Chapter 77. The Cold Glint of a Well-Polished Sword (24)
Jin-Jin took a proper look at the masked warriors standing before her. With a glance, she noticed some particularly powerful warriors standing among them, warriors whose aura made her eyes sting.
“You really have lost all decency, haven’t you? Even if you’re loyal to those bitches Hye-Ryeong and Ju-Ryeong, to think you’d go so far as to kill your own flesh and blood....”
She had identified roughly thirty people in the crowd before her—thirty of the fifty Baek Invincible Forged Squadron members that had supposedly left with Mu-Hoon. These people seemed to have all pledged loyalty to Hye-Ryeong, not the Baek family.
Some of the masked warriors flinched at Jin-Jin’s harsh words. It seemed as though their conscience, or at least whatever little conscience they had remaining, had been pricked.
However, the commander of the Invincible Forged Squadron, Baek Beom-Hoon, scoffed. “You and the likes of those Song family peasants think you fit in the Baek Family? Please. Kill them!”
At his command, the thirty members of the Invincible Forged Squadron and the other seventy warriors—actually members of the Dragon Fang Squadron—rushed toward Dae-Woong and Jin-Jin.
“You bastards! Get away from my wife!”
Dae-Woong had greatly improved his mastery of the Titan Qi Art he had learned from his father-in-law. He took a firm stance and circulated his qi before punching out. He was using the Thirty-Six Iron-Shattering Fists that the Palm Martial Emperor had created himself.
However, although he attacked with confidence, the results were nowhere near what he expected.
Clang!
Two Baek Invincible Forged Squadron members blocked Dae-Woong’s Iron-Shattering Fist with their swords.
‘How can they block it so easily?’
Dae-Woong was much stronger than when he had sparred with Ju-Ryeong’s husband, Jeon Yoon-Seong. However, the discrepancy between his strength and his opponents’ strength was even greater.
More than thirty of his opponents were members of the Invincible Forged Squadron, the strongest unit of the Iron Sword Baek Family.
Of all the members of the Baek Family, they had the most outstanding skills and practiced the strongest martial arts.
“Damn it!” Dae-Woong didn’t give up, and he continued to use technique after technique of the Thirty-Six Iron Shattering Fists.
Boom! Boom!
Dae-Woong exuded an intimidating fist force as he punched forward, an explosive wave bursting out from his fist. However, all he managed to do was bury his fist in the chest of a Dragon Fang Squadron warrior.
Moreover, in doing so, he placed himself in the path of a terrifying counterattack from an Invincible Forged Squadron warrior.
“Ugh!”
A sword flew forward, simultaneously casting three qi blades.
Just before Dae-Woong was about to get hit, unable to block properly due to his little experience in combat, Jin-Jin suddenly leaped forward. Landing next to the massive Dae-Woong, she swung her sword.
Clang!
She perfectly deflected the sword that threatened Dae-Woong.
“T-thank you, honey.”
“Focus on the battle!”
Jin-Jin began to cut down their enemies using the Iron Blood Merciless Sword. Fortunately, the two had their backs to the wall, so at the very least, they didn’t need to defend against attacks from behind.
Dae-Woong capitalized on his large stature and physical strength, unleashing savage Iron Fists one after the other, while Jin-Jin used impeccable sword skills from behind him to block any attacks that slipped past Dae-Woong’s guard.
“Pull them away from the wall.”
With a cold command from their commander, the Invincible Forged Squadron began to attack their flanks fiercely. Moreover, they actually opened up a hole in their formation directly in front of Dae-Woong and Jin-Jin, leaving the two no choice but to be dragged among the masked warriors even though they clearly knew the enemy’s strategy.
Soon, the Baek Invincible Forged Squadron warriors positioned themselves behind the two and began their assault from all directions. It was becoming more and more dangerous than when they had their backs against the wall.
In an instant, the two’s bodies became littered with cuts as they faced too many attacks they couldn’t block or dodge. Dae-Woong saw blood dripping from his wife’s body.
“You bastards!”
Consumed with anger, he momentarily lost his temper and launched a series of attacks.
First fist, second fist, third fist, fourth fist...
The force of the Thirty-Six Iron Shattering Fists overlapped as he struck, demonstrating incredible power.
“Ugh!”
