Chapter 26 : One Must Pay for Their Sins (2)

Chapter 26: One Must Pay for Their Sins (2)

‘How unexpected.’

Sewoon muttered inwardly as he looked at Hayeong, who was faithfully following his commands.

The Hayeong he remembered from before his regression and the Hayeong standing before him now seemed like two completely different people.

–Seek forgiveness through death.

Before his regression, whenever she faced him, she always swung her sword first and revealed only her murderous intent.

She had been a witch-like existence who showed not a single shred of emotion.

That was why this clumsy and flustered appearance of hers was something he had never anticipated.

Chwaat!

At that moment, a tearing sound split the air as if the very atmosphere itself screamed.

“Die!”

At first, it seemed like the sound of the whip rushing toward Cheong Yeon.

‘No, the sound of something else was hidden within it.’

Sewoon clearly heard another hidden weapon’s sound buried beneath it.

In that instant, he focused his qi into his eyes.

He saw that the Soul-Chasing Bolt secretly fired by Tang Hoyeol this time was aimed at Hayeong’s neck.

Chwarak!

It was too late to use telepathy, so Sewoon quickly thrust out his right hand.

Whiiik!

Just as he had done with Cheong Yeon, he wrapped Hayeong’s arm with the Black Thread.

“Khut!”

He pulled her away, making her narrowly evade the attack.

Pabak!

The bolt embedded itself into the floor.

Hayeong’s eyes widened in shock as though they were about to burst, utterly unprepared for it.

Seeing this, Sewoon let out a sigh inwardly.

‘……Though right now, I can’t help but miss the her from back then a little.’

Since she had yet to awaken her talent, she could not be compared to her past life’s strength.

Chwarak!

Chwararak!

The sight of Sewoon diligently pulling and pushing the two women with the Heavenly Net’s threads.

It made him look like a puppeteer manipulating marionettes with strings.

‘……How in the world?’

Meanwhile, Tang Hoyeol was bewildered as his enemies continued to evade his attacks.

Even by the slightest of margins, he could see that Sewoon was sensing the signs of his attacks and maneuvering the two women accordingly.

‘……Tang Sewoon, was that bastard really hiding his skills?’

A vague unease crept up within his heart.

But soon, Tang Hoyeol forced himself to ignore those emotions and instead provoked his opponents with arrogant bravado.

“Keuk keuk, like rats! Is running away the only thing you’ve learned from your master?”

“How dare you!”

“Then, try dodging this as well!”

Swae-aek!

The Toad’s Saliva Whip poured down like a torrential rainstorm.

It was so fast that it seemed as if the whip had used a cloning technique.

Seogeok!

Seogeogeok!

With chilling slicing sounds, all the miscellaneous objects within the whip’s range in the corridor were cut apart.

Astonishingly, Tang Hoyeol had formed a blade of qi at the tip of his whip like sword qi.

‘What?!’

‘Whip Qi!’

What they had suspected earlier about his peak mastery level was now proven true.

The two disciples of Mount Emei were horrified.

However.

Sewoon’s reaction was different from theirs.

He clicked his tongue unconsciously, looking down on them as pitiful, which startled the two women.

But it was only natural for Sewoon to react that way.

One sees as much as one knows.

Tang Hoyeol’s confident display looked utterly ridiculous in his eyes.

‘If it were true Whip Qi, it should have enveloped the entire whip, not just a part of it.’

The fact that he could only manage partial application was essentially admitting that he was barely hanging on at the peak mastery realm.

And yet, the two girls failed to see such a simple truth and instead became frightened.

How were they supposed to face the grotesque monsters of the Blood Cult’s demonic practitioners in the future if they were already like this?

The road ahead was far too long.

‘Sigh. Well, I suppose I’ll think of it as giving them early training for the future.’

At least there was one fortunate aspect—his efforts would not be wasted.

Not only would Hayeong, who would one day become one of the Three Alliance Leaders of the Anti-Blood Alliance, but even Cheong Yeon would play a major role in the future war against the Blood Cult.

Pabat!

Before the two could even answer, Sewoon leapt outside first.

