Chapter 75: The Five Great Factions (2)
[You have acquired the skill ‘Sword Demon Sovereign Step (劍魔帝王步) (S)’]
[Sword Demon Sovereign Step]
Difficulty of acquisition: S-
Description: A martial art fusion of the Nangong Clan’s Infinite Step and the demonic clan’s exclusive martial technique ‘Grave of Swords’. It embodies the discordant characteristics of the righteous, who pursue honor and chivalry, and the demonic path that seeks domination. Upon use, movement speed increases by 70%, and if magic is concentrated in the feet, it can also be utilized as an offensive tool.
Mobility and attack power.
He had obtained a skill that caught both rabbits.
‘Combined with the passive skill ‘Shallow Breathing’, long-distance movements will now be more efficient in terms of stamina.’
Moreover, now that weight and magic could be channeled, the power of the same attack would increase significantly.
It was truly a skill that could make one feel the essence of the ‘martial world’.
Jinhyuk scanned the skill’s details once more.
‘I originally thought I’d have to reach floor 20 to get it…’
Thanks to those fools who walked into the tiger’s den, he was quite well-fed.
On the other hand.
“Argh!”
Seeing Jinhyuk smiling, Nangong Hyun gritted his teeth so hard they could break.
It must be infuriating.
After all, while his opponent was at ease, he barely survived with the help of his comrades.
The crack in his pride was inevitable.
Just then.
“Are you alright, Hyun?”
Three people, two men and one woman, approached Nangong Hyun.
The man in his mid-thirties was Hwangbo Gunak, a member of the Hwangbo Clan, one of the Five Great Factions.
“I think it’s the first time I’ve seen Hyun sweating in a battle.”
The woman just past twenty years old was Tang Soha, known for the prestigious Tang family’s poison techniques.
“Why are we struggling against such a guy?”
Lastly, the youngest man was Jegal Cheon from the Jegal Clan.
“Damn it. I could have managed alone. I don’t need any help from you guys.”
“Nobody’s doubting your strength. But don’t forget, the clan leader’s orders were not to annihilate, but to recruit.”
“Hwangbo Gunak is right. There’s no need for a fight if he’s willing to cooperate with us.”
“But…! He knew about us! He already knew we were from the tower!”
Nangong Hyun shouted. At his shout, a tremor went through the eyes of the three who had been smiling leisurely.
“What?”
“Is that true?”
“He knew about us?”
They hadn’t been close enough to overhear Nangong Hyun and Jinhyuk’s conversation.
They didn’t expect such words.
If what Nangong Hyun said was true, it would be a big deal.
They’d been in contact with many promising players, but none of them knew their true identity.
But.
“Huh? People live in the tower? What kind of nonsense is that? Even if Seoul’s real estate prices went through the roof, who would be insane enough to want a house here?”
Jinhyuk looked like it was the first time he’d heard such a story.
“You didn’t say that to me just before?”
“Yeah, me?”
“Right. You clearly said it!”
“Ah! Did I say you look like a homeless man who spent 10,000 years in the tower? Was that it?”
“A, a homeless man? Are you saying that to me?”
“If not, then not. Don’t get all heated up for nothing. It looks unbecoming to be so sensitively offended.”
“…”
Swoosh!
Nangong Hyun drew his sword again.
“I’ve decided. Regardless of persuasion or whatever, I’m going to start by cutting off your tongue.”
His words dripped with sticky murderous intent.
Nangong Hyun took his stance.
Woosh!
The sword thrust out in an instant.
Fast.
And ferocious.
Like a venomous snake moving through the leaves, the sword cut an unpredictable path between points and lines.
But Jinhyuk easily dodged Nangong Hyun’s attack.
‘As expected, these guys’ behavior patterns are so predictable.’
He wondered what he was planning by falling so easily for the provocation.
And besides, hadn’t he just said it himself?
He was going to cut off his tongue.
No matter how complex the process, if he knew the goal, avoiding it was a piece of cake.
“I quite like it. Playing tag.”
Jinhyuk taunted with a grin.
“You little rat! Let’s see how long you can only run!”
[Nangong Hyun activates Lv11 ‘Infinite Step (無限步)’!]
Suddenly, a completely different movement.
Nangong Hyun chased him using the Nangong Clan’s signature movement technique.
Kaboom, kaboom, kaboom!
The trajectory of the sword.
The internal strength behind the sword remained the same.
It wasn’t a different person.
Only the footwork changed.
However, that simple difference created an entirely different result.
“Why? Can’t you run away like an eel anymore? It’s funny how big your words were, but now you’re in such a pathetic state.”
Nangong Hyun caught up to Jinhyuk from behind.
It was time to thrust the blade into the unprotected belly of his opponent, along with that insolent tongue.
But at that very moment.
[Lv1 ‘Sword Demon Sovereign Step (劍魔帝王步)’ is activated!]
A gust of wind blew.
***
As time passed, Nangong Hyun’s face became increasingly twisted with anger.
‘This…! It can’t be…’
He was complacent at first.
He thought he was just a blabbermouth, and that he would toy with him before crushing him.
The discrepancy between the 20th and 4th floors was significant.
There was an unsurpassable wall between a martial artist and a greenhorn player.
