Chapter 191

The sword and spear clashed repeatedly, creating tiny sparks.

A battle so fast that an ordinary player wouldn’t be able to follow with their eyes.

An ordinary person could never keep up with the speed of Wi Ho-yeon’s sword swings or Baek Si-hoon’s spear thrusts.

And just because it was fast, it didn’t mean the attacks lacked power.

Bam!

“Huff…!”

Baek Si-hoon, who had been swinging his spear, suddenly unleashed a flurry of stabs.

To Wi Ho-yeon, it felt as if the spear was bending like a snake, its path constantly shifting.

‘Straight to the side.’

After blocking the thrust, there was no time to breathe as the spear shaft immediately closed in from the side.

Clang!

“…Not bad. You blocked that?”

“Cough…!”

A thin trickle of blood flowed from the corner of Wi Ho-yeon’s mouth.

Right now, Wi Ho-yeon and Baek Si-hoon were both pouring their all into their attacks.

Since Baek Si-hoon’s mental capacity was greater than Wi Ho-yeon’s, the more they clashed, the more internal injuries Wi Ho-yeon sustained.

‘There’s no time to endure the pain.’

This was a situation where she couldn’t afford to lose focus for even a moment. The man in front of her wasn’t the type to let her off easy.

As the saying goes, the best defense is a good offense, so she had to attack to some extent.

If she only focused on defending, she would never win.

The problem was that the initiative in the attack was in the hands of that man.

In a duel, it was only natural that the stronger party would have more opportunities to attack.

Wi Ho-yeon’s sword aimed for Baek Si-hoon’s lower body in an instant.

“Ha!”

Clang!

It was blocked by Baek Si-hoon’s spear.

‘Gwi Chang…’

The nickname “Gwi Chang” was given because he wielded the spear like a ghost.

Indeed, Baek Si-hoon’s skill with the spear was something even Wi Ho-yeon had to admire.

No wonder so many people regretted his turn to becoming an outlaw.

“Wi Ho-yeon, you’ve definitely improved a lot since before. Honestly, it’s surprising. Each of your attacks has become sharper.”

Baek Si-hoon might have seemed to block Wi Ho-yeon’s attacks easily, but he was inwardly surprised.

‘If I let my guard down too much, I’ll be in trouble.’

Honestly, before the duel, he thought he could toy with her, but he quickly had to retract that thought.

Wi Ho-yeon gritted her teeth and launched another attack. If there was such a thing as the flow of battle, right now it was her attacking.

Baek Si-hoon blocked Wi Ho-yeon’s attack and let out an exclamation.

“You managed to take the flow.”

“…..”

Wi Ho-yeon didn’t respond to Baek Si-hoon’s words. Her eyes were solely focused on Baek Si-hoon’s breathing, the movement of his lower body, and the trembling of his shoulders.

Sss…

“Oops…”

While deflecting Wi Ho-yeon’s sword strike, a shallow line was drawn on Baek Si-hoon’s cheek.

“Haa… Haa…”

“Huh.”

Baek Si-hoon felt a thrill and excitement in this situation.

No matter how talented he was, if he didn’t enjoy fighting, he wouldn’t have been able to harness that talent.

The reason Baek Si-hoon could grow into a top-tier player known as Gwi Chang was because he loved combat.

The thrill was an instinctive sensation that came from battle.

And the excitement came from seeing Wi Ho-yeon like this.

“You’re still the best. There’s no one like you.”

If he didn’t have a woman like her, who else could?

The sight of her breathing heavily and calmly staring at him drove Baek Si-hoon crazy.

Even though she knew she was at a disadvantage, her eyes were as calm as a still lake.

She wasn’t afraid. She didn’t stop. She just gritted her teeth and moved forward.

Where else could you find a gem of a woman like her?

A woman stronger than Wi Ho-yeon? He had faced them before.

But in terms of appearance and inner strength, the only woman who shone in Baek Si-hoon’s eyes was Wi Ho-yeon.

That’s why he wanted to taint her with his own colors even more.

