Shortly after Lukas, who had flown to the desert, landed, the first thing that greeted him was a dagger.
Clang!
It was an attack that had probably been aimed at his eye. Luckily, the dagger bounced off the barrier that constantly surrounded him.
The man who threw the dagger jumped lightly and caught the dagger that had been sent flying through the air. Then, he drew a sword that hung at his waist and swung in a lightning-fast motion.
“…!”
Lukas couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.
This attack was also blocked by the barrier, but the weight of this attack was very different from that of the dagger he threw.
‘This…’
It couldn’t handle it.
The moment he had this thought, his barrier shattered like a piece of glass. The man twirled the dagger in his hand before swinging it.
Woosh.
Lukas avoided the attack by a hair’s breadth. He’d aimed for his carotid artery without hesitation. He didn’t show any restraint in his attacks.
Immediately after missing his attack, the man kicked upwards. This time, he was aiming for his chin.
Lukas blocked the attack with his palms.
Paak!
Even though he blocked the attack perfectly, heavy shock still flowed through his hands. Unable to overcome it, Lukas’ body was sent flying into the air.
If he had been hit in the chin where the man was aiming, Lukas’ head would have been ripped from his body and sent flying like a soccer ball.
While Lukas was sent flying, the man drew another weapon. Upon seeing this weapon, Lukas was surprised for the first time.
It was a gun. But it wasn’t a small-sized gun like a pistol. Lukas didn’t know a lot about guns, but he realised that the gun this man was holding was a shotgun that had incredibly lethal power.
Boom!
Has it been modified? The sound that came from the gun was closer to an explosion than the sound of a shotgun.
Lukas dodged the bullets in the air. If he hadn’t been good at using the flight spell, his body would have already become a sieve.
Even the best Wizards, like Joanna, would have died at least five times in that short exchange. This showed how lethal, varied, and strange this man’s attacks were.
More importantly, Lukas didn’t believe he was even using his full strength yet.
“…”
The man narrowed his eyes slightly. This was because Lukas, who had avoided all of the bullets with strange movements in the air, suddenly disappeared.
Snap-
At the same time, an invisible force broke his shotgun in half.
Clicking his tongue, the man threw the gun to the side. Then, he slowly turned around. Lukas was standing behind him.
“I’ve never seen a Demon who could use magic.”
This man, one of the Top Three, Kran, finally opened his mouth and spoke with a blunt tone.
He only spoke after his barrage of attacks.
‘Besides…’
Lukas’ expression became strange as he looked at Kran.
Now that he could see him up close, he realised that this was a much more bizarre and chaotic being than he expected.
“Do I look like a Demon?”
Kran didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he looked down at his sword. The blade’s edge had been completely destroyed. This was the consequence of smashing Lukas’ barrier.
This sword was a magic sword that was once used by a Baron, and it was at least five times stronger than steel. And yet, it had become like this just from hitting a barrier.
“As I said, I’ve never seen a Demon who could use magic.”
“Then…”
“However, that doesn’t mean that it’s not possible. After all, you feel different from any Wizard I’ve ever encountered before.”
Lukas shook his head.
“I’m not a Demon.”
“Then you must be something that’s even more suspicious than a Demon.”
His cold voice contained clear hostility.
Lukas couldn’t help but sigh. He didn’t have the time to convince Kran or explain the situation right now.
“You’re heading to Zinga right now. To kill the Vampire Duke, right?”
“And if I am?”
“I will help you get there right away.”
“Who are you?”
“I am…”
Lukas closed his half-opened mouth. He didn’t know what he could say to assuage his suspicions.
…It was possible that Kran wouldn’t trust him, regardless of what he said. In the first place, if he was a man who was easy to communicate within the first place, he would have had a better relationship with the other forces.
“…”
He tried to think of an answer, but he kept drawing blanks.
There was nothing he could do.
Lukas decided to make an uncharacteristic decision.
“Just go first.”
“What?”
Paht.
Shortly after those words, a bright light erupted under Kran.
There was no hostility in the eruption of mana. It was too fast, and it appeared without warning. That’s why it was too late by the time Kran noticed.
Just before being swallowed by the light, Kran glared fiercely at Lukas and opened his mouth.
“You crazy bas-”
Paht.
Kran disappeared before he could finish his curse.
Using the Long Distance Warp spell, Lukas had sent him directly to Zinga. Without any warning or explanation.
It was a bit of a low move, but to put it simply, he’d decided to ‘act first and think about it later’.
* * *
It was a simple punch without any tricks.
Lee Jong-hak blocked it with his sword. Even if an elephant were to charge at him, his body was strong enough to stop it without moving back a single step.
But the force behind the fist was like a natural disaster.
Clang!
Unable to disperse the force properly, Lee Jong-hak was sent sliding backward. He could have been proud of the fact that he hadn’t fallen to the ground or that his stance hadn’t been broken.
Ignoring the pain in his knees, Lee Jong-hak kicked off from the ground once again. Like a cannonball, his body shot towards Gullard.
He’d learned them.
One by one, he’d learned the various sword methods that he had access to.
