Chapter 38: Fierce Battle Aboard the Ship (3)
“Pfft!”
The two swords collided with an explosive crack.
At the same time, Dong Bong-su's body, swept away by Go San-gong's sword technique, was violently flung far to the side.
The impact forced blood out of Dong Bong-su's mouth before he even realized it.
He had suffered internal injuries.
'If Circulating Energy and Practicing the Art had been Level 1 instead of Level 2, then perhaps…'
He might have died from that single strike.
'He's stronger than I expected.'
The level difference between him and Go San-gong was one thing, but the gap between someone who had formally learned Murim swordsmanship and himself, who merely wielded a sword through game skills, seemed quite significant.
Dong Bong-su opened his Status Window to assess the damage. Even though he had successfully defended against the attack, nearly one-tenth of his Health Gauge had been depleted. Had he taken that strike without defending, only death would have awaited him.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and rose to his feet once more. Though he had sustained internal injuries, his expression remained unchanged.
Watching him, Go San-gong ground his teeth and attacked again. Believing there were enemies besides Dong Bong-su, he intended to finish the battle as quickly as possible.
From his hand unfolded Heavenly Wind Sword Art's second form,
Heavenly Wind Thunderclap.
Like wind descending alongside a bolt of lightning, Go San-gong's sword came crashing down from above.
Woooong!
Since the Heavenly Wind Sword Art itself was an exceptionally heavy sword art, the pressure generated as the blade cut through the air was tremendous. It sounded as though someone were swinging a massive club through empty space as the sword descended toward Dong Bong-su's head.
But then,
Dong Bong-su neither dodged nor tried to block.
He merely stared blankly at it.
Looking closer, the corners of his lips had risen slightly, making it seem as though he were smiling.
What was making him so happy?
A man who never displayed emotional fluctuations under any circumstances,
What could he possibly be looking at to smile in this life-or-death moment?
The truth was simple.
Dong Bong-su was enjoying this.
Being wounded like this…
Strangely enough, it felt good.
He was experiencing a peculiar exhilaration that he had never felt back on modern Earth, where everything had always gone exactly according to his calculations and where murder had become something he enjoyed far too easily.
He had felt this several times since arriving here.
And this time was no different.
He had thought victory would come easily.
Instead, he was struggling.
No, in truth, he was being overwhelmed to the point where he scarcely seemed like a worthy opponent.
Yet that unexpected outcome filled him with overwhelming ecstasy.
Perhaps the reason he had hunted apex predators back on modern Earth had been because he longed for exactly this kind of unforeseen situation.
It was simply that every predator had died before granting his wish.
Perhaps…
Even if he died right here and now…
He could die smiling.
However.
Not dying…
Was far better.
Because…
This Murim Online still seemed to contain countless unpredictable incidents and monsters capable of entertaining him.
Pak!
Go San-gong's sword was only an instant away from splitting Dong Bong-su's head in two!
Directly beneath the exposed part of his forehead where his hood did not cover, Dong Bong-su instantly produced a chunk of iron that he normally kept in his Inventory for emergencies before rolling to the side.
In this world, the maneuver was commonly called Lazy Donkey Rolling on the Ground.
It had earned that name because it resembled a lazy donkey frantically rolling across the earth.
Naturally, Dong Bong-su completely disagreed with that name.
A lazy donkey would never struggle so desperately just to survive.
The very name Lazy Donkey Rolling on the Ground was fundamentally wrong.
Would someone really throw away their life over something as trivial as embarrassment?
Dong Bong-su neither understood such thinking nor felt any need to.
If survival required it, what did it matter whether he rolled across the ground a hundred times or a thousand?
Clang!
Go San-gong's sword sliced through the iron plate that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere before embedding itself deep into the deck.
“……!”
Go San-gong couldn't understand.
Where had that iron plate suddenly come from?
But he had no time to dwell on it.
The moment Dong Bong-su completed his roll, he immediately launched a counterattack.
Whoosh!
Accompanied by a sharp whistle through the air, Dong Bong-su's sword shot toward Go San-gong's flank.
The skill he used this time was once again Straight Thrusting Yellow Dragon.
“Where do you think you're going!”
Go San-gong found it laughable.
He had only been caught off guard the first time because it had been a surprise attack.
Now he was fully prepared.
Yet Dong Bong-su was using Straight Thrusting Yellow Dragon again.
Pulling his sword free from the deck, Go San-gong immediately raised it toward the incoming blade.
He believed he would easily knock Dong Bong-su's sword aside once more.
But then,
Something strange happened.
At the exact instant the two swords should have collided,
Dong Bong-su's sword suddenly disappeared.
As a result, Go San-gong's sword cut through empty air and continued upward over his head.
For that brief instant…
An opening appeared in his defense.
Whoosh!
A sharp whistle.
Dong Bong-su's vanished sword had returned.
“……!”
Slash.
Go San-gong barely avoided the Beginner's Sword by the narrowest of margins.
However, he failed to evade it completely.
A long cut appeared across his face.
He couldn't understand what had just happened.
How could a sword flying toward him suddenly disappear and then reappear?
