novelraw Chapter 144 : Chapter 144
Chapter 144 : Chapter 144
Chapter 144 - That looks good?
“All of them… were defeated?”
He was half-crazed from his brother's death.
Nevertheless, Chu Gap couldn't help but mutter blankly.
Not a single ship.
And not a single person was left.
All the ships the Hojubang had brought were wrecked and half-submerged, and the black-clothed warriors were either floating as corpses or swimming towards the other side.
Running away because they were scared of the opponent?
It was a sight he had never seen since the founding of the Hojubang.
But.
The words Chu Gap should have been saying came from the man first.
“What a bunch of fools…”
Despite achieving a brilliant victory, the handsome man before him seemed quite displeased with the current situation.
“They said they only gathered first-class escorts. How could they be defeated like this by one person? Sedong, did you get tricked by Steward Yi again?”
At Biyoung's words, Sedong gave a bitter smile.
“No. I personally saw and hired all the escorts.”
“A guy who’s good at seeing profits has no eye for martial artists.”
“It's not that they are weak, but that man is strong.”
And you're strong on a superhuman level.
Sedong omitted the latter part and had the merchants tend to the injured.
There was no longer a need to mobilize the escorts to stop Chu Gap.
Because Biyoung, a force like a thousand troops and horses for the merchant guild, had returned.
“These bastards…!”
Chatting leisurely in the middle of a sword fight?
Moreover, seeing them act as if the situation was already settled, Chu Gap's lost anger erupted again.
But Biyoung, far from being scared, showed a wicked smile.
“Well. Sedong, you’re better off compared to this guy. This side’s entire organization was annihilated because they couldn't stop one person.”
“!!!”
Sparks flew from Chu Gap's eyes.
His anger surged so much that he felt his chest tighten.
How could he not be angry when a young brat who had brought the Hojubang to ruin in a single day was calling him ‘this guy’ and ‘that guy’?
Chu Gap lifted his right foot as if he had made up his mind.
Kuuung!
Then the ship tilted sharply again.
“!!!”
A stronger force was applied than when he had dealt with the escorts earlier.
At that time, he had controlled his strength because it would be troublesome if the ship broke, but now, it didn't matter if the ship was wrecked.
He had already lost all the forces of the Hojubang, so what was there to hold back?
“Uaaat…!”
Even the merchants who had barely been holding on tumbled to the floor, flailing their arms and legs this time.
It was a good thing he had learned martial arts; otherwise, Sedong too would have almost fallen flat.
‘What on earth is this power?’
While staggering, Sedong stared intently at Chu Gap's body.
Then his eyes sparkled once.
Because something black was wrapped around Chu Gap's right ankle.
‘That’s…?’
It was too plain to be a decoration, and it lacked the sharpness to be a weapon.
But when Chu Gap stomped his foot once more, the object wrapped around his ankle emitted a hazy light.
Just like the Sword Aura that forms on a blade.
Thud!
“Uwaaaaaaah!”
This time, the ship tilted sharply to the other side.
Chu Gap, as if determined, made the ship shake and then rushed straight towards Biyoung.
With a Short Moon Saber in his hand, and on his right ankle, his on-board weapon, the Thousand-Pound Ankle Guard.
“Die!”
Chu Gap's eyes saw Biyoung's swaying figure.
It seemed even someone as skilled in movement techniques as to use Water-Walking Flight had no choice on a tilting ship.
Convinced of his victory, Chu Gap slashed the Short Moon Saber diagonally and, with that recoil, swung the notoriously heavy Thousand-Pound Ankle Guard.
If he was hit by either one, he would become a cripple who could never get up again.
But,
Buung!
Neither the Short Moon Saber nor the Thousand-Pound Ankle Guard.
Nothing touched Biyoung's body.
“?!”
Biyoung's body, which had been staggering as if it would fall at any moment, had disappeared without a trace.
Pabak!
Chu Gap rolled his body once to regain his balance.
