Chapter 7
—Whoa, 2,000,000 Won, what's that about?
—lmaooo insane fr
—You can barely clear it with weapons and he's going barehanded lol
—Isn't that too much of a stretch?
The chat exploded at the sudden large-scale mission that had come together out of nowhere.
The amount itself was one thing, but the conditions simply didn't make sense.
Of course, for the viewers it was fine as long as it was entertaining enough to watch, but even that required some degree of reasonable expectation.
Bluntly put, there was a good chance it would just be a waste of time.
Sure enough, voices of concern began popping up one by one.
['OnlyDrinksZero' has donated 1,000 Won.]
—I get that he's feeling confident after clearing Stage 4 so easily, but the next floor is on a whole different level. A whole different level.
—Leave him. Looks like the 2,000,000 Won got to his head.
—Honestly the dodging was insane but this is a bit……
—Either way, he won't know until he experiences it himself.
['WantToEatBread' has donated 1,000 Won.]
—There's a reason Stage 5 is called the Wall of Despair. Even the best of the best got wiped out here.
—Fun fact: survival rate doesn't even hit 10%.
—Didn't Yu Ye-rin clear Floor 4 and then go around acting like she was some kind of genius, only to get absolutely destroyed lol
—Isn't mentioning that a bannable offence?
—It's someone else's stream so she has no power to ban anyone lol
['Yu Ye-rin' has donated 10,000 Won.]
—I've already saved the ID.
—Oh no
—Oh no
—Oh no
In stark contrast to the blazing chat, Mu-yeong was unfazed.
'Stage 4 or Stage 5, there doesn't seem to be much difference.'
If one were to compare, there were some differences.
The movements were a touch more agile and the attacks sharper.
He had already calculated that barehanded would be more than enough, so Mu-yeong's attention quickly drifted elsewhere.
'Yu Ye-rin, huh……'
A name that had come up in the chat just moments ago.
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear—it was exactly that kind of situation.
And not just appearing, but arriving loaded with money.
‘Good.’
Mu-yeong smiled inwardly.
Setting the money aside, this mission held great meaning.
An opportunity to drain the Daehwasan Sect's coin and fill the Demonic Heaven Sect's belly.
His shoulders naturally squared with purpose.
"Then let's take a three-minute break before we start."
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The only thing that grows stronger as the stages progress is not just the boss.
The skill of the regular soldiers that appear as a warm-up increases right alongside it.
If Stage 1 was the level of foot soldiers who had barely trained, Stage 5 sees them leap ahead to the level of a squad commander or above.
In a sense it's to be expected, but experiencing it firsthand makes it feel entirely different.
'These bastards don't just charge in recklessly?'
They knew when to probe and when to pull back.
If you put distance between yourself and them, they would even pressure you with bows and spears.
Of course, at the end of the day they were still just soldiers, so dealing with them one-on-one was quick work.
But the moment you let even a little time slip by?
Reinforcements would arrive, surround you, and launch a combined assault.
"I was caught off guard at first too. I never imagined they'd use tactics like that."
No matter how overwhelming his performance on Floor 4 had been, from here things would be different.
Yu Ye-rin nodded and curled the corners of her lips.
In truth, the reason she was so confident had another basis entirely.
During the break, she had quietly done some digging……
Streamer name: Guest437123
Stream title: Castle Defense.
Streaming history: Today is the first time.
All indicators screaming 'This is literally my first time streaming~' for anyone to see.
No, it wasn't just that he was a newbie—he felt more like someone who had just gotten internet for the very first time today.
Of all things, a streamer who hadn't even changed their nickname?
There was simply no explanation for this other than being an absolute fresh newbie.
"In that case, he probably has no idea how it's going to unfold from here……. Not having information is what led him to make such a reckless bet."
As the excitement settled, her mind began running through optimistic scenarios.
As a seasoned veteran in her own right, the future already seemed visible to her.
Yu Ye-rin let out a small scoff.
"Now the cracks will start to show. The real Castle Defense starts from Floor 5."
‘Let's see you clear it with those bare hands of yours.’ —Or so she had thought, five minutes ago.
"Huh?"
Whooom—Thwack!
The soldier who caught Mu-yeong's fist went flying through the air.
