This is My Power (3)
Galsaryang and I stepped into the tavern.
“Drinking in broad daylight… it’s been ages.”
“Same here.”
As we entered, someone recognized me and was taken aback.
To my surprise, Im Yeonjeong and Chilho were already there, enjoying their drinks.
Im Yeonjeong exclaimed loudly, “Meeting again? This must be fate!”
Last time, we ran into each other at an inn while I was having a meal. This time, it was us who walked in on them, so if you wanted to call it fate, I suppose you could.
“We can’t just let such a precious connection slip by, can we?” Im Yeonjeong asked Galsaryang, who was beside me. She was quick to realize that whether this encounter would lead to us joining their table depended on Galsaryang.
And Galsaryang was in a particularly good mood.
“Joining such lovely ladies? Always a pleasure.”
“Please, have a seat.”
We naturally joined their table.
Galsaryang had met Chilho before when she came as an investigator, so I only needed to introduce him to Im Yeonjeong.
“Oh! It’s an honor to meet the chief strategist of the Martial Alliance in person.”
“When the new leader is inaugurated in a few days, I’ll have to return immediately.”
“Glad we met before you had to leave.”
“Is that so? Haha.”
Galsaryang quickly grasped the nature of this gathering. The women seemed to have taken a liking to me.
As Galsaryang and Im Yeonjeong chatted, they effortlessly set the mood. Chilho and I quietly drank, listening to their lively conversation.
I couldn’t quite gauge Chilho’s feelings. The last time we met, she had warned that being with Galsaryang could be fatal. Yet here we were again, as if fate had a sense of humor.
“Please take good care of our dear strategist,” Im Yeonjeong said, feigning surprise at the word “our.”
“Our?” Galsaryang echoed.
“The strategist is someone my sister and I greatly admire. Especially my sister, who really likes him.”
Chilho shot Im Yeonjeong a look, signaling her to stop, but Im Yeonjeong only pressed on.
“She says you’re pure, unlike most in the martial world. My sister’s ideal type is someone pure.”
Chilho hung her head low.
I couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly. I knew Chilho well enough to know she wouldn’t have said such things. Just like in the field last time, Im Yeonjeong was trying to play matchmaker between us.
Would she still feel the same if she knew I was the nameless hero?
I suddenly wondered.
Galsaryang, as if remembering something, asked Chilho, “By the way, I don’t think I caught your name. What is it, Investigator?”
Chilho was momentarily flustered, as was Im Yeonjeong.
That’s when I spoke up.
“Baekryeon. Her name is Baekryeon.”
Chilho was the most surprised of all. She never expected me to give her a name.
I couldn’t forget the image of her gazing at the white lotus in the pond, so I thought of the name Baekryeon.
“Oh, what a beautiful name.”
Despite Galsaryang’s admiration, Chilho stared at me intently.
Had I overstepped? As I raised my glass, feeling a bit guilty, Chilho silently clinked her glass against mine. It was her way of saying thank you.
We both emptied our glasses.
The drinking session that started in the afternoon continued late into the evening.
Galsaryang and I walked side by side under the night sky.
We were on our way back after parting with the women.
“What kind of relationship do you have with those ladies?”
“Nothing special.”
“Didn’t seem that way to me.”
“Actually, I have a woman I’m promised to.”
“I know. The daughter of the Song family, right?”
Of course, he would know. They must have investigated me when I first joined the Justice Pavilion.
“I heard rumors that you broke off the engagement.”
“No, we haven’t broken it off yet.”
“I see.”
We walked in silence for a while before Galsaryang spoke again.
“Relationships are complicated, aren’t they?”
I nodded in agreement.
Galsaryang’s words likely reflected his own feelings. His relationship with Ban Seojeong, the leader of the Heavenly Net Society, couldn’t be easy either.
As we walked, intoxicated by the moonlight and the pleasant buzz of alcohol, three men blocked our path.
They wore clothes made from the pelts of tigers and leopards.
The moment they appeared, I instinctively released my internal energy to my fingertips. I could tell they were no ordinary opponents.
