Chapter 84. Spiritual Beast
Probably because he had faced the creature up close.
The system recognized the wolf Kaiji that Mamorota was riding as a [spiritual beast].
A peculiar quest obtained from a peculiar situation.
The quest window blinked as if crying out for him to open it. Dong Bong-su's eyes briefly shifted in that direction.
That was the moment.
"Yraaaah!"
Suddenly, Mamorota's iron staff began spinning like a top. It was a technique called Great Power Dominating Rotation, in which he emitted force energy from his hand instead of blade energy, adding rotational force to the club.
Kkiririk—!
The powerful rotational wind pressure generated from the iron staff sent Dong Bong-su flying backward.
Mamorota seized that opening!
Thud! Crack!
He snapped the trigger of the last remaining trebuchet that Dong Bong-su had been protecting.
There was no opening for Dong Bong-su to block it. He had never seen, nor even imagined, a technique that spun a weapon like that. Of course, the biggest mistake was probably taking his eyes off a strong enemy, even for a moment, while their weapons were crossed.
'This is fun. As expected.'
When would he ever see the end of this?
This place was a world of endless beasts, the edge of the Central Plains. Then how many even more interesting monsters would be living in the true heart of the Central Plains?
Even though the launcher trigger of the last remaining trebuchet had been destroyed, Dong Bong-su lifted one corner of his mouth faintly. Then he turned off the blinking quest window.
The spiritual beast was Kaiji. Not Mamorota.
The spiritual beast quest could be thought about after dealing with Mamorota. Besides, right now, first, it was time to save the one remaining trebuchet.
Dong Bong-su naturally adjusted his grip on the wanderer's sword. Now, holding a sword felt far more natural than picking up a spoon or chopsticks. Completely natural.
Whooong—!
Mamorota spun the iron staff again and swung it toward the last trebuchet. This time, the target was the main pillar wall supporting the entire trebuchet. If the pillar wall collapsed, the trebuchet would effectively lose its function.
Papapat—!
Dong Bong-su used [Lightness Skill Lv.8] and rushed toward Mamorota like a bullet.
"...!"
Mamorota's bulging eyes widened even more. Dong Bong-su's speed as he charged in was far faster than he had expected. That kind of speed without any preparatory motion. Mamorota couldn't understand it, nor even imagine it.
He hurriedly let go of the iron staff that had been extending toward the pillar wall. It was already too late to retrieve the form.
The iron staff, still carrying its momentum and rotational force, flew toward the pillar wall, but in exchange, Mamorota couldn't retreat completely.
A desperate moment!
As if slipping, Mamorota's body slid backward and barely avoided Dong Bong-su's sword.
"Huff, huff..."
It was Kaiji, who had become one with Mamorota, that retreated at that critical moment. Otherwise, he would have been hit squarely by Dong Bong-su's sword.
'That was close. But now all the trebuchets are destroyed...!'
His life had been in danger, but there were gains. Or so he was sure.
But!
The iron staff that had been flying while spinning at high speed was heading in a completely unexpected direction. Originally, by now, it should have completely snapped the pillar wall in half...!
"...!"
Puheok! Aaaagh—!
The iron staff cut through the 'empty space' and turned five or six Gray Wolf Squadron members in its path into pulp.
"Di... disappeared!?"
That's right. Just as Mamorota said, the trebuchet had evaporated right before being ground to dust. Instead, Dong Bong-su was standing there calmly.
He looked at Mamorota and said quietly.
"Is there a limit to using only skills, after all?"
"..."
Skills? He couldn't understand what he was talking about. But one thing was certain: just before his iron staff could shatter the pillar wall of the trebuchet, Dong Bong-su had grabbed the pillar wall with his hand.
And then...
It vanished. Completely.
"I didn't want to use the Inventory Divine Art in a crowded place if possible."
Inventory Divine Art? Mamorota still had no idea what Dong Bong-su was talking about.
But in the first place, Dong Bong-su had no obligation to explain such things to Mamorota.
Pat—!
Next, Dong Bong-su's turn began.
Swaeek—!
The wanderer's sword drew the sword path of [Straight Piercing the Yellow Dragon] and shot straight forward.
With bare hands, you can't block a sword. Mamorota quickly drew the barbarian blade at his waist, a blade curved like a bow and with a wide body, and swept it from right to left as if cutting rain.
Kkarang.
The wanderer's sword and the barbarian blade met fiercely in the shape of the character for person (人). Even though he had drawn it in haste, blade energy was infused in Mamorota's blade, so he managed to block Dong Bong-su's attack, but...!
Puk—.
A tiny sound. Mamorota instinctively tilted his head to the side.
At that moment, a thin, long cut appeared on his neck. If it hadn't been for the battle-honed combat sense he had developed through countless wars, he would have died on the spot.