As he hit the ground, sharp sparks flew from his plate armour with a grinding screech.
A critical hit by anyone's standard.
When the rolling stopped, the state he was left in was even more severe.
The solar plexus where the blow had landed was caved in as though hit by a cannonball, and the man endlessly spat out bloody froth.
—????
—This wasn't barehanded, he had a hand cannon equipped lol
—Every rib must be shattered lol
['ButThatWas' has donated 1,000 Won.]
—Like why is this man trying to break iron with his bare fists?
—You don't know about the flow? The flow? He explained it all just now.
—He just smashes through everything with the current.
—lmaooo
Those who had been watching from the start were at least somewhat less shocked, but the constant stream of new viewers coming in were absolutely horrified.
And understandably so—most people had hit a wall at Floor 5.
Not simply because the difficulty was too high.
The fatigue and physical toll that had accumulated through all the previous stages had finally reached its limit.
In short, they had been worn down just getting through the Floor 5 regular soldiers.
Their movements visibly sluggish and their playstyle defensive—
They had been busy struggling along like wounded animals, yet here was Mu-yeong, flying around without a trace of that.
For the viewers, it was an enormous breath of fresh air.
['ㅇㅇ' has donated 1,000 Won.]
—Wait, this kind of thing is actually possible? Never seen anything like it;
—There was even better stuff earlier.
—Make sure to watch the VOD.
—I'm clipping it right now lol
Everyone stared blankly at what was nothing short of a massacre at Mu-yeong's hands.
Was this actually the movement of a human being?
The chat regeneration naturally slowed, and noticing this, a seed of unease sprouted in Mu-yeong's chest.
'Have I been too caught up in killing enemies?'
Watching a stream required understanding what was happening and how.
If he just kept fighting without saying a word like this, people who couldn't follow along might start leaving.
It had been the same when receiving instruction in the Martial World.
Say a great master were to demonstrate an advanced martial art.
But if they gave no explanation of how to apply it, the trainees would quickly lose interest.
That was likely exactly the situation right now.
Having confirmed that the viewer count had now surpassed thirty, Mu-yeong spun around sharply.
He jerked his chin toward a spearman who was charging at him and spoke.
"A spear's long reach makes it easy to seize the advantage over your opponent. However."
Whoosh!
Lightly sidestepping the thrust, Mu-yeong grabbed the spear shaft at its midpoint.
He yanked it inward at once, breaking the enemy's centre of balance.
As the soldier stumbled forward with a startled cry, Mu-yeong kicked him in the stomach.
"Urgh!"
"A single misstep like this is all it takes to invite a fatal mistake."
The soldier who had let out a death cry went sailing into the distance.
Not even sparing him a glance, Mu-yeong immediately fixed his gaze to the right.
This time, an enemy holding a bow had him squarely in their sights.
Twaaang!
The bowstring snapped.
An arrow hurtling through the air at terrifying speed.
Mu-yeong didn't move a single step.
Instead, he spread his hand wide open toward the incoming trajectory.
—Huh?
—He's not dodging?
—Don't tell me he's gonna die
—GG
Everyone expected the outcome to be him getting skewered by the arrow.
As the chat picked back up again, Mu-yeong smiled faintly.
"No need to panic."
Mu-yeong opened his mouth unhurriedly.
"If you watch your opponent's eyes, you can tell where it's headed."
The moment the words left his mouth, he closed his fist. The arrow had slotted inside it with perfect precision.
—????
—???
—Did he just catch it?
—No way;
Even having watched it live, the viewers rubbed their eyes over and over.
A person catching a flying arrow with their bare hands was something nobody had ever heard of, let alone seen.
And this wasn't some pre-planned move where they had agreed in advance where to shoot—it was a sudden attack from an enemy mid-battle.
Everyone let out a hollow laugh.
['ByeBye' has donated 1,000 Won.]
—How did you catch that?
"Did I not just explain? If you watch their eyes, you can see the trajectory. Oh, or were you asking about the speed? A standard bow like that travels roughly fifteen jang per second, so you just catch it in time……"
"……"
For a moment, the chat fell silent.
Rather than typing, everyone was busy digging in their ears.
After a brief pause, a donation appeared that spoke for the hearts of all.
