The World’s Greatest is Dead

The World’s Greatest is Dead – Chapter 99

*Swwiiiish-!! Clang–!!*

In the wide room, light flashed incessantly.

Intense battle cries erupted everywhere, and the piercing sounds felt like sharp jabs to the ear.

The smell of blood lingered in the air.

The palpable intensity weighed on my shoulders.

*Kwaggeurrrk–!!!*

I dodged the sword coming at me. I took two steps back and, in my rush, my stance broke slightly.

*Click.*

My ears perked up at the sound. To my left. Should I duck? No.

‘Half step to the right. Then turn.’

I calculated the direction of the incoming sword by its sound.

Predicting the speed, I chose the most likely probability of its trajectory.

Once the calculation was complete, I executed the appropriate response physically.

*Schiiik-!*

The sword narrowly missed my hair. The severed strands scattered into the air.

Even though I dodged the attack, my body did not stop moving.

My body had already reacted. Using the momentum, I slightly bent my waist.

Instead of trying to regain balance, I maintained the sensation of pushing the ground with my foot.

I bent down, loosening the tension in my twisted waist.

*Squaaaah.*

The transferred energy from my loosened waist flowed into the sword gripped in my hand.

‘Moon Wave.’

Flashing azure ki swept through the air. Two martial artists charging at me were struck by the sword and fell to the ground.

“Urk!”

“Cough…!”

I watched as they slowly collapsed, bleeding.

I ran up, piercing one’s vocal cords with my sword and kicking the other’s face hard enough to twist it completely.

After finishing them off, I pulled out my sword and hurled it with all my strength in the opposite direction.

*Whhirrr! Thud!*

“Argh!?”

The sword lodged itself into someone’s back.

It was a martial artist approaching Do Hyung from behind.

Hearing the scream, Do Hyung moved. He slashed the chest of his opponent in front and turned to handle the one behind.

I ran and retrieved the sword lodged in the back. Simultaneously, Do Hyung beheaded the attacker.

Blood splattered on the floor.

The pungent smell of blood irritated my nostrils.

I frowned and looked in Do Hyung’s direction.

‘Still staying put.’

Do Hyung’s Guardian Spirit was still unusually calm.

What was this? Why?

‘Why is it staying still?’

Despite a deadly battle raging, why was that Guardian Spirit unmoving?

‘Is that really a Guardian Spirit?’

Based on the energy, it was definitely a Guardian Spirit.

A high-ranking one, categorized as a Mountain God Spirit-level.

‘It’s completely different from the Guardian Spirits I’ve seen before.’

Its behavior was odd.

No proper reaction, just circling around Do Hyung.

Was that really a Guardian Spirit? Typically, a Guardian Spirit should react intensely or do something in such a situation.

But it did not.

Why?

I couldn’t make sense of it, so I continued observing.

At that moment.

*Shwiiiik-!*

I heard a sound from behind. I tried to turn around quickly, but—’Too late.’

It felt too late. Should I roll to the ground? As that thought entered my mind briefly.

*Thud!*

“Ugh!”

The man attempting to ambush me staggered. Who was it?

It was Tang Yelan. Tang Yelan rammed into him with her shoulder, thwarting the ambush.

It was a close call. She could finish off the martial artist now.

But then.

“… Huh?”

Tang Yelan stared wide-eyed at the collapsed martial artist.

Her dagger was still in her hand, yet she stood there trembling.

What was this?

In her uncertain reaction, the fallen martial artist quickly grabbed a sword to stand up.

Even then, Tang Yelan stood there helplessly.

I frowned and swung my sword at him.

*Swish-!*

His neck was slashed, and blood splattered onto Tang Yelan’s cheek.

“… Eek!”

She flinched, trembling as she saw the blood. I spoke to her.

“… Are you alright?”

“A-Ah… I’m… I’m okay.”

“Thank you for a moment ago.”

“N-No. But… this is…”

Tang Yelan, still not comprehending the situation, asked me.

*Clang-! Clang-!*

The surrounding noise continued. So, it wasn’t the time to give a detailed explanation.

“… It’s an ambush. Those guys are enemies of the Tang family. If we don’t kill them, we die.”

I explained as simply as possible and immediately moved.

I turned my gaze.

The floor was already filled with corpses.

How many people did I kill in an instant?

I don’t know. I stopped counting after three.

My heart kept pounding. If I didn’t concentrate, my breathing would become erratic.

Recognizing this, I forced my body to move.

Most of the Tang family’s warriors who had entered with me had already met their end.

Among them, there were also several of the attackers.

But even half of them being killed meant that half still remained.

‘Tsk.’

As I acknowledged this, I tried to move my body, but felt pain in my shoulder.

‘Urgh…’

Glancing sideways, I saw the blood soaking my clothes.

It seemed I had been cut during the fight.

‘How badly am I hurt?’

My hand barely moved. The fortunate thing was that it was on my left side.

Still, the pain fettered my movements.

Gritting my teeth, I turned my gaze.

This time, it was toward Chun Uijin.

He was also facing his opponents with a serious expression.

There were two of them?

I pushed off the ground and charged.

At that moment, Chun Uijin’s sword bounced away, creating an opening. One of the warriors seized this chance and thrust his sword.

*Fwaaah-!!*

“Ugh!”

I, intervening, emitted light from my body. It was moonlight.

The brightness disoriented the opponent. But I didn’t stop.

“Left!”

At my shout, Chun Uijin understood and quickly grabbed his sword, slashing the opponent on the left.

I dealt with the one on the right. I then lightly gripped my shoulder.

Moving so vigorously had only amplified the pain.

“Young master Bang!”

Chun Uijin approached with concern, looking at me with a slightly tired expression.

