The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 17

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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 Youngest Son of the Nakhyang Jin Family — Chapter 17

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I smiled as I gazed at Gu Yang-cheol.
Even now, his expression shifted constantly.
He seemed bewildered as he assessed the situation.
Anyone would be.
He believed they had hidden themselves thoroughly.
He rubbed his eyes as though exhausted, offering an awkward smile.
He stared at me, asking a question—a tactic to buy time while concealing his true expression and understanding the situation.
It was laughable.
Even more so for me, who remembered when he stabbed my Chief Administrator.
“Aren’t you the youngest Young Master? What on earth is this?”
“Stop the farce, Gu Yang-cheol. You’re not someone who fails to understand this situation.”
“…!”
“Hong Gu-hyeon is already waiting for you in the afterlife. That old man has quite a lot to say. Why don’t you go listen?”
At my words, Gu Yang-cheol’s eyes flickered.
The moment I mentioned Hong Gu-hyeon, his gaze transformed.
The man who had feigned ignorance now wore the same sneer he had displayed when stabbing the Chief Administrator that day.
He was finally revealing his true nature.
“Could it be you knew everything and orchestrated this situation?”
“Otherwise, I would have no way to capture you now.”
“Haha, well then… we’ve been had. We should have seen through this the moment Hong Gu-hyeon was absent.”
“In war, deception of the enemy is the most crucial principle. Without it, defeat is inevitable.”
“Indeed. We have suffered inevitable defeat.”
Gu Yang-cheol laughed and shook his head slowly.
Snap—
A light flick of his fingers.
In an instant, the scattered members of Unit Ten surged toward him. Even those who had fallen staggered to their feet and joined the formation, completing the perfect assembly of the Shadow Assassins Unit Ten.
They radiated an entirely different momentum than before, their eyes gleaming with lethal intent.
Not a single one showed signs of weakness.
It was as though they proclaimed their confidence that they could break through even this.
“Hehehehe, the Young Master may not know, but we are those who have grown weary of such situations. Do you think we would weaken simply because we are exhausted?”
“Let’s find out.”
“And while we’re at it, it seems your head is also necessary to settle today’s account.”
“Hong Gu-hyeon said something similar. Yet he is now in the afterlife.”
“Hahaha! Don’t compare that old fool to us.”
Unbidden, laughter escaped me.
Gu Yang-cheol’s confident words were undoubtedly true.
The Shadow Assassins were indeed those who had crossed such a threshold of death.
And though the conditions were dire, they possessed the mental fortitude to overcome this moment.
But the same applied to us.
“These dogs cannot be captured alive. Kill them all.”
[Yes, sir-!]
The roar rang out sharp and clear.
Their confident voices reverberated across the entire mountain range, steeling our resolve.
Those bastards could never escape.
I was certain of it.
The warriors here were not the Nakhyang Jin Family’s finest, but they were hounds who had endured hellish training at my side for days.
Moreover, this mountain was the Nakhyang Jin Family’s front yard.
Three or four times a year, our warriors entered these peaks, staying for roughly two weeks to train.
Therefore, our geographical advantage was overwhelming.
There was no way those bastards could escape alive.
I was certain of it.
“You damned dogs-!”
In that instant, Chu Hyeongi beside me charged forward.
His speed was neither too fast nor too slow.
Skilled fighters could have dodged it easily.
But for those still dazed by explosions and smoke, the story was different. Chu Hyeongi closed the distance and swung his fist with brutal simplicity.
Crack-!
“Gaaah!”
Chu Hyeongi’s punch was extraordinary—his natural strength was almost wasteful.
Though he had only recently formed his dantian and begun wielding inner energy, when combined with his inherent power, it unleashed terrifying destructive force.
The man’s body folded like a shrimp from the blow to his abdomen.
Watching him struggle to breathe, Chu Hyeongi’s fist came flying again, merciless.
Crack!
I smiled watching it unfold.
It didn’t matter if his technique was crude.
It didn’t matter if he took hits.
One strike.
Chu Hyeongi possessed one blow capable of turning the entire battle in an instant.
And as the Sega Warriors moved with precision in formation, dazzling the enemy’s eyes, they exploited the gaps and targeted weaknesses.
When raw power erupted, bodies were crushed.
As the struck man’s form shattered and flew, slamming into the ground, the Shadow Assassins Unit Ten could only watch in shock.
A night of continuous combat and an endless succession of incomprehensible circumstances.
Even the legendary Shadow Assassins grew increasingly disadvantaged as time wore on.
Sure enough, Gu Yang-cheol’s expression had darkened.
As expected, Gu Yang-cheol’s expression was not good.
With eyes narrowed to slits, I surveyed the surroundings before channeling the sword’s momentum into my blade.
At the same moment, I fixed my gaze upon one of the Sega warriors.
Gu Gunbaek.
The most formidable martial artist among our remaining forces.
Upon confirming my predetermined signal, he cried out.
“Scatter!”
The previously intricate formation shattered in an instant.
The moment they dispersed haphazardly, scattering in all directions, an overwhelming sword wind swept through the space where they had stood.
“What?!”
Surprise flickered across Gu Yang-cheol’s eyes.
The sword wind had been released with perfect timing.
Yet they evaded it completely. The moment of their dispersal was far too precise to attribute to mere chance.
His pupils trembled as he fixed his gaze upon me.
Meeting that stare, I offered him a smile in return.
Yes, I had seen it all too many times before.
Your martial techniques.
As I turned my attention back to Gu Gunbaek, the formation quickly tightened, and through the gaps, Chu Hyeongi began unleashing his fists.
Block, evade, create distance.
Trapped within the intricate sword formation, they desperately sought any opening to escape, yet the situation afforded them no such opportunity.
They would grow increasingly exhausted.
There are limits to what willpower alone can sustain.
