[Chapter 57]
Myeong Onji was taken aback.
'What is that?'
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A flickering, translucent blue energy formed the shape of a snake piercing through the turtle shell.
It was an astonishing sight. While it's common for the color of Qi to be visible when its density is high and internal energy is expelled, this form was different.
'Intention!'
Yes, that was not mere Qi. It was a spectacle shaped by a strongly trained intention following the Qi.
Myeong Onji was purely astonished. For Qi to take form according to one's intention was nearly impossible, even for a martial arts master at the pinnacle.
"You… What are you?!"
That's when it happened.
"Kaah! You bastard!"
A faint golden light spread from Myeong Do's body.
Myeong Onji's eyes wavered.
"Myeong Do! No!"
Boom!
Blinded by rage, he charged at Yeon Hojeong.
Yeon Hojeong smirked.
Thud!
Myeong Do's fist was blocked by Yeon Hojeong's palm.
'Impressive.'
The power transmitted through the palm was considerable. He easily blocked it with the Black Tortoise energy in his hand, but it was a force that could shatter even a thick tree.
Crack.
Myeong Do's eyes twitched. The fingers coiling around his fist felt like they could crush it at any moment. The grip strength was tremendous.
"You cur!"
Whoosh!
He struck with his palm and freed his fist, swinging wildly.
Ratatat!
Myeong Do's eyes widened.
The martial art he was using was the Iron Chain Eight Fists of the Guju Myeong family.
A modified version of the Sanda Iron Chain Strike, it was a powerful boxing technique that relentlessly pressured the opponent with a series of blows.
Astonishingly, Yeon Hojeong was fending off all the strikes with just one hand.
"It resembles the martial art used by that third son."
Boom! Crack!
Myeong Do's eyes became bloodshot. Yeon Hojeong, who had blocked all sixteen punches, now ghostly grabbed his wrist.
'Ugh!'
The wrist twisted. Soon, his entire body bent to the right.
The grip was too strong to escape. Instead of escaping, the tightening force seemed to break his forearm.
Crack!
"Aaagh!"
Just as Yeon Hojeong was about to completely shatter his arm.
Flash!
Suddenly, swordsmen spread out in all directions and deployed their sword techniques. Although more cautious than before, the sharpness of their blades remained.
Yeon Hojeong's eyes flashed.
Thud!
Yeon Hojeong's foot struck Myeong Do's lower abdomen. Myeong Do's mouth gaped open as he fell to his knees.
Right then, the swords of the assassins reached striking distance.
Boom!
He lowered his stance and swung Myeong Do around.
'Gasp!'
He hadn't expected someone to swing a person's arm like an object, and at such an incredible speed.
The startled assassins withdrew their swords.
Yeon Hojeong released Myeong Do. Three assassins caught the flying Myeong Do.
Myeong Onji's eyes sparkled.
'Now!'
Boom!
She charged at Yeon Hojeong in an instant. Her speed was unmatched.
At the same time, Yeon Hojeong's body blurred like mist.
'Gasp!'
Myeong Onji was shocked. As if he knew, Yeon Hojeong was also charging at her.
The speed of the approach was beyond imagination. At the moment of advancing, Yeon Hojeong had already reached half the distance.
Bang!
Myeong Onji's body flew backward.
The impact wasn't severe. Her martial art focused on the techniques of the Plum Blossom, which could withstand most attacks.
But what surprised Myeong Onji was not Yeon Hojeong's strength but the attack itself.
'A body slam?'
To send someone flying with such a reckless charge?
'What kind of power…?'
And there was more.
Boom!
After sending Myeong Onji flying, he turned and charged at the farthest assassin, moving as fluidly as water.
In an instant, he closed the distance.
Yeon Hojeong finally swung a massive axe.
Crash!
The sword broke in one strike.
The bewildered assassin dropped his sword and tried to fight with his fists.
Bang!
"Cough!"
The assassin collapsed on the spot. The shockwave from the shoulder shattered the bone.
It was Yeon Ga's martial art, the Continuous Flying Blade Technique. How he managed to execute it while wielding a heavy weapon in a collapsed stance was beyond comprehension.
"Capture him!"
Swoosh!
The assassins leaping at Yeon Hojeong moved smoothly and swiftly. Despite their rapid movement, they made no sound.
The assassins surged again.
Myeong Onji gathered her energy from behind, waiting for the decisive moment.
That's when it happened.
'…!!'
Her complexion changed at the glance Yeon Hojeong gave her.
'That man…?'
Whoosh! Bang!
The strike that broke the sword wasn't his full strength.
In the midst of everyone charging, he swung the axe with merciless speed. The circular shockwave prevented the assassins from approaching.
'Does he know the tactic?!'
Boom!
And that wasn't all.
After making everyone hesitate, he charged at an assassin at a suitable distance and stabbed with the axe.
An axe is a weapon meant for chopping, not stabbing like a spear. But given its weight of eighty catties, it was a terrifying attack in itself.
Crack!
The assassin couldn't even scream before spewing blood and flying away. Given the weight of the axe, several ribs must have been broken. It was fortunate he didn't lose his life right there.
But that strike exposed a vulnerability. The assassins swung their swords at Yeon Hojeong's back.
Yeon Hojeong's eyes emitted a piercing blue light.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
As the typhoon's fury descended, a single swing shattered ten swords like brittle straws.
Myeong Onji's skin crawled with dread.
