The Cursed Blacksmith Who Regressed - Chapter 68

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 68

The final battle had begun.

Both of them remained still.

Kim Ha-geom was tense.

Obeon was just casual.

It was certain.

Because while Kim Ha-geom had properly taken his stance, Obeon hadn’t even drawn his sword from his waist yet.

Obeon spoke.

“Come at me first.”

Overflowing composure.

Kim Ha-geom’s brow furrowed.

Should he move first?

That would hurt his pride a bit, wouldn’t it?

He glanced sideways to look at Choi Hyun.

Choi Hyun was still watching leisurely with his arms crossed.

Right.

Let’s not worry about others.

I am me.

Since when did I start worrying about others?

Having made his decision, Kim Ha-geom slowly began to move.

He closed the distance.

Then when only a few steps remained, he immediately rushed at Obeon.

Swoosh—

The sword was swung.

A fairly sharp strike.

But Obeon dodged Kim Ha-geom’s sword.

The next attack, and the one after that, and the one after that were all the same.

Standing almost in place, he dodged Kim Ha-geom’s sword as if showing off.

Each time, Kim Ha-geom’s heart grew more impatient.

But he tried not to get excited, remembering the advice he’d heard from Choi Hyun.

He made an effort to keep watching the sword until the end.

After swinging his sword several times like this for a while, a pale hand shot up between the swinging blade.

It was Obeon’s hand.

The hand with only bone joints extended in an instant and struck Kim Ha-geom’s throat.

“Kugh!”

Kim Ha-geom was pushed backward.

It hit properly.

He couldn’t even speak properly.

As Kim Ha-geom clutched his throat and created distance, Obeon laughed.

“Oh my, are you going to make me draw my sword with that?”

“…”

Provocation.

It wasn’t just any provocation but one based on skill, which hurt his pride even more.

But he had no words to retort.

That was because the other side hadn’t even drawn his sword yet.

He took a deep breath.

He exhaled the stale air.

He raised his sword again.

Then this time, Obeon moved first.

Step— step—

Obeon didn’t run.

He slowly moved his steps as if taking a stroll.

And when he entered Kim Ha-geom’s range of activity, Kim Ha-geom reflexively drew and swung his sword.

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing.

Obeon had lifted his sheathed sword to block Kim Ha-geom’s draw.

Then he put the sheath back at his waist and stepped toward Kim Ha-geom.

“This is crazy!”

From then on, Kim Ha-geom swung his sword like mad.

To think he’d even block a sword draw at this distance.

It was a different kind of fear from Choi Hyun.

However, as time passed, that fear only accelerated more and more.

That was because Obeon was dodging all of Kim Ha-geom’s sword strikes.

A skill?

It wasn’t.

It was simply because Obeon was much stronger.

At that moment, Kim Ha-geom’s sword was swung once more.

Obeon didn’t dodge this time either.

Instead, he grabbed Kim Ha-geom’s blade as if it were a lie.

Kim Ha-geom’s eyes widened.

Surprised, he tried to retrieve his sword, but for some reason, the sword wouldn’t budge.

Obeon spoke while gripping Kim Ha-geom’s blade.

“You still have mountains to learn.”

Then he shifted his gaze and spoke to Choi Hyun.

“Are you going to run away?”

At that question, Choi Hyun smiled while still keeping his arms crossed.

“As if.”

“Good, then I won’t spare you this time.”

Thunk— He flicked the blade away as if pushing it.

“Thank your master. Otherwise you would have died.”

Kim Ha-geom’s face turned red.

Embarrassed, he hurriedly gathered his sword and left his position.

Choi Hyun comforted him.

“You did well.”

“…No, I didn’t.”

“How was it fighting him?”

“…He was incomparably stronger than me.”

“Because Obeon is the real deal.”

“But are you really planning to face him? President, you’re strong too, but that bastard had the strongest swordsmanship among all the guys I’ve met in my life.”

“Even stronger than me?”

“That’s…”

Kim Ha-geom couldn’t answer easily.

In fact, both were like Taesan to Kim Ha-geom, so he didn’t have the confidence to say who was stronger.

If there was a reasonable difference, he could at least compare, but both their skills were at an overwhelming level for Kim Ha-geom.

Choi Hyun smiled.

“Don’t worry. I’m stronger.”

“President…”

“Watch directly. I’ll prove it to you.”

Choi Hyun stepped forward.

When he reached an appropriate distance from Obeon, Obeon spoke.

“You said you’re a blacksmith?”

“Yeah.”

“What about your sword?”

“I’ll handle it myself.”

“What? Kahahaha!”

Obeon laughs.

He pretended to wipe away tears that wouldn’t even fall, then tilted his head.

“If you keep acting cool, I won’t let either of you live, you know?”

“Who? You? Me?”

“Haha, I understand wanting to show off in front of your disciple.”

Then he lifted his sword, sheath and all.

“Looks like you need to be taught a lesson too. You have no basic manners.”

The reason he held it with the sheath still on.

It was to use it as a club rather than a sword.

Obeon walks forward.

Choi Hyun still stood motionless.

And when only a few steps remained.

Obeon’s sheathed sword swung down.

Whoosh!

The sound of cutting through air.

That was the end of it.

