Chapter 201 – Variable (3)

-… How is this working?

Short Sword clicked her tongue.

She must have wondered what would happen if he didn’t fall for this.

I was also shocked and thought that failure was a possibility. Yet, it somehow worked.

I wondered if he would be deceived by my internal qi levels since I was just using the mid dantian to avoid notice, but the golden eye worked.

I wasn’t sure if it was common for golden-eyed people to only have one or both eyes in that color.

It seemed that the current leader of this mysterious organization only had one golden eye.

The gamble had paid off. The fake continued to lower his head.

-What will you do now?

I needed as much information as possible. It was only a matter of time before he noticed, and I needed all the information I could get about the golden eye and his organization before that.

The problem was I needed to anticipate the situation and give him the proper reaction.

-In what ways?

This method was often used when contacting strangers when I was a spy.

“Why didn’t you recognize me?”

-…?!

It was all about putting pressure on your opponent.

I shouldn’t act too taken aback, but I couldn’t ask him direct questions either.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

The fake bowed even lower and answered.

“How can a person like me ever judge someone like you carelessly? It is just that the face was different, so I didn’t realize.”

-Ah… I think you are safe.

Let’s not get careless now.

Even a tiny mistake would clearly identify me as a different person. It would be best to continue to listen to him.

“Because I moved alone, this forced me to announce my identity unintentionally.”

“My deepest apologies..”

“You should be. The Blood Demon is no longer in the official government building anymore. His trial has already finished. Did you plan to find him here?”

Hearing my question, the fake tilted his head.

He seemed puzzled.

Have I already made a mistake?

I needed to hurry up and rectify this. However, he then opened his mouth.

“Blood Demon didn’t come this way.”

“What?”

“I heard that the trial would happen at noon. If that happens, the Blood Sect will plunge into chaos, and our plan to retrieve the Blood Demon Sword will become troublesome.”

‘Ah!’

That was their purpose.

They impersonated me before the trial and went to slaughter disciples from the Jeonjin Sect and members of the Murim Alliance.

If that happened before the trial began, I would have been charged with attempting to escape and even slaughtering these people. Those charges would have been harder to clear.

Even Prince Kyung would have found it challenging to protect me if that had happened.

‘Were they thinking that I would ignore the trial and escape? But why did they have to kill all the people here?’

This felt like overkill. Even if they had only dealt with some of them, creating the situation was enough.

Even if my relationship with the Government worsened, it felt like they were waiting for me to escape.

But that wasn’t important now.

“If a plan becomes difficult to execute, it is natural to take the next step.”

There must be something planned in case the initial plan went wrong.

What was it?

The fake then rose up. He clasped both his hands and then said to me.

“I will now proceed to stir up the allied officials.”

… shit.

To bring up the allies now meant that the next phase was to aggravate the relationship between the Blood Sect and the Government.

-What will you do? You will leave it alone?

Leave this alone? How could I?

Should I let them do what they want?

Even if it was a bit much, I needed to change this.

“… No. Withdraw from the plan.”

“What?”

“Let’s put some thought into this. The Blood Demon must have already escaped. If they came back and caused a scene, it would only lead to suspicions of a third party.”

The fake looked puzzled and asked,

“Wouldn’t it be enough to just sow some doubt?”

“Are you challenging me?”

I spoke to him in the sternest voice I could muster. He knelt on one knee again to apologize.

“I apologize.”

I wanted to ask further, but I knew it would be risky since his attitude was changing. Since I’ve achieved my goal, it was better to let him go.

“Head back and wait for my word.”

Pak!

He bowed with his fists. It meant that he was confident about this.

Haaa.

Thank goodness.

It all worked out because the golden eye tricked him into thinking I was his leader. Once I sent him off, I could take Elder Man Jong back.

I also needed to retrieve the Blood Demon Sword and the True Evil Sword I had hidden away.

He then tried to approach the prone figure of Elder Man Jong.

It seemed like he wanted to finish the job.

“Leave him alone. I have something to find out, so I will handle him.”

Hearing this, the fake stopped and turned around.

“I will do as you ask. But can I ask something before I go?”

He was asking something?

This was problematic.

Before I could say anything, he bowed again.

“Please grant me what I requested of you before.”

Ahhh….

I felt relieved.

It was easy to skip such a question. I didn’t even consider what kind of request he had. If I rejected it, he would press for the reason. Saying yes would end this quickly enough.

“Fine.”

I answered carelessly as his eyes became cold.

What was happening?

“I have never requested anything from the lord, so what are you saying fine to?”

… damn it!

I went ahead and dug my own trap.

This man was able to use his head.

The moment I tried to hurriedly grab my sword, his own sword came to my neck.

He had already reached me with his quick blade.

“You’d better not move.”

“… how did you realize it?”

He replied coldly to my question.

“Our honorable Lord would never easily take back an order once given. I thought it was strange that you showed such little aura, but I do admit your cleverness.”

