Chapter 233: Chapter 233

That day was a moonless night.

The sky was filled with dark clouds, and not even the sound of insects could be heard, leaving only a heavy silence.

Swish-!

Soon, something revealed itself.

Hidden in the darkness and invisible, it brought an indescribable bizarreness, as if drops of blood were gathering to form a human shape.

The number of those who revealed themselves in this way was ten.

Draped in blood-red robes with even their faces obscured, they clearly revealed their red eyes in the darkness.

Even as they looked at the large manor before them, they did not display any emotion.

Just like wooden dolls.

Their purpose was extremely simple.

To kill everyone inside that family estate.

And they just needed to drag out one child.

They moved without exchanging a single signal. However, like well-trained soldiers, they advanced in perfect order and formed a formation.

So that they could prepare no matter where or what kind of attack they received.

It even looked as if they had rehearsed it.

Soon, they flew up like ghosts and leaped over the high wall.

Clang-!

Simultaneously, the one in the lead swung his sword. A flurry of blades flashed helplessly before their eyes. However, they did not panic and parried them all.

“Huh… this is quite interesting. To think they blocked it?”

Someone muttered, thinking of the blocked sword path.

Astonishment was evident in his voice, and naturally so, because the blood-robed men had blocked the surprise strike he had thrown out.

“Wasn’t the force too weak?”

“No way. I definitely swung it with the intention to kill.”

In the darkness, Beggar Emperor Elder Bang revealed himself, frowning. He had sensed a strange presence a moment ago, but he never expected guys like this to appear.

Squinting his eyes, Elder Bang quietly stared at the blood-robed men, the Blood Ghost Squad.

The unfamiliar attire and the lightness art they demonstrated were also things not present in Elder Bang’s memory.

‘Is it an organization hidden in the shadows?’

Staring at the ten members of the Blood Ghost Squad, Elder Bang’s feelings were complicated. The righteous faction was already divided, and now that even such people had appeared, he was worried about the future.

“These guys are no ordinary fellows. It won’t be easy.”

Namgung Cheon nodded at Elder Bang’s cynical remark.

Even if it wasn’t a strike with all his might, it was the sword of none other than the Sword Emperor.

The fact that they blocked it meant they possessed comparable skills or their martial arts were special.

At that moment, a man at the very front of the Blood Ghost Squad took a step forward.

“…Kill them.”

No questions asked.

Hearing those words uttered as his eyes flashed as sharp as a cold blade, Namgung Cheon and Elder Bang realized in an instant.

That the person before them was by no means someone whose skills could be taken lightly.

They even wondered if he was someone who had reached the level of the Five Emperors. Furthermore, his subordinates did not seem to be of a low level either.

Namgung Cheon, letting out a hollow laugh, composed his energy.

“This old man does not know what you were thinking when you entered… but since you entered someone else’s house with killing intent, abandon any thought of returning alive.”

* * *

Sleeping, Namgung So-hye opened her eyes.

She saw So-mi sleeping quietly beside her. Namgung So-hye slowly reached out and pressed So-mi’s sleeping point.

The action was so natural that, to anyone looking, it would not have seemed like she was pressing a sleeping point. Immediately after, she grabbed the sword she had placed next to the bed.

In an instant, a red figure revealed itself in the darkness.

Clang-!

Namgung So-hye, who parried the blade aimed precisely at her neck, quickly hugged So-mi and escaped the bed. However, as if the opponent had no intention of giving up either, he extended his sword straight toward Namgung So-hye’s chest.

Clang-clang-clang-!

It was heavy.

She realized her opponent’s internal energy was higher than hers.

With every single exchange, the heavy feeling did not dissipate as the swords clashed.

Her wrists throbbed.

Since she was even fighting while holding So-mi, it was no exaggeration to say it was the worst crisis for Namgung So-hye.

“So-hye!”

Crash-!

At that moment, Zhuge Yeon broke through the door and entered.

The moment she saw the blood-robed person, Zhuge Yeon thrust her sword forward without a moment’s hesitation.

Clang-clang-clang-!

The Zhuge Family’s unique, mysterious sword technique flew in elaborately and swiftly. However, it was somewhat insufficient to completely block the intruding man.

Slide-

Zhuge Yeon and Namgung So-hye were pushed back at the same time.

“Just who is this guy?”

“I don’t know! It seems like chaos has broken out outside as well…”

Namgung So-hye heard the fierce sounds coming from outside. As she heightened her senses to the limit, she could sense that everyone in the estate, including Ma Jang-gang and Gwon Mu-jin, had come out to the courtyard.

‘And yet, they haven’t cleared them out?’

There was the Sword Emperor and the Beggar Emperor, of all people.

In addition, there would also be the Killing Emperor, who was hiding somewhere in this house and watching the entire situation.

Since this was a place where three of the top powerhouses in the Central Plains were present, the situation should have been cleared up quickly, but the clashing noises actually grew louder, which meant they were evenly matched.

