Chapter 455: Chapter 455
Bang!
Along with a violent explosion, Sa Do-hak’s body flew far away.
The moment he, who was floating up in midair and flying, spun and tried to land, the sword of the woman who suddenly appeared in front of his eyes struck his chest.
Boom!
“Keuh!”
Sa Do-hak received a strong impact and bumped into the wall as-is.
That appearance of him collapsing while vomiting blood was a miserable sight to the extent of reminding anyone of the word defeat.
However, it was not only Sa Do-hak.
The moment they looked around, everyone lost their words.
All of those called the Five Emperors were sprawled out.
Every single one of them was fallen and could not stand up, unable to even use strength properly.
They were pitiful appearances to the extent that it was difficult to think of them as the Five Emperors, who were called the sky above skies.
“It is worse than I thought.”
The woman shook her head side to side while retrieving her sword.
She knew long ago that the level of martial arts had lowered. As time passed, because everything changed to be learned more precisely and more easily, the common sense about martial arts had no choice but to lower as well.
That result is this.
Although they were called people who currently ranked within five fingers even in the Central Plains, if it was that time when the Martial God was active, their skills would probably be about those currently called the Ten Venerables.
“Thi… This makes no sense…”
“Grandfather!”
“…….”
Everyone watched that situation while lost for words.
The five old men, who fell, were cut, and were shoved, also clearly wore gazes of not believing the current situation.
However, it was reality.
Their swords could not even brush her collar once, and there was also no attack that hit properly.
It felt like swinging blades at empty air where there was nothing.
Toward the woman who let out a deep sigh, Sa Do-hak, who rose from his seat with difficulty, rushed in in a hurry.
Thud!
“Keuh!”
However, being suppressed was momentary.
Sa Do-hak, who plunged to the floor, fell while vomiting blood once again.
He did not know in the slightest what had been done to him.
“To think only your prestige is grand…”
The woman shook her head side to side.
At least, the ones possessing the best skill among the five were Sa Do-hak and Bi Cheon-ung.
Since Bi Cheon-ung was originally one who was training under Cheon Mu-je, it was a natural situation if it was natural, but in Sa Do-hak’s case, he was perfect enough to be called a talent given by heaven.
However, since the era was the era, and there were not many strong people, she thought it was a stagnant situation.
The one who was most disappointed was none other than the Sword Emperor, Namgung Cheon.
She turned her gaze.
Namgung Cheon was seen rising from his seat with difficulty.
“Losing one arm, it seems your strength has dropped a lot. Even if you look strong outwardly, did you call it the Emperor’s Sword Form? It seems somewhat unreasonable to perfectly execute it with one arm.”
“…….”
Namgung Cheon could not refute.
In truth, the Emperor’s Sword Form was made when both hands were fine. Since it was a martial art for swinging the blade with one hand and checking the opponent with the other hand, losing one arm was a fatal weakness of not being able to command the entirety of the Emperor’s Sword Form.
The one who knew that best was Namgung Cheon.
However, what one knew and hearing it in reality from another person was the difference between heaven and earth.
Namgung Cheon, whose pride was wrinkled, raised his sword once again.
This was to protect his pride and his pride as a martial artist.
“Will you come once again?”
The power of the Emperor’s Sword Form surged like waves.
That was power that could never be taken lightly.
The Sword Emperor Namgung Cheon exploded his momentum as if trying to slam in everything he had, and the entire surroundings were impossible to even stand properly due to his power.
The woman half-closed her eyes.
Sa Do-hak is running wild crazily wishing to become strong, and Namgung Cheon does not try to understand everything of himself.
Rather than understanding, he did not seem to have thoughts of accepting it.
To make such people understand and bend, eventually…
she had to show that she was stronger than him.
“I thought I already let you know long ago, though…”
Miho let out a small sigh and raised her sword.
In an instant, her blade turned blurry.
Simultaneously, Namgung Cheon’s power poured toward her. It was like a single move that swallowed and pressured everything to make the opponent kneel.
It was stronger and rougher than any power Namgung Cheon had revealed until now, to the extent that even Sa Do-hak, who was watching, raised his eyes wide in surprise.
However.
The woman threw her body into that blade.
She finds the flow of the blade in the surging momentum.
As she twisted her body momentarily and began to move as if dancing, Namgung Cheon’s sword brushed past her by a single sheet of paper.
Even the momentum condensed in the sword scattered and vanished, and Miho’s blade was swung as if playing with the Sword Emperor, spraying blood.
Splat, splat!
“Keuh!”
Namgung So-hye, who watched that spectacle, clenched her fists without realizing it.
The Emperor’s Sword Form was the best martial art Namgung Cheon created.
She resolved it all too simply, and at that the opponent was not Dan Woo-hyun, a helplessness indescribable in words welled up.
The sight of the Sword Emperor, who should have been the absolute strong one, collapsing in front of her eyes was not a very good feeling to Namgung So-hye, who grew up looking at his back since childhood.
“Hey… Hey!?”
Gwon Mu-jin was surprised and tried to deter Namgung So-hye.
However, she who had bounded out at some moment was already extending her sword toward Miho.
“…Is this the sword art of the Southern Ju District?”
Miho looked at it with an unfazed expression.
The swung sword was unmistakably that of the Southern Ju District.
As it could be called the origin of all sword arts the Namgung Clan possessed, there was nothing to be so surprised about that she had mastered it.
‘Since that person is there in the first place…’
Miho let out a small sigh and slanted her body slightly.
Lightly dodging the thrusting sword, she struck out her hand.
Boom!
“Aaargh!?”
