Chapter 62
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: A Bout with the Fighting King (1)
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The presence was simply overwhelming.
Even though he hadn't fully unleashed his energy, it felt as though his heart would stop.
The bandit leader could do nothing but press his forehead flat against the ground.
"It seems your eyes aren't rotten. If so, you shouldn't have broken the laws of the Green Forest."
*Rustle.*
Figures in strange masks.
They were the Inspectors, a name synonymous with terror among the bandits of the Green Forest.
They walked forward.
They had come to execute judgment.
‘N-No!’
He wanted to live.
In a final, desperate act, he thought of a temporary solution.
"F-Fighting King, I will gladly accept my punishment. H-However, there are those who have refused the Green Forest's legitimate exercise of authority."
*Twitch.*
The Fighting King raised his hand.
A signal to stay the execution.
"Speak in detail."
As if he had found a path to survival, the bandit leader poured out every story he could think of, true or not.
In his tale, Cheon Muryang became the one who had insulted the Green Forest.
"Oh? And where is this man?"
"W-Well, that is…"
"Tsk. If you truly wanted to live, you should have brought him before me."
*Flick.*
The Fighting King turned his head.
A shadow suddenly appeared there.
"You've come at a good time."
"Yes, my lord Fighting King."
"So, was that man's story true?"
"It is true. He calls himself Cheon Muryang, the Great Young Lord of the Cheon Family."
"The Cheon Family."
The corners of the Fighting King's mouth lifted.
What an unexpected name.
"How interesting."
"Furthermore, we have also confirmed the presence of the Wandering King."
*Halt!*
The smile vanished.
An intense fighting spirit erupted from the Fighting King's entire body.
"Is that so? Is that right. Where is he?"
"Heheheh. Why would the chief of the bandits be looking for me?"
"Speak of the devil, and he shall appear."
With a relaxed expression, the Fighting King faced the Wandering King, who was approaching with a massive blade slung over his shoulder.
"Wandering King."
"Fighting King."
The Wandering King and the Fighting King.
The two men faced each other.
An intense aura flared between these absolute masters of the martial world, those permitted the title of King.
*Ruuuumble!*
The atmosphere shifted so abruptly that it wouldn't have been strange if they had lunged at each other at any moment.
However, the Wandering King, with a composed expression, casually asked the Fighting King.
"What brings you all the way out here?"
"A bit of this, a bit of that. I heard a rumor you were in Zhejiang, and I got an itch I couldn't ignore."
The Fighting King rose to his feet.
That simple act made the entire space feel not just pressed down, but utterly crushed.
"Guhk!"
The bandits foamed at the mouth and collapsed.
Their leader was no exception.
But no one paid them any mind.
They were no different from pebbles rolling on the ground.
"How could I not make a move?"
"Always a troublesome bastard, now as then."
"…"
The Fighting King quietly picked up his two axes.
However, the Wandering King simply stared at him, not even touching his great blade.
"What's this about?"
"Unfortunately, today is not my day to step forward."
"…What kind of bullshit is that?"
The Wandering King grinned, making a show of it.
"It means it's not my turn."
"…"
*Fwoosh!*
What was it?
The Fighting King finally noticed a single sword, hidden behind the Wandering King.
‘Don't tell me it wasn't the Wandering King.’
The reason he was called the Fighting King.
It was because of his endless fighting spirit.
So, naturally, upon facing the Wandering King, he had assumed the man was the cause of his boiling blood.
But that wasn't it.
"Well, now."
The source of his fighting spirit was not the Wandering King, but the one standing behind him.
Interest flickered in the Fighting King's eyes.
"Are you the Great Young Lord of the Cheon Family?"
"Oh, it's an honor that you even know my name."
His attitude was one of confidence, but to the Fighting King's subordinates, it looked like arrogance and insolence.
"Insolent brat!"
One of the nearby Inspectors, unable to contain his anger, threw an axe at Cheon Muryang.
*Swiiish!*
The axe tore through the air.
The Inspectors were the Fighting King's personal unit, trained by the man himself.
Thus, though none of them were to be taken lightly, Cheon Muryang didn't even glance at the hurtling axe.
*Clang!*
As if he was certain it would never reach him.
