Twin Black Demonic Horse Crushes the Young Heroes
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It was unexpected that Namgung Hyeok had linked my identity to the Twin Black Demonic Horse.
But from his perspective, it made perfect sense. My black mask was a rare artifact that no one in the Central Plains could find, no matter how hard they searched. His misunderstanding was a side effect of perfectly logical reasoning.
Even in the original story, while items with similar effects to the black mask appeared, nothing exactly like it ever showed up. So, seeing me now, he naturally associated it with the Twin Black Demonic Horse.
In truth, I was the Twin Black Demonic Horse. In that sense, Namgung Hyeok possessed a terrifyingly sharp mind.
"As expected of the Namgung family's prodigy. Your brain spins fast."
There was no need to correct his assumption. With the mask on, he could never uncover my real identity.
Anyway, I planned to ravage Yeonmuk after this, so there was no point pretending to be a good guy.
"Indeed... the Twin Black Demonic Horse! Why has a bastard like you, who operated in Anhui, come all the way to Henan?"
Flames of hostility blazed in Namgung Hyeok's eyes. His previously dormant aura surged ferociously in an instant. The shift in his emotions was so intense it prickled my skin.
"Like bees chasing blooming flowers to build their hives, I'm simply following a beautiful flower."
I said this while flicking my gaze toward Yeonmuk. She, whose trademark was her confident expression, flinched when our eyes met.
I could clearly sense her fear of me. Suddenly, a pleasant sense of superiority washed over me. It was a different flavor from the awe I got from women.
"Did you set this trap too!?"
Namgung Hyeok glanced briefly at the two fallen assassins as he asked.
I shook my head honestly. He might not believe me, but it wasn't my doing anyway. Of course, he wouldn't buy it.
"Irrelevant. Believe me or not, your call."
"...There's no benefit to you going through such elaborate trouble. Those two assassins truly seem unrelated to you."
He was the owner of a cool-headed intellect.
As he said, there was no gain for me in dragging in two assassins to dig this trap. If I'd wanted to play the hero in front of Yeonmuk like some sweet Central Plains pretty boy, I wouldn't have revealed myself as the Twin Black Demonic Horse to begin with.
"Twin Black Demonic Horse. My duty is to capture you and hand you over to the authorities, but here, I'll pretend not to know for now. So stop any dangerous actions at once."
"Dangerous actions?"
At my retort, Namgung Hyeok glanced at Yeonmuk, sweat beading on his brow.
In truth, I didn't even need to ask. His "dangerous actions" were obvious. He was telling me not to touch Yeonmuk.
Having just witnessed my fight with the two assassins, Namgung Hyeok realized he couldn't stop me with his skills. If we crossed swords, he'd lose, so he was trying to restrain me with words for now.
It was a sound judgment, but I had zero reason to follow it. The situation was already tilted in my favor—why listen to some guy's nagging?
"What if I say no?"
Taat!
The moment I answered, he moved. He'd been preparing his attack even before hearing my response. Even if I'd said "I won't," he probably wouldn't have attacked, right?
Having personally tracked the Twin Black Demonic Horse incidents, he must have known I wouldn't give a positive reply.
Either way, Namgung Hyeok's judgment and actions were logical, clear, and wise. The unfortunate part was that his physical prowess wasn't enough to turn that right judgment into a victorious outcome.
Chaeng!
Namgung Hyeok's surprise attack was easily blocked. I raised my right hand gripping the Light Saber and parried it effortlessly.
Of course, he didn't expect that strike to finish me either. I'd blocked a professional assassin's ambush, after all—there was no way I'd fall to his.
Namgung Hyeok twisted his body dramatically, infusing his sword with lightning qi. He seemed to have recovered somewhat from the shock of the Thunder Attracting Needle earlier.
Blue lightning crackled fiercely from his sword, charging toward my Light Saber with the momentum to devour it. It was as if a massive azure dragon carrying thunderclouds had possessed his blade.
Pajijijik!
'Kuh!'
The clash of our swords unleashed a powerful shockwave.
As the mana-coated blade of my Light Saber collided massively with Namgung Hyeok's lightning-charged sword, a numbing sensation shot through my grip. His lightning qi had traveled along the Light Saber straight to me.
I barely suppressed my muscles' involuntary contractions using Light Cure. Fighting an opponent who wielded lightning like this meant enduring electric shocks with every attack. A truly troublesome foe.
The two assassins probably wouldn't have stood a chance against Namgung Hyeok without the Thunder Attracting Needle. Of course, they'd prepared it knowing that.
'If close range is tricky, switch to long range.'
I generated ten Holy Missiles. The barrage of light bullets targeted Namgung Hyeok's body, avoiding vital points. He frowned upon seeing them.
"What bizarre abilities. An odd artifact with such powers. I must see what's under that mask!"
Blue flashes surged even denser from Namgung Hyeok's sword.
I immediately launched the Holy Missiles at him without hesitation. He sliced through the bullet-like projectiles one by one with his lightning-forged sword. But deflecting every single one was impossible—especially in his incompletely recovered state.
"Kuh!"
The undeflected Holy Missiles tore his clothes and left wounds. If I'd aimed for vitals, the fight would have ended already. I held back because he was still useful.
'Namgung Hyeok is basically a good guy at heart. Killing him this quick would just be doing the villains a favor.'
