A Swordsman’s Stream

Chapter 78

“Do you know?”

“What are you talking about?”

“When the higher techniques of Plum Blossom Sword Technique are unleashed, even the Heavenly Demon Divine Art can’t prevent it. Isn’t that why you stopped it?”

Heaven-Slayer Star furrowed his brow.

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“From now on, I’ll be careful.”

He pretended not to know.

It didn’t matter.

Things would be different from now on.

Earlier, he hadn’t expected it, and thus, gained nothing while the connection was severed.

But moving forward, if someone tried to break his rhythm, he would ensure to extract a definite price.

His objective wasn’t the completion of techniques, but victory.

He distanced himself slightly to set up his techniques from the beginning again.

Just as he raised his sword to initiate the second technique.

*Clang!*

Once again, Sojun’s sword, which had appeared in front of him, blocked his path.

His sword couldn’t advance past Sojun’s waist.

“Quick reaction.”

Heaven-Slayer Star, almost expectantly, relaxed his arm, breaking the equilibrium with Sojun’s blocking sword and extracted his sword freely.

If Sojun tried to block his technique, he would have to pay for it.

His intent was to unleash his technique without obstruction.

His arm moved faster than his opponent, and his sword path was short and effective.

This couldn’t be blocked.

Just as his lips were about to curl into a smile.

*Clang!*

Blocked again.

Sojun was smiling.

Casually blocking him with outstretched arms.

“…….”

He was baffled.

Closing the distance instantly despite retreating, Heaven-Slayer Star intended to make Sojun move back by swinging his sword.

Or, he had attempted to swing.

He thought it would be difficult to block since it wasn’t a technique and didn’t have fixed moves.

*Clang!*

‘What?’

Heaven-Slayer Star’s eyes twitched as he saw Sojun’s sword precisely meeting his blade.

Why is it blocked again?

He couldn’t extend past his waist once more.

His speed was undoubtedly faster, without any hesitation.

‘Why?’

‘Is it because I was tied to the technique since the beginning?’

While it was perplexing, the blow to his pride was more significant.

Blocking his attacks at an evidently slower speed meant his thoughts were being read.

He decided not to cling to techniques anymore and pour all his effort into each moment of engagement.

His pride would no longer allow further blocks.

At the moment he resolved this, Heaven-Slayer Star witnessed it.

Sojun was casually swinging his sword with a relaxed expression.

“Try blocking this well.”

Did that mean he would attack without blocking anymore?

The way he swung his sword suggested a strong attack.

‘I’ll lightly block you too!’

This time, he planned to block the attack and seize the timing for his next move.

Even if it seemed slow, in reality, it wasn’t that leisurely.

A lapse of focus for just a second could lead to defeat.

However, having dodged and deflected the quick sword, one second felt trivial.

His next move would certainly be to block and counterattack.

*Clang!*

Unfortunately, he failed to parry.

Although he had clearly read the trajectory, he was short by a mere 0.1 seconds, and attempting a parry could have spelled trouble.

In that case, it was better to block and prepare for the next move.

*Whoosh!*

‘What?’

Sojun, reclaiming his deflected sword, stepped forward deeply.

*Thud.*

At the same time, he aimed for his neck from the opposite direction than before.

‘Has the speed of his quick attack chaining always been this fast?’

Had he underestimated his speed by too much?

He quickly decided that blocking was better than parrying.

Certainly, blocking it wasn’t difficult this time either.

Yet, it was another instance of just barely lacking the time to parry…

*Thud.*

*Whoosh!*

Sojun moved in yet another step as he brought his sword down.

‘What the…’

Before he even had time to question, the next attack was upon him.

The attack itself was nothing special.

There was no apparent rhythm or rule to the sword’s path, but everything became clear due to speed.

Sojun, unyieldingly advancing yet freely swinging, sometimes lightly and other times wildly, kept driving him back.

Meanwhile, Heaven-Slayer Star retreated a step, feeling slightly frustrated but managing to block repeatedly.

