Chapter 29
“What are you all doing? Get up now!!!”
While a subtle tension flowed between the old man and me, the bulky man shouted at the Black Society bastards who were kneeling.
Seeing my subordinates bowing down, beaten to a pulp in front of me, made my blood boil. And sure enough, the bulky man’s face was flushed a reddish-jujube color.
“Y-Yes!”
“Understood, Guardian Gwak.”
“Understood!”
Then, the remnants who had been begging for their lives just a moment ago, sprang to their feet with a renewed vigor on their faces and retreated behind the bulky man.
I threw a mocking provocation at the bulky man called Guardian Gwak.
“Guardian Gwak. Why are you so upset? In a moment, you’ll be in the same position as those guys.”
Honestly, it was pure bluff, but this kind of provocation was the right strategy for me right now.
“Brat. Don’t get cocky. You won’t make it out of here alive today.”
However, Guardian Gwak spoke in a calmer voice than before.
It seems that since a fight is inevitable, he intends to ignore the cheap provocation like a true master……
“They always say that. Guys like you, who aren’t even the boss, just small fries, always blabber on about ‘brat’ this and ‘you won’t survive’ that, and then die pathetically. This is information based on my lifelong experience, so you can believe it. You’ll be the first one to get your leash cut off today, Guardian Gwak.”
Would I leave him alone?
I’ve clearly reached my physical limit.
Even if I were to melt down all the ‘Force’ attribute chunks in my lower dantian and convert them into internal energy, it would only be enough to deal with Guardian Gwak. I’m in a tough spot figuring out how to deal with the old man, who looks much stronger than Guardian Gwak.
In times like these, the best strategy is to provoke even an idiot like Guardian Gwak, shake his composure, deal with him as quickly as possible, and then focus on the old man.
“Jin Gaya. You came to Chang’an with no background, pretending to be a hero, and disrupting the martial world. I will tear your limbs apart and wash away your sins.”
“Don’t lower your voice, Guardian Gwak. It’s not cool, it’s just stupid.”
“Tsk, tsk. You really are a crazy bastard.”
What?
He’s not that agitated?
Damn…… He’s calm, unlike his appearance.
But.
It doesn’t matter.
This fight is unavoidable, and I’m destined to roll around with these guys, whether it ends in death or survival.
Also, while I was exchanging meaningless banter with Guardian Gwak, I was secretly absorbing a large amount of air using the principles of the Nature Meridian, without them noticing.
In other words, I’ve gathered some ‘strength.’
And honestly……
Since when have I ever provoked my opponents with words?
My provocation, anytime, anywhere,
Papapa!
Is first and foremost my fist, and secondly, my fist.
Bang━!
Always strike first with full force!
It’s an essential part of my fighting style, especially when facing strong opponents. This is a habit from my past life when I had to kill targets quickly and efficiently.
But this time, I took a different approach.
‘Since it’s a disadvantageous fight, it’s better to make him let his guard down and wait for a single opportunity.’
Honestly, I wonder if I should even fight with such a cunning plan, but what choice do I have?
It’s a hundred times better to win by being cunning than to get beaten up because of pointless stubbornness.
“Heh. Is that all you’ve got?”
Guardian Gwak, having received the restrained fist strike, easily deflected it and then drew the greatsword he was carrying on his back.
The greatsword was, as its name suggested, a greatsword. With a sword of that size, it must be quite heavy, so it wouldn’t be easy to wield properly without considerable strength.
However, Guardian Gwak possessed strength befitting his size.
He unsheathed the large greatsword as if it were a feather, creating a lightning-fast sword wind. The cutting power of that sword wind was so great that my clothes were sliced and shredded without even being touched.
“Jin So-cheon. I wonder how a worthless piece of trash like you could cause such a scene, but you’ve chosen the wrong opponent.”
“Oh, really?”
“Do you know who I am?”
“Well, you must be a nobody from the Black Society.”
“Tsk, tsk. I am the Blood Demon Blade, Gwak Seong-ho, who slaughtered 100 righteous swordsmen in Hangzhou 10 years ago and disappeared without a trace.”
