Chapter 22 – The Bloodwind of Sacheon Blows Twice (02)
“Tsk!”
Plop.
Immediately, I kicked the bead away so that the smell wouldn’t spread any further, but the problem was that it was already in Hansoso’s mouth.
“If I don’t get rid of the smell…”
It would be great if there was some kind of antidote, but there was no way to find one in this world. At least Bangyuseong brought water and rinsed Hansoso’s mouth with it, but I didn’t know how much it would be able to remove the scent.
“As for her condition… there doesn’t seem to be any major issues.”
I checked the pulse on Hansoso’s neck.
“Is it a poison?”
It was much simpler than what I had injected into my acupoint, but I could still feel the strong inner energy of the poisoner.
Since I had already released the inner energy that was blocking Hansoso’s blood circulation, the unmanned guards of the Tangga, who had let their guard down after the attack, were now trying to relax and recover using some simple qigong techniques.
“It’s dangerous!”
I sensed five energies approaching me quickly.
Among them, the fastest and largest one, a man who seemed unrealistically huge with a height that seemed to reach the sky, had a different and refined movement compared to the ordinary Tangga members. He had already penetrated inside before the guards could deploy their techniques again.
Crack!
As if being struck by a bear, one of the Tangga guards flew back with a broken spine.
“Ahh! Cheorah!!”
“Don’t be surprised, unfold the techniques!”
The strength of the Sacheondang Gate lies in its closed bloodline community, where everyone knows each other well and has a strong sense of cooperation.
But in a situation like this, it becomes a disadvantage. When one person falls, the morale of the entire group plummets, and attention is focused on the injured person, resulting in more victims, second and third.
“Have they already arrived?”
These characters were not used in the original novel.
Jigal Yeonji, the wanderer of Jirang Province, had euthanized them all after tracing and confirming the place where they were buried, before properly engaging in activities.
But now, if Cheogeom intervened and changed the course of the novel…
“Well… it seems like I’m screwed.”
At this moment, I couldn’t ignore the warriors of the Tang Clan who were currently getting screwed in real-time while thinking that I’m screwed.
“Jegil! Bangyuseong!”
As I called out the names, Bangyuseong immediately rushed forward and charged at the burly man.
Boom!
A loud noise echoed as the fist made of steel clashed with the bear, creating a commotion. Thanks to Bangyuseong blocking the man, the people of Tang Clan had time to retreat.
“Tang Clan Chief!”
“Everyone, retreat!”
Although some were trying to return to the Four-Gate Gate with the injured while being escorted, at that moment, I felt a strong aura and looked around.
“Damn it, stop!”
The warriors at the gate, despite my warning, stopped in their tracks. However, those who were frightened or lacked skill continued to rush forward and were thrown into the air by a thin line that sparkled in the empty space.
Whoosh!
“Screaaam!!”
In no time, the thin silver thread, unfolding as if surrounding this place, cut through their bodies like thin layers of skin, causing chaos.
“Oh… seriously, this is messed up!”
“Samae! Help!”
“Your execution!”
While cutting through the silver thread with Samae’s sword and saving the Tang Clan warriors, a third immense energy surged beneath my feet.
“Chit!”
Pulling the still dazed Hansoso back, making her step backward, a chubby figure emerged from the water.
Whether it was a man or a woman, the swollen figure covered in green algae in various places resembled a drowned corpse.
“Huh…”
With a rather uncertain expression, Tangmunju pulled out a memorization pouch from his bosom.
His memorization pouch was empty, with only about three or four memorizations shaped like chopsticks remaining.
“I’ll buy some time, but…”
The energy was dissipating.
Shrrrack-!
As the Four Masters cut through all the illusions, the unmanned warriors of Tangmun, who were being cut while bound in midair, hurriedly reached Tangmunju’s side. With a quick glance at the bloated expert resembling a drowned corpse sticking out of the water, Tangmunju threw a few memorizations at him.
“Everyone, retreat! Gather and slowly retreat to the gate to avoid being ambushed!”
The unmanned warriors of the Four-Gate Tangmun, who were like exhausted martial artists, followed Tangmunju’s instructions and began to retreat.
Already, the Four-Gate Tangmun was a closed group, and they had no qualms about fleeing or withdrawing their bodies when their disciples suffered harm, even if they were criticized as cowards.
Except for one person, Tangmunju.
“Aren’t you turning back?”
Raising the three memorizations in her hand, Tangmunju smiled slyly.
“Each of Tangga’s bloodlines is precious, but I’m not one of Tangga’s bloodlines.”
As he joked, Tangmunju’s gaze, which was about to face the real corpse-like opponent, turned to the harbor and stopped at someone.
“Wait. That person…”
The last one, whom Tangmunju was looking at with shock and surprise, was just an ordinary man. He had a hat covering his face and was holding a bamboo-made scabbard with an ordinary wooden sword inside.
“Do you know each other?”
“I heard he went missing around here not too long ago. I thought he was in hiding. You might know as well… He’s the expert swordsman, Jukbangmyeolgeom (竹傍滅劍).”
I had never heard of him.
He might just be a background character, but if even the local gatekeeper knew about him, he must have some reputation among the top experts.
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“Rumors say Jukbangmyeolgeom has reached the pinnacle of expert swordsmanship, and others are also close to reaching the pinnacle. It won’t be easy.”
“Hansoso. Hansoso!”
Clap, clap!
In a situation where one person was missing, Bangyuseong replaced the absent Hansoso, who was still not fully conscious, and slapped his cheeks lightly.
“Phew!”
As the palm with inner strength struck his cheek, Hansoso spat out the lingering scent in his mouth and regained consciousness.
“Where is this…?”
While Hansoso, whose cheek was swelling from being slapped by me, still seemed disoriented, he soon came to his senses and got up from my embrace.
