Chapter 404
It was like a cogwheel. On its own, it was meaningless, but when engaged with other cogwheels, it would be reborn as an elaborate machine.
‘Cheon-Gw.a.n.g’s martial arts… It’s still here.’
He had definitely left it behind, the martial arts created due to His Majesty the Emperor"s command. A hymn of hope that would change the world had been clearly engraved in this world.
"A little more. I need to take a closer look at the three martial skills left by Cheon-Gw.a.n.g.’
However, there wasn’t enough time. Namgung Jincheon was approaching him and was only ten steps away.
‘d.a.m.n it. I just found a clue.’
Why didn"t I find it earlier?
"Just a bit. If only I had a bit more time..."
Seo Jun-Ho"s frustration was about to appear in his eyes.
Clack, clack.
"I’m sure you know this already, but I won’t last long."
Ha In-Ho suddenly appeared in front of Seo Jun-Ho. He was clad in broken armor, and he was not alone.
"I came here just in case, but as expected…”
Rahmadat stood next to Ha In-Ho. It wasn"t just them.
‘Seven, eight, nine… thirteen people?"
Tankers, who should have been busy defending other Players, started building a wall in front of him.
"What is this? Wait! What about the others?"
"Don"t worry about them," said Ha In-Ho. At the same time, a huge pillar of fire suddenly rose from the road a few blocks away. "They are not people who will collapse just because thirteen people aren’t there to support them."
"But…”
"But or not, don’t you need time?" Rahmadat asked.
Seo Jun-Ho"s eyes widened. "How did you know?”
"Geez. Are you actually asking me that?" Rahmadat replied. He waved his thick hands and said, "It"s not like we’ve only been together for a day or two."
He was a comrade whom Seo Jun-Ho had overcome hundreds and thousands of life-or-death crises with. Rahmadat could tell what Seo Jun-Ho wanted just by looking at his face—no, his eyes from afar.
"I’m saying this in advance, but this is an investment. Jun-Ho, you’re the only one with claws that can reach him."
A stern look of trust could be seen in his friend’s expression.
"Time. I"ll drag it on as much as you want. However, promise me one thing."
Thump, thump.
Rahmadat thumped his chest with his fist and smiled lightly. "Promise me that you’ll definitely blow that a.s.shole away."
“…”
Namgung Jincheon was strong. These tankers had strong and excellent armor, but how long could they last?
‘Five minutes? Ten minutes?’
They would have to experience h.e.l.l during those minutes. However, they were willing to walk into that h.e.l.l without hesitation. This was something they could have never done if they didn’t have faith in him.
“…”
Seo Jun-Ho was grateful—extremely grateful. He nodded.
"I promise. Buy me some time, then."
"Haha, it feels really nice to hear you asking for something."
Rahmadat smirked and started moving slowly. He soon started running, and he tackled Namgung Jincheon.
***
‘I can’t waste this golden opportunity.’
While the tankers were holding onto Namgung Jincheon, Seo Jun-Ho started recalling the postures of the martial artists in Cheon-Gw.a.n.g’s test.
‘Focus, focus, focus.’
He was immersed in his own thoughts, and as he delved deeper and deeper into his own thoughts, the things distracting him disappeared one by one.
"You dare?! Know your place!"
Namgung Jincheon vanished as if he was never there. The noises on the battlefield disappeared, along with the towering presence of Namgung Jincheon.
‘A trance.’
Seo Jun-Ho"s world became completely silent, and he was finally able to shift his full focus to the eighty-one martial artists.
“…”
He looked, looked again, and looked once more. He crammed every movement shown by the martial artists into his head as if he was memorizing it. However, Seo Jun-Ho"s face didn’t get bright like earlier.
"…Rather than martial skills, they seem to have no rules and are just completely chaotic.’
He thought he had gotten a clue, but could it be that he was overlooking something? He asked himself questions and repeatedly answered them.
‘Let"s think from the beginning. What is a martial technique?"
It was something made by connecting movements together.
‘But why does it look so messy? It doesn"t connect at all.’
It was probably an intentional mess made by Cheon-Gw.a.n.g so that the martial techniques of the Black Moon Martial Arts wouldn’t get pa.s.sed on to people who weren’t good enough.
"Then, how would he differentiate the future generations?’
‘Oh! The answer came out.’
Seo Jun-Ho looked at the martial artists using the Black Moon Heart Method.
‘I see.’
The ‘false postures’ misleading his eyes disappeared. Moreover, it had finally become noticeable that the movements were connected to each other.
‘Now I just have to memorize them in order.’
The first martial artist"s starting posture was an overhead posture.
The second martial artist"s starting position was a lower defensive posture.
"Then, it means that the first movement starts with a downward strike.”
He remembered solving similar puzzles when he was young. It was a puzzle where he had to navigate through a maze from A to reach B without lifting his pen.
‘It"s not that different.’
Seo Jun-Ho interpreted and memorized the movements of these martial artists as if he were putting together a puzzle. As a result, he completed a total of three martial techniques.
“…”
He finally found it. He finally found the martial techniques Cheon-Gw.a.n.g had been hiding. But why? He should have been overjoyed, but it was the opposite.
‘General.’
He felt sour, and he had to close his eyes tightly. The feelings Cheon-Gw.a.n.g felt at the time were conveyed to him while he was looking for the martial techniques.
