Novel Martial Artist Lee Gwak - chapter 445
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Episode 445
The Blade of Sura Aims for the Heavens (2)
“Huff! Huff!”
Nam Woo-gyeong leaned against a large tree and gasped for breath.
At his feet lay a group of men in black robes. They were martial artists from the Heavenly Intelligence Hall.
Their martial prowess was nothing special.
Nam Woo-gyeong had taken them down without even exerting himself.
The problem was that there were countless more like them. He had already fought several groups on his way here.
Nam Woo-gyeong was a formidable martial artist, but if he kept expending energy at this rate, he would soon be completely drained.
Nearby, firecrackers continued to explode.
A sign that the enemy was tightening their encirclement.
Nam Woo-gyeong gritted his teeth.
Even though he had used Hoe-an and the Death Reaper Squad as decoys to escape, the enemy had tracked him down relentlessly.
He wasn’t afraid of death. But if he died here, the sacrifices of Hoe-an and the Death Reaper Squad martial artists would be in vain. For their sake, he had to survive.
With great effort, he forced himself to move.
‘First, I need to reach the safe house.’
The safe house was located on a small island north of Lake Tai. Only Nam Woo-gyeong, Shim Wol, Hoe-an, and the Suzhou branch leader knew of its existence. If he could make it there, he could wait it out until the chaos subsided.
‘I’ll repay this humiliation tenfold. Ja Hong-cheon!’
Nam Woo-gyeong swore revenge over and over.
Until now, the Hao Clan had maintained neutrality. Their martial prowess was insufficient, and dealing in information had been more advantageous for survival than direct confrontation.
But the world had changed.
Neutrality no longer ensured survival.
They had to choose a side. And Nam Woo-gyeong had made his choice.
Kkuk!
His fists clenched tightly.
His nails dug into his palms, drawing blood, but he felt no pain.
Then—
Bang
Another firecracker exploded nearby.
Someone had spotted him and sent up a signal.
“Damn it!”
Nam Woo-gyeong cursed and broke into a run.
“Over there!”
“It’s the Hao Clan’s young master!”
Martial artists from the Heavenly Intelligence Hall emerged from the opposite alley and pointed at him.
He wanted to kill them to silence them, but it was too late.
The longer he delayed, the greater the danger became.
Nam Woo-gyeong ran like a madman.
In the distance, Lake Taeho came into view.
There was no time to find a boat.
He intended to dive straight into the water.
Gathering all his qi, he accelerated. His body shot forward like an arrow.
Just a few more steps, and he’d reach the lake.
Thud!
But at that moment, an excruciating pain shot through his calf, and he collapsed.
“Ghk!”
He looked quickly at his leg and saw that an arrow was embedded in his calf. A nearly invisible thread of silver wire extended from the shaft.
“What the—?”
Before he could react, the wire tightened and pulled his leg back.
Nam Woo-gyeong struggled desperately, but it was futile. As a last resort, he tried to sever the wire, but no matter how much energy he poured into it, the wire wouldn’t break.
Then—
“Finally caught you.”
“The Hao Clan’s young master is nothing but a sneaky rat.”
“Good thing we caught you before you reached the lake.”
They were members of the Heavenly Martial Squad.
Relief washed over their faces as they finally captured Nam Woo-gyeong.
Realizing he could no longer escape, Nam Woo-gyeong charged at them.
“Chaaah!”
Even a cornered mouse will bite a cat.
Nam Woo-gyeong unleashed a desperate assault on the Heavenly Martial Squad martial artists.
“Hmph!”
The man holding the wire smirked and flicked his wrist. The wire twisted violently, coiling around Nam Woo-gyeong’s leg and dragging him down.
Thud!
Nam Woo-gyeong lost his balance and crashed to the ground. The other two Heavenly Martial Squad martial artists moved.
Each of them stamped on Nam Woo-gyeong’s shoulder and pressed down.
Crack!
“Aaargh!”
His shoulder bones shattered under the pressure, and he screamed in agony.
His leg was impaled like a fish on a spear, and his arms were immobilized by the Heavenly Martial Squad martial artists.
He tried to break free by channeling his energy, but the more he struggled, the harder they pressed down.
“Give up!”
“No matter how strong you are, you can’t escape us.”
The Heavenly Martial Squad martial artists grinned mockingly.
The difference in strength was insurmountable.
Nam Woo-gyeong was strong—but only compared to ordinary martial artists. Against the Heavenly Martial Squad, the last line of defense of the Jade Heaven Alliance, he stood no chance.
They sealed his pressure points, paralyzing him completely.
Gritting his teeth, Nam Woo-gyeong spoke weakly.
“If you have any honor as martial artists, kill me now. Don’t humiliate me further.”
“Hah! We’d love to, but your life belongs to the Alliance Leader.”
Whoosh!
One of the Heavenly Martial Squad martial artists shot a golden firecracker into the sky.
Unlike the previous ones, golden flames lit up the heavens—signaling that Nam Woo-gyeong had been captured.
Despair spread across Nam Woo-gyeong’s face.
‘Is this the end?’
He had sacrificed Hoe-an and the Death Reaper Squad to escape, only for it all to be in vain.
He wasn’t afraid to die, but the thought of the Hao-clan losing its leader terrified him.
Then—
Whoooosh!
A violent surge of qi rippled through the air.
“The Alliance Leader is here.”
The Heavenly Martial Squad martial artists looked up.
