Volume 2 Chapter 6 – Advent

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Translated by Rain

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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There was a major topic of conversation among martial artists who liked to compare themselves with others, and gossips who had a keen interest in the martial world.

For a long time, they had wanted to systematize the realms of martial artists.

As if grading tea or fabrics.

To state the conclusion first, that attempt was a failure.

Using the amount of internal energy as a standard, using the point at which qi could be emitted externally as a standard, and even using combat power as a standard— there were problems with using any of them as a standard.

At least, combat power had seemed like the most decent option to set a standard.

The result, as mentioned at the beginning, was failure.

In the end, compatibility between individuals played too large a role in combat.

In that way, the task of subdividing grades failed, and only a single standard remained.

The wall.

As all martial artists grew, a point would come where their growth slowed, and they would eventually encounter a wall.

Those who crossed that wall obtained a level of strength that made them seem like a different person in an instant, and once again, room for growth emerged.

Thus, people naturally came to refer to the strong who crossed that wall as ‘masters.’

* * *

Se-ah’s bodyguard, Gyu, had actually felt a premonition of defeat the moment she saw Geum-ju.

Unlike herself, who had barely reached the wall, the strength the current Geum-ju displayed was clearly that of a ‘master’ who had crossed the wall.

“Still, I have my pride. I will not be defeated so easily.”

And above all, she had to protect the young lady.

She was a bodyguard.

“First Sword, Stance.”

Her sect taught that the act of raising the sword to assume the starting stance was equivalent to the first strike.

That meant one’s mind and body were completely transitioned into combat readiness simultaneously with the act of assuming the starting stance.

Gyu’s momentum changed in an instant.

Through her vision, which she had raised to the limit, she saw Geum-ju kick off from the half-destroyed building.

‘She’s coming…’

What saved Gyu was the sense developed from the countless real combat experiences she had accumulated.

‘…now!’

She simply operated her footwork as her senses guided her, and Geum-ju, flying like a ray of light, brushed past her and slammed into the spot where she had been standing.

‘Crazy…!’

She avoided a direct hit, but the shockwave generated by the force of Geum-ju striking the ground hit Gyu hard.

Gyu utilized the subtlety contained in her sect’s footwork, surrendering her body to the shockwave instead of resisting it.

She made a judgment.

Geum-ju’s first attack was extremely powerful, and the probability of a second attack following immediately was low.

Nevertheless, she immediately prepared the strongest defense she could muster.

“Fourth Sword, Haze.”

That sword technique was a defensive ultimate art that dominated and blocked a wide area.

And once again, her senses were accurate.

Two attacks that flew through the dust were blocked by the ‘Fourth Sword, Haze.’

“Ugh!”

It was a defense into which she had poured her internal energy.

However, the two attacks Geum-ju threw delivered a shock that felt as if Gyu’s wrists and shoulders were about to twist apart.

Crashing into the wall due to the aftermath of the attack and the footwork she had used without even being able to look behind her properly also took a toll.

But…

“Ho-oh?”

Still, she had bought time.

Out of the dust, Geum-ju revealed herself, her red court robes fluttering.

“You’re quite good, aren’t you?”

Just as Gyu had judged, given Geum-ju’s arrogant personality, she would not be satisfied unless they exchanged a few words.

However, Gyu once again moved contrary to her own judgment.

“Second Sword, Torrent.”

A technique of combined offense and defense that severed and suppressed the flow of the opponent’s attack, using that residual force to launch a counterattack.

‘Damn it, what combined offense and defense…’

It was her limit just to deflect the blow Geum-ju had thrown while pretending to start a conversation.

No, in fact, just deflecting it was an amazing feat.

For that blow was a bizarre attack whose trajectory was unpredictable.

“Wow, you really are something, aren’t you?”

Geum-ju marveled, shaking her wrists.

‘Bare-handed?’

Gyu could not understand.

She had thought it was a type of weapon like a whip or a meteor hammer.

Otherwise, that unpredictable trajectory could not be explained.

How could a human arm with joints move like that?

“Hey, when someone praises you, you should show gratitude. What an unmannerly wench.”

Of course, Gyu, who had returned to her starting stance, did not answer.

In her heart, she wanted to talk and buy even a little bit of time.

However, if she ruined her breathing by talking in front of an opponent with a clear difference in realm, she would be no different from dead in the next instant.

‘But the problem is…’

Whether she talked or not, her limits were already gradually approaching.

The trouble was that she had used internal energy techniques, which consumed a large amount of internal force, too consecutively.

“No reply?”

This attack’s trajectory was also unpredictable.

Nevertheless, she was able to block the attack that came in bizarrely twisted because of compatibility.

It was a result created by the harmony of the Second Sword, Torrent, and Gyu’s outstanding senses.

“I said, answer me.”

Once again.

‘Damn it…!’

Originally, combat had to be resolved through the harmony of internal and external force.

However, the difference in level with her opponent was forcing her to inevitably use internal energy techniques consecutively.

That consecutive use of internal energy techniques was doubling her consumption of internal force.

‘How many more times will I be able to hold out?’

Already, she had lost sensation in her wrists, and her shoulders and waist felt as if they were about to break.

Her dantian was empty.

“Yes, fine. Try blocking this attack too.”

“……!”

It felt as if killing intent would pierce her body.

However, this time, no trajectory could be seen at all.

‘Fourth Sword, Ha…!’

Her internal force did not flow.

