Chapter 180
Chapter 180
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 180
Chapter Title: Show Me the Martial Arts (3)
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Crash! Crack.
The Grand Elder of the White Silver Gate, Eun Jin-san, slammed his hand on the table.
Perhaps because it was hastily made from a broken tree, it immediately split in half.
“That insolent bastard! How dare he…”
“…Even if you don't like it, you must endure until the competition is over.”
At the advice of his eldest daughter, Eun Hyeong-seol, Eun Jin-san let out a sigh and suppressed his anger.
“Huuu.”
It was a merger he'd disliked from the very beginning.
To be forced into a union with the White Island Sword Sect so abruptly.
Moreover, Eun Jin-san couldn't contain his rage at the subsequent proposal from the White Island Sword Sect's master.
The marriage between his eldest daughter, Eun Hyeong-seol, and the young master of the White Island Sword Sect, Baek Ju-cheol.
On the surface, it didn't seem like a major issue, but Baek Ju-cheol already had two wives.
In other words, he intended to take Eun Hyeong-seol as a concubine.
Eun Jin-san had erupted in fury, but he had no choice but to obey the strict orders of the main family.
He had to protect the position of Grand Elder, which they had tossed to him as if doing him a great favor.
However, even that patience was now wearing thin.
He could no longer tolerate the behavior of the White Island Sword Sect's master, who would call for meetings only to deny him a voice, or openly insult the warriors of the Eun Family to his face.
“Isn't there some way?”
Eun Hyeong-seol shook her head at her father's question.
“As long as they are here, there is no way.”
“Where did bastards like that even come from…?”
The strength of the Eun Family and the White Island Sword Sect was known to be similar.
That was why Eun Jin-san had agreed to the merger.
But once the lid was lifted, the White Island Sword Sect overwhelmingly surpassed the Eun Family.
And at the center of it all was the Flash Corps, a group of twenty unidentified sword fiends, all at the peak level.
“It must be the White Dragon Hall. What did the main family say?”
“Ugh… They said they would contact us later.”
Eun Hyeong-seol bit her lip.
She felt her suspicions had been confirmed.
“I have an idea.”
Eun Hyeong-seol took a small note from her robes. After reading its contents, Eun Jin-san was utterly shocked.
“Th-this… isn't this telling us to betray the main family?!”
“The main family has abandoned us. Can't you see from the current situation? Look. They must have promised the White Dragon Hall the Eun Family in exchange for some reward.”
“…”
“It's time to step out from the main family's shadow.”
Hearing his daughter's words, Eun Jin-san replied in a trembling voice.
“I-If we do that, there's no telling what the main family will do. They might retaliate.”
“Don't worry about that. The main family won't know a thing about this.”
Eun Jin-san looked at his daughter with a troubled expression.
* * *
The stage for Show Me the Martial Arts was quite vast. In modern Korean terms, it was comparable in size to a decent-sized autonomous city.
Since the competition's concept was basically 'kill each other starting now,' it seemed they had secured the largest possible area.
The War King Gate began preparations to depart before the sun had even risen.
The advantage of cavalry, after all, isn't in defense.
Watching the disciples bustling about as they broke down the camp, I fell into thought.
'All that's left are the Hainan Sword Sect and the White Silver Gate.'
In truth, Mount Taemo Fortress was the weakest of the Three Heavenly Kings.
The common consensus was that only its lord, the Iron Mountain Hegemon Woo Gong-baek, was skilled in martial arts, while the rest were lacking.
Having fought them myself, I found that to be true to some extent.
However, the fact that Woo Gong-baek had inherited the true teachings of the Beggars' Sect was a bit of a surprise.
The Dog-Beating Staff and the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms.
The combination of the staff in the left hand and the palm in the right was so powerful that it was once considered invincible.
In the past, a leader of the Righteous Path Alliance had even come from the Beggars' Sect.
The problem was, true to being beggars, their management was also beggar-like, so they were quickly kicked out.
'Wait a minute.'
Is that why Mount Taemo Fortress is so poor?
“Hmm…”
It seemed entirely possible.
“Hmm? Where are you going?”
“I-I'm busy with something. Please wait a moment. I'll be right back after I take care of it.”
I moved as far away from Woo Gong-baek as possible.
There's a saying that he who touches pitch shall be defiled. I didn't want to risk catching the beggar germ.
Anyway, the Hainan Sword Sect and the White Silver Gate were stronger than Mount Taemo Fortress.
The Hainan Sword Sect alone had well over a hundred masters, and its leader, Oh Ryang, was counted among the Seven Hegemons, just like Woo Gong-baek.
