Chapter 1811 – 1811. The Ascent Of Gwangmyeong
All eyes turned to me. People looked at me with tense expressions, their eyes filled with a glimmer of hope. Baekran was already freeing the restrained warriors. Thanks to that, it felt like the spotlight was solely on me.
I flicked the bloodless sword once and said to them,
“We’ve fallen into their trap.”
“Sir, do you know exactly what’s happening here?”
Someone asked me.
“Not exactly. But one thing is certain: these bastards are trying to do something with us.”
“Yoo Woon Trading Company… those damn bastards. We shouldn’t have looked for such a suspicious company from the start…!”
“It’s too late for regrets. You have two choices. Either stay sharp and fight the Yoo Woon Trading Company bastards, or do nothing and wait for death. Fortunately, we’re not alone.”
People’s eyes darted around. After looking at each other, they soon picked up their weapons.
“You’re right, sir. We’re already in the tiger’s mouth, so we need to stay sharp.”
“We can’t just die like this.”
“If you are with us… Yoo Woon Trading Company or whatever, they won’t be able to harm us.”
They were burning with fighting spirit. I grinned and said to them,
“There are things we need to do first. Capture and kill those merchants.”
The warriors’ eyes flashed as they chased after the merchants who were trying to escape or hide, swinging their weapons. The merchants who had learned martial arts resisted, but they were no match for the warriors. They weren’t masters like me.
I took advantage of the moment when their attention was off me and squatted down in front of a corpse, rummaging through its pockets. Then, I clicked my tongue.
‘A master only had seven Heavenly Jades… He was a beggar.’
There were no magical artifacts either. Once you reach the realm of Ogi, it’s basic to carry at least one magical artifact. In that sense, it was a bit strange.
‘Either he was someone who had immense faith in his own skills, or… he was someone who couldn’t even afford a magical artifact.’
As I stood up, Baekran approached me.
“You. Are those swords you showed earlier your trump card?”
“That’s right. It’s the power of the magical artifacts I possess.”
“Is it okay to show your life-saving trick so easily?”
“Do you know the saying, ‘If you save it, it turns to poop’?”
“…I don’t know. It’s the first time I’ve heard that. Is it perhaps the name of a technique?”
“It means that if you hoard it, it becomes useless. Whatever it is, you have to use it when you need to.”
“Hmm. It’s a bit of a vulgar term, but it’s not wrong. What are you going to do now?”
“I’ll kill them like before and join the warriors. It’s more advantageous for us if our numbers grow.”
“It won’t be easy. The enemies seem to have noticed the change.”
The warriors were making a commotion as they killed the merchants. It would be stranger if the enemies nearby didn’t notice.
“That’s why we need to increase our numbers before they gather.”
I stepped forward in front of the warriors. The corpses of the dead merchants caught my eye. The corpses had already been looted.
‘There’s no time, so I’ll have to collect them later.’
I shouted to the warriors,
“Let’s go!”
• • •
Ziiiiiiiiing.
An unpleasant sound pierced my eardrums. Immediately after, my body felt heavy. It was as if invisible beings were grabbing my body and dragging me down.
“Die, Lightning Flame Stone!!”
The bastard I was fighting with shouted and approached me. A victorious smile hung on his lips. He was certain of his victory.
[Using a Moment(刹那). Remaining stacks: 8]
I dodged his sword with a Moment. But I couldn’t dodge it completely. The sword, imbued with blue qi, slightly cut my right chest. Blood splattered along with the pain, but I couldn’t stop. If I stopped here, my life would be in danger this time.
Demon Slaying Sword Technique (斬鬼刀法) – Demon Killing Play (鬼殺劇).
I activated the Killing Play.
Demonic energy exploded from me. My muscles expanded, and I was overflowing with power. The blood gushing from my chest also stopped due to the muscles.
I swung my sword. The bastard blocked my sword with his. Sparks flew violently from the clashing swords. I kept swinging my sword. I couldn’t stop now that I had activated the Killing Play. If I stopped, I would die.
As the attacks continued, the bastard retreated further and further. Yet, he was still blocking my sword. As if his concentration had increased, his sword became sharper rather than duller.
I suppressed the urge to use the Thunder Heaven Style or the Demonic Heavenly Divine Art. Baekran was nearby. I didn’t want to show her my cards. At least not until I knew her identity.
‘I need to pick up the tempo.’
Either I die, or he dies. It’s a do-or-die situation.
Bang!
An explosion was heard. The explosion was inside me. I had deliberately detonated my demonic energy to gain momentary power. As a result, my meridians were slightly damaged, but there was no time to worry about such things now.
The bastard lost his balance and staggered from the powerful blow. He bit his lip tightly in a hurry.
Ziiiiiiiiing!
The unpleasant sound from the bastard’s fake teeth stimulated me again. My body became heavy again. The fatigue in my muscles, which had accumulated while using the Killing Play, became a heavy weight, pulling me down.
‘If I stop here, I’ll lose. Do you think I’ll miss this chance!’
