Chapter 24
Chapter 24
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Chapter 3: The Match (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Youngest brother!!”
Dae-yuk’s voice shattered So-yuk’s reverie.
This was no time for idle thoughts.
So-yuk was already riddled with openings. The moment their eyes met, he faltered completely.
That was the end.
The golden blade tip closed in on his throat.
Crack!
That was the last sound So-yuk heard in life. The blade tore through the nape of his neck, shattered his collarbone, and plunged in to rip open his aorta.
“You bastard!!!!”
Dae-yuk’s frenzied roar sliced through the bamboo grove.
Cheonwi did not clash with the charging Dae-yuk. Instead, he leaped away, twisting into the shadows of the forest. Only innocent bamboo stalks were chopped by the swinging kitchen knife, splintering and crashing down with sharp cracks.
“Oh-ho!”
Cheonwi twisted his body, changing direction as he called out to Oh-ho.
His evasive movements were precarious. It felt like he was barely dodging by the skin of his teeth. For someone who had dispatched So-yuk so effortlessly, he looked oddly vulnerable.
Whoosh! Rustle!
Oh-ho did not hesitate.
Because he knew Cheonwi all too well. Cheonwi could not handle Dae-yuk. He had to step in.
Screech! Clash!
He hurled himself forward with all his might, slashing at Dae-yuk with the black-and-white swords. Dae-yuk irritably swung his kitchen knife to deflect them. The inner energy riding the blade was formidable. Yet Oh-ho’s momentum did not waver in the slightest. He stepped in even faster with his toes, securing Dae-yuk’s flank before slashing diagonally toward his thigh.
“Kaat!”
Dae-yuk bellowed a beastly roar as he parried Oh-ho’s blade. He bared his yellowed teeth and red tongue at Oh-ho.
“If you want it that badly, I’ll take your head first!!”
Dae-yuk’s kitchen knife gleamed with murderous intent.
A confident smile tugged at Oh-ho’s lips. He parried Dae-yuk’s assault with sweeping strokes, then slipped lightly to the side to reset his stance.
The voice he had been waiting for pierced his ears right away.
“Half-step outside! Tip thrust! Circle right and target the Shoulder Well point!”
It was Cheonwi.
Oh-ho flowed like water, moving exactly as instructed. He circled to Dae-yuk’s right side to evade the kitchen knife, then thrust the black-and-white swords straight toward the back of his shoulder. Dae-yuk’s movements faltered instantly. It was a exquisite strike that disrupted the flow of his assault.
“Keut!”
Dae-yuk twisted his body in panic, raising his left-hand kitchen knife diagonally.
It was the best improvised response possible. It blocked Oh-ho’s blade while setting up a counter. But Cheonwi’s prediction was even faster. As if he had anticipated it exactly, he shouted immediately.
“Crook Pool point!”
Cheonwi’s words moved Oh-ho.
Their coordination was like a flash of lightning. The kind honed over long years of partnership. Oh-ho’s black-and-white swords lunged for Dae-yuk’s Crook Pool point. Dae-yuk twisted his waist to pull his arm back. It was a forced motion beyond his muscles’ limits. A massive gap opened in his right side. It was an opening so glaring that Cheonwi didn’t even need to point it out.
Swoosh! Slash!
“Kraaak!”
The black-and-white swords sprayed blood.
Dae-yuk flung himself to the left. To evade the follow-up. Oh-ho did not pursue. Blood was already gushing from Dae-yuk’s side.
Dae-yuk’s rage reached its peak. Madness flickered in his long, slitted eyes.
He swept through bamboo leaves and charged.
Cheonwi spoke.
“Fall back!”
Oh-ho reacted instantly. Instead of clashing, he slipped backward. Dae-yuk, who had been charging with a wide swing of his kitchen knife, turned his eyes toward Cheonwi at the sound of his voice.
Under the moonlight, Cheonwi wore a faint smile. His upturned lips mocked openly, and Dae-yuk lost his reason, twisting toward him. He had taken the bait. Dae-yuk launched himself at Cheonwi.
Cheonwi called out calmly.
