A smile formed on Im So-Byeong’s lips as he looked down at the battlefield from the cliff.
“It will be done soon. Actually, this is too much for just one river family to handle.”
It was true that Green Forest lost some of its strength due to the rebellion, which engulfed the Great Bandits, but the name of Shenzhou Five Sects is too heavy for it to be devalued.
Of course, the people he was dealing with were all members of the river family, but they couldn’t be compared with the Green Forest, led by the Green Forest King himself. They were nothing more than helpless idiots now.
“Green Forest King.”
“Hm?”
The elder of Green Forest, who was thinking next to him, frowned slightly and opened his mouth.
“I wouldn’t dare guess the noble intentions of the Green Forest King...”
“I know, I know! Why are we fighting against the Yangtze River family? The internal assignment after the rebellion isn’t done yet.”
“... Right.”
“What can I do? That guy told me to come.”
Im So-Byeong’s eyes turned to Chung Myung. As he watched Chung Myung running wild like a tiger, he chuckled.
“If you don’t want to be messed with, we do as told.”
“... Green Forest King. Maybe this is...”
The elder had a stern face.
“The Green Forest King, you are the ruler of the mountains in the central plains, the one who leads the Green Forest and its 72 Bandits! A member of the Shenzhou Five Sects.”
“I know.”
“And that person is just a young disciple of Mount Hua....”
“First elder.”
“Yes, Green Forest King.”
“Watch your mouth.”
The Green Forest King spoke with a smile, but the elder couldn’t see it. This was because the eyes were warning him.
“As people get older, they get wiser, but they also get caught up in their common sense and become duller. Is it displeasing to me to listen to what that young disciple says?”
“... I didn’t mean that...”
“Well, it could be so. I get annoyed by it, too, at times.”
“... Uh?”
As Im So-Byeong thought about it, he grew angry and then flapped the fan in his face.
“We cannot just bring all the power of the bandits because of a single letter they sent! Not even the damn emperor would give me such orders, damn it!”
Hearing his complaints, the elder’s face changed strangely.
But... it was the Green Forest King who followed those orders, right? It felt on and on, whether he could or not...
At that moment, Im So-Byeong shrugged his body.
“But what can I do? The person who rewrites history will be Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon.”
And he smiled slightly.
“A person needs to be able to see the fortune. If I cling to the reputation of being the Green Forest King and stay arrogant, wouldn’t I have long been beheaded and turned to manure for trees?”
“W-why would...”
“Gambling in small amounts is never fun. You have to stake everything you have, even to the point of ruin. That way, when we harvest something back, we get as much as we want.”
Im So-Byeong’s lips twisted.
“That person is who I gambled on. Maybe thanks to him, I and the Green Forest can be in a different situation than before.”
A strange desire was burning in his eyes.
“Ah, and you should watch your mouth in front of him. He doesn’t discriminate between men and women or people of any age.”
“...”
Even though he was silent, the elder couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong with this Green Forest.
“Kuaak!”
The karambit blade that Chan Bo-Heuk used split the air.
It was like watching a rabid wild cat swinging its claws, but thanks to his large size, his intimidation didn’t do much.
Kakakak!
Three blades at the end of his gauntlet rubbed against the blade, creating a screeching sound.
The snakehead fish was much more vicious in the river than people think. If it were a river rather than an ocean, the snakehead fish would have no enemies.
A river king that gulped everything in sight. Just by noting that such a snakehead was used as a title, one could understand the position it had on the Yangtze River.
Kakakakak!
The blades attached to the end of the gauntlet interlocked like scissors.
‘You brat!’
Chan Bo-Heuk was confident of his victory.
He wasn’t someone who particularly overestimated, nor was he someone who underestimated his enemies. And he wasn’t one to let down his guard just because his opponent was young.
Those who looked down on the river would be devoured by it. Having survived in that river, he was one of the best at what he did, and he knew what to be cautious of.
Nevertheless, the reason he was confident of victory was because Chung Myung was none other than a swordsman.
Kakak!
His blade wasn’t an ordinary weapon.
In general, it wasn’t like the 18 River families to use blades, swords, spears, or sticks, but to use bizarre weapons, which the Kangho people rarely dealt with. It was usually called a weapon that used qi.
In an instant, another deep cut was made on the side of his neck, and a line of blood flowed down.
Slash!
There was a long cut on the side. This was clearly a serious injury, to the point where the bone was exposed.
Slash! Slash!
A plum blossom sword that was completely stuck in the body wasn’t as fatal as a petal that cut through the body, burrowing an inch at a time.
‘J-Just one step!’
Chan Bo-Heuk let out an animal-like scream as he pierced through the wall of flower petals in front of him, his body so injured it was easier to find places without wounds.
“AHHHHHH!”
Pat!
The only part of his face not covered in blood, which was no longer red, were his two eyes.
When he finally saw Chung Myung, he shouted.
“You fucking BASTARDDDD!”
The karambit blade on his gauntlet flew toward Chung Myung’s head.
At that moment, Chung Myung raised the sword he had pulled back to block the attack.
Kaaak!
Two weapons collided in the air.
Kakak!
This was the moment Chan Bo-Heuk had been aiming for since the start of the battle.
As if he didn’t want to miss this chance, he used all his strength to hold Chung Myung’s sword. It seemed as if he wanted to break the sword at once.
Kakakaka Gakakak!
The karambit blade and the Dark Fragrant Sword intertwined, and Chung Myung’s sword stopped for an instant.
‘Caught... you! You shit!’
Chan Bo-Heuk’s eyes said it all.
“DiE!”
He swung the blade violently, aiming to split Chung Myung’s body at once.
But at that moment.
Kuung!
The intense qi clash between the two created winds in all directions, and dust rose as if responding to the qi.
After a while, as the cloud-like dust slowly settled down, the scene that unfolded felt so different from before.
Chan Bo-Heuk.
He was clearly about to cut Chung Myung’s stomach, but now he was kneeling on one knee, crossing the blades of both hands, entangling Chung Myung’s sword. No, it was closer to blocking the sword with his hands.
In front of him, Chung Myung was holding down the sword with an indifferent look.
“I was afraid that despite being a pirate, you might not show your tricks.”
“Kuak... ack....”
It was truly a strange sight.
Chung Myung was just holding the sword down with one hand, showing no sign of exertion.
But Chan Bo-Heuk, who was twice as big as Chung Myung, was using all his strength to push the sword away.
Even so, he couldn’t budge Chung Myung’s sword.
“Kuak...”
Crack! Crack!
Chan Bo-Heuk’s arm screamed.
Blood was gushing out insanely from the wounds around his body, and the eerie sound of bones cracking could be heard.
Chung Myung looked down at the scene with an arrogant expression and a sneer on his lips.
“You fool.”
Chung Myung’s sword shone with a sunset red sword qi and instantly cut off the karambit blade.
Paaak!
Chung Myung appeared right behind Chan Bo-Heuk and shook the blood from his sword onto the ground.
“...”
Tak. Tuk.
The cut blade fell to the ground.
After a while, red blood splashed out like a fountain along the red line that formed from the tip of Chan Bo-Heuk’s face to his groin.
“No... way...”
Chaaak!
His body split apart like a fish being fileted and fell to the floor with a thud.
Srrng.
Chung Myung, who swung the sword, spoke without even looking back.
“Start regretting in hell for touching Mount Hua.”
A cold voice that pronounced the end of the battle.