It Is Not Reliance, But Walking Together (5)
Whoosh!
The sword that sliced through the falling rain came with a vicious, murderous momentum. The Black Claw Unit members who had launched themselves into the air swooped down on Chung Myung like black birds of prey.
Chung Myung watched them with his eyes cold and still, then bloomed red plum blossoms from the tip of his sword, as though they were made of blood.
Plum Blossoms in the Rain.
Plum blossoms opening amid a torrential downpour.
There was no exaggeration in saying that the Plum Blossom Sword Art used to subdue an opponent and the Plum Blossom Sword Art used to kill one were entirely different arts.
The plum blossoms Chung Myung had shown at the martial arts tournament had been dazzling enough, but now they were clearly different from back then.
A sword meant solely to kill the enemy. Every one of the hundreds of blossoming flowers was filled with murderous intent.
The sword being swung was merciless beyond measure, and the swordsman gripping it in the rain was even more emotionless than the blade itself.
"Hngh!"
A groan finally escaped the mouth of a Black Claw Unit member charging at Chung Myung.
Even though they were men the unit itself acknowledged as having overcome the fear of death through brutal training, in that instant they could not suppress the shiver crawling up their spines.
If they threw themselves into that beautiful mass of plum blossoms, their bodies would be torn to shreds and reduced to minced flesh.
"Haaahhhhhh!"
A shout burst from their throats.
They had been trained never to waste even a single breath until the very moment they severed their opponent’s breathing completely. But to overcome the fear surging through them now, they needed something they had never needed before.
"Die!"
The internal force they poured in just before the sword could be unleashed trembled through the heavy straight sword.
The sharply thrust blade pierced the plum blossoms like an arrow.
Fwaaaaaat!
Concentrated internal force began crushing the blossoms. Each flower that met the sword trembled violently before scattering apart.
One. Two. And three!
The plum blossoms blocking the path between the Black Claw Unit and Chung Myung collapsed one after another. Yet the straight sword’s momentum did not weaken in the slightest.
Got it!
No matter how immense one’s internal force was, maintaining this many sword lights at once had to be difficult.
So driving straight through the single point needed for the attack should not be that hard….
That was when it happened.
Rustle.
The plum blossoms that had stood firm all at once rippled softly. And at the same time—
Fwoooooosh!
Like petals blown loose by a sudden wind, they began rushing toward the Black Claw Unit member in a flood.
Tsk!
This much had been expected.
But even if sword qi drove itself into his body, it didn’t matter as long as he could thrust the straight sword through! Better to sacrifice flesh and take bone….
Snikt.
The hand gripping the sword was sliced open. The severed fingers fell limply to the ground, and the sight was burned clearly into the Black Claw Unit member’s eyes.
Pain wrapped around his hand, but he clenched his teeth and shoved the sword forward anyway. No—he tried to.
But it was nothing more than greed gone too far.
Snikt!
A petal brushed lightly past his wrist. A faint sting came first, and then a long red line was drawn across his arm.
He thought he could endure something like that just fine.
But in that instant—
Crack.
The red line darkened, and in the blink of an eye the wound burst open.
When he saw bone exposed in the long gash along his forearm, the Black Claw Unit member’s eyes flew wide.
Snikt.
Scattered petals sliced through his thigh.
Snikt. Snikt.
His side split open. A petal lodged in his abdomen. Blood sprayed from his shoulder, and his ear was cut clean off.
"Ah…."
Only when the hand holding his sword was severed and flew upward, only when his neck was split halfway open, only when his abdomen was pierced by more than ten petals, did the Black Claw Unit member finally understand what was happening to him.
This… this can’t….
Fwoooooosh!
The wave of plum blossoms swept over his entire body. Dozens, then hundreds of petals tore through flesh, snapped bone, and pierced straight into his frame.
Blood burst through the rain and scattered in all directions.
When the flowers were done falling, all that remained was what had just moments ago been called a human body.
"Aaaah! You demon bastard!"
One of his comrades, unable to bear the brutal death of a companion, let out a shriek of panic—only to receive a blue-white sword blade instead of an answer.
Kwadeuk!
A sword that had suddenly burst out from between the elegantly blooming plum blossoms drilled through the neck of the charging Black Claw Unit member in one stroke.
Puk!
The sound of steel tearing through flesh and bone rang clearly even through the rain.
"Keuk…."
Blood froth surged up his throat, and a warped groan escaped him. Chung Myung’s eyes, fixed on the one writhing and clutching at life with a pierced throat, were colder than ice.
The moment he tried to withdraw the sword that had been supporting the slackening body—
Grab.
The man with the pierced throat suddenly shot up a hand and seized Chung Myung’s sword with both hands.
"Kuugh…."
His bloodshot eyes were filled with malice.
As if refusing to let this chance slip away, he shoved every bit of internal force he had into his hands and drove them into the blade. The sword grated against bone with a ghastly sound.
