Chapter 116
Chapter 116
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: The Value of Real Estate (5)
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“Holy shit!”
*Swoosh! Snip.*
The glaive grazed the top of my head, shearing off the tips of my hair.
Even swung with pure strength and no internal energy, it carried the speed of a lightning bolt and the pressure of a mountain.
“A sneak attack? Sir, you're old enough to know better. Have you no shame?”
“Where's the honor in a fight? The winner is always right.”
*He's got a point...* I thought, just as...
“Whoa!”
A cerulean saber aura shot toward me like a thunderbolt.
*CRASH!*
I narrowly dodged, and the massive tree right behind me split in two.
“…”
Destructive power on par with saber force, despite being just an aura.
A shiver ran down my spine. A strike from a heavy weapon, yet it possessed the speed of a swift blade.
*One wrong move and I'm dead!*
Of course, I'd die if I just stood here, too.
*Thump.*
I had to do something.
I used the War King Step to put as much distance between us as possible.
I needed to assess my opponent before engaging in close combat.
“Hoh, your footwork is quite impressive.”
A smirk playing on his lips, Yuk Hak kicked off the ground.
*Rumble.*
He charged straight at me, tearing up the earth like a wild boar.
“What the hell is that?”
It wasn't a speed technique.
It was an ordinary footwork style, but each step was saturated with ki.
*Is he crazy? Does he have internal energy to spare?*
The sheer destructive power made it hard to even get close. I immediately used the Flying Heavenly Wind to widen the gap.
“Are you just going to run?”
*SWOOSH!*
Yuk Hak, having already closed the distance, swung his glaive, which bloomed with a cerulean saber aura.
“None of your business!”
I couldn't keep running. I had to break his momentum here.
*POW!*
The War King Thirteen Strikes shot out like lightning.
Thirteen strikes, imbued with the force of the War King Arts, rained down on a single point.
*BANG!*
My fist and his glaive collided, sending out a shockwave of ki.
“Not bad!”
Excited, Yuk Hak's glaive danced once more.
*Fwoosh!*
I seized the opening, stomping down to move behind him.
It wasn't a true Displacement technique, but it was the fastest I could manage in a pinch.
But.
*SLASH!*
The glaive, swung like lightning, precisely sliced across my chest.
If I hadn't been wearing the Dragon Scale Armor or hastily deployed my protective aura, I would have suffered a severe wound.
“Shit, that was close.”
I replayed the last strike in my mind.
I was definitely faster.
And yet, his glaive had cut me perfectly.
Which meant one thing.
*He's strong.*
A master one, no, two steps above me.
“Protective armor? You call yourself a man, fighting like a coward… Tsk, tsk.”
“And what about you, using a long weapon against an unarmed opponent?”
An inch shorter is an inch more dangerous; an inch longer is an inch more advantageous.
It was an old martial world saying about the superiority of long weapons.
*They really need to start a movement to ban long weapons...*
But Yuk Hak seemed to think differently.
“Hehehe, should I give you some time to go buy a spear? I think there's a blacksmith up ahead.”
“Bullshit.”
*Thump.*
I used the Flying Heavenly Wind to create distance.
*BOOM!*
Then immediately used the War King Step to close it again.
A simple feint to disrupt my opponent's rhythm.
Of course, Yuk Hak just wore an amused expression and swung his glaive, showing no other reaction.
It was to be expected.
If he was two steps above me, he was at the very pinnacle of the Supreme Master level.
A master who, with a single Great Awakening, would be on par with Bukgung Baek.
He wouldn't fall for such a simple trick.
However, what I was truly aiming for wasn't an opening he might show.
*FWOOOM!*
It was the ki he was emitting. The ki itself.
*Crackle. Sizzle.*
My rampaging War King Ki began to emit force.
*WHOOSH!*
It soon merged into a single black ki.
The War Dragon Ki.
*CRASH! Crack.*
As the saber force descended, the War Dragon Ki coiling around my body opened its great maw and devoured it.
“What!”
For the first time, a surprised Yuk Hak retreated.
*VWOOM!*
But he couldn't get far, caught by the immense pull of the War Dragon Ki.
And then.
“Hup!”
I wasn't about to miss that opening.
*POW!*
The force-imbued War King Thirteen Strikes hammered against Yuk Hak's protective ki.
“You son of a bitch!”
Yuk Hak cursed and stomped the ground.
