Chapter 109
Chapter 109
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: One-on-One
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‘I had a feeling this would happen.’
What was the point of gathering talented people and painstakingly crafting a plan?
Nothing ever went according to that plan.
Despite that, I felt surprisingly calm, perhaps because a part of me had expected something like this to happen.
“You said things wouldn’t go badly.”
“…I have no excuse.”
Kaljak muttered, his voice defeated.
I hadn’t expected this reaction.
To be honest, it didn’t suit him.
“It can’t be helped. Reinforcements will be here soon, so we just have to hold out until then.”
I said it loud enough for Huan to hear.
It was a bluff, of course. I hadn’t had time to tell Junian I was leaving.
This outing had been rather sudden.
Since I was supposed to be resting in the instructor’s infirmary, I was able to sense the presences inside the building more clearly.
And I had been paying special attention to Huan’s room.
‘Why the hell isn’t this bastard back yet?’
Where could he be wandering around at this time of night?
Even after 11 PM, Huan’s room was still empty…
Finding this odd, I had slipped out of the infirmary.
And after looking around, I found this place.
Naturally, I hadn’t had a chance to inform Junian or Luke of the situation.
“Huuup…!”
Just then, Kaljak pushed himself to his feet.
I was surprised by his unexpected grit.
“Are you okay? You seem to be bleeding a lot.”
“I’ve stopped the bleeding. I can’t say I’m in top condition, but I won’t be dead weight.”
Still, I couldn’t expect much help from him.
A wound to the abdomen is fatal. It’s a part of the body that engages with every movement.
“He’s the one who attacks with his tongue.”
“So I see. I killed someone similar back in the mountains.”
A soft chuckle could be heard.
It was Huan.
“Osel was a rather promising member. In fact, I was the one who arranged his contract with the demon…”
“…”
“More importantly, Ruan Bednicker… Judging from your last attack, you seem far more capable than I was led to believe. Have you been hiding your talent?”
It had been a while since I’d been asked a question like that.
I gauged the distance to Huan and retorted.
“Not really.”
“Is that so?”
The moment his mouth opened, his tongue shot out again.
Fast.
If it weren’t for my training on the Spirit Mountain, I wouldn’t have seen it at all.
‘Shit.’
I wasn’t the target.
The tongue was heading for Kaljak.
He might have been able to handle it if he were uninjured, but could he react now?
*Clang!*
Thankfully, Kaljak managed to knock the tongue aside.
Or so it seemed at first.
*Slurp.*
“…!”
The tongue immediately wrapped itself around his sword, its movements as unsettling as a coiling snake.
Once it had a firm grip on the blade, the tongue yanked Kaljak forward like a rope.
“Ugh!”
Kaljak staggered but refused to let go of his sword.
It was admirable persistence for a swordsman, but whether it was a good decision was another matter entirely.
The tongue lifted Kaljak, sword and all, then swung him around like a whip and sent him flying.
“Kalja—!”
Monstrous strength.
Kaljak’s body shot into the night sky like a thrown pebble.
I stared blankly at the sky for a moment before twisting my torso to dodge the tongue.
“I have no interest in a dying man, Young Master Ruan.”
Huan smiled faintly at me.
I found it impressive that he could speak so clearly with his tongue stretched all the way out.
“You, on the other hand, seem like you’ll be a nuisance if I let you live. I should make sure to kill you here and now. Before your reinforcements arrive.”
“…”
“Well, if my guess is correct, you don’t have any in the first place.”
‘Damn it.’
He’s sharp.
Well, fine.
The situation had gone to hell, but hadn’t I trained for moments just like this?
The anger, the emptiness, the humiliation I felt after the training retreat. The 100 days on the Spirit Mountain and the spars with my fourth martial brother that followed—
The memories flooded my mind like gathering clouds.
*Fuuuuu…*
I took a deep breath and glared at my opponent.
“…Let’s do this, High Priest.”
With no one to interfere, one-on-one.
* * *
Kaljak’s body soared to a dizzying height.
Even his senses, which had been greatly enhanced by consuming the Sapphire Snake, were screaming in alarm.
Looking down on the vast midnight forest was a spectacular view in its own right, but—
*Thud.*
The moment his ascent turned into a fall, he could no longer afford such idle observations.
*Whoooosh!*
“…! …!”
He was plummeting.
The air resistance made it difficult to even keep his eyes open.
The pain in his abdomen made it hard to do anything else.
With no other choice, Kaljak crossed his arms to brace for impact.
*Craaaack!*
Should he call it fortunate?
The thick branches of the forest cushioned his fall. By the time the sensation of branches scraping against his body ended…
*Crash!*
Kaljak tumbled across the ground.
He was alive, at least.
Though it felt like he had fractured his arms, ribs, and legs.
“Dammit…”
Kaljak forced himself up.
The green tongue that had emerged from Huan’s mouth.
It was dangerous.
Of course, he had only allowed the attack because he had foolishly assumed Huan was dead…
‘Kaljak, you damn fool.’
What was this pathetic display after acting as if you’d already forgotten your past connection?
His opponent was a cultist, and a High Priest at that.
One of fewer than twenty executives in a cult crawling with all sorts of freaks.
He shouldn’t have assumed a stab to the throat would be enough to kill him.
Not that he didn’t have excuses.
The High Priest he met in the mountains hadn’t possessed this kind of regenerative ability.
‘…The kid is in danger.’
