novelraw Chapter 84 : Namgung Byeokgeom (3)
Chapter 84 : Namgung Byeokgeom (3)
Hwangbo Yu-gi was a master of the previous generation. And not just any master, but a special-grade criminal with the skill to kill the head of the Hwangbo family, one of the five great families, during the golden age of the Orthodox Faction.
"I think I know why I couldn't find you."
Hwangbo Yu-gi's appearance was all large. Especially his nostrils, which were twice as large as ordinary people's, resembled those of a pig.
"Were you mixed in with the pigsty? No wonder I couldn't find you even after searching through the crowd."
Hwangbo Yu-gi said.
"If you call me a pig one more time, I will not forgive you."
"Pig, pig."
"Hehehe. Do you know how my older brother died?"
"How would I know what happened before I was even born?"
"He died with his brains splattered by my fist after running his mouth like you."
"How ignorant."
"And do you know what happened to the guys who called me a pig in front of me?"
"Pig, pig?"
"Hehehehehe!!! They all died with their brains splattered."
"How ignorant."
"It seems you still don't grasp the situation. Today, Namgung will be erased from the martial world."
As soon as Hwangbo Yu-gi's words ended, Namgung Byeokgeom quickly turned his head to one side.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With a loud noise, a vibration strong enough to shake the entire Namgung family was felt.
Two huge energies that were difficult for him to even gauge were colliding.
One was vast, like the sky, and one was heavy, as if it resembled the earth.
Wouldn't it feel like this if the sky and the earth were fighting?
"It seems it has begun."
Hwangbo Yu-gi, as if he knew something, spread his arms wide and raised them to the sky.
"The destruction of Namgung!"
Starting from the loud noise just now, screams and the sound of weapons clashing were heard from all over the Namgung family.
Hwangbo Yu-gi slowly lowered his head, which he had raised high, and looked at Namgung Byeokgeom. Hwangbo Yu-gi's eyes were long and torn horizontally.
"The history of Namgung will end as of today."
* * *
Namgung Byeokgeom had been fast at everything since he was young.
Learning characters.
Walking, or running.
Learning martial arts.
'Being fast' also included the meaning of 'not being swept away by the situation.'
Therefore, he never lost himself in any situation.
It was no exaggeration to say that he was good at self-objectification.
Namgung Byeokgeom divided what he could do and what he could not do.
The Namgung family was now in a crisis.
Could he save the Namgung family?
Namgung Byeokgeom answered the question. Impossible.
Then, is it dangerous enough for the Namgung family to collapse right now? No.
The whereabouts of the head of the family were unknown. The whereabouts of the second son were also unknown. However, assuming that the second son had been replaced by someone else, there was a high possibility that the head of the family was no different.
Even so.
Judging from the energy he felt, the person over there was the Divine Monk.
So, no matter who the opponent was, it would be possible to at least hold on. He might even be able to subdue them.
Then what is the best he can do in this situation? To block the being in front of him.
The being in front of him was a strong person. And a strong person to the extent that if you exclude himself in this Namgung family, there would be almost no one to stop him.
What if such a person is released and runs rampant? In the worst case, what if he interferes in the fight with the Divine Monk? The energy that was felt now, presumed to be that of the Divine Monk and the head of the family, was evenly matched. The result was obvious without even looking.
To survive for a long time in the martial world, one had to be good at self-objectification.
To say it again, self-objectification is the ability to divide what one can do and what one cannot do.
Namgung Byeokgeom thought of the best he could do in the current situation. Click! He re-gripped his sword.
"You will not be able to take a single step from here today."
"You're a very arrogant young man. But with your talent, you are certainly qualified to say such a thing. But kid, the world never grants what you want and wish for the most."
"The logic of a pathetic loser."
Swish.
Namgung Byeokgeom took a step... the moment he thought he had, his body was already moving forward. His movements were so fast that they could be called a flash of lightning.
However, the opponent was a super master who was known to have entered the Transformation Realm in the previous generation.
Hwangbo Yu-gi extended a fist towards his side.
Boom!
The fist and the sword collided. The sound that was heard was as if a bomb had exploded. Namgung Byeokgeom's figure was revealed, and the one who was pushed back was also Namgung Byeokgeom.
"Do you understand now?"
Hwangbo Yu-gi, leisurely shaking his arm, opened his mouth.
"You cannot defeat me."
