Martial Artist Lee Gwak Episode 133
I Am Needed (2)
The more powerful a technique, the larger the movements required to perform it.
The technique of Lion’s Annihilation was no exception.
It was one of the most powerful techniques in the Lion King Sword, but to unleash its inherent power, time and large movements were necessary.
Most martial artists didn’t know this, and even if they did, they dared not take the risk at the crucial moment. Lee Gwak, however, was different.
He had the heart eye.
He saw with his heart, not his eyes, and with his wide-open senses, he captured the flow of the Lion Annihilation.
Eight Gateways of Destruction
The final technique of the Eight Sects Sword Art.
Enriched with the profound understanding of the Thunder Sword Art, it was the strongest technique Lee Gwak could perform.
“Chaaa!”
The Eight Gateways of Destruction was executed a half-breath ahead of Lion’s Annihilation.
Boom!
Following that, Gwan Il Hyeon unleashed Lion’s Annihilation.
Crash!
Sword clashed against Blade.
In the aftermath, a storm raged around them.
The air churned madly, and the ashes and embers on the ground rose like clouds, obscuring the view.
“Ugh!”
“What’s happening?”
A puzzled look appeared on the faces of the martial artists of the Phantom Armored Cavalry as they watched the scene.
They hadn’t expected the ash from the forest they had burned to fly up and block their view so completely.
Sang Gwan Cheong quickly tried to enhance his vision to observe the situation between Lee Gwak and Gwan Il Hyeon. However, the hidden embers among the ashes were the problem.
Though it seemed like the fire had completely died out, there were still live embers within the ashes, and as fresh air flowed in, they quickly reignited.
Due to the monstrous revival of the flames, the Phantom Armored Cavalry had no choice but to retreat.
Gwan Il Hyeon was equally taken aback.
He was covered in ashes from head to toe. The incident had happened so suddenly that he had been unable to avoid the ashes. Consequently, he couldn’t open his eyes.
“Damn it!”
Gwan Il Hyeon cursed, pulling up his other senses since he couldn’t use his eyes. He was trying to sense Lee Gwak through his other senses.
There was a definite feeling in his hands.
In the clash of techniques, Gwan Il Hyeon had overpowered Lee Gwak. Although the flow was disrupted and he hadn’t completely cut off Lee Gwak’s breath, he had at least inflicted serious injuries.
Thus, Gwan Il Hyeon became complacent. He hadn’t seen Lee Gwak with his eyes, but he prematurely judged that Lee Gwak was in a state of total incapacitation.
Thud!
What made Gwan Il Hyeon sense something was wrong was the severe pain he felt in his foot. Something had pierced through the sole of his foot and was protruding out.
“Crap!”
Caught off guard by the unexpected pain, Gwan Il Hyeon couldn’t help but curse.
What had pierced through his foot was a metal spike.
It had been stuck upside down on the ground, and when he stepped on it, it pierced through his muscle and bone.
“This bastard…”
Gwan Il Hyeon couldn’t understand why there would be a spike placed there, but then he remembered what had just happened.
Lee Gwak had thrown metal spikes when he was saving Han So Cheon.
“Lee Gwak?”
A chill ran down his spine at the worst possible assumption.
‘Was he not severely injured?’
He instinctively stepped back, only to feel severe pain in his other foot as well. He had stepped on another spike. Looking around, he noticed spikes were placed all around him.
“Gah!”
Gwan Il Hyeon screamed involuntarily.
That’s when it happened.
Swoosh!
From the ashes, a long, black object rose. It was Lee Gwak’s Meteor Awl.
The Meteor Awl swiftly wrapped around Gwan Il Hyeon’s ankle and snatched him up.
By the time Gwan Il Hyeon realized the presence of the Meteor Awl, he was already being flung through the air.
‘To think I’d be caught by such a trick…’
Gwan Il Hyeon’s face twisted malevolently.
Beyond the swirling cloud of ashes, he could see Lee Gwak, who was pulling him in with the Meteor Awl wrapped around his leg.
“Oh, well then…”
Rather than resisting, Gwan Il Hyeon propelled his body forward. He was planning to use the force of Lee Gwak pulling him to launch an attack.
Light gathered on his blade, forming the shape of a sword. It was Sword Qi.
Only similar Qi could block a Sword Qi.
That was the common knowledge passed down in the Jianghu.
No matter what Lee Gwak tried, he could not block the Sword Qi unless he had reached a level where he could generate Sword Qi like Gwan Il Hyeon.
Just as Gwan Il Hyeon was about to swing his Sword Qi,
Szzzt!
Suddenly, a sharp cutting sound rang out.
“……”
Gwan Il Hyeon’s eyes widened.
The area below his waist felt as hot as if it had been burned by fire.
Suddenly losing all strength, Gwan Il Hyeon collapsed to the ground, flailing.
‘What?’
Gwan Il Hyeon lifted his head to understand what had happened to him. Then, he saw someone’s bisected lower half in front of him.
Gwan Il Hyeon’s eyes bulged.
‘Could it be?’
He hurriedly looked at his lower body. But his lower body was not there. It had been completely severed from his waist down. The lower half in front of him was his own.
‘What? What happened?’
Fear crept into Gwan Il Hyeon’s face. The unknown nature of what had happened to him only amplified his fear.
His intestines spilled out from his severed waist. He desperately tried to stuff them back into his abdomen, but his hands wouldn’t obey.
His consciousness was fading. Although his profound internal energy prevented him from dying immediately, it was only a matter of time.
Life was slowly fading from Gwan Il Hyeon’s face.
He instinctively realized he was dying. He could not understand why he had ended up in this state.
Then Lee Gwak approached him.
Kneeling on one knee, Lee Gwak looked down at the dying Gwan Il Hyeon.
