“Kieek! Arrogant human brat!”
The vice leader shouted, contorting his already grotesque face at the sight of me.
“I’ll extract Guja-ok alive!”
“Oh! Go ahead, you brat! I’ll be the one to get him out first!”
“Kieek?! How can a human extract Guja-ok?!”
Are you questioning that right now?
“How can I extract? I’ll do it properly!”
I wondered how to kill this guy so it would be rumored that I did a good job.
Demons are different from martial artists. While martial artists wield weapons and utilize their martial art skills, demons only fight using their physical abilities and inherent magic.
Just the fact that its arms are elongated is enough. The Hadongs enjoy long-range attacks. Then let’s target that!
“Kieek!”
The vice leader got into a stance. Having seen it several times, I recognized it as the position to launch his arm. Just as I was timing my move, suddenly—
—Whish!
His arm shot straight at me.
Fast, but with a straightforward trajectory.
If we were to categorize it as a martial art, it would be an attack lacking application, still stuck on precise movements. This low-level attack appeared to me like a third-rate martial artist’s thrust.
Well then, I have no reason to not respond!
As I’d learned.
Calmly charging forward, I raised my sword diagonally and deflected his attacking arm. Of course, I wouldn’t just leave it at that.
“Ha!”
With an upward stroke, I twisted the sword so that the blade faced forward. With that, I dashed forward, embedding the blade into his arm, slicing through his flesh.
My plan of forcing him to take damage worked.
“Kieeeek!”
“How does it taste?!”
As the vice leader screamed in anguish, I closed the distance between us.
I’ll cut you down here!
“How dare you touch my arm! Die, human!”
But thinking of it like rotten fruit, this brat is still the vice leader of the Hadongs. Even while groaning in pain, he tried to attack me with his other arm.
But—
—Wham!
This brat… as a demon, his physical abilities are very strong! That webbed hand must pack a punch.
“Huh!”
Instinctively, I brought my sword down and slashed at the arm trying to hit me.
—Thud!
But I couldn’t sever it. I got blocked by the bone, or rather, by the tough hide, leaving only a superficial wound and not hitting the bone.
“Kikikikik! Useless! That won’t harm my scales!”
“This crazy…! Just how tough are you?!”
“Hand over Guja-ok and the women, now!”
His elongated arm shrank back. Blood was flooding out, but he ignored it and clenched his fist to hit me.
The angle was awkward for using my sword.
“Enough already!”
I swung my arm, utilizing my forearm guard to block his punch.
—Thud!
As his fist collided with my forearm guard, pain shot through my jaw. As expected, this brat is strong by nature, being a demon. I could never win in a fistfight.
Just as I thought that—
—Grab!
He suddenly caught my shoulder with his other hand.
“This…!”
How could I not dodge that!
“Dieee!”
The vice leader opened his grotesque beak wide and lunged to bite my head off.
If I get bitten by that, my head would explode like a watermelon.
I have to dodge it at all costs.
“Hik!”
—Thud!
As I turned my head to the side, he bit the air. Just the sound of that beak hitting the air was terrifying, but I managed to evade it successfully.
Not missing my chance, I laid my sword flat in one hand and made contact with his flesh, then—
—Slicing!
I went all out sawing into him to deal maximum damage!
“Kyaaaaa!”
Whether it hurt or not, the brat let go of me.
“This bastard! Trying to bite a human! Where the hell did you learn that filthy habit?”
“Human scuuum!”
As soon as he released me, I executed a roll and sprang back up agilely. The vice leader, angry and desperate to grab me again, lunged forward.
But I was rolling, clutching the dirt.
—Whish!
Like a whip, I sprinkled dirt into his large eyes.
Holding dirt while rolling and throwing it was an all-out technique in the martial arts world known as ‘sand blast’. Or, in martial arts terms, ‘to say chaos in the soil’.
“Kieek! My eyes!”
As the dirt entered his eyes, the vice leader writhed in agony for just a moment.
“Kraaaaa!”