Blood Demon Blade Gwak Seong-ho!
Sorry, I don’t know you.
I don’t know why this nobody is suddenly revealing his identity, which I didn’t even ask about, but it’s not worth figuring out. The moment the sword wind subsided, I launched my next move.
Whoosh━!
My next move was a leg technique.
Since I didn’t have a weapon and his greatsword was long, I decided it was better to keep him at bay with kicks rather than trying to close the distance.
Thwack━!
And my judgment was spot on.
Guardian Gwak, with no preliminary movements, didn’t anticipate the incoming kick and exposed his temple.
However,
‘Even though it hit cleanly, this level of internal energy won’t do any damage.’
Even after getting hit in the temple, Guardian Gwak didn’t budge.
He must have been surprised by the sudden leg technique, but since there was no real damage, he’s probably just dazed, right?
“You bastard. You’ve learned some pretty strange hand-to-hand combat techniques. But you can’t defeat me with something like that……”
Thwack━!
This time, I kicked his thigh.
Of course, I conserved my internal energy in this attack as well.
“You fooool! You can’t do anything with such attacks……”
Thwack━!
This time, I kicked the opposite thigh,
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. How cute. Go ahead and try your best……”
Thwack━!
Then the right thigh again,
Thwack━!
Then the left thigh again……
Just like that, I landed a dozen consecutive kicks to his lower body while dodging all of his sword attacks like a flying squirrel.
Then,
Groooo……!
The Qi emitted from Guardian Gwak, who was now thoroughly pissed off, changed in an instant.
‘Good.’
That heavy and dense killing intent is surely a sign of his agitation.
“It’s time to kill you, Jin Gaya!”
I’ve been waiting for this moment.
Thoroughly.
Fwoosh━!
The sword wind emitted by Guardian Gwak swirled violently, creating a ‘whirlwind.’
“Whoa!”
I instinctively knew that if I got caught in that sword wind, I wouldn’t escape unscathed, but I wasn’t afraid.
Swish, swish, swish━.
“Hoo……”
‘Nature Meridian’, deep breathing mode……
In an instant, the power of ‘Mother Nature’ accumulated in the atmosphere is inhaled into my mouth as a white gas.
Based on that crystal-clear breath, I heightened my reflexes to the utmost and threw myself into Guardian Gwak’s sword wind.
“That crazy bastard!”
“That’s the end of him!”
“Damn dog!”
Suddenly, the remnants who had been kneeling and begging me for their lives just a moment ago, were cheering and smirking.
It’s only natural for them to react that way.
To them, me jumping into a sword wind that could tear my limbs apart must look like a rabbit entering a tiger’s mouth, right?
But I completely overturned their expectations and dodged the entire range of the sword wind, instantly closing the distance with Guardian Gwak.
“You damn rat!”
An exclamation burst from Guardian Gwak’s mouth.
But even after seeing me get so close, he didn’t bother defending himself and maintained his attack-focused stance.
‘He must have judged that my attacks are meaningless.’
That’s right.
Guardian Gwak must have perceived me as a ‘fist master’ specialized in agility.
Therefore, instead of wasting energy on both offense and defense, he’s probably thinking of finishing me off by focusing solely on attacking.
But I used Fast Whale Steps at close range to dodge his sword wind like a loach, and I continued to kick his lower body whenever I found an opening.
Thwack━!
Thwack━!
Thwack━!
My kicks relentlessly pounded his lower body, targeting his thighs, knee joints, and calves.
“……”
Only then did Guardian Gwak’s expression begin to change.
From the initial sneer that suggested my attacks were merely ticklish, his furrowed brows and contorted facial muscles were a sign that my low kicks were taking effect.
“Guardian Gwak. No matter how bull-like your physique is, no matter how iron-clad your legs are, the impact on your lower body is cumulative pain. How long do you think you can hold out?”
“Don’t talk nonsense!”
Swish, swish, swish━!
Guardian Gwak’s sword wind becomes even sharper.
