The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 58
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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 58.
So Yok and Woo Mun Hwang took only the tiniest portions of food onto their plates and brought them to their mouths.
Then they began chewing very quietly and gently, a process that stretched well beyond half a quarter hour. Their manner of eating even appeared reverent.
‘So that’s what it was.’
Bu Eunseol nodded as she observed the two’s dining method.
Taking only minuscule amounts of food and chewing it with great care for an extended time.
Their approach to eating not only allowed them to properly savor the flavors of the ingredients, but was also an excellent method to ensure the food caused no harm.
“Does it seem strange?”
So Yok smiled faintly, sensing Bu Eunseol’s fixed gaze.
“Not strange at all.”
Bu Eunseol answered matter-of-factly.
“Chewing small amounts of food slowly is not only beneficial for one’s health, but also the finest method for detecting poison in food.”
At those words, So Yok laughed brightly.
“Master Ho, you have considerable experience in Gangho. It’s quite rare to find someone who understands that such a dining method serves as a defense against poison.”
‘So she was a woman of not only high status, but considerable position.’
Since ancient times, those in power had always guarded against poison in their food.
Bu Eunseol could now understand why So Yok, who had come here merely for leisure, was provided with an escort.
“You wear an expression as though you’ve deduced my entire situation.”
Her eyes sparkled with intelligence.
“Shall I confirm what Master Ho has guessed?”
Bu Eunseol nodded, and she spoke.
“You must have thought: this woman undoubtedly possesses not only high status but considerable position, did you not?”
Bu Eunseol nodded with a slightly surprised expression.
“You’re right.”
“I’m afraid Master Ho’s deduction is mistaken.”
So Yok spoke with a melancholy expression.
“I possess neither high status nor any considerable position. I am merely someone destined to fail at many things, and to live bearing the guilt that follows.”
“Yok. There’s no need for such words.”
Woo Mun Hwang, who had been eating in silence until now, shook his head.
“And it’s not entirely your fault, is it?”
Though she appeared like a child untouched by the dust of the mundane world.
Yet she seemed to carry deep worries and suffering within her.
“I apologize. But it’s rare that I dine outside like this….”
As So Yok fell silent, a heavy stillness descended upon the table.
Woo Mun Hwang realized that So Yok wished to speak with Bu Eunseol and sighed.
“If you have something to say, speak freely.”
With his permission granted, So Yok opened her mouth as though she had been waiting.
“Master Ho, have you never felt guilt?”
“Before I came to Gangho, I believe I did.”
“You’re saying you don’t feel it now?”
“I had no time to savor guilt. I had to survive, by any means necessary.”
Within that answer lay the weight of my arduous and desolate existence.
So Yok, who had been contemplating my words for a moment, spoke as if to herself.
“Those who have spent long in the Gangho say that emotions inevitably wither away.”
And she gazed at me intently once more.
“Yet Master Ho, despite your youth, you feel like an aging veteran of the Gangho approaching retirement. You must have endured much, haven’t you?”
Myeong Woon had spoken similarly to me not long ago.
But I did not believe I had suffered uniquely.
The Gangho’s heartlessness.
For the Gangho was inherently devoid of sentiment.
“Miss So….”
As I naturally attempted to shift the conversation, I sensed something amiss and fell silent.
When intoxicated, people typically grew talkative and their voices rose.
Yet the patrons filling the inn had grown unnaturally uniform in their speech, their chatter indistinct and hollow.
‘Assassins….’
Having long employed the Phantom Bone Reversal Technique and the Resonant Bone Piercing Method in my duties with the Guusal Unit, I possessed an unparalleled gift for seeing through deception.
No one could discern disguise better than I.
‘How careless of me.’
I smiled bitterly.
So Yok’s voice possessed a peculiar magnetism that commanded attention.
Even one as indifferent as I found myself drawn into her words.
‘Killers.’
As I moved my lips silently, Woo Mun Hwang’s brow twitched.
