READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 98 - Green Forest (2)
Chapter 98. Green Forest (2)
The sudden appearance of a stranger cast an eerie atmosphere over the tavern.
The commoners looked at the man with a mix of anticipation and worry, while Yang Bai, who had been enjoying himself, stared at the man with a distinctly uncomfortable expression.
“Heh, lock the door? Hey, punk. You sure about that? If you do, you won’t be able to run away.”
Yang Bai said, drawing his sword.
“Acting tough like a real man, huh? What’s with that look? This is why punks like you are hopeless. You know nothing about how the world works.”
Yang Bai sighed deeply.
“You’ll only realize your mistake when you’re on the brink of death. Oh, don’t worry, though—I won’t let you die easily. You’ve got to pay for ruining my fun.”
Thud, thud.
Unryong, without responding, tapped his staff on the ground and walked towards Yang Bai.
Seeing this, not only Yang Bai but also the other gang members began to draw their weapons.
“Well, well. Looks like you’re just a dying old man. Why don’t you draw that sword hanging at your waist?”
Unryong didn’t answer and simply kept tapping his staff slowly.
Veins bulged on Yang Bai’s forehead.
“Boys, get him. Cut off his arms and legs and bring him before me. This brat needs a lesson on how the world works.”
“Hold on.”
Unryong raised his hand.
“Listen carefully. I’ll make this short.”
He tapped the sword of one of the gang members with his staff.
“You’re all going to die here.”
At that moment, the gang members rushed at him all at once.
Unryong watched them with a bored expression.
The tavern was far too cramped for such a large-scale fight. If Lü Bu were to swing her halberd, the others would suffer from the impact.
There were twenty of them. Letting them run wild was not an option.
If they got desperate and took hostages, it would be troublesome.
So, right now, I must deal with them all.
Once I made up my mind, swords flooded my vision.
Slow.
Had human swords ever appeared this slow before?
Thud.
Unryong thrust his staff.
The tip of the staff struck the blade of the leading gang member with pinpoint accuracy.
And then—clang!
Even though it was just wood meeting iron, a crack appeared on the thug’s blade.
The gang member widened his eyes and stared at Unryong.
But only for a moment.
Unryong’s figure disappeared.
“?!”
—Whack!
It was more than just speed.
His movements were on a different level.
The man who had just been in front of them suddenly appeared, using his shabby staff to strike under the chin.
Seeing their comrade fall in a single instant, the rest of the Green Forest bandits rushed at Unryong.
Unryong moved his feet just a little.
The slightest movement.
Got him!
One of the gang members smirked.
But then—
“Ugh?!”
Unryong poked the man’s shoulder with his finger.
Veins bulged in his neck, and foam formed at his mouth.
He had struck a pressure point.
‘Two behind, one above, three to the right, one in front.’
Even as he calmly shifted his gaze, Unryong’s eyes tracked everything.
He had only two eyes.
Yet within Unryong’s mind, every detail of the battlefield unfolded.
He wasn’t watching the enemy’s movements but reading their qi.
‘Behind, incoming.’
He lightly tilted his head back.
“What the—?!”
The man who tried to attack Unryong from behind exclaimed in shock.
—Whack!
Simultaneously, Unryong’s elbow struck the man in the solar plexus.
Even in that moment, Unryong’s eyes darted about quickly.
One step forward.
Three steps to the side.
Ten steps backward.
The rest on standby.
—Swish!
Unryong lightly kicked off the ground.
—Whoosh!
One step forward, dodging the frontal attack effortlessly and striking the attacker’s artery with his staff.
Next, three steps to the side; Unryong caught a flooding axe with one hand.
Ten steps backward; he casually flung the axe behind him as if discarding trash.
—Thud!
The sound of something heavy hitting the ground followed.
‘Thirteen left. That should be enough to get warmed up.’
At last, the remaining gang members hesitated, sensing the situation was turning dire.
Yang Bai was equally astonished. He had never witnessed such bizarre movements.
As if he were foreseeing the future, Unryong’s actions were perfectly calculated, leaving no room for the confident smile Yang Bai wore just moments ago.
Finally—
—Screech!
Unryong drew his sword.
Until now, he’d only used his staff.
Yet, he’d already taken down seven in the blink of an eye.
But what if he wielded a sword?
No one dared to even imagine.
“Did you have fun?”
“…What?”
“Did you enjoy it? Hurting weak people, plundering, killing—was that fun for you?”
“…”
The oppressive aura.
Though Unryong’s face was not visible, Yang Bai felt an overwhelming pressure constrict his heart for the first time in his life.
He could hardly breathe.
In the end, Yang Bai could only clutch at his chest, near his heart, struggling to calm his ragged breathing.
“Look at you, trembling like that. Are you really that scared? Of this sword?”
