Chapter 18 Escape (4)

Chapter 18: Escape (4)

It was back in middle school.

I got into a minor argument with a friend I usually hung out with, and it escalated into a fistfight.

Objectively, I was a weakling, but back then, I thought of myself as agile. I landed several effective blows early on against my chubby friend and gained the upper hand. But the moment I took one hit, the situation flipped.

My head rang, and everything spun before my eyes.

That’s when I realized.

No matter how nimble you are, strength trumps everything.

Why am I suddenly telling this story?

Because I’m facing the exact same crisis right now.

My initial surprise attack? Forget about taking the lead—I was scrambling to dodge the giant axe swung by that bastard.

Kwaa-rring! Kwaaang!

“Damn it! Shit!”

Boom!

The axe, packed with momentum, aimed for my head at a fast, precise angle.

I moved my body swiftly, but.

Shhshh. Shh!

This time, the swords thrust by the bastard’s minions blocked my escape route.

I couldn’t retreat backward either. After several retreats, I’d backed myself up against the wall.

Left: the bastard. Right: the warriors of the Jima Corps. Back: the wall.

A situation as dire as being surrounded on all sides.

Ultimately, I chose the direction the swords were thrusting from.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

I wildly parried the incoming blades with the Black Lotus Armor I’d borrowed from Baek.

But these were the Jima Guard, protecting the Crown Prince of the Ten Demons Clan. The sword techniques wielded by these top-tier warriors were razor-sharp.

Thud. Thud.

Finally, two swords sliced through my abdomen and thigh.

‘Guh.’

I couldn’t run away like this.

Having given up bone, shouldn’t I at least take flesh?

Gurgle, roar!

I channeled my qi. I unleashed the Exploding Fist of the Heavenly King style into the air. It’s a method to spread qi widely and deal with multiple opponents.

The storm-like blast swept through, engulfing two of them.

They collapsed, vomiting fragments of their own entrails.

“You bastard!”

The cry of the slain man echoed.

‘Ugh!’

Staying still meant an axe would surely fall on my back.

I deployed the Zhenwang Step once more, moving forward.

The voice of the assassin who had missed me right before my eyes echoed.

“You slippery bastard! Your footwork is quite something!”

“It’s called the Ten Demons Thousand Steps. Anyone who enters the Nine Dragons Fortress can learn this footwork.”

“Ten Demons Thousand Steps?”

“It’s a footwork created with the will to crush the Ten Demons to pieces. How about it? Pretty decent, huh?“

”You madman! What are you doing?! Why aren’t you cutting that bastard’s throat right now?!“

The battle began anew.

Whoosh! Clang!

Shhik. Shhuk!

The assassin’s axe sliced through the air, and the swords of the Ji Madai aimed wildly at me.

”Whoa! Ehh!”

I dodged and dodged again, using every inch of space.

“Ugh! You bastard!”

I piled damage onto the enemies.

I couldn’t land a big hit like before, missing the perfect opening.

Instead, I just kept moving, delivering steady blows.

The proof? Four out of the five Jima-dae bastards, except for that Salbu bastard, were bleeding from the corners of their mouths. They were all internally wounded.

“Huff! Puff! You rat-like bastard! Do you think you can survive just by dodging?!”

“Don’t you know every combo starts with small hands and small feet?”

Looks like you’ve never even played the King of Fighters, kid.

“You son of a bitch!”

Salbu’s refusal was met with a deep crimson flush.

He looked utterly exhausted, yet it seemed he still had reserves left.

Even with the rare item, the Black Lotus Armor, if he fought head-on, he’d be split in two in an instant.

“Ugh!”

He quickly pulled his body back, escaping the bastard’s range.

But this attack was different from the ones before.

Shu-wang! Shu-wang!

Forget the Salbu bastard—the swords of the Jima-dae men were now spewing streams of sword energy.

He tried desperately to dodge, but the unexpected attack finally caught him.

Swoosh! Thud!

“Ugh!”

