The Duke's Son :Re-Chapter 266
Large eyes and mouth, a sharply defined nose, broad forehead, and thick white eyebrows that split cleanly at the ends.
Qilin radiated the air of a sage. Anyone who saw him would instinctively trust him.
Jae-Hyeok wasn’t deceived. Rising to his feet, he assumed an alert posture as his killing intent flared.
Unbothered, Qilin turned to Zhang Soso.
“You were too arrogant.”
“I didn’t know he was such a monster...”
Zhang Soso’s voice was weak as she replied.
Her debut was ruined from the moment she received Qilin’s help. Her plan to use the Yaksha’s son as a sacrifice to imprint her skills and strength on the world had failed miserably.
“You didn’t know? That child must’ve hidden his aura well.”
Is it the realm of Return to Origin?
The Qilin muttered something strange. Then he turned to Jae-Hyeok.
“Let’s stop here for today. You’ve already gained a lot, so it won’t be a loss.”
Jae-Hyeok had proven his skills, becoming a source of courage and hope for the persecuted Koreans while also serving as a terrifying warning to the belligerent Chinese crowd.
He was likely to become Korea’s National Treasure the moment today’s event was over.
This was a huge gain. And in the future, so long as he survived, a path of glory awaited him.
“Kang Jae-Hyeok! Accept Qilin’s proposal.”
Shinra Kyeong’s voice echoed in the stadium once again.
Shinra Kyeong indeed respected Jae-Hyeok’s father, but he had never shared the Kang family’s view on life. As far as he was concerned, one Jae-Hyeok was worth more than most of Korea combined.
“What matters is your survival. You’ve already done enough for the people. You don’t owe them more.”
The Yaksha alone protected tens of millions of people. But those same people were powerless to help the Yaksha in return. Was that not proof enough? What Korea needed was Jae-Hyeok alive and well. If he threw his life away here, he would be repeating his father’s mistakes.
Seeing Jae-Hyeok nailed to the spot, Shinra Kyeong grew visibly anxious.
“Hurry and step back!”
Jae-Hyeok ignored Shinra Kyeong.
He looked to Qilin and asked, “You think you can decide the beginning and ending as you wish?”
Jae-Hyeok had dared to offend China and attract Black Dragon’s ire. All of this was to avenge his father.
“Is that the attitude you had when you stabbed my father’s dantian before handing Korea a single gate as a petty apology?”
Qilin...
It was he, this false sage, who’d colluded with the Japanese to ambush and run his father through during the 87th East Asia Gate Talks.
“Don’t even think about leaving. Today...”
Jae-Hyeok swung his sword in a threatening manner, carving a scar across the stage.
“... You die.”
“Insolent!”
Zhang Soso had been staring blankly at Jae-Hyeok. Now she came to her senses and gritted her teeth.
But that was as far as it went. She was level 183, a transcend who’d overcome four tribulations, one of China’s highest-level players.
But the difference between her and Jae-Hyeok was clear.
Jae-Hyeok was but a boy—with his limited years on this earth, there was no way his level could be higher than hers, but that only made his overwhelming aura even more of a terrifying enigma.
Zhang Soso didn’t dare to rush forward.
“I see.” Qilin sighed. “I suppose everything you’ve done was to lure me out of seclusion... They say everything eventually comes back around.”
Qilin had emerged from seclusion precisely because he’d sensed something off when Jae-Hyeok, heir to that monster, had become entangled with his successor.
It was said that a tiger never gave birth to a dog—and sure enough, Jae-Hyeok was every bit the little monster he’d suspected him of being.
His talent perhaps even surpasses his father's... I heard that his maternal lineage isn’t particularly outstanding. Maybe it’s a case of nurture over nature...
Qilin studied Jae-Hyeok with somber eyes.
Meanwhile, Jae-Hyeok inwardly sighed.
Damn. He’s not looking down on me at all. This is going to be a hard fight.
Clang!
Jae-Hyeok appeared before Qilin, but Qilin stopped his sword with an air of ease.
Qilin was like an iron fortress. Even Iyarugt struggled to cut through the white mana enveloping Qilin’s hands. At the same time, Qilin’s martial prowess was no less impressive, exposing no openings at all.
Fast—
Strong—
“Cough!”
After several fierce clashes, Jae-Hyeok suffered internal injuries and coughed up black blood.
The atmosphere in the stadium changed—the Chinese spectators who’d fallen silent regained their spirits and erupted in cheers.
