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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Bloodbath by the River
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The Yeomhwa Family once had an era of glory.
Though it was now just a large, old estate, in its heyday, the training grounds were filled with countless warriors, their training shouts echoing throughout Seochang. Twenty elders, captivated by the brilliant man known as the Flame Emperor, had joined the family.
They were twenty of the most renowned masters in all of Sichuan.
Besides them, over thirty other masters, who had been drawn to the Flame Emperor and stayed on as guests, also filled the Yeomhwa Family estate.
Founded by a warrior named the Flame Emperor, whose character and skill were acknowledged even by the Tang Clan—a prestigious family in Sichuan whose fame had spread throughout the land—the Yeomhwa Family had grown into a formidable martial house that no one in Sichuan could ignore in just a single generation.
Chief Steward Do often reminisced about that glorious era.
Whenever they walked the streets of Seochang, all the residents would look at them with admiration, cheering for the Yeomhwa Family, who were responsible for the city's security.
It was a time when masters from other regions passing through Seochang would always greet the warriors of the Yeomhwa Family.
The Yeomhwa Family, which the man called the Flame Emperor had rapidly built, declined just as quickly after his death.
As circumstances grew dire, many masters left.
Sometimes out of disappointment in the second Family Head.
Sometimes because the future of the Yeomhwa Family looked bleak.
The reasons varied, but every time one of those who had spent their youth together turned their back on the family, Chief Steward Do missed the Flame Emperor.
He missed that glorious era he had shared with him.
To the righteous, he was a magnanimous hero.
To his enemies, a hegemonic master.
He was a man of his word, a man of great character, a man he dearly missed.
Was it a trick of the mind that he saw an afterimage of the Flame Emperor in Mujin's retreating back?
As he stared blankly into the empty space where Mujin had disappeared, the presence of people at the main gate snapped him out of his reverie.
"Chief Steward!"
He turned his head at the urgent voice to see the warriors who had set out earlier with Elder Jo.
"You've already received the message… What is it?!"
Chief Steward Do asked in alarm, seeing the two warriors covered in sword wounds and blood.
"There's no time to explain… They were assassins, likely sent by the Cheonghwa Merchant Guild! At the Jeodong River… Elder Jo and the other warriors are struggling!"
The Jeodong River was not far, a place where the women of Seochang usually did their laundry.
At the warriors' words, Chief Steward Do launched himself forward without a second thought.
If anything happened to the two children Elder Jo had taken with him, he could never atone for it, even in death.
"The, the Young Master… no. Shouldn't we inform the Family Head?"
"We must!"
The group that had left with Elder Jo was originally heading for Mokri, planning to wait for Chief Steward Do's message in a small village between Seochang and Mokri.
There, upon hearing that the Chief Steward had recovered Mujin's body, they were to reunite with him in Mokri.
But before they even reached their first destination, not long after leaving Seochang, they overheard a conversation among some riders that something had happened.
-The Hidden Dragon of the Yeomhwa Family has shaken off old grudges and begun to rise.-
Upon hearing this news, Elder Jo and his warriors had hastily turned back.
If Mujin had won the duel and survived, they couldn't very well flee with his only living relatives, could they?
The problem was that they were being followed.
Bu Cho-yeon, a woman seasoned in all sorts of underhanded schemes at the Cheonghwa Merchant Guild, would not have trusted a promise made with the unstable Mujin without preparing a backup plan.
The duel was merely a means to gain justification.
Naturally, she had anticipated that the old men might try to escape with the remaining bloodline and secret arts of the Yeomhwa Family, and had planted people near the estate.
The order Bu Cho-yeon had given the assassins she'd hired was simple.
'If anyone leaves the Yeomhwa Family estate, follow them. Before the sun sets today, kill them all, but bring back one old man and one child alive.'
She calculated that the life of one remaining child would be enough to trade for the secret arts.
However, her calculations had not included the variable of her son, Cheong Bo-do, being defeated and crippled.
Of course, she had no mental capacity left to worry about some wandering mercenaries.
"So… my siblings are now…"
"Yes… I am sorry."
Without even waiting for the warriors to finish, Mujin shot forward.
Masok followed behind him, but he couldn't keep up with Mujin's rapid pace.
Nevertheless, clutching an old sword, Masok ran tirelessly toward the Jeodong River.
*
*Clang!*
"You bastards!"