That was all.

However, an inexplicable anxiety had begun to take over him.

It felt as if his instincts were warning him.

A warning that he couldn’t afford to simply be dragged along.

Heaven-Slayer Star did not ignore the feeling that he was becoming increasingly flustered.

Thus, he tried to break free from the situation by retreating all at once.

At that moment!

Suddenly, his feet refused to move.

It felt as though his ankles were bound by someone, nearly causing him to lose his balance completely.

Was it because Sojun, having approached him with a measured step, was about to strike with his sword?

It seemed he had been in too much of a rush. He had made a mistake.

*Whoosh!*

He couldn’t take his eyes off the enemy’s sword.

His perception expanded in an instant, making everything feel slowed down.

The sword came down more slowly than before.

He knew he had to block it. It was too late to dodge. So he made a swift decision. He knew what he had to do.

Yet, he still felt as though something was holding his body back.

He barely managed to intercept the strike just as the sword came within inches of him.

“Hah…”

His breathing became ragged as he narrowly blocked it with a deep breath.

He lost his rhythm, mistimed his actions, and made a mistake.

Where did it start to go wrong?

He didn’t know.

*Thud.*

The sound of his foot sinking into the dirt distinctly pierced his ears.

And then…

*Whoosh!*

Without a moment to breathe, the next sword path aimed at his neck appeared in the world.

“Why is it so fast?!”

The opponent’s attack was both fast and slow.

That was truly how it was.

In this paradoxical situation, all he could do was defend.

*Clang!*

*Clang, clang!*

Sojun approached, swinging his sword leisurely with each step.

He had to hurriedly block and was being pushed back with each step.

However, the fact that the opponent had still not succeeded in attacking was important.

“Do you think I’ll just take this?”

He desperately squeezed his mind, thinking of a counter-strike as he deflected Sojun’s sword.

He discovered an opening.

0.1 second.

An opening that wouldn’t have existed if Sojun’s sword had not been so slow.

Heaven-Slayer Star gritted his teeth and aimed his sword at the opening.

“Now!”

*Shuuuuk!*

But…

His outstretched sword stopped just short of Sojun’s nose.

“……”

“……”

It wasn’t that Sojun had gone easy on him.

The distance was insufficient.

If his foot had been one step closer.

If he had held his sword even slightly longer.

He surely would have reached his target.

In a blink of an eye, he looked aggrieved and met Sojun’s gaze, feeling fear.

*Clang.*

The opponent, smiling as always, deflected the sword that had come close and took a step forward.

*Thud.*

Then, as if nothing had happened, he continued the motion of his arm and brought down his sword.

A sword whose entire trajectory, from its speed to the exact spot it would touch him, was vividly clear.

Yet, he instinctively realized.

“I can’t avoid this. Damn it.”

*Swooosh!*

The sword slashed from his shoulder down to across his torso.

His stamina decreased.

Amidst the confusion of not understanding how things had come to this,

“Why aren’t you attacking? Come on and attack me.”

Sojun stepped back a step as if offering him a moment to rest, then spoke.

It was an attitude of giving a chance.

Heaven-Slayer Star, who still hadn’t completely grasped what had happened, swallowed hard.

*Gulp.*

He steeled his mind. The fight wasn’t over yet.

It was clear that what just happened was because he got swept into the pace.

“The first button was put on wrong.”

If he did it from the beginning again!

* * *

Certainly, he had regained the flow.

But his sword was blocked.

That restrained… no, not even worthy of the word ‘restrained’.

His movements were so nonchalant that all his attacks were intercepted from the start.

From the beginning of each move, the opponent intercepted, severed the path of his sword, blocked the attacks, and counterattacked.

It felt like being a mouse trying to find its way through a maze.

In the sky, the exit seemed elusive, chased by the experimental barrier moving every direction.

It would appear within reach, only for a barricade from above to mischievously thwart the attempt like a trapped mouse.

As one wandered in the maze, it led to moments where all one could do was helplessly watch the enemy’s sword.

