Absolute Regression Chapter 748

Episode 748: Long time no see, friend

Everyone’s gaze was drawn to the sword leaning against the skeleton.
This single sword, far more powerful than the numerous others before it, struck me.

“Don’t act rashly!”

Even without the Iron Man’s warning, I couldn’t rush in recklessly. I had previously experienced the terrifying power of this institution.
Furthermore, even if I were to seize the sword first, I would likely be met with a combined attack from the others.

Everyone focused their attention on the sword, watching the situation closely. Amidst the tension of imminent destruction, the man with the iron face pointed to the sword dance again.

“The Lugged So-hyeop.”
“My name has become fixed as the Lugged So-hyeop.”
“I refused to reveal my identity, so how could I ask for someone else’s? That’s why I call you that.”
“Why did you call me that?”

The iron-faced man looked around the room cautiously and then asked again.

“What organization do you think is hidden here?”
“Why do you ask me that?”
“Because the person who dismantled the previous organization was Sohyeop. Sohyeop said it was luck, but luck also comes when the prepared person meets opportunity.”

All eyes were on the Sword Dance Theater. Everyone seemed to be secretly anticipating the event.
Despite knowing that multiple Jangbodos existed, and even after it was revealed that these organizations had been created after the Sword Dance was named, they refused to give up.

Their greed and ambition were beyond his control.
What was curious about Geommugeuk was this: What if this was a conspiracy by those behind the scenes?

Why did they have to drag these people in?

To naturally draw him here? Even without them, he would have come here. But why did he go to the trouble of spreading multiple maps to lure people in? Even to the point of turning the entire Central Plains upside down?

The gaze of the swordsman turned towards the sword hanging over the skeleton.

“Actually, it’s easy to get that sword.”

Everyone looked surprised at the word easy.

“The problem is what happens after I get that sword.”

After saying something incomprehensible, Geommugeuk slowly walked towards the white bone in the center of the room.

Bloody Heavenly Sword and Ilhwa Sword Master watched the situation tensely. They were ready to jump in at any moment if the situation became dire.
The apparatus they had previously experienced in the room was a truly extraordinary apparatus, requiring enormous amounts of money. They had no idea what other dangers lurked in this room.

But the sword dance was confident of safety.

“There probably won’t be an attack on the agency.”

It seemed as if blades would fly from the ceiling and floor at any moment, but as Geommu-geuk had predicted, the attacks did not come until they reached Baekgol.

The sword dance did not pick up the sword right away, but showed respect by swinging it in front of the bones.

“I don’t know who you are, my senior. Whether you’re a good person or a bad person. Did you come here today, like us, to gain treasure and die? Or did you come for some other reason? I don’t know. But whoever you are, I believe it’s wrong to use you, already reduced to skeletons, in a conspiracy. They will surely pay the price. So, let go of your resentment and rest in peace.”

The moment he finished speaking!

Whack.

The bones collapsed.

People let out a short gasp, as if they understood what the swordsman was saying.

Just as Geommugeuk was bending down to pick up his sword.

Phew.

I felt a breath of poisonous smoke rising from my bones enter my body. It was a poison that had no color or smell, and if I hadn’t been immune to poison, I wouldn’t have even realized I was poisoned.

‘It’s the purple cloud’s true energy poison!’

This was a poison I learned while studying various poisons while assisting the Poison King.
Jaunjinkidok wasn’t a poison that instantly killed the poisoned. It was a poison that activated only when the poisoner exerted extreme internal energy, even unaware of their addiction. When the poison was activated, the entire body turned purple, movements became slow, and the energy and blood became entangled.

It was a supreme poison that took a long time and a huge amount of money to make, but it had no effect on the invincible swordsman Geommugeuk.

If he was trying to kill himself, wouldn’t he have used the Intangible Poison?

It was at that very moment that a ray of electricity flew towards Geommugeuk.

-You are now addicted to poison.

Geommu-geuk slowly turned around, picking up the sword resting on the skeleton.
Everyone was staring at him.
The voice of Jeon-eum wasn’t that of the Iron-faced Man, nor was it that of the Swordsman.

The sword dance sent a message to one of the warriors there.

-How did you know I was addicted?

He was a middle-aged warrior of ordinary appearance and build, standing among the crowd.
He had never made himself known. He was just one of those people who hung out with treasure-crazed people.

His eyes trembled slightly.

