Seo Yeong (2): The Mad Warrior's Defiant End
Thud crash!!!
Seo Yeong simply tumbled off his horse in a clean fall, sprawling flat on the ground.
Rolling without any proper landing technique through the mud churned with dirt and corpses all around looked painful just to watch.
"Urgh... hngh...!"
But Seo Yeong was a fierce general of the Western Liang. He sprang right back up without missing a beat. In one hand, a hand axe; in the other, a sword—gripped simultaneously as he rose.
Seo Yeong
Level 15
Dong Zhuo's Forces
This was a duel against Seo Yeong, the gatekeeper character for combat types.
"Fine!!! I'll kill you for sure!!!"
Seeing his prized chariot fully flipped and rolling on the ground, Seo Yeong bellowed in rage.
"Wouldn't it be better to stop our alliance army heading to the capital instead of wasting time on me?"
I said with a grin.
It was as expected. Seo Yeong took the words as an insult and flew into a fury.
"I'll smash your guts and feed them to my horse!!!"
Declaring his firm commitment to organic fertilizer, Seo Yeong charged across the battlefield like a madman.
Shiiiing!!
The first strike was a swift sword slash.
Clang!
I calmly parried the slash and created a bit of distance.
Induce his patterns.
If I opened up too much distance, Seo Yeong would stretch his arm fully and bring down his axe in a massive vertical chop. It was an overwhelming strike that could end in screams of death if it connected, but its large, predictable motion made it easy to counter.
For me, now wielding the Taeguk Sword, it was perfect for triggering Flowing Water.
"Die!!"
As expected. The moment distance opened a little, Seo Yeong swung his battle hand axe in a huge arc.
Whoooosh!!
The axe came flying at my head with enough force to split it clean open.
Cliiing!!!!!!
I tilted my sword slightly to deflect the attack.
He staggered.
Seo Yeong's balance shook for a moment, but I immediately followed with a sword strike.
Cling!!
Seo Yeong barely raised his sword to block my slash.
That drained more than half his stamina bar.
Good thing I got the Taiping Essentials.
He was just a guy who spammed heavy hits, making him extremely vulnerable to techniques like Flowing Water.
Seo Yeong's real strength was his horse. Tricky on the chariot, but on foot in a duel, he was manageable.
"Raaargh!!!"
Seo Yeong let out a beastly roar and thrust his sword at my throat.
Cliiing!!
I parried again, creating distance. It looked like I was just scared and backing off, but really, it was to force his choices.
With me pulling away, Seo Yeong had to either close in or go big.
"Hyaah!!!"
Once more, he raised his axe for an overhead smash.
Chaaaaang!!!
I deflected it with Flowing Water again, reset to middle guard, and swung at Seo Yeong's shoulder well.
Clang!!!!
The explosive clash of our swords rang out briefly, but through the status window, I saw Seo Yeong's stamina hit rock bottom.
Thud!!
His body crumpled hard, sprawling forward.
The moment his stance collapsed, my follow-up slash hit his shoulder dead-on.
Spluuurt!!
Beyond the feel of slicing flesh and muscle, the impact of shattering bone jolted up my arm.
"Gaaargh!!!"
Seo Yeong screamed like a beast and wildly swung his axe.
But with his shoulder smashed, the attack had no power.
Shing.
Splatter!!
I cleaved straight through the wrist of his axe arm.
"Urk!!"
Seo Yeong's arm rolled cleanly across the ground.
"Farewell."
No real grudge against the guy, but he was the enemy—solid justification. Plus, he was a stepping stone for growth.
"You bastard...!!!"
But Seo Yeong's last stand exceeded expectations.
Even with his arm severed, he hauled his massive frame up for a body slam.
"Fuck...!!"
My body was shoved back in an instant. They say dying men unleash superhuman strength, and it seemed true.
"Die...!!!"
Seo Yeong bared his teeth, lunging to bite my throat with every ounce of force. Clear intent to take my head with him.
"Tch!!!"
Too close for a clean sword strike. So I just shoved him back with all my might using my core.
Against an armless Seo Yeong, my strength had the edge.
