Tangmunjeon - Chapter 299



Only Noblemtl

Episode 299: The Birth of a Martial Artist

Just before Namgung Myung stabbed Muyeonggaek in the heart, Hyungong was fighting desperately while constantly looking around.

The situation was an extension of yesterday’s battle.

The Sapha unmanned forces steadily pushed back the Jeongpa unmanned forces. On the other hand, the Jeongpa unmanned forces were unable to seize the opportunity to turn the tide and were constantly pushed back.

Looking behind me, I saw Dang Mu-jin and Namgung Myeong being held by Muyeong-gaek.

Hyun-gong nodded slightly.

‘As expected, things are going as expected.’

While Hyun-gong was fighting and observing the situation, a small problem arose. Hong-geol-gae was caught up in the trap of Gwang-yeom-ra.

“···ah!”

Hong Geol-gae stood in a slouched posture and let out a dumb sound. To make matters worse, even Man-ryeok Seung couldn’t protect Hong Geol-gae.

Gwangyeomra filled his feet with his internal energy and kicked Honggeolgae in the stomach with a refreshing kick.

puck!

“Ouch!”

It’s fortunate that he wasn’t cut by the sword, but the power of the kick that contained his internal energy was no ordinary one.

Hong Geol-gae rolled around several times, making his reputation as a top-class martial artist seem insignificant.

It was an extremely unsightly sight to anyone who looked at it.

Hong Geol-gae hurriedly got up, but he couldn’t easily control his body. In the end, Hong Geol-gae knelt down on the ground and kept vomiting.

“Whew, whew!”

Hyun-gong clicked his tongue as he looked at the sight.

‘Your blood and energy are distorted. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be a fatal wound, since you’re not spitting out blood.’

An injury that doesn’t cause any major problems if you take your time and take care of it internally.

But now is the time of battle, and even a small vacancy can come up big.

Hong Geol-gae’s vacancy was immediately revealed.

Manryuk Seung, who was fighting Gwangyeomra together with Honggeolgae, was put in danger in an instant.

“Hmm!”

Manryuk Seung, with a stiff expression, repeatedly used the White Lotus Fist and the Arhat Fist to confront the Guangyeomra, but he was unable to defeat the Guangyeomra.

Gwangyeomra endlessly swung his huge sword to steal Wanli Seung’s attention, then sneakily extended his left foot and tripped Wanli Seung’s leg.

It wasn’t even a martial arts beginner’s technique, but at the same time it was the most effective attack.

“···!”

Kkudangtang.

Manryukseung fell, revealing a huge weakness.

Manryeokseung opened his eyes wide and looked up. He couldn’t even get up, but he just raised his head.

As expected, the sword of the Flame of Light was swinging from above to below. No suitable countermeasure came to mind.

‘···Is this the scenery I see at the last moment of my life?’

At the moment when Wanli Seung was about to give up on life, a sword intervened between Gwangyeomra and Wanli Seung, disrupting Gwangyeomra’s sword path.

Manryukseung turned his head to see who was holding the sword.

It was Hyun-gong.

Thanks to running diligently from the moment Honggeolgae began to flutter, Hyungong was able to arrive in front of Gwangyeomra without being late.

Just having that much leeway would be enough. Manryukseung shouted as he bounced up.

“Thank you!”

“It was the right thing to do!”

Now, instead of Hong Geol-gae, Hyeon-gong started to block Gwang-yeom-ra’s sword next to Man-ryeok-seung.

Although this is limited to defense, Hyun-gong’s defense is not inferior to that of Hong-geol-gae, who is a top-class expert.

Rather, the composition of the sword is much more solid and dense, to the point where it seems to be one level higher than that of the Honggeolgae.

Even Hyun-gong was very meticulous by nature, so he was not caught up in tricks like the one that fooled Hong-geol-gae or the one that took down Man-ryeok-seung.

Kwangyeomra felt a suffocating feeling rising from deep within his chest.

And I was sure that by the end of today’s battle, I would not be able to break through the combination of Hyun-gong and Wan-ryuk-seung.

‘I wanted to send either that beggar or Wanli Seung to the afterlife.’

Kwangyeomra looked at the back of the battlefield.

Muyeonggaek still couldn’t get through Dangmujin and Namgungmyeong.

‘···The beggar will come to his senses soon. No matter how much I am a country, I can’t handle three people by myself. From here on out, I’m in danger too.’

The battle situation itself was still favorable, but Gwangyeomra had no intention of risking his life to strike the Jeongpa warriors.

