Free Web Novel“Are you truly our benefactor?”
At those words.
Shin Youngjun gave no answer.
He only stared blankly at them.
Then.
“Uuuh, he doesn’t look like he’s planning to answer.......”
“Well, is there any need to ask? You can tell just by looking at his face. That murderous look.......”
“Mm, true. It is just as Hwan said.”
The five men and women began talking among themselves as if that was fine.
“Hm. From what Senior Sister Miho said, he was supposed to have no particular talent for violence.”
A long tail like a monkey’s, and round ears.
A man with short hair.
He pulled the long staff embedded in the ground free and grinned.
“Turns out that was a bright red lie, wasn’t it?”
With the long staff resting across his neck.
The man spoke as if amused.
Then.
“Do not speak rudely, Shin Jong.”
The one who received his words was.
A man with a steadfast impression and fluffy dog-like ears that did not match it.
“The native species of this land increase their strength through strange methods. He may have grown strong through a method separate from the talent for violence Senior Miho saw.”
“I don’t know about that. I heard our benefactor’s main specialty wasn’t combat.”
“......That may mean the other side is even more impressive.”
Unlike the man with the monkey tail.
The serious-faced man said that as he planted his massive greatsword into the ground.
“Umm, I’m not trying to argue with Junior Brother Gyeonsul, but...... I have seen a few of the native species of this land toooo.......”
At his words.
The one who answered in a trembling voice was a fluffy white-haired woman with sheep horns.
“I’ve never seen a native species that reached that level, have I......? Is that really our benefactor? Maybe we’re just mistaken.......”
She was sweating as if frightened.
In her hands were a huge shield and hammer.
“You know as well, Senior Sister Miyang.”
Unlike her.
A green-haired woman who had been observing the opponent with cold eyes spoke.
Her snake-like slit pupils examined him from head to toe.
She covered her mouth with her fan and smiled.
“The difference between one who will become a dragon and an ordinary man allows no comparison. Comparing him to ordinary men is meaningless, is it not?”
And.
Lastly.
“A strong enemy. A fight...... I look forward.......”
Winged ears.
And a man with something like a red crest growing from him.
He gripped the twin swords in both hands tightly and said that.
***
And.
The soldiers looked at them and thought.
'Those people.......'
They were faces even the soldiers were seeing for the first time.
But.
Swish.......
Their ears and tails, moving naturally as they spoke.
That sight was familiar even to the soldiers.
“......Now.”
And.
Corporal Jeon Gwangil, wounded, muttered as he watched the situation.
“Hurry, retreat.......”
“......Yes!”
At those words.
The soldiers began falling back while supporting Corporal Jeon Gwangil’s body.
......Even so.
Some of them looked back with lingering reluctance on their faces.
'Sergeant Shin.'
If Shin Youngjun called to them even now.
They would obey the guild master’s order and stop where they stood.
They hoped he would tell them that a fight had broken out over a slight misunderstanding.
That it was, in truth, nothing more than a minor incident, and that they should come back.
But.
Paaaaaaak!!!
Contrary to those hopes.
When they looked back at Shin Youngjun.
What they saw was a single dagger he had thrown toward them.
That dagger nearly stopped the soldiers in their tracks, but.
“Anyway, well, assuming that guy really is our benefactor.”
“That would mean the situation the General requested is correct.”
Kaaang!
The dagger was knocked away.
“If our benefactor and the Legion are engaged in combat.”
And the ones who had knocked that dagger away.
The five men and women spread out from one another.
And began surrounding Shin Youngjun.
......Then.
“Subdue whichever side appears to have the advantage.”
Paak!
They charged at Shin Youngjun.
***
“Sorry, but.”
The steadfast-looking man swung the greatsword in his hands.
Despite the greatsword’s tremendous size.
Its blade rushed in at an incredible speed, as if a whip had been lashed.
Kaaang!!!
