The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 245

Thud-

Lee Shin, who had finished speaking, sat down.

"What, wasn't this the timing to attack?"

"Why are you suddenly doing that?"

Mio and Rwen looked at Lee Shin with exasperated expressions at his action, which was the complete opposite of his declaration to attack the enemy and extract information in reverse.

At that, Lee Shin said as if it were no big deal.

"No, looking at it, the numbers and the skill level... it seems just right for you guys to get some practical experience, so I thought I'd yield this time."

At Lee Shin's words, Mio and Rwen clicked their tongues softly as if they had expected it.

However, the ten enemies, who had been tense due to Lee Shin's strange behavior, glared at him with eyes full of anger.

Step-

At that moment, a man with a rough impression, wearing a wild boar hide on his shoulder, stepped forward and said as if chewing his words.

"Only two kids who look to be around 10 years old against the ten of us... to call it a provocation, I think the level is too low, don't you?"

"What, you thought it was a provocation? I was just purely stating my thoughts."

At Lee Shin's words, the cheek of the man who appeared to be the leader twitched.

"If you thought it was a provocation, should I say it again? They're going to beat you. For reference, if you want, I'm so sure I could bet my neck on it."

At Lee Shin's following words, even Mio and Rwen looked at him with surprised expressions.

"What, why are you looking at me with such wide eyes? Were my words that unexpected?"

"Well..."

"A little..."

"For me, it's more unexpected that you thought that way."

At the two's words, Lee Shin said with an exasperated tone.

"Who do you think you've been rolled by for the past week? If you've been rolled by me that much, it's only natural that you can handle guys like that easily."

-That is correct.

At Lee Shin's words, Irehgue nodded and said.

-I say again, you are my subordinates. And for the past week, we have done our best to teach you two, and you have followed with all your might.

Grin-

-So, like my subordinates, trust yourselves and act with confidence. You are not so weak as to lose to mere guys like that.

The way Lee Shin and Irehgue spoke was different.

However, both their words were filled with trust towards Mio and Rwen.

At that, Mio and Rwen, to hide their slightly flushed faces, turned their backs on Lee Shin and faced the enemy.

Seeing that, Lee Shin smiled and said.

"The things I taught you during sparring, you remember them well, right?"

Swoosh-

As if in response to Lee Shin's words, the two simultaneously got into a stance and raised their internal energy.

Their stances were different from each other.

Mio had her feet slightly apart and her hands raised upwards, while Rwen had her arms stretched down and her feet wide apart.

The bandit leader, seeing the two who had taken their stances, narrowed his eyes slightly and said.

"It seems you're not just simple kids."

The other bandits, who felt the atmosphere emanating from the two change in an instant, also quietly drew their swords.

"Hey, what are you guys?"

"Ah, really."

The one who answered the leader's question was not Lee Shin.

Everyone present turned their heads towards the direction where the voice came from.

There, Mio and Rwen were glaring at the leader with the faces they had in their back-alley days.

"Hey, old man. Why are you talking so much."

"Can't you see a fight has already started?"

The two who said that, as if imitating someone they had seen at the start of every sparring session, beckoned with a finger pointed at the sky and opened their mouths at the same time.

""Come on, you weakling.""

"...Hah?"

At the two's words, the leader let out a breath as if he were dumbfounded.

And beside them, Lee Shin and Irehgue were chuckling and looking at the two with satisfaction.

Thud-

At that moment, some of the bandit group in the trees rushed forward in anger.

"How dare these insolent brats to our leader!"

"I'll make sure you can't run that insolent mouth of yours ever again!"

The one the two had provoked was the leader, but the ones who rushed out in anger were the subordinates.

However, the two looked at the enemies who had thrown themselves at them with faces that seemed to say they didn't care.

Swoosh-

The one who moved first between the two was Mio.

Mio looked at the bandit flying towards her from the tree and the sword held in the bandit's hand with fierce eyes and moved her feet.

Scrape-

She moved her feet as if scraping the ground, like striking a match.

Fwoosh-!

Then, a red flame rose from the traces left on the ground and from Mio's toes.

The flame that rose from her toes coiled up her body like a snake and wrapped around to the fingertips of her hand, which was extending towards the sword.

The moment the sword falling from above was about to cut Mio's flame-wreathed hand.

Whoosh-

Mio's hand flickered like a mirage and let the sword pass through.

"What...!"

At the sight that made him doubt his own eyes, the face of the bandit who had swung the sword was colored with shock.

However, for him, even the time to make a surprised face was a luxury.

Swoosh-

Mio's hand, which had regained its substance at some point, grabbed the sword that had been swung at her with her fingertips and pulled.

The careless bandit easily lost his balance at that force.

At that moment, Mio swung the opposite fist that was holding the sword.

"Gweeeek!!!"

And just like that, she slammed her fist into the bandit's jaw, sending him flying back in the direction he came from.

Contrary to Mio, who had walked forward and struck the enemy, Rwen did not move from her spot and calmly waited for the right time.

And the moment the bandit entered her range.

Crackle-!

A golden lightning bolt burst from Rwen's toes.

The fiercely flashing golden lightning wrapped around Rwen's foot and shot out in a straight line towards the jaw of the bandit who had swung the sword.

"Keohuk!"

At that overwhelming speed, the bandit couldn't even properly swing his sword and, without even knowing what kind of attack he had been hit by, was struck in the jaw and lost consciousness.

The two who had confidently stepped forward were defeated in a single blow, and in such a short time that their feet didn't even have a chance to touch the ground.

The two, who had been struck in the jaw and lost consciousness, were thrown back and hung limply against a tree.

