Chapter 45. Intensifying by the Minute
To someone unfamiliar with games, the two characters "class change" felt extremely foreign.
What kind of skills he would gain after a class change, how stats would be applied, and so on.
There was nothing he could know in advance.
However, there was one thing that was certain.
If he underwent a class change, no matter how, he would become stronger than he was now. That alone was certain.
The problem was that he had to deal with one hundred enemies of Lv.10 or higher.
'About the level of those guys I dealt with yesterday... I suppose?'
Dong Bong-su thought that opponents around level 10 would be roughly the level of the ordinary Heavenly Wind Squad members he fought yesterday. As for Go San-gong, who had been the squad leader, he estimated him to be around level 15 or 16. It was a rough guess, but it would probably be close enough.
When he had killed only a few of those he encountered on the ship, he was already close to level 8 from level 7, and after killing Go San-gong, he jumped straight to level 10.
All of this reasoning was based on the merciless experience gain and level-ups from yesterday. And that reasoning was correct.
The New Murim Online system had recognized the Heavenly Wind Squad members he encountered yesterday as level 9–11, and Go San-gong as a level 16 'mob'.
'One hundred martial artists at the same level as those I met yesterday ... that won't be easy.'
If this were the real Murim Online, this class change quest would be quite easy.
But this was not real Murim Online. It was New Murim Online. Not virtual reality, but the real world. It wasn't about killing a mere hundred 'mobs', but killing a hundred 'martial artists'.
It would never be an easy task.
But it was something he absolutely had to accomplish.
He becomes stronger. He gains an advantage in survival and hunting. If he survives longer and continues hunting, he becomes even stronger. An infinite loop, like a formula.
To continue that loop, he absolutely had to!
Do it.
Dong Bong-su finished checking all the changes that came with reaching level 10 and closed the quest window.
Beep-.
It was right at the moment the familiar mechanical sound played as the window closed.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion echoed from far away. Even after piercing through the fairly thick door of the East Heaven Guest Hall, the sound rang out clearly. It was far away, but undeniably loud.
The location was—
'That place from yesterday!'
Judging from the direction of the sound, the place where something was happening was the Imperial King Hall.
'It's begun.'
Dong Bong-su realized that the Namgung Family had taken the bait he had scattered yesterday without hesitation.
A buzz of voices arose, and the outside quickly became noisy. Guests staying at the East Heaven Guest Hall must have rushed out after hearing the explosion.
Now, what he had to do was check how well the Namgung Family had bitten the bait. Although it seemed his warning had worked on the Namgung Family, the danger Do Heo-ok would bring was not completely over yet.
If the Namgung Family turned out to be weaker than expected, or if Do Heo-ok's side was unexpectedly strong, there was a chance the Namgung Family could be pushed back despite the warning he had painstakingly delivered.
Or perhaps the Namgung Family's response might be unexpectedly sloppy. In that case, the result would be the same as the former.
If that happened, for survival—
'I'll have to devise the next method.'
Dong Bong-su quickly straightened his clothes, opened the door, and stepped outside.
***
Do Heo-ok came out early in the morning as a temporary attendant.
"Have you heard about the Three Sacred Lights?"
"The Three Sacred Lights?"
After hearing about the Three Sacred Lights from the lower-ranking warriors of the family who were already outside, he immediately left his post as a temporary attendant and personally went to the southern water gate where the flagship was.
There had been no such plan in the First Stratagem, so he had come to verify it. However, the flagship was tightly guarded by Heavenly Thunder Unit members and Heavenly Wind Squad members, so he could not confirm anything.
If the Three Sacred Lights were truly something like a blessing from the heavens, was there any reason to hide the ship? No—would there have been any need to guard it so tightly from the start? Especially from him, the person involved?
Something had gone wrong. It seemed to be seriously tangled.
Do Heo-ok was hurrying back to the Imperial King Hall. He intended to reach it quickly and tell the four shadows to hide.
He regarded the Three Sacred Lights as their mistake. He judged that the four shadows must have clearly made some mistake when escaping from that ship yesterday, and that the result of it was the Three Sacred Lights.
Pa-ba-bak.
It was when he used his movement technique and was just passing in front of the East Heaven Guest Hall.
"Well now. Where are you rushing off to so early?"
A burly man in his thirties with a clean-cut appearance suddenly blocked Do Heo-ok's path. Behind him followed about thirty sturdy warriors wearing blue clothes with the large embroidered characters 'Boundless' on their chests. They were Namgung In and the Boundless Sword Squad members.
'Why is the Boundless Sword Squad here at this hour?'
Do Heo-ok naturally knew them well. What mattered now was why the Boundless Sword Squad was blocking his path in a group this early in the morning.
'Could it be me!?'
For a moment, Do Heo-ok thought they had come to arrest him. It wasn't a matter of instinct or prediction. Simply by linking this with the Three Sacred Lights, he realized that the plan had gone awry, and that perhaps even the fact that the Four Shadows were hiding in his room had already been exposed.
"I heard there was a light here that blessed my wedding with Hye-mae, so I checked it and was on my way back to my attendant duties."
Even so, Do Heo-ok responded calmly to Namgung In. Nothing was certain yet. There was no need for him to step forward and declare, 'I am a spy.'
Looking at him, Namgung In spoke with a cold expression.
