The Legend of the Northern Blade

TL: FoodieMonster007; ED: TheGreatT20

Jin Mu-Won froze. His senses told him that the instant he moved, his body would be torn apart by a mysterious killing aura.

Whose aura is this?!

The instant Geum Dan-Yeop died, an unknown person’s aura had descended upon him. If he had been in peak condition, he would never have gotten caught in such a trap, but he was exhausted and his head was still spinning.

Jin Mu-Won painfully glanced behind him, but all he could see was a black wall. If not for his All-Encompassing Sense alerting him to a person’s presence, he wouldn’t have suspected that there was anything hidden in the darkness.

He squinted his eyes and blinked away the blood and sweat obscuring his vision. Then, he finally saw the black cloaked man standing in front of the blackened wall. The cloak was oversized and wrapped around the man like the wings of a bat, flapping around like a living thing every time the man breathed and occasionally revealing the silvery glint of a long spear hidden within.

The man had sharp facial features, and although his skin was badly wrinkled, he didn’t look old. Rather, the harsh shadows cast by his wrinkles only seemed to make his appearance even more striking in the dim light as he gazed sadly upon the corpses of Nam Goon-Wi and Geum Dan-Yeop.

For a brief moment, the man’s eyes flashed with a golden light, but the glow quickly faded.

He probably mastered a martial art that allows him to suppress his emotions. But…I seem to vaguely recall learning of a black cloaked man with golden glowing eyes before? Who was it… Jin Mu-Won was sure that he had never seen this man before, and yet, a distant memory kept nagging at the back of his mind.

No, now’s not the time to think about all this. I need to recover as much of my strength as I can. Jin Mu-Won put his doubts aside and concentrated on the Art of Ten Thousand Shadows. There was a lot he wanted to ask the man, but he couldn’t afford to waste any of his limited energy reserves on talking.

Fortunately, the man wasn’t particularly interested in killing him right away.

Suddenly, the man sighed and grievously said, “My apologies, Dan-Yeop, I arrived too late. Even so, why did you have to go this far?” He lightly strode toward Geum Dan-Yeop’s corpse, but the wind stirred mightily with his every step.

Jin Mu-Won narrowed his eyes. Cold sweat dripped down his back, his hair stood up on end, and warning bells went off continually in his head. The black cloaked man’s aura blanketed the underground hall with a suffocating pressure so heavy that none except the strongest could remain standing inside.

He’s even stronger than a master. The last time I met a monster like this, it was in the Northern Army Fortress. The Chaos Demon Tae Mu-Kang and the Witch of the White Night… Wait, the Witch of the White Night? The Four Great Demon Lords?

A sudden revelation dawned upon Jin Mu-Won.

To the Silent Night, that living legend was the Divine Spear, but to the Northern Army, he was the Devil Spear.

A black cloak like a bat’s wings and a silver spear… He’s the Black-Winged Divine Spear (黑翼神槍)!

Jin Mu-Won bit his lip until it bled. If he was right, then his situation couldn’t possibly get any worse. Even if he managed to recover some of his energy using the Art of Ten Thousand Shadows, it was impossible for him to take on the Black-Winged Divine Spear after fighting Nam Goon-Wi and Geum Dan-Yeop.

The Black-Winged Divine Spear cradled Geum Dan-Yeop in his arms. “Dan-Yeop, you were always our golden child. Everyone cherished you and looked forward to your future, but you went and sacrificed yourself to force us out of hiding.”

Jin Mu-Won felt his blood run cold. He’s sincerely grieving over Geum Dan-Yeop’s death. I can clearly hear his sorrow…and his rage.

The Black-Winged Divine Spear rose from his position, carrying Geum Dan-Yeop’s body in his arms, and directed his gaze at Jin Mu-Won. “Jin Mu-Won, the little tiger of the Northern Army,” he growled, baring his killing intent at the young man.

“Do you know me?”

“How can I not know you? The Northern Army is our Silent Night’s nemesis.”

“I see. Well, I suppose that’s to be expected. I’ve known for a while that the Silent Night was just keeping a low profile all along.”

“Yes, but now with the death of Dan-Yeop, the Silent Night will awaken from its long slumber and throw the world into chaos once again,” the Black-Winged Divine Spear declared, his eyes once again lighting up with a golden glow.

Jin Mu-Won met the old man’s burning gaze. He felt like his eyes were on fire, but he did not turn away.

“Dan-Yeop was a much-loved child, and all those who cared about him will do their utmost to fulfill his dying wish. For many years, that child often begged us to leave our cramped refuge for the wider world, but in our despondence and despair, we ignored his cries. In the end, for the sake of his desire, to give us a wakeup call, he gathered the few comrades who shared his beliefs and sacrificed everyone.”

“In other words, the Silent Night is going to become active again, right?”

“Look forward to it.” The Black-Winged Divine Spear looked up at the dark ceiling lit up by phosphorescent pearls as if it were a starlit night sky. Geum Dan-Yeop had been the Silent Night’s star of hope, but his dim light was now extinguished, and as beings who lived in the darkness, they were obliged to seek out their star.

Outside the hall, Cheong-In, who was listening in on Jin Mu-Won and the Black-Winged Divine Spear’s conversation, shuddered. Damn, is the Silent Night coming back to life? No, from what I can gather, they never perished.

