Single-Instant Blade

Chapter 95 : Death Blade (5)

“Hook! Hook!”

Ah Geol let out a rough breath.

“Your complexion is not good.”

Jin Gae said with a smirk.

Ah Geol’s skin had turned dark. Anyone could see that he had been poisoned.

Ah Geol had not been hit by the poison needle. If he had been stabbed, his limbs would have been paralyzed and he would have collapsed. The poison of the black spider was so potent that it could not be endured with willpower.

The poison needle had grazed him as it passed by, scratching his skin slightly.

Even with just that much poison, it was difficult for Ah Geol. It made his body tremble and his limbs powerless.

Ah Geol’s current appearance was such that it seemed he would collapse with just a push of a finger.

Cho Gapyeong said in a cold voice, “I will escort you to the main sect. If you have anything to say, go and say it. From now on, I will cut off one arm and one leg. It will be easier to escort you if you can’t move. Of course, you can refuse. The only thing we need from your body is your mouth.”

“Kuk…!”

As soon as Cho Gapyeong had finished speaking, Ah Geol let out a smirk.

“Hey. I wouldn’t even say that to a fish caught in a net. Is that what a person who is one of the Ten Lesser Swords of the Sacred Sword Sect should say? This is worse than a street ruffian.”

“Huhu!”

Sreung!

Cho Gapyeong drew his sword.

Whatever Ah Geol said, the will to keep his word was evident at the tip of his sword.

“Wait a minute. What’s the rush when you’re trying to eat a fish that someone else has already caught? I haven’t eaten for two days. Let’s eat and then do it.”

Ah Geol took out a piece of jerky from his bosom and put it in his mouth.

Chew! Chew!

Ah Geol melted the dried meat with his saliva and ate it.

Cho Gapyeong did not move. But the others moved. They blocked all sides so that Ah Geol could not escape.

Sreung! Sreung!

Jin Gae drew his sword. Ho Geumryeon also drew hers.

Lee Dochang carried a sharp sword without a scabbard, just stuck in his waist.

Although he had not drawn his sword, since he was holding the handle, it was as good as having drawn it.

“But which arm? The right arm, the left arm?”

Ah Geol said, looking at Cho Gapyeong.

“Which arm do you prefer? I’ll cut off the arm you want.”

“That’s a difficult choice. I can’t say anything when you’re going to cut off a perfectly good arm. Well, then, let’s see if you have the skill to cut off my arm. If you don’t have the skill, it’s all for nothing.”

Ah Geol stood up, leaning on the half-iron blade.

Although he had looked very tired when he had been sitting, when he stood up with his blade, he was as solid as a deep-rooted tree.

Hwiiing!

The wind swept past Ah Geol.

Ah Geol did not move. He stood quietly without even breathing, whether the wind blew or not.

The four of the Ten Lesser Swords also aimed their swords.

Although a four-on-one fight was not appropriate for a martial artist like the Ten Lesser Swords, the Single-Instant Blade was an exception to everything.

There was no need to look back at formalities such as status or position. Even if Ah Geol looked like a lowly bug, they would do their best. If it was a Single-Instant Sect disciple, you had to be wary of even a puppy they raised. They abandoned hesitation.

“Go!”

Although Cho Gapyeong had shouted, Lee Dochang’s sword was faster.

Shwaeeek!

A sword fell, aiming for Ah Geol’s left shoulder.

A single ray of light, the Direct Light Stream.

Taang!

The Direct Light Stream was blocked by the Body Protecting Blade. The half-iron blade had been swung just before it had stabbed his shoulder.

Shwaeeek!

A sword aimed for his left side and back.

Jin Gae took the left, and Ho Geumryeon took the back.

They were all fast swords, as fast as lightning. It seemed as if the sword had flashed, but it was already touching his body.

Kaang! Kkang!

The half-iron blade pushed back the two swords with a hair’s breadth.

The twenty-fifth sect master had roamed the martial world with only the Body Protecting Blade.

If you wanted to see what a perfect shield that could be made with a blade was, you just had to look at the Body Protecting Blade. Spears, iron maces, iron arrows, hidden weapons, etc., no weapon could penetrate the protective shield that the Body Protecting Blade created.