"I see. Then after checking, how was it? Was it truly a sign of blessing?"
The relaxed smile vanished from Do Heo-ok's face.
Considering Namgung In's cold expression and calm tone, there was no longer any room for doubt.
Do Heo-ok finally sensed that things had completely gone wrong.
The expression of Do Heo-ok, who had always advocated fairness and righteousness, changed completely in an instant. His eyes and eyebrows, which had gently curved, and the corners of his mouth, which always carried a smile, all straightened into a single line.
To Namgung In and the others, that appearance looked incomparably cold-blooded.
However, Namgung In gave the silent Do Heo-ok a brief chance to explain. Even he did not yet have conclusive proof that Do Heo-ok had completely deceived the Namgung Family.
But even after that, Do Heo-ok gave no response. In the end, Namgung In delivered the decisive blow.
"Since you've confirmed nothing, you must have nothing to say. I'm sorry, but you'll need to follow us to the Imperial King Hall for a moment."
"... Are you saying that I have committed some wrongdoing?"
"That's not something I would know either. All suspicions will naturally be resolved once you follow us to the Imperial King Hall."
Do Heo-ok's expression hardened even further.
At the same time, his resolve solidified.
To eliminate all of them.
If he so wished, dealing with merely thirty members of the Boundless Sword Squad would be easy. Even if Namgung In, the squad leader, was among them...
After briefly examining Namgung In, a faint smile tugged at Do Heo-ok's nose.
'So this is all a squad leader amounts to. Nothing to worry about.'
They were no match for him.
Crack, crack.
Do Heo-ok clenched and unclenched his fists a couple of times. He was gauging the timing to attack Namgung In and the Boundless Sword Squad.
As Namgung In felt a strange sense of discomfort from that sight and slowly moved his hand toward the sword at his waist—
Boom!
A sudden explosion erupted from the direction of the Imperial King Hall, and a pillar of fire shot into the sky.
At the sudden blast, Namgung In and the Boundless Sword Squad members' gazes were drawn there for just a brief moment.
At that very instant—
Do Heo-ok's hand moved first.
The thunder blade slung diagonally across his back was drawn, and a bolt of lightning struck the wide courtyard in front of the East Heaven Guest Hall—more precisely, the spot where Namgung In and the Boundless Sword Squad members were standing.
It was the first move of the latter four forms of the Thunderclap Blade Art: Thunderclap Advance.
Pa-ja-jak! Ji-jik!
The thunderous blade energy released from Do Heo-ok's blade tore through the ground and engulfed Namgung In and the Boundless Sword Squad members. With their attention momentarily diverted elsewhere, they failed to respond properly and took Do Heo-ok's lightning-like attack head-on.
Bang!
A roar no less loud than the earlier explosion at the Imperial King Hall echoed as Namgung In and the Boundless Sword Squad members were flung in all directions.
"Aaagh!"
"Kraaagh!"
"…..!"
In a single move.
With one swing of Do Heo-ok's blade, half of the Boundless Sword Squad members who had come to capture him lost their lives. Those who died screaming at least left their bodies intact, so they were the lucky ones.
Among those directly struck by the thunder blade energy, the other half didn't even have time to scream before turning to ashes and scattering into the air.
Even those who survived could not relax. The Boundless Sword Squad members who had instinctively drawn their swords in the moment of crisis and managed to block some of the thunder blade energy were mostly rendered combat-incapable by the aftermath.
Namgung In was no exception.
Drip.
He too had suffered internal injuries from the attack he had taken unknowingly. Black blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, and his face was pale as a sheet, making it obvious that the damage was severe. Had he not reached for his sword in that brief instant, he would likely already be dead.
"T-that!"
"What is that?!"
"Isn't that the groom? Then why?"
Because of the explosion earlier, many people staying at the East Heaven Guest Hall had already come outside and were witnessing this scene. They had no way of knowing how things had come to this.
Yet there was one expression common to all their faces.
Confusion.
Wouldn't it be stranger if it made sense for a groom to suddenly slaughter his in-laws' warriors and kill his elders?
Among the guests were, of course, Dong Bong-su and Tang Wu, as well as Danri Ganghae, who had become an outer disciple of the Namgung Family yesterday.
"Ugh!"
In the end, Namgung In spat out a mouthful of blood he had been holding back. His face looked like he had much he wanted to say, but he was already in no condition to speak easily. All he could do was glare up at Do Heo-ok with bloodshot eyes.
On the other hand, Do Heo-ok, wearing once again his usual righteous expression, raised the thunder blade high above his head.
A small amount of ash from the Boundless Sword Squad members who had been turned to cinders by the earlier Thunderclap Advance brushed past his face. The ash met the breath Do Heo-ok exhaled and dispersed emptily in the air, some of it being swept by the morning wind and falling desolately onto the surface of Chao Bay.
Thud, thud.
Was that the signal?
Do Heo-ok brought the thunder blade down once more. Along with a blue flash, thunder blade energy surged like a raging wave toward Namgung In and the Boundless Sword Squad members.
With no strength left to block it, they could only stare blankly at the lightning rushing toward them.
Swoosh, swish!
In just a moment, the Boundless Sword Squad that had come to capture Do Heo-ok was on the brink of annihilation!
At that instant, a brown figure darted into the scene like the wind.
'Tang Wu.'
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