.

 

Because it would be a waste to just let him go.

 

“It’s your choice whether to believe me, but I also have a grudge against those bastards.”

 

“….”

 

“Doesn’t the old saying go that the enemy of my enemy is my ally? Then we could become allies too.”

 

Saying this, Jeok-un suddenly turned around.

 

Hwang-no was startled.

 

It was madness.

 

To show your back when facing an assassin.

 

However, Jeok-un spoke without looking back.

 

“Now, follow me. I’ll let you confirm the truth of my words.”

 

At those words, Hwang-no’s heart stirred violently.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————