Perhaps because of his small frame, he looked like a nimble mountain squirrel.
But his expression was much closer to that of a wounded, bleeding beast.
“Hey.”
“?”
The sound came from the sky.
To be precise, it came from the top of the largest sail.
The mouths of the merchants who were inadvertently looking up dropped open.
On the edge of the sail of this wildly shaking ship, Biyoung was standing in an elegant pose.
‘Is that a martial artist or an acrobat?!’
‘We can barely even stand on two feet…!’
‘In what instant did he get up there?’
Needless to say, the most surprised man among the merchants was Chu Gap.
The man had been within striking distance, so when did he leap to such a distant position?
Looking down at Chu Gap, Biyoung licked his lips with his tongue.
Somehow.
He looked as if he greatly coveted something.
“That, looks good?”
That?
Chu Gap's face turned blank for a moment.
He looked where Biyoung's gaze was pointing, and it was on his own right ankle.
The Thousand-Pound Ankle Guard.
The object he was coveting, saying it looked good, was none other than the Thousand-Pound Ankle Guard.
“You son of a bitch!”
At Biyoung's provocation, Chu Gap stomped his foot once again.
Thud!
The sail swayed as if it would fall at any moment, but Biyoung had already disappeared from where he stood.
Literally appearing and disappearing like a ghost.
Biyoung, who had leaped into the sky before Chu Gap kicked the floor, intersected with the sun and began his descent.
“!”
Neither the Vast Sky Eagle Body Method's Heaven-Treading Cloud-Breaking.
Nor the Diancang Sect's basic footwork, the Flying Eagle Steps.
They were all the same.
The basics of lightness skills start from the center of gravity, so if one loses balance because the ship shakes a little, one can never become a master of the Diancang Sect.
That very thing.
Was the reason Chu Gap's attack method didn't work on Biyoung.
“Ugh…!”
Chu Gap squinted his eyes for a moment.
The intersection of the sun and Biyoung's figure had blurred his vision.
A single pitch-black eagle swooped down towards Chu Gap.
It was an attack that would be difficult to receive even in a normal state, so there was no way the visually impaired Chu Gap could respond.
Seogeok!
Biyoung's sword, shrouded in a blue radiance, delivered a merciless blow.
At the same time, a part of Chu Gap's body fell off.
It was his right ankle, where the Thousand-Pound Ankle Guard had been.
“Kahaaaaak!”
The scream and blood mixed together and spread in all directions.
Chu Gap, having lost one of the feet he needed to stand on, screamed and rolled around on the deck.
The merchants were terrified by his violent handiwork.
‘Ugh… he blew off his entire ankle.’
‘A martial artist is a martial artist, indeed.’
‘Well… Chu Gap did deserve it.’
‘Look at his expression… is he really the same guy who used to just grin like a child?’
The Biyoung who used to lie half-sprawled on his horse, only drinking, was no more.
The unorthodox black-clothed warriors who preyed on the blood and sweat of innocent merchants.
There was only the martial arts righteous hero who punished those black-clothed warriors.
“How many people have you killed, yet you're making a fuss over just an ankle.”
As if he couldn't hear Chu Gap's screams at all, Biyoung snorted and retrieved his sword.
Then, he took off the Thousand-Pound Ankle Guard from the severed ankle and threw the remaining flesh into the lake.
“I’ll give this to someone who it suits better than you.”
“I’ll kill you!”
Chu Gap, having lost his reason due to rage and pain, approached Biyoung.
But now, no one tensed up at the sight of Chu Gap.
Who would be afraid of someone hopping around on their remaining left foot?
Far from being scary, it was a scene that felt ridiculous and even pathetic.
If he had been in his right mind, Chu Gap wouldn't have acted like this.
But he had lost the organization he had built his entire life, the ships that were like his alter ego, and his one and only younger brother.
Would he calmly accept despair?
Or would he throw himself into rage and madness?