In order to minimize the damage to the Demonic Cult, he even brought in the Sapa’s unmanned forces. Wouldn’t it be absurd to risk his own life?

‘It’s a shame, but I guess I should start losing weight.’

While Gwangyeomra was thinking like that, a small voice pierced his ear.

– Can you hear me?

It’s a sound. Gwangyeom-ra looked around to find the source of the sound.

But no one was looking at him. Everyone seemed to be concentrating on their own fight.

But the source of the sound was quite unexpected.

– I’m folding it. Hyun-gong.

Indeed, Hyun-gong was swinging his sword and secretly moving his lips to send out a message. Gwang-yeom-ra’s eyes widened.

‘···You’re saying that you’re sending out a sound while swinging your sword?’

Transmission is not a particularly difficult skill, but it usually takes a lot of mental energy.

Swinging a sword and sending out a sound is something that even a madman would have a hard time following.

The sound of the bell continued.

– I have no choice but to speak in a voice-over manner as I have to avoid Manryukseung’s gaze. Please understand.

Hyun-gong glanced at Man-ryeok-seung and then told a surprising story.

– Senior Kwangyeomra, I want to surrender to the Demonic Cult.

A completely unexpected story came out.

Gwangyeomra deliberately swung his sword more fiercely. Hyungong blocked the sword strike and transmitted the sound without any obstruction.

– You may be skeptical. But I am young and have big dreams. I don’t want to spend my life sitting still on Mt. Mudang. We only live once, so shouldn’t we dream bigger like men?

“···.”

– I heard from the Ghost King that the leader of the cult bestows unparalleled martial arts skills on the demonic cult members. I want to learn those martial arts skills and rise to the position of one person below ten thousand people.

Perhaps because he thought Gwangyeomra’s reaction was unfavorable, Hyungong quickly ended his story.

– No, I don’t mean to say that I will surpass Senior Kwangyeomra. Two-person underground, ten-person underground… No. Including Elder Jwahobeop, I think three-person underground, ten-person underground, would be fine.

Because it was such an unexpected situation, Gwangyeomra’s mind became complicated.

Is this just a simple trick to mess with your head?

But the content was too specific, too shabby, and too realistic for that.

Hyun-gong swung his sword vigorously and sent out another signal.

– I don’t want to swing my sword at someone who will be my senior. If you want to accept me as your ally, please attack me with kicks or other recommended methods and subdue me. Then, when you return to the Demonic Cult, you can drag me along as if you had subdued me.

Kwangyeomra thought desperately.

But no matter how much I thought about it, I was leaning towards taking Hyun-gong with me.

Not only did Hyun-gong’s story not feel like a lie, but the option to exclude Hyun-gong from this battlefield was too attractive.

Also, the situation where one of the most influential figures in the political world is taken out by the devil is also excellent.

Yes, it was too tempting a deal to back out just because of the slightest danger.

‘···Let’s believe it once. If you don’t like it, it’s not too late to back out.’

Gwangyeomra curled his left hand like a bird’s claw and stretched his arm toward Hyungong’s shoulder.

As expected, Hyun-gong reacted a bit awkwardly, revealing his weakness.

Kwangyeomra swung his hand as if he was clawing. Kwangyeomra’s claws dug into Hyungong’s shoulder.

Then, Gwangyeomra violently grabbed Hyungong.

“Ouch!”

Hyungong was dragged behind Gwangyeomra with a great deal of noise. Blood was flowing from Hyungong’s shoulder, but the wound wasn’t that deep. It was just a light cut.

But Hyun-gong, for some reason, started coughing and even vomited blood.

“Ugh… Ugh, my blood is getting twisted!”

“···.”

Hyun-gong, like a warrior with a stomach that was shaken, kept spitting out a liquid mixed with gastric juice and blood.

The sight was so believable that even the madman began to suspect that I had been displaying some kind of enormous appetite.

In any case, Hyun-gong clearly expressed to Gwang-yeom-ra that he would no longer be involved in this fight. Gwang-yeom-ra was delighted with the unexpected gain and began to press Wan-ryuk-seung again.

“stringer!”

There were two people who were terrified at the sight of Hyun-gong.

One was Hong Geol-gae, and the other was Seol-hwa, who was fighting a little way away.

Hyun-gong’s gaze was directed at Seol-hwa instead of the dark-haired man, Hong-geol-gae.

Seolhwa was looking at him with a worried expression. Hyungong’s heart seemed to melt away.

‘Honey, just wait a moment. After I succeed in the Demonic Cult, I will definitely come back and treat you well.’

