BXBX NOVEL Chapter 11
“Choose your weapon accordingly.”
As Chiron gestured, two centaurs—no, two people—no, two centaurs, anyway, whatever they were, two of them brought over a stand filled with all sorts of weapons and placed it in front of me.
It was a well-equipped array featuring everything from swords to blunt weapons, spears, axes, and even whips and bows.
“Hmm… Then I’ll take this spear.”
“A wise choice. Then I’ll also choose a spear.”
There was no weapon I couldn’t handle.
In my past life, the twelve Godly Demons who kidnapped me from the banks of the River Styx generously imparted their unique martial arts to me.
Swordsmanship was fundamental. Spears, axes, blunt weapons, hand-to-hand combat, and even techniques using whips and fans.
Among them were defensive arts, spells, and even miscellaneous skills like physiognomy, astronomy, and fortune-telling.
‘Actually, the person who taught me was not a demon, but another reputable person who scolded me for harming the position of the Cult Leader with my tricks.’
Surprisingly, it was used well when making a show in front of the cult members or Justice Faction people.
Anyway, the spear I grabbed was much lighter than the one I had originally used, but it was quite heavy for this slender body.
‘It isn’t bamboo, but it’s still not so bad. The finish on the spear blade looks solid too.’
-Whoong!
As a test, I simply swung the spear and as was my habit, I immediately laid out the basics of spear technique which I had learned.
The spear technique I learned was the Crazy Wind Divine Spear, which dominated the world in the past with fierce wind-like movements.
In an instant, it would strike fiercely like a typhoon, overturning the opponent’s strength and weaknesses, shaking their soul, and even overwhelming a million troops, according to legend.
-Whoong!
As I lightly performed the basic movements, a responsive breeze gently rose, stirring up dust, and when I stopped the spear, it subsided.
“…There shouldn’t be any divine artifacts blessed by Zephyros in this forest, right?”
“If you think wielding a spear is similar to divine work, I must teach you with my body that it is the wrong answer.”
“Heh heh, it seems I will receive a lesson from someone after a long time.”
“Even a sage learns from a child, and enlightenment is found in the footsteps of a passing dog. Obtaining it is solely up to the receiver. Since the one to become my mentor has such an open insight, I am exceedingly delighted.”
“Haha.”
“Hoho.”
A slight psychological battle.
But while probing each other’s true intentions within, the old half-human, half-horse and I quietly observed our opponent.
A much larger physique than mine.
Skills honed while living through god-like ages.
Plus, handling the mobility and destructive power of a horse was quite a complex challenge for someone like me, who had only ever faced humans.
[If you have to fight an unknown opponent to the death, there is only one surefire strategy.]
“….First strike!”
-Whoong!
The step I took, and the spear I sharply thrust, instantly rode the wind and split apart.
Everything was a feint, and everything was a lethal strike.
The spear, taking up positions everywhere, targeted ten vital points like the heart, solar plexus, kidneys, and elbows of the half-human, half-horse.
“What the?!”
Perhaps surprised by the unfamiliar martial arts as a mentor of heroes from Greece, Chiron kicked with his front legs and swung his spear wide.
-Tatata-dang!!
The sound of wood clashing echoed repeatedly, and in the brief moment my spear paused, a horse’s hoof, reminiscent of a hammer, flew towards my head.
Blocking it was impossible, but dodging sideways or digging in was hindered by the fan-shaped spear sweeping the front.
-Bang!
Soon, a pair of hooves overturned the ground, and dust exploded into the air, but I had already swiftly pulled my body out through the obscured view.
“Tch… It’s not as easy as expected.”
My hand tingled from the recoil that shook through the spear just now.
The spears had merely clashed, yet the impact was tremendous, as if striking a lump of metal, along with the hoof stomp that shook the ground.
Luckily, I let my body be carried away by the wind pressure and flew backward.
Had I tried to hold my ground with any force, I would have surely been knocked out.
“Tsk, the hide is so thick that the counterattack didn’t even go through.”
Just a moment ago, I had pulled my body out and swung the spear as long as I could to slash Chiron’s horse body part.
Clearly, I felt it in my hand and was certain it hit, but what was attached to the tip of my spear were not bloodstains but a few thick strands of fur.
-Dudududu!
