"So. So you're that brat called White Moon Sword Lord-gun who's been making headlines lately."
"Tsk. You'll go down in Green Forest history as the first Chief Bandit to lose to a brat."
I parried reflexively, but my mind was in turmoil.
Why on earth did that bastard come here…?
The Chief of the Green Forest. The White Peak Mountain King. He was a peculiar figure even among Harmony Realm martial artists.
After all, he was the one who established the Green Forest's policy of fleeing the moment things turned unfavorable—and the one who practiced it most diligently himself.
Still, I mustn't forget that for whatever reason, he had survived for over a decade despite committing such atrocities.
Either way, no one could deny that he was an extremely seasoned martial artist.
Which made it all the more incomprehensible.
Judging by how he had surrounded the area with other Green Forest bandits, it was clear he had deliberately tracked down our location and come for us.
But weren't there two Harmony Realm martial artists on our side? I alone might be weaker than the White Peak Mountain King, but with Seomun Hwa-rin by my side, the story changed.
Certain defeat. Even if he had merely been fleeing and hiding his strength, and even if he truly possessed skill rivaling the Murim Alliance Leader—said to be among the top three in the current martial world—he would still sustain considerable injuries.
The damage we had inflicted on the Green Forest so far was substantial, but it was by no means enough to justify taking such a risk.
Yet the White Peak Mountain King had still surrounded us and revealed himself like this.
With my sword aimed and my gaze fixed on the White Peak Mountain King, I quickly sent a Voice Transmission to Seol Ri-hyang and Seomun Hwa-rin.
-No matter how angry he is, the fact that he revealed himself in person means he must have something up his sleeve.
-I think so too. I don't know what he has prepared, but at the very least, it must be enough for him to believe he can secure victory against two Harmony Realm martial artists.
-…I'm not sure if I can handle it, but I'll be careful.
I gave a small nod at Seol Ri-hyang's tense voice and stepped forward.
"I've been catching bandits for a while now, but I never expected the bandit chief himself to stick his neck out. Let me ask you first—have you come to surrender?"
"Ha! As if that would ever happen. I've come to teach the wretch who dared touch my subordinates the fear of the mountain!"
With that, he slammed the butt of his axe into the ground.
KWANG!
The ground split in a spiderweb pattern with a thunderous roar. The shockwave, echoing half a beat late, shook the very foundations of the earth, and those behind me staggered for a moment.
Those lacking in martial level would be the same even among the Green Forest. Yet the fact that only the Tang Clan's martial artists had their stances broken was, surprisingly, because that brutish display of strength had been laced with exquisite Power Control.
Of course, it was far too early to rejoice at having succeeded in seizing the initiative with just that much.
"How noisy."
Frowning, I layered killing intent over the Qi Sense I had spread wide.
I no longer clung to killing intent, but that didn't mean the experience I'd accumulated in handling it had vanished.
Now that I could freely wield my Intent, the killing intent—only fiercer for it—flooded every inch of my Qi Sense's reach.
"Kkeuheuk."
"Keuheok!"
"A, aah…"
Most of the Green Forest bandits surrounding me turned pale.
Some clutched their own throats, some trembled silently, and some had already lost strength in their legs and collapsed to the ground.
There were no exceptions. The moment they were exposed to my killing intent, the sense of death became so vivid that they dropped their weapons.
Only those who aspired to the supreme Harmony Realm—or the one who had already surpassed it—remained unaffected by my killing intent.
The result was incomparable to the earth-shaking roar that bastard had created by slamming his axe down. And this wasn't the end.
"White Peak Mountain King. I don't know what possessed you to so boldly block my path, but… do I really look that amusing to you?"
Seomun Hwa-rin stomped the ground hard with her foot, just as the Whip Lord had done with his axe.
Kuuung!
The shockwave spread outward from the spot where Seomun Hwa-rin had planted her foot.
Just as before, the earth for miles around trembled—this time in every direction except ours.
Those who were already reeling from exposure to my killing intent lost their balance from the tremor Seomun Hwa-rin had caused and toppled over one by one.
Most of the men the White Peak Mountain King had proudly brought along were now rolling on the ground in an ugly mess.
Even for a Harmony Realm martial artist, this wasn't something one could do without laying a hand on anyone. This was entirely a phenomenon born of my own uniqueness.
