A Taste of One's Own Medicine
"Catch that bastard!"
Somehow, it had turned into a four-on-one battle against a Master-level expert.
The moment my veil was lifted, he would realize I was his sworn enemy. I had no other choice.
"Tyrant Force Axe!"
"Yikes?!"
Whoosh!
Boom!
It wasn't just flickering Sword Qi. This was Sword Force—a condensed, physical manifestation of energy.
Even though I thought I had dodged with plenty of room to spare, the sheer destructive power sent a shiver down my spine.
"You're like a damn flying squirrel, you little bitch!"
Thanks to the Guihua Preservation, my speed was equal to or even greater than his.
But knowing that a single hit would mean instant death was taking a massive toll on my mental stamina.
"Now!"
Whoosh!
His attack had missed. Now it was our turn.
The sabers of the Paeng siblings lunged from both sides, while Tongmuk's Dog-Beating Staff came crashing down from above. But—
"Hmph!"
Clang!
"Urgh!"
The moment Bae Man-gang circulated his internal energy, the weapons striking his body rebounded with a violent force.
That was the realm of Body Protecting Ganggi—using compressed force to shield oneself.
"What the hell! I thought you reached the Master realm only two years ago!"
Not every Master-level expert could use Body Protecting Ganggi.
After all, projecting force from a blade was on a completely different level of difficulty compared to shrouding one's entire body in it.
"Hahaha!"
"Surprised by my realm? I reached the Master realm over five years ago! I only hid it to lure in moths to the flame like you!"
"Tch!"
Theoretically, if we kept attacking until his internal energy ran dry, his Body Protecting Ganggi would naturally dissipate.
"How dare you look away in front of me!"
Whoosh!
"Yikes?!"
But theory was just theory. How was I supposed to focus on attacking when lethal blows kept flying at my face?
"Lady Yeon!"
"Benefactor!"
"Don't come close! Just wait for an opening!"
Just because he used a heavy axe didn't mean he was slow.
If those three tried to force their way in, they would most likely end up dead.
Swoosh!
"Bwahaha! You're all going to die anyway, so why care who goes first!"
"Damn it!"
Whoosh!
There is a common misconception that human focus is an infinite resource. It isn't.
If I just kept dodging and relying on my speed, my concentration would eventually slip, leaving me in mortal danger.
In the end, I had to utilize my speed to land a decisive blow.
Tighten.
Is the Blue Sky Divine Sword my only option?
My grip tightened around the Danya Sword.
Was it encouraging its master? The hilt felt cool yet damp, a strangely pleasant sensation.
"Whew..."
To pierce through his force, it only made sense for me to use force as well.
Besides, he wouldn't expect me to be capable of using Sword Force.
"Blue Sky Divine Sword!"
Hummm.
I see it!
As I concentrated my internal energy, several paths began to materialize between Bae Man-gang and me.
Those were the trajectories my sword had to follow.
And the moment I reached the end of that path, Sword Force would condense at the tip of my blade.
"I told you not to look away!"
Whoosh!
The axe swung from the left, aiming to cleave my waist.
"I see it all!"
I spread my legs and lowered my stance. The moment the axe grazed past my head—
Clang!
Bam!
My sword struck in rapid succession: ankle, waist, wrist.
It was a relentless, flowing chain of attacks, embodying the profound principles of a single, continuous strike.
"S-So fast!"
"To outpace a Master in speed..."
It was a clean attack, clean enough to draw gasps of admiration from the onlookers, but—
"It's useless!"
Clang!
"Tch!"
As expected, it wasn't enough to break his Body Protecting Ganggi.
Even so, my wrist didn't ache much from the rebound. The Danya Sword had absorbed the shock.
A masterpiece of a sword, indeed.
Swoosh!
Without pausing, Bae Man-gang spun around to launch another attack.
It was the same trajectory, so I could dodge it the same way, but—
It's too close!
If I did that, my chain of attacks would be broken.
