Chapter 4 : Dragon Bone (4)

“The Single Instant Blade is certainly fierce.”

A gentle ripple stirred in the eyes that watched the boy.

It was not a look of fear towards the Single Instant Blade. It was a competitive spirit that wanted to clash with it right away.

“…”

Despite hearing the words boiling with fighting spirit, Heo Dogi remained silent.

The boy, the disciple of the Single Instant Sect Master, was slaughtering the martial artists of the Sacred Sword Sect. He was mercilessly cutting down the Hell Warrior Squad, said to be the strongest among the Sacred Sword Sect Master’s guards. He was well aware of the martial arts of the Hell Warrior Squad; they were individuals with considerably strong martial arts, yet they were being cut down helplessly.

“Something is lacking.”

Heo Dogi muttered, tilting his head.

The boy was a demon. A wolf starved for blood. He was mindlessly swinging his blade, chasing after killing intent.

He was fearsome. Sharp and strong. Violent.

But it was clear that it was not the Single Instant Blade.

If it were the Single Instant Blade, it should have made even Heo Dogi tense, but the boy’s martial arts fell far short of that.

“It’s not the Single Instant Blade.”

“Pardon?”

“That rascal… he probably hasn’t received the Seori surname yet. If he were someone who had received the Seori surname, he should be better than that. If that’s the Single Instant Blade, the Single Instant Sect would have disappeared long ago.”

“…”

This time, the Ten Lesser Swords were at a loss for words.

The Ten Lesser Swords had never seen the Single Instant Blade.

The Single Instant Blade was a killing blade. Therefore, it didn’t even glance at things like duels and only appeared at the scene of a murder.

Even though it was a Single Instant Blade that didn’t care who it faced in a life or death battle, the Single Instant Blade was known as the Invincible Blade. However, the Single Instant Blade they were seeing was not invincible. A confidence surged within them that they could fight a blade of that level.

“How many disciples does the Single Instant Sect Master have?”

“I heard there are three.”

“Then that rascal is the youngest. One who has not yet obtained the Single Instant Blade… Hahaha!”

Heo Dogi frowned and laughed.

At this moment, several questions arose in his mind.

The Single Instant Blade chases after killing intent. It does not leave the killing intent that arises around it alone.

Killing intent is an expression of someone’s intention to kill me. It is the energy that flows out of the body from the fighting spirit that arises in the heart. Therefore, if there is no thought of killing, killing intent does not arise.

If killing intent arises, respond immediately!

Revealing killing intent to a disciple of the Single Instant Sect was no different from requesting a duel.

The Sect Master’s guards would not be ignorant of this fact, so why did they reveal their killing intent to the boy? No, why did the guards want to kill the boy?

This part was not convincing.

The second question, the boy was strong but clumsy. He was not someone who could follow the Single Instant Sect Master and carry out a great task. If that was the intention, he should have brought the first or second disciple.

Why did the Single Instant Sect Master bring such a person?

Something was fishy.

But Heo Dogi could not help but step in. The Hidden House where the Sect Master was staying and the residence where Heo Dogi was in seclusion were close by. A murder was happening next door, and he could not just stand by.

‘Brother, what have you planned? Why are you dragging me into this. Huhu, this won’t change anything.’

Heo Dogi felt as if he had been caught in a trap. No, it wasn’t a feeling, it was a suspicion.

This matter was definitely related to him. But he couldn’t understand what the relationship was, or what kind of trick was being played.

He thought he knew what his brother was doing like the back of his hand, but he had missed a move at the last moment.

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand his brother this time.

“Whatever it is… I just need to turn the direction in my favor.”

“Pardon?”

A disciple asked again.

“I wasn’t talking to you. I was talking to myself. Thunder, Mountain Cat.”

“Yes!”

Two of the Ten Lesser Swords answered immediately.

The Ten Lesser Swords had no martial names. They had not entered the martial world and had only received teachings from Heo Dogi.

“Go and catch him.”