It was that 'ordinary' footwork I'd seen earlier.
*BANG!*
A sound like a cannon blast erupted, and stone dust flew up, obscuring my vision.
Of course, that was no reason to stop my attack.
On the contrary.
“Keuk!”
I slammed the full-powered Explosive Death Force into his waist.
*KABOOOM!*
A massive explosion created a black sphere.
The resulting gravitational pull naturally rooted his feet to the spot.
*I'll end it here.*
My opponent was a master of a higher caliber than me.
The only way for the weaker to beat the stronger was to never let a single opportunity slip by.
*BAM!*
A force-imbued kick slammed into Yuk Hak's neck.
My fist struck his solar plexus.
My palm strike immediately followed, detonating its force over his heart.
And so began a hundred strikes.
*Pum-pum-pum-POW!*
I poured all my strength into every single blow, hammering one spot.
And my efforts were not in vain.
“Kugh!”
I felt a different sensation in my hands as Yuk Hak let out a groan.
*I broke through his protective ki.*
The point where I had concentrated my force had pierced his protective ki.
“Die, you son of a bitch!”
Even as I roared with a fiery battle cry, my mind remained cool.
Thanks to the experience I'd gained fighting Hyeon San-wol not long ago.
*Flash.*
*Swoosh!*
*I knew it.*
I had learned that a true master never dies easily.
As I had anticipated, I stomped the ground and executed the War King Step.
*CRASH!*
After escaping the range of the saber force.
“Hup!”
*SHAAAA!*
I unleashed the Ultimate Death Force with all my might.
It was a perfect plan, even if I did say so myself.
“...!”
Alarmed, Yuk Hak swung his glaive in an upward arc.
*BANG!*
The black Ultimate Death Force collided with the blue saber force, creating a small explosion.
The clash between black and blue, a contest of sharpness, sent a biting gale whipping through the area.
It was the killing intent, unleashed by two men trying to kill each other.
And then.
*SCRRRAPE!*
The brief stalemate ended in victory for the Ultimate Death Force, which had been perfectly prepared from the start.
*SQUELCH!*
A long gash was carved into Yuk Hak's torso.
But that didn't mean I had won.
As I said, a master is not someone who dies easily.
“Die, you bastard!”
Taking advantage of his defensive posture, I charged in for close combat.
I detonated the Explosive Death Force with all my strength.
*KABOOOM!*
A huge explosion erupted, and a storm of force raged.
This time, I was sure.
“I've defea…”
I'd even managed to stop myself from muttering the resurrection spell.
*Whoosh.*
But.
“Kekeke, this is fun! This is fun!”
Despite pouring everything I had into it, Yuk Hak didn't die.
Even with blood gushing from the diagonal wound across his torso.
Even with his body battered and bruised from taking the storm of force.
He stood up.
And.
*FWOOSH.*
He began to radiate an even fiercer fighting spirit.
“Huuu…”
There was no time for regrets.
I needed every second to catch my breath if I wanted to face him.
Still, one question did pop into my head.
*Even with all this chaos, the branch isn't sending any warriors.*
We might not be in the same department, but to abandon a colleague from the same company…
It seemed the Hanzhong Merchant Guild had paid them a hefty sum.
Of course, I had to survive this first before I could worry about that.
“Hoo.”
My stamina was already depleted.
If it weren't for the War King Arts, which replenish internal energy during combat, I would have thrown in the towel long ago.
As I caught my breath and looked ahead, I saw the glaive.
To be precise, the glaive was all I could see.
*The visualization of intent.*
A state that sneaky bastards who rely on their weapons dream of achieving, one that Supreme Masters Dan Un and Wi Ji-pung had shown me before.
The problem was.
*This is no illusion.*
Yuk Hak had reached a level incomparable to Dan Un or Wi Ji-pung.
*Thump-thump.*
Was it sensing the aura of death?
My heart began to pound violently.
“Come on!”
The shout I let out to shake off my fear felt utterly hollow.
Because the glaive, which had felt like it was beyond the horizon, was suddenly right in front of my nose.
“...!”
*VWOOM!*
Just as the War Dragon Ki, deployed a beat too late, was about to open its maw.
“Uncle Yuk?”
Cheong So-so's clear voice rang out.
“So-so?”
The aura radiating from the glaive vanished in an instant.
Of course.
“Die, you son of a bitch!”
That was no reason for me to stop my attack.