The essence of the Blue Sky Divine Sword lay in its continuity. If I stopped now, I would have to start the forms all over again from the beginning.
Swish!
I couldn't afford to duck. Leaning my upper body back, I leaped and thrust my sword toward his neck.
Clang!
Screech!
Did he get me?
Fortunately, the chain wasn't broken, but my back had been grazed.
"Lady Yeon!"
"Benefactor!"
The two men panicked upon seeing me get cut. However, Paeng Ha-yun calmed them down.
"Brother, Young Hero Tongmuk. Our benefactor seems to have a plan. Let's attack in staggered intervals to distract him as much as possible."
Oh?
She's quick to read the situation.
I was frustrated because I couldn't just shout, "Buy me some time so I can use Sword Force!"
Whoosh!
Clang!
"Ugh... my hands!"
"How on earth is our benefactor holding out against this?"
Clutching their aching hands, the three of them stubbornly kept striking at Bae Man-gang.
"You annoying pests!"
Boom!
Annoyed by their hit-and-run tactics, Bae Man-gang stomped the ground heavily, blowing the three of them back.
"An opening!"
Thanks to that, I was able to resume my chain of attacks.
Almost there...
I could see the end of the path. The final destination of my sword was his waist.
That was where his dantian lay. Cleaving it would guarantee his death. It was the perfect spot for the final strike.
Whoosh!
"Everyone! Just one last time!"
I could only manifest the Sword Force for a single split second. I had to finish this now.
Even if it meant forcing the issue, I had to create an opening.
"Understood!"
"Haaah!"
I lunged from below while the other three struck from above. Meanwhile, Bae Man-gang swung his axe toward me.
This is it!
He's attacking because he trusts his protective barrier... Let's see if he can still swing that axe once his waist is cut in half.
Just as the three attacks struck Bae Man-gang's back—
Crackle!
Thud!
"Huh?"
"Why did that...?"
The three attacks landed cleanly. His Body Protecting Ganggi hadn't activated.
"Hehehe... Did you think I was an idiot?"
However, the damage wasn't severe. The sabers were caught on his bones, unable to cut deeper, and the staff had only left bruises.
"Don't tell me..."
"I've roamed the Jianghu for decades. I can easily tell when a greenhorn like you is plotting something."
Hummm.
"You're aiming for my waist, aren't you? I've concentrated all my protective energy there, so try and pierce it if you can!"
"Damn it!"
He read me like an open book!
Is that the kind of intuition you get after surviving on the edge of a blade for decades?
Whoosh!
Even as I cursed, Bae Man-gang's axe was closing in.
It was do or die.
"Aaaaargh!!!"
I swung my sword toward his dantian, moving faster than his incoming axe.
I finally reached the end of the path. At that moment, the Sword Force began to condense at the tip of my blade.
But—
Shuuuuk.
"Huh? What the...!"
The Sword Force, which should have only flared out slightly, extended into a thick, solid blade of light.
It was barely inferior to the force wrapping Bae Man-gang's axe.
Come to think of it, wasn't the Danya Sword forged using the principles of the Blue Sky Divine Sword?
Did the affinity between the sword and the technique amplify the effect?
No wonder everyone is obsessed with finding famous swords.
Startled.
"What is that force?!"
"What do you think? It's the force that's going to pierce your dantian!"
"Don't make me laugh!"
Rumble!
Now, even the force surrounding his axe was shifting to protect his dantian.
If I gave him any more time, his defense would only become impenetrable.
"Here I come!!!"
Swoosh!
My sword, swung with all my might, clashed against Bae Man-gang's dantian.
The two opposing forces collided.
BOOM!
A massive explosion erupted, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.
"Ugh..."
"Aaargh..."
The blast had sent us all flying.
My three helpers were injured, but it didn't look like anything life-threatening.
Twitch.
Pant... pant...
Meanwhile, I lay flat on the ground, sweating buckets.
It felt like the backlash on my body was just as massive as the amplified Sword Force.
All four of us were completely incapacitated, but the silver lining was—
Cough.
