Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 137

137. Era of Chaos

Thud.

A cloud of dust rose.

Namgung Jincheon, who had been wielding his sword energy like an extension of his body, collapsed. Muje stared down at him with a distorted expression.

No one spoke.

The representatives of the Murim Alliance who were watching, and the elites of the Namgung Clan, simply watched the scene, frozen in silence.

But only for a moment.

The shouts of the bandits erupted from all directions.

“Waaah!”

“Waaaaah!”

The bandits raised their weapons high and cheered.

The Namgung Clan, the most prestigious clan in the world, and its head no less, had fallen before their very eyes.

Unable to believe what had happened, the bandits cheered like mad.

“Waaaaaaah!”

Their voices covered the valley like a great wave.

“Thunder Sword,” Muk Hyeop, the Blood Blade of the Black Demon Society, murmured in a somber voice.

“……He’s gone.”

No one could believe it.

But they could not deny what had happened before their eyes.

Clatter, clatter.

The representatives looked up at the sound of approaching hooves.

A warrior was riding towards them.

Clatter.

The warrior stopped his horse a short distance away and dismounted.

The warrior, dressed in dark yellow martial attire and wearing a yellow band on his wrist, bowed respectfully to the representatives.

“Greetings to the representatives of the Murim Alliance.”

His voice carried clearly even amidst the cheers of the bandits.

The Hwangcheon Troop warrior took out a letter from his chest.

“This is a letter from the Surochae Alliance to the Murim Alliance.”

A small commotion arose among the representatives.

It was because the ‘Surochae Alliance,’ which they had only speculated about, had revealed itself.

Swish.

Jegal Yeon of the Jegal Clan gestured to his escort.

The escort rushed to the Hwangcheon Troop warrior and received the letter.

As Jegal Yeon received the letter, the Hwangcheon Troop warrior said.

“You can rest assured.”

The Hwangcheon Troop warrior smiled.

“There will be no more fighting today.”

That meant they would let the elites of the Namgung Clan go.

The Hwangcheon Troop warrior bowed again and turned around.

“Wait.”

Jegal Yeon of the Jegal Clan called out to him.

“Who are you?”

His eyes, aura, and voice contained inner strength.

The Hwangcheon Troop warrior before him was clearly a man of considerable martial skill.

He smiled and replied.

“Just a mere bandit.”

His voice sounded somewhat mocking.

The Hwangcheon Troop warrior hopped back onto his horse and left.

Jegal Yeon watched his retreating figure, unable to shake off a bitter feeling.

The head of the Namgung Clan had been defeated.

Not only that.

The emergence of a new powerhouse called the Dark Sky Demon Emperor, and above all, the news of the Surochae Alliance, would surely turn the Gangho [martial world] upside down.

The Murim Alliance system, which had been in place for decades, was facing a challenge.

Amidst the cheers of the bandits that shook the valley, the representatives remained silent.

A sense of foreboding, that this might only be the beginning, settled darkly in the hearts of the representatives.

***

“Oh, amazing.”

Mun Wang opened his eyes wide and clapped with exaggerated gestures.

“Truly a masterpiece. Arrows that fly without any rules, was it called Yoosi [a type of unpredictable archery]? Truly a technique worth admiring.”

Mun Wang turned to look at Bireon.

The small short bow she was holding had already disappeared from sight.

“To show such power with a short bow, truly an amazing feat.”

Despite Mun Wang’s words, Bireon’s face remained expressionless.

Bireon said briefly in a dry voice.

“The will of the Heavenly Tyrant has been clearly carried out.”

Mun Wang let out a sneer.

He turned his gaze to a warrior standing near Bireon.

“You.”

“Yes, sir!”

The warrior quickly knelt and lowered his head.

Mun Wang looked down at the warrior and said.

“Get up and slap that woman’s cheek.”

A look of bewilderment flashed across the warrior’s face.

But Mun Wang never retracted his orders.