It was enough to make one think ghosts were at work.
But this wasn't the time to worry about that.
Dong Bong-su's attack wasn't over yet.
Papapap!
Go San-gong hurriedly retreated.
Dong Bong-su immediately pursued him and this time unleashed the first form of the Three Talents Sword Art,
Sweeping a Thousand Armies.
> [Three Talents Sword Art First Form — Sweeping a Thousand Armies Lv.4
> Proficiency: 33.0%]
> A sword art commonly found throughout Murim. Even ordinary people without internal energy can learn it.
> Sweeping a Thousand Armies is an enhanced version of a horizontal slash.
> All action bonuses for this skill are affected by the proficiency of related skills and whether Sword Aura or Sword Force is activated.
> Current Applied Level: Lv.4 (The player may freely adjust this skill's level.)
> Horizontal Slash range bonus: 4%
> Horizontal Slash attack bonus: 4%
> Horizontal Slash casting speed bonus: -3%
> Vital Energy consumed per use: 60 JP
Like Straight Thrusting Yellow Dragon, Sweeping a Thousand Armies had also reached Level 4.
Judging purely by its appearance, Sweeping a Thousand Armies looked remarkably similar to Heavenly Wind Flowing Clouds, the technique Go San-gong had used earlier.
This time, however, Dong Bong-su was the attacker while Go San-gong defended.
The situation had simply reversed.
Go San-gong lowered the tip of his sword and positioned it to intercept Dong Bong-su's attack.
No,
He tried to.
Once again, just as the two swords were about to collide…
Dong Bong-su's sword disappeared.
As Go San-gong stared in stunned disbelief and attempted to bring his sword forward,
Whoooosh!
Dong Bong-su's sword reappeared.
Except it was no longer in his right hand.
It was in his left.
His right hand had already completed its swing through empty air, while the sword that had been there was now in his left hand.
Since the rotational momentum from the swing had been perfectly preserved, the power behind Dong Bong-su's strike remained unchanged.
Only the hand holding the sword had changed.
Without even having time to think about what had happened, Go San-gong hastily shifted his sword sideways once more to block the Beginner's Sword.
“Urgh!”
Because the defense had been improvised rather than prepared in advance, he failed to channel his internal energy fully into his blade.
As a result, Go San-gong was sent flying sideways just as Dong Bong-su had been earlier.
Thud.
Unlike Dong Bong-su, Go San-gong slammed hard into the side of the ship.
He had not suffered internal injuries like Dong Bong-su had.
But the psychological shock was immense.
'What kind of sorcery is this!?'
He had never seen nor heard of such swordsmanship.
No…
Could this even be called swordsmanship?
He didn't know.
Whoosh.
The sound of air being split rang out once again as Dong Bong-su continued attacking.
Although Go San-gong barely managed to evade the attacks, having grasped the nature of Dong Bong-su's unconventional style, he was now able to block or dodge them more easily than before.
To prepare for the irregular attacks, he switched tactics, maintaining as much distance as possible.
For a while afterward, Go San-gong's Heavenly Wind Sword Art clashed repeatedly against Dong Bong-su's Three Talents Sword Art, enhanced by the Inventory Divine Art.
At first glance, neither side appeared to hold the advantage.
In reality, however…
It was Dong Bong-su who had been driven into a corner.
'One minute left.'
> [Circulating Energy and Practicing the Art Lv.2
> Proficiency: 38.9%]
> A cultivation method that artificially guides the qi stored in the dantian through the meridians distributed throughout the body.
> Upon activation, attack and defense temporarily increase.
> Duration/Cooldown: 5/10 (minutes)
> Vital Energy consumed per use: 200 JP
> Current Skill Bonus: 60%
The duration of Circulating Energy and Practicing the Art was only five minutes.
Its cooldown, meanwhile, was ten.
Four minutes had already passed.
In one more minute, he would have to fight for the next five minutes without the skill.
Death.
Under the current circumstances…
Wasn't that effectively the same thing?
'What should I do?'
Dong Bong-su was already using nearly everything available to him.
Even so, he couldn't subdue Go San-gong.
He still had one or two methods left.
But there was a high chance even those wouldn't work.
He had been conserving them while searching for an opportunity.
However, Go San-gong had already identified the weakness of the Inventory Divine Art.
Rather than trying to block directly, he repeatedly retreated first before counterattacking.
Did that mean this was the end?
Even while fighting, Dong Bong-su's mind never rested for a single moment.
He continuously analyzed his opponent's behavior, predicted future attacks, and searched for a way to kill Go San-gong.
Yet no solution came to him.
Pak!
With his attention divided, an opening finally appeared.
Go San-gong immediately exploited it.
His sword lightly grazed Dong Bong-su's arm.
A sharp sting shot through his central nervous system, leaving his arm slightly numb.
At the same time…
His Health Gauge dropped ever so slightly.
'…The Health Gauge went down? The Health Gauge… the Health Gauge…!'
Seeing that tiny decrease, a flash of inspiration crossed Dong Bong-su's mind like lightning.
At last ,
He had thought of a way to eliminate Go San-gong.
'There's no time. I have to do it now.'
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