A slight gap.

A minor twist.

A sliver of time.

All elements involved in the battle seemed to conspire against him, as if the day itself was unfavorable.

‘What a damned situation this is!’

His stamina had nearly depleted.

‘If it continues like this, I will lose without doing anything.’

Just like the others.

‘That cannot happen.’

Heaven-Slayer Star finally decided to accept the defeat of the first round.

However, even if his stamina was exhausted and it ended here, he resolved to land at least one blow!

With a resolve of life-or-death.

He didn’t need a complex move or even infuse sword ki.

Just one hit!

But that desperate hope ended with a tap.

“Too bad.”

Heaven-Slayer Star’s gaze fell downward.

Again, his sword was intercepted by the lightly outstretched sword of Sojun.

“Well then, farewell.”

“Ha-ha.”

Dammit.

* * *

-Seven consecutive wins, just like that!
-Sojun is the leader! Sojun is the leader! Sojun is the leader! Sojun is the leader!
-Please take responsibility for the Demonic Cult! Take responsibility for the Demonic Cult! Please take responsibility for the Demonic Cult!
-Stop passing that off, you crazy Demonic Cult folks! LOL!
-It’s insane. No one has ever won seven in a row without sniping or trickery.
-There’s still one round left.
-But it’s obvious he’ll win, right?

* * *

“Uh…….”

Ark couldn’t believe his eyes.

Spectator mode.

A mode displaying events about 30 seconds slower than the actual playtime.

Since spectatorship was possible on the computer, Ark comfortably broadcasted the seventh round from the opponent’s perspective instead of Sojun’s screen.

Floating the viewpoint upward was also possible, but due to “This Isn’t the Martial World”‘s recommendation, they displayed the screen from Heaven-Slayer Star’s perspective.

“…… Was Sojun’s sword always this fast?”

-Why ask us that? LOL
-It is indeed! Really fast!
-For a moment, I thought he hadn’t used Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
-It makes no sense!
-All gets blocked! LOL!
-Please stop coming closer.
-Didn’t he just prove 2nd Place is a big sham too? Was that really the previous World’s Greatest?
-You can still say that after seeing this? LMAO

“No…….”

Now they understood why “This Isn’t the Martial World” advised watching from the opponent’s perspective.

Watching from the opponent’s viewpoint, they realized they had been thoroughly mistaken.

They should have known that rankers weren’t bubble talents, but experiencing the battle from the opponent’s view erased all doubts.

“It’s clear that Sojun is incredibly skilled.”

Any thoughts of escaping the same situation evaporated.

If anyone else were in that scenario, they’d probably be defenseless.

-This seems right.
-Isn’t he really the World’s Greatest by now?
-He’s genuinely skilled.
-From the opponent’s perspective, there’s no answer. LOL
-C’mon, give an explanation! LOL

An explanation, huh.

“Hold on, everyone.”

Ark delved into past experiences and knowledge to elucidate the situation.

Ah.

It reminded them of playing baseball as a child.

As the pitcher, the ball didn’t feel particularly fast.

The distance from the mound to the catcher even seemed long.

However, standing in the batter’s box, the ball’s speed felt faster than a bullet.

And that distance felt astonishingly short.

How speed is perceived can change depending on where one stands, though more explanation was needed.

“I don’t know exactly. Doesn’t it seem possible because Sojun is just exceptionally good? When you know all the enemy’s movements, blocking them is possible. Perhaps the reason his attacks feel fast is because one is in the opponent’s position?”

-It’s quite scary.
-The way he moved so leisurely but was truly fast.
-Each approaching step felt overwhelmingly terrifying.

Everyone seemed to share those feelings.

Even from the opponent’s stance, they felt an intensifying sense of dread and powerlessness.

“Indeed. I felt similarly.”

As Ark empathized, a benefactor stepped in.

『’This Isn’t the Martial World’ has donated 200,000 won!』
『A sword that demands choices. That is the blunt blade. You will understand if you read my explanation on No Justice.』