novelraw Chapter 115 : Chapter 115
Chapter 115 : Chapter 115
Chapter 115 - So What
“Your face is quite awful, but I like what you say.”
The second of the Ghost Face Four Shadows, Jin Galsa of the Nine-Serpent Shadow Whip, let out a low laugh.
Jin Galsa also preferred to see blood immediately rather than exchange words back and forth.
Taking Uma’s first strike as a signal, the other three colleagues each stood before one of the Ghost Face Four Shadows.
Before Ha Dalbun of the Spring Sun Withered Shadow, who used poison arts, stood Gwangyo.
Before Ju Mil of the Unaware Death Shadow, whose specialty was hidden weapons, stood Jeong-i.
And before the swordsman known as the most skilled among the Ghost Face Four Shadows, Yi Cheon-yu of the Sword Shadow Soul Stealing, stood Eung Gajin with his sword aimed.
Everyone except for the Ghost Face Gang’s leader, Dancheong, now had an opponent.
“………….”
Dancheong, who was suddenly left alone, fell into a brief conflict.
Should he join the Ghost Face Four Shadows and strike down those youngsters?
Or should he observe the situation a little longer?
If he moved himself, killing the swordsmen before him would be no trouble at all.
But Dancheong did not act easily.
An unknown sense of unease dominated Dancheong’s mind.
‘Everything is proceeding as planned.’
A plan.
It went without saying, but that plan was not one that Dancheong had made.
A meticulous plan set by the Diancang Sect.
So far, it was proceeding all too smoothly.
Tonight, the Diancang Sect had launched a surprise attack at a timely moment, as if they had predicted that the Ghost Face Gang would summon its core forces.
They lured all the members of the Green Killer Squad outside and left four people before the Ghost Face Four Shadows, setting up one-on-one matchups.
Wasn’t the entire process as natural as flowing water?
He hated to admit it, but it was no exaggeration to say that all of the Diancang Sect’s schemes had hit the mark so far.
‘What if they have another move prepared in this situation…?’
Various possibilities surfaced in Dancheong’s mind.
And this meant that Biyoung’s ploy had hit the mark precisely.
The information on Dancheong’s disposition provided by the Beggars' Union’s Heavenly Vision Network was largely twofold.
One was the fact that he was a lecher with immense lust.
And the other was that he rarely got his own hands dirty.
To put it nicely, he was cautious; to put it badly, he was slow to act.
Even now, Dancheong was considering various ploys that the Diancang Sect hadn’t even planned.
‘For now, shall I just watch?’
In fact, from Dancheong’s perspective, it couldn’t be called a wrong judgment.
It was because the Diancang Sect swordsmen in front of him were too young.
Except for the disheveled middle-aged man wearing rags, they all looked to be in their early twenties or younger.
The one who launched the first attack also had a rough-looking face, but he didn’t seem very old.
For the Ghost Face Four Shadows to struggle in a one-on-one fight with such youngsters?
That was something impossible even if the sky were to split in two.
‘The situation will be resolved even if I stand still. There’s no need to create an opening.’
Dancheong looked at the corners of the main hall with a fresh eye.
He was carefully checking if there was someone hiding and aiming for him.
The Ghost Face Gang, whose foundation and roots were an assassin group.
It was a judgment worthy of the leader of such a force.
***
“Kyahah!”
With a shout that was hard to distinguish from a laugh, Jin Galsa extended his hand forward.
Soon, Uma’s body was pushed back three zhang.
“…………!”
Uma’s already fierce expression contorted greatly.
Uma’s body was not one that could be easily pushed just because one wanted to.
His build was larger than other swordsmen, and he was not lacking in internal energy.
However, when Jin Galsa used his strength once, that large physique was slid back.
The meaning of that was clear.
‘A master…!’
To be pushed back while weapons were locked.
It meant he was inferior in strength and internal energy to his opponent.
Uma raised his guard sharply, while a full sense of leisure appeared on Jin Galsa’s face.
