A Swordsman’s Stream

Chapter 39

Baekho whistled as he moved towards the central base, the only point still occupied by the enemies.

‘There they are.’

He could see two players inside the base. Lowering his body to stay hidden, Baekho approached them in a roundabout way.

*Tak.*

After positioning himself, he gathered strength in his legs.

*Shuuuuuuk.*

The ambush was successful. Or so he thought.

Heavenly Demon14 dodged his swinging sword lightly with a brief use of *lightness skill* and counterattacked.

‘This guy… could it be?’

Baekho had a feeling that Heavenly Demon14 was of the same kind as him.

A smurf.

Heavenly Demon14’s sword narrowly grazed Baekho’s neck. Baekho also used *lightness skill* to back away, adjusting the distance and preparing for a counterattack. However, the opponent’s sword penetrated a bit deeper than he had expected.

‘Did he measure the distance?’

Or was it a coincidence? He didn’t know.

“I’ll handle this one. Swordsman-nim, take care of the soldiers over there. Let’s finish this quickly.”

“Alright.”

Being Heavenly Demon14’s ally, No. 1 Swordsman Under Heaven, voluntarily leaving the battlefield was actually a good thing.

However, the next part of the conversation irked him.

Finish quickly?

Did they think it would be easy to defeat him?

“Who the hell are you? Are you a ranker who got banned and started over?”

Setting aside his hurt pride, Baekho was genuinely curious about Heavenly Demon’s identity.

But the reply was absurd enough to leave him dumbfounded.

“This one is called Heavenly Demon.”

It felt as if the opponent was mocking him. No, the opponent was definitely mocking him.

*Ha.*

A faint laughter escaped from Baekho’s mouth.

“Alright. It’s always satisfying to educate these role-players.”

He needed to force him to speak. A red aura began to surround Baekho’s sword.

The unique active skill from the basic Three Talents Swordsmanship of the Beginner Zone: *Sword Aura*.

“Oh? What’s that?”

The opponent seemed to react. In the Beginner Zone, most games didn’t usually progress to the point where players acquired the *Sword Aura*. Hence, if the opponent was a ranker who had started over, he might have forgotten about the skill or didn’t know about it at all.

“If you don’t know, you’ll die.”

Baekho said as he swung his sword enveloped in red aura. Heavenly Demon retreated, but the *Sword Aura* extended. Baekho skillfully controlled its length precisely.

‘It’s over…’

But it wasn’t. Heavenly Demon observed the change in the *Sword Aura* and pushed off the ground once more.

Baekho calmed his startled heart.

‘He balanced well.’

This confirmed that the opponent was indeed a ranker from some game. Due to the *Sword Aura’s* cooldown, Baekho feinted his next normal attack.

However, Heavenly Demon didn’t even attempt to parry the fake move.

What the heck?

At that moment, Heavenly Demon spoke while staring into the air.

“Oh, if the enemy attacks strongly, I should also attack strongly so that I won’t be stunned? And there’s parrying too? It’s much easier than Assassin’s Dawn.”

What was he doing? And he didn’t even know such basic things?

“Thank you for the ten thousand won donation, ‘If there’s parrying, he’s done’. Let’s give it a try.”

A streamer?

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Can’t you see?”

Baekho had an inkling.

Then.

Baekho found himself momentarily at a loss for words. Instead, he lunged forward with a furious expression.

“Let’s just end this already.”

Thanks to the level difference, his swift strike engulfed the enemy.

But, *Kruk.*

He was stunned.

*Schwaaak!*

The enemy slashed his body as he stood frozen.

Baekho and Heavenly Demon’s eyes met, and Heavenly Demon, who was surveying the battlefield with an expressionless face, noticed this and gave a slight smile.

“Wow, it’s been a while since I got parried. You’re quite good, aren’t you? I’ll do it properly from now.”

With determination, Baekho crouched slightly and lunged again.

Then.

Their swords collided, and Baekho groaned under the pressure that forced his body to halt.

“Krack!”

Even rankers who used feints usually got hit by this attack, but the opponent parried it once again.

Baekho’s eyes widened in shock, and Heavenly Demon, who was within his sight, opened his mouth.

