Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Am I a Reclusive Giant?
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Sang Gang-jo, who had been fighting the pursuers, wore a look of utter astonishment as he watched me dispatch the leader and three others in an instant.
He had heard from An Do-pil, the Dong-ro Branch Master, that I had decimated the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union's Dong-ro regional office. He must have thought I was merely skilled for a team leader from a rural branch, never imagining I was a master of this caliber.
Seeing his reaction, I gave him a slight smile.
‘Surprised?’
How cool must I look, saving Sang Gang-jo, the very man who, as the former Hall Master of the Disciplinary Hall, had tortured me at the Martial Alliance headquarters in the past!
Of course, thirteen years ago, Sang Gang-jo wouldn't have even known I existed.
In any case, I was feeling unbelievably fantastic right now. My chest felt like it was about to burst with excitement.
I felt invincible. Confidence surged through me, a feeling that I could strike down anyone.
Just as a meal should be eaten before it gets cold, a fight should be finished quickly while the body is still reacting.
Perhaps my body wouldn't respond now that the fighting had paused for a moment.
Feeling a sense of urgency, I charged straight at the enemies.
Whoosh!
The enemies, who had initially numbered fourteen, were now down to eight.
The eight quickly split into two groups of four to face Sang Gang-jo and me.
As I rushed forward in a straight line, the four men met my charge, attacking before they could even form a proper line.
Swoooosh!
The sword style they used was, as expected, a derivative of the Soul-Severing Star Sword Style.
The Fire Dragon Sword shot out to meet them like a pouncing hawk.
Hwoooong!
As the Fire Dragon Sword flashed, the very air seemed to shudder and cry out.
How could a mere imitation of the Soul-Severing Star Sword Style possibly stand against the genuine article?
The variations and directions of the four enemies' attacks were completely transparent to me. The Fire Dragon Sword danced among them as if weaving through an empty field.
Thwack! Stab! Thud!
“Gah!”
“Aargh!”
“Guhk!”
The Fire Dragon Sword struck their shoulders, sides, chests, and necks with short, concise blows.
I didn't even need a full sequence of moves. I sent all four to their graves in a single exchange.
Before they even hit the ground, I shot toward the four men Sang Gang-jo was fighting.
Whoosh!
The legendary Floating Light, Divine Shadow footwork, which had lain dormant in the Martial Alliance's armory for hundreds of years, was unleashed once more.
True to its name, my feet floated half a foot off the ground as I glided forward.
This was a supreme movement art that allowed one to glide through the air by releasing internal energy from the soles of the feet, never touching the ground.
Sang Gang-jo had yet to take down a single one. Had he been uninjured and not so exhausted, he probably would have defeated two of them in that time.
The four enemies noticed my approach, but it was a step too late. No, even if they had known and prepared beforehand, they wouldn't have been able to stop me.
In such a situation, taking them down was a piece of cake.
I pierced through the center of the four men attacking Sang Gang-jo, swinging the Fire Dragon Sword left and right like lightning.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
“Keuk!”
“Kaaack!”
The four were sent flying, letting out their death throes.
But just then, Sang Gang-jo's sword, which he had been swinging at his enemies, came slashing toward my torso as I charged in.
I blocked it with the Fire Dragon Sword, gently pulling his blade aside.
Clang!
“Ugh!”
Only then did Sang Gang-jo realize that I was standing right in front of him, my Fire Dragon Sword blocking his own.
“Ah!”
“Snap out of it!”
If I hadn't gently deflected his sword, it would have shattered, and he would have been injured.
I felt I needed to be even stricter with Sang Gang-jo than I was at the Dong-ro Branch.
Since he doesn't know who I am, our true relationship is being forged in moments like this.
Even if we were to part ways soon, I wanted to imprint upon him that I was not someone to be trifled with.
Sang Gang-jo lowered his sword, blinking as he looked around at the fallen pursuers.
There had been one injured man among them, but he had now breathed his last.
I had cleaned up the entire situation using only thirty percent of my power and martial arts.
His face still etched with astonishment, Sang Gang-jo spoke.
“Who are you?”
He seemed convinced that I couldn't possibly be a mere team leader from a rural branch.
Then again, considering I had taken down twelve pursuers in the blink of an eye with such incredible skill, it was no wonder he thought so.
The only reason Sang Gang-jo had managed to kill two of them was because I had thrown the situation into chaos.
From the moment I first met Sang Gang-jo, I hadn't paid him much mind. It wasn't intentional; he simply wasn't on my radar.
I smiled faintly.
“Have you forgotten that I am Team Leader Three?”
I was smiling because I was immensely pleased with myself for having killed twelve men with a skill far more dazzling than I had anticipated.
I felt like I was walking on clouds.
“You can't possibly be a mere team leader from a rural branch. Tell me the truth.”
“I don't wish to say.”
I had no desire to give Sang Gang-jo a lengthy explanation of how I had lived my life.
But Sang Gang-jo thought otherwise. He seemed to think I was some extraordinary figure.
“Just tell me one thing. Are you connected to the Martial Alliance?”
“Hmm! I was.”
In the past, not the present.
“Do you know the former Alliance Lord?”
“I've seen him a few times.”
It wasn't a lie; I had indeed seen the Alliance Lord, the Heavenly War God Hyukryeon Jeong-mu, from a great distance a few times.
When Hyukryeon Jeong-mu gathered all the masters and warriors of the main headquarters in the vast training ground to give a speech, I had seen him from a corner of the field.
But he was mostly obscured by the countless heads in front of me, and I hadn't been interested anyway.