I let out a roar and launched myself at him, swinging my sword. I needed to unleash my strongest technique, the Flowing Stream Sword Technique, to slice him up!
—Swish!
A fierce attack.
—Slash!
The purple energy began to burst from my sword.
Still in that condition, I slashed at the vice leader, who was huddled up.
—Whish!
Even with a sword imbued with the purple energy, I couldn’t sever his bones. But his hide split open, spilling blood. The purple energy enhanced the power of my sword.
“Dieeeee!”
Of course, the Flowing Stream Sword Technique doesn’t stop after slashing once. It’s a follow-up attack. I kept slicing at the confused vice leader’s entire body, covering him in blood.
“Kieek! Kieeeee!”
His flesh split open, blood gushing from everywhere. The previously murky color of his hide was now soaked red. If I keep this up, he’ll definitely collapse.
Just as I was about to maim the vice leader even more, he suddenly turned and tried to run away.
—Thud!
Due to his hard shell, my sword got stuck.
“This brat? Is he thinking of escaping? Hahaha! Go ahead and run, you cowardly demon!”
“Dieee!”
But then—
—Whoosh!
The cowardly brat, running away with his back to me, suddenly slammed on the brakes, lowered his body, and in an instant—
—Zoom!
Shot toward me like a rocket, using his back shell as a shield, and he bent his spring-like legs to propel himself.
A crazy traffic accident.
Getting hit by that would definitely cause serious injuries.
—Wham!
The large shell was flying right at me.
Dodge?
No way I could.
It’s too fast.
—Gooong.
So, all I could do now was—
—Smash.
Only attack back.
—Wham!
The moment I decided, purple energy rapidly gathered around my sword. No, it could be seen as it was overflowing. Like a burst dam, the energy surged and created a vortex, and I felt a gust of wind blowing from my sword.
I lunged toward the incoming shell and made my best strike.
“Spirit Strikeee!!!”
An overwhelming amount of purple energy streamed from my sword.
—Screech!
The sound of my sword cutting through the air was so terrifying it sounded like a ghost’s wail. With that horrifying sound, my sword traced a dark trajectory through the air.
The instant my blade collided with the shell—
—Boom!
A wicked explosion erupted as my sword sliced through the shell.
“Gik!”
That was the vice leader’s farewell. My sword, propelled forward, split him in half. The foolish vice leader, trying to cause a traffic accident with me, was cleaved down the middle as he flew past.
—Thud!
The split body hit the ground.
“Huff, huff!”
Breathless, I knelt down to calm my almost-exploding breaths. I had succeeded. I had just performed the Spirit Strike again that I used to kill the mountain bandit leader.
Realizing this joyous fact, I almost shouted, but the battle wasn’t over yet. Two others were still fighting.
“Guys!”
Just as I called out—
“Haaaa!”
At that moment, I noticed my surroundings.
—Splatter!
Serin had just sliced the Hadong leader into four pieces with her sword. The body fell apart more elegantly than mine.
Not only that.
“Die!”
—Whoosh!
Hayoung had also just incinerated all the miscellaneous Hadong minions. Flames soared around, and there wasn’t a single Hadong left standing. All had turned to charcoal.
The battle was over.
In the short time I fought the vice leader.
“We won!”
“Yes. We have won.”
“Yup! It’s over!”
Serin sheathed her sword, and Hayoung threw a rock over her shoulder.
Situation resolved.
“Woohooo! We did it!”
I killed the Hadong vice leader with my own hands!
I won the one-on-one death match!
“You did well, Geunhyeop. To take down such a demon all by yourself… Your skills are rapidly improving.”
“Did you see it! I killed him! You saw it all!”
I shouted in excitement but then realized. Serin was too preoccupied fighting a stronger leader to have seen me.
“Yes. I saw it, of course.”
“Oh? You saw it? What about your fight?”
“Well, I was focusing on the leader while fighting with Geunhyeop. So I couldn’t finish it quickly, but as soon as I saw you take down the vice leader, I unleashed a finishing move.”
