Chapter 25
Chapter 25
25.
Therefore, I exist.
Hyeokryeon Hong introduced me to the man who was sitting alone by the bonfire.
"Master, I've brought Lee Jaha Luzhu."
It was peculiar that he called him 'Kakju' until now, but here he was calling him 'Master.' Just by seeing how his subordinates addressed him, it was clear that he was a man with great ambition.
Of course, he was also the kind of guy who would end up being dismembered because of that ambition.
Geumbong Kakju, Ban Sa-ung, who was wearing an outer garment made of animal hide, put down the bow he was working on and said,
"So, you're the one? The guy who wiped out three houses of pleasure? You look younger and more insolent than I expected. Come closer."
I was curious about Ban Sa-ung's usual personality, so I replied briefly, making sure my own personality didn't show.
"Yes, that's me."
I slowly moved while briefly scanning the mountain lodge.
It seemed like many people had died here, as the atmosphere was heavy and gloomy overall. It felt like restless spirits were watching us from the darkness.
Ban Sa-ung was like a wild boar he had caught. It felt like a wild boar had caught a wild boar with a bow, so I briefly raised the corners of my lips.
The wild boar, no, Ban Sa-ung, opened his smelly mouth.
"Close the gate."
As soon as his words ended, the Iron Gate slammed shut with a thud.
I picked up a chair nearby and placed it in front of the bonfire. As I naturally sat down opposite him, Ban Sa-ung said,
"Who told you to sit? Are you crazy?"
I stared intently at Ban Sa-ung's face and replied,
"Yes."
Ban Sa-ung ordered his subordinate.
"Oh, really? He's crazy. A mad dog is the answer for a crazy guy. Bring a hungry one."
* * *
A man approached with a large dog.
The dog, which looked black and fierce, was surprisingly docile, quietly waiting with its hindquarters on the ground.
The man who brought the dog tapped its head with a knife to make it look at me.
Ban Sa-ung said to me,
"Sitting like that dog is your proper posture."
"Oh, is that so?"
I watched the hungry dog, the man training the hungry dog, and Ban Sa-ung, who was using the trainer like a dog, in turn. Even from a distance, there were those who were curious about how I would react, glancing at me.
When I didn't get up from the chair, Ban Sa-ung ordered,
"Bite."
The trainer repeated the order.
"Bite!"
With a growl, the large Black Dog rushed towards me with fierce momentum. When the Black Dog got very close, I flicked my finger and accurately struck its nose.
The dog, sent flying, slid across the floor and struggled from a distance. It must have been very painful because it was a Finger Flicking Skill imbued with Wooden Chicken's Inner energy.
Silence fell in the mountain lodge as everyone watched the Black Dog struggling.
.
.
.
After easily dealing with the Black Dog, I said to Ban Sa-ung,
"How should you act so I can spare your life? Let's calm down and think about it carefully."
I held out both hands like a dog and said,
"Should I pant like this to be spared?"
"……."
"Or should I hand over all the money you've hidden in this manor to be spared? Or maybe if you swear to be my spy while in the Black Cat Clan, I'll spare you. I wonder if the answer is among these. You pathetic parasite of Heukdo."
While I was spouting insults, the guys who were preparing meat, carrying food, and just waiting gathered as if trying to form an encirclement.
Ban Sa-ung grinned and waved his hand.
"You're an amusingly crazy guy. We need to talk more, so you guys go back to what you were doing."
His subordinates replied in subdued tones.
"Yes."
I laughed long in a low voice.
I thought that fate was truly cruel.
It seemed that a guy destined to die by Dismemberment would inevitably meet a cruel fate.
I was just curious if there was anything to gain after killing this guy.
Money? Or dog-like subordinates? Or maybe a few hunting dogs?
Ban Sa-ung asked me, who was lost in thought,
"You look young, how old are you?"
"You didn't call me here just to ask my age. I'm younger than you. Can't you tell just by looking?"
Ban Sa-ung clapped his knee and laughed.
"Hahahaha."
Only then did I get up from the chair.
"I can read faces a bit, and you're the type to embezzle money and get caught by the Black Cat Clan Leader, then get torn apart and die. That's what a greedy wild boar's face looks like. But if you give me a generous fortune, I might spare you. How about it?"
Ban Sa-ung, who got up while chuckling, shook his head.
"Even if I wanted to spare you, it would be difficult now."
I looked around once and then said,
"Will you die alone? Or will you drive your subordinates to their deaths first? If you're the head of a group, you should think about your subordinates a little. Before you kick the bucket……."
Ban Sa-ung replied,
"I'm not that kind of nice guy……."
Before Ban Sa-ung could finish his sentence, I kicked his chest with my left foot. Ban Sa-ung didn't even have time to draw his sword, so he crossed his arms to block my foot.
With a bang, Ban Sa-ung's body flew backward in an arc.
He was quite sturdy.
Ban Sa-ung cursed as he drew the sword from his waist.
I grabbed a burning oak log from the edge of the bonfire.
There was no reason to draw the sword from my waist right now.
As I infused the oak log with Blazing Chicken's energy, the flames blazed even more fiercely.
Whoosh!
Ban Sa-ung's eyes widened immediately.
I swung the flame-engulfed oak log while keeping my mouth shut and mingled with Ban Sa-ung.
* * *
Third-rate Heukdo are not those who compete with the sophistication of their stances.
