The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 324

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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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The Heavenly Supreme Has Died – Episode 324
Night had fallen.
The moon, which would normally shine brightly, appeared oddly dim.
Dark clouds blanketed the sky, blocking its light. Even with lanterns lit, everything seemed shrouded in shadow.
Whether it was simply poor weather or my own state of mind, I couldn’t say. But that’s how it felt.
“Are all preparations complete?”
“Ah, yes.”
I answered Maehua Daeju’s question.
In truth, there wasn’t much to prepare. Once everyone had gathered and warmed up, that was preparation enough.
“Our preparations are also finished.”
Maehua Daeju spoke with resolute eyes. At his words, I glanced toward the rear.
The Plum Blossom Sword Masters were positioned and ready.
However.
‘Half of them are spies.’
Half.
To be precise, it seemed all the personnel I hadn’t provided information about had gathered here.
‘…Hmm.’
So he intended to do this properly. That old man truly is remarkable.
‘To such lengths.’
Does he need to go this far to achieve his desires? What desire compels him to such extremes?
There were times I wondered about it.
‘But it doesn’t matter anymore.’
None of it mattered now. Not since Maehua Daeju crossed that line.
So then.
“Shall we depart?”
“Let’s go.”
Now I was no longer doing what I had to do—I was simply doing what I wanted.

* * *
I departed from Hwasan and climbed the mountain. While I had received the location beforehand, the path leading there seemed oddly circuitous.
Even the straightforward route was not being taken directly.
It made sense—we were raiding a hideout, and ambushes could exist along the way, so deliberately taking a winding path was the prudent choice.
I understood the intention. I would have done the same.
But.
‘Tsk.’
Knowing what that man was thinking only irritated me.
‘It’s all just for show.’
He wanted to perform the necessary actions and make me aware of them. Because I knew this, I simply narrowed my eyes.
[Going in circles for quite a while now.]
Yoo Cheon-gil spoke with a bored expression. Fortunately, I wasn’t feeling bored myself.
‘If anything, I’m tense.’
With each passing moment of walking, the tension mounting within me doubled.
I pretended not to notice and continued walking.
How much time had passed like this? By my estimation, somewhere between half an hour and an hour had elapsed.
Whoosh.
Maehua Daeju, who had been leading, raised his hand. At that gesture, everyone halted their movements.
We suppressed our presence. I could sense the energy suddenly spreading through the surroundings. So I too dampened my aura.
-Ahead.
At Maehua Daeju’s words, I immediately looked forward. A cave carved into the forest came into view. Another cave.
The problem was.
‘This isn’t where my calculations placed it.’
It was completely different from where I had calculated the stake to be. Perhaps I had miscalculated, but I doubted it.
‘This is simply a trap.’
A prepared trap.
One that.
Maehua Daeju had set up for me.
-I see no ambush ahead. We shall enter slowly.
-…Understood.
Maehua Daeju gave his permission, and I assented. No gatekeeper visible ahead? This too was deliberately arranged as a trap.
They moved forward. Watching this, I immediately spoke.
-Senior. Daeju.
It was a telepathic message to Sochul Daeju and Do-hyeong, who stood on either side.
-I have a request.
At my words, both their gazes turned toward me.

* * *
We entered the cave. Everyone bore the marks of tension, yet their steps never wavered.
The Plum Blossom Sword Masters advanced as though certain no traps awaited them, lanterns held high despite the unknown threat of ambush at any moment.
Was this an attempt to hide something? Or did my knowledge of the situation make it seem suspicious?
To my mind, it simply appeared amateurish.
‘If you’re going to hide something, do it thoroughly.’
Even without eyes to perceive spiritual essence, one could have discerned it.
‘The cave isn’t particularly deep.’
Though it twisted and turned, judging by the cave’s condition, the destination couldn’t be far.
If there was a problem.
‘It appears there’s only one passage.’
There seemed to be only a single hole through which to escape backward.
The Maehua Daeju’s destination might have another escape route, but the likelihood seemed slim.
‘He means to cut off our retreat.’
I narrowed my eyes.
