Translator: Nox

Chapter 198

198

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The closer I got to the estate, the denser the Demonic Energy, and my heart pounded so hard it felt like it would leap out of my throat.

‘If you don’t come now, he will come himself.’

The Demon’s warning echoed in my mind, making it hard to breathe.

Yeon-ryang doesn’t have a sword……!

His physical condition isn’t good, and bare-handed combat has its limits. If the Bishop himself came, Yeon-ryang would have no way to defend himself.

I kicked aside the pieces of wood in my path and scrambled up the hillside.

The arrangement of trees that had maintained the Formation was shattered, and the ground was dug up here and there, as if someone had tried to overturn the Mystic Gate Formation entirely.

The clear signs of intrusion nearly drove me insane.

No.

No……!

I threw off my worn-out Cape and reached into my sleeve. My hand, frantically trying to pull out the Hidden Weapons, kept slipping.

I tasted blood from my chewed lip.

Far away in the forest, I could feel the rough clash of air currents. The familiar Demonic Energy made my vision blur.

How did I put down the sword, how did I calm my heart……!

Realizing that Yeon-ryang had finally used Demonic Arts, all I could think about was killing those Demonic Sect bastards.

I ran like a madman and arrived at the battlefield, where a dozen or so Demonic Cultists were gathered.

I saw Yeon-ryang’s back as he struggled to his feet, leaning on a broken Wooden Sword.

His hair shone crimson in a ray of light that pierced through the clouds overhead.

Yeon-ryang was already battered and bruised, as if he had been through a meat grinder.

There was a long gash on his back, and his unbalanced lower body trembled, unable to support his weight.

Opposite him, a hunchbacked Old man with a grotesque face was holding a sword.

As the Old man’s gaze slowly swept over me, I felt a chill run down my spine, as if a giant snake had coiled around my entire body.

It was my instinct, instantly recognizing the gap between the Old man and me, telling me to run.

A master. Even if I don't know well, he was definitely a master who was similar to or superior to Ak Ji-baek.

That old man is the Bishop.

The Bishop who placed the curse on Yeon-ryang is that man.

My expression hardened, and the Old man looked at me with arrogant eyes, as if daring me to step forward.

That obnoxious look made my fear disappear. Only seething anger filled my mind.

“Don’t come!”

Yeon-ryang, noticing my presence, shouted urgently, but it was nonsense.

I jumped between the two of them, snatching Yeon-ryang away to create distance from the Bishop.

Even with my intrusion, the Bishop did not move, still holding his sword. Instead, the Demonic Cultists who had been waiting in the bushes for the Bishop’s command sprang out and chased after us.

As I turned and threw Feather Needles that accurately pierced the Vital spot, causing four Demonic Cultists to collapse, the Bishop’s face showed interest.

“I thought you were just small fry. You’re quite skilled.”

As he straightened his hunched back, Yeon-ryang’s face turned pale.

“So-hye, no. He’s not someone you can handle. I’ll try to stop him, so go back now. Okay?”

Yeon-ryang pleaded, panting, but I ignored him and set him down on the flat ground. His body, soaked in blood and sweat, trembled slightly. He was bleeding heavily.

“So-hye. Listen to me. Please……. I won’t be able to live right if something happens to you.”

“Do you think I’ll be able to live right if you’re dragged away like this? Just put on some medicine.”

I took out the Wound Remedy and Mysterious Elixir Pill and threw them to him. Yeon-ryang made a face as if he was about to cry and covered his eyes with his palm.

But when I didn’t budge, he bit his lip and reluctantly opened the Wound Remedy.

After confirming that Yeon-ryang was tending to his wounds, I gripped my Flying Dagger tightly again.

The Bishop, who had silently approached, was watching us.

To draw his attention, I deliberately drew up my Inner Energy, and he ground his teeth and distorted his grotesque face.

“Ah, so you’re the Poison King’s disciple.”

An alien resonance, as if it were not human, flew into my ear and pierced it. It was a rough, murky voice.

He trembled and exuded murderous intent. A chilling wind made my spine tingle.

“How delightful. The disciple of that old monster, who I should have stabbed to death a thousand times, has come crawling in on her own two feet.”

He muttered, lightly flicked the hand holding the sword, and tilted his head from side to side.

The plants touched by the surging Demonic Energy lost their vitality and crumbled. A nauseating smell stung my nose.

The disgusting smell of corpses of those who sustain their lives by taking the vitality of others.

“Damn it, I’ll go with you, so let the kid go!”

Yeon-ryang shouted, but the Bishop didn’t even pretend to hear. His eyes, black to the whites, were fixed on me.

He seemed to be filled with joy, and he seemed to be shuddering with anger.