While Cheong-In was too young to have directly experienced the terror of the Silent Night’s invasion, as an expert undercover agent, he was privy to classified information about the Silent Night and understood their formidable strength much better than most. He tried his hardest to remain calm, but his body simply wouldn’t stop trembling, instinctively recognizing and responding to the dangerous being that was the Black-Winged Divine Spear.

Next to him, Kwak Moon-Jung’s mind went completely blank. His brain, having failed to overcome the formidable aura of the Black-Winged Divine Spear, chose to cut off all connections to external stimuli to protect itself.

Blood trickled from Jin Mu-Won’s mouth. Although he had recovered a lot of his chi, it still wasn’t enough to defend himself completely from the direct impact of the Black-Winged Divine Spear’s killing aura. He knew that he was at a huge disadvantage, but he clenched his teeth and held on. This wasn’t the time or place to show weakness, and he couldn’t risk being distracted from recovering his energy.

He could only attempt to stall for time by asking, “Why did the Silent Night stay dormant all this time? Was it because of infighting?”

“Infighting? If only things were that simple. Not everything can be clearly defined as black or white.”

A cut appeared on Jin Mu-Won’s forehead even as he frowned in puzzlement. Just like Geum Dan-Yeop, none of the Black-Winged Divine Spear’s words made any sense without context. Still, there was truth hidden in those riddles that Jin Mu-Won could not take lightly.

The golden gleam in the Black-Winged Divine Spear’s eyes intensified as he increased the pressure on Jin Mu-Won.

“Keuk!” Jin Mu-Won grit his teeth even harder and tightened his grip on Snow Flower.

The Black-Winged Divine Spear looked down at Jin Mu-Won and continued, “I could kill you right now, but I won’t do it. I need you to watch the Central Plains pay for their sins with your own eyes.”

BA-DUMP!

Jin Mu-Won’s heart missed a beat, his veins were on the verge of bursting, and his eyes became bloodshot. Every word that came out of the Black-Winged Divine Spear’s mouth was infused with his firm belief and power as if he was reciting a prophecy. Even the corpses of Geum Dan-Yeop and the Crimson Ghost Squad were not spared, with multiple new wounds appearing on the bodies.

Just as Jin Mu-Won thought that his endurance had reached its limit, something suddenly changed within him. Without his conscious input, a thumbnail-sized clump of Shadow Chi gathered within his Chi Center, then dissolved into his bloodstream and spread throughout his body like water soaking into a piece of cotton wool.

To repair and revitalize his injured and exhausted body, the Shadow Chi then acted on its own accord and started absorbing energy from his surroundings, in particular, the internal chi that had once belonged to the dead warriors but had scattered upon their demise.

Interestingly, despite the Shadow Chi pulling something so drastic, the Black-Winged Divine Spear remained perfectly unaware of what was happening right in front of his eyes. This was the consequence of one of the unique properties of Shadow Chi: Being completely undetectable by those who used normal chi, regardless of their martial arts mastery.

However, the absorbed chi came with side effects. The dead warriors’ hatred and murderous intent tainted their chi and influenced Jin Mu-Won, threatening to rouse his violent tendencies. Even Snow Flower was affected, crying out from within its sheath and emitting cursed energy.

Upon hearing Snow Flower’s cries, the Black-Winged Divine Spear was finally alerted to the unusual phenomenon around Jin Mu-Won. This brat… I participated in the war between the Silent Night and the Northern Army from start to end, and few should understand the martial arts of the Northern Army better than I. However, I’ve never seen such a strange martial art… What is that cursed energy? Even my divine spear hungers for it!

HOWL!

The Black-Winged Divine Spear’s treasured weapon cried out in response to Snow Flower’s energy. That could only mean one thing. Jin Mu-Won wasn’t an opponent he should underestimate.

His killing aura soared in anticipation. This is the man who murdered our adorable child Geum Dan-Yeop. I should just kill him now before he becomes a bigger threat. In his current state, finishing him off is a piece of cake… No, Dan-Yeop wouldn’t want that. The Black-Winged Divine Spear shook his head and dispelled his thoughts of killing Jin Mu-Won.

Still, Snow Flower detected the rise in his aura and amplified its cursed energy in response, like a volcano right before an eruption. The tension in the underground hall intensified.

Outside the hall, Cheong-In knew that with this, he had reached his limit. He grabbed Kwak Moon-Jung and immediately fled for the exit. Sure, he was extremely curious to know more about the two people in the hall, but it wasn’t worth risking his life for.

Despite sensing the two’s escape, Jin Mu-Won and the Black-Winged Divine Spear ignored them and continued facing off each other until suddenly, the Black-Winged Divine Spear said, “I could kill you right now, but Dan-Yeop wouldn’t be happy about that, so I won’t do it. Still, my pride won’t allow me to let you leave this place in one piece.”

He raised his hand from the black cloak, revealing a large silver spear engraved with the image of a ghost sticking out its long tongue, and threw it at Jin Mu-Won like a javelin.

Along with his throw, a dozen rays of light exploded outwards from the spear.

WHOOSH!

Jin Mu-Won clenched his teeth and swung Snow Flower with all his might.

ROAAAAARRRRR!

A storm swept through the underground hall.