novelraw Chapter 142 : Chapter 142
Chapter 142 : Chapter 142
Chapter 142 Treason (5)
Jaun's staff and the white hand filled with immense energy met in mid-air.
BOOOOOOM!
A massive shockwave spread throughout the inn along with a loud noise.
The Hundred Households Commanders barely managed to hold their ground, but the other Embroidered Uniform Guards were sent flying in all directions, unable to withstand the shockwave, and the inn instantly became a scene of chaos.
The Eastern Depot warriors who had received Jaun's energy were not unscathed either.
Blood continuously poured from the mouth of the warrior who had faced Jaun's energy head-on, and the rest of the warriors stumbled, unable to properly control their legs.
Squad Leader Hyuk, who had watched the two clashes with a serious expression, slowly stepped forward.
"...Thousand Households Commander Ma, Thousand Households Commander Ma. The skill I know of you was not at this level."
Squad Leader Hyuk cracked his neck from side to side and licked his lips.
"Quite impressive. Is this the power you were hiding, which allowed you to participate in the grand plan?"
Refined Yin Energy emanated from Squad Leader Hyuk's body. At the same time, a suffocating pressure descended upon the entire inn.
He was indeed a man worthy of the Admiral of the Eastern Depot's trust.
At that momentum, Jaun spun his staff once and tucked it into his belt.
'At this level... he is a perfect opponent to test the energy I have gained through the spiritual medicine.'
Squad Leader Hyuk, who was staring intently at Jaun who had taken his stance, slowly rolled up his sleeves. A transparent, white hand, with veins clearly visible, was revealed.
Squad Leader Hyuk, who was looking down at his own hand for a moment, raised his head.
"It is a waste of your skills, but this is all your own doing!"
As strong energy gathered in his hand, Squad Leader Hyuk kicked off the ground and shot forward. And Squad Leader Hyuk's hand, which had closed the distance in an instant, stretched out toward Jaun.
TING
Jaun's staff, which met Squad Leader Hyuk's hand, shook greatly.
Jaun, who barely managed to avoid the attack by twisting his body, rotated as he was and swung the staff towards Squad Leader Hyuk.
WHOOSH
As Squad Leader Hyuk floated his body back to avoid the staff, Jaun's staff quickly pursued him.
CRASH!
Squad Leader Hyuk kicked away Jaun's pursuing staff and rushed toward Jaun again. But that attack did not reach Jaun.
It was a feat possible because Jaun's own experience was added to Thousand Households Commander Ma's orthodox spear techniques. Because of that, Squad Leader Hyuk's splendidly pouring hands rarely touched Jaun's body.
SWISH, SWOOSH.
Beads of sweat began to form on Jaun's forehead as he blocked Squad Leader Hyuk's attacks with minimal movements and followed up with counterattacks.
'The overly trained muscles are actually hindering me from wielding the staff.'
The Embroidered Uniform Guard's martial arts, which capitalized on momentary explosive power, and Thousand Households Commander Ma's body, which was tailored to them, were not a good match for Jaun, who mainly focused on flexible responses.
Even when Jaun tried to extend the staff, Thousand Households Commander Ma's frame responded a step too late. In the end, he missed openings he had identified several times.
Jaun let out a sigh of frustration.
However, Squad Leader Hyuk was also unable to respond effectively.
'...I can't see any openings.'
No matter what attack he tried, Jaun's staff would appear out of nowhere and block his hand.
The feeling of having his mind read made a sense of displeasure creep up in Squad Leader Hyuk's heart.
'To think that I am exchanging over fifty moves with a mere Thousand Households Commander of the 13th Division...!'
Anxiety began to flood Squad Leader Hyuk's mind as he exchanged blows with Jaun.
If things had gone as planned, Thousand Households Commander Ma should have already been lying on the floor. But Thousand Households Commander Ma, while continuing the precarious situation, never allowed an attack to land and was somehow finding a way out.
'He was a more talented guy than I thought. In that case, I can't just leave him alone. He will become a stumbling block to our Eastern Depot's future after the grand plan is over.'
Squad Leader Hyuk, having made up his mind, took a step back and drew out all his energy. A hazy energy began to envelop Squad Leader Hyuk's entire body.
Squad Leader Hyuk, who stood up straight and glared at Jaun, rushed toward Jaun like a flash of lightning in that same posture.
SWOOOSH
'So he finally got serious.'
Jaun gripped his staff tightly as he watched Squad Leader Hyuk approaching at a tremendous speed.
[Lightning Flash Thunder Shadow]
It was one of the Eastern Depot's representative martial arts, along with the Body-to-Body Heart Transmission.