If Ah Geol had trained the Body Protecting Blade as much as the twenty-fifth sect master, the four of the Ten Lesser Swords would never have been able to penetrate the Body Protecting Blade.

But Ah Geol staggered after pushing back the two swords.

He had to put a repulsive force into the Body Protecting Blade, but he had clashed with full force. If you clashed with internal energy against internal energy, the result was obvious.

Shwiiit! Shwit! Shwit!

Ho Geumryeon seized the opportunity and continued her offensive.

Ah Geol could not get out of the Body Protecting Blade. He was continuously pushed into a defensive position and only took a defensive stance.

Ho Geumryeon’s sword was on a different level from the attacks of the Great Mountain Gang martial artists. Since she rushed in like a beast, he could not be careless for a moment.

Shwiiit!

Cho Gapyeong also executed a fast sword.

In fact, among the Ten Lesser Swords, Cho Gapyeong’s sword was the fastest. No wonder he was called lightning.

Kaang! Peok!

He had blocked Ho Geumryeon’s sword, and had given his shoulder to Cho Gapyeong’s sword.

The fierce battle he had had with the Great Mountain Gang was unfolding again. A dog fight continued. And this time, it was effective. Ah Geol could not receive the offensive and began to receive minor injuries.

He did not think of cutting off his breath in one blow. He thought that it would be enough if it just grazed his skin. If such injuries piled up, at some point, he would be hit by a decisive blow.

Shwaek! Shwaek! Shwaek! Shwaek!

When an opening was revealed, four swords rushed in at the same time.

In that instant, the half-iron blade stopped. He did not even think of executing the Body Protecting Blade. He just stood there and watched the approaching swords.

“Arm!”

Cho Gapyeong drew his sword straight towards his left arm.

Jin Gae aimed for his leg. He had executed his sword form, aiming for his leg from the beginning.

But there was no time to face their swords.

Ho Geumryeon aimed for his spine. Lee Dochang stabbed under his armpit. It was a position where he would surely die if he didn’t block, and they had not put any mercy in their swords. It was as if they were saying that they would really stab him if he didn’t block.

If he blocked two swords, he would miss two swords.

Although it was Ah Geol’s choice which sword to block and which sword to miss, it was clear that no sword was forgiving.

Ah Geol let go of all the swords.

Shwaek! Shwaek! Shwaek! Shwaek!

The swords cut his body.

In that instant, Ah Geol’s body had a very faint convulsion.

It was a tremor that had risen and had disappeared in such a short moment that even the Ten Lesser Swords who had attacked had not noticed.

Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!

The swords of the Ten Lesser Swords had mercilessly pierced Ah Geol.

But it was not the place they had originally intended to attack. They had cut a place that was slightly off to the side.

The Ten Lesser Swords had made a mistake.

Even a sword executed with closed eyes did not miss its target. They could even cut the wings of a mosquito with a sword. So, did it make sense that they had intended to cut off his arms and legs, but had grazed his side and had stabbed his thigh?

It was the same for Ho Geumryeon and Lee Dochang.

The sword that had aimed for his spine had stopped after stabbing under his shoulder blade. Because if he had continued to stab, his heart would have been pierced, so he had had to stop in the middle. Didn’t they have to take him alive?

The armpit was a fatal vital point. If you were pierced there, a hole would be pierced in your heart and lungs. But if you raised the tip of the sword upwards, you could go out through the collarbone.

Lee Dochang had retrieved his sword himself and had turned it to the side.

At the last moment, he had judged that he could not raise the tip of the sword upwards. Although he had struck the sword accurately, strangely, he had lost the time to move his wrist with a hair’s breadth.

Shwaeeek!

Ah Geol had counterattacked.

Since their bodies were so close that they were almost touching, it was easy to attack with a short blade.

The four swordsmen jumped back.

At that time, Ah Geol suddenly broke through between Jin Gae and Ho Geumryeon and began to escape into the forest.

“Ugh!”

Cho Gapyeong looked at Ah Geol, who was escaping, with a dumbfounded expression at the unexpected situation.

If he ran away with an injured body, how far would he go?

“I thought the Single-Instant Blade was a beast, but it was a rat. Running away? Huhuhu!”

