Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Stacking Internal Energy Like Eating Candy - 1
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Sayoon Faction members might have seen it as a dream come true, but to me, it was stone-cold reality.
Which meant I couldn't just stand there dumbfounded.
"Indeed. That was a close call."
"Speak comfortably~."
The Sayoon I'd seen before and the one standing here now were different.
She'd been sharpened to a razor's edge through countless hardships and trials, steeped in hatred for the world and a bone-chilling cold, like a perfectly honed blade radiating frost.
And now, this girl who had only just begun to feel the world's warmth.
Their appearances and temperaments differed, but to me—and to all of us—Sayoon was still Sayoon.
That's why I could smile back at her gentle expression.
"Right. But why did you come into that alley?"
"Uh. Well..."
Sayoon gave an awkward smile as she explained the situation.
Today was the day they sold wild greens and herbs gathered from Crimson Star Mountain down in the village. She'd come down, sold her goods, and was about to head back when Senior Sister Yuhee told her to wait a moment for something.
Then she spotted me entering the alley and sensed killing intent from inside, so she worried I might be in danger and followed.
"I'm a disciple of the Crimson Star Sect. We don't pass by someone in need."
I couldn't help but laugh at her puffing out her small chest proudly.
The Sayoon we knew had been the same.
She'd lost so much, but she'd never lost the spirit of Crimson Star.
"Well done."
"Hehe. It's nothing. Then I'll just..."
"Brother! It's that bitch!!"
At that moment, a gang of thugs came charging out from the alley. The three looked like mere mob fodder without any martial arts training, but the one strolling casually behind them was different.
A gaunt man spinning a ring on the hilt of his sharp dagger around his finger.
"A Crimson Star Sect disciple, eh."
"Sayoon, disciple of the Crimson Star Sect. And who might you be?"
I could see Sayoon's throat bob slightly. She was tense, no doubt.
It was only natural. The man before her was on a whole other level—someone you could lump in with the likes of Yoo Jang-cheol.
One of the enemies from the mid-part of the first arc, and unlike those scrubs, he had proper martial arts training.
Sayoon might lack real combat experience and hadn't fully mastered the Crimson Star Divine Art, but she was still a trained martial artist.
She could tell the gap in skill at a glance.
That's why her grip tightened on her wooden sword.
Yeah, she had no choice.
At her current level—having only grasped the early stages of the Crimson Star Divine Art—beating that man wouldn't be easy.
"Cunning Wolf Kajun."
Cunning Wolf Kajun.
A sellsword mercenary who peddled his skills, aligned with the unorthodox sects. Dispatched by the Iron Blood Clan to eliminate Sayoon, the last survivor of Crimson Star Sect.
His specialty: dagger techniques that relentlessly targeted weaknesses.
A dagger style like a wolf's fangs—Wolf Fang Sword.
Tension etched on her face, Sayoon scanned her surroundings. Sensing the ominous atmosphere, the market crowd started slipping away one by one.
Some to fetch the guards, some to save their own skins.
Others to call for Crimson Star Sect disciples, perhaps.
But as the saying goes, the law is far and the fist is near. There was no escaping Kajun's sharp fangs right now.
"Hand him over, and I'll leave."
"And if I refuse?"
"Hoo... Stay out of this. This is a perfectly legitimate duel."
Experienced, alright.
Start a brawl here, and Kajun becomes an enemy of Crimson Star Sect.
But frame it as a duel, and it's different.
p>After all, Crimson Star was orthodox; they wouldn't issue an execution order over a duel result.
Kajun closed his eyes briefly and let out a deep sigh. The moment they snapped open...
"I'll make you feel the bite of wolf fangs with your own body."
With those words, he shot forward like an arrow.
True to his Cunning Wolf moniker, Kajun was infamous for sly tactics—moves highly effective in battle.
For example.
-Paak!!
His charging foot halted abruptly. Seizing Sayoon's flinch at the sudden shift in timing, he kicked up the dirt.
In the dust cloud that erupted—paak—Sayoon blinked, and his sharp dagger lunged for her shoulder like fangs.
She barely dodged backward, but that single exchange shifted the momentum to Kajun.
"That's dirty!"
"Dirty? In a fight?"
Fair point.
Victory is all that matters.
If you win, that is.
-Chaeng!!
I hurled a stone at Kajun. A big, fresh one.
While he deflected it, Sayoon regained her stance.
Interfering in a one-on-one duel? Isn't that dirty?
Dirty in a fight?
"...Yuwol. You can stay put. You'll be coming with us anyway... You damn bastard! Wanna die?!"
He twisted his head to dodge another rock, then bellowed in rage.
The culprit fuming over his own fart!
This daylight kidnapper sure had a lot to say!
Absurd, but it told me one thing.
Even after all this, he wasn't attacking me outright. He wanted me alive.
Reason? My possessions, probably.
Good.
At least I wouldn't die.
Grinning mockingly, I watched Kajun bare his teeth. He glanced back, signaling his thugs.
"Damn punk."
"Gonna smash every bone in you today."
