Chapter 50: Monster (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 50: Monster (1)
-What on earth is this?
-I’ve never seen anything like it. To still be alive after having its brow pierced...
The Lesser Conversation Sword and the Namcheon Iron Sword seemed equally shocked.
What exactly was this monster?
The area on my chest where its claws had grazed me burned.
-The Blood Demon Sword might know, since he’s lived the longest among us.
The Namcheon Iron Sword had a point.
Having existed since the founding of the Blood Cult, that sword must have seen many things.
However, that wasn't the priority right now.
“Kwaaaaah!”
Slash!
“Ugh!”
I quickly jerked my head to the side, and the creature's claws whistled past my ear.
Its movements were no different from someone trained in martial arts.
While its motions weren't as refined as a formal style, its reflexes and close-quarters agility almost matched my own speed.
‘It’s nearly at the level of a First-Rate Master.’
No wonder my maternal grandfather and the other men were no match for it.
It was impossible for ordinary people, unable to use internal energy, to block a monster with the speed and movement of a First-Rate Master.
-Un-hwi! Just take its head off.
-Exactly. Let’s see if it still moves without a head!
I was thinking the exact same thing.
If piercing its brow wasn't enough to kill it, I would try decapitation.
I activated my footwork and dove toward the creature as it swung its claws wildly.
Then, I swung my sword toward its neck.
At that moment—
Whoosh!
The creature suddenly threw itself backward.
It covered the front of its chest with both hands as if protecting its neck.
-It must be its weakness!
Seeing it dodge for the first time, the neck seemed to be the vulnerable spot.
‘In that case!’
I lunged at the creature like a hawk.
My form glided forward as if sliding across a sheet of silver ice.
“Grrrr!”
The monster swung its arms violently and leaped back, but this martial form was designed specifically to burrow into an opponent like a bird of prey.
Closing the distance in an instant, I thought:
‘Blood Net Sword Sky.’
I drew a large arc, aiming for the opening created by the monster’s swinging arms.
My sword skillfully slipped through the gap, shifting its trajectory to slash diagonally across the creature's neck.
Schwing!
The blade sank halfway into the neck.
However, it stopped midway, unable to cut through the bone.
‘It’s hard.’
I hadn't expected the bone to be this dense.
Even though the space to swing was narrow, the bone was far stronger than that of a normal human.
“Kek-kek-keck!”
Did it feel fear at the prospect of being fully decapitated?
The monster frantically grabbed the blade with both hands.
Its strength was absurdly immense.
The blade trembled, threatening to be pulled out of the wound.
“Damn it!”
I gripped the hilt with both hands, trying to exert more force to finish the cut, when—
“Hyaaaah!”
Someone struck the stationary blade with a stone axe.
With that added force, the blade crunched through the hard bone and finally severed the monster’s neck.
Thud!
The monster’s head went rolling across the floor.
Even with its head gone, the creature's body flailed its arms and continued to move.
‘It’s still moving without a head?’
Its vitality was freakishly strong.
“Just die already!”
Thwack!
I kicked the monster’s torso with all my might.
The headless body stumbled back from the kick and eventually collapsed flat on the ground.
It twitched, but it could no longer get up.
-That thing is incredibly persistent. If there were more than one of those...
Don't jinx it.
You're making me anxious for no reason.
“Phew...”
I turned my head to look at the one-armed man.
He had helped me despite suffering a horrific wound that had nearly torn his waist open.
I tore a long strip from my sleeve and wrapped it around his bleeding waist.
“Gah! Gently... be gentle.”
The one-armed man spoke, his face contorted in pain.
“Haah... haah... It certainly makes a difference when someone knows martial arts. To think I’d live to see that monster fall.”
“Did you try to go for the neck?”
“Forget the neck, it was a struggle just to dodge those claws.”
That made sense. The monster possessed strength and speed nearing that of a First-Rate Master.
Trying to survive against such a being without martial arts was practically suicide.
“What exactly is this monster? It looks no different from a human on the outside.”
“...I don't know. We’ve never seen a monster like this before either.”
“Does my grandfather not know either?”
“Even the Moon Elder didn't know. However, one of our fallen comrades was a former Taoist. Before he died, he made a fuss, screaming that it was a Jiangshi.”
“A Jiangshi?”
-What’s that?
Jiangshi.
Literally translated, it means a "standing corpse."
I had only known it as an old legend used by elders to scare children.
I’d heard the legend originated from skilled Taoists who, when someone died far from home, turned the corpse into a Jiangshi so it could walk back to its family on its own.
-I remember now. Come to think of it, my previous master once joked about Jiangshi during a drinking session with Taoists from the Hengshan Sect.
‘You’ve heard of them?’
-I’m not sure how the topic came up. Back then, a Taoist from the Hengshan Sect said there used to be a Taoist sect proficient in sorcery and occult arts. He said they could manipulate even dead corpses using things like talismans.
‘Is that true?’
-I don't know if it's the truth. It was just a story told over drinks.
Right. All sorts of stories come out when people are drinking.
Still, it was fascinating that such a sect actually existed.
‘What was the name of that sect?’
-...If I remember correctly, I think he called it the Maoshan Sect.
