Chapter 21
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Fifth Chapter: What Can You Do? (1)
A chilling sensation crept over him.
He couldn't pinpoint the exact reason...
But a deeply unpleasant feeling brushed along his spine.
A small village tucked away in the mountains.
In this overlooked hamlet, an eerie desolation hung in the air, as if a plague had swept through.
Until yesterday, that village had been utterly ordinary. After a single sleepless night, it was anything but. Every house looked like a haunt infested with ghosts.
"Today's going to be busy."
Wild Boar glared at the village, grinding his teeth.
The blaze in the village had been completely extinguished. Now only faint wisps of smoke rose.
The fire meant Four Thousand Four had made his move.
Four Thousand Four had acted.
And the flames died out. The village fell silent once more, just as it had been before the fire started. People still carried water buckets, others stamped out embers, and chatter echoed here and there...
But none of it related to Four Thousand Four's actions.
There should have been clamor from fighting, slaughter, pursuit.
That's why it felt so wrong.
The fire was out...
The intruder had moved...
Yet the village remained as quiet as if nothing had happened.
- Four Thousand Four won't bring back the sword.
Vanguard had stated it flatly.
Four Thousand Four had the skill to breach the Life-Death Trial in the blink of an eye back in the Nineteen Hells. Skill was skill, whether from martial arts or quick wits. He'd even forced a martial artist like himself to yield.
Yet he couldn't complete this mission.
First question: Why send him if Vanguard knew he would fail?
Whatever the reason, Four Thousand Four was finished.
The man who should have raced back sword in hand hadn't appeared. Maybe he hadn't found it. But then he should have come empty-handed...
Was he still after the sword?
No. The moment he started the fire, he had moved. The village's silence meant failure. Captured or killed.
Trouble was coming soon.
Pursuers would emerge from the village. And he had to block them.
"If only I could recover my martial arts."
He tried forcing his qi to stir. Of course, he knew such attempts could lead to qi deviation...
But his qi was that desperate.
Yet it refused to move, as if it didn't exist.
Thwack!
Hanbi slapped Wild Boar's shoulder.
"Can you hold them off?"
Hanbi asked, eyes on the village.
Four Thousand Four had failed to retrieve the sword.
One man emerged from the village, heading toward the mountain. Slowly, leisurely, strolling as if on a casual walk...
Yet each step carried profound weight.
A tremendous master.
Hanbi was asking if he could stop that man.
"Pfft! Is this how it's usually done?"
Wild Boar didn't look at Hanbi.
He knew who had slapped his shoulder. Without tearing his gaze from the approaching figure, he asked,
"What?"
"The way Vanguard runs the squad. Is this standard operation?"
"What do you mean by 'this'?"
"Heh. Never mind."
Wild Boar shook his head as if it wasn't worth hearing.
"You know it's impossible in my current state. What I want to know is time. How long can you buy?"
"That guy's a master."
"..."
"Even with my internal energy intact, I couldn't guarantee victory. Let alone now...
Want a firm answer? Clash and shatter. No holding or enduring. Satisfied?"
"Not satisfied. But if it's One-Four-Six, you have to hold out at least a bit."
Hanbi was cold.
"We're heading into the village. We'll snatch the sword. Buy us time to move freely. Hold as long as possible, even if you break."
"Got it."
Wild Boar replied icily.
Vanguard staked his squad's lives on missions.
There was more to why One-Four-Six died. Until yesterday, he'd thought it was because Three-Seven were such overwhelming masters. But no. Vanguard drove One-Four-Six to death. Used them as bait for Three-Seven to succeed.
Vanguard's command style...
It hit him the moment the man stepped from the village.
In the end, Four Thousand Four had been a tool to draw out the enemy's top master. He'd buy time and die...
The Fox of Bireung Mountain, who climbed to scout the peak, hadn't returned. But he'd left traces. After that man killed him...
They'd follow the trail to the Fox.
Another reason One-Four-Six died.
Everyone was just pawns.
Vanguard, Hanbi, and Jaja would leisurely claim the sword. Complete the mission. Then return to Nineteen Hells to save One-Four-Six.
In the end, all were bait to buy time.
That's why, over a month after escaping Thunder Prison, no one restored their martial arts.
