9 - Attack

Gunjaseong's words left Jegon speechless.

'What did that brat just say?'

Kill? Who? Me?

How dare a mere stripling, barely of age, utter such words to Shin Jegon, one of the Four Great Guards of Overlord Heaven Castle?

He was so dumbfounded that he couldn't even muster a proper laugh.

He had already heard a little about the youngest son of the Landowning Family who had been frequenting the Heavenly Wind Martial Hall for ten years from Neung Baekseo.

From what he heard, the boy had been training only in the Three Talents Skill for a whole decade.

'Three Talents Skill, really?'

The sheer foolishness of training in a third-rate Martial Arts skill that could be bought for a few coins at any street bookstore for ten years was almost pitiable.

He would have been better off paying tribute to those Nine Sects who were only a name these days and learning a slightly better Martial Arts skill.

Thinking that far, Jegon realized why Gunjaseong had uttered such an audacious statement about killing him.

The boy's level was so low that he couldn't even sense his overwhelming Internal Energy.

Concluding that, Jegon shook his head.

'A clueless whelp who doesn't know his place.'

Naturally, Jegon's assessment of Jaseong became even harsher.

"I'll give you one chance. Step aside, and I won't kill you."

But this guy, his words were getting more and more absurd.

"...Heh, heh heh. Kill me, you?"

"..."

Jaseong remained silent in response to the question, only sending a cold glare.

Instead of his answer, the sound of ridicule echoed from the surroundings.

"Kuh, kuh heh heh...!"

"Pfft."

"Heh heh..."

Baekseo, who had been messed up by Jaseong, and even the black-clad figures surrounding Seohee, Jinmyeong's guard, all mocked Jaseong's words.

At the end of the laughter that echoed through the Heavenly Wind Martial Hall, Neung Baekseo spoke.

"Kehehehe... He really has lost his mind. Do you even know who's standing in front of you right now? It's Great Warrior Shin Jegon of Heavenly Hammer, the leader of the Four Great Guards of Overlord Heaven Castle! A nobody like you is going to kill one of the top experts in Overlord Heaven Castle? Do you really think that's possible?"

"Uh, I think it's possible."

Jaseong replied in a cold tone, as if he hadn't heard the surrounding laughter.

Jegon glanced at the Young Lord's group, wondering if they had some hidden trick up their sleeves.

But their reactions were no different from his own.

They were all looking at Jaseong with expressions of disbelief or bewilderment.

Confirming that his assumption was correct, Jegon burst into a hearty laugh.

"Hahaha! Ignorance is bliss, they say, and that's exactly what you are. How can someone who can't even sense my Internal Energy..."

"I am sensing it, though? It's disgustingly abundant. I'd have no regrets if I had even half of your Internal Energy."

'...He can sense my Internal Energy?'

Then, is he spouting such nonsense even after seeing this overwhelming difference in Internal Energy?

Tilting his head in doubt, Jegon's face hardened at Jaseong's next words.

"But what's the point of having so much? It's being held by an idiot who doesn't even know how to use it properly. Is this what they call 'gold in the hands of a monkey'?"

"...What?"

It was truly an absurd statement.

A stripling who had never even ventured into the Martial Arts World dared to treat him like an idiot.

"...Your arrogance is excessive. A mere stripling who hasn't even experienced proper combat dares to say that I don't know how to use Internal Energy?"

"It's the truth."

Jaseong replied curtly, looking around at the faces of those nearby.

"It's not just you, though. That Neung something-or-other over there, that Assassin over there, even Master. In my opinion, you're all idiots. You've accumulated so much Internal Energy, but you don't know how to use it properly."

The Young Lord's group also wore dumbfounded expressions at Jaseong's words, which lumped even his own allies together.

-Whoosh!

Jegon raised his hammer with a hardened face.

No more words were needed. He just needed to kill this madman in one fell swoop.

That was all.

Jegon stepped forward and stood before Jaseong.

Jaseong also drew his sword and took a stance.

A stance with his right foot forward, holding the sword in his right hand to his left side.

It was the Sweeping a Thousand Soldiers stance, a horizontal slash attack from the Three Talents Swordplay.

Seeing that stance, Jegon smirked.

Just Sweeping a Thousand Soldiers. He's going to kill me with that basic of basics?

Judging by how quickly he subdued Neung Baekseo earlier, he seems to be quite confident in his speed, but

'That won't work on me.'

Rather than letting him approach, I'll crush him in one fell swoop.

The aura emanating from Jegon intensified even further.

Hwaryeon and the others' faces turned grim at the movement of the Qi that completely dominated the surroundings.

But Jaseong's expression remained calm, without the slightest change.

"You have quite the mettle. But this Martial Arts World is a world of the survival of the fittest. You can't survive with just mettle!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Jegon swung his beloved weapon, Dragon Crushing Hammer, with all his might.

