Chapter 775: If You Fall Behind, You All Die! (5)

"This insolent wench...."

Who wouldn't be angry when a young swordswoman, who hadn't even lived half the life the man did, said something so absurd?

Ga Nam-Pyung's eyes began to shine with killing intent.

"Let's see if you can say the same thing after your body is destroyed."

Cold tension flowed between the two.

"E-excuse me...."

Before they knew it, Jo Seung, who was standing close to Chung Myung, spoke in a trembling voice.

"Gre-great warrior. No, Taoist! I think we need to stop this."

"Uh?"

Chung Myung glanced at Jo Seung with eyes that seemed to ask, 'What are you doing here?' and tilted his head.

"Why?"

"That man is Ga Nam-Pyung. The captain! He is quite a famous warrior in the Yangtze River!"

"... Uh?"

"He uses the blade like a monster and is famous for his skill. He was asked to join various groups, but I heard that he turned them all down because he didn't like working under someone... I never thought he would make his own pirate group..."

Jo Seung's face was full of anxiety as he gulped.

"Ga Nam-Pyung, that man is on a whole different level from the young wandering pirates in the Yangtze River. In the past, when there was a fight with a warrior from one of the Nine Great Sects, he killed the person and also avoided being pursued by the sects. That is how dangerous and strong that man is."

"Ah, is that so?"

"Yes! I wondered how the fledgling pirate group managed to attract so many.... It seems like there were people who wanted to join because of him. Ones who raised Ga Nam-Pyung separately."

"Hmmm."

Chung Myung looked at Ga Nam-Pyung with strange eyes.

"Well, he doesn't seem that great, though."

"I have my doubts about that too. As far as I know, he is a man with great strength, but he wasn't known to be so resourceful... So when did he prepare to fight back like this...?"

"Does he have a lot of money?"

"Sorry?"

"Does he have a lot of money?"

"...what kind of money does a former vagrant have?"

"Is that so?"

Chung Myung's eyes narrowed.

'A vagrant who doesn't have any money has so many White Thunder Cannons and manages to feed so many people?'

Only when the pirates started to run their own group would they be able to make a living with the money they had earned? But in the beginning, they would have to bring in money.

So, how did a newly formed pirate group manage to do all this?

"It doesn't make sense unless he has a lot of money, right?"

Chung Myung tapped his cheek.

"Well, if you search for it, you can find it... rather, the land here seems strange. I thought it was a sandbank being called an island."

"Taoist! Now isn't the time to be looking at such things. She might die!"

"Who? Sago? Or the guy who is the thug or Ga Nam-Pyung?"

"...Uh?"

Chung Myung chuckled.

"You worry too much. Sago isn't the kind of person to lose to someone like him who only does that."

"Well, I think because you don't know much about Ga Nam-Pyung..."

"Are you familiar with our Sago then?"

"...Sorry?"

"It's the same as not knowing one another, right?"

Jo Seung's face was filled with doubt at this. Chung Myung just shrugged his shoulders. Even though he seemed like he was bullshitting, it felt true.

"Taoist, are you really okay?"

"Okay?...uh?"

At that moment, Chung Myung tilted his head.

"Wait a minute."

"Uh?"

"Are you the guy who ran away by cursing me earlier?"

"...Uh?"

"Haha. I almost forgot. Come here."

"..."

Sometimes... good intentions came back with the worst results.

"Phew!"

Ga Nam-Pyung took a short breath and swung his blade.

Basically, the blade was closer to a weapon that swung and struck rather than cut. But the horizontal blade of Ga Nam-Pyung, which was similar to a sword, was great for stabbing.

Those who had mastered water arts must fight mindfully of the water. Heavy and thick blades weren't great in water.

A heavy blade was suitable for a wanderer who often engaged in melee combat. At the same time, a weapon that could stab was suitable for a pirate who often fought in water.

And his weapon took both into consideration.

Swish!

Every time he moved it, the watchers felt their skin crawl at the clashing sound.

Ga Nam-Pyung, who thrust the sword at an incredible speed, thrust the blade once again. A dozen stabs were made in an instant. It was so clear and strong that it was hard to believe he was once a vagrant.