Ja Hong-cheon descended from the sky with his arms crossed, like a god stepping down from the heavens.
He landed in front of Nam Woo-gyeong. The martial artists hauled Nam Woo-gyeong to his feet, forcing him to face Ja Hong-cheon.
Ja Hong-cheon stared at him with cold indifference.
“We meet at last. Nam Woo-gyeong.”
“What… happened to the Sect Leader?”
“You’ll see him soon enough.”
“No…!”
Nam Woo-gyeong’s pupils trembled.
He knew exactly what Ja Hong-cheon meant.
He wanted to scream that it was a lie, but Ja Hong-cheon’s icy gaze confirmed the truth.
Ja Hong-cheon reached for Nam Woo-gyeong’s head, intending to crush it like a melon.
“Don’t resent me. Your death is only the beginning.”
“The heavens will never forgive you, Ja Hong-cheon!”
“The heavens?”
A smirk curled Ja Hong-cheon’s lips.
It was pure mockery.
He didn’t believe in the heavens.
His rise had been humble.
When he first joined the Jade Heaven Alliance, he was a lowly martial artist no one noticed. But through sheer will, he overcame every obstacle and eventually became its leader.
Regardless of his current reputation, he had achieved his success entirely through his own strength, without divine intervention, and his life’s journey was one anyone would respect.
There was no place for the heavens in his story.
Crack.
Ja Hong-cheon’s palm closed around Nam Woo-gyeong’s skull.
One squeeze, and his head would shatter like a dropped pumpkin.
Grind—
Ja Hong-cheon tightened his grip.
Nam Woo-gyeong felt his skull creaking under the pressure. The sound of his own bones cracking was a horror beyond imagination.
Ja Hong-cheon took his time, relishing the moment, ensuring Nam Woo-gyeong felt every second of his impending death.
Veins bulged on Nam Woo-gyeong’s face, his eyes bulging as if they might pop out from the pressure.
“Tsk. Here we go again.”
One of the Heavenly Martial Squad martial artists shook his head in exasperation.
One of Ja Hong-cheon’s darker pleasures was making his victims suffer. Normally, he kept such tendencies hidden, but when his emotions sharpened like a blade, they surfaced without restraint.
Like now.
Nam Woo-gyeong’s mouth was open, but he couldn’t even scream.
When pain crossed a certain threshold, screams became impossible. Nam Woo-kyung was experiencing that very torment.
He wished for death, just to end the agony.
Part of him wanted to beg for a quick end, but he resisted.
That was exactly what Ja Hong-cheon wanted.
Even in death, he refused to yield. So he glared at Ja Hong-cheon with defiance.
“Tch.”
Ja Hong-cheon clicked his tongue in annoyance.
He could kill Nam Woo-gyeong, but he couldn’t break him.
Men like this would die before they surrendered. Killing them cleanly was the only way to avoid future repercussions.
Just as Ja Hong-cheon prepared to deliver the final blow—
Whoom!
A powerful vibration rippled through the air.
Ja Hong-cheon frowned and stopped.
It felt like dozens of needles pricking his temples.
He knew exactly what this feeling meant.
‘I’m sensing danger?’
Nam Woo-gyeong was no longer the object of his attention.
He turned around, sensing the disturbance behind him.
The Heavenly Martial Squad martial artists looked puzzled. They hadn’t sensed anything.
Ja Hong-cheon’s expression hardened further.
The Heavenly Martial Squad martial artists were all top-tier experts, yet they hadn’t noticed the intruder. That meant the newcomer’s level was far beyond theirs.
Even a small gap at the pinnacle of martial arts creates an insurmountable divide.
Those just below the summit could never perceive what happened above them.
And right now, the Heavenly Martial Squad martial artists had been completely excluded from sensing the presence of this newcomer.
Ja Hong-cheon’s eyes gleamed like razor-sharp blades.
‘A variable has appeared.’
He despised variables.
He preferred meticulous planning, leaving nothing to chance. A single miscalculation could ruin everything.
The Hao Clan operation was no exception.
He had moved personally to eliminate all unpredictability.
And yet one had emerged.
And a dangerous one at that.
Goosebumps prickled his skin.
His entire body tingled with tension, sharpening his senses to their limits.
Thud. Thud.
At that moment, footsteps echoed out and the martial artists of the Heavenly Martial Squad finally sensed the presence too.
Their faces paled. They, too, could now feel the overwhelming aura.
“Who’s there?”
“Identify yourself!”
They channeled their qi, ready to strike at any moment. Their tense postures betrayed their nervousness.
Thud. Thud.
The footsteps grew closer, and the mysterious figure finally appeared.
He was a tall man with an unremarkable face, but no one noticed his features.
All eyes were drawn to the straight blade in his hand.
The man stopped and gazed at them, silent.
He showed no movement, no emotion, yet the moment they laid eyes on him, an inexplicable pressure seized their breath.
‘A bladesman?’
A swordsman[a] of this caliber in the Jianghu… could it be…?
They exchanged glances.
In that moment, only one name came to all their minds.
“Lee Gwak!”
“The Sura Blade!”
Their voices rang out like screams.
The man was none other than Lee Gwak. He didn’t spare so much as a glance for Ja Hong-cheon or the Heavenly Martial Squad, his eyes were fixed solely on Nam Woo-gyeong.
Nam Woo-gyeong lifted his head and looked at Lee Gwak.
Their gazes met in midair.
‘You came.’
‘I have arrived.’
[a]bladesman
Unstable
That was op