A Regressor's Bucket List Chapter 75
As 100 years had already passed since the last outbreak of the Righteous-Demonic War.
The hatred for the Demonic Cult, which had once spread rampantly throughout Murim, had diluted to a certain extent in many cases.
Immediately after the Righteous-Demonic War, many gnashed their teeth at the Demonic Cult as they witnessed a Murim half-decimated by Magical Beasts.
But 100 years was a long time.
Many of those who remembered that time had already closed their eyes for the last.
While they knew words like ‘Righteous-Demonic War’ or ‘Demonic Cult,’ not many had the sentiment so deeply ingrained as to react instinctively to them.
…Jegal Cheon was one of those few.
The Jegal Family, to which Jegal Cheon belonged, had been a powerful clan under the Jongnam Sect, which was annihilated during the last Righteous-Demonic War. With the fall of the Jongnam Sect, his family lost all its glory and suffered the calamity of their clan's destruction.
Of course, Jegal Cheon had never experienced the Righteous-Demonic War of 100 years ago, let alone remembered it.
But if the Jongnam Sect had not been destroyed during the war.
If his ‘Jegal Family’ had remained one of the important pillars of Murim.
He was certain of one thing: he would have lived a much better life than he did now.
Like the direct disciples of Hwasan or other sects.
Like the direct bloodlines of the leaders of various great sects.
He would have inherited the Artifacts passed down through his family for generations, and he would have received the secret tomes given to the family’s successor.
He would not have had to enter another sect as a disciple, suffering all sorts of humiliation just to learn swordsmanship.
Such thoughts had unknowingly piled up within him.
The regret and inferiority complex over a future that could have been different eventually took root in his heart as hatred for the Demonic Cult.
And that was ultimately the cause of the present battle.
…But that was merely the surface-level reason.
In truth, the feelings he held in his heart were a little different.
Of course, it was true that he harbored hatred for the Demonic Cult.
Having constantly heard from his father about the days when the Jegal Family was influential, he couldn't help but feel regret for the background he had lost overnight.
And his innate disposition was that of a person who hated losing to others.
But if that was really all there was to it.
Jegal Cheon probably wouldn't have drawn his sword so readily.
Whatever the circumstances, the Magical Beast raid here had been dealt with.
And while he disliked the Demonic Cult, he didn't harbor a thirst for revenge that demanded he kill them.
The fundamental reason he had risked drawing his sword lay elsewhere.
Namely.
‘…The Demonic Cult’s Artifact.’
The black sword held in the grasp of the woman called the Heavenly Demon.
He coveted that sword.
He didn't know its exact name or what abilities it possessed.
But his calculation was that if it was something handed down from the organization that had annihilated half of Murim 100 years ago, it must possess a considerable level of power.
The bizarre movements of the Magical Beasts that had unfolded before his eyes proved its capabilities.
…The justification was already sufficient.
By calling herself the successor of the Demonic Cult, the ‘Heavenly Demon,’ she had admitted to being the enemy of all people in Murim.
Even without any other reason, that alone was a crime punishable by death in the lands of Murim.
Moreover, the timing was perfect.
Although it was a thing of the past, the Demonic Cult's reputation was such that Jegal Cheon would not have been able to charge in so easily if they were at their full strength.
But judging from the blood covering her body and the strange behavior of the Magical Beasts at the end.
It seemed she had used up her strength fending off the Magical Beasts that appeared on this Shandong Peninsula.
The circumstances of the Heavenly Demon, who was supposed to attack Murim, defending it instead were puzzling, but her situation was none of his concern.
What was important was that she had exhausted all her power doing so.
Vwoong—
With his calculations complete, Jegal Cheon’s Tachi swung towards Shim Cheong.
Chaeng-!
The Demonic Sword in U-jin’s hand deflected its path.
A heavy gust of wind rose from the clash of the two swords, sweeping low across the surroundings.
The surface of the shallow puddles of blood on the ground trembled—brrr.
“…You little punk.”
“……”
“Drop your sword and step aside. My business is with that wench.”
Jegal Cheon sneered at U-jin for blocking his Tachi, but instead of replying to such cliché and meaningless words.
U-jin stomped his foot once.
Kwoong-!
At the same time.
Tiring-!
A system window message appeared before Jegal Cheon’s eyes.
[Warning! An unknown external mana is causing a status abnormality.]
And before he could even finish reading the message.
An immense pressure bore down on his body.
‘……!’
It was a familiar, yet strange, experience.
Would it feel similar if the gravity he normally felt unconsciously were to increase tenfold?
An unpleasant dizziness, as if his blood pressure was dropping all over his body, accompanied a discomfort in his overall physical movements.
[Warning! ‘Physical Ability’ is significantly decreased.]
…It was something Jegal Cheon couldn't possibly know.
But it was, of course, the effect of U-jin’s ‘Heavenly Demon’s Reigning Step’.
The only difference was one thing.
U-jin’s ‘Heavenly Demon’s Reigning Step’, which used to act over a wide area, had shrunk its range to exert a more powerful effect.
And unlike before, when it merely slowed movement speed, it now placed a powerful strain on Jegal Cheon’s entire body.
“This brat and his petty tricks……”
Jegal Cheon muttered in complaint at the unpleasantness of having his body suppressed.
But once again, U-jin did not reply.
He simply swung the sword in his hand instead of answering.
Chaeng-!
The second strike landed.
Jegal Cheon, feeling the immense weight of his Tachi, threw it up as if to toss it, barely managing to block U-jin’s sword.