Making a name for yourself throughout the huge Yangtze River, which flowed through half the Central Plains, meant that his skills were good. And Ga Nam-Pyung's blade clearly proved that his reputation wasn't exaggerated.

But.

Wheik!

The extended horizontal blade couldn't extend any further in front of Yu Yiseol. To a stranger, it might have seemed as if he had stopped right in front of her neck.

But, the expression of Ga Nam-Pyung was contorted while Yu Yiseol's remained calm. It meant that things weren't as they seemed.

'This guy!'

Ga Nam-Pyung's eyes turned a little more cautious.

Just over halfway there.

Every time he extended the blade, Yu Yiseol took a step back, which was more than the distance his blade could reach. With a complete understanding of the path of the blade he was using, she was neutralizing his blade with minimal movement.

It would have been impossible to even try such a thing without complete confidence and boldness in the method they were training in.

The fact that she was showing such composure towards him upset him even more.

But rather than getting angry, he took a deep breath. Losing one's rational mind on the battlefield was more dangerous than sticking one's head on the pirates' blade.

'That's right, she's still a young one with just a little experience.'

With just this one move, he could understand the opponent's skills. If they fought ten times, he would win at most a couple of times.

But wasn't it experience and skill that made it possible to achieve those two wins with a 100 percent chance?

Swish!

Ga Nam-Pyung's blade once again aimed for Yu Yiseol's throat.

With light footwork, Yu Yiseol took half a step back from where the blade reached.

Wheik! Swish!

Sounds that seemed meaningless poured out one after another.

A series of ear-splitting noises and rapid, invisible stabs. It was a rough and flashy attack, but it seemed to lack force.

'Hmm?'

At that moment, Chung Myung, who was watching the scene, smiled strangely.

"You're showing some tricks."

As if he had heard those words, Ga Nam-Pyung's eyes lit up, and he extended the blade again. This time, Yu Yiseol leaned back as if it were natural.

However, at that moment, Ga Nam-Pyung's blade, which should have stopped in the middle, seemed to move further and suddenly rushed as if it would pierce Yu Yiseol's neck. Her eyes widened, and she jumped back without delay.

"Tat!"

But Ga Nam-Pyung didn't let her get away so quickly. The sharp sword movement flew back to her neck at incredible speed.

Yu Yiseol swung her sword to block the path.

Gagagagak!

The blade qi that collided with her blade moved to the side, making the sound of scraping metal.

Crack!

Although the injury was avoided, the qi in the blade was enough to leave a dull pain in Yu Yiseol's wrist.

Paat!

Ga Nam-Pyung rushed ahead without giving her time to spare. Then, he kicked the sand below his feet. The sand flew up, covering Yu Yiseol and preventing her from moving.

"Tsk."

A look of shock appeared on Yu Yiseol's face.

And Baek Cheon, who saw that, was equally shocked.

'What? Why did samae....?'

Of course, the guy called Ga Nam-Pyung wasn't weak, but right now, it wasn't like Yu Yiseol was overwhelmed by his skills either. However, she was unable to show off her skills for some reason.

It was evident from the flustered look on Yu Yiseol's face, which usually looked calm in any situation.

"The sense of distance."

"Uh?"

Baek Cheon asked back without even looking at Chung Myung, who had spoken.

"The sound coming from the hole at the end of the blade. It is a sound technique. If one continues to listen to that sound, it will shake their insides."

"...."

"And that guy has been adjusting the distance he extends the blade from earlier. It is confusing to the eyes and ears at the same time. That man is a lot smarter than we thought, right?"

The same went for kicking up the sand.

Ga Nam-Pyung, too, wouldn't think that someone as talented as Yu Yiseol would be able to handle such tactics. But what if they thought about all such changes accumulating? If they constantly shook their ears and confused their vision, one would mistake the entire thing.

"Nasty..."

"There is nothing nasty about fighting. It is 100 times better to live a miserable life than to live a clean life."

"..."

Baek Cheon nodded silently. Although he reflexively criticized it, he had no choice but to agree with it as someone who had experienced countless battles.

"How is it? Shouldn't we help her out?"

"Don't speak nonsense."

When Chung Myung asked vaguely, Baek Cheon answered firmly.