If that sharp wind hits me, my limbs will be severed.
‘I need to focus. One mistake and my arms and legs could be cut off.’
I have no intention of becoming a cripple.
Therefore, I opened up every cell in my body and transformed myself into the optimal combat state.
Of course, this required me to expend a tremendous amount offor my current state internal energy.
As a result, the ‘Force’ attribute chunks that had been melted down began to wither,
‘But I’m almost there.’
I didn’t stop moving.
Thwack━!
One hit.
Thwack━!
One hit.
Thwack━!
One hit.
Like a hunter firing arrows one by one to catch the king of the mountains, the great tiger.
Thwack━!
Like a battering ram constantly charging to break down an impregnable fortress.
Thwack━!
Like a mountain climber taking one step at a time towards the towering Mount Tai.
Thwack━!
I’m simply doing what I can do now, and what I must do.
“Ugh……”
And then, as a low groan escaped from Guardian Gwak’s mouth, which had been as sturdy as an iron tower,
Tremble, tremble━.
His lower body begins to shake.
‘One strike.’
One strike.
I must bring down Guardian Gwak with a single blow.
The reason I’ve been targeting only Guardian Gwak’s lower body is not to block his footwork and cut off his mobility.
I only want my strongest blow to land squarely on Guardian Gwak’s heart.
So that his instincts can’t detect the danger and dodge the attack.
In other words, I’ve laid the perfect groundwork so that he can’t move an inch the moment my fist is unleashed.
“Th-……”
Finally, I bit my lower lip and aimed at the area just below Guardian Gwak’s left chest, where he was showing signs of distress.
Swish━!
I unleashed the ‘Gale Fist’ towards his heart.
Kwaaaaaang!
Gale Fist.
My Gale Fist is different from conventional fist techniques.
It’s an application of the enlightenment I gained from the ‘martial arts discourse’ with the Cult Leader in my past life. It’s a rotating fist that twists all the power channels, from the pectoral muscles, shoulders, forearms, elbows, and wrists, at the moment of impact.
This rotating fist possesses ‘lethal power’ that exceeds the fist power of a normal punch by tens of times.
However, mastering the perfect Gale Fist requires bone-carving and flesh-burning training to seize that split-second moment. What I did just now was merely a manifestation of the past life experience etched into my soul.
“Kuwaaaaack!”
But it was enough.
The moment my fist connected, the fist wind generated from my fist combined with the principles of the Gale Fist to become a powerful ‘whirlwind.’
“Guardian Gwak!”
“Guardian!”
“Gu…… Guardian Gwak!”
Crack━!
Guardian Gwak’s heart exploded, and with a scream of agony, his body collapsed like a rotten log.
……!
In an instant, the atmosphere in the area completely changed.
The Black Society remnants who had been cheering for Guardian Gwak trembled with horrified eyes, and I, having expended a great deal of concentration, gasped for breath.
“Huff……”
But even in the midst of that, I didn’t forget the meticulousness of maintaining the Nature Meridian’s absorption method.
One hurdle crossed, another to overcome.
The saying ‘mountains beyond mountains’ is appropriate for this situation, wouldn’t you say?
Because I still have a ‘target to deal with.’
“Young man. You’ve learned some interesting hand-to-hand combat techniques. A raw, unrefined style of fighting, you could say? Anyway, I’ve seen enough. Now I understand what kind of guts you have to barge into our headquarters alone.”
At that moment, the old man spoke with intrigued eyes.
Honestly, I was surprised.
To think he’d be so composed after seeing my Gale Fist.
This feeling is like a sense of inferiority towards someone who doesn’t show much reaction when you finally present something you’ve worked so hard on.
So, I expressed my feelings exactly as they were, without any distortion.
“Shut up, you old geezer.”
“……Have you suddenly been struck by a heart demon? You’re using such frivolous language.”
“B*llshit. Don’t try to act all important, you rotten corpse. You reek of death.”
“……”
The old man’s face contorts in a strange way.
I chuckled, finding it amusing even though I was the one who created this situation.