Obeon’s sheathed sword couldn’t reach Choi Hyun.

“Ho?”

Obeon’s brow, which shouldn’t furrow, furrows.

Then follow-up attacks came in.

Whoosh whoosh- Bang! Swoosh- Swoosh- Swish!

Every single one making sharp sounds without exception.

These were sounds coming from a sheathed sword, not a bare blade.

But they all only cut through empty air.

Clearly in Obeon’s calculations, Choi Hyun was within the trajectory.

But when the sheathed sword was swung, Choi Hyun was gone like a lie.

Obeon’s brow furrows more and more.

At first it was at the level of “oh, look at this?” but gradually he felt something strange.

Curiosity arose.

Then when even the moves he thought would catch Choi Hyun off guard didn’t work, curiosity transformed into competitive spirit.

After a long series of attacks continued like that.

“Uaaaah!!”

Finally, Obeon’s sheathed sword thrust forward like a spear, unable to hold back any longer.

But this time too, it couldn’t reach Choi Hyun.

As Choi Hyun stood at the tip of the sheath with a hair’s breadth distance, Obeon asked.

“What exactly are you?”

“A blacksmith.”

“No, your movements are definitely those of a swordsman.”

“I learned the sword too. But I’m not a swordsman. Like I said, I’m a blacksmith.”

“Lies.”

“Why would I lie to a scrub like you?”

“What?”

“If you can’t believe it, look down.”

At Choi Hyun’s gesture, his gaze turns downward.

Then on the ground, countless footprints created by numerous footwork movements were visible.

Then Obeon realized.

The difference between himself and Choi Hyun shown in the countless stamped footprints.

“You…”

Obeon steps back.

Then he looked at the spot behind where he and Kim Ha-geom had stood.

There too, footprints were countless.

But there was a tremendous difference between the footprints he and Choi Hyun had made.

Namely, the difference in the range of foot movement.

His own foot trajectory when facing Kim Ha-geom was certainly limited and narrow, but Choi Hyun’s was even narrower.

Both had focused only on evasion without using weapons.

But the same process yielded different results.

Though he had thought himself a master, the opponent before his eyes was an even higher-level master than himself.

“Wow…”

Around that time, Kim Ha-geom, who had realized the difference like Obeon, also exclaimed in admiration.

Seeing it laid out like this, he could feel that Choi Hyun was truly an absurd monster.

Then Choi Hyun summoned and gripped his sword hammer as he spoke.

“So don’t act cocky and work hard.”

“I acknowledge it. My insight was narrow.”

Obeon admitted his error.

Then he removed the sheath to reveal his sword.

A pure white blade.

Finally, his sword had come into the world.

“Nice sword.”

Obeon takes the basic ready stance, the guard position.

At the same time, a solid aura unlike before began to emanate.

Choi Hyun grinned.

“We agreed no skills, right?”

“Of course.”

This was a matter of pride as a swordsman.

Obeon truly had no intention whatsoever of using skills.

In response, Choi Hyun also took a basic ready stance.

Kim Ha-geom, who was watching, swallows dry saliva.

A moment of silence.

And then.

Tap tap!

Obeon, who had acknowledged himself as inferior, moved first.

Strike first to win.

Obeon wanted to defeat Choi Hyun somehow.

Obeon’s sword strikes toward Choi Hyun.

Flash-

For a moment, Obeon’s sword flashes as it catches the sunlight.

However, Choi Hyun paid no heed and evaded the sword.

Then, like a lie, he lightly touched the guy’s body with his blade as if tapping it.

A successful hit achieved simultaneously with evasion.

The outcome was decided in just one exchange.

“…!”

Obeon’s eyes widen.

Choi Hyun smiled and said.

“You just died once.”

“This crazy…!”

I admit that I’m inferior to you.

But even so, to get this kind of result in just one exchange?

That’s when Obeon’s composure crumbled.

Obeon began swinging his sword like a madman.

But even so, the result was the same.

“You died twice.”

Next.

“You died three times.”

And then.

“You died four times.”

Finally.

“Five times.”

A total of five additional touches.

And finally, Obeon’s mentality completely exploded.

Obeon became a demon.

He had clearly thought himself the best when it came to swordsmanship, yet to face such humiliation.

But even so, his pride remained, so he didn’t use skills.

He wanted to somehow cut down this bastard using pure swordsmanship alone.

The corners of Choi Hyun’s mouth curved upward.

‘Now it’s ready.’

It had ripened perfectly for use.

Only then did Choi Hyun begin striking the blade instead of the body.

Clang! Clang! Clank! Clank!

While parrying the sword, he didn’t forget to deceive by occasionally sticking his fingers into the skull’s eye sockets or inserting his blade between the empty ribs.

Each time, the creature went even more berserk, swinging its sword like crazy.

“What the hell is he doing…?”

Kim Ha-geom couldn’t understand Choi Hyun’s actions.

He could clearly kill it quickly, so why?

This wasn’t for teaching swordsmanship to him or anything like that.

Their level was too high for that purpose.

This continued for quite a while.

And finally, Choi Hyun was able to see what he had been aiming for.

[ Your understanding of swordsmanship is higher than anyone else’s. ]

It was a System notification related to swordsmanship.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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