Chapter 269 Next
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Translator: JayM
Chapter: 269
Chapter Title: Next
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If one’s heart wavered in a fight, it was over.
If one’s heart wavered, their hands and feet were bound to become sluggish.
Naturally, the tip of their sword would shake. And the life that depended upon it would be in danger, without a doubt.
In that sense…
It could be said that Johannes had gotten closer to death.
Although the man was visibly angry, he didn’t approach the barbarian rashly.
'Of course.'
The suspicion Jeong Yoo-shin had planted had become a seed and was eating away at his mind.
As such, his actions became unnatural.
Still, it wasn’t an easy fight.
Cian's wondrous swordsmanship…
Gibson's archery, which was beyond reproach…
Sebastian, who handled magic skillfully…
If he hadn't stayed by the side of those experts, observing and learning from them, this fight today would have been more difficult.
Should Jeong Yoo-shin be grateful to them?
He didn't know.
Jeong Yoo-shin gripped his longsword with one hand.
"Diiiie!!!"
Johannes shouted and cast his imprint ability once more.
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
The daggers flew, leaping through space.
Jeong Yoo-shin twisted his body, rolled, and dodged them.
Stab. Stab.
A dagger was embedded in each of his thighs.
Although a burning pain tore through his brain…
'This much…'
…Was bearable.
He pulled out the daggers, threw them on the floor, and moved his feet.
Thump. Thump.
Every time he got a step closer to his opponent, Johannes would frantically throw his daggers.
He twisted his body with minimal movement, only avoiding injuries to his carotid artery and major organs.
However…
Every time he got closer, Johannes would use his blink to increase the distance between them.
Jeong Yoo-shin stopped walking and looked around.
At some point, a large number of people had gathered in a circle and were watching the fight.
Judging by their luxurious attire, they weren’t just some riffraff.
Guards who seemed to be private soldiers were strictly controlling the street from a distance as well.
Jeong Yoo-shin looked straight at Johannes.
"Johannes, what’re you doing?"
"..."
"Do you have no shame? An intermediate-rank high explorer, running away from me like a rat?"
"Shut your mouth!!!"
A dagger disappeared from Johannes' hand.
Whoosh.
Jeong Yoo-shin immediately bent his neck.
A dagger appeared where his neck had been just a moment ago.
He looked at the dagger that had lost its target and had fallen on the floor, then he chuckled and taunted.
"Friend, look around. Look at how they're looking at you."
Johannes bit his lip.
He knew…
This place was far from the entertainment area of the Eastern District.
This wasn’t a street for insignificant people to come to.
Naturally, there were only the rich people who were somebody in the Eastern District here.
Their gazes…
…Were full of questions and a faint sense of ridicule.
On the other hand, the gaze they sent to Skar was glinting with surprise.
He felt like he was going to go mad from the shame.
He had thought that he could easily take care of an intermediate-rank low explorer.
Johannes took out two more daggers from his pocket.
'I'll kill you for real.'
Jeong Yoo-shin noticed that Johannes' atmosphere had changed.
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
Johannes approached him in a flash through his blinks.
Jeong Yoo-shin got into a stance and swung his longsword with one arm.
Claaaaaaaaang!!!
Johannes swung his right dagger, parried the longsword, and stabbed his chest with his left dagger.
Puuuuuk!!!
Jeong Yoo-shin was pushed back two steps, then he grinned and took three steps forward.
At that moment…
The two men were face to face. A distance where they could feel each other's breath.
Suddenly, Jeong Yoo-shin opened his mouth. Johannes's eyes widened.
"Kuhuk, ptooey!!!"
Splat!
The bloody saliva hit Johannes's pupil. His vision blurred.
"Shit...!"
A curse came out of Johannes's mouth. He was truly flustered.
'This crazy bastard!!!'
To think that he would use such a vile trick that only a street ruffian would use!
The flustered Johannes staggered back, but…
Jeong Yoo-shin didn't miss the opening and headbutted him.
Baaaaaaaaaak!!!!!
His hard forehead crushed Johannes' nose.
Johannes' head snapped back.
His vision flashed, and his brain shook.
"Kuhuk!!!"
Johannes was pushed back dazed and then used his blink to put some distance between them once more.
Jeong Yoo-shin stood still and stared at the man.
He didn’t give chase. Because his broken left arm was still slowly recovering through the effect of the Revenger imprint.
Blood was trickling down from Johannes' nose.
His face was contorted like a demon’s.
"..."
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
Johannes silently repeated his blinks and charged at Jeong Yoo-shin again.
The latter laughed inwardly.
'You persistent bastard. Haven’t I already figured out all your techniques...?'
Claaaaasp!!!
Johannes suddenly grabbed Jeong Yoo-shin's two arms.
Craaaack.
The latter’s forearms were shattered, and a bizarre sound spread.