It was because her acupoints had fallen into an overloaded state due to the excessive, consecutive use of internal energy techniques.

“Kyaah!”

Yet, no impact came upon Gyu’s body.

The rather frivolous scream was neither Gyu’s nor Geum-ju’s.

The girl, who had blocked Geum-ju’s strike that flew toward Gyu’s rear, rolled a few times on the floor and then sprang up.

She waved her gauntleted hand at Gyu.

She was a great beauty.

“You waited long, right? Here is the reinforcement!”

“You bug-like wench!”

“Young lady, watch out…!”

Geum-ju’s next strike was blocked by another person.

“Whoops…!”

It was a man with a bear-like build.

With a stiffened expression, he said,

“This is a tremendous opponent. I do not know if we can walk out of here alive.”

The girl showed her clenched fist.

“If we join forces, we can win!”

Gyu, who had been able to manage the overload of her acupoints thanks to the time they bought, joined them.

“It is impossible for us. Are there no more reinforcements?”

At Gyu’s firm words, the girl made a tearful face.

“As of now, we are all there is.”

Gyu clicked her tongue briefly.

“It cannot be helped.”

Geum-ju showed them a sneer.

She beckoned to them with her hand.

“If you are done discussing, try attacking together. You bugs.”

* * *

Se-ah evacuated to the side of the field commander and succeeded in sending support to Gyu.

“…Are there no more martial artists available for support?”

“It is impossible right now.”

Se-ah’s complexion was dark.

“Team 3, Team 10, retreating due to heavy casualties!”

“Requesting support from Team 17!”

Immediately after Geum-ju appeared on the front line, for some reason, the morale of the Black Bone Gang soared absurdly.

“Aaaargh!”

A man who was nothing more than a mere thug rushed forward while being pierced by a sword, wildly swinging an axe.

Whether the person in front died or not, whether he died or not, he rushed forward, and rushed forward again.

Rushing in while disregarding even his own life, it was already more correct to call it madness rather than morale.

“Ugh!”

Just then, Se-ah saw the large-bodied martial artist who was dealing with Geum-ju get blown back and fall.

One of his arms was gone, and his entire body was no different from a rag.

“…No!”

Even before Se-ah’s scream ended, the beautiful girl was also blown back.

“Kyaah!”

Fortunately, her injury did not seem large, but perhaps because she had received a blow to her dantian, her complexion was pale, and a stream of blood was flowing from her mouth.

Only the wound-covered Gyu remained.

She did not step back even an inch, raising her sword to block Geum-ju.

Even from that far distance, it was visible that her sword was trembling pitifully.

“Gyu, run away!”

There was no way Se-ah’s voice could be heard in that commotion.

Gyu looked precisely in the direction where Se-ah was.

As if she wanted to imprint Se-ah’s image in her eyes for the last time.

‘My lord…’

Geum-ju, standing in front of Gyu, raised her hand, and in that hand, qi began to condense into a visible shape.

And darkness arrived.

Se-ah felt that the white breath coming from her mouth grew even thicker.

She felt that the direction of the wind had changed.

Her back, which had been wet with sweat, became cold as if freezing.

She looked toward the direction from which the wind blew as if possessed by something.

It was not just her.

The field commander who was delivering orders beside her, and the adjutants as well, stopped in their tracks and looked in the same direction she was.

The members of the Black Bone Gang who were rushing in like madmen, and the combat agents belonging to the Crescent Moon Pavilion who were about to swing their swords, all stopped moving.

Even Geum-ju who was condensing qi in her hand, Gyu who was preparing for the end, and the martial artists who were trying to stand up again somehow— everyone fell silent.

Everyone looked in one direction.

The west.

The red sun hid itself beyond the distant mountains at a rapid pace.

The twilight stretched endlessly, blending into the deep darkness.

In that dim scenery, tall buildings barely held onto the light of the sunset.

The roof of that tallest tower.

Atop it, the ‘darkness’ was slowly raising its head.

A chill ran down the bodies of those watching the sight.

Even the most courageous person here trembled in fear, and the most optimistic person here felt despair.

‘…Night.’

Se-ah felt it unconsciously.

‘Night has come.’

The darkest, coldest, and most cruel night had found them.

The darkness atop the roof flapped its wings violently, as if spreading them.

That darkness was thicker and darker than anything else.

It was a complete absence of light.

Once it flapped, night covered the streets.

Like the momentum of the most violent beast, that veil of darkness spread in all directions.

The setting sun, as if chased away, vanished completely.

However, neither moonlight nor starlight entered that place.

In any space, darkness flowed thickly, filling it completely.

The darkness, pouring out like a torrent bursting from a dam, wrapped around the onlookers and swept past.

‘…A white mask.’

That pitch-black darkness had a face that ridiculed the world.

Only that white mask, which sneered at the helpless heavens and the wicked who did not fear the heavens, shone desperately.

He looked down upon everyone.

“Were you waiting for me?”

That sound, like boiling molten iron, did not even sound like a voice at first.

That sound, full of ghostly energy, dug into the ears, mangled the eardrums, and became meaning only when it reached the brain.

Everyone in that place heard that voice.

Even while trembling all over, Se-ah could not take her eyes off him.

‘Is, is that…’

The grim reaper with a white face, the chosen one of the ancient demonic entity, the Scripture of Controlling Darkness and Shaking the Heavens, the Dark Venerable, fully revealed his form.