Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Subjugating the Dong-ro Branch!
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Wi Heun-chang triumphantly surveyed the Dong-ro Branch subordinates surrounding us.
“All of you, watch closely how I handle a weakling!”
His subordinates clamored.
“Hahaha! Go easy on him!”
“It'll be too boring if you finish him in one move!”
Hyeong In-geol, intimidated by the swarming subordinates of the Dong-ro Branch behind us, looked utterly disheartened.
Ahn Do-pil, knowing I could use mental transmission, was much more at ease.
He surmised that if I was skilled enough for mental transmission, I could surely defeat Wi Heun-chang.
I had never fought someone of Wi Heun-chang's caliber before, so I was a little tense, but not afraid.
Yet, a strange, exhilarating feeling washed over me. Something was stirring deep within my core, and as it spread through my body, strength surged.
‘Is this what fighting spirit feels like?’
A fighting spirit I had never experienced in my life. Back in my days with the Martial Alliance, I mostly fought in large-scale battles, reluctantly participating because I was ordered to. There was no such thing as fighting spirit then.
Wi Heun-chang looked at me and spoke as if admonishing a child.
“I'll grant you the first three moves.”
That was a new level of arrogance.
Anyone else might have rejoiced at his words, but not me. In my current state, my body only reacts when an opponent attacks, so I had to refuse this golden opportunity.
For a brief moment, I felt the temptation to strike first, but I quickly shook it off.
I smiled faintly and puffed out my chest.
“No. I'll grant *you* the first three moves.”
To any observer, my actions were pure bravado.
“Hahahaha! Let's just fight!”
Wi Heun-chang laughed heartily, finding the situation absurd.
For Wi Heun-chang, his victory was a given. He wanted to spread the word that he had stylishly defeated some third-rate Team Leader.
But if I offered him the first three moves and he still won, everyone would point their fingers at him in ridicule.
Wi Heun-chang gestured at me with his chin.
“Is that your weapon?”
I furrowed my brow slightly.
“You talk too much.”
“Huh?”
“Do you fight with your mouth?”
Provocation always works well on lesser opponents. It was a tactic I often used back in my days as a low-ranking warrior in the Martial Alliance.
“You bastard!”
*Swish!*
*Ch-chang!*
“Fall!”
Wi Heun-chang charged like lightning, drawing his sword. No, he drew his sword and executed a technique in the same motion.
*Shwaaaat!*
In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance of ten feet, now just three steps away.
The sword cut through the air, aiming to split my head open, and it was faster than I expected.
I grew tense.
‘My body will react on its own!’
*Shhhiik!*
But even as the sword closed to within two feet, my body didn't react.
‘What? Why isn't it working?’
Panic seized me. I was a hair's breadth away from having my head split in two if I just stood there.
My eyes widened as I clearly saw the gleaming blue blade descend toward the spot between my brows.
‘I have to do something!’
I screamed inwardly, but I didn't know what to do.
It was at that very moment.
*Swsshhk!*
I saw with perfect clarity the moment Wi Heun-chang's sword changed its trajectory.
The sword I thought was aimed between my eyes began to waver rapidly, now striking for both my shoulders and my neck.
‘I see!’
The reason my body hadn't reacted was that Wi Heun-chang hadn't launched his true attack.
And now, the internal energy rising within me was at fifteen percent. That meant it was more than enough to subdue Wi Heun-chang.
“That bastard! He's dead!”
“Uwahahaha! Dead in one move!”
As the subordinates laughed and shouted, the color drained from Ahn Do-pil and Hyeong In-geol's faces.
Ahn Do-pil trusted me, but what he was seeing with his own eyes made his stomach churn with dread.
Suddenly, the subordinates cried out in surprise.
“Huh?”
“That bastard! He dodged it!”
Ahn Do-pil and Hyeong In-geol's eyes shot open.
*Swish!*
Executing a light, gliding footwork, I moved to Wi Heun-chang's right flank.
However, I couldn't completely evade the sword slashing at my neck, so I quickly leaned my upper body back.
*Shaaa!*
The blue blade grazed my forehead, severing a few strands of hair that couldn't follow my head's movement and were left fluttering in the air.
Seeing this, it seemed my body wouldn't handle everything perfectly on its own in a real fight.
It's as if my body handles the trunk of the tree, while I have to take care of the smaller branches myself.
But that wasn't a problem. Once a fight began, all the martial arts I knew would surface in my mind with brilliant clarity.
Pivoting on my right heel and the tip of my left foot, I dropped low and spun across the ground, instantly appearing behind Wi Heun-chang.
Wi Heun-chang flinched as I vanished from his sight.
‘What! This bastard!’
*Thump!*
He kicked off the ground and shot into the air, flipping his body to thrust his sword downward.
*Shwiiing!*
The tip of his sword vibrated violently, creating a fierce, small vortex as it shot toward three points on my upper body.
As I was about to counterattack, I saw the sword style Wi Heun-chang was using and was slightly surprised.
‘Soul-Severing Star Sword Style!’
I recognized his sword style at a glance.