“Yes. But… is it alright to kill him?”

The martial artist called Mountain Cat asked.

He was really short like a wildcat, and his shoulders were slightly stooped. His eyes glinted with killing intent.

“You fool…”

“My apologies.”

Mountain Cat immediately bowed his head.

“A blade of that level, one of you would be enough to fight it. But I pointed out the two of you. What’s the reason for sending two people to an opponent that one person could handle?”

“I understand. My thoughts were short.”

Mountain Cat answered immediately.

* * *

He’s strong! The real deal has appeared!

Dongbak immediately noticed the appearance of a strong person.

A long time ago, he had felt this way when he met a bear. At first, it was nothing. It was a feeling of ‘What’s that?’ Even when the bear was loitering in front of him, he didn’t feel that it was dangerous.

But when the bear turned its face towards him, those black eyes!

The sharp teeth were not visible. The black pupils, which might even have been clear, were as frightening as the eyes of a grim reaper. He could only see the pupils. Pupils filled with killing intent!

When the bear turned its body completely towards him, he finally thought that he could be torn to shreds and killed by the bear’s teeth.

He was so surprised that his two feet were frozen solid.

To be honest, he only wanted to run away without looking back.

It’s like that now!

He felt the pressure that his body might be torn apart from the two martial artists walking through the darkness.

Fear arose. Danger was detected.

“Kiki! Kiki! Kiki!”

Dongbak chuckled.

He had long since abandoned any attachment to life.

The disciples of the Single Instant Sect experience a different dimension from the fledglings who have eaten well, slept well, and trained in the central plains.

The Single Instant Blade is not a blade that is taught. It is a blade that must be obtained by oneself. So they experience all kinds of death. They probably crossed the boundary between life and death before they were even ten years old.

It was not an action done because someone ordered it.

From one to ten, they had to find and do everything themselves. If they wanted to play, they played, and if they wanted to fight, they fought.

Since the disciples of the Single Instant Sect were those who wanted to obtain the blade, they fought unconditionally.

His senior brothers had obtained the Single Instant Blade that way. They inherited the Seori surname and had their names recorded in the family register.

To others, he might look like a snot nosed kid, but he was not afraid of dying at all.

‘Fighting is relative!’

Dongbak readjusted his grip on his blade.

Even if the opponent is an impossibly strong person, they can become weak depending on the situation.

Let’s imagine they are drunk, drugged, or injured.

It becomes a condition where even someone who used to get beaten up all the time can be knocked down in one go.

Who can guarantee that such a thing won’t happen in the forest?

You have to clash to know who will win.

There are countless martial arts and forms in the world. There are also various ways to kill a person. But in a life or death battle, there are only one or two actions that can be taken.

Just one moment, one movement is all you need to take.

Dongbak lowered his body. Like a beast stalking its prey, he pressed his belly to the ground and watched the people entering the forest.

There were two of them.

The aura they emitted was extremely ordinary. The aura that Dongbak sensed was very strong, but their appearance was ordinary.

Those who can hide their aura, they are very strong people.

Among all the beasts and people he had faced so far, they seemed to be the strongest, except for his master.

Would his senior brothers be a match for them?

Dongbak had never crossed blades with his senior brothers. He had not even had a friendly duel, which was common among fellow disciples.

The Single Instant Blade is a killing blade. Whoever it is, if the blade is drawn, a life is taken. So he couldn’t carelessly suggest a duel. Unless he was confident he could kill his senior brothers.

The people who entered the forest were as strong as his senior brothers. It was overwhelming to face just one, but there were two of them.

“Come out!”

Of the two, the slightly smaller one stopped walking and said.

He was looking exactly where Dongbak was lying prone. It meant he knew where he was.

“Kikiki!”

Dongbak stood up, laughing.

Although they were formidable opponents, he had no intention of backing down. Even if he died, it would be over in a moment, so what was there to be afraid of?

