Chapter 63. Target (6)
I looked at Hyeok Ilso, who was still a few steps away, for a mont.
I subtly shifted my gaze.
At so point, the Black Market bastards had surrounded us, and my companions were in the middle of a battle with them.
To think I had lost my mind and rushed only at Hyeok Ilso, without even grasping this situation.
“My apologies. It seems I was montarily excited.”
When I said that to my companions as a sign of apology, Nam Geon shouted with a happy face.
“B-brother. Are you, are you back to your senses?”
Clang!
In the midst of that, a sword flew at his side, but Nam Geon didn't even bat an eye.
However, the situation was not relaxed.
The enemies numbered in the dozens. With just Nam Geon and Yeongcheon dealing with all of them while trying to protect Senior Sister Baek Hyang, they seed to be short-handed. Senior Sister Baek Hyang was also running around here and there with her lacking skills, sohow managing to hold on.
Besides Nam Geon, no one even had the spare energy to answer .
Then, Hyeok Ilso’s voice pierced my ears.
“Do you have the leisure to turn your head?”
It certainly didn't seem like a ti to leisurely survey the battle situation.
But it also wasn't a situation where I could help my companions.
“Nam Geon, Taoist Yeongcheon. Please hold on a little longer. I will join you after dealing with that bastard.”
It was only a brief turn of my head, but it was enough to survey the countless trajectories embroidering the air.
Because ti was still flowing slowly.
I could tell by looking at the enemies.
Hyeok Ilso. That bastard was the most skilled master among the trash here.
So, killing that bastard first was the best course of action.
I turned my head back to look at Hyeok Ilso.
“Now, let’s try dying.”
He let out a hollow laugh.
“You’re sothing else. Howling like a beast, spouting nonsense to yourself, and now acting like you’re sobody.”
He was a strange bastard, indeed.
He was sneering with one side of his lip raised, but his eyes were emotionless.
I launched myself at the crazy bastard whose eyes and mouth moved separately, using my movent technique.
Paat!
As the distance between us rapidly closed, trajectories were embroidered in the air, originating from his sword.
The eerie trajectory of the Shadowless Blood Flash Sword was aid precisely at my heart.
Soon, his sword flew in along that trajectory.
Very slowly.
“Sseup.”
I lightly inhaled and raised my sword.
“Hoo.”
I lightly exhaled and thrust my sword along the trajectory visible in the air.
My head cleared up refreshingly.
Was this what people ant by a state of 'a mirror-like mind'?
Revenge, the greater good, none of that mattered.
The fact that my companions were in danger was the sa.
My haste would not resolve their crisis.
For the sake of my companions, there was only one thing to focus on.
Kill this bastard.
I had to kill the one who was faster, stronger, and more precise than .
The thod was simple.
My strength or internal energy was not going to increase right away. I had to swing my sword more precisely, more perfectly.
Hyeok Ilso’s sword flying towards my heart.
I used the Eight Trigrams Flying Stream Steps and twisted my body minimally to dodge.
Slice.
My clothes were torn, and my skin was lightly grazed.
It didn’t matter.
I focused solely on my sword.
A sword crawling like a grub.
Every mont, I corrected the shaking sword.
Swish.
Hyeok Ilso easily dodged my strike.
Because I had corrected the wavering trajectory midway, it ultimately did not reach him.
As expected, with my talent, I couldn't reach perfection in a single go.
It didn’t matter.
It was sothing I had been prepared for anyway.
I had already known for decades that I had no talent.
Once again, Hyeok Ilso’s sword flew towards my neck, and I too stepped on my movent technique and swung my sword towards his solar plexus again.
Our swords intersected.
Slice!
Neither the noise of clothes being torn nor the sharp pain of blood splattering could shake my concentration.
No. Even that noise and pain felt distant.
All I could see were the trajectories of his sword and mine.
“Haat!”
I thrust my sword again with a slow kiai.
Forgetting the pain that gripped my entire body, the guilt and self-hatred, and the worry for my companions, I focused only on the sword.
The body and sword blade crawling like grubs. In monts that couldn't even be described as fleeting, I corrected the sword path that tried to deviate from the trajectory visible in the air.
How long had I been swinging the sword in a state of self-forgetfulness, chasing the ideal?
At a certain mont, goosebumps rose all over my body.
The shape of my toes and soles hitting the ground. The degree to which my knees were bent. The angle at which my waist was twisted. The movent of my shoulders, elbows, and wrists. The grip of my fingers.
Furthermore, even the flow of internal energy matched to all those minute movents.
Without a single blockage, everything flowed like water.
And I had experienced this exact sensation once before.
When I killed the Black Market branch leader in Zunyi. The realm I had briefly touched just once.
Sword Unification.
Vwiiiiing.
A whitish aura naturally ford on the Restoring Na Sword.
The Restoring Na Sword, wrapped in Sword Qi, advanced towards him.
Hyeok Ilso’s eyes, which were swinging his sword in return, trembled.
The emotion of bewildernt appeared in the indifferent eyes of the bastard who always had only his lips smiling.
