Chapter 124
Chapter 124
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: Dragon-Slaying Gate (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
*BAM!*
A technique where one kicks like a hammer, internal energy focused in the sole of the foot.
That was unmistakably the front kick from the Dragon-Slaying Thirteen Strikes.
Just a few days ago, I'd used that very technique to leave a massive footprint on the Strike Squad Leader's chest.
*Thud. CRACK!*
The technique the Dragon-Slaying Gate martial artist was using now—a shoulder charge combined with a strike—was the same.
However.
“…It’s not complete.”
The martial artists of the Dragon-Slaying Gate were only using the techniques from the first and middle parts of the Dragon-Slaying Thirteen Strikes, which were divided into five initial forms, four middle forms, and four final forms.
The final forms, the essence and most crucial part of the Dragon-Slaying Thirteen Strikes, were nowhere to be seen.
‘It’s like a demo version or something…’
I could understand it, to some extent.
Why else would I consider the final forms the essence?
The final forms were insanely difficult, requiring repeated, grueling effort to master.
*Twitch.*
The memory of the hellish training to learn the final forms made my leg muscles twitch.
‘Should I go down?’
My curiosity soaring, I leaped from the five-story pavilion.
*THUD!*
The ground shook violently, and all eyes focused on me.
Fifty branch members.
Ten disciples of the Dragon-Slaying Gate.
Both sides were a mess after fighting for so long, but one thing was certain.
“I, the Superintendent, am very disappointed in the men of the Guard Squad.”
The Guard Squad was losing.
It seemed that no one but the Strike Squad, known as the branch’s elite, could stop the Dragon-Slaying Gate.
The hopeful gaze of the Guard Squad Leader was proof.
“Superintendent!”
Clutching his sword, he rushed toward me as if he were about to prostrate himself on the ground.
*Halt.*
I held out a hand, stopping his approach.
“Didn’t I make it clear? That I wouldn’t help, no matter what happened.”
“Then why are you here…?”
“Just wanted to watch. You know the old saying, ‘Watching a fire and watching a fight are the most entertaining things’?”
I continued with a sneer.
“Losing your nerve? Did you start this mess without the ability to finish it?”
*Grind.*
Provoked, the Guard Squad Leader gritted his teeth and shouted.
“Guard Squad, kill the enemies!”
And so the battle began anew.
*CRACK! BANG! CLANG CLANG. THUD.*
Just as my ears began to ring from the sounds of blows and impacts exploding from all directions.
*Rumble.*
The warriors of the Strike Squad and Reconnaissance Squad arrived.
It seemed they’d rushed over after hearing the news late.
[Do not interfere.]
*Flinch.*
“Stand by!”
“Reconnaissance Squad, advance no further!”
The two squad leaders, having heard my telepathic message, hastily reined in their men.
They all looked at me with questioning eyes, but I ignored their gazes.
The important thing right now was to observe the martial arts of the Dragon-Slaying Gate.
And so, for about half an hour.
*CRACK! Thud.*
“Keuk!”
The battle ended with the last remaining Guard Squad warrior taking a fist to the solar plexus and collapsing futilely.
And.
I was able to conclude that their martial art and the Dragon-Slaying Thirteen Strikes were one and the same.
‘Even the Art of Movement?’
I even saw traces of the Art of Movement, the first step of the War King Arts.
As if.
‘It were the basic stage of the War King Arts.’
That was it.
In their Dragon-Slaying Thirteen Strikes, I had discovered traces of the War King Arts.
I felt a connection between the Dragon-Slaying and War King arts, which I had thought were completely different my entire life.
All that remained was to confirm it myself.
“All branch warriors, fall back!”
I then stomped the ground, channeling my full internal energy.
*KRAKOOM!*
At the massive sound, a few of the fallen Guard Squad members snapped to their senses, gathered their still-downed comrades, and retreated.
*Rumble.*
No one was seriously injured, but every one of them was a wreck.
Anyone could see they’d been beaten one-sidedly.
That alone was a blow to their pride, but there was one thing they didn’t know.
“They held back.”
The fact that the martial artists from the Dragon-Slaying Gate had fought with most of their power held in check.
As if he’d heard my monologue, the man who appeared to be the leader of the Dragon-Slaying Gate exhaled deeply and replied.
“Hoo, why do you think so?”
“Because I know that martial art.”
“You know the Dragon-Slaying Arts?”
“Dragon-Slaying Arts… so that’s what you call it here. But what’s your name?”
“I just said, the Dragon-Slaying Arts…”
“No, your name.”
