novelraw Chapter 50 : Chapter 50
Chapter 50 : Chapter 50
Chapter 50 - A strange, yet natural, thing to say
He was strong.
I felt it the first day I saw him, and I could clearly feel it on my skin again now as I faced him.
This person was strong.
How could he possess such skill at that age?
Absolute Protector had such thoughts while exchanging blows with Biyoung.
Absolute Protector was called a genius of swordsmanship within the Tiger-Bear Stronghold.
Not only in fights with bandits, but he had never been pushed back even when dueling with masters of Jianghu sometimes.
Absolute Protector only drew his sword when there was a danger to Wi Sung's life.
He had never cut down an unresisting opponent, nor had he ever been the first to use force against others.
There was only one thing he had to do.
To protect Wi Sung.
It was to the point that even his fellow bandits criticized his passive stance.
The shock of having overcome the brink of starvation at a young age and his overly single-minded personality had created such an abnormal behavior pattern.
For Absolute Protector, other thoughts and emotions besides protecting Wi Sung were unnecessary.
Even, more so than his own life.
‘At this rate, the Chief is in danger.’
He had no confidence in defeating the opponent before him.
At a glance, it seemed they were fighting on equal terms, but Absolute Protector knew that he was actually being given some leeway.
So.
Absolute Protector decided to choose the method with the highest probability of subduing Biyoung.
Mutual destruction.
To land a successful attack on a man of this caliber, it was impossible without giving up one's own life.
Flash!
A threatening light flashed from the opposite hand that was not holding the sword.
His intention was to lodge the sword in Biyoung's neck with the dagger in his hand, even if his body was pierced.
“!”
Biyoung, with a hardened face, changed the trajectory of his sword and twisted his body.
Hwik!
Thanks to that, he was able to avoid the hidden trump card Absolute Protector had concealed, but the attack he had intended to deliver to Absolute Protector also came to nothing.
A single move unleashed with the determination for mutual destruction could close a gap of several levels of skill at once.
A situation where Biyoung could have been in trouble.
Wi Sung, his spirits rising, urged Absolute Protector on.
“W-well done, Absolute Protector! Next time, you must……”
“Shut up.”
“!”
Biyoung cut off Wi Sung's words with a single phrase.
His opposite hand was already slowly massaging his own neck.
The Mad Wolf of Diancang, whom one should never confront.
It was a habit that came out when the World's Fastest Sword was most enraged.
“I have one thing I want to ask.”
“………….”
“Your boss. He doesn't seem like a very good guy, what are you fighting for like this? Do you have a family to take care of separately?”
Absolute Protector had a talent for swordsmanship.
Not as much as the World's Fastest Sword, but he was definitely a vessel that could achieve greatness.
A person with such potential was not only involved in banditry but was also willingly putting his life on the line for a mediocre master.
Even for Biyoung, who had experienced countless battlefields, he was a difficult person to understand.
“………….”
Still, Absolute Protector was silent.
Instead, Wi Sung, who had flinched at Biyoung's killing intent, shouted viciously.
“You foolish bastard! What reason does a kept dog need to protect its master! The subordinates who have just woken up will arrive soon, so you are all dead men!”
Biyoung stared at Wi Sung blankly.
As expected, he's not a very good boss.
Biyoung, with a complicated face, looked back and forth between Wi Sung and Absolute Protector.
“Oh.”
Suddenly, Biyoung's face brightened noticeably.
“?”
“Right. There was no need to think about it so hard.”
As if thoroughly satisfied with his own conclusion, he even clapped with the hand holding the sword.
“It's natural for a kept dog to protect its master. It's like an instinct.”
Biyoung suddenly expressed his agreement with Wi Sung's words.
Just as Wi Sung was looking at Biyoung with a suspicious eye, an unexpected remark burst from his lips.
“Then, what happens to the kept dog if the master dies?”
“?!”
Sssssss.
A formless energy, different from when he was exchanging blows with Absolute Protector, began to flicker around Biyoung's body.
At that sharp energy, Wi Sung had to tremble once.
Absolute Protector's pupils dilated greatly, and he soon leaped to block Wi Sung's path.
It was a response made possible not because he had predicted Biyoung's action, but because the flow of all his thoughts was directed at Wi Sung.
Pababak!
Even though Absolute Protector had started much earlier, Biyoung, who had started late, closed the distance in an instant.
Absolute Protector barely managed to thrust his sword forward, but,
“Move.”
Kang!
As Biyoung struck Absolute Protector's sword with all his might, the sword he was holding soared high into the sky.
Not only was he no match in swordsmanship, but there was also a significant difference in internal energy.
