CH 181

“Huff! Huff! You crazy bastard!”

Hwa Ok-gi breathed heavily while looking at Soma, who was squatting on top of a tall tree.

He felt it from the beginning, but Soma resembled a crow. Soma resembled the unlucky and ominous black bird as he was there perched on a branch.

Hwa Ok-gi straightened his back and looked around.

Bamboo Sea clan warriors who were with him in attacking Soma, were all scattered on the floor with miserable appearances.

They had terrible scars engraved on their bodies. All of them were wounds from the wheels.

He didn’t want to admit it, but that crow-like boy was strong. His strength was enough to withstand the pincer attack between him and the warriors of the Bamboo Sea clan.

Who would have expected such a small boy to be this strong? 

A lot of the Bamboo Sea clan warriors had also lost their lives because of him.

In truth, it was thanks to the warriors of the Bamboo Sea clan that Hwa Ok-gi was able to save his life. They’re the ones who fell victim to Soma instead of him.

Although it was hard to see because of his baggy black clothes, Soma actually suffered quite a few wounds.

No matter how strong he was, he was still a child.

He was bound to be immature in many areas.

He had lowered the enemy’s vigilance with his childlike appearance and overwhelmed them with his unexpected and excellent martial arts. However, if the fight lasts for a long time, like in his scenario right now, he is bound to expose his weaknesses to his opponents.

Soma’s weak point was his physical endurance.

No matter how excellent his martial arts was, his physical endurance was only that of a child. He doesn’t have the endurance of an adult. 

Because of that, his stamina is low. 

Hwa Ok-gi only realized that fact after sacrificing all of the Bamboo Sea clan warriors.

Soma squatted down on a tree branch, and breathed roughly.

“AHH!”

Hwa Ok-gi threw himself at Soma.

Even though Soma was sitting on such a high branch, it didn’t matter. He was also a master of martial arts,  he could jump on trees of this size even with his eyes closed.

Sususut!

Hwa Ok-gi climbed onto the tree branch and spread his qi.

His sword was filled with murderous intent. He knew that using swordsmanship with qi would quickly drain his energy, but he didn’t care.

“I will definitely kill you!”

“Who are you saying is going to die?”

Soma stuck out his tongue then leaped to another branch.

Hwa Ok-gi also bounced away from the tree and pursued Soma.

Soma did not forget to launch his wheels while fleeing. The wheels that flew in succession cut off the tree branch where Hwa Ok-gi was supposed to land.

Unable to find a place to set foot, Hwa Ok-gi crashed to the ground. But he soon turned over, kicked off a nearby tree trunk, and soared back into the air.

Waiting for that moment, Soma launched his wheel again.

Chae Chae Chaeng!

The sword and the wheel collided violently in the air, cutting off the nearby tree branches.

Hwa Ok-gi’s face was full of killing intent as he wielded his sword.

Soma wasn’t afraid of Hwa Ok-gi. 

To him, who had been kidnapped by the Xiaoleiyin Temple and endured a hellish time, Hwa Ok-gi’s killing intent was not that big of a threat.

Soma repeatedly launched and retrieved his wheels. 

His whole body was drenched in sweat.

Mok Gahye looked at Soma with her hands clasped together. While she was worried that Soma would  be pushed back, she still believed in his capabilities.

It was then.

Swoosh!

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew through the forest.

Mok Gahye hurriedly looked in the direction where the wind was blowing.

In an instant, her eyes widened as if they would tear.

An old man with a brave impression like that of a lion was running towards them at a frightening speed.

A rough wind was blowing like a tidal wave from the formidable momentum that the old man radiated.

Kwakwakwa!

Trees in the path of the old man fell off, and the blades of grass were scattered in all directions.

“Hm?”

Hwa Ok-gi and Soma belatedly noticed the old man’s appearance. They only perceived his presence once the old man had shortened the distance between them.

