## Chapter 336 – The Martial Artist Bastards
The spiky, crimson hair like a lion’s mane and the scars on her face suited her well enough. However, unlike that violent, assassin-like aura, her shapely figure and large breasts were quite unbalanced, and her attire—a cheongsam-do bok hybrid—wasn’t that either, but rather revealing hot pants and a tube top, which emphasized her femininity to a serious degree.
But regardless of all that, she was skilled enough to chew up any ordinary warrior.
—Lisette, a high-ranking instructor at the Martial Artist Guild.
She appeared from behind and called out to me.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t you, you little shit. What the hell did you do to my business?”
A thick killing intent emanated from her as she spoke, thoroughly annoyed.
And it was some seriously deluxe killing intent. As I examined her, I noticed a menacing claw hanging behind her buttocks. Leaving aside her outfit, which seemed to offer zero defense, she definitely made sure to bring a weapon.
Alright.
—Perfect timing.
I lowered my voice and quietly told Lina to go her own way and live diligently in the mountains. Sensing the unusual atmosphere, Lina bowed deeply and ran off as if fleeing.
“I’ve been looking all over for you, you bastard. I went to collect the protection money, and what? Some black-skinned savage wrecked the place? I get there, and oh, shit, everyone’s dead. Not a single penny left, you crazy son of a bitch.”
It seemed Lisette had come to collect the protection money and found out about what happened today. Since I have such a distinctive appearance, she probably beat up a few slum dwellers to quickly extract information.
“So, you’re the culprit.”
From the start, rumors had been circulating that an entire organization in the district had been crushed. Lisette, having found out about this, seemed to have concluded that I was the culprit and had been running around looking for me.
…She thought and acted similarly to me.
So, it wasn’t strange that we met.
Did she track me down in the time I spent kissing Lady Risha? I placed my hand on the hilt of my sword, glared at Lisette, and scanned for an opening.
“I distinctly remember saying it was my territory… I thought you were a decent guy, so I shared a way to earn some pocket money, and you stab me in the back? What a total thug.”
“Thug?”
“What?”
No, the thug isn’t me, it’s you, Lisette.
I definitely thought of you as a侠客 (xiákè, wandering knight-errant). But now that I know the truth, I can confidently say to her:
“The thug isn’t me, it’s you.”
You’re not a侠客, but a hoodlum.
“Huh?”
“Yeah, just like you guessed, I did it. I crushed them all.”
“This crazy bastard is so brazen? Are you out of your mind?”
“That’s what I want to say, you hoodlum.”
Lisette wasn’t a侠客 or anything of the sort, but just a simple hoodlum. As I said that, Lisette widened her eyes and scoffed in disbelief.
“Hoodlum? Oh, please. Seriously. Shit. Am I really in a situation where I have to hear that from you?”
“Of course, you have to, you fucking bitch.”
Even as she listened to me, Lisette didn’t show any signs of equipping her claws or anything. But… I still couldn’t see any openings to attack.
She seemed to be standing there defenselessly, but the moment I moved, she would counterattack.
As expected of a high-ranking instructor.
“What? Pocket money?”
I scoffed as well.
“Do you even know what you’ve done?”
“What did I do?”
Lisette didn’t seem to feel any guilt about what she had done. From now on, I’ll enlighten her about her wrongdoings.
As Kim Kat, the one-day ethics teacher.
“Do you even know how much innocent people have suffered because of your shitty pocket money scheme?”
“Innocent people? Are you out of your mind from the heat?”
“No, you fucking listen to me until the end.”
“…”
Her eyes narrowed at my outburst, and she crossed her arms, looking at me. Her breasts resting on her forearms… they were quite large indeed. Should I aim for that as a weakness?
No, that’s not the point. Lisette’s outfit is too much.
How can she walk around wearing just a tube top when her breasts are so big? More than that, her firmly toned legs were also fully exposed in hot pants.
I don’t know if she’s just confident or showing off her sexiness, but going into the slums looking like that won’t end well.
She’ll definitely be subjected to lustful gazes from men starved for sex. Of course, she could beat up an entire company of those guys by herself, though.
“…Because of you taking protection money, violent gangs ran rampant. They were afraid of being killed by you, so they extorted money from powerless slum dwellers and children.”
I spoke as if summarizing her sins.
“It’s all because of your pocket money scheme.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
—Doubt.
But Lisette merely wore a doubtful expression.
“So what if that happened? What, do you think I’m the thug now instead of you?”
“That’s right, you bitch. After hearing that story, you still don’t know what you did wrong?”
“I don’t know, you fucking bastard? It’s so absurd, it’s not just unbelievable, it’s even funny. Keep talking.”
It’s not that she doesn’t understand, but that she just doesn’t think it’s a sin. Lisette spoke arrogantly, as if looking down on me.
“Innocent victims were created because of the protection money you took.”
“Oh my god.”
And then she’s genuinely surprised.
“This guy is more virtuous than I thought? No. You just slaughtered a bunch of kids and took all their possessions, and now you’re saying that? That’s hilarious, you son of a bitch. What? Innocent victims?”
—Clink.
Lisette moved her hand behind her buttocks and untied the string holding the claw.
“Okay, fine, maybe some innocent victims were created because of my business. So what if they were? Did you suffer any damage? Originally, you get taken advantage of if you’re weak, you know? You should know that, right? Or did you kill people and go crazy, so you’ve turned over a new leaf or something?
Even in that moment, I couldn’t find an opening. Just like when I was talking, she was also stretching, like cracking her neck, as she continued her long speech.
“That’s so cool, you son of a bitch. Oh, a knight in shining armor has appeared? I’m about to fall in love.”
“Damn? But it’s going to be difficult even if you fall in love.”
“Liar, you piece of shit.”