Of course, the same applied to us.
If we continued employing the same tactic, they would eventually adapt.
The moment even the smallest gap appeared, the formation would inevitably crumble.
And indeed, it came to pass.
Gu Yang-cheol, who had been observing the situation, made his move.
From within the exquisitely woven sword formation, he smoothly evaded the incoming blade and turned his sword toward Chu Hyeongi, who was searching for an opening.
“Gasp?!”
Slash!
A stroke of terrifying speed.
From Chu Hyeongi’s perspective, it was as swift as a beam of light. His body could not react in time, and his chest was laid open.
The only fortune was that he instinctively stumbled backward half a step.
Had he not, the blade would have cleaved through his ribs and spilled his organs.
“That was close to death….”
Chu Hyeongi gazed at the blood flowing from his chest and clicked his tongue. When he turned to look at me and gave a thumbs up, it seemed my concern was unnecessary.
‘This one’s body is certainly resilient.’
Shake, shake.
I found myself shaking my head involuntarily.
I had anticipated that Gu Yang-cheol would move directly and had prepared thorough countermeasures for this scenario.
Yet when the moment actually arrived, I failed to respond.
My mind must have been preoccupied with other matters, leaving me unable to think clearly.
Clang—!
Then.
The sound of clashing blades erupted violently from all directions once more.
The noise was so piercing it conjured images of a battlefield.
The members of the Tenth Division were visibly exhausted, yet they persevered through sheer willpower, barely managing to repel the relentless assault of the Sega Warriors.
To anyone watching, victory’s pendulum had already swung in their favor.
In just a brief exchange, several of the enemy lay fallen. Their numbers dwindled with each passing moment, and as time wore on, their physical and mental fatigue would only intensify.
The only way they could overturn this situation was through one person alone.
Gu Yang-cheol.
He began scanning left and right with increasing speed, searching for an opening.
There were two methods.
Either join the fray and demonstrate overwhelming power, or strike down the commander.
His gaze turned toward me.
A sharp intake of breath.
I, too, had noticed him.
A faint smirk.
In that moment our eyes met, Gu Yang-cheol’s lips curved into a dark smile.
Then.
Boom—!
He unleashed his technique and launched himself forward with explosive speed.
“Young Master?!”
“Ugh!”
Caught off guard, Gu Gunbaek and Jang Chuchyeong desperately tried to intercept Gu Yang-cheol. But the blade they swung missed its mark, and their outstretched hands grasped only empty air.
He was suddenly before me.
With a sharp grin, he swung his sword.
The blade flashed brilliantly, and the sound of air splitting pierced my ears.
In that instant, I too drew my sword.
Clang—!
“…!?”
A grinding screech—!
The moment our blades met, I felt a tremendous force.
My frail body could not withstand it, and I was pushed backward with a grinding slide. But the most shocked by this turn of events was none other than Gu Yang-cheol.
He had never expected me to block it.
Gu Yang-cheol closed the distance again and swung his sword.
Clang—! A grinding metallic shriek—!
Another clash.
Unlike before, our blades locked together as we began a contest of pure strength.
The ear-piercing screech of metal grinding against metal echoed loudly, and I felt myself being pushed backward inch by inch under Gu Yang-cheol’s overwhelming force.
Then came his triumphant voice.
“You will die today!”
“I’ve heard that before.”
“What…”
“But that day, it wasn’t your head that rolled—it was mine.”
Gu Yang-cheol’s expression twisted at the bizarre statement. He spoke as if recalling the past, yet he possessed no such memory.
I let out a soft chuckle.
“And today will be no different.”
Gu Yang-cheol drew his sword at my cryptic words.
A predictable move.
A simple tilt of my head was enough to make his blade miss its target. But for a swordsman as seasoned as this, such things meant nothing.
The drawn sword underwent a transformation.
Shing-!
In an instant, blade light flickered brilliantly, scattering in all directions.
Swift yet precise.
It was a display of mastery at the highest level—the seasoned skill of pressuring an opponent, bearing down upon them, and controlling the situation to one’s advantage.
However.
I had already seen this sword technique.
I had witnessed it countless times—more than a hundred times over.
I evaded it with ease, moving my blade lightly.
Minimal movement, minimal inner force.
Clang-!
The blade that had been flying toward my vital points was deflected.
In that instant, Gu Yang-cheol’s pupils shifted unnaturally.
He must have sensed the strangeness of being one step behind at every moment.
Perhaps thinking it a mistake, he rapidly closed the distance.
I observed him and moved my body slowly.
Following footwork patterns, I received his blade as it came streaking in like lightning.
Crash-!
As steel met steel once more, I let the force flow through me like water.
“Ugh?!”
I watched as his body staggered and was driven back by the torrential flow.
Then, a fierce sword aura infused with inner force erupted menacingly.
“I will end you!”
“If you intended that from the start, don’t bother repeating yourself.”
“Grr!”
A blade heavy with brutal force came crashing down.
Flash-
Light erupted everywhere as dozens of lines were drawn across the space.
The ultimate swift sword technique.
He had unleashed his strongest move.
Countless sword auras erupted in a single, overwhelming torrent.
It was a truly devastating force bearing down upon me.
This was the very technique that had made Gu Yang-cheol the commander of Shadow Assassins Unit Ten despite his youth.
I could see Gu Yang-cheol smiling.
His hidden trump card had landed perfectly.
I gripped my sword lightly and drew upon the inner energy I had been using to contain the poison aura. As the deluge descended, I studied its trajectory intently.
Then my sword moved with deliberate grace.
And….
“Young Master! Watch out…?!”
“Hah!”
I met the cascading sword auras head-on and deflected them away!
Clang—clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!
Boom-boom-boom-crash!

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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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