-How did you know I sent the telegram?
-Because you were watching me, not the sword.
-!

The man was truly surprised. He hadn’t expected to find himself among these people.

In fact, that wasn’t what Geommugeuk noticed. Even though his back was turned, he knew exactly where the sound was coming from. Geommugeuk’s martial arts skills were beyond common sense.

-Who are you?

Judging by the fact that he’s been poisoned, he doesn’t seem like an enemy.
The man didn’t reveal his identity.

-I have the cancellation policy, so I will give it to you when I have the chance.

The sword dance was clear. The man knew he was the leader of the Cheonma Sect, and he had deep connections with those who created this organization. At the very least, he knew that the poison had been placed in the skeleton.

Then, one of the desperate warriors shouted.

“Quickly, draw that sword!”
“Draw it!”

Geommugeuk slowly drew his sword. The blade revealed itself, radiating a cold aura. At first glance, it was unmistakably a treasured sword.

Letters engraved in bold handwriting on the blade.

Single marriage.

It was the poisoned sword of the peerless master, Danhongaek, who was said to have once been a swordsman. The man who had exchanged words with Geommu-geuk shouted after seeing the inscription on the sword.

“It’s a single sword!”

He was also a man who knew that shouting and being greedy would only make him less noticeable.

When it was revealed that the sword was a single-sword sword, many were shaken. The eyes of the warriors were filled with burning desire.

Yeah, so what if this place is a trap? If only I could get a sword like that and get out!

The sword dance drama poured cold water on that desire.

“There is an institution in this room that is more frightening than the one before.”

Everyone looked around, startled by the sudden announcement. They scanned the walls and the floor, but no matter how hard they searched, there seemed to be no hidden organ.

“Where is the institution?”

To the iron-faced man’s question, Geommu-geuk gave an unexpected answer.

“This organization belongs to you.”

At that moment, when I was making a face like, “What on earth are you talking about?”, the meaning of the sword dance was revealed to me.

“The desire of all of you to possess this sword is the engine of this room.”

The bloody battle to seize the sword meant that this room’s machinery was in fact the very thing that had been operating.
Since these were the people who had waged this bloody war to seize the Jangbodo, it wasn’t an incorrect guess.

“Who will have this sword?”

Everyone wanted to answer, but no one did.
Geommu-geuk asked the iron-faced man.

“Since you’ve guided me to the entrance of this swordsmanship, should you take it? Or should I, who destroyed the previous gate, take it? Or should we all fight and have the strongest take it?”

Everyone was silent. If it hadn’t been for Geommu-geuk, who had the sword in the first place, a fight might have already broken out.

The iron-faced man asked Geommugeuk.

“So? What do you think of the luggage-carrying small group?”

Geommugeuk said, staring intently into the two eyes in Cheolmyeon’s eye sockets.

“Let’s leave it like this. As a show of respect to those who plotted such a despicable scheme, let’s leave this sword where it is and pass on. It doesn’t work as you intended. Let’s show it. That’s the way to destroy this room.”

Perhaps this was even more difficult than the room we had previously passed. We had to destroy the greed of those who were so greedy.

“If you have a better way, please let me know.”

As everyone was lost in thought for a moment, Jihan’s voice came flying in.

-I figured out who the smell was coming from. It was coming from that man in the iron mask.

I suspected the Iron Man and the swordsman, but it was the moment when it was clearly revealed that Iron Man was behind it. Yes, it was the Iron Man who had led the poisoning.

-Good job.

Jihan was delighted by the praise from the Sword Dance Theater. It was the first time since becoming a subordinate that he had truly fulfilled his role.

The sword dance again sent a message to the man who had sent the message before.

-If you don’t want to reveal who we are, at least know our names.

The man hesitated for a moment and then revealed his name.

-I’m Dansojin.
-I’m Geommugeuk.
-I know.

Indeed, he knew who he was.

-Then tell me just this. Who is that man with the scar on his face?

I had a feeling that if it was Dansojin, he would know not only the identity of the man with the iron mask, but also who the swordsman was. Indeed, he knew the identity of the man with the sword.

-He is from the Apostolic Alliance.

The sword dance wasn’t surprised. Considering where this place was, it wasn’t at all surprising that a master of the Apostolic Alliance had come.

This was the tomb of the Apostle’s leader and greatest swordsman, Sado Ilgeom Ju Ga-gu-shin, who was famous three hundred years ago.