“Oh, you ranker wannabe, you really suck. Thank you for the ten thousand won donation.”

And then a highly annoying voice came through.

“The title ‘Newbie Crusher’ is wasted on you. Thank you too for the ten thousand won donation.”

What was this bastard saying now?

With a silent gaze, Heavenly Demon seemed to be telling him.

You really suck.

“A title like ‘Newbie Crasher’ suits you well. Thank you for the 10,000 won donation.”

Sojun read the donation message aloud.

– When did that donation come through????
– Am I the only one who didn’t see it? LOLOLOL
– Does the streamer see hallucinations?
– So impressive, such a troll move!

In fact, there hadn’t been any donation.

Not from the beginning.

But no matter how he phrased it, wasn’t it his freedom?

Soon after, someone who grasped Sojun’s intention and actually sent a donation appeared.

『’You’re bad at this’ has donated 10,000 won!』
『So, if I do this, you’ll relay the message to that newbie crasher, right?』

– LOLOLOL LOLOLOL LOLOLOL They finally donated
– I’ve never seen donations used like this before LOLOLOL
– The streamer is trying to swindle your money, and you fell for it!

“Yes. Thank you ‘You’re bad at this’-nim for the 10,000 won. So it seems.”

With a smirk, Sojun looked at Baekho.

“Ugh.”

Baekho, flustered, rushed forward but then stiffened up again.

“Hey, you bastard!”

Sojun’s sword slashed Baekho’s neck, reducing his health.

– That newbie crasher is angry LOLOLOL LOLOLOL
– How could he not be mad?
– Truly evil, so evil
– Is it really a good idea to let our streamer loose in online games?

“Hmm, the parrying here is a bit different.”

It was just a simple stiffening.

In ‘Assassin’s Dawn’, it caused a complete mess when parried.

Also, if he lacked strength, the one who parried would become stiff.

In more detail, there’s a system called the ‘strong attack’.

If the action is large and requires a lot of force, it naturally consumes a resource called stamina while dealing more damage.

If you parry a strong attack, you can cause stiffness, and if you retaliate with a strong attack but lack strength, you become stiff.

“Well, the sword aura looks fascinating, and if I learn martial arts after leaving the beginner zone, it should be quite fun.”

There was a reason why Eve Faimo, MubiSoft’s boss, had recommended the game.

Thinking this, Sojun depleted the last of his enemy’s health.

“Heavenly Demon, just wait. You’re really dead.”

『Baekho defeated』
『Enemy base health -20』

He checked the remaining health of the enemy base.

『Blue (靑): 0』

vs.

『Red (赤): 70』

It was the result of No. 1 Swordsman Under Heaven’s efforts in dealing with the enemy soldiers.

“Indeed, the central stronghold is crucial.”

Soon, the enemy base would collapse as well.

“Is it back to square one?”

– Not totally square one, LOL it’s 4 against 2 after all
– Destroy the enemy base, and the damage increases over time. Not that he will hit you anyway.
– That’s true

“Got it.”

Nevertheless, the enemies were not coming.

He referred to the initial trio he killed, not Baekho.

‘Seems like they’re planning to come together.’

The enemy base continued to weaken due to No. 1 Swordsman Under Heaven’s exploits.

『Enemy base health -5』
『Enemy base health -5』
『Enemy base health -5』

.

.

.

Eventually, before the enemies could return, the enemy base was destroyed.

『Blue (靑): 0』

vs.

『Red (赤): 0』
『The enemy base has been destroyed』
『From now on, opposing players cannot respawn』

“Heavenly Demon-nim, all done! Ugh!”

No. 1 Swordsman Under Heaven waved from a distance but was ambushed.

It was Baekho, revived.

Instead of attacking Sojun, he chose to deal with Sojun’s ally first.

Meanwhile, Baekho’s three teammates converged on Sojun.

‘You made the wrong choice.’

Sojun couldn’t get to him but swiftly marked the positions of the enemies blocking the stronghold entrance.

‘Even if you hadn’t, you would’ve lost.’

Sojun approached the enemy right in front of him, and Man-nyang swung his sword with a voice of resignation.

“Why are you coming at me first?”

Man-nyang’s sword blade flashed.

