7. Jealousy is my strength (7)
The workshop that came and went in an instant was extremely fast.
The hatchet that flew through the atmosphere was spinning in midair repeatedly. I immediately stood up and put my hand on the handle of the sword.
Even then, the Emperor hadn’t said anything. It was just staring blankly at me.
In fact, the target I was aiming for wasn’t even the emperor. Isn’t the silver trail still remaining in sight proving this?
the end of the fever.
A man in black was standing there.
It was an opponent that gave a sense of deja vu just by its presence. Those cold eyes and agile hands were talking about life, but I couldn’t even feel a breath or pulse in the body.
whether alive or dead
Even that was unpredictable. After a long time of training, it was a unique prayer that only unmanned soldiers specialized in stealth and escort missions could hold.
There was no need to compete.
The man in front of me must be quite talented.
The true elite of the Imperial Intelligence Service.
One of the five noble families of the Empire, the proud ‘shadows’ of the Findleston family have appeared.
Looking back, it was natural. I had never met the emperor, and to put it bluntly, I couldn’t be an infinitely trustworthy partner. This meant that the possibility of harboring a rebellion could not be ruled out at all.
Of course, the best escorts were attached.
Even if I was aiming for the neck, those who were skilled enough to guarantee the emperor’s safety for a few minutes.
If so, how many minutes?
Such an assumption was meaningless.
Because the swordsman will come back.
The reason why the emperor quickly erased the agitation from his face probably had nothing to do with it. In addition, the fact that I haven’t revealed my murderous intentions may also play a role.
On the contrary, the emperor only let out a sigh as if he was worried about me.
“Sir Ian, what is this?”
“Can I prove it here?”
It was a short half sentence.
However, with a firm tone that didn’t even shake an inch, the emperor’s eyes sank deeply again.
As if trying to gauge my sincerity.
I asked in a calmer voice.
“I wonder if I am qualified to listen to the imperial family’s earnest wishes.”
“It must be an undeserved burden for you.”
“Let’s try it.”
Immediately after that, a pure white sword body appeared with a clear friction sound.
It was an obvious provocation.
Even so, the man in black showed no reaction. As if her emotions had been castrated, she just glanced at the emperor and waited for instructions.
The emperor’s troubles did not last long.
A small sigh was let out, and the old man turned his back.
“… … do whatever you want.”
implied permission.
Then no further conversation was necessary.
In the correction, the two swordsmen lower their stances.
And rupture.
The atmosphere belatedly screamed. The torn air blew randomly, and an explosion exploded.
The new model of the man who hit the ground without a sound was like a black thunderbolt.
The man who rushed in in an instant had a dagger in each hand. The curved shape of the sword body was unusual even at first glance.
It was one of the reasons why it was difficult to deal with the Imperial Intelligence Service.
Imperial spies receive special training from an early age. In the process, they dealt with all sorts of strange armaments, and there were not a few people who chose this as their main armament to be with them for the rest of their lives.
Even with that dagger, it was difficult to guess its purpose.
But I didn’t have time to worry about it leisurely.
“Whoa,” the sound of breathing shook the quiet space.
As if ripples were spreading, the field of view was being colored achromatic. A world that is slowly losing its momentum like a poorly oiled machine.
Right before the dagger touched, the man’s movements completely stopped.
After all, it is only an instant.
Pak, and blood gushed out along the silvery diagonal line.
“… … Hmm?”
In the flow of time that had returned, the man in black had an incomprehensible look on his face.
It was after my sword had cut through his chest before I knew it.
A blow at the speed of light that is not even described as a ‘thunderbolt’.
However, it wasn’t just the man in black who was hit.
“Big… … !”
He gritted his teeth, but it was difficult to completely swallow the moans that flowed from his throat.
A silver aura was raging in the bloodstream of his whole body. It meant that I couldn’t fully control this power yet.
It is a technique to stop time.
It was not the kind of imagery that could be mastered just by seeing ‘boundaries’ once or twice. It even required a gap of several seconds to plunge into stopped time.
