The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 18

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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 18

My sword struck his blade with perfect precision.
It wasn’t a simple frontal block.
I had channeled my inner energy to its maximum, using the minimum force necessary to redirect his power elsewhere entirely.
The sword energy that had been pouring toward me lost its target with each collision, scattering in all directions and dissipating harmlessly.
“What?!”
“…What is that?!”
“This… this is insane…!”
Starting with Jang Chuchyeong, who watched from the sidelines, everyone gasped in astonishment. The technique I had displayed bordered on divine skill.
As expected, even Gu Yang-cheol stared at me with trembling eyes.
“What in the…!”
I could see Gu Yang-cheol’s hands quivering violently. Despite unveiling his hidden technique, it had been neutralized far too cleanly.
Dozens of sword strikes hadn’t even left a scratch on me.
Unwilling to accept this reality, the man’s face flushed crimson as he charged at me again.
“You bastard—! What are you doing?!”
“You don’t know? I’m the youngest of the Nakhyang Jin Family.”
“Ugh!”
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-crack!
Gu Yang-cheol’s sword moved again, stifling a groan.
A rapid sword technique swift enough to dazzle the eyes.
Yet unlike before, his power had noticeably diminished.
One could even see how his hand movements had grown sluggish from the incomprehensible situation.
His precision had deteriorated, and his footwork had become unsteady.
For someone so exceptional that he’d become a division commander at such a young age, the shock from that previous technique clearly hadn’t worn off easily.
As his movements faltered, an opening presented itself.
Whoosh-crack!
A light thrust of my sword drew blood.
A shallow wound opened across his waist.
In that instant, Gu Yang-cheol swung his sword with renewed ferocity.
It was an attack that showed clear intent to crush me with overwhelming inner energy and swordsmanship, as if ignoring any exposed openings.
I moved my sword.
Clang!
I deflected the flashing blade and stepped sideways. His stance crumbled momentarily, and I seized the opportunity, sweeping his legs out from under him.
Crash-bang-thud!
“Ugh!”
“Is there something worth eating on the ground?”
At my words, Gu Yang-cheol’s face flushed even deeper red.
His eyes blazing with determination, he pushed himself up from the ground and drew upon his inner energy once more.
A fierce momentum radiated outward in waves.
The very aura this opponent exuded affected those nearby so profoundly that despite the brutal combat continuing unabated, more and more of them turned their gaze toward me, unable to conceal the worry in their eyes.
It was a power far from ordinary.
“The games are over. I’ll end you now.”
“How many times must you repeat yourself before you’re satisfied?”
Grit—!
The opponent ground his teeth and steadied his breathing.
In that instant, his form vanished.
He closed the distance in a heartbeat, appearing before me in what seemed like a blink. His speed was nothing short of a tempest.
But.
Whoosh—thud—!
“Gahhh!”
Gu Yang-cheol in his current state cannot contain such overwhelming velocity. When he charges, he does so with the mindless brutality of a wild boar—a straight line assault. But if one knows this, one can never fall to it.
I watched as the opponent, pierced through the abdomen by the rapidly launched spear technique, gasped for breath.
The expression of utter disbelief was merely a bonus.
The creature staggered upright once more and swung his sword.
Yet now an even larger opening presented itself before my eyes.
Clang—!
I blocked the sword twice and extended my fist.
Thwack!
I struck across his face and thrust my sword forward again.
The blade drove deep into his shoulder, pierced by my dark technique, but Gu Yang-cheol, gritting his teeth, endured the agony through sheer willpower.
To cry out or lose balance here meant death.
