The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 19
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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 19.
The wooden stake driven through my thigh made the muscle fibers tear sideways with every attempt to put weight on my leg.
My left arm had vanished somewhere beyond sight, and my right eye saw nothing but darkness.
Yet Ga Woon Sung stood rigid, sword still gripped in hand.
Death held no fear for me.
I simply wished to sever at least one of their necks—to honor my fallen comrades’ spirits, to claim my vengeance.
But my body would obey no longer. The only sensation remaining was the grip of my fingers around the sword’s hilt.
“Impressive.”
From among the five Masked Assassins surrounding me, their leader stepped forward.
“Standing on two feet despite such a state.”
“You vermin.”
As Ga Woon Sung opened his mouth, blood foam dribbled down his chin.
“I will drag every last one of you to the underworld as my companions!”
“I hope you do.”
The Masked Assassin nodded and drew the black sword from his back.
“Out of respect, I shall grant you a swift death.”
Ga Woon Sung calmly raised his right arm.
Despite countless attacks, he had risen again and again like a roly-poly toy.
Not because of exceptional martial skill or stamina, but solely because of his singular obsession with vengeance.
Whoosh!
The Masked Assassin’s black sword cleaved through the air, piercing sharply into Ga Woon Sung’s heart.
Thud.
With a dull sound, Ga Woon Sung collapsed to his knees without even a cry.
“Truly a stubborn one.”
As the Masked Assassin withdrew the sword from the heart,
Thump, thump.
Low footsteps echoed across the ground.
Turning, I saw a shadow approaching calmly, an iron sword held in the left hand. It was Bu Eunseol.
“That sword….”
The Masked Assassin’s eyes widened as he watched Bu Eunseol approach from behind.
Strapped to her back was the black sword worn by trainees who had entered the Martial Hall of Geuk Sal Mil Gak.
“Why are you carrying a black sword?”
To the Masked Assassin’s question, Bu Eunseol replied calmly.
“It seemed useful.”
At this absurd answer, the Masked Assassin’s gaze turned frigid.
Bu Eunseol had come from the direction where three of his comrades had been hiding. Since she now carried their swords, further conversation was unnecessary.
Flash!
In that instant, a brilliant flash erupted from Bu Eunseol’s right hand.
Most assassins’ techniques relied on one-strike-certain-death sword or blade arts. Bu Eunseol had struck first with speed to prevent them from taking the initiative.
“Argh!”
The Masked Assassin standing to Bu Eunseol’s side clutched his throat, a harrowing scream tearing from his lips.
The swift blade had severed his carotid artery in a single, merciless stroke.
“Attack!”
The remaining four Masked Assassins drew their black blades with practiced speed, launching themselves at Bu Eunseol.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
A torrent of razor-sharp swordplay descended upon her like a violent downpour.
Yet Bu Eunseol’s body anticipated the cascading blade strikes, pressing herself flat against the ground.
“Ah!”
Gasps of disbelief erupted from the Masked Assassins’ lips.
The Death Arrow Blood Formation they had unleashed was a one-strike-certain-death technique, channeling all their power to strike the enemy’s vital points.
But as Bu Eunseol naturally threw herself prone, their full-force blade strikes whistled harmlessly past her.
Crack!
Rising with the speed of lightning, Bu Eunseol’s iron blade writhed like a living serpent.
“Argh!”
Another Masked Assassin’s heart was pierced through by her iron blade.
She had unleashed the sixth move of the Hwawoo Thirteen Forms, Comparing Long and Short, followed by the seventh move of the Hwawoo Lightning Blade, Wooden Man Stone Heart, in rapid succession.
“What manner of swordplay is this!”
The Masked Assassins were utterly aghast.
An iron blade that should remain rigid was bending freely, piercing vital points with impossible precision?
Tremor.
The blade tip quivered, and Bu Eunseol’s technique transformed once more.
Simultaneously, an agonized scream pierced the air.
“Ahhh!”
The swift blade that had extended straight suddenly curved in an arc, slashing across the Masked Assassin’s ribs.
“That… that one is a sword demon!”
Whenever the iron blade cut through the air, death’s touch inevitably followed.
Terror-stricken, the two remaining Masked Assassins deployed their movement techniques, scattering left and right.