The age difference between Namgung Byeokgeom and Hwangbo Yu-gi was at least over 30 years. That also meant that Namgung Byeokgeom was young. Youth, compared to old age, has an advantage in almost all aspects. But internal energy, like alcohol, matures with time.
"Between you and me, there is a time that cannot be overcome with talent."
Thud!
Hwangbo Yu-gi moved his heavy body. His movements were extremely agile.
They were not even a little slower compared to the movements Namgung Byeokgeom had shown earlier. In a sense, they were even sharp with the addition of experience.
Hwangbo Yu-gi, who had been moving forward almost like flying in a straight line, kicked off the ground again. Then he accelerated once more.
All human senses are accustomed to familiarity.
Namgung Byeokgeom had missed Hwangbo Yu-gi's movements due to the suddenly increased speed. But Namgung Byeokgeom was also a rising master who had transcended the time of his early age. He was not flustered.
He just calmly aimed his sword as he had at the beginning.
Because his domain was already complete.
Crackle.
He could feel Hwangbo Yu-gi's movements entering his domain. There is a limit to chasing a fight with the eyes. Because the human eye has a clear limit to its range of perception.
It would be a different story if one had trained their eyes since they were young, like the Mongolians.
Namgung Byeokgeom had not done such training. No! It was not an environment where he could. It was possible for the Mongolians because it was a very special environment.
Namgung Byeokgeom's eyes were only slightly better than an ordinary person's.
The lightning qi informed him of the intruder's invasion.
Crackle!
Lightning qi was always flowing in the human body. It's just that they couldn't perceive it.
He raised the realm of the imperceptible to the realm of the perceptible.
The lightning qi reacted with the surroundings. He could feel his senses being activated and expanding.
Namgung Byeokgeom called this domainization.
The space where domainization had now taken place was from the point where Namgung Byeokgeom was standing to the position where his sword could reach.
Everything in this space was within Namgung Byeokgeom's range of perception.
Slice!
Namgung Byeokgeom swung his sword towards his back. Hwangbo Yu-gi was there. However, the opponent was also a master who had reached domainization.
In the case of masters who had reached the Transformation Realm, handling domainization could be said to be a basic skill. However, there was a difference in how sharply and widely they could handle it.
Hwangbo Yu-gi had already perceived that the sword would come to him, and he had seen it. If domainization was an ability that could be obtained by reaching the Transformation Realm, then future sight was also the same.
Future sight and domainization.
These were the byproducts that could be obtained by reaching the Transformation Realm.
Hwangbo Yu-gi, as if his feet were glued, stopped his body, which had been moving forward, in an instant. The sword passed through the empty space in front of him. As the trajectory of the sword completely missed, Hwangbo Yu-gi finally moved. He takes a step forward and extends a fist.
The martial art that Hwangbo Yu-gi had learned was the Thunder Fist.
It was one of the best among the martial arts that used lightning qi.
Crackle.
Lightning qi permeated his whole body.
It was common for the direct descendants of the Hwangbo family to be born with divine power since ancient times. Hwangbo Yu-gi had received this blessing more than others.
Perhaps to the point of being called the best in the history of the Hwangbo family.
Divine power could be said to be the density or density of the muscles.
A high density meant that it contained more mass in the same volume.
And Hwangbo Yu-gi's muscle density was 10 times that of an ordinary person.
Therefore, Hwangbo Yu-gi was able to learn the Thunder Fist, which only a few in the Hwangbo family could learn.
And he was also able to perform a mystery that others could not do due to his ridiculous muscle density.
When lightning qi flows through the body, the muscles contract momentarily, and one loses control.
This was the biggest reason why lightning qi was scary.
But Hwangbo Yu-gi, who had a muscle mass 10 times that of an ordinary person, could control this at will.
And contraction was also synonymous with containing more mass in the same volume.
Hwangbo Yu-gi's muscle density, clad in lightning qi, was 20 times that of an ordinary person.
And with the addition of over two gapjas of internal energy, the muscle power that Hwangbo Yu-gi could produce per unit volume was 30 times that of an ordinary person.
Future sight deduces the result based on the information it perceives.
But what if the magnitude of the power is such that even a master of the Transformation Realm cannot detect it? Of course, the future sight will be wrong.
The future sight that Namgung Byeokgeom had read was a correct fist flying towards him.
