The Patriarch of the Northern Heavens - Chapter 10

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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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Master of the Bukcheon Sword Family – Chapter 10

“Kill them all!”
One of the bandits at the front shouted in a harsh voice.
As if responding to his call, all the bandits drew their weapons.
Their numbers seemed to easily exceed a hundred.
“What!”
Jung Ik, the third squad leader, wore an expression of shock.
The information obtained from the family didn’t match the intelligence about the Red Wolf Gang.
Indeed, they were supposed to number around fifty.
But what was now charging toward the Gale Wind Brigade was easily twice their reported strength.
It looked like at least a hundred and twenty men.
“Don’t panic! Everyone, prepare for battle! Brace for impact!”
So Ho, the first squad leader, gripped his sword tightly with that thought.
Yet even he couldn’t help but feel his gaze waver.
Over a hundred bandits charging like this exerted considerable pressure.
So naturally, tension was unavoidable.
‘If things continue like this, our casualties will be severe.’
Then there was only one way—to ease my allies’ tension.
I urged my horse forward to take the lead.
“Y-Young Master So!”
A startled voice came from behind.
They hadn’t expected me to suddenly move to the front.
“This is dangerous! Please fall back at once!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
“Sir?”
“I am the young master of the Bukcheon Sword Family, after all.”
There was no way I could retreat from a mere skirmish like this.
Rather, I had to fight with more valor than anyone else to lift my allies’ morale.
With that, I drew my sword.
Shing!
The blade gleamed in the sunlight as it emerged with a menacing sound.
I immediately enveloped myself in the Golden Yaksha Divine Technique.
A racing heart and a body brimming with vitality.
The perfect conditions for battle.
“Are you truly certain about this?”
Sa Gong-cheon approached from the side and asked carefully.
His expression showed he was wrestling with something.
Perhaps he was considering whether he should forcibly push me back?
I let out a soft chuckle and nodded.
“Don’t underestimate me so easily.”
“…!”
“They’re coming.”
While we spoke, the bandits closed the distance to striking range.
They raised their weapons and swung them toward me.
Sa Gong-cheon moved forward to respond.
But I was faster.
My blade flashed as I executed two swift cuts, severing the heads of the two bandits attacking me.
Whoosh!
The headless bodies of the bandits crumpled to the ground.
A stunned gaze pierced me from the side.
But I paid it no mind and bellowed at the top of my voice.
“Let these bandits witness the power of the Bukcheon Sword Family!”
“Uuuuaaaaaaah!”
The Gale Wind Brigade, hesitant at first, responded with fervent enthusiasm.
They surged forward in my wake, attacking the bandits with overwhelming momentum.
Now it was the bandits who panicked.
Moments ago they seemed poised to overwhelm us, but suddenly the tide had turned.
Yet this was only natural.
‘The Gale Wind Brigade may not match the Iron Blood Sword Squad, but they’re a formidable force within the clan.’
No matter how outnumbered, they wouldn’t fall to mere bandits like these.
And with me—whom they’d thought a burden—cutting down enemies and seizing momentum….
The tide could only turn in our favor.
“Target that one!”
The Red Wolf Gang, realizing something had gone wrong, singled me out.
Did they think I was the source of their misfortune?
Over a dozen bandits rushed at me all at once.
I drew my blade with precision and cut down each attacker as they came.
With each swing of my sword, another bandit fell.
“This can’t be….”
Sa Gong-cheon, standing guard beside me, muttered in disbelief.
Shock was written across his face.
He had thought me a sickly young master, yet here I was, thriving on the battlefield.
Regardless, I pressed deeper into their ranks, my blade claiming lives with each stroke.
“Young Master So!”
Sa Gong-cheon was blocked by enemies and couldn’t reach me immediately.
But it didn’t matter. From this clash, I’d confirmed there were no masters among them capable of threatening me.
The moment I thought this.
Whoosh!
I deflected the spear as it whistled toward my ribs.
But the spear wielder showed no panic, immediately unleashing a second and third strike.
Clang! Clang!
I parried those attacks without hesitation.
Seeing that he couldn’t kill me outright, my opponent’s expression darkened.
“You’re different from what I heard. They said the Young Master of the Bukcheon Sword Family was a sickly wretch who never properly learned martial arts.”
“That was true until recently. Who are you?”
“I am Jeok In-hoe, leader of the Red Wolf Gang. Remember the name of the man who will take your head.”
With those words, Jeok In-hoe unleashed his spear techniques once more.
Despite fighting from horseback, his movements were remarkably clean and threatening.
So this was why he earned such a reputation for mounted combat.
In contrast, I had little experience fighting from horseback.
And yet.
‘I can still see it.’
My body, enhanced by the Vajra Asura Divine Art, was producing an entirely different level of output than before.
Attacks I could only sense by intuition were now clearly visible to my eyes.
Without hesitation, I swung my blade to block Jeok In-hoe’s assault.
As his attacks continued to be parried, Jeok In-hoe’s expression shifted to one of shock.
“Is that all you have?”
I taunted him with a cold smile, deliberately provoking him.
Jeok In-hoe’s face flushed red as he let out a furious roar.
“You whelp! Don’t you dare mock me!”
Shriek!
A thrust of an entirely different caliber erupted forth—far more powerful than his previous strikes.
This was surely his strongest technique.
I had no intention of deflecting or evading this attack as casually as before.
If I did, I would certainly suffer internal injuries.
Instead.
“Hah.”
I drew in a sharp breath and channeled my inner energy upward.
The Vajra Asura Divine Art’s power enveloped my entire body, radiating a soft golden luminescence.
Simultaneously, wind coalesced around my blade.
“What is that!?”
“Farewell.”
I offered a brief parting and swung my sword.
Gale Wind Consecutive Slash.
First Form: Gale Wind Severance.
Whoosh!
Jeok In-hoe’s chest split open cleanly, along with his spear shaft.
Then, with a heavy thud, he fell.
His corpse tumbled to the ground in a pathetic heap.
“The… the gang leader is dead!”
Terror rippled through the ranks of the Red Wolf Gang.
The Gale Wind Brigade seized the moment, cutting down the surviving members of the Red Wolf Gang without mercy.
The Red Wolf Gang’s morale, which had been holding steady until now, crumbled rapidly.
“Retreat!”
“Fall back! Fall back!”
Soon, soldiers began turning their horses around and breaking formation one after another.
But that was exactly what we wanted.
On the battlefield, the moment to inflict the greatest damage on the enemy was during their retreat.
We charged forward without hesitation, dealing devastating blows to their ranks.
We continued the battle for a brief moment longer.
Then I lifted the shattered banner of the Red Wolf Gang and made my declaration.
“We have won!”
“Uwaaaaaa!”
An enormous roar shook Hyoeul Village.

