Chapter 1509
There are people you can deal with using words. (4)
Kwaang!
Instinctively, Jo Geol pushed off the ground, trying to increase his speed.
But it was too far. Too late.
Even with his remarkable Swift Sword, known as the Flashing Blade, it was impossible to close this distance in an instant.
In the slowed time, he saw the staff vividly, brimming with formidable inner strength, descending towards the back of Baek Cheon’s head.
‘No, no…’
Just as Jo Geol instinctively closed his eyes.
Kaang!
From somewhere, a sword flew like lightning, deflecting the staff as it was about to touch Baek Cheon’s head.
“Huk, Sago!”
Jo Geol’s voice trembled, mixed with relief, as he exclaimed. Suddenly, Yu Iseol appeared by Baek Cheon’s side, calmly slashing the assailant aiming for Baek Cheon’s head.
She reached out, grasping Baek Cheon’s faltering shoulders, and lifted him up.
Baek Cheon, who had lost consciousness for a moment, lifted his head to see Yu Iseol, furrowing her brows slightly.
“…Thank you.”
“Just doing my part.”
Baek Cheon, holding his chest with his left hand, rose to his feet again and adjusted his posture.
“I seem to have let my guard down for a moment. Don’t worry about it.”
“Yes.”
Yu Iseol nodded without saying anything else. However, Jo Geol, watching from a distance, remained confused.
‘Sasuk succumbed to such a simple attack?’
Of course, a person’s physical condition can vary from day to day, and even an expert might have days when they can’t perform at their best.
However, even considering that, Baek Cheon, as he knew him, would not easily expose his chest like that.
What was even stranger was Yu Iseol, not Baek Cheon.
Thanks to Yoon Jong, Jo Geol had a moment to catch his breath and assess Baek Cheon’s situation. But Yu Iseol didn’t have such a moment. So how did she realize Baek Cheon was in danger and come to his aid faster than Jo Geol?
Unless Yu Iseol had known in advance that Baek Cheon would be in danger…
“What are you doing, spacing out!”
“Oh, I know!”
Jo Geol responded quickly, biting his lip. Now was not the time to be lost in thought. After all, this was a battlefield, wasn’t it?
With worried eyes, Jo Geol glanced towards Baek Cheon and then immediately rushed forward to Yoon Jong. He had no choice but to trust Yu Iseol, who was beside Baek Cheon now.
“Uaaaaaaah!”
A stronger sword energy than usual burst forth from Jo Geol’s sword like lightning, as if trying to draw all the surrounding elders to him.
Baek Cheon, observing the explosive sword energy from the corner of his eye, bit his lower lip firmly. At that moment, he heard a short word from Yu Iseol.
“Retreat.”
“No.”
Baek Cheon shook his head in refusal.
“I was just momentarily careless.”
“Stubborn.”
“As usual.”
Baek Cheon gripped his sword tightly and boldly stepped forward.
Yu Iseol, seemingly deciding not to stop him any longer, closed her mouth. Instead, she positioned herself half a step behind him.
Baek Cheon let out a bitter smile.
‘I’m being a burden.’
He knew well how Yu Iseol fought. She didn’t hold her ground to fight. Instead, she would swiftly dart in before the opponent noticed, creating chaos and making precise, minimal movements to cut them down.
Now, she was planting her feet and blocking the enemy, unlike her usual self. Even without words, it was clear she was determined to help Baek Cheon.
A resonating sound filled the air as Baek Cheon channeled his internal energy into his sword.
“I told you! I was just careless!”
Fwaaah!
Red petals burst forth from the tip of his sword in eloquent streams.
Today, the brilliantly red plum blossoms bloomed more vibrantly than ever, as if they might wither at any moment.
“Wooooah!”
In sync with this display, a golden aura exploded from behind Baek Cheon like sunlight.
“It’s dangerous!”
“Get out of the way!”
Kwoooom!
The golden aura shattered the main hall’s wall into pieces. With this level of impact, there was no way to keep the ongoing battle a secret any longer.
“You bastard!”
The elders, realizing the situation, glared at Baek Cheon with murderous intent. Baek Cheon chuckled briefly.
