Chapter 47: The Shipped Slacker (5)
Paaang!
With a thunderous sonic boom, something flew in between the man in green robes and Paeng Dogeuk. The man in green robes sensed the momentum rushing toward him and threw his body backward with all his might.
Thud!
Whatever had flown between the man in green robes and Paeng Dogeuk slammed into the ground.
"What is it?"
‘What the…?’
Both the man in green robes and Paeng Dogeuk stared at it simultaneously.
"Huh?"
"Eh?"
For a brief moment, neither could speak.
What had landed between them was a large box, decently packaged and tightly bound with string.
‘So this is…’
Paeng Dogeuk tried to figure out what the box was.
But it didn’t take long for him to arrive at a conclusion.
‘So this delivery item came flying in with that kind of ridiculous force?’
That much, he could understand.
Whether it was a package or something else, flying in with such force wasn’t impossible.
But then, how could a box that crashed into the ground with that kind of terrifying impact remain perfectly intact?
It should have shattered into pieces—at the very least, it should’ve been dented. That’s how the world worked, wasn’t it?
"Look at him, spacing out again."
"……."
Paeng Dogeuk snapped back to his senses.
‘What am I even thinking right now?’
"You dragged every enemy here, and now you're zoning out like that? Planning to die without even doing your part? You really are a drowning ghost. A drowning ghost."
Paeng Dogeuk sprang to his feet and raised his saber.
"Ugh, Uncle Gok. You're gonna die at this rate."
Thud!
"Now what’s that guy doing over there?"
Thud!
Explosions and impacts echoed from all directions.
Paeng Dogeuk was going mad with curiosity over what on earth was happening behind him.
But it wasn’t the time to look back.
‘Right now, all I can do is drag down one more bastard with me.’
Unfortunately, three men in green robes still stood before him.
At most, he could handle two. To be honest, even two was pushing it. While fighting two earlier, hadn’t he nearly stepped through Death’s door?
So three opponents were enough to say he was doing his part.
"Taaah!"
The secret technique of the Paeng Clan of Hubei, Five Tigers Severing Blade, unfolded from his hand.
A ferocious saber aura that looked like it could split heaven and earth threatened the men in green robes. Considering his age, it was an impressive level to behold.
A level worthy of a descendant of the Paeng Clan!
But the reaction was far from positive.
"Just bite down on your sword and die, you idiot!"
The incoming saber aura suddenly weakened.
Even at that moment, Paeng Dogeuk earnestly pondered.
‘What did I do wrong now?’
Right now, whenever he heard that sharp voice from behind, his first instinct was that he’d definitely done something wrong.
Then, Paeng Dogeuk realized his mistake.
Seeing the oncoming saber aura, the men in green robes didn’t clash with it but instead scattered to the sides, aiming for his exposed flanks.
This wasn’t a formal duel.
There was no reason for them to take on a powerful saber head-on.
Especially when they outnumbered him—it was a completely logical tactic.
"Ghh!"
Paeng Dogeuk gulped down a breath and withdrew his saber.
But he was already too late.
A sword was already inches from stabbing into his side.
‘I’m going to di—’
Thud!
At that moment, the man in green robes aiming for his side was struck and sent flying by a box that flew in from behind.
The box burst open, and the ginseng packed inside scattered in all directions.
"Ah, that looked expensive... I threw it wrong."
A flustered voice pierced Paeng Dogeuk’s ears.
Just then, Gok Bihang shouted.
"Don't just stand there—get down here and help!"
‘Agreed!’
Paeng Dogeuk was deeply grateful to Gok Bihang for saying the words he couldn’t bring himself to say.
But the answer that came shocked him.
"Eh? I'm a delivery item, though?"
‘What the hell is that lunatic talking about!?’
And yet Gok Bihang’s response only confused him more.
"Th-that may be true, but now isn’t the time to be saying that!"
‘What do you mean, “that may be true”!?’
Things were only getting more incomprehensible.
"Before we came here, that fiery girl from the Great Scholarly Institute told me not to come down from the cart no matter what, even if things got crazy. Said if I made a mess and caused trouble for the Great Scholarly Institute, she’d chase me to the ends of hell to torment me."
‘What the hell is he talking about now?’
Paeng Dogeuk wanted to cry.
"I-I’ll take responsibility! Just help us out already!"
"That’s a little difficult. I tend to keep every promise I make."
"It’s not because you're lazy?"
"……."
At this point, Paeng Dogeuk seriously considered plugging his ears.
Then Gok Bihang played his trump card.
"We have to get to the Sacred Hand Grounds quickly!"
"Says who? I'm not in any hurry."
"I-if we die, won’t it be harder for you to get there too?"
"Helping isn’t exactly comfortable either."
"R-right! Sitting up there on the cart must be incredibly uncomfortable! If we get through this, let’s take a couple of days off at the next inn!"
"Two days?"
"Eat as much as you want to!"
"Food too?"
"Yes! So please, just help! You lazy turtle!"
Something weird slipped out at the end, but Wi Yeonho didn’t care about that at all.
"You promised!"
"I did!"
Paeng Dogeuk was utterly confused by the conversation between the two.
What kind of nonsense was this?
And then, something even more bewildering happened.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Exactly seven explosions rang out.
At the same time, the faces of the men in green robes standing before Paeng Dogeuk began to turn pale.