Johannes gave the barbarian a gloomy smile.
"Hmph."
Whoosh.
Jeong Yoo-shin’s vision shook for a moment, and then he realized the place where they were had changed.
His eyes widened.
'What?'
The place he had moved to with Johannes…
…Was the sky.
As they began to slowly fall…
Johannes once again teleported several times up into the sky.
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
The buildings and people became small.
And they teleported up so high that even the huge city walls that surrounded the city looked like planks…
A cold, strong wind blew past the two.
Johannes burst out laughing.
"Kahahahaha!!!!! Skar, this is the end!!!"
A shout full of madness and malice.
That was right.
If he fell from here, he wouldn't even be able to find his bones.
Jeong Yoo-shin gritted his teeth and raised his broken arm to strike Johannes's face.
Baaaaaaaaak!!!
Johannes also did not back down and swung his fist.
Baaaaaaam!!!
Jeong Yoo-shin's face snapped back.
The two men, who had begun to slowly fall as they swung their fists at each other.
Baaaaaaaaaak!!!
Baaaaaaam!!!
The two men's faces were soon a mess, but they silently swung their fists without a single groan.
As the gravitational acceleration began to increase, the two began to fall rapidly.
However…
Neither of the two were flustered.
Johannes trusted his ability.
And Jeong Yoo-shin was prepared to die.
They just glared at each other and swung their fists.
The moment their falling speed became so fast that they couldn't even breathe anymore.
Johannes, with his swollen face, grinned.
"Goodbye."
"Where do you think you're going?"
The sight of him, about to teleport to a safe place, leaving him behind…
Jeong Yoo-shin immediately noticed it and grabbed Johannes's arm.
"Kuk!!! You bastard!!!"
Johannes grabbed his last remaining dagger and stabbed Jeong Yoo-shin.
Stab!!! Stab!!! Stab!!! Stab!!!
Abdomen, chest, arm, neck.
Johannes indiscriminately stabbed with his dagger like a madman.
Jeong Yoo-shin swung his fist without batting an eye.
While they were struggling and screaming, the ground was getting closer.
"Shit!!!"
In the end, Johannes had no choice but to move with Jeong Yoo-shin.
Whoosh.
"Shit!!! Let go!!! You bastard!!!"
Johannes finally grabbed Jeong Yoo-shin's arm, twisted it, escaped from the latter’s grip, and used his blink again.
"Ah, shit."
Jeong Yoo-shin looked down at the rapidly approaching ground and spat out a curse.
Although he had used Johannes to reduce his falling speed.
It was still an ambiguous height. If he fell the wrong way, his life would be in danger.
'Even if I land well, my two legs will be shattered.'
It seemed that this was his limit of fighting without an imprint.
He also wondered if he had been too greedy.
But he had gained something.
He had found out the maximum range of a single instance of Johannes’ teleportation.
Since it was the most important information to win this fight, it was worth having a close-quarters fight with that guy.
Jeong Yoo-shin raised his fist.
A man falls in style.
He wouldn’t slam into the ground like a frog.
This was a hero’s landing.
Johannes, who had landed on the ground, looked up at the sky.
"What...?!"
That fucking half-barbarian bastard was falling in a strange posture.
With his fist raised…
His torn coat fluttering…
The sight of him falling like a meteor was like a painting.
The spectators stared blankly up at the falling Jeong Yoo-shin.
A few beautiful young ladies covered their mouths and blushed.
And the landing…
Kra-booooooooom!!!
The ground was shattered, and the bricks of the pavement as well as the snow rose like dust.
Jeong Yoo-shin slowly stood up.
The pain of trying to stand with a broken shin was so excruciating that it burned his nerves.
But he couldn't just stand here dazed. Now that his opponent’s vision was obscured, this was his chance.
In the cold dust…
Jeong Yoo-shin raised his relatively unharmed hand.
[Sacred Weapon]
Kiiiiing!!!
A powerful flow of magic swirled through his body and gathered in his palm.
It was a sword he had devised by racking his brain up until now.
Combining the image of the sword Cian had swung…
And the falling snow from the sky…
It was a technique he had carefully refined in his mind's eye.
He had removed what needed to be removed, and added what could be added.
Now, this moment was irreversible.
'Hundreds of small blades riding the wind, go wild and cut down everything in an instant.'
[Bestow Trait]
'Give it a name.'
Suddenly, the words of the dwarf blacksmith came to his mind.
[Snow Bringer]
Flash!!!
As if in response to the name, an old-fashioned golden longsword shed a brilliant radiance and brightly lit the night street.
Jeong Yoo-shin held the golden longsword he had created.
"Scatter."
At that moment…
Tssssss.
The golden blade turned into hundreds of pieces and spread out wide.
'It's slow.'
[Telekinesis]
He used his telekinetic power to speed up the movements of the blades.
Paaaaaaang!!!