Dae-Woong’s martial skills simply weren’t good enough to put up a fight against the Invincible Forged Squadron. He could only last as long as he did thanks to the Thirty-Six Iron Shattering Fists created by Sang-Woon.
As the name suggested, this combat art cultivated fists that could break iron, so it was particularly strong against the sword techniques of the Iron Sword Baek Family. Each and every fist was precisely matched to a stance of the sword techniques of the Baek Family...and they did so because Sang-Woon had purposefully created the art for that specific purpose.
Additionally, the Iron Shattering Fists would imbue its target with a small amount of pressure qi with every punch, leading to a compounding effect the more it was used in succession. This had a synergistic effect with the Iron Shattering Fists' emphasis on qi circulation. Thus, the power of each blow would compound and increase without end as long as one had the qi reserves to continue.
The Thirty-Six Iron Shattering Fists was indeed the perfect art for a close-quarters fight against multiple opponents.
Two of the Dragon Fang Squadron warriors had their heads and chests crushed by Dae-Woong’s fist. At the same time, three of the Invincible Forged Squadron warriors coughed blood as they also suffered minor, but not negligible, internal injuries.
However, that incredible barrage of attacks that were launched without planning was bound to reveal an opening. Naturally, counterattacks were immediately aimed at Dae-Woong’s sides, shoulders, and back.
“Honey!”
Squelch!
Four swords pierced his massive body.
Fortunately, they missed his head and vital organs, but they were still severe wounds.
That wasn’t the end of it, either. There were simply too many enemies baring their fangs at the couple. As things were getting dangerous for Dae-Woong, Jin-Jin haphazardly blocked whatever attacks were coming at her while focusing on the attacks coming for her husband instead.
Clang, clang, clang!
Although she was barely able to save Dae-Woong’s life with her intervention, in her haste, Jin-Jin missed an attack that was aimed at her.
Bang!
She was hit on the back by the fist of one of the Invincible Forged Squadron warriors.
“Ugh!”
After trying to suppress a moan, Jin-Jin staggered, vomiting blood due to the serious internal injuries she had suffered. Unfortunately, another attack followed immediately after, as a Dragon Fang Squadron warrior left a long cut across Jin-Jin’s stomach. Although she managed to step back before he was able to cut deeply, blood flowed out profusely.
However, there was no way that Dae-Woong would be able to tell that the injury looked worse than it was—he thought that his wife had suffered a death blow.
To save him from his own weakness, the most precious person in the entire world had sacrificed herself in his place.
‘Is she going to die? Jin-Jin... is going to die...? Jin-Jin is dying!’
BOOM!
At the same time, Dae-Woong felt a dull pain permeate his head, as if he had been hit with a club.
The sight of his wife vomiting blood as she was sliced by a sword repeated slowly in his mind as if time had slowed down. As he saw the sword flicker, another scene overlapped the one in his mind.
A sight that he had completely forgotten due to a great shock...no! A memory he had deliberately repressed due to being unable to bear the terror and sadness he felt at that time!
Father! Mother! Big sister! Grandfather!!!
A memory of the day when, in order to save him, they had all died with smiles on their faces.
One by one, fragments of that memory appeared in his mind.
The immense energy that had been coiled deep within his dantian and wouldn’t emerge no matter what suddenly stretched itself and arose, circulating through his body.
“AAAAHHHHHH!!!”
With a roar akin to that of a wounded beast, Dae-Woong swept forward, shooting out incredible waves of qi from both hands.
“AAAH!”
Screams erupted as three Dragon Fang Squadron warriors and one Invincible Forged Squadron warrior were crushed alongside their swords as they spewed blood from every orifice.
“Ugh.... ugh.... AGH!!!!!!”
Still screaming like an animal, Dae-Woong clenched both fists and threw them forward. They were extremely simple punches that didn’t contain any hidden mysteries.
However, the mysterious power hidden within him gave him the strength to uproot mountains and the spirit to conquer the world.
“Ugh!!!”
Dae-Woong’s fist squarely hit the warrior in front of him, not only shattering his ribs in a single blow but also imbuing him with so much fist qi that his entire upper body exploded. The fist qi continued beyond the warrior’s torn-apart body to hit the warriors standing between Dae-Woong and the wall.
BANG! Thud.
Three warriors flew through the air with blood spraying from their mouths, colliding with the wall and collapsing like marionettes with their strings cut.