On the outside, it looked like a posture where the body was held stiffly upright, but its speed was like lightning, and its changes were endless. Moreover, because those endless changes were not revealed on the outside, it was difficult to discern with the eyes from which direction the attack would come.
Squad Leader Hyuk moved at a speed invisible to the eye, circling around Jaun and looking for an opening, while Jaun, relying solely on his senses, predicted his direction of movement and blocked Squad Leader Hyuk's path by extending his staff.
BOOM!
CLANG
From now on, the key was how minutely one could feel the surrounding energy.
Since Thousand Households Commander Ma was also a master who had reached the peak, there would be no fear of his identity being revealed even if he opened his middle dantian.
'I had kept it closed so far to act as the seriously injured Thousand Households Commander Ma... but now that it's known that Thousand Households Commander Ma's body has recovered to some extent, there's no need for that anymore.'
As Jaun opened his middle dantian without worry, the overflowing energy filled the inn. The structure of the inn, the nearly a thousand warriors, and the figure of Squad Leader Hyuk began to be drawn in Jaun's mind as if he were looking down from the sky.
WHOOSH
VROOOM
The mouths of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who were watching Jaun silently swinging his staff against Squad Leader Hyuk who appeared here and there while moving at high speed, gradually opened.
"...Is it true that Thousand Households Commander Ma is on equal footing with the Eastern Depot's Squad Leader Hyuk right now?"
"I-I think so? I can't believe what I'm seeing with my own eyes right now."
"Could it be... that Thousand Households Commander Ma gained enlightenment while crossing the line of death?"
"Ah! That could be it? No wonder I felt some kind of inexplicable pressure when I saw the Thousand Households Commander."
The expressions of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who had initially turned their heads as if they couldn't bear to watch, began to brighten.
A short while later, unable to overcome the soaring desire, a loud shout erupted from someone's mouth.
"Thousand Households Commander Ma! Keep it up! Let's make all those bastards who are not even men and just cake themselves with powder roll on the floor!"
Upon hearing those words, the Eastern Depot warriors who were controlling their energy all turned their heads, but this time, the Embroidered Uniform Guard did not back down and began to glare at the Eastern Depot warriors.
It was out of confidence that if Jaun could stand on equal footing with Squad Leader Hyuk, the remaining Eastern Depot warriors, no matter how strong their martial arts were, would not be able to easily deal with nearly a thousand Embroidered Uniform Guard.
WHOOSH
SWISH
'...It seems no one has noticed anything strange for now.'
Jaun subtly checked the reactions of his surroundings while avoiding the relentless attacks of Squad Leader Hyuk.
The reason they did not feel anything strange was probably because Jaun was becoming more and more accustomed to the Embroidered Uniform Guard's martial arts as he used them in actual combat.
Once his middle dantian was fully opened and Squad Leader Hyuk's movements became clearly visible, Jaun began to gradually release the energy he had been saving.
'If I defeat Squad Leader Hyuk in this place, I will be able to gain the trust of the 13th Division. If the rumor spreads quickly, I might be assigned to a place even closer to the Emperor at the Heaven Worship Ceremony tomorrow. If the hidden blade, Thousand Households Commander Ma, is stronger than their expectations, they will push him into a position where he can surely kill the Emperor, or at least the Five Swords.'
The golden energy on the staff Jaun was holding began to grow thicker.
The effectiveness of the Kuihua Scripture, which used pure Yin and Yang energy simultaneously to create a synergistic effect, was far greater than Jaun had expected.
Jaun's staff swiftly extended towards the wrist of Squad Leader Hyuk, who was launching another attack without any sign of fatigue.
SMACK
Jaun's staff struck Squad Leader Hyuk's wrist hard and passed by. A dark bruise began to appear on Squad Leader Hyuk's white skin.
"Waaaaaah!"
When Jaun's attack hit, the Embroidered Uniform Guard became completely excited. The Embroidered Uniform Guard who had come down from the upper floors after hearing the commotion joined in, filling the first floor and the stairs of the inn, and the Eastern Depot warriors were pushed further and further into the center by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
WHOOSH, SMACK!
VROOOM, CRASH!
As time passed, the number of bruises on Squad Leader Hyuk's body began to increase.
As if he could not believe this situation, Squad Leader Hyuk gritted his teeth and extended his energy, but he could not land a single successful attack.
CRACK!
Jaun's staff, which he swung down after turning his body in the air, struck Squad Leader Hyuk's collarbone hard.
"Aaaah!"
A slender scream erupted from Squad Leader Hyuk's mouth.
"Sq-Squad Leader!"