Cho Gapyeong let out a smirk and was about to start his pursuit. At that time,

“U…! U!”

Lee Dochang made a strange sound.

Everyone looked at him. The sound that had come out of Lee Dochang’s mouth was somehow unusual.

Lee Dochang was looking down at his own chest.

“I… was hit…?”

Lee Dochang said in a trembling voice.

“What?”

Cho Gapyeong immediately asked back.

Lee Dochang could not answer.

When Cho Gapyeong had asked back, he had collapsed helplessly like a puppet with its strings cut.

“Ugh!”

Ho Geumryeon hurriedly ran and held Lee Dochang up.

Red blood began to pour out of Lee Dochang’s chest. Although he had been fine until just now, now it was pouring out so much that it was ‘too much’.

“Hey! Get a grip!”

Ho Geumryeon shook Lee Dochang hard.

Lee Dochang did not regain consciousness. He was already dead. The blade that had dug into his chest had cut his heart. And yet, he had not known that he had been hit and had collapsed only later.

What kind of blade was this!

“…Stay here.”

Cho Gapyeong pressed Ho Geumryeon’s shoulder tightly. And he looked at Jin Gae and said, “Let’s go!”

Jin Gae stood up without saying anything. But his two eyes were still looking at Lee Dochang. With his eyes bloodshot, full of anger.

* * *

There were two ways to train the Single-Instant Blade.

One was the method that most people, the majority of the previous Single-Instant Sect masters, had chosen.

Like Seori Gaheon or Hyeonggae, they did a hellish training. They also experienced real combat. And they found their own blade.

This method was the traditional training.

Seori Gaheon and Seori Hyeonggae had obtained the Single-Instant Blade in this way.

Their master had also acknowledged their blades. So he had willingly given them the Seori surname.

Now, what was left was to become the Single-Instant Sect Master.

Seori Gaheon and Seori Hyeonggae would mix their blades and determine the final winner.

The winner would become the Single-Instant Sect Master, and the loser would die.

They did not use their blades with the intention of killing from the beginning. But if they had similar martial arts, they had to fight with all their might. And so, they would die.

The fight between Single-Instant Sect disciples was always decided by a hair’s breadth.

Seori Gaheon and Hyeonggae had the final gateway left.

If you became the Single-Instant Sect Master in this way, you would be respected by all. You would be acknowledged as a very strong blade. Even now, the Sacred Sword Sect could not ignore Seori Gaheon and Hyeonggae. They had acknowledged only their blades.

You could also obtain it in another way.

You could not obtain it in the martial world, it was a death blade, a death blade that could only be obtained in a place where many deaths occurred, like a battlefield.

On a battlefield, there was no time to use forms. Whether you cut down or stabbed, one person would lose their life with one swing of the blade. On the other hand, the danger of you dying was also always lurking.

You killed, killed, and killed again.

If you killed endlessly, a blade without mercy, a blade without hesitation in killing, a blade where useless movements were excluded and only death was caused, a blade that could even split bones in one blow, would be completed.

Obtaining the ultimate blade through real combat on a battlefield was another way to obtain the Single-Instant Blade.

There was no Single-Instant Sect Master who had obtained the Single-Instant Blade in the second way.

Literally, the second method became a death blade. A ghost would attach itself to a blade that had been trained while rolling in blood. It would not be respected by many people. Far from respect, it would rather cause fear. It would become a blade closer to the unorthodox and demonic path than the orthodox path.

Ah Geol had chosen the latter.

He had expected that if he revealed his appearance, the martial artists of the nearby area would rush in. He had also expected that it would be a terrible fight.

And so, he had killed, killed, and killed again.

He had to abandon his mercy. He had to give up being a human. He had to fight like a beast.

It was the same when the Ten Lesser Swords had rushed in.

In a normal way of thinking, it was right to escape first. But he had fought. It was the Single-Instant Blade to train while embracing death. He fought, thinking that the grim reaper was holding his leash.

“Haak!”

Ah Geol looked back.

Cho Gapyeong and Jin Gae were chasing him. They were not people who would give up. Now that Lee Dochang was also dead, they would attack even more fiercely.

Tuk!

He leaned his back against a tree, looking at the two.

Let’s rest a little.

(End of Chapter)