The warrior gritted his teeth, jumped up, and immediately struck Bireon’s face.

Smack.

Bireon did not resist.

Her head turned and blood showed between her lips.

“It’s not up to the likes of you to judge whether the will of the Heavenly Tyrant has been fulfilled.”

Swish.

Covering his mouth with a fan, Mun Wang said quietly.

“……How lowly.”

Everyone could hear the words clearly.

But no one spoke.

Looking down and avoiding looking at Mun Wang and Bireon’s faces was the best they could do.

Thud.

It was then.

Muje appeared from the darkness.

“Oh, welcome.”

Mun Wang folded his fan and smiled broadly.

He even got up from his seat as if he was truly glad to see him.

“What are you doing? Hasn’t the hero who killed Thunder Sword returned?”

Just as Mun Wang’s subordinates were about to react to his shout.

“Was killing the head of the Namgung Clan,” a heavy voice stopped everyone’s movements. “Personally ordered by the Merchant as the Heavenly Decree?”

Muje had been listening to the conversation.

He already knew what had happened.

Mun Wang said with a faint smile.

“Fear is the best way to rule the ignorant.”

“Now I am,” the Dark Sky Demon Emperor said to Mun Wang, his eyes shining.

Even the warriors standing next to Mun Wang flinched at the intense aura.

“Asking if the Merchant ordered to kill the head of the Namgung Clan as the Heavenly Decree.”

Clack.

Mun Wang spread his silk fan and covered his face.

Even in the face of Muje’s aura, Mun Wang was not afraid.

Although his martial prowess was incomparable, he already knew that Muje could not harm him in any way.

As long as Muje upheld the Merchant’s will, or as long as Muje was alive.

“If you’re so curious,” Mun Wang said slowly with a sneer, “ask the Merchant directly. I’m curious to see how the Merchant will accept your suspicion.”

Muje gritted his teeth.

But he couldn’t do anything more than that.

Swish.

Muje turned his body.

Thud, thud.

“You have good subordinates.”

Mun Wang’s voice flew from behind the departing Dark Sky Demon Emperor.

“A subordinate who takes care of what the master should do, isn’t that a wonderful thing? Hahaha.”

Even at Mun Wang’s mocking voice, Muje did not slow his pace.

And Bireon, who had been standing still, also moved her feet to follow Muje.

Rustle.

“Don’t follow me.”

Bireon flinched and stopped at Muje’s low voice.

As Bireon watched, Muje’s large figure disappeared into the darkness.

“Oh, dear, oh, dear.”

Mun Wang clicked his tongue, covering his face with his fan.

“Your master doesn’t recognize your loyalty. Tsk, tsk.”

Bireon did not answer.

She looked at the direction where Muje had disappeared, took a few light steps forward.

And the next moment, Bireon’s figure disappeared as if melting into the darkness.

“Hmph.”

Mun Wang snorted as Bireon disappeared.

Whack.

Sweat dripped from the palm of Mun Wang’s hand that had folded the fan.

“See how long you can ignore me.”

Gritting his teeth, Mun Wang said.

“We’ll see.”

The shouts of the bandits were still echoing in the valley.

But there was no sign of victory on Mun Wang’s face.

***

The elites of the Namgung Clan could not hide their somber expressions.

Some shed tears, while others were bewildered as if they could not believe it.

But they were all silent.

There was no fear of being massacred.

Because along with the message from the Murim Alliance representatives, the bandits had also retreated like a tide.

Namgung Byeok, the new head and the new Thunder Sword, personally collected the body of the late head, Namgung Jincheon.

The white horse that Namgung Jincheon had ridden also cried sadly as if it knew of its master’s death.

The white horse, which refused to move, finally followed the carriage carrying Namgung Jincheon’s body only after it departed.

The elites of the Namgung Clan were watching the scene with a somber expression, but Lee Seo-yeon’s gaze did not linger on the scene for long.

