Light Novel: Volume 24 Episode 21
Manhwa: N/A
Swoosh!
The storm raged.
The fierce wind tore everything in the vicinity to shreds like the claws of a beast.
Even the massive pavilion and high walls couldn’t withstand the storm and were shattered to pieces.
“Keugh!”
“Argh!”
“He, help me…!”
The people who were in the storm’s path were swept away by the razor-sharp winds, eventually disappearing into thin air.
Just like that, the ferocious storm devoured and destroyed everything in its path.
“Ahh!”
“What in the…?”
Those fortunate enough to survive collapsed to the ground, their legs giving out. They looked at the ruined landscape around them, grateful to be still alive.
Their survival was purely a matter of luck.
Everyone else who hadn’t been as lucky as them had either died or disappeared without a trace.
It was hard to believe that all of this had happened because of a fight between just two individuals.
If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes or experienced it firsthand, they would have never believed it.
The sight before them was shocking.
It was a sight that overturned all the common sense they had held until now.
‘What was the result?’
‘Who won?’
The people squinted their eyes, trying to look at the spot where they presumed Pyo-wol and Go Il-won were.
Their view was obstructed by thick dust and ashes, making it impossible to tell who had emerged victorious.
Gulp!
Someone swallowed nervously, unable to withstand the tension, as the wind blew in from the sea.
The dust and ash, which had been obscuring their vision, slowly dispersed with the wind.
Only then could the people see the outcome of the battle.
“Ah!”
A gasp escaped someone’s lips.
The sound came from one of the warriors from the Phantom Fleet.
Go Il-won was on one knee, breathing heavily. In front of him, Pyo-wol was in the same position.
Both of them were drenched in blood.
Despite being covered in blood and gasping for breath, they glared at each other.
It was Go Il-won who spoke first.
“Pyo-wol!”
“……”
Pyo-wol didn’t respond.
His insides were so badly damaged that he couldn’t even open his mouth.
Pyo-wol stared at Go Il-won with bloodshot eyes.
At that moment, Go Il-won stood up.
His already massive frame seemed even more colossal.
Even though he was greatly wounded and drenched in blood, his overwhelming presence remained unchanged.
“Leader…”
“Did he win?”
The martial artists of the Phantom Fleet had no doubt that Go Il-won had won.
It was only natural.
Go Il-won had gotten up to his feet on his own, while Pyo-wol was still on his knees.
Go Il-won looked at Pyo-wol with eyes filled with complex emotions.
“Pyo-wol, you… truly seemed like the god of death.”
“……”
“I’m being sincere. For the first time in my life, I felt fear. You’re the first to make me feel this way. And it seems you will be the last.”
Suddenly, Go Il-won’s pupils shook violently, as if an earthquake had struck them.
Pyo-wol stared at Go Il-won’s face intently.
Spurt!
Fountains of blood gushed out from Go Il-won’s entire body.
From his neck, shoulders, chest, abdomen, arms, and legs, blood spurted out and scattered into the air.
These were the wounds that the Black Lightning–Snake Qi Thread had pierced through.
“Geugh!”
Go Il-won staggered as he coughed up blood.
“Leader!”
“Damn it!”
Only then did the warriors of the Phantom Fleet realize that Go Il-won had been defeated.
They rushed toward Pyo-wol without hesitation.
“Supreme Leader!”
Just then, someone jumped in and blocked their path in front of Pyo-wol.
Shing!
Wielding a sword and protecting Pyo-wol was none other than Death Shadow, one of the Ten Blood Assassins.
The sword he swung caused the martial artists of the Phantom Fleet who had charged at Pyo-wol to fall down in a spray of blood.
Go Il-won watched with empty eyes as his subordinates fell and died at Death Shadow’s hand. But it was only for a moment— since he quickly shifted his gaze back to Pyo-wol.
In the meantime, Pyo-wol, who had been suppressing his internal injuries, stood up.
