novelraw Chapter 213 : Reversing the Flow (2)
Chapter 213 : Reversing the Flow (2)
Chapter 213: Reversing the Flow (2)
“Myeongwolja!! How dare you slander me with lies!!”
Lee Jamyeong’s voice rang out, hoarse and splitting.
His face was twisted with rage, thick veins bulging on his forehead.
The fist he held clenched was so tight that blood began to bead from his palm.
Yet among the countless gazes fixed upon him, not a single one carried worry or goodwill.
That was because it had been revealed that Lee Jamyeong was the one behind the Thunder Pellet.
“Myeongwolja, I don’t know what you were promised by Tang Sewoon, but if you truly think things will go your way—!!”
“Hey now! ‘You’? ‘That bastard’? To address me like that when I am the Sect Leader of the Great Kongtong—by a mere merchant, no less?!”
“!?!?”
Myeongwolja, who had always cowered before Lee Jamyeong, suddenly roared in fury.
As Lee Jamyeong froze in shock, a voice transmission rang directly in his ears.
[The one who betrayed first was you. Now go ahead and fall alone into the very depths of hell.]
[……!!]
That taunt did more than fuel Lee Jamyeong’s anger—it became the catalyst that shook his very reason.
Lee Jamyeong released killing intent and glared fiercely at Sewoon, the root cause of this entire situation.
“Tang Sewoon! How dare this mongrel scheme such outrageous deception?! Great Master Gakgong, you must never fall for his nonsense! Why would I ever prepare Thunder Pellets?! Tang Sewoon, you—right now—!!”
His enraged, crimson face poured out the words—
Screech!
A sharp sound of something cutting through the air severed his voice.
Whish.
Thud-thud.
At the same time, something shot up into the air and rolled across the ground.
It was one of Lee Jamyeong’s arms.
Fssshh!!
From the wound where his arm had been severed at the shoulder, blood gushed forth like a fountain.
“Kyaaaah!! Ngh—!!”
“That public enemy of the Martial Forest sure is unbearably loud.”
Lee Jamyeong clutched his wound, letting out screams filled with agony.
A single strand of Heavenly Thread connected to Sewoon’s index finger shimmered as it reflected the sunlight.
At the sudden turn of events, everyone—including Boyeon Divine Nun—was struck with shock.
‘…So fast I nearly missed it.’
Boyeon Divine Nun silently murmured to herself.
For someone like her, who had reached the Mature Stage of the Manifestation Realm, to nearly fail to follow it with her eyes—
Even Great Master Gakgong did not possess such speed.
Then…
‘Could it be that this child rivals Yoo Jinhak…?’
Though they had met only briefly, the speed alone was enough to remind her of the Murim Alliance Leader, the Sword Emperor Yoo Jinhak.
At that moment, Gakgong, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.
“…Tang Sewoon.”
“Do you find my handling of this displeasing?”
Sewoon replied with a faint sneer.
His tone was short and concise, yet it carried an authority so overwhelming that no one dared interrupt.
“In any case, one culprit is still alive. Whether the Murim Alliance or the White Path Union takes him away for interrogation, the truth will come out. Before that, the ‘victim’ merely exacts retribution first.”
Sewoon paused, then turned his gaze directly toward Great Master Gakgong.
“It seems you have no grounds to interfere in this matter.”
“…!”
“No—rather, since you also belong to the White Path Union, just like the culprit, you cannot be completely free of responsibility either.”
“!!”
At Sewoon’s declaration, not only Gakgong but everyone present was stunned.
Yet in truth, Sewoon’s words were neither exaggerated nor forced.
The use of Thunder Pellets was an issue that could draw not only the Murim but even the Imperial Palace into action.
If it was true that the Lee Trading Company possessed Thunder Pellets and intended to use them, then the White Path Union, to which the company belonged, could not escape responsibility.
Everyone knew this.
And so, silence fell over the battlefield.
In a tension so thick that even breathing could not be heard, Sewoon spoke again.
“However, as a final courtesy for what the New Monk did for me, I will yield generously.”
“…!”
“I will treat this as a personal matter of Lee Jamyeong alone. So leave at once.”
“!!”
Sewoon hurled blatant insults at Gakgong.
Yet Gakgong remained standing in silence.
Still, anyone watching closely could tell that the fingers gripping the Green Jade Buddha Staff were trembling ever so slightly.
“Amitabha.”
It was a short Buddhist invocation, yet it carried tangled emotions within.
With cold eyes unbefitting a monk, Gakgong spoke.
“To speak my true heart, I wish to tear out your three-inch tongue this very instant.”
“!!”
Everyone tensed.
For a moment, it seemed as though a life-and-death battle between warriors at the Extreme of the Manifestation Realm would erupt.
But contrary to their fears, Gakgong did not raise his battle intent and instead continued in a low voice.
“Yet as you said, I have lost my justification. It is clear who nearly took countless innocent lives here today.”
Gakgong looked downward.
At the remnants of the Tang Clan, the Mount Emei Sect, and the Kongtong Sect, reorganizing their formations.
Of the many lives that had stood upon this battlefield, he could not even begin to imagine how many would have vanished in an instant had the Thunder Pellets been used.
Slowly, Gakgong recited,
“…Today, in the name of Shaolin, I will not pass judgment upon you.”
“!!”
With those words, Gakgong turned away.
“But just as you said, from this day on, I shall forget all of my master’s teachings. When the day comes that we meet again— I will prove without fail that you are evil.”
Leaving those final words behind—
Whoosh!
Gakgong departed the battlefield at tremendous speed.
Behind him, the Eight Guardian Monks and the rest of Shaolin’s martial artists followed without the slightest hesitation.
Only belatedly realizing what had happened, the forces of the Lee Trading Company revealed their confusion.