[Using a Moment(刹那). Remaining stacks: 7]
Clang!
The fastest strike was blocked. Not only that, but the sword couldn’t withstand it and broke. Even though it was imbued with qi, the opponent was also using qi, so the sword couldn’t hold up. Even qi that could cut rocks like tofu became ordinary in the face of the same qi.
‘I was using it roughly.’
Because it was a simple and crude Demon Slaying Sword Technique, it put more strain on the sword.
The battle didn’t end just because the sword broke. Even if the sword broke, the qi didn’t disappear.
‘The length of the sword has been reduced by half. In this situation… it’s actually better.’
I moved forward. As the distance became very close, it was the bastard who became uncomfortable. He hurriedly took a step back, trying to widen the distance. Of course, I didn’t let him go and rushed at him.
I deflected his sword. Because the distance had narrowed, the sword he swung in his anxiety didn’t have enough power. That was his mistake. The broken sword pierced the bastard’s neck. The battle was over.
I grinned. Dopamine was being released wildly from the thrill of victory. By the way, dopamine is also released during sex.
‘A victory like sex!’
Enjoying the victory, I searched the fallen bastard’s belongings for loot. I got five Heavenly Jades.
‘This bastard’s teeth were a magical artifact.’
I didn’t want to put my hand in a guy’s mouth. And I definitely didn’t want to put those teeth in my mouth.
‘The number of Heavenly Jades left until 700 is 9….’
I looked around. Baekran was approaching me. She looked unscathed.
“You’ve done well. You have many injuries.”
Baekran handed me a small box. I took it and opened it, and there was a single elixir inside. I reflexively narrowed my brow at the unique smell of the medicine.
“What is this?”
“It’s a Blood Ointment Pill (膏血丹). Is it your first time seeing one?”
Blood Ointment Pill. I knew what it was. If you ate a Blood Ointment Pill, you could instantly recover from external and internal injuries. In simple terms, it was a fantasy potion. Of course, there were limits to its healing abilities.
“You’re giving me something precious. It’s more expensive than most elixirs.”
“It’s for emergencies. And isn’t this an emergency situation? We need your strength to safely escape from here. Don’t talk back and eat it now. You’re a mess. Your whole body is covered in blood, and you’ve suffered some internal injuries, haven’t you?”
I used a method of exploding my demonic energy to gain powerful strength in an instant. The advantage of this fighting style was that it was fast and powerful, but the disadvantage was that it slightly damaged the meridians. In other words, the longer the battle, the more dangerous it became.
At her words, I looked down to check my condition. I didn’t think it hurt much, but my clothes were soaked in blood.
I put the Blood Ointment Pill in my mouth. The intense bitterness made the hair on my body stand on end. At the same time, my body tingled, and my wounds began to heal.
“You don’t have a single wound.”
“I was lucky. The guy I fought was weaker than the one you fought.”
I looked around. After several repeated battles, the hundred warriors were exhausted. They needed a little rest.
‘This is perfect. Let’s take this opportunity to find out Baekran’s identity.’
I used my qi to surround the area. Baekran should have noticed the qi barrier, but she didn’t show any reaction.
“The enemies will probably come out with all their strength now.”
“That’s likely. The enemies must have suffered considerable losses, so they’ll want to quickly recover.”
“Before the end, let me ask you. What’s your identity?”
“Are you suspecting me of being an enemy?”
“You’re probably not an enemy. You’ve killed quite a few enemies… But it’s true that your identity is suspicious. Why don’t you reveal it?”
“A wanderer from the Imperial Palace. Would you believe that?”
“Would you believe it if you were me?”
“You wouldn’t. In the first place, it’s strange for a swordsman from the Imperial family to be a wanderer.”
That was the strangest thing.
In this continent ruled by the Emperor, the Imperial Palace was the best place to work. A swordsman with experience working in the Imperial Palace? Any force would be eager to recruit them. If she wanted, she could join the Martial Alliance or the Demonic Cult.
“I’ll tell you my identity. But you have to tell me yours. Isn’t that fair?”
“My identity? You already know my identity. I’m Lightning Flame Stone.”
“Fine, then. Let’s not pry into each other’s identities and focus on surviving.”
Does she know about me?
‘There are a few things related to the Namgung Clan. Like the Manmu Tower. But that was a long time ago, and my face wouldn’t be that well-known.’
This world is vast. And civilization isn’t that advanced. There were no things like photographs. People could draw faces, but I wasn’t a wanted criminal.
I pondered deeply. It might be better not to ask about Baekran’s identity.
‘No, I have to know. I have to know to strategize.’
It was too late to back down now that she was such a beauty. If I wanted to get closer to her, I couldn’t back down here.
“Baekran. What’s your identity?”
Tzzzzzzzzzz.
Baekran peeled off the human skin mask she was wearing as if tearing it off. She threw it on the floor as if she no longer needed such a mask.
“I am Baekran. A First-Class Imperial Guard (一級錦衛).”
