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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator:Bobt
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The bandits who had been unable to regain their senses were startled by Gam Sangchung’s shout and began chasing after Jang Geon. Gam Sangchung, who had shouted, also mounted a horse and chased after Jang Geon from the rear.
“Stop right there, you bastard!”
“Like I’ll stop.”
Jang Geon chuckled and touched the wound on his forehead. It seemed like he had suffered a minor cut on the surface of his skin. Although it wasn’t a major injury, the blood was obstructing his vision. He roughly wiped it away with his hand and flicked it to the side. There was no time to tend to a small wound when more than thirty bandits were chasing him from behind.
“Stop! Stop there, you jerk!”
“Stop, he says!”
After running excitedly for a while, he glanced back to see the bandits chasing after Jang Geon in a scattered formation, depending on their individual horses and riding skills. They were exactly what one would expect from a group of rogues who lived by plundering.
Jang Geon heard the rough breathing of Jojo, his horse. The full-speed gallop from the hill had begun to tire it out. Jang Geon gently pulled back on the reins. Sensing his intention, Jojo slowly reduced its speed.
“Got you! That bastard’s horse is tired!”
“Kill him! Catch him and drag him down!”
The bandit at the very front caught up to Jang Geon’s back and raised his sword high. His bared teeth looked exceptionally vicious. That blade was meant not for slicing but for ripping flesh.
At that moment, Jang Geon suddenly pushed against the saddle with both hands and spun around to face backward. The bandit opened his eyes wide in surprise.
“What the f–?”
Simultaneously, a beam of light flashed from Jang Geon’s waist, and the right arm and head of the bandit who had raised his sword flew off, separating from his body.
“Aah! That bastard killed Aahyong!”
The other bandits following behind flinched in shock. However, some of the braver ones urged their horses forward to catch up to Jang Geon.
“Just grab his legs! Then the boss will take care of him!”
“Catch him!”
Two bandits, one with a mid-length spear and the other with a long halberd, closed in on Jang Geon’s left and right, intending to attack from outside his sword’s range. The bandit with the spear thrust it swiftly and menacingly at Jang Geon, as is characteristic of that weapon.
However, Jang Geon raised his sword to deflect the spear to the side. The sword blade and spear shaft scraped against each other. When his attack missed, the bandit tried to quickly withdraw the spear. But Jang Geon’s left hand grabbed the shaft faster than the bandit could pull it back.
The bandit grinned. He was considered one of the strongest five in the bandit gang. With the intention of pulling Jang Geon off his horse, he forcefully tugged on the spear shaft. If Jang Geon fell to the ground, the other mounted bandits would have a significant advantage.
“Huh?”
The spear shaft didn’t budge at all. No, something seemed to pierce through the shaft and send a stinging pain through his palm. Unable to endure the agony, the bandit let go of the spear shaft. As soon as he released it, the wooden shaft burst apart with a popping sound in the middle.
The bandit, his palm bleeding profusely and his arm aching unbearably, was thrown backward as he clutched them. The bandit with the halberd, startled by the bursting spear shaft, momentarily took his eyes off Jang Geon.
By the time he looked back at Jang Geon, the latter’s blade had already slashed his throat.
“What the hell is that guy? What kind of sorcery is he using?”
The injured bandit mumbled fearfully as he retreated.
“You coward bastard!”
At that moment, Gam Sangchung, who had been chasing from behind, crushed the bandit’s head with his bare hands. The surrounding bandits watched in shock as blood and brain matter splattered everywhere, prompting Gam Sangchung to shout:
“Chase after him! Chase after him and attack his horse! Bring him down to the ground somehow! Anyone who can’t leave a single scratch on that bastard later will be killed by my hands! Anyone retreating behind me now will also be killed! And that bastard will definitely be killed by my hands!”
The bandits, intimidated by his ferocious appearance, urged their horses forward desperately, even shouting to overcome their fear. Seated backward on his horse, Jang Geon watched the scene and muttered:
“What kind of madman is that? He’s not in his right mind.”
Jang Geon’s eyes met Gam Sangchung’s, which gleamed with a reddish light. Jang Geon nodded his head.
“Those Samdan fellows all learned demonic arts. Crazy bastards.”
The demonic arts, Demonic Arts, initially caused one’s temper to flare but could eventually lead to craving human blood, brains, and flesh if taken to the extreme.
Since the time of the Supreme Demon King Hangyu, countless individuals had practiced Demonic Arts to gain faster power and stronger internal energy. Compared to ordinary internal energy cultivation, Demonic Arts allowed one to accumulate internal energy several times faster, or even tens of times faster, a temptation too great for many martial artists to resist.
However, just as Hangyu himself ultimately succumbed to the madness of Demonic Arts, most practitioners became violent and deranged by the abnormal power, transforming into inhuman demons. What was the point of gaining the strength to split mountains and part seas if one became a mindless monster, unable to recognize even one’s own mother and children, driven only by bloodlust?
Moreover, if it became known that someone had learned Demonic Arts, the consequences went beyond merely being hunted by the martial arts alliance or ancient clans. The empire itself, the imperial army, would get involved. Of course, on the new continent, where the empire’s influence was weaker, such demonic practitioners appeared more frequently. This was precisely what the empire’s scholars had been concerned about.
Most demonic practitioners, however, ended up being apprehended and executed by the martial arts alliance after causing minor incidents like killing a few people. Unlike regular martial arts, Demonic Arts could not be diligently cultivated in seclusion over years, as Gam Sangchung had demonstrated by casually crushing his subordinate’s head, his eyes burning with an inhuman light.
