Chapter 162: One-Eyed Strange Sword Seo Il-1
Chapter 162: One-Eyed Strange Sword Seo Il-1
Shwiiiiik!
While I could do nothing to stop it, the spear tip at the end of the nine-section whip shot toward my back.
It seemed this was the end.
A hollow laugh escaped me at the thought of dying so absurdly.
That was when it happened.
Taaeng!
The nine-section whip that had been about to pierce through my back like a ray of light collided with something and bounced away to the side.
'!'
Startled, I whipped my head to look.
I could see it was a dark blue orb of energy that had flown in from somewhere.
And I immediately realized what it was.
'A Ganghwan?! Who in the world?'
It was a Ganghwan.
A Ganghwan so fast and dense it couldn't even compare to the one I'd seen from the Small-faced Demon Lord Sa Won-yang in the past.
Am Hyeol-hyang's head and mine simultaneously snapped toward the direction the Ganghwan had come from.
Then I could see him.
A one-eyed swordsman walking with a swaggering gait, his sword with its hilt wrapped in cloth dangling loosely.
His walk was as slovenly and arrogant as that of some third-rate thug.
But the moment I saw him, I could tell.
'He's strong! Not quite on the level of the Yeoryeongsaekma Son senior or the Sword Saint Elder, but his presence is easily comparable to Alliance Leader Mo Yong-geom!'
And from that, I immediately realized who he was.
A one-eyed swordsman with an aura similar to the Chivalrous King Mo Yong-geom, and one who bore the impression of a third-rate scoundrel—there could be no one else.
Having realized the same thing I had, Am Hyeol-hyang muttered as if spitting out a groan.
"Poisonous Eyed Ghost Sword... Seo Il?"
At that, the man chuckled and spoke.
"Judging by the looks of you, you must be that assassin bastard called something-or-other of the Dark Blood. I've got business with this brat, so if you could move aside, I'd appreciate it."
Not only his gait, but his speech too was light, rude, and arrogant like some third-rate thug.
He treated even Am Hyeol-hyang, one of the Thirty-Six Stars of the World and the king of all assassins under heaven, with casual disrespect.
Even Am Hyeol-hyang, who had always maintained his composure, visibly flinched at that rude attitude.
But it seemed he had no intention of actually fighting the Poisonous Eyed Ghost Sword Seo Il.
He opened his mouth with a solemn bearing.
"That is an unreasonable request, Ghost Sword. I am currently carrying out a commission..."
At that, Seo Il sneered and cut him off.
While unleashing a fierce expression and a momentum like a typhoon.
Hwaaak!
"Hah, did I look like I was making a request of you just now? You've got quite the severe delusion. And your head seems pretty thick too. What, would you have understood if I told you to piss off if you don't want to die?"
Having said that, the Poisonous Eyed Ghost Sword Seo Il slowly raised the tip of his sword, which had been dangling so slovenly.
Then, the momentum that had been surging outward in all directions like a typhoon began to focus directly on Am Hyeol-hyang.
It was such overwhelming momentum that even though it was clearly an invisible movement of energy, one could almost mistake themselves for seeing it with their own eyes.
At that, Am Hyeol-hyang could hold on no longer.
After gulping once, he swiftly flung his body away and vanished.
Seuseuseuk!
It was an escape utterly without regret, true to his nature as an assassin.
I suddenly felt a wave of despondency wash over me.
He had chased away that man, who was like an impenetrable Great Wall to me, with nothing but a single threat.
But the Poisonous Eyed Ghost Sword Seo Il, the one responsible for that, wore an expression as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
He didn't even glance in the direction Am Hyeol-hyang had fled as he asked me.
"You bastard, where did you get that sword?"
His gaze as he asked was nailed to my sword, Mukrang. And the emotion revealed in his eyes was unmistakable greed and curiosity.
'The Ghost Sword wants Mukrang?'
I was bewildered.
It seemed he hadn't saved me for purely altruistic reasons.