“My name is Lee Gwak.”
‘So what? What does that matter?’
“You, after failing to hunt down the Lunatic Pugilist, vented your frustration on a lower-ranked martial artist of the Jade Heaven Alliance. Due to your merciless beating, that lower-ranked martial artist was paralyzed and spent an entire year in a vegetative state. His name is Lee Gwak.”
‘Jade Heaven Alliance? Venting frustration?’
It seemed there had been such an incident.
“That’s me. I am the low-ranking martial artist who was beaten by you and had to spend a year in bed.”
“You’re that bastard?
Gwan Il Hyeon’s eyes widened.
The thought that the insignificant being he had trampled on had not only risen like a phoenix but had also brought him to the brink of death was something Gwan Il Hyeon could not accept.
‘That’s impossible. How could that bastard…?’
Gwan Il Hyeon wanted to grab Lee Gwak by the collar and scream at him. However, his vocal cords and arms would not respond.
Like a fish out of water, his mouth moved, but no sound came out.
Lee Gwak quietly observed Gwan Il Hyeon.
It was the moment he had long awaited, completing his revenge.
When clashing with the Lion’s Annihilation, Lee Gwak had deliberately held back some of his strength. Because of this, he had suffered severe internal injuries and was thrown to the ground.
On the ground, Lee Gwak quickly placed metal spikes, which he always carried inside his Robe, and swiftly retreated. Then, he connected his sword and sheath with the heavenly silk thread and planted it in front of him.
All these actions were performed in the brief time it took to take a couple of breaths.
Fortunately, the ash clouding the air obscured their vision, and Gwan Il Hyeon, also shocked by Lee Gwak’s martial prowess, did not notice. Gwan Il Hyeon, stepping on the spikes, was unable to think clearly, and Lee Gwak caught him with his Meteor Awl.
As Lee Gwak anticipated, Gwan Il Hyeon used the pulling force to increase his speed, essentially hurling himself towards the silk thread.
The silk thread was too thin to be distinguished by the naked eye, especially with the dispersing ash and embers distracting him, Gwan Il Hyeon did not notice it.
It was a gamble with his life.
Had Gwan Il Hyeon noticed the silk thread and lifted his body into the air, it would have been Lee Gwak who ended up being sliced in half by the Sword Qi.
Fortunately, the gamble paid off, and Lee Gwak was able to exact his revenge.
“Ugh!”
Gwan Il Hyeon’s eyes rolled back.
His pupils disappeared, leaving only the whites showing as he gasped in a dreadfully frightening manner.
He flailed his arms as if trying to grasp something in the air.
“How did I get to this position… to be brought down by mere trash…”
His voice gradually faded.
That was the end of Gwan Il Hyeon.
It was too shabby for the end of a man who had been the pride of the Celestial Demon Troupe.
Lee Gwak struggled to his feet, then staggered.
His stomach churned, and his vision momentarily turned pitch black.
“Ugh!”
It was the aftermath of the internal injuries he had suffered from Gwan Il Hyeon. However, Lee Gwak did not have the luxury to sit down and heal his injuries.
“Master Gwan!”
“Damn it!”
The voices of the Phantom Armored Cavalry could be heard outside, approaching through the ash and flames.
Lee Gwak, suppressing the urge to vomit, leaped out of the battlefield.
He vanished in an instant, jumping over the ash and flames.
After Lee Gwak disappeared, the Phantom Armored Cavalry arrived at the spot where Gwan Il Hyeon had fallen.
They were shocked to find Gwan Il Hyeon dead in such a gruesome state.
“This can’t be!”
“Lord!”
Disbelief was evident on their faces.
Gwan Il Hyeon was not supposed to die here, in such a vain manner. If anyone, he was the last person who should have died.
Sang Gwan Cheong cradled Gwan Il Hyeon’s corpse. The intestines and blood flowing from Gwan Il Hyeon’s body soaked him, but he didn’t care.
“Master!”
It felt like a terrible nightmare.
They had never imagined losing Gwan Il Hyeon here.
If this were a dream, he wished never to wake up. But he knew.
This was reality. And he had to deal with the aftermath.
He stood up, holding Gwan Il Hyeon’s body, and carefully handed it to his subordinate.
“Transport Master Gwan’s body back to the main headquarters as quickly as possible.”
“Yes!”
“Make sure his body is not further damaged.”
“We will be careful.”
The martial artist who took Gwan Il Hyeon’s body retreated carefully. He then placed Gwan Il Hyeon’s body on a horse and rushed back to the Celestial Demon Troupe.
Sang Gwan Cheong watched his subordinate’s retreating figure with a vacant expression. And when the figure had completely disappeared from view, a fierce look returned to his face.
His eyes filled with killing intent, and his face contorted malevolently.
“Phantom Armored Cavalry!”
His thunderous voice made the settling ashes rise again.
The Phantom Armored Cavalry responded in unison.
“Yes!”
“We are guilty. We failed to protect Master Gwan. We must pay with our lives.”
“……”
Instead of responding, the Phantom Armored Cavalry looked at Sang Gwan Cheong with blazing eyes.
Although they didn’t speak, they shared Sang Gwan Cheong’s sentiment.
Even though Gwan Il Hyeon wasn’t their official master, he was undoubtedly entrusted with authority. Failing to protect him, they had to pay with their deaths.
Sang Gwan Cheong continued.
“We will chase that bastard to the ends of hell. We must capture the culprit and bring him before the lord. Then, we will take our own lives to pay for our sins. Does anyone object?”
“……”
No one raised an objection.
They all felt the same as Sang Gwan Cheong.
After observing the Phantom Armored Cavalry for a moment, Sang Gwan Cheong mounted his horse.
“Let’s go!”
“Understood!”
Thus began the pursuit by those prepared to sacrifice their lives.