Translator: FenrirTL
Editor/Quality Checker: Saphartlantis
Murim Term Consultant: Kopke
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Chapter 372: The Fist Asks, the Sword Answers
At last, the decisive moment that would change the fate of the Unorthodox Alliance had arrived.
Baek Jagang, standing still, and Baek Jagang with his sword drawn were completely different people.
The air around him began to flow differently.
Baek Jagang had begun to make even the flow of air his own.
Beoncheon and Il-rang moved their subordinates far back. In any case, no one was allowed to interfere in a fight between the Alliance Leader and the Battle King, and no one had the skill to do so anyway.
Bih Sa-in also stood silently beside Geom Mugeuk, watching the Alliance Leader and the Battle King.
It was the first time witnessing his master engage in a life-and-death battle. He believed, of course, that his master would win. Even so, the reason he trembled wasn’t because he doubted his master’s strength.
It was because this was the path he would have to walk. Someday, when he became the leader of the Unorthodox Alliance, a day like this would come for him too.
What kind of person would he be when he stood there?
Geom Mugeuk felt the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique activate on its own. The technique, which had reached Twelve Star Greatness, warned him that he was standing in a space dominated by someone else. He had now reached the realm where mind and martial art were one.
Geom Mugeuk's gaze turned to the Battle King. If he had sensed the change in the air, surely the Battle King had too.
Now then, what will you do?
The Battle King slowly raised his hand.
Paaang!
With his clenched right fist, he struck his open left palm with force. He had done the same thing when he first clashed with the martial artists of the Unorthodox Alliance in this place.
Duuwoong!
The shockwave that extended from the Battle King’s hand shook the flow of air that Baek Jagang had seized.
But the space did not shatter.
Paaaang!
With a louder sound, the surroundings trembled. He tried to somehow pierce through and create ventilation, but the space Baek Jagang created would not break. The space itself was speaking:
From now on, even your breathing must be done with my permission.
Even so, the Battle King wasn’t afraid in the least. He had a secret technique of his own that could counter the opponent’s pressure. He focused his mind. Then, everyone except Baek Jagang began to appear in black and white to his eyes.
Only his battle target, Baek Jagang, remained in full color, while the rest turned monochrome like an ink painting.
That wasn’t all. In the black and white world, if anyone drew a sword or used inner energy, only that part would appear in red. Thanks to that, even if he entered a space with hundreds of people, he could instantly identify the most dangerous enemy.
It was a secret technique of his own, forged through intense concentration training.
But today, he had a special experience.
There was one person whose color could not be removed. Even though that person wasn’t his battle target, they didn’t lose their color—Geom Mugeuk.
No matter how much he tried to erase Geom Mugeuk’s presence, his color did not disappear. His sheer presence had overcome his concentration. 1
‘Just how…?’
When the Battle King turned to Geom Mugeuk, the martial artists of the Unorthodox Alliance also naturally shifted their gazes to him. Warmth flowed in their eyes. He was the one who had saved their lives today.
After surveying the corpses of his subordinates, the Battle King spoke calmly.
“You were the variable that led to this result.”
To that, Geom Mugeuk responded.
“How can their deaths possibly be my fault? It’s because of you, who plotted to swallow the Unorthodox Alliance whole. Because of their greed, for choosing to ally with you. And because of the will of these people here who risked their lives to fight you for the sake of the Unorthodox Alliance and their comrades.” 2
Geom Mugeuk saw straight through the Battle King’s inner thoughts.
“Weren’t you planning to eliminate every one of those subordinates the moment you became the Alliance Leader anyway?”
He had already been planning a heroic tale where the instructor from the Alliance Training Center rose to the position of Alliance Leader. There was no way he would’ve let anyone involved in the previous steps survive.
“That’s why you were able to stay so calm.”
The Battle King couldn’t deny it. Because it was true. The moment he became the Alliance Leader, he had intended to discard everything and replace it with something new.
“So stop blaming others needlessly, and go to your pathetic end at the Alliance Leader’s hands.”
Geom Mugeuk bowed his head toward Baek Jagang and said,
“Then, I leave it to you.”
As if only the Alliance Leader could carry out this task, he made the request with the utmost formality.
“This man can only be eliminated by you, Alliance Leader.”
In front of all the subordinates watching, Geom Mugeuk showed the highest respect and courtesy. Baek Jagang suddenly recalled something Geom Mugeuk had once told him.
—My honor doesn’t lie in grandeur. I just want to return safely and see my people. I want to come back safe, drink with them, and share stories.
Baek Jagang looked over at Bih Sa-in. Yes, he too had a reason he needed to return to.
As Geom Mugeuk finished speaking, the Battle King saw it. The color draining from Geom Mugeuk’s body. How he surrendered this fight entirely to the leader of the Unorthodox Alliance and erased his own presence.
‘He’s really incredible!’ 3
The Battle King stretched his body as if loosening up. He felt good. As long as there were opponents like this, he could fight like a madman. Just imagining the immense thrill he would feel when killing such people made him want to do whatever it took to win.
