Na Clan- 5
The young warrior of Naga Manor, Maeng Sa-ung, could hardly believe the reality before his eyes.
Just moments ago, the morning had been as ordinary as any other. Yet in the blink of an eye, it had turned into a living hell.
Slash!
"Aaaagh!"
Thud!
"Guhhh!"
A gaunt, sinister figure had smashed through the front gate of Naga Manor and was now butchering Maeng Sa-ung's seniors, friends, and juniors before his very eyes—ripping, piercing, tearing them apart.
His comrades scattered in panic, screaming as they fled in all directions.
At first, some had tried to fight back, but now not a single one dared to.
The difference in strength was too overwhelming; resistance was futile.
Stab!
"Urk!"
Another comrade, who had been running, was suddenly impaled straight through the back by the creature's hand, which lunged like a beast.
Maeng Sa-ung watched in horror as the man collapsed, his life draining away.
"Brother Jang…"
He was thirty years old, a man who said his greatest joy was going home early each day to play with his three-year-old son. He had even given up drinking for the sake of his precious child.
Now he would never see his son again.
Lying on the ground, Maeng Sa-ung glared through narrowed eyes, his teeth grinding.
"You bastard… I'll never forgive you."
He had fallen earlier when the corpse of a slain comrade, hurled by the creature, had struck him.
But as he rolled with the body, he realized the creature had ignored him, rushing off to attack another target—mistaking him for already dead.
Considering how many it had slain already, it wasn't strange that one body on the ground was overlooked.
At first, he had thought to remain still, feigning death, praying it would move on. After all, life was precious.
But that thought didn't last long.
"Aaaagh!"
"Help me! Aaaagh!"
Around him, his comrades were dying horrific deaths.
Rage boiled up within Maeng Sa-ung, hot enough to devour even his fear.
He could not let the monster go unpunished.
Even if it cost him his life.
So he waited—for the creature to come close again, and most of all, to turn its back.
His one desperate wish: to drive his blade into its spine from behind.
"Come on. Just once. Please, just once."
And then, the chance came.
The monster lunged at a comrade fleeing near Maeng Sa-ung's position.
Slash!
"Aaaaagh!"
Blood sprayed as the man's back split open under the beast's claws.
And there, before him, was the creature's unguarded back.
Maeng Sa-ung's eyes blazed.
Now!
"Hup!"
He leapt up silently, rushing forward, driving his sword toward its back.
Swish!
"Die!"
The blade reached the creature's back—and still, it didn't turn. It hadn't noticed him.
"Yes! I've got it!"
He exulted inwardly. But then—
Clang!
His sword bounced off.
"Wh–what?!"
The jarring shock rang through his hand like striking iron, pain tearing at his grip. Wide-eyed, Maeng Sa-ung stared as the creature slowly turned its head toward him.
From its disheveled hair, eyes glowed blood-red like spilled flame.
"Y–you bastard!"
He snarled, thrusting his sword again with all his might.
But—
Clang!
"Ugh!"
Again it was deflected, unable to pierce the creature's chest.
"Grrraaaah!"
It growled like a beast, raising its blood-soaked claw and slashing toward him—the same claw that had just torn open his comrade.
Seeing it descend, Maeng Sa-ung despaired.
"This is the end."
But then—
BOOOOM!
With a deafening crash, the monster vanished from before him.
The next instant, the distant wall of Naga Manor crumbled in an explosion of rubble.
Crashhh!
"…?"
Maeng Sa-ung blinked, dazed.
Only when he saw the creature writhing amidst the fallen stones did he grasp what had happened: something had slammed into it with such force that it was sent flying into the wall.
But… that "something" was a person.
A man now stood before him—clearly the one who had just blasted the monster away.
Maeng Sa-ung's mind reeled.
How could a person move at such speed? How could he body-slam the monster so brutally and still stand unscathed?
And then he saw the man's face—strikingly handsome, like the noble heir of a great clan.
The youth smiled radiantly at him.
"You're brave. And lucky, too. You've got potential—you'll become stronger."
"…Huh?"
Maeng Sa-ung stared in a daze.
But the reprieve was short. The monster, already rising from the rubble, charged again with a bestial roar.
"Grrraaaah!"
Maeng Sa-ung was horrified. How could something crushed like that rise so easily?
But more pressing was the danger.
"Look out!"
He shouted desperately. The handsome youth was still facing him, not even looking at the oncoming beast.
Surely he'd be struck down—
But then, Maeng Sa-ung gaped in shock.
Without even turning his head, the youth suddenly dashed forward like a cannonball—straight at the charging monster, as though he had known all along.
The next instant, the two collided midair.
BOOOOM!
The sound was nothing like humans clashing—it was like thunder.
And the result defied belief.
The monster that had rampaged through Naga Manor, slaughtering warriors with ease, was flung helplessly again, smashed into the wall by the youth's raw impact.
Crashhh!
The blow was enough to turn bones to powder.
Yet the youth didn't pause.
He rushed at the monster once more, his speed so great that even Maeng Sa-ung—proud of his exceptional eyesight—saw only a flash of light.
Whoosh!
"Haaaaaah!"
And then—Maeng Sa-ung's eyes widened again.
From the youth's hand, a sword lashed out at a speed too fast to follow.
And from that sword flared a radiant violet light.
Maeng Sa-ung whispered in awe:
"…Sword aura?"
Yes—this was the legendary sword aura he had only heard of in stories.
This youth—who looked no older than himself—was a supreme master, the likes of which Maeng Sa-ung had never seen.
