novelraw Chapter 16 : Chapter 16
Chapter 16 : Chapter 16
Chapter 16 - The Green Forest King’s Wrath (4)
“T, That, Little Brother. For me to face the Green Forest King directly is…….”
Jaun, patting the shoulder of bearded man who was speaking with a flustered expression, grinned and turned his body to face the Green Forest.
“Since the Green Forest King has stepped up, this time Brother, who is far more skilled than me, will step up!”
At Jaun’s shout, the Green Forest bandits craned their necks with eyes full of anticipation and peeked towards the Moyong Family side.
“Uhuhuhuh. Little Brother?”
“You can do well. The atmosphere has already turned into a sparring match rather than a life-and-death duel. Even the Green Forest King won't kill Brother in this atmosphere.”
“No, that…… even if I don't die, if I get hit by that axe and lose a limb or two, what will happen then? And the Green Forest King hasn't received the blood debt yet……?”
“Brother, trust yourself. I trust you too.”
At Jaun’s words, bearded man, whose face turned pale, stammered.
“No, no matter what……!”
[If I go out against the Green Forest King, I might unknowingly use the Demonic Cult’s martial arts. If that happens, a really big problem could arise.]
At Jaun’s telepathic message, bearded man scratched his head.
“My friend. It seems a big problem has already arisen for me……. Was this situation not in our original plan?”
As Jaun pushed bearded man’s back pretending not to hear, bearded man unknowingly took a step forward.
“Waaaaaa!”
Checking bearded man’s sturdy physique, shouts burst out from the Green Forest side.
“Oho. Is it that guy this time?”
“That guy looks like someone from our side, so why is he over there?”
“I know, right. Just by looking, his beard or build suits this side better than that side.”
As the bandits looked at him with sparkling eyes, bearded man let out a deep sigh.
bearded man, fidgeting with the hand axes at his waist, walked forward slowly with heavy steps as if he had no choice.
“Oho…….”
The Green Forest King, confirming that two small hand axes were held in the approaching bearded man’s hands, lifted the huge axe placed on the ground with shining eyes.
Since the already large-built Green Forest King put an axe bigger than his body on his shoulder, the sun was blocked, creating a shadow over bearded man.
bearded man, seeing that sight, stopped in his tracks and slowly stepped back.
“Little Brother. Little Brother?”
Looking at bearded man searching for Jaun with a pale face, Moyong Man with a worried face asked Do Hyeok-rin.
“The sword of the Young Hero called Jaun was surprising, but is that man also like that? Well, since he is someone you selected as Wol-i’s escort, he must not be ordinary like Young Hero Jaun. I look forward to it.”
Moyong Man nodded, making a wild guess.
However, Do Hyeok-rin standing next to him had a face drained of color.
“No……. That friend, well…… he did say he beat a tiger to death when he was ten…….”
“As expected, he was an extraordinary person. Where did you bring such talents from? Uhuhuh.”
Moyong Man tapped Do Hyeok-rin’s shoulder with a generous laugh.
[Brother. I am currently hiding my body in the back. Depending on the situation, I will throw stones or something for you from here, so have confidence and just clash first.]
[Throwing stones? Is that something to say right now……!]
Cutting off bearded man’s words, Jaun continued the telepathic message.
[I heard yesterday that the Green Forest King possesses natural divine strength. So a head-on match won't be good. After drawing the Green Forest King’s attention, it is important to land a blow somehow.]
It was something he couldn't take back now.
bearded man, letting out a sigh, raised his head and looked forward.
The Green Forest King, who looked twice his size, was looking at him with eyes full of anticipation.
The desire to run away immediately was strong, but bearded man, soon calming his mind, gripped his hand axes firmly.
‘To think I would entrust my neck to the Green Forest King in a place like this, not even the Demonic Cult.’
Sweat dripped from bearded man’s forehead.
In fact, bearded man, who had only repeated training alone in the desert, lacked practical combat experience significantly compared to his skill.
Jaun, who noticed this after seeing bearded man’s usual movements, was certain that the sparring experience with the Green Forest King would be of great help to bearded man.
The opportunity to fight against a master of that caliber in such a friendly atmosphere would not come twice.
‘I can't just miss this opportunity.’
Sweat began to form on Jaun’s hands as well, watching bearded man facing both opportunity and danger simultaneously.
“Black Dragon Twin Axes…… I am Jang Sam-sik.”
“Green Forest Supreme Ruler Sa Han-pyeong.”
The Green Forest King, finishing his short speech, placed the axe on his shoulder and examined bearded man closely.
Wherever the Green Forest King’s gaze passed, a chilling sharpness like the touch of a knife was felt.
