Chapter 59: The Five Venomous Siblings-5
Chapter 59: The Five Venomous Siblings-5
Everyone's gaze was focused on Hae Cheong-yeon, but at the very least, the leaders of both sides were not.
This was because neither Heo Gyeong, who wanted to ride the rising momentum and boost morale, nor Hwang Jang-gon, who wanted to turn the tide, had any intention of conceding this round.
Heo Gyeong called for I Gong-san, the vice-leader of the guard unit, whom he had originally intended to send out first.
"I trust you, Vice-Leader I."
I Gong-san answered with a cupped-fist salute, his eyes blazing intensely.
"I will absolutely not disappoint you!"
At that moment, Hwang Jang-gon of Jeonghyeopbang was also calling out a contestant and giving orders.
"I had originally planned to hold you back and send you out later. But the mood is no longer right for that. Do you know what you have to do?"
Standing before Hwang Jang-gon, a giant respectfully cupped his fists and answered.
"I will break their spirit completely with the most overwhelming victory."
At the giant's words, Hwang Jang-gon nodded with a satisfied smile.
"Yes, that's exactly it."
I Gong-san of the Mountain Sword Sect, just as Cheon Ju-eun had done at the start, deployed his lightness arts nimbly and moved to the center of the plain.
The warriors of the Mountain Sword Sect, whose mood had already been soaring, enthusiastically cheered at I Gong-san's entrance.
"Woaaaaah!"
"It's Vice-Leader I Gong-san!"
"Vice-Leader! Cut him down in a single stroke!"
The duel between the female warriors earlier had shifted the warriors' mood to one resembling a cheerful martial tournament spectator event.
I Gong-san arrived first and stood imposingly, facing the Jeonghyeopbang side, when one person from Jeonghyeopbang also began walking over slowly.
He was a giant who looked like a bandit, with twin massive axes in both hands and his upper body bared.
When his opponent arrived before him, I Gong-san looked him over and asked incredulously,
"I heard Jeonghyeopbang was a sect of the righteous path... but why is some bandit-like fellow coming out?"
His opponent replied with a sinister laugh, just like a real bandit.
"Huhuhu, beating heretical scum like you to death is what makes the righteous path, what else could possibly matter?"
At those words, I Gong-san's eyes twitched, and he immediately drew his sword.
"Then you are certainly not of the righteous path. Far from beating me to death, you'll be kneeling before me! I am I Gong-san of the Mountain Sword Sect!"
His opponent raised the axes in both hands, taking up a stance.
"I am Yang Ho-ung of Jeonghyeopbang."
I Gong-san looked at the two massive axes his opponent held in both hands and thought.
'To wield two such heavy weapons... he seems quite confident in his strength. Then I'll circle around him quickly and counter with speed.'
It was just as I Gong-san was finishing that thought.
Yang Ho-ung suddenly kicked off the ground and charged forward.
Pabak!
"Uk?!"
It was a surprise charge that I Gong-san, who had let his guard down given the roughly thirty-foot distance between them, had not anticipated.
Moreover, Yang Ho-ung's speed was also beyond expectation.
'So fast!'
Faced with a charge far quicker than he had ever imagined, I Gong-san hurriedly threw his body to the side.
He intended to buy time by dodging in the opposite direction of the opponent's charge.
But the things he had not imagined did not end there.
Pabak!
Yang Ho-ung turned at a right angle and was following him.
It was a dynamic movement completely unimaginable considering only his massive frame.
Watching the duel, Hwang Jang-gon smiled contentedly and muttered to himself.
"The day I first discovered this fellow, I realized that heaven-sent divine strength, something that transcends human limits, truly exists. He cannot yet use energetic force, but in terms of bodily ability alone, he is no different from a peak master. So the moment you tried to judge him by common sense, the duel was already over."
Buaaaaang!
Yang Ho-ung charged like a wild boar, sweeping horizontally toward I Gong-san's lower body.
At that ferocious force, I Gong-san had no choice but to urgently launch himself upward.
"Haap!"
But in that moment, he could see it.
The corners of Yang Ho-ung's eyes, smiling like a crescent moon as if he had been caught perfectly.
Yang Ho-ung also jumped straight up, following I Gong-san.
Then, with a martial shout, he brought down the axe in his other hand with all his might in a vertical strike.
"Euhaaaaap!"
It was a ferocious strike, as if it could split a mountain range.
Psychologically completely overwhelmed, I Gong-san could not even think of attacking and only tried to block it with his sword.
But.
Chaeng!
Puhwaak!
The warriors of both the Mountain Sword Sect and Jeonghyeopbang who had been cheering could only fall silent with a collective gasp of 'Heok!'
I Gong-san's body had been split into two pieces along with his sword.
The sight of two chunks of flesh falling to the ground with a thud and Yang Ho-ung, drenched entirely in blood, grinning a bloody smile as he faced the Mountain Sword Sect, was something entirely different from the fights the female warriors had shown so far.
