Surviving as a Rival in a Martial Arts Novel

Chapter 12 – The Unbeatable Boss (02)

Chugum (醜劍).

As one of the teenage executives in the organization, I am currently in the 10th position… no, now it would be the 9th.

Originally, according to the original novel, today, when Ginyeo goes missing and Yeongcheong feels suspicious, she tracks their whereabouts a few days later and jumps into the hideout of assassins and Talmyeonggwi, planning to start their activities in earnest.

If Talmyeonggwi intends to collect the handsome face of Yeongcheong, he uses all kinds of wicked and despicable martial arts. In a fierce duel against Yeongcheong, who confronts him with unfamiliar martial arts, Talmyeonggwi faces crisis but ultimately wins after a fierce battle, revealing his ugly face and dying.

And tomorrow, entering Sacheon to start her activities, Jegal Yeonji, the Nazang woman, causes an incident. In the battle with Talmyeonggwi, Yeongcheong, who has worsened her injuries, decides to participate, enduring the worsening injuries to save Han Soso, who arrives late, rescuing the protagonist and the party.

In this process, the plan of the dark organization for Sacheon collapses, and as a result, Cheogeom, originally ranked 9th among the executives, is demoted to the 10th.

Angry at his situation, he starts pursuing Yeongcheong while realizing her weakness in the latter part. Intending to lure Yeongcheong with her as bait and kill her, he attempts Donggwi Eojin, leading to the mutual destruction of Cheogeom and Yeongcheong, which is the original role…

Fortunately, surviving with Gusa Ilsaeng and obtaining the Fate Token, he returns.

“Execution…”

Samae was trembling unconsciously, and I, too, was shaking all over like a quivering bamboo.

Like a puppy unaware of how frightening a tiger is, once the level of cultivation reaches a certain point, it becomes impossible to guess how strong a master is.

But wolves, unlike puppies, could guess to some extent the strength of a tiger. Since Samae and I were already close to the level of a supreme master, we could somewhat grasp the power of Cheogeom, who reached the level of the supreme.

‘I can’t win.’

If we were to play a game, it was a level where we couldn’t even openly confront and proceed with the story by wiping out.

“Execution!”

In response to Samae’s warning, I instinctively took two steps back. Although nothing had happened in the place where I was just now, my heightened intuition, due to reaching the level of the supreme, made me aware that if I had been in that position, my legs would be broken and rolling on the floor by now.

“Kuk!”

The Talmyeonggwi, who had been trampled on by me, hurriedly stepped away and stood next to Cheogeom. The contrast between the dignified posture of Cheogeom, who stood proudly like a young man, and the figure of Talmyeonggwi, who bowed and looked like he was only half the height, was a striking contrast.

“Master, you shouldn’t speak any further. To maintain confidentiality, you must adhere to the silence order.”

“In this situation, staying silent won’t solve anything. Anyway, if we can’t kill them, our traces will be revealed, right?”

A sinister aura rises from Cheogeom’s entire body.

Taller than others by a hand’s span, he had a large build, and although his face was covered with a mask, strands of white hair peeking through here and there revealed the man’s age.

“Isn’t that so?”

“…If you promise to forget everything you’ve seen here and keep your mouth shut?”

“Well, if I were willing to release you upon hearing such words, wouldn’t I have forced my subordinates to cut their tongues and enforce a vow of silence?”

‘No intention of letting go, huh?’

“Samae, move…”

Swish!

Before I could warn, Samae, unable to overcome the urge to survive, instinctively drew his sword.

Not consciously, but as Samae’s mental strength reached its limit, his body, following instinct rather than consciousness, drew the sword to protect himself in a crisis, a skill honed as a martial artist.

Crack!

“Ack!”

However, at that moment, the impact transmitted through Samae’s handgrip as he unsheathed the Cheonggang Sword, even just the half part, caused his grip to break, and he accidentally dropped the sword.

“Are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine…!”

Though Samae’s hand seemed soft and delicate, she had been wielding a sword for over a decade as a seasoned swordsman. Yet, the precise and strong impact was enough to make her drop the sword.

I wanted to check the injuries, but with the deadly threat in front of us, I knew that turning our backs with the dagger at hand would lead to our downfall. So, I focused my gaze on him, at least showing the effort to counteract.

“When reading your inner energy, it seems both of you have practiced the same martial arts. Judging by the demeanor, the girl hiding behind has reached a slightly higher level.”

Cheokgeom casually passed judgment on us.

“But… the gaze, the unwavering attack, the judgment to suppress the Talmengwi, and the mindset to overturn the situation in battle… rather than a girl who only excels in martial arts but knows nothing of the world, it seems you are more threatening.”

‘Dangerous.’

The target of the investigation was me.

It’s somewhat reassuring that they’re not targeting Sa-mae from the beginning, but the fact that I have to fight against the investigation…

“Hoo…”

According to the original work, Yeon Cheong-ha’s martial arts level is about average for a top-notch master. If I had been consistently training in martial arts, I would have been in the upper ranks of the top-notch masters.

“But now?”

Since I broke through the Lim Dok-yang vein, I could be considered a top-notch master, but I haven’t fully adapted to the changed state yet. Can I really defeat the investigation, who is already stepping into the realm of ultimate perfection?

