Chapter 218: Chapter 218
“Uuuugh….”
Jang Sam-tae opened his eyes while clutching his aching head. As his blurry vision gradually became clear, he saw something large and pitch-black.
While he was struggling to clear his mind without fully recognizing what it was, the object swung its merciless claws toward Jang Sam-tae.
“Argh?!”
Startled, Jang Sam-tae rolled across the ground just like that.
Soon, a rough thudding sound was heard.
“What is this?”
Jang Sam-tae hiccuped and stared at the thing in front of him.
It was a bear.
A massive body, and claws that looked merciless.
Standing upright on two legs and looking down at Jang Sam-tae, its gaze and the sharp fangs revealed between its mouth were threatening enough to overwhelm anyone who saw it.
“Why… why is something like this here?”
Jang Sam-tae looked around with a dazed expression.
Even as he heard the growling voice of the bear closing the distance, he struggled to grasp the situation.
The surroundings were definitely inside a mountain.
Without even having the leisure to ponder why he was in such a place, the bear rushed forward fiercely.
He screamed and moved, unfolding his lightness art.
As he used his agile movements to climb up a tree, the bear battered the tree several times with its massive forepaws.
Crack!
The tree broke, and Jang Sam-tae, who was on top of it, was startled.
He knew well enough that a bear’s strength was great, but wasn’t this going too far?
“You bastard!”
Pulling out a dagger from his waist, Jang Sam-tae descended rapidly and stabbed the bear’s shoulder.
The sensation of the blade sinking in with a squelch was transmitted from his fingertips.
However, as if not even feeling the pain, the bear thrashed and struck Jang Sam-tae’s chest.
Thud!
A tremendous pain was transmitted.
His body flew backward and crashed straight into a tree.
An impact strong enough to make him lose consciousness was delivered intact, making him feel as if he was going to pass out.
“S-Shit…!”
Jang Sam-tae’s hands trembled violently as he struggled to force himself to stand up.
With the thought that he would absolutely not die, he threw the dagger with all his might.
Whoosh!
The flying dagger embedded itself in the bear’s waist.
Roar!
The bear roared, perhaps because of the pain, but it seemed to only infuriate it further.
With its eyes wide and fierce, the bear looked ready to swallow Jang Sam-tae whole in an instant.
For the first time, its killing intent felt chillingly fierce.
Jang Sam-tae took a starting stance and thrust his arm forward.
Great Hand Seal!
Boom!
The ultimate technique of the Potala Palace stretched out, making a heavy sound.
Struck by the palm strike, the bear faltered and stumbled once. However, its wild eyes did not lose their light, and it rushed forward once again.
“This is crazy!”
In that brief moment when the panicked Jang Sam-tae tried to leap backward.
Without even giving him room to dodge, the bear’s claws flew in fiercely as if to rip his entire body to shreds.
Thud!
At that moment, a dull sound was heard.
The bear’s forepaw was severed, and at the same time, its head disappeared.
While blood splattered and drenched Jang Sam-tae’s face, a red beam of light, so fast it was invisible, pierced through the bear’s entire body once more.
Thud thud thud!
The bear’s large body instantly became a honeycomb.
Its giant torso, which had even lost its head, swayed heavily and then collapsed with a loud thud.
“Tsk tsk, how can you be of any use if you cannot even defeat a single bear?”
The one who revealed himself was none other than Dan Woo-hyun.
As if he had returned from hunting, he carried a roe deer on his shoulder. When his indifferent gaze fell on him, Jang Sam-tae collapsed to the ground as if the strength had drained from his legs.
“I… I almost died, sir….”
“I know. I was watching….”
At those words, Jang Sam-tae’s expression contorted.
‘Then you should have saved me quickly!’
Anger rushed to the top of his head.
“You were just watching?”
“Yes.”
“Why!”
“It was to check what level you are at.”
“I almost died!”
“I know.”
