Chapter 165
Chapter 165
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: Snatching the Command Plaques
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The reason I showed the North Sea Tablet.
It was because Gong Son-beom couldn't be allowed to snatch Hori Squad's command plaques and then flee.
That would make him too hard to catch.
His movement arts were one thing, but once he started rampaging, I had to seize him in one go to tilt the board in my favor.
"Huuu-"
Gong Son-beom glared at me for a long while before letting out a long breath.
His eyes, shaken by rage and agitation, regained their calm.
What a shame.
It would've been perfect if he'd just thrashed around a bit more like a madman.
"You've made one mistake right now."
Gong Son-beom said coldly.
The fox-like leisure was gone from him now. He seemed like a wolf facing its prey.
"Getting in my sights. And I've never let anyone who caught my eye slip away."
I grinned, baring my fangs fully.
"I'm not planning to let you go either. Guess we have that in common?"
I'll peel your face bare, you rat.
"Brother Dang."
That's when Lee Cheol-san quietly approached my side.
I looked at him and said.
"Brother Lee, it looks like I have to be the one to catch that guy."
"That's why I came over. As you can see, I've sheathed my sword."
"Take care of this for me."
I handed Lee Cheol-san the pouch stuffed full of Hori Squad's command plaques.
Gong Son-beom's wasn't in there. What a pity.
Lee Cheol-san took the pouch, checked its contents, and his eyes widened slightly.
"...Is it really okay to entrust me with something like this?"
"Don't swallow it whole. And don't hand it back to the others either."
I tossed out a light joke.
But Lee Cheol-san nodded gravely.
"No matter how old-fashioned people call me, I'm not that thoughtless."
Lee Cheol-san had seen through what this first round exam truly entailed.
There were many ways to gather command plaques and form a provisional unit.
You could crush them by force and seize the plaques, gather them by agreement, or have multiple people elect one leader.
Or, like me, usurp the platoon leader position outright.
Anyone could see Lee Cheol-san would prefer persuasion or election. He walked the king's path.
On the other hand, he might not approve of the tyrant path I tread.
But he wouldn't force his way on me.
He respected me.
As one warrior to another.
Just as he had his methods, I had mine.
That's why I could entrust him with the spoils of war without worry.
He would guard the pouch against any persuasion or interference from others.
"Take care of yourself."
Lee Cheol-san quietly stepped back.
I took one step forward and pulled out my command plaque, shaking it at Gong Son-beom.
"Hey, you fox bastard. Time to finish what we couldn't last time?"
I was referring to the duel cut short by the Green Reed Platoon Leader's intrusion.
Gong Son-beom narrowed his eyes.
"So?"
"So what? Pull yours out. Become the lackey of the guy who stole it. How's that?"
"Put a leash on me?"
"I'll work you to the bone. Buy a hundred nyang worth of snacks with one nyang and bring back the change, wash my blankets, call me 'Master' every time I summon you, and so on?"
"I thought you were crazy, but you're even crazier than I imagined."
"So? You chicken?"
"As if."
Gong Son-beom drew his command plaque from his bosom and shook it.
"Good. Let's begin."
My gaze and Gong Son-beom's crossed in midair.
Then we both tossed our plaques into the air at the same time.
Clack!
My command plaque collided with Gong Son-beom's.
And.
Flash!
Pop!
The fight erupted right below them.
I unleashed Gale Swiftness while Gong Son-beom stepped into Swift Steps.
We both traced Phantom Shifts simultaneously and met at the midpoint.
Fists and kicks flew.
Boom! Kwaboom!
Rumble—
Gong Son-beom, no longer sparing his thunder qi, unleashed thunder and lightning with every strike.
Meanwhile, I became a raging gale.
I sharpened my hand blade and spat out lightning strikes in succession.
Shredding Wind Blade wove like tangled threads, painting a storm.
Flying Heaven Leg Steps
Annihilating Thunder Purge
Storm Wind Dance
Rampaging General
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—
Rumble! Rumble! Rumb-rumble!
Kwarrr—
"The plaques! The plaques are falling!"
"It's So Saeng Ban-ak versus Bi-cheon Hori... Are they finishing their old grudge!!"
