Chapter 253: The Art of Fighting (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 253: The Art of Fighting (2)
The Sword Emperor and the Spear Saint had no choice but to be astonished.
Rumble...
The earth heaved violently, and the gray sky churned. The two barely managed to hold their ground against the buckling terrain. They were the lucky ones.
Several heroes were swallowed whole into fissures that split open like an alligator’s jaws—crack! Screams echoed from deep beneath the earth before fading away into nothingness.
An earthquake.
They had anticipated something like this. A 4th Corps Commander at full power, fully prepared. They were well aware that she was a walking calamity.
‘Though we didn't expect her to unleash it the moment she showed her face.’
However, the real reason the Sword Emperor and the Spear Saint were shocked lay elsewhere. It was none other than Permush’s appearance.
“A... child?”
Pale skin. A bob cut of ash-gray hair. Purple eyes. A petite frame that didn't even reach the Spear Saint’s waist. A young girl who looked twelve at most stood there with a beaming smile.
Yet a few seconds later...
The Spear Saint composed his expression and ground his back teeth. He could say with absolute certainty: that endlessly harmless-looking creature was the most dangerous entity present.
“Hooh.”
Permush caressed one of her cheeks, looking at them with an intrigued gaze.
“From the looks of it, you two are the ones who got rid of Basmon.”
It was a jarring manner of speech. With the face of a child, she spoke down to them like a monarch.
“Life is truly indifferent to humans. What was merely a fleeting moment to us demons has left you two completely withered and frail.”
“...”
“Let me ask you something.”
Her sneering continued. Even as the ground rumbled, her voice reached the two clearly.
“Why do you resist? You know full well that it’s meaningless. What, has killing three of my siblings blinded you with hubris?”
Permush stepped lightly forward with her hands folded behind her back. The golems parted to clear a path on her left and right. Among them, two rugged golems resembling statues of the Buddha fell into step beside her like bodyguards.
“Basmon was a nobody—a fool who wouldn't have stood shoulder to shoulder with us if not for Lord Kuarne’s royal decree. But Agor and Vesna were truly my brother and sister.”
As she walked, she picked up a few pebbles and juggled them in her palm like jacks.
“If they had been at full strength, half of modern humanity would have vanished. But those sisters were impatient. So they lowered their guard and lost their heads to lowborn trash like humans.”
Permush pinched a pebble between her index finger and thumb. She smirked as she assumed the stance of flicking a forehead.
“I am different from those pathetic fools. I will not let down my guard, and I will face you with everything I have right from the start.”
Kboom!
An immense explosion sounded—something impossible to imagine coming from a tiny rock. Leaving her hand, the pebble transformed into a cannonball targeting the two men.
If hit, even a conditioned body would surely shatter like a popped water balloon. Yet dodging was impossible due to its speed. It forced a direct response.
The Sword Emperor’s blade and the Spear Saint’s spear moved simultaneously. Without a word spoken or a glance exchanged, their movements meshed perfectly as if rehearsed.
The Sword Emperor’s sword sliced the explosively charging pebble in half. Tap, tap, tap. Permush flicked stone after stone in rapid succession. Human movements inevitably leave openings. For a one-armed man like the Sword Emperor, those openings were even larger. Every move forced him to sacrifice much.
If he were alone, that is.
The spear tip deflected the second incoming pebble. The Spear Saint let out a low groan. Even though he had only parried it at an angle, his hand throbbed to the point of feeling paralyzed. But he couldn't stop here.
The Spear Saint spun his shaft like a windmill, using the rotational force to meet the third and fourth attacks head-on. This was possible only because it was a spear. The core secret of the spear lay not in offense, but in defense.
“Nibelung!”
Before the shout even ended, the Sword Emperor charged forward. Golems blocked his path like a solid wall. Their hardness was extraordinary; even imbued with the aura of a Sword Saint, slicing through them like tofu wouldn't be easy.
‘In that case...’
At the end of the day, golems were dolls made of earth. They were bound to have joints at the shoulders, torso, knees, and legs. Those points had to be their vital spots.
‘Target not the surface, but the line. And beyond that, the point.’
As demonic hands reached out, the Sword Emperor closed his eyes. Time slowed for a brief instant. In that split second of meditation, the old man looked back upon his life.
