94. Preparations Are Needed
“……”
Shiroque checked the condition of Valaria, who had collapsed on the ground.
Confirming that she had stopped breathing and was motionless, he let out a sigh.
“I was foolish to trust the Poison Lord’s pet.”
The Poison Lord’s pet.
It was a remark that revealed how the old man truly thought of Valaria.
“So this is the extent of the Poison Lord’s poison. How pathetic, not even able to kill a mere wench like that…”
Shiroque clicked his tongue in disapproval.
Sirius grimaced at the sight.
“You’ve grown old and feeble, old man.”
“……”
Shiroque glared at Sirius at the disrespectful remark.
“What did you just say?”
“You were relying on that woman’s poison until just now, yet you dare to speak in such a manner. Aren’t you ashamed?”
Shiroque had been waiting for Valaria’s poison to take effect.
But now that it hadn’t, it was unsightly of him to speak like that…
“You speak recklessly. Is that how brazen you’ve always been? You seem quite full of yourself after killing a few branch leaders.”
Shiroque’s gaze sharpened.
“Sirius, what misconception do you have? Branch leaders aren’t particularly skilled fighters.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“The role of branch leaders is to secure money and supplies. They’re evaluated more on their organizational skills than their fighting prowess.”
Upon hearing that, Sirius turned his head to look at Hwanwang.
“Hwanwang, were you also evaluated for such skills? It doesn’t seem like it.”
“This brat never runs out of things to say…”
Hwanwang grumbled as he covered his face with his sleeve.
The poison was still lingering in the vicinity, so he couldn’t move around freely yet.
“Well, if you had been outstanding in your organizational skills, you would have remained the Southern Branch Leader.”
“This kid, really…”
Hwanwang couldn’t refute, for it wasn’t a false statement.
“Anyway, Shiroque.”
Sirius looked back to Sirocco.
“So, what are you trying to say? That your skills are superior to the branch leaders?”
“Do I need to say that myself?”
“Speak your mind, Sirocco.”
Sirius spat coldly at Sirocco, who was standing behind him carrying his luggage.
“You’re upset that you’re not respected, despite being a skilled member of the Zephyr faction. You’re desperate for respect, and it’s becoming more and more pathetic.”
“hahahahaha…!”
Sirocco burst out laughing.
“You’re such an arrogant punk…!”
Sirocco rose into the air, enraged by Sirius’s provocation.
Immediately, a whirlwind started to blow around them.
“Your Majesty, there’s a lot of poison in the air. Please step back.”
“Hmm, you’re right. I’ll make sure to bring an antidote next time.”
After making the king take a few steps back, Sirius stood alone to face Sirocco.
Sirocco was rising into the sky, enveloped in the whirlwind.
“You may be good at close combat, but… you’ll never be able to get close to me.”
Kwakwakwa!
A strong wind blew.
Carriages tumbled over, and the horses tied to the carriages screamed.
Dust flew up, making it difficult to see.
Sirius extended his energy to locate Sirocco, and then threw a dagger imbued with the energy of thunderbolts.
“It’s useless!”
Kwaaah!
The dagger was caught in the strong wind.
The dagger was swept away by the wind and disappeared somewhere, unable to reach Sirocco.
“Not bad.”
“Are you still feeling relaxed?”
Kung!
A carriage rose into the sky.
Even the horses pulling the carriage.
Sirocco began to use the wind to throw them at Sirius.
“This is getting ridiculous.”
Sirius clicked his tongue and moved his body.
Then, he swung his sword at the horse struggling in the whirlwind.
The horse, belatedly freed, ran away in a hurry.
“Come to think of it, the horses seem to be fine even after inhaling the poison. Is it a poison that only affects humans?”
“Are you still feeling relaxed…!”
Kukung!
Several carriages fell on Sirius one after another.
Sirius swung his sword and smashed the carriages, but this time, he began to attack by flying the wreckage of the carriages.
“This is just like a torrential downpour of flowers.”
I recalled the hidden weapon technique of the S Heavenly Gate Sect, which scattered hidden weapons like rain.
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Broken wooden and iron rods were flying wildly in the gust of wind. If I let my guard down for even a moment, my body would be riddled with holes.
To be honest, it was more difficult to deal with than the S Heavenly Gate Sec’s torrential downpour of flowers.
That’s because the fragments of the carriage were flying so irregularly.
It was hard to predict when and where the fragments would come flying.
How many decades of internal energy cultivation would it take to display this level of skill with martial arts?
It was hard to even imagine.
“Magic is interesting after all.”
“You’re acting calm and collected, but it’s all just a bluff…!”
Amidst the deadly gusts of wind that continued to swirl around, Sirius gathered his internal energy.
And he poured the force of the Thunderbolt into the Jagged Sword.
The wind magic that Sirocco was wielding was certainly formidable.
But it definitely had its limits.
After all, it was just wind.
“HAAH…!”
CRASH!
The Jagged Sword, filled with blue lightning energy, shot out.
The sword, which had become a bolt of lightning, pierced through the gust of wind and shot up into the sky.
Just a moment ago, the throwing knives that Sirius had thrown had been swept away by the wind.
But those were just throwing knives that were only about the length of a palm.
It’s impossible to imbue a lot of force into such a small blade.
But this was a longsword with a considerable size.
Furthermore, it had been processed using the Igret Formula.
If he filled it with the force of the Thunderbolt, it could pierce through the wind and shoot up high into the sky.
“What?!”
