Book 24 Chapter 22

The fate of the championship

— An unexpected surprise attack

Gasp!

Yeonbi couldn't hold back and vomited a bowl of blood. The dirt floor of the arena was stained red with blood.

'How long has it been since I last vomited blood like this?'

Her memory was hazy.

'Did I win?'

She didn't have the strength to even wiggle a finger. Her body felt like tattered rags. If she were attacked now, she would surely be finished. So, she looked for Chil Sang-heon's figure. He wasn't in front, nor to her left or right.

Her internal energy and blood were in disarray, she had vomited a bowl of blood, her nerves were burning, and her limbs felt like they were tearing apart, but no matter what, Yeonbi herself was the one still standing. She was astonished that she could still stand.

"Kill him! Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

As blood spurted from the body of the Blood Demon Chil Sang-heon like a fountain, the excitement in the arena reached its peak.

"Shut up!"

Yeonbi roared. Her voice echoed through the Wonpung Arena. Instantly, the arena fell silent as if dead. The strange aura emanating from Yeonbi's entire body overwhelmed the thousands of spectators.

"Do you think this is a game? Why should I become a murderer for your entertainment? Is this fun? Of course, it's fun. But I have no intention of killing! The winner is me, not you! So, don't interfere! I will decide whether to kill him or let him live! If you have a problem, come out here. I'll deal with you. I'm a bit tired right now, but I still have enough strength to scold idiots. If you don't have the courage, stay put! Stop spouting about killing or not. Any objections?"

It was quiet. Truly quiet. Although it was vulgar language that one couldn't imagine coming from such a beautiful woman, perhaps due to shock, no one could speak.

"No objections, I presume? Then, may I declare the winner, young commentator?"

Yeonbi's gaze, spanning dozens of yards, fixed on Eugene. Only then did Eugene snap back to his senses and shout at the top of his lungs.

"The winner has finally been decided! She is beautiful on the outside but harsh on the mouth. But she is a wonderful person. No one can object, can they? Because she is the winner. Come, everyone, applause for the winner, respect for the winner, glory for the winner! And money for the winner! The champion of the 300,000 taels tournament! Yeonbi! Winning Team! Lady Yeon!"

"Waaaaaaah!"

Suddenly, a roar erupted from the previously silent crowd. "The lady is amazing, the best! Date me! Slap my cheek. I'm the butt." and other such shouts poured out from everywhere. But Yeonbi paid no mind to any of them. She was tired.

The handsome young master Eugene shouted excitedly,

"Finally, finally, that day has come! The King of the Arena, the Blood Demon Chil Sang-heon, who boasted of his undefeated record, has been defeated!"

Yeonbi raised her hand in response to the cheers. As the cheers rained down, Yeonbi shouted inwardly.

'See? You damn master! I'm not dead!'

Just as she cried out in her heart, Yeonbi had brilliantly survived.

'Now, what do I do with this person?'

***

Just then, two men, one burly and one with a weak impression, came running with a stretcher to carry the unconscious Chil Sang-heon. Yeonbi stopped them just as they were about to place Chil Sang-heon on the stretcher.

"Wait!"

The two men turned with expressions that asked, 'What is it?' They didn't look like doctors or medical students from any angle. Nor did they look like mere strongmen. One could tell they were martial artists, and quite skilled ones at that, just by looking at their bulging temples. And both wore rings on their middle fingers. They weren't particularly distinctive rings, so they couldn't indicate their affiliation.

"Do you have any orders, young lady?"

The burly man with a scar above his eyebrow asked.

"I will take that person with me. I have some business. So, you two don't need to worry about it."

"That would be difficult. He is injured now and needs to be taken to the infirmary for treatment immediately."

For mere stretcher bearers, they were quite eloquent and had nerve.

"If… you… refuse?"

She spoke each syllable slowly but with an oppressive weight. As expected of trained individuals, they seemed to be sensitive to the intense killing intent Yeonbi emitted.

"B-but…"

Yeonbi was smiling. But it looked like the growl of a black panther.

"Surely you're not going to take him and fry him up after winning, are you? I just want to talk about martial arts. They say he's a famous person from the past. I think it's reasonable to grant such a convenience to the winner of this tournament, don't you think?"

It was not appropriate for mere stretcher bearers to undermine the pride of the tournament winner. They reluctantly nodded.

"Understood. Please do so. However, if he doesn't wake up within an hour, he must be seen by a doctor. May we take him then?"

"Of course, you may."

Yeonbi said with a smile.

"Very well. Then we will escort you to the waiting room."

The two men, understanding her words, didn't resist further and tried to move Chil Sang-heon onto the stretcher.

"Wait! Stop!"

Before she could finish speaking, Yeonbi became a black gale and swept towards the two men. Moving at a terrifying speed, Yeonbi snatched the burly man's right arm with one hand and yanked it backward without mercy. As a strange cracking sound echoed from the man's joints, he let out a terrible scream.

"Wh-why, why are you doing this, y-young lady?"

The man who looked weak trembled, stammering with fear-filled eyes.

"Why? Of course, it's because of this."

Yeonbi smiled and presented her right palm in front of the weak-looking man.

"Gasp! Th-that is!"

The weak man exclaimed in surprise. A sharp, pointed needle protruded from the middle of the man's ring finger. The needle was attached to the back of the ring he was wearing.

"These days, stretcher bearers wear strange things on their fingers."

The needle in the ring seemed to be designed to inject a drug internally when it pricked the skin. It was a structure made to administer a larger dose since just applying it wouldn't have much effect.

"I knew it. I thought they were too lavish for mere stretcher bearers."

It was as if she had anticipated it.

"H-how?"

"They didn't look like the type to wear rings without any markings. Plus, they were too skilled for people who were just supposed to carry him."

