Krrruaaaaah---!!!
The man collapsed on the floor let out a bizarre shriek.
Holding his shattered jaw, he crawled across the ground—a truly miserable sight.
Blood and saliva dribbled endlessly from his mangled jaw. His bloodshot eyes showed just how much agony he was in.
And then.
“What the fuck is this bastard saying.”
Kwap-!
“Keoheok…!”
I stomped on the bastard’s head and growled ferociously.
“You really should know your fucking place.”
“Krrruuuu….”
“You should only spew words from that muzzle of yours. What’s the point of barking such dogshit? Right?”
I could feel him trembling.
Was he trying to somehow get up?
It wasn’t even funny.
Kwa-deuk-!
“Kuaaaaaah---!!!”
When I kicked his shin, his leg bent at an abnormal angle. Typical of a vice commander, it seemed he’d coated himself with qi right before impact.
If not for that, his leg probably would’ve been torn clean off. The bastard had some sense, at least.
‘Too bad.’
I hadn’t intended to stop at merely breaking it. Since it came to this, should I just tear it off? The thought crossed my mind, but I held back.
“Krr… heuuu….”
The bastard was only drooling groans. After glancing at him, I raised my head. And spoke.
“Stop.”
---!!
At my words, those who had been about to rush in with weapons ready froze. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by Qinglong Division personnel.
By the looks of them, they seemed ready to charge in at any moment….
“Don’t move a single step from there. Can’t you see we’re in the middle of a conversation?”
“Krrruuu….”
I grabbed the nameless bastard by the throat and lifted him.
His face, swollen into a bloody mess, was as miserable as could be.
“Move, and you die. Him too. Anyone who moves.”
I spoke with killing intent lacing my voice.
Even to me, it seemed I had put in a bit too much.
But apparently, it had worked. The bodies of those hesitating went completely rigid.
Meanwhile, those with some will seemed to be looking for openings, exchanging glances.
“If you think it’s bluster, test me. See what happens.”
I bared my teeth and glared as I said it; I could see them being crushed by the pressure.
The killing intent I exuded did not stop, and the faint qi pressure I released raised the pressure even more.
Then.
“C-Commander….”
Someone spoke to me.
It was Song Hojeong, who served as the current vice commander of the Shenglong Division alongside Dang Soyeol.
Approaching with an utterly troubled expression, so I raised my hand to stop them.
“Stay out of this. I need to have a talk with this bastard right now.”
“However….”
“I’ll hear what you have to say properly later, so shut your mouth and stay back. Didn’t I say later? Is my command too difficult for you?”
“…N-no…. I shall wait.”
Song Hojeong stepped back. That intimidated expression was quite grating.
That was why strength kept flooding into my hands.
“Hey, you son of a bitch.”
“Krr… ugh!”
“Keep saying what you were saying earlier. What?”
At my voice, the bastard in my grip trembled.
“I asked what you said. Try speaking, won’t you?”
I kept asking, but no words came.
It was only natural. His jaw was completely smashed—there was no way he could speak properly.
I knew that too, but that didn’t matter.
“You look down on people like dogs, so now you think my words are a joke too? Hey. Does the Commander’s word not sound like a word to you?”
“Krr… a… uaaah….”
“What are you saying. Speak properly.”
Kwang-!
I slammed his head straight into the ground.
With a splitting crunch, blood splattered slightly.
“Hii… hiiik!!”
“V-Vice Commander…!”
Those watching flinched at the sickening sound. I wiped the blood that had splashed on my cheek and spoke to them.
“He’s not dead, so don’t make a fuss. You think I’d kill someone from the same Martial Alliance?”
I said it with the best smile I could muster, but for some reason, the atmosphere only grew worse.
Ahh. This is a bit upsetting.
“I’m just trying to have a conversation, but your eyes are adorable. You don’t like it? Then do whatever you feel like.”
I spat out the words and rose to my feet.
The bastard I’d been holding seemed to have lost consciousness from what just happened. He was bleeding heavily, but… he probably wouldn’t die.
‘Roughly about half a shichen.’
Not long, just about that much.
He should be able to hold his breath for that long. After all, he is a master, for what it’s worth.
Moreover.
‘That amount of time is just right.’
Half a shichen was exactly the amount of time I needed to clean up the surroundings.
Thud. I took a step. In that instant, the Qinglong Division members went on guard.