He would not let go of Chung Myung’s sword, even if it meant dying.
"Die!"
"Hap!"
And answering that will, two black streaks of light flew in from behind Chung Myung.
But in that very instant, the corner of Chung Myung’s mouth twisted into a crooked smile.
Puk!
Instead of pulling his sword free, he thrust it forward.
The eyes of the one desperately trying to drag the sword away filled with shock.
No, no…!
Puk!
With a feral grin, Chung Myung drove the sword to the hilt into the Black Claw Unit member’s throat. The blade that had severed life in an instant did not stop there; it swept downward with savage force.
Chwaaak!
Chung Myung slipped swiftly through the body split in two. Hot blood washed over him from head to toe, but he did not even blink.
He drove through the corpse, then spun his body and kicked the still-falling body toward those aiming for his back.
The corpse whirled around, spraying blood everywhere.
"Ugh!"
With startled cries, the attackers rushed in only to wrench their direction away at the last second.
Chung Myung did not miss the opening.
Fwaaat!
His feet kicked off the ground in an instant.
Like lightning, he flew in and closed the distance, the tip of his sword trembling.
As if time had been sped up, plum blossoms that had opened in a heartbeat swept over the one whose stance had faltered.
"Aaahhhhhhh!"
The man who had been pierced by dozens of holes in a single strike let out a tragic scream. And before Chung Myung’s final sword could even be pulled free from his body, his breath was gone.
Chung Myung moved without hesitation.
With a sound like air being ripped apart, a flash-fast sword strike shot toward another man’s neck.
"Huh!"
Terrified, the Black Claw Unit member had no time even to swing his sword and threw both arms up instead.
Kwadeuk!
Chung Myung’s sword pierced straight through the crossed arms, then continued without losing momentum for the other man’s throat. With both arms skewered, the Black Claw Unit member went deathly pale and stumbled backward in panic.
But Chung Myung had no intention of letting him go. He lunged faster than the man could retreat.
Chung Myung’s black hair, drenched through and appearing even darker, whipped through the air. Blood sprayed in all directions.
"Ghk!"
Then the Black Claw Unit member backing away caught his foot on something.
He toppled to the ground, and in his eyes appeared the overwhelming figure of Chung Myung looming over him.
A blood-soaked face, like a demon’s. But in stark contrast to it, his eyes were so cold they seemed ready to split the soul apart.
"Hah… hahh…."
Chung Myung’s sword drove into his throat without the slightest hesitation.
The man tried with all his strength to block it, but the blade slowly—so slowly—cut through his arm and continued into his neck.
Snikt.
"Grrrk…."
His airway split, and a strange sound leaked from his throat. Blood surged backward and flooded his mouth.
"If you weren’t ready to be hit by a comrade’s blood, you shouldn’t have come to the battlefield."
A chilling smile bloomed at the corner of Chung Myung’s mouth.
"Rookie."
The Black Claw Unit member’s breathing stopped, and his body went limp.
Puk.
Chung Myung split the man’s neck bone apart, withdrew his sword without a shred of lingering feeling, and rose to his feet.
"…Tch."
He spat out the blood that had slipped into his mouth, and rain mixed with blood ran down his face.
Even the pouring rain could do nothing about this thick, clinging stench of blood. It was both unpleasant and familiar at the same time.
Chung Myung raised a hand and wiped his face.
The sensation of his sword severing neck bone still lingered vividly at his fingertips.
Once, that feeling had meant nothing at all….
He turned his gaze and looked at the remaining Black Claw Unit members. They were surrounding him warily, unable to close the distance carelessly, like a pack of wolves out on the hunt.
But while their formation might have resembled wolves, their eyes did not.
The vicious, poison-filled glare they had worn at the start was gone. All that remained were eyes shaken with fear, glazed with shock and uncertainty.
With his sword hanging low, Chung Myung advanced toward them.
"Ugh…."
The one standing in his path flinched and instinctively backed away.
They were supposed to fight a monster like that?
The only time it made sense to risk one’s life and strike at the enemy was when that resolve could shape the outcome. But this… wasn’t this just throwing one’s life away for nothing?
"R-run…."
Crack!
At that moment, a skin-crawling sound cut into his ears.
The man who had been retreating slowly lowered his gaze. A hand wrapped in black bandages was sticking out through his chest.
Then blood began spilling up from his mouth in thick gouts. Trembling, he turned around to look behind him.
"That won’t do."
Heoksi’s voice rang out, scraped raw like iron.
Grrrk.
A grotesque sound came from the hand thrust through his chest. The Black Claw Unit member convulsed from the agony of his dying breath, but there was not the slightest tremor in Heoksi’s eyes.
"Kkeu… kkeueu…."
Puk.
