Chapter 15
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Iron Martial Workshop (2)
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Inside the inner sanctum of the Iron Martial Workshop.
A woman with red hair sat there.
Her body was packed with muscle, but it wasn't excessive. Her figure carried the softness unique to women, overflowing with healthy allure.
She looked like the kind of athletic woman you'd see at a gym.
If not for this woman, he would have long been confirmed as the successor—the very person those words referred to.
It was Cheol Bi-hwa.
A woman approached her and gave her report.
"Miss, the youngest young master has used the workshop leader's token."
Workshop leader's token.
By the Iron Martial Workshop's rules, each successor candidate possessed one such token.
The token was a form of command authority.
It allowed them to issue nearly any order possible with the clan's power.
How they used it was what determined the successor—it was that important.
Cheol Bi-hwa furrowed her brow and asked,
"The workshop leader's token...? Why the hell would that trash suddenly use it?"
The woman standing respectfully before her broke out in a cold sweat. This was no report she could deliver with a straight face.
After hesitating, she spoke in a trembling voice.
"Well... he said it was to punish the third-rate warrior who humiliated him..."
"...What?"
Choi Si-woo snapped out of it, his gaze stolen by Hwa Mu-rin's massive chest.
'Damn...!'
He quickly assessed the situation.
'One first-class, two second-class.'
He pulled an assault rifle from his inventory.
The Iron Martial Workshop thugs stared only at Hwa Mu-rin, even as the muzzle pointed at them.
'If they don't know, they gotta learn.'
He quietly aimed at the first-class warrior's head. Just as he held his breath and was about to pull the trigger, their eyes met, and the man flinched.
Bang! Bang-bang-bang!!
The bullets grazed his cheek. He had impressively dodged the vitals mid-flight.
But.
"Kuhk!"
The next bullets pierced his leg. His mobility was cut by more than half. The man's face twisted in agony.
Ting!
The following bullet couldn't penetrate the muscle. It was deflected by a faint, shimmering mana barrier.
'Mana barrier!'
The realm where one truly began wielding inner energy's power was first-class.
He immediately swung the muzzle around.
The time elapsed so far was barely one or two seconds.
Bang!
A hole appeared in the forehead of the second-class fool still standing there dumbly.
"Wh-what the hell!"
Before the rest could even collect themselves.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
He sprayed bullets everywhere, not bothering with precise aim.
"Kwaaak!"
The third-class thugs began collapsing like leaves in the wind.
'This should do it.'
Most of the third-class were crawling on the ground now, and one second-class was dead.
With Hwa Mu-rin's hidden realm revealed, he judged this sufficient.
The squad leader, blood pouring from his thigh, bellowed in rage.
"You son of a bitch!! Hidden weapons! Everyone, attack!!"
The bellowing squad leader charged at Hwa Mu-rin.
The four still relatively intact ones headed for Si-woo.
As they rushed in, he glanced at Hwa Mu-rin.
'She's first-class. Can she handle it?'
If Hwa Mu-rin got pushed back, he planned to pull out more modern firearms.
The squad leader and Hwa Mu-rin clashed.
Clang! Clang!
Sparks flew as their longswords collided in flashes.
It was evenly matched—more than he'd expected. Hwa Mu-rin wouldn't go down easily.
A bit relieved, he fired his pistol at the ones approaching him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Aaak!"
He first shot the three third-class ones.
Bang!
He fired at the second-class warrior too, but missed. It grazed his shoulder as he instinctively dodged.
"You bastard!"
The last remaining second-class, the sub-leader, charged.
The moment the opponent's thigh bulged as he planted his advancing stance.
Boom!
The ground exploded.
It was a charge powered by inner energy. He expelled it from his soles for explosive acceleration. So fast his form stretched out.
The man, three steps away, closed the gap in an instant.
Scree-!
A swift thrust.
In his extreme focus, Si-woo barely reacted.
The sharp silver blade grazed his cheek.
He dodged the first strike. But retreating now would only put him at a disadvantage.
Instinctive judgment kicked in.
Instead, he advanced, slipping in an elbow to the solar plexus.
Thud!
'Heavy!'
He amplified the weight on impact.
"Ugh!"
A groan escaped the sub-leader's lips. His face crumpled, caught off guard by the counter.
Si-woo clicked his tongue in frustration.
It made a loud sound, but the feedback was light. The second-class had defended with inner energy, as expected.
'Swift.'
He pressed the flustered opponent relentlessly.
The experience of Park Jin-su, who had fought countless monsters his whole life, surfaced.
Never give the enemy a comfortable distance.
Ultra-close-quarters brawling was the answer.
The sub-leader panicked after failing to behead him in one stroke and taking a hit to the solar plexus.
'He dodged?'
The sub-leader tried to retreat in confusion. He'd given up distance too carelessly.
That's when Si-woo swung his sword from ultra-close range.
Retreating now meant getting sliced. Grimacing, the sub-leader wrapped inner energy around his chest.
Thump-!
A stinging pain surged from where Si-woo's sword hilt slammed into his chest. Concentrating inner energy didn't turn his body to steel.
Irritation boiled from the sharp ache.
'Insolent fool! A mere third-class!'
The sub-leader hurried to retreat. This range was too unfavorable. But every time, Si-woo forced damage.
Retreat as is, and he'd be cut.
Helplessly, he recalled the inner energy headed for his soles and redirected it to defense.
The ultra-close-quarters brawl continued.
The sub-leader wanted to swing his sword freely but couldn't. He had no experience fighting at such proximity.
His movements grew chaotic as blows kept landing.
Thud! Thud!