Then, Hyun-gong looked at Hong-geol-gae with a slightly indifferent expression.

Hong Geol-gae was swinging his staff more viciously than before.

Hyun-gong secretly turned his gaze away and pretended to laugh.

‘···I’m sorry, Hong Geol-gae. But wouldn’t it be better for the country to be happy too?’

At first, I felt guilty.

But after thinking about it for a while, the thought occurred to me that this situation might not be so bad for Hong Geol-gae either. My guilt gradually faded away.

‘No one knows what will happen in the world. Hong Geol-gae and other friends may also join the Demonic Cult someday. If I rise to a high position in the Demonic Cult first, I can protect my friends when they surrender to the Demonic Cult later. I will be their final shield.’

However, Hyun-gong’s imagination did not continue smoothly. It was because he felt uneasy inside, as if an unfamiliar hand had been placed on the back of his neck. He felt as if he was missing something.

‘What am I missing now?’

But no matter how much I thought about it, nothing came to mind.

I have never been in a similar situation and I have no clue, so I have no way of remembering it.

No, there was a clue.

‘Hwa Hwa No Gae!’

A while ago, Gwangyeomra tried to harm Hwahwanogae by throwing a piece of paper with a palm print on it.

Unlike most ordinary and clumsy writers, Gwangyeomra is a very meticulous writer.

If that’s the case, how would he act here?

The answer was in the short conversation between Gwangyeomra and Hwahwanogae. Wasn’t Gwangyeomra trying to sow discord between Hwahwanogae and the Jeongpa warriors?

‘Wouldn’t it be a good idea to cut me off from the path back to the sect?’

The more I thought about it, the more certain I became. Gwangyeomra would try to spread the word to the people of Jeongpa that Hyungong had crossed over to the Demonic Cult.

And that wasn’t the situation that Hyungong wanted. Hyungong’s goal wasn’t to join the Demonic Cult, but to wait between the Demonic Cult and the righteous faction, and then join the one that won.

It was along the same lines that he tried to go to the Demonic Cult by creating a situation where he was attacked by Kwangyeomra. Even if he went to the Demonic Cult, he did it to protect his reputation among the members of the Righteous Cult. That way, when the situation changed, he could return to the Righteous Cult without making a fuss.

‘If the Flame King plans a vile scheme, what should I do?’

What should he do when faced with a situation where he must choose between the Jeongpa and the Demonic Cult? Hyungong thought desperately over the matter.

At the moment, it seems like the Demonic Cult has the advantage. However, the more I think about it, the more I think about it.

I had put so much effort into building my reputation so far. I didn’t want to ruin it with a few words from someone else.

Also, I was concerned that I would have to serve the sinister author of the Demonic Cult, Kwangyeomra, as my master. It seemed like the future would not be very pleasant.

“Coolook, coolook!”

As he looked around while sighing again, Hyun-gong was able to confirm that something special had happened far away. Nam-gung-myeong had stabbed Mu-yeong-gaek in the back with his sword!

‘For now, the odds of winning this battle are tilted towards the righteous faction.’

Manryeok Seung and Honggeolgae were unable to confirm the situation because they had their backs to Dangmujin and Namgungmyeong, but Gwangyeomra confirmed Muyeonggaek’s death.

Hyun-gong got up from his seat very quietly, thinking that his ominous prediction was likely to come true.

As expected, Gwangyeomra’s actions did not deviate from Hyungong’s expectations. Gwangyeomra swung his sword very large and fiercely, and pushed away Manryeok Seung and Honggeolgae.

And then he immediately opened his mouth.

“hyeon···.”

The moment he heard just one word, Hyun-gong was able to predict the rest of the story.

I had heard what Gwangyeomra had said to Hwahwanogae, so it wasn’t that difficult of a deduction.

‘Hyungong! I’ve decided to side with the Demonic Cult, so do your part! Fight by my side!’ It’s probably something like that.

“···Public! The Demonic Cult’s···”

As expected, my prediction was not wrong.

Hyun-gong concentrated his mind and used all his might to unleash the Je-un-jong, the flower of the Mu-dang-pa Gyeongsin method.

Hyungong’s new form stretched out and approached behind Gwangyeomra. It was truly stealthy and fast. Even more so than the moment when he had aimed for the backs of the assassins in Yangyang.

Within moments, Hyun-gong’s sword cut deeply into Gwang-yeom-ra’s side. Blood spurted out.

During the pause in Gwangyeomra’s story, Hyungong shouted in a loud voice.