Bam!!!
His body flew back, crashing down.
It would've been a painful enough death as is, but sadly, Seo Yeong's luck ran out.
Among the corpses littering the battlefield, one lay dead gripping a spear. Trampled into the mud, half-buried with the spear.
Seo Yeong's bulk landed squarely on the angled spear.
Spluuuurt!!!!
His massive body was impaled clean through.
"Fuck...."
Even I, numb to slicing humans, felt a twinge of sympathy at the gruesome sight.
"Guh... hack...."
Blood gushed from Seo Yeong's mouth in spurts.
I was a bastard too, but watching someone writhe in agony didn't sit right. Sword in hand, I closed in to grant a quick end—slash the throat.
But Seo Yeong did something unexpected.
Thud.
With his good arm, he weakly punched my chest.
Thud. Thud.
The punches kept coming.
"I... I resisted to the end.... I'm the finest warrior of the Western Liang.... Far superior to scum like you...."
Seo Yeong glared with bloodshot eyes.
Thud. Thud.
"The spot at Lord Dong Zhuo's side suits... none but me... Seo... Yeong...."
Unable to finish, he spat a thick clot of blood.
"I... I won.... No matter what anyone says, I beat you...."
His voice tinged with delirium, then his body went limp. That was Seo Yeong's end.
"Yeah. Congrats, you lunatic. You win."
Stunned by his madness, I muttered it without thinking.
What a psycho. What the hell kind of place was the Western Liang? The thought hit naturally.
You have reached Level 14.
But the status window's good news quickly normalized my mood. Taking down Seo Yeong bumped me to level 14.
Other stats and proficiencies rose decently too. Way better than grinding trash mobs.
Swordsmanship jumped the most.
Flowing Water itself boosted sword proficiency nicely. Now in the mid-30s, closing in on 40.
And even better news.
[Defeat an enemy general in single combat.]
[Slay 500+ enemies of equal or higher level.]
Specific conditions unlocked the Taeguk Sword's skill tree.
Jackpot.
Unlocking two skills at once from the Taeguk Sword—which had no throwaways—was a massive boon.
Even in a game, grinding this hard wouldn't be easy.
Thanks, Liu Bei Army...
The Liu Bei forces were total shit, but all the fights piled up real combat XP.
Of course, true to form, I'd rack up the creds and bail. Hanging with Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Liu Bei was fun... but good is good, and survival's my own job. I'd escape. Probably.
I browsed the status window like online shopping, gleefully unlocking skills.
In the razor-edge duels dancing on the border of life and death, you've mastered efficient human-slaying techniques. But this is no butcher's craft—it's the mercy of a true warrior, granting painless ends.
A nice little gain for quick head-chops on staggered foes in melees, plus slight health recovery on executions boosted sustain.
This game, unlike other action titles, has no invincibility during finishers.
Enemies could interrupt your flashy execution animations. Super realistic... or shitty game design. Either way, faster executions were huge in chaos. Great skill. Not amazing, but solid.
Through countless battles, you've learned to transmit force's ripple fully to the enemy. A technique piercing armor with blade's edge, aligned with the Taeguk Sword's principles.
Standard armor-pierce skill. Penetration wasn't huge, but it kept me viable against heavy plates. Plenty valuable.
Just scanning the status window filled my gamer dopamine tank. This was healing.
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Meanwhile, Sun Jian and Sun Ce watched Kim's bloody duel with Seo Yeong, eyes wide.
They'd told Kim's side to advance first, but curiosity about his fight held them. They watched the duel spellbound.
Strong.
His sharp instincts targeting horse over chariot, and deflecting the charge with mere sword—impressive skill.
But that was secondary.
He doesn't lose mercy even against enemies.
After killing Seo Yeong, Kim stood silently in tribute. Retaining a shred of compassion amid blood and madness—a model warrior.
A splendid warrior.
Sun Jian felt admiration for this man Kim. Yearning to rampage the battlefield beside him, his muscles and blood surged hot.
Son Sun Ce shared the awe, staring fixedly at Kim.
The plan to boost Kim's affinity with Sun Jian's army had succeeded.