They were in perfect sword-drawing stances, as though they would draw their blades at any moment.
In other words, it was an attitude toward an enemy.
“Hmm. We’re clearly on the same side. Isn’t it wrong to act like this?”
I walked, shaking out my hand. With a light flick, drops of blood fell.
Needless to say, it wasn’t my blood, but the fallen bastard’s.
Seeing this, their vigilance grew stronger than ever.
Did they find it absurd that I called us allies after putting someone in that state?
I could understand that. I had something to say about that too.
“Well, he was speaking like such a dog that I thought he was asking for a beating. As the old saying goes, a mad dog needs a beating.”
What had he said?
Had he called us broken trash? Or useless maggot bastards? I think it was something along those lines.
And besides, didn’t he say that even among vice commanders, there are different levels?
‘It’s not exactly wrong.’
I won’t deny that part. Our levels were certainly different.
The Shenglong Division was a unit that had been founded less than a year ago. The Qinglong Division was a unit with a long history.
Moreover, Song Hojeong and that bastard were on different levels of cultivation as well.
Song Hojeong was at the edge of the Peak realm, while that bastard looked to have far surpassed the consummate Peak.
If you nitpicked about such things to say there are different levels, I wouldn’t deny it either, but.
‘Saying it out loud is another story.’
In other words, it means he wants to have a full-blown war… or else, it means he doesn’t treat the other party as human.
“Isn’t that right?”
“…”
“…”
I ask, but once again, no words come back. Truly a taciturn bunch.
No, perhaps it’s exactly like orthodox faction behavior—keeping your mouth tightly shut when it’s unfavorable.
“I don’t understand.”
I couldn’t understand them acting like that.
“Why do they keep making trouble for themselves? It’s not like I asked them to do anything grand.”
Srrrk-! As I approached, the sound of swords being drawn finally rang out. Various hues of light swirled in the darkness.
“We don’t have to be on good terms. Just shut up appropriately and only do what we’re supposed to do. Is that so difficult?”
What was the problem? I didn’t know.
“…Shenglong Commander. If you come any closer…!”
No, it didn’t matter if I didn’t know.
Haven’t I always been like this?
“So what if I come closer? You want to have a blade fight? Fine.”
Regardless of the reason, if I don’t like it, I break it.
I’d wanted to throw a tantrum whenever I pleased, but there was one reason I didn’t.
‘Because I was weak.’
I was weak, and if I caused trouble without thinking, I simply wouldn’t have the strength to handle the consequences.
Then what about now?
Unfortunately, it was still the same. That thought hadn’t changed.
I was still weak, here in the heart of the Central Plains.
Even if there were more people weaker than me than stronger, countless variables existed, and within those gaps, I couldn’t help but become weak.
It couldn’t be helped.
There was so much I had to protect and so many things I had to do that I had no choice but to shrink back.
But.
‘Even so, you know.’
No matter how much I endured and endured, this much was hardly something I couldn’t handle.
Kung-!
I unleashed my qi pressure.
“Hiiik-!!”
“Krrrreuk!!?”
The energy radiating from my body spread in all directions. Immediately, a violent wind pressure raged.
The wind swirled as if enveloping the entire compound, then formed a barrier as though creating a domain.
“Such an absurd….”
“How can just aura alone do this…!”
How much internal energy must one have to do this? They were all martial artists, so they would know just how ignorant and absurd my action was.
As people naturally do when witnessing something shocking, those who saw the barrier felt fear in their eyes.
Everyone who had been showing hostility until just moments ago was like that.
Seeing that, I asked without wiping the smile from my face.
“Why? Do as you were doing. You were about to charge in, weren’t you?”
Crack. I loosened my neck. As I kept approaching, this time it was them who retreated.
Seeing them hesitate and back away, I asked with a sigh.
“Where are you going?”
At my low voice, the one at the front hurriedly spoke up.
“…Shenglong Commander. Please calm yourself.”
“What?”
It was a joke. Calm down?
“If I were going to calm down, I wouldn’t have done this in the first place.”
“We understand your anger, but it seems there has been some kind of misunderstanding… First, let us talk….”
“Conversations are bullshit.”
I stomped on the ground and lunged forward.
My vision changed abruptly. By then, my hands were already moving.
Kwaak-!
“Keok!”
I grabbed the speaker by the throat and lifted him straight up.