My mind continued its calculations. I had come driven by emotion, but still—I had to think things through.
‘Yoo Yeon is….’
I watched Yoo Yeon moving ahead among the Plum Blossom Sword Masters. Something cold emanated from her seemingly leisurely gait.
A blade honed to perfection.
An atmosphere distinctly transformed had altered the very air around her.
‘…If I get too close, I’ll be cut.’
Approaching Yoo Yeon would result in being cut. Not metaphorically—even the wind itself would slice one’s fingertips.
Her presence was that peculiar.
Then.
[Hey.]
Yoo Cheon-gil called out to me.
I glanced at him. A gesture to continue speaking.
Seongheon stood beside Yoo Cheon-gil. He was keeping pace well within the scope of their group.
[How did you do that just now.]
‘Just now?’
I wondered what he meant.
What was “just now”?
It seemed Seongheon was curious about the same thing.
[Suppressing that young girl’s spiritual essence.]
‘Ah.’
Only then did I understand. So that’s what I had done.
‘How to explain it.’
It wasn’t anything remarkable. I simply stopped it, that was all.
Of course, I didn’t stop it through words.
‘I merely touched her spiritual essence a bit.’
The Heavenly Slaughter Karma, they called it? The worst calamity ever descended upon the Central Plains. That terrifying karma even the Celestial Demon possessed.
It wasn’t simply a collection of madmen overflowing with murderous intent.
I’ve only witnessed it through Yoo Yeon, so I can’t be certain of everything.
‘That murderous aura wasn’t merely a physical force.’
The involvement of the soul was unmistakable. If the Heavenly Slaughter Karma is humanity’s fate itself.
Then the energy emanating from it arose from the deepest depths of the soul.
Hani.
‘If I could just stop that.’
If I could exclude the soul’s involvement, wouldn’t I be able to prevent the Heavenly Slaughter Karma from running rampant?
That’s why I attempted it.
Regardless of other matters.
‘Since I can handle soul-related things to some degree.’
In my past life, I spent my entire existence repeating that very practice, so I thought it might just work.
But then.
‘It actually worked.’
It did. Touching the soul and forcing it inward actually worked.
[…Hmm?]
Yoo Cheon-gil tilted his head in confusion. There were limits to what could be conveyed through eye contact alone.
Should I explain it to him later?
‘When the time comes.’
I had no intention of bothering to speak unnecessarily.
How could I even explain this? I’ll just have to accept it as is and move on.
What mattered was.
‘In any case, I managed to restrain Yoo Yeon somewhat.’
I pushed back the murderous aura that was seeping out.
Since it originated from the soul, it was possible.
‘…But it was quite difficult.’
Suppressing even the slightest overflow proved strangely challenging.
I have no idea what would happen if it grew any larger.
‘The Heavenly Slaughter Karma truly is terrifying.’
It was certainly powerful, being a karma embedded in the soul. Under normal circumstances, I would have contained it easily, but I couldn’t.
I gazed at Yoo Yeon’s small back. What could be crammed into such a tiny frame?
Thinking of that, I let out a quiet laugh.
‘…Grandmother’s words ring true.’
Since my fate has been ruined for ages, everyone connected to me would be equally strange.
The men would lack not just a screw or two, but be entirely devoid of sense.
The women would all be mad, she’d said?
‘…Ugh.’
Recalling my past life made her words seem all the more credible.
But it’s rather unfair to suffer the same fate even after death.
My face twisted. As I was walking while dwelling on it.
-We’ve arrived.
“…!”
I heard Maehua Daeju’s transmission. We had reached our destination.
And then.
-I sense presences. Everyone, prepare for battle.
Clang.
Sounds of movement echoed from beyond the cave. At that noise, everyone around me raised their momentum.
I slowly drew my sword as well. The Divine Blade revealed itself to the world.
In that moment.
-We’re moving in.
Boom-!
With Maehua Daeju’s command, our forces penetrated the interior.
“What-!”
“We’re under attack!”
Those inside reacted to the sudden invasion.
‘Patcheon-gung thugs.’
Their aura revealed they were indeed sent from Patcheon-gung.
