Chapter 14 Swordplay
…
Several wracked trucks are on the side of the road with flame and dark smoke still rising high up in the air.
Meanwhile, the sound of gunshots echoing throughout the forest and the roar of some beast could be heard.
Several dead bodies could be seen lying on the ground while two figures are currently fighting in the middle of the wreckage.
One is a man with torn clothes and many gashes on his body, while the other one is a beast that looks like a humanoid hybrid of a wolf and a bull.
The two seem to be on par with each other's strength and are fighting with all their might as the others around them are also battling. The corpses of beast and man are strewn all over the place creating a nauseating scene of carnage and bloodshed.
"I'm out of ammunition!" shouted one of the soldiers hiding under a wrecked truck.
"Here! These are my last rounds… Make it count!" another person lying prone to the ground handed him a small pouch filled with bullets.
Suddenly, they saw someone charging out with a sword in hand. That guy pierces the neck of a wolf the size of a cow while laughing manically.
"Do you think you can just take my life away without consequence?! I will take as many as I can to my death!" that guy shouted as he began to brandish his sword and attack the rest of the wolves that pounces at him.
The man showed exquisite swordsmanship as he wounded one giant wolf after another. It made those wolves that wanted to attack him think twice even though they facing a lone human.
The guy has a look of frenzy in his eyes as he suddenly rushes in the direction of the wolves that seem to be hesitating in attacking him.
One of the wolves seems to have decided to attack so, it pounces on the guy. But then the guy skillfully decapitated the wolf with ease. Though he is just a normal person, his body seems to have some kind of invisible aura that sends a fear signal towards the beasts around him.
It did not take long before the man suddenly stopped as he heaved heavily. His body is full of blood both his own and that of the beasts lying around him.
This scene has already fueled the passion of the soldiers to fight as some of them have already jumped out and begun charging at the beasts with their blades.
The man saw this and he showed a satisfied smile on his face.
He touches his stomach and looks at the blood pouring out of it.
Actually, he has already been wounded and his strength is already waning. He could only stand in his position atop the mountain of beast corpses as a sign of victory for his group.
And because of this, the soldiers have been ignited to fight with all they've got.
Han Jin had seen this battle from atop a tree and could not help but stand frozen. In his mind, the action and movement of that man have already been etched and for some reason, everything seems to have been recorded as he could clearly remember the flow of that beautiful swordsmanship.
He froze on the spot and seems to have not minded anything around him. All he could do is look into his mind and watch as the battle scene repeated over and over.
His body began to twitch a little as if he is some kind of sick person. Then, large beads of sweat began to form on his forehead and his back began to be covered with sweat.
In his mind, he slowly internalized and ponders on the movements until he is able to scrutinize them fully within him.
Bang!!!
Suddenly, his figure was sent flying as he was hit on his chest by a very strong force.
This jolted him from his stupor and he suddenly found himself lying on a shrubbery with strong pain in his chest and back.
"What the heck hit me?" muttered Han Jin as he grimaces in pain.
Luckily for him, he is wearing the wooden breastplate he made under his uniform which has protected his body from the bullet and the strong impact.
"Stupid rascal! I was warning you over and over again, but you did not listen… Why were you stupefied back then?" Old Onyx scolded Han Jin as his face appears on the side of a tree trunk.
"I… I was learning swordsmanship…" Han Jin replied with a slight frown.
"What?" Old Onyx showed a hint of disbelief in his eyes.
"Yeah, I don't know… But I think I have learned the sword style of that person…" he pointed at the person who is already not moving while standing at the corpses of the wolves.
At that time, when that person was fighting he wanted to help, but then suddenly for some reason he froze on the spot and was too engrossed in that swordsmanship for some unknown reason.
"You were shot because you look like a beast squatting atop a tree branch…" Old Onyx jested.
Han Jin slowly stands up and then looks at the battlefield ahead of him.
He carefully takes out his rifle and loaded it with a bullet. He then jumps atop a tree and hides amongst the bushes. This time, he did not want to suffer a friendly shot.
Then he began shooting the remaining wolves that are assaulting the soldiers.
When his concentration activated, his environment immediately became slow as he moved normally.
He is already used to such a scene and was not shocked, so he did not mind what is happening around him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Rapid gunshots began to echo in the air as many wolves began to fall down with their heads blasted open.
Han Jin was too engrossed in shooting that he even aimed at the demon beast fighting against the Class-B person.
The rifle that the military is using has a very strong recoil and power that it could kill a demon beast as long as they are able to land a fatal hit.
And since Han Jin has been shooting the wolves in their heads, he did not even notice that he also shot the demon beast on its head.
That shot hits the demon beast square at the side of its head which threw it flying to the ground.
However, a demon beast is still a demon beast as it only received a deep wound as one of its eyes was actually blasted along with almost half of its face. Although it was wounded gravely, the demon beast is still able to move agilely as it suddenly jumps towards the bushes and quickly escaped.
The Class-B person who was fighting against the demon beast frowned and directed his gaze at the direction where the rapid shot is coming from.
He is now curious as to what kind of weapon was used that is able to shoot that fast.
Soon, the shooting stops and Han Jin has already exhausted all of his ammunitions and slumps to the side of the tree.
He began to pant and quickly takes out one meat after another and began eating them.
Using that kind of speed made him use not only Chi but also his own metabolism. That is why he is feeling a bit hungry right now.
Plus, he has been running for a while, so that only goes to show that his body needed the sustenance to maintain its high energy consumption.
Han Jin knew that he has depleted the Chi that is coursing through his veins while doing such actions. But he did not mind as he knew that he could gather more as long as he gets to skin those wolves and then turn to dismantle their carcasses.
After eating, he began to heave a sigh and looks up.
As soon as he did, he saw a pair of eyes landing on him.
Han Jin froze in fear upon seeing the man standing in front of him.
He could not help but swallow the food in his mouth while looking at the man.
Cough! Cough!
Because of this he suddenly found his throat blocked by a large amount of food he just swallowed.
He quickly takes out his canteen of water and drinks.
Then he stood quickly in attention.
"Private Han Jin! Sir!... Reporting… sir…" he stuttered.
The man scrutinized Han Jin and his reaction which seem to be afraid of him.
"Private…?" the man muttered.
"Sir…, yes… sir!" Han Jin replied with a salute.
The man smiled slightly and then nodded his head.
"Good work… private." The man said with a grin.
He found the young man amusing and the skill that guy used with the rifle is something else. He had seen the rifle leaning on the tree trunk. He could tell that it is only an ordinary rifle. But he noticed that the rifle is actually encased in some kind of wood.
"I guess, the wood is some special kind of wood that's why the rifle did not break." He thought as he nodded at Han Jin.
"At ease soldier… let us return to the group…" he said as he jumps down the tree.
Han Jin nodded and quickly grabs his stuff. Then he too jumped down from the tree branch he was on.
The man saw what he did and showed a slight curiosity towards the young man. But he said nothing and just continues walking towards the group of soldiers who are already gathering.
Suddenly, amongst the soldiers, someone seems to have recognized Han Jin as he walked toward him.
"You…! You're still alive?" that soldier said with a dumbfounded expression on his face while looking at Han Jin.