Although there may be some individual differences in the awakening, it is something that happens during the peak master stage. Even after the awakening, how long can I hold out against the investigation, who has reached the realm of ultimate perfection through repeated cultivation?

Moreover, my body is already feeling the investigation’s aura, my knees are bending, and my hands are trembling.

“Darn it… darn it!”

I wanted to run away. I thought that if I just screamed and ran away with all my might, I could survive. I even had the audacious thought that if the investigation is such a pathetic person, they might not bother chasing after me and kill me.

But I couldn’t run away, leaving Sa-mae terrified behind me.

“If it were any other trash, they wouldn’t know, but someone like you should have a rough idea of my level… Yet you still don’t run away?”

“How could I not know?”

“hehehe…! Well, well! A man should have the audacity to stand in front of a woman! Isn’t that right, Talmyeong-gwi?”

“Master! If you use that title here…”

“Anyway, what do you think if we kill that guy and get rid of any evidence? Do you think we’ll be blamed for telling our information to Yeomra Daewang?”

“Mmm… If that’s what you say, master…”

“Yes. I heard you have a split face, but with such a handsome face, don’t you think it suits your taste?”

Upon hearing those words, Talmyeong-gwi slowly examined my face, running his dirty tongue over his dry lips.

“Indeed, it is certainly the master’s taste.”

“If that’s the case, I’ll neatly sever your head and present it as a gift. I’d like to preserve that spirited look of yours in a death mask.”

Chugyeom takes a step forward.

“And those who are unconscious from being hit, get out of the way. After all, even a hundred of you couldn’t touch a single thread of that man’s garment.”

At his words, those who were knocked out or had broken something began to desperately crawl away, using their arms to escape the scene.

It was possible because Samae had been merciful and left them with minor injuries, but even the owner of Gi-Ru, who usually dragged his legs, was trying to flee by forcibly kicking his own legs.

Chugyeom was a man that dangerous.

“Personally, I’d like to spend time playing with my juniors, but I’m in the middle of official business, so it can’t be helped.”

Chugyeom approached me with light steps, but to me, watching his immense energy move, it felt like a great mountain was in motion.

“But as a final gift before you go to the afterlife, I’ll show you my face. Just tell King Yama that you were killed by Chugyeom.”

Talmyeongui seemed to have given up, bowing his head, and Chugyeom boldly threw off his mask.

Scar-ridden. Recently, his mind had stabilized, so there were no new scars, but his face was so covered with sword cuts that it was hard to see any unmarked flesh, making Samae involuntarily gasp and turn her head.

However, I felt a strange sentiment towards this warrior who, despite the disgust at his scarred face, accepted his own ugliness and reached a new realm. In the novel I read, he was just a strong character filled with malice towards Yeoncheonghae, but now he seemed like a tragic figure, determined to carry out the killing mask policy against the martial world’s younger generation.

‘As I move, does the content of the novel change… and even the impression of meeting this character?’

“As a junior, state your name.”

“Yeoncheonghae.”

“On this side is Chugyeom. My name isn’t important anymore. In the past, I was known by another nickname, but now, as you see… I’m using a nickname that suits my face.”

Chugyeom’s voice sounded very young, but in reality, he was over 80 years old. In his youth, he was known as Okmyeoncheongeom (Jade-faced Heavenly Sword) but received a sword wound on his face during a duel over a woman.

For a martial artist, it was a minor cut, but Okmyeoncheongeom, obsessed with his face, thought his perfect face was ruined. He inflicted more sword wounds on his own face, believing he would be restored to his former state once he achieved a transformational breakthrough in martial arts.

Eventually, even after achieving the breakthrough, his face did heal but was left with faint scar traces. Despairing at this, he joined a dark organization.

Only after creating the new nickname Chugyeom did he psychologically stabilize, accepting his reality and stepping into the realm of the extraordinary. Now, Samae and I alone had to withstand facing him.

“But that’s why it won’t be easy.”

Because he had thrown himself into a frenzy of hatred, Chugyeojeon was able to use the technique of sacrificing his own life to take the life of his opponent.

But now, as he calmly surveyed his surroundings and drew his sword, the Chugeom’s appearance showed no sign of a way to defeat him.

“I’ll give up the first move.”

Just as one would feel fear when a sharp blade suddenly flew towards them in the modern era, even though Chugyeom and I were about ten meters apart, a chilling aura dominated my senses as if the blade was right in front of my nose.

“Execution… what should we do?”

Samae seemed to feel fear in the current situation and was stammering, but I didn’t even look back at her and showed her my back as I spoke.

“Samae.”

“Yes… Execution.”

“I’m counting on you to defend.”

“Defend…?”

“I’ll try to approach him. If Samae chases after me, try to block his attacks as much as possible.”

“Can a girl do that? A girl is…”

“I’ll leave my life to Samae. But in return.”

Crack!

I lowered my posture so forcefully that my feet dug into the wooden floor, compressing my muscles as if trying to pounce like a wild animal.

“I will definitely deliver a blow.”

It was almost like boasting.

But in that moment, Samae splattered blood on the ground from his clenched fist and gripped his sword again.

“Then I will definitely protect your life, Execution.”

Sure. This is how my destiny unfolds.