“Ooh!”
Even though the leader seemed fairly strong, he concentrated on me while fighting, allowing Serin to finish him off in one blow.
Truly a master of masters.
“You fought excellently, Geunhyeop. Your ability to apply what you’ve learned was commendable. You’ve been training diligently. I’m proud of you.”
Serin praised me with a light smile. Being complimented by my mentor made my shoulders feel lighter.
“Haha! I did put in a bit of effort! I’m glad it showed! I wanted to show you!”
“I saw it. And… yes. That purple energy. I witnessed even the explosion at the end.”
“You saw everything. Yeah! I wanted to show that.”
That was my achievement.
An attack utilizing my ominously unique power.
“Indeed, it’s clearly different from typical martial arts.”
Serin’s expression grew serious.
“Moreover, the energy that I felt in the moment…”
“Similar to yours.”
Hayoung interjected, stepping closer to the conversation.
“I saw it all too. The purple energy began to swell, and in the end, it exploded with tremendous power. Look at this! The Hadong vice leader’s shell was neatly split apart. Not to mention, his flesh burst completely.”
The corpse indeed looked in shambles.
“Given this level, it’s quite impressive.”
“Yes. To slice the Hadong’s shell so cleanly… In terms of technique, you might already be at the first-rate martial artist level.”
First-rate martial artist level!
I gaped at the two, as they peered back at me, both with earnest expressions.
“But this seems a bit different. It looks different from the martial arts that a typical martial artist trains in… Perhaps it stems from your body constitution.”
“That’s highly plausible. He absorbs the energy from the Jordan to create his power, then releases it in his own unique way. It’s another method entirely compared to how ordinary martial artists create their sword energies.”
“Truly marvelous… It does seem different from sword energy.”
The two women analyzed my technique. One being an elite martial artist and the other a sage. From their perspective, the Spirit Strike I just executed appeared to be a very unique technique.
“Wait! Then could it be…!”
I realized a significant fact.
“Could the Spirit Strike I just performed be termed my own unique martial art?!”
Exactly!
If what I unleashed just now was viewed as peculiar even by martial artists or sages, then it’s entirely a new kind of technique.
Thus, it would be my own unique martial art!
“My own unique martial art? Ah, yes. Thinking about it, it fits. Only Geunhyeop could perform such a technique, so it does seem to be your unique martial art.”
Serin acknowledged it!
“Then I’m a master of this field, aren’t I!”
Master of masters!
It means I’ve created a unique martial art, becoming the greatest master of all time!
I utilized my body constitution to create my own unique martial art, employing it in battle to claim victory. This definitely qualifies me for the title of a master of masters!
“W-What do you mean, ‘master of masters’? Geunhyeop! As much as I commend you, you must not become arrogant!”
“Ha ha! He’s calling himself a master of masters! That’s hilarious; just let him be! It’s funny, and why spoil his fun with cold water!”
“A mentor is not someone who just blindly praises! Sometimes cold water needs to be splashed!”
Though I indeed did, it’s hard to deny that it might be true.
Still, I want to savor this joy for now.
“But now is not the time for that. Everyone worked hard. We should analyze the details after wrapping things up.”
“Wrap up?”
Ah.
“Yeah, the job isn’t finished yet. For now, shall we check the Hadong corpses? The Jordan must be somewhere… I’ll check that cave over there. They mentioned a captured girl.”
We need to gather the Jordan and rescue the woman.
“Got it. I’ll do that.”
“Geunhyeop. I will also head over to rescue the women along with Fiery Lotus.”
“Good luck.”
I immediately began to search through the Hadong vice leader’s corpse. It was the same guy that Serin had sliced into four pieces. Please don’t tell me the Jordan is also in four pieces? If it’s not a shard from the Soul Gem, I would just sit down and sob.
So, I felt a little worried but—
“There it is!”
From the upper body, the Jordan appeared!
And it’s a deep green one!
“I found the Jordan!”
With this, I’ll level up!
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