As the warriors of both sides stared on with horrified eyes, unable to make a sound, a Jeonghyeopbang officer who had received Hwang Jang-gon's signal shouted loudly.
"Subdue demons and exterminate evil! Kill the heretical bastards!"
Then, warriors echoing that shout appeared from all over.
"Subdue demons and exterminate evil! Kill the heretical bastards!"
"Subdue demons and exterminate evil! Kill the heretical bastards!"
And soon, all the warriors of Jeonghyeopbang were chanting that murderous slogan.
"Subdue demons and exterminate evil! Kill the heretical bastards!"
"Woaaaaaah!"
The warriors on both sides, who had thus far felt like they were spectating a martial contest, were now jolted into a new realization.
That this was not a martial contest, but war...
The atmosphere had reversed in an instant.
The Jeonghyeopbang warriors exuded killing intent, shouting battle cries, while the Mountain Sword Sect warriors stood pale-faced, unable to make a sound.
Having succeeded in changing the mood exactly as he had wanted, Hwang Jang-gon smiled with satisfaction.
This was the atmosphere he had truly desired.
The fear now imprinted on them would surely cause the Mountain Sword Sect to crumble on its own, he was certain.
The sect leader of the Mountain Sword Sect, Heo Gyeong, grew desperate.
He summoned the commander of the guard unit and gave urgent orders.
"Commander Moon! We must have vengeance!"
"Do not worry, Sect Leader! I will certainly avenge Vice-Leader I and return!"
Although he was somewhat advanced in age, Heo Gyeong sent out the guard unit commander as the next contestant.
It was because he felt that unless he was at least at that level, there would be no catching the opponent.
But the result Heo Gyeong soon witnessed was horrific.
He too was split in two within only a few exchanges.
"Th-This can't be!"
And then, another.
Three officers of the Mountain Sword Sect were successively cleaved by Yang Ho-ung's axes, unable to even put up a proper fight.
The warriors of Jeonghyeopbang erupted in fervent excitement.
"Woaaaaaah!"
"Yang Ho-ung!"
"Reincarnation of Hangwu Yang Ho-ung!"
At that, Bi Sa-yeong, who had by now withdrawn slightly to the rear to watch, muttered.
"How gruesome. He's a total monster, isn't he?"
At his words, Sak Mu-heun also nodded.
"Incredible. Putting aside the realm of martial arts, it's just monstrous speed and power. Among first-rate warriors, no one can stand against him, can they?"
"All the morale our young ladies had raised just plummeted further. The mood on the Mountain Sword Sect side is now completely that of a funeral, isn't it?"
"Indeed, it looks miserable."
As they said, the sect leader of Sangeommun, Heo Gyeong, was at his wit's end.
He had no one left to send out anymore.
And it seemed no one wanted to go out, either.
Whenever he looked around, everyone was simply avoiding his eyes as one.
Before him, Yang Ho-ung was loudly provoking them.
"Is there no one but these pathetic wretches in Sangeommun?! It would be harder to just go into the mountains and chop firewood! Uahahahaha!"
That provocation made the atmosphere of Sangeommun even more miserable, and the warriors of Jeonghyeopbang were ceaselessly roaring their battle cries.
"Uwaaaaaaa!"
"Subdue demons and exterminate evil!"
"Kill the evil faction bastards!"
Only now did Heo Gyeong realize why Hwang Jang-gon had proposed a one-on-one duel.
He had thought that with such a man on their side, they would never lose unless they faced a peak-level master.
It was a wretched feeling.
He shut his eyes tight and pondered what to do.
He could already foresee it.
Even if they did not fight the enemy today, they had already effectively suffered a crushing defeat.
After this confrontation, they would ultimately crumble on their own.
That was when it happened.
Someone spoke to him in a weighty voice.
"Please send me out, Munju-nim."
At those welcome words, Heo Gyeong's eyes snapped open.
"Oh! You are...?!"
But when Heo Gyeong opened his eyes, he realized his gaze only reached the other man's stomach, and he lifted his head.
There, a muscular giant built like an iron tower was looking down at him.
"I am called Bae Jong-gwan, the eldest of the Five Siblings of Doksu."
"...The Five Siblings of Doksu?!"
At those words, vitality began to return to Heo Gyeong's eyes.
Today, the performance of the Five Siblings of Doksu had been so tremendous that even if everything ended right now, they deserved a great reward.
But what if this man, who called himself the eldest, showed achievements equal to his younger sisters?
Heo Gyeong asked Bae Jong-gwan in a trembling voice.
"That man... can you defeat him?"
Then Bae Jong-gwan answered in a weighty voice.
"I will return before the wine grows cold."
Though there was no warmed wine to be found anywhere, there was no way anyone could fail to understand what he meant.
Heo Gyeong nodded vigorously and said.
"Yes, I trust you!"
Bae Jong-gwan strode boldly out onto the plain.