At the same time, Jaseong charged at Jegon.

Indeed, his speed was extraordinary, reaching Jegon's vicinity in an instant.

'Hmm...!'

Moreover, it wasn't just his feet that were fast.

The sword, slashing in the orthodox Sweeping a Thousand Soldiers stance, was swung at Jegon's neck in the blink of an eye.

At this rate, Jaseong's sword would reach Jegon's body first.

A desperate crisis where his neck could be severed at any moment.

But Jegon's face didn't turn pale with fear; instead, a faint smile appeared.

He sensed that Jaseong had drawn too early, and the tip of the sword wouldn't reach his neck.

'An idiot who can't even gauge the length of his sword.'

Jaseong's sword would only cut through the air in vain, and in that time, his Dragon Crushing Hammer would crush Jaseong's upper body.

That's what Jegon thought.

Until he saw the faint haze rising from the tip of Jaseong's sword.

'...What is that?'

What on earth is that haze...?

As Jegon wondered, the haze at the tip of the sword brushed past his neck.

At that moment, Jegon's movement of swinging the hammer stopped.

Thanks to that, Jaseong passed by Jegon without any injuries.

Thus, Jaseong and Jegon crossed paths and switched places.

"......"

Everyone who was watching the two had puzzled expressions on their faces.

What? What just happened?

Despite the small murmurs from the surroundings, the two still didn't move.

Then, one of them began to move first.

-Shwing

It was Jaseong.

As Jaseong, who had sheathed his sword without a word, heard Jegon's voice.

"What, what is this?"

"What else could it be? It's the reason why you're an idiot."

"....Heh, heh heh."

A hollow laugh escaped Jegon's lips at Jaseong's scathing reply.

"You're right... I, we were all idiots... What on earth have we been doing all this time..."

The words of lament could not continue any further.

A long line was drawn on Jegon's neck, and red blood poured out like a waterfall.

"Cough!"

-Thud!

The Dragon Crushing Hammer fell from Jegon's hand as he coughed up blood.

Jegon himself could no longer endure and laid his body on top of his beloved weapon.

And he didn't move anymore.

He was dead.

Shin Jegon of Heavenly Hammer, a renowned expert in the Martial Arts World, at the hands of the youngest son of a rural Landowning Family.

"......"

Everyone was speechless at the unbelievable sight.

'...Goodness.'

Wangsam. No, Yeo Daewoon of Thunder Flash Sword, the former leader of the Four Great Guards of Overlord Heaven Castle, alternated his gaze between Jaseong and the dead Jegon, only able to move his lips.

When Jaseong said he would kill Jegon, he thought that the boy was intoxicated by his victory in the sparring match with the Young Lord and didn't know his place.

No matter how much he had won against the Young Lord, Jegon was an expert who couldn't even be compared to the still young Young Lord.

It was logically absurd that Jaseong, who had only learned third-rate Martial Arts skills, would win.

In the midst of that, Daewoon was also dumbfounded by the way he treated Jegon and the surrounding Martial Artists, including himself, as idiots.

He even wondered if he had really gone crazy for a moment.

But look at the result.

Jaseong was standing there without any injuries, and Jegon had met his end so futilely that his fame seemed awkward.

If he had fought Jegon, would he have been able to win so overwhelmingly?

'No, absolutely impossible.'

At the same time as he had that thought, Daewoon realized another fact.

'He's been holding back on me during our sparring sessions.'

He had clearly seen how Jegon had died.

He had been killed by the haze that had risen from the tip of Jaseong's sword, his neck cut by that haze.

He didn't know what that was, but Daewoon had never seen anything like that while sparring with Jaseong.

In other words, he had been hiding his skills during their sparring sessions.

"...Heh, that guy."

Even the word 'monster' was no longer enough.

That guy was a bona fide monster in every sense of the word.

"N, no way!"

As he looked at Jaseong with eyes that were looking at something incomprehensible, a cry like a scream was heard.

Baekseo, whose wrist was twisted and leg was broken, was screaming with a pale face.

"How could Great Warrior Shin, one of the top experts in Overlord Heaven Castle...! You bastard! What kind of sorcery did you use-!"

Jaseong, not even giving a glance to Baekseo who was glaring at him as if he would kill him, turned to Daewoon.

"Should I take care of the rest of them too, by any chance?"

"What?"

Daewoon shook his head, realizing what he was saying as he saw Jaseong glancing left and right at his question.

"No. Leave the rest to me now. You should go to Lord Guen's Family quickly."

"...Yes, then."

Jaseong nodded and immediately kicked open the door of the Martial Hall and ran out.

A word from the author (Author's Afterword)

We welcome pointing out typos and errors.

Chapter 9