Chu Gap simply chose the second option.
“If it were up to me, I’d just want to kill you but…”
Biyoung shrugged his shoulders once and then moved his body.
His speed was several times faster than Chu Gap, who was hopping on one foot.
Tadat!
Biyoung's fingers quickly pressed Chu Gap's acupoints.
At the same time, Chu Gap's body collapsed like waterlogged rice straw.
Thud!
“…………!”
The sound of his face hitting the floor felt like a sentence.
A declaration heralding the end of the Hojubang that had dominated an era.
From now on, merchants would no longer have to tremble in fear while crossing the lake.
“Oops.”
As if he had suddenly remembered something, Biyoung smacked his lips.
“What’s wrong, Biyoung?”
“I forgot to find out where these guys’ base is. I need to go there and scrape up all the treasures.”
“?”
At Biyoung's words, all the nearby merchants were startled.
So… not only did he annihilate the organization, but he was also going to plunder all their wealth?
And he was a person of the orthodox sect, with roots in Taoism?
“What should I do, should I go catch one of those guys swimming over there?”
Seeing Biyoung scratching the back of his head and looking around, the merchants had a gut feeling.
That bastard.
He's not kidding.
He really intends to plunder the black-clothed warriors…!
“Oh.”
But then, Biyoung's eyes, which were looking around, sparkled.
“There's still a guy with some guts left.”
“……?”
Everyone's heads moved to follow Biyoung's gaze.
Then, all their faces hardened.
Behind the brightly smiling Sedong, a single black-clothed warrior was approaching with a sword in hand.
“Young Master Yi!!”
The merchants called out to Sedong, looking like they were about to faint from shock.
“……!”
Hearing the voice, the black-clothed warrior's heart grew even more anxious.
His plan was to take this noble-looking fellow hostage and make a run for it with a hefty sum.
As he approached Sedong, the black-clothed warrior glanced at Biyoung.
‘Yes!’
For some reason, Biyoung was just standing in place with a wicked smile on his face.
If he just grabbed Sedong by the neck and held a sword to him, he could take him hostage…
Hwiik!
“Huh?”
The hand that was about to grab Sedong's neck cut through the air in vain.
Before the wide-eyed black-clothed warrior, a dazzling sword blade was placed.
The owner of the sword was, surprisingly, the small-statured noble son he was trying to take hostage.
‘In what instant?!’
The black-clothed warrior felt as if he had been possessed by a ghost.
How could a man who must have been raised preciously like a flower in a greenhouse show such nimble movements?
“Rotating Retreat. It’s gotten cleaner.”
A satisfied voice came from the opposite side of the ship.
At Biyoung's compliment, the corners of Sedong's lips slightly rose.
“I’ve been replaying the things you taught me in my head every day. Even when I wasn't feeling well.”
“It shows.”
Rotating Retreat was a technique of the Flying Eagle Steps that involved rapidly rotating the body to create distance.
Sedong not only used the Rotating Retreat, but also drew his sword in the process and accurately aimed it at the black-clothed warrior's neck.
During the half-year that the Diancang Sect had been preparing its revenge against the Ghost Face Gang, Sedong had also built up his skills in his own way.
‘It's really a waste.’
Biyoung smacked his lips without realizing it.
He had noticed the black-clothed warrior's approach early on but hadn't made a move.
He was ready to draw his sword at any time, but he had thought Sedong would be able to handle it.
Sedong's response had exceeded even Biyoung's expectations.
He hadn't just dodged the attack; he had created distance while extending his sword to completely subdue the opponent.
If he were to train properly on Kongtong Mountain, he could become another prodigy.
But everyone has their own path.
Biyoung decided to focus on his own path that lay before him.
“Hey.”
“……?”
Towards the helplessly standing black-clothed warrior, Biyoung asked.
“You’re coming with me.”
“???”
The wealth the Hojubang had accumulated over dozens of years.
Biyoung's next 'path' lay there.