Chapter 87 of 100
Chapter 87
7 min read1,656 words
Chapter 86. Critical Moment (1)
[A mission notice has been activated.]
‘So it’s finally here.’
The mission notice that appeared when he received the request from Hong Eon. It has now materialized before Seohui’s eyes.
[Mission Notice]
▼ (Expand)
▽ (Expand)
○ Target: Assassinate Baek Yang-cheon, the leader of Changryongmun.
○ Be careful not to cause a commotion. If noise is made, the warriors in the vicinity will rush over. Be cautious when using powerful martial arts.
○ Complete everything within the time limit. If you exceed the time, the warriors in the vicinity will intervene.
○ Seohui and all subordinates must survive before Baek Yang-cheon dies.
○ If even one witness appears during the fight with Baek Yang-cheon, the mission will fail.
The text appeared and slowly disappeared, revealing Baek Yang-cheon again. In the meantime, 10 seconds had passed.
202... 201...
And the gap window appeared as if waiting for the right moment.
[A golden opportunity! Seohui has discovered a gap in Baek Yang-cheon. How will you respond?]
▶ Attack.
▷ Use martial arts.
▷ Use the tool box.
▷ Approach the opponent closely.
The familiar options in the gap window.
Seohui chose ‘Use martial arts’ without hesitation.
<Which martial art will you use?>
▶ Ilwon Soma Gong (Perfect)
▷ So Shin Su Ma Gong (Intermediate)
▷ Choryeol Kwon Ma Gong (Intermediate)
▷ Sadaeguk Ma Gong ‘Wind’ (Beginner)
He chose the first one.
If he released his inner energy, the building might collapse or make a loud noise.
Therefore, using Ilwon Soma Gong, which allows for efficient sword techniques based on the opponent’s reaction, was the most certain choice.
<‘Ilwon Soma Gong’ has been selected.>
Flash!
With a burst of light, Seohui’s body sprang forward like a bow, falling toward the opponent who was cultivating his energy.
“...!”
Baek Yang-cheon’s reaction was faster than expected.
As soon as Seohui moved, he sensed the intruder and looked up at the ceiling.
However, his response was too late.
“Guh...!”
While cultivating his energy, he had gathered his qi at his dantian. It was insufficient to quickly send it to every part of his body just by willpower.
Swish!
Seohui, like a flash of lightning, slashed from his shoulder to his thigh in a diagonal line.
‘Ah!’
It was disappointing.
His decisive blow was a bit shallower than he had hoped.
[State Summary]
Baek Yang-cheon [Leader of Changryongmun]
Health 5,000,000 (↓4,990,000) / 9,990,000
Inner Energy 4,000,000 (↓5,990,000) / 9,990,000
Combat Power 7,720,000 (↓4,500,000)
‘Even his combat power has dropped!’
Despite this, Seohui felt relieved inside.
Although he couldn’t finish him off in one blow, he thought that causing this much damage was worth it.
“Ugh...”
Moreover, the opponent’s face had darkened rapidly.
It seemed that he had not only suffered external injuries from Seohui’s blow but also internal injuries from hastily moving his inner energy, or perhaps he had fallen into a state of madness.
[A golden opportunity! Seohui has discovered a gap in Baek Yang-cheon. How will you respond?]
‘Of course!’
It was definitely a state of madness.
While outwardly he was getting up and taking a defensive stance, his inner energy was likely raging uncontrollably inside his body.
▷ Attack.
▶ Use martial arts.
▷ Use the tool box.
▷ Approach the opponent closely.
Seohui chose the same martial art again.
<‘Ilwon Soma Gong’ has been selected.>
Clang!
Seohui’s thrust caused Baek Yang-cheon’s body to waver and retreat.
Although his shoulder was pierced, it didn’t seem to be the most important issue.
Blood trickled down from his mouth, proving that he had suffered internal injuries.
Baek Yang-cheon [Leader of Changryongmun]
Health 4,500,000 (↓500,000) / 9,990,000
Inner Energy 3,800,000 (↓200,000) / 9,990,000
Combat Power 7,720,000
The attack was successful, but it didn’t drop as much as he had hoped.
His combat power also didn’t decrease further from 7,720,000.
“Who are you!”
And just as he managed to calm himself, Baek Yang-cheon launched a counterattack.
Clang!
One exchange.
Clank Clank Clank Clang!
And several more exchanges followed.
‘...!’
Seohui’s eyes widened.
He sensed something strange in the opponent’s sword technique.
Clank Clank Clank Clank Clank Clank Clang!
Dozens of exchanges occurred in an instant.
Retreating meant death. Despite the sword blades narrowly grazing his body, the attacks continued.
In a situation where one wrong step could mean falling off a cliff, Seohui was shocked.
‘What kind of sword technique is this...’
A sword technique he had never experienced before.
While it seemed merely flashy at first glance, in reality, every movement and position of the sword was sharp.
Especially, the linking movements between techniques were incredibly shocking.
It was a different kind of orthodoxy from the Ilwon Soma Gong, which adhered to the basics.
Seohui felt the lives and thoughts of countless sages embedded in Baek Yang-cheon’s sword technique.
‘Damn, there’s no time!’
Seohui checked his own health and that of his opponent again.
Seohui [Commander of Eunyoungdan]
Health 1,080,000 (↓120,000) / 1,200,000
Baek Yang-cheon [Leader of Changryongmun]
Health 4,920,000 (↓80,000) / 9,990,000
The intense exchange was equally challenging for both of them.