‘Ah, this is not easy.’

Thanks to becoming a First-rate warrior, my body felt much lighter than before.

But this was my first real battle.

I knew that, someday, I would face a true battle, but…

‘This is harder than I thought.’

I hadn’t imagined a battlefield so harsh and urgent.

Corpses piled on the ground.

As the blood flowed, so did nauseating emotions.

All that was enough to shake my spirit.

I gripped my sword tightly with my right hand.

The enemy numbers were gradually decreasing.

Fortunately, Do Hyung was strong, and Chun Uijin was not weak.

Although I was worried about Tang Yelan, the situation wasn’t too dire.

‘Anyway, the numbers are decreasing.’

To that extent, it was manageable.

But, even in such a situation, there was a reason my anxiety grew.

‘That guy still hasn’t moved.’

Even as his subordinates fell and blood soaked the surroundings, Pal Du-Hyeok simply leaned against the wall.

His posture signified detachment from the current events.

How could he appear so calm?

‘Phew…’

I sighed inwardly and shifted my gaze.

From start to finish, the bastard had been watching me.

No matter how much the numbers decreased, my anxiety remained because of that bastard.

Probably, others felt the same.

‘As long as that bastard is here.’

The sense of unease would not vanish.

Pal Du-Hyeok’s presence rendered the number of enemies irrelevant.

‘He is not trying to kill me.’

That was clear enough, judging by this.

But his subordinates were relentless, swinging their swords to kill me sharply.

There was something different about him.

He kept watching me, pondering something.

In the interim, I continued to fight desperately.

Clenching my teeth and exerting force, I looked at Yu Chun-gil.

Yu Chun-gil, along with the Poison Sovereign, watched it all just like Pal Du-Hyeok.

‘How long are you just going to watch?’

Until things had reached this state.

Why did that old man only watch?

The laughter on his face was as irritating as ever.

His gaze, looking down as if taunting them to try, was unbearable.

As if he knew everything, those blue eyes observed them.

Simultaneously,

‘Annoying old man.’

I found myself disgusted by my own belief that everything would somehow work out as long as that old man was there.

“… I.”

Do Hyung’s voice sounded. Looking to my side, I saw him standing there with a slightly tired face.

“Are you alright?”

“… No, I think I’m going to die.”

“I’m glad you’re alright.”

“… Why did you ask?”

It was absurd. The absurdity made me laugh.

“… Excuse me, are you alright?”

As I laughed without realizing it, Chun Uijin staggered towards me.

He didn’t seem injured, just exhausted.

“It doesn’t seem like a time for Lord Chun to be worrying about anyone.”

“… I’m fine.”

“Yeah, right, who would believe that?”

Who could believe it with that expression?

What were these people… They were all so strange.

We still had some left. Do Hyung looked slightly tired but alright.

Chun Uijin, on the other hand, seemed to have reached his limit.

Then what about me?

‘What’s there to say. I feel like I’m dying.’

My injured shoulder was throbbing.

Mental and physical fatigue had already piled up.

Ah, so real combat was this tough.

‘Back at the Murim Alliance, it was like heaven.’

I realized how nice those times were, just catching ordinary criminals.

Should I have remained stuck in the Murim Alliance instead of joining the Blue Moon Sect or anything else?

That thought crossed my mind briefly.

‘Hoo.’

Instead of speaking, I gripped my sword.

Regretting the past was pointless.

In any case…

‘Would the choices change if I went back?’

Probably not.

So, as I wiped off the sweat and tried to get back into position, “It’s enough now.”

A deep voice was heard—’Huh?’

My view changed.

I was getting farther from where I had been looking.

My perception was delayed.

Was this—Am I flying?

*BOOM—!!!*

“Argh…”

My body crashed into the wall.

Blood flowed from my mouth.

“I…! Ugh!”

Do Hyung’s panicked voice echoed.

Beyond my blurry vision from the impact, I saw something.

Clutching my head, I stood up. Ahead, Pal Du-Hyeok stood holding a spear.

In front of him, Do Hyung was kneeling, collapsing on the ground.

“… As expected, this doesn’t suit my temper, huh? Why do I have to do such tedious things?”

Do Hyung, who had collapsed, struggled to rise, but Pal Du-Hyeok swung his spear without even looking at him.

Do Hyung hastily raised his sword to block the attack, but his body was sent flying a considerable distance.

It happened in an instant.

… Where was Chun Uijin? I scanned around. Chun Uijin was already lying on the ground.

Judging by the blood flowing, he appeared to be injured.

‘Ah.’

This wasn’t good.

My head throbbed. Warmth flowed, indicating that I was also bleeding.

‘Oh hell.’

I had been foolish.

Once convinced that things would be alright, I realized things could always change.

‘That guy’s more fiery than I expected.’

The world never flows according to calculation.

This was a well-known fact.

Still, I had tried to do what I could within it.

“… As usual, this damned Central Plains.”

This land never aligned with me.

No matter how much I strategized, it was meaningless against overwhelming power.

What a truly messed-up world.

So—”… Why don’t you stop messing around and help me? Or I’ll just bite my tongue and end it?”

I said in despair. There was no reply to the words I threw into the air.

So, I was about to bite my tongue hard.

『Whoa, stop there. Impatient child.』

I saw blue eyes hastily looking for me.

Hoo…. Hoo….

My breath became rougher. It hurt, but it didn’t.

Ah, this seemed really bad.

Sensing the signs, I barely managed to steady my breath.

『It would’ve been nice to observe a bit longer, but this will do.』

The evil spirit spoke to me.

『Not bad at all. But, don’t lose consciousness.』

I felt a huge hand on my crown.

In that moment,

『I have a lot to show you now.』

My strength drained from my body.