He understood this instinctively.
Soon the opponent reached out and grasped the blade embedded within him.
“Kgh… like this… you can’t do anything, can you?”
Gu Yang-cheol smiled bitterly and swung the sword gripped in his other hand.
In that moment, I released my sword and extended my hand.
Thud-thud—!
Two strikes of my dark technique pierced through his chest.
Blood erupted from Gu Yang-cheol’s mouth as he staggered backward two steps. I pursued smoothly, closing the distance, then drove my foot upward with full force, striking the sword lodged in his shoulder.
Crack—!
“Gahhh!”
The blade passed cleanly through the opponent’s shoulder, and as his body was driven backward, the embedded sword struck a tree and was expelled from the wound.
Without losing that moment, I seized the sword and swung it.
Slice—!
From his shoulder diagonally across to his opposite chest.
Rend—
His heart, organs, and bones were all cleaved straight through.
“Gahhhhh—.”
Gu Yang-cheol literally erupted in a fountain of blood.
From his gaping wound, severed blood vessels and organs spilled out in a grotesque cascade.
Soon after, his body collapsed lifelessly.
Thud—!
The sound of his fall echoed through the space with unusual clarity.
In this moment, everyone present would understand that the opponent’s life had ceased.
I approached the corpse.
Without even the slightest tremor—as if to prove his breath had completely stopped—he remained motionless. After confirming this, I turned my gaze and extracted a single ring from his index finger.
It was a ring with no distinguishing features whatsoever.
Gripping it in my hand, I shifted my attention.
I could see it clearly.
Just from the trembling eyes and ragged breathing of the Jo-won members, it was evident they too fully comprehended the situation unfolding before them.
Observing this, I smiled and issued another command.
“Do not let a single one escape. Kill them all. Not one leaves this place.”
[Yes—!]
My command rang out through the warriors’ voices. As if inheriting the momentum, the way they wielded their swords became forceful and decisive.
Despite the undeniable difference in skill, the Jin Family warriors gritted their teeth and began wielding their blades with even greater ferocity, overwhelming their opponents.
Clang clang clang clang—!
The battle was not yet finished.
But it would end soon.
The shock of witnessing their leader’s death before their eyes would not fade easily, and with the Jin Family warriors’ momentum surging fiercely, escape was no longer possible.
Was it Cheol-gyun who still retained some semblance of composure?
The second-strongest after Gu Yang-cheol, the vice-commander capable of leading the division.
I watched him calmly and raised my hand.
Whoosh— Crack!
In an instant, the projectile I released pierced through Cheol-gyun’s skull.
As fragments scattered, his body crumpled pathetically, and I felt the Shadow Assassins’ resolve crumble further in the sudden chaos.
One of them looked toward me.
Simultaneously, I pointed my hand at him.
The moment he seemed to comprehend something and recoiled in terror, his eyes filling with fear.
Thwack—!
The venom needle I released pierced through his heart.
As the corpse staggered and collapsed, the Shadow Assassins crumbled.
“Kill them—!”
“Press the advantage! Finish them off!”
The Sega Warriors were not oblivious to this.
Realizing victory was now within their grasp, they became unstoppable. The weapons in their hands moved mercilessly, pressing forward relentlessly.
It was utter carnage.
I watched it unfold and settled onto a rock.
Exhale…
A shallow breath escaped me.
Having drawn upon my inner energy to hold back the poison’s force, I could feel my body’s condition deteriorating rapidly.
Though every fiber of my being yearned to close my eyes and surrender, I forced them open and kept my gaze fixed upon the unfolding situation.
I could not afford to collapse here.
If I fell, it would hand my opponents the very opportunity they sought.
So I endured.
My mere act of standing firm would shake them to their core.