‘Where are they.’
‘Every patron filling this inn.’
At my words, Woo Mun Hwang rose slowly and spoke.
“You need not act. Protect Yok.”
He then swept his gaze across the patrons before suddenly extending both palms outward.
Boom!
With a deafening crash, half the furnishings within the inn and the patrons seated there were obliterated.
‘A master of extraordinary caliber.’
To wield such devastating force with mere flesh palms dripping blood?
Woo Mun Hwang was far more formidable than I had anticipated. Since entering the martial world, I had never witnessed palm techniques of such overwhelming power.
“Attack!”
Remarkably, despite witnessing Woo Mun Hwang’s tremendous prowess, the assassins drew their blades fearlessly and charged forward.
“Like moths to flame.”
Woo Mun Hwang scoffed before tracing a semicircle with both arms.
Whoooosh.
A colossal vortex of palm force materialized, seeming to devour the very air itself,
Boom! Boom boom!
With a thunderous crash, the assassins rushing forward turned into bloody pulp once more.
“We’re running out of time. Let’s finish this quickly.”
As Woo Mun Hwang swung his paired palms with overwhelming force, the assassins cried out.
“Scatter!”
Boom!
The floor of the Inn caved in, and the assassins charging forward plummeted downward.
Whoosh!
In that instant, a sharp metallic sound reached Bu Eunseol’s ears.
As Woo Mun Hwang mindlessly struck down the assassins, those concealed above hurled poisoned projectiles at So Yok.
Pat.
Bu Eunseol extended her sleeve and lightly deflected the projectiles, then spoke to So Yok.
“Do not stray more than three paces from my body.”
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Poison-coated projectiles rained down upon So Yok. But Bu Eunseol had already drawn her blade and deployed the Thousand Blade Sword Extreme Form.
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
The swarm of projectiles pouring down like a hive of insects had their trajectories completely reversed by the formidable counter-force of the Thousand Blade Sword Extreme Form.
Flash!
Bu Eunseol’s blade had already sliced through empty air.
“They were nothing but small fry.”
In the meantime, Woo Mun Hwang, having dealt with all the assassins gathered in the Inn, brushed off his hands and approached So Yok.
“Are you unharmed?”
“Yes. Thanks to Master Ho….”
“Hmm?”
Woo Mun Hwang let out a scoff, staring at Bu Eunseol standing motionless.
“What exactly did that bastard do?”
“Was she trying to show off her martial prowess rather than actually protect you?”
Bu Eunseol clicked her tongue, surveying the ruined interior of the Inn.
“When there are many enemies, never stray from your charge’s side. Understood?”
“You’re a funny one. Just what are you——”
Woo Mun Hwang’s expression suddenly changed mid-sneer.
The ceiling above So Yok’s head was stained red, and fine feathered needles were densely embedded in one section of the wall.
‘Ah, while I was distracted….’
Only then did Woo Mun Hwang realize that while he had been recklessly unleashing his force, another group of assassins had targeted So Yok.
“Hmph, she earned her keep.”
Though he spoke coldly, Woo Mun Hwang was no less startled.
‘In such a brief moment, to handle both the projectiles and the assassins….’
Woo Mun Hwang’s attention had been diverted from So Yok and Bu Eunseol for merely an instant.
Yet she had dispatched the assassins with movements so subtle he hadn’t even sensed them?
‘Perhaps I didn’t send the wrong person after all.’
“Now, let’s return.”
Thud. Woo Mun Hwang turned his body away after inserting a slip of paper into the half-broken table.
But Bu Eunseol spoke in a firm voice.
“We cannot go to Dan Ga Jang.”
“What?”
“Those who stationed assassins at the Inn beforehand. It’s possible that Dan Ga Jang may already have killers positioned there as well.”
At Bu Eunseol’s words, Woo Mun Hwang laughed with a snort.
“Then what do you suggest?”
“Until the identities and backers of these assassins are revealed, we must hide in a secluded place.”
