"Y-young master?"
Gu's acting was flawless.
The trembling pupils.
The trembling voice.
The stiff gestures and expression.
If Namgung Mu-gwang hadn't seen his movents just now, and if he hadn't known that his movents were close to the first-rate, he would have definitely been deceived.
The unfortunate thing for Gu was that the two people in front of him now had the ability to see through his acting.
"To grasp the opponent's true intentions, you must first attack their eyes."
The first older brother once again thrust his sword at Gu. Namgung Mu-gwang was not sure if that had anything to do with his true intentions, but the effect was certain.
"You should have just pretended to be a fool and let it pass, you're making things quite troubleso."
Gu was no longer the Gu Namgung Mu-gwang knew. His appearance was still that of an old man, but the voice that ca out of his mouth was that of a young man. Namgung Mu-gwang flinched at the dissonance.
However, his first older brother showed no signs of movent.
He was just thrusting his sword accurately at the opponent's eyes, just as he had at the beginning.
Gu kicked off the ground just as the sword was about to reach his pupils.
His movents were those of Namgung.
The Infinite Step.
One becos two, two beco four, four beco eight... countless changes created with each step. It was a footwork that was so difficult to learn that only a few people in the entire history of Namgung had learned it.
It was surprising that Gu had learned it, and even more surprising that he was performing it quite accurately.
"First, watch the opponent's movents carefully."
His first older brother, without taking his eyes off Gu, who was showing ever-changing movents, calmly continued to speak.
His appearance was as if he were teaching soone. And Namgung Mu-gwang realized that the target was himself.
'Why?' was the question that imdiately followed.
"The most important thing in a fight is distance. In the end, footwork is nothing more than a role to shorten that distance."
Namgung Mu-gwang tried to apply his older brother's words while trying to follow Gu's scattered figures with his eyes, but as expected, he lacked the ability.
And his first older brother's words continued.
"Sword, saber, spear, fist. Each has its own distance depending on the martial art used. If you know the opponent's distance, the range you need to be aware of is ultimately fixed."
Crackle.
Gu's scattered figures gathered into one. The location was his older brother's blind spot, his back! At that mont, although it was a clear day with the sun shining, a faint lightning flashed in the air.
His older brother, without even looking at Gu who had appeared behind him, swung his sword.
Clang!
Gu's sword was flicked away.
"Another thing to think about is my own distance. The visualization of this is called a domain. To build one's own domain. If you can do this perfectly, you will rarely lose in any fight."
Although the theory was becoming more and more profound, and it still didn't quite sink in, Namgung Mu-gwang could understand to so extent what his first older brother was saying.
Just now, his first older brother had focused on building his own domain rather than chasing Gu's movents.
And the mont Gu entered his domain, he had reacted imdiately. The reason he could do that was because, in the end, for the opponent's sword to reach him, it had to enter his domain.
Namgung Mu-gwang roughly understand the theory...
But he didn't understand how to apply it in a real fight.
"This domain can also be used in reverse."
The mont Gu had not yet regained his balance from the clash just now, his first older brother moved.
"When my domain and the opponent's domain collide, one of the two domains will collapse."
His movents were not as flashy as what Gu had shown just now, but they were concise and nimble.
Gu's face, flustered as his first older brother had shortened the distance in an instant, was visible. Gu was still in a state where his balance was broken, while his first older brother was in a state where he was fully maintaining his own balance.
In other words, while his first older brother's domain was intact, Gu's domain could be said to be crumpled now.
Swoosh!
Gu just stared at the sword that was being swung at him. His response was slow, as much as his domain had shrunk. Just then, Gu's two feet touched the ground. His domain recovers its original form. And he perceives. But it was not perfect. Gu swung his sword. Even from Namgung Mu-gwang's point of view, it looked slow. Just then, Gu retrieved the sword he had extended and curled his body as much as possible, rolling his stomach. The mont Namgung Mu-gwang saw that, he felt as if he could vaguely understand why Gu had taken that posture.