He desperately dodged the blade itself. Luckily no cuts from the sword, but he was getting pummeled one-sidedly.
It hurt like being hit with a hammer.
Gritting his teeth, the sub-leader freaked out. Somehow, the longsword in Si-woo's hand had become a dagger.
"Sh-shit?"
It was enough to make anyone panic.
Si-woo's flashy dagger work began leaving scratches everywhere. Even dodging the blade was getting tough.
"You damn dog!"
He forcibly expelled inner energy from his soles and leaped back a full step. In the process, his chest took a deep gash. A moment slower, and it would've been fatal.
The cuts burned, and his chest throbbed.
Looking at his torso now would reveal it covered in bruises.
He never imagined getting this banged up by third-rate trash. The sub-leader glared murderously at Si-woo.
Si-woo clicked his tongue.
Despite his best efforts, the bastard had created distance. One-sided beatdown was over.
He stowed the dagger in his inventory and drew his iron sword again.
The sub-leader clutched his chest, glaring at Si-woo.
"You...! You actually have the skill to defy me! But! That luck ends now!"
"What're you babbling about? You got your ass kicked like an idiot."
"You little...!"
The sub-leader's face twisted. But full of wariness, he didn't charge like before.
Cautiously closing distance, he swung his sword.
Inner energy concentrated in his arm triggered sudden acceleration. The arm moved like a separate creature, at different speed.
A whip-like slash!
The strike was a beat faster than his body movement. The subtle imbalance made blocking tough.
Scree-!
Clang! Clang!
Si-woo's hands busied themselves.
The enemy's sword wasn't just fast. Each blow was heavy. Sword force on another level from third-class.
Mixing normal and accelerated strikes overwhelmed his guard.
Each block accumulated shock.
"Ugh!"
His bones ached with every parry, and glancing blows added wounds where he couldn't fully dodge.
"Uahaha! You mangy cur. I'll chop off your limbs!"
Buoyed by momentum, the sub-leader shouted.
Si-woo felt a nagging itch while blocking. Each strike was perilous, but he managed somehow.
'Feels familiar somehow.'
The spar with Hwa Mu-rin.
Her sword had been slower than this, yet hard to block.
Even simple swings felt different.
'What's different?'
Recalling her swordsmanship, Si-woo's own changed. He grasped her technique a bit.
'Pull.'
Si-woo's Mixed Origin Qi took on the pulling property.
Clang!
The pulling sword caught the sub-leader's blade. Just for a moment, but enough.
The sword slid up along the blade like a snake.
Slash-!
The sub-leader panicked as his hand got cut. What kind of bullshit swordsmanship was this!
To Si-woo's Mixed Origin Qi, which had pulling swiftness, another property was added.
'Pull, Swift,'
Unlike at the, it felt like two properties activating simultaneously...
His Mixed Origin Qi felt like sticky rapids.
Slash-! Slash!
The sub-leader's hand quickly turned to shreds.
With his hand mangled, he thrashed in a stance to create distance first.
No way the opponent could match his mobility.
Boom!
The ground burst as he retreated in a flash.
'It's a war of attrition.'
Against someone who couldn't expel inner energy, his mobility was worlds apart.
Impressive swordsmanship, but those feet wouldn't reach him.
Humiliating, but he'd use mobility for an endurance fight.
But.
"Huh...?"
The sub-leader panicked.
He'd clearly leaped back a full step, yet Si-woo was still right there.
Unbelievable.
'How could a third-class...?'
That was the sub-leader's final thought as his head flew through the air.
Si-woo, who had beheaded the sub-leader, turned around.
Where he'd planted his foot, something burst—remnants remained.
Sole-expelled inner energy.
Proof of second-class.
Si-woo searched for Hwa Mu-rin.
Her fight with the squad leader was dead even. Both were nearly out of inner energy.
Despite lower realm, she held her own admirably—worthy of admiration.
But seeing her clothes slashed here and there ignited his fury.
Si-woo approached the squad leader, channeling inner energy into a shout.
"Bang!!!"
Slash!
The startled squad leader took a deep gash from Hwa Mu-rin's sword. She smiled faintly.
"Fuck!!"
"Heh...! Bang! Bang!"
Every time a gunshot erupted from Si-woo's mouth, the man flinched hard.
Each time, Hwa Mu-rin's sword inflicted major wounds.
The squad leader howled.
"You fucker, stop it!!"
"Bang! Bang! ..."
Bang!
He fired a real shot at the squad leader ignoring his mouth-gun.
"Aaak!"
The squad leader screamed, shot in the left arm.
This was fun. But enough was enough.
The squad leader crumbled rapidly.
Looking around, Si-woo spotted Cheol Gwang-o trying to flee.
'Can't let him escape.'
He shot both thighs with his pistol.
Bang! Bang!
Shot Cheol Gwang-o flopped down.
"Aaak!"
Then, a guttural roar from the squad leader.
"You fucking brat! I said stop!!!"
The squad leader lost his reason. Rage boiled over.
Ignoring Hwa Mu-rin's sword at his throat, he hurled something at Si-woo.
Si-woo, watching Cheol Gwang-o, had no time to dodge.
"Huh...?"
Boom-!
Something burst, fog billowing up.
"Ah! No!"
Hwa Mu-rin's panicked expression, mid-beheading, vanished in the mist.
He held his breath reflexively, but inhaled a bit.
Whoosh- whoosh-
Hwa Mu-rin fanned the air, parting the fog as she approached.
"Si-woo! You okay?"
Cautiously circulating inner energy, Si-woo grimaced.
Nothing seemed off...
Then he looked down.
Blood rushed to one spot on his body.
His lower half stiffened upright.