As Jang Geon’s brief contemplation passed, the enraged bandits charged at him, shouting. Jang Geon lightly kicked Jojo’s flank, prompting the horse to slow down a bit more. As a result, the bandits who had charged at full speed successively reached Jang Geon one by one or in small groups.
Since Jang Geon hadn’t carelessly learned his martial arts, he was not about to be defeated by these lowly bandits unless they surrounded him en masse with over thirty men.
Attacks without proper stances or force behind them were deflected with his sword and countered with slashes. Weapons like halberds that relied on weight for striking power were preemptively attacked before they could land a blow. When one bandit clung to the side and tried to pull Jang Geon off his saddle, Jang Geon drove his left fist into the bandit’s solar plexus, infusing it with internal energy that ruptured his organs. The bandit vomited blood and fell to the ground. The horse he had been riding trampled him as it also tumbled down, its rider landing head-first with a sickening thud.
After easily dispatching those two, Jang Geon spurred his horse forward. The bandits, who had been riding close together, stumbled over each other’s feet as they tried to give chase, causing four of them to tumble to the ground in a heap.
“You idiots!”
Jang Geon couldn’t help but chuckle at Gam Sangchung’s continuous stream of insults. Apparently lacking in horsemanship, Gam Sangchung had fallen to the rear from the start and couldn’t catch up, yet he kept cursing his own subordinates. What an absurd sight.
Once again taking the lead, Jang Geon glanced back. The remaining bandits, presumably the brave ones, were now chasing after him with the intention of landing at least one blow, ignoring Gam Sangchung’s orders.
Flicking his sword, Jang Geon pulled his legs up and crouched on the saddle again. But this time, he wasn’t facing the bandits; instead, he was looking straight ahead. He muttered a brief apology to his horse.
“Sorry about this.”
Then, Jang Geon took a light breath and channeled his internal energy into his legs. He forcefully expelled that energy downward from beneath the saddle as he leaped upward.
Hihihiing–!
Jang Geon soared into the air, while the horse beneath him, weighed down by the powerful force pressing on its back, collapsed to the ground with its legs splayed.
“Argh, damn it!”
“Aahh!”
The bandits chasing from behind tripped over the fallen horse. Some managed to leap over it, but those who couldn’t tumbled along with their mounts. For those whose heads were crushed, death might have been a mercy; left stranded with broken legs in these wilderness plains, they would likely starve to death or be slowly devoured by wild animals.
Jang Geon, who had leaped into the air, lightly landed on Jojo’s saddle and naturally took hold of the reins. Jojo whinnied as if to ask why he had taken so long. Jang Geon smiled faintly and tugged on the reins. Following his cue, Jojo broke into a full gallop straight ahead, then smoothly curved its path once it had gained some distance from the bandits.
In an instant, Jang Geon and the remaining bandits found themselves charging directly towards each other. The bandits instinctively raised their weapons when they saw Jang Geon’s face as Jojo turned, but Jang Geon, having already gathered his internal energy, deflected all their clumsy weapon swings with his sword held in both hands.
It was only natural that the bandits, sustaining major sword wounds across their bodies, subsequently fell from their horses one by one.
“You bastard–!”
Gam Sangchung, who was at the very rear, shouted with a distorted face. Instead of immediately charging at him, Jang Geon maintained his distance. His internal energy had become unsettled from knocking down the horse and slashing the bandits in quick succession. Engaging a demonic practitioner like Gam Sangchung in such a state would be unwise.
Understanding Jang Geon’s intention, Jojo circled widely around Gam Sangchung. With a contorted expression and glaring eyes, Gam Sangchung pulled on the reins, but he couldn’t catch up to Jojo.
“Stop right there, you bastard!”
Regulating his breath, Jang Geon looked back. The bandits, who had numbered over thirty, were all gone, leaving only Gam Sangchung chasing after him. Although one remained, Jang Geon had essentially prevailed against thirty opponents alone. Involuntarily, a satisfied smile formed on his face.
After riding for a while to catch his breath, Jang Geon pulled on Jojo’s reins to stop. Following his lead, Gam Sangchung also stopped, then growled:
“You miserable bastard… How dare you kill my men…”
Jang Geon gave him an incredulous look and retorted:
“Who was it that crushed his own subordinate’s head?”
“You bastard! If it weren’t for you, they wouldn’t have died! Those guys were like brothers to me!”
“Hah, what nonsense.”
Angered by Jang Geon’s scoff, Gam Sangchung kicked his horse’s flanks forcefully. However, his horse, exhausted from the earlier chase, refused to charge forward, only staggering in place.
“Damn it! Now even this damned horse is defying me!”
With those words, Gam Sangchung struck the horse’s forehead. The animal collapsed without even a noise after the sickening crunch. Jang Geon’s expression shifted from incredulity to outright pity. Did Gam Sangchung really think he could continue pursuing him after killing his own horse?
Since ancient times, the lightness skill had never advanced much beyond its use in travel, and even at its swiftest, it could not outpace a galloping horse for long. If Jang Geon simply urged Jojo to flee, Gam Sangchung would have no choice but to watch helplessly from a distance.
“You! Dismount and face me like a man if you’re a real martial artist!”
Having realized his mistake only after killing his horse, Gam Sangchung drew the sword that had been tied to the saddle and shouted. What was truly laughable was that the head of Gamsunduk, which Gam Sangchung had been carefully cradling until now, had rolled away, yet his reddened eyes showed no concern for it whatsoever.
“I never intended to let you live, either.”
Muttering those words, Jang Geon dismounted from Jojo. His internal energy, which had been turbulent for a brief moment, had stabilized once more. It was time to put an end to this bandit gang.
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