When Biyoung revealed his true strength, Absolute Protector could not even withstand a single blow.
‘To this extent…….’
Even though he had lost the sword he was holding, Absolute Protector's emotions did not waver at all.
He was just thinking about how he could protect Wi Sung now that he was disarmed.
Gwak!
“?”
Absolute Protector suddenly stretched out both hands and grabbed something.
It was none other than Biyoung's blade.
“Well, well.”
Biyoung let out an incredulous laugh.
He had never expected the guy who had lost his sword to come at him so recklessly.
If Biyoung were to put a little more strength here, all ten of his fingers would be lopped off.
But Absolute Protector, without a hint of wavering, spoke to Wi Sung.
“Run. I will buy you time.”
In a way, it was a loyalty that deserved admiration.
Just why.
For what?
Wi Sung nodded at Absolute Protector's words.
However, it was completely different from Absolute Protector's intention.
“Haaat!”
Puk!
“!”
Absolute Protector's eyes widened greatly.
His dilated pupils turned towards his neck.
A crimson sword protruded from his flank, aimed at Biyoung's chest.
A crimson sword protruded from his flank, aimed at Biyoung's chest.
From Biyoung's perspective, the area behind Absolute Protector's body was a blind spot.
Wi Sung had used Absolute Protector as a shield to pierce through both his and Biyoung's bodies at the same time!
Gwak!
“What?!”
In many ways.
The attempt itself was quite excellent.
The fact that his usual weapon was the Black Snake Silk Whip, a whip.
So it was difficult to predict this kind of attack.
The fact that the sword Absolute Protector had lost was stuck in the ground nearby.
The single strike delivered by applying these conditions was a meticulous and vicious one that even a considerable master could not have avoided.
However.
There were two things Wi Sung had overlooked.
One was that Biyoung was a swordsman who rarely let his guard down.
And the second was.
That the final moment of the World's Fastest Sword was a situation similar to this one.
As a result, the sword Wi Sung had delivered was firmly wedged in Biyoung's side.
His trump card had completely missed.
“You son of a bitch……”
Biyoung's eyes blazed like torches.
Using the body of a subordinate who was protecting him with his life as a mere shield?
He could feel the sword he was holding loosen.
The strength had drained from the hands of Absolute Protector, who had been pierced in the flank.
But instead of pulling out the sword, Biyoung let go of the sword and put strength into the foot planted on the ground.
Tat!
A kicking art of the Diancang Sect that struck down in the form of a front flip from a stationary position.
The Springing Foot Rotation, which had subdued Ho Pyeong when he fought alongside Uma before, struck Wi Sung squarely on the crown of his head, who was behind Absolute Protector.
Paaaaaaaaak!
Wi Sung's body trembled once as if electrocuted, and he let go of the sword he was holding.
At that, Absolute Protector's body collapsed like a deflated balloon.
Thud.
“Are you okay?”
Biyoung's question was not directed at the fallen Absolute Protector.
It was a question addressed to Wi Sung, whose vision was spinning.
“You should be. I only hit you hard enough not to knock you out.”
“……!”
Even in his dazed state, Wi Sung's face contorted greatly.
He had instinctively sensed how terrifying the intention behind Biyoung's words was.
Biyoung bent one knee and checked the condition of the fallen Absolute Protector.
‘Not good.’
A wound that had pierced his side.
A situation where it wouldn't be strange if he died immediately.
In fact, his body temperature had grown cold, and faint convulsions were occurring.
Pak!
Biyoung pulled the blade out of Absolute Protector's body and pressed his acupoints to stop the bleeding.
The moment the blade was pulled out, Absolute Protector coughed up blood, and his complexion also turned pale.
Sss…….
Biyoung pushed the internal energy of the Profound Heaven's True Energy Unification Art into Absolute Protector's body.
He was still unconscious, but his bloodless face regained a little color.
“Here.”
Biyoung's head turned to one side.
A middle-aged woman was watching them from a distance with a terrified face.
“Y-yes?”
“Take this kid and treat him.”
“…………!”
The middle-aged woman.
The woman called the Great Mother in the Tiger-Bear Stronghold hesitated for a moment before moving with hurried steps.
If she listened to the intruder's words, she would be severely punished by the Chief, but Absolute Protector's condition was so critical that she had no room to think of anything else.
“Feed him this when you treat him.”
“Yes, yes.”
Biyoung took out a small pill from his bosom and gave it to the Great Mother.
This was a pill that Hyeokri Chong had given him along with the Diancang Sect's sword on the day he left the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.
He had packed it in case of injuries in battle.
It was not something Biyoung particularly needed, but he had brought it for his companions who had come with him.
