Chapter 372: The Fist Asks, the Sword Answers.
Chapter 372: The Fist Asks, the Sword Answers.
The moment of the decisive battle that would determine the fate of the Unorthodox Path Alliance had finally arrived.
A Baek Ja-gang standing still and a Baek Ja-gang with his sword drawn were two entirely different men.
The surrounding air began to shift. Baek Ja-gang had begun to bend the very atmosphere to his will.
Beon Cheon and the 1st Wolf moved their subordinates far back. No one was permitted to interfere in a duel between the Alliance Leader and the Combat King—and frankly, no one possessed the skill to do so anyway.
Bi Sa-in stood beside Geom Mu-geuk, silently watching the two masters.
This was the first time he was witnessing his master engage in a life-and-death struggle. He believed his master would win, of course. Yet, the reason he trembled was not because he doubted the Leader’s strength.
It was because this was the path he himself had to walk. One day, when he became the Leader of the Unorthodox Path Alliance, a day like this would come for him as well.
What kind of man would he be when he finally stood in that position?
Geom Mu-geuk felt his Heavenly Demon Body Protection Art activate on its own. His protection art, which had reached Great Achievement, was warning him that he was standing in a space dominated by another. His mind and his martial arts had finally reached a state of oneness.
Mu-geuk’s gaze shifted toward the Combat King. If he could feel the change in the air, the Combat King surely felt it too.
Now, what will you do?
The Combat King slowly raised his hands.
Pang!
He struck his left palm forcefully with his right fist. It was the same gesture he had made when he first confronted the warriors of the Unorthodox Path Alliance.
Doooong!
A ripple erupted from the Combat King’s hands, shaking the flow of air that Baek Ja-gang had seized.
However, the space did not shatter.
Paaaang!
The surroundings vibrated with an even louder resonance. He tried to wedge his own momentum into any gap he could find to reclaim the atmosphere, but the domain Baek Ja-gang had established remained absolute. The space itself seemed to declare:
From this moment on, you breathe only with my permission.
Even so, the Combat King was not intimidated. He had his own secret technique to counter his opponent’s momentum. He focused his mind. Suddenly, everyone in his vision except for Baek Ja-gang began to fade into black and white.
Only his target, Baek Ja-gang, retained his original colors, while everyone else became monochromatic shades, like an ink wash painting.
That wasn't all. Within that black-and-white world, if someone drew a sword or circulated internal energy, that specific area would glow a vivid red. This allowed him to instantly identify the most dangerous threats even in a space filled with hundreds of people.
It was a secret technique forged through grueling concentration training.
But today, he experienced something extraordinary.
There was one person he could not strip of color. Even though he wasn't the primary target, the man who remained in full, vibrant color was Geom Mu-geuk.
No matter how hard he tried to suppress the man's presence, Mu-geuk’s colors would not fade. The boy’s presence was overpowering his own concentration.
‘How is this possible?’
As the Combat King stared at Geom Mu-geuk, the gazes of the Unorthodox Path Alliance warriors naturally followed. Their eyes were filled with goodwill. After all, Mu-geuk was the man who had saved their lives today.
The Combat King looked around at the corpses of his subordinates and spoke calmly.
“You were the variable that created this result.”
Mu-geuk replied, “How is their death my fault? It is because of you, who plotted to swallow the Unorthodox Path Alliance. It is because of the greed of those who joined hands with you. And it is because of the will of these people here, who risked their lives to fight you for the sake of the Alliance and their comrades.”
Mu-geuk was seeing right through the Combat King’s heart.
“Weren't you planning to kill all those subordinates to silence them once you became the Alliance Leader anyway?”
The man had planned a heroic tale of an instructor from the Unorthodox Alliance Hall rising to the position of Alliance Leader. There was no way he would leave those involved in the coup alive.
“That’s why you can be so calm.”
The Combat King could not deny it. It was the truth. The moment he became the Leader, he had intended to discard everything and fill the world with something new.
“So stop blaming others and meet your end gracefully at the Leader’s hands.”
Mu-geuk bowed his head toward Baek Ja-gang.
“I leave it to you, then.”
He made the request formally, as if only the Leader was worthy of this task.
“Only you, Leader, can eliminate this man.”
In front of all the subordinates, Mu-geuk showed the utmost respect and etiquette. Baek Ja-gang suddenly remembered something Mu-geuk had told him before.
—My honor does not lie in looking cool. I want to return safely and see my people. I want to return safely to drink wine and share stories with them.
Baek Ja-gang glanced at Bi Sa-in. Yes, he too had a reason to return.
The moment Mu-geuk finished speaking, the Combat King saw it. The color finally drained from Mu-geuk’s body. He was completely entrusting the fight to the Alliance Leader and suppressing his own presence.
