Even the Sword God Needs Paternity Leave

Chapter 91: Families are One

During the battle with the Lord of Heavenly Slaughter.

The Lord of Heavenly Slaughter did not fall easily into the ambush.

He entered the village entrance but sensed something amiss and tried to withdraw, and our ambush squad thought the operation had failed.

At that moment, those who called themselves the Murim Alliance's strategists shouted at the top of their lungs toward the Lord of Heavenly Slaughter's back.

- Lord of Heavenly Slaughter, you're just a lackey the Water Demon drags around!

- Not sworn brothers after all, you're just dead weight in the end!

- Go cry to your sworn brother! Tell him, "I was the weakest link, so I had no choice but to run away, boo-hoo!"

I wondered what meaningless thing they were doing.

- What did you say? Who just said that? I'll rip your mouth open and kill you!

I was surprised when the Lord of Heavenly Slaughter actually turned back at the provocation.

And I was surprised again when the Murim Alliance's strategists, having succeeded in the provocation, immediately bolted.

- Sword Hero! We leave it to you!

- We're strategists!

- Combat isn't our forte!

No matter how much they were strategists, weren't they martial artists affiliated with the Murim Alliance? Zhuge Sheng always fought alongside when it was time to fight.

At the time, I thought they trusted our ambush squad, but now that I think about it, I was an idiot. Weren't they just pushing it off and running?

- Ambush squad! Let's go! Leave the other Demonic Cult members to us!

- Charge! Follow the Demon-Subjugating Vanguard!

- Exterminate the Demonic Cult! Go! Make sure the Demon-Subjugating Vanguard can fight the Lord of Heavenly Slaughter!

It wasn't that the Lord of Heavenly Slaughter was foolish for returning to the trap. He simply had confidence in his own abilities and those of his subordinate Demonic Cult members.

Our ambush squad faced that Lord of Heavenly Slaughter and his elite subordinates.

That scene is still vivid in my eyes.

The fleeing strategists.

The Lord of Heavenly Slaughter pursuing them.

Me, holding Mukheun and blocking the Lord of Heavenly Slaughter's path.

Fires erupting from various places in the village.

The ambush squad and Demonic Cult members clashing amid the flames.

It might seem infuriating in retrospect, but it helped now.

“The weakest of the Water Demon's three sworn brothers!”

“Weakest? What do you mean by that? Who said such a thing!”

The Lord of Heavenly Slaughter reacted this time as well.

Even sworn brothers could have differences in their martial arts realms.

That was the case with the Water Demon's three sworn brothers.

Of course it was.

The Water Demon's martial arts were so profound that he claimed the title of Demon King.

His two sworn younger brothers were strong, but they could not compare to the Water Demon.

It was never a big issue.

He was just a reliable big brother.

However, that was only when the sworn brothers got along well.

“Isn't it the case that you're being pushed around like this by the Water Demon? I thought some elder or another would come here, but it's you. Being the weakest means you handle all the chores too.”

I don't know how the three of them became sworn brothers, but the Water Demon exploited his two sworn younger brothers terribly, and the two sworn younger brothers eyed the position of sworn elder covetously.

“Did you say he acts freely because his martial arts are profound? Try saying that in front of the Water Demon. Would he just snort? Lackey of the Water Demon.”

“Lackey?”

“Dead weight of the Water Demon, slave, whatever... anyway, weak.”

The words I was saying now were actually the ones the strategists from my memory had shouted.

They were excellent examples, good enough to serve as a textbook for provocation.

All I had to do was follow them exactly, so how convenient was that.

Even I, who wasn't yet accustomed to insults or provocations, could manage this much.

“So who said such nonsense! Jin Yeomyeong, what do you know to say that?”

In particular, unlike the second brother, the third brother, the Lord of Heavenly Slaughter, was extremely sensitive about his relationship with the Water Demon.

Now, that Lord of Heavenly Slaughter was asking who called him the weakest.

It was time to deliver the final blow.

“That was.”

“?”

“The Murim Alliance's official investigation report.”

“Wh-what? Official report?”

“Official report. Among the Water Demon's three sworn brothers, the third is significantly inferior to the two above. He's the weak link. If you're going to target one, it's him right away.”

If he was truly inferior, I wouldn't have struggled so much. Such a report never existed.

But the combination of three words.

The 'official' 'report' of the 'Murim Alliance' was powerful.