Ever since he had known Wi Ho-yeon, he had always been plagued by thirst.

He was the type who had to have everything he wanted to be satisfied.

‘And now is the time to take that fruit.’

Even though he had joined hands with the Execution Society, he had been seething with anger because he couldn’t pull Wi Ho-yeon out.

But now, the one he wanted most had come to him on her own.

It felt like fate.

“Hey, are you looking at me like that on purpose?”

Wi Ho-yeon questioned Baek Si-hoon’s words.

“…What are you talking about?”

“You’re driving me crazy. If you keep looking at me like that, I might not be able to go easy on you tonight.”

“What…”

Wi Ho-yeon looked confused for a moment, then quickly understood and clicked her tongue.

“Ha, is that all you ever think about?”

“You’re the one who makes me think like that, you bitch.”

Baek Si-hoon accelerated and thrust his spear at Wi Ho-yeon with all his strength.

Boom!

“Ugh…!”

Wi Ho-yeon barely blocked it, but she was shocked by the immense force behind the spear.

“How long can you keep blocking, huh? Your insides must be a mess by now!”

Wi Ho-yeon was too busy to respond to his words, overwhelmed by the continuous spear strikes.

‘I have to focus.’

If she lost focus for even a moment, she wouldn’t be able to block.

She had to maintain this concentration until the battle was over.

Meanwhile, Baek Si-hoon was puzzled as he pressed Wi Ho-yeon.

‘…What’s this?’

Wi Ho-yeon was gradually getting used to his attacks.

As evidence, unlike when they first started fighting, her posture and breathing were now relatively stable.

‘Is she… growing in real-time as we fight?’

It was quite baffling. After all, Baek Si-hoon wasn’t holding back or anything.

He genuinely wanted to subdue Wi Ho-yeon now, so he was thrusting his spear with all his might.

“Huh?”

Sss…

While he was lost in thought for just a moment, Wi Ho-yeon narrowly dodged the spear and left a shallow wound on Baek Si-hoon’s left arm with her sword.

“…..”

It wasn’t a serious wound, but it wasn’t shallow either.

Baek Si-hoon looked at the wound on his body for a moment, then opened his mouth in a flustered tone.

“What’s this… you?”

He expected Wi Ho-yeon to react to his flustered face, but she didn’t.

She just gripped her sword tightly and steadied her breathing.

‘This is…’

She was beginning to see a path. A new path, different from before, breaking through the wall.

‘If I can just keep this feeling…’

She wasn’t entirely sure, but she had a gut feeling.

Her tired body and extreme focus…





The conditions were sufficient for the god to step into a new realm.

“What the hell…!”

Baek Si-hoon rushed towards Wi Ho-yeon in a hurry. Unlike before, this was no time to be relaxed.

“What are you doing now!”

Clang!

“You crazy bitch…!”

The reason he cursed was because Wi Ho-yeon was now stepping into the same realm as him.

Even seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn’t believe it.

“This is insane…!”

It’s rare but possible to leap to a higher level during a life-and-death battle.

Among the extremely talented, it’s rare but it happens. Baek Si-hoon himself had experienced it.

But clearly, Wi Ho-yeon had already risen one level at the start of the battle, and now she was growing again.

To the same level as Baek Si-hoon himself.

“Is she… more talented than me?”

Baek Si-hoon was also a talent praised by many.

So much so that it was said there was no talent in Eras that surpassed Baek Si-hoon.

But now, right before his eyes, an unbelievable situation was unfolding.

“How, how can she grow twice? In such a short time…!”

Wi Ho-yeon couldn’t hear what Baek Si-hoon was saying.

Her mind was focused, her will expressed, and her attacks layered with intent.

In Baek Si-hoon’s case, the will in his mind was mostly desire.

To destroy, to kill, to possess, to covet—these primal desires were embedded.

Wi Ho-yeon, clashing with his spear and sword, could feel it deeply. Baek Si-hoon’s base desires for her were transmitted through his intent.

The will to possess her.

‘What I carry…’

The will Wi Ho-yeon carried was different from Baek Si-hoon’s.

