Bandit Extermination
Whoosh!
An arrow streaked in from afar. Infused with internal energy? Its speed was bizarrely fast. If Hwangbo Un hadn't been here and my guard had been down even a little, I'd have had to smash the replay button right then.
Namgoong Juhee thought that as she smacked the arrow away in a flash.
And Hwangbo Un did the same.
"Whew! It's already starting."
Those thick muscles weren't just for show, apparently. Even with a pretty sharp arrow, his reaction was casual. This guy... what would it be like to fight him? The thought popped into my head on its own.
"Lady Namgung, that look in your eyes is scorching. Starting to think we should get to know each other better?"
"Piss off."
"Haha! Cold as ice. How about this, then?"
"...?"
"Let's make a bet. Those Maegumdan or water bandit bastards are coming... whoever kills more wins?"
It was a classic setup. Pokémon, right? That rival in the beginning who bets on who catches more Pokémon—it was exactly like that.
The assassination attempt must've been overthinking it. Looks like he's a new kind of ally NPC. No need to chase away an ally NPC, is there? Traveling together wouldn't hurt, and he might even be useful.
"Bet sounds good. Pour me a drink."
Namgoong Juhee nodded. They were going to die anyway. As long as the Hwangbo family got something out of facing off against the young lady of the Namgoong clan, there was no loss for her.
"Alright, starting now! I'm going first, Lady Namgung!"
Hwangbo Un headed left. A lefty? He had a vaguely progressive vibe, but not this much.
Namgoong Juhee naturally veered right. There, about thirty grown men came into view. Mostly third-rate, with a couple of first-rate mixed in.
She figured it was plenty to win the bet. Anyone else would've gawked and asked if she really planned to fight that many. But that's what made it fun.
"Charge!"
At the leader's shout, the thirty bandits drew their swords in unison. Pretty disciplined. An average peak realm expert would've been a goner in seconds against that force.
If they were average peak realm.
"Uh... huh?"
Namgoong Juhee's eyes flicked. Left once, right once. Just that movement threw the front-line bandits off balance.
Missing that gap would've disqualified her as peak realm. Ink-black energy quietly spread from her feet, staining the ground. And then—slash!
"Gurk?"
A head with a scruffy beard hit the dirt. Pretty pathetic end for a first-rate.
"Whew. Next."
This was Juhee's first kill. But there was no shock at taking a life. Because what she'd killed wasn't a person to begin with.
Just your standard trash mob. The way they swarmed was a dead giveaway.
And those necklaces the bandits wore—human finger bones? Rib fragments? Classic, clichéd trash mob behavior. If you're a player, oh well, too bad.
Hell, who feels guilt killing monsters or players? That'd make you the psycho. That was the intent behind Namgoong Juhee's sword.
"Gaaah!"
Compared to the shallow intent, that sword was viciously sharp. It carried the full essence of the Emperor Sword Form.
"Wh-what the hell!"
One bandit's eyes locked onto the sword. Even standing still, it felt like it struck dozens of times—an illusory feat that stunned anyone who saw it.
But in the end, a bad choice. Getting distracted in battle meant death. No exceptions.
"Kehk!"
The Noksu sword bisected the bandit's head. Then—boom! The head rocketed in a brutal arc, exploding another bandit's skull. Figures China can't beat Korea at soccer.
Confirming that fact, Juhee grabbed another bandit's head. If soccer worked that way, what about baseball? Namgoong Juhee had to test it right away.
"Let go! I said let go!"
"Yeah, I'll let go. Just a sec."
"What the—!"
Crack!
Like gripping a baseball, Namgoong Juhee swung the head back. She lifted her slender leg, wound up, and pitched!
Thwack!
"Strike! Three strikes, you're out!"
To be precise, it wasn't a strike—it was a dead ball. A real dead one. The skull had shattered ribs and pierced organs; no surviving that.
