Chapter 1564
It’s different from back then. (4)
“Aaaah!”
The clash of two forces sent a shockwave that swept through the Black Dragon King’s men. The sturdy warriors were tossed aside like leaves in a storm.
“Ugh!”
The swordsmen of Namgung clan, who had been charging with heightened momentum, halted and retreated.
They all focused their gazes on one spot. Within the scattering black and white energies, they saw Namgung Dowi being thrown backward.
“Young Lord!”
Namgung Dowi, who had been shot out like an arrow from a bow, spun his body once in midair before landing back on the ground. His face remained calm and composed, seemingly unshaken.
It was the swordsmen of Namgung who were agitated.
“Y-Young Lord…”
They knew how strong Namgung Dowi had become. The current Namgung Dowi was incomparable to the one from the past at Maehwado.
Had they not witnessed it with their own eyes, they would never have believed that just a few experiences and a change in mindset could elevate a martial artist’s skills to this extent.
But such a powerful Namgung Dowi had been flung away in a single blow. Meanwhile, the Black Dragon King had only taken a few steps back.
“He… even with one arm lost…”
Someone muttered, but at that moment, Namgung Myeong’s cold voice reached the swordsmen’s ears.
“Don’t say such foolish things.”
“B-but…”
“Just because an arm is severed doesn’t mean one’s inner strength disappears. Changing the arm holding the weapon doesn’t diminish one’s power. For a martial artist of the Black Dragon King’s caliber, this is to be expected.”
He was their most hated enemy. But precisely because of that, he could be acknowledged.
If the Black Dragon King were insignificant, if Surochae were merely a group of criminals, then Namgung Hwang’s demise would be meaningless dog’s death, and Namgung clan’s suffering would be nothing more than the consequence of their foolishness.
“Even without his right arm, the Black Dragon King is still the Black Dragon King. He is a tough opponent for the Young Lord.”
Even calling him a tough opponent was an understatement, considering Namgung Dowi’s pride.
To be blunt… Namgung Dowi cannot be a match for the Black Dragon King. At least not yet.
“Th-then…”
“Why? Do you value your life now?”
At Namgung Myeong’s words, a fierce determination flared in the swordsmen’s eyes.
“Of course not!”
“Then raise your swords! Don’t leave everything to the head of the family. It is us, Namgung clan, who will sever the Black Dragon King’s head! The symbol of Namgung is not the Lord but the Azure Sky Sword Squad!”
“Yes!”
The swordsmen of Namgung, regaining their resolve, gritted their teeth and charged at the Black Dragon King again. The pirates, quick to read the situation, swiftly moved to block their path.
“How dare you!”
“You’re already corpses in coffins!”
The morale of the Black Dragon King’s men was no less fierce than that of Namgung clan. The overwhelming presence of the Black Dragon King, who had sent Namgung Dowi flying in a single blow, had undoubtedly boosted their spirits.
The Black Dragon King was still strong.
What could be more reassuring than witnessing that with their own eyes?
“Break through!”
“Block them!”
The hell on earth that had unfolded on that tiny island in the Yangtze River was now being recreated here in a different form.
And in the midst of this fierce battle, two figures silently glared at each other.
“Hmm.”
The Black Dragon King glanced down at the footprint in front of him.
A clearly imprinted footprint. A mark left behind as he stepped back, unable to withstand the force. A sign of his disgrace.
“…A mere pup.”
The Black Dragon King’s eyes burned like black flames as he glared at Namgung Dowi.
It was merely two steps. A small price to pay for sending his opponent flying.
But if that opponent was a young whelp, not even half his age, the assessment inevitably changed.
If it had been Namgung Hwang, it might have been different, but his son was not even worth measuring up to. Yet, he had been momentarily pushed back by the sword of this pup, born under the shadow of his father.
Grinding his teeth, the Black Dragon King growled harshly.
“Father and son both daring to challenge me, seeking death at my hands. It’s almost laughable. I wonder what your father would say if he saw this from the underworld.”
Namgung Dowi glared coldly at the Black Dragon King and retorted.
“The mighty Black Dragon King, don’t you find it shameful to speak such words?”
“…What?”
“Anyone hearing you might think you defeated my father honorably. But you know the truth, don’t you?”
Namgung Dowi’s proud face twisted fiercely, revealing blood-stained teeth between his lips.
