Chapter 37 – Training…? (14)

Ding-

A clear resonance that contrasts with the nonsense coming out of his mouth.

It was a strange vibration that warmed a corner of my heart for a moment.

Perhaps there is something magical about it.

However, it seemed a little different to the gangsters.

“……!”

“……!”

The dead fish-like eyes of the gangsters focused on me. Of course, they didn’t become lively eyes.

On the contrary, they were staring straight at me with sharp eyes.

“Go!”

Ding-

With the sound of the bell ringing again, the silhouettes of the two gangsters became blurry.

They’re fast!

I think I know why Hong Yeon-hwa told me to face Eonjuwon instead of the gangsters.

They are a bit difficult for me to handle now. They must have been top-notch masters in their lifetime. They would have become even stronger in the process of becoming gangsters.

Well, there’s no way they would walk around with someone weaker than themselves as their escort.

Even though Jinju Eon-ga is not part of the Odaese-ga, it is a powerful family that is almost as strong as them. The achievements of the direct descendants of such a prestigious family usually exceed common sense.

Even if they don’t have the talent of Pungsoso, if they go out to the Yongbongji Society at a young age, they must be at least first-class.

When I thought about it carefully, it was natural for the escort gangsters to have more than the peak level of martial arts.

Well, it doesn’t matter.

Clang!

The gangsters who were running towards me flew to the left and right with a loud noise.

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

Eonjuwon, who was smiling with a smile of enlightenment, and Pungsoso, who was clenching her teeth in pain, both made a surprised sound.

I didn’t see it properly, but it must have been Hong Yeon-hwa who struck them alternately at a speed that the gangsters couldn’t even react to.

Hong Yeon-hwa, who easily knocked down the gangsters, shouted.

“Don’t worry about them!”

“Yes…? Oh, yes!”

Pungsoso, who was dazed for a moment, quickly nodded her head and threw herself at the gangsters.

The sight of her crouching body stretching out with elasticity was reminiscent of a fierce beast. When she swung her huge sword with that fierce momentum.

Clang!

With a loud noise, the gangster who had just stood up was thrown back again.

Although he seemed to have blocked Pungsoso’s blow by crossing his double swords in front of his chest, he couldn’t withstand the shock.

“Haat!”

“……”

Relentless sword strikes and stable swordsmanship even in an unstable posture.

Although Pungsoso has taken the offensive, the gangsters’ skills are so great that they don’t seem to collapse easily.

Chapter 37 – Training…? (14)

I knew that a properly made gangster could use their skills from their lifetime. But I didn’t know they could use swordsmanship too.

They must be elite gangsters made with a serious purpose.

Anyway, it seems like it will take some time for Pungsoso’s side, so I turned my head to the other side. There…

Hong Yeon-hwa, who had manifested a threatening figure resembling the hand of a demon, was throwing a sharp stone at the gangsters.

Clang!

Of course, it didn’t seem to have the power of a sharp stone, but the poor gangster flew back three times. Come to think of it, wasn’t he the guy whose fingers were all broken by the rock Hong Yeon-hwa threw before?

Hong Yeon-hwa, who was leisurely chasing after the gangsters, glanced at me and raised an eyebrow.

“What are you doing? You have to do something before that time corpse bastard runs away.”

“Oh, yeah. Right.”

I didn’t need to worry about this side. It was Eonjuwon, who had witnessed Hong Yeon-hwa’s overwhelming power, that I should be worried about running away.

In fact, Eonjuwon was slowly retreating.

“What is this? No, this can’t be… How…?”

He was still in denial, but when he comes to his senses, he might run away.

We can’t let him go, especially since Hong Yeon-hwa made a one-on-one situation for us.

I shook my upper body while looking straight ahead. My weight shifted forward as if I was about to fall.

Thud.

My body moved on its own as if it was being pulled, and I slammed the ground. It was the acceleration method I learned from Hong Yeon-hwa, which I was using effectively.

I didn’t even glance at the fast-moving scenery, only focusing on Eonjuwon and swinging my sword.

“Die!”

“Oh no!”

Clang!

Even though it was a surprise attack, Eonjuwon didn’t panic and used his forearm to deflect my sword.

The sound that came out was metallic, even though it must have been the sound of metal clashing against flesh.

Although there might have been some bruises between the torn sleeves, there didn’t seem to be any significant damage.

No matter how important external power is in martial arts, this is too tough.

Eonjuwon frowned slightly, then put a droplet he had taken out back on his waist with a grunt.

“Damn! Where did this monster come from? That woman, I mean.”

“Strictly speaking, you’re the one who came out of nowhere, you impotent bastard.”

Maybe his mind came back after running away. Eonjuwon calmly extended his left leg forward and slightly lifted his right hand to shoulder height.

Chapter 37 – Training…? (14)

“Surprising. I thought you would run away.”

“Just running away is meaningless. At least I have to cut off one of your arms before I go.”

Is Eonjuwon planning to run away while I’m being treated by Hong Yeon-hwa for my injuries?

“That seems like you’re underestimating me too much…”

“Hmm? Isn’t it too confident to think you can’t even give me a scratch?”

Eonjuwon shakes his forearm in front of me like he’s showing off.

It’s the arm that blocked my sword earlier. He probably wouldn’t even get a scratch if I didn’t add a sword technique.