“They say beggars have nothing, so they can be the most proud. Watching you, elders, it seems that isn’t entirely true.”
“What?”
Strangely, he couldn’t stop laughing.
The situation remained dire.
Everyone was merely holding on, waiting for Chung Myung to swiftly deal with Ilho Shin Gae.
But oddly enough, Baek Cheon felt calm and light-hearted. Unlike them, who seemed unsure of what to do despite their overwhelming advantage.
‘I don’t know.’
Was this feeling due to his confidence in the path he was walking, or…
As he glanced aside, he saw Chung Myung rampaging like a ghost.
“…Let’s say it’s the former.”
Baek Cheon murmured quietly, smiling, and infused his sword with internal energy once more.
“Push harder!”
“Yes!”
With his lip bit tightly, Baek Cheon resolved himself and thrust his sword forward.
Kaang!
A sword deflected the incoming staff in an instant and slashed through the air like a snake, slicing the arm holding the staff.
The red serpent of light tore through the wrist and elbow, then savagely bit into the shoulder.
“Argh!”
The face of the Beggars Sect’s elder twisted in pain as his arm was shredded. But there was no time to feel the pain. The red serpent, its fangs bared, was now flying toward his face.
Gasp!
With a startled exclamation, the elder ducked and rolled on the ground.
Lazy donkey roll. The martial art technique that brings the most shame to warriors, but he felt no shame.
Boom!
Unfortunately, Chung Myung was equally unconcerned with appearances. He followed the elder rolling on the ground like a streak of light and kicked him squarely in the chest.
The elder spat blood and crashed into the wall of the main hall. Dust billowed from the crumbling wall.
After neatly disposing of one elder, Chung Myung vanished from that spot as if he had sunk into the ground.
Crash! Boom!
Three short staffs slammed into the place where he had stood just moments before, their force powerful enough to shatter the floor of the hall. Had he not dodged in time, his body would have been crushed.
“Damn it!”
Those who had attacked the empty floor were startled and looked around. But what they saw before them was not the elusive figure of Chung Myung. Instead, dozens of sword images were flying directly at them, precisely aimed.
Instinctively, he twisted his body to avoid the attack. The elongated red sword energy narrowly grazed past his twisted face.
It was close. If he had been just a bit slower, his neck would have been pierced. In that moment of mingled dread and relief, the elder’s eyes widened.
‘What..!’
The sword energy that had narrowly missed his face seemed to suddenly expand, exploding in all directions and creating countless flower petals. It was like a bomb going off right in front of him, scattering the fragments everywhere.
If they had been skilled enough to respond to such a dire situation, they wouldn’t have remained mere elders of the Beggars Sect.
“Arghhhhh!”
The scattering petals slashed through the elders’ bodies. In an instant, the elders, their bodies covered in wounds, collapsed to the ground after a brief twitch.
Kaak.
The tip of Chung Myung’s lowered sword scraped the floor. Catching his breath, Chung Myung turned his razor-sharp eyes toward Ilho Shin Gae.
‘This is more endless than I thought.’
There were always plenty of beggars in the world, and as many Beggars Sect members.
But he hadn’t anticipated that even the elders would be so numerous.
Each elder’s prowess were only slightly higher than the first disciples of prestigious sects, but the fact that even a fraction of the elders could fill this vast great hall was the problem.
However, Chung Myung’s burden was nothing compared to the shock Ilho Shin Gae was feeling. Ilho Shin Gae, looking like a person who had lost their mind, glanced back and forth between the unconscious, scattered Beggars Sect’s elders and Chung Myung.
Chung Myung was still standing unscathed, while the Beggars Sect elders were almost entirely sprawled across the main hall floor.
‘What in the world…?’
His hand was trembling without him even realizing it.
There was an indescribable difference between ‘knowing’ Chung Myung’s martial prowess and ‘feeling’ it firsthand.
Chung Myung was strong. But Ilho Shin Gae was also strong.
So, despite knowing Hwasan Geomhyeop was formidable, he believed he could at least hold his own ground. Perhaps even victory was not beyond his reach.