“Who are you?” I asked.
The man in the middle of the three immediately responded, “Which one of you is Galsaryang?”
“I am Galsaryang,” I replied in his stead, and the man smirked. It was clear he already knew who Galsaryang was.
“Why ask if you already know?”
“To test your loyalty. To see if you’re the kind who’d die in his place. Claiming to be Galsaryang without hesitation shows a high level of loyalty.”
“Quite plausible.”
I nodded, acknowledging his point. Though I acted nonchalant, I was assessing the situation. Since they were targeting Galsaryang, I had to stay alert.
Galsaryang whispered from behind, “They’re the Three Beasts of Yunnan.”
The Three Beasts of Yunnan.
I had never faced them directly, but I had heard of them. They were notorious martial artists from Yunnan, known for their unique and difficult-to-counter techniques and weapons.
Galsaryang discreetly reached into his sleeve, only to realize he had left his materials behind.
He could create a formation with a few simple materials to hide himself for a short time. He had practiced it enough to do it almost instantly. But he had left the materials inside the formation he had been working on for days.
“Sorry, I left the materials behind.”
I turned to him and said, “It’s fine. You brought me instead, didn’t you?”
Galsaryang chuckled at my joke.
“Listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”
“Go ahead.”
“Stand right where you are and don’t move a muscle. It might be more comfortable to just close your eyes.”
“Understood.”
Galsaryang closed his eyes immediately. With his eyes shut, he asked, “Can I sit down?”
Before I could answer, the man in front spoke coldly, “Since we’re here to kill you, whether you sit, lie down, or stand on your head, the outcome won’t change.”
The man’s blatant killing intent washed over us. Galsaryang shivered slightly. I didn’t shield him from the killing intent on purpose. A bit of tension was good.
“Stay at ease.”
“Yes.”
After reassuring Galsaryang, I slowly walked forward.
Considering the enemies we had faced so far, it wasn’t surprising that a martial artist from a distant place like Yunnan would appear.
As I drew my sword, the Three Beasts of Yunnan spread out, drawing their weapons.
The man in the middle wielded a pair of flying claws. These were weapons with claw-shaped hooks attached to ropes, sharp enough to slice through flesh with a mere graze.
The man on the left held a multi-section whip, a weapon made of several rods connected by chains.
The man on the right wielded a saw-toothed blade.
All three wielded rare and unusual weapons. The saw-toothed blade was occasionally used by bandits or ronin, but the others were rarely seen.
Despite their peculiar weapons, they might seem easy to underestimate at first glance, but doing so would be a grave mistake. They were skilled enough to generate protective energy.
Swish!
The flying claws were the first to strike.
Clang!
I swung my sword to deflect them. Almost simultaneously, the other claw flew at me again.
Clang. The sharp sound of metal echoed. My wrist throbbed, a testament to the opponent’s formidable internal energy. In contrast, the opponent felt no pain, as he was using the rope to launch the claws.
This was the advantage of the flying claws.
The two consecutive attacks were a way to gauge my skill and reaction. I obliged by responding in kind.
Swish!
This time, the multi-section whip came at me. The metal rods gleamed in the moonlight, twisting unpredictably as they aimed for my head.
Simultaneously, the flying claws attacked again.
Clang! Clang!
Once more, I swiftly swung my sword to deflect them. The timing was so precise that to an observer, it might have seemed like a close call.
Yet Galsaryang watched the fight calmly. Perhaps because he knew I had mastered the Soul-Reaping Demon Sword technique, but more so because Galsaryang was a strategist who had spent his life on battlefields. His earlier question about sitting was more of a jest than a sign of fear.
Now, the man with the saw-toothed blade charged in as the flying claws and multi-section whip attacked. It was a formidable assault, far more than just a probing attack.
Three-pronged attacks were notoriously difficult to defend against. They had perfected their combined assault, likely having killed many with it.
But not this time.
I had been waiting for this very move they were so confident in. I had accepted the first attack, and the second. Naturally, they expected me to accept the third.
At that moment, I launched an unexpected counterattack.
