“Even this guy is so strong. How can we deal with Mir in the future?”
“We are going to die right now? How do you have time to worry about the future? Did you seriously injure your head because you couldn’t understand the situation properly?”
Old Sword Demon and Hwang Gildong were struggling to secure the White Tiger Spear.
After infiltrating the Pa Kingdom, they slowly approached the yangbans for half a year before finally reaching the level of interacting with the guardian of the White Tiger Spear. They disguised themselves as fanatical merchants who worshiped the yangbans.
Hwang Gildong was head of the Chivalrous Robbers, so he had a great deal of treasures that he had taken away from corrupt officials. It wasn’t difficult to gain the attention and liking of the yangbans. Even the yangbans with divinity couldn’t see through Hwang Gildong’s disguise.
The reason why Hwang Gildong was treated as a person of interest by the Hwan Kingdom wasn’t simply because of his superhuman strength and deceptions he demonstrated. They were the wariest of his unrivaled cloning and transformation techniques.
“Over there!”
“They already caught up? The yangbans are all good at tracking. It is like I’m always running from invisible hounds.”
“It is because there is the history of missing Pagma when he fled to the West Continent in the past. The pursuing skills they trained in order to avoid repeating the same mistakes are shining at this moment.”
“We were hit by the snowball rolled by Pagma.”
Old Sword Demon felt it was unfair for some reason and his expression crumpled. He glanced at Hwang Gildong, who was running beside him. He was a fool whose identity was discovered after he presented treasure that was actually goods stolen from the yangbans.
To be honest, he wanted to hit Hwang Gildong after hearing the silly excuse that he completely forgot the source because it had been stolen 100 years ago. After spending half a year getting close to the owner of the White Tiger Spear, they were kicked out without even finding an opportunity to steal the White Tiger Spear. A lot of time was wasted, so it was natural for anger to boil up.
‘It is disappointing because there is a good hunting ground nearby.’
Thanks to this, his growth rate hadn’t lagged far behind in the past half a year. The problem was that there was no opportunity to acquire items because there was no separate raid or quest. The people of the Pa Kingdom obeyed the yangbans unconditionally and didn’t harbor any wishes. They naturally lived like livestock. It was difficult for quests to occur in this environment.
“Two people,”Old Sword Demon stopped running in front of the high wall, drew his sword, and said,“My limit is to shake off two people, even if I do my best. Make a plan for retreat while taking note of this.”
Old Sword Demon was a player. He could be resurrected again even if he died. On the other hand, death was the end for Hwang Gildong. A legend might be able to suspend death for a while, but five seconds was the limit. Putting aside Hwang Gildong’s usual annoying personality, Old Sword Demon was obligated to make a sacrifice for him.
“I understand.” Hwang Gildong also understood. He didn’t hesitate to use Old Sword Demon’s shoulder as a stepping stone to jump over the wall.
“That damn…”
Pain came from the shoulder that tilted heavily due to how hard Hwang Gildong stepped on him. The wind blew around Old Sword Demon, who barely swallowed down his swear words. The wind was the remnant of the technique left behind by Hwang Gildong.
Some of the yangbans who caught up with Old Sword Demon flinched for a moment due to the blowing sharp wind and Old Sword Demon stabbed them through this gap. The fluid swordsmanship became even faster with Hwang Gildong’s technique behind him. He persistently cut at the thighs and Achilles tendon of the yangbans.
Of course, this was the Pa Kingdom. The guardian of the White Tiger Spear was in control. The yangbans basically mastered the power of the White Tiger and turned Old Sword Demon’s aim to nothing by hardening the point of attack so it was harder than stone.
If Grid hadn’t been able to unseal the Black Tortoise and Red Phoenix earlier…
If Old Sword Demon hadn’t obtained the opportunity to interact with two of the Four Auspicious Beasts, Old Sword Demon would’ve felt helpless and would’ve been unable to penetrate the aura of the White Tiger operated by the two people.
“This guy…” The faces of the yangbans stiffened at once. Every time Old Sword Demon’s sword touched their skin, deadly poison spread from the place of the wound. It was a poison that weakened the energy of the other Four Auspicious Beasts and slowed down their movements. They were forced to interpret it as direct help from the Black Tortoise.
“A mere human can use the power of the gods…? It is a degenerate age.”
“It is nonsense about a degenerate age. The reason why humans worship gods while imagining they are omnipotent is to crave the help of the gods. Therefore, the gods have a duty to help human beings. Isn’t it a power gained from the worship of humans in the first place? It is natural for humans to be protected by the gods.”
“Are you using sophistry when a god is born before humans?”
“Since a god is born before humans, they don’t have the obligation to help humans? By that logic, wouldn’t those of you who are born later than humans not deserve worship? Ah, you are ashamed because you know this yourself. Therefore, you can’t express your gratitude and run around wildly like a dog.”
His level, skills, control, patience, tongue…
There were many things that Old Sword Demon had tempered during his years with Hwang Gildong.
Was it because he had dealt with the corrupt officials who sold their conscience to the yangbans? Hwang Gildong had a habit of unknowingly speaking in a way that turned people upside down. Old Sword Demon had been working hard in order to not be beaten by him. He had watched Huroi’s self-edited videos hundreds of times.
The effect was great. It didn’t deal much damage to Hwang Gildong, but it was fatal for the yangbans. They were angry with Old Sword Demon, who chatted without losing a word, and rushed out. It was the moment when the pursuers’ aggro was dragged away by Old Sword Demon alone. He tied up the feet of more than the two yangbans he had promised.
