Surviving as a Rival in a Martial Arts Novel

Chapter 11 – This Boss Can’t Win (01)

I didn’t expect things to turn out like this.

“How did Samae learn about that story?”

Thinking back, even the nuns who only heard rumors when second-rate and third-rate martial artists came to cause trouble in the martial arts world knew about the good medicine available in the port.

In other words, even ordinary people were aware of the rumor to the extent that it had become public knowledge. Samae, despite being ignorant of worldly affairs, might have rushed to the harbor out of desperation upon hearing the rumor while searching for information.

If I had been awake, I would have asked Jegal Yeonji. However, Jegal Yeonji hadn’t contacted Samae separately while I was unconscious, and it seemed that he tried to check my condition only after Samae left.

It wasn’t impossible.

“But why does such a delicate event have to be linked with another character, Samae… Could it be that the novel’s plot is trying to return to its original state?”

Swoosh!

With an explosive surge of energy throughout my body, I leaped over two to three buildings in a single bound, quickly reaching the harbor.

The crescent moon disappeared into the clouds, plunging into darkness so profound that nothing could be seen.

Thud.

“Huuuh…”

When usually using my inner strength explosively, it would make my chest tight and my breath caught, but now, as my inner strength circulated to the tip of my head, it felt like my body was being activated lightly, as if loosening up.

Confirming that my body, which had been unconscious for about a fortnight, was surprisingly intact and agile, I cautiously approached the harbor, crawling stealthily like a beast, suppressing any noise and hiding in the darkness.

“In the current situation, I want to rush in and save Samae, but…”

In a situation where I didn’t know exactly what was happening, I had to move discreetly. If Samae was being held hostage and was in the hands of the black-clothed organization, these guys were ruthless enough to end Samae’s life the moment I barged in and then attack me.

‘Please be safe… unharmed!’

Using the essence of the Martial Arts Water Stride, he pressed his palm between the cargo, then crawled low like a bug.

If the people in the real martial world were to see this, they might criticize it as an unseemly sight, saying they’d rather die than hide like this. However, since he had originally tried not to stand out, it didn’t matter.

‘There it is.’

I don’t know what trickery was done nearby, but as I moved along with the arrangement of the cargo, the surroundings felt different.

It was like entering a room with an air curtain installed, where you could feel the temperature difference. As I entered the space hidden between the cargo, a thick smell of blood filled the air, making it hard to breathe.

‘Same!’

Surrounded by dozens of Black Robed individuals, a slender girl clenched a broken sword tightly.

Just a moment ago, there were deep sword marks deeply carved into the surrounding terrain, as if she had desperately resisted. However, the Black Robed individuals facing the girl now only had weak sword wounds on their arms or thighs.

In terms of skill, she was more than capable of cutting down all the guys gathered here and returning unscathed. However, Same, with no practical experience and a heart too kind, was struggling in combat without preparing herself for the ruthlessness of dealing with people.

“…Same.”

Though her expression was slightly tired, she looked unharmed. A small, agile male with a short stature was moving skillfully, constantly aiming for the gaps in Same’s defense. However, every time he tried, Same narrowly blocked his attacks, maintaining the situation.

But the opponents were pushing forward with numbers, engaging in a war of attrition. Exposed to a style of combat she hadn’t experienced before, Same’s concentration was dispersing. It wasn’t a time to relax.

‘The agile male… judging by the fast speed and the Amiza in his hands, could he be a Masked Ghost?’

The balance of power was currently hanging by a thread.

If it were Same’s true skill, she could easily subdue the Masked Ghost or other assassins. However, Same, who had never seen someone bleed and had her body stiffen at the sight, couldn’t bring out her true abilities. The Masked Ghost, using his subordinates as shields, intentionally allowed Same’s attacks to be blocked.

Even when Same tried to sweep with the black blade or release her inner strength just before cutting, they noticed her reluctance to harm them and deliberately blocked her attacks by throwing themselves onto her sword.

‘I have to help.’

Maintaining such a tense balance meant that if I intruded and subdued the Masked Ghost from behind, the equilibrium would collapse in an instant. Even if Same didn’t kill them by slashing, I would be able to subdue them to a level where she could handle them.

[Same. Deliberately show an opening and lure them in.]

Sa-me was looking around with surprised rabbit eyes the moment he heard my inner sound. It was awkward to see such a reaction when hearing a friend’s inner sound in this combat situation, but at the same time, it was a perfect execution of the demand to show vulnerability that I had requested.

“hehehehe!”

And the masked demon, seeing that, grabbed the body of the assassin in front of him, turning it into a human shield, and rushed towards Sa-me, whose back was empty.

‘Alright…!’

Crack!

With a powerful push, the cargo wall that concealed me collapsed, sending me flying.

The other assassins didn’t even notice me flying, and only one, the masked demon, tried to turn his head, feeling the chilling aura behind him. But before he could turn his eyes, my hand had already grabbed the masked demon, slamming him onto the ground.

“Ambush… Hmph!”

