- Do you want strength?
He heard a low-pitched voice inside his head.
Kim ShiHoon instinctively realized that was the voice of the martial god Cheon TaeHwang's soul speaking to him.
'I want strength!'
There was no reason to think about it.
There was no time to doubt.
Kim ShiHoon decided to accept the martial god's strength, even if he was about to die.
Ting-.
- You accepted the strength of martial god Cheon TaeHwang.
- Because you aren't ready, you received only part of it.
A blue message window appeared in front of him with a clear bell sound.
He didn't have time to check the contents of it. A strong power rose from inside of his body.
"Ugh!"
It was such a power that it made him worry that it might inflate his body and make it explode.
Kim ShiHoon moaned in pain.
He bit his lips and tried to resist the pain.
He had been waiting for that moment.
He couldn't waste that opportunity he'd waited for such a long time.
Thud-!
His blood veins exploded.
His body turned red, and he felt his head was about to go blank because of the pain.
'I must resist it.'
Kim ShiHoon glared at Kim YeongHoon.
He remembered everything he had to go through because of him.
Compared to those times, physical pain was nothing.
- You've learned upper-level Martial Arts of the Sleeping Dragon Sword Style.
- You've learned Cloud Dragon's Sword Style and the Cloud Dragon's Beam.
- You've obtained a clue for Transformation.
He could hear martial arts teaching within his head.
He naturally understood how to control his overwhelming strength.
Kim ShiHoon controlled the power inside his body and pointed his sword toward Kim YeongHoon.
"Kim YeongHOOONNN!!"
Kim ShiHoon angrily shouted.
Feeling power overflowing from him, ShiHoon used the Cloud Dragon's Beam while leaping toward Kim YeongHoon.
"Wh-what?!"
Kim YeongHoon was surprised after seeing someone who was about to die running toward him while leaking such scary energy.
He raised his sword and tried to block Kim ShiHoon's attack.
Slash-!
"Argh!!"
Kim ShiHoon's sword, wrapped in a cloud of white smoke, went through his sword as if it were a snake and cut his chest.
His unique-rank armor was cut in half by Kim ShiHoon's attack.
While feeling a dizzying pain, dark blood leaked out from his chest.
"Y-you son of a bitch!!!"
Kim YeongHoon angrily swung his sword toward Kim ShiHoon.
Even though he was swinging the sword without thinking about it, because of his high level and pieces of equipment, dangerous energy came out of his sword.
Clang-!
"Ugh."
Kim ShiHoon, who’d blocked Kim YeongHoon's attack, was pushed back.
Even with the strength of the martial god, it was hard to completely overcome the 30 level difference.
'But…'
Kim YeongHoon's eyes shone.
Although Kim YeongHoon was stronger and faster than him, he had something that Kim YeongHoon didn't.
—Martial Arts.
Techniques that showed the best ways to use weapons that had been polished through the experience of lots of warriors through time.
'Cloud Dragon Sword Style, 3rd Form. Cloud Dragon's Dance.'
The martial gods Cheon TaeHwang's technique spread through Kim ShiHoon's body.
Clouds appeared and blocked Kim YeongHoon's sight.
Sword energy came flying from the clouds and hit Kim YeongHoon.
"Why... Why am I being pushed back by a level 20 player!!"
Kim YeongHoon angrily shouted. He was having a hard time accepting the situation.
Something that shouldn't happen was happening right in front of him.
But he didn't have the experience or techniques to overcome that result.
The reason why he was stronger than Kim ShiHoon to begin with was because of his high level and better pieces of equipment.
"AAHH!!"
Being pushed back by a player who had only finished the third Awakening was already humiliating, but the constant pressure made him feel anxious.
He recklessly attacked Kim ShiHoon as if he were saying, “you die, I die.”
But there was no way those kinds of attacks would work on Kim ShiHoon, someone who had learned martial arts.
"Ha-ab!"
Kim ShiHoon, who saw a chance, swung his sword toward Kim YeongHoon's neck.
'I won!'
Kim ShiHoon's eyes shone.
But the moment he was about to cut YeongHoon’s neck, someone appeared in front of him and blocked the attack.
—It was the man who’d been silently standing next to Kim YeongHoon as if he were a stone statue.
Clang-!
"Cough!"
Kim ShiHoon, who had barely managed to block the man's axe, bounced off.
The impact spread from his sword to the rest of his body, and dark blood spurted out of Kim ShiHoon's mouth.
"Oof, oof! What were you doing until now?! Why did you appear so late!"
Forgetting that it was him who had given the order not to interfere, Kim YeongHoon shouted at him.
Although Kim YeongHoon was unfair to him, he just bowed down without any change in his expression.
"I'm sorry, Vice-leader."
"Cut his limbs and then bring him to me!"
"Yes."
At Kim YeongHoon's shout, the man nodded without any hesitation.
The man's name was Cheon MyeongHo.
—He was one of the top players of the Mir Guild and Kim YeongHoon's bodyguard.
He was so big that he was similar to TaeSoo in size, and he was carrying a double-edge axe that matched his size very well.