It was a life riddled with pain and scars. He had lost an arm, a swordsman's greatest asset, and had lost his child and daughter-in-law, who were half his life.
Yet the man had never despaired. He simply did what he knew best. Trials an ordinary man could never bear, he cut through and shook off with his sword.
Even at this very moment, it held true. This was an enemy he could never defeat alone. Could he inflict even a single sword wound? Even that was doubtful.
Though mocking him with a smirk, Permush was being completely sincere. A soldier ant charging an elephant—that was the perfect analogy for this situation. The gap was stark and undeniable. A proper exchange of blows was out of the question. He would surely die.
‘However...’
What did that matter?
‘My true master.’
Here was a man who had devoted his entire life to the sword.
‘O light that showed me life’s milestone...’
The man did not calculate or hesitate. He gripped his sword and ran forward. As he always had.
‘Lead me... to that end.’
The Sword Emperor opened his eyes slightly. Golden ghostfires bloomed. His snow-white hair fluttered in the air as if charged with static electricity.
‘Lead me.’
He snapped his eyes wide open. The golems swarmed like bees, narrowing the encirclement. Heaven and earth were in chaotic turmoil, and the Corps Commander stood firm as ever. Nothing had changed. And yet, a brand-new world was unfolding before the Sword Emperor’s eyes.
“I see it.”
Faint reddish thread-like lines. A single line etched onto each entity reflected in his pupils. Though incomparably faint next to Kang Geomma’s, those were Slashing Lines. Unrivaled talent and a human being's lifetime distilled into a single drop of fruit—right here, right now.
The Sword Emperor’s figure glided as though pushed by an invisible hand. His arm drew a smooth arc. The sword slid forward. Light flickered upon the blade. The tip lightly scraped the rough surface of the golems. A clean crescent, connected seamlessly as one.
Shat-.
Dozens of golems collapsed like diagonally sliced bamboo.
“Nibelung, don't tell me you...”
The Spear Saint blinked, even as he kept his spear working busily.
The Sword Emperor flicked his sword out of habit. His golden eyes, half-shrouded by his eyelashes, locked onto Permush. The fierce light burning within his gaze felt almost dizzying.
“Awakening.”
The Spear Saint muttered. It was exactly as the word escaped his lips: Awakening of the Blessing. At this moment, the Sword Emperor stood as an equal to his ancestor, the First Sword Saint, Aaron Nibelung.
“Hahaha!”
The Spear Saint burst into laughter. Through the swirling dust, his white teeth flashed brightly.
“Go ahead, Nibelung.”
The Spear Saint watched the Sword Emperor’s back. They had been classmates at Joaquin Academy, starting from the very same line. But now, he paid respect in his own way to his friend who had become half a transcendent.
“I’ll be right behind you.”
Just then, the Top and Mid heroes somehow managed to arrive right behind the Spear Saint. As they made to step forward, the Spear Saint extended his arm backward to stop them.
“Your job right now is to reduce the number of golems as much as possible while buying time until the Heavenly Sword ‘decides to step in.’”
“What about Lord Sword Emperor?!”
“You don't need to worry about Nibelung.”
The Spear Saint smirked at his subordinate and gestured toward the Sword Emperor with his chin. Following his gaze, the subordinate’s eyes widened.
“Could that... really be what I think it is?”
“It is. So pass the word to the other heroes as well.”
The Spear Saint said in a tone filled with laughter.
“Tell them not to go near him if they don't want their heads chopped off by his blade.”
* * *
Permush twisted her lips.
“Humans, honestly.”
She silently gnawed on her lower lip. Another eyesore had appeared besides the Heavenly Sword, Kang Geomma.
“You two, deal with that swordsman.”
Permush gestured with her chin toward the Buddha golems standing at her flanks. Nodding, the two Buddha golems stomped forward. They were custom golems created by grinding down the life force of a hundred human heroes. In other words, each possessed combat power equal to a hundred heroes.
Thud, thud.
The ground heaved once more under the Buddha golems' heavy steps. The Sword Emperor tapped the ground twice with the tip of his sword before taking off. Darting like a flash of lightning, his figure suddenly materialized between the two Buddha golems.
Even faced with a surprise ambush, the Buddha golems showed no fluster. They were golems—giants devoid of emotion and judgment, existing only to execute commands.
