Love Ballad of the Tyrant King

Chapter 259 : Jaseung, Starts the Fight

Swaaaaaaa.Baek Seolyoung stood beneath a waterfall that poured down refreshingly, creating pure white foam.

Lee Jaseung had left the hideout, taking Mujin and Ma Young-gi with him.

The battle with Yao Hong. Finally, what was destined to come had arrived.

Lee Jaseung had rejected her request to be taken along without a second thought.

She understood him. If she were Lee Jaseung, she would never have taken herself along either.

However, the problem was her worry.

Even though she tried not to, all sorts of bad imaginings came to mind and tormented her. It was impossible to control her mind by practicing or cooking.

At this rate, she would have no choice but to continue suffering until he returned.

Water droplets splashed against her head and shoulders.

Her body was clearly visible through her water-soaked clothes, but only the female warriors of the Guard Hall stood nearby with their backs turned.

Suddenly, last night came to mind.

Lee Jaseung had acted no differently than usual.

That made her even more anxious.

Originally, she wanted to cook dinner personally, but she didn't. It was because she was afraid it would feel like she was feeding him his last meal.

“You know Yao Hong’s martial arts well, right?”

She asked as if it were no big deal, but Baek Seolyoung’s voice was trembling.

She could not hide her anxiety.

Lee Jaseung’s answer made her even more anxious than a simple "of course" would have.

“No.”

“No?”

“After Yao Hong established the Asura Demon Sect, he almost never revealed himself in the Jianghu. Almost nothing is known about his martial arts. Only that he mastered the Northern Sea Demonic Art to the limit.”

Lee Jaseung added with a smile to the startled her.

“Don't worry. He doesn't know much about my martial arts either, anyway.”

My goodness! Are you saying that as a comfort right now?

Through the Asura Three Demons, she had sufficiently experienced how terrifying and bizarre Demonic arts were. How much more terrifying would the Cult Leader’s Northern Sea Demonic Art be?

“And you’re still confident?”

“I'm not confident.”

“Then why are you trying to go?”

“Because confidence isn't something that appears just because time passes.”

Baek Seolyoung bit her lip slightly.

“Shall we go together?”

“Sure, you take charge of the subordinates.”

“Really?”

She stared at Lee Jaseung with wide eyes.

“No. Of course it's a joke.”

The way he treated her had changed a lot. He didn't make her avoid a place unconditionally just because it was dangerous. Because that wasn't doing her a favor. Through experiencing actual combat, she also had to grow.

However, the battle with Yao Hong was not a place where she should go.

Himself, Mujin, and Ma Young-gi. The Divine Sword Regiment and the Iron Cavalry Regiment.

It was a task where he had to move with the strongest organizations he possessed. Even then, it was a matter where he could not mobilize every single member. They had to strike quickly with a minimum number of personnel and withdraw like the wind.

Baek Seolyoung wanted to send him off with a smile somehow, but that was not an easy thing to do.

“Don't die, no matter what you do.”

Swaaaaaaa.

Beneath the waterfall, she did not hold back her tears. Because no one would know, anyway.

How long did she stand like that?

She snapped her eyes open with an expression as if she had resolved something.

* * *

A massive energy created by Yao Hong was dominating the room. Everyone’s breath was choked by that energy, and it felt as if their entire body were being pierced by needles.

Lee Jaseung looked at the Sword God first.

The one who bothered his nerves the most after Yao Hong. In other words, the second strongest person here.

The modifier 'second' might be somewhat unfair from his perspective. That was how strong he looked.

The remaining Ghost Soldiers and Sa Nogun were also great masters, but the difference in skill was clearly felt compared to Yao Hong and Sword God.

And then, a faint presence was felt.

He could feel that someone was hiding nearby. The hiding skill was so outstanding that even with Lee Jaseung’s skill, he could not know exactly where they were hidden. He could only tell the fact that someone was there. Guessing, it would be Yao Hong’s personal guard.

Lee Jaseung’s gaze finally turned toward Yao Hong.

In truth, Lee Jaseung could not accurately perceive Yao Hong’s prowess.

However, he didn't think the opponent could perceive his prowess either.

In other words, a close match.

He instinctively felt that the other had also reached the first stage of the Transcendent Peak Realm.

Lee Jaseung could tell that the old demon before his eyes was a stronger enemy than any he had faced so far.

Ah, excluding Cheol Murin, of course.

Now, Lee Jaseung believed the man who defeated him was Cheol Murin. No matter how much he thought about it, he was not an ordinary person.

