Love Ballad of the Tyrant King

Chapter 12: Jaseung, Wipes Them All

As soon as the battle began, Dan Woobin stepped far back. Mook Young, who had been guarding Lee Jaseung, now turned to protect Dan Woobin instead.

In truth, Mook Young wanted to fight as well, but leaving Dan Woobin unprotected in such chaos was unthinkable.

Protecting him was just as important as Lee Jaseung.

The Iron Cavalry Regiment charged at the Four Heroes of Shaanxi. Overwhelmed by their sheer force, the martial artists of Shaanxi Alliance panicked.

There were one thousand of them. That was a formidable number even if they were disorganized, but these were the elite warriors representing the Black Way Alliance.

Of course, the Black Dragon King and the Twin Monsters could likely stand against the Iron Cavalry if they joined forces.

But they couldn’t act recklessly.

Lee Jaseung’s approach toward the Black Dragon King signaled Mujin to rush at the Twin Monsters.

They were both supreme masters.

Their opponents were seasoned with experience, while they were young in comparison.

It was the clash of experience and audacity.

Battle raged around them, but Lee Jaseung and the Black Dragon King stood a few paces apart, facing each other.

Hwang Giyoung stood pale as a ghost behind the Black Dragon King. He had never imagined things would turn out like this.

“Aghhh!”

A terrible scream rang out nearby. The first casualty was from the Shaanxi Alliance. Individually, the Shaanxi Alliance had skills superior to the Iron Cavalry.

But the Iron Cavalry’s coordinated tactics were unrivaled.

They weren’t merely swinging their spears. Years of training enabled them to execute perfectly synchronized attacks.

Moreover, their armor was made of special material, so ordinary blades couldn’t even scratch it.

Despite its toughness, it was incredibly light, making it the most advanced equipment developed by the Black Way Alliance.

Another scream echoed. It was from the Shaanxi Alliance again.

Still, the Black Dragon King remained calm.

Though slaying all the Iron Cavalry was impossible, he was confident he could escape. But of course, he had to eliminate the Leader of the Black Way Alliance that got on his nerves.

“I don’t understand.”

He muttered while staring at the dagger in Lee Jaseung’s hand.

He had met the previous Leader of the Black Way Alliance in the past. Cheon Yeombaek wasn’t an easy foe to defeat.

Yet he was defeated by a man using a mere dagger? It made no sense.

‘I must be cautious of poison.’

The Black Dragon King grew tense, thinking that Lee Jaseung used poison.

‘I’ll kill you before you pull any dirty tricks.’

Just then, Lee Jaseung spoke.

“Your eyes… I don’t like them. Not one bit.”

“What?”

The Black Dragon King became confused with Lee Jaseung suddenly talking about his eyes.

“I don’t know what kind of man you used to be, but you look pathetic now.”

“Hmph! Trying to taunt me huh?”

“Taunts are for the weak to use against the strong, so not this case. Just think of it as advice.”

The Black Dragon King’s face flushed red.

“You really have a talent for getting people angry.”

“People who get mad at me fall into two groups. Either they are truly good people, or…”

“Or?”

“They are worse bastards than me.”

The Black Dragon King clenched his fists. He was a master of fist arts, once hailed as the greatest during his prime.

Lee Jaseung may have been calm on the outside, but his heart was racing. It was because of the martial art he learned from the metal box. He had a desire to use it against his current opponent.

But he couldn’t afford to risk such a thing as he didn’t get to train it properly. He had to use it only after getting a full grasp of it.

Lee Jaseung slowly drew his inner Qi. The Qi lying dormant in his Dantian, stirred awake with a great stretch.

It spread through his body, sharpening his aura like a blade.

The Black Dragon King was shocked by Lee Jaseung’s rapidly intensifying aura, and his expression stiffened.

Lee Jaseung’s aura was so intense it felt like wind cutting across his body.

The Black Dragon King drew his Qi in response, thinking that it would surely end soon. But Lee Jaseung’s overwhelming pressure only grew stronger.

A breeze became a gale, and the gale became a storm.

The Black Dragon King already pushed his own power to the limit, but Lee Jaseung’s Qi was only growing in strength. This only meant one thing.

Lee Jaseung’s inner Qi was vastly superior.

The Black Dragon King only had one choice to make.

‘I’ll die at this rate.’

Fighting at a disadvantage wasn’t a good idea.