What...? These... ill-mannered... brats...!!
I'll crush them all!
The three burly goons charged with sneers. I flung my stone at the first one's head.
-Peuk!
"......"
What're you staring at?
Mooks without proper training? A few rocks do the trick.
I'm from a land where stone-throwing games like 'Tukjeon' are a proud tradition!
I chucked the rock in my hand again. The two dodged, but that was my plan.
-Peueok!!
"Urk...!!"
Dodging made one flinch, exposing his weakness—leaving his wife, girlfriend, or left hand weeping nightly.
Stepping on the froth-mouthed thug clutching his groin, I faced the panicking one with dagger raised.
-Kwa-jik!!
Hidden rock to the head. Blood trickled as he crumpled. I smirked down at them.
"Think I haven't handled trash like you before?"
Scoffing at the unconscious idiots, I turned to the suddenly ignited main event.
"Hup!"
"Haaap!!"
Sayoon was holding up surprisingly well, more calmly than I'd expected. Not enough to beat Kajun, though.
Dagger clashed with wooden sword. I thought she'd be overpowered, but despite her youth, she matched the adult Kajun's strength.
"Tch... Crimson Star Sect, as expected..."
After several more dagger swings, Kajun retreated a few steps. Only then did Sayoon exhale deeply, lowering her wooden sword to mid-guard.
-Taat!!
Was all that just probing? Kajun's movements quickened.
Head, head, head, throat, chest.
One of Wolf Fang Sword's forms—Five Shadow Strikes—flowed like water toward Sayoon.
But it couldn't touch her.
She lightly twisted her head twice, blocked the third with the sword guard on her left arm, then swung to bat away the dagger.
The final chest thrust? She backstepped, nullifying Five Shadow Strikes—and her wooden sword stabbed at Kajun's shoulder.
No gain, only loss for Kajun. He ground his teeth as Sayoon glared, sweat streaming down her face.
Her sword hand trembled. Battle pressure, fear of injury from a single mistake.
Or the burden of protecting a stranger if she lost. She was tiring.
And veteran Kajun wouldn't miss it.
-Kung!!
Swift advance, wolf-like pounce. Light gleamed on his dagger.
Sword aura—a power only first-rate masters could unleash.
Kajun couldn't freely wield it, but he channeled a crude gray energy into his dagger via technique power.
In other words, his strongest move.
And I, with more knowledge of this world than him, wouldn't miss it.
"Twin Fang Strike!!! Don't block—dodge!!"
Her wooden sword froze mid-block for the head-targeting right dagger. Sayoon leaped back; as the aura-sheathed blade grazed empty air, a sharp fang nearly pierced her side.
Nearly.
-Ttak!!
My rock hit Kajun's back, slowing him—or it would've pierced for real.
"Tch!! You damn...!!"
"Wow. Worrying about me mid-move? Impressive."
Furious at his trump card's failure, Kajun roared—creating a tiny opening.
Sayoon didn't miss it.
Her lowered sword soared upward. A wind-like slash at his jaw—he twisted away. The blade plunged after, pursuit slash. He barely evaded that too when...
-Ppeueok!!
Sayoon's left palm struck his abdomen. Leather-splitting sound echoed.
The final early stage of Crimson Star Divine Art: Star-Breaking Palm, internal energy bursting stars from the hand.
"Kuhk... H-how..."
Blood gushed from shocked Kajun's mouth. Even I was stunned.
How?
Star-Breaking Palm unlocks after prologue events and a hidden manual.
Prologue hasn't even started—how'd she learn it already?
"Haa... haa..."
Confused or not, Sayoon panted, retracting her extended hand.
Kajun collapsed, vomiting blood, knees buckling—probably ruptured organs, dead or dying.
Sayoon slumped, pale from overexertion, but conscious.
Clear who won.
"Haa... haa..."
First battle nerves.
Star-Breaking Palm strain.
Various burdens weighed on her. She could barely breathe.
I approached and raised my hand.
"I'll stand guard. Circulate your energy and recover."
"I'm... f-fine. I..."
She helped me but didn't fully trust me yet.
Then.
"Sayoon!!"
A sharp cry laced with worry and tension. Two girls dashed up.
Lovely girls in Crimson Star Sect uniforms like Sayoon's.
"What the hell is this?!"
Unlike Sayoon's wooden sword, they had real blades—movements refined and swift.
One instantly checked behind Sayoon, then fixed me with a cold stare.
"You'll need to explain what happened."
Explain, huh.
I smiled at the two adorable yet sharply honed girls.
"Explanations can wait. Right now, she overtaxed herself with a heavy technique. Handle that first. I think guarding her recovery is priority."
"Ah. R-right. Hurry and circulate your energy! We'll stand guard!"
"Y-yeah..."
She weakly assented and sat cross-legged to recover.
Unexpected event, but a good show.
Confirmed Sayoon's current skill too.
Still, exhausting that much from one Star-Breaking Palm, even for a first fight.
I nodded, eyeing Sayoon and the other two alternately.
This sudden event decided my next move.
Time to boost Sayoon's internal energy.