Because he was a god, not a human.

Efforts to defeat him had to remain symbolic.

Though he could not know the reason, he had given him great help. He allowed him to find the grandson of the Dark Noble Clan and provided an opportunity to raise his realm of martial arts by one stage.

As if saying one should be at least this much to face Yao Hong.

The moment he received the report that Yao Hong’s residence had become known, he thought this was the chance to eliminate him.

It was an instinct and a hunch.

Meeting Cheol Murin and gaining martial achievement, then learning Yao Hong’s residence. A natural flow of fate.

Lee Jaseung entrusted himself to that flow of fate. As he said to Baek Seolyoung, delaying was a meaningless thing. Because time is fair to everyone.

Rather, if he dragged out time, he would be at a disadvantage. It was not merely a problem of martial arts. Last time, the Demonic Cult tried to kill Dan Woobin. Next time, they would try to kill Baek Seolyoung, and they would keep stabbing at other weaknesses.

It was better to attempt to eliminate Yao Hong when the chance came. Another thing, if he returned to the main base of the Demonic Cult, killing him would become several times more difficult.

To break through the main base and reach the Cult Leader’s hall, one had to break through thousands of Demonic Humans guarding the place, as well as countless mechanisms and traps that surpassed imagination.

The person who stepped forward first, breaking the silence, was Sa Nogun.

“I have heard and know that your skill is good. But I did not know you would be this reckless.”

Even without mentioning Yao Hong, they themselves were Demonic Humans who were considered a level above the Asura Three Demons. Furthermore, there was Sword God, who was a greater master than them.

Was it only that? There was also the man of the voice who was Yao Hong’s limb.

Whoever the opponent was, the gates of hell were already wide open.

That was why he made a single mistake. He thought Lee Jaseung had not come to kill Yao Hong, but to make some kind of negotiation.

Because otherwise, there was no way he would have visited this place alone.

Everyone focused on how Lee Jaseung would react rather than how Sa Nogun handled him.

“Should I call you the Murim Alliance Leader, or the Black Way Alliance Leader? I will call you as you wish.”

Lee Jaseung did not say a word, keeping his expression of a faint smile.

“Then again, what does it matter if you are Orthodox or Unorthodox? It has been a long time since the distinction between Orthodox and Unorthodox collapsed. Anyway, since you have visited, let's settle it through conversation.”

Sa Nogun took two steps forward. Still, Lee Jaseung showed no reaction.

“I will introduce myself first. As for me...”

Swaaaaaak.

Thunk!

Sa Nogun collapsed just like that. What ended his life was a flying dagger thrown by Lee Jaseung. At that very moment when he was about to introduce himself, Sa Nogun’s vigilance was momentarily disrupted. Lee Jaseung had not missed that moment.

By the act of killing Sa Nogun, Lee Jaseung made it clear that the reason for his visit was at least not conversation.

The one who stepped forward with a frown was First Ghost, the first of the Ghost Soldiers.

“What an insolent Unorthodox brat! Where do you think you are, showing off by throwing a piece of a dagger?”

Behind him, the rest of the Ghost Soldiers stepped forward.

To describe the Ghost Soldiers in a word, they were products of evil, just like their title.

Taking First Ghost, who stood at the center, as an example, he killed his parents at the age of twelve and killed nine more neighbors as he left the village. The reason was to steal travel money and clothes.

Since then, he had killed countless people. If it were someone weaker than him, he killed and stole from them as if killing an ant. Toward people stronger than him, he bowed his head thoroughly. He flattered them with good words and offered money and women.

That was his life.

However, in terms of the number of people he killed, he was only the third among the Ghost Soldiers, and he was known to have the best personality among them.

Those were the Ghost Soldiers.

Killing because they felt bad, killing after raping, killing after stealing money, killing because the Cult Leader ordered it, killing because they were bored. They possessed a perfect immunity to murder. That was why they felt no pangs of conscience whatsoever.

Third Ghost stepped forward and spoke.

“Is there a need to use a cow-butchering knife to catch a chicken? It would be enough even if we called the children sweeping the yard outside. Hey, what are you all doing?”

Third Ghost shouted out, but there was no answer from outside. There was not even a Demonic Human conveying the situation outside. In other words, it meant the outside was also in a fight with Lee Jaseung’s subordinates.

This time, Fourth Ghost, standing on the right, stepped forward.

“Is there a need to tell the guys to come and go? I will deal with this yellow-beaked brat who can't even tell apart feces from urine.”

Fifth Ghost, on the left, stepped forward.