Namgung So-hye fell without being able to do anything.
Whether she lost consciousness due to that impact, she was sprawled out before long.
“Her spirit is good. Is this child your granddaughter? Looking at talent alone, she overwhelms you… yet she has many lacking things. You must have raised her gently?”
“Mmmgh…”
Namgung Cheon was lost for words.
He could not say he raised her gently.
Namgung Cheon was one who had noted that talent since childhood, so he pressed her as much as possible and exerted efforts to raise her strongly. But in Miho’s view, did she not say she grew up gently?
Dumbfounded, a hollow laugh leaked out.
“If you stay like this, you will merely hold back Family Head Dan.”
Miho sneered while making them face the all too natural reality.
Standing before the absolute strong ones who represented this Central Plains, she could not believe that there was another who could speak such words besides Dan Woo-hyun.
At that moment, Sa Do-hak stepped forward before they knew it.
“Can we become strong?”
“Yes, if only you follow well.”
“…Can we catch up to those Three Skies?”
Miho let out a groan at his single word filled with determination.
‘The Three Skies…’
In Miho’s head, as she closed her eyes quietly, three people were drawn. Excluding Dan Woo-hyun, the absolute strong ones who could never appear again in this Central Plains.
Precisely because they were those who obtained the alias of sky, and still countless people revere and look up to them.
Sa Do-hak wished to rise to that realm.
This was the same for Bi Cheon-ung as well as Namgung Cheon.
Their gazes remained fixed on the woman and did not fall away.
Miho let out a small sigh.
“That depends on your own doing.”
Saying so, she smiled awkwardly.
Because originally she also, although living for over a thousand years and reigning as the strongest Nine-Tailed Fox, could not defeat those three people.
* * *
“They say the Plague Demon actually seems to be alone, but in reality has subordinates. Although this too is a simple guess, since the person who made the guess was Chief Strategist Zhuge, it is thought most of it will be correct.”
Tang Mun-hye fidgeted with her fingers and showed awkward gestures. Because no matter how much she wore Dan Woo-hyun’s upper garment she obtained, even so there were parts that could not be covered.
“The reason they could not catch him?”
“It is because he is so elusive. Actually, even the Martial Alliance had made a portrait with difficulty once, but without being spread to the world, it is lost now.”
“The reason?”
“It is simple. Because the Sword Emperor passed away at that time.”
Tang Mun-hye let out a small sigh.
The Sword Emperor who vanished without being able to process numerous works.
Someone says he is dead, and someone says he is alive.
However, the weight was placed on that he was dead, because the Namgung Clan held a funeral long ago. But since some people also tell that they saw the Sword Emperor, even until now there were countless doubts about his disappearance.
“After that there were many of this and that works… eventually as the Martial Alliance collapsed, it was lost.”
Tang Mun-hye shrugged her shoulders.
Thinking of it now, it was an absurd thing.
To think the grand Martial Alliance collapsed without even being able to use its hands properly? Also, the fight with the Blood Heaven Sect feels like it broke out just recently, but since already several months passed and they do not spill such blood now, it was also laughable and also interesting.
‘Honestly, at one time I thought the Orthodox martial arts world was finished…’
Thinking so, she glanced at Dan Woo-hyun.
Had it not been for this person, it might have become so. The situation was that grave, and the Orthodox-Unorthodox Alliance had no more spare power.
That countless martial artists termed him a hero and spoke of him as the best under heaven was also something understood to some extent.
‘Although Grandfather never thinks so…’
From the standpoint of the Sichuan Tang Family, it was not a good thing.
Because it was no different from another person stealing their merit.
However, one must distinguish reality and delusion.
Had there been no Hunan Dan Family, they would have spilled even more sacrifice and blood, and that war might not have ended yet, or this Central Plains might have been the world of the Blood Heaven Sect.
Tang Mun-hye, who was thinking so, shook off her thoughts.
“But why are you asking about the Plague Demon? Is it related to the monster matter?”
“It might be, and it might not be.”
“I am not asking to trade Zen riddles?”
Tang Mun-hye, who spoke with a sulky expression, recalled something in a flash and approached Dan Woo-hyun’s side urgently.
Before long, she met gazes with him.
“Is the Plague Demon by chance here?!”
“He kidnapped Hong Won-chang.”
Whether it was kidnapping or someone brought him over, he could not know, but either way, that there was a high possibility he was together with him cannot be denied.
Or it might be something other than the Plague Demon.
But considering the point that the name of Plague Demon came out from the Ghost-Faced Demon’s mouth, he thought it was close to ninety percent related to him.
“If so… I cannot stay still either.”
Tang Mun-hye wore a broad smile.
If it was the Plague Demon, it was the top priority that must be done setting aside all matters. Because rather than chasing a monster that made no sense, catching the Plague Demon would be a gain if it was a gain, and would not be a loss.
As she smiled, Dan Woo-hyun also nodded his head.
Because he knew that in a situation where there was no information, it was good to borrow even one more person’s hand.
“Yes, as long as we can catch him, it is fine to move together.”
“Thank you.”
“But you see.”
Tang Mun-hye, who tried to run immediately to change clothes at the inn, pack equipment, and gather information, looked at Dan Woo-hyun at the sound heard suddenly.
What was he trying to tell again?
When it was a situation urgent by the hour, that is.
However, whether Dan Woo-hyun also thought of it as a quite grave matter, looking at Tang Mun-hye with a serious expression, he slowly spoke.
“Just how much is the bounty placed on the fellow?”
“…….”
Instantly, Tang Mun-hye was lost for words without realizing it.
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