"If you follow me without giving me any troubles, I'll end things up with just one arm."
"D-don't say b—!"
Even while blood was coming out of his mouth, Kim ShiHoon hadn't collapsed yet.
But he could feel it…
* * *
Maybe he’d had a chance against Kim YeongHoon, but he wouldn't be able to win against that man who resembled a stone statue.
- You've suffered internal injuries.
- If you don't take any measures, the injuries could worsen.
Warning messages appeared in front of him.
Frustrated, Kim ShiHoon kneeled on one knee.
'In the end, I won't be able to cross the wall.'
The wall that existed between him and Kim YeongHoon…
There was a huge wall blocking his way.
"Accept it."
Cheon MyeongHo slowly walked toward Kim ShiHoon.
"You'll never be able to surpass the Vice-leader."
"..."
The words that came out of Cheon MyeongHo's mouth pierced Kim ShiHoon's chest.
He wasn't wrong.
It didn't matter how much he tried, he couldn't catch up with Kim YeongHoon.
The starting point was different, so the distance necessary to surpass him was too much.
"Damn..."
Tears flowed down Kim ShiHoon's cheeks.
The face of his mother, whom Kim JaeHyun had abandoned, came to his mind.
”I'm sorry for giving birth to you.”
He remembered what his mother had said to him while crying when Kim JaeHyun had kicked her out.
“I'm sorry for giving birth to you.”
Were there any words that hurt more than that in the world?
But up until then, he couldn't deny her words. He couldn't find any reason to deny them.
His life up until that point had been a succession of painful events, and he had never felt happy even once.
"I'm sorry... Everyone."
Trembling, he turned his head toward Han Seol-ah, TaeSoo, and EunBi.
It hadn't been long since he’d met them, but they were the first partners he’d made.
He felt regretful that he wasn't able to protect them and that, because of him, they’d been put in such a dangerous situation.
"Accept it. The only right the weak have is to suffer."
Cheon MyeongHo raised his axe.
Kim ShiHoon turned his head to Cheon MyeongHo, who was slowly approaching him.
MyeongHo brought the axe down towards ShiHoon’s legs.
"Ugh!"
Kim ShiHoon closed both eyes.
The thought that soon he would lose his legs made him feel panic.
Clang-!!
"Cough!"
"..."
With the clear sound of steel, an exclamation came out of Cheon MyeongHo's mouth.
Kim ShiHoon slowly opened his eyes.
The back of a young man he was familiar with was in front of him.
"Woah. Nice quote."
After easily blocking Cheon MyeongHo's attack, KangWoo nodded with a smile on his face as if he was tasting the words Cheon MyeongHo had just said.
"Mr. KangWoo...?"
Kim ShiHoon looked confusedly at KangWoo, who had suddenly appeared.
KangWoo turned his head around to Kim ShiHoon and calmly said.
"I'll explain everything later on. Mr. ShiHoon, stay there and rest a bit. Seol-ah, come here and heal him."
"Ah... Yes!"
Seol-ah looked at him with a confused expression on her face.
"Is it the Hwarang Squad...?"
Cheon MyeongHo, alert, looked at KangWoo.
He knew the government was trying to see which big guild was involved with the Demon Cult.
Seeing how he had suddenly appeared, there was a huge chance that he was an agent sent from the government.
"Do you think the Hwarang Squad would send only one person?"
"Then..."
"Pick up your weapon. It's not like we have a cordial relationship or anything."
"..."
Cheon MyeongHo picked up his weapon with a hard expression on his face.
KangWoo was right.
Talking made no sense. They had no reason to reveal their identities to each other.
"Then I'll make you talk by force."
"Hahaha. Good. Nice attitude."
With a smile on his face, KangWoo waved his hand as if saying “bring it on.”
"Come on."
"..."
Cheon MyeongHo frowned after seeing his arrogant attitude.
Blue mana covered his axe.
Unlike Cheon MyeongHo, who was prepared to fight with a determined attitude, KangWoo had his arms crossed and was waiting for him to attack.
'Arrogant bastard.'
Cheon MyeongHo seemed upset at KangWoo's attitude.
'You were lucky to block my attack.'
He was sure that his next attack would be different.
Cheon MyeongHo grabbed the mana-covered axe tightly and leaped toward KangWoo.
He swung the axe with deep-blue mana around it, targeting KangWoo's neck.
KangWoo extended his hand toward the ax.
'What a crazy bastard!'
He was trying to block an axe that had cut even a giant shield in half with his hand .
There was a limit to how crazy someone could be.
He swung his axe, intending to cut KangWoo in half.
Tap-
"What!"
The ax he swung using all of his strength was easily caught.
"What did you just say? Oh, yeah."
Crack-
KangWoo crushed the axe he had just caught.
He kept talking with a deep smile on his face.
"You said that the only right the weak have is to suffer, right?"
KangWoo licked his lips while nodding.
"I also think that."
The axe's blade, which looked like a hydraulic press had crushed it, fell to the ground.
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