'Because his original domain had collapsed, he is building a new domain.'
A domain was not sothing that was fixed, but sothing that could change depending on the situation and the environnt.
Then what about his older brother?
His gaze shifts to his older brother.
As expected, his older brother's domain was also changing to match Gu's changed domain.
Squeeze.
He could feel his older brother's muscles contracting.
A small change that he would not have noticed if he had not been concentrating.
Namgung Mu-gwang's eyes widen at the sight.
'The domain...'
It had grown. To the point of enveloping Gu, and himself.
Gu, as if he hadn't noticed such a thing, was taking a stance for drawing his sword.
Gu swung his sword.
His older brother also swung his sword.
In Namgung Mu-gwang's eyes, he saw an illusion of everything in his older brother's domain being cut.
Slice!
One of Gu's arms, which was not holding a sword, rolled on the floor.
His first older brother, as if nothing had happened, re-gripped his sword and aid it at Gu, just as he had at the beginning.
"Did you see? It's easy, right?"
It's easy to say!
Gu's face, with one arm cut off, crumpled. Surprisingly, even though his arm was cut off, Gu did not lose his reason and showed a sowhat calm reaction.
Namgung Mu-gwang thought that if he had been in the sa situation as Gu, he would have lost his reason imdiately.
"As expected of the Sword Dragon. It seems that a poorly imitated martial art is no match."
Gu still uttered a leisurely voice and pressed the other shoulder with his remaining arm. The blood stopped. It seed he had perford acupressure.
It was just amazing to see such a calm appearance even though he could perform acupressure.
Gu raises his sword.
"One arm is a cheap price for being careless."
Gu kicks off the ground again.
The sa flashy movents as before were not seen. Instead, it was fast.
'Huh?'
To the point where Namgung Mu-gwang's eyes couldn't see it.
It was clearly a movent that had surpassed the first-rate.
However, Namgung Mu-gwang's eyes were staring at one side. Although there was clearly no one there, for so reason, he had a strong feeling that sothing bad would happen if he didn't look there.
It was just then that his first older brother moved.
His first older brother accurately revealed himself in the place where Namgung Mu-gwang was looking.
And he swung his sword down from above.
Slice!
Blood splattered. But Gu was still not visible.
Namgung Mu-gwang once again threw his gaze to one side.
Without fail, his first older brother appeared there and swung his sword.
Slice!
Blood splattered again, and Gu's figure was still not visible.
Just then, Namgung Mu-gwang felt a strange intuition.
The sa unidentifiable intuition as before was still being felt.
His first older brother was located in the place where his intuition was felt this ti as well.
But the intuition was not just one.
The problem was that he couldn't tell exactly where it was coming from this ti. It was as vague as if there were a fog.
His first older brother swung his sword. With a 'slice!' sound, blood splattered again. And Gu finally revealed himself. As expected, Gu's body was drenched in blood.
And yet, Gu was still smiling.
Gu kicks off the ground.
"Build a domain."
His older brother raises his sword nobly.
"When the opponent enters the domain, cut them."
His older brother cut Gu.
Gu, even with his body pierced by his older brother's sword, was grinning. Gu's hand was holding his older brother's sword.
Seeing him do that, even at the cost of his own life, he felt a sense of awe rather than fear.
"Chaotic world, chaotic world, chaotic chaotic world!"
Gu, with those incomprehensible words, his neck snapped. He was dead. But Gu was still holding his older brother's sword. His older brother tries to pull out the sword, but it doesn't co out.
Just then, the ground under his older brother's feet bulges, and a sword cos out from within and aims at his older brother's chin.
"Little brother."
His older brother, even in such a critical mont, calmly continued to speak.
"If you build a domain, you can prepare for any situation."
Crackle.
The flash of the air that he had seen before.
It was happening from his older brother's sword.
The sword moved slowly. The mont he captured that movent, 'slice!' the sword had already cut Gu, who was holding him, and was plunging vertically towards the sword that was rising from the ground.