If Juhee were a pitcher, she'd get flamed. "Can't control it like that? Quit baseball and find another job." Lucky she was a swordmaster, not a pitcher.
"You little punk!"
Still had the guts to charge? Typical trash mobs. Blind to their own level, they mothballed straight at players. Namgoong Juhee glanced toward the shout.
Bloodshot eyes, filthy beard, muddy sword qi. Looked like the boss of this crew.
"I'll bury your head with Sutaek's in his grave!"
Sutaek, huh. The guy whose head she yanked off earlier? His reaction said brothers or something. Probably some tragic backstory flashbacks among them.
Not her problem.
Juhee's eyes dropped. Her right hand twitched. That'd take the beard guy's right side.
Thud!
"Gurk!"
Juhee's slender fist slammed perfectly under the man's right ribs. A modern liver blow.
"Gek! Gurhk! Heuk!"
The man doubled over. Choking sounds—he couldn't breathe. The liver's one of the human body's weak points.
Grab. Namgoong Juhee seized his hair.
"What was it? Sutaek? Gonna bury my head with him too?"
"Cough, cough. Hoo... kehk!"
"Any last words? Like 'I'll be waiting in the afterlife' or 'I'll haunt you as a ghost'?"
"Gr-g-great hero, spare my life. Just my life. I know the Maegumdan hideout—if you let me go, you won't regret it."
"Yeah, yeah."
"You'll spare me?"
Bam!
The bearded head exploded like a watermelon. Blood sprayed everywhere. The gruesome sight left the bandits speechless.
"Trash mobs should act like trash mobs. Suits you better."
Over a dozen bandits slaughtered in seconds. What insane bullshit was this? They had to run. Bandit feet shuffled backward one by one.
"Whew..."
Juhee set the head down and fixed her hair. About fifteen left? She'd taken out the strong ones already; the rest were just EXP fodder. Her head turned toward the survivors.
"Hm? What's up? Not coming? Weren't you gonna kill me?"
The bandits froze solid.
"...Whew!"
Seeing the aftermath of Namgoong Juhee's rampage, a gasp escaped Hwangbo Un despite himself.
I thought she was some delicately raised lady. She's got a brutal side.
Heads rolling everywhere—it was grotesque. Even Hwangbo Un, with plenty of experience, found it unfamiliar. Not to flinch here would make you a statue, not a man.
"Three first-rates... ah, that one's peak realm?"
Even more shocking was the level of her opponents. Taking on thirty to begin with was nuts, and three were first-rate. One even teetering on early peak realm—basically two first-rates and a peak. Core forces of any decent sect.
Yet Juhee handled them solo. And she still looked fresh. No wonder she ditched the reinforcements and went alone. Hwangbo Un sighed, convinced.
"...Tch. The 'save her in the crisis and make her swoon' plan failed."
That was why he'd tagged along. To flirt with her.
At first, he thought it'd be easy. His secret weapon? Muscles.
Forearms, pecs, calves, brachioradialis. They mesmerized women, and they had.
Plus the Hwangbo family! Top five across righteous, evil, demonic sects. Countless women were dying to be his wife. Hell, some begged to be his eighth concubine.
But he'd miscalculated. "I like women" as an excuse? Fresh. And she genuinely seemed uninterested anyway.
Didn't mean he'd give up.
"Alright, I win the bet. Admit it?"
"Impressive. You got me good."
"Now, pay up. You must've thought of something."
"Mm, yeah. Got just the thing."
Hwangbo Un rummaged in his sleeve. Then patted himself down like he couldn't find it.
"What, lost it?"
"Lady, hold on. Hmm... Ah! Here it is."
Whoosh! Hwangbo Un suddenly stripped off his top.
"Ah, shit."
Muscles gleaming in the sunlight. If born in modern Korea, he'd dominate Olympia or something. The kind of body that'd melt women.
Women.
"Hahaha! Your reward is me! Hwangbo Un himself!"
Fuck. Namgoong Juhee's eyes narrowed at the bullshit scene.