Though they both had experienced the same shock and sustained the same injuries, Pyo-wol remained alive, thanks to the blood-red robe that Tang Sochu had created for him.
Although the robe had already turned to dust and disappeared, it had saved Pyo-wol’s life in the critical moment.
Pyo-wol opened his mouth with great difficulty.
“Go Il-won!”
“You’ve won. But that doesn’t mean I’ve truly lost.”
“……”
“The seeds I’ve sown have already sprouted. It’s a pity that I won’t be the one to reap the harvest, but I have no regrets.”
Go Il-won bared his blood-stained teeth in a grin.
Pyo-wol stared intently at Go Il-won’s face and then spoke.
“That seed… it won’t be allowed to grow. Because I’ll be sure to pull it out by the roots.”
“Go ahead and try. It won’t be easy.”
“Nothing I’ve done so far has been easy. But in the end, I’ve accomplished it all. This time will be no different.”
“How… arrogant… but it suits you.”
Go Il-won let out a faint laugh.
Suddenly, he lifted his head to gaze into the empty sky.
The pitch-black darkness, void of even a single star, filled his eyes.
It was the last scene Go Il-won witnessed in his life.
Then, the true darkness came.
Go Il-won staggered and collapsed like a withered tree.
Thud!
It was then.
“Leader!”
A man rushed over frantically.
He was none other than Cho Pyeong-rak, the captain of the large ship that Go Il-won usually rode.
Cho Pyeong-rak embraced Go Il-won’s lifeless body and cried out.
“Please wake up, master! Please…!”
But no matter how much he pleaded, Go Il-won did not respond to his cries.
Only then did Cho Pyeong-rak accept the reality of Go Il-won’s death.
Holding Go Il-won in his arms, he shouted,
“Everyone, kill that man! Avenge our master!”
His voice resounded through Haimen.
The martial artists of the Phantom Fleetwho had scattered around Haimen to set up the explosive bombs, gathered together.
This time it was Death Shadow who shouted,
“Everyone, protect Supreme Leader!”
At his command, the assassins, who had been scattered throughout Haimen, converged.
They gathered like a black cloud.
They stood in front of Pyo-wol, forming a barrier.
Cho Pyeong-rak shouted,
“Kill them!”
“Waaah!”
“Avenge the Lord!”
The warriors of the Phantom Fleet charged at Pyo-wol with a battle cry.
In response, the assassins moved.
Unlike the warriors of the Phantom Fleet, they neither shouted nor moved in a frenzied manner.
They literally moved soundlessly like a black cloud as they fought against the Phantom Fleet martial artists.
Clang! Clunk! Bam!
The sound of their clash echoed across the battlefield.
* * *
“Huff! Huff!”
Hong Ye-seol, Thunder Eye, and Elder Assassin drew in ragged breaths.
Their entire bodies were drenched in blood.
Dok Gohyang’s martial prowess was truly terrifying.
Even with the combined attack of the three greatest assassins in the Jianghu, they couldn’t bring him down.
Though he had sustained several minor wounds, he was still standing strong.
Dok Gohyang’s face was filled with annoyance.
Despite engaging in combat for dozens of seconds, he had failed to completely snuff out the assassins’ lives.
He never imagined that he would be wasting this much time on mere assassins.
One of the things he hated the most was wasting time needlessly.
“Hoo!”
Dok Gohyang let out a sigh.
He was angry with himself for wasting so much time on such insignificant assassins.
―Be careful, something feels off.
Elder Assassin sent a telepathic message to Hong Ye-seol and Thunder Eye, warning them.
The two nodded silently.
It was at that moment—
Boom!
Suddenly, firecrackers exploded on the dock.
Dok Gohyang’s gaze shifted to the pier.
For a brief moment, a smile appeared on his face.
Countless ships had appeared at the dock.
Flags symbolizing the Martial Sword Alliance fluttered atop the masts of the ships.