Moreover, even this man before them had slipped past the eyes and ears of Namgung Cheon and Elder Bang.

Namgung So-hye broke out in a cold sweat.

He might be even more dangerous than the ones outside.

Swish-!

At that moment, the body of the man in front of her blurred.

The moment she realized that, Namgung So-hye’s sword moved like an arrow. Since she could not pinpoint the location, she intended to scatter sword energy in all directions.

Clang-clang-clang-!

Discerning the opponent’s position from the clanging metallic sound, she stepped back half a pace and drew her sword in a wide horizontal arc.

Slash-!

“Ugh?!”

However, the sword cut through empty air without fail, and instead, bright red blood splattered from Namgung So-hye’s back.

Predicting the opponent’s movement was natural for a master.

The man had actually used Namgung So-hye’s psychology against her.

“…”

The man landed with light movements. He held his sword in a reverse grip while staring intently at them, as if determined to cut down the two women in a single breath this time.

At that moment, when the two of them were looking at him with extremely tense expressions.

The man took a step forward.

Stab-!

“Keugh!”

At that instant, a dagger pierced the man’s neck. The blade of the Killing Emperor Bi Cheon-woong, who appeared along with a pitch-black cloud of mist, severed the man’s throat and choked off his breath.

“…An assassin originally seeks out openings.”

Bi Cheon-woong muttered so, looking at the collapsing man.

One must never miss even a single opening shown in a move. That was precisely the qualification of an assassin, and because he had achieved its peak, he was called the Killing Emperor.

Bi Cheon-woong smiled coldly as he pulled out his dagger.

* * *

Slide-!

Namgung Cheon let out an absurd laugh at having been pushed back several steps despite redirecting the heavy force.

“You are quite decent.”

The opponent remained silent.

Although he seemed like a doll with only instincts remaining, he possessed a correspondingly strong power.

He was an opponent one could never let their guard down against.

Since there was still no victor even after more than a hundred exchanges, it was an undeniable fact that the opponent before him rivaled Namgung Cheon’s level.

“Are you alright?”

“Haha, worry about yourself.”

Namgung Cheon smiled at the incoming voice. Glancing over, he saw the Beggar Emperor, looking tattered, catching his breath.

Around him, five corpses were miserably crushed.

“Should I help you?”

“Haha, no need, go to the other children. Aren’t there still a few more guys left?”

Elder Bang glanced away. Things were being cleared up here, but not inside. Gwon Mu-jin, Ma Jang-gang, Zhuge Un, and the others were still struggling quite a bit against the remaining members of the Blood Ghost Squad.

The moment he clicked his tongue and turned his back.

An immense power, unlike anything he had ever felt before, was sensed.

He stopped in his tracks and turned around in surprise.

This was definitely Namgung Cheon’s momentum.

He was taking a starting stance that Elder Bang had never seen in his entire life.

“It has truly been a long time since I have been pushed this far. Thus, this old man must also get serious.”

Namgung Cheon adjusted his grip on his sword.

An overwhelming aura rose from his body.

A domineering spirit that seemed ready to swallow everything around him, or force ten thousand people to their knees.

It was as if facing the emperor of the world.

Slide-

Even Elder Bang broke into a cold sweat.

“…”

Perhaps sensing anxiety as well, the opponent stared at Namgung Cheon with a tense gaze.

It felt as if he had become a completely different person.

“Although this is a martial art I created to settle things with Sa Do-hak… since there is no choice, I will show it to you first.”

Namgung Cheon grinned.

It was as if his original self, who had once roamed the Central Plains catching and killing all kinds of villains, was revealed.

Elder Bang realized.

Namgung Cheon was enjoying himself immensely right now.

The tension felt for the first time in a long while, and the determination to break the one who blocked his sword, were conveyed.

What was loaded into his sword was a power that even Sa Do-hak could never ignore.

‘What on earth did that guy make?’

At the moment Elder Bang could not contain his shock.

Sensing a crisis, the man rushed in, taking the initiative.

Unlike before when he had reserved his strength, his blade, poured with internal energy to the limit, swung frantically.

The sword momentum approached, densely filling the empty air as if no openings existed.

Elder Bang admitted that he could not easily block that.

However.

Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-!

Namgung Cheon’s sword began to move slowly.

The energy gathered on that sword was heavier than Mount Tai, and its movement was filled with majesty like a dragon soaring in the sky.

It instantly suppressed the wild and fierce beast-like sword momentum, punishing the one who dared to bare teeth at the emperor.

Clang! Clang! Clang-clang!

Just as no sword, no matter how fast or solid, could stop the emperor’s steps, the man’s sword collapsed helplessly.

Soon.

Slash-!

Namgung Cheon’s sword cut both the man’s sword and body in half.

Splaaash!

The power loaded in the sword was so heavy that instead of splattering, the blood only soaked the ground.

Namgung Cheon, still not losing his momentum, stared at his sword, which did not have a single drop of blood on it, and muttered softly.

“It is called the Emperor’s Sword Form.”

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