"You were afraid as well.’
He had to send his liege and subordinates off. He died alone and in a world where he couldn’t trust anyone.
‘Even someone like you were shivering in fear...’
Just what were his feelings when he made this data chip? Seeing Cheon-Gw.a.n.g swinging his sword, imitating the eighty-one martial artists who were his subordinates, Seo Jun-Ho felt like he finally knew.
‘I"m sorry.’
Why didn"t he notice it earlier? Now that he knew everything, he could see clearly that Cheon-Gw.a.n.g was crying out loud while imitating his eighty-one subordinates.
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‘It was a silent cry, and he was hoping for me to discover the meaning behind these movements.’
He realized it too late because he was stupid. It took him a long time to come back. In his mind, Seo Jun-Ho promised Cheon-Gw.a.n.g one thing. It was late, but he would certainly take care of it.
***
"You bugs!"
Namgung Jincheon’s face turned murderous. He indiscriminately hurled sword aura at the Players blocking him.
"It"s coming again!"
"d.a.m.n it, raise your shields!”
Boom! Boooom!
The Players who took the brunt of the sword auras were pushed back. Despite being blocked by the shields of the tankers, the sword auras still contained a destructive power that made them swear. The enarmes of the shields they were holding had snapped off long ago, but they tied the enarmes around their arms so that they could still lift their shields to defend.
‘This is bad.’
Rahmadat had a gaping hole in his stomach, and he was breathing roughly as he stood there. Everyone was exhausted, and since they couldn’t recover their magic in Neo City, they weren’t really fighting at full strength.
"But…"
Despite all that, they still held their shields up. It was all to buy Seo Jun-Ho time.
"I can"t lose to them"
Rahmadat ran forward once again and punched Namgung Jincheon"s face.
"Huryaaaaa!"
Clang!
There was not a scratch on Namgung Jincheon’s face. Rahmadat"s fist sustained injuries, and it was torn apart as the bones shattered. Blood incessantly dripped out of his hand.
"Foolish. Do you really think that your attack can break through my Diamond Buddha?"
"Hmm? If I just had plenty of magic, you would have already become a trash can.”
"You sure have a boisterous mouth.”
Crack, crack!
Namgung Jincheon crushed Rahmadat"s kneecaps just then. He then started looking around in dissatisfaction.
"Gasp, gasp.”
"Haa… hak."
The Players were exhausted. It was obvious from their ragged breathing, their trembling legs, and their sunken eyes. They were so exhausted they looked like they would collapse at any moment now.
‘But why…’
Why weren’t they falling down? Why did they keep on standing up even after falling down? It would be more comfortable for them to just stay down. Namgung Jincheon couldn’t help but wonder.
"Don"t you people on Earth value your lives? Just why are you going this far?”
"Ptooey! Why else?" responded Ha In-Ho. He spat out the blood in his mouth and continued. "Because we saw it..."
They had seen the back of the man who had never given up—the back of the man who always aimed to get the best results out of the worst situations.
"How can I stay still after seeing something like that?"
"Yeah, I can"t lie down and show my ugly side after seeing him like that."
"If you"re going to raise your shield only when it"s safe, why did you even become a tanker?"
A desert traveler searching for an unknown oasis would die a hundred times out of a hundred. However, travelers with clear milestones were different.
"Until he comes back…"
"We cannot fall down..."
They had a milestone they could trust and follow, so they could stand back up again after falling down.
“…”
Namgung Jincheon"s eyes shook lightly. Was he scared? No, that was definitely not it. The Players before him were bugs who couldn’t even properly block his attacks.
"I… don"t understand. I don"t understand.’
He was starting to get fl.u.s.tered. He had never led or chased after anyone like them in his life.
"Ku, kuhuhu.”
Rahmadat laughed while slamming his fist into Namgung Jincheon"s foot, despite his smashed kneecaps.
"Someone like you will never understand it for the rest of your life, so just go ahead and die ignorant."
"…Why will I never know?"
"Because you"re a king in the well."
"I"m a king in the well?"
Namgung Jincheon stomped on Rahmadat"s neck.
"Bulls.h.i.t! I"m the G.o.d of this world!"
"Cr, crrr...”
Rahmada started trembling like a frog.
"It’s fine. That"s enough."
Namgung Jincheon was still curious, but his mood had soured. He felt like there was no need for him to spend more time with these idiots.
"I’ll give you a clean death." Namgung Jincheon grabbed Rahmadat by the neck. "Hand over your neigong and die!"
Using the Great Law of the Absorbing Star, Rahmadat started to dry up.
"F-f.u.c.k, I’m losing my muscles…"
"Hoh.”
Namgung Jincheon’s eyes shone. Rahmadat was the most nutritious treat he had eaten today. His mouth started watering, and he smacked his lips in delight.
“...?” However, he suddenly looked down at his hand.
‘What? Why did I stop?’
He couldn’t quite understand it. If he had absorbed a little more neigong, the monster in front of him would have perished, so why did it stop?
“…”
Namgung Jincheon looking for the reason why he stopped absorbing Rahmadat’s neigong slowly turned around. On the grave of broken shields, a man was standing there, aloof.
When Namgung Jincheon saw the man, he realized it.
"…You"re back."
Black Moon Martial Arts…
The martial art which could ruin his world was resurrected.