Chapter 156: Mobilization Training –Final–
Chapter 156: Mobilization Training –Final–
A short backstep.
Thud. Thud-thud.
Silver hwandos plunged into the spot where I had been standing just a moment ago. Since I had already predicted the trajectory, I didn't even bother looking up.
I don't have time to waste.
I immediately swung my hammer. I kept the swing wide and fast, ensuring the orbit shielded my entire body.
Clang. Clang-clang-clang.
The screech of clashing metal rang in my ears.
However, the weapons causing that metallic din were entirely different from the hwandos that had just rained down.
Throwing stars, a meteor hammer, a Moon Halberd, a Soft Sword.
It was a veritable collection of rare armaments you’d only expect to see in a weapons museum.
Unfortunately, despite their rarity, the power imbued in each individual weapon wasn't particularly strong.
After all, weren't they all swept aside by a single swing?
Among those weapons, one in particular caught my eye.
It was a brightly shining object with a thick, elongated blade.
“…A machete?”
Wait, why is that here?
I could understand the other weapons. They were the kind of exotic gear you’d find in martial arts novels.
Even if those weapons lacked practicality in reality, these people were martial artists; they didn't need to worry about universal utility. Each weapon likely embodied the 'Form' of someone who had awakened as a Hero.
So, there was no need to be surprised by the variety. At this point, unless one awakens with a specific weapon from the start, weaponry is just a matter of preference for martial artists.
Even so…
A machete is just wrong. A machete?
Where in the world is there a Martial Artist who awakens with a machete as their weapon? Or do they just count it as a one-handed sword?
Perhaps my confusion and bewilderment manifested in my physical movements.
My reaction was a split second too slow.
It was only a brief moment—the time I spent staring at the machete flying through the air after being struck by my hammer and the Martial Artist who gripped it.
In that fleeting moment, I failed to recover my hammer.
In absolute terms, it was an incredibly short window of time, but my opponents didn't miss it.
“Jin! Get him!”
Chris’s bright, now-familiar voice rang out, and the ground beneath my feet shook violently.
Amidst the chaos, I heard a sound.
“Squeak.”
Thump.
It was a massive tremor accompanied by a sound far too cute for the scale of the vibration.
The source of the noise was a giant mole.
Equipped with razor-sharp claws, it was shredding the ground. The creature hooked one claw onto my boot and swung its other set of claws toward me.
“Tsk.”
To think a moment’s distraction would lead to this.
First a machete, and now a mole friend of Chris’s I’ve never seen before.
Nothing for it, then.
I channeled immense strength into my leg.
Then, I stomped.
Magical Girl Style: Jingak.
Aside from when I was laying foundations, it wasn't a technique I used often, but I had been using it frequently over the past few days to demonstrate it to the students.
A kick imbued with that massive power slammed into the earth.
BOOM!
“Kyuu!”
The earth split apart, and the mole that had been gripping my foot turned into light, letting out one last cute sound.
If I had used that Jingak on a human, they would have been reduced to scattered bits of flesh instantly. But since Chris’s summons don't actually die anyway, it didn't really matter.
Besides, instead of worrying about a summon, I should be focusing on the serious situation I was currently facing.
A bitter smile rose to my lips at the thought.
With that smile still lingering, I lifted my head.
The battle was far from over.
Throwing stars and long needles came flying at me again.
The silver-glinting projectiles tried to dazzle my eyes, but…
I don't feel any sincerity in this.
This isn't the main attack. The thing I need to watch out for is something else.
Of course, that doesn't mean these weapons lack power. They carry enough force that I’d be injured if I took a direct hit.
I’m not talking about some mystical nonsense like 'killing intent' residing in the blades.
It was something more fundamental—the intuition that has kept me alive until now. It was telling me that these weapons were mere bait.
Bait flying through the air.
They’ve already stolen the tempo from me.
In that case, I’ll have to push myself a bit to seize back the initiative.
I adjusted my grip, choking up on The Hammer’s handle, and swung it lightly.
Clang. Clang-clang.
