novelraw Chapter 118 : Chapter 118
Chapter 118 : Chapter 118
Chapter 118 - The Moment I was Convinced of a Revival
Puhwak!
A fountain of blood shot up into the air.
The body of the man, covered in sword wounds, swayed greatly.
Kwak!
The blood-soaked man stabbed his blade into the floor, barely supporting his collapsing body.
Eung Gajin.
The eldest brother of the Diancang Sect’s rising talents was facing the strongest swordsman he had ever encountered in his life.
“Your will is strong.”
Eung Gajin’s opponent, Yi Cheon-yu of the Sword Shadow Soul Stealing, uttered his honest impression.
Although he had narrowly avoided a fatal wound, he was in a state where it would not be strange for him to lose consciousness at any moment.
The wounds were a problem, but the bleeding was an even bigger one.
The blood he had shed so far had pooled on the floor, forming a small spring.
“But will without skill is nothing more than a mere struggle.”
There was nothing particularly special about Yi Cheon-yu’s appearance.
A thin build and a face that felt a little stubborn.
However, there was one thing that set him apart from others, and that was his heavy, sunken eyes.
If Lady Mihwa, the head of the Syndicate of Ten Thousand Eyes, had been here, she would have recognized him at a glance.
Because his gaze was something she could not forget even if a hundred years, let alone ten, had passed.
The swordsman who had been with her at the gisaeng house after the destruction of the Diancang Sect was precisely the first of the Ghost Face Four Shadows, Yi Cheon-yu.
It is said that the palms of a swordsman who has committed countless slaughters have a demon’s face on them.
In a similar sense, the expression ‘Ghost Eyes’ suited Yi Cheon-yu’s eyes perfectly.
They were gloomy and creepy eyes that only one who had repeated countless murders could possess.
“You don’t… cough… seem to know…”
“?”
Perhaps because of the blood pooled in his mouth, Eung Gajin’s reply was mixed with a cough.
“That struggle is exactly… my role.”
“……”
A struggle.
What was this struggle for?
But Yi Cheon-yu didn’t bother to ask.
He had already enjoyed the amusement as much as he could.
Unlike an ordinary assassin, Yi Cheon-yu enjoyed slowly gnawing away at his target.
The basic rule for an assassin was to quickly dispose of the target and leave the scene.
But Yi Cheon-yu had no need for that.
His sword was strong enough to kill his desired target at any time, and his body technique was so wondrous that he could conceal his tracks at any time.
The forces of the Ghost Face Gang numbered in the hundreds, and only the outstanding assassins among them were incorporated into the Green Killer Squad.
The Ghost Face Four Shadows were a group of four exceptionally talented individuals from within that Green Killer Squad, and the skill of each one of them surpassed that of the Green Killer Squad’s captain.
And the one at the pinnacle of all that selection process was precisely Yi Cheon-yu of the Sword Shadow Soul Stealing.
‘Damn it. How can a person’s sword be so fast?’
Forcibly holding onto his fading vision, Eung Gajin gripped his sword with both hands.
He hated to admit it, but Yi Cheon-yu’s sword resembled that of the Diancang Sect.
The method of assassins who secretly approached and ambushed their targets.
And the martial arts of the Diancang Sect, which emphasized the quick sword.
Since their aims were similar, there were similar parts in the way they were executed.
And that was what was fanning the flames in Eung Gajin’s heart even more.
‘How can he have such a sword and yet…’
Be taking orders for contract killings.
A sect based on Daoism.
For Eung Gajin, who was also the grandson of the Sect Leader, he was a completely incomprehensible person.
Gwak.
Eung Gajin, covered in blood, barely supported his trembling legs and stood with his sword held.
He looked like the very incarnation of living will.
‘Just perfect.’
A streak of light bloomed in Yi Cheon-yu’s dark, deep eyes.
A precarious figure that looked like it would collapse with just a gentle breeze.
Delivering the final blow to someone who had become as weak as possible was a more thrilling experience than anything in the world.
That was the reason he had taken up assassination as his profession, and the source of his becoming the first and most skilled of the Ghost Face Four Shadows.