That previous attack had been Dong Bong-su shooting out a metal fragment from his mouth when the distance between them closed as the wanderer's sword and the barbarian blade collided.
Truly a tactic only Dong Bong-su could use.
Still, Mamorota had blocked Dong Bong-su's move.
Now, it was Mamorota's side that had the advantage. At close range.
Mamorota and Kaiji, they were two, while Dong Bong-su was alone. Moreover, Dong Bong-su had already wasted movement using his decisive move, and his extended sword was twisted aside after being pushed by the barbarian blade.
"Kruaa—!"
As expected, Kaiji reacted immediately. It wasn't a beast that would miss the chunk of meat right in front of it.
Kaiji opened its huge jaws wide and lunged toward Dong Bong-su's thigh. Then it immediately closed its mouth.
Crunch!
The sound of Kaiji's sharpened teeth sinking into Dong Bong-su's thigh should have been pleasant to hear... but?
Something did sink in.
But!
It wasn't Kaiji's teeth.
And the one who got hurt wasn't Dong Bong-su.
"Krahaak—!"
Kaiji howled and hurriedly retreated.
Drip, drip.
Blood gushed from its palate and tongue, soaking the ground grotesquely.
The attacker had been injured instead.
'Why?'
Once again, Mamorota couldn't understand the reason. All he saw was Kaiji suffering with two blade fragments stuck in its mouth. Without much hesitation, he pulled out the two sword fragments stuck in the upper and lower parts of Kaiji's mouth.
"Krahak—!"
It hurt far more to pull them out than when they went in. Mamorota knew that well, but he had no time to hesitate. He knew Dong Bong-su would follow up immediately.
Shuk.
As expected, Dong Bong-su didn't miss the opening and charged in again.
Whooong—.
This time, it was [Sweeping the Thousand Armies].
Even while in pain, Kaiji lifted its front paw and swept at Dong Bong-su's lower body, and Mamorota stood the barbarian blade vertically to block Dong Bong-su's form.
As before, this kind of combat style was called the so-called Human-Wolf Killing Method in the north.
When the wolf blocks, the human attacks, and when the human defends, the wolf pounces. Depending on the situation, both can attack, or both can focus on defense. As long as they move in coordination, they can fight in far more diverse ways than fighting alone, and the power isn't simply doubled, the offensive and defensive capability increases tremendously.
In the current situation, if Dong Bong-su didn't retrieve his sword and retreat, he would only take damage himself without gaining anything.
Mamorota had blocked his sword, and as things stood, there was no way he could block Kaiji's claws...!
No. That's not it.
Mamorota still didn't know Dong Bong-su well enough.
Kang—!
Mamorota, who had blocked Dong Bong-su's attack, was flung off the saddle.
[2-chain strike failed. The player forcefully knocks the enemy backward.]
The skill [Chain Strike] had activated.
Thus, the Human-Wolf Unity was broken.
That didn't mean the crisis facing Dong Bong-su was over. Kaiji's claws were still coming down toward his lower body.
Although Chain Strike had activated at a perfect—more precisely, calculated—timing and knocked Mamorota away, it was already too late for Dong Bong-su to retreat.
At that moment!
Whooong—!
Dong Bong-su disappeared. And just like Mamorota's iron staff earlier, Kaiji's foot slashed through empty space without any gain. A complete whiff.
Just like when he killed Paitan before, Dong Bong-su had used the combo of [Chain Strike]–[Movement Technique].
One move, two gains.
With this single move, he avoided Kaiji's attack and got behind Mamorota, who was floating in the air.
"...!"
Mamorota's mind was in complete chaos. He had fought countless battles on the northern steppe for decades, but he had never experienced a fight like this.
When he first started fighting Dong Bong-su, he had never even imagined this kind of battle. No, who in the world fought like this? Techniques that shouldn't even be possible, combat ability that defied common sense.
However, he was still a northern warrior who had grown accustomed to battle. From his first battle at fourteen until becoming a battle-hardened veteran, his body had been engraved with combat instincts.
Though startled, Mamorota responded calmly.
The moment Dong Bong-su disappeared, he felt a presence behind him in midair. Cold killing intent crawling up his spine made all his senses stand on edge. How Dong Bong-su had done it was no longer important. The fact that Dong Bong-su was behind him was what mattered.
He immediately twisted his body backward and gathered all his cultivation power to swing the barbarian blade. It looked like a huge dragon uncoiling and lashing its tail. It was the form called Giant Dragon Sweeping Tail. With the addition of the Great Power Dominating Rotation method, its power increased enormously.
Boom—!
Dong Bong-su's sword and Mamorota's blade met in midair once again. A tremendous explosion and force energy burst out, and both were blown away in opposite directions.
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