Chapter 62

Clashing with the Saber King (1)

It was truly an overwhelming presence.

Even though he hadn't fully released his qi, it felt as though his heart might stop.

The bandit leader could do nothing but press his head tightly to the ground.

"Your eyes don't seem to have rotted yet. Then you should not have violated the laws of the Green Forest."

Srrrk.

Those wearing grotesque masks.

They were the inspectors—figures feared even among the Green Forest bandits.

They stepped forward.

To carry out execution.

'N-no!'

He wanted to live.

In a final desperate struggle, one stopgap idea came to mind.

"S-Saber King, I will gladly accept punishment for my sins. B-but there are those who refused the lawful levy of the Green Forest!"

Stir.

The Saber King raised a hand.

It meant to temporarily suspend the execution.

"Speak in detail."

Seeing a path to survival, the bandit leader spewed out every story he could—truths and lies alike.

In that tale, Cheon Muyang became one who had insulted the Green Forest.

"Oh? Then where is that bastard now?"

"Ah, th-that is..."

"Tsk. If you truly wanted to live, you should have dragged him before me."

Turn.

The Saber King's head shifted.

At that moment, a shadow appeared from nowhere.

"You came at just the right time."

"Yes, Saber King."

"So. Is what that bastard said true?"

"It is. He is Cheon Muyang, the eldest son of the Cheon Clan."

"The Cheon Clan, huh."

The corners of the Saber King's mouth lifted.

Wasn't that an unexpected name?

"Interesting."

"We have also confirmed the presence of the Wolf King."

Halt!

The smile vanished.

A fierce killing intent erupted from the Saber King's entire body.

"Is that so? Then where is that bastard?"

"Heh heh heh. Why would a bandit ringleader be looking for me?"

"They say speak of the tiger and it appears."

With a relaxed expression, the Saber King faced the Wolf King approaching with a massive saber slung over his back.

"Wolf King."

"Saber King."

The Wolf King and the Saber King.

As the two beings granted the title of king in the Jianghu faced one another, a violent pressure bloomed between them.

Goooooo!

The atmosphere shifted so sharply that it wouldn't have been strange for either to lunge at the other at any moment.

Yet the Wolf King calmly asked the Saber King,

"What brings you all the way out here?"

"Two birds with one stone. I heard you were in Zhejiang, and I couldn't keep still."

The Saber King rose from his seat.

That alone made the surrounding space feel crushed and compressed.

"Guhk!"

The bandits foamed at the mouth and collapsed.

Their leader was no exception.

But no one spared them a glance.

They were no different from stones rolling on the ground.

"How could I not move?"

"You're as troublesome as ever, past or present."

"...."

The Saber King quietly lifted his two axes.

Yet the Wolf King did not draw his great saber, merely staring at him.

"What are you trying to do?"

"Unfortunately, today is not my turn."

"...What kind of nonsense is that?"

The Wolf King smiled brazenly.

"It means this isn't my fight."

"...."

Flash!

What was it?

Only then did the Saber King notice a sword that had been hidden behind the Wolf King.

'Don't tell me it wasn't the Wolf King.'

The reason he was called the Saber King.

It was his boundless thirst for battle.

Naturally, after facing the Wolf King, he assumed the source of his boiling blood was the Wolf King himself.

But it wasn't.

"Oh ho."

The source of that fighting spirit was not the Wolf King, but the man standing behind him.

Interest sparked in the Saber King's eyes.

"So you're the Cheon Clan's eldest son?"

"Oh, to think you know my name—what an honor."

The attitude was confidence, but to the Saber King's subordinates, it looked like arrogance and insolence.

"Insolent brat!"

Unable to contain himself, one of the inspectors hurled an axe at Cheon Muyang.

Whoooosh!

The axe tore through the air.

The inspectors were an elite unit personally trained by the Green Forest Saber King.

Each of them possessed formidable skill, yet Cheon Muyang didn't even glance at the onrushing axe.

Claaang!