Deep sword wounds gouged his back and side.

And worse.

“Kraha ha ha ha! Serves you right!”

The Salbu bastard’s axe was still falling.

Even a glancing blow would slice him to pieces; a direct hit would shatter him completely.

“!”

It was too late to dodge.

I unleashed all the true energy I’d distilled from the frozen water essence since the battle began.

Simultaneously, I shifted my body, swung my hand blade from left to right, and immediately extended the Exploding Eye.

The explosively erupted energy lingered in the air.

A massive pressure from above and below crushed the energy, sharpening it.

The extended Exploding Eye struck the back of the energy, fanning it out like a fan.

The instantly spreading vital energy flew toward the assassin, colliding with his axe, which was heavily coated in poison.

Boom!

A huge explosion echoed as the vital energy split in two.

However, its sharpness remained intact, slicing through the assassin’s sides and the torso of the Zhimadai behind him.

This was the Zhenwang-style’s ultimate, the Extreme Slashing Blade (戟死勁).

Had he not consumed the Seol-eum-su-yeok, he would never have dared dream of executing the Jeonwangryu’s ultimate strike.

That strike succeeded in inflicting severe wounds on the soul-stealing demon and cleaving all the Jima-dae creatures in two.

The hot, bloody stench filled every corner of the battlefield.

“Haah! Haah!”

Of course, his vital energy was now depleted.

A crushing emptiness washed over him, as if he might collapse at any moment from the exhaustion.

The problem was.

“Gah!”

The bastard was still moving.

What appeared to be entrails poured out from the split side, yet somehow, he was getting back up.

‘He’s not some zombie.’

Ultimately, there was only one way to end this fight.

Killing the bastard was the only option.

Sure enough. The bastard lunged at me.

Thud thud thud thud!

Each of its footsteps, loaded with qi, carved craters into the stone floor.

And so, Phase 2 began.

Whoosh!

Dodging the axe flying in with deadly intent.

Thud. Thud-thud-thud-thud!

I struck with the Dragon Thirteen Strike. As I shattered his stance, I swiftly unleashed the Exploding Mirror.

Kwoong! Kwaaang!

But.

“Kraaah!”

The bug-infused axe cleaved the Exploding Mirror’s trajectory in half, and simultaneously, his torso slammed into me.

Thud!

It wasn’t a technique. Just a body slam.

“Gah!”

Ever heard that saying?

Even the simplest street sword technique becomes deadly when wielded by a master.

That’s exactly my situation now.

Crash!

The body slam was so powerful it sent me flying into the wall.

“Guh!”

The massive shock caused a blackout, but I regained consciousness just in time to see the axe blade looming again.

“…!”

Thud!

Quickly rolling with a move from the Naryeondaegwon style, I dodged. The axe landed where I’d been lying moments before, shattering the floor.

“You bastard!”

He kept swinging the axe at me.

“Cut it out! You bastard!”

As he charged forward like a wild boar, I scrambled to my feet and poured out the full force of the Dragon Heart Piercing technique.

Thwack! Thwack!

“Kraaah!”

But it seemed difficult to halt the bastard’s advance; his axe fell, threatening to cleave my skull.

‘This is unavoidable.’

A perfect timing born of coincidence upon coincidence.

That very strike he unleashed was such.

Ultimately, there was only one way.

‘Attack.’

The best defense is attack.

Cut off his life before the axe falls.

But my strength was insufficient.

Even as I continued to melt the essence of the Snow Water Liquid, the amount was too small to unleash the initial technique of the Zhenwang Style.

My stamina was also depleted, and with sword wounds all over my body, my limbs wouldn’t move as my mind commanded.

But sitting still and waiting to die? No way.

“Die!”

He had to struggle, at least.

With minimal defense, he thrust his left hand upward while simultaneously lunging his right.

Eight or nine times out of ten, his left arm would be severed. But living as a one-armed man was better than dying, wasn’t it?

‘Could I even get married if I became Captain Hook?’

But.

