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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
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“The leader of the Hongryun Sect, Do-cheol, wins again!”
“Oh my god! Check that bastard’s pockets! Did he eat some kind of magic pill or something?!”
“Oh my god! What am I going to do with my money! My money! My money!”
Do-cheol was on a winning streak. The middle-aged man was watching the situation with a sullen face. In his expectations, Do-cheol should have been eliminated in the middle or killed by Violet Night Sword and become a corpse, but what Do-cheol was showing was an overwhelming momentum.
No matter who challenged him, he would lightly dodge their attacks and his attacks would land like lightning. His clean fighting style made the middle-aged man uncomfortable.
“He’s quite skilled, isn’t he? With that level of skill, he would have easily taken the previous leader of the Hongryun Sect as well.”
The Duel Assassin, who had stealthily entered the VIP seats, said to the middle-aged man in a low voice. The VIPs shrugged their shoulders after glancing at the Duel Assassin, or just responded indifferently. The middle-aged man said with a sullen face while looking down at the arena,
“What does it even matter? The important thing is how that guy ends up today. It doesn’t matter how skilled he is.”
“Still, isn’t it a shame to kill off someone so young?”
The middle-aged man looked at the Duel Assassin. Because there was no murderous intent in the gaze that had glanced at him, the Duel Assassin’s face hardened.
“It’s strange that you’re worrying about the future of the martial world.”
The Duel Assassin knew what the middle-aged man meant by ‘strange.’ He nodded and then took a step back. An assassin, who had been killing youngsters just because they were an eyesore, had no right to judge another’s worth.
It had always been like this until now, so all he had to do this time was also to kill another person.
The Duel Assassin muttered while looking at Do-cheol, who was returning with an air of confidence,
“I’ll finish it quickly.”
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A muscular man was coming from the direction of the VIP seats towards the inn. I hadn’t heard of the Duel Assassin’s appearance, but the average level of the men participating in this competition was from second-rate to third-rate. There was no way that any of them would have a connection to the Martial Alliance or the Nine Sects’ VIPs.
Therefore, it was obvious that that bastard from the VIP seats was the Duel Assassin.
His bulging muscles were on full display, and the clothes he was wearing were torn and tattered, like that of a Beggar Sect member, with his muscles visible through the holes. He had some kind of weight attached to a chain around his waist, like a belt, and his face had a scar.
He was staring at me intensely, as much as I was looking at him, and because his eyes were narrow and long, it was like they were drawn with an ink brush.
“I’ll be seeing you in the finals.”
His voice was as rough as his impression. It sounded as if a vicious dog was growling. A glint of murderous intent flashed in his eyes, and I was sure that he was the Duel Assassin.
I nodded and said,
“It’s an honor to face a warrior like you in the finals.”
He still had matches left, but he was speaking as if he was already in the finals.
That was only natural. Because he was the Duel Assassin.
Since his match was about to begin, I moved my gaze toward the arena. The opponent was already on the stage, loosening up his body.
The opponent was a martial artist who specialized in kicks, using flamboyant and unorthodox movement techniques. Every time he moved his feet and stomped on the ground with extravagant footwork, a cloud of dust would rise up.
“Hyup! Hyup! Ahyup!”
Strange shouts and the sounds of him cutting through the air would ring out every time he kicked in the air, and the spectators who were watching nearby were busy trying to predict the winner.
“Which of the two do you think will win?”
“Oh my, you’re saying that because you haven’t seen Omi-jun’s kicks yet!”
“No, did you even see that large guy’s movements? There’s no way he can win!”
Although I thought the result was obvious, it seemed like the man who used kicks was more skilled than I thought. Confident in his own skill, he didn’t seem intimidated at all by the intimidating appearance of the Duel Assassin. Extending his leg, he said,
“I look forward to your guidance.”
“Likewise.”
As soon as the two of them had exchanged greetings, the announcer waved his hand. A man who had been waiting at the end of the stage rang a gong, and Omi-jun’s kick flew towards the Duel Assassin at the same time. It wasn’t as fast and accurate as Sanyeo, but it was still fast enough to seem as if he was flying towards the Duel Assassin like a swallow.
“Huh?”
But
instead of dodging Omi-jun’s kick, the Duel Assassin grabbed his ankle, and as if he was playing with a doll, he slammed it to the ground.
Thud!