“Now! Left knee!”
Everything was going according to plan.
Oh-ho, who had seemed to retreat, suddenly surged forward, swinging the black-and-white swords at Dae-yuk’s left knee.
“Upper strike incoming. Left upper guard, bow stance! Right tip slash!”
Dae-yuk pulled back from the knee sweep and attempted a counter from the upper left. It was foresight on the level of precognition. Oh-ho twisted his blades upward to deflect the kitchen knife, widened his bow stance, and thrust swiftly toward Dae-yuk’s right shoulder.
Crunch!
Even when he knew exactly where it was aimed, he couldn’t block it. The black-and-white swords burrowed deep into Dae-yuk’s shoulder. A agonized roar erupted from Dae-yuk’s mouth.
“Kaaaak!”
It was a strike that snapped him back to reality.
His side wound had blinded him with fury, but this was different.
He finally realized why he was getting overwhelmed without a chance to fight back.
The pretty boy standing off in the distance was the problem.
He was predicting every move perfectly. With exquisite support targeting unblockable spots, there was no way to cope.
Dae-yuk whipped his head around to look at So-yuk’s corpse.
Flames sparked in his eyes once more. He took a deep breath and barely regained his composure.
‘This is how you die.’
So-yuk had misjudged his opponents. That decided life and death.
High martial prowess wasn’t everything. When they picked at weaknesses to whittle away flesh and blood like this, it was impossible to endure. If his body were intact, maybe. But it was already too late. Both So-yuk and Dae-yuk had started with fatal wounds. Continuing like this left only death.
“You bastards……!”
Dae-yuk decided quickly. He leaped high and flew toward So-yuk’s corpse.
Crunch! Scrape!
He snatched the sprawled So-yuk’s nape and hoisted him up, then swung his kitchen knife to sever So-yuk’s head clean off.
It was no act for a sane man. Dae-yuk held his brother’s head up to shoulder height and spat the words through gritted teeth in a mad voice.
“I’ve burned your faces into my eyes!”
Dae-yuk’s choice was flight. No sooner had he spoken than he spun around and kicked off the ground. His form vanished from sight in an instant.
“Don’t chase.”
“No need to tell me.”
Oh-ho shot back at Cheonwi’s single word like a retort. Cheonwi turned around. Toward Seol, abandoned on the ground.
That was when the Blue Spear Society began to move.
“Capture him.”
The spear wielder at the center issued the command. Five Blue Spear Society warriors leaped out. Toward the direction Dae-yuk had fled. Cheonwi smirked as he watched.
“Look at that. Smart cookies.”
The Flesh-Eating Brothers’ infamy pierced the heavens.
The bounty issued by the authorities alone exceeded a thousand taels of silver. With Dae-yuk—one of the Flesh-Eating Brothers—fleeing while wounded, it was an opportunity the Blue Spear Society couldn’t pass up.
They wouldn’t have dared if he were unharmed, but chasing now was shrewd opportunism deserving of scorn. Yet Cheonwi and Oh-ho didn’t begrudge the Blue Spear Society for it. They saw it as natural. Hunting villains down, regardless of circumstances, carried its own justification.
“Now, time for you to catch us.”
Cheonwi had even predicted the Blue Spear Society’s next move.
The warriors closed in rapidly. Cheonwi and Oh-ho stood with the unconscious Seol at their feet. Oh-ho glanced sidelong at Cheonwi and asked.
“What’s the plan?”
“What do you want to do?”
“Part of me wants to flatten them all.”
“Shall we?”
“Nah.”
“Why not.”
“Couldn’t handle the aftermath.”
“What’s there to handle.”
“That Pyeong Yao-bo geezer’s tough.”
“Didn’t you know? Han Nam Spear’s already mapped out.”
“What?”
“Second one, I think. Before you joined.”
“Yeah?”
“Go for it. You won’t lose.”
Cheonwi guaranteed it.
Oh-ho grinned. He’d been itching over his constant evasion against the Blue Spear earlier. Gripping his black-and-white swords tighter, he advanced with light steps. Cheonwi’s voice settled on his back.
