Invincible with Twin Swords

Chapter 38

It is true that I was the only one who could get Gye Yeommu out of his pain.

Though it was a bit shameless to push him in and then pull him out with my own hands.

I explained very slowly to Gye Yeommu, who was writhing in ever-increasing pain.

I can draw out the energy of the Ink Blood Saber again, but I am also taking a great risk. So I can't do it without any compensation.

"H-how much would it be?"

"One more condition on top of returning the Ink Blood Saber! Even the Wind Chime Sword on your waist!"

Parip hyungnim looked at me with a bewildered expression.

The Wind Chime Sword!

There is an alloy called Snow Flower Black Gold.

This alloy is made by mixing black-glowing dark cold iron with a sand called Snow Flower Fine Sand, which has a white light like snow, in a certain ratio.

But the ratio and refining method of Snow Flower Black Gold are not passed down.

So only a very small amount made hundreds of years ago was made into three or four weapons.

The Wind Chime Sword is one of them, and its length is on the short side, and a faint pattern like a snowflake appears on the black blade.

It is harder than cold iron, but it is lighter than a wooden sword, so it got the name Wind Chime Sword.

In the Valley of Abandoned Bugs, Gye Yeommu had constantly boasted about the weapons he had collected, but what he was most proud of was the Wind Chime Sword.

Since he said it was the only sword he always carried with him, the sword in the short scabbard hanging on his waist right now must be the Wind Chime Sword.

I had already marked the Wind Chime Sword as Parip hyungnim's before coming here.

"No, how do you know about the Wind Chime Sword?"

Gye Yeommu's gaze went back and forth between the Wind Chime Sword on his waist and the Ink Blood Saber that had fallen on the floor.

Even in this moment, he is regretting it.

Even while suffering in pain, he could not answer.

"What is more precious than life? If I don't do something, that pain will not end. If you don't want to, then there's nothing I can do."

As Parip hyungnim and I gathered the Golden-Armored Divine Turtle and the bill and were about to stand up, Gye Yeommu grabbed my trouser leg and shouted.

"L-let's do it. Let's do it like that. Q-quickly!"

You can endure a moment of extreme pain.

But when you realize that that pain will never end, a person's willpower collapses in an instant.

I glanced at the manager of the First Market.

We didn't present a fake, nor did we change our words after the transaction.

We have followed all the rules of the First Market.

The current transaction is a new transaction.

"The two of you have requested to notarize a legitimate transaction of your own will. Is that correct?"

Gye Yeommu hurriedly nodded.

"A transaction made through the notarization of the First Market cannot be reversed under any circumstances. To break this rule is..."

"I get it, so hurry up!"

Gye Yeommu was now even shedding tears.

By now, the energy of the Black-Scaled Blood Serpent must have turned his whole body upside down.

Even if I draw out that energy, he will have to lie down for a while.

"Oh my. You seem to be in a lot of pain, so let's take care of what we're supposed to receive later and do something about it."

I grabbed Gye Yeommu's right hand and, frowning, I pretended to use my strength.

When I awakened the power of the Black-Scaled Blood Serpent sleeping in my right arm, the energy of the Ink Blood Saber, which had been wandering in Gye Yeommu's body, flowed towards me.

I frowned as if in pain.

"Ugh, ugh!"

Since I was paying a great price, I thought it would be a shame if it ended too quickly, so I slowly drew out the energy over about an hour. I almost dozed off in the middle because I was bored.

"Haa! It seems to be over now."

I wrapped my right arm and was about to return to my seat when I staggered and stumbled.

Parip hyungnim quickly stood up and supported me.

"My sworn brother risked his life to save you. Be grateful!"

I sat down in a cross-legged position, panting heavily, and pretended to calm my energy.

"Th-thank you!"

Thank you. We're the ones who are grateful!

We left the First Market, leaving behind Gye Yeommu with a face that looked like he was about to cry.

On the way to the inn, I kicked Deoksam, who was napping under a tree, to wake him up.

"Did it go well? How was my realistic acting? Haha."

Your lacking acting was covered by Parip hyungnim's tearful acting.

And you weren't acting. You just went back to your Dubang Mountain bandit days for a moment.

"It seems to have ended too easily, so I feel rather uneasy."

"Wait a bit. He'll show up soon."

The Gye Yeommu I know is not someone who would give up like this.

It's about time he came to his senses and showed up.

As soon as I finished speaking, Gye Yeommu appeared with dozens of escorts.

"I-I knew this would happen. Aren't you the guy from before?"

Gye Yeommu pointed at Deoksam and shouted, unable to contain his anger.

"Isn't our transaction all over? Why are you being so clingy and dirty?"