“You ignorant fools dare to spout such nonsense....”

I could feel it.

He was shaken.

The refined and dense demonic qi became disordered.

How about that?

I looked around.

It would be nice if someone heard and told me if I did well or not.

Jayeong was far away, worried that Taebok might be in danger.

“Ah, everyone's busy fighting and didn't hear-”

But.

“Gueeeeh!”

The Lord of Heavenly Slaughter himself let me know.

That cry told me.

Well done, it was a good provocation.

“You pathetic swordsman!”

Boom, his figure closed in in an instant.

Chiiiing.

The Pointed Spear and Mukheun clashed once more.

“Urk!”

The drawn-up demonic qi didn't go anywhere and reverberated down to my bones.

Still.

It wasn't the ultimate technique he had tried to unleash earlier by concentrating his demonic qi.

It wasn't the ultimate technique that my instincts had warned me about.

“Weakest? The Alliance's official report? What will you say when I sever your neck!”

Pew pew.

The spear tip flew in ferociously.

The attack infused with demonic arts became even faster and fiercer.

“Hup!”

“Hah!”

We shut our mouths and swung our respective weapons.

The Lord of Heavenly Slaughter would soon regain his composure.

He got excited easily but didn't stay swayed for long.

I had to succeed with this attack now.

“Here I go.”

Once again becoming a gust of wind, I thrust Mukheun forward.

“Where!”

The Pointed Spear, like an animal's fang, tore the wind and deflected Mukheun.

Our feet moved ceaselessly to seize advantageous positions,

Our hands went back and forth between attack and defense even in fleeting moments,

Our eyes scanned the opponent's entire body for weaknesses-

Huh?

What was he looking at?

He was in a duel with me, so what was he looking at.

“Heh heh.”

He's laughing?

In that instant, I could tell what was at the end of the Lord of Heavenly Slaughter's gaze.

Without asking him, without turning around, I knew.

“You bastard.”

It was Jayeong and Taebok.

At the end of that gaze were Jayeong and Taebok.

“Heh heh heh heh. We haven't been idle all this time either. We've scouted enough to know.”

They should clearly be far from the battlefield, standing beside while supporting my brother.

Since it was already a place the Demonic Cult's hands had reached, she'd be holding Taebok out of anxiety.

“Impossible. Your spear can't reach.”

“Heh heh, who said spear?”

Rising demonic arts.

He leaped back sharply while reaching into his bosom.

“Hidden weapons?”

I hadn't seen them in our previous confrontation.

“What will you do, Jin Yeomyeong!”

He scattered hidden weapons while looking at me.

The moment I turned my body to block those hidden weapons would be the moment the Pointed Spear pierced me.

A move forcing me to choose between the lives of my wife and child, and my own.

And my choice was.

“Pathetic trick. You underestimated my wife too much.”

“What?”

My ears understood.

No matter where she was, they understood the sound made by Jayeong's unique poison weapon.

Rattle rattle.

The sound of the steel abacus's beads dancing excitedly.

Also, my ears understood.

No matter where she was, they understood her voice.

“You dare scatter clumsy hidden weapons at me?”

The mad cry of the martial artist Iron Bead Jayeong burst out.

And cha-la-la-la-rang.

The sound of Jayeong's abacus beads clashing with the Lord of Heavenly Slaughter's hidden weapons in midair reached my ears.

“What, you blocked all my hidden weapons?”

The Lord of Heavenly Slaughter's eyes were dyed with astonishment.

Hidden weapons might not be his main weapon, but they were infused with demonic arts. Their power couldn't be ignored.

And she was blocking them all.

“What did you scout?”

She was the younger sister of the Rogues' Guild Leader, and even superior to her brother.

Moreover, Jayeong didn't stop at just blocking.

Pew!

One steel abacus bead pierced through the entire battlefield like a flash of lightning and struck the Lord of Heavenly Slaughter's body.

“Argh!?”

His scream contained not just pain, but astonishment that couldn't comprehend.

“Mukheun, now!”

The Lord of Heavenly Slaughter had revealed a massive opening.

Even when he drew the hidden weapons, his stance had crumbled because he was certain I'd go to Jayeong.

Now, he had been struck by Jayeong's Iron Bead.

I became a fierce gale and flew into the Lord of Heavenly Slaughter's gap.

Fiercely and swiftly.

And my dear friend Mukheun flew as well.

“Hic.”