Shin Youngjun held daggers in both hands.
Then crossed them to block the greatsword.
Shin Youngjun’s body shook violently and was flung back after blocking it.
And.
“Opening!”
The man who had been standing where he was thrown back.
The rooster-crested man with the twin swords swung both blades.
Then.
Paaang!!!
An object flying in from somewhere skimmed past in front of him.
His attack failed because he had to block that object.
As if that were not enough, even more objects flew toward him, but.
Kuuung!
A massive shield appeared in front of him.
And knocked away the incoming objects.
“......That’s!”
And the one who had knocked those objects away.
The sheep-horned woman widened her eyes and shouted.
“Sword control.......”
Srrrk.......
Before they knew it.
Countless daggers were lined up around Shin Youngjun.
Dozens, hundreds of daggers arrayed themselves behind Shin Youngjun like soldiers waiting for command.
Pabababababak!!!
Then shot toward the sheep-headed woman.
“T-to think it really is sword control.......”
The woman let out a frightened voice as she watched that sight.
But even so.
Tadadadang......!
She swung her shield and hammer, deflecting the daggers rushing in from every direction.
Her movements were close to divine skill.
And while the daggers were being stopped by the woman’s shield.
“Hup!”
The man with the monkey tail swung his long staff.
Kaaang!
When the long staff was knocked away by Shin Youngjun’s dagger.
The man attacked Shin Youngjun with his hands and feet as if it did not matter.
“Tch.......”
Shin Youngjun clicked his tongue and blocked those attacks.
Several exchanges passed.
“As expected. It’s certain.”
The man with the monkey tail took one step back and spoke.
“That blade art. It’s one I’ve never seen before, and it’s rather unusual...... but it feels familiar.”
At those words.
The rooster-crested man crossed his arms and said,
“Miho.”
Then.
The others seemed to have felt the same thing as well, and nodded.
“I did hear Junior Sister Ho personally created a martial art for him, but.......”
“I was curious what kind of person he was, since Senior Miho ignored even requests from the royal family yet personally created a martial art for him.”
“His level isn’t bad. It’s hard to believe he hasn’t even practiced martial arts for that many years.”
And.
At their conversation.
“It seems he is more skilled than expected.”
The woman with snake-like slit eyes.
Lightly licked her fan and spoke.
“I suppose I have no choice but to use poison.”
Then.
When she swiftly swung the fan.
Pasasasasak!!!
Something burst out from it.
At first glance, they looked like tiny droplets of water.
......But they were thousands of extremely thin, sharp poison needles.
“Kh.......”
Shin Youngjun tried to dodge the needles.
But he could not avoid all the needles scattered over such a wide area.
He swung his blades and knocked some away, but some embedded themselves in his skin.
“If even one grazes him, it is over.”
Seeing that, the snake-eyed woman smiled.
“Unfortunately, now that he has been struck by Sarin’s poison, he will no longer be able to move.”
The monkey-eared man grinned and approached Shin Youngjun.
“Since you are our benefactor, the one who saved us, we decided not to use the worst of our deadly poisons. But even so, you won’t be able to stop your nerves from going numb.”
“.......”
“We’re not doing this because we dislike you. You’ll obviously regret what you’re doing later, so we were asked to stop.......”
But then.
Slice—!
“.......”
When Shin Youngjun swung his blade.
The collar of the man who had been opening his mouth triumphantly was cut away.
No.
It was not only his collar.
Puhwaaaak.......
Though he dodged the instant he noticed the movement.
A large wound was carved across his chest, and blood sprayed out.
***
“Shin Jong!”
“Are you all right, Senior Brother!”
The monkey man.
When blood sprayed from Shin Jong’s body.
Those watching shouted in shock.
“I’m...... fine.”
It was not a serious wound.
But.
His eyes were filled with astonishment.
It was not because of the pain of the injury.
'He resisted Sarin’s poison......?'
Right now.
