Chapter 127 – Revenge, and a Trap (9)

No sooner had Kang Yu-jin’s thought ended than a dagger pierced through his chest, penetrating his heart. It was an assassination technique of astonishing precision and speed.

“Oh?”

It was a strike Kang Yu-jin had never anticipated. Cho-ryang’s dagger had pierced his heart. But his attack did not end there. A total of six daggers embedded themselves in Yu-jin’s body.

Each dagger carried a cold sword energy, and every point they struck was a fatal one. Believing he had killed Yu-jin, Cho-ryang revealed himself and muttered.

“Should I follow the young lady now?”

The specialty of an assassin was the single, decisive strike. Though his martial arts were far inferior to his opponent’s, the art they pursued was to find the perfect opportunity to inflict a fatal wound.

Cho-ryang had used all his skills to succeed in taking down Yu-jin, who was several levels above him, and felt a sense of relief. He believed his opponent’s carelessness had fortunately worked in his favor.

As he thought this, Cho-ryang casually glanced at Yu-jin, only to find himself trembling involuntarily. Yu-jin was smiling brightly.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a skilled assassin. I wonder if your skills as a killer surpass even Seol-rin’s.”

Unlike Eun Seol-rin, who possessed outstanding martial arts, Cho-ryang’s own skills were not as remarkable, so he had striven to hone techniques that transcended martial prowess. At last, his efforts had been rewarded.

Unfortunately for him, however, Kang Yu-jin was a monster who had already transcended common sense.

“H-how!”

His heart had been pierced, his vital points struck. It was an attack that would have been fatal not just for someone in the Transformation Realm, but even for a master of the Profound Realm.

“Well now… how do you think I did it?”

As soon as Yu-jin finished speaking, his wounds began to heal at a rapid pace, pushing out all the embedded daggers. They clattered to the floor. Not a single scar remained on Yu-jin’s body.

If not for the holes in his clothes, one would never have known he had been hit at all. Gritting his teeth, Cho-ryang tried to move again. But he no longer had a chance to escape, nor an opportunity to attack.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Closing the distance in an instant, Yu-jin threw a light punch. Its speed was something Cho-ryang could somewhat react to.

Cho-ryang hurriedly crossed his arms to block Yu-jin’s fist. At that moment, Yu-jin muttered coldly.

“Foolish.”

“Kuaaaargh!”

Letting out a harrowing scream, Cho-ryang was sent flying, tumbling across the ground. He tried to get up somehow, but both his arms had been completely broken by Yu-jin’s single blow, and he had suffered severe internal injuries.

“W-why…”

If he had this kind of power, why did he allow the attack? Even as he was dying, Cho-ryang wondered. Yu-jin, as if reading his thoughts, answered.

“So you could fully savor the despair of seeing what you believed in crumble. By the way, what do you think? If I capture you, will she come for me?”

Cho-ryang did not answer. He barely managed to get to his feet and charged toward Yu-jin.

And right in front of him, his body exploded. He had unleashed the Body Explosion Art, a technique created solely for mutual destruction. Cho-ryang’s flesh and bone fragments became powerful projectiles, engulfing Yu-jin.

* * *

“Pant… pant… pant…”

Yeon-hwa ran with all her might. The man she employed as her coachman was one of the most skilled assassins in the Underworld Sect and her only loyal servant. He would surely charge at Yu-jin without a second thought for his own safety, all for her sake.

‘Did he fail?’

Han Won-ha had told her, after hearing about the monster, that he would kill Yu-jin and avenge his family.

Han Won-ha was a clever man, possessing both the power and authority to execute his plans. Yet, Yu-jin’s presence here meant that his scheme had failed.

‘He must no longer be of this world.’

So Yeon-hwa thought. Just then, the sound of an explosion reached her ears.

The sound was faint, but her senses, honed by martial arts training, caught it clearly. It was the sound of Cho-ryang using the Body Explosion Art.

‘Cho-ryang had to use the Body Explosion Art?’

Yeon-hwa’s legs gave way as shock washed over her. Cho-ryang, an assassin nurtured with great care by the Underworld Sect, was a top-tier killer known to be able to take down even a Transformation Realm master if the situation was right.

He was the ultimate assassin, one who would kill his target even if it meant taking his own life when his skills alone were insufficient.

“Did the great Divine Sword Dragon die just like that?”

The Body Explosion Art was a truly dreadful technique; no one could survive being hit by it. With that thought, Yeon-hwa turned around. A single tear streamed down her face.

Cho-ryang, who had lived for her, was dead, and the only man she had ever loved was also gone. She felt that living in this world was truly difficult.

“No, the great Divine Sword Dragon wouldn’t die so easily.”

At the sudden voice, Yeon-hwa spun around. Her eyes fell upon Kang Yu-jin, leaning against a tree and smiling.

“H-how!”

The Body Explosion Art was a self-destruct technique capable of shattering the protective aura of a Transformation Realm master. How could he possibly be alive after taking a direct hit?

“Because there aren’t many martial arts in this world that can kill me.”

Yu-jin replied with a bright smile. He thought that Yeon-hwa’s despairing face was all the more beautiful.

Yu-jin smiled as he watched the despair-stricken Yeon-hwa. But she was a far stronger woman than he had anticipated.

Clad only in a thin, sheer robe, she began to dance with a seductive smile.

Watching her, Yu-jin felt his spirit waver for a moment. The power of the Yin-Yang Lust Arts within him was churning in response to her body.

