Chapter 102: Naga Grounds-5
Chapter 102: Naga Grounds-5
The young warrior Maeng Sa-ung of the Na Family Estate simply could not believe the reality unfolding before his eyes.
It was because an ordinary morning, no different from any other just moments ago, had transformed into a living hell in the span of a few heartbeats.
Chwaaak!
"Guaaaaak!"
Puhuk!
"Guheuuurk!"
The lanky monster who had smashed through the main gate of the Na Family Estate was ripping, piercing, and smashing Maeng Sa-ung's seniors, friends, and juniors right before his eyes.
His comrades were all scattering in all directions, screaming as they fled.
At first, there had been comrades who charged at the bastard, but now no one did.
It was because the overwhelming difference in martial prowess was so great that they could not attempt anything at all.
Puuk!
"Heuheuuurk!"
Another one. The back of a fleeing comrade was pierced through by the bastard's hand blade, the monster having launched himself like a beast.
His comrade collapsed with a sound of air escaping. The sight of him falling played out slowly in Maeng Sa-ung's eyes.
'Elder Brother Jang.'
He was a thirty-year-old elder brother whose joy in life was going home early every day to play with his three-year-old son.
The one who used to boast that he had even quit drinking for his son, a child so precious he wouldn't feel pain even if put in his eye...
That man would never be able to see his son again.
Maeng Sa-ung, collapsed on the ground, glared at the bastard through narrowed eyes and ground his teeth.
'You bastard, I'll never forgive you!'
The reason Maeng Sa-ung had collapsed on the ground in the first place was that the corpse of a comrade struck down by the bastard had flown into him.
But Maeng Sa-ung, who had rolled on the ground with his comrade's corpse, could realize in the next moment that the bastard had passed over his fallen self and pounced on another comrade.
It seemed he had mistaken him for already dead.
Well, he was beating and killing so many people that it was only natural he couldn't remember them all.
So at first, he had thought to play dead in that state and quietly wait for the bastard to go elsewhere.
Life was precious, after all.
But that thought did not last long.
"Guaaaaak!"
"Save me! Aaaaaak!"
All around him, his comrades were dying gruesome deaths.
Seeing that, a fiery rage blazed up within Maeng Sa-ung's heart.
It was a rage so vast it devoured even the fear that he might die.
He simply could not let the bastard go like this.
He wanted revenge against him.
Even if it meant risking his life.
And so Maeng Sa-ung was now waiting for the bastard to approach near him.
And to show his back.
To ambush him from behind and drive a blade into the bastard's back.
That, in this very moment, was the single, lifelong wish that Maeng Sa-ung desperately desired.
'Now, come. Just once, please, just once.'
And a moment later, the opportunity he had been waiting for finally came.
The bastard, who had been launching himself this way and that, happened to pounce on a comrade trying to flee beside Maeng Sa-ung.
Chwaaak!
"Guaaaaak!"
The sight of his comrade spraying blood as his back was split by the bastard's claw technique entered his eyes.
And so did the back of the bastard, who was driving his hand blade into that back.
Maeng Sa-ung's eyes flashed.
This was the moment.
"Hup!"
Maeng Sa-ung sprang up and charged silently, thrusting his sword at the bastard's back.
Shiiiik!
'Die!'
Even as the sword neared his back, the bastard did not look back. It seemed he had not noticed Maeng Sa-ung's presence.
'It's done!'
Maeng Sa-ung was cheering internally, thinking the bastard could no longer help himself, when it happened.
Cheong!
His sword struck the monster's back and bounced off.
"Kuk?!"
A sword vibrating as if it had pierced an iron plate and a tearing pain in his grip as if his hand were being ripped apart. Maeng Sa-ung stared at the bastard with a stunned expression.
The bastard was slowly turning his head to look at him.
From within his disheveled hair, the bastard's crimson glare, blazing out like blood, met his eyes.
"Y-you son of a bitch!"
Maeng Sa-ung gritted his teeth.
Then he thrust his sword again with all his might.
But.
Cheong!
"Kueuk!"
The result was no different from before.
The sword ultimately could not pierce the bastard's chest and bounced off.
"Keureureureureu!"
The bastard snarled like a wild beast and raised a hand toward Maeng Sa-ung, swiping it down.
It was the very claw hand that had just torn apart his comrade's body.
Seeing the blood-soaked hand being swung toward him, Maeng Sa-ung could do nothing but despair.
'This is the end.'
It was then.
Kwaaaaaaang!
With a tremendous roar, the monster suddenly vanished from before Maeng Sa-ung's eyes.
And in the very next moment, a far wall came crashing down.
Kwareureureung!
"...?"
Maeng Sa-ung could only blink at this incomprehensible situation.
He could not grasp what on earth had happened.
And only upon seeing the monster thrash and rise from within the collapsing wall could he barely deduce that something had flown in and rammed the monster, and that the impact had sent the monster flying lightly to crash into the wall.