"It isn't that big of a deal."

"Hmm."

Chung Myung smiled with his lips.

"How is that?"

Ga Nam-Pyung roared like a tiger. This wasn't evidence of excitement in the battle. This was the booming voice to confused Yu Yiseol in the fight.

There were two ways to win against a better opponent: either become stronger or bring the opponent down to the same level as oneself.

Attaching the bells to the hole of the blade and moving the blade at different distances were all martial arts techniques from the ancient history of the Evil Faction.

The man's blade arts could be considered a development of such martial arts. Every time the blade moved, it carried internal qi and sounds that resonated with the natural Tao.

If one had experience observing the martial arts of the Evil Faction, they would find a way to counter it. However, the young swordsman ahead couldn't have experienced all that.

Moreover, if it was natural for her to attack with clean strikes, she would be taken aback when the blade moved differently.

As proof...

Pat!

The blade grazed a part of Yu Yiseol's arm just below the shoulder. The torn clothes soon turned red with blood.

Pat!

Another wound appeared on her side.

The blade, which hadn't even been touching her, was now clearly causing wounds on her body.

'A bit more.'

Basically, you have to be careful when hunting.

In times like this, if one became excited, they might make a clumsy attack or fall into trouble. Time was on his side now, so he could proceed slowly.

'I will kill you first!'

Ga Nam-Pyung's eyes held killing intent.

"Ahhh!"

It was the moment when Ga Nam-Pyung threw his blade down, channeling all his qi into it.

Kaang!

Before the blade could reach its full extension, it collided with Yu Yiseol's sword.

"Tsk!"

However, Ga Nam-Pyung didn't panic and calmly retrieved his sword and threw it again.

Kang!

But it was the same this time.

Before he could fully swing it, Yu Yiseol's sword intercepted the path and stopped it.

Kaang! Kaang! Kang! Kang!

No matter how many times he extended the path of the blade, the same thing happened each time. Before his sword was even halfway extended, Yu Yiseol stretched out her sword and parried it away as if she knew his moves.

Ga Nam-Pyung, who became scared and stepped back, looked at Yu Yiseol with shocked eyes. She spoke with a face that didn't care again.

"I kind of understand it."

"...."

"Sound, distance, feel. It is a meaningful thing when the blade is extended till the end alone."

"W-what..."

So, she was saying she wouldn't let him do a full swing?

Did that make sense?

For such a thing to be possible, the woman's blade should be twice as fast as Ga Nam-Pyung's sword.

A Delayed Movement.

This means that the sword, extended later after the attack, flew a greater distance than his sword.

"S-something like that cannot happen! Ah!"

Ga Nam-Pyung let out a scream and stabbed his blade again. This noise was not a sane one. It was a scream borne of fear.

Kaang! Kang! Kang!

But his blade didn't move along the path till the end. Every time he stabbed the blade, the sword flew like a ghost and bounced it back.

He was pulling out all the qi he had and stabbed the blade faster, but the sword was still ahead of him.

"Ahh!"

Now, Ga Nam-Pyung's movements as he thrust the blade looked close to a fit.

If she blocked it, then just push it down with force!

There was no need to fall behind in strength. This young woman...

At that moment.

Rotation.

Yu Yiseol's body rotated and gently let Ga Nam-Pyung's blade flow to the side.

Then, it swam lightly like a butterfly and stretched out the sword.

The world flowed slowly.

Ga Nam-Pyung, who sensed his fate, realized one thing then.

'No... uh?'

There was no sign of the Black-haired Ghost.

There was no sign of the Black-haired Ghost, who had joined the battle before him, anywhere on the battlefield.

'W-where is he?'

He wasn't there.

A person with skills like his should be noticed. But neither he nor his subordinates who joined him were around.

"This fucking...."

Swish.

But before he could even curse him right, Yu Yiseol's sword cut through his throat.

Slash!

Ga Nam-Pyung's head rose into the air without any noise.

His head saw the world spinning.

Across the island.

The sight of a group of black-dressed people leaving the waters of the Yangtze River and moving from the island.

'I was fooled....'

The world went dark quickly.

Anger and hatred belong to the living.

Ga Nam-Pyung no longer had the right to be angry.