The Duke's Son :Re-Chapter 184

What is going on?

Heo Myeong-Hwi clutched his gaping chest and tried to understand the situation. How could he, an S-class powerhouse, be seriously injured by a sixteen-year-old kid?

Did someone else intervene?

Heo Myeong-Hwi reflexively looked around.

Bang!

The moment Heo Myeong-Hwi’s gaze wandered, Jae-Hyeok stepped forward, employing the move that he had honed all his life.

Space itself seemed to fold. Jae-Hyeok appeared before Heo Myeong-Hwi and drew his sword, which flickered like red lightning as he cut another line across Heo Myeong-Hwi’s chest.

“Kuaack!”

By the time Heo Myeong-Hwi returned his attention to Jae-Hyeok, Jae-Hyeok’s sword was back in its sheath, but he stood much closer.

Heo Myeong-Hwi got a good look then; the boy’s youthful face was in sharp relief to his pair of merciless eyes, which were strikingly similar to the Yaksha’s.

Jae-Hyeok wondered, “You're quite durable. Don’t tell me you also contracted a demon? I swear if you start resurrecting, I’m gonna get annoyed.”

“You... It was you who cut me?”

Heo Myeong-Hwi’s eyes reddened as he summoned a new jade. He inscribed the character for acceleration with a pulse of will, and the stone disappeared from his palm an instant later, piercing toward Jae-Hyeok’s face like a high-caliber bullet.

The fewer and more precise his runic inscriptions, the more potent the effect; under the influence of the acceleration rune, the jade reached a speed many times faster than when he’d targeted Gu Suk-Jeong.

This!

Heo Myeong-Hwi could already imagine the jade piercing Jae-Hyeok’s skull; he shivered. Shit! I didn’t mean to kill him!

He’d come today to pin charges against Elder Gu Suk and Kang Jae-Hyeok for collaborating to harm Jeong Jae-Uk and plotting to take over Guardian.

But even if he could pass those accusations off as true, that wasn’t enough to kill Kang Jae-Hyeok here.

The Kang family was a ducal family, after all. No matter the reason, harming the blood of one of the nation’s only three great ducal families would inevitably attract public attention.

If it came to light that Kang Jae-Hyeok had been killed with no clear reason...

I will be the one blamed!

Sure, the Association’s president and the others who held a grudge against the Kang family would get what they wanted without having to lift a finger. But he would definitely take the fall—punished loud and hard by the Association so that they might distance themselves from the stench of this matter.

“No!”

With his future career on the line, Heo Myeong-Hwi prayed for a miracle. Even if Jae-Hyeok were maimed, so long as he lived, he would count himself blessed.

Then, a miracle really did occur, but it was nothing like Heo Myeong-Hwi expected.

Jae-Hyeok tilted his head and dodged the jade, his expression plain.

Heo Myeong-Hwi blinked.

No matter how fast, an attack that flew straight could feasibly be avoided with proper timing. However, his rune stone had traveled faster than a bullet, and he’d unleashed it while he was within sword reach of Jae-Hyeok.

Yet... Jae-Hyeok dodged it?

“How?”

Even an A-class player might only manage it with luck. How did this kid dodge it?

Heo Myeong-Hwi was full of doubt and shock, but he could only swallow it all as Jae-Hyeok advanced and brought his sword down.

Quickly stepping back, Heo Myeong-Hwi drew his sword and guarded overhead.

Just then, two scythe-like crescents of aura materialized in the air, flanking either side of Jae-Hyeok’s blade. As Jae-Hyeok and Heo Myeong-Hwi clashed, the crescents swept out. One arc slashed Heo Myeong-Hwi’s collarbone, while the other slashed his forearm.

Jae-Hyeok smiled.

Two Scythes Block a Cart.

“Kuek! What a cheat-like Skill!”

Heo Myeong-Hwi gritted his teeth before slapping Iyarugt aside with his sword and slamming his shoulder into Jae-Hyeok’s chest, staggering him.

“The rumor of your having a Bloodline Skill is true! You aren’t just a mere kid!”