On the other hand, the Korean spectators shrank back, causing Shinra Kyeong to glare at them.
“Truly useless till the end.”
Was it difficult to offer even a single cry of support?
As expected, they're all useless, not worth even Kang Jae-Hyeok’s pinky finger.
“Have strength!”
“Survive! Don’t die!”
Despite shrinking back from the threatening glares of the Chinese spectators, the Korean spectators had gathered together in clusters. Finding strength in numbers, they strained their voices and prayed that their shouts would reach Jae-Hyeok.
“Kang Jae-Hyeok! We are cheering for you!”
“Kang Jae-Hyeok! Kang Jae-Hyeok! Kang Jae-Hyeok!”
Of Shinra Kyeong’s retainers, the pink-haired twin laughed.
“I guess sometimes they can be helpful, right?”
The twins knew very well how deeply their young master hated the general public.
He often called them useless things.
Yet in this moment, Shinra Kyeong couldn’t take his eyes off the people he usually couldn’t stand to look at—they were still afraid of China and glanced around anxiously, but even so, they tried their best to return the courage that Jae-Hyeok had given them.
“Do you really think a few words of encouragement will make a difference?” The short-haired girl with a perm asked with skepticism. “It isn’t like their cheers can weaken Qilin.”
She was the one with the most clear-headed and pragmatic personality among Shinra Kyeong’s young retainers.
“If you don’t stop the fight, Young Master Kang will die.”
“No.”
Unexpectedly, Shinra Kyeong shook his head.
“It will help.”
The battle reached its peak, and the stage started to crumble under the shockwaves.
Despite being covered in wounds, Jae-Hyeok’s relentless sword strikes towards his enemies reminded Shinra Kyeong of the Yaksha of the past.
I think I understand why the Yaksha’s skills grew to soaring peaks.
Responsibility... The wishes and hopes of every Korean must’ve settled on the Yaksha’s back, adding to a profound sense of duty and driving him to push forward without looking back.
This was the strength of the Yaksha’s ethos.
To him, people were not burdens but benefactors—and he, as a duke, was their divine sword.
Jae-Hyeok had inherited his father’s ethos, and the power behind it was shown in real time.
His strength seemed to grow with the Korean spectators’ cries.
No, he is really getting stronger, Shinra Jyeong realized.
It wasn’t an illusion.
The speed and power behind Jae-Hyeok’s sword increased by the moment, until finally, a red flicker passed through Qilin’s defenses.
Bang!
The Chinese spectators fell silent.
Qilin, China’s strongest player, was bleeding.
And that wasn’t all—
“I’ll make you regret it.”
Clang!
“I’ll make you suffer a pain like no other!”
Claaaaang!
Jae-Hyeok was driving Qilin back.
The Chinese spectators turned pale.
However—
Interesting.
Qilin himself was calm.
The boy’s swordsmanship is developing in real time. He really does remind me of the Yaksha...
Sigh. Too many years have passed.
During his seclusion, Qilin had constantly replayed his battle with the Yaksha, refining himself until he’d reached an even higher realm than before.
“I’ve seen these tricks from the Yaksha. Just this much won’t be enough to avenge your father.”
Pity grew in Qilin’s heart.
“A shame. Had you not rushed to lure me from seclusion, perhaps you could’ve been my opponent.”
Unfortunately, you’re far too dangerous to let live. Sorry, boy, I’ll have to send you to accompany your father first.
Sensing the pity in Qilin’s eyes, Jae-Hyeok bit out two words.
“Hell Sword!”
Scarlet threads grew like a root system from the tip of Iyarugt, sweeping outward in the blink of an eye.
Qilin’s pupils shook from surprise.
This...
Every thread of sword energy traced a profound path through the air.
It was a skill that the Yaksha had never shown.
Qilin thickened the defensive energy around his hands and prepared to defend—only for the tide of sword threads to sweep past him.
Don’t tell me—
Qilin looked back. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
“Soso!”
His one and only disciple, a girl he’d cherished like a daughter, lay in a pool of blood by the arena’s far edge.
“You...! You damn...!”
The Qilin was so angry that his mind fuzzed. His eyes were bloodshot, and his whole body trembled as he struggled to form coherent words.
On the other hand, Jae-Hyeok’s gaze calmed.
“I told you I’d make you suffer pain like no other. There’s no worse pain than losing a family member.”
Jae-Hyeok’s revenge had finally begun.