He stared, spellbound, as dazzling meteors of violet sword aura poured from the youth's blade, raining down upon the monster pinned against the wall.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The violet storm of sword aura bombarded the creature like a meteor shower, blasting the wall apart in a cascade of thunder.
Would watching lightning pour down in a typhoon look like this?
The sight was utterly overwhelming.
Maeng Sa-ung felt he would never forget it for as long as he lived.
Unconsciously, he let out a deep sigh.
"Haaaah…"
***
Seventh Stroke of the Four Seasons Sword Art.
Black Heaven Sword Rain.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
I unleashed sword aura reinforced with the strength of eighty years of inner cultivation, bombarding the monster like a storm of blows.
But as expected, its skin could not be pierced.
When it swung to seize me, I leapt back.
"Tch. I wanted to do it like Captain Seolpung…"
It seemed my level was still far from smashing through like he had.
"Grrraaaah!"
The creature lunged again like a beast, its fingers curved into claws—as if it had once been a martial artist skilled in claw techniques.
Speed rivaling top masters, skin impervious to sword aura, reckless charges that ignored defense entirely—
Certainly a troublesome opponent for swordsmen.
My sword aura could not harm it, while one blow from it would mean death for me. Dodging was the only option.
At least, that would be the case if I were just an ordinary swordsman.
"Hmph!"
I snorted and smashed my fist against its slashing claws.
CRACK!
The creature's hand was knocked aside. Using the recoil, I spun and kicked its head.
WHAM!
BOOOOM!
The monster flew and slammed into the wall once more.
I grinned.
"Sorry, but I'm not an ordinary swordsman. I'm a close-combat fighter—trained in both external martial arts and grappling."
I might not be able to destroy it, but beating it one-sidedly was no problem.
"Grrraaaah!"
The creature charged again.
But my shoulder tackle, propelled by Explosive Advance Step, struck first.
BOOOOM!
CRASH!
It flew straight through the wall, out of Naga Manor.
I followed it outside.
"Now that I've kicked you out… time to carve you up slowly."
Its attacks weren't much of a threat—but I couldn't relax.
One was manageable. But if the other two arrived, it would be different.
So I had to deal with this one first.
And I believed it wasn't impossible.
Captain Seolpung had once pulverized an Iron Ghost barehanded.
And in my previous life, the sword auras of peak masters had cleaved them apart.
So if my blade grew sharper, I too would be able to cut through.
"Hoo…"
I exhaled deeply, lowered my body, and readied my sword.
I waited for its charge.
The fastest sword I'd ever seen belonged to Captain Sagunil of the Four Seasons Sword Art. But the sharpest was Senior Hwa Yeongbin's Falling Crimson Sun Slash from the Jeokha Sword Art—
The very slash that pierced the Body-protecting Energy of Demon General Sa Won-yang.
Now, I was trying to recreate that feeling.
I closed my eyes and pictured Hwa Hyung's sword—the strike that split the crimson sunset in a single instant.
And I recited the phrase Mokrang once taught me:
Place the blade in the opening and cut—it simply follows what is natural.]
"Grrraaaah!"
The creature lunged at me as I stood with eyes closed.
The distance vanished in moments.
Four zhang. Three. Two. One.
Now!
Slash!
My sword traced a pale violet arc in the air—an arc aligned with its neck.
Scrraaaape!
Like metal grating against iron hide, a resistant drag lingered in my hand.
Without hesitation, I burst forward with Explosive Advance, ramming into its body.
CRASH!
It flew back and slammed into the ground.
But it rose immediately, seemingly unharmed.
"Did I fail?"
Yet my sharp eyes caught it—the faint red line etched across its neck.
A tiny wound.
My sword aura had finally cut its skin.
Just a scratch, yes—but still a wound.
I chose to take it positively.
"Good. Only ninety-nine more cuts to go."
I cracked my neck and raised my sword once more.
No matter how long it took, I would cut its neck clean through.
But then—
I sensed movement. Snapping my head aside, I saw someone else approaching.
A disheveled woman in tattered robes, hair wild.
Another Iron Ghost.
I sighed.
"Damn it."
So I wouldn't be able to leisurely whittle down just one.
And a thought struck me.
"Why from the side? If they came from the south like the first, she should've come from the front. Did they split up and regroup? Then where's the last one?"
But I had no time to ponder.
Two monsters charged from different directions at once.
"Grrraaaah!"
"Tch!"
So they were intelligent enough to time a joint assault.
The second round was about to begin.
***
At the same time, Na Seoyu was carrying the Lord of Naga Manor on a stretcher made of a blanket and two thick bamboo poles, working with Physician Yang to move him carefully.
She worried for Seonu Jin, but her father's safety came first.
Besides, since no screams had come from the front gate after Seonu Jin went, perhaps nothing critical had happened yet.
The rear gate of Naga Manor stood wide open—someone had already escaped through it.
Carrying the stretcher, Na Seoyu slipped through and said:
"If we head north, we'll reach Cheon Manor. We must entrust Father to them. I don't need to explain what your role will be once we arrive, do I, Physician?"
"O–of course not! I'll tend to the Lord with utmost care."
As they spoke, Na Seoyu suddenly felt a chill at her nape. She turned—and froze.
A large man in ragged martial robes, hair wild, loomed nearby.
And through his tangled locks, his eyes glowed with a bloody light.
Na Seoyu whispered in shock, her face pale.
"…An Iron Ghost?"
READ MORE CHAPTERS HERE : https://payhip.com/Beastnovels
OR ON KOFI: https://ko-fi.com/ripper1920
OR ON PATERON : patreon.com/Pokemon707
NOTE: BUY CHAPTERS AT LOWEST PRICES.