Pang! Paang! Paaang!
The drumbeat-like sound of his palm clashing with his fist echoed after his accelerating heartbeat, raising the Battle King’s momentum.
In this fight, Baek Jagang did not yield the first strike.
He did not see the opponent as a martial artist, but as an assassin. Someone who would do anything—so he had no intention of exposing even the slightest opening.
The moment Baek Jagang’s figure flashed, his sword was already thrusting toward the Battle King.
Shiiiik!
It was a lethal strike aimed at the Battle King’s neck.
Ttaang!
The Battle King flicked the blade away with his fingers and sent a punch toward Baek Jagang’s chest.
Baek Jagang’s sword, which had been deflected, sprang back like a coil, tracing a half-arc upward.
Thus, their exchanges crossed in straight lines and curves.
When the first exchange ended, the Battle King lightly landed more than ten steps away.
Tuk.
The front of the Battle King’s robe split open.
Baek Jagang’s sword had been faster, and the Battle King had abandoned his attack to pull his body back.
As he looked down at the torn hem, a flash of exhilaration crossed the Battle King’s face.
“Truly strong…”
Even before he could finish his sentence, a sword slash swept past where his mouth had been.
Shiiiik!
Dodging the lightning-fast strike, the Battle King’s fist shot like lightning toward Baek Jagang’s face. His punch was so fast, even his arm was a blur.
Paaang!
The space where Baek Jagang’s face had been exploded. If air had a form, whatever it was would have shattered to pieces — that was the sheer force of the attack.
Baek Jagang’s sword, having evaded the Battle King’s punch, sliced diagonally. Even though it was an attack designed to minimize blind spots, the Battle King dodged and countered.
Though neither had used any energy-intensive secret martial arts, a terrifying exchange of life and death unfolded.
With each sword and each fist, their confidence in being able to kill the other was fired like beams of light.
To the onlookers, all that could be seen were dozens of streaks. They formed and vanished, shifted and transformed. And the moment a single line touched a body, victory or defeat would be instantly decided — it was a line of death.
It was also a battle that revealed the fundamentals of a martial artist. No flashy forms could show it — this was stabbing, cutting, dodging, throwing punches — a conversation between sword and fist. The fist asked, and the sword answered. The sound was like a lone wind dancing in the canyons, or perhaps like a falling rain of crystal shards.
Puh-eok!
Then came a booming sound like a drum, and the two were flung apart.
“Hoo, hoo.”
The Battle King’s breathing grew noticeably rough. It showed just how grueling the previous exchange had been. In contrast, Baek Jagang’s breathing remained steady. From that alone, it was clear whose fundamentals were superior.
Baek Jagang didn’t give the Battle King a moment to rest.
In a flash, Baek Jagang’s sword surged forward again — fast and precise.
The Battle King deflected that perilous strike with the back of his hand.
Shukak! Shukak!
Baek Jagang’s sword began slicing through space. Just being in that zone would result in life being carved away — a chilling attack.
The Battle King took his first step backward.
Just when it seemed he was being pushed back, the Battle King’s fist flew in unusually light — coming in with a petal of snow.
Normally, he would have easily deflected it with his sword. It had looked like such a light attack.
But Baek Jagang instinctively sensed danger and twisted his body desperately to get away from the fist.
Hoooooong!
With the sound of a massive air displacement—
Kwa-kwakwa-kwakwag!
The earth and grass behind him were torn apart in a straight line, leaving a giant trench. Even the distant trees and rocks had vanished, their few remains swept away—an unbelievable strike.
If he hadn’t recognized that the seemingly light move contained the true essence of the fist, he would have suffered a serious injury.
Bih Sa-in clenched his fist as he watched. Would he have been able to recognize the power hidden in that light punch? No—he wouldn’t have. The skill here was on a completely different level than that of the Blue Death Ghost, whom he had fought earlier.
Though the Battle King was a ruthless man who treated his subordinates’ lives like trash, his martial arts were undeniably masterful.
Baek Jagang identified the martial art.
“Chain Wind and Cloud Fist!”
The martial technique of Mak Yeo, once called the god of the battlefield.
“As expected. You recognized it.”
“If it’s the Chain Wind and Cloud Fist, then I can acknowledge it.”
A fierce light burst from Baek Jagang’s eyes.
In response to that momentum, the Battle King stomped hard on the ground where he stood.
Kwang!
Jjeooooooeok!
The ground cracked in all directions like a spiderweb.
Even between Geom Mugeuk and Bih Sa-in, a long fissure tore through the earth.
The fact that it passed right between them left Bih Sa-in feeling uneasy. Was it a sign of some ominous future?
At that moment, Geom Mugeuk lightly leapt over the crack and stood beside him. And he silently continued to watch the fight.
‘Ah! This is it.’
He could’ve just come over like this—what had he been worrying about? What on earth had he been hesitating over?
If someone asked what kind of person Geom Mugeuk was, he felt he could finally answer: the kind of person who jumps over the line first.