The other bandits looked at Mio and Rwen, who had decided the match in an instant, with utterly surprised faces.

"Hoo..."

"Hah..."

And Lee Shin and Irehgue grinned at the sight of the two exhaling in the exhilaration of battle.

'This is interesting.'

For the reason that it was difficult to obtain weapons, the initial sparring of the three was conducted bare-handed.

But as if their instincts had moved, the two began to find their own forms and talents within the bare-handed sparring.

And Lee Shin did not miss the sight of the two gradually shedding their shells and pulled it out.

Fwoosh-

Crackle-

What was created like that was the Flame Fist and Lightning Kick that the two had just shown.

Seeing the two who had bared their fangs at an enemy for the first time, Lee Shin laughed lightly.

"Not bad for a first start."

-They are my subordinates, so it is natural.

Irehgue said so, but he was wagging his tail gently, as if pleased with the growth of the two.

"Hoo..."

It wasn't just the two who had finished evaluating Mio and Rwen's skills in the short exchange.

"Hoo, alright. I admit you're not ordinary kids."

Swoosh-

"So we will also use our full strength to deal with you from the start."

The leader said that and lightly spun the sword in his hand, getting into a stance.

As if in response, the other seven also moved their swords into the same stance as the leader.

The bandits who had taken their stances came down from the trees and surrounded Mio and Rwen in a circle.

Inhale-

Exhale-

Mio and Rwen, seeing the bandits whose breathing was synchronized as if they were one body, gradually raising their momentum and pressing down on them, snorted with their backs against each other.

"What are you talking about? If you say it like that, it sounds like what we did just now was our full strength."

"What we did just now was just a warm-up for us too. We haven't even used our full strength yet."

Woooong-

The two said that and, in response to them, raised the ki from their dantians even more.

A week, a time more fitting to be called short than long.

But for a dragon that had realized it had wings on its back, a week was.

Fwooooosh--!!!

Crackle-crackle--!!!

Enough time to learn how to fly and soar towards the vast sky.

The two intended to prove that right here, right now, against them.

Just as the breathing of the eight of them was synchronized, the breathing of the two also began to slowly match.

Thump- Thump- Thump-

No, beyond that, through their touching backs, the heartbeats of the Dragon Hearts in their chests, which resembled drums, were slowly synchronizing.

After learning the improved cultivation method under Lee Shin, learning the forms of martial arts, and learning how to move their fists and legs, what the two had focused on the most to press Lee Shin's nose was.

Inhale- Exhale-

To perfectly make this formation, which combined their powers into one to create a greater power, their own.

"Damn it! Charge!"

The leader, who felt something was strange, shouted urgently.

At the leader's roar, the eight of them, with their breathing synchronized, moved their feet according to the principles of the joint attack formation and rushed towards Mio and Rwen.

Shwaaaak-!

Eight swords cut through the wind and were swung towards the two.

Thump-!

But it was a step too late.

The two Dragon Hearts produced a great beat, as if they had merged into one.

Fwoosh-!

Crackle-!

At that moment, the [Flame] and [Lightning] surrounding the two shot up as if causing a small explosion.

At the same time, in the two's vertically slit pupils, a red light and a golden light flashed respectively.

The hunter's sword, which roams the mountains as if it were its own home, is swung, surrounding all sides.

But what was inside the cage of swords was not the beast they always hunted.

"Die!"

"Die!"

Still young, but flashing their single horns and exuding a venomous aura towards the world.

They were twin dragons wreathed in flames and lightning.

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwang--!!!

Their blows collided, and the surrounding trees were shattered, and a large sandstorm blew around them.

"Hmm..."

Lee Shin, who had quickly moved away to avoid the sand and dust, rested his chin on his palm and muttered with a disappointed tone.

"I was expecting to see a fight where a formation and a formation collided..."

Swoosh-

"As expected, the difference in level is too severe."

In the eyes of Lee Shin who muttered that, along with the sight of the ground scorched by flames and lightning, was the sight of the eight people who had been thrown back by the impact of the earlier exchange and were collapsed on the ground.

At that moment, Irehgue flew from above Lee Shin's head towards the direction where Mio and Rwen were.

"...Master."

"...Master-nim."

At the two's drained words, Irehgue grinned and said.

-Seeing your faces, I do not think I need to ask what your first victory feels like.

At Irehgue's words, the two looked at their own hands.

Their hands were trembling, albeit slightly.

Part of it was because their bodies were exhausted from pouring out all their strength at once.

But that wasn't all.

The first victory they had obtained using their own power in their dark lives.

They couldn't control the complex emotions from that, and their bodies were trembling along with their hearts.

Clap, clap-

At that moment, Lee Shin clapped his hands lightly, calming them down.

"Now, if you've felt the thrill of your first victory, calm down and let's go over there."

Lee Shin, who had pointed at the eight collapsed people with his finger, said with a playful smile.

"Since we have some useful teaching materials, I'll teach you how to handle prisoners, and while we're at it, I'll also teach you another interesting technique."

"An interesting technique?"

"Yep."

Lee Shin, who had answered that, looked at Mio.

"You'll probably especially like it."

"...Ah!"

At Lee Shin's words, Mio, who had been tilting her head here and there, thinking about something, realized what Lee Shin was trying to do and her eyes widened.

And she looked at Lee Shin as if to ask if what she was thinking was correct.

Nod-

At that, Lee Shin nodded once as if to say yes.

"Oh, good, let's do it quickly!"

Shiver-

Was it a coincidence?

At the same time as Mio answered that, the bodies of the eight people, who were clearly unconscious, trembled slightly.

(End of Chapter)