Chapter 72
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: King of the Green Forest (3)
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“What do you think you're doing?”
Maeng Yo frowned as Jinmyeong's sword ceased its attack.
“Wasn't that your chance to kill me?”
“It was. But that's not what's important right now.”
From the beginning, Jinmyeong had no intention of taking Maeng Yo's life.
He had fought Maeng Yo simply because he wanted to test his own skills a little more.
Maeng Yo was reputed to possess a martial prowess similar to the Purple Mist Sword, so he had only wanted to see how much he had improved.
“Are you looking down on me?”
“It's not that. I'm telling you, I never intended to kill you.”
Jinmyeong said, continuing to gaze down the cliff.
*Whoooosh!*
Just then, a chilling wind blew up from below.
*'Don't tell me I have to go down there?'*
Staring down the bottomless cliff sent a shiver down his spine.
*'Now I see why characters in novels fall off cliffs and everyone just leaves without even checking for a body.'*
He wondered how he was supposed to find the cave Gang Muhwi had entered on this cliff.
“What is it? Are you planning to jump off?”
“I'm thinking about it.”
“Don't tell me you came to the Green Forest Mountains just to die?”
It seemed Maeng Yo had come to that conclusion since Jinmyeong had stopped fighting to inspect the cliff.
“I'm not trying to kill myself.”
“Then why are you staring at the cliff? In the middle of a fight, no less.”
It seemed Maeng Yo was less concerned about Jinmyeong's potential suicide and more displeased that the fight had been stopped just as it was getting exciting.
“You've already lost anyway.”
“What did you say?”
“Look at you. You look like you could drop dead at any moment.”
The areas struck by the Heavenly Demon's Finger were red and swollen, and wounds were visible through the tears in his clothes.
However, none of the many wounds were deep, so his clothes were not stained with blood.
*'What an absurdly tough body.'*
Maeng Yo was a master, so he was surely enveloped in protective energy, but Jinmyeong's sword was also imbued with the energy of white flames.
This showed just how sturdy Maeng Yo's body was.
“Hmph! If I had been serious, your pathetic attacks wouldn't have left a single scratch.”
“Oh? For someone who says that, don't you have a lot of wounds?”
“I merely took those hits to feel your attacks.”
“For someone who says that, your movements sure slowed down a lot.”
Jinmyeong and Maeng Yo growled at each other.
Two masters who had reached the divine realm began to bicker like children.
“So, it seems you really didn't come for my head.”
“I told you I didn't.”
Maeng Yo was the first to back down.
Seeing Jinmyeong recall his controlled swords, Maeng Yo licked his lips.
The duel with Jinmyeong had been quite enjoyable.
He had been fighting to his heart's content for the first time in a while, and he was secretly disappointed that it was ending so anticlimactically.
“After you find what you're looking for, can you fight me again?”
“We'll see. I can't guarantee I'll find it today, and even if I do, I won't fight right away.”
Jinmyeong said this while continuing to survey the cliff below.
*'How far down do I have to go?'*
Gang Muhwi, who fell off the cliff while fighting Maeng Yo, had fallen for a long time.
Then, he had accidentally discovered a cave and somehow managed to move toward it.
He had slowed his descent by hitting the cliff face and using things like protruding tree branches.
*'I'm not about to fall and not be able to get back up.'*
He had no intention of going down without knowing the exact location.
“You're not leaving?”
“I want to see what you're planning to do.”
If Maeng Yo weren't there, he might have tied a rope and tried to descend, but with him watching, he couldn't do that.
Maeng Yo didn't seem like the type, but what if he cut the rope?
“How about this? If you continue our duel, I'll help you find what you're looking for.”
“As if you know what I'm looking for.”
“Well, I don't. But since you're staring at the cliff, aren't you looking for some kind of medicinal herb on it?”
“...It's not something like that, but.”
Jinmyeong didn't know what to do.
*'I came here too hastily.'*
He had underestimated the cliffs of the Green Forest Mountains.
Seeing it in person, he was in awe of the protagonist's heavenly luck in finding the cave.
*'Is the only way Void-Walking?'*
With Void-Walking, the pinnacle of movement arts, he could search this place without any worry.
However, the movement art known as Void-Walking had never once appeared in this novel, from beginning to end.
Even the protagonist couldn't perform Void-Walking.
Void-Walking was something like the ultimate movement art that the martial artists of this novel only imagined.
*'Just because it didn't appear in the novel doesn't mean it's impossible, but...'*
He wasn't one to give up on a legendary realm just because it was a legend.
It would just take too long to become capable of performing Void-Walking.
*'Sword Flight.'*
That's why Jinmyeong chose a different method instead of the uncertain Void-Walking.
Sword Flight.
Simply put, it was the technique of riding a controlled sword to fly.
Of course, it had the advantage of allowing one to fly, but that was it, so it was an impractical technique.
*'It's faster than normal movement arts, but the internal energy consumption is too severe.'*
Besides, it wasn't overwhelmingly faster than other movement arts.
Thus, Sword Flight was generally perceived as a flashy, impractical technique, used mainly to show off one's martial prowess.
But here, it would be incredibly useful.
He could use Sword Flight to move around the cliff and search for the cave.
Moreover, with Jinmyeong's overflowing internal energy, it wouldn't be a problem at all.