A laugh that escaped like a hiccup from sheer surprise.

With that sound in my ear, I swung Mukheun and slashed past him.

“....”

“....Urk.”

Through the brief silence that followed, his stifled scream leaked out.

I turned my body and looked at the Lord of Heavenly Slaughter's back.

“Urk?”

He too turned his staggering body to face me.

But looking at me was only for a moment; he looked down at his own chest and abdomen.

A long gash from the left chest down to the right lower abdomen.

It was a fatal wound.

“Urk? Huh? For real?”

As if he still couldn't comprehend, he asked.

I raised Mukheun and showed him the bloodstains on the blade tip.

This was the answer.

“Ah? Urk? Ahh?”

His eyes filled with confusion.

It was real.

The blood on Mukheun was real, the huge wound on his body was real,

And death was real.

“Ahh! No! No! Something's wrong here!”

His body had already lost its strength.

Thud, the Lord of Heavenly Slaughter's knees buckled.

“Urk! No! This can't be! What? Where did it go wrong?”

His body collapsed rapidly.

This time, he propped himself up with one hand on the ground.

Drip drip, things inside his body flowed out through the wound.

“Huh? Huh? Was it that?”

The Lord of Heavenly Slaughter glanced back.

At the end of that was Jayeong.

My beautiful wife-

Thwack, raising her fist in a gesture of insult.

“....”

Well...

Even a beautiful wife can curse.

“Urk? This can't be right? Wasn't it supposed to be a one-on-one duel? Husband and wife teaming up on me?”

The Lord of Heavenly Slaughter, his mind muddled, spouted nonsense.

After throwing hidden weapons first, what was he saying.

“A family is one.”

The Lord of Heavenly Slaughter blinked at me and then.

“What are you saying.”

In the end, unable to comprehend, he slammed his head to the ground.

And died like that.

Why?

Why couldn't he understand this?

Well, anyway.

“I slew the Lord of Heavenly Slaughter! The Water Demon's sworn brother is dead!”

I declared it so it could be heard everywhere.

My voice, infused with inner power, boomed out.

“What? The Lord of Heavenly Slaughter?”

“It's true! The Lord of Heavenly Slaughter has fallen!”

“Retreat! Retreat!”

The Demonic Cult members' hands and feet became frantic.

They shouted retreat and tried to flee back into the burrow, but that wasn't easy.

“Don't let them escape! Exterminate the Demonic Cult!”

“They're the type to commit atrocities elsewhere anyway! Cut them all down without mercy!”

“Block the burrow, block the burrow!”

The Beggar's Gang members and clan warriors surged into pursuit all at once.

The Demonic Cult members, thick with defeat, had their formations collapse, while our allies burrowed into their midst and began swinging their weapons.

“Argh!”

“Aaak!”

“Long live the Water Demon King!”

“With the beast's fangs and claws- urk!”

The screams of the Demonic Cult members who had lost their leader were uncontrollable.

It was already at the point where I could leave the rest of the fight to them.

I leaped out and approached Jayeong.

Beside her, my brother, who had lost his strength again, slept with his eyes closed, and Taebok was tightly hugged in Jayeong's arms.

“Madam, as expected of Iron Bead. It was splendid hidden weapon technique.”

“....”

“The final strike was especially impressive. Thanks to it, landing the sword strike on the Lord of Heavenly Slaughter was much easier.” ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel-fire.net

“....”

“Hm? Still itching? Hahaha, if you hear what the Lord of Heavenly Slaughter said at the end, it might settle a bit. 'Husband and wife teaming up on me?' That's what he said.”

I laughed as I said it.

“....”

But Jayeong was still silent.

“Madam?”

“...It wasn't.”

“Hm? What did you say?”

“It wasn't me.”

She whispered into my ear, voice lowered so as not to wake my sleeping brother beside her.

Truly astonishing words.

“That last hidden weapon, it seems Taebok did it.”

“...Huh?”

Taebok?

Taebok, who was quietly nestled against Jayeong.

“...Taebok-ah?”

Was he angry at the guy who attacked his mother?

I was at a loss for words and turned my head from Taebok to look at the Lord of Heavenly Slaughter.

Far.

From here to where the Lord of Heavenly Slaughter lay, it was beyond crossing the entire battlefield.

From this distance.

He threw an Iron Bead using wind's natural path?

I could only say one thing.

“...Filial son?”