But...
Accepting that that something was a person was not easy.
A person was standing before him.
It seemed to be the man who had just rammed and blown away the monster.
Maeng Sa-ung could not understand at all.
How could a human fly at such speed, and how could he be perfectly fine after so ignorantly ramming him with his body?
Moreover, the face of the man who had landed on the ground and turned his head to look at him—wasn't it a face so handsome one might think him a young nobleman of a famous prestigious clan?
He was smiling at him with a radiant, beaming smile and speaking.
"Bold, aren't you? And quite lucky too. You could grow much stronger in the future."
"...Yes?"
It was while Maeng Sa-ung was staring at him blankly.
The monster that had been slammed into the wall had already picked himself up and came charging again like a beast.
"Keureureureureu!"
Maeng Sa-ung was appalled.
That someone who had been slammed so hard could get up right away and charge as if nothing had happened.
But that wasn't what mattered right now.
"Danger!"
Maeng Sa-ung shouted urgently.
The handsome young master, still looking his way, hadn't even seen the bastard coming.
It seemed certain that at this rate, he would be helplessly struck down.
But the next moment, Maeng Sa-ung could not help but be astonished.
It was because the noble young master, without even turning his head, charged again like a cannonball at the charging monster, as if he had already known.
The next moment, the noble young master and the monster collided in the air once more.
Kwaaaaaang!
It was a crash sound impossible to believe came from human beings colliding.
And the result was equally unbelievable.
The monster that had rampaged overwhelmingly as if about to single-handedly annihilate the Na Family Estate was unable to defend against the noble young master's body slam at all, bouncing off helplessly once more and crashing through a wall.
Kwareureureureung!
It was a violent collision to the point that one wondered if even his bones might have been pulverized.
But it seemed the noble young master did not think so.
He immediately charged again toward the monster.
Even by the eyes of Maeng Sa-ung, who prided himself on having the best dynamic vision among the Na Family Estate comrades, the charge was so fast it looked like nothing more than a flash of light.
Syuhaaaaak!
"Haaaaap!"
And in the next moment, Maeng Sa-ung could not help but receive another great shock upon seeing a sword shoot from the noble young master's hand at a speed invisible to the eye.
It was not only because he realized that the noble young master who had been ignorantly body-slamming him was, in fact, a swordsman.
A pale purple radiance extending from the noble young master's sword was vividly emitting light.
Maeng Sa-ung muttered with a dazed face.
"...Sword Qi?"
That was probably the sword qi I had only ever heard about.
That young noble was a peak-level master the likes of which Maeng Sa-ung had never seen in his entire life.
Even though he looked to be about the same age as himself.
Maeng Sa-ung stared dazedly at the brilliant meteor shower-like sword qi pouring from the young noble's hand.
Amid the thick, hazy sword ki, a shower of pale violet sword qi rained down like falling streaks, bombarding the freakish creature embedded in the wall.
KWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWA-KWANG!
If one were to see lightning pouring down within a typhoon, would it look like this?
The spectacle was simply too overwhelming.
Maeng Sa-ung felt as though he would never forget that sight for the rest of his life.
Unknowingly, he let out a deep sigh.
"Haaaa."
***
The Fourth Sun Sword Technique, Seventh Form.
Black Sword Rain.
KWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWA-KWANG!
I struck the bastard with my sword qi, reinforced by eighty years of internal energy, pounding him like a bombardment.
But as expected, I still couldn't pierce the creature's hide.
Moments later, the bastard, not even scratched, swung its arm to grab me, so I leaped back out of reach.
"Tch, I wanted to smash it like Squad Leader Seolpung."
It seemed that at my current level, pulverizing something like the squad leader did was still too much to ask.
"Krrrr!"
The creature rose and pounced on me like a wild beast.
In life, it must have been a martial artist who used claw techniques, as its fingers were raised like talons.
Speed rivaling a peak-level master, skin that sword qi couldn't pierce, and reckless charges that ignored defense entirely.
It was undoubtedly a troublesome opponent for swordsmen to face.
No matter how many times it was struck by sword qi, it was useless, whereas I would suffer a fatal wound with just a single hit.
Having no option but to dodge made it extremely tricky.
Of course, that was assuming I was an ordinary swordsman.
"Hmph!"
With a scoff, I met the creature's swinging fingers with my own fist, striking back squarely.
Pwah-ahng!
As the creature's hand bounced back from the impact of my punch, I used the momentum of swinging my own arm to twist my body and kick its head.
Bwaaak!
Kwhaaahng!
The creature flew back into the wall and was embedded again.
I smirked and thought,
'Sorry, but I'm no ordinary swordsman. I happen to be a close-quarters brawling-type swordsman who mastered external arts and the Brawling Technique.'
While breaking the bastard might be too much, beating it up one-sidedly was no trouble at all.
"Krrrrr!"
The creature immediately climbed to its feet and lunged at me again.
