Free Web NovelWhen all five martial artists struggled against the tricks of a single man.
They could only feel bewildered—no, utterly dumbfounded.
'I was mistaken because I heard he learned martial arts from Senior Sister Ho.'
Just as she had said.
That man was no master of martial arts.
It seemed he had steadily trained and raised his proficiency, but.
Fundamentally, he probably did not possess much talent for martial arts.
He was merely able to fight thanks to overwhelming physical ability. When their weapons clashed, he did not feel like an overwhelming expert.
However.
Not being a master of martial arts did not mean he was weak.
'That man’s combat style is.......'
'That of an assassin!'
Not only martial arts.
But every possible means and method for the sake of victory.
That man was a powerful fighter specialized in those “every possible means.”
And.
The moment all five realized that, they all had similar thoughts.
“Quite.......”
That method.
Was certainly powerful, but.
“I don’t like it......!”
It seemed rather far.
From the kind of method they preferred.
“......!”
Just when he thought he had suppressed all the beastkin.
An attack flew in with that shout.
Kaang!
Shin Youngjun raised his knife and blocked the attack, then looked at the one who had attacked him.
......The monkey-tailed man who had been the first to retreat after having his body cut by him.
Shin Jong was swinging his staff at him.
***
Kaang!
Shin Jong swung his staff.
When Shin Youngjun blocked that attack.
Crack.......
The wound on his chest split open.
Naturally, the wound he had suffered earlier had not healed.
The more violently he moved his body, the more the wound opened.
But the monkey-man swung his staff as if he did not care about that much.
“Tsk.......”
Seeing that, Shin Youngjun’s hand moved toward his thigh.
After first knocking away the enemy’s staff.
He tried to pull something out from there again, but.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Paang!
Shin Jong’s fist shot out.
His weapon, the long staff, had been knocked away.
But he did not care. He released one hand from the staff and thrust his fist toward him.
'Exposing my bare fist is definitely dangerous.'
There was a reason he had fought with staff arts until now.
His opponent handled sharp daggers.
By contrast, Shin Jong had no reason to offer his bare skin, without even proper armor, to the enemy.
Just as expected.
Shin Youngjun’s blade came in aiming for his hand, but.
Paang!
“......!”
Shin Jong swung his fist and struck the flat of the dagger aside.
And as he did, he thought.
'If he is not a master of martial arts.'
If he had been a master on a similar level.
The moment Shin Jong had thrown that punch, his hand would have been sliced off without mercy.
However.
'There is always a way to deal with an opponent suited to them......!'
Fortunately.
That man’s talent as an assassin might be extraordinary.
But his martial arts were not exceptional as well.
Swoosh.......
Whenever Shin Youngjun tried to pull some trick.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Shin Jong stopped the action, even while risking injury to himself.
And yet he did not suffer a fatal wound.
That was only possible because he was as skilled in fist and kicking techniques as he was in staff arts.
Beastkin learned martial arts to suppress their innate wildness.
Meaning the foundation of the martial arts they learned originally lay in the cultivation of mind and body.
Because of that.
Those who cultivated martial arts as the proper path often regarded that cultivation as sacred.
That man’s combat style.......
The methods of an assassin were disliked by many because they used martial arts, meant for cultivation, for killing.
Because of that, many even avoided learning how to counter them, dismissing it as vulgar.
'To think Master’s teachings would be useful here.'
Fortunately.
Their master had also taught them how to face assassins.
Because she was not so kind a master that she would reduce what her disciples needed to learn for a reason as trivial as vulgarity.
'If that man is not a martial artist, but an assassin...... then I only need to respond accordingly.'
If he did this.
Even if he could not win, buying time would not be difficult.
And during that time.
“Sarin, Junior Sister......!”
The sheep-horned woman staggered over and embraced her fellow disciple’s body.
As her soft wool transferred heat.
The cold vanished, and the snake-eyed woman’s body began to move again.
And.
“Senior Brothers.......”
The snake-eyed woman, who had regained movement like that.
Approached the fellow disciples suppressed by poison, alcohol, and anemia, and began treating them.
'He has a strange kind of skill.'
And.
As Shin Jong bought time against Shin Youngjun, he thought.
'Judging only by simple combat ability, it is hard to say he is stronger than even one of us...... but I still cannot tell what he is hiding.'
When they had first come here at Lieutenant General Kim Hyeon-seok’s request.
He had felt quite offended when the general asked that all five of them be sent.
He had thought that no matter how strong this benefactor fellow was, Shin Jong alone would be enough to handle him.
But that was not true.
'If I had been alone, I absolutely could not have won.'
The same would have been true with three.
They would simply have been eliminated one by one, not much different from when there was only one of them.
Even four would likely have been similar.
However.
“Kkiruk......!”
If there were five.
The story changed.
“I’ll rejoin yoooou......!”
While he bought time.
The others, having recovered their senses, rejoined the fight, and a five-on-one battle unfolded.
Each one of that man’s attacks was fatal.
They had somehow returned to battle, but they had not recovered completely.
However, they were people who had trained their minds and bodies through martial arts.
They were capable of enduring a fair amount of pain and continuing to fight.
......And there were five such people.