The White Silver Gate was no pushover either.
Although they had no one who could be called a supreme master, their numbers exceeded a thousand, with over three hundred considered masters.
Their strength was comparable to one of the Eight Halls.
'A direct confrontation is not the answer.'
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
I asked as we rode on horseback.
“Where did you say it was?”
Unaccustomed to riding, Yu So-pyeong swayed and replied.
“It's two hundred li to the south.”
“That's far.”
“We should be able to arrive in time.”
“Of course we will.”
I trained them to the point of shitting blood for this very reason.
Ah, that wasn't a metaphor; it actually happened. The cavalry training caused a surge in hemorrhoid cases.
It was truly a heartbreaking affair.
I imbued my voice with internal energy and shouted to the disciples who were still suffering.
“Everyone, pick up the pace! Tonight, we sleep at home!”
War Dragon—!
Seven hundred cavalrymen galloped across the plain.
* * *
The warriors of the White Silver Gate and the Hainan Sword Sect faced each other in the middle of the plain.
With no water to drink or food to eat, they intended to settle the score early.
Whoosh.
A fierce wind blew between the two camps.
The leader of the Hainan Sword Sect, the Southern Sword Hegemon Oh Ryang, stared ahead with an arrogant expression.
“I have a proposal for the master of the White Silver Gate!”
He thrust the wooden sword in his hand into the ground and drew his beloved blade.
It was the Sea-Reflecting Sword, the sacred treasure of the Hainan Sword Sect.
“How about the two of us settle this with a duel?!”
From the White Silver Gate's perspective, this was a demand they could never accept.
Not only did they lack a master who could fight Oh Ryang one-on-one, but their overall strength far surpassed the Hainan Sword Sect, so there was no reason to give them a break.
The master of the White Silver Gate gave a cynical sneer.
“To resort to such a futile trick… The reputation of the Hainan Sword Sect will weep.”
Twitch.
At the provocation that even mentioned his sect's name, Oh Ryang's brow furrowed.
To insult the great Hainan Sword Sect.
And in a situation where there was no reason to create enmity.
However, as the leader of a great sect, Oh Ryang was cautious.
'There's something more to this.'
To act so boldly in front of him meant they were confident.
And just as he suspected.
'…I knew it.'
A group of warriors caught Oh Ryang's eye.
They wore the same attire as the others nearby, but they couldn't fool the eyes of a veteran master like him.
“Hmph.”
On the contrary, his heart pounded with excitement.
A challenge like this was necessary to make today's battle memorable.
“There's no other way.”
Oh Ryang picked up the wooden sword he had stuck in the ground.
“I'll just have to knock them all down.”
Soon after, the warriors of the White Silver Gate and the Hainan Sword Sect charged at each other.
* * *
Two hours later.
“Gasp… gasp…”
Oh Ryang realized he had been wrong.
He had succeeded in defeating the peak-level swordsmen with all his might, but the warriors of the Hainan Sword Sect had been completely overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
Step.
“Surrender.”
The master of the White Silver Gate approached him as he was bent over.
Baek Gwang-woo, the Hundred Battles, Hundred Swords.
He had a reputation of his own, but he was far from being on Oh Ryang's level.
Oh Ryang smiled bitterly.
He hadn't trained so hard in martial arts just to be defeated by someone like this…
But what could he do?
Today, he had lost.
What mattered was winning next time.
With a small, self-deprecating smile, he untied the flag from his back.
Seeing this, Baek Gwang-woo's face broke into a wide grin.
'The plan has come to fruition. Kehehe.'
Mount Taemo Fortress and the War King Gate.
By now, the War King Gate must have been eliminated, leaving only Mount Taemo Fortress. The competition was as good as theirs.
Which meant.
He would soon be able to earn an enormous amount of money.
The main family had promised a huge reward in exchange for taking Hanzhong and offering up the White Silver Gate.
Although he had to give up the sect where he was born and raised, what did that matter?
He had been promised enough wealth to buy the entire capital city.
He planned to leave the troublesome martial world, find some island, and live a life of debauchery.
Riiip.
Baek Gwang-woo tore the flag in half.
“We have won.”
“So it seems.”
Just as Oh Ryang acknowledged his defeat.
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
“...?”
The sound of the earth trembling was accompanied by a cloud of dust rising over the hill.
“Hah!”
Realizing what it meant, Baek Gwang-woo's face instantly turned pale.
“H-How are they here?!”
Baek Gwang-woo couldn't believe the situation.
When he had checked with the scouting party that returned in the morning, they had been over two hundred li away.
