novelraw Chapter 24 : Ambush (3)
Chapter 24 : Ambush (3)
Chapter 24: Ambush (3)
Swish!
Cheon Bigang was surrounded.
After pushing away Sa Yerin and Muk Sogyeong from danger, he stepped into the domain of the Tail Blade.
Front, back, left, right—there was no escape.
Like tightening a knot with a cord, the attacker constricted the tail around Cheon Bigang at the center.
“Ah!”
“…!”
The two, who had barely survived thanks to him, were left speechless.
That couldn’t be dodged.
He would be cut down.
Even Cheon Bigang, who lived with absolute confidence, had no time to escape this time.
As he looked at the blades closing in on his entire body, he closed his eyes.
“Sword.”
Ting!
A thin metallic sound rang.
The sword dropped by a dead guard bounced up near his feet.
The hilt rose before his eyes.
Within the swirling storm of asphalt dust and sand, Cheon Bigang recalled a memory.
His master.
Even on rainy or snowy days, his master would always groom his beard and draw his sword.
On hot summer afternoons when Cheon Bigang dozed off, on autumn nights filled with the sound of insects—
His master always swung his sword.
That sight colored his childhood.
Seen in half-sleep.
Reflected in moonlight.
Soaked in rain.
Etched into his heart.
His master’s sword did not remain in his eyes, but in the flow of his mind.
Even now, when he closed his eyes, it appeared vividly.
Calloused fingers.
The tilt of the wrist.
The blade piercing starlight.
A step forward without fear.
A swordsman’s life, impossible to describe in words, lived within every motion.
‘…’
Cheon Bigang reached toward the sword within himself.
Perhaps because it had not been drawn for so long, it rested in its sheath.
‘My sword.’
His hand grasped it.
The inner sword and the real sword became one.
Flash!
He opened his eyes.
Toward the tightening tail—
He drew a horizontal line.
Boom!
A bell-like resonance rang out.
“!”
“Ghk!”
The attacker was blasted away, crashing into a tree.
Thud!
Landing upright, the attacker steadied himself.
Sparks burst from the damaged tail.
The joints twitched unnaturally.
[Combat Armor damage: 34%]
[Tail Blade function below 80%]
[Requesting countermeasures]
[Analyzing opponent’s swordsmanship]
[Searching…]
Beep!
[No matching data]
[No matching data]
[No matching data]
Cheon Bigang weighed the sword.
“Light.”
He shifted stance.
Two hands on the hilt.
Blade extended forward.
A vertical axis aligned head to heel.
A beginner’s stance.
Anyone trained would say so.
Basic.
Balanced.
Unremarkable.
Even Sa Yerin and Muk Sogyeong felt disappointment.
But that wasn’t the point.
Thud!
As Cheon Bigang stepped forward, the asphalt sank under his foot.
“What…?”
“The ground…?”
At that moment—
The attacker leapt again.
[Continuing Plan B]
Bullets fired.
Ratatatat!
Cheon Bigang dodged—
Then—
The tail struck exactly where he moved.
Perfect calculation.
He raised his sword—
And brought it down.
Too fast to see.
Only—
“The sword moved.”
Boom!
The tail shattered.
The attacker slammed into the ground.
Crash!
Yet—
He rose again.
[No matching data]
Grinding sounds echoed.
Cheon Bigang stood before him.
Same stance.
A beginner’s sword.
No tricks.
No illusions.
Only a single unwavering path.
Heavy Sword.
He raised it—
And struck.
Boom!
The attacker was crushed into the ground.
Dust exploded.
The system faltered.
[Damage 99%]
[Plan B failed]
< I… am… s— >
Silence.
The Sword Energy vanished.
The armor died.
Blood seeped out.
“It’s over.”
The blade cracked.
Shattered.
It couldn’t endure three strikes.
But—
Cheon Bigang narrowed his eyes.
‘…I killed the Sword Demon a thousand years ago. Then what is this?’
A possibility surfaced.
‘Did Shin Yawol release the Ten Demonic Weapons?’
The past was resurfacing.
The Sword Demon.
Reborn in a new form.
‘I’ll investigate through the Hao Clan.’
---
The attack on Yang Woomin.
Officially—
It was an assassination attempt.
The truth was buried.
Media was silenced.
For three reasons:
To avoid showing weakness.
To avoid political escalation involving the Emperor.
To maintain public trust.
Yet—
One question remained.
Who?
And why?
The enemy knew his movements.
And the origin of the Combat Armor was unknown.
He needed hunters.
Special police?
Martial Alliance?
No.
Too noisy.
Mercenaries?
Unreliable.
Then—
Kowloon Seven Swords.
His worry deepened.
---
Morgue.
Two old men examined a corpse.
Baekya and Heukro.
“Hmm!”
“Steel teeth… It’s him.”
Scatter Blood Demon.
But—
No fatal wounds.
“Cause of death?”
“…Starvation.”
“What?!”
Impossible.
A man who ate 5kg of meat daily—
Starved?
No restraints.
No signs of torture.
Just—
Emaciation.
“…Strange.”
Then—
Ring.
Call from President Oh.
“The Sword Spirit System went berserk?”
“It killed its user… and took the body.”
“…A monster.”
“And the assassination failed.”
“Of course it did.”
“Without Scatter Blood Demon, it’s just us now.”
Heukro frowned.
“There’s something in this city… something that did this.”
Baekya nodded.
“…And that face.”
A horrifying smile remained on the corpse.
---
Heavenly Demon Pawnshop.
Evening.
The bell rang.
Ding!
Normally, Gyojin would greet him cheerfully.
But today—
The atmosphere was strange.
Gyojin spoke quietly with a middle-aged man.
“Really?”
“Yes. Pursuers appeared. We need protection for the Moyong family’s young lady.”
“…Ah! Master!”
Gyojin waved.
The man looked wary.
Cheon Bigang approached.
“Hao Clan sent you?”
“No.”
The man shook his head.