‘However…’
Yi Cheon-yu’s sunken eyes turned to Eung Gajin’s face.
"It was a ghastly sight; his face was more red than flesh from the blood that had streamed down from his forehead."
But the expression on that face was, on the contrary, firm and resolute.
Despite the significant difference in skill, his will should have been broken.
A determination that he would die rather than fall was palpable.
“………….”
Yi Cheon-yu, who was about to draw his sword at any moment, paused his movement for a very brief moment.
Was he overwhelmed by Eung Gajin’s spirit?
Not a chance.
He was just reminded of someone when he saw Eung Gajin’s expression.
“You resemble him.”
“……?”
“If it’s revenge for the Diancang Sect… are you perhaps of Eung Jinsan’s bloodline?”
“!”
Eung Gajin’s face hardened.
Eung Jinsan.
The person Yi Cheon-yu mentioned was the previous Sect Leader of the Diancang Sect, and his own grandfather.
“How do you know that name…?”
“Of course I remember.”
Yi Cheon-yu nodded slightly, as if he finally understood.
His expression and his upright personality, looking at him again, wasn’t he a spitting image?
For the first time, a faint smile bloomed on Yi Cheon-yu’s lips.
“Because I was the one who cut off Eung Jinsan’s head.”
“!!!”
A fiery aura bloomed in Eung Gajin’s eyes.
The reason he stood here in the first place was for the Diancang Sect’s revenge.
But to think he would meet his grandfather’s killer right before his eyes.
Eung Gajin was seized by an indescribable rage.
It was to the point where he couldn’t feel the pain of the sword wounds all over his body at all.
“I will definitely…”
Hot blood flowed down below Eung Gajin’s lips.
Unlike the bleeding so far, it was not due to a sword wound.
He had bitten his own lip with so much force that a wound had opened up.
“Kill you…!!”
Pseuseuseu.
The Sword Aura created by Eung Gajin emitted a brighter energy than ever before.
His energy seemed even stronger than before he was injured, making one feel the strength of his resolve anew.
However, that change only made Yi Cheon-yu’s smile deepen.
“With what means?”
No matter how strong the Sword Aura was, it was useless if it didn’t reach the opponent’s body.
So far, Yi Cheon-yu’s sword had butchered Eung Gajin’s body, but Eung Gajin had not been able to even block his opponent’s attacks, let alone wound him.
Sway.
Once again, Yi Cheon-yu’s figure swayed like a shadow.
Bbaddeuk.
Eung Gajin, who ground his teeth so hard they could break, pulled back both his arms.
Considering that his mission was to buy time, Eung Gajin had performed his duty admirably.
If the swordsman standing before Yi Cheon-yu had been any other of the rising talents, he would not have been able to face him for so long.
However…
Gooooooh.
An uncontrollable energy began to wrap around Eung Gajin’s entire body.
Now that he had heard that Yi Cheon-yu was the one who had cut off Eung Jinsan’s head, his goal had changed.
He could no longer be satisfied with just buying time or struggling.
‘I will kill my grandfather’s killer.’
Even if it meant sacrificing his life.
How many nights had he spent in Simao, missing his deceased grandfather?
The person who had been the greatest pride of his life had met a tragic end, and he had to be driven out to a foreign land without even being able to recover his body.
The reason he had willingly shouldered that great responsibility in Simao was because of his single-minded determination for revenge.
The bastards who destroyed the Diancang Sect.
And the bastards who took his grandfather’s life.
Now that the target had finally appeared before his eyes, it was perhaps natural for Eung Gajin to have a life-or-death resolve.
Beontteuk.
Eung Gajin’s eyes, resolved for death, turned forward.
As always, after his figure swayed once, there was nothing to be seen.
No sound.
No presence.
Not even killing intent was felt from the colorless and odorless sword that was aiming for his throat.
If this continued, as it had been, he would only swing his sword after his flesh had been cut.
But.
Eung Gajin, who was prepared for ‘death’ rather than ‘defense’, had one move.
‘I will cut down everything I see…!’
In a way, it was an incredibly reckless and simple plan.