Here, skilled meant relative skill compared to ordinary stretcher bearers.

Yeonbi examined the ring the man was wearing on his finger.

"What's inside this ring? I'm really curious. Poison? No, no, since you seem to have something to report, it's probably a powerful sleeping drug. Hmm, did you plan to drug me in advance because I might wake up suddenly? No, no, it's definitely poison to silence me."

"A-ah, this, this is just a sleeping pill."

"Hey, that's a lie."

Crack!

As he tried to offer a futile excuse, she twisted his arm again.

"R-really."

"Well, then let's test it. If I don't die from being pricked, it's a sleeping pill."

"S-sorry. Sorry. Sorry."

Only then did the man with the weak face bow his head incessantly.

"I didn't know, I truly didn't know. I really didn't know. I know nothing. It's true."

The man apologized dozens of times, bowing his head. Yeonbi wasn't particularly interested in his apologies.

"Well, it's fine."

Then, she turned to interrogate the man she was holding. At that moment, Yeonbi's back was completely exposed. In that instant, the man's eyes, which had been bowed at a right angle, flashed sharply. Simultaneously, his body moved like a swift wolf. In his hand, which shot towards Yeonbi, was a dagger that had emerged from his sleeve. The highly skilled and precise movements indicated that he had taken countless lives using this method. There was no hesitation in this surprise attack. It was such a clean and natural surprise attack that most spectators didn't notice it. Only a few top masters witnessed this scene. And they let out another gasp of astonishment.

The dagger aimed at Yeonbi's back stopped about a finger's distance from her back. Two fingers were blocking the blade. It was her other hand, the one not holding the weak man. She had caught the flying blade with just two fingers without even looking back.

Yeonbi turned her head slightly and looked at the terrified weak man. And she smiled. A smile that, to some, looked like the smile of a grim reaper. The blade of the dagger snapped in half. The smile on Yeonbi's lips deepened.

Perhaps it was an instinctive reaction for these stretcher bearers. Seeing her visibly tired and having vomited blood, they might have thought they had a chance. However, that was a grave miscalculation. No matter how tired and weary, Yeonbi was the winner of this grand martial arts tournament. It was foolish to think that even a competent master could succeed with a surprise attack. If the one who gave the order had considered this situation, they would have instructed them not to show any suspicious movements. But this situation was unexpected, and the order would not have extended this far. This was a man's improvisation, and it was a clear failure.

Yeonbi considered beating them until they were pulp but stopped. She had actually considered it, but she was too tired. She wanted to rest now and didn't want to lift a finger for such cowards. Chil Sang-heon has a secret. He wants to hide it, and others want to know it. He is hiding something beyond his identity. His identity has now been revealed. Yeonbi herself exposed it. And the organization, or organizations, who want to silence him or pry into his secrets have already moved.

"Groan."

The two men only screamed and gave no answer.

Yeonbi lightly twisted and dislocated the right elbow joints of both men, then had them slap each other's cheeks with their respective right hands. Naturally, the sharp needles in their rings pierced their cheeks and injected the medicinal liquid. The two screamed, and then immediately collapsed. It was certainly effective. But they weren't dead. They were simply asleep. Seeing them, Yeonbi remarked.

"Tsk, it seems it was a sleeping drug, not poison."

Yeonbi slung Chil Sang-heon over her shoulder and slowly walked towards the opposite waiting room. Na Yerinn was resting in her waiting room. She didn't want to disturb her rest. Nor could she take her eyes off Chil Sang-heon. People would be lining up to kidnap or silence him. So, Yeonbi had no choice but to carry Chil Sang-heon on her back to his waiting room. If her guess was correct, someone would already be waiting there.

Yeonbi's guess was one right and one wrong. No, it might be more accurate to say that she got one right and didn't anticipate two. Elder Hyukjung was already waiting in Chil Sang-heon's waiting room. She had anticipated Elder Hyukjung's presence. Yeonbi's eyes quickly scanned behind Elder Hyukjung.

"Elder, those people are…"

"Hmm? No need to introduce them, right? They fought and bickered amicably not too long ago."

She had anticipated Elder Hyukjung's presence, but she never dreamed that her in-laws would be waiting with him. If she said that to them, they would have flown into a rage, thinking she was crazy.

"Congratulations on your victory."

Na Baekcheon was the first to offer congratulations.

"We meet again."

His wife, Yecheong's voice was still cold.

"Ahem, by the way, General, is this guy really that guy? He's changed too much, isn't he?"

"Of course, he is. Do you think I wouldn't recognize one of my disciples? I only had a few disciples; how could I forget them? I'm still far from being senile. By the way, has his consciousness returned?"

"Not yet."

"Well, this young lady beat him up pretty badly."

Elder Hyukjung clicked his tongue, looking at Chil Sang-heon's disheveled state.

"As promised, I kept him alive. Don't complain. The condition was the same. I almost died too."

Bringing him here alive was the extent of her role. There was no reason for her to listen to any complaints about anything else.

"I just hope you didn't severely beat his head and turn him into an idiot."

"Don't worry. He looks sturdy at first glance."

Yeonbi said dismissively.

"That is his strength, after all."

Elder Hyukjung agreed with a sigh.

"You seem to know him well?"

"Well, I've beaten him up a lot in the past."

"Oh, really?"

It wasn't a conversation to reminisce about. Come to think of it, this man Chil Sang-heon seemed to have a rather unfortunate past.

"Ugh…"

Just then, a groan escaped from Chil Sang-heon's lips while he was in a comatose state. Cold sweat formed beads on his forehead. His lips moved, and he mumbled something inaudible.

"Why is he doing that?"

"Who knows? He seems to be dreaming."