Chapter 29. Twin Swords of the Wind and Clouds (4)
Even in this situation, Woo-Gang was worrying more about competing against his older brother than about who the enemy was and what they wanted.
'You idiot! You're... pretty good. I won't lose. I'm a Plum Blossom Swordsman!'
Woo-Gang increased his qi flow, emitting a strong murderous intent that was completely unlike his usual gentleness. With every stroke of his sword, the air bloomed with red plum flowers—flowers of blood.
Woo-Gang's competitiveness was not entirely lost on Woo-Moon either.
'Oho! You cheeky little brat.'
Naturally, he didn't want to lose to his younger brother, so he had to move faster.
Woo-Moon switched to the Divine Phantasm Step, using the Raging Wind and North Wind alternately in quick succession. Due to both techniques being of the wind attribute, he could capitalize on their speed to take out his enemies in a flash, without pausing at all. Amidst the chaos, he cut down the enemies left and right as if mowing grass.
Enemies who saw the Raging Wind coming didn't know what to do before being struck down by the sword, and those who attempted to block the North Wind were struck by the sword's hidden power.
As Woo-Moon zigzagged left and right, five of the enemies stormed him from the front.
'Heh, I got you. Heavy Rain!'
Woo-Moon's sword rose high into the sky, then slashed down in one wide motion. As the blade descended, a myriad of sharp sword shadows came down with it.
Sword qi filled the sky like rain. The five warriors tried to block the qi blades with all their might, but the swathes of blades poked holes in their defenses as if their weapons were made of paper.
Within a few moments, the number of one hundred people was reduced to about seventy, with Woo-Moon's sword accounting for most of the kills.
"We can't stand by any longer. All of you back off!" The man in brown and the man in black simultaneously jumped forward.
As if they had practiced a routine together, the two brothers swung their swords simultaneously to get rid of the blood, and stared at their opponents.
The man in black said in a gloomy voice. "You must be the first grandson of the Palm Martial Emperor, the one rumored to be a fool. How strange. I was under the impression that even if you knew some martial arts, your skills wouldn't be anything to write home about."
Meanwhile, the man in brown was facing Woo-Gang.
"Song Woo-Gang! Your skills are as expected of a Plum Blossom Swordsman. However, your cute little antics will end here."
'Huh, seriously? What gives? I've never even met these people and they already think I'm an idiot? And yet my baby brother is worthy of being called a Plum Blossom Swordsman?'
Of course, their words put Woo-Moon in a very bad mood.
On the other hand, Woo-Gang couldn't hold back his laughter.
"Pfff... Pfff... Pfffftttccch!"
No, he was obviously just pretending to restrain his laughter, while in fact letting out as much as he could.
A vein bulged out on Woo-Moon's forehead.
'Woo-Gang, you little... just you wait and see.'
Picking his ear with his pinky finger, Woo-Moon yawned. "I think I heard a dog barking. Oh, sorry, you were saying something? Why do you sound so much like a dog?"
The man in black laughed in disbelief. "Stupid bastard, you must be out of your mind. You dare to provoke the Underworld's Hand?"
"Wow, the Underworld's Hand! That's a really big name for such a small dog! Hey, black mutt, are you all bark and no bite? I always thought little dogs like you were the noisiest."
While his brother was insulting the man in black, the latter's words surprised Woo-Gang. The prestigious Mount Hua educated the disciples every year about the criminals in the gangho, so Woo-Gang naturally knew who the man was.
'The Underworld's Hand, one of Unnam's Three Devils? Why is he here...?'
The term "Unnam's Three Devils" referred to the three most famous villains in Unnam. Among them, the Underworld's Hand, a member of the loosely-defined Black Hand, obtained by chance a sword art known as the Profound Devil Sword Art, became a Peak martial artist, and committed who knew how many evil deeds. Just like the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor, he was a free martial artist, not part of any organization, which was what made his presence here all the weirder.
As he reached this conclusion, Woo-Gang steeled his resolve. He realized that the man in brown that was facing him now was definitely no less skilled than the Underworld's Hand.
'I can't lose.'
As his sword moved once more, he suddenly heard his older brother cursing at his opponent. Woo-Moon's words were coarse and sarcastic, and they reminded Woo-Gang of his childhood.