“Hwasan Sect…?!”
“Why…! This place was supposed to be…!”
Seeing the Plum Blossom Sword Masters, their eyes widened in shock.
“Damn it… What is this-!”
Their alarm was evident. From their reaction, they had clearly received some mission.
And that mission was probably.
‘Is this also Maehua Daeju’s doing?’
It might be.
Swish-!
A sharp sound rang out. One of Patcheon-gung’s martial artists had his neck severed by Maehua Daeju’s blade.
“Everyone! Eliminate the enemy!”
His shout carried killing intent. Dense murderous aura engulfed the chamber.
Whoosh.
Light coiled around my blade.
Moonlight Sword Technique unfolded at my sword’s tip.
[Be careful.]
I heard Yoo Cheon-gil’s warning.
It meant I should be cautious not to trigger the problem hidden within this cave while using my power.
‘Understood.’
The cave interior was vast. There were many of them.
‘…This is my first time with something like this.’
Watching the situation unfold, I let out a silent sigh. I had killed people before in this life, but this kind of melee was unprecedented.
-Aaaaaaaah-!!
Screech-! Crackle-!!
Screams and the stench of blood vibrate through the air.
The opposition’s resistance was not insignificant.
However, our forces were overwhelmingly superior. It was only natural. The Plum Blossom Sword Masters of the Hwasan Sect had gathered here, and at their center stood the Maehua Daeju himself.
Moreover, with Sochul Daeju, another absolute master, now joining the fray, no matter how strong the Patcheon-gung martial artists were, they could only be pushed back.
As time passed, roughly half of them had fallen.
“Cough…!”
The last standing martial artist dropped to his knees.
All of the Patcheon-gung martial artists inside had been killed.
“Phew….”
Sensing the battle had ended, several of them exhaled heavily.
Relief washed over the scene. In that moment, I found Yoo Yeon. She was wiping sweat from her trembling hands.
There was no blood on her blade. It meant she hadn’t cut down her opponent.
Even in such a dangerous situation, she had held back? I thought bringing her along wasn’t a mistake after all.
“Is it over?”
“…This hardly seems like a hideout…?”
For something we had prepared and come to call a hideout, it felt rather weak.
Their numbers weren’t small, but their level was far too low.
Half of the Plum Blossom Sword Masters found this suspicious.
‘The remaining half.’
They hadn’t let their guard down. These were shrewd ones.
‘…They used them as sacrificial pieces.’
The dead served some purpose.
And the fact that they hadn’t lowered their guard meant.
‘There’s more to come.’
The battle wasn’t truly over.
‘Hmm….’
I gripped my blade tightly.
“Wol-hyeop.”
The Maehua Daeju called out to me.
“Yes.”
“Something seems amiss.”
I didn’t expect him to speak first.
“Yes, I sense it as well.”
“There’s nothing here to call it a hideout… This seems almost like….”
The Maehua Daeju spoke to me as if he had just realized something.
“A trap has been prepared, has it not?”
“….”
A trap. That word was the turning point.
Cough, cough, cough…
From the entrance.
A rough sound echoed from that direction.
[This is-.]
[Something’s coming. When did it arrive? I didn’t notice.]
Yoo Cheon-gil and Seongheon spoke. At their words, I turned my head toward the entrance.
You didn’t notice?
Again?
‘Could it be.’
Gwima? The entity that appeared could be Gwima.
When he manifested, Yoo Cheon-gil’s spirit had gone completely silent.
‘If it’s Gwima, he may have come aware of it.’
If so, he would have grasped my intentions and might have come here as I anticipated.
In that very moment of contemplation.
“Ahhh. This, this here.”
‘Huh?’
My body stiffened at the voice ringing from the entrance.
It was not Gwima’s voice.
Yet it was a voice I had heard somewhere before.
This was surely….
‘Heard in Hyeon….’
“Well, well. Everyone’s gathered here.”
That ominous and ill-fated voice.
The Mysterious Assailant who had vanished after orchestrating a massacre at the inn and breaking through Sochul Daeju’s escape.
“Glad to see me?”
He appeared at the entrance and greeted us.

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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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