Dreimoor (3)

Did he cut him?

Splash-!

He sure did. However, it was shallow. Shi Wu-yuan raised one arm to block Kim Bongpal’s attack and stepped back. Only a faint speck of blood could be seen through the split in his robe.

“Fuck.”

Kim Bongpal cursed. His response was quicker than expected. However, it wasn’t without any results. He held the initiative, so Kim Bongpal pressed the attack. Suddenly, dozens of blades attack Shi Wu-yuan instead of a single sword. Was it several fakes? Or was there an ultimate hidden move among them?

It wasn’t like that. Every attack was the ultimate move; each sought to end a life. Shi Wu-yuan, who was vigorously responding, frowned.

This wasn’t the way the Moorim fought. However, Shi Wu-yuan managed to block dozens of the strange attacks, and however, it only stopped at blocking.

“Huh…!”

Those watching their battle freaked out. It was obvious to them that Shi Wu-yuan was being pushed back. And before that, they were already beyond surprised Kim Bongpal made him shed a little blood with his first attack. The blood of the Blood Master.

Who would have dared to imagine seeing it in Dreimoor?

Clank-clank-clank-clank!

Kim Bongpal’s sword and Shi Wu-yuan’s blade clashed several times before the Blood Master backed away. Lowering his sword, Kim Bongpal observed his opponent.

Thanks to the first attack, he’d built up a lot of momentum. Obviously, the way he was wielding his single-edged sword was terrifying. But that was all. There was no sign of strange powers or techniques, and maybe he couldn’t use spells.

With that thought, Kim Bongpal lowered his vigilance against magic and struck again. His prediction was correct: Shi Wu-yuan didn’t know how to use spells, and his Blood Technique was limited only to martial arts. That made him the only one among Dreimoor’s Three Blood Masters that hadn’t mastered the art of Blood Spells.

Nevertheless, he still had risen to the top rank of Blood Master. Therefore, Shi Wu-yuan held the greatest reputation among the three in Dreimoor. Reaching that level through martial arts alone was all the more difficult. And if that display of talent wasn’t enough, he was also the youngest of the three Blood Masters.

However, Shi Wu-yuan only using martial arts was favorable for Kim Bongpal. They both specialized in the sword.

Then.

Slash-!

The benefits gained from the first attack started to materialize.

Splash!

Blood splattered once again. This time, the amount wasn’t as small. Half of Shi Wu-yuan’s left ear was sent flying and had he been a little slower, the blow wouldn’t cut right through his skull.

Shi Wu-yuan was enraged.

“You motherfucker!”

All of a sudden, Shi Wu-yuan’s eyes turned red. The white part of the eye that should be visibly overflowed with blood as an evil aura began to flow around him. Even though his Blood Technique was limited to martial arts, it was still a mysterious power that went a step higher than the realm of magic. If someone reached a certain level, they could display powers similar to magic. This is all to say, Shi Wu-yuan’s severed ear was regenerating.

“You’re not a fucking lizard.”

Kim Bongpal commented on Shi Wu-yuan’s ability. But, this level of ability didn’t feel so out of place. He’d faced hunters before that could regenerate. How it worked varied, but it was a common sight.“Let’s see if you can regenerate when I cut off your head.”

Kim Bongpal wanted to see if there was a difference between them and Shi Wu-yuan’s regenerative abilities. Raising his mana, he pushed the attack, and Shi Wu-yuan released his energy to counter.

Although Kim Bongpal was now pushing him back, Shi Wu-yuan was strong. That fact couldn’t be denied. Perhaps he was the strongest of those Kim Bongpal faced recently. The S-Class hunter Park Yeon-sung? And those other pawns? It was impossible to compare those losers, who had a lot of mana but couldn’t perfect their skill, to this man.

However.

Slash-

The same went for Kim Bongpal. The next slash cleaved off Shi Wu-yuan’s left arm. Within seconds an arm made of blood grew to replace it.

Grasp!

But it was cut too. It was hard to understand.

The Shire here was a vast and wide world. Because of that, there were as many powerful folks here as there were grains of sand. But even among them, few were strong enough to make their names known. And Shi Wu-yuan was one of those well-known and established as a lord of a city.

“You motherfucker!”

He shouldn’t be easily pushed back, but Shi Wu-yuan stepped back. He moved to counter Kim Bongpal’s onrush, but embarrassment began to stain his blood-red eyes.

He came here following the smell of the blood from his missing disciples. When he found the source, Shi Wu-yuan didn’t think he would lose. Yet now, he would die if this continued.

‘Me? Shi Wu-yuan?’