In a situation where attacking the man with the spiked club would have been the obvious choice, my true target was the man furthest away, wielding the segmented whip.
Among the three, he seemed the least likely to expect an attack. He wasn’t the leader, nor was he the closest threat.
In a flash, I charged toward the man with the segmented whip. I could sense the surprise in my opponents. Had my attack been even a fraction slower, they might have had the chance to counter.
But as soon as they saw my movement, the three men were left with no time to think. It was a display of speed and precision that no martial artist could ignore.
The segmented whip came flying at me with a sharp whistle.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
My Suramyeongwang Sword danced along the whip and its connecting chains.
Each time the whip tried to change direction, my sword intercepted it. Metal clashed against metal, chain against chain.
Thud! Clang! Thud! Clang! Thud!
The whip couldn’t move as intended. This was likely the first time the man had encountered such a defense since he began training with the segmented whip.
…And it would be the last.
“Watch out!” shouted one of the other men, but it was too late. My sword had already sliced through the air, reaching the man’s neck.
Slice.
Blood sprayed as the man fell, the entire sequence unfolding in the blink of an eye.
The remaining two men glared at me with murderous intent.
Whizz!
I struck down the twin daggers flying toward me.
Slash!
The daggers split in two.
The man’s eyes widened. His twin daggers were no ordinary weapons; they could shatter most swords. Yet, they were cut down with a single strike.
My skills, my inner strength, and my martial arts were superior, allowing me to achieve such a feat.
Whizz!
Now the man with the spiked club charged at me. As I parried his attack, something whistled through the air.
Whoosh!
An arrow flew in from a great distance, aimed directly at Galsaryang.
Thud! Thunk!
The sound of flesh tearing and bone cracking echoed.
Thud.
The man with the spiked club hit the ground, an arrow embedded in him.
In the instant I heard the arrow, I moved like lightning. I had used the man’s body as a shield, breaking his ribs with my elbow and throwing him into the path of the arrow.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
More arrows followed, swift, precise, and powerful. They came from a single archer, yet it felt like a barrage.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
I realized the archer was more skilled than the three men combined. Even the master of the Heavenly Bow Sect couldn’t have launched such an attack.
Whizz!
The remaining half of the twin daggers flew at me.
Slash!
In a split second, my Suramyeongwang Sword unleashed a secret technique.
The man with the twin daggers was sliced into a cross shape, collapsing instantly.
The first form of the Chuhon Surak Sword Technique, “Momentary Slash,” had been executed. It was far more powerful than when I had less inner strength.
With his death, the arrows ceased. The archer was retreating. Though I couldn’t see him from such a distance, I couldn’t let him escape after using the Chuhon Surak Sword Technique.
I raised my Suramyeongwang Sword toward the sky.
Silently, the sword floated into the air, gliding gracefully.
Then, in an instant—
Boom!
The Suramyeongwang Sword erupted with a brilliant white light, slicing through the air.
It traversed the distance in a heartbeat, reaching the spot where the arrows had originated.
The archer turned at the unfamiliar sound behind him. It was a distance only his arrows should have been able to cover.
Thud!
The moment he saw the white light, his heart was pierced. It was unavoidable.
The Suramyeongwang Sword, having pierced the archer’s heart, circled back through the air and returned to me.
As it reached me, it settled gently into my hand with an elegant motion.
Galsaryang spoke, his voice trembling.
“The Sword of Will!”
I turned to him. He was overwhelmed with emotion.
“You can even use the Sword of Will.”
I nodded.
“Indeed.”
It was the first time I had used the Sword of Will since being reborn with the power of the Wall of Separation. Even after the sword returned, a thrill coursed through my body.
Galsaryang looked at me and said, “I remember the first time I saw the Heavenly Lord’s Sword of Will. It was awe-inspiring. But now, it feels even more so.”
Opportunities to witness the Sword of Will were rare in the martial world. It was the pinnacle a martial artist could reach before the realm of the Heart Sword.
I told Galsaryang, “Never fear again.”
My eyes shone brighter than ever.
“No matter what stands in our way.”