The Eastern Depot warriors standing behind tried to raise their energy and send it to Squad Leader Hyuk, but Squad Leader Hyuk slapped their hands away.
"...It's not over yet."
Squad Leader Hyuk put his hand in his bosom and took out a small baton. The baton, about the length of two palms joined together, gave off an eerie black luster.
"To make me take out the Imperial Emperor's Baton."
Squad Leader Hyuk raised the baton forward.
"For a Thousand Households Commander of the 13th Division, you are quite good. But this is as far as you go."
CRASH
Squad Leader Hyuk's baton, which he swung after kicking off the ground, shot towards Jaun's Adam's apple. As Jaun slightly raised his staff to strike the baton, the baton spun around and returned to Squad Leader Hyuk's hand.
Squad Leader Hyuk, who tightly grasped the baton that had returned to his hand, swung it down from above, and Jaun hastily grabbed his staff with both hands and received Squad Leader Hyuk's baton with the center of his staff.
CRACK!
The staff Jaun was holding, or rather the broom handle, finally could not withstand the impact and broke in half.
"Ohohoho. This is the result of your bravado, daring to bring a mere broom against me."
Jaun, who was looking at Squad Leader Hyuk who was swinging the staff again with a triumphant smile, let out a hollow laugh inwardly.
In fact, it was only because Thousand Households Commander Ma mainly used spear techniques that he had played along.
The staff, broken in half, was now about the length of a sword. Moreover, he now held a staff of a suitable length in both his left and right hands.
Jaun raised his left hand as it was and faced Squad Leader Hyuk's baton.
He did not know what material it was made of, but Squad Leader Hyuk's baton was quite sturdy, so he deflected Squad Leader Hyuk's energy as much as possible so as not to strain the wooden staff he was holding.
SCREEECH
The moment Squad Leader Hyuk's baton slid along the half-staff in Jaun's left hand, the staff in Jaun's right hand shot forward with the speed of lightning.
THWACK!
The sharp end of the staff, which had split in half, pierced into Squad Leader Hyuk's right shoulder.
"Aack!"
Another groan erupted from Squad Leader Hyuk. In the meantime, Jaun wrapped the staff in his left hand around Squad Leader Hyuk's baton and snatched the baton from his hand.
TING
Then, Jaun kicked the baton with all his might as it left Squad Leader Hyuk's hand, fell to the ground, and bounced back up.
CRACK
The baton kicked by Jaun lodged into Squad Leader Hyuk's calf, and Jaun's staff, which flew in right after, struck Squad Leader Hyuk's left arm.
SMACK!
CRASH!
Squad Leader Hyuk's body, unable to withstand the energy contained in Jaun's staff, flew into the inn's wall, collided with it, and fell to the ground with a loud noise.
"My, my arm..."
Squad Leader Hyuk muttered, his body trembling in excruciating pain, but his arms were already beyond his control.
Jaun, who had placed one foot on the neck of the writhing Squad Leader Hyuk on the floor, turned his head towards the trembling Eastern Depot warriors.
"Hmm... what should I do? It seems your squad leader will have a hard time using the inn. Do you still want to use this inn?"
The Eastern Depot warriors, who had bitten their lips hard, could not answer Jaun's words and lowered their heads.
"Waaaaaaaaah!"
As they lowered their heads, a huge roar erupted from the mouths of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who had been watching the situation with bated breath.
It seemed they had suffered quite a bit at the hands of the Eastern Depot warriors in the past, as the faces of the Embroidered Uniform Guard of the 13th Division were filled with relief and exhilaration.
As Jaun removed his foot from Squad Leader Hyuk's neck and returned to the table, a tremendous roar filled the inn.
The Eastern Depot warriors, who were glancing at Jaun, quickly picked up Squad Leader Hyuk and escaped from the inn.
"Hahahaha. Serves you right, you half-baked bastards!"
Gwak Jong-do, who came through the boisterously chattering Embroidered Uniform Guard, opened his mouth with a face mixed with fear and worry.
"Th-Thousand Households Commander. Congratulations on your great victory. But... what will you do about the aftermath?"
"Do not worry. If you have a drink and wait, someone who will take care of the aftermath will come."
Jaun smiled wryly as he looked at the cheering Embroidered Uniform Guard from all sides.
'Enjoy it to your heart's content, as it is my last gift before you go to the afterlife.'
Jaun tossed the wine on the table into his mouth, and Gwak Jong-do's expression, who was looking at Jaun who did not show even a hint of worry, gradually brightened.
"Thousand Households Commander... please have a drink. I will serve you well for the rest of my life."
With those words, the wine that flowed from the bottle Gwak Jong-do offered filled Jaun's cup.