The embarrassment was replaced by rage. But nothing changed. Still, Kim Bongpal’s attack was quick, and Shi Wu-yuan was kept busy stopping it.

Actually, it’s pretty simple if you think about it. Shi Wu-yuan had a talent incomparable to ordinary people and built a foundation around it. Kim Bongpal wasn’t like that. The way he handled his sword was something he learned on his own, and there’d been a few years since he last practiced.

So, why Kim Bongpal now drove Shi Wu-yuan in the corner was related to why Shi Wu-yuan was strong. As Johan said, Kim Bongpal’s body was special. In quite a few ways, too, and one of them was…

“———!”

There was a point that a talented warrior wouldn’t be able to cross without honing and polishing their skill beyond a human level. Beyond the level achieved by Shi Wu-yuan. Although Kim Bongpal’s body hadn’t automatically reached such a level, the fact was that it gave the foundation for him to go that far. That was the gap in their talent, whether innate or not.

Slash-!

Shi Wu-yuan’s sword reached Kim Bongpal, grazed his side, and ripped off a slice of flesh. And for Shi Wu-yuan himself.

Swoosh!

His blood soared.

“What the hell…?”

Shi Wu-yuan didn’t understand. Seeing him gaping like that, Kim Bongpal once again realized the bizarreness of this world.

“Fuck. Look at how persistent you are. Your head won’t attach again, will it?

He was still alive and talking even though his head wasn’t connected to the rest of his body.

But it didn’t last long. The light faded from Shi Wu-yuan’s eyes, and the energy suffusing his blood faded. The Blood Master, one of the Five Lords of Dreimoor, died.

Of course, it wasn’t over for Kim Bongpal. He raised his mana again. There were quite a few people who watched their battle. Some looked like Blood Mages, some looked like Black Wizards, and some were neither.Kim Bongpal regarded them all and asked.

“What. Do you guys also want to come at me?”

*

There was no response except-

Gulp-

The sound of someone gulping with fear. As that signal was, people quickly filed away to go anywhere else. The Black Wizards, the merchants nearby, Otherworlders from other cities just visiting Dreimoor, and even the Blood Mages retreated. None showed any desire to fight. Thus, a path was created in front of Kim Bongpal. He sheathed his sword and continued on.

The Blood Mages watched him leave with strange expressions. Then, once he passed, they glanced at Shi Wu-yuan’s body.

Then.

Dash-!

Kim Bongpal heard someone running behind him. A surprise attack? He glanced behind, but the scene that unfolded before his eyes was different from what he expected.

“Get lost!”

“I am Wu Zhong, the 6th Blood Mage under the Blood Master Xiao Qian-fei! Get out of my way!”

“Shut up! How dare you claim it’s yours!”

They weren’t rushing toward Kim Bongpal for revenge. They were hurrying to claim Shi Wu-yuan’s body.

“Ha?”

Watching them, Kim Bongpal frowned. The Blood Mages argued over Shi Wu-yuan’s body as if it were gold. It was more than just disgusting; it was ugly. Should he also deal with these scumbags? With that thought in mind, Kim Bongpal put his hand to his sword.

It was then.

“Mr. Kim Bongpal.”

Someone called out to him. Mesut looked flustered, and the Black Wizard who’d been his guide was waiting for him. They weren’t alone other but were accompanied by an unfamiliar old man.

“Fufu. Hello.”

The old man stepped forward, his cane clinking off the cobbled ground. However, the apparent fragility of his bent-over body was at odds with the aura he exuded.

Kim Bongpal knew this man was the other Black Wizard of Dreimoor’s Five Lords, right beside Johan.

“I heard that you’re Johan’s guest. Nice to meet you.”

The old man who greeted Kim Bongpal raised his cane and struck it down. His mana swirled for a moment around him before moving to another place. It passed by Kim Bongpal to Shi Wu-yuan’s dead body, surrounded by Blood Mages.

“There. Take your hands off of it, trash.”

Force was one thing that always worked. With that thought in mind, Kim Bongpal looked at the old man with his hand still on the handle of his sword.

The old man smiled back. It wasn’t as ham-fisted as Johan’s display, but the old man showed clear favor for Kim Bongpal. Perhaps it came from the loss of balance within Dreimoor by slaying one of the Three Blood Masters. The death of one of the Five Lords was a chance for the other four, whether they were Blood Mages or Black Wizards.

The old man turned his gaze to Shi Wu-yuan’s body.

“May I make an offer?”

The old man asked, his lips widening into a smile.

“What’s the offer?”

“That corpse…why don’t you sell Shi Wu-yuan’s body to me? I’ll pay you a fair price.”