‘Oh? A remarkable seductive aura.’

Having mastered the Dance of Ecstasy, she was a creature made of pure allure. When she danced, no man with a normal mind could ever escape her temptation.

For a man like Yu-jin, who coveted every beauty he saw, this kind of martial art was incredibly potent. But that was not all.

“Aaaah.”

A voice as beautiful as a celestial melody flowed from her lips. It was a voice beautiful enough to steal the soul of anyone who heard it.

To overwhelm a man’s reason with dance and to take his life with her voice—that was the true nature of the martial art she had mastered.

But the man she was facing was the absolute being beyond all others, Kang Yu-jin. He smiled brightly and approached her.

‘H-how!’

Even as she danced and sang, Yeon-hwa could not hide her astonishment. Her dance and song were designed to captivate men, regardless of their martial realm.

Yet Yu-jin was accepting it as if it were nothing.

Of course, she had no way of knowing that the Yin-Yang Lust Arts he had mastered were protecting him from her seductive aura. And she did not truly know the man named Kang Yu-jin.

‘I am the one who seduces, not the one who is seduced.’

With that thought, Yu-jin grabbed Yeon-hwa and immediately tore her clothes.

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

Startled, Yeon-hwa screamed, but Yu-jin paid her no mind. He sealed her pressure points and rendered her upper body naked.

In Yu-jin’s mind, anyone who dared to screw with him, whether man or woman, had to pay the price.

Yu-jin spread his own outer robe on the ground and laid her down on it. They were on a carriage road deep in the mountains, so there were almost no passersby.

No, even if someone came, it wouldn’t matter, Yu-jin thought. Yeon-hwa was not yet his woman.

“You love Han Won-ha, don’t you?”

Yu-jin whispered in her ear, and Yeon-hwa flinched involuntarily. Satisfied with her reaction, Yu-jin nodded and whispered again.

“Han Won-ha loved Ju Yun-hui, the woman I took. Did you know that?”

It was a fact Yeon-hwa knew all too well, even without Yu-jin mentioning it. She glared at him with cold eyes for provoking her. Of course, a glare from someone like her didn’t bother him in the slightest.

“There’s no man more ridiculous than him. It was his younger brother who first made a move on my woman. He ignored me, even though I was there. He even drew his sword on me. I showed him plenty of mercy, but he ignored my kindness and didn’t hesitate to attack me. And in the end, he died by my hand.”

Yeon-hwa was well aware of that incident. Ignoring her, Yu-jin continued.

“His father came after me with his warriors just because his son died. Isn’t that hilarious? A man who prided himself on being from a prestigious family, yet he let his son make countless women cry tears of blood. On top of that, he attacked me, babbling about revenge, even though he knew his son was in the wrong. I killed them because it was absurd to hear them call themselves a prestigious family. Isn’t it just ridiculous?”

Yu-jin began to caress her breast, infusing it with the power of the Yin-Yang Lust Arts.

“Han Won-ha heard the truth from you, yet he still talked of revenge. They were the ones who were in the wrong first. And that man made an irreversible choice and died by my hand. I can still see the despair in his eyes.”

“He was… a far better man… than someone like you…”

Resisting the sudden pleasure enveloping her body, Yeon-hwa managed to speak.

“You think he was better? The one who shamelessly spoke of revenge despite being in the wrong? Well, I suppose you can’t badmouth the man you love. Even though he never looked at you until the very end. He was calling for the princess even as he died. It was so sad.”

Yu-jin was smiling as he spoke of sadness.

“You… after touching… me… the Underworld Sect will…”

“Do you think the Underworld Sect can help you? Against me, the son-in-law of the Imperial Family, the Namgung Clan, and the Cheonsan Lee Clan, and the future successor of the True Dragon Sword Clan? Wench, it’s unfortunate for you, but the Underworld Sect abandoned you and submitted to me long ago.”

At Yu-jin’s words, Yeon-hwa’s face hardened against her will. Yu-jin looked at her, smiled once more, and bit her breast.

Shame boiled within Yeon-hwa at the sight of Yu-jin’s lecherous eyes as he shamelessly ravaged her body, and her beautiful face flushed crimson.

But with her body restrained, she couldn’t even cover herself and could only submit to him.

“Feel free to move whenever you want.”

Yu-jin pressed a point on her body, and she felt she could move. But in the face of his powerful grip, there was nothing she could do.

Yu-jin sneered at her and slid his hand swiftly between her legs.

“Heuk! What is this… this…”

Yeon-hwa quickly closed her legs. But Yu-jin’s hand had already slipped into her secret place.

His insolent hand delved into her sensitive parts. Yeon-hwa was so enraged by Yu-jin’s attempt to take her by force that she could barely speak.

“The man your beloved loved is none other than me. And the one who killed your beloved is also me. Isn’t it a wonderful fate? By the way, the feeling inside you is truly fantastic.”

Yu-jin was satisfied with the texture he felt with his fingers inside Yeon-hwa. All his women were charming, but a manufactured beauty like Yeon-hwa gave him a different kind of pleasure.

Yu-jin tore off her skirt as well, and now, the only thing covering Yeon-hwa’s voluptuous body was a small piece of undergarment pathetically covering her flower.

Yeon-hwa tried to shake off Yu-jin’s hand, which was fumbling with her undergarments. But his strength was too overwhelming for her to do anything. Yu-jin mercilessly ripped the last piece of cloth from her naked body.

“No!!”

“Yes.”