I Alone Can Do This. (1)

Il Kwang couldn’t stop laughing; he was deliriously pleased.

It seemed the spot the Yin Monster had struck hadn’t even hurt him.

“Hahaha! In all my life, I’ve never felt a fist this strong.”

Yu Seol spoke with an awkward expression.

“Sorry for hitting you, mister.”

“Don’t worry. Blame my villainous face—Great Warrior, you have done nothing wrong.”

Il Kwang’s delight came from having vaguely sensed Yu Seol’s level.

The Profound Realm—the legendary martial artist’s state.

If she weren’t at that level, how could she have driven him back like that?

At last a flower of hope bloomed amid the despair, shining as dazzlingly as the sun.

Looking down at Yu Seol, Il Kwang could hardly contain his joy.

“Are you really all right?”

“I may not be good at everything, but my endurance is unrivaled. By the way—where are the villagers?”

“They’re swimming by the stream. I was guarding them so no one could come close.”

“Swimming?” Il Kwang tilted his head, wondering if he had heard correctly.

Sure enough, he sensed signs of life not far behind the temple.

“I’ll go take a quick look.”

Il Kwang used his lightness skill and headed there.

After cutting through the forest beyond the temple for a short distance, he saw the villagers gathered along a flowing ditch.

At first he saw adults sitting with their feet in the water, watching the children play with contented smiles.

When had they last enjoyed such peace? A fine drizzle fell, but no one minded.

Every face held an indescribable happiness.

After a moment, someone who recognized Il Kwang called out joyfully.

“Chief!”

Il Kwang grinned and waved.

“We’ll move to headquarters soon—gather at the temple behind!”

With that he turned away.

There was still time before departure; he would allow them a little more leisure.

Returning to the temple, he saw his subordinates arriving belatedly.

They gathered in threes and fives, skillfully assembling stretchers.

They were ladder-like frames made of two long bamboo poles woven together with wooden ties.

“Chief, why is your face swollen?” one subordinate asked. Il Kwang waved it off.

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it—make sure the assembly is sturdy.”

As he inspected the work, he kept glancing toward the Yin Monster.

The monstrous strength he’d felt earlier was still hard to believe.

Never before had my Pasan Fist been stopped so easily. At this rate, we could even consider fighting the Jeon Sa-ryong.

Though Il Kwang had served with the government troops, he did not favor weapons.

Even in active service he had roamed battlefields with only his fists; the legion had called him the Fighting God.

He was a terror to enemies; it was said anyone struck by his massive fists died instantly.

But even his mountain-splitting Pasan Fist had no effect against the Yin Monster.

Awe naturally settled in his gaze.

Yu Jinsan, who had approached, asked, “What did you find when you checked personally?”

Il Kwang answered without hesitation. “It feels like gaining countless troops. If the Yin Monster is a Great Hero, she more than qualifies to fight the Jeon Sa-ryong.”

Even after witnessing it, he wasn’t convinced Yu Seol could beat the Jeon Sa-ryong—only that it was worth trying.

That left only one possibility.

I hoped it was wishful thinking, but it seems the Jeon Sa-ryong is also at the Profound Realm.

But there was one fact Il Kwang had overlooked.

Namely, Yu Seol hadn’t used her full strength when she struck him.

Even Yu Jinsan didn’t know the limits of his granddaughter.

A Profound Realm-versus-Profound Realm fight need not be unfavorable.

Who was Yu Seol? She reached the Supreme Realm at just two and attained the Profound Realm by ten—his strongest granddaughter in history.

She was also a born fighter with the innate talent of an Immortal Bodyn.

Training with the Sword Empress had made her stronger, and the martial arts she learned were each called transcendent techniques.

Yu Jinsan believed there was a good chance of victory.

The problem will be the overall balance of forces.

He didn’t know how many of the Jeon Sa-ryong’s followers had reached the Supreme Realm. If they all swarmed in, even Yu Seol would be at a disadvantage.

The key was to create one-on-one situations somehow.

Thus Yu Jinsan planned to eliminate as many enemies as possible before the decisive battle began.

“I’ve explained the operation separately to the Yin Monster. So, Chief, lure as many masters as you can,” Yu Jinsan said.

“Understood. I’ll also try to reduce the numbers of the Blue Mask and Red Mask forces in this operation,” Il Kwang answered.

The Red Mask fighters possessed martial prowess from peak to superlative levels, and Yu Jinsan had experience fighting them.

The Blue Mask fighters were ones Yu Jinsan hadn’t yet encountered.

Their numbers were extremely small, but Im Pyeong-il had told him they were absolute top masters at the Supreme Realm level.

“I heard the Blue Mask were absolute masters who came to suppress this place. How did they come to be loyal to the Jeon Sa-ryong?”

“I’ve tried speaking to them a few times, but it was useless. For some reason they seemed to have lost themselves—surely some evil spell has struck them,” Yu Jinsan replied.

What on earth had happened to them?

As Il Kwang said, if the Jeon Sa-ryong was an outsider, there was no way to verify what spells he used.

While they continued their quiet conversation, a subordinate approached and bowed his head.

“All the stretchers have been completed.”

Il Kwang nodded as he looked around.