‘What just happened?’
Unconsciously, Paeng Dogeuk turned his head to look behind him.
That was Paeng Dogeuk’s mistake.
“Eek!”
The man in green robes at the very front thrust his sword toward the turned-away Paeng Dogeuk.
‘Damn it!’
Paeng Dogeuk clenched his teeth, cursing himself for making yet another mistake after already committing several.
Thud!
At that moment, an explosion rang out and the man in green robes was blown away.
Paeng Dogeuk turned his head and looked at the man now standing next to him.
He seemed around Paeng Dogeuk’s age, perhaps even younger.
‘This guy took down eight elite warriors of the Green Forest in the time it takes to exhale?’
Paeng Dogeuk looked at Wi Yeonho with eyes filled with awe. Just where had this young man come from?
But contrary to expectations, Wi Yeonho didn’t seem pleased with Paeng Dogeuk.
With an expression of utter frustration, Wi Yeonho began yelling at him.
“Hey!”
“Yes?”
“Let’s talk like civilized people, yeah?”
“……”
“You’re the one who brought them here.”
Paeng Dogeuk instinctively nodded.
“Then if you’ve got even a shred of conscience, shouldn’t you at least try to be useful?”
Paeng Dogeuk’s shoulders shrank.
“I mean, fine. I won’t even ask you to help. I won’t. But still, if you're a person, shouldn’t you at least try to do something, huh? Anything at all, right?”
Paeng Dogeuk’s shoulders shrank even more.
“You caused this mess, brought the enemy here, and now when it’s time to fight, you can’t even pull your weight. I could understand if you were doing your best with what little ability you have. But you were daydreaming and almost got stabbed, then turned your head and almost got stabbed again.”
Paeng Dogeuk wished he could crawl into a hole and disappear.
Then Wi Yeonho asked in genuine curiosity.
“What’s your problem?”
“……”
“No really, what’s wrong with you? I’m seriously asking. What’s the issue?”
Paeng Dogeuk wanted to cry.
When had he ever been treated like this?
What made it even sadder was that he had no argument. It was all his fault, so he couldn’t say a word in defense. If he dared talk back now, he was sure the man in front of him would smash that box over his head.
“Use your head a little! Look, your weapon is a broadsword—a broadsword! It’s strong! It’s heavy! But it’s slow! Why would you swing a slow, heavy weapon first against multiple opponents? You want to kill two guys and then die with them?”
“N-no, sir.”
“Then you wait for an opening! Or go all in and make sure you take at least one down!”
“Yes, sir!”
Paeng Dogeuk listened in reverence, like a student receiving instruction from a master.
“And that technique you just used earlier—why’d you waste it swinging at the air? Look closely!”
Wi Yeonho snatched the saber from Paeng Dogeuk.
‘Kuh-heok!’
In that instant, Paeng Dogeuk was so shocked he thought his heart would leap out of his mouth.
‘He took the saber right from my hand without me even reacting. That means if he went for my throat, I wouldn’t even notice.’
Paeng Dogeuk wanted to faint.
“Now look! The technique you just used!”
Wi Yeonho swung the saber in the air.
At this point, Paeng Dogeuk’s eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets.
‘T-the Five Tigers Severing Blade?! How does he know that? Did he really just copy what I used earlier?’
“This is how it’s done!”
“Y-yes, sir.”
“If you're up against multiple people, you need to swing faster! So what if the saber’s aura is weaker—getting hit still means dying, right?”
“That’s correct!”
“Depending on the situation, sometimes you go lighter and faster, other times you go slower and harder! Why can’t you understand that?”
“S-sorry, sir.”
Even while speaking, Paeng Dogeuk was extremely confused.
‘Wait, why am I apologizing to this guy?’
“This is so frustrating. If you’d met my old master, you’d have been beaten to death by now. I’m only going easy on you because I’m a nice guy…”
Just then, a man in green robes who had been lying in wait lunged at Wi Yeonho’s throat with terrifying speed.
“Ghh!”
Paeng Dogeuk swallowed hard.
‘I have to warn him—’
Thud!
In the blink of an eye, a loud explosion rang out, and the attacker was flung back even faster than he had charged in.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
He bounced off the ground three times before finally twitching and coughing up blood.
“Can’t you see I’m trying to talk here?”
With an annoyed expression, Wi Yeonho handed the saber back to Paeng Dogeuk.
“Here.”
Paeng Dogeuk took the saber.
“Do better this time!”
Leaving those words behind, Wi Yeonho turned around, climbed back onto the cart, and laid down.
Paeng Dogeuk stared blankly at him, dumbfounded, then turned to face the remaining man in green robes.
The last one glared sharply at Paeng Dogeuk.
‘When fighting multiple enemies, reduce the power of your attacks but make them faster and simpler!’
Paeng Dogeuk, too, was a man once called a genius.
He understood what that meant and lightly gripped his saber.
“Here I come…”
Now was the time! To show who he truly was!
“Watch me!”
But at that moment, the man in green robes turned and fled at breakneck speed. Paeng Dogeuk stood frozen, unable to even think of chasing after him.
“W-wait…”
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
He was supposed to restore the honor of the Paeng Clan.
A grumbling voice came from atop the cart.
“So frustrating. So damn frustrating.”
Tears welled up in Paeng Dogeuk’s eyes.