The golden sword fragments, which had been fluttering like snow, scattered in all directions like fireworks.
"Kuk!!!"
Johannes's eyes widened as he immediately used his blink, but…
It was too late.
Johannes repeated his blinks a few times, then stopped in his tracks and trembled.
"Kuhuk!!!"
Because of his rash spatial movement, the sword blades that had already spread wide had dug deep into his body.
Jeong Yoo-shin muttered indifferently.
"It's over."
Hundreds of golden sword blades rushed in at once, surrounded Johannes, and rotated.
Kagagagagagak!!!
"Kuaaaaaaak!!!"
Between the raging sword blades, blood splattered like fireworks along with a scream.
Blood flowed from Jeong Yoo-shin's nose.
His brain felt like it was melting from the excessive use of his mental power.
'Stop.'
He stopped the acceleration of the blades.
Just then, the sword blades, whose summon time had ended, also scattered into a halo of light.
Thud!
Johannes, whose whole body was now covered in blood, knelt down.
Jeong Yoo-shin stood still for a long time while looking up at the sky.
He couldn't move. Because he had to wait until his broken shin bone healed.
However…
The people who were watching that sight had their jaws dropped.
"...!"
A few people trembled.
It was a growth rate so steep that it was hard to believe.
This barbarian definitely hadn't been this strong when he had fought the Siege Breaker, Rex.
To think that he had gotten this much stronger in just a short while.
And what was with his relaxed expression?
Jeong Yoo-shin, who had finished his healing with the Revenger imprint, finally moved his feet.
"..."
The crowd, overwhelmed by Jeong Yoo-shin's presence, couldn’t speak and could only follow his footsteps with their eyes.
"W-What in the world was that technique?!"
At that moment…
As soon as a person who had come to his senses opened his mouth to speak, everyone started to talk.
"Don't tell me it was Sacred Weapon?"
"Crazy!!!"
"It's a technique that can't be realized with a low-grade Aura Blade! It's impossible!"
Jeong Yoo-shin ignored the words of those who were chattering like sparrows and continued to walk.
The Snow Bringer he had created this time…
…Was a truly extravagant technique.
Not only was the mana that Vivian had shared with him drained, but even all the mana in his body had been consumed.
And he had squeezed out all of his mental power to use telekinesis to its limit.
He felt like he was about to lose consciousness right now, so he bit his tongue several times.
Jeong Yoo-shin finally approached the kneeling Johannes and stood still.
He looked around and then picked up a dagger.
"If you kill an executive of the Vaisis Clan, it’ll only give you endless trouble. Are you really going to war with the Vaisis Clan?!!!"
As if to make a last-ditch effort, Johannes spat out a slurred voice.
"..."
Jeong Yoo-shin, without answering, grabbed the man’s hair and pushed a dagger against his neck.
"Johannes."
"..."
"Johannes, talk to me."
"...Why?"
Jeong Yoo-shin made eye contact with Johannes and smiled faintly.
"It’ll be rumored that you lost your composure in front of an intermediate-rank low explorer and died miserably, struggling like a bug. People will talk about your hideous form once or twice and then forget about it with a drink. The Vaisis Clan will be the same. This is your life. A shabby and hideous life that no one will remember or talk about for long."
Johannes glared at the barbarian with bloodshot eyes.
"Y-You bastard... Kuhuk!!!"
The latter plunged the dagger deep into the former’s neck and twisted it.
Johannes trembled and then went limp.
Jeong Yoo-shin looked into Johannes' eyes until the moment the man died.
When he lowered his gaze, a silver plaque was dangling from Johannes' neck.
To think that he would always wear it around his neck just because he was an intermediate-rank high explorer…
Showing off just because he had a higher rank, only to be publicly executed…
'Serves you right.'
Jeong Yoo-shin slowly moved his feet and picked up his longsword.
And he looked around and then opened his mouth indifferently.
"Next."
At Jeong Yoo-shin's bold declaration, the crowd closed their mouths.
"..."
"I said, next."
Evening.
In front of a bathhouse in the Eastern District.
In a strange silence.
Only the barbarian's voice echoed widely.
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T/N - Hey guys! I have a new novel I'm translating called "Spacetime Trading: Starting Off by Exchanging Food for an Elf Princess". It's a Chinese web novel about a guy who gets invited into a mysterious platform called "Spacetime Trading Platform". It's not as action oriented as the Barbarian novel, but it's pretty good too, perfect to read while just chilling. Check it out! Who knows, you might like it. ♥️
Damn, I didn’t think his new Sacred Weapon would go for the Senbonzakura aesthetic. I thought it would be a large Aura Blade slash like Cian’s. Still, pretty damn cool! And that maneuver the MC did to save himself from falling from the sky, did he just punch to the ground right before he hit the ground to offset some of his falling speed? Hero landing, indeed.