Naturally, the blow was blocked by Neung Ryeoun's sword.
"…!"
"Thank you, Neung Ryeoun."
"No one may stand in the Master's way."
The teachings of the Wandering King and Cheon Seonhak had made Neung Ryeoun and Cha Myeonghak astonishingly strong.
Considering they were mere trainees until recently, it was a monumental leap forward.
"Ah, I'm late."
And then there was Woryeong, who had started later but had now become a martial artist in her own right.
Cheon Muryang couldn't feel more secure.
"Y-You bastard!"
The Inspectors were enraged.
How dare he act so defiant here, of all places?
"Die."
The many overwhelmed the few.
But the few showed no fear of the many.
"Hmph."
Neung Ryeoun and Cha Myeonghak stood protectively in front of Cheon Muryang, while Woryeong stood back-to-back with him, guarding his rear.
"You all…"
"Young Master, you just worry about that Fighting King, or whatever that bandit chief uncle is called."
*Flinch.*
Woryeong's voice was quiet, but it reached the ears of the Fighting King, who had reached the absolute realm, with perfect clarity.
The same was true for the Wandering King.
Unlike the Fighting King, who frowned,
The Wandering King burst into manic laughter.
"Puhahahaha! That's right. You just worry about that bandit chief uncle."
*Fwoooom!*
However, the aura emanating from the Wandering King was quite different from his boisterous laughter.
The Wandering King spoke in a low voice, as if warning the opposing Inspectors.
"Don't attack. You'll all die."
"…!"
The Inspectors couldn't rush in recklessly.
They, too, knew what kind of man the Wandering King was.
At this, the silent Fighting King had no choice but to step in.
"Quite impressive. Stand down."
"M-My lord Fighting King!"
"Are you saying you can handle that Wandering King?"
"…!"
The Inspectors fell silent.
Will and reality were two different things; they could only bite their lips in the face of the uncomfortable truth.
Blood trickled from beneath their grotesque masks.
"Stand down."
"…"
The Inspectors broke their encirclement.
A path was cleared between the Fighting King and Cheon Muryang.
"So, Great Young Lord of the Cheon Family, I hear you interfered with the Green Forest's lawful proceedings?"
"Lawful, you say…"
*Kuuung!*
Two axes were pointed at Cheon Muryang.
It seemed he had no intention of a long conversation.
"If you have something to say about it, don't use your mouth. Speak with your sword. Your sword."
"…"
The same was true for Cheon Muryang.
He had no intention of resolving this with words either, so he raised the Heavenly Light Sword.
"A fine sword."
*Whoosh!*
The Fighting King's axe flew fiercely.
It was a strike that resembled a ferocious beast lunging after three days of starvation.
In that single blow, it was clear why the Fighting King was called the Fighting King.
‘I can't dodge.’
Dodging was the best option.
However, Cheon Muryang saw it.
The moment he dodged, the Fighting King's second axe would come flying.
It was a strike that wanted him to dodge.
‘I'll meet it head-on.’
Without a hint of retreat, Cheon Muryang raised the Heavenly Light Sword.
*Fwooom!*
He could feel the sword's greed.
‘It's not a sword, but devour it nonetheless.’
Fortunately, the Heavenly Light Sword wasn't a picky eater.
*Flutter!*
A sudden gust of wind made the sleeves of Cheon Muryang's robe flutter.
With it, the Heavenly Light Sword advanced straight toward the Fighting King's axe, which looked as if it could split a great mountain.
"Well, now."
Watching Cheon Muryang charge forward head-on without retreating, a peculiar light entered the Fighting King's eyes.
‘Not bad. Did he see through it?’
Nine out of ten would have been intimidated by his strike and tried to dodge.
They wouldn't have known that was the tiger's maw.
‘But that doesn't mean he has the right to receive my blow.’
He might just have a good eye.
Seeing through it didn't necessarily mean he could withstand the Fighting King's strike.
*Grip!*
Instead of launching the second attack,
The Fighting King tightened his grip on the swinging axe.
That alone made the axe accelerate once more in mid-air.
*Kwaaaaaang!*
At a single point in the air.
A sound like a shattering shockwave erupted in all directions.
*Swoooosh!*
A powerful, artificially generated gale blew forth.