However.
What if that plan was the world’s best sword art?
Seuseuseuseu!
Eung Gajin’s sword shone with a brighter light than ever before.
The blue sword shadow he created brightly illuminated his surroundings.
The form that his arrogant junior brother had strictly forbidden.
But it was the very form that had never disappeared from his mind since he first witnessed it in Simao.
It didn’t matter if he couldn’t follow the speed with his eyes.
Because there was an absurdly powerful form that unleashed all possible sword paths in an instant.
Pabak!
Eung Gajin, who had been standing still and receiving attacks all along, thrust his sword forward.
For him, when was the moment he was convinced of the Diancang Sect’s revival?
When he watched the growth of the rising talents in Simao?
When they drove out the Tiger-Bear Stronghold and finally reclaimed Diancang Mountain?
No.
No.
Eung Gajin was convinced of the Diancang Sect’s revival when he saw ‘this’.
He had never used it before, but that was no problem at all.
Because it was a form he had repeated endlessly in his head thousands, tens of thousands of times.
Nine slashes in nine directions, starting from the head and splitting to the left and right.
Nine sword shadows poured out from the tip of Eung Gajin’s sword at the same time.
The Nine-Shooting One Flash.
The very sword art that Biyoung had forbidden so far.
It was precisely a form of the Sun-Shooting Sword Art.
Shwaeaek!
“!!!”
Yi Cheon-yu’s eyes, which were about to cut his throat, widened as if they would pop out.
He had not expected such a life-or-death move to come from Eung Gajin, who had been on the defensive.
Especially unlike his simple sword art so far, this attack contained a wondrous martial art that was difficult for him to break through.
‘This bastard…!’
His sword’s power and speed were clearly superior, but in order to land a single blow on the bastard, he would have to give up the other eight directions.
The point Yi Cheon-yu was aiming for was one, while Eung Gajin was aiming for all nine directions.
Kang!
The sound of sword and sword clashing filled the main hall for the first time in a while.
Eudeudeuk.
Yi Cheon-yu glared at the man before him with bloodshot eyes.
How long had it been since he had drawn his sword and then retrieved it?
And that too, against such an insignificant youngster, not a peerless master.
He wasn’t injured, nor was his clothing cut, but to Yi Cheon-yu, the current exchange felt like an unbearable insult.
“Ulkuk!”
Was it a side effect of putting in all his strength?
Eung Gajin, who had used the forbidden sword art, coughed up blood and fell to his knees.
But even so, his sword was still aimed at Yi Cheon-yu’s chest.
‘This bastard…’
A fearsome swordsman.
If this bastard had trained for ten, no, just five more years and come before him, he would not have been able to guarantee victory.
Yi Cheon-yu, who had been through countless battles and slaughters, could tell.
A swordsman who could put everything into a single sword like this was bound to shine in Jianghu someday.
That was precisely why,
‘I must kill him here and now.’
Yi Cheon-yu pushed his sword forward with eyes full of killing intent.
Kkang!
Even though he hadn’t put any particular strength into it, the sword Eung Gajin was holding tumbled to the floor.
It was a sword he had once gripped so tightly that his palm could have burst.
It was a part that allowed one to guess how much he had poured into that last blow.
“Go to your grandpa and boast. That bastard Eung Jinsan’s head flew off with one blow from me, so aren’t you clearly a case of the student surpassing the master?”
Yi Cheon-yu held his sword in a reverse grip.
The long tip of the blade was aimed precisely at Eung Gajin’s neck.
At that moment,
“That’s really…”
A voice full of complaint leaked from one side.
“Why don’t people listen when someone is talking?”
From the same direction, a reply that sounded full of fear was also heard.
“I-I don’t know.”
When Yi Cheon-yu turned his head in the direction of the sound, three men were standing there.
“You bastard…”
Yi Cheon-yu’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Wasn’t it the very same guy who had infiltrated the main hall disguised as a member of the Green Killer Squad?
“No. I told them to buy time, so why are both this guy and that guy fighting to the death? Good grief.”
The owner of the voice full of complaint was, of course, Biyoung.