Reinforcements from the Martial Sword Alliance had finally arrived.
Now that the reinforcements were here, there was no need for him to cooperate with the Phantom Fleet any longer.
Dok Gohyang saw this as a fortunate turn of events.
If he could use this opportunity to eliminate Pyo-wol, the assassins, and even the Phantom Fleet, his position within the Golden Heaven Society would soar once more.
“This is perfect. Absolutely perfect!”
Dok Gohyang smiled as he raised his sword.
A terrifying momentum began to surge from his entire body.
Feeling as though thousands, no, tens of thousands of needles were piercing through their entire bodies, Elder Assassin, Hong Ye-seol, and Thunder Eye involuntarily shuddered.
The atmosphere and pressure were on an entirely different level than before.
‘We’ll have to risk our lives on this.’
Elder Assassin gritted his teeth.
He no longer has any attachments or regrets about his life.
For someone raised as an assassin, it was a miracle he had survived this long.
Even if he lost his life now, there would be no regrets.
But Hong Ye-seol and Thunder Eye were different.
They were still young. They had many more days ahead of them to live than he had.
No matter what, he had to protect them.
Elder Assassin summoned all his internal energy and glared at Dok Gohyang.
At that moment, Dok Gohyang swung his sword and charged forward.
His sword carried a sharp sword force, like the fangs of a dragon. What’s more, the sword energy was spinning violently along the blade.
Whiiiing!
Dragon Fang Spiral Annihilation.
It was the strongest technique he had ever mastered.
The destructive power generated by the spinning sword qi far surpassed the power of any other qi-based martial arts technique.
The sight of the sword energy spinning before his eyes was utterly terrifying.
Even Elder Assassin, who had long since lost the emotion of fear, felt his heart sink at the sight.
“I will erase you from this world.”
Dok Gohyang shouted loudly as he unleashed the Dragon Fang Spiral Annihilation.
Kwaaa!
The air around them twisted under the force of the technique.
The spiraling air turned into a storm, engulfing the entire area.
At the center of it all were Elder Assassin, Hong Ye-seol, and Thunder Eye.
There was no escape in sight.
The three of them unleashed their strongest techniques in response, putting all their strength into the counterattack.
The three of them created three streams of internal energy and fought against the oncoming Dragon Ash Annihilation. For a moment, they held out, but their careers were soon swallowed up by the great storm.
Kwaaaaang!
“Keugh!”
“Ack!”
“Heugh!”
The three screamed in unison.
They flew helplessly like crotch leaves caught in a storm and crashed to the ground.
Their bodies, now sprawled on the ground, were in an utterly miserable state.
Elder Assassin, who had taken Dok Gohyang’s attack head-on at the front, was in a particularly dire state.
His right arm had been severed, and his left leg was gone as well.
Blood was also pouring from his side where the flesh had been torn away.
Despite witnessing this, Hong Ye-seol and Thunder Eye couldn’t help him. They, too, were gravely injured.
It was only thanks to Elder Assassin absorbing the brunt of the impact that they were in this condition; without him, they would have lost their lives long ago.
Hong Ye-seol struggled to lift her head and look forward.
Her eyes were red and bloodshot with threadbare stitches all over them. They looked like they were on the verge of spilling blood at any moment.
Dok Gohyang was approaching, his sword hanging low by his side.
‘This must be the end.’
Hong Ye-seol sensed the end was near.
She no longer has the strength to fight back anymore.
At that moment, Dok Gohyang raised his sword high into the sky. Then, he swung it down towards the three of them.
It was then—
“Junior brother!”
Someone stepped in front of the three, blocking Dok Gohyang’s attack.
Kwaaaaang!
An explosion erupted in front of the three. But they didn’t feel any impact.
The person who blocked Dok Gohyang’s attack had absorbed most of the shock.
Dok Gohyang’s face contorted.
“Senior… brother?”
LUNACAVE
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