It wasn’t lightning falling from the sky, but rising from the ground.
Sirocco was stunned by the extraordinary sight.
If Sirocco had been prepared, he might have been able to dodge it.
After all, Sirius’s sword was flying in a straight line.
However, Sirocco had been余裕をぶっこいて Sirius を空の上から追い詰めていた。
Moreover, he had been余裕をぶっこいて Sirius を空の上から追い詰めていた. because of the gusts of wind, he couldn’t see properly ahead, and he realized the situation too late.
“Kugh…!”
PUFF!
Sirius’s sword pierced through Sirocco’s abdomen.
The gusts of wind that had been swirling around Sirocco died down in an instant. And Sirocco himself began to fall to the ground.
Sirius leaped towards Sirocco.
“……!”
He extended his right palm, imbued with lightning energy.
Even though he had been stabbed in the abdomen and was falling, Sirocco gritted his teeth and raised his right hand.
Blades of wind poured down on Sirius.
However, the lightning that erupted from Sirius’s right hand swallowed all of the wind blades.
And finally, Sirius’s right hand grabbed hold of Sirocco’s face.
“Kuaaak!”
A desperate scream!
Sirius fell down with Sirocco while injecting his lightning.
Sirocco struggled, but it was already too late.
Thud!
Sirius stood up from Sirocco who had fallen to the floor.
Sirocco was already completely dead and lying limp.
Sirius was only a little disheveled.
“I completely destroyed him.”
Huanwang approached while whistling.
Thanks to the gust of wind Sirocco had created, almost all of Balaria’s poison had disappeared.
“Anyways, the situation doesn’t seem very good. Not only the subordinates of the Wind King and the Poison King, but the Wind King himself will come here.”
“How strong is the Wind King?”
“I don’t know that either. I’ve never fought the guy directly.”
Huanwang frowned as he said that.
“Anyways, he’s also a 9th circle Great Mage. He must have been constantly honing his skills, so he won’t be easy.”
“….”
Sirius had fought two 9th circle Great Mages up until now.
However, he hadn’t fought Huanwang to the death, and he had only exchanged a single move with Shadien.
That’s why the fight with the Wind King would be different.
“There’s also the subordinates of the Poison King… well, they won’t be a problem for you.”
Sirius was immune to most poisons.
Unless the Poison King himself came, the likes of Verdian or Balaria wouldn’t pose any threat.
However…
“I can’t necessarily think like that.”
“What do you mean?”
“I may be fine, but the people around me aren’t.”
“Ah…!”
Even Huanwang had to retreat to avoid the poison.
It would be difficult for ordinary people to deal with.
“That’s why I need to make preparations.”
Saying that, Sirius picked up the object that had fallen to the ground.
It was Balaria’s fan, which had remained intact even in that gust of wind.
* * *
“I see. Balaria…”
Verdian made a complicated expression as he received Balaria’s fan from Sirius.
“Were you close?”
“Well, can you call a relationship in which you’re willing to kill each other in order to win the favor of His Majesty the Poison Monarch ‘close’?”
“Balaria said something similar.”
“….”
Verdian pursed his lips and wore a gloomy expression.
Balaria tried to kill Verdian, but… Verdian may have thought of Balaria like a real sister.
“Verdian, aside from developing the elixir, there’s something I need you to do urgently.”
“You mean preparing the antidote and the antitoxin?”
An antidote is a medicine that cures someone who has already been poisoned, while an antitoxin is a medicine that prevents someone from being poisoned in the first place.
“Is it possible?”
“Who do you think I am?”
Verdian said with a bitter smile.
“I’m someone who directly received poison teachings from His Majesty the Poison Monarch. I can perfectly neutralize most poisons.”
“That’s reassuring.”
“There may be new poisons that have been developed in the meantime, but I’ll be able to deal with them if I analyze the medicine that Balaria still owes me.”
Sirius brought Balaria’s debt to him for this reason.
“But Verdian, there’s one more thing.”
“What else are you planning to make me do?”
Verdian frowned.
“I have to make the elixir, the antidote and the antitoxin, and the medicine to treat Lord Rield… Aren’t you giving me too much work?”
“I’m sorry.”
Even Sirius thought it was too much work.
He wanted to give him an assistant, but there was no one he could trust.
“But this last thing isn’t work.”
“What?”
“Let’s call it an education.”
What is internal energy?
What is an elixir?
He had already informed Verdian about such basic concepts.
However, he hadn’t even started teaching him about the most important thing yet.
“Verdian, I will teach you how to circulate your energy and… the internal energy method.”
“….”
Sirius planned to spread martial arts throughout this world.
Martial arts were essential for maintaining治安 and punishing evildoers.
To do so, he needed to cultivate warriors who used internal energy, not magic power.
Verdian would be the first of those warriors.
“You already have the skill to use poison. If you learn martial arts in that state, you’ll be quite formidable.”
Sirius had already thought about how he was going to train Verdian.
The S Heavenly Gate Sec, a faction of the Baekdo, was famous for its poison techniques.
He could make Verdian just like them, who also possessed excellent martial arts like Mancheonhwau.
Of course, he would ultimately have to make Verdian stronger than even the most formidable masters of the S Heavenly Gate Sec.
With the knowledge of Cheonrangmuje Baekmurang, it was possible.
“Even if your sisters attack you, I’ll make it so that you can fend for yourself.”
To escape from the clutches of the Poison Lord and become a true warrior.
Sirius intended to guide Berdian.