Swoosh!

The Black Dragon King dashed across, initiating the attack.

But he lost the advantage right away. Lee Jaseung had anticipated this from the beginning.

A fist powerful enough to shatter huge boulders, shot toward Lee Jaseung’s face.

Lee Jaseung bent his body to evade it. Incredible force grazed by his face.

Whoosh, Whoosh!

A flurry of sharp punches followed right after.

It was even faster than a sword and more dangerous as well.

Swish!

This time, Lee Jaseung charged forth, aiming for the Black Dragon King’s heart with his dagger. The Black Dragon King twisted to dodge and counterattacked at the same time.

Swoosh!

Lee Jaseung withdrew, slashing at his opponent’s wrist.

The Black Dragon King barely dodged and backed away. His expression was still stiff. He knew instinctively that this fight wasn’t going to be an easy one.

It was simple for a fist martial artist to defeat a skilled swordsman. He had to be faster to crush the opponent before they could move their blade.

Swordsmen may have used their weapons like it was a bodypart of their own, but it couldn’t be compared to one’s arms and legs that were there from the beginning.

However, a bigger problem arose in this fight.

The opponent was faster.

“How?”

Doubt filled the Black Dragon King’s eyes.

“Did you perhaps revert to your youthful state?”

“You think just because someone younger than you is stronger, they used the art of reverting to youth? Isn’t that way too arrogant? Your thoughts are just as rotten as your eyes.”

The Black Dragon King grinded his teeth knowing that he was being taunted, but he still couldn’t keep his anger down.

“I’ll grind your bones to dust and drink them!”

The Black Dragon King leaped again.

Lee Jaseung sensed that his opponent’s Qi became unstabilized, so now was the time. He changed his Qi flow as well as his Asura’s movement.

He used the fifth form of the Yama’s Dagger Art, the Dagger of the Enlightened One. He used the same technique to kill the previous Leader of the Black Way Alliance.

Swoosh!

The Black Dragon King was shocked. He thought that the air around him changed, but his body was floating in the air instead.

He couldn’t hide his shock. He had never experienced such a sensation.

His instinct told him that he needed to escape this strange flow.

But that was the worst possible choice. The fifth form of Lee Jaseung’s dagger technique laid exactly in that spot.

As the Black Dragon King shifted toward the weaker side,

Flash! The Asura cleaved through the air, radiating with Qi.

He tried to twist away, but he was already caught by Lee Jaseung’s technique.

Thwuck!

As a dagger pierced his chest,

Thwuck-Thwuck-Thwuck-Thwuck-Thwuck-Thwuck!

The Asura struck his vital points in rapid succession.

“Aghhhh!”

The Black Dragon King collapsed with a scream. Blood gushed out from seven wounds, and they were all fatal injuries.

His emotions quickly shifted from disbelief to rage, then resignation.

The Black Dragon King looked up at Lee Jaseung who was looking down coldly.

“...Aren’t you curious? Why I joined forces with them?”

Blood poured out from his mouth and wounds as he spoke.

Lee Jaseung gave a cold response.

“Not one bit.”

“You really know how to infuriate a person to the end.”

But even so, the Black Dragon King no longer raged. Instead, he smiled bitterly. He finally spoke his heart, knowing he didn’t have much time left in his life.

“...A woman I loved died. She kept me from falling into darkness.”

Lee Jaseung was able to guess how the story went. She died, he lost his way, and in despair, he joined the evil path.

“I held on for four years. But in the end…”

Lee Jaseung coldly cut him off.

“Why are you blaming a woman like an idiot? You simply wanted to live selfishly.”

The Black Dragon King flinched. He felt angry and frustrated, but he wasn’t able to deny Lee Jaseung’s words.

He felt excitement when Hwang Giyoung proposed taking over Shaanxi. He thought that he should’ve done it a while ago, as that was the type of person he was deep inside.

And Lee Jaseung saw right through him.

The Black Dragon King tried to say one more thing, but Lee Jaseung had already turned and walked away, as if he was no longer worth acknowledging.

Life left the Black Dragon King’s eyes as he watched Lee Jaseung walk away. He died with his eyes open, wide.

Lee Jaseung was approaching Hwang Giyoung, who was now shaking in fear.

“My Lord, please spare my life!”

Hwang Giyoung quickly kneeled, begging for mercy.

“This old man can still be of use. So please, spare me.”

