First sword approached after hearing the scream of the Gok Soo-chang. He looked at the Gok Soo-chang lying around while holding on to his broken wrist with cool eyes.
The First Sword’s gaze quickly turned to Pyo-wol.
“Did you do this?”
“Yes.”
Swing!
In an instant, a sharp sound resounded. When Pyo-wol saw that something was glinting up in front of his eyes, a sword was imperceptibly drawn pointing at his neck.
Pyo-wol’s shoulders trembled.
Even with his eyesight, he could not catch the moment when the sword was drawn.
It was a terrifyingly quick sword.
It was Pyo-wol’s first time witnessing how a human could draw a sword and wield it so quickly after seeing the First Sword skills.
It was a mind-blowing feeling.
As he perfectly adjusted to the darkness, Pyo-wol thought that he had already become a pretty strong person. This is because he has the ability to see what other children cannot see with their own eyes, and is one step ahead of them.
The First Sword’s quick sword shattered his arrogance into pieces.
He realized that the skies are high and there are many more stronger people in the world.
Pyo-wol does not know how strong the swords are as compared to the others in Jianghu. However, he knew that assassins were not treated as human beings in Jianghu.
The real masters of Jianghu said that they can break large rocks with just one swing of their hand. Even if you hit it high, it didn’t seem like the single sword had reached that level. (아부리 높게 쳐줘도 일검이 그 정도 경지에 도달했을것 같지는 않았다.)
But even such a single sword could kill Pyo-wol as easily as an ant if the First Sword made up his mind.
The sword that was now touching his neck proved that fact. A cold sweat ran down the back of Pyo-wol.
First sword applied strength to the sword that touched Pyo-wol’s neck. Pyo-wol clenched his fists involuntarily at the cold feeling that penetrated his skin. Those eyes without any emotion were crazily terrifying.
‘Am I going to die?’
For the first time, Pyo-wol remembered the word death. At this moment, in his eyes, the First Sword appeared to be a reaper. The god of death who has the right to decide his life or death.
Pyo-wol bit his lip until it bled.
‘Did I make a mistake?’
He thought that if he wounded the Gok Soo-chang, they wouldn’t punish him. Because that’s what they’ve done so far.
They decided that what they wanted was only a useful tool, and that the life and safety of the children were not so important, so he acted like this.
‘No, I’m not sure yet.’
Pyo-wol tried his best to maintain a calm expression. If he revealed his anxiety, he decided that they might swing their sword in disappointment. The pressure applied to the neck grew stronger and stronger. At this rate, the sword will soon pierce through his flesh and enter his muscles.
Jureureuk!
Blood gushed out from Pyo-wol’s lips.
The sword pressure came in through the neck and hurt his internal organs.
That was then.
The pressure on his neck disappeared like a dream. First sword had quickly withdrawn. He said as he put the sword into its sheath.
“An assassin leaves no traces under any circumstances. Breaking the wrist like this and leaving a mark is no different from telling the opponent your military power and identity.”
“Keep in mind. Never leave a mark.”
Pyo-wol could not easily decide how to respond. So he remained silent. Because he knew that sometimes silence is more effective than giving out a ten-word answer.
Perhaps he liked Pyo-wol’s reaction, the First Sword turned around without saying anything more.
In an instant, Pyo-wol was about to let out the breath he had been holding back.
‘No, not yet. I must not relax.’
Fortunately, he gave out a good look so he passed, but he didn’t know what kind of reaction he would get if he showed a relaxed appearance.
Pyo-wol kept his nerves sharp for a long time.
* * *
Gok Soo-chang eventually died.
It was an underground cave where it was difficult to survive even with the best physical condition.
The other children did not leave Gok Soo-chang alone, who had broken one arm and could not use his strength properly. Just as Gok Soo-chang did to Pyo-wol, the other children also aimed at Gok Soo-chang under the guise of training.
For the first time or two, he somehow managed to survive a difficult incident, but the situation was not easy enough to survive without injuries.
In the end, Gok Soo-chang could not survive the attacks of the other children and died. The death of Gok Soo-chang has alarmed many children.
It’s okay to attack other children, but if they get hurt, they’ll be beaten up by others.
Pyo-wol also watched Gok Soo-chang die.
Although it was not visible on the outside, the attack of the First Sword inflicted a major internal wound on him. Because of that, Pyo-wol had to suffer for several days.
Every time he took a deep breath, he felt the pain in his lungs as if its tearing apart. Because of that, Pyo-wol was unable to breathe properly.
He couldn’t breathe properly, so of course his energy was weak. Yet Pyo-wol never showed a painful expression. He endured with all his might, and continued to endure again and again.
As he held on with his strength, his internal injuries began to improve little by little, and now he is completely back to normal.
After going through a series of events, Pyo-Yeol realized once again.
In this hellish place, the only thing you can believe in is yourself. And to be strong.
There was a high probability of surviving here if he could afford to reach the level of the First Sword’s quick sword.
Pyo-wol bit his lip.
The goal was clearly set, but the problem was how to get there.
Even with his eyes trained underground, he couldn’t see how the single sword was drawn and wielded. Only the cold feel of the sword was engraved on his neck.
‘I have to be more aware and responsive. Otherwise, I can’t get out of their grasp forever.’
Pyo-wol looked at the Thunder-Splitting method in his hand. It was the only weapon he currently had. He had to find a way using the in the Thunder-Splitting technique.
He didn’t spare a glance at the Poisonous Dragon Heart method.
Pyo-wol frantically delved into only one method of cultivation.
Time passed.
The training became more severe.
The bridgeheads pushed the children to their limits.
There were children who suffocated while learning the Turtle Breathing Technique (귀식대법을 Gwisik Daebeop)1, and there were children who lost their lives by using poison incorrectly.
Children have always had to fight death.
The custodians took special care in teaching the children swordsmanship and assasination techniques. The martial arts they were teaching them were the martial arts of murder that pursued extreme efficiency. There was no such thing as depth in such a void.
If you don’t kill your opponent in one hit, you die.
Because of that, they had to risk everything they had on the first hit.
The children’s personalities became colder and tougher. Their eyes were like a beast, always full of vigor.
The custodians pushed the children to death again.
“You must not outwardly show your desire to live. Kill the look in your eyes. Don’t express your will to live.” (“살기를 겉으로 드러내서는 안 된다. 눈빛을 죽여라. 살기를 절대 표출하지 마라.”)
Children who are already full of life are killing to survive again. It never got easy. But they had to. If you can’t do it, it’s because the custodians have been brutally driven. (이미 살기가 가득한 아이들이 다시 살기를 죽이는 것은 절대 쉬운일이 아니었다. 하지만 해야 했다. 해내지 못하면 영락없이 교두들이가혹하게 몰아쳤기 때문이다.)
Again, many children died in the process.
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