“Ahem, I am Bukgung Jang-hwan, the Gate Master of the Dragon-Slaying Gate. Are you the new Superintendent?”
“Something like that.”
“I have heard many good things about you, Superintendent. I do not wish to harm you, so… Hup!”
*BAM!*
As my front kick shot out like lightning, he was startled and thrust his hands out to meet it.
*CRACK.*
It was a perfectly timed surprise attack, but it didn’t succeed.
Proof that Bukgung Jang-hwan’s skill was high.
“What is the meaning of this!”
*WHAM! CRACK!*
I immediately rushed in, striking Bukgung Jang-hwan’s body with my elbows, wrists, and knees.
I didn’t imbue them with much ki, but the nature of the techniques carried enough power to break bones in a single blow.
“Keuk!”
He let out a short groan and extended his hands.
The first move blocked my elbow.
*Flash.*
The second move was a finger jab aimed at my eyes.
If I block this, a fist will fly at my ear.
If I block that too, a punch will come for my solar plexus.
How do I know?
Because the Dragon-Slaying Thirteen Strikes I learned was just like that.
I slapped his hand away and ducked my head. Now, the second strike would come for my ear.
*SWOOSH!*
A chilling whoosh came from the fist as it passed over my head.
*BANG!*
Before the third strike could land, I slammed a lightning-fast fist into his solar plexus.
It’s easier to think of it as a kind of counterpunch.
“Kuh…”
I could hear him gasp for air.
It was a blow with enough force to knock out a decent peak master, but Bukgung Jang-hwan didn’t fall.
“Keuhak!”
*BAM! BAM! BAM!*
Instead, he began to strike my body with both his hands and feet.
*Throb.*
The attacks were destructive enough to pierce my protective ki and leave a stinging pain.
A sound of admiration escaped my lips at his incredible fighting spirit.
“Hoh.”
Not bad.
Even as I was impressed, Bukgung Jang-hwan’s hands shot out like lightning.
He must be trying to unleash a continuous chain of the Dragon-Slaying Arts.
He must think he can’t win otherwise.
Of course.
*PANG!*
Before the unified War King Thirteen Strikes, everything was useless.
A single impact rang out as thirteen attacks slammed into Bukgung Jang-hwan’s body simultaneously.
“Krk.”
*Thump.*
In the end, he collapsed, his eyes rolling back in his head.
I turned to the remaining Dragon-Slaying Gate disciples and said.
“What are you doing? Are you going to let your Gate Master die like this?”
“Yii!”
“Kill him!”
The remaining disciples of the Dragon-Slaying Gate charged like fierce tigers.
* * *
After the fight with the Dragon-Slaying Gate was over.
The Guard Squad Leader stepped forward among the unconscious disciples of the Dragon-Slaying Gate.
“What are you all doing? I will interrogate these bastards myself! Bind them all!”
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“Yes?”
“Why are you making a fuss? Did you catch them?”
“Then, are you saying we should just let these bastards who have defiled the branch go?”
“I’ll see to them myself. Bring them to my office.”
“...!”
I ignored the startled Guard Squad Leader and continued.
“Get a move on, now. Or should I kill you for disobeying orders?”
Only after my threat did the branch members hastily move.
*Pat.*
“See you later.”
I patted the Guard Squad Leader’s shoulder and went up to my office.
And so, the ten disciples of the Dragon-Slaying Gate were laid out on my office floor.
“I know you’re awake.”
As I muttered to myself while preparing tea, Bukgung Jang-hwan shot up.
“You’re quick-witted.”
“I didn’t hit you that hard in the first place.”
“I suspected as much. If the Superintendent, renowned as a transcendent master, had been serious, we would have died the moment the fight began.”
“You knew that and still charged at me?”
“I believe it was the Superintendent who struck first…”
“Ahem, how about you come over and have a cup of tea?”
“Very well.”
The Gate Master of the Dragon-Slaying Gate, Bukgung Jang-hwan, dusted off his clothes and sat down. I handed him a teacup filled with tea.
“Thank you.”
“It’s just a cup of tea.”
“I am thanking you for sparing my life. From the perspective of the Nine Dragons Fortress, what we did was nothing short of treason, was it not?”
“Not quite treason, let’s just call it a disturbance. In return, let me ask you two things.”
“Please, speak.”
“First, explain this whole mess to me.”
“I thought you would already have a rough idea…”
“I only have a rough idea. I want to hear the details.”
“Well…”
Bukgung Jang-hwan’s subsequent explanation was exactly as I had expected.