*BAM!*
A full-powered strike slammed into the area around Yuk Hak's dantian, bringing today's battle to a close.
Now, the world would remember the Iron-Blooded Hegemon, Yuk Hak, as the eternal loser.
And the Fighting Dragon, Jin Mujeon, as the eternal victor.
As long as you win, that's all that matters, right?
* * *
“This young punk is going to be the death of me. Oof…”
“What are you complaining about? You're the one who tried to kill me without a word.”
“Hah! Have you ever seen such a madman? In my sixty years, I've never seen anyone attack an opponent who had already lowered their weapon.”
“You're alive because I'm the first. If it hadn't been for Lady Cheong, I would have killed you for sure.”
“Aigo! What utter bullshit. Someone like you, no matter how much…”
*Thwack!*
He seemed to be all talk, so I planted my fist in his solar plexus.
“Guek!”
Yuk Hak squealed like a stuck pig, then began to seethe.
“I will kill you!”
“So-so, you heard that, right? If I kill this old man, it's self-defense.”
At my words, Cheong So-so, who had been brewing medicine, rushed over, grabbed my arm, and pleaded.
“Squad Leader Jin, please. He's like an uncle to me.”
“…You heard her, right? If it weren't for So-so, old man, you would have died by my hand today.”
But Yuk Hak was fixated on something else.
“You… what is your relationship with our So-so? D-don't tell me you're lovers?”
“Lovers? We're just landlord and tenant.”
“Then why is So-so's face so red?”
I turned to look, and it was true.
“Huh? Are you sick? Why is your face so red?”
“N-no, it's not that. It just got a little warm brewing the medicine… Ah! I'll go get the medicine.”
Cheong So-so, who had stepped out, returned with the medicine in a bowl.
“Drink this, Uncle Yuk. It will help with your internal injuries.”
“Thank you.”
*Gulp.*
Yuk Hak took the bowl and immediately downed it.
To gulp down a boiling hot decoction in one go. He was definitely crazy.
“I heard you're So-so's uncle? What's your relationship?”
“Judging by the way you speak to your elders, you must be an uneducated bastard.”
“Who in their right mind would be polite to someone who just tried to kill them?”
*Glare.*
At the mention of him coming to kill me, Cheong So-so's sharp gaze fixed on Yuk Hak.
He scratched the back of his head awkwardly and said.
“So-so's father is my sworn brother.”
“So you're her sworn uncle…”
“Of course, I am.”
“But why did you try to kill an innocent person?”
“Ahem, I was commissioned…”
“Commissioned?”
In that moment, I remembered what Jeok Hwa-ran had told me.
*'There's also a rumor that a Supreme Master has joined them as a guest retainer.'*
“Don't tell me, the master who became a guest retainer for the Hanzhong Merchant Guild is…?”
“Keum…”
Looking embarrassed, Yuk Hak lowered his eyes.
It was understandable.
I didn't care, but masters of this era generally considered being swayed by money to be dishonorable.
That's why, if they sought patronage, they would go to prestigious martial sects or virtuous houses like the Cheong Family, not a merchant guild.
What's more, Yuk Hak had even tried to kill me for money.
As soon as the full story was revealed, Cheong So-so's thunderous scolding began.
“Uncle! Is that true?! Did you really become a guest retainer for the Hanzhong Merchant Guild and try to kill the innocent Squad Leader Jin?!”
“W-well… they said he was a man disrupting the peace of Hanzhong, so I stepped in.”
“What nonsense! Are you sure you weren't trying to kill an innocent person for money?!”
“No! So-so, you know I don't go around killing innocent people. I only kill those who deserve to die.”
“You were swayed by the Guild Master's silver tongue and tried to kill Squad Leader Jin. How can I believe you?!”
“I-I just made a mistake this one time!”
“I'm so disappointed! I can't just let this go. I'm going to tell Father!”
*Clatter.*
As Cheong So-so stormed out, the color drained from Yuk Hak's face.
It was only natural. His S-class connection to the Cheong Family Head was on the line, not to mention his own hard-won reputation.
But there was one thing he didn't know.
*Hmm… her acting has improved a lot.*
The fact was, Cheong So-so was acting so dramatically because I told her to.
Why did I orchestrate such a thing?
“Do you need money? And you want to protect your honor, too?”
“…Is there a… a way?”
It was to secure a means to pressure the Guild Master.
“Then just trust me and follow my lead.”