“Damn, Tang Clan..! Weren’t you all supposed to stay out of Sacheon City’s affairs?”
“The Tang Clan decides its own path. Not influenced by the views of the Se-in!”
“Damn…damn…!”
Wang Maeng-ho sweated as he looked down at the building below. It was indeed a tidal wave of 5,000 martial artists burrowing in like a relentless flood! The bandits that had rushed out to halt this first wave were already rolling on the ground like dried fish.
At that moment, blocking one wave was already too ambitious. However, this wave was pressing forward with an overwhelming momentum.
With a tenfold numerical advantage, the martial artists from Sacheon City possessed the audacity of ten men each, and the bandits were swiftly overwhelmed by this momentum.
“This, we can’t win!”
“Run away!”
Faced with the madness of those examining the situation, the bandits were terrified and began to flee over the barriers set against the advancing martial artists.
But then…
“Ha ha ha! Kill them all!”
“No killing! Capture them! Bind them!”
Numerous weapons and fists were waiting to greet the fleeing bandits! The Sacheon City martial artists numbered a staggering 5,000. The area around the mountain stronghold had been tightly surrounded for a long time.
Some of the elite troops among the bandits were resisting the martial artists, but they were under intense pressure from the constantly attacking martial artists surrounding the stronghold! Despair filled the eyes of those elite bandits.
“Watch for a chance! If there’s any opening, jump right in and land the final blow!”
“Those guys! Hehehe! They are definitely peak experts, so we must capture them!”
The dozens, if not hundreds, of eyes lurking to catch any slip-ups were a terrifying sight that weakened their limbs!
Wang Maeng-ho gazed at the sect leaders engaged with the Sacheon peak experts. The disparity in skill between the sect leaders and the Sacheon representatives wasn’t that vast. There was just enough difference for the Sacheon peak experts to hold an advantage, but…
Even if they managed to defeat a peak expert in front of them, the bandit leader still felt the despair of being in a situation where escape was impossible as the Sacheon peak experts unleashed their martial arts with an unprecedented fervor.
“It’s a crushing victory.”
Tang Do-gyeong marveled. Though he had participated in many matches, it was his first experience with a combat scenario involving more than ten people. Despite the 500 against 5,000 odds, since it was a capture operation, he was concerned about fatalities or serious injuries…
While some individuals were indeed down and bleeding, overall, there seemed to be no fatalities or severe injuries.
Although he stood before Wang Maeng-ho, Tang Do-gyeong used hidden weapons to save those in danger, feeling an unfamiliar discomfort from the overwhelming victory.
He had thrown hidden weapons twice to avoid any near misses on the nearby martial artists, and that was the extent of his contributions during this overwhelming defeat of the bandits.
In the midst of obliterating the bandits, Tang Do-gyeong thought of Ho Cheon-an. Remembering his posture of asserting that “two eyes are unnecessary,” Tang Do-gyeong shook his head.
Ho Cheon-an was right.
There was no need to even contemplate “two eyes” given the overwhelming power difference. Even if this power suffered some degradation right now, would the outcome change? No.
At this very moment, the encircling net was tightening, and the completely disheartened bandits were being caught by the martial artists as they fled aimlessly.
It was less a battle and more a hunt… If there were no capture process, it would be a sight of slaughter.
‘Now, I just have to subdue the one in front of me.’
Tang Do-yeon certainly wouldn’t struggle to subdue a mere bandit leader. Even if she were left stranded with only a severed whip and no hidden weapons or poisons, capturing him wouldn’t be an issue.
“Are you thinking of not charging in?”
Tang Do-gyeong’s gaze landed on the sword hanging from Wang Maeng-ho’s waist. Since starting to secure the Tang Clan’s Bat-Leaping Tiger Method, he had never had experience in actual combat with those using swords or Dao.
Even if he was a bandit leader, he was still undeniably a peak expert. It was a precious opportunity to counterbalance the weaknesses of martial arts.
Tang Do-gyeong didn’t realize it yet, but a smile reminiscent of the era when he used to be called a fighting dog was already surfacing at the corners of his mouth.
The fierce, rich spirit that had terrified Yeo Il-ye, Black Cat, and Ho Cheon-an was a bonus.
“Gah, ungh…!”
There’s no way I can win. Wang Maeng-ho thought, but when he tried to flee, his feet were already surrounded by martial artists.
Locking eyes with those martial artists, Wang Maeng-ho couldn’t read their thoughts, but he could see the emotions glistening in their eyes.
‘50 points! If I time my escape right, I could snag 50 points!’
‘Great Hero Tang Do-gyeong! Just let me go! I want to see if I can withstand one of your strikes!’
Obsession for points! Intent to kill! Aspiration! Receiving the fiery gazes of the peak martial artists that approached him like hyenas, Wang Maeng-ho trembled.
What on earth turned them into this?
Wang Maeng-ho had no idea it was the reputation of the Tang Clan and the sect insignia that had instigated this.
“Even as a peak martial artist, surely I can dodge at least one of your strikes?”
“I’m not going to die.”
Swish. Swooosh.
The martial artists surrounding the building pulled the bindings from their weapon sheaths and readied their weapons. In an instant, Wang Maeng-ho found himself standing in the middle of a dense forest of weapons.