Whoosh!
Watching their retreat, Bu Eunseol hurled the black blade strapped to her back like a throwing knife.
Thunk.
Light and perfectly balanced, the black blade flew true, embedding itself in the back of the Masked Assassin fleeing rightward.
But the one retreating leftward continued his escape.
‘I have survived!’
Exulting in his escape, the fleeing Masked Assassin suddenly spotted a dark silhouette standing in the distance.
It was Ga Woon Sung, who had been lying fallen with a blade through his heart.
‘How is this possible?’
He had clearly pierced the heart—how had he risen again?
‘Surely not…’
The Masked Assassin suddenly recalled the anatomical knowledge he had learned in the Advanced Hall of Geuk Sal Mil Gak.
‘The heart’s position… it must be different.’
If one were to draw a centerline through the human body, the heart’s position lies closer to that centerline than to the left side.
Yet there exist those whose hearts beat in positions subtly different from ordinary people.
“Kill me again!”
The Masked Assassin, rushing forward, unleashed his swordplay infused with all the resentment he had harbored until now.
He poured forth every ounce of rage and helplessness he had suffered at Bu Eunseol’s hands, directing it all toward Ga Woon Sung.
But there was something the Masked Assassin had failed to consider—he had long since ceased to care about his own life.
“Die!”
Ga Woon Sung paid no heed to the blade piercing his heart, instead hurling himself forward and driving his iron sword deep into the Masked Assassin’s body.
Thud.
The Masked Assassin’s eyes, his heart skewered upon the iron blade, froze in empty space.
He expired without even a moment to cry out.
“At last, my revenge….”
Ga Woon Sung, gazing down at his trembling hands, collapsed to the ground.
“…is complete.”
He was a body that should have perished long ago, bearing countless mortal wounds.
Yet his obsession with vengeance had anchored his soul to his flesh.
“I have done it….”
As Ga Woon Sung smiled with satisfaction, a faint shadow appeared before his vision.
It was Bu Eunseol.
“Are you satisfied?”
“What are you….”
“You said you had just completed your revenge.”
Bu Eunseol asked with utmost seriousness.
“I am curious—how does it feel to have accomplished your vengeance?”
“How it feels….”
Ga Woon Sung formed a peculiar smile at the corner of his lips.
The emotions within his eyes were tangled like threads, a complex weave of feelings that defied simple expression.
Thump.
He could not speak further, and expired with his eyes still open.
“….”
Bu Eunseol gazed endlessly upon the face of the lifeless Ga Woon Sung.
Perhaps it was because all the assassins who had mercilessly slaughtered her comrades were now dead?
The eyes of the departed Ga Woon Sung had gently closed, and the complex smile had transformed into something resembling peace.
‘Could I ever smile like that?’
Bu Eunseol, her expression vacant as she gazed into empty space, shook her head vigorously.
‘This is not the time for such contemplation!’
The Third Trial—a realm of death and killing—had already begun, and the entire Island had become a hell.
Bu Eunseol, standing motionless with hollow eyes, drew a deep breath and departed into the Forest.
Whoosh.
As Bu Eunseol vanished, a gray mist suddenly swept across the empty clearing.
Gray mist poured from all directions, gradually converging into a single point before coalescing into human form.
“So that’s the one.”
A low voice resonated from within the mist-formed figure.
“Slicing through the assassins of Geuk Sal Mil Gak with nothing but the foundational sword techniques of Hwawoo Sword Sect—techniques utterly useless in actual combat…”
The voice flowing from the mist carried an intense curiosity mixed with intrigue.
“Having reached the Advanced Hall, the final opponent will inevitably be the first disciple of Hwawoo Sword…”
The voice within the mist now carried a note of regret.
“Though said to have mastered Beast Blade, there are no signs of deeply cultivated martial prowess.”
Though possessing exceptional talent, this island held many prodigies no less remarkable than Bu Eunseol.
They had all systematized their martial training since childhood, crafting bodies capable of readily absorbing supreme forbidden techniques.
Most critically, they concealed hidden claws—weapons guaranteed to eliminate any opponent in moments of absolute desperation.
“With merely that level of strength, survival on Hell Island is impossible.”
The low voice grew fainter, barely audible, then vanished without trace.