“My father was the Emperor’s Sword, Namgung Hwang.”
“…”
“If you had truly faced him in a fair duel of life and death, there’s no way your life would still be intact.”
“You!”
“The Emperor’s Sword is too grand to waste on mere pirates. Someone like me is more than enough for you.”
The Black Dragon King’s dark face turned a shade of red.
It wasn’t the comparison to Namgung Hwang that infuriated him. It was the insolence of this insignificant brat daring to speak so boldly before him.
And perhaps, it was also because…
A memory flashed in the Black Dragon King’s mind.
A small kid, barely half his size. The moment when that damned sword had pierced his arm.
As the memory vividly resurfaced, the Black Dragon King’s eyes burned with rage.
“I will tear you to pieces and feed you to the fish in the Yangtze! Unlike your father, not even your corpse will remain in this world!”
Namgung Dowi’s lips curled into a smile.
He felt compelled to say it.
“I’ll return those words to you. Remember them well.”
Anyone who knew him would have responded just as he did.
“Ooooh!”
The Black Dragon King, as if words were no longer necessary, swung his massive guandao.
Kwahhhh!
A fierce black aura, as if drawn in a single stroke with a heavily ink-drenched brush, flew straight toward Namgung Dowi. It embodied the essence of “path of supremacy” [패도(覇道)].
Namgung Dowi involuntarily bit his lip.
‘Is this it?’
His heart pounded loudly, and sweat poured from his body like rain. The pressure from the incoming aura was immense, but the terror pressing down on his entire being was even more severe.
At that moment, Namgung Dowi realized something. He had never once fought a duel to the death with someone stronger than himself.
No, perhaps he had never even fought a life-and-death battle with a worthy opponent at all.
‘Was it like this?’
A person flashed through his mind.
Someone who did things everyone else deemed reckless without a second thought.
Another person’s image also came to mind.
Someone who always protected them with his broad back.
‘It couldn’t have been easy for them!’
Boom!
Namgung Dowi took a fierce step forward.
Surely, they must have been afraid as well.
What they had to overcome was not just the likes of the Black Dragon King. They bore heavier burdens and fought even greater foes.
That’s why.
“Oooooh!”
Namgung Dowi’s sword became enveloped in a white sword aura.
The faint white aura exploded upwards, shooting directly toward the black blade aura.
Kwahhhh!
The massive sword aura and the black blade aura collided once again.
Gush!
Blood poured from Namgung Dowi’s mouth. It felt as if his entire body had been struck by a giant hammer. Though he possessed considerable internal strength, remarkable among young martial artists, it was nothing compared to the strength of the Black Dragon King, who stood at the pinnacle of martial arts.
However, instead of retreating, Namgung Dowi pushed off the ground with all his might.
Fragments of the colliding blade and sword energies lodged in his body. But Namgung Dowi focused solely on the man in front of him, not blinking even once.
– How do you fight someone stronger?
He had asked this once.
– You run away, you idiot. Why fight someone stronger? If you want to die, just stick your nose in a bowl of water and drown. Why bother dying in a difficult and bothersome way? Should I fetch you a bowl?
The response had been indifferent, and so were the eyes that accompanied it. But Namgung Dowi knew. He knew that beneath those thorny words lay hidden concern.
– But if you really have to fight… If there’s no way to escape and you have to bite your opponent’s nose off, there’s only one way to do it.
Once again, a black blade aura flew towards Namgung Dowi. He raised his sword and struck with all his might, charging with relentless determination.
Redirecting the opponent’s energy with softness.
Kwahhhh!
Namgung Dowi’s body was blasted away like a cannonball, crashing into the ground.
‘I don’t know any such method!’
If it were Chung Myung, he would have smoothly deflected the sword energy without a scratch. If it were Namgung Hwang, he would have shattered it with sheer force. But Namgung Dowi lacked such abilities.
Whoosh!
As if it had been planned, Namgung Dowi’s plummeting body shot forward.
In that moment, his vision was filled with an overwhelming black aura blade.
An imposing and simultaneously despair-inducing sight.
Faced with such a vast difference in power, Namgung Dowi chose to advance. But it was a pitiful advance.
Namgung Dowi plunged himself with all his might toward the ground rather than the sky.
Boom!