Even if one of them were suppressed by that man’s methods.
With five of them.
While one of them bought time, another could recover and return to the battle.
“We apologize, benefactor.”
“You can call this cowardly, and we’d have nothing to say......!”
A powerful man they could only finally gain the upper hand against by all five attacking at once.
Conversely.
It {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} also meant that even that man, as strong as he was, could not handle all five of them.
“We heard there is a high chance you are not doing this because you want to.”
“So even if this feels a little unfair right now, please understand......!”
And so.
The tide of victory tilted to one side.
By their hands.
At the very moment Shin Youngjun was about to be subdued.
Paaaaaaaaaaaaak......!
“......!?”
From that man’s body.
An enormous energy began to be felt.
***
'......It hurts.'
Their attacks kept pouring down on my body.
People whose names I remembered.
I had also memorized their traits to some extent.
So by squeezing my brain somehow, I could deal with them, but.
'Five is a bit much.'
Even so, I was not strong enough to handle five at once.
If there had been just one fewer, the story might have been different.
A number strangely precise enough that I could do nothing about it.
'Lieutenant General Kim.......'
Sensing someone’s intervention in this battle.
I had no choice but to smile bitterly.
Kwaang!
And.
As I watched the attacks pour down like that, I thought.
'Then should I just let myself get beaten like this?'
Even for me.
There was no way to do anything more than this.
'If I’m captured by them like this.......'
But.......
'The System would be saddened.'
Even so.
There was a reason I could not give up.
In that case.
Hmm.
'It’s not as if there’s no way.'
There was one.
There was one method that could let me escape this situation.
Though it was also a method I did not want to use unless I had no other choice.
'Well, what can I do?'
Not one, but five.
In a situation where I was taking their one-sided violence.
My head, a little more [Berserk] than before, was heating up quite a bit.
Whatever happens, happens.
***
Paaaaaaaaak......!
'This is.'
Right before they completely succeeded in suppressing him.
As they pressured the man’s body.
An energy suddenly began to be felt.
At first, they thought that man was using yet another method.
Even then.
They believed that with the five of them, they could respond somehow.
But.......
That was not it.
'This is......!'
The exceedingly ominous smell of blood they had sensed from the man’s body from the start.
And the aura of that red mana began to grow stronger and stronger.
No.......
It was not growing stronger.
'Something.......'
The man had been wielding a strangely “berserk” power.
And perhaps because of that power, he too had seemed somewhat irrational.
Was it because they had driven him into a corner?
'It is trying to peel away.'
Something inside him.......
Something that was the source of that smell of blood.
'It is trying to come out......!'
It was trying to shed its shell.
And emerge outside.
“Everyone!”
Their original objective had been to subdue that man and bring him to Lieutenant General Kim Hyeon-seok.
That objective had been just moments from being achieved.
But.
“Abandon the fight and fall back!”
The sheep-horned woman, who had sensed that something.
Shouted while breaking into a cold sweat.
“But Senior Sister Miyang......!”
“Hurry!”
She was originally more timid than the others.
However.
This time, it was not an order she gave because she was timid.
“We can’t handle this......!”
“......!”
It was an extremely cold-headed judgment.
And.
“......General Kim’s request only went as far as asking us to stop him. Trying to subdue him was merely our own idea.”
“That is the right decision.”
At her judgment.
The other fellow disciples also agreed.
'General Kim Hyeon-seok never mentioned anything like that either.'
No, to be precise.
They had no choice but to agree.
'What in the world was he carrying inside him......!'
Right now, it had only peeled away slightly.
The thing inside had not even fully revealed itself.
And yet, this much energy.
'Perhaps if it were Master or Eldest Senior Brother.'
'But those of our level cannot handle it.'
If that were fully released.
There was no way even the five of them could handle it.
Paak!!!
The five men and women began retreating from that man in horror.
They kicked off the ground with all their might and began widening the distance between themselves and him.
But even so.
The energy they felt behind them.
That exceedingly ominous smell of blood.......
'......Is actually getting closer.'
Was growing stronger and stronger.
And rushing toward them.
'......No.'
Only then.
They could fully understand.
'Even if we run now...... we cannot escape.'
The moment that energy was fully released.
Whether they wanted to flee or not would no longer matter.
If that man decided he wanted to catch them.
They would be captured without even being able to resist, and devoured just like that.
Paaaaaaaaaaaak......!
And.
As that energy continued to grow.
It tried to peel away completely.
'Ah.'
And so.
Just as they prepared themselves for death.......
At that very moment.
......Kuuung!!!
Suddenly, that ominous energy shook violently.
Then.
Pasasasak.......
It began fading at tremendous speed.
“......Huh?”
So hollowly that it felt absurd to those who had expected their own deaths.
That energy vanished without a trace in an instant.
***
At that very moment.
“......I knew I was called here to do this kind of work.”
Some distance away.
There was a man watching Shin Youngjun and the five men and women fight.
And.
“But I never imagined I would be put to labor this immediately.”
He lowered the hand he had been stretching toward Shin Youngjun.
Perhaps because he had just done something strenuous.
[Lv.39 Blood Mage]
Cold sweat.
Was running down his face.