“You let your guard down, Kwangyeomra! Did you really think you could defeat me with just that? I am the unbreakable Shamanist, the Hyeon-gong of Jeong-eon!”

Gwangyeomra looked at Hyungong with a truly bewildered expression.

I had anticipated that Hyun-gong might betray me, but I didn’t expect him to do so so quickly.

Hyun-gong calmly collected his thoughts.

‘The relationship with Kwangyeomra has become strained. Now that it has come to this, we must carry out the next plan.’

The second plan was already planned out.

The first step is to kill all the Guangyeomra and Sapha warriors to keep the news of what happened here from leaking out.

After that, you need to look at the situation, help the Ghost King escape, and pretend to be subdued by the Ghost King and dragged into the Demonic Cult.

‘Yes. There is no reason to enter the Demonic Cult through the Gwangyeomra. It would be better to be a simple-minded and obedient ghost king.’

Hyun-gong shouted again.

“Everyone! Don’t let a single one of them live! You must end all the lives of the villains, even if it means sacrificing your life!”

The time that has passed since the moment the guest’s heart was pierced is barely ten breaths.

The sudden reversal of the situation left not only the Sapha warriors but also the Jeongpa warriors unable to come to their senses.

At that moment, Dang Mu-jin’s sword began to cut through the air.

The flying dragon that approached us, cutting through the dark night sky, quietly took the lives of the Sapa warriors.

Only then did some quick-witted political leaders understand the situation.

“Push! Kill them all!”

As some of the sect’s warriors shouted in joyous voices, the sect’s warriors who realized the situation a little late also gained strength.

As the Jeongpa warriors rushed forward, venting their anger and pushing their opponents, Hyun-gong clenched his fists.

‘Okay. The situation is almost under control!’

If we continue like this, we can kill most of the Sapa warriors.

Furthermore, Gwangyeomra can also be said to be a rat trapped in poison. Gwangyeomra is surrounded by Hyeon-gong, Wan-ryeok-seung, and Hong-geol-gae.

If Namgung Myung runs to the finish line, there is no way for him to survive, no matter how much of a madman he is.

“Ugh, ugh.”

At that moment, Gwangyeomra took out a round object from his bosom while breathing heavily.

It was about the size of two fists put together, and was a dark color.

‘What’s that lump of metal? Is it a magic weapon? Or something like an iron hammer?’

The next moment, Guangyeomra threw the lump of iron onto the floor.

The lump of iron exploded with a sound that seemed to tear the sky apart, and pieces of iron flew in all directions along with a loud smoke.

It was a loud explosion that startled not only Hyeon-gong and Hong-geol-gae, but also Man-ryeok-seung and fell backwards.

As the smoke cleared a little, Hyun-gong felt pain in his arms and legs.

Blood was gushing from his arms and legs, and there were black pieces of iron embedded in them. It seemed to be related to the iron lump that Kwangyeomra had just taken out.

‘What the heck… Where did Gwangyeomra go?’

Hyun-gong came to his senses belatedly and looked around. Gwang-yeom-ra had disappeared somewhere in the meantime.

From afar, I could see Gwangyeomra clutching his side and running away with blood pouring out of his back. Just as the iron shard was embedded in Hyungong’s arm, Gwangyeomra also seemed unable to avoid the iron shard.

Hyun-gong shouted desperately.

“We have to catch the Flame Lord!”

But that story could not come true. The group’s physical condition was not normal, and Gwangyeomra had run away too far to be caught.

Hyun-gong sighed.

“ah···.”

However, the only one who was sad was Hyeon-gong. The Jeongpa warriors were shouting loudly in joy at the sudden victory.

“I won, I won!”

“What on earth was that last loud noise?”

“How would I understand!”

Then, people rushed around Hyun-gong and Dang-mu-jin, jumping around wildly in joy.

It was worth it. In their view, the greatest hero of this battle was Dang Mujin, who had been wielding the Flying Wheel, and Hyeon Gong, who had struck down Gwangyeomra with a single sword.

However, Hyun-gong’s expression was subtly dark.

There is only one reason. Because I missed the light of hell.

‘···You bastard Kwangyeomra, you’re going to tell the cult leader everything about me, right?’

Hyun-gong’s plan to cross over to the Demonic Cult and see where to go.

The so-called [wise and impartial observer] plan collapsed.

Now, Hyun-gong realized that there was only one path ahead of him.

‘Now it’s really just a [righteous and upright martial arts] plan.’

Hyun-gong clenched his fists.