Soon, I saw the sight of Sword Qi forming on the sword he held.
Clang!
Slice!!
A clear tallic sound and a cutting sound echoed.
This ti, it was not the sound of my skin being cut.
Hyeok Ilso, whose chest was lightly grazed.
He scowled and clicked his tongue.
“Tsk. Hiding your skills, were you?”
At the very last mont, he had struck the Restoring Na Sword with his Sword Qi-clad sword, slightly altering my sword’s path.
Thanks to that, his heart wasn't pierced, and he was still spouting his filthy words.
I too clicked my tongue.
“Tsk.”
It was because of the regret of not being able to kill him in one go.
Strangely, while clicking my tongue, the corners of my mouth kept rising.
It was perhaps a natural thing.
Because it was the mont my sword had finally reached its target.
The target nad Hyeok Ilso. And above all, the target nad Sword Unification.
Laughter naturally burst out.
“Hahahahaha.”
As I laughed like a madman, Hyeok Ilso looked at as if I were crazy and asked.
“What’s so funny?”
“Ah. It’s because I think I’ll be able to clean up a lot of trash.”
Indeed. How could I not laugh?
Starting with that Hyeok Ilso, I was now able to kill even more skilled trash to my heart's content.
“Trash? What nonsense have you been spouting?”
“Trash wouldn’t know.”
At my answer, the mont he frowned, I charged at him with a surprise attack that stole his breath.
I had laughed refreshingly, but I knew myself.
That just succeeding once or twice was not enough to fully reach that realm.
The fact that my damn talent required hundreds, thousands of repetitions to learn sothing.
I had tried to make it a surprise, but he was not flustered.
“A worthless trick.”
The indifferent-faced Hyeok Ilso swung his sword again.
This ti, Sword Qi was continuously emanating from his sword.
It seed he had now given up on the idea of taking the Restoring Na Sword.
Clang!!
Once again, the Restoring Na Sword and his sword clashed.
The Restoring Na Sword scread.
Because this ti, I had failed to swing it perfectly.
As expected, this damn body was slow to grow.
Clang!
The Restoring Na Sword cried out as they clashed again.
If this continued, no matter how sturdy the Restoring Na Sword was, it would eventually break.
Even though I knew that fact clearly, I took another step forward.
Focusing only on the trajectory visible in the air, I swung my sword at him.
Because if I stayed still, afraid of failure, I would be stuck in the sa place forever.
And in a life-and-death battle, being in the sa place just ant I was asking to die.
“Haaaaat!”
The mont I thrust my sword with a kiai.
The sa pleasure as before once again enveloped my entire body.
The internal energy that had rushed through my ridians without blockage was layered over the Restoring Na Sword, passing through my palm.
Two swords wrapped in Sword Qi clash.
Clang!
Swords that were evenly matched.
Clang!
Hyeok Ilso pushed back my sword as if to repel it and took a step back.
He looked over with eyes as if he were evaluating and opened his mouth.
“You weren't hiding your skills. Your skills have been fluctuating. Your actions were like a madman’s, and now your sword art is like a madman’s too.”
“It feels quite filthy to be called crazy by soone crazy for money.”
I gave a suitable reply to his nonsense and launched my movent technique again.
Paat!
Our swords crossed again, and our bodies intersected.
Sotis I perfectly followed the trajectory and reached Sword Unification.
Clang!
And sotis I swung my sword like an idiot and was pathetically pushed back or got wounded.
Slice!
It felt like being a drunken libertine swinging a net here and there, chasing a butterfly called Sword Unification.
Clang!
But it wasn't bad.
Little by little. It felt like I was beginning to understand what it ant to handle a sword like my own body.
Clang!
Once again, we clashed swords covered in Sword Qi.
Clang!
The frequency of entering Sword Unification was gradually increasing.
The funny thing was that I was only now evenly matched with him.
Because he, with his superior talent, had practiced martial arts for much longer than I had now.
Both his external and internal energy were far superior.
Clang!
The only things I surpassed him in were precision and simplicity.
And that was only when I entered Sword Unification.
After exchanging a few more blows with him.
His indifferent gaze changed slightly.
It wasn't surprise or anger.
Lethargy? Annoyance? Bother?
It was a strange emotion unfitting for a life-and-death battle.
At the sa ti, his footwork beca sowhat ssy, unlike before.
A strange sense of disharmony.
The mont he stepped back slightly, I subtly shifted my gaze.
Only then did I understand his intention.
“Tsk.”
He clicked his tongue as if in regret and shouted.
“Strike!”
At the sa ti, a few of the Black Market lackeys rushed at .
He had been trying to lure towards his allies. Instead of bothering to face alone.
Slice!
I cut down one lackey, and while trying to block the attack of the next one who rushed in.
A certain trajectory was drawn along the stomach of the lackey swinging a saber at .
Does a technique exist where a weapon erges from the stomach?
It exists.
Paat.
As soon as I realized the identity of that trajectory, I threw my body to the side and perford the Lazy Donkey Rolls on the Ground.