‘Truly incredible!’
The Combat King stretched his body as if waking from a nap. He felt good. As long as opponents like these existed, he could fight like a madman. When he thought of the immense euphoria he would feel upon killing such men, he felt a burning desire to win by any means necessary.
Pang! Pang! Paaang!
The sound of his fist hitting his palm echoed like war drums, heightening the Combat King’s momentum.
In this fight, Baek Ja-gang did not yield the first move.
He did not view his opponent as a martial artist, but as an assassin. Knowing the man would stoop to any depth, he intended to leave no openings.
In a flash, Baek Ja-gang’s figure blurred. He was already thrusting his sword at the Combat King’s throat.
Shiiiiiik!
It was a lethal strike.
Ttang!
The Combat King flicked the blade away with his finger and threw a punch at Baek Ja-gang’s chest.
Baek Ja-gang’s sword, which had been flicked away, returned like a coiled spring, sweeping upward in a semi-circle.
The exchange between the two crossed in a blur of lines and curves.
When the first clash ended, the Combat King landed lightly about ten paces away.
Tuk.
The front of the Combat King’s robe split open.
Baek Ja-gang’s sword had been faster, forcing the Combat King to abandon his attack and retreat.
Looking down at his torn sleeve, a flash of delight crossed the Combat King’s face.
“You are truly stro—”
Before he could finish his sentence, a sword line passed through where his mouth had been.
Shiiiiik!
Evading the lightning-fast attack, the Combat King’s fist flew toward Baek Ja-gang’s face. His strike was so fast his arm was a mere blur.
Pang!
The space where Baek Ja-gang’s face had been exploded. It was a strike so powerful that if the air had a physical form, it would have been shattered into pieces.
Baek Ja-gang dodged the fist and slashed diagonally. Even though it was an attack designed to minimize any blind spots for evasion, the Combat King dodged it and even managed a counterattack.
Though they hadn't yet used their signature techniques that required massive internal energy, a terrifying exchange where lives hung in the balance continued.
The confidence that they could kill each other with a single sword strike or a single punch shot between them like beams of light.
To the observers, they saw only dozens of lines. Appearing and vanishing, appearing and vanishing. They were lines of death; the moment one touched a body, the victor would be decided instantly.
It was an exchange that revealed the very foundation of their martial arts. It was a dialogue of fists and swords—stabbing, slashing, dodging, and punching—things that could never be understood through flashy forms alone. The fist asked, and the sword answered. The sound was like the wind, and sometimes like the rain.
Peok!
Then, with a sound like a bursting drum, the two separated.
“Huu, huu.”
The Combat King’s breathing grew ragged instantly. It showed just how taxing the previous exchange had been. In contrast, Baek Ja-gang’s breathing remained steady. The difference in their fundamental skills was evident in their breath.
Baek Ja-gang gave the Combat King no time to rest.
In a flash, he lunged, his sword fast and precise.
The Combat King blocked the perilous attack by striking it with the back of his hand.
Shukak! Shukak!
Baek Ja-gang’s sword began to carve through the space. It was a chilling assault where any life caught in its path would be sliced away.
The Combat King took his first step backward.
Just as he seemed to be pushed back, his fist flew in with a strangely light hook.
Normally, one would have parried it easily with a sword. It was an attack that seemed light enough for that.
Sensing an instinctive surge of danger, Baek Ja-gang desperately twisted his body away from the fist.
Hwooooooooong!
Accompanied by a massive roar of wind...
Kwakwakwakwakwang!
The ground and grass behind him were swept away, leaving a massive, straight crater. It was a devastating attack that erased even the trees and boulders in the distance.
If he hadn't realized that the essence of the fist was contained in that seemingly light move, he would have suffered a severe injury.
Watching from the side, Bi Sa-in clenched his fists. Would he have been able to recognize the power hidden in that light punch? Likely not. This was a level of skill entirely different from the Blue Killing Ghost he had fought before.
The Combat King was a heartless human who treated the lives of his subordinates like trash, but his martial arts were undeniably profound.
Baek Ja-gang recognized his opponent’s technique.
“The Chain Wind and Cloud Fist!”
The martial art of Mak Yeo, who was once called the God of the Battlefield.
“As expected! You recognize it.”
“If it is the Chain Wind and Cloud Fist, I can acknowledge your strength.”
An intense radiance poured from Baek Ja-gang’s eyes.
To counter that momentum, the Combat King stomped the ground.
Kwang!
Jjeeeeeeeeoook!
The ground cracked in all directions like a spiderweb.
A single crack split the earth right between Geom Mu-geuk and Bi Sa-in.
Because it passed right between them, Bi Sa-in felt an unpleasant sensation. Was this some omen of an ill-fated future?