The Maoshan Sect?
-Do you know it?
How could I not?
The Maoshan Sect was one of the famous Taoist sects.
They were also a sect within the martial world.
They no longer exist, but the reason I remembered them was because of why they were destroyed.
-The reason they were destroyed?
During the Golden Emperor’s persecution of the martial world, there were a few sects that sided with the Imperial Court. One of them was the Maoshan Sect.
-Huh? So they stabbed their own allies in the back.
Yes, and that was their undoing.
Things might have been different if they had succeeded, but the Golden Emperor’s persecution ended in failure.
In the end, the Maoshan Sect, having earned the deep resentment of all martial artists, was branded a public enemy and wiped out.
Even though they were gone, I found it hard to believe they were proficient in bizarre sorcery or occult arts, as I had never heard that part of their history.
-It might not be true, so you can take it with a grain of salt. Besides, I heard those Jiangshi things move by hopping on two feet in a ridiculous way.
That was my understanding as well.
I’d heard they moved like that because they were corpses being forced to move by a Taoist’s spell.
But that decapitated monster had been more like a wild beast.
‘I don't know.’
Identifying the monster wasn't the priority right now.
I asked, just in case.
“Were there any other monsters besides that one?”
“No. That was the only one chasing us.”
I let out a sigh of relief.
I had already consumed nearly twenty percent of my Mental Focus.
If there were more of them, even I wouldn't have a way to handle it.
“Can you move?”
“I can manage.”
He said that, but moving didn't look easy for him. He was staggering as he walked.
I supported him by the shoulder and said, “Please, lead the way.”
Whoosh!
Among the items he had brought was a torch made of tree roots.
I had wondered why it was tied so crudely with scraps of leather, but it was to keep it from getting wet.
Supporting him with one arm and holding the torch in the other, I moved through the passage as he directed.
After walking for about fifteen minutes, we reached a massive cavern.
-It’s quite large.
It wasn't just "quite large."
The cavern was easily three times the size of the one where the tree roots had hung down.
It looked large enough to accommodate a huge number of people.
‘There really are a lot.’
There were indeed many tunnel entrances leading out of the cavern.
Since they supposedly branched out even further inside, it might have taken me a very long time to find the right one alone without guidance.
“It’s over there.”
The one-armed man pointed toward a tunnel entrance in the northwest.
I supported him as we headed that way.
On the way, the one-armed man gestured toward the second tunnel to the right and spoke.
“We should never have gone in there.”
“...Is that where the monster came from?”
“Yes.”
The one-armed man replied bitterly.
It was understandable, considering he had lost his comrades in there.
“My condolences.”
I bowed my head slightly.
The one-armed man seemed grateful for the gesture and bowed his head in return.
Just as we were about to enter our tunnel—
Patter-patter-patter!
The sound of numerous footsteps reached my ears.
The one-armed man and I turned our heads at the same time.
At that moment, a swarm of monsters with pale skin and yellow eyes came rushing out of the second tunnel on the right.
“!?”
There were five of them just in the first wave.
Judging by the presence I felt inside that tunnel, there were many more.
Dumbfounded, I spoke as if demanding an explanation.
“I thought you said there was only one?”
“T-there was definitely only one.”
Damn it.
With this many, even I might end up dead if I wasn't careful.
It was also impossible to handle that many monsters while protecting the one-armed man.
I glanced at his waist.
The cloth I had wrapped around him was already soaked through with blood.
“Run!”
The one-armed man shouted to me.
I shook my head.
Instead, I shoved him into the tunnel entrance.
Push!
“W-what are you doing?”
“I’ll draw their attention, so make sure you get those herbs!”
With those words, I began shouting at the top of my lungs as I ran toward the center of the cavern.
“Over here! Over here!”
The Lesser Conversation Sword’s voice echoed in my head.
-You idiot! Are you trying to get yourself killed?
What else could I do?
If I took him with me, we’d be caught in no time.
But if I abandoned him just to save my own skin, I’d end up having to run from them anyway without ever finding the herbs.
It was better to draw their attention and buy him time to find the herbs.
“Kwaaaaah!”
“Grrrr!”
Perhaps thanks to my shouting, the monsters that had emerged from the tunnel all lunged toward me at once.
“That’s right! Over here, over here!”
At least the cavern was spacious.
I used my Lightness Skill to lead the monsters on a chase, playing a deadly game of tag.
Glancing back, I counted eight monsters.
“Kwaaaaah!”
To make matters worse, more of them kept pouring out of the tunnel.
‘This is insane! Their numbers are still growing. One monster, my foot!’
It was impossible to face them all.
If only I could use my Innate True Qi, dealing with them would be child's play.
-Twelve... thirteen... fourteen...
I heard the Namcheon Iron Sword counting them.
Every time he spoke, my heart hammered against my ribs.
-Fifteen.
‘Stop counting!’
I’m already stressed enough as it is.
At this rate, I might get caught before he even makes it out with the herbs.
-Watch out! Look up!
Scuttle-scuttle-scuttle!
At the Lesser Conversation Sword’s warning, I looked up to see two monsters clinging to the ceiling, scurrying toward me on all fours like insects.