Namgung Byeokgeom, changing his grip on the sword to a reverse grip, quickly swung it up at the approaching fist.
The blade and the arm met.
Normally, the arm that touched the sharp blade should have been easily cut off.
But now, Hwangbo Yu-gi's muscle density was 30 times that of an ordinary person. Hwangbo Yu-gi's arm, on the contrary, deflected the sword.
This was a scene that Namgung Byeokgeom had not seen with his future sight, and it was a future that Hwangbo Yu-gi had seen.
"Your sword is still 100 years too early to cut me, kid."
Thwack!
Hwangbo Yu-gi's fist accurately hit Namgung Byeokgeom's face. Namgung Byeokgeom, clutching his face, staggers back.
"Oh!"
Hwangbo Yu-gi, seeing Namgung Byeokgeom, let out a sincere admiration.
"You're the first one whose face didn't explode in one blow after being hit by my fist."
Just then, Hwangbo Yu-gi felt a slight pain in his shoulder and touched the shoulder area. The shoulder area was red and swollen.
And when he looked at Namgung Byeokgeom again, he could see Namgung Byeokgeom's broken arm.
To this, Hwangbo Yu-gi could understand why Namgung Byeokgeom's face had not been shattered even after being hit by his fist.
The moment the fist touched, Namgung Byeokgeom had minimized the force by pushing his shoulder with his arm.
Although it was not a force that could be offset with just that, he had succeeded in reducing the force. As a result, he had to lose one arm.
"It's better than losing my life."
Namgung Byeokgeom, lowering the hand that had been covering his face, grips the sword with his intact other hand.
On Namgung Byeokgeom's revealed face, his nose bone was bent, and one eye was so swollen that it was almost invisible.
"Your talent is too precious to die here. If you say you'll follow me, I'll specially spare you."
Spit!
Namgung Byeokgeom spat out the saliva that had collected in his mouth.
"Where is the second one?"
Hwangbo Yu-gi clicked his tongue at Namgung Byeokgeom, whose eyes were still not dead even in a disadvantageous situation. And he knew from his accumulated experience that beings with such eyes would break but would never bend.
"You're asking for a punishment instead of a reward."
And Hwangbo Yu-gi knew better than anyone else. That if a being with such eyes was on the enemy's side, he must be killed.
Otherwise, he would stab him in the back someday.
Hwangbo Yu-gi increased the amount of lightning qi flowing through his body.
Hwangbo Yu-gi's current muscle density was 40 times that of an ordinary person, more than before.
This was Hwangbo Yu-gi's maximum.
* * *
Namgung Mu-gwang, who had been training alone in the mountains today as well, looked down at the mountain and, seeing smoke rising from the location of the family, stopped his training and immediately came down the mountain.
As he got closer to the family, he felt a bad intuition. It was almost the highest level among the ones he had felt so far.
Namgung Mu-gwang could tell that something had happened to the family.
Namgung Mu-gwang immediately stopped his training and ran to the family.
* * *
Hwangbo Yu-gi, as a master of the previous generation, could be said to be the best among the people he had fought so far.
He could not accurately gauge the realm of such an opponent.
He was definitely in the Transformation Realm, but whether he was in the middle, or the end, or perhaps even beyond that.
What was certain was that the experience he had accumulated so far was completely useless against the opponent in front of him.
Then there was only one way.
To abandon what he had accumulated so far and to build it anew.
The opponent had used lightning qi to transcend the density of his muscles.
Namgung Byeokgeom also handled lightning qi, and he could feel how amazing that act was.
It was impossible for Namgung Byeokgeom to clad his whole body in lightning qi like Hwangbo Yu-gi. If he were to imitate what Hwangbo Yu-gi had done, his body would not be able to withstand the lightning qi and would burn up.
Crackle.
Namgung Byeokgeom's broken arm moves and grips the sword.
Instead, Namgung Byeokgeom made his broken arm move by forcibly contracting the muscles by flowing lightning qi only into his broken arm.
"Oh! You've made your arm, which was broken and couldn't move, move by contracting the muscles with lightning qi."
Namgung Byeokgeom, whether Hwangbo Yu-gi was explaining what he was doing or not, focused only on his own body.
Because what he was about to do now was on a different level from simply contracting the muscles.
Namgung Byeokgeom applied the contracting property of lightning qi to contracting his expanded domain.