"Bi-cheon Hori was that strong!?"
"I never dreamed I'd witness the famed Eight Sages of Mount Huayin with my own eyes! The rumors didn't do it justice!"
"So Saeng Ban-ak is the Nine Dragons Branch Leader's successor... Is that the legendary Storm Wind Dance?"
People's attention had fully shifted from the Ban-ak Squad and Hori Squad clash to my duel with Gong Son-beom.
Their reactions varied wildly.
Quite a few were shocked that Gong Son-beom's skills far exceeded expectations, while others watched my Storm Wind Dance in admiration.
Gong Son-beom and I fought on equal footing, like wind gods and thunder gods refusing to yield an inch.
Dozens of exchanges flashed by in an instant.
Waves of inner energy pierced into the opponent's body only to rebound, time and again.
That's when I spotted the plaques dropping toward us.
Flash!
Gong Son-beom attempted a Phantom Shift first.
Judging he couldn't overwhelm me head-on, he aimed for the plaques.
"Where do you think you're going."
Gong Son-beom appeared before the two plaques and reached out.
I launched a Tempest Cannon at them via Striking Air Palm.
A supreme technique that strikes empty air, sending vibrational waves dozens of feet to reach distant foes.
But my target wasn't Gong Son-beom. No point; it wouldn't pierce his thunder qi anyway.
Kwarrr—
"You mad bastard! Using the plaques as hostages!?"
Gong Son-beom twisted his body, face slightly distorted.
He abandoned the plaques to counter the Striking Air Palm instead.
Kwaaang!
A harsh explosion echoed in the air, and Gong Son-beom's form shook faintly.
The directionless plaques plummeted downward once more.
Pop!
In exchange, I appeared behind Gong Son-beom.
I unleashed a Rising Gale Kick, slicing toward his neck like drawing a honed blade.
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
Gong Son-beom's form shook again, splitting into four: Four Shadows, Four Forms.
Dull Heaven and Annihilating Kill flanked me from both sides.
Kwaaaa!
Dull Heaven blocked my front.
While it pinned my feet, Annihilating Kill from the opposite side would deliver the finishing blow, it seemed.
Or perhaps Hidden Shadow had already vanished to exploit my opening.
With three handling me, Swift Steps would snatch the two plaques.
"Die."
"Die."
Kwarrr!
Dull Heaven and Annihilating Kill targeted my chest and waist.
With two Gong Son-beoms speaking at once, their voices echoed deafeningly.
I activated Roaring Wind Palm.
A breeze from my toes surged up my body in an instant, becoming a typhoon. I mixed in crimson dragon qi.
Scorching winds blasted in all directions.
Kwarrr!
Roarrr!
The fierce flames tore Dull Heaven's Gong Son-beom to shreds.
Annihilating Kill's Gong Son-beom burst through the flames, but I was already gone.
"Where you looking?"
"!?"
Annihilating Kill's Gong Son-beom whipped around in shock.
But before he could, a Tempest Cannon smashed his jaw.
Puuuuck!
Annihilating Kill's Gong Son-beom shattered.
Seizing the gap, Hidden Shadow appeared from my blind spot, aiming for my heart.
I twisted my upper body halfway back and seized his wrist.
Hidden Shadow's brow furrowed.
The moment his attack was blocked, he swiftly shifted to Annihilating Kill's nature, trying to overwhelm me with thunder qi.
But there was something he didn't know.
I had the Ten Battle Gods Demon Style.
I deployed Reverse Emanation, and power that crushed even thunder qi surged into my arm.
Crack!
His right arm snapped like cornstalk, dangling limply upward.
"Kuuhhh...!"
Of course, that wasn't the end of it for me.
I yanked him in and crushed his solar plexus with a Knee Strike.
Puuuuck!
In the end, three of the four forms were destroyed. All in the blink of an eye.
But enough time had passed for the remaining Swift Steps to reach the plaques.
"These are mine!!"
His fingertips had already snagged the two plaques.
No time now to hold the plaques hostage myself. Instead, I moved the specters.
"Kikikihi!"
"You didn't see this coming, did you!! Hahaha!"
"What!!"
The two plaques possessed by the specters barely slipped from Gong Son-beom's fingertips and rode the breeze back to me.