“The first flaw in the Blue Spear Society’s Han Nam Spear Method is the point one-third up from the right wrist to the elbow. Target that, and you can disrupt most vertical downward strikes before they fully deploy.”
He spoke loudly enough for all to hear, without lowering his voice. The Blue Spear Society warriors’ faces hardened like ice. Cheonwi continued.
“The second flaw is two inches below the knee on the incoming bow stance leg. Hit it precisely, and the entire flow shatters. It completely collapses their posture.”
The warriors advancing boldly halted as if rooted. Cheonwi didn’t stop.
“The third flaw comes during the chain spear thrust. Deflect the first strike low, then stab the thumb on their right hand gripping the shaft. The second strike won’t follow. Then the left elbow’s exposed. Land it right, and their left arm’s yours.”
Oh-ho smirked, aiming his black-and-white swords.
The Blue Spear Society warriors couldn’t smile. Their expressions were a sight to behold.
“What in the world are you two?”
The middle-aged man at the center asked. The one who had ordered Dae-yuk’s capture. Likely their leader.
“Our identities aren’t the issue here.”
Oh-ho replied, striding forward confidently.
The middle-aged man’s face was frosted over. He gripped his blue spear tightly, but the intent at its tip was diminished. His resolve was shaken. Reciting their fatal flaws like that—it was impossible not to falter.
Rustle, rustle.
Whoosh.
The halted wind rustled overhead.
The distance between the lead warrior and Oh-ho was now just a single staff-length. Within sword’s reach. The Blue Spear Society spearman readjusted his grip. His shaken eyes steadied. They were still the elite of the Blue Spear Society’s One Mountain Five Rivers. A warrior was a warrior.
“Good.”
Oh-ho grinned and took one more step forward.
That step pressed the spearman, who gritted his teeth with resolve. He stomped forward aggressively and struck first. Shockingly, it was a vertical downward strike. As if to say, you know the flaw—come and get it. Boldly, he raised the spear tip overhead, loaded it with fierce power, and brought it crashing down.
Swoosh!
Oh-ho did not ignore the gamble.
Just as Cheonwi had said, he targeted the one-third point on the right wrist and slashed upward with the black-and-white swords. The spearman, slamming down with force, paled and yanked the tip back up. It had pierced straight through. Had he continued down, he’d have lost the entire hand.
“!!”
He barely regained control of the spear and prepared his next attack.
Oh-ho, as if confirming Cheonwi’s words, immediately slashed toward two inches below the knee.
“Keut!”
A grunt like wasted breath escaped the spearman.
A momentary gap could be blocked if known, but a true flaw couldn’t—even if you knew. Despite the obvious intent, no defense angle emerged. Forcing it only disrupted his stance. Just as Cheonwi said, the entire flow collapsed.
Clang! Thud!
The blue spear shaft flew helplessly aside. The spearman, losing balance, slammed his knee into the ground and toppled sideways.
Dazed and defeated.
In just two exchanges.
It wasn’t easy. Knowing flaws didn’t guarantee victory. Fights had variables. Without the power and skill to exploit them effectively, even obvious weaknesses were mere illusions.
Not for Oh-ho.
Far from an illusion, it was a feast laid out before him. In just two moves, Oh-ho proved he could target those flaws. That sealed off the blue spear’s vertical downward strike. The flow of techniques too. Unless the warrior on the ground was vastly superior—which he wasn’t—no one of similar skill could beat Oh-ho. A few exchanges would befuddle them, and with the psychological pressure of exposed weaknesses, victory was impossible. It was a fight already lost before it began.
“I have to ask. Where did you learn our flaws?”
The middle-aged man at the center couldn’t hold back.
“Come on, you should know better than to ask.”
Oh-ho replied, feigning a frown.
“Are there more who know our flaws?”
“Why, planning a massacre?”
“If we could, we would. We can’t just let someone who knows our martial arts’ flaws walk away.”
The middle-aged man gestured.
The Blue Spear Society warriors spread out, encircling Oh-ho. The blue spears aimed at him carried a different energy now. They were prepared to kill if needed.