"Aren't you attacking? Come at me, dog. Oh, no, I'm sorry. It's my first time meeting you and I already forgot my manners. Would you be kind enough to attack, Sir Dog?"
In the end, the Underworld's Hand couldn't stand the verbal abuse and rushed toward Woo-Moon while unleashing some curses of his own. He knew it was beneath his dignity to let the words of a random kid get to him, but he couldn't stand it anymore. Not to mention, Woo-Moon's curses were pretty low-level. His lame provocations showed that he was a chip right off the old block known as the Palm Martial Emperor.
"I'll kill you!"
In tune with the Underworld's Hand's words, a sword pierced forward, brimming with power. The man's attack was reminiscent of Woo-Moon's North Wind, and as the blade whistled through the air, the shadows around Woo-Moon bit at him with demonic fangs.
"Hmph!" With a low snort, Woo-Moon used Heavy Rain in response.
Sasasasasahk!
The thunderous clashing of swords filled the onlookers' ears as a massive rain of sword qi descended upon the Underworld's Hand.
Whether an attack was overt or hidden, it didn't matter—just like how the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor had countered the North Wind, Woo-Moon also used a wide-area attack to counter all of the hidden blades coming at him. And although its power was spread over such a large area, the Heavy Rain came out on top in the clash; even after dispersing the sword qi produced by the Underworld's Hand, there was still enough Heavy Rain left to threaten him.
Of course, the Underworld's Hand was still a Peak martial artist. He was indeed surprised by the power of Woo-Moon's attack, but he didn't panic. He simply took a step back and swung his sword once more.
Tadadadadang!
As soon as the Underworld's Hand stopped the Heavy Rain, Woo-Moon approached him and used the North Wind.
'Heh, tit for tat. Let's see who has the better hidden attack.'
Taking advantage of the Underworld's Hand's blind spot, Woo-Moon's sword suddenly appeared like a ghost, silently flying at his opponent.
"Ugh!"
The Heavy Rain had been almost too much to handle even by itself, and now, a hidden attack was coming at him from a ridiculous angle. To make matters worse, the Underworld's Hand felt a terrifying power behind Woo-Moon's hidden blade.
Woo-Moon's proficiency with hidden attacks was nothing to write home about, but the technique that he was using was so profound that it could be considered the core of its own complete sword art, and it more than made up for the user's own flaws.
'Where did he learn these techniques?!'
The Underworld's Hand managed to avoid the brunt of the attack by circulating his qi to the limit, but Woo-Moon's attack still broke through his defense and left a deep cut on his chest. Cold qi infiltrated his body, giving him goosebumps all over.
"You, what are you? How did you become such a monster?!"
The Underworld's Hand was forty years old. A fortuitous encounter had brought him the Profound Devil Sword Art when he was a teenager. His effort and perseverance allowed him to reach the Peak level, while this sword art made him famous under the moniker "the Underworld's Hand."
By contrast, Woo-Moon was very young, and according to what the Underworld's Hand had been told, he had grown up as the village's fool, with no access whatsoever to martial arts. However, this very fool was actually pushing him back right now! Naturally, he couldn't help but call Woo-Moon a monster.
"Shut up!"
With a shout, Woo-Moon executed the Cold Snow technique. Suddenly, his sword seemed to slow down.
'No, it only looks slow!'
To the naked eye, it seemed to move slowly, but when the Underworld's Hand enhanced his vision with qi and focused his mind, he found that the tip of Woo-Moon's sword was vibrating at a terrifying speed. These vibrations were extremely minute, invisible to the naked eye, but his eyes could see the massive, yet strangely soft power behind them.
'How many techniques does he have up his sleeve?'
With fear slowly encroaching upon his heart, the Underworld's Hand brandished his sword once more, using a technique of the Profound Devil Sword Art that sent a mighty wind blowing in Woo-Moon's direction. Just as the Underworld's Hand thought he could deflect the attack, however, Woo-Moon's Cold Snow simply slashed through his sword wind, almost reaching him in the process.
"Gasp!"
The Underworld's Hand quickly pulled himself together and swung down once again, but the Cold Snow once more slid down through the wind and went straight for his throat.
"No!"
In that moment of desperation, someone with a seemingly masterful movement technique appeared behind Woo-Moon out of nowhere, striking at his back. Just before his spine was broken, however, Woo-Moon's figure blurred for an instant before appearing three meters away from the bewildered Underworld's Hand. Another blur, and he was right behind the man.
