Chapter 167 : Shaolin Sword Star. -02
Chapter 167: Shaolin Sword Star. -02
At that sight, In Gyeongbo wore an arrogantly triumphant expression.
To speak coldly, in terms of technical finesse, Ban Hojin surpassed him.
It was something he hated to admit.
Instead, In Gyeongbo made full use of the advantages that favored him.
“Certainly, when it comes to pure internal power, I’m inferior. But that doesn’t mean I was only dodging because I had no way to counterattack.”
Ban Hojin, who had been traversing the air with dazzling Lightness Skill, grinned.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t counterattack and had therefore evaded.
He had simply wanted to see.
The current level of strength of the Iron Blood Demon Emperor, who had occupied one seat among the Four Tyrants of the World.
Wooooong!
As if proving that fact, Force Rings began forming around Ban Hojin as well.
They were golden Force Rings, standing in stark contrast to In Gyeongbo’s jet-black ones.
The brilliantly shining Force Rings were exactly equal in number to those In Gyeongbo had created.
“You can do it too?”
At that spectacle, In Gyeongbo’s eyes grew as large as Oil Lamps.
He could hardly believe what he was seeing.
Ban Hojin, who had lived merely twenty-one years, had limits to how much internal power he could have accumulated.
Yet when he produced the exact same number of Force Rings as himself, In Gyeongbo could not believe it.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWANG!
But this was only the beginning.
Just like In Gyeongbo, Ban Hojin perfectly controlled his Force Rings and neutralized his opponent’s.
He had extinguished the Force Rings while In Gyeongbo was still in shock.
At the same time, Ban Hojin rushed in like a hawk descending upon its prey.
JJEOOOONG!
Ban Hojin’s sword, charging in like a thunderbolt, struck In Gyeongbo’s blade.
Then he pressed forward like a raging storm.
With the Force Rings that had been pushing him back now gone, he led the battle in the manner he was most confident in.
“Keuk!”
As a result, In Gyeongbo began to be pushed back helplessly.
Seizing a fleeting opening, Ban Hojin unleashed a fierce Relentless Wave Offensive, forcing him onto the defensive.
PU-PU-PU-PUNG!
And there was something In Gyeongbo had misjudged.
When it came to experience, Ban Hojin was no less than him.
If anything, in terms of experience against true powerhouses, Ban Hojin had more.
Moreover, he had even died once himself. In terms of experience, In Gyeongbo did not dare compare.
‘I’ll finish this here.’
Seeing In Gyeongbo’s flustered expression laid bare as he struggled merely to block, Ban Hojin pressed even harder.
If an opportunity arose, it had to be seized firmly.
In Gyeongbo was not yet at the level he had possessed in his days as one of the Four Tyrants of the World, and if he were allowed to escape now, he would surely return later even stronger. Ban Hojin gave him no room to retreat.
Yet he did not rush.
Impatience bred excitement, and excitement bred mistakes.
He would rather induce a mistake than commit one himself. Thus Ban Hojin tightened the noose around In Gyeongbo with precision and meticulous control.
“Chaaahap!”
Sensing it as well, In Gyeongbo further drew up his True Energy.
He erupted with immense power from his entire body, attempting to push Ban Hojin away.
Instinctively, he seemed to realize that if he continued to be driven back like this, it would be dangerous.
But he rushed too much—that was his mistake.
Sreuk!
For an instant, his blade wavered.
He had applied excessive force, and the error revealed itself.
Ban Hojin did not miss that opening.
In that fleeting moment of mistake, he twisted his wrist and slashed In Gyeongbo’s right arm.
Puhwaak!
It was not merely Sword Energy but Sword Force that sliced flesh, sending a fountain of blood into the air.
But the real problem was not the wound nor the blood.
It was that the meridians in his right arm had been damaged.
Which meant there would now be issues in controlling his True Energy.
Teo-teo-teo-teong!
Already inferior in precision and finesse of techniques, In Gyeongbo could now no longer properly exert strength. He was, quite literally, battered by Ban Hojin’s sword strikes.
As time passed, wounds multiplied across his body and he staggered backward.
The sight of the Lord of the Ironblood Fortress, the one called the Iron Blood Demon Emperor in the Great Desert, being pushed back so helplessly left all onlookers gaping in shock.