'Come to think of it, I'd heard the Poisonous Eyed Ghost Sword Seo Il was a petty man beyond comprehension as to how he ever became an absolute being of the martial world.'
He was, of course, an undefeated duelist.
But that title of 'undefeated' felt less like overwhelming strength and more like a jackal that never bares its teeth at anyone stronger than itself.
And so, Seo Il had no followers.
Even the Blood Demon, a public enemy of the martial world, had countless followers, but he was the only absolute being respected by no one.
And now, that Seo Il was eyeing my Mukrang.
'What do I do?'
For me, who couldn't even stand against Am Hyeol-hyang, to oppose him was utterly absurd.
I had to somehow settle this through words.
"Mukrang is..."
But as I opened my mouth to speak, I realized the words wouldn't come easily.
Though I hadn't felt it because the Moonlight Illusion Sword Dance had blocked the pain, my body's condition was extremely poor at the moment.
I decided to first release the state of Hyeonmangwol, the third form of the Moonlight Illusion Sword Dance.
Suddenly, another hollow laugh escaped me at the realization that I had somehow maintained my sanity even under the hallucinatory state, likely because the constant life-threatening danger had kept my mind focused, when normally it should have been impossible to handle the induced illusions.
But the next moment, I could no longer laugh.
The instant I emerged from the state of Hyeonmangwol, a tidal wave of excruciating pain crashed through my entire body.
Hwaaaaak!
"Kkeueueuk!"
It felt like my whole body was shattering to pieces.
Every part of me was screaming in agony.
With my right chest pierced through, a third of my thigh sliced off, and having continued to push my body beyond its limits, it would have been stranger if I were fine.
On top of that, it seemed the blood loss had already exceeded its limit.
My consciousness was momentarily growing hazy.
My body simply collapsed on the spot in an instant.
Without even having answered Seo Il's question.
Teolsseok!
Then, through my fading consciousness, I could hear Seo Il's voice, sounding thoroughly annoyed.
"What the?"
With that sound, my awareness went black.
***
The Poisonous Eyed Ghost Sword Seo Il scowled deeply when Seonwoo Jin, who had just been fighting Am Hyeol-hyang perfectly fine, suddenly collapsed in a heap.
It was because he thought the boy was feigning illness to avoid answering questions about the Mukrang sword.
He spat out the words through gritted teeth with a fierce glare.
"You dare pull that kind of stunt in front of me...?!"
But after using Telekinesis to lightly flip Seonwoo Jin's body over, Seo Il soon realized the boy was truly on the brink of death.
He had lost so much blood that his complexion was white as a sheet, and his entire body was a mass of brutal wounds.
At that, Seo Il wore a slightly surprised expression and muttered.
"Hoh, he was fighting like that with this body?"
Seo Il couldn't help but be slightly impressed.
It was because he knew such a thing was impossible without tremendous mental fortitude.
But not being one to readily acknowledge others by nature, he soon snorted and muttered.
"Hmph, what an utterly foolish bastard."
Seo Il stared down at Seonwoo Jin with a mix of irritation on his face. He wanted to just leave him to live or die on his own, but he still had questions for the boy.
It seemed he'd have to somehow keep him alive if he wanted to hear his answers.
He picked up Seonwoo Jin's Mukrang sword and focused his mind on it for a moment.
But he could feel nothing from the sword.
Swishing it through the empty air a few times yielded the same result.
Hwiririk!
It was nothing but a well-sharpened sword.
Finally letting out a sigh, Seo Il, with an irritated expression, slowly laid Seonwoo Jin, who had been floating in the air, down onto the ground.
"I'll have to keep him alive for now. Annoying brat."
Seo Il was in a very foul mood.
The liquor he'd have to use to disinfect the wound was a waste, and the Golden Wound Medicine to apply was also a waste.
More than anything, having to waste his time on a bastard like this was unbelievably wasteful.
Seo Il muttered with a fierce expression.
"To cause me this much trouble, you'd better know nothing. I'll tear you to absolute shreds."