“I know, you bastard. I was just joking.”
Well, considering Lisette’s many past actions, it’s a valid point.
—The weak get taken advantage of.
In this world, if you’re weak, you have no choice but to be taken advantage of. It’s inevitable, and it’s a natural thing, so I completely agree. In that sense, Lisette hasn’t done anything particularly wrong.
Exploiting the weak to make money is practically a virtue. Except for the people who were directly affected, everyone would probably say Lisette is right.
Even I think she’s right.
“Anyway, so what? What? The damage to innocent people? I want to tell you not to even bother saying that. You’re not the kind of guy to talk about such foolish justice, are you? So, what damage did you suffer? Huh?”
But.
“Hey, you fucking Lisette.”
“What?”
The reason I’m raising hell is.
“Of course, I’m raising hell because I suffered damage, you fucking bitch.”
I’m raising hell entirely because I suffered damage.
In fact, I don’t care about innocent victims or anything like that. Exploiting the weak is a natural thing. I don’t care about that kind of thing.
It’s just that I.
This Kim Kat suffered damage.
That’s the only problem.
I suffered damage because of Lisette’s actions. It’s the most heinous thing that could ever happen in this world.
As I said that, Lisette looked at me in disbelief.
“You suffered damage? What, don’t tell me you got scammed by those kids?”
“There’s no way that would happen.”
“Then?”
There’s no way I would get scammed.
Lina got scammed.
“My little sister got scammed. By your gang members.”
“You had a little sister?”
“Do you have a mom?”
“I do.”
“I have a little sister too.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”
The story keeps going off on a tangent.
“Anyway, my little sister got scammed out of money by some gang members, and when I investigated, I found out you were at the very top.”
There are scamming gangsters everywhere in the world, so I just thought it was one of those organizations. How many of those organizations are there? But it turned out it was an organization under Lisette.
Who would have known she had set up a business to that extent?
She was even using a three-story building.
“So, I crushed them all.”
As I finished the story, Lisette apologized.
“Oh… I’m a little sorry about that. You should have protected your little sister better. But what? You killed them all just because she got scammed? I wouldn’t even do that.”
“This bitch is trying to deny it. I heard you killed a lot of people too?”
“I did kill a few guys who didn’t listen. And you thug. How would they know she was your little sister? If they knew, they wouldn’t have done it. Just get the money back and end it, why wreck my business over something like that? You son of a bitch, I can’t forgive this.”
“I don’t care about any of that.”
There’s no need for reasons or rationality.
You can’t live in this world by considering cause and effect.
If I suffered damage, and it was done by opponents weaker than me, there’s no need for explanations. I can just do as I please. That’s why the gang members were massacred.
“The important thing is that I suffered damage.”
“Well… I guess so. The more I see you, the more I like your ideology. Yeah, if you’ve been hurt, you have to bite back to the end. You have a great spirit for a thug.”
“I would have liked your ideology too if it wasn’t for my little sister.”
—Clink.
Lisette fiddles with her claw.
“Well, anyway, now… I’ve been hurt too. So, I just have to do the same as you, right?”
Lisette, having fully equipped her claw, said as if declaring war. That’s right. Her business was crushed because of me. There’s no need for cause and effect or reasons.
If a fight is picked, you respond to it.
There’s no need for rationality or reason.
When you have to fight, you have to fight.
She really seems to be living with similar thoughts as me.
“Words are.”
Words are useless.
“Unnecessary, right?”
“Come at me.”
“Prepare to die, you thug.”
A cold chill emanates from the murderous claw blades.
Could it be made of a pretty good material? It was a weapon that really suited her ferocious impression. Taking a stance, she lowered her body as if she would pounce at any moment.
“You’re the one who’s going to die here.”
I also drew my sword and countered her words, unfolding the murderous Siljang Sword Technique.
“I’m going.”
“Come.”
Would we be able to settle this by fighting with our mouths?
Lisette’s figure blurred for a moment.
—Whoosh!
I had been trying to find the timing to ambush her while talking, but as expected, I couldn’t see any openings. In the end, there’s no choice but to face her head-on.
Honestly, the situation isn’t good.
I had consumed stamina and mana by slaughtering twenty thugs earlier, and more than that, I had wasted about half of my remaining mana by using Siljang Slash on that bastard Mersin.
I’m not in perfect condition.
From the start, I felt like I would be at a disadvantage even if I was in perfect condition… but this is the situation I’m in.
But the fight has already begun.
Can I win?
No.
I will win.
—Swoosh!!!!
Lisette, leading with her claws, closed the distance in an instant.
Fast. She’s incredibly fast. She was faster than when we fought at the Martial Artist Guild, and more than that, she was in a very murderous mood because she was armed.
Two claws with three blades each.
Those blades felt like the claws of a strong bear.
—Solid and sharp.
With Lisette’s skill, it probably wouldn’t be difficult for her to tear through my armor. Just like I use mana, she must be using it too.
“You’re dead, you son of a bitch.”
But.
I have the sword and armor that I trust.
If I’ve fully equipped my gear.
—I won’t lose.
Don’t think you can beat me in those flimsy clothes.
“How dare a martial artist try to beat a swordsman.”
In a space where time seemed to have stopped, I captured Lisette’s movements. The claws, extending at a very high speed, were clearly aiming for my head.
I have to deflect those blades.
Then what about the claw in her other hand?
“Siljang Sword Technique.”
—Crack!
As I extended my sword to block the claw, sharp metal rubbed against each other, creating sparks. Her wicked smile was reflected in the sparks that flew fiercely like summer fireworks.
I blocked one, but the other claw immediately flew in.
Is this Lisette’s surefire strategy?
—However.
I am a swordsman and.
A martial artist.
“Siljang Fist Technique—!”