“Keuk!”
Yet In Gyeongbo had no leisure to notice that.
He was too busy trying to fend off Ban Hojin’s storm-like assault.
Moreover, to an infuriating degree, Ban Hojin targeted his right arm.
He focused relentlessly on the injured area.
Sreuk! Seuk!
As a result, the wounds increased further.
Cunningly, he scattered false moves aimed at the right arm while striking the left arm as well.
Still, In Gyeongbo endured.
He believed that if he could just hold on, at least one chance for a reversal would come.
KWA-AANG!
But the problem was that Ban Hojin saw straight through those thoughts.
An ordinary younger-generation talent might grow complacent in such a situation, but Ban Hojin was not such a man.
He was a seasoned martial artist who had experienced countless brushes with death and battlefields.
Thus, he gave no such opening.
“Krrgh!”
In Gyeongbo attempted to suppress Ban Hojin’s movements using his greatest strength—his massive internal power—but Ban Hojin offset that pressure in the exact same manner.
Though the overall quantity of internal power might be inferior, his momentary output did not lag behind In Gyeongbo’s.
He had practiced it countless times in advance.
As a result, In Gyeongbo exposed yet another opening.
Thud!
Ban Hojin once again did not miss the sudden gap.
He thrust his sword into In Gyeongbo’s left shoulder.
Originally, he had aimed for the heart, but as the saying went, even rotten fish were still fish—In Gyeongbo twisted his body in that split second and avoided a fatal strike to the heart.
“Guhk!”
But the crisis was far from over.
Though he had avoided instant death, the situation remained dire.
Through the sword that had pierced his left shoulder, Ban Hojin’s True Energy rampaged inside his body.
Grab!
On top of that, Ban Hojin extended his left hand, seized In Gyeongbo’s right shoulder—
—and crushed it outright.
He had rendered him utterly unable to even swing his blade.
In that state, Ban Hojin drew his sword across.
While gripping his right shoulder, he separated his upper body and head.
“Fortress Lord!”
“Aaaaargh!”
Ban Hojin did not subdue him halfway.
A martial artist of In Gyeongbo’s caliber could still fight even without the use of both arms.
Even without using a blade or hands, it was possible for him to counterattack with Formless Energy, so instead of conversation, Ban Hojin chose death.
At that, the warriors of the Ironblood Fortress let out shrill screams.
They were horrified by In Gyeongbo’s death.
Not only that, but as if seeking vengeance against Ban Hojin, they charged forward.
At the forefront were, of course, the Great War Gods.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
“You go no further!”
However, the six Great War Gods could not reach Ban Hojin.
As soon as they moved, Peng Mancheol, the Beggar King, Sang Il-gi, and Ilwoo stepped forward to block them.
“Move aside!”
“Get lost!”
Having lost their reason, the Great War Gods’ assault was reckless.
As if wounds meant nothing to them, they cast aside defense and charged headlong.
Yet that made them easier to block.
They sought only to reach In Gyeongbo’s corpse, so guarding a single direction was enough.
“If you’re coming on your own, that suits me just fine.”
Moreover, they still had Ban Hojin.
Though his internal power consumption had been severe from facing In Gyeongbo, he was not without strength.
And for the war to come, Peng Mancheol, the Beggar King, and Ilwoo were necessary.
BOOOOOM!
A slash similar to the one In Gyeongbo had unleashed scattered toward the Great War Gods.
It was a Single Sword Strike that was difficult to block even when one knew it was coming.
Perhaps for that reason, the Great War Gods were all pushed back by that single strike.
All six barely managed to defend against it.
Swaaang!
Toward those Great War Gods, Ban Hojin sent another series of slashes.
There was no special technique—just slashes that seemed to say, block them if you can. After about five repetitions, the Great War Gods’ weapons were shattered entirely.
“Cough!”
“Kuh-hurk!”
In addition, several vomited blood from severe internal injuries.
They were paying the price for taking the blows head-on instead of fleeing.
“I’ll finish this!”
“Hmph!”
Peng Mancheol and Ilwoo dealt the final blows to the Great War Gods who were spewing dark red blood.