“Krrruuk…!”
The bastard struggled and thrashed, but ultimately he rose helplessly.
“If you were going to do something, you should have done it sooner. It’s too late now.”
“…P-please… our… words….”
“Yes, I’m sure you all have your circumstances.”
There must have been some kind of problem for things to get to this point.
Naturally. It must feel unfair and frustrating.
“But I’ll hear about that from my kid later. Right now, this is more important.”
Honestly, I didn’t care at all.
Right now, venting my emotions came first.
Guk-! I clenched my fist. Strength surged in as energy gathered.
It was simple fist force. No flames covered it, but this was enough.
I twisted my waist and put strength into my shoulder. I intended to swing my fist just like this.
If I did… this bastard I was holding right now.
‘He’ll die.’
Probably all his organs would rupture and he would die. Moreover, I intended to do the same to all the bastards around me.
I would kill them all.
Every single one of them. I would kill them right here.
In that very moment, as I thought that and was about to swing my fist.
“…Hm?”
Before my outstretched fist touched his stomach, I froze the motion entirely.
Paaaaaah---!! The gangqi gathered in my fist dispersed, unleashing a shockwave.
At the same time, I released the strength in my hand.
“Keok…!”
The bastard whose throat had been grabbed collapsed to the ground, breathing roughly. I had to shift my eyes between him and my hand.
‘What?’
What had I been about to do just now?
Realizing the strange feeling, I widened my eyes.
‘Was I going to kill them all?’
That was definitely the case.
I had intended to kill the bastard I was holding and every single person around me.
As proof, if I hadn’t unclenched my fist just moments ago, this bastard would be dead.
After that, I probably really would have killed all the surrounding bastards.
That was the emotion. The sensation that I had to kill them no matter what.
Feeling that, a chill ran down my spine.
“Ah, this is fucking crazy.”
I ran a hand down my face. It was hard to get a grip.
The fact that I had tried to kill them all—that wasn’t the problem. It wasn’t particularly impossible, and I was actually angry.
However, the problem was that the thought and emotion of wanting to kill others hadn’t been mine.
I could understand beating someone up to vent anger, but if it were me, I wouldn’t have killed them.
If I killed fellow members here, my side would also be in trouble.
I knew that perfectly well, which was why I had planned to throw a tantrum within manageable limits.
‘Why did I try to kill them…?’
Why had I done that just now?
I furrowed my brows at the lingering aftereffects of the emotion.
The killing intent I had felt was real.
It was truly a mind intent on killing them all.
It was nothing but the thought that I had to eliminate something disgusting before my eyes, as though crushing insects to death.
‘What is this.’
This wasn’t my emotion.
It wasn’t my killing intent either.
Something had suddenly popped up from within and briefly occupied my mind.
‘What the hell.’
What on earth is this?
When doubt sprouted, for some reason, the scene I had seen before surfaced in my mind.
-Why is it still alive?
It was from when I had faced myself in my previous life.
“Don’t tell me this is…?”
The moment I took a deep breath, feeling like I was on the verge of understanding something.
Shiiiiii-!!
Kwagagagang---!!
The qi barrier surrounding the area shook from the impact.
It didn’t merely shake—a gap tore open slightly.
Shiiiiiiik---!!!
Through that gap, a sword tip dug toward me together with azure light.
I immediately twisted my body and widened the distance.
The pouring azure light struck the spot where I had been. It erupted with a rough explosion, unleashing a shockwave.
Dust obscured my vision.
“…What do you think you’re doing?”
A voice that was barely suppressing anger, as if chewing it apart.
The voice from within the dust was exactly that.
Shiik-!
With a brief sound, the wind parted.
The dust was completely swept away by a sword wind.
My vision cleared completely. Only then did the obstruction disappear, revealing my opponent’s face in full.
The culprit who had destroyed the qi barrier and the owner of the voice was, of course, Yiqing.
He looked around as if surveying the situation, then spoke to me with a deeply furrowed face.
“Have you… truly gone mad?”
An expression that asked how I could wreak such havoc in his territory.
Seeing that, I had to once again wipe my dry face.
“Ah….”
This wasn’t good. It was even worse now that I was aware of my condition.
I shouldn’t fight Yiqing in my current state.
Because.
‘I might really kill him.’
If I fought now, I felt like I would kill Yiqing without holding back at all.