Chapter 75: The Five Great Clans (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 75: The Five Great Clans (2)
[You have acquired the skill 'Sword Demon Emperor Stepss (S)'!]
[Sword Demon Emperor Stepss]
Acquisition Difficulty: S-
Description: A martial art created by fusing the 'Infinite Steps' of the Namgung Clan—one of the Five Great Clans—with the 'Grave of Swords,' the signature martial art of the Demonic Cult's Sword Demon. It blends the disparate natures of the Orthodox Faction, which pursues righteousness and chivalry, and the Demonic Cult, which pursues hegemony. Upon activation, movement speed increases by 70%. If mana is concentrated in the feet, it can also be used as a means of attack.
Mobility and offensive power.
He had obtained a skill that allowed him to catch both rabbits at once.
'If I link this with the passive skill Shallow Breathing, I'll be able to manage my stamina efficiently even when traveling long distances.'
Furthermore, now that he could channel his weight and mana into it, even the same attack would carry far greater destructive power.
It was a skill that truly allowed him to feel the raw essence of the Murim.
Jinhyuk scanned the skill's details once more.
'Normally, I thought I'd have to reach at least the 20th floor to get something like this...'
Thanks to those fools walking straight into the tiger's den on their own two feet, he had enjoyed quite a hearty feast.
On the other hand...
"Grr!"
Watching Jinhyuk smile, Namgung Hyun grit his teeth so hard they nearly shattered.
He had to be furious.
His opponent was completely relaxed, while he had barely escaped with his life thanks to his companions' intervention.
It was only natural that his pride had taken a massive hit.
Right then.
"Are you alright, Hyun?"
Three people—two men and a woman—approached Namgung Hyun.
The man in his mid-thirties was Hwangbo Gun-ak, a member of the Hwangbo Clan, which was another of the Five Great Clans alongside the Namgung Clan.
"I don't think I've ever seen you break a sweat like this before, Brother Hyun."
The woman, who had just turned twenty, was Tang So-ha of the Tang Clan, renowned for their mastery of poison.
"Why are you struggling so much against a guy like that?"
Finally, the youngest-looking male was Jegal Cheon of the Jegal Clan.
"Damn it. I could have handled him alone. I didn't need your help!"
"We aren't doubting your skills. But do not forget that the Sect Leader's order was to win him over, not to eliminate him."
"Brother Gun-ak is right. If he willingly agrees to join us, there's no reason to fight."
"But...! That bastard knows about us! He already knew we came from the Tower!"
Namgung Hyun roared. At his words, the relaxed smiles vanished from the other three, their eyes shaking in shock.
"...What?"
"Is that true?"
"He knows about us?"
They had been standing too far back to overhear the conversation between Namgung Hyun and Jinhyuk.
To think he had actually said such a thing.
If Namgung Hyun was telling the truth, this was no minor issue.
They had contacted several promising Players so far, but not a single one of them had known their true identity.
However...
"Huh? People live in the Tower? What kind of nonsense is that? I know Seoul's housing prices have skyrocketed through the roof, but is there really some crazy person trying to buy a house in a place like this?"
Jinhyuk, the subject of their concern, put on a face of utter bewilderment, as if hearing this for the very first time.
"You bastard... Didn't you just say that to me a moment ago?"
"Huh? Me?"
"Yes! You definitely did!"
"Ah! I think I did say you looked like a homeless guy who spent ten thousand years in the Tower. Was that what you meant?"
"H-Homeless? Are you talking about me right now?"
"If it's not you, then it's not. Don't get so worked up over nothing. Holding a grudge like that just looks pathetic."
"..."
Sring!
Namgung Hyun drew his sword once more.
"I've decided. To hell with winning you over. I'm cutting out your tongue first."
A sticky, murderous intent dripped from his words.
Namgung Hyun took his stance.
Whoosh!
The sword thrust forward in an instant.
It was fast.
And fierce.
Like a venomous snake rustling through fallen leaves, the unpredictable trajectory of the strike sliced through the space between points and lines.
Yet, Jinhyuk dodged Namgung Hyun's attack with effortless ease.
As expected, the behavior patterns of guys like this are so predictable.
If he fell for provocations this easily, how did he expect to survive in the future?
Besides, hadn't the guy said it himself?
That he would cut out his tongue.
No matter how complex the process, as long as you knew the target, dodging was a piece of cake.
"I quite like playing tag myself," Jinhyuk sneered.
"You rat! Let's see how long you can keep running!"
[Namgung Hyun activates Lv11 'Infinite Steps'!]
In an instant, his movements changed completely.
Namgung Hyun closed the distance, executing the signature footwork of the Namgung Clan.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
The trajectory of the sword remained the same.
The internal energy infused into the blade was unchanged.
The person hadn't changed either.
Only his footwork had altered.
Yet, that single, simple difference produced a completely different result.
"What's wrong? Can't slip away like an eel anymore? You talked so big, but look at you now. How pathetic."
Namgung Hyun took Jinhyuk's back.
Now was the time to shove cold steel into his defenseless opponent's mouth.
Along with that arrogant tongue of his, of course.
But at that exact moment...
[Lv1 'Sword Demon Emperor Stepss' is activated!]
A gust of wind whipped up.
* * *
As time passed, Namgung Hyun's face contorted into a progressively uglier grimace.
T-this...! This shouldn't be happening...
At first, he had let his guard down.
He thought the guy was all talk, so he planned to play around with him a bit before crushing him.
After all, there was a massive gulf between the 20th floor and the 4th floor.
There was an insurmountable wall between a martial artist of the Murim and a fledgling Player.
However, after their first clash, he had corrected his thinking, realizing he shouldn't underestimate his opponent.