“Just my limbs…”
“If my torso can avoid the critical hits…”
“I’m a peak expert, after all.”
Even if he ran, he wouldn’t die easily! Wang Maeng-ho glared at Tang Do-gyeong with a fierce intent. The situation had already closed off all exits.
“Don’t look down on this bandit leader Wang Maeng-ho! At the very least, I’ll take one of your arms!”
“Good spirit! Come at me!”
Wang Maeng-ho drew his solid sword and charged at Tang Do-gyeong. With so many people around, using poison was difficult; hidden weapons were the way to go! He had to close the distance without fail.
Swish!
The distance between Tang Do-gyeong and Wang Maeng-ho was five paces apart. Wang Maeng-ho rushed forward while parrying the approaching hidden weapons with his solid sword.
Tang Do-gyeong threw hidden weapons with grand gestures, and Wang Maeng-ho was pleased with how it looked. If Tang Do-gyeong had thrown hidden weapons quickly with his whole body, Wang Maeng-ho wouldn’t have easily closed the distance.
‘In the world of competition, one mustn’t let their guard down!’
Whether he didn’t want to waste the hidden weapons or wanted to put on a good show, it was unclear, but somehow, just as Tang Do-gyeong was about to hurl his hidden weapon, he wielded his sword.
And in that moment, Wang Maeng-ho saw it.
The fingers of the hand holding the hidden weapon curled, taking the form of a fist, and simultaneously moved one step forward.
‘A fist…?!’
Wasn’t he holding a hidden weapon? Wang Maeng-ho looked at Tang Do-gyeong with bewildered eyes.
In the slow-motion world created by his intense focus, Wang Maeng-ho locked eyes with Tang Do-gyeong. Only then did Wang Maeng-ho realize that the martial arts Tang Do-gyeong was now wielding had drawn this advance out of him.
‘A new martial art.’
Wang Maeng-ho recalled the rumors about the Tang Clan creating a new martial art. Were all the seemingly extravagant actions merely a pretext to hide the fist?
Even though the mighty aura was gathering around Tang Do-gyeong, his attack that swiftly occupied the realm of the fist was quicker. Like a needle, Tang Do-gyeong thrust forward, the shortest line extending to Wang Maeng-ho’s side.
Boom!!
Wang Maeng-ho was instantly flung back at the same speed with which Tang Do-gyeong charged in. The Tiger Fist Style, which Tang Do-gyeong had researched and practiced for a long time, had struck.
Wang Maeng-ho had indeed been an exceptional martial artist, enough to represent four respective bandit strongholds, but there was no escaping this fatal blow! At the last moment, he surrounded his abdomen with a sturdy aura, but the squeezed-out strength was no match for Tang Do-gyeong’s ferocious blow.
“Ugh…!”
Crash.
He didn’t collapse, but his insides were a mess, and blood flowed freely from his mouth.
“Is this the end…?”
“This, this guy! Ugh!”
Wang Maeng-ho felt an immense fury boiling within him in response to Tang Do-gyeong’s clearly disappointed voice, but that fury cost him the act of coughing up blood.
Boom!
“Wow, Tang Do-gyeong Great Hero has taken down his opponent with just one strike!”
“Was the hidden weapon merely a decoy? In any case, that’s some incredible power in this fist technique!”
Tang Do-gyeong had ended the first real battle of the Tang Clan’s Bat-Leaping Tiger Method with a single blow, letting out a sigh of disappointment. He wanted to feel out various errors through combat, but since the truth of the technique worked so effectively, it was over in an instant.
Regardless of the talent difference, to have subdued a peak expert in a single blow would be proof that the Tang Clan’s Bat-Leaping Tiger Method was effective in practice.
‘You can’t fill your stomach with the first meal. Let’s be content with proving its practicality.’
With a light sigh to dispel his disappointment, Tang Do-gyeong looked around.
“Mukju Sect’s leader! Muk Gang-tan has subdued the eight treasures sect leader from the Danseong restaurant!”
“I, this body has just made the chilly cabbage leader surrender!”
Whoa!
“Miss Tang Do-yeon has captured the seafood branch leader from the Delicacy Restaurant!”
Is everyone done? While feeling Wang Maeng-ho’s blood, Tang Do-gyeong scanned the surroundings. Some bandits were resisting from inside the building, creating a little commotion, but they too were quickly subdued by the surrounding peak martial artists who smashed through the building’s walls.
“Everyone!”
Once Tang Do-gyeong confirmed the matter had settled, he amplified his voice with his internal energy.
The martial artists who were proudly grasping the ropes binding the captured bandits. Those who were disappointed at being empty-handed. Even those who were still searching for bandits until the very end. All of them looked to Tang Do-gyeong.
Receiving their gazes, Tang Do-gyeong raised his fist.
“We have won!”
Whooaaa!!!
Tang Do-gyeong, Tang Do-yeon, and the martial artists from Sacheon formed the bandit extermination troop.
In front of them lay the lifeblood of Sacheon City, the Southern Road. That Northern Road occupied by the bandit coalition known as the Green Forest Seventy-Two Strongholds, composed of four major bandit strongholds: Ho-wang Stronghold, Pal-bo Stronghold, Cheong-gyeong Stronghold, and Jin-mi Stronghold.
With over 500 members and four peak experts completely subdued, they had snatched their victory.
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