However, Sang Gang-jo took my words to mean that I was personally acquainted with him.
“Which reclusive master might you be?”
“Didn't you say you'd only ask one thing?”
A reclusive master? That's a question you ask a hermit-like eccentric.
Does he think I'm actually an old man who has achieved youthful regression through profound internal energy?
In any case, I raised my internal energy to enhance my hearing, trying to determine if reinforcements were coming. But I still didn't know the full extent of my own power.
If a situation required thirty years' worth of internal energy, that's what would be drawn out. If it needed fifty, that exact amount would be manifested.
When I fought the twelve pursuers just now, I had used fifty years' worth.
Besides the sound of the wind, rustling leaves, birds, and insects, I detected nothing else.
The pursuers had fired a signal flare earlier, so reinforcements were bound to be on their way.
That was the result from within a five-*li* radius, so I raised my internal energy a bit more to extend my range.
‘There! A full cycle!’
Just before, it must have been fifty years' worth.
Rustle! Flutter!
This time, I detected the sound of dozens of people's robes as they rushed this way, about seven or eight *li* away.
As I was about to withdraw my energy, I sensed a faint, separate presence.
‘Hm?’
I thought it might be my imagination, but I focused my energy on that presence to confirm.
Sssssshhh...
‘Is that the wind?’
I detected it along with the wind, but its texture was slightly different from the wind's.
The sound of the wind was like a constant wave blowing through the mountains, while this other sound was like a small boat cutting through it.
‘What is it?’
As I tried to focus more, my hearing sharpened dramatically! I could feel another twenty years' worth of internal energy being added.
‘Eighty years of power!’
Sssshhhk!
And then I realized that what had sounded like the wind was not the flapping, but the fluttering of robes.
It was different from the flapping robes I had sensed before. The sound was likely different because of the fabric's texture.
But this sound came from only three *li* away, and it was approaching very quickly.
The dozens of reinforcements were seven or eight *li* away, but this person was at three *li*. This meant he was the leader of the reinforcements and extremely powerful.
The fact that I had detected the reinforcements at seven or eight *li* with sixty years of power, yet failed to notice this person at a much closer three *li*, was a clear testament to how formidable he was.
Sang Gang-jo was staring blankly into the air. Realizing I was scanning the area with my hearing, he too had raised his energy to do the same.
“Enemies are coming from seven or eight *li* away.”
Sang Gang-jo hadn't detected the individual rapidly approaching from three *li*.
“Are your injuries severe?”
“They're bearable.”
Sang Gang-jo was respectful.
Sang Gang-jo had three wounds. The ones on his shoulder and right chest were minor, but the sword wound on his side was quite deep.
It was common knowledge that injuries made it difficult to properly circulate or raise one's internal energy. A deep wound made it even harder.
“Let me see.”
“I'm fine.”
As I reached out, Sang Gang-jo modestly refused.
“Do you want to be a burden?”
“My apologies.”
I first stopped the bleeding from his wounds. In that brief moment, a specific method for treating his injuries flared up in my mind like a bonfire.
‘Have I mastered a medical text?’
The question arose, but for now, I had to be content with just stopping his bleeding.
With his usual level of power, Sang Gang-jo probably would have detected the person approaching from three *li* away.
I started walking in the opposite direction of the approaching figure and sent a telepathic message to Sang Gang-jo.
[Let's go.]
Now that there were no enemies left to fight, I wondered if I could still use my movement arts.
If I'm curious, I try.
Swoosh!
I leaned my upper body forward slightly and pushed off the ground with my toes. As if it had been waiting, my body shot forward.
It seemed my body was still reacting because there was more to be done.
This was possible because my body knew, from when I enhanced my hearing a moment ago, that enemies were approaching.
Entering the forest, I flew diagonally up into the trees to avoid leaving any tracks.
Swooo!
‘Aha! This is the Heaven-Striding Art!’
The name of the movement art I was using came to me clearly. It was Heaven-Striding Art, the supreme movement art of the Shaolin Temple.
I now also remembered the name of the movement art I used earlier when I was tracking them through the mountains.
‘I need to remember this feeling!’
I tensed my muscles with renewed vigor.
Whooooosh!
True to its name, Heaven-Striding Art, I soared through the air like an arrow.
My memories of the Martial Alliance were nothing but a cesspool of disgust and nausea at their vileness.
Considering that, I had no reason whatsoever to help Sang Gang-jo.
But honestly, right now, I wanted to fight.
It wasn't some bloodlust to kill indiscriminately, but a desire to unleash the one hundred and eighty-nine forgotten martial arts manuals with my own body and confirm each and every one of them.
And now that I'd had a taste of battle, I found it exhilarating. I was probably a natural-born fighter.
The idea that I had to save Sang Gang-jo because he was a member of Team Three was just a pretext, an excuse. The truth was, I just wanted to fight without restraint, no matter the opponent.
And so, I wanted to forge ahead on the path to becoming the ultimate combat master, never stopping for a moment.
Whooooosh!
The feeling of the cool wind brushing against my face as I shot through the air was incredible.
‘Ah! This is refreshing!’
This was the first time I realized how wonderful it was to be unbound and unrestrained by anyone.
Just because I was temporarily staying at the Martial Alliance's Dong-ro Branch didn't mean the Branch Master, the Alliance's code, or any other rules could bind me.
I am simply me!
Me, the ultimate combat master!
[Sir! Slow down!]
Just then, Sang Gang-jo's urgent telepathic message reached me from behind. When I turned to look, he was nowhere in sight.