But to think they would storm in, in less than half a day.
And timed perfectly for when they had just finished a battle.
Watching the flustered Baek Gwang-woo, Oh Ryang sneered softly and said.
“It seems it's your turn to taste defeat.”
Grit.
Baek Gwang-woo gritted his teeth and stared ahead.
* * *
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
Perfect timing.
Even the terrain was a downhill slope.
How was this possible, you ask?
It's quite simple.
'Because I planted a mole.'
For someone who spent his first life in a divided nation, it was the most basic of tactics.
Thanks to that, things went very smoothly.
'Yong Ma-san…'
I'd like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the bald man who contributed greatly to this mole strategy.
Without the Hao Gate, I wouldn't have even been able to recruit a mole.
I also learned about the White Silver Gate's internal affairs from him.
Of course, even with a mole, this operation would have been impossible without cavalry.
Even martial artists couldn't have covered two hundred li in less than half a day.
“Kuhehe! Let's go!”
“You're the master of a gate, for heaven's sake! Please maintain some dignity!”
“Victory is right before our eyes, so what if I'm a little crass!”
Woo Je-jun rode ahead of me and approached Yuk Hak.
After a brief conversation, Yuk Hak shouted with his voice full of internal energy.
“The Iron-Blooded Nine Dragons will take the lead! The rest will support from behind!”
War Dragon—!
'Kiya… Now things are finally working properly.'
Hearing the new slogan, I couldn't help but nod.
We'd become independent from the Nine Dragons Fortress, so we couldn't keep chanting 'Nine Dragons, Nine Dragons' forever.
But just saying 'War King' felt a bit awkward, so I just mixed the two.
Well, that's not what's important right now.
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
Smashing the White Silver Gate is far more important.
“What are you all doing! Prepare to face the enemy!”
The White Silver Gate's master shouted.
Only then did the men of the White Silver Gate hastily begin to form ranks, but even that seemed difficult.
Not only were they already exhausted.
“Damn it! What do you think you're doing?!”
Because about half of their members were deliberately slacking off.
It must be the mole's doing.
The seven hundred cavalrymen of the War King Gate charged into their incomplete formation.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
“Kuaack!”
“Guk.”
Screams rang out along with the sound of wooden spears shattering.
They were broken through without being able to put up any resistance.
Mount Taemo Fortress had at least shown some resilience and blocked our advance, but the current White Silver Gate had nothing of the sort.
Having crumbled from within, they were nothing more than an empty shell.
There was some resistance, but as long as I was here, it was meaningless.
Thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack.
“Gweck.”
I unleashed the Black Mist Spear and swept through the disciples of the White Silver Gate.
It had now become our gate's signature martial art, so I intended to master it through practical combat.
Its efficiency also suited me well.
“Below!”
Crack.
“Gwak!”
A White Silver Gate disciple, struck in the head by a high attack, collapsed with his eyes rolling back.
Heeeing—
Whitey let out a cry as if enjoying himself.
I felt a sharp aura surrounding me.
Five masters from the White Silver Gate.
I threw my wooden spear, kicked off Whitey's back, and leaped into the air.
Kwaaaang!
The Explosive Death Force I unleashed struck the center of their group.
“Hoh…”
I thought they'd be completely exhausted, but seeing them block my attack, it seems that wasn't the case.
“I can't kill them, so…”
This is the perfect time to use the War King's Thirteen Strikes.
If I just break a bone or two on each of them, they'll collapse on their own.
“Kill them!”
However, there was no need for me to step in.
“Protect the Gate Master!”
The Iron-Blooded Nine Dragons under Woo Je-jun swarmed in and ganged up on them.
“How dare you bastards!”
Crack. Crack.
“…”
The scene that unfolded in an instant made me reflect once again on the meaning of being a Gate Master.
Anyway, I broke through the final line of defense and finally stood before Baek Gwang-woo.
He was a Gate Master, after all, standing on guard with his sword in hand.
Pfft.
“Haven't you heard how Baek Mu-ha's nose was shattered by my hand?”
“Hmph! We won't know until…”
Kwaaaang.
I aimed for the spot next to Baek Gwang-woo's leg and fired a Battle Lord Arrow.
“Oh. My. A. Mis. Take. A little closer and your whole leg would have been torn off, wouldn't it?”
They said I couldn't kill them, but they never said I couldn't cripple them.
“Grrr!”
Baek Gwang-woo ground his teeth, but the tide of battle had already turned.
“…I've lost.”
He bowed his head and declared his defeat.
It was the moment the War King Gate became the final winner of Show Me the Martial Arts.