The Green Forest King’s gaze scanning bearded man’s body moved up to his neck and stopped there. Sensing something strange in an instant, bearded man took a big step backward.
─ Spurt
Blood gushed from bearded man’s neck.
bearded man, opening his mouth wide, fumbled and touched his neck.
“B…… Blood?!”
The wound wasn't deep, but it was definitely a cut.
If he hadn't taken a step back, his head might have been cut off right then.
“W, Wait a moment!”
bearded man, turning pale, hurriedly looked back, but Jaun’s figure could not be found anywhere.
“Huh……. That friend Han-pyeong. He has reached such a realm before I knew it. A level where he cuts the opponent with his mind.”
The Moyong Family Head, who saw through the Green Forest King’s move, let out a sigh of admiration.
Nam Chung, who was watching from the side, asked the Moyong Family Head with his mouth wide open.
“S, Sir. Surely…… are you speaking of the realm of Heart Sword?”
Moyong Man, nodding his head, muttered.
“Not a Heart Sword but a Heart Axe. It’s the first time in my life hearing of it, but……. Well, since he has already reached the level of cutting the opponent with his mind, what does it matter what the weapon is?”
At Moyong Man’s answer, Nam Chung turned his head forward again with a gaze full of wonder.
The Green Forest King tilted his head and opened his mouth.
“To dodge that. Still, it seems you possess basic senses.”
bearded man’s entire body filled with tension.
Clearly, the Green Forest King tried to kill him just now.
Even now, that chill remained on the nape of his neck.
‘If I don't do it properly, I die. No, even if I do it properly, I might die.’
bearded man’s five senses became extremely sensitive to the feeling he was experiencing for the first time.
Before he knew it, bearded man, forgetting even the surrounding gazes, was focusing solely on the Green Forest King.
bearded man, lowering his posture slightly, extended the hand axes in both hands forward.
Then, after inhaling deeply, he began to draw up his energy.
─ Swoosh
An untimely dry wind blew around bearded man’s body.
Between the fluttering hems of his clothes, only bearded man’s eyes were shining clearly.
“What martial art is this?”
The Green Forest King tilted his head.
Although the Green Forest King knew most axe techniques used in the Central Plains, bearded man’s stance was completely unfamiliar.
Furthermore, this strangely hot wind.
The intrigued Green Forest King lifted his axe high while looking at bearded man.
─ Paang
In an instant, bearded man’s body was hidden by the dust cloud raised largely by the energy he burst out.
‘Let’s focus.’
bearded man, who drew up his energy to the extreme, clenched his teeth.
The opportunities given to him were not many.
He had to aim for the gap when the Green Forest King was careless as much as possible.
bearded man, deciding to pour out all the ultimate techniques he possessed from the beginning, raised his axes.
[Frenzied Wind Thirteen Decisions First Form: Rotation ]
bearded man threw the hand axe in his left hand forward while rotating it with all his might.
─ Whiiish
The hand axe containing strong energy shot quickly to the Green Forest King’s left, making a sound of tearing the wind.
─ Paang.
At that moment, the hand axe stretching out like a ray of light shook left and right, attracting the Green Forest King’s attention.
Taking advantage of the moment the Green Forest King shifted his gaze to the flying hand axe, bearded man raised the remaining axe above his head and drew up his energy to the fullest.
[Frenzied Wind Thirteen Decisions Second Form: Severing Slash ]
Soon, a fierce wind spread around bearded man as if a storm was blowing.
Along with the wind, white energy began to form on the axe bearded man was holding.
bearded man, concentrating his energy on the axe, slashed the axe down towards the Green Forest King this time.
Following the trajectory of the axe bearded man swung, sharp energy shot towards the Green Forest King, flashing with light.
“Throwing one axe away, and shooting out condensed energy with the other axe?”
White energy rushing towards him.
Right behind it, a swaying axe was flying with a slight time difference.
A bright smile spread on the Green Forest King’s face as he watched that scene.
“Kukuku. You bastard. You are doing something interesting.”
Veins bulged on the forearm of the Green Forest King holding the huge axe up.
Usually, axe techniques mostly consisted of attacks striking downward by adding internal energy to the weight of the axe itself.
Although the power was strong, it also had the disadvantage of inevitably having limited trajectories of only up and down compared to swords or blades that change freely in all directions.
However, for the martial artists of the Green Forest who mainly operated in the mountains, this point did not particularly come as a disadvantage.
Because the trajectories of swords and blades changing left and right were inevitably restricted due to the dense trees filling the surroundings anyway.