If I hadn’t prepared in advance, it would have been impossible to respond to the man in black.
But it was a skill worth it.
Crying, blood dripped from the man’s mouth. After taking a couple of steps backwards, he let go of his grip on the dagger, and the two curved swords fell like that.
single match.
It was the number of battles that the most elite agents of the Imperial Intelligence Service divided until they fell to their knees.
Yes, it was a match that should have ended like this.
A sudden pain grazed his skin. Now it was my turn to stare blankly.
My gaze slowly turned to the epicenter of the pain.
There was a curved road that fell to the ground. No, the twisting blade had straightened stiff before I knew it, and was tearing through my skin.
Like a snake curled up.
What, such a weapon… … .
Even before such a dismembered accident continued, the man who had been on his knees started charging at me as if he had been kicked up.
I couldn’t even balance properly, so I was defenseless. At this rate, even if I lowered my sword again, I wouldn’t be able to save my life.
Even so, the man’s gallop did not stop.
It was as if the part of the brain responsible for the survival instinct had been cut off. Hey, even though you know my skills well, there’s no way I would have placed an escort that would fall with just one knife.
So I needed to prove even more.
Pak, along with a heavy noise, the man’s upper body leaned forward rapidly.
His eyes turned to his back in silence. There, the hatchet that had been thrown at the beginning was rising into the air again.
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Jung Jung-dong’s grave.
A faint glow flowed in the eyes of the emperor who witnessed the sword circle’s arcane technique.
However, my opponent was not alone.
The subtle gaze tickled my spirits. The number was two in total, and even that location was uncertain.
The best thing to do is to make good use of this gap.
“Ha,” I said, closing my eyes and breathing again.
And, it comes.
In the empty air, a hook, and an arm stretched out. The image hadn’t even fully manifested yet, and it didn’t look like time would stop completely until the fingertips touched me.
Even so, the gesture is remarkably dull.
This was the true fear of my image. Even if time did not stop, there were countless benefits I could take from the slowing flow.
For example, sinking deeper into the unconscious.
My hand caught the arm that stretched out on its own. The opponent started dragging me without even responding properly.
Soon, another figure appeared in the air.
I felt a faint anticipation somewhere. Apparently another enemy was holding a blade.
There was no need to worry.
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Just breathe more deeply and calmly.
I remembered the scenery I saw one day.
At the top of Mount Ciendel, what did I see?
The saint was like a mountain. His skills, which I couldn’t even dare to face, knocked me down hundreds of times.
In the process, there was a teaching engraved deep in the unconscious.
Every gesture of the saint, who was swimming in the stopped time, floated in the heavy stillness as if to suffocate.
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Just before the arms crossed with the sword that had been flying towards me.
My body dug into the arms of the man who was stretching out his arms. The man who was extending a knife at me from the ceiling glanced down at me.
It was the eye of a beast, aiming for the next place to stab.
It was a futile effort.
In an instant, the world tilted.
In an upside-down world, I was throwing a body towards the sky.
Seongguk’s vision of jujutsu, ‘reversing the moon’.
It was a technique that the saint had personally demonstrated to me.
The key to ‘Reversing the Moon’ was not the insertion of a medallion.
As if reversing gravity, it is to hit the opponent’s body with indiscriminate mass.
Weigh the stars.
My proficiency hasn’t reached it yet. But it was enough to make the two men collide in the air.
Suddenly, a bone-chilling noise rang out.
It was the sound of the two men’s bodies clashing against each other. He wouldn’t have died, but he wouldn’t have been able to stay still for a while.
Two groaning bodies fall one after another, and another shadow blocks my way.
He had a very calm expression.
“… … stop.”
It was a heavy word.
I ignored it and tried to swing the sword, but my body suddenly staggered and didn’t listen.
In the end, my steps couldn’t go any further.
The man folded his arms and let out a sigh. I felt fed up with the gaze staring at me as I touched the floor with my sword.
instinctively realized.
This is the captain of the escort.