It was always him who felt the regret, but the other came over like it was nothing. Hopped over and said, “Let’s be friends”. Never worried about pride—never wondered whether to go or call the other over.
Bih Sa-in watched Geom Mugeuk’s side profile.
The look on his face now, immersed in the fight, was the most serious he had ever seen. This was the true face of the martial artist, Geom Mugeuk.
‘…That would be the face he would have if he ever approached me just to kill me someday.’
Bih Sa-in’s gaze also turned toward the battle. He had missed dozens of moves in the meantime, but that was fine. Learning just this one thing—how to leap over the line without hesitation—would help him grow much more.
That small hop just now was, to him, far more difficult than the soaring leap taking place now.
Unable to withstand Baek Jagang’s attack, the Battle King was launched into the sky.
Baek Jagang soared up right after him.
The two of them shot upward at a terrifying speed, vanishing from view in an instant. Only Geom Mugeuk, who had mastered the New Eye Technique, could see what was happening up there.
A moment later, someone came plummeting down at breakneck speed—
Kkwang!
—and crashed into the ground.
The impact cratered the earth where he landed. The one who fell was the Battle King.
The one who had been lying flat toward the sky immediately rolled to the side.
Chwaaak.
A streak of sword energy sliced through the spot where he had just been. Had he stayed still, his body would’ve been cleaved in two. The line carved by the sword energy was paper thin, both clean and deep.
Baek Jagang, who had descended right after, pressed in like a storm.
The Battle King tried to say something, but Baek Jagang gave him no chance.
Had he been fighting the Heavenly Demon, they would have taken their time to talk, drink in the middle of the fight, continue brawling, and perhaps battle on for seven days and nights.
But Baek Jagang did not consider the Battle King worthy of such treatment, both as a martial artist and as a person.
Sword and fist cut through the air. Their movements were so fast that the sound could not keep up with them.
In the end, the Battle King pulled a dangerous move. In a duel of life and death, it was always the one at a disadvantage who had to take the gamble.
Shiiik.
Kwaak!
He caught the flying sword blade with his bare hand. No one watching had expected he would attempt such a thing—catching the sword blade of the Unorthodox Alliance Leader barehanded.
The moment he grabbed the blade, his elbow shot toward Baek Jagang’s chest.
Papapak!
Even though Baek Jagang twisted and pulled the blade with lightning speed, the hand holding it wasn’t savaged nor severed.
Swaeeeeek.
The elbow grazed past Baek Jagang. It was a desperate move, but Baek Jagang narrowly evaded it.
As their bodies crossed in an instant, the Battle King’s headbutt aimed for Baek Jagang’s face. Just as unexpected as grabbing the blade with his hand!
Puh-eok!
The hilt of Baek Jagang’s sword, which had somehow slipped free from the Battle King’s grasp, struck his face.
At the same time, Baek Jagang’s sword slashed through the air like lightning.
Seogeok.
With the sound that marked an end, both of them froze. It was the price of recklessness—grabbing the sword of the Unorthodox Alliance Leader and even attempting a headbutt.
A long cut had opened across the Battle King’s chest.
But not a single drop of blood flowed. What had been cut was only his outer garment.
Baek Jagang’s gaze now turned to the Battle King’s hand. He had clearly sliced the palm before cutting the chest, yet not a drop of blood had been shed.
Still, as if he felt some pain, the Battle King grimaced and rubbed his chest. Then, he slowly removed his outer robe.
What was revealed beneath it was armor.
“Immortal Divine Robe. The finest armor that no sword can cut.”
Then, he raised both hands.
“War God. These are gauntlets that could also be called the very best. Consider it a show of respect for you.”
Just as Geom Mugeuk had predicted, he had come wearing armor. And not just any armor—the Immortal Divine Robe and the War God gauntlets. In martial terms, they were equivalent to armor worthy of a Cult Leader or an Alliance Leader.
“Not bad. To face me, wearing something like that is only proper. But seeing that armor, I’ve become curious about one thing.”
Baek Jagang exhaled a new kind of energy.
After a great tremor, a bluish light began to swirl around his sword. For the first time in the battle, his blade had become imbued with sword force. At the same time, a different kind of aura began to ripple around Baek Jagang’s entire body.
Smaller, and thus more terrifying—Baek Jagang spoke with those narrow eyes of his.
“That armor… it really better not be cut.”
1 : Lol, your senses are more perceptive than your consciousness XDXDXD
2 : “I'd like to add something on a personal note: I can say with confidence, that after speaking with the rest of the flight crew, with bird experts and airplane engineers, after running all the scenarios and talking to each of the players... there is an X in this result. It's you, Captain Sullenberger. Take you out of the equation and the math just fails.”
“I disagree. It wasn't just me, it was all of us. Jeff, Donna, Sheila, Doreen. The passengers, rescue workers. Air traffic control, ferry boat crews and scuba cops. We all did it. We survived.” (Sully)
3 : Yup, no doubts about that.
4 : “If it bleeds…. It can be killed.” (can’t remember where the quote comes from. And no, it’s not Predator. It’s close, but not exactly the same)