With red, bloodshot eyes, Dae-Woong launched himself at the remaining enemies.
“DIEEEE!!!”
There was only one thing on Dae-Woong’s mind.
The desire to kill.
“W-what is that bastard! How did he get so strong all of a sudden?! Agh!!” a Dragon Fang Squadron warrior shouted before having his head pulled off his body by Dae-Woong’s massive hands.
Covered in the blood of his enemies, Dae-Woong could feel swords being thrust into his back from behind him, but he could not care less.
“GRAH!”
Dae-Woong swung his leg, so massive that it seemed like a tree trunk, shattering the legs of the warriors who had attacked him from behind as they tried to escape.
“Honey...”
Jin-Jin crawled to the wall with her battered body and leaned against it, looking at the back of her husband, who seemed so unfamiliar at this moment and so different from the gentle man she knew.
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she could sense the immense sadness exuding from her foolish husband, who was going on a rampage as he mistakenly thought she had died.
There were five swords impaled into Dae-Woong’s back. Although much of the blood that soaked his clothes was the blood of the enemies, more and more of his own blood began to flow. However, even as blood seeped out of his wounds, Dae-Woong never stopped.
He used the energy gushing out of the elixir in his dantian to attack the enemies in every direction. Even though he lost his senses, he never strayed from Jin-Jin’s side, and he never allowed anyone to approach her.
“I can’t let this go any further. I’ll finish this,” Baek Beom-Hoon said coldly as he walked toward the berserk Dae-Woong.
***
“Uncle, I have something important I want to speak to you about.”
Woo-Moon thought it was strange that Do-Gun had approached him first. However, because he had no reason to be afraid of his “nephew,” Woo-Moon, followed him along with Ma-Ra and Eun-Ah.
“Just how far do we have to go?”
After walking through the forest for a while, Woo-Moon was starting to get irritated. The moment he was beginning to think ‘Should we just go back?’ he suddenly sensed something.
In an instant, he drew his sword.
Clang! Clang!
Two darts immediately struck his blade.
“Assassins!”
Woo-Moon nodded at Ma-Ra’s warning and looked down at Eun-Ah.
“Eun-Ah, it’s dangerous, so stay hidden.”
Kya.
Eun-Ah lowered her head dejectedly, knowing that she wasn’t able to help. She ran behind Woo-Moon and climbed up a tree.
“Then, should we start digging up some moles?”
With that quip, Woo-Moon stabbed the ground with his sword and slashed upward.
Rumble!!
A half-moon shaped sword qi flew across the ground.
Squelch!!
Blood spurted from cracks in the ground split by the sword qi.
Simultaneously, the enemies that Woo-Moon was now noticing everywhere around them moved all at once.[1] Although they seemed to be relatively skilled assassins, they could not be any worse-matched against someone like Woo-Moon, who had incredibly keen senses.
Woo-Moon took advantage of the darkness to hide among the trees and identify all of the approaching assassins. Once he did so, his sword flickered, and blood sprayed through the air.
The assassins’ target wasn’t just Woo-Moon. Some of them leaped toward Ma-Ra and attacked her. However, the moment their swords swung in the darkness, Ma-Ra’s figure vanished.
‘What?’
As an assassin’s eyes widened in surprise, a shadow slowly appeared next to the fallen leaves where the assassin had been hiding.
‘Ugh!’
Assassins didn’t make a sound...even when they died.
Pulling out her sword from her opponent’s throat, Ma-Ra moved without ever showing any part of herself as she took down the assassins one by one.
When assassins fought, the winner would always be determined by whose stealth and assassination skills were better. Moreover, whoever could wait and choose the right moment better would always have the advantage.
In the world of assassins, a difference in skill was much more impactful than a difference in numbers. Ma-Ra was clearly able to see through the assassins’ attacks and slay one with every move. However, not a single enemy assassin was able to notice her presence.
In the end, they couldn’t bear waiting any longer and were forced to move out into the open. They had been completely defeated as assassins.
Then, as if to make it fair, Ma-Ra emerged from her stealth and appeared in front of them.
However, the moment she waved her arms, two Silver Moon Discs emerged from within her sleeves and flew toward the assassins.
Swish!
1. The raws say he had noticed them a while back, but this directly contradicts the paragraph above that states he suddenly sensed them as he walked through the forest and the attack immediately followed. ☜