"Urgh...!"
Bae Man-gang seemed to be in an even worse state than I was.
He sat cross-legged right in front of us, glaring in our direction.
"What's wrong? Did your dantian get a little damaged?"
Smirk.
"You'd better worry about your own skin rather than mine, girl."
"What?"
"Have you ever seen a bandit travel alone?"
Thud thud thud!
Rumble!
The moment he spoke, a crowd of figures appeared on the horizon, rushing toward us.
"My men. They must have located us after seeing the explosion."
"O-Oh no!"
"Do you think you exhausted bastards can escape?"
Scramble.
I hurriedly reached into my pocket and pulled out the Blood-Centering Pill.
But the pill slipped from my fingers and fell to the ground.
Roll, roll.
Snatch.
"N-No!"
By sheer coincidence, it rolled right into the hand of the cross-legged Bae Man-gang.
"Oh? An elixir? Was this your trump card?"
Gulp.
Bae Man-gang snatched the pill and swallowed it without hesitation.
"It tastes a bit fishy, but not bad. I can feel energy rising in my body—"
Grin.
"What? Why are you smiling like that? Have you lost your mind?"
"Hehehe..."
Even to my own ears, my laughter sounded creepy. The corners of my mouth were practically stretching to my ears.
But what could I do? When the enemy falls for a trick this beautifully, you just have to laugh.
Surging.
"My energy is already returning... Huh?! W-What is this?!"
The energy surging from Bae Man-gang's body was, of course, a crimson blood qi.
Since he had consumed the Blood-Centering Pill after completely exhausting his own internal energy, the effect was glaringly obvious.
"You! Don't tell me that pill was—!"
Inhale.
I inhaled deeply, filling my lungs to capacity so I could scream as loudly as possible.
And the moment the bandits drew near—
"It's the Blood Cult! A member of the Blood Cult has appeared!!!"
"Huh?!"
"T-That's...!"
The brave lads of the Green Forest had rushed to the site of the explosion to aid their boss.
But the reality they faced was far more baffling than they could have anticipated.
"Red energy is coming out of the boss!"
"Isn't that blood qi?"
Blood qi was surging visibly from Bae Man-gang, whose dantian was damaged.
"W-Wait! I can explain! It's because I swallowed a strange pill!"
Naturally, a panicked Bae Man-gang began to make excuses.
"Is that so?"
"Yes! Take me to the Grand Bandit Chief! Then I can prove—"
"Why should we?"
"W-What?!"
Grin.
"Is there really any need to prove anything?"
"Exactly. You're already radiating blood qi like this."
"Y-You bastards, don't tell me...!"
Step, step.
"Actually, it would be quite troublesome for us if you weren't a Blood Cultist."
"Let us get a bit of a reward from the Grand Bandit Chief, Boss."
Currently, the Alliance of Evil was desperately hunting down Blood Cult spies.
They weren't foolish enough to kick away a stroke of good fortune that had rolled right into their laps.
"You bastards!"
At this rate, his own men would take his head.
He tried to circulate his internal energy to salvage the situation, but—
Cough.
"Cough...!"
Since the blood qi had entered his damaged dantian, there was no way he could circulate his energy properly.
Bae Man-gang ended up spitting out fresh blood to no avail.
"Hahaha!"
"Who do you think we learned this from?"
"I'll make good use of your Tyrant Axe, Boss."
"Aaargh! You ungrateful bastards! Stay back! I said stay back!"
Today's ally is tomorrow's enemy.
It was quite cold-blooded, but such occurrences were not at all rare in the Unorthodox path.
Meanwhile, there were those who watched the scene unfold as they quietly slipped away.
Glance.
Wriggle.
"Wow... those Unorthodox bastards are vicious."
"Indeed. Well then..."
Scribble, scribble.
"Huh? Tongmuk, what are you writing?"
Ridge-Cleaving Tyrant Axe Bae Man-gang... suffered a fatal blow from Lady Yeon, subsequently killed by his own subordinates...