Jang Sam-tae clutched his throbbing head.
It felt like the conversation was going in circles.
Moreover, this situation reminded him of the time they went to catch bandits in the past.
Dan Woo-hyun smiled faintly, set the roe deer down, and kicked the carcass of the giant bear.
Its large body flew high and crashed into a corner like trash.
“Until now, you have managed to survive by relying solely on your lightness art.”
“Now I also have the Great Hand Seal and the Returning Heaven Qi Skill, sir.”
Jang Sam-tae muttered with an openly dissatisfied expression.
Although his lightness art was still his best, in any case, he had learned things from Sa Do-hak, and he had also been taught by the old monk of the Potala Palace.
Even with just these, he would be able to earn his own living in the Central Plains.
“From whom did you learn how to use lightness art as footwork?”
“It was Senior Sa.”
“I see.”
Originally, Jang Sam-tae did not know footwork.
From the time he first met his master until the master died, all he had learned was lightness art, and he knew absolutely nothing else.
Thus, he had acquired the method of dodging and striking with lightness art through real combat, and Sa Do-hak had refined it for him, leading to the present.
‘Could it be that the method was wrong?’
However, Dan Woo-hyun nodded calmly.
“Yes, well done. Even in my eyes, your lightness art is much better than footwork.”
“Hehehe, is that so, sir?”
“But the Great Hand Seal does not suit you. Never use the martial arts of the Potala Palace again.”
“Eh?”
Although they were at a crude level, the martial arts he had trained in the most were none other than those of the Potala Palace.
In contrast to Sa Do-hak who focused on teaching one martial art, the Golden Heaven Water King had crammed all the low-level miscellaneous techniques of the Potala Palace into Jang Sam-tae’s head.
Telling him not to use them was like telling him to fight with both arms cut off.
“But I have no other fist or palm techniques I can use besides that?”
“Is there not the Tai Chi Chuan that I taught you last time?”
“About that….”
‘I forgot it, you bastard.’
He had learned the martial arts of the demonic sect leader Sa Do-hak, and the martial arts of the Potala Palace, which was famous even in Tibet.
There was no need to use, nor any need to remember, Tai Chi Chuan, which did not even cost a single silver tael in the marketplace.
Furthermore, because what Dan Woo-hyun had explained was extremely difficult and chaotic, Jang Sam-tae’s mind could not comprehend it at all.
“I-I did practice it a little… but it simply did not enter my head… Hehehe.”
“I see.”
Dan Woo-hyun nodded without saying anything.
Jang Sam-tae had thought Dan Woo-hyun would make an issue out of him not practicing what he was taught without a word, but seeing him accept it, it seemed he had expected it to some extent.
“Then that is fine. More importantly, butcher the roe deer and roast it. We have a long way to go.”
“Y-Yes! Hehe, I will make it extremely delicious for you.”
Jang Sam-tae nodded while twitching the corners of his mouth.
He might not be good at other things, but he was confident in his cooking.
With the anticipation of eating delicious meat, he approached the roe deer lying on the ground.
“….”
But something was a bit strange.
The one who caught the roe deer was definitely Dan Woo-hyun, and with his skills, he should have been able to catch it without a single wound.
However, two arrows were embedded in the roe deer’s body, and they were definitely not shot by Dan Woo-hyun.
Even if he had shot arrows, since Dan Woo-hyun was a man whose manual dexterity reached the heavens, he would have made arrows that were not just exquisite but extremely smooth.
Yet these arrows were too crude.
At a glance, it was clear that branches roughly snapped from the mountain had been used, and the craftsmanship could not be called good either.
“Excuse me… Master….”
“What is it.”
“There are arrows stuck in it, though?”
Jang Sam-tae, who pulled out the arrows with a slide, broke into a cold sweat. An anxiety greater than when he encountered the bear earlier crept over him.
When he made eye contact with Dan Woo-hyun, he saw him give a smirk.