"Behind you!" shouted the newcomer, but it was too late.
The North Wind and the Divine Phantasm Step made for an amazing combination. A fraction of a second later, a disembodied head flew up in the air.
Pfffffff!
Blood spewed out and the Underworld's Hand collapsed.
The newcomer had been watching the fight from afar and ran over to help the Underworld's Hand as soon as things turned sour. However, who could have expected Woo-Moon to be so strong?
'How could he do that when the two of us attacked him together?!'
He and the Underworld's Hand were on the same level. In other words, two Peak masters had collaborated to attack Woo-Moon, and he had still killed one of them!
'The higher-ups messed up! They said that there would be no one important but the Palm Martial Emperor and Song Woo-Gang! How could they miss this kind of variable?!'
"Who are you? Are you that dog's playmate?" Woo-Moon mocked him.
Woo-Moon was acting completely different from usual. It seemed that, once he started fighting, his arrogant temperament of old revived.
With those words, he rushed at the man without wasting any time, using the Divine Phantasm Step from the start. As his feet shuffled, his figure blurred once more.
The newcomer's eyes widened. 'The Divine Phantasm Step of the Kunlun Sect! Why does the grandson of the Palm Martial Emperor use the Kunlun Sect's martial arts?'
However, he couldn't ponder for too long because the Heavy Rain was pouring down on him.
"Haaaaa!"
The man focused all his strength in his fist. His punch shattered the wall of Heavy Rain on his left, and he quickly moved there to avoid the remaining attacks.
Woo-Moon didn't stop at that, however. Unlike with the Underworld's Hand, his attacks poured one after the other. Before he knew it, the man was overwhelmed by the violent wind blowing from the front, and the powerful, unpredictable qi blades caused him to defend himself with his fist out of instinct.
Suddenly, Woo-Moon twisted his wrist and, in a completely unexpected move, slapped the man hard on the forehead with the flat of the blade. The man's brain was jolted and his mind went blank from the impact. Then, he saw Woo-Moon reaching for his acupoints.
'I cannot get caught!'
Gulp!
When he bit the poison pill hidden under his tongue, he felt a pungent taste for a brief moment before his mouth went numb. The black liquid in the pill then flowed down his throat. In an instant, the man's face turned black.
"Uh?"
Indeed, just as the man had predicted, Woo-Moon's intention was to take him prisoner. Unfortunately, that was no longer an option.
"Damn it! He's dead."
As Woo-Moon was checking the man's pulse, the man in brown fighting Woo-Gang suddenly let out a scream before falling onto the ground with a long gash in his chest.
"Ha-ah, ha-ah." Woo-Gang had wounds all over and was stained with blood. He had just won against a high-level opponent, but he wasn't happy at all. In fact, he didn't really know what he was supposed to feel.
'I can't believe Woo-Moon is more skilled than I am. Has he reached the limit of the Peak level already?'
The Underworld's Hand and his companions were around the same level. Thus, while Woo-Gang himself had engaged in a drawn-out fight against one such person, Woo-Moon had faced two at the same time and easily won.
As he snuck glances at his brother, Woo-Gang ended up taking a risk in order to end his own battle faster. Unfortunately, that left him with several wounds.
In any case, all they had to do now was deal with the seventy or so henchmen left.
Just then, they heard a shout. "Stop! Both of you, throw away your swords!"
Woo-Moon and Woo-Gang realized they had missed something. While fighting with the enemy leaders, they had stupidly neglected the fact that the underlings were free to deal with the Leebi Merchant Guild. This crucial misstep was due to their lack of experience in the gangho.
Jo Mu-Jae was already injured, so he was easily suppressed. By the time Woo-Moon and Woo-Gang finished their battles, the enemies had gotten hold of Si-Hyeon and those around her and now held them hostages.
A man in brown held a knife to Si-Hyeon's pale neck. "Come on, drop your swords! Do you want this woman to die?"
Woo-Gang bit his lip in frustration. He couldn't decide what to do. After agonizing for a moment, he finally said, "Let's listen to them, brother."
Woo-Moon was staring at the man in brown with murderous eyes. "If we were to abandon our weapons, do you believe they would spare the lives of the Leebi Merchant Guild? If we drop our swords now, what do you think they'll do next?"