“No.”

Lee Jaseung’s dagger swung in the air.

Swish! Splatter!

Hwang Giyoung collapsed as blood spurted from his neck.

Lee Jaseung turned away coldly.

An old man scheming for survival while his brothers were dying wasn’t worth a second thought. Even a conversation with him was a waste of time.

The battle was nearly over.

Most martial artists of the Shaanxi Alliance were dead, and the Four Heroes of Shaanxi laid on the ground, drenched in their own blood.

The only remaining enemies were the Twin Monsters who Mujin and Ma Young-gi were fighting.

Lee Jaseung watched the fight without interfering.

Dan Woobin walked up.

“Well done.”

Then, Lee Jaseung slightly lifted up his robe. The Dragon Scale Armor and the Heart Protector was revealed inside.

“I had protection after all.”

Dan Woobin smiled brightly after hearing Lee Jaseung’s joke.

“You shouldn’t ever take them off from now on.”

Lee Jaseung had no intention of doing so even if Dan Woobin told him to. With greater enemies ahead, he needed layers of protection.

Dan Woobin asked as he watched the fierce battle.

“Anyway, aren’t you going to help them?”

“They need to be able to beat them at the very least.”

“What if they mess up?”

“Then they’ll die.”

“And if they do?”

“Replace them of course. We have some candidates, right? Pick the youngest ones.”

“Wow! Isn’t that a bit harsh…?”

Just then, a stray sword force flew toward Dan Woobin.

Lee Jaseung struck it down with his hand.

Clang!

After dealing with the danger, Lee Jaseung spoke.

“Am I still harsh?”

“Yes, you are!”

This time, Dan Woobin took it as a joke. Both turned back to the fight as it was reaching its climax.

As allies fell, the Twin Monsters grew desperate and became weaker mentally. They couldn’t even flee because of how strong their opponents were.

The one to break the stalemate was Mujin.

Thwuck!

Mujin’s right sword pierced the Heaven Monster’s arm. The wound was so deep that it almost severed his arm off.

The Heaven Monster clenched his teeth and held in his scream, but the Earth Monster was shaken.

“Brother!”

As he called out in concern,

Thwuck!

Ma Young-gi’s spear pierced through his stomach. He had waited for his enemy to let his guard down.

The Earth Monster fell, and Ma Young-gi mercilessly stabbed his back again.

Thwuck!

“Brother!”

The Heaven Monster ran toward the Earth Monster.

But such a move before a powerful opponent like Mujin, was same as suicide.

Swish!

Mujin’s sword cut his side. As he staggered, the second sword pierced his back, right through his heart.

With a short scream, he died before hitting the ground. It was a hollow death for such a feared man.

Had anyone who knew them witnessed their deaths, they might have sighed, but there wasn’t anyone who pitied them in this place.

With their deaths, the battle came to an end.

Only twenty of the Iron Cavalry were wounded, with ten dead. It was minimal losses.

Mujin and Ma Young-gi walked up to Lee Jaseung.

“It’s been a while, my Lord.”

Ma Young-gi greeted respectfully, taking his helmet off.

Then, his charming appearance was revealed.

He hid this long hair behind that helm? His hair was that long, and he had a dark atmosphere around him.

Ma Young-gi was the closest to Lee Jaseung when it came to appearance and aura.

The other three didn’t know why Lee Jaseung visited him three times to recruit him. But it was assumed that he had a good reason.

“Withdraw the troops.”

“Yes.”

Ma Young-gi withdrew the Iron Cavalry. Only four remained in the area filled with the smell of blood.

“Mook Young.”

“Yes.”

Mook Young revealed himself.

The four men stood behind Lee Jaseung in a line. They were the ones Lee Jaseung trusted the most, and the core members of the Black Way Alliance.

They were all so young that no one would believe that they were the highest ranking members.

It was also what Lee Jaseung cared about the most.

Young, all of them.

At the very least, he wanted to have young people as his closest allies. He had thought of that ever since he dreamed of this.

The four exchanged glances with each other. It was clear that Lee Jaseung purposely gathered these four.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have called Ma Young-gi here with the Iron Cavalry Regiment. It would have resulted in the same outcome if he summoned the Divine Sword Regiment that was similar in strength.

Everyone became tense as something like this had never happened before.

Shortly after, Lee Jaseung spoke softly.

“There’s something I’ve been hiding from you.”