* * *

Shortly after.
We rescued the people of Hyoeul Village, who had been worked like slaves, and recovered the iron we had lost.
On top of that, we seized the horses of the fallen Red Wolf Gang members and claimed a considerable amount of wealth they had accumulated.
It was an enormous haul.
Moreover, since we had only wounded on our side with no casualties, it was a victory all the more precious.
While everyone was celebrating, Sa Gong-cheon approached me with a grave expression and bowed his head.
“I apologize, Young Master.”
“Hmm? For what?”
“I failed to remain at your side, Young Master. As a result, you had to fight alone, and…”
“Ah.”
So that’s what he was getting at.
I chuckled and replied.
“It’s fine. We won anyway, didn’t we? Besides, it was I who charged forward as the vanguard to break their momentum.”
“But…”
“A guard doesn’t always need to be at someone’s side. So don’t torture yourself over it.”
As I spoke, a possibility occurred to me.
That Sa Gong-cheon hadn’t been separated from me by circumstance, but had been ordered away by Lee Tae-gyeom of the Elder Council.
‘It’s certainly plausible.’
There was even a possibility he had been ordered to isolate me and wait for my death.
But if there was a problem, it was simply that I had proven far too strong.
‘After all, I’ve completely altered the dynamics of this battle.’
The battle against the Red Wolf Gang was inherently perilous—even in victory, we risked sustaining considerable casualties.
The enemy’s numbers doubled our own, and their surprise assault had thrown us into chaos.
But I stepped forward and reversed the tide entirely.
I cut down the charging enemies at the vanguard, and single-handedly dispatched over twenty of their warriors who rushed toward me.
I even severed the enemy commander’s head.
Witnessing my display, the Gale Wind Brigade’s morale surged, and they unleashed a strength far greater than usual, bringing the battle to a swift conclusion.
When I returned to the family, this would surely create quite a stir.
‘No one could have imagined that I—a figurehead young master—would accomplish such feats.’
That’s why the Elder Council deployed weaklings like the Red Wolf Gang against me.
Of course, it was a grave miscalculation on their part.
“Young Master. We’ve loaded all the wealth those brigands possessed.”
A member of the Gale Wind Brigade approached me respectfully with his report.
His eyes gleamed with considerable admiration.
The battle I’d just fought had clearly changed how they perceived me.
In fact, everyone now regarded me with entirely different eyes.
No longer merely a figurehead young master, but someone truly worthy of leading the family.
It was a gratifying change.
A luxury my former self had never experienced.
I turned to them and asked.
“You’ve properly distributed provisions to the villagers, haven’t you?”
Hyoeul Village, having been occupied by bandits, had been stripped of its people’s food and wealth by the Red Wolf Gang.
I had compared accounts with the Village Chief and others, conducted an investigation, and decided to return everything to its rightful owners.
Truthfully, I could have claimed all of it as spoils of war.
But had I done so, the villagers might have starved to death.
So I took the time to return their possessions to them.
“Yes. We returned everything. The villagers wept with joy.”
Pride resonated in his voice.
As a member of a righteous faction, performing acts of benevolence naturally brought satisfaction.
I patted his shoulder as if acknowledging his hardship and spoke.
“Then let’s prepare to depart. We’ll leave a bit later, so rest for now. You’ve worked hard.”
“Yes! Please rest as well, Young Master.”
The warrior gave a spirited reply and left.
I lingered briefly at the Red Wolf Gang’s headquarters, searching for anything that might prove useful.
‘There might be hidden vaults or something of the sort.’
But despite my thorough search, I found nothing. Just as I was about to leave with mild disappointment, I encountered an obstacle.
“Sa Gong-cheon?”
Sa Gong-cheon blocked my path as I exited Jeok In-hoe’s quarters.
His expression was troubled as he looked at me.
“What is it?”
“Young Master. That is…”
He squeezed his eyes shut, wrestling with his thoughts, before opening his mouth with a look of resolve.
“I have something to tell you, Master So Ho.”

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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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