“I can’t miss this golden opportunity. You guys stay out of this.”

“Understood.”

At the Bishop’s command, mixed with a phlegmy sound, his subordinates, who had been guarding his back, quickly retreated.

The Bishop slowly raised his right hand and pointed his sword at me.

The Bewitched Sword, thirsting for blood, shook the air and howled wildly.

“Young one. Since your master took my left wrist, I have not forgotten this grudge for a single day. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity has come, so I must take it back with your wrist.”

As he said, there was only a mangled lump of flesh where his left hand should have been.

Grandfather was merciful. He could have cut off his head, but he ended it with just one wrist.

I didn’t respond and reached into my sleeve, and the Bishop, with a face like a Yaksha, rushed at me.

His hunched back had long since straightened.

The sword, filled with murderous intent so strong that my head would be cut off if I missed a single breath, relentlessly slashed through the air.

Every time the Bishop swung his arm, a deep pit was dug with a sound that tore the earth.

Fast.

His Sword path was so complex that I could barely follow it with my eyes, and it was fiercer than anyone I had ever fought.

Each exchange felt like a trip to the afterlife, but that only cleared my mind of distractions.

In the first place, with my Martial Prowess, I can’t avoid all of the Bishop’s attacks. In that case, I have no choice but to give up a little flesh and avoid fatal injuries.

Every time the blunt Demonic Sword deflected my Hidden Weapons, a sharp metallic sound echoed.

I ignored my body, which was becoming covered in minor wounds, and tried not to get caught up in the Bishop’s rhythm.

It would only be a loss for me to prolong the confrontation. Minor Poison won’t work, the number of Hidden Weapons is limited, and my shallow experience can’t keep up with the experience of an old Jianghu master.

So, I had to pretend to stall for time and aim for a blow that the Bishop couldn’t avoid.

As I held back, aiming for a counterattack, the Bishop shouted.

“You’re dodging around like a rat! Is that how your master taught you? That viper is getting old too!”

I didn’t even feel like responding, so I ignored him and leaned back, but I noticed something strange.

Was it because he was missing his left wrist? Or was it because he was supporting his weight with his right leg?

The Bishop’s body, which was subtly leaning to the right, visibly swayed whenever I stood to his left.

I narrowed my eyes and watched the Bishop’s movements, noticing his unconscious defense mechanism.

He couldn’t tolerate anyone standing to his left, to the point where it was strange that I hadn’t noticed it sooner.

At the same time, he retreated slightly whenever he clashed with my Inner Force.

However, he didn’t seem to be aware that he was hesitating.

Why is he doing that?

Puzzled, I observed the Bishop and soon realized why he was acting strangely.

That’s fear.

The fear that his body, which vividly remembers the terror of death, has internalized to the bone.

His body, which had not forgotten the moment his left wrist was severed, was wary of a young brat like me who was not even twenty years old.

The Bishop was seeing my Grandfather in me, simply because I possessed a similar Qi to Grandfather.

I laughed loudly.

The Bishop of the Demonic Sect? You haven’t forgotten your grudge? What a joke. You’re trembling at the mere mention of Grandfather’s name.

Is this kind of bluffer the strongman of the Demonic Sect?

His pathetic ego was so insignificant that I bared my fangs and sneered, and the Bishop, losing his composure, made a sound like nails scratching against metal.

“You even copied that hateful laugh!”

“You say I look like Grandfather? That’s the best compliment. You say Grandfather took your wrist? I’ll blow off one of your arms, so look forward to it. You bastard.”

“You insolent……!”

The Bishop roared and charged at me. But I wasn’t afraid.

An opponent overwhelmed by fear cannot exert their full strength. As long as the Bishop saw Grandfather in me, he would continue to show me openings.

And I wasn’t foolish enough to miss this advantageous opportunity.

My body was heavy, but my mind was clearer than ever.

I could see exactly what I needed to do now.

Gripping the Flying Dagger, I jumped into the Bishop’s Sword path.

The Bishop, startled by the excessively close distance, tried to protect his Dantian and kick me away.

I twisted my body to avoid the kick and swung the Flying Dagger held in reverse grip with all my might. The Inner Energy I poured in recklessly became a cyan blade and shone brilliantly.

At that moment, the world moved slowly, as if time had stopped.

My five senses, trapped in an eternity, were keenly sharpened.

The metallic stench of the Bewitched Sword that had tasted blood.

The gritty taste of dirt.

The Bishop’s panicked breathing.

The dull sensation of my fingertips cutting through wood.

Finally, at the moment when everything captured in my eyes was dyed a deep cyan color resembling the dawn sky,

“Kuaaa!”

The Bishop’s left arm was severed and flew into the air.