Heoksi pulled his hand out from the man’s chest and did not even glance at the subordinate collapsing to the ground. His eyes remained fixed solely on Chung Myung.
The mouth hidden beneath his bandages opened slowly.
"We attack together. Rush him. Hold on and drag him down."
A fierce killing intent lit up in the Black Claw Unit members’ eyes.
If they could not escape anyway, the only way to survive was to kill that bastard.
"Haaahhhhh!"
It was closer to a scream than a shout of battle.
The Black Claw Unit members, their eyes stained red, crashed toward Chung Myung all at once.
Watching that desperate, flailing assault, Chung Myung slowly took a middle guard stance.
Three in front. Two behind. And one above.
He couldn’t be certain that was all of them. No, even if it were all of them, taking them on simultaneously would be a stupid thing to do.
Chung Myung’s feet stepped into his movement technique. Sliding over the ground, he darted like a ghost toward the one approaching first.
Because he was in front?
Not at all.
Because his footwork was the slowest. Because he was the one with the deepest fear in his heart.
Battle was not a martial tournament. If an opponent showed weakness, you tore into it without mercy. This was a battlefield, where if you spared your enemy’s circumstances, your own head would be the first to roll.
And Chung Myung obeyed that law of the battlefield to the letter.
"Ah…."
Before the encirclement could even fully close, the Black Claw Unit member’s eyes shook violently when he saw Chung Myung lunging first.
"Aaaahhh!"
He screamed and thrust out his straight sword.
The straight sword was sharp and lethal enough when used offensively, but defensively it was nothing more than a half-finished weapon.
And Chung Myung never missed that kind of opening.
Kwaang!
Chung Myung’s sword came down with immense internal force behind it. The straight sword that met it gave a sharp cry and snapped clean in half.
Chung Myung’s blade followed through and slashed down at the Black Claw Unit member before him.
The sword bit into his shoulder, severed his collarbone in one stroke, and drove onward, splitting his upper body.
And then—
Kwadeuk!
Just as the sword was passing his abdomen, something suddenly burst out from the Black Claw Unit member’s chest and flew for Chung Myung’s face.
Even Chung Myung had no choice but to feel his heart drop in that instant.
"Keuk!"
Before he could even identify what it was, he twisted his body. What had flown at him grazed his face by a hair’s breadth and left three slashes across his cheek.
At the same moment—
Kwaaaaaaaaang!
The body of the Black Claw Unit member in front of him exploded outright, scattering bits of flesh everywhere. Bone and flesh carried on internal force shot into Chung Myung’s body like concealed weapons.
"Aaahhhhh!"
And not missing the opportunity, the Black Claw Unit members charged at Chung Myung.
Gnngh!
Clenching his teeth, Chung Myung swept his sword rapidly in all directions.
Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Art, Gradually Blooming Plum Blossoms.
The technique unfolded, and the ones flying at him were swallowed in a storm of wild petals.
"Aaahhhhhh!"
"Aaaah!"
Tragic screams rang thunderously through Mount Hua.
The Plum Blossom Sword Art, unleashed without mercy and filled with killing intent, was more than enough to turn the assailants into minced flesh. But a hurried technique could never be as precise as usual.
And so Chung Myung had to pay a price as well.
Snikt.
He swiftly sliced a handful of flesh from his own thigh.
Without the slightest hesitation, he cut himself in several more places before lifting his half-lidded eyes and looking ahead.
Heoksi was approaching slowly. The eyes visible through the bandages gleamed darker than darkness itself.
"I can’t make sense of it… no, I can’t make sense of it. Your movements are clearly those of a veteran who has been through a hundred battles."
Grrrk.
Each time Heoksi’s claws moved, they made that strange, unpleasant sound.
"…You."
Tendons stood out in Chung Myung’s clenched jaw. Veins rose red in his eyes.
The thing that had just grazed his face was Heoksi’s claw. The bastard had hidden his presence with stealth, then used the back of his subordinate as a shield to strike Chung Myung.
"You seem angry. Why?"
Heoksi tilted his head, lifting a claw as if he truly didn’t understand.
"A body that’s rotten anyway—if it managed to leave even a scratch on you, wouldn’t that guy be happy about it in the afterlife too?"
At Heoksi’s words, the Plum Blossom Sword that Chung Myung had seized gave a short tremor.
Of course, he knew the bastard wasn’t entirely wrong. On a battlefield where people killed and were killed, there was no such thing as a method you couldn’t use.
And yet…
And yet why did it feel as if his blood were surging backward through his veins?
Heoksi raised the long claws in both hands and approached Chung Myung soundlessly.
"Don’t worry. I don’t kill people easily. I’ll make you scream in ways you’ve never screamed before."
With his expression still dark with disgust, Chung Myung gave a cold smile.
"You sure do talk a lot for a brat."
And then the Plum Blossom Sword erupted with a blade of blue qi.