Like a steel pillar.

Anyway.

“There must be a way.”

I extend my left leg forward and aim my sword directly at Eonjuwon.

“Hahaha! This is fun. Are you trying to aim for my eyes? It’s true that no matter how great your external skills are, you can’t make your eyes hard, but I don’t know if you can do that with your skills…”

Taking advantage of his babbling, I take a big step forward.

Muyoung Shin Gong is a martial art of the mind. I now understand what my master meant.

A pillar of determination that supports my body like a second spine. I concentrate the hot energy flowing from there into my sword and thrust it forward.

Hook!

A simple stab with a short piercing sound.

Despite the clear surprise attack, Eonjuwon calmly extends his fist forward with a relaxed smile.

Judging from the tension on the opposite shoulder, he must have caught my sword and is trying to attack with his other hand.

Everyone has a plan, right?

“Wait a minute…!”

Until he gets hit by my sword.

Wooong-

The half-thrust sword emits a thin light cluster.

It’s still incomplete and not quite a sword technique, but it’s enough to pierce Eonjuwon’s skin.

Puk!

“Aaaah!”

The guy who had his palm pierced screams in pain and tries to retreat.

No way.

I move forward exactly as much as Eonjuwon retreated and swing my sword horizontally.

Suk!

“My hand! My hand!”

Eonjuwon, who grabs his half-cut and torn hand, screams like he’s seen a ghost.

“What…what did you do!”

“I told you. Don’t underestimate me.”

I answer him casually and swing my sword continuously. Of course, I maintain the sword technique.

“Damn it! Damn it! How can I, at best, only be a second-rate thug!”

Eonjuwon’s expression, which had been consistently relaxed, contorts.

He swings his remaining hand to deflect all the attacks and occasionally counterattacks, but his expression is getting darker and darker.

“Well, that’s understandable. It’s easy to see through a simple sword technique with no special tricks or anything.”

However, it’s not like he can see through the enhanced physical abilities to the limit through Muyoung Shin Gong.

Tang! Tong! Tat!

Every time I hit the sword face, the trembling of the remaining hand becomes more severe.

Thanks to the external skill, his body is tough enough to withstand it, but if it were normal, the force that would have been left even if his bones were broken would have been left.

I know this from my previous experience with Cheokan Geumgwi. If you don’t avoid excessively strong attacks, the shock accumulates continuously.

Even Hong Yeon-hwa’s hand was swollen, and it’s impossible for Eonjuwon to completely shake it off.

He’s also counterattacking intermittently… but that doesn’t mean I’m going to be counterattacked.

His punches and kicks are much slower and weaker than Hong Yeon-hwa’s. Moreover, he can’t even use one arm, so it was difficult for him to block everything.

At this rate, even Eonjuwon knows that he’s going to lose, and his expression becomes sinister.

“Heukheuk…!”

Eonjuwon forcibly blocks his injured hand from being hit by the sword.

Of course, his left arm was completely cut off, but he gained a slight gap in return.

As he looked at me with his eyes reddened with blood, he precisely caught that gap.

Ding-

At the same time as the light sound of the bell, a bell hanging on Eonjuwon’s waist rang.

“Ah…”

As soon as I heard that clear sound, my mind suddenly became calm. It was almost hypnotic.

I didn’t expect to use it like this.

He probably used it as a simple restraint, but in fact, this bell sound was no different from my weakness.

If I had relied on my thoughts like before and used Muyoung Shin Gong, I would have been greatly shaken.

But not now.

Didn’t I learn from Hong Yeon-hwa recently? Willpower is about maintaining thoughts and showing the way.

As taught, I firmly strengthened my will and corrected my shaken mind.

Thanks to that, I was able to respond to the quickly recovering attacks that followed.

“Haap!”

I don’t know how he did it, but his fist flew towards me like a creepy jointed doll, breaking joints in a grotesque way.

It contained enough power to knock me down with one blow, aiming for my vital point through a gap in my posture.

…The point of martial arts is ultimately to stand in a more advantageous position than your opponent, so don’t be too attached to form, right?

I extended my right foot back half a step. Then I spun around on my heel.

“Uh…?”

By matching the direction of the fist and the direction of the rotation, I was able to deflect most of the shock.

Now all that’s left is me, who’s ready to swing my sword, and Eonjuwon, who’s dumbfounded with a collapsed posture and making stupid noises.

I swung my sword diagonally, utilizing my rotational force, and cut off the guy’s right arm.

Tock.

“Keeeeeek!!!”

Eonjuwon, who lost his entire arm, screamed and splattered blood everywhere.

In the meantime, he tried to ring a bell with his intact leg, so I quickly swung my sword.

Kkaduk.

With a breaking sound, a deep cut was made on his thigh. Eonjuwon lost his balance and fell as his leg gave out.

He won’t be able to run away now. Just in case, I stabbed my sword towards his lower abdomen as he writhed on the ground.

I intended to break his spirit by destroying his will to fight, but…

Pook.

“Oops.”

I accidentally stabbed his groin while he was thrashing around.

“Kkeugeok… Kkoruk… Kkeureureuk…”

Eonjuwon started to foam at the mouth and make gurgling sounds, as if the pain had exceeded his limit.

…Anyway, it doesn’t seem to be my fault!