A faint smile appeared on Unryong’s shadowed face.
Only then did Yang Bai regain his senses.
“Y-You… just a damn beggar! Kill him!”
Despite Yang Bai’s command, his gang members hesitated to step forward.
Unryong slowly walked towards them, speaking as he did.
“If you were that scared, you shouldn’t have done this kind of thing in the first place.”
“Ugh, Aaaaaaah!”
—Slash!
In his frenzy, one of the men charged at him, and Unryong cut him down.
It was a simple strike, just a horizontal slash across the chest.
Yet, Unryong’s sword was almost impossible to track.
Within moments, blood splattered from dozens of men.
***
“What in the world…”
A stranger’s voice brought Hyeryeon back to her senses.
The foes that had seemed impossible to overcome were now being effortlessly cut down by a single man.
Her vision cleared.
Blood splattered, blades shattered, and men collapsed.
Hyeryeon could only gape in awe at the sight.
It was beautiful.
Even someone with no knowledge of martial arts could easily tell that those fluid, flowing movements were extraordinary.
“Who is that man…?”
An old man, like Hyeryeon, was also watching in a daze.
Hyeryeon’s lips trembled as she managed to speak.
“Our savior…”
“Hm?”
“He is our savior…”
—Slash!
Blood sprayed.
The blood that soared high into the sky shattered like spring blossoms.
“Savior…?”
The old man asked, looking perplexed, as if he couldn’t grasp the meaning of her words.
“Just as I said. He must be our savior sent from the heavens, someone who asks for nothing in return, only saving the weak.”
“Hah… I don’t quite understand.”
“There’s no need to think too deeply about it.”
Hyeryeon met the old man’s gaze.
Over the past few months, she had shared many conversations with Unryong.
Thus, she knew why he wielded a sword.
“A Hero.”
“…”
Hyeryeon spoke slowly, yet with precision.
“Those with power help those who are weak. That’s the principle that man has spoken of. It’s also the way of the heavens.”
“Principle…”
The old man’s eyes widened.
How could such a principle exist in this world?
Up until now, the officials who lived off the state’s food were busy sucking the blood of the commoners.
Such a notion was one he had never even considered.
Even though it was a principle that should have been obvious all along.
“Everyone, look closely.”
At that moment, Unryong’s voice echoed.
Twenty men now lay sprawled on the ground.
“Behold the miserable end of those who made you tremble in fear.”
The old man and Hyeryeon turned their gazes towards Unryong.
Yang Bai, who had driven them all into a corner, was gasping for breath.
Meanwhile, Unryong, wearing a tattered hood, simply walked forward.
Unryong raised his sword.
Yang Bai boldly stepped forward.
He swung his sword upward from below.
For Unryong, a master of the highest order, the attack was so simple it nearly made him yawn.
Unryong tilted his body to the side.
Then, he jabbed Yang Bai’s throat with his fingers.
“Gah, gah!”
Yang Bai sensed something was wrong.
He couldn’t breathe.
He couldn’t even speak.
“Look. He is this weak.”
Unryong grabbed Yang Bai by the neck and slowly lifted him up.
“Grrk, grrk!”
Yang Bai, still unable to utter a word, could only stare at Unryong.
Tears welled in Yang Bai’s eyes.
“How pitiful he looks.”
—Crunch!
The sound of bones breaking was unmistakable.
—Thud.
Unryong casually tossed Yang Bai’s limp body aside.
He wiped the blood from his sword and sheathed it, then picked up his staff once more.
“Do you still fear him?”
“…”
The commoners looked at Yang Bai, who lay helplessly on the ground.
The man who had strutted about so confidently had now been reduced to a pitiful corpse.
Hyeryeon felt a shiver run through her body and immediately knelt before Unryong.
Thump! Thump!
One by one, the commoners bowed their heads to Unryong.
“Remember this. True strength doesn’t come from power. The ones who survived are you, not this piece of trash.”
“Then what are we, the powerless, supposed to do?”
Hyeryeon asked.
In response, Unryong planted his staff firmly on the ground and stopped.
“You resist until the end. That’s how you survive, like you did just now.”
“But we don’t even have the strength to resist.”
“That’s why I picked up the sword. Yeo, who stands with me, and my brothers as well. So survive. Don’t despair over scum like this, and keep moving forward.”
With that, Unryong passed by them.
Thud, thud, thud.
A faint vibration traveled through the ground.
Creak.
Soon, the sound of a door opening was heard.
“So, stop looking at the ground and look to the sky. To move forward, you need to start by lifting your head.”
The commoners slowly raised their heads.
Through the crack in the door, the sky’s scenery unfolded.
The clouds drifted leisurely, and the scorching sunlight seemed even more vivid today than ever before.