A disciple of the Single Instant Sect was not fated to die comfortably in bed. They were destined to be stabbed to death by someone’s blade, sword, or spear. Someday, the Single Instant Blade will break. And the owner of the blade will close their eyes while looking at the broken blade.

This was the fate of a disciple of the Single Instant Sect.

Dongbak did not understand what that fate was. But from the moment he held the blade, it was something he had heard constantly from his master and senior brothers, so he was sick of hearing it.

Paaat!

As soon as Dongbak stood up, he immediately rushed towards the smaller martial artist.

Clang! Clang!

A sharp metallic sound erupted in an instant.

The smaller martial artist waited patiently until Dongbak rushed close. Then, in an instant, he drew his sword and sent the blade flying high into the sky. That was the first metallic sound.

The second sound of weapons clashing was caused by Dongbak.

The blade was pushed up into the sky by the force of the sword. In that moment, Dongbak performed a spinning blade technique and attacked again. Just as he had aimed for at first, he went straight for the top of the smaller martial artist’s head.

The martial artist turned his sword to block.

The two metallic sounds erupted in succession. They erupted in such a fast moment that one could believe it was a single sound.

Gagagak!

The smaller martial artist pressed his sword in close.

At close range, the power of Dongbak’s blade was halved. Because the blade body was only on one side, he had to be extremely careful if it became a battle of internal energy with the guards clashing.

On the other hand, a sword has two edges.

Even with the guards clashing, the sword body could still be used effectively.

Both of them stared at each other with their hands on the hilts of their weapons. A strong force was transmitted to each other.

“Chiit!”

Dongbak let out a pained sound and twisted his blade.

It was a trick to use the force the opponent was pushing with to slightly twist the blade. Then he could slit his throat. At that moment,

Swoosh!

A sword was placed at Dongbak’s neck.

Another person… he had lost track of him for a moment. It was only for a very short moment, but it became a fatal mistake.

No, he knew. He knew that the opponent was circling around behind him. He knew, but he had no way to block it. It was overwhelming to face just one person, how could he face two?

‘Fast!’

Dongbak did not know that the one who had placed the sword at his neck was called Thunder. Among the Ten Lesser Swords, his sword speed was as fast as lightning, and there was no one who could match him in speed alone.

“Kikikik! I’m caught? Kikik!”

Dongbak let go of his blade. And he raised both hands above his head.

Dongbak said, “Surrender! Surrender!”

* * *

“He’s a strange one. He’s more like a professional assassin than a disciple of the Single Instant Sect. His killing intent is too thick.”

Heo Dogi clicked his tongue as he looked at Dongbak.

“The Single Instant Sect Master did not show himself. He has already left the Hidden House… It seems he has abandoned his disciple.”

“Huhu! That’s interesting too. The disciple is captured, but the master doesn’t show himself?”

“Yes.”

“Huhuhu! I have no idea what my brother is doing. What is he trying to do now?”

“What should we do with this one?”

“First, report it to the main sect. Report that you caught someone who infiltrated the main sect and committed murder. Anyone who commits murder in the main sect, regardless of their status, is subject to execution, right?”

“Yes.”

“Say he was executed.”

“Should I… report it like that?”

“Yes. Lock this one in the iron prison. Get information about the Single Instant Sect from him. Who will do it?”

“I will do it.”

A one eyed man stepped forward in front of Heo Dogi.

“Alright. One Eye. You do it. There’s a saying that the disciples of the Single Instant Sect have bones made of steel, flesh filled with rock, and blood made of poison. Find out if that’s true.”

“I understand.”

The one eyed man, One Eye, flashed his single eye.

The master did not say what to find out. But he knew. What the Single Instant Sect Master was trying to do now, why he had followed the Single Instant Sect Master to the Sacred Sword Sect, he should find out these things first, and it would be good to find out about the Single Instant Blade as well.

“Let’s go. We’re going to have a good time from now on. Huhu!”

One Eye grabbed the scruff of Dongbak’s neck and dragged him away.

(End of Chapter)