There, Yang Ho-ung, holding an axe in each hand and drenched in blood from head to toe, was grinning a sour grin among the things that had once been six separate people.
Yang Ho-ung said.
"Oh! This one's a bigger chunk. The pleasure of splitting it apart will be exceptional."
But Bae Jong-gwan paid him no mind, offered a respectful fist-and-palm salute, and raised his voice.
- I am Bae Jong-gwan, eldest of the Five Siblings of Doksu!
Then the martial warriors on both sides stirred.
"The Five Siblings of Doksu?"
"That man is also one of the Five Siblings of Doksu?"
"Then of those young ladies from before?"
The look in Yang Ho-ung's eyes also became strange.
"You mean you're the older brother of those young ladies from earlier?"
His tone had changed as well.
Bae Jong-gwan, who had roughly guessed the reason, smirked and said.
"Hurry up and come at me. If you can manage to kill me, my little sister might just spare you some slight attention."
At that, Yang Ho-ung's eyes began to blaze fiercely.
"Is that so? Then that settles it."
He raised the axes in both hands and said.
"Hurry and take up your weapon! Let us begin quickly!"
But Bae Jong-gwan simply smirked and replied.
"I have no need for a weapon against the likes of you."
"...What?"
Yang Ho-ung's expression twisted, feeling he had been ignored.
From his eyes, once filled with fighting spirit, killing intent now began to pour forth.
"You dare... Do not regret this!"
Pabak!
Yang Ho-ung kicked off the ground and charged.
It was a charge of tremendous speed, the kind that had already made opponents aghast three times now.
But Bae Jong-gwan did not dodge it.
In his head, the conversation he had just shared with Hae Cheong-yeon surfaced.
'He's strong. He seems to be a first-class upper-level martial artist, but his physical abilities make it no exaggeration to call him a peak-level master. His speed and strength might be similar to Bae Gongja's, but his skill as a martial artist seems superior to Bae Gongja's, no?'
At those words, Bae Jong-gwan had asked with a serious expression.
'Then how should I deal with that man?'
And Hae Cheong-yeon had answered with a bright smile.
'Is there really a need to deal with him?'
As Bae Jong-gwan recalled the conversation, Yang Ho-ung closed in in an instant and was bringing his axe down with all his might.
"Euhaaaaaaap!"
It was a strike imbued with the intense will to split Bae Jong-gwan's massive body apart in a single blow.
That strike came crashing down onto Bae Jong-gwan's head like a lightning bolt.
Kwajijik!
The arc of his swinging axe was unhindered.
Yang Ho-ung's axe hand had driven straight down from Bae Jong-gwan's head to below his crotch.
Then, the warriors of Sangeommun, who had anticipated a horrible sight, already let out their laments.
"Uuuugh!"
"No!"
"Again?!"
But what they actually saw was somewhat different from what they had expected.
Yang Ho-ung was staring blank-faced at his beloved weapon, now reduced to just a handle.
The axe blade that had struck Bae Jong-gwan's head had shattered to pieces.
"Wh-What is this...?"
Seonwoo Jin, who had been watching the duel in concealment, clenched his fist and muttered.
"That's it!"
Sak Mu-heun, watching beside him, asked with a blank face.
"Is that... possible?"
Then Seonwoo Jin smiled and explained.
"It seems that after reaching the first-rate level, he can now concentrate his internal energy on a desired area to double the effect of his external arts. Since he knew the opponent would target his head anyway, he must have concentrated his internal energy there. In that state, Jong-gwan would likely not be inferior at all even compared to a mid-level Liver Demon or an Owl Demon. It means that unless it's the energetic force of a peak-level master, he can't even be scratched."
Hearing this, Sak Mu-heun looked at Bae Jong-gwan with an admiring expression and nodded.
And at that moment, Bae Jong-gwan began to move.
He drove an uppercut with all his might into the jaw of Yang Ho-ung, who had been staring at his axe with a dazed and stupefied expression.
Buaaaang!
Having been mentally shocked, Yang Ho-ung could not defend at all and took the direct hit.
Ppeo-eo-eok!
"Keu-uh-uhk!"
Yang Ho-ung's jawbone shattered as his gigantic body floated up, wung, into the air.
Then, a moment later, he crashed to the ground head-first.
Ku-ung!
With that single blow, Yang Ho-ung's consciousness had already flown far, far away.
It was a complete victory.
Bae Jong-gwan roared loudly toward the sky.
"Euaaaaaaaaah!"
It was a roar like that of a monstrous beast, announcing his victory.
Then, the warriors of Sangeommun, who had been watching in a daze, quickly came to their senses and responded with an immense cheer.
"Uwaaaaaaaaa!"
"He won!"
"Iron Bone Body Bae Jong-gwan!"
"Diamond Body Invulnerability Bae Jong-gwan!"
It was a cheer that could not help but warm the heart of Bae Jong-gwan, who had spent his whole life walking the single path of external arts.