The two disciples of the Emei Sect, bewildered, quickly chased after him.

The three of them left the inner corridor and moved into the wide courtyard of the manor.

“Haha! Do you think going outside will change anything?”

Seeing them, Tang Hoyeol laughed loudly, convinced the three were running away out of fear.

Without a shred of suspicion, he immediately followed after them.

Cha-chaeng!

Chaeng!

The clash resumed in the courtyard.

But the longer the fight continued.

‘……What?!’

Tang Hoyeol’s expression began to stiffen.

Swae-aek!

Chwarara!

The sword techniques displayed by the two disciples of the Emei Sect grew sharper and more powerful.

Of course, all of that was thanks to Sewoon’s direction.

The pride of the Emei Sect lay in swordsmanship.

Yet the sword was fundamentally at a disadvantage against the whip.

From the very beginning, the difference in reach was overwhelming, and it suffered greatly under spatial restrictions.

Even in a narrow corridor, a whip could be used without issue, whereas the sword became troublesome to swing in tight quarters.

‘It’s definitely easier to fight in a wide space than in a cramped one.’

‘And since we’re responding exactly as Tang Gongja taught, it’s working far better.’

The two women recalled once again the countermeasures Sewoon had taught them.

The moment you tried to block head-on, the whip didn’t sever—it bent flexibly and coiled around the blade.

Like a snake, it wound around the sword to sink its fangs into the wielder.

Indeed, the whip’s returning speed was far greater.

Geugeugeuk!

When the hook-shaped strands of the Toad’s Saliva Whip recoiled, they shredded everything they touched.

The two disciples of the Emei Sect shivered down their spines.

Had they not heeded Sewoon’s words and prepared in advance, it would have been their own skin and flesh being torn apart.

‘He… he’s really incredible!’

‘……It’s battle knowledge I can’t deny.’

The method Sewoon taught for countering the whip with a sword seemed simple at first glance.

But when put into practice, it was awe-inspiring.

It was the sort of countermeasure born of long, real combat experience.

Even Sewoon found himself admiring the two disciples.

‘Hmm, the Burning Blood Sword Technique of the Emei Sect is indeed one of the finest in Jianghu.’

At a glance, the Burning Blood Sword Technique they performed seemed scattered and disorderly.

But within the gaps of its continuous techniques lay hidden lethal strikes, unleashing unpredictable sword attacks.

It possessed a strength completely different from the swordsmanship of the Wudang Sect.

Ever since Yoo Jinhak’s teachings, Sewoon’s eyes for swordplay had sharpened.

Cha-chaeng! Chaeng!

Sword and whip, Black Thread and whip clashed, scattering orange sparks into the air.

Looking at his opponent grinding his teeth, Sewoon’s lips curled upward.

“Khuek!”

“You seem much weaker in spirit than at the start, Uncle.”

“Shut your mouth!”

Unable to endure any longer, Tang Hoyeol burst out with emotion, while the combined assault of the three pressed on smoothly.

Hayeong and Cheong Yeon took the front line, while Sewoon covered the rear, forming an inverted triangular formation.

‘The people have changed, but…….’

Back then, training with the Assassin and the Blood-Altering Demon Fox had also involved coordinated attacks to slay the Blood Demon.

For a moment, Sewoon looked at Hayeong.

Regression was indeed a startling thing.

Who would have thought he would one day move in perfect sync with her?

At that moment, as the telepathy cut off, Hayeong glanced at Sewoon.

For an instant, her pure eyes, without the slightest malice, turned toward him.

-……I’m sorry.

Sewoon’s brow furrowed tightly.

All of a sudden, memories of her death resurfaced.

‘Damn it, this is why I tried to avoid forming any connection with her in the first place.’

Forcing himself to shake off the distractions, he refocused on the battle.

As if it had been nothing but his imagination, Hayeong had already turned her gaze away from him.

Fortunately, the fight was racing toward its conclusion.

‘Damn it. How did things get this twisted?’

Tang Hoyeol thought, cold sweat streaming down his back.

His opponents had come out smartly.