['ㅇㅇ' has donated 1,000 Won.]
—That's not really the issue here
—lmaooo
—He says it so matter-of-factly you can't even argue with it.
—Professor……. You're moving through the material too fast……
"Should I explain it in a simpler way?"
Mu-yeong tilted his head and extended his arm straight back.
He took aim at the archer who had just fired, then hurled what he was holding at tremendous speed.
Fwssht!
An arrow, lodged squarely in the dead centre of the forehead.
As though it were nothing, Mu-yeong dusted off his hands.
"Either way, this is how you deal with those who shoot bows."
—Hmm……
—Ah, right……
—I see……
—So you need to be at this level to come to Floor 5, huh……
The chat regeneration slowed even further.
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"As expected of Young Lord."
"I was startled myself when I first saw it. To think he'd grown this much……"
Iron Blood Witch and Divine Dragon, who had been watching Mu-yeong's stream, let out consecutive exclamations of admiration.
So focused were they that they were rustling around inside an already-empty snack bag.
Only then realising it was empty, Divine Dragon said with an awkward grin.
"More than that—did you see him catch that arrow with his hand just now? Truly, it makes all that time spent training Young Lord feel worthwhile."
"Training? Training what?"
"Why? teaching him how to deal with archers, of course."
"Ah, you mean the thing where you stood Young Lord up and just fired arrows at him indiscriminately? How is that training in any sense? That was just taking out your frustrations."
"Ahem……. That's how everyone learns, isn't it. Live combat is the fastest way to improve—you know that well enough."
"The Sect Leader did say the same thing, but……"
Iron Blood Witch tucked her tail and backed down the moment Divine Dragon casually let slip one of Heavenly Demon's favourite sayings.
Seizing the opening, Divine Dragon added one more remark.
"Actually, now that we're here, I'll tell you—that training was ordered directly by the Sect Leader himself."
"What? That reckless training where you lined up seven instructors and had them fire arrows randomly?"
"He said that without it, Young Lord wouldn't survive what was to come. I myself was half-sceptical at first, so I had them aim away from vital points…… but three days in, he started evading with his eyes closed, you know?"
"……Pardon?"
What followed was even more astonishing.
"On the fourth day, Young Lord said this to me. That there was no need to hold back. He said the arrows kept coming only for the thighs and shoulders, so he could predict them all and it was getting boring."
"And what did you do?"
"We fired. We fired, but…… it seemed he had grasped the technique, because no matter where we aimed, he started avoiding every single one. We got competitive too, and gradually began putting energy into our shots. But a week in, he told us he was yawning and bored, you know? I still vividly remember the drained expressions on the instructors' faces."
Divine Dragon shook his head side to side and let out a hollow laugh.
Iron Blood Witch paused momentarily and began folding down her fingers one by one.
'If I recall correctly from the report, Young Lord would have been thirteen years old at that time.'
When she first heard it, it had been too far-fetched a story to believe.
But one day, passing near the training grounds by chance, she happened to spot Heavenly Demon watching from high up in the distance.
She approached to greet him and ask a question or two.
—Sect Leader, it is the Head of the Hao Clan.
—I see. What brings you here?
—I heard that Young Lord has been undergoing rigorous training recently, and came to check for a moment.
—Haha, rigorous training……. Who said such a thing?
—It is my own assessment based on the reports I received.
—There is nothing to worry about on that front.
With Heavenly Demon's voice full of certainty, Iron Blood Witch quietly withdrew without another word.
Yet the doubt still hadn't fully dissolved.
But looking at U Ho-beop's expression right now, he seemed to know something.
Sensing her gaze, he broke into a hearty laugh.
"Well, there's no real point in keeping it secret at this stage. Listen carefully. This is a fact known to only three people within the Sect, including the Chief Strategist."
"You even kept it secret from me, the Head of the Hao Clan?"
"Enormously so. It is the most classified of classified secrets—one that must never be allowed to leak. The truth is, Young Lord is—"
Divine Dragon sucked the crumbs of snack off his fingers.
After letting the suspense hang for a brief moment, he spoke with great pride.
"—The owner of a body that has appeared only a handful of times throughout all of Martial World history—the Heavenly Martial Physique."