In particular, Ilwoo inflicted upon the one who had severed his left arm the very same pain.
He repaid exactly what had been done to him.
“Attack!”
“Wipe them all out!”
“It’s time for vengeance!”
With In Gyeongbo and the Great War Gods fallen, Seong Jung-gyeong and the leaders of each sect shouted until their throats were raw.
They were venting the resentment they had suppressed all this time.
Because of tactics, they had been forced to fight defensively—but now things were different.
With the leadership of the Ironblood Fortress annihilated, there was no longer any need to endure and merely withstand.
“Uaaaah!”
“Kill them! Kill them all!”
Recalling the brothers, friends, and comrades who had died in the first battle, the martial artists of the Orthodox Murim charged out as one.
Sama Uiseong gave no separate orders.
In the current situation, no tactics were needed.
Victory had already tilted to their side; all that remained was to savor the time of vengeance.
“R-run!”
“Retreat!”
With the Lord of the Ironblood Fortress and the Great War Gods annihilated, the warriors who had momentarily been stunned soon snapped back to their senses.
If they remained as they were, only a dog’s death awaited them. The officers who regained their senses first ordered a retreat.
Vengeance was possible only when one had the ability for it, and the officers faced reality.
Now was not the time to fight but to withdraw. The remaining leadership ordered retreat and fled in utter disarray.
“Don’t let them escape!”
“Kill even one more!”
Of course, the Orthodox Murim would not simply watch that spectacle.
Having endured blow after blow until now, the martial artists pursued the warriors of the Ironblood Fortress with venom-filled faces.
As they had shouted, they intended to kill even one more.
Watching the madness in their eyes and their frenzied momentum, Ban Hojin shook his head and approached his companions.
“You’ve worked hard, Brother!”
“This time really was exhausting. I’d rather not have stepped forward if I could’ve helped it.”
As Sama Uiseong and the others welcomed him the moment he arrived, Ban Hojin shook his head with a tired face.
Though he had won the battle, he was more exhausted than ever.
He had even overexerted himself slightly and sustained internal injuries.
That was how strong In Gyeongbo had been.
“But truly, you were incredible. I had chills the entire time watching!”
“Me too.”
“I was honestly frightened. I knew you were strong, but not to that extent.”
Unlike the composed Sama Uiseong, Seo Jo-woon and Murong Cheok were extremely excited.
As if Ban Hojin’s martial prowess still lingered vividly before their eyes.
Meanwhile, the relatively calm Sunwoo Bang looked at Ban Hojin with half admiration, half shock.
Though they were friends, he felt as though Ban Hojin had gone too far ahead.
“If I can do it, so can you.”
“Thanks for saying that.”
“Thinking of giving up?”
“Not a chance.”
Sunwoo Bang grinned.
Though the path seemed daunting, he had not the slightest intention of giving up.
On the contrary, because they were friends, he intended to strive even more desperately.
“Good. That’s the spirit. But won’t the Sunwoo Family or the Murong Family move?”
“It doesn’t seem necessary for us to step in.”
“Attacking fleeing enemies feels a bit… unbecoming. It’s like bullying the weak.”
Hearing Sunwoo Bang and Murong Cheok’s entirely different perspective, Ban Hojin let out a small laugh.
It was just like them.
“Then let’s return to the Encampment. We’ll leave the rest to the others.”
“Yes!”
Though they had won the war and might have celebrated, no sign of such joy could be felt from Ban Hojin.
With the same indifferent expression as always, he walked toward the Encampment, and his companions followed with faint smiles.
Drinking parties broke out everywhere.
They were celebrating victory over the Ironblood Fortress.
Though the war had caused significant damage, everyone forgot that fact for this moment.
They had grieved enough—now they indulged in the joy of victory.
“Please have a drink, Estate Lord Seo.”
“Ah, thank you.”
The Estate Lord of the Ye Family Estate, ranked among the top ten in Shaanxi Province excluding the Mount Hua Sect and the Mount Zhongnan Sect, poured him a drink with a genial smile.
And around Seo I-gyeong, it was not only the Ye Family Estate Lord who stood.
The heads of prominent martial sects from Shaanxi Province and Shanxi Province had gathered in droves.