His body penetrated the solid ground, half-burying itself. It was a desperate move to force open a narrow gap.
As he endured the pain, the fierce aura barely missed his head.
Whoosh!
Namgung Dowi immediately rolled and propelled himself forward again with the recoil.
A child born under the shadow of a tiger-like parent?
Perhaps.
Compared to Namgung Hwang, he wasn’t even a dog. Compared to Chung Myung, he wasn’t even a worm, let alone a snake.
But Namgung Dowi did not despair. He harbored no illusions about waiting to become a tiger himself.
He knew now. He had come to understand.
There were methods only a dog could use.
“You wretch!”
As the Black Dragon King roared, Namgung Dowi’s sword slashed through the air.
It wasn’t the Emperor’s Sword style, but the Twelve Strikes of the Iron Sword.
It wasn’t a technique that relied on overpowering with internal strength. It was simply the swift and rapid cutting technique of Namgung clan.
Whoosh!
A dozen sword auras shot towards the Black Dragon King with incredible speed. The Black Dragon King, who was gathering his strength to release another barrage of sword energies, grimaced.
“What a futile effort!”
Clang!
As he swung his guandao, the incoming sword auras crumbled like a sandcastle swept away by a powerful wave.
“Oooooh!”
But Namgung Dowi did not tire. He continued to release bright white sword auras. It seemed almost foolish, driven by sheer desperation that made one’s fists clench involuntarily.
“You rat-like scoundrel!”
The Black Dragon King’s eyes glinted with madness.
His left arm, gripping his weapon, swelled as if it might burst. The accumulated power exploded the moment he swung the blade. It was a truly terrifying strike.
Kwahhhh!
It was as if black ink had been spilled over the canvas of the world.
The pitch-black aura devoured Namgung Dowi’s sword energy and then engulfed him as well.
A sight that could make one’s mind reel.
Yet Namgung Dowi did not retreat. Instead, he pushed off the ground.
Hoooom!
Namgung Dowi’s sword emitted a brilliant white light.
It was his sword.
The sword of the azure sky, standing proudly in the world.
Namgung Dowi, one with his sword, plunged into the sea of black aura. As if diving into the vast ocean on a pitch-black night, it was an utterly reckless move.
Crunch!
The sword tip pierced through the aura.
Splatter!
Namgung Dowi’s shoulder couldn’t withstand the pressure and burst open.
Pop!
He heard a series of popping sounds near his eyes, and soon he lost hearing in one ear.
Crack.
The sound of something breaking inside his body echoed in his head. It was the pressure and pain, as if a mountain was crushing him.
Nevertheless, Namgung Dowi advanced.
Biting down on lips that had grown numb from the pressure bursting his body here and there, he took one step after another.
Finally, when the white sword pierced through the black sea, what met it was a crescent blade glowing with a bluish light.
“This is the end!”
Boom!
With a deafening roar that seemed to tear the air apart, the crescent blade of the guandao, carrying immense power, came crashing down towards Namgung Dowi’s head with terrifying force.
Seeing this, Namgung Dowi’s eyes momentarily lost focus.
‘What did he say back then?’
…It felt like he had heard something.
Back then…
– Attack the enemy’s weakness with all your strength. Remember, no one in this world is without a weakness. Their strength only conceals it…
Flash!
Namgung Dowi’s sword, which had paused for an instant, shot out like lightning.
He didn’t aim for the enemy’s heart or neck.
Instead, he targeted the hand holding the descending guandao. The fingers!
“Ugh!”
The guandao veered off course abruptly. If it had continued on its trajectory, it would have split Namgung Dowi in two.
But the Black Dragon King had already lost one arm. He couldn’t afford to lose the other hand.
Crash!
The redirected blade crushed the solid ground as if it were soft tofu.
Dust and debris rose up as the tremendous impact swept through the surroundings.
‘Where…!’
Due to that, the Black Dragon King, who lost track of Namgung Dowi’s whereabouts, hastily stood up to prepare for the attack. However, before he could act…
“…Jeok Segwang.”
To his right, where his right arm usually wielded guandao, now lay empty. Yet from that vacant space, a chilling voice murmured.
“Got you.”
Namgung Dowi, his handsome face smeared with blood, smiled like a devil.
A cold shiver ran down the Black Dragon King’s spine.
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