“Punk. Straighten out your face. You already look scary enough to appear in my dreams.”
Instead of answering, Uma powerfully stomped his foot and charged at Jin Galsa.
His opponent was not someone he could afford to fight while exchanging conversation.
Pseuseuseu.
A bluish energy formed on Uma’s sword.
It was a Sword Aura that was not commonly seen for his age.
“Ha!”
Jin Galsa moved his triangular chin as if to mock Uma’s Sword Aura.
Then he soon drew his weapon out from its hilt.
Chwaaaak!
A vicious red shimmer shot towards Uma’s forehead.
Its momentum was so fast and powerful that, despite being drawn later, it reached its range before Uma.
“!”
Uma retrieved his sword with a hardened face.
Soon, the red energy coiled around Uma’s sword like a snake.
Kwak!
“Keuk…!”
A groan escaped him from the pain that felt like his shoulder blade was about to be torn apart.
‘This is…?!’
A red energy as flexible as a snake.
It was the red whip that Jin Galsa primarily used, the Thousand Blood Iron Whip.
Its original color was black, but its name came from the fact that it had turned red after being coated with the blood of countless people.
In reality, the number of people who had met their end by his Thousand Blood Iron Whip was countless.
“…………!”
What surprised Uma was not just the color of the whip.
Although the weapon’s name was Thousand Blood Iron Whip, the material of the whip was not actually iron.
It must have been a whip made of leather.
If so, shouldn’t it have been cut by his sword as a matter of course?
It wasn’t a knife used in a slaughterhouse, but a blade with Sword Aura formed on it.
No matter how tough the leather was, it was natural for it to be cut when it touched a sword.
But Jin Galsa’s whip, far from being cut, was tightly wrapped around the blade.
The blue Sword Aura was coiled by the red energy, unable to move.
“Kyahaha.”
Jin Galsa looked down at Uma with his characteristic arrogant gaze.
“For your age, you look quite useful… but imbuing a weapon with energy is not something only possible with a sword.”
In that case.
Did he mean that a similar energy could be created in a whip?
It was easier said than done; transmitting internal energy to a whip longer than a sword was a much more difficult task.
Uma couldn’t help but realize the gap between him and Jin Galsa once again.
But…
“So what.”
“?”
“So, what about it.”
Uma said so and pulled his sword with all his might.
Since he was no match in internal energy and strength anyway, if he couldn’t pull, he chose to be pulled.
In the blink of an eye, the distance between Uma and Jin Galsa was closing.
“Ha!”
No matter how skilled Jin Galsa was, he couldn’t wield his whip at close range.
He retrieved the Thousand Blood Iron Whip and swung it again.
This whole process took place during Uma’s leap, a truly lightning-fast movement.
Hwiririk!
The Thousand Blood Iron Whip headed for Uma.
This time, instead of piercing his forehead, it came swinging in diagonally.
Flash!
In that instant, a strange light gleamed in Uma’s eyes.
He gripped his sword tightly with both hands and swung it in the opposite diagonal direction.
Beak Strike Severance.
A form of the Eagle Talon Twelve Swords specialized for slashing one spot.
Kang!
A dull metallic sound, unbelievable for a whip and a sword, rang out.
The Beak Strike Severance form that Uma had unleashed was truly excellent.
The twelve forms he had learned over six months.
It might be six months, but the Eagle Talon Twelve Swords were fundamentally composed of very simple forms.
Repeating the monotonous movements continuously for six months sometimes made him want to vomit.
But for that reason, the completeness of those forms was flawless.
“Ho…!”
A small exclamation of admiration escaped Jin Galsa’s mouth.
Constant devotion sometimes makes the impossible possible.
The fact that Beak Strike Severance had pushed back the Thousand Blood Iron Whip was a scene worthy of applause from Biyoung.
It was just unfortunate that the Thousand Blood Iron Whip did not have only one strand.
Chwaaaak!
Besides the whip that was repelled by Uma’s sword, there was another strand that branched out in two and aimed for Uma’s neck.