He'd make a fine pawn. My current goal was simply to neutralize him.
"Young Master Hyeok! Let me help!"
Seeing Namgung Hyeok struggle, Yeonmuk drew her sword and joined the fray. I pinned him down with more Holy Missiles and turned to her. In my current state, handling both simultaneously was no issue. Neither had fully recovered from their assassin wounds.
"You! I don't know who you are, but you'll pay dearly for making enemies of the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families!"
"Haha. You think I'd be scared by words like that?"
Purple energy fluttered from Yeonmuk's sword, filling the air with a fragrant plum blossom scent. A dazzling sword dance blossomed from her blade tip.
I exchanged blows with Yeonmuk.
Ching! Chaeng! Chaeng!
Yeonmuk was undoubtedly a skilled swordswoman. Her flashy style, weaving feints and strikes, was unmistakably from the Huashan Sect. There was good reason she was hailed as a late-generation talent.
'But gaps show amid the flashiness. Gaps even a late-genius can't fill.'
Thanks to Han Kangwoo's training, my eyes could dissect martial arts move by move, and Yeonmuk's inexperience stood out glaringly. In terms of technique completion, she wasn't Namgung Hyeok's match. Even without his lightning, parrying his sword demanded intense focus—hers I could deflect leisurely.
"Haha! All show, no substance!"
"Eek! Take that back!"
Falling for a simple taunt was so typically late-generation. Shameful compared to the cool-headed Namgung Hyeok.
He'd prepared a surprise attack to overcome his disadvantage and briefly seized the upper hand with his lightning's properties. Yeonmuk had none of that.
'Mana Thread!'
Mana Thread 1Lv (C-rank)
Consumes mana to create thin threads of mana. The threads possess powerful cutting power, with size and strength varying by invested mana.
A thin mana thread extended from the tip of my Light Saber. It split into five strands and shot toward Yeonmuk. Her eyes widened as she gritted her teeth.
"Could that be Sword Silk (劍絲)?"
Purple energy exploded from her blade tip. To block the multi-directional Mana Thread assault, she'd unleashed her internal energy in a burst. But the clear plum fragrance was weaker than before—clearly, sustained combat had depleted her qi.
'Come to think of it, the original story mentioned Yeonmuk's weakness was insufficient internal energy.'
She barely deflected the Mana Thread, but had no way to stop my approach. Her hand was revealed.
Pajijijik!
As I aimed my sword at Yeonmuk's throat, a blue bolt from behind targeted my head. I twisted aside to dodge. It was Namgung Hyeok's lightning.
"Miss Yeon! Fall back for now!"
"Young Master Hyeok!"
Yeonmuk bit her lip in frustration. Far from helping, she'd been a burden—enough to bruise her pride.
I fired ten more Holy Missiles at Namgung Hyeok. No intention of letting Yeonmuk escape.
"I can still fight!"
Fortunately, she made the foolish choice. If I were Namgung Hyeok, I'd have inwardly cursed her as a hopeless girl and shaken my head. He probably thought the same.
"Haaat!"
When mere defense was a struggle, Yeonmuk charged me instead, swinging her sword. The plum scent was barely detectable now, and the power in her strikes had lightened. In contrast, my sword remained as sturdy as ever.
Kang!
The moment our swords met, Yeonmuk lost her grip. The recoil from our overwhelming power difference was too much.
"Ahh!"
With a short cry, her sword flew through the air and stabbed into the ground.
To make sure, I launched a Mana Thread infused with heavy mana at her sword. Fine cracks spiderwebbed across it, then it shattered like broken glass.
"Ahh...!"
A deeper sigh escaped her than when she'd dropped it. The plum pattern engraved on the hilt marked it as a sect-issued blade. For it to be so pitifully destroyed by a lecherous demon's hand—restraining herself to a sigh was impressive.
With Yeonmuk done, it was Namgung Hyeok's turn.
He put up a valiant fight, but it didn't last. Lightning qi consumed massive internal energy. Seeing him sweat profusely, he wouldn't hold out even half a gak (15 minutes).
"Kuh! As a direct descendant of the great Namgung family, I will cut you down!"
Namgung Hyeok went all-in.
Wise choice. Dragging it out would just mean continued toying before defeat. If he'd been even wiser, he'd have gone all-in from the start.
Pajik! Pajik! Pajik!
The lightning coiling his sword was far more intense than before.
Geiiiing! Geiiiing! Geiiiing!
The resonance of lightning and sword sounded like the blade weeping.
He gripped a single bolt of thunder. His resolute expression held not a feather's worth of stray thoughts. If there were any, he'd never beat me.
'Of course, even without them, the result's the same.'
"Haaaah!"
Seogeok!
With a shout, Namgung Hyeok kicked off the ground, drawing a single streak of flash-like sword strike. The explosive swing targeted my waist.
He didn't name the technique, but Thunderclap Flash Slash or something fit perfectly.
Yet his sword was blocked by my Light Saber. No matter how speed-boosted, he couldn't surpass my agility.
'Earth Gauntlet!'
Lightning's counter was earth qi. To counter his shocking strikes, I wrapped my arm in earthen gauntlets.
Chaeaeaeaeang!
"Kuh!"
The instant the swords met, Namgung Hyeok groaned, sensing defeat. His final all-out strike foiled, he collapsed to his knees, qi exhausted.