Silver reflections scattered across my vision in sync with the short metallic rings, but I didn't fixate on them.
Something else was coming.
If I let the silver flashes distract me, I’d end up with tunnel vision like Baek Si-hyun.
Moreover, because I was holding The Hammer short, I couldn't perform the same wide-range defensive maneuvers as before. If I didn't accurately intercept whatever was coming, I would lose the match in exchange for regaining the initiative.
However, I was confident.
My posture was stable thanks to my previous move, and all the minor distractions clouding my judgment had vanished.
All that remained was to counter their trump card.
An ambush?
Or a straightforward charge?
A special ability?
In the brief moment I spent surrounded by the numerous silver weapons suspended in the air, a pink flash entered my field of vision.
Three flashes aimed at my vitals, intended to finish me off for good.
Is it Han A-bin?
Well, it certainly is her favorite way to attack. Setting the stage, cornering the opponent, and then firing a strike that’s nearly impossible to dodge.
She had precisely targeted vitals that were difficult to either deflect or block.
The solar plexus, the pelvis, and the space between the eyes.
Points that couldn't all be blocked with a single swing.
Generally, it was a passing grade, but…
Still too amateur.
If I had truly lost the initiative, I wouldn't have been able to block them with my hammer. If my posture had been broken and I was gripping The Hammer wide in a desperate attempt to block anything.
But that wasn't the case for me right now.
A stable posture. A short-held hammer.
The optimal situation for blocking a Triple Shot from a bow.
That was why I smiled as I traced the direction the arrows had come from. I intended to find her and make her my next target.
No doubt A-bin is panicking right now. When things don't go according to her plan, her confidence vanishes just like it used to—
I looked toward her face with that thought, but I was wrong.
Standing there was a single archer staring at me with a hardened expression.
A Hero, watching me with her mouth firmly shut, showing no sign of panic.
I see. So that’s how it is.
I swung The Hammer.
From my lowered arm, I brought it surging upward.
Clang. Clang.
Two impacts traveled through the handle, accompanied by the sound of clashing metal.
I should have blocked the third arrow next, but…
“I didn't expect you to be the assassin type.”
As I spoke, I forcibly wrenched The Hammer’s trajectory.
I aimed to strike the Martial Artist who had suddenly appeared at my side.
Thwack. Crackle.
Two sounds rang out simultaneously.
The sound of a Martial Artist being struck in the solar plexus and sent flying through the air.
And the sound of an arrow, shrouded in pink mana, piercing my head.
“A hit…? Did we… win? How?”
Perhaps she couldn't believe her arrow had actually landed; I heard my disciple’s voice from far away. But she was mistaken.
Because…
“Nope.”
I had caught that arrow with my teeth.
“…Your teeth?”
Yeah, my teeth.
Man, is it because it’s imbued with mana? My mouth is stinging.
Ptooey.
I spat out the arrow, tapped my shoulder with my hammer, and walked toward my disciple, who had lost her will to fight.
Thump. Thump.
My footsteps echoed across the plain, but no one reacted.
Chris had fainted with her eyes rolled back, likely having exhausted her mana.
The martial artists had been knocked flat by the Jingak.
And Han A-bin had collapsed to the ground, seemingly shocked that she hadn't won even after using all her cards.
In that situation, I stood before my fallen disciple and leveled my hammer at her.
“It’s over, right?”
“….”
No answer came, but the outcome was clear.
“Well then, time to clean up—”
“Ah…”
“Hm?”
“Not… yet.”
What?
Zap.
Yellow electricity flickered.
It was a weak current that held no power on its own.
Before I could even identify what it was, I felt a powerful attack coming.
I hurriedly turned my body to prepare a block, and at the same time, the source of the attack came into view.
It was Baek Si-hyun, charging at me with her parched eyes wide open and her hands outstretched, capillaries bulging from the sheer desperation of her output.
She hadn't even properly electrified herself; her clothes were scorching in various places, but she didn't care.