The old man ran towards the two at full speed.

Quaang!

“Heuk!”

“Hyeop!”

Along with an explosion, Hwa Ok-gi and Soma’s bodies were thrown backwards.

A stream of red qi swirled around the old man’s body. The red qi  attacked the two with an effect like an antitank.

Hwa Ok-gi and Soma suffered severe internal injuries and shed blood. 

“Ak… Chusan!”

Hwa Ok-gi recognized the identity of the old man at once.

The one who attacked them was the Lion Sword, Ak Chusan. 

The qi that was circulating in his body right now was a phenomenon that only appeared if  a person masters the Lion King’s swordsmanship to its extreme. It had a similar power to a qi shield.1

Although it could not inflict great damage against experts of the same level as Ak Chusan, it was still a favorite technique of many because it could give a huge impact against weaker opponents. 

Ak Chusan was by no means a warrior he dared to go against.

It was for that reason he even abandoned his subordinate, Hwangbo Chiseung, and fled. So encountering him like this again made his fear towards him resurfaced like a tide.

“Shit!”

Hwa Ok-gi did not even dare to think of attacking Ak Chusan. The gap in their martial arts was so great that he doesn’t have the courage and heart to go challenge him.

But Soma was different.

“Who are you grandpa? Why are you interfering?”

Soma picked up his weapon and glared at Ak Chusan.

There was no fear in his eyes.

Ak Chusan burst out laughing. 

“Hahaha! You’re better than that guy.”

“Don’t laugh!”

“What?”

“Don’t laugh like that. Your eyes are hideous!” 

Ak Chushan was speechless for a moment at the unexpected insult.

He never imagined in his dreams that he would hear such vicious remarks from a six or seven-year-old boy. So it was even more shocking.

“The little guy lived only with his mouth.”

“Hoo! How can an old man like you just recklessly intervene in someone else’s fight?”

“Do you know who I am? How dare you make light of me?!”

“I know who you are! You’re just a rude old man!”

Soma shot back without flinching at all.

The impact after colliding with Ak Chusan made his whole body numb and painful. His insides had been shaken, making the blood come up from the inside. Even if he didn’t check it with his own eyes, he could tell that he had suffered serious internal injuries.

He realized that he could never be the old man’s opponent. If he continued to provoke Ak Chusan like this, he knew that he could not guarantee his life.

But even knowing that fact, Soma didn’t back down.

He just continued to glare at Ak Chusan with eyes full of malice.

“Tsk! Such a waste.”

Ak Chusan really thought it was a waste.

He had traveled to different parts of the world, but he had never seen a child full of malice like Soma.

If he had tamed him well over time and accepted him as a disciple, he would have been able to use him to his advantage, but it was a pity that he couldn’t.

He didn’t have much time.

Sreung!

He took out the thick sword hanging from his waist. s o u n d l e s s w i n d 2 1

It was the Lion Sword.

The pattern of a roaring lion was engraved on the sword.

“Keuk!”

The moment Ak Chusan held the Lion Sword, a stuffy moan flowed from Hwa Ok-gi’s mouth. I

The formidable aura Ak Chusan radiated had weighed them down.

‘Damn it!’

Hwa Ok-gi’s pupils rolled wildly.

A lot of thoughts and calculations ran through his head in a short time.

Competing against Ak Chusan with his own strength was like hitting a rock with an egg.

He does not want to challenge the impossible.

The most important thing to him was his own life.

“Hiiic!”

Hwa Ok-gi screamed and performed qinggong.2

He escaped before Ak Chusan could do anything about him.

“Whoa!”

Ak Chusan looked at the back of Hwa Ok-gi, who was retreating, with an amazed expression. He didn’t expect that the young heir of the Heavenly Silver Marketplace, a rising and prestigious sect, would choose such a cowardly escape. 

However, his goal in the first place was Soma, not Hwa Ok-gi.

Ak Chusan raised his qi and approached Soma.