The stance of the sword, supported by the system, looked quite convincing.

Instead of parrying, Sojun chose to evade.

Man-nyang started swinging continuously.

Enemies began to attack one by one.

‘If it were me, I wouldn’t have attacked.’

If anyone had even basic game proficiency, they would have waited as long as possible for Baekho to arrive before initiating the fight.

And if he were Baekho, he would have asked his team members not to fight Sojun until he joined.

‘Whether it was because they couldn’t communicate or because that guy was too excited to think, I don’t know.’

The berserk gauge started to fill.

*Slash.*

Sojun’s sword sliced through an enemy.

Then, enemies from both sides attacked Sojun with their swords.

*Clang!*

Seizing the moment of confusion, Sojun instantly moved out of position, causing the misplaced swords to clash with each other.

*Whosh.*

Sojun reduced the health of the enemies just enough so they wouldn’t die.

He ensured that one successful attack would be fatal.

It seemed like the enemies had not yet recognized his intent.

-Look at them fooling around, lol, they are literally fooling around.
-Obviously, if there are more people, the gauge fills up faster. Seems like someone’s preparing?
-The longer the time passes, the more damage the enemy does? Then the streamer is in berserk state!
-Are all the betters on the same page here?

Eventually, No. 1 Swordsman Under Heaven died, and Baekho ascended the stronghold.

“Wow, our team members have little HP, but they have tied them up well, haven’t they?”

It wasn’t about tying them up.

Sojun realized.

That guy was just too excited to think about the berserk state.

“Tsks. This one is called the Heavenly Demon.”

It was a magical phrase.

Upon hearing this, Baekho’s face twisted as he rushed at Sojun.

“Shut up, you bastard. It’ll be different this time.”

A red aura enveloped Baekho’s sword as he charged. His speed was incredible.

But, Sojun moved faster, extending his arm to the side.

At the tip of his sword was an enemy.

『Bapchu Killed』

“Oh right, the berserk state.”

Man-nyang’s voice was heard, and Sojun used lightness skills in his berserk state.

『Man-nyang Killed』

Though the speed was difficult to control, Sojun managed to regulate his movements by planting his sword into the ground, taking out the enemies who had little health first.

They were so weak that they died with just a single cut.

『Chun-nyang Killed』

Baekho realized, albeit too late, that Sojun was in a berserk state and froze momentarily.

“You cowardly bastard!”

And then Sojun appeared behind Baekho with a sword.

“You’re the biggest coward here.”

*Slash.*

Baekho tried to swing his sword backward but couldn’t extend it fully and was halted at his waist by the oppressive force gripping his body.

Sojun slashed Baekho, who couldn’t move an inch due to the dominating pressure.

*Slash.*

“Damn, because of my team members. I can’t believe this. Hey, quickly load the next game.”

Baekho’s health was still at half, but he seemed to have accepted his defeat.

“Wait a minute, what’s your streamer nickname?”

Typical of a guy who bullies newcomers in the beginner zone.

‘Is he planning to snipe me?’

Sniping usually refers to tracking a streamer’s status through their stream to match and compete against them.

“Yeah. Even if I don’t tell you, you can find it. Hurry up and start.”

-So disgusting
-Seems like he wants to get beaten in the next round too
-I honestly think the streamer who beats that coward in the first match is the worst. (also face-wise)
-He’s implying that the face is disgusting
-I will never bet on the streamer’s defeat againㅜㅜㅜ

Sojun briefly stepped back.

Baekho, even in that moment, seized an opportunity and swung his sword, but Sojun easily parried it and spoke, as if he had just realized something.

“Oh, guys, there’s something I haven’t mentioned. Today’s stream is an advertisement.”

Baekho, who was about to rush again, hesitated.

“As a matter of fact, there’s a person in charge among the viewers watching right now.”

Sojun thought of Kim Yunchan, who handled the official Travel account.

“Surely, the developer won’t just let such bad-mannered players be?”

“That damn bastard?”

-LOL, is this actual education?
-Please do your job, MubiSoft!
-Streamer-nim’s acting tone is hilarious, lol
-He did say it was an advertisement earlier, lol, is it true?
-Let’s go for a ban!