I kicked Leader Hwang right from the horse.
“You bastard asked to be cursed and now you are doing it yourself.”
He gets up holding his face.
“Ah, I did that because I was a bit too excited.”
I look at the corpses scattered around, and he points in one direction.
“They ran from there so the base has to be in that direction.”
“It didn’t seem like everyone was running to the base either.”
“Right. I don’t know why though.”
I check the condition of Leader Hwang and say,
“I don’t need to chase them right now, so let’s take a break.”
“Yes.”
After saying that, I get off the horse and smack it on the butt to send it into the forest. Leader Hwang seems puzzled.
“Sect Leader, why are you sending it? You said he was strong.”
“If you don’t have confidence to protect, then let go.”
I pull out the leather bag off the corpse of a bandit and sprinkle it on the ground.
This time the water is sweet because I feel thirsty. If I was crazy for a while, it means I lost control, so I sit cross legged to control myself. The triggering condition for craziness is memory.
I have competed with bandits in the past life and as the memory of that time was clear I set off my condition.
The memory I recalled was one of me in the past life when I got the name of Crazy Demon, and it wasn’t a bad one.
Because if I go insane I will be in trouble, I am able to calm my mind by meditating. But I never thought I would be taken over by craziness at such an unexpected time.
Perhaps the time I dealt with the bandits in the past was before I got used to it.
I am a troubled man all the time.
There are so many things I tried to forget and there are times as such when things suddenly come back to me. The problem is that the Crazy Demon in the previous life often went insane and had this dark atmosphere around, so I tried to be insane but brightly.
What is the difference you ask?
I don’t know.
Just instincts tell me that.
Say it brightly…
Not like dark crazy but light crazy.
Looking at the fight just now, it seems like even Leader Hwang wasn’t able to recognize what I did.
This always happens so it is not surprising. I suddenly look at the wilderness around which feels a bit comforting to me who was insane in the dark.
‘Insane bastard… pitiful one.’
Since the me then and the me now are different, it may sound strange, but I comfort myself in the previous life.
‘Come on, let’s keep going.’
‘Not get caught in craziness.’
I am different now. I struggle between the Crazy Demon of this life and the past life.
After a while, I am able to take a deep breath and look at Leader Hwang and the corpses of bandits I killed, all without emotion.
Peace like a river and coldness like snow.
Thinking that the man who sent me back to the past through all the obstacles was a Martial God, I pray to him.
‘Martial God hyung, please look after me. Put me to the test but deliver me from craziness. If I get hit on the left cheek, make it possible to show the other side. Let me avoid the Three Disasters until I become strong. In return for this, I will offer the Five Evils by beating them to death. May only fear come to my enemies… asura.’
When I think about how being alert after praying was a skill not many had, my heart calmed down. After a while, I open my eyes and look at Leader Hwang and sigh.
“… the fiery nature passed.”
He nods.
“Congratulations.”
“This isn’t something to congratulate.”
“I was surprised to see the Sect Leader suddenly fight like you met with a beast.”
I nod.
“Are bandit’s friends then? They are enemies.”
“That isn’t what I meant.”
“Shut up”
“Yes.”
“This is often the case when fighting multiple enemies, but I have no problem with it.”
“I understand.”
After a while, Leader Hwang asks like he is curious,
“Ah, then was it like this when you fought with the Murim Alliance?”
“No.”
“I think you fought calmly back then.”
“Not that either.”
“How did you fight?”
“I killed them in one hit.”
Suddenly, Leader Hwang looks like he regretted it.
“…”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Leader Hwang, I am more concerned about killing a horse than a bandit. Am I weird?”
“What do you mean? It could sound strange.”
“Just say one thing.”
Leader Hwang bursts into laughter.
“Hehehe….”
I get up and brush my ass.
“Let’s go, we are in a dangerous situation where we can become bandits too. We need to kill them and leave quickly.”
“I understand.”
I start tracking while looking at the floor. There are times when blood is visible here and there, times where accessories are missing, weapons abandoned. I say to Leader Hwang who is wandering,
“If you find something like a spear, bring that to me.”
“I don’t see anything. You use a spear?”
“I handle every weapon there is.”
Leader Hwang looks at me with a serious expression.
“Sect Leader.”
“What?”
“You are fine?”
I smile a bit shyly and he walks around as he says,
“I feel a little at ease now.”
“Then no. If you cannot find the leader of theirs, then you must be scared. If you see the subordinates running away and take them down, it means you are skilled. More skilled than the dead ones.”
After a while, I can’t see the wilderness anymore. I found some fleeing bandits, but it was because they were killed by other bandits.
The clothes and the atmosphere are the same. It seems that the leader was killing down those who didn’t obey his orders or something. Even the bandits who were subordinates seemed to fight back but most of them died or escaped with their throats being cut.
Oddly enough, these guys are being brutally killed by the people they had fun with. There is also laughter around.
Throwing in assassin weapons, hitting the bandits who lost, and chasing after them. And jumping onto the horse of another person to kill the raider. To sum it up, a group of bandits were fighting.
Leader Hwang says,
“The guy there smiling while looking around seems to be the Red Ghost.”
As soon as Leader Hwang says it, the man we presumed to be the Red Ghost looks at us and says something. And the leaders who were killing the fleeing bandits gathered around making loud laughter.
I smile looking at them and they smile at us.
“Smiling?”
As soon as six to seven bandits begin to run to us, Leader Hwang asks,
“Sect Leader, how many should I take care of?”