The iron-faced man was the mastermind behind the scenes, and the swordsman was the Sado Alliance’s warrior.
Now, the only question was where this Dansojin belonged.

Then the iron-faced man made a decision.

“I will follow the wishes of the burdened Sohyeop. I don’t think we can fight among ourselves here over that one sword.”

Then, the other unmanned individuals eventually followed suit. It wasn’t an atmosphere where one could be greedy and possess everything on their own.

“Okay, let’s go.”

As they were walking towards the door at the back, someone finally threw themselves at the single sword.

In an instant, he snatched up the single-sword sword and leaped into the first room he’d entered.
He couldn’t stand it. If only he could take this sword and go through that door! If only he could!
The single-sword sword, which cuts through the soul, had severed the restraint within his soul.

“No way!”

Other drones rushed toward him. They were furious that I couldn’t have them, and they weren’t the type to let others have them.

In an instant, three people joined forces to attack him. Before he could escape the room, he drew his single-sword sword and swung it.

Clang.

The single sword broke the opponent’s sword in one blow and cut through his torso.

Paat! Paaaaat!

The other two warriors’ swords slashed at his thigh and side.
The man gritted his teeth and swung his single-sword sword again, slashing at the warrior who had struck his thigh. Standing among the ordinary swords, the single-sword sword wielded a truly powerful force.

But his skill was no match for the sword. His sword’s power was limited to cutting down three men.

His movements were halted by a sword that protruded from behind him with a whoosh. There was no regret in his gaze as he gazed at the single-sword sword.

“……Just swing it once and it’ll die.”

After saying that, he collapsed and died.

“You son of a bitch!”

The warrior who killed him seemed to be retrieving the single-sword sword from its scabbard.
He too, leaped toward the entrance he’d passed through. Seeing the blades shatter with every blow, he couldn’t help it.
But he didn’t even have a chance to swing his sword.

Shhh.

A dagger flew like a flash of light and pierced his back.
It was thrown by a warrior with a sword wound on his face.

The fleeing warrior staggered, collapsed, and died.
Coincidentally, his body, clutching his sword, looked no different from the skeleton that had first appeared here.
If anyone were to see him here in the future, they would see the same figure they had seen before.

No one tried to grab the sword anymore.
The iron-faced man opened the door to the next room.
Everyone was startled by the sight before them.

Inside, unmanned figures were fighting each other. They weren’t real people, but life-size puppets. They
were so elaborately crafted that they looked like real people fighting.

At first glance, I assumed it was a reenactment of a fight between swordsmen.
But it wasn’t.

Several people were attacking one person, and surprisingly, the person being attacked was Geommugeuk.

The dolls surrounding and attacking him were the twelve zodiac kings he had faced so far.

From the Mokwang who died in the Murim Alliance, to the Hwanwang and Hwanyeo who died in the Cheonmasingyo, the Tuwang who died in the Sadomaeng, the Blood King who died in the Bukhae Ice Palace, the Salwang who died in the Geumryongsegae, the Kwonwang who died in the Hwangryongmugwan, and the Dark King who died in the Cheonhwaru.

They were attacking Geomwugeuk from all sides. Tree trunks sprouted from the body of the Wood King, and evil spirits burst out from the portals opened in the air by Hwan-wang and Hwan-nyeo.
The Fighting King charged like a mad bull, and the Blood King’s blood splattered everywhere. As the Fist King’s fist flew fiercely, darkness descended around the palanquin carrying the Dark King, and the Sal King leaped through that darkness to attack Geomwugeuk.

Every single detail was meticulously crafted and vivid. It felt like a battle was unfolding right before my eyes.

Since they were all dead, it felt as if these dolls were made to commemorate the dead twelve zodiac kings.

The reason Geommugeuk was surprised wasn’t because he had his own doll. It wasn’t because the dolls surrounding him were the twelve zodiac kings.

A living person stood before the dolls.
He blended in so naturally with them that at first he seemed like a doll.

He stood barefoot, wearing shabby military attire, his hair tied back, and an old iron sword at his waist.

The person best suited to wielding a sword in this martial arts world.

The Sword King, Akgunhak, who had been staring at the doll, turned to Geommugeuk.
He greeted her with a bright smile, and the shoes Geommugeuk had given him as a gift hung from his waist.

“Long time no see, friend.”