As if certain it would never reach him.

Naturally, the strike was blocked by Neung Ryeoun's sword.

"...!"

"Thank you, Neung Ryeoun."

"No one may stand before our lord."

The teachings of the Wolf King and Cheon Seonhak had made Neung Ryeoun and Cha Myeonghak astonishingly strong.

Considering that they had been mere trainees not long ago, it was tremendous progress.

"Ah, I was late."

Even Wolyeong, who had started as a latecomer, now stood as a full-fledged martial artist.

Cheon Muyang couldn't feel more reassured.

"T-this bastard!"

The inspectors flared with anger.

How dare they act so brazenly here?

"Die."

The many moved to overwhelm the few.

Yet the few did not fear the many.

"Hmph."

Neung Ryeoun and Cha Myeonghak stepped forward to block Cheon Muyang's front, while Wolyeong stood back-to-back with them, guarding the rear.

"You all...."

"Young Master, just focus on that bandit boss uncle called the Saber King."

Flinch.

Wolyeong's voice was soft, but it rang clearly in the ears of the Saber King, who had reached the absolute realm.

The Wolf King heard it too.

Unlike the Saber King, who frowned—

The Wolf King burst into mad laughter.

"Puahahahaha! That's right. You just focus on that bandit boss uncle."

Huuung!

Yet the pressure rising from the Wolf King's body was nothing like his carefree laughter.

He spoke lowly, as if warning the inspectors facing him.

"Don't rush in. You'll all die."

"...!"

The inspectors hesitated.

They too knew exactly what kind of man the Wolf King was.

At that, the previously silent Saber King had no choice but to step forward.

"Impressive. Stand down."

"S-Saber King!"

"Do you think you can handle that Wolf King?"

"...!"

The inspectors fell silent.

Resolve and reality were different things, and before that uncomfortable truth, they could only bite their lips.

Fresh blood trickled down beneath their grotesque masks.

"Stand down."

"...."

The inspectors withdrew, loosening the encirclement.

A path opened between the Saber King and Cheon Muyang.

"So, Cheon Clan's eldest son—word has it you interfered with the Green Forest's lawful levy?"

"Lawful...."

Boom!

The two axes pointed toward Cheon Muyang.

It seemed he had no intention of prolonging the conversation.

"If you have something to say about it, don't use your mouth—use your sword. Speak with your sword."

"...."

Cheon Muyang was no different.

He had no intention of resolving this with words anyway, so he honed the edge of Cheongwang.

"A fine sword."

Whoosh!

The Saber King's axe came crashing in.

It was an attack like a starving beast lunging ferociously after three days without food.

Why he was called the Saber King became clear in that single strike.

'I can't dodge.'

Dodging would have been the optimal choice.

However, Cheon Muyang saw it.

The moment he dodged, the Saber King's second axe would come flying.

It was an attack that wanted him to dodge.

'Then I'll take it head-on.'

Cheon Muyang raised Cheongwang without retreating even an inch.

Huuung!

Cheongwang's greed could be felt.

'It may not be a sword… but devour it.'

Fortunately, Cheongwang wasn't particularly picky.

Flap!

A sudden gust caused Cheon Muyang's sleeves to flutter.

At the same time, Cheongwang surged straight toward the Saber King's axe, which seemed capable of splitting Mount Tai in two.

"Oh ho."

Seeing Cheon Muyang charge straight in without backing down, an unusual light appeared in the Saber King's eyes.

'Not bad. Did he see through it?'

Nine out of ten would be intimidated by his first strike and choose to dodge.

Without realizing that the dodge itself led straight into the tiger's jaws.

'But seeing through it doesn't mean he's qualified to take it.'

Sharp perception alone wasn't enough.

Understanding an attack didn't mean one could endure it.

Kkwaaaak!

Abandoning the second strike for the moment—

The Saber King tightened his grip on the axe he was swinging.

That alone caused the axe to accelerate once more through empty air.

Kwaaaang!