* * *

“Hurry!”
Chief Administrator Yu Hyeon, who had been stationed at the mountain’s base, began ascending rapidly the moment the signal flare burst through the sky, signaling the battle’s end.
A dozen warriors and a physician followed in his wake.
Upon reaching the designated location moments later.
Yu Hyeon stood speechless at the sight before him.
Countless bodies lay strewn across the ground.
Some bore the marks of enemies, while others were clearly his own men.
Though he had devised strategies to minimize casualties, it appeared that even careful planning could not overcome the disparity in martial prowess.
Yu Hyeon closed his eyes tightly and drew a measured breath.
It was a regrettable outcome, but one he had to accept.
Composing himself, he quickly scanned the surroundings.
There was one person he needed to locate first and foremost.
Thus, he found him faster than anyone else could have.
“Young Master! Are you unharmed?!”
Upon spotting Jin Cheon-u seated upon a nearby rock, Yu Hyeon rushed toward him urgently.
Yet something felt peculiar.
A man lay collapsed beside Jin Cheon-u.
Was that not Gu Yang-cheol, the one whose considerable skill had caught his attention?
It was evident they had fought, yet remarkably, not a single wound marred Jin Cheon-u’s body.
Involuntarily, Yu Hyeon blinked repeatedly, his gaze alternating between the corpse and Jin Cheon-u.
“I am fine. Compared to them, I am unscathed.”
Jin Cheon-u gestured with his chin toward those standing nearby, breathing heavily.
Gu Gunbaek, Jang Chuchyeong, and the surviving warriors of the Nakhyang Jin Family—all were drenched in blood, their appearances utterly ravaged.
They bore unmistakable evidence of having endured a fierce battle.
Thus, by Jin Cheon-u’s measure, Yu Hyeon could only agree that he was indeed unscathed.
Yu Hyeon offered a bitter smile.
“Truly… of late, Young Master, you seem like a different person entirely.”
“Me, you say?”
“Yes, you have always been remarkable, but recently… considerably more so. Haha.”
Yu Hyeon shook his head slowly and drew a measured breath.
I couldn’t help but think such thoughts.
From the matter involving Hong Gu-hyeon until now.
Considering what Jin Cheon-u had accomplished, it was beyond belief.
Moreover, while I couldn’t know exactly what transpired here, it appeared that none other than Jin Cheon-u had slain the formidable Gu Yang-cheol.
From what Yu Hyeon knew, he had merely learned his family’s martial arts during childhood. Yet the fact that he had reduced a first-rate master to this state was utterly incomprehensible.
“Did you perhaps obtain some fortuitous opportunity?”
“That couldn’t be. I was simply fortunate.”
At those words, Yu Hyeon let out an incredulous laugh.
Though it had been long since Sang-haeng and Pyo Haeng departed, Yu Hyeon, having experienced considerable hardship nonetheless, found Jin Cheon-u’s accomplishments utterly nonsensical.
Like the fortuitous opportunities spoken of by wandering musicians in the marketplace.
‘Or perhaps he possessed a divine talent so extraordinary he could master the martial arts learned in childhood in a single breath.’
I had long known he was exceptional from childhood.
That was why he surpassed his other half-brothers and sisters to obtain the position of Young Master So. Of course, being the legitimate son’s child was the greatest justification, but one could not become the Young Master So of the Nakhyang Jin Family with merely that.
He was the youngest Young Master, renowned as a prodigy since childhood for his extraordinary talent.
But to excel in martial arts as well?
Even monsters didn’t come in such monstrous varieties.
At that moment, Jin Cheon-u, who had been sitting on the rock, rose to his feet.
“Gather all the belongings of the dead, and burn the corpses.”
“Without conducting an autopsy? If we perform an examination, we might discern what martial techniques they employed and learn of their origins.”
“It will be pointless.”
The words were resolute beyond measure.
It was as though he possessed absolute certainty that nothing could be gained no matter what was attempted.
Though several questions arose from that certainty, Yu Hyeon asked nothing further and nodded in agreement.
This was a situation already experienced once before.
If he said nothing would emerge, then nothing would emerge.
“Also, see that the funerals of the deceased are conducted properly. Ensure their families are not left wanting.”
“Of course. You need not worry.”
These were men who had sacrificed their lives for the Nakhyang Jin Family. I would not commit an act that would tarnish the Sega’s name with an inadequate sum.
The moment Yu Hyeon answered with confidence.
Sway—
Jin Cheon-u’s form wavered as he attempted to take a step forward.
“Young Master!”
I rushed forward and caught him.
But his body held no strength, collapsing like a puppet with its strings cut.
Only upon drawing near could I perceive it—his ashen, pallid face and labored breathing.
Whether fever had risen, his body burned like a coal of fire.
“Physician—! Physician!”
I cried out urgently for the physician in the sudden crisis.
Just as one of the physicians who had been tending to patients hurried over, Jin Cheon-u, limp and weakened, reached out and grasped Yu Hyeon’s shoulder.
“Hah, hah… I am fine. A brief… rest will suffice, so please… attend to the more critical cases first.”
“Young Master! Your condition is critical!”
“I’m fine… I am.”
Jin Cheon-u attempted to push himself up gradually.
But lacking the strength to rise, I could only collapse weakly onto the ground.
Soon, watching Gu Gunbaek rush over alongside the Physician, I offered a feeble smile and spoke.
“I apologize, but Gu… could you escort me home?”
“Of course.”
Gu Gunbaek hastily hoisted Jin Cheon-u onto his back.
In that moment, as tension dissolved and relief washed over me, my eyes grew heavy and all strength drained from my body.
A voice echoed faintly from afar as well.
“I’ll assign a Physician to accompany you—go now! Quickly!”
“Yes!”

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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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