At that moment, Mu-geuk hopped over the crack and stood right next to him. Then, he silently resumed watching the fight.
‘Ah! That’s it.’
He could just jump over like that. What had Bi Sa-in been worrying about? What was there to even contemplate?
If someone asked what kind of person Geom Mu-geuk was, Bi Sa-in could now answer. He was a man who crossed the line first.
Bi Sa-in had always been the one feeling regretful, yet Mu-geuk was the one who hopped over so easily. He jumped over and offered friendship. He didn't let pride dictate whether he should go or wait to be called.
Bi Sa-in watched Mu-geuk’s profile.
The way he was absorbed in the fight was the most serious expression Bi Sa-in had ever seen on him. This was the true face of the martial artist, Geom Mu-geuk.
‘...Even if he approached me with the intent to kill me.’
Bi Sa-in turned his gaze back to the fight. He had missed dozens of exchanges in the meantime, but it was fine. Learning this one thing—how to hop over a line as if it were nothing—would help him grow far more.
Because for him, that little hop was much harder than the soaring leap the fighters were about to take.
Unable to withstand Baek Ja-gang’s assault, the Combat King soared into the sky.
Baek Ja-gang followed immediately.
The two rose at a terrifying speed and vanished from sight in an instant. Only Mu-geuk, who had mastered the New Eye Technique, could see what was happening high above.
A moment later, someone plummeted down at a frightening speed.
Kwang!
He crashed into the ground.
The person who fell with enough impact to crater the earth was the Combat King.
Lying on his back, he immediately rolled to the side.
Chwaaaaak.
A streak of Sword Qi sliced through the spot where he had been lying. The line created by the Sword Qi was so straight and deep that his body would have been halved had he stayed still.
Baek Ja-gang, descending right after him, pressed the attack like a whirlwind.
The Combat King tried to say something, but Baek Ja-gang gave him no opportunity.
If he were fighting the Heavenly Demon, they might have chatted leisurely, shared a drink mid-fight, and fought again. They might have fought for seven days and nights like that.
But Baek Ja-gang did not grant the Combat King such value.
Sword and fist cut through the air. Their movements were so fast that the sound could not keep up.
Eventually, the Combat King resorted to a perilous gamble. In a life-and-death duel, the one at a disadvantage is always the one to take risks.
Shiiiiik.
Kwak!
He caught the incoming blade with his bare hand. No one watching expected him to dare attempt to catch the Alliance Leader’s blade with his bare hands.
The moment he grabbed the blade, his elbow flew toward Baek Ja-gang’s chest.
Papapak!
Even though Baek Ja-gang twisted, pulled, and pushed the blade with lightning speed, the man's palm was not cut.
Swaaaaaaaaak.
The elbow grazed past Baek Ja-gang. It was a decisive strike, but Baek Ja-gang narrowly evaded it.
As their bodies momentarily crossed, the Combat King attempted a headbutt aimed at Baek Ja-gang’s face. It was a move as unexpected as catching the sword!
Peok!
Baek Ja-gang’s sword hilt, which had somehow slipped from the Combat King’s grip, struck the man's face.
Simultaneously, Baek Ja-gang’s sword cut through the air like a lightning bolt.
Seogeok.
With the sound of finality, both men’s movements stopped. It was the price of the recklessness of trying to catch the sword and headbutt the Leader of the Unorthodox Path Alliance.
A long gash was torn across the Combat King’s chest.
However, not a single drop of blood fell. What had been cut was only his clothing.
Baek Ja-gang’s gaze shifted to the Combat King’s hands. He had certainly cut the palms before striking the chest, yet there was no blood there either.
Still, the Combat King grimaced as if in pain and touched his chest. Then, he slowly removed his outer robe.
Beneath it, a protective robe was revealed.
“It is the Immortal Divine Armor. The ultimate protective garment that no sword can cut.”
He then raised both hands.
“And these are the Combat God gauntlets. They are also the finest of their kind. Please consider this my respect for you.”
Just as Mu-geuk had predicted, he was wearing protective gear. And not just any gear, but the Immortal Divine Armor and the Combat God gauntlets. In the world of martial arts, these were the equivalent of the Cult Leader or the Alliance Leader—the absolute pinnacle of artifacts.
“Fair enough. You’d need to wear at least that much to face me. However, seeing that armor makes me curious about one thing.”
Baek Ja-gang released a new aura.
After a massive vibration, a bluish light began to shimmer around his sword. For the first time since the fight began, the sword was imbued with Sword Force. Simultaneously, an energy unlike anything before began to waver around Baek Ja-gang’s body.
With his small eyes, which were all the more terrifying for their size, Baek Ja-gang spoke.
“That armor... it really better be unbreakable.”