Dark Mage - Volume 1 - Chapter 3

Dachshund saw the encircling net being slowly closed by the Devil sect(tl note:ma-gyo) experts. He clenched his teeth.

‘If my body was normal then I would have a chance. However my body is already not in a condition to fight…’

But once he decided to fight, Dachshund’s mind was put in motion.

‘There is only one way, I have to burn all the inner energy(TL note:진원진기) that I have left. If I exhibit my Emperor’s Blood Demon Art’s final technique Heaven’s Magic Blood Life then I don’t know about the top experts but I would be able to kill all the lower experts.’

When Dachshund decided his path, his body instinctively responded. He was trained through war, and he followed the principle of kill or be killed. Dachshund gathered every ounce of his inner-ki(TL note:내력 nae-ryuk) to launch a pre-emptive attack.

“Hmm. He is strong enough not to be considered a human. He slaughtered many swordsmen but he still has strength left…”

“Among those he killed, there were many Master level mixed in. Looking at that, he must be at the rumored Grand Master level. At that level, he should easily be able to rank with Crossen Magnus as a swordsman. The quality of warriors here is very surprising.”

“We have to take him to our continent no matter what. That is the only way to save our Truvania from dangers that will blow us out like a wick.”

“But with our current ability, how…”

The sound spreading from the air bore a worried tone.

“This is something we have to do no matter what. Anyways, how much mana is left in the dragon’s heart?”

“The mana usage has been beyond our estimation. By my calculation, going forward we can maintain it for three to four hours. Above all things, the mana consumption to return is about ten times the mana it took to get here. In the worst case scenario, we won’t be able to go back.”

“That’s a big problem. Somehow we have to placate that person and go to the magical formation.”

“Let’s watch the situation a little more. By looking at the situation, it doesn’t seem like that warrior will fall easily.”

“Let’s do that. Even if we all have to be left in this place, it is crucial that we take him.”

“You are right.”

“That, that doesn’t make sense…”

Wichung’s glared as if his eyes would rip. He was the elder of the Devil sect’s Court of Ho(tl note: Ho-bup-won). In the formal rankings, he is ranked 6th and he was the peak expert Double Hand Devil(tl note: 쌍수마존(雙手魔尊)-Ssang-su-ma-jon) Wi-chung-yi. It was surprising he was here and it was a rare occasion to see Wi-chung-yi. Normally in terms of set-Ki, he was considered to be peerless. The fact that he was very surprised was evidence that the event happening in front of him blew his expectation away.

“Ku-ah-ah-ahk.”

From his surrounding, screams kept coming out. The experts that were present came from the main Devil sect and their abilities had been verified. Those experts were dying helplessly. It was none other than a pink fog that was killing them. It didn’t matter who it was if you touched it then your ki-flow would explode out and kill you. For a moment, Wi-chung was suspicious thinking that the senate predicted wrong. If not then how can the hand-picked experts from their own sect be killed so easily.

“This is the oft talked about power of the Emperor’s Blood Demon Art?

He followed the pink fog and sent his body’s energy but he only sensed emptiness.
If felt like he was intentionally being avoided. While Wichung was going back and forth, numerous experts of the sect fell over dead.

“Kyah-ah-ah-ahk.”

Only when the last expert fell over backward, the pink fog started dissipating. The figure that revealed himself between the fog was Dachshund. He had a bloodless white face. He looked like a zombie. (TL note:강시-it’s korean/chinese zombie-they aren’t decayed like western zombie, but they are very pale) Dachshund slowly turned his head and looked at Wichung. He looked like a demon and Wichung automatically felt a chill. However, the moment Dachshund was heading toward Wichung..

“Huh-uk.”

Accompanying a short groan, Dachshund’s knee buckled without strength. The collapsed Dachshund started coughing and with it, a lot of fresh blood was spat out. Wichung was able to relax his chest as he understood Dachshund’s condition.
Wichung inwardly understood the desperate fight he just saw moments ago.

“That was tremendous. Sect leader Dachshund. As a last resort, you fought while burning all your inner energy…”

He exhausted all his inner energy. This means the user had thrown everything of himself away. The reason being inner energy is something you slowly gather from the moment you learn martial arts. In other terms, it isn’t far off to say it’s everything a martial artist has achieved. Universally even if it was a martial artist’s last breath, he wouldn’t even think about exhausting his inner energy.
The drawback is you can’t initiate it without being a peak expert, but martial artists lean toward valuing their achieved martial arts more than their lives. Dachshund was using all his inner energy to fight without sparing anything. Wichung could tell how much tenacity Dachshund had toward living. However it wasn’t the time to be soaked in sentimental thoughts. Wichung pushed strong ki into both his hands and it turned black. He approached the fallen Dachshund.

“I would like to praise the sect leader’s boundless fighting spirit. However I can do nothing about it. Since the sect leader has used up all his inner energy, you should not even have the strength to move a finger. I’ll give you, sect leader, the end of a martial artist. This will be my last consideration for you, sect leader. ”

In front of Dachshund, Wichung held both his hands towards the sky. Wichung held no wariness since the opponent has basically lost his ability to do martial arts. However, his life would helplessly come to an end in a way he couldn’t have dreamed up. Dachshund had is head down but suddenly the light in his eyes quickly rose up.

“Eh-it.” (TL note: something you yell when you are making some kind of move)

From a sitting position, he put his hand out in front of him. Hojo was unrecognizable from the continuous fights but suddenly a blinding luster radiated from it.