The Plum Blossom Sword Method, Demon Slaying Sword Method, Nine Palaces Sword Method, Tempest Sword Method, Taiqing Sword Method, Seventy Two Waves Sword Method, Thirty Six Worlds Sword Method. (TL: My brain… it hurts T~T)
He learned not only the famous sword methods but also any sword method that he thought would be useful. And he didn’t stop there. Instead, he practiced every single one of them constantly until the memory of their moves was embedded into his body. He swung his sword until his palms were torn and bloody.
He slept for no more than three hours a day and even skipped meals, putting his very life on the line to swing his sword.
And after familiarising himself with each one, he made them his own.
Of course, they were all different, just like different herbivores ate different plants. Each sword method was something that had been refined over hundreds of years by masters who controlled the continent in the past.
‘Those sword methods are already complete.’
Taking them apart and putting them back together was something that would be impossible even for a genius.
So Lee Jong-hak simply reinterpreted them instead of trying to put them all together. He found that there were rules common in each sword method despite them having different paths. And by linking these common rules, he would be able to create something even greater.
Of course, Lee Jong-hak wasn’t the first one to discover this.
In fact, it was something that the warriors of the past must have known as well.
Nevertheless, there had never been anyone who attempted to do it.
This was because warriors of the past took great pride in their roots.
They could never incorporate martial arts that were fundamentally different from the martial arts that they were taught. It would be an insult to the martial arts their ancestors had used their lives to refine.
Now? That was no longer the case.
Times had changed.
There was now something more important than one’s pride in their roots and the martial art that they’d honed.
Survival.
Lee Jong-hak agonised over how to refine the various sword methods until his hair became white.
He thought of the origin of martial arts. Basically, martial arts were created to be used against people.
For example, if the opponent was a four-legged animal, it might not be possible to deal with them even if one had an excellent sword technique.
Muscle density, organ position, skeletal structure, size, and habits were all completely different depending on the creature.
And Lee Jong-hak’s enemies were such horrible creatures that even the most ferocious animals looked cute in comparison.
Demons.
Beings that were naturally stronger than humans. Beings so ferocious that the word ‘voracious’ was still not enough to describe them.
They were his targets. And in order to hunt them, he needed to find the ultimate shortcut.
There was no way to defeat them in a head-on confrontation, so he would need to use tools and sly, cowardly methods to restrict his opponent’s strength while maximising his own.
He refined the sword methods to form a hunting method.
That was how his sword method was born.
Lee Jong-hak called this sword method the Evil Vanquishing Sword Method. (TL: author-nim… no more technique names please… they’re so hard T~T)
After the creation of the Evil Vanquishing Sword Method, he gained the title Human Dragon and became a hero in East Asia.
His success story continued. His Evil Vanquishing Sword Method continued to display overwhelming power even when used against Demon Nobles. And he couldn’t help but feel that his efforts had been rewarded.
That was until his first battle against a Duke in Shanghai.
Clang!
The Evil Vanquishing Sword Method, the creation of which he was so proud, was blocked.
Using nothing more than a combination of the Imperial Sword Method and Thirty Six Worlds Sword Method.
‘The Evil Vanquishing Sword Method…’
Had it reached the limit of a manmade sword method? Had all the efforts he’d made so far been meaningless? Had he only been chasing an unattainable illusion?
‘There is a limit to a human’s power.’
Nodiesop’s voice rang out in his head.
The divine authority that he’d shown and his offers were extremely alluring. So it was understandable why most Asian hunters chose to follow him.
‘…however.’
Lee Jong-hak bit his lip.
He couldn’t help but wonder if there really was no price for such a sweet fruit.
There was no logical explanation for why he felt this way. However, the life that Lee Jong-hak had experienced up to that point spoke strongly.
There was nothing in this world that could be obtained for free.
“…”
Although Lee Jong-hak was visibly struggling, Gullard was also displeased with the current situation.
This was because he’d had enough of their fight.
He was tired of playing with the humans.
This was usually a form of entertainment for the Demons. Especially when the opponent was someone who was considered special among the humans. These people were usually tougher than other toys, so it was more fun to play with them.
But it didn’t take long for this little game to become boring.
From that point, he’d been trying to end it.
But it was hard for him to do so. Because of the woman at the back.
‘A Wizard.’
This had to be the case. After all, he could feel the mana fluctuations.
Gullard had some knowledge of magic. This was unlike the other Demons, who looked down on human techniques as crude practices that didn’t need to be cared about.
This was why he could tell that the spell this girl used to freeze his body was extraordinary.
In short, if it wasn’t for her interference, he would have already captured Lee Jong-hak alive.
“It can’t be helped.”
Gullard turned to look at the Demons who were standing behind Joanna.
The two Demons who had slaughtered Joffrey.
Most humans thought that they were his subordinates. That was intentional because this way, no one would be able to realise their true nature.
He didn’t order them. He didn’t need to make any hand gestures. With just a thought, they would be able to do what he wanted.
The two Demons quickly narrowed the distance to Joanna.
She was probably on high alert, but that didn’t matter. After all, she was just a Wizard.
“Ah…!”
Just as Joanna turned around, someone fell from the sky.
Crack!
It was a young man who wore a thick cloak that was meant to protect him from the desert winds.