Crack.
At the sa ti, the stomach of the lackey who was swinging a saber at was pierced, and a sword flew in.
I had reacted quite quickly, but the sword I couldn't completely dodge grazed my side.
Slice.
Ignoring the burning sensation on my side, I used the montum from the Lazy Donkey Rolls on the Ground to get up.
“Kugh…”
The saber wielder, struck by the sword of an ally from behind, collapsed with a final gasp.
Beyond him, Hyeok Ilso was clicking his tongue in disappointnt.
“Tsk.”
“You madman. Don’t you feel sorry for your subordinate?”
He opened his mouth with a look of incomprehension.
“What nonsense is this? This one follows for money anyway. Is there a reason to feel guilty?”
After saying that, Hyeok Ilso gave another order to his subordinates.
“I will give a gold ingot to the one who kills that bastard.”
As soon as his order fell, greed filled the eyes of the other terrified scoundrels.
I couldn't help but shake my head.
“Birds of a feather flock together, they say. How well the idiots get along.”
Then, one of the approaching bastards muttered as if hypnotizing himself.
“Yes. He’s a dying corpse. If I just kill him.”
I thought I knew what he ant.
The black clothes I was wearing were already like rags, and the entire garnt was stained dark red.
Perhaps it was because of my eyes. The vision that had been washed clean by tears a mont ago was now dyed red again. Because of the blood flowing from my forehead.
Thump. Thump.
Between the sounds of the approaching bastards' footsteps.
Drip. Drip.
The sound of water droplets falling could be heard regularly.
It was the sound of blood drops falling from the hand gripping the Restoring Na Sword.
My whole body was covered in wounds and blood.
Despite recognizing that fact, I didn't feel any pain or fatigue.
Rather, that regular sound felt like it was awakening my mind.
A clear mind. I watched their movents beyond my blood-red vision for a mont.
“Die!!”
“The gold ingot is mine!!”
A lee began.
Six scoundrels positioned on all sides.
And Hyeok Ilso, who was opportunistically aiming for the gaps and unleashing his Shadowless Blood Flash Sword.
“Hehehehe.”
A dry laugh escaped .
Hyeok Ilso had co up with a plan, but he had made one big mistake.
He didn't know.
That a lee was a situation as comfortable as my own ho for .
I threw my body here and there, using the Eight Trigrams Flying Stream Steps according to the six trajectories embroidering the air.
Thump.
With every step, a bloody footprint was left on the ground.
Attacks that were impossible to dodge, I deflected with the Restoring Na Sword.
Clang!
While the sword I deflected collided with a nearby spear, and another tallic sound rang out.
Clang!
Hyeok Ilso’s sword flew between the lackeys, aiming for my heart.
“Kugh…”
Soon, a choked groan burst out.
It was the groan of the swordsman who had just swung his sword at a mont ago.
I had grabbed the sleeve of the one whose posture had collapsed after clashing with the spear and used him as a shield.
The mont Hyeok Ilso retrieved his sword after the surprise attack failed.
Using the montum from pulling the swordsman, I rushed at the one on my left in a surprise attack.
He was startled and swung his saber at .
If I fight while dodging that, I will lose the opportunity I barely gained.
I see one trajectory.
A trajectory that cuts both his saber and his neck at the sa ti.
Without a mont's hesitation, I thrust the Restoring Na Sword along that trajectory.
The pleasure that envelops my entire body once again, and the internal energy that advances without blockage.
Vwiiiiing.
Sword Qi ford on the Restoring Na Sword.
Slice!
A beautiful trajectory was embroidered in the air, and the lackey's saber and neck were cut off at the sa ti.
“Hoo.”
I lightly composed my breath.
I had dealt with two of them for now. One with my own hands, and one with Hyeok Ilso's.
A faint dizziness ca over .
I gathered my wits for a mont and focused on evasion.
For a while, I evaded the attacks of the four remaining ones as if I were cornered. I was lightly grazed on the forearm again by Hyeok Ilso’s Shadowless Blood Flash Sword, which flew in as a surprise.
Slice.
Thanks to that cool sensation, my mind, which was about to blur, beca clear.
“Hehe.”
This ti, I took the initiative and closed in on the spearman on the right, thrusting my sword.
Crack!
Soon, the lackey next to swung his sword at , and at the sa ti, a single trajectory was drawn along his side.
I had been waiting for this mont.
I boldly dove into the lackey’s embrace.
At the sa ti, the trajectory of the Shadowless Blood Flash Sword changed.
A trajectory that pierced the subordinate's back, just like before.
But Hyeok Ilso didn't know.
That even if the lackey blocked my view, I could see his sword path.
Crack!
With a cutting sound, Hyeok Ilso’s sword pierced through the lackey’s stomach and shot out.
Slice.
His sword passed by my body, narrowly grazing my clothes and side.
At the sa ti, an eerie sound rang out again.
Crack!
The Restoring Na Sword, which had also pierced through the lackey’s stomach.
It was the sound of that sword piercing Hyeok Ilso’s body.
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