‘If I had known this would happen, I should’ve asked for more credit.’
From here on out, the key was how much time he could buy…
Old Sword Demon took a deep breath and raised his concentration. He prepared for the fight to last as long as possible by planning the timing of taking buff potions with different effects and checking the cooldown of his skills. Just then—
“Oh my!”
There was a loud noise. A wall behind Old Sword Demon had collapsed. The one who barely raised his body in a staggering manner in the dust was none other than Hwang Gildong.
Old Sword Demon managed to suppress his soaring irritation and asked, “Why did you come back?”
“No, well, I was betrayed by my clone.”
“……”
Hwang Gildong was a master of the cloning technique. In particular, if the number of clones was limited to seven, then each clone would have an independent ego. By this point, there were basically eight Hwang Gildongs. It was virtually impossible to distinguish between the clones and the main body.
On the other hand, the disadvantages were clear. It was the fact that even the clones considered themselves to be the real one. Every clone had an independent self, so they naturally believed they were the real one. This meant they tended to prioritize their own safety first.
“This guy is the real one. I’m familiar with the signs.”
Beyond the collapsed wall, the owner of the White Tiger Spear appeared. It was a man who didn’t wear an undershirt and only had a long dopo over his bare body. The large man, who exposed the distinct muscles of his upper body, held a rope where seven Hwang Gildongs were tied. Each one was beaten to the brink of death.
Hwang Gildong saw this and gritted his teeth. Old Sword Demon thought that Hwang Gildong cared about the human rights of his clones. Of course, this was an illusion.
“You should just get rid of all the clones! Why keep them alive and make me look like this?!” Hwang Gildong’s cry that was filled with great resentment caused a stir.
“……”
The clones were infuriated. If they hadn’t been tied by the rope, they would’ve rushed toward Hwang Gildong right away. In the chaotic situation, the owner of the White Tiger Spear shrugged.
“It is true that the master of the Chivalrous Robbers is the most eccentric one.”
It was not a compliment. How could it be a compliment to say he was the most bizarre person in the world? However, Hwang Gildong was in a good mood for some reason. Old Sword Demon wanted to slap him when he raised his chin and smiled with satisfaction.
‘He is truly a madman.’
Was it really right to stay with Hwang Gildong forever?
It happened the moment when Old Sword Demon was seriously contemplating logging out…
One of Hwang Gildong’s clones, who was tied by a rope, muttered, “Well, this method is the best.”
He easily untied the rope around his body and threw a punch at Uram. The bodies that were tied up beside him were sucked in as if swallowed up by him. The same was true of the Hwang Gildong who was shouting by Old Sword Demon’s side. It was the Hwang Gildong who shouted that he was real and his clones had betrayed him. In other words, the Hwang Gildong who had been working with Old Sword Demon all day today was actually a clone.
Old Sword Demon realized this and felt betrayed. Then the real Hwang Gildong greeted him, “I am finally seeing you after a fortnight.”
“A fortnight? You are such a damn jerk!”
Wasn’t a fortnight ago the time they started staying in Uram’s palace? Like usual, that jerk sent him to a dangerous place by himself.
Old Sword Demon was angry after learning the truth while Uram slowly rose. He stroked the fist marks of Hwang Gildong, which were clearly left on his abdomen. “Did you use my acknowledgment of you to raise your status?”
“Yes. You might be a savage who can’t dress properly, but you are the number two yangban for a reason. It was a big impact that you acknowledge me as the most eccentric one.”
“It wasn’t exactly a compliment.”
“That depends on the listener.”
“Well… it doesn’t matter. Still, I will correct you on one thing. I am no longer the number two.”
“Then?”
“Naturally, I am number one.”
Uram, the master of the White Tiger Spear—he was aware of the Three Masters’ mistake. He realized that he had become the strongest yangban from the time the stupid Three Masters erased Mir’s memory. It was a good thing. He managed to get something like this for free.
‘Now Chiyou has no choice but to rely on me. He will naturally try to teach me.’
In the future, he would become exponentially stronger. It would be at an incomparable speed to Mir, who foolishly insisted on rejecting Chiyou’s advice and trained by himself. Sooner or later, he would reach the point where he became stronger just by breathing and serve Hanul in a higher position than the Three Masters.
Uram was full of joy and raised the White Tiger Spear high. His mind spun and he targeted Hwang Gildong, who was standing in the same path as the yangbans. Then he swung the spear. It was a blow with all his might and with the intention of slashing the yangbans as well.
“……!!”
“……!!”
The eyes of Hwang Gildong, Old Sword Demon, and the yangbans widened. The waves from the White Tiger Spear tore apart the space and hit the ground, stretching out in a straight line. It would be annihilation if it went on like this.
The moment that everyone on the field realized this…
A sunset was spreading on the horizon behind Uram. It was an abnormal scene. The sun was still high in the sky.
Urem felt the unexpected change based on the sunset that had unexpectedly covered the world and murmured in an empty manner, “…What type of dragon is this?”
A blue dragon made of blue lightning—for him, who had only witnessed the wounded and hidden dragons, the immense and overwhelming aura of an old dragon was an incomprehensible realm.
A sword dance that recreated the momentum of Evil Dragon Bunhelier—this unknown phenomenon was created by none other than Grid’s sword dance hitting the scene.