But after the first engagement, he changed his mind and no longer underestimated his opponent.
‘Use full power and crush him.’
If he used his best move, Infinite Step, and his most powerful sword technique, he could secure victory within three breaths.
Yes, it would certainly happen.
But.
Even after using all his best techniques.
Why!
Why can’t he even touch the shadow of his opponent?
The overwhelming difference in mobility felt like an insurmountable wall.
‘Such a grotesque movement…’
The footwork that was straightforward yet irregularly mixed with off-beats was impossible to predict.
No doubt about it.
It was a movement technique that surpassed Infinite Step by several levels.
“Hyun, I understand you’re heated, but play nice. We don’t want complications if you injure him seriously.”
“Hyun! Finish it quickly. It’s almost been 5 minutes.”
“There’s no need to drag it out when he can’t even muster a counter-attack, right?”
His comrades from other factions each made a remark.
To them, it looked as if Nangong Hyun was simply toying with and overwhelming his opponent.
Dammit.
He was working his butt off over here!
Nangong Hyun wiped the sweat from his brow, swinging at empty air.
Then a thought struck him.
Should I just pretend it was an accident and kill him?
Unlike the demanding task of capturing someone alive, if he could just use an assassination technique…
There was certainly a way to deal with a guy who could only run and couldn’t counter-attack.
He didn’t ponder for long.
[Nangong Hyun activates ‘Taihua Sword Qi (太華劍氣)’!]
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
His waist-bound sword emitted a blinding light. The sword qi indicated his intent to kill his opponent.
At the same moment.
“That’s a mistake.”
An icy chill flowed.
From Jinhyuk.
Exactly, from the pair of swords Jinhyuk possessed.
[The Twin Dragon Swords respond to their master’s call.]
Shivers!
‘…?!’
Nangong Hyun’s eyebrows furrowed into a severe frown.
He instinctively felt something was seriously wrong.
But right at that moment.
“ROARRR!”
“SCREEECH!”
A piercing screech joined in.
The players from the Triad shouted at the top of their lungs.
“There’s a zombie wave from the right!”
“About a thousand. They are 3 minutes away!”
While they had been engrossed in battle, the first wave had almost reached them.
There was no time for dallying now.
“You were lucky.”
Hwangbo Gunak shrugged his shoulders at Jinhyuk.
It seemed he thought the fight would have been over if the zombie wave had come a bit later.
“Yeah, thanks to you, I survived. Our young master.”
Jinhyuk returned his half-drawn twin swords to their sheath with a bright smile.
“Look at that guy speaking!”
“You’re alive because of you. Puahaha! And still, your mouth runs. Isn’t that so, Hyun?”
“Uh? …Er… Uh…”
Nangong Hyun mumbled in response.
What was that?
He still trembled from the immense killing intent he felt moments ago.
A malignant energy that chilled him to the bone, unlike anything he’d felt in the martial world.
One thing was certain.
If the fight had continued properly…
‘I would have died.’
Yes.
He would certainly have died.
Nangong Hyun realized that fact.
Sadly, Jegal Cheon failed to realize it.
“Hey. Next time, there won’t be zombies to interrupt at just the right moment, so don’t mess around and know your place. Isn’t that right? You’ve been our vassals for ages—if we demand it, you’ll obediently lay down and…”
Jegal Cheon couldn’t finish his words.
Boom!
His face shattered, and he had to spew out all the teeth that were in his mouth.
“Sorry, what did you just say?”
Jinhyuk wiped his hands clean of blood, still smiling brightly.
***
“Aaaack!”
Jegal Cheon held his face in both hands.
His nose was completely smashed, and blood spurted between his fingers.
“What the hell did this guy just do!”
“Ugh!”
Hwangbo Gunak and Tang Soha grabbed their weapons instantly.
On the other hand, Nangong Hyun was frozen in place, unable to move.
“It’s fine to keep fighting, but are you sure? Your side will be at quite a disadvantage?”
By now, Yoo Yeonhwa, Lee Taemin, Teresa, and Cheon Yuseong, who had been exhausted from fighting the Triad, had all regained their stamina and mana.
“ROWRRR!”
“SCREEECH!”
Even in this chaos, the zombies continued to rapidly shorten the distance.
“…It seems we’ll have to continue this conversation later.”
Hwangbo Gunak nodded gravely.
“Don’t think about coming to our stadium. Find some other place.”
“We refuse such a trashy place. Besides, we’ve already decided on our stronghold.”
“Oh? You’ve already secured your stronghold?”
“That’s right, the best spot on the 4th floor.”
Hwangbo Gunak glanced back.
The large supermarket right in front of the stadium.
So, they chose that.
“Not bad.”
The supermarket, surrounded by high walls on all sides and with narrow entrances, made defense easy.
Especially with hundreds of people defending, it was even better.
Filled with canned goods, water, and food, and countless items for long-term siege warfare, it was the perfect place.
When the world ends and zombies overrun it, they say to go to the nearest supermarket for a reason.
However.
There was one fatal weakness to that place.
A dire flaw that no one knew.
‘This is going to make the 4th floor quite interesting.’
The corners of Jinhyuk’s mouth lifted.
He had just thought of a way to maximize the benefits of the stronghold battle, including those arrogant martial world’s remnants.