The Guard Squad Leader, who usually took a substantial amount in bribes, started shaking down the underworld figures when his income dwindled due to the ‘Clean Hanzhong Campaign.’
It seems he trusted in his power as the Guard Squad Leader, ranked third in Hanzhong’s hierarchy.
“Just as I thought.”
“…Is there nothing that can be done? Although their lives are close to the darkness, they have never preyed on the blood and sweat of others. When great troubles arose, they even stepped forward to help. In a way, they too can be called the people of Hanzhong.”
“Still, the underworld is the underworld. You know how the higher-ups view them. Besides, taking down the Guard Squad Leader without any evidence? Even I can’t do that.”
“That evidence, I can get it for you.”
“How?”
“Our Dragon-Slaying Gate has been established in Hanzhong for over a hundred years. Do you think we’ve made only one or two connections in that time? There will surely be someone who can testify to the Guard Squad Leader’s corruption.”
“That’s good, but…”
*Slurp.*
I took a sip of tea and continued. It was my biggest worry recently.
“The problem is what happens after I leave. You know I’m only here temporarily for three months, right?”
That was right.
It was, after all, a temporary three-month position as Superintendent.
No matter how much I emphasized the ‘Clean Hanzhong Campaign,’ it could all become meaningless once I left.
However, Bukgung Jang-hwan replied leisurely with a faint smile.
“Do you know the saying, ‘If you can truly renew yourself one day, you should renew yourself every day, and again every day’?”
“Don’t know it.”
I’m busy enough trying to master martial arts, when would I have time to study literature?
Knowing just enough characters to read and write is sufficient.
As if he hadn’t expected such a reply, he cleared his throat and said.
“Ahem, it means that to be truly renewed, one must renew oneself day by day, and again and again.”
“And?”
“My point is that since you, Superintendent, have started that new day, it holds meaning in itself. Isn’t the beginning always the hardest part? In the future, even after you return to the main fortress, there will be someone to carry on your will, so I believe it is not something you need to worry about beforehand.”
“…”
He wasn’t wrong, so I nodded.
Besides, there’s also the saying that a good beginning is half the battle.
“Just bring me the evidence, and I’ll take care of it.”
“Thank you.”
Bukgung Jang-hwan said as he drank his tea.
“By any chance, may I guess what your second question is?”
“Be my guest.”
“You intend to ask about the similarity between your martial arts and our Dragon-Slaying Gate’s Dragon-Slaying Arts, do you not?”
*Pfft.*
“So you knew.”
“It is the martial art I have practiced my entire life. If I couldn’t even recognize that, I’d have to gouge my eyes out.”
“Well, no need to go that far…”
Flustered by the characteristically extreme expression of a martial artist, I watched as Bukgung Jang-hwan began to speak with a very serious look on his face.
“Do you happen to know about the history of Hanzhong?”
“Well? Just that it was the land that Zhuge Wuhou targeted countless times?”
“You know almost nothing, it seems.”
“…”
“Originally, Hanzhong was not the land of the Nine Dragons Fortress.”
“A hundred years ago, the Nine Dragons Fortress itself didn’t even exist, did it?”
They just took it all or absorbed it.
“Ahem, my explanation was lacking. What I mean is that Hanzhong had a different master.”
“A master of Hanzhong… Who was it?”
“Two hundred years ago, there were four renowned martial lineages in the martial world.”
I was about to stop his sudden tangent, but I held back after seeing the regretful expression on Bukgung Jang-hwan’s face.
“They were the Northern Heavenly Sword, said to reign as the heavens of the world; the Eastern Hegemon’s Sword, the sword of the supreme king; and the Western Destructive Arts, which shatters all things.”
“Then what about the south?”
“…Is that important right now?”
“I’m curious. To discuss the world while conveniently leaving out the south.”
“Ahem, the south is… the Ten Thousand Demons’…”
“Stop, I get it.”
The birthplace of the Demon Sect, the leader of the Ten Demon Alliance, is Guangdong Province, the southernmost part of the Central Plains.
The south probably had some name like ‘Ten Thousand Demons something-or-other.’
The Ten Demon Alliance was born as a result of the holy land reclamation movement started in that name.
“Anyway, so the masters of Hanzhong were those Western Destructive whatever guys? Geographically, they’re the only ones it could be.”
When I brought the topic back from its brief detour, Bukgung Jang-hwan answered immediately.
“That is correct. The legendary martial school that reigned under the name of the Western Destructive Arts was the War King Gate—an alias for the Bukgung Clan.”
“…”
It seems I have a lot more to ask.