Though of course, he had no intention of letting him live no matter what answer he gave.
With an expression brimming with irritation, Seo Il used Telekinesis to strip off Seonwoo Jin's clothes.
Then, again using Telekinesis, he poured strong liquor to disinfect his wounds.
Finally, after applying the Golden Wound Medicine, he even used the cloth he had on hand to bind the wounded areas.
After that, he muttered again in an annoyed voice.
"If I prodded his wounds this much, it should hurt enough to kill, but there's no reaction. Looks like he really is almost dead. Do I have to feed him a spirit medicine now too?"
Seo Il hesitated for a moment.
Though he carried some spirit medicines himself, it was far too wasteful to use them on saving this brat.
So Seo Il, who had been scowling deeply, suddenly rummaged through Seonwoo Jin's bundle, and his expression brightened slightly.
"Hoh, he's carrying several spirit medicines around? Looks like he was quite well off."
He then randomly picked two spirit medicines from Seonwoo Jin's belongings, lifted them with Telekinesis, and crushed them into powder.
Then he mixed them with water and poured the liquid into Seonwoo Jin's mouth.
He was using Telekinesis, a legendary-level skill, as casually as his own hands.
Having finished up to that point, Seo Il now muttered with a thoroughly annoyed expression.
"If he dies after I've done this much, I'll grind even his corpse into dust."
But a moment later, the pale-faced Seonwoo Jin began to shiver violently.
It seemed his body temperature had dropped due to the lack of blood.
At that, Seo Il ground his teeth and lit a campfire beside Seonwoo Jin.
Really, he had never been this irritated in his entire life.
***
How much time had passed since I lost consciousness? When I opened my eyes again, the first sound I heard was a cold voice.
"So you finally opened your eyes. To dare make me wait for an entire day, you absolutely must give me a proper explanation."
When I turned my half-open eyes toward the direction of the voice, a one-eyed warrior was staring at me with a cold gaze.
Suddenly, the situation before I lost consciousness came flooding back.
Am Hyeol-hyang and the Poisonous Eyed Ghost Sword Seo Il.
The immense pain and blood loss.
I took a moment to observe my body's condition.
Then I realized that, while still not good, it was at least not as severe as before I lost consciousness.
My clothes had been removed, and my wounds were wrapped in cloth.
By the feel of it, Golden Wound Medicine had also been applied.
Also, when I examined my internal state, a foreign energy was present, suggesting I had been fed a spirit medicine.
I looked with fresh eyes at the Poisonous Eyed Ghost Sword Seo Il, who was staring back at me.
For whatever reason, he had saved me.
First, I tried to open my mouth to convey my thanks.
But my mouth and throat were so parched that no voice came out.
"Euuuuh..."
When a hoarse groan escaped my throat, he let out a hollow laugh with an expression of utter disbelief.
"Hah!"
At that moment, the water canteen at his side suddenly floated up into the air.
Then it swung over and splashed water onto me.
Chwaaak!
He muttered in an irritated voice.
"Every single damn thing."
But I couldn't pay attention to his annoyed tone.
Because an incredibly novel sight I'd never seen before was unfolding before my eyes.
It was amazing that he had lifted the canteen with Telekinesis to scatter the water, but the water, which had seemed randomly splashed, was mysteriously gathering into a single stream in midair and flowing right into my mouth.
Gulp, gulp!
The water felt as cool and refreshing as the water of life.
My mind seemed to clear a little.
And while I drank it, I rapidly sorted through the surrounding situation.
The current state of things, his purpose, and the attitude I needed to adopt...
'He clearly asked me about the Mukrang sword earlier. Did he really go out of his way to save me just to hear that answer?'
My Mukrang was currently in Seo Il's hand as if it were his own.
'It's an obvious fact that he covets Mukrang...'
But that alone didn't explain why he went to the trouble of saving me despite being so clearly annoyed by it.
It seemed there was another reason.
'Then could it be?'