Chapter 36
Chapter 36
『 Translator – Divinity 』
Cheok Gyo-woon rushed forward, wrapped his arms around Gi Mun-yong's waist, and then cut the rope with his sword.
At that, the falling body came down safely.
Next, he removed the gag and untied the rope binding his wrists, and Gi Mun-yong immediately stood up.
“Thank you, Young Master. I will give my proper thanks later.”
It seemed he couldn't stay still, unable to overcome his anger.
“Head Instructor Cheon has come to save you. If you go towards the sound, you should be able to find him. It seems my work here is done, so I'll be disappearing.”
He had something to do. He had to take in everything Cheon Ha-seong was doing.
With that thought, Cheok Gyo-woon disappeared first, and Gi Mun-yong stared blankly at his retreating back.
He had mustered up courage thinking that Young Master Cheok would go with him, but if this was the atmosphere, he thought it might be better for him to also witness Head Instructor Cheon's martial arts.
“Right. If I go out, I'll just get caught right away. Then the Head Instructor won't be able to fight properly because of me, right? It's very important not to get in the way at times like this.”
Finishing his thought, he followed after Cheok Gyo-woon. Cheok Gyo-woon wondered why Gi Mun-yong was following him, but soon paid it no mind.
In the meantime, the roars continued one after another. He wanted to quickly confirm what on earth was going on to make such a sound.
He was so anxious that it seemed he was rotating his dantian at the fastest speed he had since coming here.
When he had safely positioned himself on the hall's roof, the grounds visible below were filled with numerous people gathered around Cheon Ha-seong.
‘All those people came out? Head Instructor Cheon is really something else, I see.’
Cheok Gyo-woon, not knowing why he was feeling so smug, squared his shoulders for no reason.
It seemed that all of the So Clan's most elite masters were out there. The reason was not difficult to guess. Looking at the wreckage of a building next to them, still puffing up hazy dust clouds.
Cheok Gyo-woon had been to the So Demonic Clan's residence many times before, so he knew the buildings well.
How could that building have collapsed? He was so regretful that he had missed the sight. If only he hadn't saved Gi Mun-yong, he would have been able to see it; it was truly a shame.
Gi Mun-yong, who had no way of knowing what Cheok Gyo-woon was thinking about him, didn't know what to do as he watched Cheon Ha-seong fighting alone below.
“Young Master, shouldn't we go down and help him?”
“What do you think?”
“I don't think that will be necessary.”
“Right. I think so too.”
As time passed, more and more people gathered in front of Cheon Ha-seong. However, Cheon Ha-seong showed no sign of intending to flee. Even as he watched the number of people increase, he looked relaxed and confident.
“What on earth is he trying to do? Can our Head Instructor win against all those people? Wouldn't it be better if you went, Young Master?”
Gi Mun-yong asked, seemingly growing more afraid as he watched the people gather.
Cheok Gyo-woon, dumbfounded as to why he was being pushed forward, just glared at him once.
“Stay still. He must have something to show us. That's what he told me.”
He didn't know why, but as time passed, his sense of anticipation and respect seemed to grow and grow.
“Still, that seems like too many. It looks like there are already over a hundred people.”
“If you combine all of the So Clan's forces, it would be close to two thousand. That number is nothing. So stop your whining.”
“But each and every one of them looks so formidable…”
“If you keep chattering, I'll gag you again!”
Those words had an immediate effect, and Gi Mun-yong also became quiet from then on.
Cheok Gyo-woon was also curious as to how Cheon Ha-seong intended to handle the situation.
Cheon Ha-seong was a Head Instructor of the Martial Arts Academy. He was a man who had been doing that job for nine long years. Therefore, among those present who were called the rising generation, Cheon Ha-seong would know them. He would also be quite familiar with their power and their martial arts.
Since he had watched the martial arts of the new rising forces of the martial families, it wouldn't be difficult for him to grasp the nature of those families either.
To pass the later gates of the Martial Arts Academy, one had to win several duels. Among them, in addition to duels between candidates, there were also duels with the Head Instructors. It wasn't just any Head Instructor who came out either, so one couldn't win by just making a show of it.
Cheon Ha-seong had tripped up countless people over the years to prevent them from passing the later gates of the Martial Arts Academy.
‘Come to think of it, that's right. Among them, there must be quite a few who have dueled directly with Head Instructor Cheon, right?’
Cheok Gyo-woon only recalled that belatedly.
Come to think of it, he could also feel a difference in the atmosphere of the people standing before Cheon Ha-seong.
‘Those men know. That Head Instructor Cheon is by no means an ordinary person.’
Of course, everyone would know that he was a figure called a legend of the Martial Arts Academy, but the feeling for those who had actually dueled him would be even greater.
Even as people gathered so quickly before him, Cheon Ha-seong stood confidently without a shred of fear.
Among them were the mid-level executives of the So Clan, as well as its leadership, but they did not easily give a command.
They too must have known about the plan to kidnap Gi Mun-yong and lure in Cheon Ha-seong. However, the development they had imagined was likely not this.