They were using the surest method to prevail when facing an enemy of overwhelming difference in strength.

‘To think they’d use the Wheel Battle Formation!’

They had chosen the Wheel Battle Formation, where allies at the front continuously rotated, exhausting their enemy’s qi reserves.

He had assumed that since most of them were still wet behind the ears, a bit of intimidation and provocation would be enough to make them trip over themselves.

But his prediction had gone completely astray.

‘……There’s no way. I’ll have to find a chance to run.’

Realizing there was no overturning the battle, Tang Hoyeol changed his strategy.

Not extermination of his foes, but escape.

“Khuek!”

Suddenly, Tang Hoyeol stumbled mid-step, deliberately breaking his own balance.

Though he didn’t fall, it instantly exposed a fatal opening.

Pababat!

Not missing the chance, one of them rushed in.

‘Got you!’

Sewoon, who had been staying in the rear, broke from the formation and charged fiercely at him.

In that instant, Tang Hoyeol’s eyes gleamed viciously.

“Fool!”

Chwararak!

As though nothing had happened, Tang Hoyeol instantly regained his stance.

At the same time as he lashed the Toad’s Saliva Whip at Sewoon with ferocity.

Kku-uk.

He pressed a small hidden button on the whip’s handle.

Chwi-ik!

With a chilling hiss, tiny holes along the whip opened and venomous liquid sprayed out.

This was why the weapon bore the name Toad’s Saliva Whip.

Along with the whip’s strike, a torrential rain of deadly poison poured down toward Sewoon.

Escape was impossible.

The venom occupied every direction Sewoon could dodge into.

‘Good! Now if I just flee……!’

But then it happened.

Seogeok!

Out of nowhere, a sharp slicing sound rang by his ears.

“Huh?”

Hwaruk!

At the same time, both his ankles blazed with searing pain.

That wasn’t all.

An indescribable agony swept over him.

Thud!

Still mid-run, Tang Hoyeol collapsed forward with a heavy crash.

Pain. Pain. Excruciating pain.

Writhing in torment, Tang Hoyeol looked down at his legs.

“……Wh-what the hell!?”

Horrifyingly—

Both his feet had been severed clean off.

“That was far too obvious, Uncle.”

The voice of Sewoon, who should have been struck dead, rang out.

Completely unscathed, Sewoon stood holding a dark, thread-formed cup in his hand.

The moment the venom had sprayed out, he had spread countless layers of Black Thread like a wide cloth, catching it all.

Then he had shaped the net of threads into a cup, containing the venom completely.

He had already known the secret of the Toad’s Saliva Whip.

He had always boasted whenever he refilled its venom, calling it his life-saving trick.

As Tang Hoyeol stared as though demanding an explanation, Sewoon’s cold smile widened.

“Kkhuuugh……!”

“There’s no law that says only Uncle can lay traps.”

There was another reason Sewoon had shifted the battlefield to the courtyard.

It was to set a snare for his prey.

Chwarak!

Sewoon retrieved the threads that had severed Tang Hoyeol’s ankles.

When Black Thread was laid across dirt ground, it was nearly impossible to detect amidst the chaos of battle.

Bleeding heavily from his stumps, Tang Hoyeol trembled as he stared at Sewoon with a pale, ashen face.

“Kkhuuuugh! Please, please, spare me……. Kkeugh!”

“Hm, asking to be spared? But what should I do about this?”

Crouching to meet his eye level, Sewoon tilted his head.

In his hand, the cup of venom shimmered.

“You’re not someone I promised Father I’d spare.”

“Guuh, guuaaargh!”

Kwa-deuk!

Sewoon pried his mouth open by force with one hand.

Then, without hesitation, he poured the venom in the cup down Tang Hoyeol’s throat.

Gulp. Gulp.

Sewoon even ensured the venom slid down his stomach.

“Gueeegh! Grrruk!!”

With pained groans, Tang Hoyeol convulsed and writhed across the ground.

Blue veins bulged across his body, his face turning ghastly as blood spurted from his seven orifices.

And Sewoon, watching him writhe—

His eyes showed not a flicker of hesitation.