Heo Myeong-Hwi’s expression changed. With the speed of an S-class, he circled behind Jae-Hyeok and chopped toward his neck.

It was a killing strike.

He couldn’t worry about the repercussions. Now that he’d offended Jae-Hyeok and witnessed his strength, he had to die no matter what.

This boy is too much of a monster.

Heo Myeong-Hwi had thought Jae-Hyeok would be level 30 at most, but it turned out he’d reached A-class in terms of ability. There were only two possibilities—either Jae-Hyeok had manipulated his status screen during the admission re-examination, or his growth rate was unparalleled. No matter which it was, the boy defied common sense.

Since he has been pretending, he must be killed no matter what!

Jae-Hyeok ducked the sword, rounding on Heo Myeong-Hwi and re-engaging.

As the duel progressed, it was mostly Jae-Hyeok advancing.

Meanwhile, Heo Myeong-Hwi’s swordsmanship was surprisingly delicate. He repeatedly retreated or circled, delivering a flurry of probing thrusts and slashes, punctuated by sudden bursts of killing blows.

With Crane Sword, Heo Myeong-Hwi’s elegant, sweeping movements were reminiscent of a dance.

“It looks like a pig dancing,” Do-Jin said while picking his ear.

This brat is so rude!

Heo Myeong-Hwi became agitated and intensified his flurry.

Jae-Hyeok’s expression didn’t change—his black trench coat, emblazoned with the Kang family crest, fluttered as he advanced, Iyarugt like red lightning in his hands.

“Ah... ”

The eyes of the Association members shook. It was the first time they had seen swordsmanship more dazzling than Heo Myeong-Hwi’s.

In addition, Jae-Hyeok repeatedly blocked and countered Heo Myeong-Hwi’s stabs and slashes. Despite the evasive nature of Crane Sword, Heo Myeong-Hwi’s wounds steadily increased.

This is ridiculous!

Crane Sword was an S-grade passive Skill. Just by learning it, one could become a master of swordsmanship. In addition to his Initial Skill, Rune, Heo Myeong-Hwi had faced few difficulties on his path to S-class. Now that neither had worked against Jae-Hyeok, Heo Myeong-Hwi was at a loss.

That’s what happens when you depend on Skills, Jae-Hyeok thought. Every Skill, not just swordsmanship ones, shared one fatal weakness:

A fixed pattern.

In other words, every Skill had predetermined movements and mana flow, or was punctuated by an activation- or cooldown sequence. This was precisely why Jae-Hyeok refrained from overrelying on Skills and never relaxed in his swordsmanship training.

Looking at Heo Myeong-Hwi’s stale movements, Jae-Hyeok clicked his tongue. He doesn’t know the first thing about martial arts.

Just then, Heo Myeong-Hwi circled and delivered another thrust—only to find himself stepping into the path of Iyarugt. The crimson blade slid smoothly down Heo Myeong-Hwi’s sword and pierced his chest. Heo Myeong-Hwi staggered.

“Kuaack!”

“Dammit, this Bloodline Skill! The world must seem easy and ridiculous when you’re born with a golden spoon! I can see why you are so cocky!”

The Kang family’s Bloodline Skill... was it a passive Skill that enhanced sword-drawing techniques, or was it the sword-drawing technique itself? No one knew for sure. But either way, Heo Myeong-Hwi was certain the Bloodline Skill was tied to the sword-drawing technique in one way or another. Only that explained how Jae-Hyeok’s sword-drawing could repeatedly dismantle his S-grade swordmanship passive.

Naturally, Myeong-Hwi was blind to the minute changes in Jae-Hyeok’s stance and timing that preceded each of Jae-Hyeok’s sword draws. In a manner, he was no different from the students who’d whispered, “I think he learned a copying Skill” after watching Jae-Hyeok’s duel assessments.

Jae-Hyeok retorted, “You’re the one who thinks the world is easy.”

It was a common story: a player blessed to awaken an excellent Initial Skill and gain a powerful Skill Book, who then swiftly climbed to S-class.