"I-if you leave my Golden-Armored Divine Turtle and the Wind Chime Sword now, I will forgive you. And leave that strange sword too."

The Gye Yeommu in my memory was a timid person.

For him to go this far, he must have been really, really wronged.

Looking at the people standing behind, they seemed to be guys he had dragged along in a hurry from somewhere.

I gave Deoksam a wink.

Deoksam picked up the axe he had propped up behind a tree.

He lightly swung the axe, which was as tall as a person, with one hand and raised all his internal energy.

The killing intent of his whole body covered the surroundings.

Deoksam is a bit sensitive when he wakes up from a nap.

"I was reflecting on my blood-stained past and had decided to live a good life, but who is blocking my path of repentance? Do you want to see this axe get stained with blood once again?"

Deoksam shouted loudly, infusing his unique low voice with his internal energy.

With this much intimidation, ordinary people would have wet their pants.

The riffraff standing behind Gye Yeommu were trembling in their legs.

The line is good. You should have acted like this earlier.

- Thump!

Deoksam struck the ground with his huge axe.

"Which bastard will be the first to have his neck cut by this axe? Step forward!"

At Deoksam's roar that shook the earth, everyone except Gye Yeommu turned around and started to run away.

They were people who had been preparing to run away from the moment Deoksam stepped forward.

I slowly approached the trembling Gye Yeommu, who was left alone, and whispered in his ear.

"You gave the Golden-Armored Divine Turtle you had obtained with difficulty, you gave your most cherished Wind Chime Sword, you gave back the Ink Blood Saber, and you even gave money on top of that, how wronged you must be. Tsk tsk."

I patted Gye Yeommu's shoulder and comforted him as if I understood everything.

The terrified Gye Yeommu nodded, whimpering.

"Still, you have one thing left, don't you?"

"Wh-what?"

"Your life!"

Gye Yeommu's face turned pale.

"I will definitely use everything you have given me for a good cause!"

* * *

When we returned to the inn, everyone was gathered and waiting for us.

I took out the box containing the Golden-Armored Divine Turtle from my bosom and, smiling brightly, I shook it high.

After finishing our meal, we went to bed early.

Tomorrow, we will leave for Hubei, where the Martial Alliance is.

Now I have obtained one material to make the Divine Calculation Tube.

Now I will go to the Martial Alliance and bring one person. Of course, the Soul-Taking Divine Woman did say that this would be the most difficult.

And I just have to pull out the Cold Wood Divine Sword, which has not been allowed to anyone in the history of the Forest of Swords.

With the Divine Calculation Tube made like that, if the Soul-Taking Divine Woman glimpses the revelation, we can get a clue about the Heavenly Demon.

Simple, right?

And although I haven't told my companions yet, there is one more reason why I am going to the Martial Alliance.

It is to find the spy of the Demonic Cult in the Martial Alliance.

The reason why the Central Plains and the Martial Alliance collapsed so quickly at that time was because the Demonic Cult knew our situation like the back of their hand.

The Azure Blade Unit was probably also annihilated due to this person's scheme.

I have to find this spy.

There is a suspect. The person I am thinking of is probably the spy.

I will decide whether to kill him or use him after I find him.

* * *

I lay down, but I can't sleep.

It wasn't because of Deoksam's snoring.

When I went out at dawn, Parip hyungnim was sitting alone in the darkness.

Parip hyungnim is an assassin who does not show his emotions.

Expressing emotions is something an assassin, who must always be calm, should not do.

But he was sitting alone in the open space behind the inn, holding the Wind Chime Sword, and humming a tune.

While stroking the blade.

"Do you like it?"

The Wind Chime Sword was on the short side with a thin blade.

A faint pattern like a snowflake was wrapped around the entire black blade.

He swung the Wind Chime Sword a few times in the air without answering.

The sword momentum was light, as if swinging a feather.

Even when he swung it with his internal energy, there was not even the sound of the wind.

"It's an amazing sword!"

He is a person who has no greed for weapons like me.

What determines a martial artist's martial prowess is not a mere piece of metal, but his effort.

If you reach a certain level yourself, it doesn't matter what you are holding in your hand.

Even if Parip hyungnim had a branch in his hand, he would have made a name for himself as the Blood Eagle Man.

But the saying that a weapon is second does not mean that it is not important.

A good sword is better if you have one.

"You'll have a lot of use for it in the future!"

In fact, I hope there is no use for it.

I hope the sword we swing is only once, aimed at the Heavenly Demon's neck.

When I raised my head, a crescent moon like a woman's eyebrow was struggling to light up the dark night.