Chief Steward Do threw his iron fan at the eight assassins threatening Elder Jo and the warriors, who were bloodied and protectively encircling the two children.
The iron fan flew from his hand, deflecting an assassin's sword just as it was about to end a family warrior's life, and returned to his grasp.
"He's here."
One masked assassin spoke, and another with long, flowing black hair replied.
"I told you. If we let those two escape, they'd bring the old man to us."
At the assassins' words, Chief Steward Do's face contorted in a snarl.
He had bowed his head so many times, enduring the storms of the world in a failing family, trying to somehow preserve its legacy.
He had avoided even the smallest of conflicts, and the years of placating ever-present debt collectors had worn his fingerprints away and bent his back.
But no matter how he had lived, the blood of a warrior had not died within him.
For the first time in a long while, he harbored a genuine killing intent as he charged toward the assassins.
Folding his open fan, he wielded it with dazzling speed. Two assassins who met him with their longswords were instantly forced onto the defensive.
His skill in using a short iron fan against longswords was evident as he expertly pressed his opponents. His arrival gave the beleaguered warriors and Elder Jo a moment of respite.
Just then, two assassins from behind rushed toward Chief Steward Do.
"Baek-shin! Be careful! Those two are masters!"
At Elder Jo's shout, Chief Steward Do clashed with the two charging assassins.
*Clang! Clang! Clang!*
It was indeed the swordsmanship of a master.
Fast, concise, and imbued with powerful sword energy.
His face grim, Chief Steward Do was unable to advance further as he dealt with them.
"We'll keep this old man busy. Kill the rest, but leave one child alive!"
As if finally revealing their true skills, the assassins began to unleash their killing intent and aura.
"You bastards! No!"
Chief Steward Do cried out desperately, but he couldn't easily break past the two assassins blocking his path.
*Swish!*
The agitated Chief Steward Do's arm was slashed, and blood spurted out.
He couldn't fight with a clear head as he watched his lifelong friend from the Yeomhwa Family and the loyal warriors who had remained until the end, along with the two children who were the family's last hope and treasure, in peril.
The sight of the warriors on the verge of collapse and Elder Jo being targeted by what appeared to be master assassins kept catching his eye.
"Hey, old man. We won't take your life, so think carefully."
"You might lose an arm if you push yourself too hard, you know?"
The assassins were skilled at this, well-versed in provoking and enraging their opponents.
"You bastards!"
*Swish!*
"Argh!"
Just then, a warrior with a long gash on his side collapsed, revealing the two children who had been hiding behind him to the assassins.
"Who should I kill, and who should I let live?"
The boy and girl, with their similar features, trembled uncontrollably.
At the assassin's voice, filled with killing intent, Hwa Dojin spread his arms to shield his younger sister.
"Hoh. If you wish it so, then you shall die!"
"No!!!"
Elder Jo shouted, turning his back on the enemy he was fighting.
In that moment, as he forgot his own safety and ran toward the children.
*Swoosh!*
A long gash was carved into Elder Jo's back.
"Tch! Too shallow."
The assassin clicked his tongue, looking at the blood on the tip of his sword.
Staggering, Elder Jo barely managed to block the assassin's sword as it swung toward Dojin.
*Clang!*
But with that, the balance of the fight tipped decisively.
The remaining warriors had only been able to hold on because Jo Hwan-bong, a first-rate master, had been standing his ground.
In a real battle, once the balance of power shifted, it never returned.
Just as the lives of the warriors, Elder Jo, and the two children hung by a thread.
-Freeze!!!
The powerful Lion's Roar, infused with potent internal energy, made the assassins on the field flinch and turn their eyes toward the newcomer.
"…That one is…"
"Why is he still alive?"
The Eldest Young Master of the Yeomhwa Family, infamous for his madness.
Hwa Mujin, the Mad Young Master, who had not yet properly ascended to the position of Family Head because of his insanity.
Why was he here, charging toward them with an absurdly large iron sword, letting out a thunderous roar?
He was supposed to have died today in the duel against the second son of the Cheonghwa Family. The sight of him alive made several of the assassins frown.
'Something's gone wrong.'
Assassins, who made their living by handling matters that were not meant to be known to the world, never liked it when a plan went awry.
"What do we do?"
"…Kill him too. The contract is already finished. They won't pay us less for killing one more."
The assassin who said this pushed past Chief Steward Do.
*Clang!*
-Kill him quickly!
The assassin shouted.