But I charged first, launching myself with the Explosive Advance Step in a body slam.
Kwhaaahng!
Waruuung!
The creature, deflected once more, was now completely smashed through the wall and sent flying out of the Na family estate.
I followed it right outside the estate.
"Alright, now that I've driven him outside, shall I take my time carving him up?"
The creature's attacks weren't very threatening, but I couldn't afford to take it easy.
For now, it was manageable, but if, as I had heard, two more came, the situation would change drastically.
So I had to finish this one off somehow before the others arrived.
And I didn't think it was impossible.
Squad Leader Seolpung had pulverized an Iron Demon with just his bare fists last time.
And in my past life, the sword qi of transcendent peak masters could cut down Iron Demons.
So ultimately, it was just that my sword wasn't there yet—if it became sharper than it was now, I could slice an Iron Demon too.
"Huuuuuu!"
After a deep breath, I lowered my upper body and assumed a drawing stance.
And waited for the creature to charge again.
The fastest sword I had ever seen was Squad Leader Sa Gun-il's Fourth Sun Sword Technique, but the sharpest sword was Sahyeong Hwa Yeong-bin's Red Sunset Sword Technique.
Specifically, the technique 'Sword Cleaves the Falling Sun' from the Red Sunset Sword Technique, which had pierced the Small-faced Demon Lord Sa Won-yang's protective strong qi.
I was now trying to recreate the feeling of that Sword Cleaves the Falling Sun.
I closed my eyes and recalled Hwa Sahyeong's sword in my mind.
That astonishing slash, which looked as if the red sunset sky were splitting apart in an instant...
I also recited the phrase of the Sword Strike Principle that Mukrang had imparted to me.
[Thrust into the gaps, guide through the hollows, follow the inherent structure—insert the blade where there is a gap and cut; it is simply following what is already there.]
"Krrrrr!"
The creature was charging at me, eyes closed.
The distance closed in an instant.
Four jang, three jang, two jang, one jang.
Now!
Shwak!
In an instant, my sword traced a pale violet semicircle across the world.
A semicircle that overlapped with the creature's neck.
Jjijijik!
Along with a screech like metal scraping, a frustrating sensation, like cutting thick leather with a small knife, lingered briefly at my fingertips.
Then, without hesitation, I launched myself with the Explosive Advance Step and slammed my body into the creature.
Pwah-ah-ahng!
The creature flew back again and crashed into the ground.
And when it immediately rose once more, it looked unscathed, as if it had taken no damage at all.
'Did I fail?'
But my sharp eyes soon caught it.
A thin red line, drawn on its neck like a slight scratch.
My sword qi had succeeded in inflicting a minor wound on the creature's skin.
It was, of course, just a tiny scratch.
But I decided to think positively.
"Good, only a hundred more cuts like that and I'll be done!"
After cracking my neck, I resumed the drawing stance.
No matter how long it took, I was going to sever that bastard's neck for sure.
But it was at that moment.
Suddenly sensing movement, I whipped my head around to look to the side, and there was someone else approaching me.
A woman with disheveled hair, wearing martial attire now reduced to rags.
Another Iron Demon.
A hollow voice involuntarily escaped me.
"Well, damn."
It seemed I wouldn't be able to concentrate comfortably on slicing up just one of them.
And suddenly, a question rose in my mind.
'But why is she coming from the flank? If they came up from the south, she should have appeared from the front like the first one. Did they split up and regroup? Then where is the last one?'
Regrettably, there was no time to ponder that question thoroughly.
Because the creatures attacked simultaneously from two directions.
"Krrrr!"
"Tch!"
It seemed the Iron Demons had developed enough intelligence to coordinate their ambush and even execute a combined attack.
The second round was now beginning.
***
At the same time, Na Seo-yu was carefully transporting Na Clan Lord on a stretcher made of a thin blanket and two thick bamboo poles, working together with Physician Yang.
She was worried about Seonwoo Jin, but right now, her priority was moving her father to a safe place.
And since no screams had been heard from the direction of the main gate after Seonwoo Jin went that way, it seemed there was fortunately no urgent crisis yet.
The back gate of the Na family estate had been left wide open, likely by whoever had escaped through it first.
Carrying the stretcher, Na Seo-yu carefully slipped out through the gate and spoke.
"If we go further north from here, the Cheon family estate is nearby. We should go there and entrust my father to them. I assume I don't need to tell you what you should be doing there, Physician Yang?"
"O-of course. I will serve the clan lord with utmost devotion and treat him."
Na Seo-yu was having that conversation with Physician Yang when it happened.
A sudden chilling sensation brushed the back of her neck, and she turned her head to look to the side.
There, she could make out a man.
A large man in worn martial attire with hair in wild disarray...
And Na Seo-yu could clearly capture the red blood glow searing vividly from between the strands of his tangled hair.
In an instant, Na Seo-yu froze, her face blank, and murmured.
"...Iron Demon?"