Whoosh!
The shins of both Buddha golems swept out in a massive kick toward his figure. A swirling vortex of earth exploded. A single hit would crumple even a building like a tin can.
“...” “...”
The two Buddha golems tilted their heads. There was no sensation of impact. Their legs had crossed in midair, aimed at nothing. Their expressionless faces seemed to ask:
‘Where did he go?’
The two tilted their chins upward. The sudden movement caused clods of earth to rattle down from their necks.
The sky.
The Sword Emperor was up there. He was standing atop his blade, looking down on them. Using the Flying-Sword Technique, he was floating in midair riding his sword.
“My apologies, everyone.”
The Sword Emperor spoke with sad eyes. Golems born from absorbing the lives of a hundred heroes. Though they were enemies now, their essence belonged to innocent heroes.
“I shall give you peace.”
Riding his sword, the Sword Emperor slid downward in a sharp dive. The moment he drew near, the two Buddha golems crossed their arms to cover their faces. Yet the blade squeezed through that tiny gap and pierced the head of one Buddha golem.
The remaining Buddha dropped its guard and whipped its fist around like a flail. It was a movement impossible for a human—an attack made possible only because it was a golem that could disjoint its limbs at will.
The Sword Emperor pulled his right shoulder back halfway. The straight punch grazed past his solar plexus by a hair’s breadth.
Tap.
Like a master of Baji Quan, the Sword Emperor extended his palm and gave the Buddha golem a light shove. Though immensely heavy, the golem's center of gravity was struck, causing it to tumble backward onto the ground.
Targeting its face, the blade plunged vertically downward. The Buddha golem twisted its waist and rolled across the earth. But just as it flipped its hips to spring back up, sword light flashed once more, and a swift airborne blade swept across the back of its neck.
Crunch!
The Buddha's head shattered like porcelain as it struck the ground. Among the fragments, the Sword Emperor saw those fractured expressions—peaceful faces finally entering eternal rest.
Offering his deepest condolences, the Sword Emperor kicked off the ground once more. He mercilessly cut down the golems. Though they were entities inhabited by the souls of heroes, he swung his arm without hesitation. If anything, he held back even less. He would free these poor souls trapped inside dirt dolls as quickly as possible. In his current state, he possessed more than enough power to do so. The Sword Emperor's blade danced through the earth and sky, driving back the enemy forces.
“Hmph.”
Permush quietly watched the scene unfold. The momentary fluster on her face had long since faded.
“Ha.”
Permush let out a scoff. Soon, she held her stomach and cackled aloud. That laughter drew the attention of the heroes busy dealing with the golems.
“Amusing, truly amusing. It brings back old memories.”
Permush spoke as she wiped the corner of her eyes, though not a single tear wet her fingers.
“Back then too, I let my guard down against Awakened ones and nearly lost my head. My sisters who descended upon the Human Realm probably croaked because they were careless, too. Well, I suppose you're not completely equal to the Seven Champions since you haven't fully adjusted to the Blessing yet.”
Permush clasped her small hands together before her chest in prayer.
“I told you earlier, didn't I? That I'd go all out right from the start.”
Whoosh.
Permush exhaled a shallow breath. Instantly, the wind reversed its flow, and the churning earth quieted down. The sudden stillness amplified the heroes' growing dread.
Soon, Permush’s small lips parted.
「Kṣitigarbha Reverse March: Bodhisattva Slaughter」
A roar incomparable to anything before distorted the surrounding space. The shockwave swept away the billowing dust like a rushing tide. Far beyond mere shaking, the ground beneath their feet began to undulate like waves.
Ruuuuumble...!
The heroes dropped their armaments. Tilting their heads all the way back, they blinked blankly in utter shock. For right in the middle of this living hell, a gigantic god-like titan had surged forth.
「Thousand-Hand Death Pummel」
With a thousand pairs of arms unfurled behind its back, a massive Buddha statue sat cross-legged, gazing down upon them. Its colossal size rivaled a mountain range, casting a shadow that blanketed the entire region like dark storm clouds.
“Wipe them out.”
Permush leapt up and landed lightly atop the gigantic titan’s head.
“Every single one of them.”
She smiled sweetly and raised her index finger.