My worries were nothing but groundless fears.

“Puuuuu!”

Because the bastard suddenly stopped moving, spewing blood.

“…?”

He’d stunned himself. Why hesitate?

Thud!

Seizing the opening, I immediately thrust a single strike that pierced the bastard’s heart.

Hot blood splattered everywhere.

Thud.

My entire body went limp, and I collapsed without realizing it.

“Master Jin!”

Cheong Sosoga rushed in, opening the iron door.

“Are you okay?! Good heavens, look at those wounds!”

“I’m dying…”

It wasn’t an exaggeration.

I’d actually been stabbed in the abdomen, thigh, back, and side.

Especially the back and side—the sword qi had caused internal injuries too.

“Miss Qing…”

“Yes? Yes!”

“As the only daughter of the Qing family, you should be able to treat this, right?”

“I’m not the only daughter! I have three older brothers… But I’ll try to heal you. I’ve never seen wounds like this before, but I think I can manage.”

Something felt unsettling, but with no other choice, he surrendered his body to Qing Xiao and closed his eyes.

Or rather, he tried to close them.

Until his qi began to run wild uncontrollably.

“Guh!”

Pahh. Pssst.

As she coughed up blood, she saw the blood spreading through the air freeze solid.

Her eyes widened in shock at this unheard-of, unseen phenomenon.

“C-control your qi!”

The healer’s urgent shout reached her ears.

Forcing herself to open her mouth, she swallowed the rising blood.

“Guh! What on earth is happening?”

“It seems like a side effect of the Seol-eum-su-yeok has occurred!”

No wonder it was conveniently available when I needed it…

Just as I was despairing, feeling the limits of this damned thing, the cleaner’s TMI continued.

“The Seol-eum-su-yeok is an extreme yin elixir, so it should have been taken with a yang-boosting elixir or herb. Skipping that process seems to have caused this.”

“I-is there no way?”

Cheongso-so bit his lip hard. Just looking at his expression, the situation was obvious.

‘There isn’t!’

Shiver, shiver, shiver.

As time passed, his body began to shake. It was because the Yin energy had invaded his very marrow.

“Ugh…”

It felt like crossing Siberia wearing only a tank top and boxer shorts—the cold made his mind grow hazy.

“I told you to suppress your qi!”

Cheong So-so’s shout made him feel wronged.

‘I’ve been doing it since earlier!’

He wanted to protest immediately, but even the saliva in his mouth had frozen solid, making it impossible to open his lips.

After a brief moment.

Finally, the cold energy began invading my dantian.

If even a little more time passed like this, it would be the end.

‘Reborn into the martial arts world, and all I end up being is a frozen bachelor.’

Probably, I won’t have to worry about sperm preservation.

If I’d known I’d die like this, I wouldn’t have lived so hard.

I should’ve just gotten a pretty wife and fled to the sticks to live.

Why did I have to dream so big? What kind of suffering is this…

Anticipating his end, he glanced at the cleaning lady. She was rummaging around, searching for something.

Judging by how she was even searching the arms of the blood-soaked corpse, she too seemed to be doing her best.

“Anything imbued with yang energy would do…”

Apparently, if there was something like a yang-infused elixir, there might be hope.

‘No one would carry something like that around.’

Wild ginseng is the quintessential yang-infused herb, but who in their right mind would carry that around… Wait!

“Ugh! Ugh!”

I remembered receiving the Blue-Red Twin Pills from Jik Hwaran in exchange for kidnapping Geumhwaru-ju.

And the red pill among those twin pills was precisely a spiritual pill made from herbs based on yang energy.

I brought it along thinking I might find a chance to sell it on the way, but who knew it would be used like this!

As I shouted something, the cleaning staff rushed over.

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Ugh! Ugh!”

Thud.

Keep trying, and the frozen my frozen lips split with a crackling sound, and my voice burst out.

“The box in my arms···.”

Had I pushed myself too hard?

With those last words, I lost consciousness.

‘Damn it···.’