If this continued, they would just exchange blows until the time ran out.
80... 79...
The continuous exchanges and counterattacks.
Clank Clank Clank Clank!
Baek Yang-cheon’s sword continued relentlessly.
Seohui focused on breaking the flow.
Thus, while the opponent’s offensive was stronger, Seohui was forced into a defensive stance.
“Scoundrel! Who sent you!”
Seohui didn’t react to the opponent’s roar.
His eyes were fixed on the time ticking down before him.
56... 55...
‘I need to make a decision.’
There was no room for a gap. If he recklessly attacked, he might suffer a fatal wound.
He couldn’t afford to cause a commotion by releasing his inner energy.
‘Right, there’s no other way.’
As Seohui loosened his sword, the opponent’s eyes widened.
His expression suggested that he sensed some ulterior motive.
But when Seohui took a step back, Baek Yang-cheon moved.
[Warning! Baek Yang-cheon has discovered a gap in Seohui. How will you respond?]
It was an opportunity for the opponent, but it was what Seohui had intended.
A calculated risk. However, he couldn’t guarantee its success.
▶ Counterattack.
Seohui chose to counterattack.
“Ugh!”
Baek Yang-cheon’s sword was swung much closer than expected.
Despite trying to dodge, he was hit.
Seohui [Commander of Eunyoungdan]
Health 680,000 (↓400,000) / 1,200,000
‘One more time!’
[Warning! Baek Yang-cheon has discovered a gap in Seohui. How will you respond?]
Seohui intentionally showed another gap.
And chose to counterattack again.
Clang!
The attack came like a bolt of lightning, piercing his shoulder.
Seohui [Commander of Eunyoungdan]
Health 350,000 (↓330,000) / 1,200,000
‘One more time!’
Seohui didn’t give up.
He continued to show gaps, and when the opponent’s gap window appeared, he chose to counterattack.
The only thing he aimed for was the opponent’s decisive blow aimed at his neck.
Clang!
However, Baek Yang-cheon didn’t move as expected and slashed at his side.
He barely defended, but his limits were clear.
Seohui [Commander of Eunyoungdan]
Health 110,000 (↓240,000) / 1,200,000
‘Just one more time...’
With bloodshot eyes, Seohui lowered his sword again.
15... 14...
As the time decreased, he more openly provoked the opponent’s attacks.
[Warning! Baek Yang-cheon has discovered a gap in Seohui. How will you respond?]
And once again, Seohui chose to counterattack.
Whoosh!
Seohui’s eyes widened.
The direction of the sword in front of him was a horizontal slash aimed at his neck, just as he had hoped.
Seohui bowed deeply, almost touching his buttocks to the ground.
Then, he immediately thrust his head forward and placed his hand on the opponent’s chest, which was within arm’s reach.
“...?”
Baek Yang-cheon’s expression suggested he had been caught off guard.
But it wasn’t just that.
The move Seohui was about to use was the Fengxin technique from Sadaeguk Ma Gong.
A technique he had never used before.
Not Fengxin Sword, not Fengxin Fist, but Fengxin Palm.
A move Seohui had devised, fearing that the building might collapse.
Boom!
The wind blew, but it was invisible.
A storm erupted inside Baek Yang-cheon’s chest.
“Gaaaah!”
With a scream, Baek Yang-cheon was pushed against the wall and soon fell to the ground.
“Haa. Haa.”
6... 5...
Time was running out, but Seohui’s gaze remained fixed.
Continuously creating gaps had caused him significant damage.
That’s why he used this method.
And.
3... 2.
Time stopped.
At the same time.
[You have successfully completed the mission.]
The text appeared before his eyes.
And the familiar voices.
“Commander.”
“You’ve taken care of it.”
Thud. Thud.
How did they get here? His team members descended from the ceiling one by one and spoke.
“Are you alright?”
Seohui reacted to the lieutenant’s words.
“Hmm.”
He gave a brief smile and then straightened his posture.
“Let’s get out of here.”
[Emergency! An additional mission notice has been created.]
“...?!”
At that moment.
Seohui’s head snapped to the side. Did something else happen?
“There’s someone out there.”
“...!”
A sound came from outside the door.
It was incomprehensible.
Despite completing the mission within the time limit, a sound was heard.
Eum Mu-gi glanced through the paper door and then spoke.
“Commander, we seem to be surrounded.”
“What?!”
Seohui couldn’t believe it.
What was going on?
“Come out. We already knew you were coming.”
A voice called from outside.
Although a sense of foreboding crept in, there was no other choice.
Thud.
Seohui walked out and opened the door.
There, he saw a figure that made him doubt his eyes and dozens of warriors.
“Nice to see you again.”
Sang Cheon-jang [3rd Rank of Taehwanggak]
Physical Condition: Normal
Realm: Supreme
Health: 4,400,000 / 4,400,000
Inner Energy: 4,500,000 / 4,500,000
Combat Power: 7,200,000
That figure was there, and so was a new one.
To his astonishment, it was.
Lee Gyu-myeong [Disciple of Goo Jong-myeong]
Physical Condition: Normal
Health: 4,400,000 / 4,400,000
Inner Energy: 4,500,000 / 4,500,000
Combat Power: 12,000,000
The disciple of Huashan Sect’s Goo Jong-myeong, who had killed him before.