Uma, who was just about to charge at Jin Galsa, felt his heart sink.
“Keuk!”
Uma spun his body around using the Rotating Retreat technique of the Flying Eagle Steps.
He was able to narrowly avoid having his neck pierced, which could also be said to be the result of training that he had repeated to the point of being sick of it.
However…
Jureuk.
From one side of Uma’s neck, blood flowed ceaselessly.
He had avoided a fatal wound by a hair’s breadth, but he couldn’t prevent a piece of flesh from his neck from being torn off.
“You seem to have researched the Ghost Face Gang somehow… but your information on me seems to be lacking, doesn’t it?”
As if stroking the back of a pet cat, Jin Galsa’s rough hand caressed the Thousand Blood Iron Whip.
Amazingly, the whip split into several strands as if reacting to its master’s hand.
“……!”
“You should have at least considered why they call me the Nine-Serpent Shadow Whip.”
The second of the Ghost Face Four Shadows, Jin Galsa of the Nine-Serpent Shadow Whip.
The modifier ‘nine serpent’s shadow’ originated from his whip.
The Thousand Blood Iron Whip, which could increase its strands up to nine depending on the situation.
It was a weapon like hell for swordsmen who were weak to variables.
Siiik.
However, contrary to his expectation that Uma would be full of dismay, Uma just twisted his lips.
“Don’t make me repeat myself.”
“……?”
Jjiiik.
Uma tore off his sleeve with his teeth and soon tied up the wound on his neck.
“So what about it.”
‘…The young punk has some nerve.’
Although it wasn’t a fatal wound, flesh was torn off and blood was constantly flowing.
It was something that would break the will of a weak-minded person immediately.
But the fierce man before him, far from shrinking, had his two eyes shining brightly.
The more he was injured, the more wounds he received, his berserker temperament, which flared up, began to show.
“Chahaat!”
With a slightly clearer Sword Aura than before, Uma leaped once again.
At Uma’s spirit, which didn’t care about being injured at all, Jin Galsa also erased the smile from his lips.
‘A beast-like bastard.’
Chwaak!
This time, the number of strands of the Thousand Blood Iron Whip increased to five.
It was an extremely vicious attack that persistently aimed only at his head, both shoulders, and both knees.
Tadang!
Uma parried the three attacks on his upper body in succession and then laid his body sideways in the air to avoid the two whips.
Paat.
But he couldn’t avoid all the attacks.
A terrible whip mark appeared on Uma’s thigh.
As it was a whip imbued with internal energy, the swelling rose instantly through the torn martial uniform.
“If five are like this, can you handle nine…”
“Hey, you son of a bitch!”
“?!”
Jin Galsa’s sneer was cut off by the sudden curse.
“So what!”
Now he even flies at him while answering.
Jin Galsa was increasingly gripped by a strange feeling.
‘What kind of bastard is this?’
Most swordsmen would show a fighting spirit after being injured.
But the beast before him was on a different level.
As if he were using his injuries as his own nourishment, his sword line became sharper with each attack.
Kang!
Jin Galsa blocked Uma’s sword with the hilt part.
It was something that hadn’t happened since he first received the initial attack.
Sensing that the situation was changing little by little, Jin Galsa shouted viciously.
“Try blocking this too!”
Chwaaaak!
Finally, Jin Galsa unleashed all his martial power.
The whip, split into nine strands, attacked Uma’s body from different directions.
It was a vicious killing move that would have made a weak-hearted swordsman turn their back and run away.
Perhaps if it were Solbo, he might have fainted on the spot, foaming at the mouth.
However,
‘…I can see it.’
In this life-or-death situation,
Uma found it.
The special ‘point’ that Biyoung had told him about after his confrontation with Jeongmin of the Syndicate of Ten Thousand Eyes.
Even among the dazzlingly pouring whips, that extreme point was precisely imprinted in Uma’s eyes.
It was the moment when the talent possessed by the Diancang Sect’s swordsman, Uma, began to blossom.