On the other hand, how many people refused to awaken after acquiring their first- or second Initial Skill? And of those, how many pushed themselves hard enough and long enough to awaken the strength they desired? At least, Jae-Hyeok only knew of himself. What made him irregular was his hard work; that was the foundation for all other opportunities.

At that moment, Thunderbolt Sword activated.

Iyarugt bristled with thunder energy, and with a wave, Jae-Hyeok cut Heo Myeong-Hwi’s sword in half like tofu.

“W-what? Wait!” Heo Myeong-Hwi reflexively stretched out a hand, as if gesturing for Jae-Hyeok to stay back. “We can discuss—”

“Pay for insulting the Kang family.” Jae-Hyeok was expressionless as he severed Heo Myeong-Hwi’s hands on the return swing.

“Kuaaack!”

“C-crazy! Isn’t he crazy?”

It wasn’t enough to beat him, but Kang Jae-Hyeok even turned him into a bloody mess and cut off both hands...

The Association members couldn’t believe their eyes. Heo Myeong-Hwi was an executive of the Association who managed the entire Gyeongnam region. If he was harmed carelessly, the Association would have a clear justification to retaliate.

Many players no longer dared to meet Jae-Hyeok’s eyes.

“Isn’t he afraid of the repercussions?”

“E-Elder, what do we do?”

It was the same on Guardian’s side. They had been cheering for Jae-Hyeok with sweaty palms a moment ago, but they came back to themselves upon seeing Heo Myeong-Hwi’s gruesome state.

Kang Jae-Hyeok, someone whom the Association had already hated, turned one of their branch managers into a cripple?

Regardless of the context, the Association would never overlook it. They would punish Jae-Hyeok severely. Worse, Jae-Hyeok was now tied to Guardian, so they, too, would be dragged into the Association’s sights.

“Um... ”

Even Elder Gu Suk’s face became pale.

“This is a matter of the Kang family’s honor,” Jae-Hyeok declared. Heo Myeong-Hwi started crawling toward his severed hands. Jae-Hyeok plunged his sword into Heo Myeong-Hwi’s back and glared at the surrounding Association members. “A ducal family’s recompense stands above law.”

From the Great Awakening to the present day, the same three ducal families had defended South Korea for more than two hundred years. In the past, they wielded levels of power and honor that transcended the nation itself.

Had the ducal families wished, they could’ve taken land and established a country of their own, or they could have migrated to a larger superpower, such as the United States.

However, the three families chose to stay in their homeland. They even transferred their personal property to the country. It was unconditional patriotism, an act of devotion born of affection. And South Korea repaid them in turn, granting the three families legal autonomy for most civil and criminal law: “Henceforth, as it pertains to the Great Three, let it be that mundane matters of offense and arbitration are beholden to ducal discretion, not to be interceded by Korean law.”

Of course, such a thing was ridiculous now.

“Cough...! You crazy bastard! The right to stand above the laws? This isn’t two hundred years ago. That code is a relic of the old world!”

Heo Myeong-Hwi with his face on the ground.

“And have you forgotten? It has been eight years since the entire country turned on the Kang family! The nation and its people disdain you! Why are you still talking about the right to stand above the laws now? Who would approve that?”

“Me.”

Jae-Hyeok took out Grand Justice Alus's Dagger and declared.

“If that’s not enough, I can just force others to acknowledge it, too.”

“......!”

No one could turn away from the slaughter. Jae-Hyeok’s black eyes were like bottomless wells, betraying not a ripple of emotion.

Meanwhile, Heo Myeong-Hwi’s severed head rolled several times before facing the crowd, countless questions frozen in his dead gaze. Even at the moment of his death, Heo Myeong-Hwi didn’t seem to understand how the situation had reached this point.

Through strength, I will remind everyone of the rights my Kang family is owed.

[Miraculous achievement! You have won a battle against an S-class player!]

[Your level has risen by 5.]

[Merciless Slaughterer title has been acquired.]

That said, Jae-Hyeok wasn’t so reckless as to rely only on his strength. He was well aware that his skills were still lacking to charge through all obstacles.

First, I must secure my place as a National Treasure candidate.

With that title, he could not only exonerate himself but also have wings in the future.