Chapter 281: Second Battle (1)
Two days ago, somewhere in Guangdong Province, in a luxurious manor.
This place, surrounded on all sides by massive walls, had originally been built as a villa for a direct royal family member to rest in.
It boasted impenetrable security that refused entry to even commoners.
However, today, this villa reeked of the stench of blood, piled high with the corpses of countless people.
"That bastard Gam Unbi is targeting Ryeo-ah?"
"Y-yes, Second Lord."
Lee Ho, a close aide to Lord Baek Cheong, couldn’t even bring himself to glance around at the horrific sight, swallowing hard.
"Tsk! How obvious. Someone must have tempted him with the idea that he could fight a powerhouse."
The very culprit who had created this mountain of corpses was now clicking his tongue while wiping off the blood of the monsters that had stained his clothes.
At the sight so chilling it made his skin crawl, Lee Ho’s whole body tensed to the point of trembling.
"Hmm… but did they know I was here? Did that child order you to follow me?"
"U-urk!"
Unable to endure the murderous aura that suddenly pressed down on him, Lee Ho collapsed on the spot.
Slamming his forehead to the floor, he shouted.
"N-no, never! Th-this was entirely our own reckless decision to act on what we assumed would please the Lord! Even if you take my head, I will bear no resentment!"
"……."
"However, I beg you, Second Lord! Right now, the only power that can assist our Lord is you, Second Lord!"
Old Han stared silently at the back of Lee Ho’s head for a moment.
Then, he let out a short laugh.
"You’ve got some backbone after all."
Considering the difference in their levels, Lee Ho should have already collapsed from the murderous pressure and died spitting blood by now.
Old Han stroked his chin and looked off into the distance.
"Hmm, almost there…"
It had already been several months since he began tracking the true body of the Grand Heavenly Lord based on some clues.
He had made significant progress, bringing him close enough to practically touch the enemy’s lair.
However.
Old Han looked around at the corpses scattered everywhere.
'Looks like that bastard slipped away again...'
Despite all this commotion, the Grand Heavenly Lord had yet to reveal himself.
Finding the lair but missing the target would make this trip nothing but a waste.
'Well, I know the location now, so it wouldn’t hurt to pull back for the moment. Thanks to Ryeo-ah, I’ve had the freedom to roam Central Plains as I pleased, and above all...'
Old Han’s gaze shifted westward.
'Something feels off. I heard that Cheong is scheming something while tailing Ryeo-ah...'
Unlike Jin Yeomyung, who had been nearly complete from their very first meeting, Yu Cheong, the current heir of the Yu Family, was inexperienced in many ways.
His ambition was clearly running ahead of his actual ability.
If he got caught up in some scheme, he could very well lose his life in an instant.
Old Han made a swift decision.
"Lead the way. Giving that battle-crazed maniac a beating is something I can manage."
Lee Ho’s face instantly brightened.
"Th-thank you, Second Lord!"
---
"So you’re alive after all."
Gam Unbi raised one corner of his mouth in a sly grin.
"Why are you here? After surviving, shouldn’t you have crawled back to Ten Thousand Mountain?"
Pfft!
He acted like he was annoyed, but his face betrayed how pleased he actually was.
I also smiled back at his words.
"That’s my line. After surviving there, shouldn’t you have stayed holed up in Evil Path Castle? Why did you crawl out?"
"You bastard!"
"How dare you!"
The warriors who appeared to be from Evil Path Castle drew their weapons in unison, enraged by my words.
"Stand down."
"L-Lord!"
"That one is mine to hunt."
Gam Unbi restrained his subordinates and stepped forward, his eyes bloodshot with excitement.
"Amazing. You’ve grown even stronger than before."
Gam Unbi’s senses were sharp.
"More than that, I’m surprised you managed to get this close, ignoring my presence. Did you stumble upon some miraculous opportunity? No, at our level, ordinary opportunities wouldn’t even qualify as opportunities."
His words began to quicken with excitement.
It felt as if he was ready to draw his sword and strike at my neck at any moment.
"I did. One you couldn’t even imagine."
"I see. Well, whatever opportunity you gained doesn’t matter to me!"
Gam Unbi didn’t ask further.
He simply gathered an overwhelming fighting spirit.
Without turning back, I called out.
"Gu Chil."
Gu Chil, who had followed me, bowed his head silently.
"Yes, Young Master."
"Go up the mountain and secure Lord Baek Cheong. She’s probably being chased in a hurry."
"Understood."
Gu Chil immediately sprang into action and headed toward Yu Ga-yeongsan.
Since I could already sense countless presences far in the distance, it should be an easy task for someone with Gu Chil’s skills to track them.
But something felt odd—the fact that no one around Gam Unbi tried to stop him until Gu Chil disappeared.
"Why aren’t you stopping him?"
Gam Unbi answered simply.
"Because there’s no reason to."
A short reply, but it carried multiple implications.
Either it was already too late to stop him, or it simply didn’t concern them.
This time, Gam Unbi asked me.
"Why aren’t you going with him?"
My answer was just as brief.
But unlike his, mine carried only one meaning.
"Because if I don’t deal with you here, things will get complicated."
"Correct. Heh heh heh…"
Gam Unbi picked up his greatsword that one of his subordinates had brought over with great effort.
"Back then, I couldn’t finish the fight properly because of interference."
That was true.
Back in that tense moment, Hwan Pyeong’s surprise attack with the True Star Sword had thrown the fight into chaos, leaving it unresolved.
I clicked my tongue in regret.
"If Hwan Pyeong hadn’t interfered, I would have won. It was such a frustrating match."