At his cry, Mujin, who was running at full speed, let out another Lion's Roar.
-The one who moves will surely die! Freeze!!!
It was a roar that shook not just the ears, but the entire body.
Sensing that his aura was far from ordinary, the less skilled assassins who were pressuring the children and Elder Jo hesitated.
"Tch! This is why I hate working with amateurs!"
One of the assassins said this as he bypassed Chief Steward Do and charged toward Mujin.
As the assassin ran, swinging a heavy-looking saber, Mujin extended his sword.
-Second Form. Weapon-Breaking Form.-
*Swissssh!*
It could neutralize any weapon, so who would dare stand in its way?
True to the form's arrogant description, his iron sword deflected the assassin's saber, which held a sword force several times stronger than a normal blade, in a single strike.
But it didn't end with a simple deflection.
By deflecting the saber, the sword swiftly pierced the assassin's wide-open chest.
As it impaled his chest, the powerful sword energy split the assassin's body in two, and Mujin charged through the gap without pause.
!!!
The assassins who watched Mujin charge forward, drenched in the blood sprayed by his victim, all widened their eyes.
The sight of a man tearing through another as if splitting him in half was something even they, who had lived by the sword, had never seen before.
-Everyone, attack! He's no ordinary foe!
At those words, all the assassins turned and rushed toward Mujin.
-Fifth Form. Army-Slaying Form.-
No matter how many enemies swarm, they will kneel before this sword.
*Thud! Thud! Thud!*
The first three assassins to swing their swords were sent flying back the moment their blades met Mujin's.
*Swish! Slice.*
The heavy iron sword that pursued the falling assassins showed no mercy.
The battlefield instantly became a sea of blood as the sword split chests and severed heads.
*Clang! Clang!*
"He's, he's a master!"
"Dammit!"
In a single moment, Mujin had slaughtered the charging assassins.
Now, only two remained.
Just clashing swords with Mujin sent a throbbing pain through their hands, making it impossible to continue the fight.
An absurdly large iron sword and simple movements.
They couldn't understand why they couldn't find an opening in his simple thrusts and slashes, or why they were being pushed back.
As befitting the heavy iron sword, the pain that radiated up their arms with each block was accumulating.
"Let's retreat for now…"
*Swish!*
As one assassin leaped back and turned, the tendon behind his knee was severed, and blood spurted out.
"Keuk!"
*Thud!*
The assassin, who had been about to flee using his lightness skill, tumbled violently to the ground as the tendon and meridians were cut.
*Slice.*
"Arggghhh!"
At the same time, the remaining assassin who tried to retreat had his right arm severed by Mujin's sword as he instantly changed direction and charged.
The field was cleared in an instant.
The assassins, who had spent their lives creating dark histories in the martial world and feeding on grudges, were all either dead or crippled.
Mercenary assassins who lived by the sword.
Crippled in an instant, they sensed that it was all over.
They had always known this day might come when they entered this line of work, but they never dreamed it would be today.
Once the area was clear, Mujin's eyes fell upon the two children, trembling in the distance.
Ignoring the elder and the chief steward, who were still in a daze even though the fight was over, Mujin frowned as he looked at the two children.
Though it was a scene of his own making, it was undoubtedly a shocking sight for young children.
Corpses split in half like firewood and others sliced horizontally.
Heads and limbs rolling on the ground.
And the familiar scent of blood emanating from his entire body.
Even without a mirror, he could picture his own appearance—a demon drenched in blood.
"B-B-Brother?"
Soyeon, who hadn't gotten a clear view of the situation from behind, tried to step forward, but Hwa Dojin quickly covered her eyes.
"Don't look!"
"What, what is it? Is that really brother? Did he take care of all the bad guys?"
"Yes, so don't look!"
Mujin walked toward Hwa Dojin, who was shouting.
As he approached, the thick scent of blood washed over them.
"Are you alright?"
"I-I-I'm fine."
Mujin, still radiating a lingering killing intent and the scent of blood, knelt on one knee to meet his startled younger brother's eyes.
"I'm sorry I was late."
At his gentle voice, Hwa Dojin's eyes began to well up with tears.
"You must have been scared."
"I wasn't… I wasn't scared at all. I'm the son of a martial family."
Mujin smiled as he listened to Dojin's tearful reply.
"You're brave."
Mujin's hand, as he stroked his brother's head, was incomparably gentle to how it had been when facing the assassins.