‘However, now is the situation where we also have to come down below the mountain and expand our influence.’
It was a time when change was needed to grow the Green Forest further.
The Green Forest King glimpsed the clue to that change in bearded man’s martial arts, and thus he became increasingly interested.
“Try showing off your tricks continuously!”
The Green Forest King giggled as if having fun.
The more he looked, bearded man’s axe technique had a completely different texture from that of the Central Plains.
Even using light-weight hand axes itself was unfamiliar, but to contain and shoot energy, and even rotate and throw the axe.
The axe technique of the Frenzied Wind Sand, developed in the vast desert where movement was not smooth as feet sank deep, greatly aroused the Green Forest King’s interest.
“Kuhahaha!”
The Green Forest King, letting out a satisfied laugh, struck down with the axe he was holding.
─ Kwaaang!
Huge energy poured out from the Green Forest King’s axe that struck down cutting through the wind.
The Green Forest King’s energy, rushing in like a landslide, swallowed bearded man’s sharp energy whole.
Not stopping there, the Green Forest King’s energy began to rush towards bearded man just like that.
‘Damn……. The difference in internal energy is……!’
With a pale complexion, bearded man quickly kicked off the floor and rolled his body.
bearded man, barely dodging the Green Forest King’s energy, kicked the floor again this time and floated his body into the air.
‘Even so, I have no choice but to clash.’
bearded man clenched his teeth and aimed for an opportunity.
Although the shot energy dissipated, the axe thrown first was spinning and flying towards the back of the Green Forest King.
The moment the Green Forest King swung his arm to strike away the axe flying aiming for his back.
‘Now.’
Hot energy shot from bearded man’s side slightly twisted the direction of the axe.
─ Piing
As the direction of the axe changed, the Green Forest King’s arm stirred the empty air with a whoosh, and the axe shot straight towards the back of the Green Forest King’s head.
─ Crunch
“Ptoo.”
The Green Forest King, turning his head and blocking bearded man’s axe by biting it with his teeth, spat out the axe.
Blood dripped from the corner of the Green Forest King’s mouth, which was slightly wounded.
“This…… is really fun?”
It was surprising how the axe, which didn't fly in a straight line but flew drawing a curve, contained such strong power.
For the first time since coming to Shenyang, a broad smile appeared on the Green Forest King’s face.
Do Hyeok-rin, watching this scene from afar, trembled his chin.
“Is, is that perhaps Air Manipulation…… Sword ? It seemed the axe changed direction in the middle…….”
“No. It wasn't controlling the axe’s energy, but merely amplifying its direction and momentum by hitting the axe with energy shot from afar. Of course, even so, it is not an easy task.”
Moyong Man also nodded, answering Do Hyeok-rin with an intrigued expression.
“Uh! Over there?”
At Do Hyeok-rin’s surprised voice, Moyong Man turned his head again.
bearded man, who had floated into the air, was falling onto the Green Forest King’s head this time.
[Frenzied Wind Thirteen Decisions Third Form: Fierce Kill ]
He was holding one hand axe with both hands.
bearded man’s appearance, concentrating all his energy on the small axe and falling downward, felt like a hawk shooting down towards its prey.
bearded man’s attack, accurately aiming for the blind spot of the Green Forest King who had turned his head, reached within striking distance before anyone knew it.
Haze shimmered around bearded man’s axe, which had drawn up energy for the last time.
Just before bearded man’s axe touched, the Green Forest King’s massive figure instantly disappeared from that spot like smoke.
─ Kwaaang!
bearded man’s axe, struck down with all his might, embedded into the ground.
Dust rose around the ground dug out in a circle.
“……Damn it.”
bearded man struck the ground with one hand with a bang.
All the prepared surprise attacks ended in failure.
The movement the Green Forest King showed at the last moment was clearly at a level far exceeding bearded man’s speed.
It was questionable whether he could succeed even if he attacked the Green Forest King any further.
‘Damn. If I try again, one hit will land someday. I can't give up like this.’
bearded man pulled the axe out of the ground with all his might and looked around with sharp eyes.
The Green Forest King, revealing himself from the side before anyone knew it, was chuckling with his arms crossed.
‘Yeah, laugh. Laugh like that and stay careless, then you'll get hit once.’
bearded man, reading the Green Forest King’s countenance, quickly got out of the pit and lifted the hand axe lying on the ground.
Then, he gripped the hand axes in both hands tightly once again.
“Aaaaaack!”
bearded man shouted a kiai and drew up his energy.
And the moment he raised his axe once again.
“You, stop that and come with us.”
The Green Forest King, standing quietly and looking at bearded man with heated eyes, threw the words casually.