The more he did, the greater the burden on his body would be, but this was the only way to deal with the opponent in front of him.
Crackle.
Namgung Byeokgeom's domain shrinks to the size of a fingertip. This would extremely narrow the range he could perceive, but instead, it had the advantage of being able to respond that much faster.
Namgung Byeokgeom kicks off the ground and scatters his sword.
In an instant, thirteen thrusts went towards Hwangbo Yu-gi.
The Thirteen Thunder Swords of the Lightning Flash.
One of the strongest sword arts that the Namgung family prided itself on.
Hwangbo Yu-gi also did not avoid this and met it head-on.
He puts a lot of lightning qi into his right and left arms respectively and creates countless illusions in front of him.
The Thunder Fist.
Also one of the strongest fist arts that the Hwangbo family prided itself on.
The ultimate techniques of the two martial families that had divided the Orthodox Faction clashed in the air.
Namgung Byeokgeom's first blow is deflected by Hwangbo Yu-gi's back of the hand. Immediately, Namgung Byeokgeom creates a second change.
As if a snake were hunting, the sword swims through the air and aims at Hwangbo Yu-gi's glabella.
Hwangbo Yu-gi tilts his head to the side. The sword pierces through the empty air. Hwangbo Yu-gi immediately extends his fist. Seeing this, Namgung Byeokgeom quickly retrieves his sword and presses down on the approaching fist with the hilt.
The trajectory of the fist, which was heading for his face, was twisted. But he could not completely change it. The twisted fist headed for his heart.
Swish. Namgung Byeokgeom takes a step forward and gets out of the trajectory. At the same time, he cuts down with his sword from above.
Just then, Hwangbo Yu-gi's leg muscles swell to twice their size. He then throws his back and throws his fist up. The balance of his body, which had been leaning forward, shifts back as if he were lying down in an instant. An attack that ignores the engineering of the body.
Namgung Byeokgeom's reaction was late to the attack coming from an unexpected trajectory. It was already too late to dodge. Namgung Byeokgeom made a decision. He puts strength into the hilt of his sword. And he swung his sword as it was. If this continued, Hwangbo Yu-gi's fist would accurately hit Namgung Byeokgeom's side, but Namgung Byeokgeom's sword could also completely cut off one of Hwangbo Yu-gi's arms.
For a moment, their eyes met in the air.
Tens of thousands of thoughts flashed and disappeared in their respective minds.
And the two of them perceive each other.
That this is the turning point of this fight.
And the balance was broken.
"Older brother!"
In a very short moment, Namgung Byeokgeom's concentration was dispersed. Hwangbo Yu-gi did not miss it. Once again, Hwangbo Yu-gi showed a movement that ignored human engineering.
Hwangbo Yu-gi, with his back completely bent, kicked off the ground. Slice! Namgung Byeokgeom's sword cut Hwangbo Yu-gi's thigh. But due to the thick muscle layer, it could not inflict a fatal wound.
And the place where Hwangbo Yu-gi revealed himself was in front of Namgung Mu-gwang.
Namgung Mu-gwang, in front of Hwangbo Yu-gi, could not move or even breathe. Grin. Hwangbo Yu-gi smiles and throws a fist at Namgung Mu-gwang.
Crackle!
At that moment, Namgung Byeokgeom kicked off the ground.
Namgung Byeokgeom rushed in between Hwangbo Yu-gi and Namgung Mu-gwang.
Hwangbo Yu-gi's fist accurately hit Namgung Byeokgeom's chest.
Thwack! Cough!
Namgung Mu-gwang, at the sight of Namgung Byeokgeom vomiting blood, was surprised and fell backwards.
"Older brother!"
Seeing that, Hwangbo Yu-gi smiled leisurely.
"Hehehe. That's what happens when you're unnecessarily distracted."
Namgung Byeokgeom's blood was washed away by the rain.
Cough.
When he coughed, black blood flowed out this time. In it, something like a piece of an internal organ was mixed.
Namgung Byeokgeom's complexion darkened in an instant. His eyes were bloodshot, and the firm energy that had been enveloping his body was fluctuating and unstable.
"H-how..."
"Because of a guy like me, h-how!"
Namgung Byeokgeom slowly raised his sword.
"Is there a reason for an older brother to protect his younger brother?"
His eyes, as he looked at Hwangbo Yu-gi, were the same as at the beginning.
(End of Chapter)