“That guy… Where is he!”
Hansoso, with a bruised ego, searched for his sword while touching his sore cheek, but before her eyes, a man in a hat was drawing a knife from his bamboo scabbard.
“What are you up to again!”
…Well, in a typical situation, I should explain the circumstances and send them off, but considering Hansoso’s foul temper and the fact that she was already going towards Jukbangmyeolgeom approaching her with killing intent, I figured she could handle it herself.
“All right then, the last one is mine.”
Sizzle… sizzle…
Meanwhile, the last person.
An old man with a twisted cane, staggering as if dragging something, was entering.
Approaching the harbor with one leg folded, in his hand was a completely toothed sword, and by the dried bloodstains on its surface, it was evident that someone had lost their life to this tattered blade.
Unlike other undead, who seemed to be blindly and vaguely dead, the old man holding the sword, though haggard, had one eye that remained pitch-black and alive, staring directly at me.
“Kikikikig……”
While the cracking voice aimed at me like the other undead, it was not mindlessly rushing forward. Instead, it fixedly gazed at me, prompting me to loosen my fingers, preparing the Blue Heart Glass Law.
Kikig.
The undead, resembling a drowned body from before, ascended, spreading water droplets around, making the harbor floor quite slippery. With each step, caution was required.
“Kihyaak!”
Dribbling saliva from its tongue, the creature scratched the sword on the ground in a low posture, approaching. Although it seemed like a madman wielding a knife, there was an indescribable vitality and fierceness.
“Is this really a Soulless (失魂人)?”
The absence of a soul seemed unfitting, as an overwhelming vigor emanated from him.
Chwaak!
Overflowing with condensed energy, the sword cut through the floor, sending fragments in all directions, constraining my movements.
Ting!
Intentionally weakening the defensive stance, I disregarded the fragments and dashed forward. He jumped first, aiming to penetrate my distance, the distance of my martial arts, to attack.
Buwoong!
As the energy accumulated in the sword lengthened, I threw a long thrust horizontally, making it impossible for me to evade left or right. If I dodged in mid-air, I would lose freedom of movement, likely to be cut down.
Hwoong!
Leaning my waist back like performing a Limbo dance, I let the thrust pass over me. Unexpectedly, the creature, focused on launching the attack, did not anticipate me sliding on my knees while maintaining speed.
Chwaaak!
Slipping on the ground with my knees, I hadn’t considered the creature’s downward thrust, continuing my leap as I made eye contact with the one who was about to break his own knee while attempting a fatal blow.
Plop!
As if executing a sliding tackle, I tripped over their legs and brought my fist down upon their head, causing their posture to crumble.
Crunch!
Feeling my fist sink into their skull, I confirmed that their head was buried more than halfway into the harbor floor before retracting my hand.
“Are the others… holding up well in the fight?”
Scanning my surroundings to determine where I should lend my support, I unexpectedly found Bangyuseong holding his own against a bear-like man, fighting fiercely, while Hansoso was slightly on the back foot, but not at a disadvantageous position to intervene.
And as for Dangmunju…
“Kreuk!”
He was pushing against a silhouette that resembled a drowned corpse, barely managing to land his final blow, piercing through the head.
“Did we win…?”
But in that moment.
As Dangmunju let his guard down, believing he had won, the silhouette threw the scythe they had been holding.
It wasn’t Dangmunju, who had prepared to sacrifice one of his arms, but Hansoso, who had been leaking energy from her mouth, aiming towards the silhouette’s back.
“No…!”
I tried to interfere using my Geokgongseopmul to disrupt the trajectory, but the scythe, filled with power, easily deflected the path, and all I could do was barely block the scythe that was flying towards Hansoso’s back, slashing heavily across her.
“Ugh…!”
And from then on, one by one, the butterfly effect caused the front line to collapse.
Hansoso tried to endure the pain and continue fighting, but she couldn’t escape the swordsmanship of Jukbangmyeolgeom, who took advantage of her vulnerable state, and as she unsuccessfully tried to parry the single sword strike while maintaining her stance, she ended up losing her grip on the sword.
“Kyaaak!”
“Han Sojeo… Kkyueuk!”
Hearing the faint screams of Hansoso, when Ban Gyuseong’s concentration wavered, he allowed the attack of a bear-like man. As the fist, like a pot lid, struck the side, even though Ban Gyuseong was tough, blood spewed from his mouth, and he could only fly away.
“Damn it!”
Receiving Ban Gyuseong who was airborne to prevent him from falling into the river, I rushed to save Hansoso whose throat was about to be cut.
Kaaang!
Unable to block the sword with a vegetarian diet, I crudely protected Hansoso’s neck by protecting it with my arm strengthened by Hoshingangqi.
Kkigigigik!!
With the dreadful sound of sharpening iron, the blade pierced more than half into the arm strengthened by inner strength.
Considering that it was a small injury for blocking with a bare arm, it was still painful enough for blood vessels to bulge in the eyes, and the body trembled with pain.
“Kuueeugh…!”
Despite the pain of the flesh being ground away, I bit down on my teeth until they broke, trying to crush the head of the beheading sword with my right fist before my left arm was cut off. But at that moment, the bear-like man was rushing towards me… no, towards Hansoso, whom I had intruded.
“Kuoohhh!!”
“Execution!”
“No, spare her!!”
Seeing me being attacked unilaterally, Samae threw the sword, piercing the heart of the bear-like man.
Fwoooosh!
Although it was a tough bear-like man’s skin, it couldn’t withstand Samae’s swordsmanship filled with inner strength, and the goblin-like man who was attacking me was instantly crushed with the sword stuck in his chest.
Chyarararak-
However, as a reward for the eye I lost during the duel, silver threads began to entwine around Samae’s body, digging into her.