"Looks like your conscience is already dead."
Gam Unbi dismissed my words as nonsense without hesitation.
"Well, whatever the case, we can settle it now. Don’t you think?"
Instead of answering, I quietly drew my sword and called his name.
"Lord of Evil Path Castle, Conqueror King, Third Heavenly Lord, Gam Unbi."
"……."
"Sorry to say, but you’re no longer a match for me."
"……What?"
"If it were night, things might be different. But as you are now, unable to fight at full strength, you’re nothing more than a slightly stronger Transformation Realm Master."
It was a strong provocation, but Gam Unbi merely snorted in amusement and accepted it.
"Heh, you couldn’t even withstand a single blow last time and ended up with broken bones."
"Sorry, but I haven’t fully grasped the situation yet. I need to get rid of you quickly and figure out what’s been going on."
"You can ask Yama about that when you’re in hell."
Bwoooom!
Gam Unbi’s massive sword came flying with a heavy roar.
Last time, when I tried to deflect that strike, my arm had broken and my sword had shattered in a disaster.
But now, things were different.
I didn’t even summon sword qi and met Gam Unbi’s strike head-on.
KWAANG!
In an instant, a massive explosion rang out, kicking up clouds of dust.
"What a fool."
"Did he just take the Lord’s sword strike head-on?"
"Splitting into two pieces seems certain now."
Gam Unbi’s subordinates watched with pity, thinking I was just another moth flying into the flame.
They held an almost religious belief that no one in the world could withstand Gam Unbi’s strike head-on.
However.
Before long, the dust cleared.
"……What?"
They witnessed something that defied their understanding.
"He’s… holding on?"
I wasn’t split in two.
I wasn’t coughing up blood, I wasn’t blown away, my arm wasn’t broken, and my sword wasn’t shattered.
Even after taking Gam Unbi’s strike directly, I stood firm like a giant tree that had rooted itself for a thousand years!
"Amazing."
The one most surprised was none other than Gam Unbi himself.
"That strike had no less power than the one back then."
No, it was even stronger because he hadn’t underestimated me this time.
"Is it related to that crimson body of yours?"
As he said, my entire body was flushed red as if I were excited.
"That’s right. I had forgotten because of your small frame, but you are from the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan."
"……Small frame?"
I didn’t want to give away information to the enemy if I could help it, but I couldn’t stop myself from questioning him.
"Did you just call me small?"
Gam Unbi didn’t respond to my question and instead seemed to drift deeper into his own thoughts.
"Asura God… Yes, I’ve heard that the Asura King, the head of the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan, is said to be close to the Vajra Indestructible Body."
"……."
"They say his body is so tough that even swords forged with intent can’t pierce it."
I couldn’t hold back anymore and forcefully pushed away Gam Unbi’s sword.
KWAANG!
The impact forced Gam Unbi’s body to slide backward.
"Fine, I admit my body is smaller than that of other members of the Jin Clan."
I shouted toward Gam Unbi in a burst of frustration.
"But I will not tolerate being called small!"
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
"It’s a thing!"
Gam Unbi didn’t seem to understand what I was talking about, but I had my own long-standing inferiority complex.
The elders of my clan had seriously questioned my mother when I was a child, asking if I was an illegitimate child because of my small physique.
Of course, there was no way I could bring up such a pathetic story in a situation like this.
So instead, I channeled my inner rage and charged at Gam Unbi.
We exchanged several moves in an instant.
What made Gam Unbi’s sword so dangerous was that, despite its speed and destructive power, it also demonstrated terrifying flexibility.
Even seasoned masters would be severely injured if grazed by one of those attacks that could bend at right angles mid-swing.
Back then, I had recklessly relied on my regenerative power to confront him, but now, without that vitality, such a strategy was no longer an option.
However, this time.
Chwak!
Tracing a completely different trajectory than before, the True Star Sword slid past Gam Unbi’s blade and slashed harshly at his forearm.
"Lord!"
His subordinates screamed in shock.
Gam Unbi waved them off and asked me.
"That’s not the sword technique I saw before. What is that?"
I answered honestly.
After all, they wouldn’t recognize it even if I told them.
"Demonic Sword Art."
"Demonic Sword Art? Was there such a sword art in the Demonic Cult?"
As the Lord of Evil Path Castle, Gam Unbi prided himself on knowing all the famous martial arts of the Demonic Cult, but this was the first he’d ever heard of it.
"There is. It was a sword created through a thousand years of obsession, just to reach one person."
"I don’t understand what that means, but I do understand one thing."
Gam Unbi looked at me seriously.
"You’ve broken through the wall, haven’t you?"
"……."
There was certainty in his voice.
"No matter how incredible the sword art is, there’s no way a technique that you clearly lack proficiency in could leave a wound on me."
Though he was the type to overwhelm with brute force, Gam Unbi had reached the peak of Transformation Realm.
Most skill-focused masters wouldn’t even dare challenge him.
Yet here I was, landing a solid hit.
There was only one explanation.
"Your sword is softer than that of Wudang, faster than that of Jeomchang. This isn’t the result of the sword art alone—your own ability has advanced."
It meant that my pure level had surpassed Gam Unbi himself!
Considering my age, it was hard to believe, but…
Gam Unbi’s intuition had accurately grasped the truth.
"I thought you had gotten weaker since that terrifying aura I felt from you before had disappeared, but now I see—you’ve become even more dangerous than before."
Ssshhk!
Gam Unbi quickly regenerated his wound and rested his sword on his shoulder as he spoke.
"Congratulations on reaching Transcendent Demon Realm. You’ve done what no one in the martial world has ever achieved."