One-Four-Six were just tools to buy time. No need to waste effort on the doomed. No reason to invest.
Did it have to be like this? Completing missions this way must leave a bad taste. Or maybe it had become routine.
"Other Six Volumes usually held for about the time it takes to brew one cup of tea. You're special, so I'll trust you for half an incense stick."
Harsh words pierced Wild Boar's ears.
He didn't reply. Didn't turn.
Hanbi, Jaja, and Vanguard were behind him. Ready to leave.
The rustling wasn't just packing bedding. If Hanbi spoke like that...
Their mounts were saddled, ready to bolt.
"Survive, and I'll buy you a drink."
Hanbi said it without mockery...
Truly infuriating.
Wild Boar said calmly,
"If I survive...
I'll take a punch instead of the drink. Just one. If you live, I'll buy you one then. Heh heh heh!"
"Hahaha! Doubt it."
"Annoying. Go."
Wild Boar picked up his stone axe.
Stingy bastards... Even discarding him like this, shouldn't they arm him properly?
Clop! Clop! Clop!
He'd hoped not...
But Vanguard, Hanbi, and Jaja really left.
They weren't climbing the peak. Nor descending the base. Circling the mountainside.
Vanguard had used them thoroughly.
Grip!
His hand tightened on the stone axe.
Vanguard hadn't forgiven that incident. The one that got him expelled from Martial Camp. Fair enough... How could Martial Camp alumni like Vanguard, Hanbi, and Jaja forgive it?
If they were ignorant like the Warden, maybe.
But Vanguard had investigated thoroughly. Knew every detail of what happened and how it ended.
Wild Boar thought Vanguard kept it to himself.
Never imagined he'd tell Hanbi and Jaja.
Hanbi's face was cold as he left with Vanguard.
Senior Jaja didn't spare him a glance. Ignored him like air.
Nothing like yesterday.
Vanguard had told them. That's why they'd shut him out.
'Damn! One mistake...
And it all tangles up.'
He grumbled, gripping the axe tighter.
"That guy's a bear. A real bear."
The old woman chuckled.
She was barely five feet tall. Standing beside Wild Boar, she reached his waist. Not just short—frail. Like a gust could whisk her away. Yet breathing felt hard for Wild Boar.
'What a master!'
He'd met many in Martial Camp. Warden was one, Vanguard too. But the arts masters were bottomless true experts.
Top grade in Martial Camp wasn't supreme.
Just "You're the best this year. Better than the others. Practice diligently. Got it?"
Top grade emerged yearly.
Strong, but not true masters. True masters hid in Martial Camp, never emerging. Or someone above them...
This old woman matched them.
"With the guy who came to the village?"
She smiled sweetly.
'Trouble confirmed.'
Four Thousand Four screwed up. Even with wits, against this master? Inevitable. How to beat this?
Deny knowing him? No. She saw through everything. Lies wouldn't work. Better end clean than waste time.
Wild Boar answered,
"What happened to him?"
"Dead."
"I see."
Whoosh!
Wild Boar raised the stone axe.
"What for?"
She eyed the axe.
"I know I can't win. But I'll give my all. This...
Better than nothing, but probably useless."
He meant it.
Knew he couldn't win. Still, fight with everything. He'd trained relentlessly in Martial Camp, once aiming for top grade.
"Tch!"
She shook her head pityingly.
'Chance!'
Wild Boar seized the golden opportunity.
As she shook her head, her neck to left waist exposed fully.
He struck like lightning.
Scree!
The small axe flashed in the air.
This chance—once in a lifetime!
"Tch!"
She clicked her tongue again.
'Crap!'
Terror made Wild Boar's hair stand on end.
In that instant, the glaring openings vanished cleanly. No— she vanished. The old woman was gone.
Too fast!
The axe swept empty air.
He'd predicted eighty percent this, but hoped... Wrong.
Now, he wanted to sweep horizontally.
Vertical strike hits hard but risks counter if missed. So switch to horizontal to guard body.
But no power followed. Will yes, body no.
Even with free internal energy, same result. She'd be gone.
Smack!
Didn't know where or how. The world went black.
Thud!
Wild Boar collapsed like a felled bear.