At a single point in midair—

A deafening shockwave burst outward in all directions.

Swoooosh!

A violent, artificially generated gale roared forth.

"Ugh!"

Wolyeong barely managed to endure by stabbing her sword into the ground.

Otherwise, she would have been blown backward.

"So you're not just all talk."

The ground beneath Cheon Muyang's feet caved in.

In raw strength, the Saber King clearly held the advantage.

"Let's see how long you can keep blocking."

Whiiik!

Without even a moment to catch his breath—

The second axe flew in.

Shiiiing!

This axe was different from the first.

'Fast.'

He didn't know whether it was lighter, but its speed was incomparably greater.

The axe that had been flying straight suddenly changed trajectory.

Bending at an unnatural angle, it slashed toward Cheon Muyang's neck.

"That's not all."

"...!"

It wasn't over.

The Saber King's first axe moved again.

'Incredible.'

Speed and weight.

The Saber King's axes, freely wielding those two opposing qualities, were truly fearsome.

'Speed carries heaviness, and heaviness carries speed…'

Fast, yet heavy.

Heavy, yet fast.

That paradox embodied the Saber King's true power.

'Axes that force a head-on clash.'

Every path of the sword was erased.

Luck would not work here.

The only remaining path—

Cheon Muyang walked it.

Flash!

Sword and axe met again in midair.

Krrrdeuk!

Friction so intense that sparks flew.

From there, a one-sided onslaught that could only be called a raging storm surged again and again.

Then, as if nothing had happened—

The storm ceased.

"Already over?"

"As if."

The pause was merely to take a single breath.

Kiiiiiik!

The two axes moved once more.

Their motions, drawing entirely different trajectories, were profound and mysterious.

'Don't be fooled.'

Cheon Muyang closed his eyes instead.

To avoid being misled.

And then he saw it.

'They converge.'

The trajectories were different.

Yet in the end, they inevitably led to a single point.

'Right. In the end, they can only come to me.'

That moment of intersection—

Was the sole chance to shatter both axes at once.

'Come.'

He intended to break the Saber King's axes.

The moment that intent to shatter settled into Cheongwang, the air around the blade began to warp.

Flash!

Blue sword energy bloomed of its own accord.

Cheongwang's lone path forward.

A clearly etched line carved through the void.

It was slower than any sword—

Yet faster.

Light, yet heavy.

So precarious it seemed it might be stopped at any instant—

Yet it advanced relentlessly.

Kwaaaang!

The Saber King's two axes crossed.

At that very instant, Cheongwang struck both axes head-on.

"...!"

Unlike Cheon Muyang, who maintained an unmoving stance—

The Saber King stepped back half a pace.

"Did you see through this as well?"

A bloody smile crept onto the Saber King's face.

At some point, he had switched the axes between his hands.

Even that—

Had been perfectly seen through.

"No. I merely cut the grain."

"Interesting."

It was unfortunate.

He would have liked to enjoy this longer—

Drip. Drip drip.

"It seems these damned axes couldn't endure it."

The Saber King's axes began to crumble.

He merely smacked his lips while watching them break apart.

"Tsk. I'll have to get myself new axes."

The shattered axes had reached the end of their lives.

And so, the Saber King cast aside all attachment—

And destroyed the remaining pieces himself.

"Very well, Cheon Clan's eldest son. What is it you wish to say?"

Even without his axes, the Saber King remained composed.

'He didn't go all out.'

The Saber King had not used his full strength.

That composure proved it.

Tremble.

At the same time, spasms ran through Cheon Muyang's arms.

The price of receiving the Saber King's blows head-on.

'It was a paper-thin margin.'

If he hadn't cut the grain—

What would have shattered would have been Cheon Muyang's arms.

Crunch.

'So I'm still far from enough.'

Still, he had proven he was qualified to stand alone before the Saber King.

So Cheon Muyang delivered what he wanted—

Briefly, and unmistakably.

"Where the banner of the Cheon Clan flies, the Green Forest will not be tolerated."