The sword that was rising from the ground is split in half, and his older brother plunges his sword deep into the ground.
The ground turning red, he could guess that there was a person inside.
His older brother puts his hand into the ground and pulls out the person inside, and it was the person who had relieved Gu just now.
"It seems our business here is done."
His older brother extends his hand towards the dead Gu and the forr relief worker. Then, with the sll of burning human flesh, the two people turn to ash.
Namgung Mu-gwang, who had seen a person die for the first ti, tried to act nonchalant, but he couldn't hold back the urge to vomit.
He felt sowhat relieved after vomiting what was inside him. When he raised his head, his older brother had co close and was looking down at him.
"Tsk, tsk. How pathetic."
* * *
After the first day, Namgung Mu-gwang had been going around the family with his first older brother for two weeks, stirring things up.
As soon as they t, his first older brother would attack the opponent's eyes, and the opponent would reveal his true identity. At this point, he began to think that attacking the eyes might be a panacea. And sotis, he would even give Namgung Mu-gwang a turn to fight.
It was the sa now.
"Kill him."
"M-?"
"Yes."
Namgung Mu-gwang didn't want to, but as long as he had decided to change, and as long as he was living in the martial world, he knew that he had to experience killing.
It was strange that he had not experienced killing until now, having been born into a martial family.
Above all, the opponent he was about to kill was a villain.
Namgung Mu-gwang gripped his sword. His trembling arm made the sword tremble as well. Namgung Mu-gwang slowly extended his sword forward. Then he stopped in the middle.
"But you said we needed a justification, but if we kill them all like this, won't that justification disappear?"
"A trivial justification will only be a poison. To catch a big fish, we must also use a bait worthy of a big fish. So kill him quickly. If you can't, then you should just quit and get out of here."
It was his own doing. To quit here was no different from going back to the old days.
Namgung Mu-gwang squeezed his eyes shut and pressed the sword firmly.
He could feel the unpleasant sensation of the sword digging into flesh from his fingertips. The opponent's trembling spread through the sword to his whole body.
When the opponent stopped breathing, the trembling of the sword also stopped.
"Gasp, gasp, gasp!"
Namgung Mu-gwang, breathing heavily, let go of the sword. And Namgung Mu-gwang looked at his first older brother, who had made him do this, with a look of complaint.
His first older brother, he had expected, would either click his tongue at him or have a displeased expression. But he had a serious expression.
"Rember. This is the sensation of killing a person."
Namgung Mu-gwang, in the suddenly serious atmosphere, also seriously tried to rember the sensation that still remained in his hand so as not to forget it.
"But we've been stirring up the family for three weeks, will the group that has infiltrated the family just stand by?"
"The young head of the family is personally going around catching spies, do you think anyone will say anything?"
"That's true, but."
Almost all the suspicious beings were killed.
The one he had just killed was one of the five hall masters of the inner hall of the Namgung family, the Red Fla Sword, Namgung Yul-gi.
In terms of kinship, he was about Namgung Mu-gwang's sixth cousin.
Although he had never imagined that they had even infiltrated the branch families of the family, considering the strange feeling he was getting from the head of the family and the direct descendants, it was not so surprising.
Now, only two people were left.
His father and his second older brother.
Although he had killed all the others and had burned their bodies, this ti, it was his first older brother who was holding the severed face in his hand.
Perhaps that was the bait, the justification, to catch the big fish.
"Get a good night's sleep today."
"Yes?"
"Because tomorrow might be a tough day."
"But won't it be okay tomorrow?"
Tomorrow was the day the Divine Monk was scheduled to visit.
Even if sothing were to happen, would a big deal happen when the Divine Monk, a master of the Profound Realm, was there?
"I hope so too."
However, his older brother's face, as he looked up at the sky, was for so reason shadowed.
Even if not on other days, tomorrow... he was worried too much.
Above all, his intuition was quiet.
(End of Chapter)
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