"Ugh!"
Woryeong had to stab her sword into the ground just to hold her position.
Otherwise, she would have been thrown backward.
"So you're not all talk, I see."
The ground beneath Cheon Muryang's feet had caved in.
It meant that in terms of raw power, the Fighting King clearly had the upper hand.
"Let's see just how long you can block me."
*Whoosh!*
Without a moment to breathe,
The second axe came flying.
*Swish!*
This axe was somehow different from the first.
‘Fast.’
He didn't know if it was lighter, but in terms of speed, it was incomparably swift.
The Fighting King's axe, which had been flying in a straight line, suddenly changed its trajectory.
The strike, arcing at an uncanny angle, aimed for Cheon Muryang's neck.
"That's not all."
"…!"
That wasn't the end of it.
The Fighting King's first axe moved once again.
‘Incredible.’
Swiftness and weight.
The Fighting King's axes, which wielded these two opposing properties at will, were truly formidable.
‘There is weight in its swiftness, and swiftness in its weight…’
It was fast, yet heavy.
Heavy, yet fast.
The axes that held this paradox were the true power of the Fighting King.
‘An axe that forces a direct confrontation.’
All other paths for the sword were erased.
It meant that tricks would not work.
The only path for the sword that remained.
Cheon Muryang walked along that path.
*Fwoosh!*
The sword and axe met again in mid-air.
*Krrrrk!*
Sparks flew from the friction.
Starting with this, a relentless assault from the Fighting King, which could only be called a storm, raged on and on.
And then, as if it had never happened,
The stormy offensive ceased.
"Is it over already?"
"Not a chance."
He had only stopped to catch his breath.
*Kreeeak!*
The two axes moved again.
The movements of the axes, tracing different trajectories, were profound.
‘Don't be deceived.’
Cheon Muryang chose to close his eyes.
It was to avoid being deluded.
Then, he saw something else.
‘They converge into one.’
He had thought their trajectories were completely different.
But those paths were destined to meet at a single point in the end.
‘That's right. In the end, they must come to me.’
That moment of intersection.
It was the one and only chance to shatter both of the Fighting King's axes at once.
‘Come.’
He intended to break the Fighting King's axes.
The moment the will to shatter imbued the Heavenly Light Sword, the air around it began to distort.
*Hwaaak!*
A blue sword energy bloomed on its own.
The path of the Heavenly Light Sword, advancing alone.
A path drawn clearly in the air.
It was slower than any other sword, yet fast; it was lighter, yet heavy; it seemed perilous, as if it would be blocked at any moment, yet it advanced with silent resolve.
*Kwaaaaaang!*
The Fighting King's two axes crossed.
At that exact moment, the Heavenly Light Sword struck them both.
"…!"
Unlike Cheon Muryang, who maintained his unmoving stance, the Fighting King took half a step back.
"You saw through this as well?"
The Fighting King gave a wry smile.
At some point, he had switched the axes to his other hands.
But even that had been completely seen through.
"No, I simply cut along its flow."
"Interesting."
It was a pity.
He wanted to enjoy it more, but.
*Crack, crackle.*
"It seems these damn axes couldn't hold up."
The Fighting King's axes began to crumble.
But the Fighting King just smacked his lips, watching the axes break.
"Tsk. I'll have to get some new axes."
The broken axes had reached the end of their life.
And so, the Fighting King, letting go of any lingering attachment,
Shattered the axes himself.
"So, Great Young Lord of the Cheon Family. What is it you wish to say?"
Even after losing his axes, the Fighting King remained composed.
‘He wasn't using his full power.’
The Fighting King had not gone all out.
His current composure proved it.
*Tremble.*
A tremor ran through both his arms.
It was the price for receiving the Fighting King's blows head-on.
‘It was a paper-thin difference.’
If he hadn't cut along the flow,
What would have shattered would have been Cheon Muryang's own two arms.
*Grit.*
‘I'm still a long way off, aren't I?’
But regardless of his inner thoughts, he had proven he was worthy of speaking with the Fighting King.
Cheon Muryang delivered his demand, concisely and clearly.
"In any place where the flag of the Cheon Family is seen, the Green Forest will not be permitted."