Hadn't they only just kidnapped Gi Mun-yong? They hadn't even sent word to Cheon Ha-seong or threatened him yet. But with almost no time difference since they had brought Gi Mun-yong, Cheon Ha-seong had appeared and thrown the So Clan into this state.
It was then.
Cheon Ha-seong's figure vanished as if it were a lie.
It seemed the people hadn't even realized what was happening.
Shwwiiik—
A sharp sound of rending air was heard,
Sskung—
followed by the sound of flesh being cut.
Splatter—
The sound of a fountain of blood splattering attached itself to the end of that, and in between, a scream erupted.
It was only some time after Cheon Ha-seong had disappeared from before their eyes that they realized what that series of sounds meant.
Once started, the sounds continued endlessly, as if they were someone's musical performance.
It did not discriminate by location.
This time, a person here screamed and fell, but in the very next instant, a man in another place fell.
There was even someone who felt a person violently push past them. It was only after that they realized it had been Cheon Ha-seong.
The people had been discontent, wondering how long Cheon Ha-seong would just stand in his spot like that, but once the attack actually began, they couldn't even come to their senses.
“Stop that bastard! I'm ordering you to kill Cheon Ha-seong at once!”
The leadership, who had been unable to give a command until then, shouted loudly. And yet, he himself did not step forward.
On the surface, it seemed he wanted to say that there was no need for him to step in just yet. But the truth was different.
Cheon Ha-seong advanced without hesitation, not caring who was blocking his path. He didn't even need two sword strikes to take down one person. Incidents where three or four people fell in a single blow also occurred one after another.
“Dodge! I'm telling you not to be taken down so easily! Form a sword formation and execute a combined attack!”
Orders were given from all over, but even when they tried to do so, it was not a command that could be executed. Cheon Ha-seong's sword was unbelievably fast, and his strikes were powerful.
It didn't even seem like he was imbuing it with internal energy; he cut down his opponents with just precise movements and high speed.
“You are martial artists of the Divine Cult. Killing you is an act that chips away at the Divine Cult's power. It would be best for the So Clan to quickly decide whether to keep resisting or to admit their fault.”
“Don't spout such arrogant nonsense! Why have you appeared here for no reason and are running rampant!”
“No reason? Isn't it a bit cowardly to say such a thing now?”
Cheon Ha-seong said and let out a chuckle.
Then he began to infuse his sword with internal energy.
Seeing his sword take on a blue energy, the people sneakily retreated.
The leadership saw that and ordered them to block him, but it was not something they could do.
Cheon Ha-seong decided to show his overwhelming power to those who had no choice but to move on command. And he also had the thought of properly testing the Heaven-Shattering Will Art he had been training in a real battle.
KR-R-R-R-RUMBLE—
The tremendous energy that shot out from his sword sliced through the people who were blocking his path in layers. It was a situation like a flood, where they were swept away.
The people who were caught up in it had their bodies bisected and their limbs severed, shooting up into the air before falling back down. The people couldn't even properly register what they had seen.
“If you are truly the leadership of the So Clan, shouldn't you have a heart that cherishes the martial artists of your family? Lay down your own lives, take responsibility, and apologize.”
When Cheon Ha-seong spoke in a low voice, the people trembled and exchanged glances.
“Sh-Sh-Shut up! Who do you think you are, to run rampant in a place like this! Do you think you can receive the Second Demonic Marquis's forgiveness after doing this!”
However, those words did not instill any anxiety in Cheon Ha-seong.
“It is a strange thing. I had thought you would at least join hands with the people of the Danmok Demonic Clan and move together.”
Hearing Cheon Ha-seong mutter as if to himself, the others also felt a sense of regret. It wasn't that they hadn't wanted to. No one had thought that kidnapping Gi Mun-yong to make things easier would lead to such a result.
Just then, a person abruptly appeared before him.
Seeing as he had been invisible until now and had only just appeared, it seemed he had been watching the situation unfold.
“Why are you antagonizing the So Demonic Clan, you bastard?”
He was a middle-aged man with a magnificent build, and Cheon Ha-seong thought he saw the face of someone he knew well overlapping with his.
It wasn't someone he had met a long time ago; it felt like someone he had met within the last year.
Because he was thinking about that, Cheon Ha-seong could not immediately answer his words. It was because he felt it was a very important matter that he couldn't just let pass.
The man made a strange expression as he saw Cheon Ha-seong just stare blankly at his face without speaking.
“Who are you, you bastard, to come to our home and cause a disturbance? How do you intend to handle this?”
“And who might you be?”
When Cheon Ha-seong asked, the man made a dumbfounded expression. However, Cheon Ha-seong thought he was shamelessly lying without even a change in his expression.
That man must have been involved in the kidnapping of Gi Mun-yong from the beginning, or at the very least, found out about it later. It was something he had realized while watching the leadership here being unable to act carelessly towards him.
But listening to him speak after appearing so late, it seemed he was trying to distance himself from them and push it off as their own personal deviation.