“You couldn’t have done this alone. Call him!”

“What?”

“Call the person behind you. If you don’t cooperate, I’ll cut that woman’s head first.”

Ak Chushan raised his sword and aimed at Mok Gahye.

There was a distance of about a dozen steps between Ak Chusan and Mok Gahye.

It was a distance that ordinary people would have to take three or four breaths to reach, but it was a meaningless distance for a master like him. If he puts his mind to it, killing Mok Gahye was as easy as turning the palm of his hand. patreon.com/ soundless wind 21

Soma’s eyes shook at Ak Chusan’s threat. B

But he soon replied with a nonchalant expression,

“So what?”

“What?”

“Why would I care if that sister dies or not?”

“Ho! You sure do know how to bluff.”

“Bluff?”

“Then it won’t matter anyway.”

A mischievous smile came at the corner of Ak Chusan’s mouth.

‘Damn it!’

Soma bit his lip at that moment.

It was because Ak Chusan had swung the sword so fast like a flash of lightning. The sword flew towards Mok Gahye.

It was a technique called Qi Throwing Knife.3

Shiak!

The qi throwing knife with formidable power aimed for Mok Gahye’s neck. so undle ss wi nd 21

Mok Gahye was not even aware of Ak Chusan’s attack.  She only realized that something was wrong when the qi throwing knife was about to touch her body.

Just before the qi throwing knife hit her, a small figure threw her off and received the qi throwing knife in her place.

Bang!

“Kuergh!”

The little figure tumbling across the floor while groaning was Soma. There was a deep scar engraved on his back. 

He had pushed away Mok Gahye and taken the qi throwing knife with his small body.

Mo Gahye hugged Soma’s body.

The bloodied Soma wriggled helplessly in her arms.

“Why did you do that?” soundlesswind21

“I received… a request… That’s why I have to protect you.”

“What a fool…”

“Heh heh!”

Soma laughed weakly.

As expected, the old man was strong.

He tried to bluff, but it didn’t work at all.

Even Soma didn’t expect that he would launch the qi throwing knife so relentlessly.

Ak Chusan approached Soma and Mok Gahye.

Huuung!

The Lion’s Sword in his hand was throwing up a wild cry.

As if a storm had come, blades of grass flew and soared into the air all at once.

“If I kill you, I’m sure he will come out.”

Ak Chusan  raised his sword high. Then he pointed it down at the two of them.

Cwaeac!

The moment a horrifying sound echoed, something flew towards the three of them.

“You’re finally out.”

Ak Chusan changed the trajectory of his sword with joy.

His sword, which had been plunging down vertically, turned in the middle and flew horizontally.  His sword hit the human figure that was flying towards them.

Bang!

With a sound like a thunderbolt exploding, the flying figure bounced back. The figure’s body exploded like a firecracker at the terrifying energy of Ak Chusan.

Flesh, blood, and scraps of crest scattered in all directions.

It was impossible for even the greatest master in the world to survive such a wound.

A smile formed on Ak Chusan’s lips.

He thought that if he persecuted Soma, the hidden person would surely come out, but he didn’t expect that his plan would go so smoothly.

Ak Chusan thought he was lucky and approached the collapsed body on the floor. However, when he checked the corpse’s face, the smile on his face disappeared without a trace.

The corpse whose chest exploded was someone he knew well.

“Hwa… Ok-gi?”

The corpse was definitely Hwa Ok-gi who had just escaped.

He didn’t understand why Hwa Ok-gi, who should have escaped from the Dead Forest, came back.

At that moment, goosebumps ran through his body.

Hwa Ok-gi did not come back on his own volition.

It was clear that someone had grabbed Hwa Ok-gi and threw him at them.

At that moment, a strong sense of danger washed over him.

Ak Chusan spun like a top and swung the Lion Sword. 

A black shadow was creeping up behind him.

Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoy the chapter~