‘Just once.’

Lee Seo-yeon turned her head and looked at the place where Muje had been standing.

‘With just one fight…….’

Since the Namgung Clan had lost, Lee Seo-yeon’s achievements were meaningless.

The achievements she had worked so hard to gain on the battlefield where swords and blood were rampant, were instantly rendered useless by the Dark Sky Demon Emperor.

‘He changed everything.’

What Muje changed was not just the battle in this valley.

Now, no one traveling the Yangtze River can ignore the Surochae Alliance.

Who would dare to underestimate the Dark Sky Demon Emperor who defeated the head of the Namgung Clan, and the Surochae Alliance?

Of course, the Surochae Alliance and the Murim Alliance will not immediately engage in an all-out war.

But the Murim Alliance, which seemed unshakable, suffered a wound of defeat and faced the challenge of the Surochae Alliance.

Perhaps an upheaval may come to the Gangho.

Daze.

Lee Seo-yeon bit her lip.

Lee Seo-yeon trembled again at the scene that was still vivid before her eyes.

Swish.

Lee Seo-yeon reached out into the darkness.

The realm of Muje and Thunder Sword is too far apart from Lee Seo-yeon.

A gap that can be said to be a completely different world.

But Lee Seo-yeon felt that she was somehow not so far from them.

Perhaps it was because she already knew another person with such a realm personally.

The very person she can reach out to, like Unhyun.

‘But.’

Rustle.

Lee Seo-yeon withdrew her hand.

Her white hand disappeared into her sleeve and Lee Seo-yeon bit her lip.

‘Not yet.’

Lee Seo-yeon’s red lips twisted under the moonlight.

But her eyes were shining more than ever.

***

The shocking news of Thunder Sword Namgung Jincheon’s defeat spread in an instant.

The Namgung Clan’s defeat and Namgung Jincheon’s death, and the martial prowess of the Dark Sky Demon Emperor who defeated him, were enough to surprise the Gangho Murim.

The atmosphere of the Yangtze River also changed in an instant.

The merchants who saw the power of the Surochae Alliance voluntarily began to pay tolls.

Not only did the number of water camps wanting to join the alliance increase, but the large and small sects and martial arts centers in the Yangtze River basin began to watch the Surochae’s every move.

The Surochae Alliance had not yet revealed its ambitions, but no one knew how long this situation would last.

An era of chaos had come to the Yangtze River, a vast waterway that crosses the continent.

“Hmm.”

Unhyun let out a low groan.

The Yangtze River incident was shaking the entire Gangho, but Unhyun was an exception.

The Yangtze River incident had not yet been reported to Seo Gi Unhyun, who was sitting in the corner of the Mo Yong Clan’s training hall, and even if he had known, it was just another world that he had no interest in.

What is bothering Unhyun now is the matter of Dokseon, whom he met in Cheoljeongsan.

“The number one sect in the world…….”

Dokseon had thrown out a completely unexpected proposal.

If he made the Tang Clan the number one sect in the world, he would give him the world, that was Dokseon’s proposal.

Of course, he refused on the spot, but the problem is that Dokseon doesn’t seem to be giving up on his intentions.

‘The reason he retreated so easily was probably because of the Hwasan Agreement, but.’

Considering the formidable skill Dokseon showed, the Thousand Fragrance Butterfly, he didn’t just back down.

Dokseon, one of the Hwanwoo Five Heavens [powerful figures], is unlikely to take back the words he has spoken.

‘Isn’t this going to turn into something strange again?’

The sword that Sword Saint Lee Geom-hak gave him made Unhyun compete with the Bukhae Ice Palace even though he didn’t receive it.

The word ‘successor of the Sword Saint’ that Buddhist Saint Bulyoung said brought special treatment from the Murim Alliance even though Unhyun denied it.

So Unhyun can’t help but be anxious about what kind of ripple effect Dokseon’s proposal will have in the future.