But before he could even catch his breath after blocking the second strike.
This time, he felt a suffocating stuffiness that made his breath catch in his throat.
It wasn't that he was actually having trouble breathing.
It was just that.
[Warning! The Mana Circuit is being deactivated by external mana intervention!]
A chain of mana, having extended from U-jin’s hand at some point, was now embedded in his side, suppressing the circulation of his Mana Circuit.
Grit—
“…You sneaky bastard.”
Of course, U-jin’s skill, ‘Mana Chain (★)’, could only hold Jegal Cheon’s Mana Circuit for a moment.
After all, Jegal Cheon held the rank of a 2-star Hero.
He was a man who possessed power and mana befitting that rank.
U-jin's unorthodox and swift use of his abilities at the very start of the battle was certainly surprising to him.
But the absolute gap in their physical and magical power was not small.
Jjaeng-!
Jegal Cheon forcefully circulated his mana, shattering the chain that bound his Mana Circuit.
He swung his Tachi horizontally and retreated out of the range of U-jin’s ‘Heavenly Demon’s Reigning Step’.
Vwoong—
Tadak-!
‘…A 1-star at best.’
The probing was over.
Jegal Cheon had been momentarily flustered by the unexpected petty tricks.
But the level of mana he had gauged through the Mana Chain clearly showed that he had the upper hand.
The strange area-of-effect skill that weighed down the body within its range seemed tricky, but he wasn’t the type who wielded a swift sword anyway.
It might be a problem for someone who enjoyed a battle of speed within the skill's range, but for him, such an inconvenience was not a major issue.
No matter how much strain was put on his body, he was confident as long as their swords met.
‘…I’ll go head-on.’
Although it varied depending on the user, the Tachi was a sword that had no rival in a matchup between blades.
From the very beginning, the design of the sword known as the Tachi was focused on clashes of power between swords, rather than strategy or speed.
Its specialty and forte was to crush the opponent's weapon with overwhelming weight and durability.
And the one Jegal Cheon wielded.
As was evident from its moniker, ‘Hwasan Tachi’, it was the largest of its kind within the Hwasan Sect.
This overwhelmingly large greatsword, with a blade length exceeding one meter excluding the handle, had destroyed the swords of countless men.
‘…….’
Of course, Jegal Cheon didn't think that the Artifact with the black blade would break after just a few simple attacks.
But it didn't matter.
“…I’ll show you what it means to be crushed to death, sword and all.”
If he couldn't break the sword.
He just had to break the person receiving the weight of that sword.
Kkudeudeuk-!
“Let’s see you withstand this.”
“……”
“The moment you dodge, that wench called the Heavenly Demon will lose her head.”
Paat-!
With that short warning, Jegal Cheon kicked off the ground with great force and swung his Tachi at U-jin’s sword with all his might.
KWANG-!
The massive Tachi wielded by Jegal Cheon smashed down on U-jin, sword and all, just as he had warned.
The ground where U-jin stood caved in from the powerful blow.
He hadn't even used a particular skill.
The combination of Jegal Cheon's 2-star strength, the weight of the Tachi, and the powerful load on the point of action that accompanied its great size created an overwhelming strike.
…The ensuing strikes were the same.
KWAANG-!
KWANG-!
KWANG!
There were no feints, no calculations of trajectory.
Whether U-jin blocked it or not.
He simply swung his sword with all his might towards a path U-jin could not evade.
And Jegal Cheon's strategy certainly.
Seemed to be ‘meaningful’.
Psik—
‘…Of course.’
As if he had forgotten all the petty tricks he had been using before.
Jegal Cheon’s lips curled up as he watched U-jin receive his blows in a purely defensive manner.
‘…Just a small fry hanging around the Heavenly Demon.’
It was because he believed he had completely nullified U-jin’s petty tricks.
It was nothing remarkable.
He had met types who specialized in unorthodox methods a few times, but the solution was always the same.
‘A frontal assault.’
Jegal Cheon believed that unconventional methods were just petty tricks that came out when one thought they had a low chance of winning under equal conditions.
As such, he thought that as long as he could drag the fight into a head-on, one-on-one confrontation, he could seize victory without difficulty.
And in reality, that method had never disappointed him until now.
KWAANG-!
…Just how many clashes, which were closer to hammer blows than sword strikes, had been exchanged?
‘……?’
Feeling the heavy damage accumulating in his own hands, Jegal Cheon sensed something was wrong.
‘…Why.’
The number of hits he had expected to land had long since passed, and he had certainly struck enough times.
But strangely, there was still no reaction from U-jin.
“…This can’t be.”
…This wasn't just him talking out of sheer arrogance.
As mentioned before, the Tachi was a sword that held absolute superiority in clashes of power between swords.
Having sacrificed everything else, including agility, for overwhelming power, the identity of the Tachi was its unparalleled might.
In fact, if they clashed under equal conditions, it was common sense for the opponent to be sent flying by the physical rebound after just a few strikes, not even needing dozens.
In reality, even those at the same 2-star rank had never taken more than ten of Jegal Cheon’s Tachi blows head-on.
Moreover, the current battle was not on equal terms.
Considering that physical and magical power generally corresponded to one's star rank, it was certain that this man who introduced himself as ‘Seo U-jin’ was at a lower level than Jegal Cheon himself.
It was something Jegal Cheon simply couldn't comprehend with his experience and common sense.
That is.
For a man with a lower level of mana and physical strength than himself.
“…Is that all?”
…from that very first spot.
To take every single one of his blows from the same spot, without retreating a single step.