Suddenly, I remembered the moon I used to look at after training in the Valley of Abandoned Bugs.

I had lost my dantian and even my right arm was cut off.

Why wouldn't I have wanted to give up while doing meaningless training with my remaining left hand?

I wanted to give up several times a day, but I didn't let go of the sword from my hand.

There are things that don't change even if everything changes.

Even if the whole world was stained with blood, the day would break when morning came, and when the season changed, flowers bloomed on the trees of the Valley of Abandoned Bugs. Even if the Demonic Cult turned the whole world into ruins, at night, that moon would lonely light up the gloomy world.

Only people, people who can't even live for a hundred years, changed, struggling to fill their greed that was not even a handful. It was the same in the Valley of Abandoned Bugs, where people who had lost the meaning of life had gathered.

Even in that small space, there were those who struggled to fill their own greed.

That place, where only the desire for survival remained, was another hell.

I raised my head again and looked at the crescent moon, which was emitting a faint light.

Is that moon the same as the moon I used to look at in the Valley of Abandoned Bugs?

I have returned to the past by turning back time, but this is also just drifting on a large river. Just in the direction the river flows.

I do not know the end where the river is heading. Perhaps everything I am planning now has no meaning in the flow of the large river.

But!

It is human to struggle.

Even if it's just a leaf floating on the rapids of that huge yellow river, you have to struggle.

You can't change the flow of the river, but we just have to do what we can.

Blaming the river is what is meaningless.

The result is next.

Only those who have done their best without losing their will can seize a thread-like opportunity.

It is the reason why I was able to return to the past.

I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight.

I fell asleep at dawn with various thoughts.

When I woke up in the morning, Deoksam and Parip hyungnim were not in their seats.

When I went downstairs, they were eating without me.

A pile of empty somen bowls was already stacked on Dam Sook's table.

"Come and eat!"

Everyone was busy eating, but only Na Yeryeong called me.

She's kind at times like this.

"By the way, Parip hyungnim! What about the sword you used to use? That's a good sword too."

Deoksam asked with his mouth full of somen.

The sword Parip hyungnim used to use is also an excellent sword.

Assassins use good swords. Because their lives are on the line in an instant.

It was made suitable for an assassin, so the blade was a bit short, but it was definitely a good sword.

It wouldn't suit an ordinary martial artist like me.

Wouldn't it be suitable for women to use?

"Give it to me!"

Na Yeryeong suddenly stepped forward and said.

"I don't mind giving it to you, but have you learned swordsmanship?"

Parip hyungnim asked with a puzzled expression.

"I haven't learned the sword."

You haven't even learned the sword, so where are you going to use it?

Na Yeryeong said she had been accumulating internal energy in her dantian since she was young. It's probably the influence of her father, Gwideukja.

That man also had a usable martial art.

Thanks to that, she can perform lightness skill to the extent that she doesn't fall behind us.

But her hands are not hands that have held a sword.

"Even if I can't face someone with a sword..."

She bit her lip and continued.

"Wouldn't there be a use for it in an emergency?"

I could see the determination in Na Yeryeong's expression.

That kind of expression is only seen on the faces of martial artists who rush in, prepared for death.

I noticed the reason why she was asking for the sword.

She has seen a certain situation in her future.

We have to face the Demonic Cult in the future.

Demonic Cult members have no pride as martial artists.

They will not hesitate to do anything for their purpose.

Even taking hostages and threatening them.

She doesn't want to be a burden to us at an important moment.

Parip hyungnim's face, who had read her will, froze like ice.

To change the frozen atmosphere, I stepped forward and joked.

"Hyungnim, give that sword to Miss Na! What's the big deal about learning that damn swordsmanship? I know someone who had his right arm, which he had used his whole life, cut off, but he learned the sword with his left hand. That swordsmanship is no big deal."

Although I said it like a joke with bravado, what I said was my true feeling.

I can just teach her that damn swordsmanship.

I am the one who has experienced all kinds of swordsmanship in the world.

If I put my mind to it and teach her, I can raise her to a certain level in a short time.

It was the same in my old ronin days.

Among the ronin who held a sword to make a living, there were many who didn't even have the basics.

It was common for them to lose their lives while rushing in to earn a few silver coins.

I hated to see young people pass away so meaninglessly, so I would grab them and teach them.

It wasn't like a prestigious righteous sect, but I taught them as practically as possible.

Not how to win, but how to survive.

It will be difficult to make Na Yeryeong a proper master.

But I can make her have the minimum skill.

So that she can survive.

I will make it so.

I will not let her sword be used for any other purpose, no matter what happens.

"Training starts today!"

(End of Chapter)