The lower the ranks, the more crude their Sword Method is. Whether it's the Black Cat Clan or Geumbong Kakju, they were bound to be of a lower level than the swordsmen of famous clans and prestigious families that I had faced.
This is what I think are the strengths and weaknesses of Heukdo and Baekdo.
Baekdo's stances are sophisticated, but their experience is often biased towards sparring, so they often lack real combat experience, to put it simply.
This is because they are closed off.
Also, they often compete within their own sects, so unless they are famous masters, they are not skilled in dealing with various situations. There are cases where they cannot integrate their good Sword Method into real combat, which is a chronic problem for the young rising stars of Baekdo.
On the other hand, Heukdo have mastered Martial arts that are inferior to those of prestigious orthodox sects. However, due to the nature of Heukdo, they have a lot of real combat experience.
This is because they risk their lives to survive.
Even if they use ordinary Sword Method, they become stronger with the experience gained in real combat, and if they later acquire decent Martial arts, their skills improve explosively with the addition of real combat experience.
Mado, Baekdo, and Heukdo have different ways of life and acquire different Martial arts.
Ultimately, they meet at the pinnacle of martial arts.
I was a man who had strived to reach that pinnacle, and Ban Sa-ung, whom I was facing now, was not.
My conclusion was that he was a third-rate level, neither one thing nor the other.
* * *
When Ban Sa-ung had blocked my attacks a dozen times, relying on his real combat experience.
I launched a surprise attack with a Palm Strike, then struck diagonally downward with the oak log in my right hand. Ban Sa-ung, who was busy defending, had no choice but to raise his sword in an honest defense to block the oak log.
At that moment, I withdrew the Inner energy I had infused into the oak log, causing the sword to become embedded in the oak log.
Thud!
He was bound to be surprised that the sword suddenly became embedded in the oak log that had been deflecting his sword until now. In that instant, I drew the sword from my waist and slashed in the direction of the draw.
Anticipating that Ban Sa-ung would barely dodge, I advanced.
It didn't matter if he dodged the draw.
Sword Energy erupted from my sword, which stretched out as if it had been strung and released from a bow.
It was a thin, curved Sword Energy that seemed to have brought the crescent moon from the sky.
The Sword Energy poured down on Ban Sa-ung's face, who had been narrowly dodging the sword in succession while tilting his head back.
"Ugh!"
The moment knife marks were etched onto Ban Sa-ung's face, my follow-up attacks continued in succession. Ban Sa-ung would never have imagined that a mere Shop Assistant would unleash Sword Energy.
That was his miscalculation.
As Ban Sa-ung, who had been struck in the face, staggered and lost his balance, I swung my sword left and right, slashing Ban Sa-ung's body.
Each time I swung my sword, blood gushed out in long streams. Despite being seriously injured, Ban Sa-ung stubbornly endured.
Indeed, he was like a wild boar.
Even in the midst of this, I heard the sound of the man who had been training the dog ambushing me from behind and rotated my body, swinging my sword horizontally.
Splat!
The head of the trainer, who had been rushing at a considerable speed, flew into the air.
I turned around as I was and kicked Ban Sa-ung's torso, who was seriously injured.
With a snap, one of his shoulders collapsed, and Ban Sa-ung slumped down.
I continued to Stomp Ban Sa-ung's body.
I stomped on his head, stomped on his torso, and stomped on his lower body, shoving him into the ground.
At the same time, the ground where Ban Sa-ung began to be buried also sank in a circle. I watched the expressions of the approaching men and struck the ground with a Stomp infused with a great deal of Inner energy.
Kwaaaaaaang!
Ban Sa-ung was already in a state where he didn't need a grave.
It was necessary to imprint in the memories of these subordinates how the head who had tried to mess with the Shop Assistant of Ilyang Prefecture died.
That's why I killed him so cruelly.
There were many reasons.
This guy was originally making money through usury, loan sharking, and contract killing, and he was also not loyal to the Black Cat Clan Leader.
There are those who betray wherever they belong, and this guy was one of them.
Since I killed him cruelly, no one dared to attack me right away.
I glared at Ban Sa-ung's subordinates, whose faces had turned pale, and scraped the dirt with my foot several times to cover the pit.
They were all holding their breath and looking at me.
These guys were the dregs who were usually afraid of Geumbong Kakju. Since Ban Sa-ung had died without even putting up a proper resistance, their fear had doubled.
I asked the subordinates,
"Anyone want to die following Ban Sa-ung?"
Someone said to me,
"How are you going to handle the Clan Leader later?"
"Black Cat Clan Leader?"
"Yes."
Looking at the man who had spoken, I said,
"Why are you worried about that? You guys are about to die right now. You third-rate Heukdo scrubs. Life and death are divided in an instant. Kneel down before I count to three. I'll send the ones with stiff knees to Ban Sa-ung first. One, two, three."
A guy who had been frightened knelt down first.
The guys who had been trying to decide whether to advance or retreat after watching the situation quickly knelt down, gauging the situation. There was a slight time difference, but eventually all of Ban Sa-ung's subordinates quietly knelt down.
I like this kind of atmosphere.
The reason I beat up crazy monkeys in my past life was this silence.
The reason I had trained in Martial arts at the risk of Juhwa-ibma was because of this kind of atmosphere.
It was also the reason I had meditated without eating or relieving myself.
I think that all the painful processes exist for such moments.
Therefore, I exist, don't I?
.
.
.
Or maybe not.