Chapter 313
Although it was a three-on-one confrontation, I was relaxed.
It was by no means because I was looking down on the three of them.
On the contrary, it was because I was that confident in my current abilities.
"But before that, there are a few things I want to ask."
"......?"
"Were you also aiming for the tomb of the Meteor King?"
"What kind of nonsense is that!"
"To say that to us is an insult!"
Although I had asked lightly, a fierce reaction came back.
Judging from that reaction, it means that they are not people who came aiming for the tomb of the Meteor King, but people who were guarding that place.
When I think about whether there were such people in my past life, I have never heard any information about them.
The time when the tomb of the Meteor King was originally dug up is about ten years from now.
Did they disappear due to some incident during that time? Or were they there at that time too, but were swept away by the crowd of a thousand people and were taken out without a trace?
"I don't know who you are, but if you've drawn your sword, shouldn't you do something? I have a few things I'm curious about."
"I'll shut that mouth of yours!"
The three of them took a stance as if they would rush at me at any moment.
'The sword they are holding is a reverse-grip sword. It doesn't seem to be a typical Central Plains sword art. Is it perhaps related to the Hainan Sect?'
The representative sect that uses the reverse-grip sword is the Hainan Sect, which is located on Hainan Island.
Although I have never been to Hainan Island myself because you have to take a boat and go quite far from the southernmost tip of the Central Plains, I have met a Hainan Sect martial artist a few times.
Swii-ik!
But my thoughts did not last long.
Because the three men rushed at me at once.
Although it was an attack by three people, their attacks moved as naturally as if they were done by one person.
Especially the man at the very front, as if his martial arts were superior to the other two, the sword coming at me feels very sharp.
Kka-ga-gang!
But, I can lightly deflect an attack of this level.
Although their martial arts level is high, it's not to the extent that I can't face them.
If I hadn't received various enlightenments and elixirs after visiting the Martial Alliance a while ago, I would have struggled, but thanks to the growth at that time, I was able to face them with ease.
Tteo-eong!
Every time we exchange a few blows, I put a little more energy into my sword.
The three men, who at first seemed to be on par with me, had no choice but to naturally step back as I began to show my true skills.
As if they had not expected me to overwhelm the three of them, a look of bewilderment appeared on the men's faces.
Especially the man in the middle with outstanding skills. His expression became even angrier than when I first saw him.
But his expression is just that, there is no way to do anything. Because it's true that I'm much stronger than him.
And so, after exchanging about a few dozen blows, I, having found an opening, thrust my sword into it.
If I thrust my sword as it is, it is a trajectory that could penetrate the abdomen of the man on the left among the three men.
U-ttuk!
But I, just before stabbing him, stopped my sword and, retrieving my sword, stepped back a few steps.
The man who had almost been hit by my sword a little while ago, as if he thought he was dead for sure, had his eyes tightly closed, and as I stepped back, he opened his eyes with a slightly flustered face.
"Why...?"
"We don't know each other's stories, and we don't know why we have to fight, so I don't think it's right to kill. What do you think? Are you willing to talk a little now?"
"......"
"......"
Although the men didn't say anything, their expressions were much softer than before.
Except for just one person. The person in the middle.
"What on earth is the Wudang Sect?"
"What?"
"I also fought with four Wudang Sect Taoists earlier. Although I could have won if I had fought to the end, it was quite troublesome to break through the coordinated attack of the four."
"They fight better than you think, right? They're probably my senior brothers."
I feel good for some reason because the enemy is praising my senior brothers.
I, with a grin, continued, "It's a good thing my senior brothers are alive, if even one of them had been hurt, I wouldn't have let you off like this. You might have even begged me to stop killing you."
Although I said it with a smile, the faces of the three men hardened.
Because they must have felt from the clash a little while ago that what I had just said was not an empty word.
"So let's stop the meaningless fight. The three of you can't beat me."
I, in a very friendly voice. But, with a lot of firmness in it, said to them.
Then they, after glancing at each other, the man in the middle let out a deep sigh and said, "Alright. Let's stop here. As you said, it seems it will be difficult for us to beat you."
"Older brother?!"
"Older brother. Are you serious?"
"Yes. I'm serious."
"Don't we still have one move left?"
The men on both sides, as if they had not expected the man in the middle to give up like that, shouted in great surprise.
But the man in the middle, as if he had given up on everything, clicked his tongue and said, "Can't you feel it? Although we are hiding one move, that side is hiding ten, a hundred moves. At this rate, it's just a dog's death."
He, as much as his calm-looking face, seems to be a person who can see reality quite well.
"You've thought well."
"And anyway, isn't he an opponent who has completely shattered our Cheonmokhwa Formation... if this is broken, if we leave it alone, the rest might be completely devastated. We have to make sure that doesn't happen."
He said with an expression that seemed to have aged several years in an instant.
The men on his both sides, after hesitating, let their swords hang down.
A little while later, the three of them each sheathed their swords.
"Then shall we talk for a moment?"
"You're not trying to make me let my guard down and then launch a surprise attack, are you?"
"What do you take me for!"