Even Biyoung had not expected to use it in this way.
While the Great Mother was painstakingly dragging Absolute Protector's body away,
“Keureuk……”
A strange sound leaked from Wi Sung's mouth.
As Biyoung had said, the shock was not enough to make him lose consciousness.
But the intensity was so exquisite that it was just as painful as being on the verge of fainting.
Biyoung walked towards the writhing Wi Sung.
Slowly, massaging his neck with one hand.
“If you set foot in someone else's territory without permission, you have to pay the price.”
Wi Sung did not know much about the World's Fastest Sword.
He did not know that he had a habit of massaging his neck when he was really angry.
But he could instinctively feel that the being before him was an extremely dangerous one, and that he was in a very angry state.
“Ugh… ughh……”
Wi Sung, terrified, slowly backed away.
No longer were the subordinates of the Tiger-Bear Stronghold by his side, nor the escort warrior who had protected him through thick and thin.
Biyoung's fist flew into Wi Sung's face, which was covered in despair.
Paaaaaaaaak!
The impact that started from the crown of his head continued to his temple, jaw, abdomen, and the bridge of his nose.
In an instant, Wi Sung's face was beaten to a pulp.
Even Eung Gajin, whose whole body had been swollen during the duel, would have had to bow his head and call him 'big brother'.
“Kwaaaaaaaak!”
Every time Biyoung's merciless fists landed, Wi Sung let out a desperate scream.
The cowardly act he had committed against Absolute Protector was a secondary issue.
The crime of occupying and desecrating the facilities of the Diancang Sect without permission.
Biyoung was making Wi Sung pay the price for that sin.
“Th-that!!”
“The Chief is……!”
The screams of Wi Sung were clearly heard by the bandits who were fighting with the next-generation disciples of the Diancang Sect.
There was nothing that lowered the morale of the subordinates more than the scream of their leader.
The bandits, who were already at a disadvantage, began to drop their weapons one by one and started to flee.
“L-let's run!!”
“Damn it!”
“We shouldn't have come to this rugged mountain in the first place!”
“Run if you want to live!”
A man with a dirty look, a man with expressionless, half-closed eyes, a swordsman wearing a magnificent hero's cap, and a deadly sword dance that belied its appearance, chased after the fleeing bandits.
“Senior Sister.”
Danseol called out to Jeong-i, who was chasing the enemy with a somber face.
“Yes?”
“It’s alright now. There’s no need to kill a fleeing enemy.”
“……But.”
Was it because Biyoung's words came to mind?
A light of hesitation appeared on Jeong-i's face.
“Crippling their martial arts or making them half-disabled should also be enough to stop them from doing bad things.”
“……!”
So.
Don't kill them, but make them pay the price.
It was a statement that soothed Jeong-i's heart, but at the same time, it was a piece of advice that showed a hint of ruthlessness and tenacity, a very Danseol-like piece of advice.
“……Alright.”
Most of the armed bandits were defeated by the descendants of the Diancang Sect before they could get past the watchtower.
Those who surrendered were spared, and the women in charge of daily life were not particularly harmed.
Once the chase was over, there were no more armed bandits left in the Diancang Sect.
Six people.
The descendants of the Diancang Sect, consisting of just six people, had finally retaken their main mountain.
Jeobeokjeobeok.
The blood-soaked gale subsided as if it had never been, and the people of the Diancang Sect, who had finished the battle, gathered in one place.
Each of them looked around at the various places in the Diancang Sect with faces full of emotion.
‘Finally…….’
An overwhelming emotion that was difficult to describe welled up on Biyoung's face.
Was there anyone left in this world who could understand his heart right now?
Until the moment of his death, he had thrown himself into the Murim Alliance and the Diancang Sect.
When he was reborn and learned that his sect had been annihilated, he had to taste a despair as if the sky had fallen.
When he met the survivors of the Diancang Sect, he breathed a sigh of relief, and when they said they would postpone the restoration of the main mountain, a fire raged inside him.
And finally.
Biyoung, no, the World's Fastest Sword of the Diancang Sect, had retaken the main mountain, which could be called the foundation of the Diancang Sect.
The buildings had already changed so much that it was hard to find their former appearance.
The stuffy and frustrating Sect Leader was no longer there, nor were the elders who would scold him whenever he acted up.
The supreme masters with whom he had shared life and death were also not in Biyoung's sight.
But.
Despite that.
“………….”
After retaking the main mountain.
The very first words that came out of Biyoung's mouth were, exceptionally strange, and yet, natural.
“I'm home.”
For the first time since becoming the body of Biyoung.
His voice was filled with moisture.