Of course, they probably hadn't truly intended to do anything to me or Seomun Hwa-rin. At best, they'd planned to pressure my companions.
The White Peak Mountain King flinched, clearly not having anticipated this turn of events, whatever his original intentions had been.
He twisted his face into a vicious scowl.
"…You seem to have some useful tricks, but in the end, they're just parlor tricks that mean nothing in a battle between kings."
"A battle between kings? I don't see anyone of such lofty status in this place."
"Don't you? I am the Mountain King, and you are the White Moon Sword Lord. If the two of us fight here, what else would you call it but a battle between kings?"
"Dear me. You played king on your mountain for so long that you've clearly gone mad."
Martial artists in the Harmony Realm were given aliases containing the word "king" or its equivalent as a mark of respect.
But that was merely a convention—a sign of respect for a martial artist of such caliber. No one truly believed themselves to be a king.
If there were any, they would most likely be someone with a severe mental defect.
But regardless of what I said, and regardless of his subordinates still sprawled on the ground gasping for air, the White Peak Mountain King maintained a consistent expression of anger.
He pulled the massive double-bladed axe from where it was embedded in the ground and hefted it onto his shoulder.
He carried the weapon, which was as large as his own body, on his shoulder, leaning his body forward in an extreme stance.
It was a stance I had never seen before, but that extreme, reckless charging posture was a common trait among the other Green Forest martial arts I had faced so far.
A thick, dark blue Aura enveloped the White Peak Mountain King's entire body and his axe. And then, the next moment.
THOOOM!
With a rather peculiar sound that couldn't quite be called a stomp on the ground, his massive frame closed the distance rapidly.
I too charged forward, swinging my sword, while Seomun Hwa-rin, as if supporting me, circled around to the White Peak Mountain King's flank and drove a punch into his side.
In response, the White Peak Mountain King momentarily drew his body in, then, maintaining that stance, extended his arm and answered with a spinning rotation.
A movement as if a massive axe had suddenly burst forth.
Wreathed in vivid Aura, the heavy axe swung in a wide horizontal arc, cleaving through the air.
I could feel an Aura that seemed ready to split anything in its path like firewood… but the Intent contained within mine and Seomun Hwa-rin's Aura was by no means inferior.
KWAANG!
A Loud Noise erupted as my sword and the axe's blade collided.
Though my skill was still lacking, and time had been too short for it to manifest as a white blade, a sufficiently condensed white Aura pierced through the dark blue Aura covering the axe.
But the blade is pushed back before it can even cut halfway through.
It is not being deflected, nor is its trajectory being broken. It is simply being forced back toward me, like someone who tried to stop a wild boar's charge head-on but lacked the strength to do so.
So this is the martial art of the Green Forest, once one has reached that level.
If this continues, I will be cut by my own sword. Calmly, I twist my body out of the trajectory, and at the same moment, Seomun Hwa-rin's fist strikes the White Peak Mountain King's side.
PWOONG!
The dark red Aura slams into the dark blue Protective Qi with fierce momentum, trying to pierce through it.
The sound is closer to an explosion than a strike. A single punch from Seomun Hwa-rin cracks that thick Protective Qi.
The White Peak Mountain King's expression twists slightly—but Seomun Hwa-rin's is no different.
He must be dumbfounded that a strike thrown with the intent to shatter everything—Protective Qi or not—actually got blocked.
The White Peak Mountain King, on the other hand, seems startled that a charging opponent managed to deal him this much damage.
Of course, neither's surprise lasts long. There is still an opponent before them that must be brought down.
Boom! CRASH! Boom!
Relying on his Protective Qi, the White Peak Mountain King charges in like a raging boar, swinging his heavy axe without pause.
Every swing of his axe overturns the ground, splits ancient trees that must have stood for ages clean in two, and shatters even boulders that seemed as though they would never change.
The White Sword, completed a moment later, carves deep into that dark blue Aura every time it clashes with the brute's axe.
It carved through the Aura that should have been uncuttable—and with it, the momentum of the White Peak Mountain King's mindless charge.
Every time our weapons clashed, I couldn't fully absorb the shock that traveled through them, and with each Exchange, I was forced back a step.