“Yes, they shot arrows to catch it.”
“W-Who did, sir?”
“Some people.”
Jang Sam-tae swallowed hard and looked around. This was a mountain they had visited last time as well.
Because of that, he recalled what the villagers living nearby had told him about this place.
One of the bandit dens known as the Eighteen Fortresses of the Green Forest was located right here.
The Green Tree Fortress.
It was a place that ranked within the top ten even among the Eighteen Fortresses of the Green Forest.
“Those people… their appearance…?”
“Are not all bandits’ appearances more or less the same.”
“Heh…!”
Jang Sam-tae felt a suffocating sensation.
Seeing Dan Woo-hyun speak of it so lightly, it seemed he also knew that a fortress where outstanding experts gathered was located here.
That meant he had provoked them on purpose.
“No, Master! We have a long way to go, so why did you provoke the Green Forest!?”
“No matter how high a bandit leaps, he is still just a bandit. What does it matter whether we provoke them or not?”
“Aigo! Just make everyone our enemy! That guy is an enemy! This guy is an enemy! What will you do if you go around making enemies in all directions? Isn’t the Martial World a place where you cannot even sleep peacefully with your legs stretched out!”
When he raised his voice, Dan Woo-hyun stared intently at Jang Sam-tae. His expression remained unchanged, but his gaze was enough to dishearten a person.
“In that case, you just have to make it so you can stretch your legs out.”
“Yes?”
Soon, Jang Sam-tae recalled that Dan Woo-hyun was by no means a person who did useless things.
“Ha… Ha-ha, you joke too much.”
However, Dan Woo-hyun began to build a campfire with an nonchalant expression.
His actions were so natural that not a shred of tension could be found.
No, far from tension, it seemed he did not even realize what kind of incident he had caused.
Jang Sam-tae clutched his throbbing head.
“If you do not want to die in a foreign land, always keep your energy detection spread out.”
“Yes?”
Whoosh!
An arrow that flew from somewhere grazed Jang Sam-tae’s cheek and flew toward Dan Woo-hyun’s head.
The man who was building the campfire evaded the arrow with a natural movement.
The arrow that cut through the air embedded itself in a tree.
“For a martial artist, nothing is more important than energy detection. Since you never know when or where you might be hit by a stray blade or arrow. Also, do not try to move after seeing it with your eyes, but predict one step ahead and move.”
“Eh?”
Whoosh!
Another arrow flew in.
The moment Jang Sam-tae, who was extremely tense, heard the sound, he twisted his body and evaded it.
However, as if predicting his movement, another arrow flew in with a slight delay.
“Argh?!”
Startled, Jang Sam-tae threw his body to the ground.
The arrow that passed right over his stomach embedded itself near Dan Woo-hyun once again.
Thud thud thud!
Yet he did not pay any attention at all; instead, he just broke off the arrowheads and used them as kindling.
“As I said last time, there is no need to be frightened just because their numbers are large. In the Martial World, life and death are not decided by whether numbers are few or many.”
“Yes?”
Rumble!
The ground shook violently as if an earthquake had occurred. As Jang Sam-tae turned his head while sweating coldly, countless bandits revealed themselves.
Those standing in the back aimed their arrows, while those who came forward drew their swords menacingly.
Among them, a man who had a slender body but carried a large saber stepped forward and shouted loudly.
“How dare you fearlessly touch the Green Tree Fortress… Keuk!”
Thud!
When Dan Woo-hyun flicked his finger, the head of the man who appeared to be the fortress lord of the Green Tree Fortress disappeared without a trace.
The man who had appeared while shouting jovially collapsed while spewing blood.
The Green Forest bandits who had stepped forward with high spirits were horrified.
“Clean up the remaining ones. You must get used to one-against-many fights to increase your chances of survival in the future, and to gain more experience.”
Jang Sam-tae’s mouth fell wide open.
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