“!!”
With my view obscured by dust, the dull vibrations felt through my feet sent chills down my spine.
“Hahaha! Now it’s my turn!”
-Whoosh!
In an instant, the dust was blown away, and the half-human, half-horse creature charged at me.
The way he charged made it clear that no matter where I dodged, he intended to skewer me.
Normally, cavalry would have the horse’s head between them and their target, making such omnidirectional attacks impossible.
It was a style possible only because the creature was a centaur, essentially being its own horse.
It was a rough tactic that demanded head-on confrontation, excluding all other options—a strategy only possible for a skilled individual like him.
“Hahaha! What will you do now? Show me more!”
At that reckless charge, the words of Master Chang Cheon, the spear master, flashed through my mind.
‘The wind flows. The flow is the wind, and the wind is you.’
The flow of everything was mine.
My thoughts were brief, and my movements were swift.
About two hundred steps to the wall behind me.
As I initiated the footwork of the Gale Spear Technique, Wind Flow Step, and drew a circle with the spear blade, my body started to be pushed back like a kite, accepting the momentum of Chiron.
-Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Thrusting, slashing, and striking.
Vertically, horizontally, left, and right.
I was drifting lightly on the wind, and the half-human, half-horse was relentlessly pursuing me.
The spear of the attacker clashed with the spear of the one retreating, raising dust and causing a whirlwind.
“Kyaaak!!”
“Hoo, hoo, hoo…”
Stay calm.
Keep your head cool, your heart hot, your muscles flexible, and your breath short and quick.
Indeed, martial arts begins and ends with breathing.
If one loses their breath and becomes disordered in any situation, it directly leads to death.
“Hoo… Truly, there’s nothing to criticize; it’s a movement that can be called graceful.”
The voice of Chiron, who had almost driven me to the wall, came through the sounds of bursting.
However, it seemed this wasn’t the end of the flow. There was still one final blow left.
His kind and intellectual image from earlier was nowhere to be seen; Chiron was smiling fiercely.
“However, it seems there’s still more to show, right?”
-Bang!
As he forcefully kicked the ground with his front hooves, a massive figure, almost five meters tall, stood before me on two legs with a thunderous sound, as if a bomb had exploded.
“You won’t die… but if you don’t do it right, it will be dangerous.”
-Kugugugugu!
Standing firm on two legs, the towering horse body, and atop it, the human torso, made an unsettling sound as he held the spear with both hands and pulled it back.
It was a posture that gathered all his strength at once by twisting the muscles and blood flow of his whole body, as if striking down with a hammer.
At the same time, a gigantic wave hit my entire body as if a horse were rushing towards me.
‘Wave!’
It was my turn to be surprised this time.
In a world where martial arts do not exist, just raising one’s momentum was enough to press down on all sides with waves.
It was clear that this old centaur had made a proper, decisive move.
‘If I try to take it easy, I’ll at least end up in the clinic.’
As soon as I had that intuition, I also aimed at Chiron and took my stance.
-Whoooooong!
Then, the gusts stirred by my energy started pushing back Chiron’s energy, entering a power struggle.
If Chiron was an earthquake, I was a storm.
If Chiron was a hammer, I was a bow.
At my overwhelming presence, Chiron couldn’t hide his astonishment.
“Ooh…! Come! You, too, are a warrior who has awakened aura!”
“Aura? Ah, are you referring to ‘qi’ in Western terms?”
In the East or in martial arts novels, it was called qi.
In the West or in fantasy, it was called aura.
If you go into details, the Eastern qi was a more profound system, while the Western Aura was closer to the manifestation of killing intent, but there was no need to correct him now.
-Kugugugugu!
-Hungwoowoowoong!
More than that, Chiron and I were in the midst of an intense energy clash, making it hard to exchange words.
The moment the balance breaks even a little, the loser and winner would be decided.
The opponent moved horizontally, while I moved vertically.
The chances of our attacks clashing were slim, so it was a battle where whoever moved first or showed a gap would lose.
“Hahaha…! This truly stirs the blood of an old half-man, half-horse.”
“…..”
The collision of energy gradually reached its peak.
Cold sweat trickled down his forehead, and steam began to rise from Chiron’s body as the two spears crossed each other without anyone moving first.