Thunk!

I slammed the masked demon’s face onto the ground, breaking the wooden floor of the harbor. As the assassins finally turned their attention to me, I lifted my sleeve, deliberately creating a gust of wind.

Whooooosh!

As the balance of the assassins collapsed, Sa-me did not miss the opportunity. He aggressively attacked, sweeping their backs or legs with his sword, injecting energy and attempting to actively suppress them. Trapped between me and Sa-me, they quickly fell, silenced one by one with a single blow.

“Phew!”

Originally, they were just guys wearing both illness and injuries, and if Sa-me and I joined forces, they couldn’t endure for a moment.

“Sa-me, are you okay?”

“Alive!”

Fortunately, Sa-me seemed to be mentally exhausted but without significant injuries.

“Why did you come after hearing such rumors?”

“I’m sorry, Alive… The girl was so scared because Alive didn’t seem to be waking up, so I had to gather information and move…”

I couldn’t blame Sa-me for worrying about me and taking action on his own.

If the twins suddenly collapsed, there was a high likelihood that I would move as soon as I heard and gathered various information instead of confirming.

“Ughhh…!”

While stepping firmly on the back of the fleeing Talmyeon-gwi’s head, preventing it from making reckless moves, I used the technique to remove the weapon from its finger, preventing it from swinging the Amija hanging on its finger.

“aaah!”

As the object forcibly pulled from the flesh, the finger snapped, and the Talmyeon-gwi screamed, but I had no intention of disarming the wicked hand that stripped the facial skin of a mountain person without mercy.

‘Even if he’s holding a weapon, he’s not threatening…’

Although Talmyeon-gwi could manufacture Infimyeong and disguise their identities, revealing a cruel aspect of stripping faces, in terms of actual martial arts ability, they were at best only at the level of a first-class master.

‘Funny… to think that I, who can handle the role of a leader in a small or medium-sized martial arts faction, would consider him just a first-class master.’

Thinking about it from the perspective of the later stages of this novel world, my memories of Banggyuseong reached the level beyond the peak master to the level of 초절정 (super peak).

‘Power balance hasn’t collapsed yet, so even if he’s just a peak master, he should be able to walk confidently in most factions.’

In fact, upon seeing Yeon Cheong-ha, who was treated as a peak master, the Black Secret Organization even tried to arrange a strategic marriage with the daughter of the Martial Arts Alliance leader to firmly align themselves with the Martial Arts Alliance.

Of course, unexpectedly pure-hearted Yeon Cheong-ha rejected that proposal and lived as a lone beast.

It wasn’t that she didn’t like it, but for Yeon Cheong-ha, who had given such deep feelings to the twins, there was no room for another woman.

If the twins hadn’t been lost and had lived well, it would have been connected to Yeon Cheong-ha, the daughter of the Martial Arts Alliance leader… that’s what I think.

“I apologize for causing concern, Samae. If you had not lost them, I would have taken care of them on my own.”

If there were no twins, I would have sorted them out on my own.

Anyway, those who would have been wiped out by tracking Yeon Cheong-ha at this stage would have died appropriately in the context of the novel.

But now, with the twins, I couldn’t bring myself to deal with them and hesitated…

‘I can’t let it go to the officials. But I can’t hand them over to the Martial Arts Alliance or Jegal Yeon-ji either.’

Jegal Yeonji, Jegal Sega must not discover their identities. If that happens, it will stir up a sudden chaos by disturbing the hidden beehive, and Ban Kyuseong and Mulin Maeng are not yet prepared.

Even for me, I was in a difficult situation, as I still didn’t have the confidence to fight against the teenage executives of the dark organization and subdue them. It was a situation where they shouldn’t be exposed, and I was struggling with the dilemma of not wanting them to be caught.

Kuuuk…

As I was contemplating whether to break the neck of the mask-wearing demon who was desperately lifting the head I was stepping on or to crush it with my internal energy.

The mask-wearing demon managed to pull out his mouth from between the wooden floor and shouted.

“My… my lord! You must not reveal yourself in a place like this…!”

‘My lord?’

The mask-wearing demon could be considered a mid-boss, secretly sent by the dark organization to shake off the influence of the Sacheon in the Four Heavens. Despite the disruption of the plan and the assassination attempt when he infiltrated during the time when Yeoncheong was starting the plan, it led to a crisis for Yeoncheong in the future due to that incident…

‘Ah…! Could it be that at this moment… the one in charge of Sacheon is here?”

A chilling aura began to tighten around my neck, and beyond the formation, a powerful aura and a sophisticated energy began to spew out towards the siblings.

“It seems that the situation is not favorable for hiding and observing as you suggest. Isn’t that right?”

As a cool breeze began to encircle my neck, I had a premonition that the worst-case scenario I had envisioned was coming true.

“I’ve discarded the name of the past. Now, I am known as this.”

The man with that voice raised his sword and gracefully greeted us.

“Chugum.”

‘This is… bad…’

Encountering the boss that should never be met at this moment.