*'The only problem is, I don't know if I can perform it perfectly yet.'*
Jinmyeong hadn't really given Sword Flight much thought before, so he wasn't sure if he could execute it perfectly.
To be precise, he didn't know if he could balance on a sword moving at incredible speeds while controlling it with finesse.
So, he planned to practice Sword Flight a bit more and then return.
*'I've roughly memorized the location.'*
Having organized his thoughts, Jinmyeong started to move back down the mountain.
“Why are you following me?”
“I intend to follow you.”
“...Do you even know where I'm going?”
“I do not. But since our match isn't settled, I'll follow you until it is.”
Maeng Yo was determined to follow Jinmyeong blindly.
“If you want it that badly, should we settle it right now?”
“Hmph. It seems your internal energy is also depleted, so we can postpone it.”
“My internal energy is fine. Let's just finish this now.”
As Jinmyeong brought out the five controlled swords he had recalled, Maeng Yo quickly moved forward.
“Hmph! You should gratefully accept my goodwill!”
He spoke as if he were doing Jinmyeong a favor, but in reality, his own body was not in peak condition, so he likely wanted to avoid a duel for now.
“It's not because I'm afraid of you! This only happened because I deliberately took your attacks with my body!”
Maeng Yo often took attacks he could have dodged with his body.
This was evident from the fact that when he moved with intent, even Jinmyeong found him fast.
*'I thought he was just taking the hits because he was too lazy to dodge.'*
That might have been true at first, but Maeng Yo must have realized it was getting difficult to endure.
So, he likely planned to fight Jinmyeong again after his body had recovered.
While avoiding taking hits on purpose, like he had been.
*'Was he planning to follow me from the start?'*
He had wondered why Maeng Yo didn't attack while he was contemplating the cliff; it seemed he had an ulterior motive.
“Are you really going to follow me?”
“I am.”
“What about the Green Forest? Aren't you its master?”
“The Green Forest won't collapse just because I'm gone. I'm just leaving my post for a short while.”
All Maeng Yo did in the Green Forest was drink, play, and train his martial arts every day.
His subordinates handled all matters concerning the Green Forest, so there would be no problems even if he was absent.
“With the King of the Green Forest away, won't people try to wipe out the Green Forest?”
“Well. I don't think so.”
Of course, Maeng Yo, the King of the Green Forest, was a powerful master, but the Green Forest was not so weak as to crumble just because he was gone.
The true strength of the Green Forest lay in the bandits scattered across the central plains, who reappeared no matter how many times they were killed.
“Fine. Do as you please.”
“Khuhuhu. It seems you've given up.”
“Just behave. If you cause any trouble, I'll send you back.”
“I am not a child, so do not worry.”
Jinmyeong quietly watched the laughing Maeng Yo.
Being told not to worry made him worry even more.
He felt certain that Maeng Yo would cause some kind of trouble.
“But I didn't expect you to stop just because I did.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean you didn't launch a surprise attack while I was looking over the cliff.”
“There's no need for cowardly acts like surprise attacks. I would win even in a fair fight.”
Maeng Yo laughed, full of confidence.
“Besides, since you have no intention of killing me, there's no reason for me to do so either, is there?”
Considering the King of the Green Forest's infamous reputation, one would think he'd kill all his opponents, but from what he said, that didn't seem to be the case.
“You only kill opponents who are after your life?”
“Not necessarily, but I didn't want to kill you.”
Following Jinmyeong down the Green Forest Mountains, Maeng Yo was still grinning.
“I feel like fighting you would be fun no matter how many times we do it.”
“...”
“It's rare to find an opponent I can fight so freely these days.”
And into that tedious situation, a master like Jinmyeong had appeared.
Furthermore, knowing they weren't aiming for each other's lives meant they could duel any number of times.
“Wouldn't that help our martial arts develop?”
“Yes. You're right about everything.”
Jinmyeong sighed and shook his head as if he had nothing more to say.
“Still, you have to go back when I tell you to.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Maeng Yo scowled at Jinmyeong's words.
He looked as if he might swing his axe at Jinmyeong at any moment.
“You know who I am.”
“The New Demonic Sword Controller.”
“So you're going to follow me all the way to the Divine Cult?”
“Ah!”
Only after the Divine Cult was mentioned did Maeng Yo understand what Jinmyeong was saying.
“That doesn't sound so bad.”
“...Are you saying you'll become my subordinate?”
“That's a different story. But if you wish, I can lend you my strength. As long as you keep me entertained.”
Hearing Maeng Yo's words, Jinmyeong fell into thought.
He had planned to send Maeng Yo back at the right time because of Gang Muhwi's fortuitous encounter.
But if he could gain Maeng Yo's strength, wouldn't that change things?
*'He gains so many fortuitous encounters anyway, would missing this one really cause a problem?'*
The protagonist had so many lucky breaks that the ones he got early on weren't even mentioned later.
In the end, the protagonist ultimately used the martial arts he learned from his master anyway.
“Don't go back on your word later.”
“Khuhu. Don't worry. All you have to do is keep me entertained.”
In the end, something completely unexpected happened to Jinmyeong.
The worst-case scenario of confronting and fighting the King of the Green Forest had occurred, but it turned into a blessing in disguise as he managed to recruit him.
*'Now I really don't know what's going to happen.'*
Unlike before, his actions had now changed the protagonist's destiny.
But for some reason, Jinmyeong found this turn of events strangely amusing and couldn't help but smile.