For some reason, their physical abilities had been weakened considerably compared to their prime.
If they had possessed their prime physical abilities, they would not have been struck by an attack like that even if they had let their guard down.
But.
'Sarin’s poison is different.'
What had weakened was only their physical ability.
The things they had created...... even the effects of their poisons had not weakened.
While Shin Jong was shocked by that fact.
Pasasak.......
Suddenly.
A searing heat came from his chest.
When he looked down at his body, he saw his own flesh burning.
“Senior Brother Shin Jong! This way!”
Then.
The snake woman, Sarin, hurriedly ran to Shin Jong.
And then.
She sprinkled something over the wound.
Then.
Pasasasasak.......
Whatever had been spread over the wound reacted chemically with the liquid she sprinkled, and foam rose.
“......As expected.”
The snake-eyed woman, Sarin, frowned as she watched it.
“What is this.......”
“That man...... is carrying a powerful poison inside his body.”
As if her pride had been wounded.
She clicked her long tongue and spoke.
“An enormous toxic force...... Since he carries such an absurd poison inside his body, the poison I used on him must have dissolved in that toxic force and lost its effect.”
“......What is that explanation? It sounds like something you’d only hear from a master of poison. Didn’t you say that guy wasn’t a martial artist?”
“He does not give off the feeling of someone who trained in poison arts. And yet he carries this much poison and remains fine. Unless the poison is protecting him of its own will.”
Sarin looked as though she could not understand it.
She looked at Shin Youngjun and said,
“If I used a poison stronger than the poison inside that man’s body, that would change the story.......”
She glared at Shin Youngjun as if thinking over something.
But soon.
She lowered her head, sighed, and said,
“......I am not confident I could use a poison that extreme without killing him.”
“.......”
“I’m sorry, Senior Brother. It seems my poison will be of no help in the fight against that man.”
While.
Shin Jong and Sarin were having that conversation.
“Krwooooooooooooooogh!!!”
The man with dog ears.
Gyeonsul was facing Shin Youngjun while swinging his greatsword.
***
'Remarkable. Even if we have been weakened by [bad food].......'
The daggers that man wielded were not, fundamentally, weapons a martial artist would use.
A weapon for self-defense in daily life.
Or else.
'A weapon used for assassination.'
He was using weapons like that to deflect his greatsword.
'Physical ability that beggars belief.'
......However.
Compared to that.
'His martial arts are not perfect.'
Kuung!
Gyeonsul kicked off the ground and charged toward Shin Youngjun.
Shin Youngjun thrust out a fist to meet him.
But.
Srrrk.......
That hand only struck Gyeonsul’s shoulder.
It did not inflict a fatal wound.
'Give up the shoulder and cut the enemy.'
The pain in his shoulder was considerable.
But giving up that much would not make him unable to fight.
A powerful fighter who had built his skill through countless battles.
A man who had fought life-and-death duels several times over.
That was why he could make that judgment.
'My apologies!'
And so.
The opening created by the attack.
Gyeonsul was digging into the center of Shin Youngjun’s body, but.......
“......Cough!”
Suddenly.
Because of the blood that burst from his mouth, Gyeonsul’s attack failed.
“Uweeegh.......”
“Junior Brother Gyeonsul!”
The sheep-headed woman.
Miyang hurriedly stepped in front of him and protected him.
But the blood flowing from Gyeonsul’s mouth did not stop.
'Wh-what.'
Not only that.
His body stiffened as he convulsed.
And as if his nerves had been stimulated, his vision blurred.
'It is...... not poison.'
Thanks to the help of his fellow disciple Sarin, he possessed resistance to poison arts.
He could be harmed by poison, but there was no way it could inflict this level of fatal damage on him.
If there was one thing he could think of.
There was only one.
With a trembling body, he looked at his own shoulder.
There.
Srrrk.......
Melting into his body.
Was something brown with a sweet scent.