Twenty stretchers had been made.

Each could seat ten people in a row and was designed so two martial artists could pair up to carry it.

“We depart at once, so get ready.”

“Yes, Chief!”

It was advantageous to move before the rain stopped.

At that moment, the villagers were also gathering.

The resistance warriors seated them on the stretchers and began securing them with ropes.

After a short while, when all preparations were complete, Il Kwang let out a loud shout.

“Move out!”

The refugee column that had departed from Hangam Lake advanced toward its destination without hesitation.

It wasn’t small enough to move in hiding, but that didn’t matter because the Yin-Yang Twin Monster and Il Kwang led the way, carving a path.

Masked warriors they encountered died without understanding anything.

But the problem began now.

Il Kwang, running at the front, raised a hand to signal a halt. They had finally reached the targeted spot.

Beyond the hill before them lay the enemy’s forward base.

“Everyone wait here.”

After speaking, Il Kwang loosened his body.

No matter how much he had been called the Fighting God, he couldn’t help but feel tension.

This was where terrifying masters were garrisoned; he had to storm in alone and draw as much attention as possible.

At that moment, Yu Jinsan, who had gone ahead to scout, was returning.

He immediately approached Il Kwang and asked, “The defenses seem tighter than before. Are you really okay going in alone?”

Yu Jinsan felt uneasy, but Il Kwang’s face overflowed with confidence.

“We have the Yin Monster Great Warrior with us—what is there to worry about? Yang Monster Great Hero, lead the column well in my stead.”

“Mm. Nothing should go wrong, but please be careful.”

Il Kwang nodded and took a moment to steady his breath.

Time was short. They couldn’t miss this chance while the rain had limited the enemies’ movements.

“If things go well, I’ll bring out the liquor I’ve been saving tonight. See you later, Great Warrior.”

How much sake could be stored on this isolated island? Still, he intended to offer his treasured reserve.

After that he launched himself with his lightness skill toward the enemy forward base.

Ta-ta-tat-!

Though he charged across the rainy path like a bull, no footprints remained after him.

Il Kwang’s eyes scanned the forward base.

Between the watchtowers and scattered barracks, masked warriors stood on guard.

“You bastards, I’ll twist every chicken neck today!”

His purpose was to create a commotion and focus everyone’s attention on himself.

Il Kwang first approached the nearest watchtower, about three stories high.

Then, without ceremony, he struck a towering support column with his fist.

Creak-!!

The thick column cracked and snapped with a thunderous sound.

The entire top of the unbalanced watchtower toppled to the ground.

Kraaaang-!!!

The unexpected crash drew everyone’s gaze.

White-masked and black-masked fighters stationed around blew horns and began rushing toward Il Kwang.

They might have been bewildered, but the masked warriors showed no hesitation; poisoned by the Red Mask plant, they felt no fear.

The surging enemies swelled to hundreds in the blink of an eye.

But Il Kwang’s momentum overwhelmed them all.

“Come on, you lot! I am the Fighting God Il Kwang!!”

In the thick of war, Il Kwang’s name had been pure terror to his enemies.

His massive hand first snapped around the neck of the nearest white-masked fighter.

Crack-!

The crisp sound of bone snapping rang out in his palm.

Il Kwang hurled the corpse with all his might toward the oncoming enemies.

Kwoaaang-!!

Three masked warriors struck by the flying body collapsed helplessly.

Il Kwang used that opening to charge.

Tatat-!

A fist the size of a house drove straight into the abdomen of the lead black-masked fighter.

Thrum-!!

The black-masked fighter struck by his fist died instantly, ricocheting toward the rear.

It was truly a monstrous strength beyond imagination.

Il Kwang was surrounded by countless enemies, yet he didn’t back down an inch.

His two fists sent every approaching enemy flying like autumn leaves in a gale.

Bang-! Kwang-!! Kwoak-!!!

Anyone struck by his fist died in a single blow.

Most of them had their heads crushed by their masks or their necks snapped.

Though it appeared a one-sided slaughter, his heart wasn’t light.

The enemies weren’t cowed; they swarmed toward him like moths to a flame.

I must hold out a bit longer.

Before luring the enemies to the Yin Monster he needed to draw more attention; the time wasn’t ripe.

In an instant, the corpses around him numbered well into the dozens.

But, as expected, his unrivaled assault did not last long.

Peeeeeek-!

At the sound of a whistle from somewhere, the masked warriors encircling him withdrew.

The white and black masks stepped back, and five Red Masks appeared in their place.

These were not to be taken lightly.

They were strong enough to retain their minds despite being poisoned by the toxic plant.

One of them muttered in surprise, “Unbelievable. The Chief has come in personally. And alone, too.”

He instantly recognized Il Kwang as the resistance leader—likely from years of fighting against him.

But conversation was pointless. Il Kwang clenched his fists, radiating murderous intent.

“Shut up and come in quickly. Before I pull out your tongues.”

The five before him were a problem, but his attention was trained elsewhere.

It was the Blue Mask fighters watching him from not far away.

The problem was that two of them possessed Supreme Realm prowess.

Contrary to his boast, this was the point at which he had to worry about retreat.