Her only reaction was a wide, tearing grin—a look of ecstatic madness, her throat vibrating though no sound came out of her burnt vocal cords.
What did that smile mean?
The first sign of victory she had finally grasped?
Self-preservation against the extreme pain of electrification?
Or was she simply smiling as she usually did, only for it to appear distorted by the electricity?
Regardless of my thoughts, her hands reached for me.
Lacking the power to electrify a weapon, she put all her strength into her bare hands.
Dodging was impossible, but several ways to handle it flashed through my mind.
Release more limiters.
Trust my durability and go for a counter.
Infuse The Hammer with mana for an Afterburner variant…
Countless responses occurred to me.
But then I saw her face.
Her face, as she gave everything to attack me.
Her face, looking straight at me with a smile.
My facial muscles twitched.
If she looked at me now, I was probably smiling too.
My mind cleared.
The numerous killing techniques and counters that had been floating in my head vanished. I looked her straight in the eye.
Crunch.
“Huh?”
Along with a bewildered voice, pain surged through my body.
Then, silence descended on the surroundings.
A long silence.
Likely longer than the time it took from the start of the attack until Baek Si-hyun’s hand touched my body.
Damn. That hurts like hell.
Still, I should give them a smile.
“What do you mean, ‘Huh?’ Did you launch an attack expecting it to be blocked?”
Ignoring the throbbing pain near my heart, I threw a word at my disciple, who still hadn't grasped the situation.
“What are you doing? This is your first victory.”
Even though it took a dozen martial artists plus Chris to barely pull it off.
And even though I won by half-letting them win at the very end.
Still, this was the right choice.
Because the only cards I could have played in that situation were things that might have taken her life.
A palm-strike counter using the opponent’s own momentum.
Overwhelming power from releasing limiters.
An Afterburner attack using sudden acceleration that even I couldn't fully control.
“Huh? What? Master, did I really… Ah?”
“Yeah. It landed, so snap out of it.”
“…This is a dream, right? There’s no way I could land a blow on Master…”
I should just leave that idiot alone. No matter what I say, she’ll keep acting like that; she needs time to accept reality.
Now then. Everyone else is unconscious, so I can't even talk to them… which leaves…
“Was this all part of your plan too, A-bin?”
I spoke to my disciple, who was collapsed on her knees.
“…Yes.”
She, too, seemed unable to believe the situation, only managing to squeeze out words with a pale face.
Nothing for it. Let’s go through the Q&A.
“You communicated with the martial artists and Baek Si-hyun via telepathy?”
“It was a bit hard to match the wavelengths, but…”
No wonder their coordination was suspiciously good.
“The mana arrow Triple Shot? Is that a new technique?”
“Yes… One of the Martial Artist Heroes told me that’s not how you’re supposed to use a bow…”
True, those guys know their stuff when it comes to weaponry. Even if it’s not their main weapon, they’ve picked up a mountain of knowledge.
“Still, you did well to think of using that technique. If the activation had been even a little slower, I would have detected it and it would’ve been over.”
She must have been calculating it from the start.
When those silver weapons like the ones Baek Si-hyun creates came pouring down, I thought Si-hyun was participating in the attack, but that was a fake. She must have been focusing on forming the electric field from the beginning.
“As for that… I assisted her…”
“Assisted?”
“I used telepathy… to link with her and assist Si-hyun’s calculation abilities…”
…What?
“So it wasn't prepared from the start…”
I started to say something, sensing that something important was about to be revealed.
But suddenly, my vision began to turn black.
As I thought. The spot I got hit was bad.
Even in this body, it seems my physical form tries to maintain negative feedback regarding impact.
An impact driven into my heart with overwhelming acceleration. Naturally, it would cause a shock.
Getting caught up in the moment and taking it head-on was a mistake.
Even if I couldn't block the attack itself because it would have endangered Si-hyun’s life, I could have easily deflected it or jumped back to lessen the impact.
Oh well.
Let’s consider it a celebration of my disciples’ first sparring victory.
Though it might end up being a trauma for them instead.
With that final thought, I lost consciousness.