But the presence of Chung Myung today turned everything he thought he ‘knew’ into a mere illusion.
Chung Myung was right.
He had been living in arrogance, thinking himself a king among dogs. Yet, in front of the tigers who fought to the death for their territory on the vast plains, he was nothing more than a plaything.
“Are you going to keep hiding like that?”
Chung Myung’s cold question made Ilho Shin Gae flinch.
There was no sense of superiority in Chung Myung’s eyes. It wasn’t because he was wary of Ilho Shin Gae. From the beginning, he didn’t even regard him as an enemy.
Realizing this, Ilho Shin Gae bit his lip hard.
He couldn’t fight. He had no courage to face Chung Myung. No, it wasn’t even courage – it would be sheer recklessness.
‘Yes, I am a dog.’
A dog that lacks the courage to fight alone. But that did not mean he had been defeated.
“Feeling anxious, are we?”
A dog has its own way of fighting. Even the greatest tiger can be chased and bitten to death by a pack of hunting dogs.
Ilho Shin Gae quietly assessed the situation.
Hwasan’s disciples were putting up their best fight, but that was all. They could never win.
“Your goal is to kill me before they fall, right?”
“…”
“I won’t let myself get caught up in your schemes out of some petty pride. I won’t engage with you until you’ve killed all the other elders.”
At those words, Chung Myung smirked.
“So, as long as you become the Sect Leader, it doesn’t matter if all the elders die? You’re more disgusting than I thought.”
“No, that’s not it either.”
“…What?”
“I didn’t anticipate Hwasan appearing here. However… I did consider the possibility that the Sect Leader might resist with his followers.”
Chung Myung narrowed his eyes.
“Did you think this was all the cards I had to play, Hwasan Geomhyeop?”
A triumphant smile spread across Ilho Shin Gae’s lips.
“You’ve underestimated me. That’s your mistake.”
❀ ❀ ❀
Boom!
The walls of the Beggars Sect headquarters exploded, shaking the entire area with a tremendous blast.
“Are we just going to stand by and watch?”
Someone posed the question. The elders, who had been standing idly outside the headquarters in shock, all turned to look at one person.
Chu Myeon Gae. The one who had briefly stood against Ilho Shin Gae.
“…Then what do you suggest we do?”
“We must do something…”
“Should we help the outsiders kill our elders? Or should we assist the elders and risk the Beggars Sect committing a grave sin?”
“That’s…”
Chu Myeon Gae shook his head.
“I cannot make that choice. I…”
“But elder, if we do nothing, the outcome is clear. No matter how formidable Five Swords of Hwasan are, they cannot defeat all those elders. Then we will lose Hwasan Geomhyeop Chung Myung, the only one capable of opposing Paegun.”
“…”
“Isn’t that an even greater sin?”
Chu Myeon Gae closed his eyes tightly.
He knew. Chung Myung of Hwasan must not die here. Killing him would mean the Beggars Sect would commit an unforgivable crime against Gangho.
But could he really fight against the elders of his own sect?
When cornered, another person came to mind.
‘If only Jao Gae were here…’
No, it was a pointless thought. Jao Gae was not here. Thinking about it wouldn’t solve anything.
“Let’s watch and see.”
“What?”
“If heaven is watching, it will provide an answer through the results. Hwasan Geomhyeop and Five Swords of Hwasan have accomplished what everyone thought impossible multiple times, haven’t they?”
“That’s true, but…”
“If the situation truly becomes dangerous, they should at least be able to escape. At least, we should hope for that.”
Chu Myeon Gae was about to sigh helplessly when a frantic voice called out.
“Elder! Elder!”
He frowned and turned his gaze. A pale-faced beggar was anxiously shifting his gaze between him and the entrance of the headquarters.
“We need to report to the headquarters immediately!”
“…We can’t enter the headquarters right now. What is it?”
“The main gate, the main gate…!”
“The main gate? What happened at the main gate? Speak calmly!”
When Chu Myeon Gae shouted, the beggar swallowed dryly and shouted.
“Shaolin! Shaolin is here!”
At that moment, a look of shock spread across Chu Myeon Gae’s face.
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