Though it was difficult to even walk, Kaljak desperately made his way back to the clearing.
“…”
The moment he arrived, he stood frozen, mesmerized by the scene before him.
*Kwagagagak!*
A battle so intense it made the clearing, which was by no means small, feel cramped was unfolding.
The green tongue attacked, changing its form at will.
And Ruan’s response to it was perfect. Ignoring his youthful appearance, he looked like a master whose skill even Kaljak had rarely seen.
‘Ruan… what in the world happened to you?’
Kaljak forced down the rising questions.
Instead, he re-analyzed the current situation and considered his options.
Emotionally, he wanted to join the fight right away, but… in this state, he would only be a burden.
‘…I need help.’
He had to return to camp and bring back allies.
But he couldn’t bring everyone.
There might be a subordinate of Huan’s among the instructors, and if too many people showed up, Huan might just flee.
‘The Head Instructor. Captain Luke.’
He thought of the two most skilled and trustworthy people at the moment.
Them, plus the current Ruan.
With the strength of those three, they could surely kill a High Priest.
In that moment, Kaljak decided to completely bury his old friend Huan and treat him only as a High Priest of the cult.
He would not hesitate any longer.
‘…Please don’t die, Ruan.’
He had just incurred another debt he had to repay.
Kaljak staggered toward the camp.
* * *
Just as Junian had explained.
And as Ruan had guessed, the position of High Priest was mostly filled by internal members of the cult.
The reason Huan had been able to become a High Priest.
The reason the Dark Lord himself had gone out of his way to recruit him was because of Huan’s special quality.
Huan could serve multiple Demon Kings at once.
Besides the Dark Lord, the incarnation of evil, no one else was permitted to do so. Not even the Young Lord, who carried his bloodline.
Demon Kings were tyrannical beings.
Those foolish imperials lumped all worshippers of Demon Kings together and called them the [Dark Cult], but the internal situation was far more complex.
To begin with, the six Demon Kings were not on good terms with each other.
Their dispositions were all different, and their scriptures were entirely dissimilar.
Each faction had different doctrines, rules, and even member personalities. If not for the central figure of the Dark Lord, they would have long since become separate powers.
Naturally, the Demon Kings did not like having the faith directed at them divided.
Yet Huan worshipped three of them.
Ahop, the Demon King of the Black Swamp.
Hadenaihar, the Demon King of the Blood-Red Moon.
And Tangtata, the Demon King of the Green Tongue.
Among them, Ahop was a Demon King who had to be served with extreme caution, matching his immense power. Ahop’s scripture was one of the thickest among all the Demon King scriptures.
Tangtata, on the other hand, had the opposite disposition to Ahop.
He would grant requests even to those who weren’t his worshippers if their interests aligned, if he liked the price, or sometimes for no particular reason at all.
Of course, bestowing his power was another matter entirely.
*Swoosh!*
Huan no longer kept the green tongue inside his mouth.
He pulled it out with his hands and wielded it like a whip.
This green tongue was a power bestowed directly by Tangtata.
The saliva constantly dripping from its surface had corrosive properties, neutralizing any weapon or armor it touched.
An ordinary weapon would have corroded instantly, and even an extraordinary one wouldn’t last long.
Even the imperial swords, renowned for their durability, couldn’t withstand the corrosive fluid of this tongue.
‘What is that sword?’
The shabby sword Ruan wielded showed no signs of corrosion.
And beyond that.
‘This Young Master…’
Bednicker’s incompetent child, whom he had never paid close attention to, was displaying a level of martial prowess that was nothing short of astonishing.
“…Fifteen. How on earth did you achieve so much at that age? Even the Iron-Blooded Duke at his prime wouldn’t have been able to face a High Priest directly.”
Huan’s surprise was genuine, enough for him to speak even while unleashing a barrage of attacks.
But Ruan’s reaction was indifferent.
“I used a few tricks.”
An incomprehensible remark.
Huan decided not to dwell on it.
*Grip.*
The moment he tightened his grip on the weapon, the once-flexible tongue hardened.
Holding the instantly rigid tongue with both hands, Huan thrust it like a spear.
The description was long, but all of this happened in less than half a breath.
*Whoosh!*
“…!”
Ruan dodged the attack with ease.
For Huan, it felt like he had been struck hard on the back of the head.
To react without flinching to a sudden change from an opponent in the middle of a fierce exchange.
This was impossible with talent alone.
‘He has experience, too? At the mere age of fifteen?’
Huan swung the green spear.
He changed its form freely as he did.
He broke off the tip of the thrusting spear to use it as a dagger, then wielded the long shaft like a sword.
Sword, saber, spear, staff, axe, mace, whip…
Watching the countless weapon techniques, even Ruan couldn’t help but be impressed.
“If it weren’t for my training with my martial brother, I’d be having a much harder time.”
“Martial brother?”
“Yeah. Ever heard of shape-memory alloy?”
“First I’m hearing of it.”
“So did I.”
It happened in that instant.
Huan felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck before his eyes.
*Rumble!*
In less than half a breath, Ruan’s sword was right in front of his nose.
By the time he registered it, the blade was already stained with a drop of blood.
*Slice—.*
The sound and the pain came a moment later.
Huan staggered back slightly, clutching his severed right arm.
A deep sense of failure was etched on his face.
“Hurts, doesn’t it?”
Ruan said with a smile.
“It hurt me, too.”