Gong Son-beom stared at me in dismay.
I threw him a full sneer.
"Isn't dirty tricks a given against a Dang family guy, you moron?"
"You bastard!"
But the two specter-possessed plaques didn't come meekly to my hand.
If I had specter arts, Gong Son-beom had swift footwork.
Pop!
Phantom Shift activated once more.
Gong Son-beom appeared beside the two plaques in an instant.
I moved as well.
Blocking Gong Son-beom's path, I drew and hurled the North Sea Tablet.
Tsssp!
The North Sea Tablet slipped between the two plaques and Gong Son-beom, then veered mid-flight.
The North Sea Sect's sacred relic was sharp, but it carried immense chill.
Enough to easily repel thunder qi's heat, forcing Gong Son-beom to block it with full power.
In the end, Gong Son-beom unleashed twin palms at full force toward the North Sea Tablet instead of the plaques.
Kwaaang!
The North Sea Tablet rocketed upward and vanished into the air.
Gong Son-beom couldn't fully deflect the shockwave and was pushed back lengthwise.
"Cough!"
This time, he couldn't handle the inner energy and spat blood.
Internal congestion.
The spectral poison had finally begun infiltrating his body.
"Damn North Sea Blade poison... Shit, shit—"
Sizzle!
Gong Son-beom maxed out his thunder qi to evaporate the poison.
Steam rose from his pores, spreading a foul stench.
In that state, he suddenly faced me, who had snatched the two plaques.
If he couldn't take them from the air, he'd crush me by force now—his resolve radiated strongly.
I quite liked that mindset.
Plaques were plaques, and the duel was the duel.
Pupu-pupu-pupu-pung!
Dozens more exchanges of fist strikes flashed by in an instant.
With each one, Gong Son-beom's eyes grew bloodshot. Fresh blood trickled from his mouth.
Even if he evaporated the poison, once he'd allowed infiltration, he couldn't block repeated incursions.
Moreover, reactivating thunder qi each time couldn't heal the wounds left by the spectral poison's claws.
And using thunder qi to purge poison wasn't ideal.
It relied on momentary heat, straining the meridians immensely.
"You okay like this? You're about to drop dead."
"Shut up!! I'll rip off your true face and expose who you really are!"
Doing my talking for me, the fool!
From what I'd confirmed so far, Gong Son-beom's Thunderbolt Flesh Body Method resembled the Salma Specter Sect's version I knew, yet subtly different.
'Confirmed. It's been altered by mixing in the Namgung Clan's Thunder Chase.'
Just what was this guy's true identity?
No idea.
But one thing was certain.
I'd find out soon.
The Hori Squad he'd barely assembled was smashed. His face and reputation in tatters.
Now his mask would be stripped too, leaving nothing but hell ahead for him.
Driven into a corner, he'd thrash desperately. That was my aim.
Puuuck!
The soaring Wall Mountain Palm slammed my left wrist hard. The two plaques I'd briefly lost floated back into the air.
Tsssp!
Gong Son-beom unleashed Phantom Shift in a flash, snatching the two plaques and reappearing far off.
His condition wasn't good.
His hair was disheveled from the rapid thunder qi bursts, his face pale from repeated poisoning and forced purges.
Bruises covered his body; he could collapse any second.
"Well... Dang Un-hwi. What now? Your plaque's in my hand. Huh?"
His eyes were going mad too. He'd clung to reason until moments ago, but now it was flipped.
Probably the relief of holding the plaque. What to do about this?
"Don't move recklessly. As promised, you're my subordinate now, so first kneel the—"
"Hey, those are fakes."
"...What?"
"The real ones are here."
I grinned and shook two new plaques from my bosom.
One read 'Dang Un-hwi', the other 'Gong Son-beom'.
Gong Son-beom hurriedly checked the plaques in his hand.
They read 'Moron' and 'Falling for it again'.
"!!!"
I'd swapped them out beforehand.
Gong Son-beom's shocked face turned back to me.
I grinned at him.
"You should've checked properly before grabbing, mark."
"Dang Un-hwiiii!"
I smashed his temple with a Striking Air Palm.
Puuuuck!