'Impossible!'
A martial prowess beyond imagination, its overwhelming might was undeniable.
The scions of noble houses and esteemed warriors seldom wielded axes. Their appearance aside, a single sword could deliver weighty blows just as well.
Thus, martial artists who mastered the great or heavy weapons were rare, often the tools of bandits with but a smattering of martial arts.
But Yeon Hojeong was different.
Thud! Thump!
With crushing force, he pressed down, sweeping enemies aside with the shaft, shattering bones with thrusts, and interspersing punches to topple foes.
He shifted the axe's center of gravity with ease, and when needed, he launched kicks and punches. Not to kill with the blade, but to incapacitate with the broad side of the axe.
A veritable whirlwind.
Yeon Hojeong himself seemed to become a mighty dragon wind. The assassins, entranced, were scattered like leaves in his great weapon technique.
'Eek!'
Myeong Onji, spotting an opening, flinched at the last moment.
As she moved, Yeon Hojeong's gaze met her.
It happened time and again, as if Yeon Hojeong saw through every tactic.
'What are you, fiend?!'
Then it happened.
"Damn you!"
Boom!
Myeong Do charged with a ghostly grimace.
"I'll rip you apart!"
Yeon Hojeong's eyes blazed with fury.
He sent an assassin flying with a punch and channeled a wall-breaking force into his axe.
Whooosh!
A clear blue energy rose along the axe blade.
Myeong Onji shouted.
"Myeong Do!!"
Yeon Hojeong's axe moved like lightning.
Crash!
Myeong Do's body split diagonally.
Thud!
His upper half, unable to withstand the momentum, crashed into a tree and fell to the ground.
Thump.
The lower half, as if trying to walk, teetered and then collapsed.
Splurt!
A torrent of blood gushed forth. Organs spilled from the severed torso, scattering on the ground.
Silence fell.
Yeon Hojeong grimaced.
'No choice.'
He had hoped to avoid killing. But he couldn't spare those who came at him with lethal intent.
Myeong Onji's eyes shook mercilessly.
"Do you realize what you've done?!"
Crash!
Another assassin was flung into the air, dangling from a tree branch.
Now only one remained. Including Myeong Onji, just two from the assassin squad.
Yeon Hojeong, axe resting on his shoulder, spoke coldly.
"Shall we proceed to the second round?"
Tssk, tssk, tssk.
Murderous intent flared in Myeong Onji's eyes.
Yeon Hojeong had crossed an unforgivable line. Incapacitation was one thing, but he had killed. And not just anyone—a noble's kin, gruesomely.
Yet even amidst this, Myeong Onji, as the leader of the assassins, thought strategically.
'He's strong. Without that martial art, a direct confrontation would be folly.'
But this was a forest. While the campfire's vicinity was clear, just a few yards further, trees crowded the space.
Myeong Onji made a decision.
"Dark Seven! Regroup with the remaining five and head to the base!"
Whoosh!
The last member headed west.
Simultaneously, a golden light emanated from Myeong Onji. A far more potent energy than what Myeong Do had released.
Boom!
She unleashed a powerful palm strike.
Bang!
With a thunderous sound, Yeon Hojeong's sleeve was torn away.
The power was immense. Far surpassing Myeong Do's punches, it was a martial art of a higher caliber.
Crash!
Myeong Onji charged.
Yeon Hojeong's eyes sparkled.
'So fast.'
The assassins' tactics were simple yet effective.
They swarmed their target to subdue them. If that failed, they distracted to create an opening. That's when Myeong Onji would strike.
Simple, but effective. Her serene expression and energy only amplified its effectiveness.
But as an individual, Myeong Onji's prowess shone brighter in one-on-one combat.
This was proven time and again.
Bang! Crash!
She was fast.
With elegant, peacock-like movements, she delivered lightning-fast palm strikes, each blow laden with lethal force.
Yeon Hojeong gripped the spear shaft with both hands.
Bang! Boom!
His axe was just as swift.
The ferocious blows he delivered were life-threatening in their own right. More impressive was the lack of any opening, even while wielding such a large weapon.
Boom!
'Gasp!'
Myeong Onji, staggering, collided with a tree.
'Pierced through!'
Her left hand was stained with blood. She had tried to deflect a full-force strike, but the destructive energy had wounded her.
It wasn't an attack to be taken lightly. In terms of combat, he was a cut above her.
"Tch!"
Myeong Onji darted into the forest.
Yeon Hojeong followed suit.
Myeong Onji's eyes gleamed.
'Yes, follow me.'
She had been outmatched in the open, but the dense forest was different.
The iron staff wasn't just heavy; it was long. A heavy and long weapon. In a forest dense with trees, it would struggle to show its true power.
Moreover, Yeon Hojeong had worn himself down fighting the assassins. The odds were tilting in her favor.
Crash!
Thirty yards in, Myeong Onji finally turned around. She planned to ambush from behind the largest tree nearby.
'Foolish man! I'll end you here…'
Suddenly, Myeong Onji's eyes widened.
Whoosh!
Her vision was blocked by trees.
But to the sides, she saw a bluish energy spreading like lightning.
Boom!
A massive tree exploded as if hit by a cannon.
And through the gap, Yeon Hojeong emerged, brandishing his giant iron staff, his eyes ablaze with a terrifying glow.
"Is this the tactic you chose?"
"…?!"
"With that head of yours, intelligence is worthless."