“Do not die.”
“Yes.”
The bandits spread the distance to the left and right and then came running in a wide formation. As the distance narrowed, I could see the expressions of the bandits. Everyone still had smiles on their faces.
This time, the bandits who spread around increased their speed to surround us.
I sighed.
“Fucking assholes.”
I held the wooden sword in my left hand and as soon as I saw the guy who was throwing an assassin weapon at Leader Hwang, I drew my sword and cut his arm. A scream erupts as the weapon hits someone else.
I smile and the Red Ghost stops laughing. And so did the bandits who went around us. The man with his arm severed continued to scream.
Tattooed Red Ghost says,
“Shut up.”
Three to four assassin weapons hit the guy who had his arm severed and knock him down.
Red Ghost speaks to me.
“Are you the damage mitigator? Did the escort service send you?”
I pick my nose and check on him.
‘Stronger than Leader Hwang.’
When I look around, I see people who seemed close to middle-age and those with a slight difference. They are the ones who didn’t fully look like bandits. In an instant, the leaders jump off their horses and attack us.
A chain flies with a sword attached to it. I slash the chain with my sheath and the sword which was moving for me.
‘So many diverse weapons.’
And two run at Leader Hwang.
And it was a situation where 4 bandits, including Red Ghost, rushed at me. This time I couldn’t kill one person with one movement anymore. With my eyes open wide to not lose any sight, I dealt with the chained attacks of the bandits. Sparks flew in the air and then we were close enough. Some kicked the ground with their feet to throw dirt at my face, while others were swinging the chains aiming for my legs.
In the meantime, Red Ghost pulled out twin swords and came to bump into me. While I am moving my body, I check Leader Hwang and he is swinging his sword against two people and I smile.
‘Die instead of living like an asshole…’
It was better to die right now. I had no intention of helping him, so I concentrated on my fight. Swords clashing at close range….
The one who blocks my sword with a huge sword flies back and bounces off the ground. But everyone here is skilled. It seems like they learned martial arts and then turned into bandits.
In that gap, I rush to the Red Ghost to fight…
For a while, it was a one-on-one fight.
Looking closer, Red Ghost too seemed like a middle-class man unlike others. There is something made on his forehead, and tattoos around. Judging this, he has a mark of something on his head, like someone who escaped from family. In particular, the way he wields the twin swords wasn’t one that depended on experience but a sword technique.
In any case, he is capable of slaughtering five to six bandits alone.
I am in danger of breaking my thin sword, so I fight by constantly infusing qi into the wooden sword. However, the one who is surprised by the wooden sword is me. The twin swords, which the Red Ghost is using against the wooden swords almost at the same time, break while my sword seems fine…
Red Ghost was shocked, and so was I.
‘Treasured sword.’
Red Ghost steps back holding the broken sword. The other bandits, who switched their stance to defense, charge ahead.
In an instant, I stepped forward by using Shock Feet.
Dust rises with this movement.
The wooden sword wrapped with ice qi was scattering like plum blossoms. The dust mixed with black wind spread out in all directions, and the energy of ice qi filled in the gap made with the Shock Feet.
My vision was blurry…
Pupupupu… the sounds and then screams came together. I swing a chair to blow away the dust then look at Red Ghost, who ran.
When I turn my head, Leader Hwang is fighting fiercely against two bandits from a distance.
Would it be fine to go ahead and kill Red Ghost? Or should I save Leader Hwang first?
Which one would shine brighter?
‘Let’s live a busier life and work harder.’
I giggle and join Leader Hwang. As soon as I get close, I raise the wooden sword and I see that the guys I were fighting against were scared.
“Leader Hwang, I came.”
He gasps for air and says,
“Sect Leader, please just… help me…!”
I slash the hand of the bandit in a straight line and then pull onto the leg of the other bandit. In the meantime, Leader Hwang uses his sword to cut a X shape at the neck of the enemies.
Leader Hwang made my heart flutter.
“Haaa….”
I touch the back of Leader Hwang who is bending back into exhaustion.
“Let’s go”
“Wait a minute.”
“Let’s go. You brat. There is just one guy left, the Red Ghost.”
Kicking him on the ass, I say,
“Now, run.”
“Yes.”
We run through the wilderness for a while and can see Red Ghost running away. Behind me Leader Hwang is panting.
Towards the wilderness…
Leader Hwang, me, and Red Ghost are running around.
“Leader Hwang, come fast.”
Now, Leader Hwang could only let out a gasping sound. I look up at the sky and see the sun is setting. After a while, Red Ghost, who had been staggering, bends over and gasps like he can’t run anymore.
But I was fine.
Rather than killing Red Ghost right away, I deliberately ran slow to train Leader Hwang. I approach Red Ghost who looks like he’s about to collapse and call Leader Hwang.
“Come fast!
Suddenly Red Ghost kneels down and raises both hands.
“Save me.”
I reply while looking down at him.
“… why should I?”
“I will become your subordinate.”
I answer back in a calm tone.
“A man who kills his subordinates will not be taken in by me. Just die.”
“Haa….”
I shout at Leader Hwang,
“COME FAST!”
At that moment, Leader Hwang, holding his energy, threw his sword with all his might. As soon as the sword, which flew with a crushing sound, pierces the neck of Red Ghost, Leader Hwang falls forward.
He gasps for air by laying down.
I applaud as we stand alone in the wilderness watching the dead man. Laughter comes out of nowhere.
“Nice.”