Simultaneously, the mist gathered in human form dispersed completely, melting away like snow.
* * *
The Third Trial became a prolonged conflict.
Some ambushed enemies with overwhelming martial power; others concealed themselves using superior stealth techniques.
Some expanded their numbers into organized groups; others built loyal factions through exceptional leadership and command.
In this regard, Bu Eunseol faced a severely disadvantageous situation.
Those who traveled alone became prey for organized groups. With neither allies nor enemies designated, I could only cut down those seeking my death.
Yet Bu Eunseol remained undaunted.
The enemy I must face is far stronger than all the trainees on Hell Island combined.
If I cannot overcome this ordeal, then even surviving this place would prove meaningless—I could never kill that person.
“Huff. Huff.”
Bu Eunseol’s body was drenched in blood.
The moment I emerged from the forest, four youths wielding whips thin as paper descended upon me.
They were trainees who had mastered the White Horse Sect’s White Horse Nine-Jade Whip Technique.
Crack. Bang!
Surrounding Bu Eunseol, they repeatedly extended and retracted their three-foot-long white horse whips with perfect control.
It was the White Horse Sect’s exclusive secret formation—the Jade Phosphorus Golden Serpent Array.
Whistle! Bang!
Each time dozens of white horse whips descended, the sound of air-splitting and explosive impacts erupted simultaneously.
Bu Eunseol dodged the dozens of white horse whips pouring down like rain with remarkable reflexes, attempting counterattacks.
Slash!
I pierced through the whip shadows and severed the wrist of the one wielding the white horse whip.
Ting!
Bu Eunseol’s eyebrows shot upward.
The iron sword had only torn the sleeve—the wrist remained intact. They all had transparent white horse whips wrapped around their wrists and vital joints for protection.
“Hwawoo Sword technique!”
One of the youths wielding the white horse whips recognized Bu Eunseol’s sword method and cried out in admiration.
“I must deploy the Spirit Snake’s Descent and deny them any opening to wield their blades!”
As time wore on, the whip shadows grew denser, and my robes became soaked with blood.
Yet my legs remained steady, and my eyes burned with fiercer intensity.
Whoosh!
One of the four strands of the White Horse whip, moving with serpentine grace, coiled around my iron sword.
‘Got it!’
The boy gripping my sword with the White Horse whip felt a surge of triumph in his heart.
Swordsmen trained in blade techniques consider the loss of their weapon a profound shame.
Not only had the White Horse whip ensnared the blade, dealing a psychological blow, but it also allowed him to shift this battle into a contest of internal energy.
“No!”
The boy’s pupils flooded with bewilderment.
Thud.
I released the sword without hesitation and hurled it away.
Shing.
Then I drew the black blade strapped to my back and resumed my sword forms.
I had never considered myself a martial artist, nor had I ever staked my pride on a weapon.
“Gasp.”
The boys who witnessed this were greatly startled, and their movements instinctively slowed.
Flash!
The moment the torrential assault of White Horse whips faltered, I seized the opportunity without hesitation.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Alternating between Swift Blade Form and Linked Chain Blade Form, I drove them back and swiftly escaped the perimeter of the Jade Serpent Golden Formation.
“….”
Even after breaking free from the formation, I did not flee but stood ready, black blade in hand.
The boys watching me, drenched in blood yet gripping my sword, felt a chill run through them.
―This one… is formidable.
Though it was I who bore the mounting wounds.
The boys felt as though an invisible hand was slowly closing around their throats, suffocating them with pressure.
“Why are you all cowering!”
One of the boys wielding the White Horse whip shouted harshly at his companions.
“Did you forget what the captain said? With the Jade Serpent Golden Formation deployed, we can defeat anyone!”
‘Captain?’
My brow furrowed slightly as I stood motionless.
So there was a leader commanding these four boys separately?
“Fine! Let’s try again!”
Emboldened once more, the boys began swinging their White Horse whips.
Whoooosh.
The translucent White Horse whips gleamed with golden radiance as dozens of serpent shadows flickered and danced.
They were activating the Jade Serpent Golden Formation once more.
“…!”
At that moment, the boys wielding the White Horse Sect blades froze mid-motion.
Thud-thud-thud.
From somewhere, the sound of a large group approaching grew louder.
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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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