No, if the Soul-Severing Star Sword Style was a massive, ancient tree, then what Wi Heun-chang was using was merely the tip of a slender branch.
The Soul-Severing Star Sword Style consists of four stances with sixteen variations. The technique Wi Heun-chang was using was a reconstruction of just one of those sixteen variations.
The moment I recognized it, a memory surfaced of me having mastered that very sword style. But I had mastered it without understanding its fundamental roots.
I never expected Wi Heun-chang to use a sword art that imitated the Soul-Severing Star Sword Style.
In this situation, I had no time to ponder how I recognized it.
A smile crept onto my face.
‘Heh! Look at this guy!’
*Tuk!*
With a light kick of my toe against the ground, I angled into the vortex of his sword and drew the Fire Dragon Sword.
In that instant, I realized I was executing the Soul-Severing Star Sword Style myself.
*Vwiiing!*
The Fire Dragon Sword let out a dragon's cry.
*This, you fool, is the real Soul-Severing Star Sword Style.*
“Hah!”
Wi Heun-chang flinched as I met him head-on.
But an even greater surprise followed.
‘The Soul-Severing Star Sword Style!’
Wi Heun-chang instantly recognized the root of the sword art he had learned.
In truth, with his lowly status, he would never have had the opportunity to learn a profound sword art like the Soul-Severing Star Sword Style.
He had merely learned a sword art created by one of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union's top leaders, modeled after it for the benefit of his subordinates.
*Clang! Clang! Clang!*
The Fire Dragon Sword struck Wi Heun-chang's blade three times in quick succession as it aimed for three spots on my torso.
*Crack!*
Wi Heun-chang's sword shattered into three pieces, which scattered in the air.
“Ah!”
Wi Heun-chang's eyes widened like saucers.
And then, the Fire Dragon Sword lightly tapped Wi Heun-chang on the forehead.
*Thwack!*
“Guh!”
*Thud!*
*Thump!*
I landed lightly on my feet, and Wi Heun-chang fell heavily onto his back.
Wi Heun-chang had passed out the moment the Fire Dragon Sword struck his forehead. He lay sprawled out, a trickle of blood running from the gash on his brow.
I had only tapped him lightly with the Fire Dragon Sword; if I had used a bit more force, his head would have exploded.
I had subdued Wi Heun-chang with the Soul-Severing Star Sword Style, using only fifteen percent of my internal energy.
But it was overkill. Ten percent would have been more than enough for someone of his level.
I stood tall, Fire Dragon Sword in hand, while Wi Heun-chang lay unconscious on the ground. The Dong-ro Branch subordinates were utterly silent; not even the sound of breathing could be heard.
*Sweep.*
I slowly swept my gaze over the Dong-ro Branch subordinates, my grip firm on the Fire Dragon Sword.
“Did you all see how your Branch Master handles a weakling?”
I was mocking Wi Heun-chang's earlier words, 'Watch closely how I handle a weakling.'
The Dong-ro Branch subordinates stared in disbelief, none of them able to utter a word.
How could they believe that a mere Team Leader from the Martial Alliance's Dong-ro Branch had defeated the strongest fighter and Branch Master of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union's Dong-ro Branch in a single move?
Relief and joy flooded Ahn Do-pil and Hyeong In-geol's faces. Without realizing it, the two had clasped each other's hands.
“Ugh...”
Since he had only been hit lightly by the Fire Dragon Sword, Wi Heun-chang soon regained consciousness.
Still lying sprawled on the ground, he opened his eyes and blinked up at me standing before him.
Soon, he recalled the final moments before he passed out, and his expression turned to one of utter despair.
‘Hah... Did I really lose?’
No matter how he replayed it in his mind, it was clear he had been defeated. The memory of his opponent's black weapon shattering his sword into three pieces and striking his forehead was vivid.
‘I lost to *him*?’
It was unbelievable, as if the sky had fallen.
I nudged Wi Heun-chang's foot with my own.
“How much longer should I wait?”
Wi Heun-chang staggered to his feet, muttering as if spitting out the words.
“Ugh! What kind of sorcery did you use on me?”
“Did you not recognize the very root of the sword art you learned?”
Wi Heun-chang recalled that I had used the Soul-Severing Star Sword Style.
“There's no way you could have used the Soul-Severing Star Sword Style. It must have been sorcery.”
I looked around at the Dong-ro Branch subordinates and said,
“Anyone here who thinks I used sorcery, step forward.”
No one stepped forward. Of course not.
But a shameless bastard like Wi Heun-chang didn't care about such things. He stood before me, his face contorted in a scowl.
“You couldn't have beaten me without using sorcery!”
The blood from his forehead trickled down the bridge of his nose. He knew he was being unreasonable.
But without such an excuse, he had no way to escape his current, miserable situation.
I nodded agreeably.
“Fine. I'll fight you again, until you admit it wasn't sorcery.”
Wi Heun-chang gritted his teeth.
‘You son of a bitch! This time, I'll definitely kill you!’
The more vicious they are, the more stubborn they become. And he was one of them.
He took a sword from one of his subordinates and charged at me again.