‘I must protect.’

Her strength wasn’t for herself. It existed solely to protect the one she served.

Even now, somewhere, that person was waiting for her help.

She couldn’t fall here.

“What the…!”

Baek Si-hoon felt as if something was pressing down on his body.

‘No, this is…’

It wasn’t just a feeling. His body was actually heavier. As proof, even when he swung his spear, it didn’t move as fast as before.

“What… what did you do?”

A slight tremble could be heard in Baek Si-hoon’s voice.

It was fear.

Not fear of Wi Ho-yeon’s military power, but fear of her talent.

Baek Si-hoon, who was called a genius among geniuses, was feeling fear towards Wi Ho-yeon’s talent.

Clang—

“Ugh…!”

He blocked Wi Ho-yeon’s sword, but the internal energy felt stronger than before.

‘No, it’s not just that she’s stronger, I’ve weakened.’

His body wasn’t performing at its full capacity due to the intangible energy Wi Ho-yeon was emitting.

“You… damn bitch…!”

For a moment, it seemed like Wi Ho-yeon’s sword had cut Baek Si-hoon in half, but…

Swoosh—

Before he knew it, Baek Si-hoon had activated his “Muhwa.”

Wi Ho-yeon’s eyes sparkled at Baek Si-hoon’s appearance. The fact that he used one of his abilities, Muhwa, meant he was somewhat cornered.

At least it was proof that her sword was a threat to him.

‘I can do it.’

The situation had changed from before.

Just the fact that Baek Si-hoon, who had been calm all along, now showed signs of panic was progress enough.

But she couldn’t stop here.

It was good that the fight was now equal. But an equal fight wasn’t enough. She had to defeat him.

‘Wait for the opportunity.’

She had to wait for him to attack.

The moment Baek Si-hoon’s spear shot towards Wi Ho-yeon as if to pierce her.

Wi Ho-yeon swung her sword, wrapping it around the spear and redirecting it.

“Kick.”

“…!”

Crash—

With Baek Si-hoon’s laughter, Wi Ho-yeon felt her leg pierced by the spear.

“Ugh…!”

The immense pain made her momentarily dizzy.

“You damn bitch, you think that trick would work on me…?”

Wi Ho-yeon had no intention of stopping because of the pain. Now was the time to manifest the intent she had awakened in her mind.

With her leg still pierced by the spear, Wi Ho-yeon gripped her sword tightly with both hands and swung.

Swoosh—!

“Ugh…!”

Baek Si-hoon’s abdomen was slashed, and he instinctively released his magical power in an instant.

Clang!

Crash!

Wi Ho-yeon was blown away by the released magic and slammed into the wall, but that wasn’t the problem for Baek Si-hoon.

“Damn it… cough…!”

Blood gushed from his abdomen.

“Ugh… you crazy bitch….”

When Wi Ho-yeon swung her sword at the end, it had seemed incredibly slow to Baek Si-hoon.

The problem was, even though it looked slow enough to yawn at, his body couldn’t react.

For a moment, his body felt as if it was being pressed down and couldn’t move.

Baek Si-hoon’s complexion rapidly worsened. It wasn’t a fatal injury, but it was a serious wound.

“Ha…”

Baek Si-hoon slowly walked towards Wi Ho-yeon, who was embedded in the wall.

“…..”

Wi Ho-yeon was already unconscious. In fact, due to the internal injuries she had sustained, Wi Ho-yeon had already reached her limit.

The fact that she had endured this much was already astonishing.

Baek Si-hoon’s eyebrow twitched as he looked at Wi Ho-yeon’s hand.

Because her hand was still gripping the sword hilt.

“Haha! Damn bitch. You struggled… cough… but you lost to me.”

Of course, Wi Ho-yeon, unconscious, couldn’t respond to Baek Si-hoon’s words.

“Huh…”

Baek Si-hoon couldn’t help but laugh.

Of course, the pain in his abdomen was intense, but he couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from rising at the thought of finally getting what he wanted.

Baek Si-hoon reached out towards the unconscious Wi Ho-yeon.