Worse, with every strike from the White Peak Mountain King, the impact I felt in my hands grew heavier.
It must be a martial art that increases in Power the more attacks are pressed.
Before I could fully sever the brute's Aura, I would likely be swept up in his axe blows after being pushed back.
If I had been alone, that is exactly what would have happened.
"Hmph!"
Seomun Hwa-rin's fists continued to fly toward the White Peak Mountain King.
Sometimes he blocked with nothing but his Protective Qi, and sometimes he deflected with the shaft of his axe—the White Peak Mountain King.
Every time he continued his offensive, the White Peak Mountain King's Aura grew denser and heavier, but Seomun Hwa-rin's fists were no ordinary thing either.
Crack.
The speed at which the White Peak Mountain King's recklessness turned into Power was slower than the speed at which his fists shattered against Seomun Hwa-rin's blows.
Of course, that didn't mean the White Peak Mountain King was an easy Opponent. The mere aftermath of their Exchange was reshaping the surrounding terrain in real time.
The Green Forest bandits, who had come to their senses belatedly, and even the Tang Clan Martial Artists who had been following me—none of them dared to step in.
Only Seol Ri-hyang, her eyes wide open, continued her song while focusing her internal energy toward the White Peak Mountain King.
But no matter how pure the cold energy, maintaining its form amid the constant collision of dense Aura was no easy task.
Silver ice crystals gathered and scattered, over and over again.
But it wasn't a meaningless effort. At the very least, it was more than enough to disrupt the White Peak Mountain King's Concentration from time to time.
I couldn't say he was an easy Opponent, but with each Exchange, I solidified my hold on the advantage.
Now, a single sword strike would be enough to cut through the White Peak Mountain King's Protective Qi and drive my blade into his Neck.
The moment Seomun Hwa-rin and I pulled that vague sense of victory into the realm of certainty—
The corners of the White Peak Mountain King's mouth twitched, the very man who should have been staring at his own death.
It looked like a mere spasm. He was still unleashing his attacks while crumbling, so perhaps it was my imagination.
But for some reason, it seemed like a smile to me.
An instinct screamed a warning. I trusted it, and instead of finishing the job on his Aura—already more than half severed—I twisted my body and dodged.
"You?!"
Seomun Hwa-rin raised her voice at a choice that rendered all her efforts thus far meaningless.
But I layered my Intent itself over my killing intent, sharpening my Qi Sense to an even finer edge. Toward the faint sense of dissonance at its very tip, I swung my blazing sword.
Clang!
A small dagger bounced off my blade. Unusually, it was wrapped in a translucent Aura.
Why had I only now sensed such an obvious murderous intent?
Keeping my guard up at a situation even I couldn't understand, I swung my sword once more.
Though I could neither see nor sense it, I struck toward whoever was holding that dagger.
Squelch.
The sensation of slicing through something thin. But it wasn't cloth or flesh—it felt similar to cutting through a Qi Barrier.
A sword trail remained in the air. It soon became a crack, and from within it spat out a single person.
A hazy impression. His features were utterly ordinary, and even though I was clearly looking at him with my own eyes, I couldn't confidently confirm his existence. Like a ghost.
As is typical of those who favor stealth and surprise attacks, the man before me wasn't wearing an easily recognizable black outfit.
His shabby clothes and well-worn but old dagger betrayed no hint of anything extraordinary.
But those eyes. In that gaze so utterly devoid of emotion that it felt like staring at a corpse, I realized instinctively.
"…Surely not?"
"…"
There was no answer. But there could be no surer answer than this.
The master of Assassin Valley, the pinnacle of assassins—the one said to be able to kill anyone in the Central Plains.
And now, one who had entered the fold of the Demonic Cult… of the Heavenly Demon himself. The hidden card the White Peak Mountain King had trusted.
The Slaughter King sheathed his dagger and took a step back.
At the same time, his translucent internal energy wrapped around his entire body, and in the blink of an eye, the figure vanished without a trace.
The attempt to assassinate us—caught off guard at the most critical moment—was luckily thwarted.
…Now all that remained was to face the White Peak Mountain King, along with a lethal blade that could be neither seen nor sensed.
"He's going to lose his mind."
I knew the Heavenly Demon wouldn't just wait around for us.
But I never expected him to come at us like this.