“No. Leave it to me. The kids should play among themselves.”

At the words of the fifth, all the Ghost Soldiers laughed boisterously. They never ignored or looked down on Lee Jaseung.

No matter how much Sa Nogun was a Demonic Human of the scholar type, killing him in a single move was truly not an easy task. Furthermore, killing him by throwing a dagger was even more so. Because the greater the master, the more proficient they were at dodging flying hidden weapons.

Even so, saying these things was to dampen Lee Jaseung’s spirit.

Initial momentum was the most important thing in any fight, and a scheme to provoke the opponent was always helpful.

At that moment, Lee Jaseung opened his mouth.

“You guys sure talk a lot. Was the Demonic Cult originally a place where such talkative people gathered?”

Everyone’s face hardened at that crude mockery. They knew it was a provocation, but they could not hold back the rising anger.

The first to move was Third Ghost.

“You Unorthodox bastard! I'll knock your jaw off!”

As Third Ghost threw himself toward Lee Jaseung, Fourth Ghost and Fifth Ghost joined in for a combined attack from the left and right.

Third Ghost used a fist strike, while Fourth Ghost and Fifth Ghost lunged with their swords.

Swaaaaaak! Swish! Swish!

Powerful attacks flying in from three directions. It was a combined attack where no space to escape was visible.

Lee Jaseung’s form lunged toward Third Ghost. Dodging the fist flying toward his chest, he twisted his wrist.

Crack.

The moment he made contact with his body, Third Ghost’s body spun around.

Thud.

The flying sword pierced Third Ghost’s shoulder. It should have originally pierced his heart, but the Fourth Ghost had turned the direction of the sword.

Lee Jaseung did not miss that short moment when the other's breath was disrupted for a very brief while.

The moment Fourth Ghost was about to pull out the sword.

Thud.

The sword penetrated Third Ghost’s shoulder. Lee Jaseung had lunged while pushing Third Ghost toward Fourth Ghost.

The Fourth Ghost had to abandon the sword.

Lee Jaseung had surged in faster than the time it took to pull the sword embedded in Third Ghost’s shoulder.

Palm power erupted from Fourth Ghost’s palm.

Paaaaak!

The palm power brushed past Lee Jaseung’s face.

Slice.

Asura slit the Fourth Ghost’s throat.

Swish! Thud!

The next moment, Fifth Ghost also collapsed while clutching his neck. He had slit Fourth Ghost’s throat with one hand while throwing a dagger to Fifth Ghost with the other hand.

Slitting an opponent’s throat with one hand while overpowering another opponent by throwing a dagger with the other hand was a sight everyone there saw for the first time.

In truth, this was the first time Lee Jaseung had killed someone like this as well. But no one recognized that this great method was being exhibited for the first time. Because he looked as proficient as if he had practiced for decades.

In the blink of an eye, three of the Ghost Soldiers became corpses.

The expressions of First Ghost and Second Ghost completely hardened.

Truly, if the person watching this fight from behind were not Yao Hong, the two of them would have run in opposite directions. Hoping that one of them would survive.

But they could not do so.

The two looked at each other. It was a moment when one of them had to be sacrificed. If it were Second Ghost, who worshipped First Ghost as his elder brother, he would have gladly thrown his body first for First Ghost.

He would have tried to hold Lee Jaseung back somehow to buy time for First Ghost to launch a finishing move.

But Second Ghost was a man who valued his own life as much as First Ghost did.

Their short hesitation was a massive target that Lee Jaseung could hit even with his eyes closed.

Lunging in an instant, he slit Second Ghost’s throat and then surged toward First Ghost.

The First Ghost hoped. That Sword God or Yao Hong would step in even now. Please, let it be so.

Squelch!

Dodging First Ghost’s sword, which was close to a struggle, Lee Jaseung drove Asura into his heart.

Thud thud!

As Asura was driven in repeatedly, First Ghost’s eyes rolled back and he died.

First Ghost’s corpse fell to the floor. At that moment, Second Ghost, who had been standing with difficulty while clutching his neck, collapsed as well, joining the boat to the afterlife that First Ghost had just boarded.

The unfinished argument about why he didn't step in first would be settled on that boat.

Splatter.

Lee Jaseung shook off the blood on Asura.

Sword God, who had been standing at the end of the bloodstains scattered long on the floor, slowly walked out. He was calm despite Lee Jaseung’s great skill in killing the Ghost Soldiers.

“You fight well.”

At his honest praise, Lee Jaseung could tell.

That the moment to fight even better had now arrived.