“Uaaaaaaaaaaack!”
I heard bones breaking, and Omi-jun screamed like a beast. When the Duel Assassin raised his body again, Omi-jun’s leg was completely destroyed, dangling like a broken umbrella.
“Uaaaaaaaaack! Aaaaaaaaaack!”
“Th, the winner! Gong-hui of Seokcheon!”
“Uaaaaaaaaack! Aaaaaaaaaack!”
Omi-jun was carried out while screaming miserably. I wondered if he would even be able to fix his legs with the connections and money of a third-rate warrior. The Duel Assassin laughed heartily, and said,
“My apologies. You were too strong, so I unconsciously put too much strength into it.”
His tone was hearty, but his actions were violent. That disparity made him look even more brutal.
And then, the Duel Assassin looked at me. Was he trying to scare me? To purposefully destroy a person to scare me, he was quite a bold man. He returned to the inn with a murderous look on his face, and now, the only ones left in the inn were me and him.
He sat down facing me and focused his gaze on me as soon as he returned. The way he furrowed his brows made it look like he was trying to kill me with his glare.
Of course, no matter how he threatened me, I had no intention of giving up. Now that the Martial Alliance had stepped forward to remove me, I wouldn’t have a place to hide if I couldn’t prove my skills.
I said to him,
“You’re wasting too much energy, just calm down. Where am I supposed to run to anyway?”
“Give up. If you run away in fear, I’ll spare your life.”
The Duel Assassin said while staring intently at me. I knew that it was not just an empty threat, but nothing would change even if I acknowledged it. I grabbed a cup and said,
“You’ve been in the martial world for quite some time, and you still don’t understand it? If I run away at this time, would I even be able to survive? Do you think this martial world is generous enough to protect a coward?”
The Duel Assassin’s muscles bulged. His muscles were so tense that it was like my ax wouldn’t even properly land a blow. He said while subtly showing off his muscles,
“If I catch you, you’ll never be able to use martial arts again. All the bastards who acted smug in front of me because they believed in their skills ended up like that man with his kicks.”
I revealed the ax at my waist and said,
“I’ve also destroyed many people who boasted about their strength. Are you afraid of me?”
The Duel Assassin’s face twitched. He seemed like he didn’t understand my words. For his sake, since he didn’t understand, I repeated my words again,
“Are you afraid of me? Is that why you’re asking me to surrender, putting so much strength into your arms, and begging me like that?”
I pointed to his arm. The Duel Assassin, after a brief hesitation, grinned. With his ferocious impression and his wide open mouth, he resembled a beast.
“Ah, okay.”
He smiled and nodded.
“I’ll grant your wish then.”
The Duel Assassin stood up. And then he shook the chains at his waist and said,
“Everyone’s been calling you the leader of the Hongryun Sect, do you have another name? A title?”
I rolled my eyes for a moment. Because I had never thought about a title before. It was something that was cooler when other people gave it to you. I briefly stared at him before deciding to tease him.
“Back in my hometown, they called me the Twin Axes. Because I used two axes.”
“Twin Axes?”
He said that and scanned my waist. Seeing that there was only one ax, he made a puzzled expression.
“Next duel, please prepare!”
“Hmph!”
The Duel Assassin tilted his head and then turned away, as if he was trying to shake something off. I, in that moment, managed to get another hand ax from those who were managing the competition.
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“Now, for the next duel! Between the leader of the Hongryun Sect, Do-cheol, and Gong-hui of Seokcheon!”
And the moment I came onto the stage, the Duel Assassin looked back and forth between the ax in my hand and the ax at my waist with a confused expression.
Of course, the title ‘Twin Axes’ was a lie, and I had never learned how to use two axes.
I had no intention of learning it in the future, and I didn’t even think of using it in front of him.
But I hadn’t shown my true skill in this competition. Because the opponents I had faced were too weak, the Duel Assassin would not be able to figure out my skill level. He would exhaust himself mentally by worrying about a hidden card that didn’t even exist.
If the fight just went on properly, the Duel Assassin would now be wary of my empty left hand and the ax at my waist.
If one’s mind was preoccupied with something that didn’t exist, there would always be an opening.
Even if there was no opening, since he was focusing on that, I had already won the mind games.
The Duel Assassin glared at me and said,
“I look forward to your guidance.”
“Likewise.”
“……”
I had won again.
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