“W-what is this?!”
“Where is Shaolin’s Abbot going??”
“Why is Shaolin abandoning us…!”
Though they could not know the situation above, instinctively they sensed that everything had gone terribly wrong.
‘…Damn it! Damn it!! Damn it all!!’
And Lee Jamyeong, watching this scene unfold before his very eyes, was sinking into despair.
This was the worst possible outcome.
Great Master Gakgong had left, and the Golden Wave Dignitary was already dead.
Meanwhile, on the opposing side, with the appearance of the Divine Tiger Physician and the Blood-Thread Tyrant, there were now two warriors at the Manifestation Realm present.
‘There’s absolutely no chance of victory!’
As the worst possible situation unfolded—
Sewoon looked at him and curved his lips into a cruel smile.
“Now then, shall we start by cutting off the remaining limbs?”
“!!”
Step.
Extending the Heavenly Thread, which emitted an ominous gleam, he advanced.
Cold sweat streamed down Lee Jamyeong’s spine.
For the first time in his life, he was feeling the terror of death.
‘No… I can’t die like this!’
In the end, Lee Jamyeong had only one choice.
‘Retreat for now and plan for the future…!’
His eyes flashed.
With his one remaining hand, Lee Jamyeong hurriedly pulled out a silver scroll from his robes.
Woooong!
Sssss—
Along with a deafening resonance, black light surged up from the scroll that had already been activated.
“Lee Jamyeong!!”
“That bastard…!”
Sssss—
It was an emergency Sorcery Tool capable of instant escape.
Wrapped in black radiance, Lee Jamyeong’s figure faded like an afterimage.
Screech!
With the sound of air tearing apart, the Heavenly Thread Sewoon hurled shot toward him.
“I will— I will definitely kill you…!!”
Leaving behind a final, venomous roar of hatred directed at Sewoon—
With the sound of space ripping apart, the surroundings twisted, and a dark flash completely swallowed his form.
Crackle!
Bzzzt!
The raging energy subsided, and in an instant, no trace remained in the area.
As everyone around stared in stunned disbelief at the sudden escape—
Smirk.
‘What a fool.’
Only Sewoon twisted the corner of his lips, wearing a mocking sneer.
“Guh—eugh!!”
Lee Jamyeong vomited violently.
The backlash from forcibly using a Sorcery Tool with his injured body had thrown his entire balance into chaos.
Though he was in urgent need of treatment, Lee Jamyeong gritted his teeth, gasping for breath as he forced himself to his feet.
Tossing aside the burned-out Sorcery Tool left in his hand, he limped forward.
“…Haa. Haa… ngh!”
After panting heavily for a while, he slowly raised his head.
Beyond the ridgeline, a sunset as red as blood spread across the sky, and the trees cast heavy shadows in the encroaching darkness.
Night would soon fall.
In this condition, even encountering a wild beast could mean a meaningless death.
‘What in the world is this kind of energy?!’
He had lost his arm to Sewoon’s strike—but that wasn’t all.
The unidentified Poison Qi and Evil Qi embedded within the thread had driven his condition to the brink.
His meridians were misaligned, his Qi continuously reversed, and pain surged as though his internal organs were being twisted apart.
Yet even in this dire state, Lee Jamyeong’s eyes still burned with unextinguished malice.
‘I’ll kill them all. Myeongwolja who betrayed me, Gakgong, Tang Sewoon—every last one of those who reduced me to this state!!’
With bloodshot eyes, he glared into empty space and ground his teeth.
The previous battle had clearly ended in his defeat—but that was trivial.
As long as he reached the main base, he still possessed inexhaustible wealth.
‘I can start again. Even if not with the White Path Union, I can side with Gale Sands, who devoured Kunlun, or throw myself into the North Sea Ice Palace. I am the master of the world’s greatest trading company! This will never end like this…!’
It was then—
Crunch.
“!?!”
The sound of leaves being stepped on echoed.
Lee Jamyeong, his face drained of color, hurriedly looked toward the source.
The imposing, vengeance-driven figure he had just been was nowhere to be seen.
Only extreme terror filled his expression.
Quietly parting the forest, a man walked in.
Jet-black martial arts uniform fluttered in the wind, his face concealed by a black mask.
‘Good!!’
Lee Jamyeong’s expression visibly brightened.
It wasn’t an enemy.
The Gate of Assassins Leader.
The master of the Gate of Assassins, to whom he had given a commission.
“Haa… you came at the right time!”
Relief flooding over him, Lee Jamyeong let out a deep breath and spoke.
“I’ll give you immeasurable wealth! The remnants of the Lee Trading Company, the vaults—everything I’ve gathered! Just move me to the main base immediately!”
Clinging to his last hope, Lee Jamyeong poured out honeyed words.
But something was strange.
“……”
“Gate Leader…?”
Despite his pleas, the Gate Leader merely looked down at him in silence.
Only then did Lee Jamyeong realize that there was not the slightest trace of interest or concern in the man’s gaze.
Thump. Thump-thump.
Swallowing hard as an unknown dread crept over him, Lee Jamyeong spoke again.
“…What is this?”
But regardless of his confusion, the Gate Leader had already turned his gaze away, looking off into the distant darkness.
Then he muttered a single line.
“As expected… he’s coming.”
Unconsciously, Lee Jamyeong slowly turned his head.
Sssss—
Shraaa—
From that direction, it could be felt.
A terrifying presence was flying toward them at overwhelming speed.
‘N-no. It can’t be. It can’t.’
Overwhelmed by the encroaching terror, Lee Jamyeong’s entire body began to tremble like an aspen.
Step.
At that moment, a shadow revealed itself from within the forest.
“To come walking to your own grave… I can only be grateful.”
It was Tang Sewoon.