As expected, he was smart to have paid such close attention.

He moved his sword closer to my throat and asked.

“Those eyes… how did you make them?”

If he was thinking this, did he not know the secret yet?

I decided to take another risk.

“You people should be the ones who know it well, so why are you asking?”

Shhh.

The sharp edge of the sword touched my neck.

“If you don’t want to die, just answer the question.”

“What if I don’t want to talk?”

“If you think I have just one way to make you speak, then you are wrong.”

His killing intent became thicker.

With that, I sighed as I realized that I’d lost.

“If I speak, I get guaranteed my life?”

“… you are not in a position to bargain.”

“I don’t think there is a better bargain than risking my life.”

The man stared into my eyes and said.

“You must realize that it is impossible for you to escape using your skills.”

“So you’ll take my bargain?”

“Tell me now…”

Pat!

Before he could finish his words, I jumped back and simultaneously sent Short Sword flying with the silver string around her.

Chang!

The fake swung his sword to block it.

At that exact moment, I stretched out my right hand and used the silver string again to snatch Iron Sword from the ground.

The fake, realizing this, tried to stop it, but there was no way I would just let him.

Swish!

Short Sword flew like a snake in the air and rushed toward him.

After meeting that person who claimed to be the Assassination Killing King’s teacher, I trained this in my spare time. However, the fake was able to guess the path of my attack too easily.

Chang!

With just a light swing of my sword, he managed to close the path of attack. Thanks to that, however, Iron Sword returned to my hand. The fake was clearly angry that I had retrieved my weapon.

“How do you have that thing?”

He seemed to have recognized the silver string. Then this also meant that he likely knew the man in the cave.

However, I have no reason to answer him. I had to fight him anyway, so there was no need to hide my skills.

I opened my upper dantian and used the Blood Demon’s Will.

‘…!!’

His eyes opened wide as he saw my hair, and my other eye became red.

It still felt embarrassing to openly show my identity.

“You bastard… just what are you?”

“The man imitating me doesn’t know how I look then?”

Chak!

I launched an enhanced qi shot at him. As the space between us began to shake, the man used his sword to slash.

A simple attack without a weapon was too weak compared to what I could do using the Blood Demon Arts.

It was blocked so easily. The fake Blood Demon cackled as if he found this ridiculous.

“Golden eye… silver string, Iron Sword… and Blood Demon? What exactly is your identity?”

“Find out if you can.”

Swishhh!

As soon as I released the restrained blood points. The blood rushed through my body, causing it to steam.

I wasn’t sure who this man was, but he was clearly above the wall. If he was at the level of the Eight Great Warriors, then I needed to do everything in my power to win.

Pat!

I threw myself at him and unleashed one of my best sword techniques.

‘The 3rd form of the New Loach shaped Sword.’

Like a group of loaches, my sword moved in strange patterns and then split up, with every attack aiming at the fake.

His eyes became serious as he readied himself to fight properly.

Chachachang!

His sword moved in a complex, spider-web-like pattern to stop mine. I knew he wasn’t a normal warrior, but seeing this, it was clear that his skills exceeded mine.

As our swords collided, sparks flew in the air. In the meantime, we were sizing each other up.

‘I need to aim for the gaps.’

I couldn’t see his qi, but I could still focus on the movement of his sword with my golden eye. There had to be a gap I could use.

The Immortal Sword said that not just the Xing Ming Sword but no sword in the world right now could be perfect.

Chang!

At that moment, his sword came through one of my gaps and aimed toward my chest.

With my sword on my left, I slashed open his attack. I was then kicked in the stomach.

Pak!

“Kuak!”

I protected my body with a defensive technique but was still pushed back by two steps. He didn’t miss this chance and moved closer.

“I will show you the wings of the Great Bird.”

Drrrrrr!

Resembling a great bird opening his wings wide, his sword moved freely as its spirit moved in all four cardinal directions.

This wasn’t a great bird, but more like the hundred hands of the Asura! The wings of his sword’s spirit spread widely to try and catch me.

If there was no way to avoid it, I could only face it head-on.

I focused everything on my sword, and Iron Sword began to gleam white.

This was the Union of Sword and Body.

Bang!

I moved forward and swung my sword to stab him.

The New Chasing Until The End Sword Technique.

As his sword tried to capture me, my sword collided with his in the air.

Chachachang!

The sound of metal and sparks filled my vision due to the changes I had made to my sword technique. It was clearly of higher skill, but this man managed to deal with it all.

Fucking monster.

‘… I am being pushed back.’

Chak!

My shoulder was cut as his sword pushed through the whirlwind.

Was this the ability of a warrior who had overcome the wall?

The sword was the one place I could not match him despite putting in my all.

Chachahcang!

I could see his eyes smiling through his mask. This bastard was smiling at me.

Chachachak!