“Hide? You seem to be misunderstanding something.”
Woo Mun Hwang spoke with a smile.
“Even if these insignificant flies swarm in numbers, they pose no threat whatsoever.”
“My charge is Miss So.”
“It makes no difference. Such situations have occurred many times before, and I have dealt with them completely.”
At Woo Mun Hwang’s resolute attitude, Bu Eunseol shook her head.
‘This man is not one who can be persuaded by words.’
“Then let us change our appearance. That alone could buy us considerable time to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.”
Bu Eunseol always carried medicinal compounds and adhesives on her person.
Therefore, with nothing but mud nearby, she could easily alter the faces of others as skillfully as the Face-Changing Art.
“You want me to disguise myself like a rat?”
Woo Mun Hwang scoffed, his overwhelming presence surging forth as he spoke.
“No matter how elaborate an encirclement these assassins lay, I can shatter it with ease.”
As if there was nothing more to discuss, Woo Mun Hwang waved his hand dismissively and turned firmly.
“I’m returning to Dan Ga Jang.”
* * *
Bu Eunseol’s prediction proved accurate.
The moment they returned to Dan Ga Jang, assassins began their attack with a dense encirclement already laid around the estate.
Woo Mun Hwang was greatly taken aback.
Even if all the assassins from a single Sal Mun came at him, he was confident he could face them alone.
But the enemies pouring forth were not of that caliber.
Human wave tactics.
The assassins kept coming endlessly, no matter how many he killed. The sheer number of assassins surrounding the estate alone seemed equivalent to several Sal Mun combined.
“Ha!”
Upon discovering the incoming assassins, Woo Mun Hwang swung his palms like butterfly wings.
Rumble.
Dozens of assassins rushing forward collapsed where they stood.
The profound force of his palm technique burrowed deep into the assassins’ meridians, not only shaking their internal organs but severing their vital channels.
‘These are not assassins.’
Woo Mun Hwang’s eyes narrowed as he looked down at the fallen killers.
True assassins employ only killing techniques—lethal swordplay.
But the assassins pouring forth wielded disciplined, measured swordplay as if trained rigorously by a military organization.
Whoosh!
As Woo Mun Hwang unleashed a devastating torrent of spear force, four assassins became mangled corpses sent flying through the air.
Yet like iron filings clinging to a magnet, the assassins refused to break their encirclement, pressing their relentless assault against Woo Mun Hwang.
Hah!
Woo Mun Hwang unfurled successive spear techniques, weaving a net-like defensive barrier of spear force that shielded So Yok from the assassins’ onslaught.
But their sheer numbers made it impossible to repel them completely.
“Leave this to me.”
As the defensive line fractured, Bu Eunseol drew her longsword and began cutting down the assassins.
Slash!
Each time the longsword forged from White Lotus Essence Strength severed flesh and blood, agonized screams pierced the air alongside the bone-chilling sound of tearing sinew.
“Eliminate that one first!”
Meanwhile, the number of assassins rushing toward Bu Eunseol swelled like a rolling snowball.
They wielded their blades in unified formation, attempting to overwhelm her in a single coordinated strike.
Hmph.
Even as dozens of blades thrust toward her simultaneously, Bu Eunseol smiled with ease and shifted her sword stance.
Ugh!
The blade that had been piercing toward her back suddenly curved sideways, impaling the arm of an ally instead.
It was the Thousand Defeat Sword Extreme Stance of So Jeon, leader of the Changsin Squad.
“Alter the formation!”
As Bu Eunseol wielded the Thousand Defeat Sword Extreme Stance to redirect the torrent of attacks with absolute freedom, the assassins paled and hastily restructured their formation.
Aaaah!
Yet the assassins’ screams never ceased.
No formation mattered. To Bu Eunseol, who had pushed the Wild Beast Sword to its absolute limit, every opening was glaringly apparent.
Then, the leader among the assassins cried out in desperation.
“Either way… you will all die!”
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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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