“Huk.”

Wichung was about to swing down but his heart suddenly jumped into his mouth. He couldn’t have anticipated that Hojo had a built-in hidden weapon…. Hurriedly Wichung raised his force field to protect his chest and kicked Dachshund in the chest. (TL note:호신강기 ho-shin-gang-gi its a layer of ki that protects the practitioner- just going with force field from now on-i think that’s better than Self Protecting Strong Ki)

Puk.

He was prideful in thinking that a mere hidden weapon couldn’t pierce through his force field. It was move he made based on instinct. However, his carelessness switched the life or death situation. The hidden weapon from Hojo broke through his force field and it embedded deep into Wichung’s chest. He felt the horrifying feeling of it dig into his heart and Wichung spat out a heavy grunt.

“Kuk. This, this is.”

Winchung’s whole body shook like he was hit by a lightning. The item the opponent fired was not merely a hidden weapon. It was a divine artifact that was specifically used to collapse the force field. He lost his life from a momentary lapse in judgement and in doing so, his pride had crumbled to the ground. He saw Dachshund, who was sent sprawling to the floor, started to shakily get to his feet. After seeing the figure, Wichung had an even more incredulous expression on his face.

“How, how did you do it? Even if it was a bear, it should have been enough to kill it in one strike…”

Dachshund had barely picked his body up. He had a disappointed expression on his face. The cloth near the chest disintegrated and the body armor was displayed. However the body armor seemed to have spent all its strength protecting its master and after Dachshund got up the armor broke down. Dachshund had a forlorn look as he unbuckled Hojo and threw it far away. His face was so pale that a single drop of blood could not be seen from the figure. He coughed violently and he was barely able to speak.

“That was a Pulse Piercing Chisel(TL note:broke the words down and made this up). As you know, it specifically destroys a force field. It is our sect’s masterpiece. Just in case, I had it armed on Hojo, but I didn’t realize I would have to use it now. Moreover, this body armor is something the Guardian Devil Army(TL note: sue-ho-mah-wang-gun..its the group that he was in charge of) wore as a normal precaution. It is on the heavy side being made from 10 thousand-year seasoned steel(TL note: Mahn-nyun-han-chul, its a high grade steel that is often used in muhyup genre). but the defense is comparable to a body’s force field.”

Wichung was close to losing his consciousness but he was able to squeeze out some words.

“What are the reasons as to why you are so obsessed with living. If it was me, then I would have given up on life.”

Dachshund’s face showed a young anxiety deepening.

“You probably don’t know this. I was completely ridiculed by my trusted underlings. Until I revenge myself, I won’t leave this world. ”

It was unknown if that was the answer he was looking for, but Wichung couldn’t hear his words. He couldn’t understand anything because his soul had already left his body. Dachshund glanced at the still standing corpse of Wichung then he tried to make his body fly again. He had long given up the idea of running away. He was only looking forward to his death at his own hands. Why had he had escaped up to the summit of the Chun-Ryung Mountain? Nearby there was a high cliff that he couldn’t see the end of. If he made it there then it would be the end of his regretful lifetime. However his body was horribly wrecked and his control over his body had left him awhile back. He wanted to get out this place by crawling but even his arms were a mess. He couldn’t move an inch with only his own efforts. Eventually Dachshund just laid down in place. The star lights were painfully boring into his eyes and unbeknownst to him, he closed his eyes.

“Is it going to end this way?”

He couldn’t even attempt to resist since he had nothing left. He used up all his inner energy to kill Wichung and his underlings. Emperor’s Blood Demon Art has been destroyed and his body didn’t have a single ounce of inner ki left. He couldn’t even feel pain from his shredded lower abdomen. In a word, his body was perfectly destroyed. Dachshund was spread-eagle(TL note: his body makes this word shape 大) and suddenly his face shook while laughing.

“Dachshund. Dachshund. You life is very unlucky.”

If he thought about it, there probably was not a more unfortunate person then him in this world. His hideous appearance would even make a beggar spit on him and he was a hunchback that couldn’t even see the sky with a straight back. If that wasn’t enough, he was born the son of an Evil Faction’s(TL note:Sa-Pa I changed it) leader and for that sin, he experienced unspeakable contempt and humiliation. His childhood was very regretful. To escape this life, he trained his martial arts with all his efforts but in the end, he couldn’t escape being used completely…… His life was going to end without him being able throw away his fate. Dachshund thought the heavens were unfair. He opened his eyes, stared straight at the sky and Dachshund spoke softly.

“Wichung. You will probably be the last person I kill.”

Since the Emperor’s Blood Demon Art was broken, the Shaolin pious monk’s technique had activated. The Emperor’s Blood Demon Art had been suppressing the Seven Sect’s Beating Gold Technique and it’s might had been doubled. He couldn’t even think about killing someone. In other words, he won’t be able to murder anyone. (TL note: from what I’m reading here he learned proper martial arts from the good faction first, then learned the evil techniques. The inner energy from the good martial art was suppressed by the evil one, but now he has used up the evil martial art energy. The previous martial art energy came back with a vengeance and double in strength. MC doesn’t know about it so he thinks his martial artist days are over.)

“Now I don’t have any abilities. It’s at level where I couldn’t even kill a new born babe.”

Even if his martial arts had disappeared, the experience he earned throughout the war seemed to have stayed since he could feel numerous shadows approaching. It was the hunting party that will definitely kill him. Dachshund gave up on his life and shut his eyes tight.