His sword aura pierced through my technique and slashed me on the collarbone, thigh, stomach, and chest.

“Kuak!”

I moved away as I was about to collapse from the pain. I knew pushing more would mean death.

As my body became cold, my senses felt enhanced.

And I felt death coming closer.

Was it because I could not cross that wall perfectly? Was that what was making me act this way?

-Get yourself together! Are you going to give up just because you lack a little? What is so good about the concept of a wall or some shit!

Short Sword yelled this in my head.

What was I even thinking? She was right.

Fighting the enemy, the wall, or anything, did that even matter?

It was only natural for those who wanted to kill someone to also end up killed.

Swish!

I gritted my teeth and pushed with my toes.

Walls didn’t matter.

In a life-or-death fight, the winner was the one who survived. The idea of killing my opponent was more important.

‘I will kill you!’

I will kill him at any cost.

If the enemy moved quickly, I would move quicker. If they swung their sword, I would swing it better.

Chachachachang!

His eyes began to change.

He must have felt that someone he had been pushing back just seconds ago was now putting up a fight against him. Thanks to this, the number of sword spirits that rushed toward me increased.

Chachachak!

This body of mine was now full of scars.

“You bastard… you are insane. Are you that eager to die here?”

He asked me, unable to comprehend my actions.

“No. I will be killing you.”

I then took another step forward. Walking to certain death.

“What an idiot. If you want to die, then come.”

He raised his guard as if he wouldn’t allow me to approach further.

It was to the point where he was unified with his sword spirit. How could I kill this one without risking death?

‘I will pierce it. I will pierce it!’

I only had a single thought. At that moment, the white light enveloped Iron Sword as I moved closer. As if the sword was now directing me, everything became white.

The white light then turned into a gust of wind, pushing away the phantom swords.

‘…!?’

The man’s eyes shook.

“You… you broke the wall in the middle of…”

“You will die!”

Kwang!

I took a step forward.

At the same time, I grabbed my sword with both hands and aimed it upward. At that moment, the white gust of wind became a tornado.

“Th… this….”

Chachachang!

His sword spirit shattered and was swept away.

“YOUUUU!”

As that happened, the man threw himself at me.

Puak!

Since I was in the middle of a technique, his sword became lodged into my stomach without allowing me time to move.

-Wonhwi!

I messed up.

If I stopped my sword technique here, he would end up surviving. His body, which soared high, was blown away by the wind.

Chachachachak!

I heard the sound of things being cut.

As my hand stopped moving, the white winds also stopped and vanished.

“Haa… Haa….”

I gasped for air.

My head felt light after all I did as something fell in front of my eyes.

Thud!

It was the fake who had been thrown into the sky.

-Fuck…. He endured that?

-… that guy is a monster.

Even Iron Sword, who had stayed silent to focus on the battle, was now speaking wearily of the man. It was surprising that he was still standing despite so many wounds.

He then tossed aside his half-shattered mask.

Pak!

His face, which was covered by wounds, was that of a middle-aged man with a strong look. He seemed to be in his 50s and spoke in an angry voice.

“It has been almost 10 years since someone pushed me like this.”

His pride seemed to have taken a hit.

It was only natural that he felt overwhelmed by the technique since he was pushed back and wounded.

The man then raised his eyebrow.

“There is one crucial difference between me and you.”

Srrrr!

His wounds were healing quickly. The wounds on his face became swollen as the veins grew and the cuts vanished.

This was the same as what I saw in the Dual Martial Troops.

It seemed that I was right in my belief.

“My sword pierced your internal organs. There is no way you could survive.”

The man tried to approach me, but I then said.

“… you seem to be forgetting something.”

“What?”

“What does this golden eye mean?”

I pulled the sword stuck in my stomach and then used my innate qi.

The part that had been pierced began to heal.

-The speed is faster

I felt that too.

The recovery was even better now.

The pain also vanished quickly.

The man bit his lip and then said,

“… I will remember you.”

He was being rational now.

Perhaps due to his long experience, he gave up on the fight after some rational analysis. Perhaps he decided that it would be better to inform his organization about me rather than continue a fight without a guarantee of victory.

“Let us meet again….”

“No, that’s not gonna happen. Since I feel like I can move now, I think I can kill you.”

“You forget one thing. Do you think you can catch me with that slow sword speed and technique?”

Pat!

His body flew back as he ran.

And so I moved.

I used the Wind Shadow Step, and everything around me blurred as I moved ahead to block his path.

His face went stiff.

“How did you…”

At this, I smiled.

“Too slow.”

Wheik!

As soon as I finished speaking, my body split into eight illusions.

This was the essence of the Wind Shadow Eight Forms, something I could only use after crossing the wall.

The man was visibly shocked.

“W-wind Shadow Eight…? Just what are you? How did you get the martial arts of the Wind God?”

“You don’t need to know.”

Because you are destined to die here.