"What do I take you for? I see you as a person who appeared out of the blue, got angry, and then attacked me with a sword."
"Ah... th-that's because you made this place look like this!"
He burst out in frustration, but it seems he couldn't continue his words because there was nothing wrong with what I had said.
I, at that sight, chuckled and put my Red Dragon Sword into its scabbard.
"Well. With your skills, you probably won't be able to do anything to me even if you suddenly launch a surprise attack."
He bit his lip, but he didn't say anything back because he knew what I said was true.
Just when I was about to ask the things I was curious about.
"Unhwi-ya!"
"Unhwi!"
Hearing the sound of someone calling me, I turned my head, and my senior brothers are rushing towards me from far away, performing a movement technique.
I, with a bright smile, waved my hand at them.
My senior brothers, who had approached me in an instant, drew their swords and, looking at the men with a wary eye, said to me, "The one in the middle there attacked us a little while ago."
"His martial arts were considerable, but you don't seem to have any injuries."
"Yes. We blocked him well. In the middle of a fierce fight, he suddenly disappeared as if something urgent had happened... did you do all this?"
Senior Brother Un Cheol, looking around the devastated area with a face as if he couldn't believe it, said, and I winked.
"Of course. Who else would have done it if not me?"
"Haa... how in that short time... no. Let's talk about that later."
"You can all put away your swords. To put it briefly, those people have just had a fight with me, and they lost to me, so we've decided to resolve it with words instead of fighting."
"I see."
My senior brothers, without any doubt in my words, put their swords away again and lined up next to me.
It seems my senior brothers will now believe me without a doubt even if I say I saw a blue dragon somewhere.
I turned my head to the three men again and said, "Are we going to stand here and talk like this?"
"What?"
"The surroundings are messy, and my legs hurt from standing and talking like this... and we were about to eat, but we couldn't because of you guys. You must have a place where you live, right? I want to sit down somewhere and talk."
At my words, the men have a dumbfounded face.
It seems they didn't expect me to come out so affably.
"What are you doing? Lead the way quickly."
"......"
The man in the middle, his expression about to turn grim again, opened his mouth.
"Follow me."
***
Following them, we made our way through the forest.
"Follow my footsteps exactly. If you step on the wrong place even a little, the formation will be activated, or you might get caught in a trap."
He, more kindly than I thought, pointed out the dangerous places to us, and thanks to that, my senior brothers and I were able to follow him without much difficulty.
How long did we follow him? As if we were going up a small hill, a basin soon appeared, and in that basin, a tile-roofed house that did not match this place at all appeared.
Although it was a very old house at a glance, it looked very clean, as if it were well-maintained.
"I never thought there would be a place like this here."
"This is the first time I've brought an outsider. I brought you because you had the treasure map... if it weren't for that, this would never have happened."
He said bluntly.
On the way here, I had a brief conversation with Senior Brother Un-jeong, and I heard that that person's name is Yu-hoe.
And that person's tone was very soft and gentle until a little while ago, but his attitude towards me was strangely stiff.
So much so that it was like seeing a different person.
Kkii-iik—
The old door opened with a loud noise, and we entered the main gate.
"You're here?"
"Yes. Was there anything wrong?"
"Yes. What would have happened in this mountain village?"
Then a boy who looked to be about ten years old came running and greeted Yu-hoe cheerfully.
The boy, with his bright eyes, looked very smart, and he seemed very surprised to see us, who had followed Yu-hoe into the house.
"Ah, Father. Are they outsiders?"
"Yes. They are outsiders."
"Finally! They've finally come?"
The boy's eyes were full of joy.
Yu-hoe whispered something to the boy in a small voice and sent him into the house.
"You have a child?"
"Yes. So stop talking informally. We look to be very different in age, but you've been talking informally since a while ago. Haven't you learned any manners?"
"I don't speak formally to people who first draw a sword at me and speak informally. I do that even if a white-haired old man comes, not just you. So think about what you did first. Don't just nitpick about others' manners."
"This... let's not talk."
He, as if he had nothing to say, frowned once more and came inside.
Following him into the house, a table and chairs that could seat several people appeared.
Yu-hoe told us to sit there and also sat down on a chair himself.
"Where on earth is this? I've never heard of a place like this."
I immediately got to the point.
Because I thought there was no need for more small talk since I had been invited this far.
As if he had a similar thought, he also immediately opened his mouth.
"We are the descendants of the Seonsan Yu family."
"The Seonsan Yu family?"
"Yes. To put it more simply... it means we are the descendants of the Meteor King you were talking about earlier."
"There were descendants of the Meteor King?"
It's the first I've heard of it, not just in this life, but also in my past life.
"Yes. We have been guarding the relics of our ancestor here. And our ancestor, the Meteor King, left these words."
"What words?"
"If someone comes here with a treasure map and breaks through the Cheonmokhwa Formation on their own... give them a chance to challenge my legacy. And, if someone becomes the owner of my legacy like that, then our Seonsan Yu family can go down to the Central Plains again..."
I, after hearing that story, think I understood why that boy was so happy at the appearance of an outsider a little while ago.
(End of Chapter)