I will crush him with everything I have.
If he used his most confident techniques, Infinite Steps and the Solitary Soul Sword, he would seize victory within three breaths.
Yes, that was how it was supposed to go.
And yet...
Even though he was unleashing his absolute best techniques...
Why on earth!
Could he not even step on his opponent's shadow?
The overwhelming difference in footwork loomed before him like an insurmountable wall.
What kind of bizarre movement is this...
The footwork was linear, yet interspersed with off-beat, irregular steps that made it utterly impossible to predict.
There was no doubt about it.
This was a high-tier martial art that was at least several levels above Infinite Steps.
"Hyun. I know you're angry, but don't play around too much. If you end up breaking him, dealing with the aftermath will be a headache."
"Brother Hyun! Finish it quickly. It's already been almost five minutes."
"There's no need to drag things out against a guy who doesn't even dare to fight back, right?"
His companions from the other clans chimed in.
To their eyes, it merely looked as though Namgung Hyun was overwhelmingly dominating the fight and just playing with his food.
Damn it.
He was running himself ragged here!
Namgung Hyun broke out in a cold sweat, his swings hitting nothing but empty air.
Then, a thought suddenly occurred to him.
Should I just kill him and pretend it was an accident?
Unlike capturing him alive, which required careful restraint, if he could just use lethal techniques...
There were plenty of ways to cook a bastard who did nothing but run away with footwork without even fighting back.
His hesitation didn't last long.
[Namgung Hyun activates 'Taehwa Sword Qi'!]
Crackle!
The sword at his waist erupted with a blinding light. It was a sword qi that carried a clear, murderous intent to kill.
At the same time...
"You're making a mistake."
An icy, freezing aura began to flow.
From Jinhyuk.
More precisely, from the pair of swords Jinhyuk held.
[The Twin Dragon Swords respond to their master's call.]
A shiver ran down his spine!
...!?
Namgung Hyun's eyebrows furrowed sharply.
His instincts screamed that something was terribly wrong.
But right at that moment...
"Groooaaar!"
"Screeech!"
A sharp, high-pitched screech cut through the air.
The Triad Players screamed at the top of their lungs.
"Zombie wave from the right!"
"There are about a thousand of them! Three minutes away!"
While they were preoccupied with their clash, the first wave had advanced right before their eyes.
There was no more time to fool around.
"You got lucky,"
Hwangbo Gun-ak shrugged at Jinhyuk.
He seemed to believe that if the zombie wave had been even slightly delayed, the fight would have already been decided.
"Yeah, thanks to that, our young master here survived."
Jinhyuk also sheathed his twin swords, which he had drawn halfway.
"Oh my, look at how he talks."
"He says you're the one who survived. Puhaha! Look at him running his mouth even in this situation. Right, Hyun?"
"Huh? ...Y-Yeah..."
Namgung Hyun stammered in response.
What on earth was that?
That terrifying murderous intent he had felt just a moment ago.
His hands and feet were still trembling from the ominous aura that had frozen him to the bone.
It was a foreign mana, completely unlike anything he had ever experienced in the Murim.
One thing was absolutely certain.
If they had actually fought just now...
I would have died.
Yes.
He would have undoubtedly died.
Namgung Hyun realized that truth.
Unfortunately, Jegal Cheon did not.
"Hey. There won't be any zombies conveniently interrupting next time, so don't get cocky and know your place. I mean, you guys have lived as our tributary state since ancient times, so when we demand something, you should prostrate yourselves and—"
Jegal Cheon couldn't finish his sentence.
Bam!
His face imploded, and he spat out a mouthful of teeth like loose corn kernels.
"Sorry, what did you just say?"
Jinhyuk smiled brightly as he wiped the blood off his hand.
* * *
"Aaaargh!"
Jegal Cheon clutched his face with both hands.
His nose was completely flattened.
Blood gushed out between his fingers.
"You bastard, what do you think you're doing!"
"Tch!"
Hwangbo Gun-ak and Tang So-ha instantly gripped their respective weapons.
On the other hand, Namgung Hyun stood frozen, unable to move a muscle.
"I don't mind if we keep fighting, but are you sure you want to? If we do, you guys will be at a pretty big disadvantage."
Before they knew it, Yu Yeon-hwa, Lee Tae-min, Teresa, and Cheon Yu-seong—who had been exhausted from dealing with the Triad—had completely recovered their stamina and mana.
"Groooaaar!"
"Screeech!"
Of course, even in the midst of this, the zombies were rapidly closing the distance.
"...It seems we'll have to continue this conversation later,"
Hwangbo Gun-ak nodded heavily.
"The stadium is ours. Don't even think about coming inside, and look for somewhere else."
"We have no interest in a trashy place like that anyway. Besides, we've already decided on our base."
"Oh? You've secured a base?"
"Yes, the best spot on the 4th floor."
Hwangbo Gun-ak glanced behind him.
The large supermarket right in front of the stadium.
As expected, they had chosen that place.
"Not bad."
A large supermarket was surrounded by high walls on all sides and had narrow entrances, making it easy to defend.
Especially if the defending force numbered in the hundreds.
Packed with food supplies, including canned goods and water, as well as countless miscellaneous goods, it was the optimal location to withstand a long-term siege.
There was a reason people always said to head to the nearest supermarket if the world ended and a zombie virus broke out.
However...
There was one fatal weakness to that place.
The absolute worst drawback, which no one else knew about.
This is going to make clearing the 4th floor very interesting.
The corners of Jinhyuk's mouth curled upward.
A method to maximize the profits of the Base Defense Battle—including those arrogant Murim stragglers—had just popped into his head.