The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 377

It was then.

“Don’t you dare, Beom Gyewi.”

Bang!

From afar, the door of the building used as the Chief Escort Leader’s office burst open, and a man strode out.

It was Ak Ho-gun.

Ak Ho-gun’s eyebrows twitched, a single-edged sword already gripped tightly in his hand, radiating intense killing intent.

“I will neither run nor hide.”

Seeing his determined resolve to fight, Beom Gyewi, feeling somewhat embarrassed, clicked his tongue.

“Huh?”

Then, suddenly remembering something, he smirked.

“Isn’t it too late to act tough now?”

“What?”

“You already have a record.”

Ak Ho-gun, who had been puzzled, scowled at Beom Gyewi’s words.

“I hardly think someone who fled to Muwi [a remote region or stronghold] with his subordinates has any right to say that.”

“……!”

Unable to retort, Ak Ho-gun’s face flushed red.

After a moment of silence.

“I thought it was the best option at the time. But it was a misjudgment.”

Ak Ho-gun gritted his teeth.

“Because of that, my reputation has hit rock bottom. There’s nowhere left to run.”

“Is that really so?”

Just as Beom Gyewi, who was enjoying teasing Ak Ho-gun, was about to retort, Dan Ak-seon stopped him and stepped forward.

“No. You’re wrong, Chief Escort Leader.”

Dan Ak-seon said, addressing the frowning Ak Ho-gun.

“I’ve already seen it.”

“……?”

“That place you thought was the bottom, the deeper abyss that lies beneath it.”

Ak Ho-gun paused at Dan Ak-seon’s words.

He, too, guessed what Dan Ak-seon’s abyss referred to.

But soon, he curled his lips into a cold smile.

“Hmph! If you expected me to feel remorse, you’re wasting your time.”

Thud.

Ak Ho-gun approached Dan Ak-seon and the Shinma Samjon [Three Evil Gods, likely a group name].

“Let’s end this tiresome feud now.”

Dan Ak-seon sighed softly.

“Does it really have to come to this?”

“You’re the one who drove me into this corner.”

“A significant number of major escort agencies, including the Cheonhwa Escort Agency, have agreed to raise their passage fees. Now, even without cultivating opium poppies, you can be guaranteed the same level of profit as before.”

Ak Ho-gun curled his lips into a bitter smile.

“Are you telling me to obediently accept the bone you throw and wag my tail?”

“It meant that if we concede a little, we can minimize the damage to each other. There’s no loss for the Green Forest [a group of bandits or outlaws], is there?”

“There is a loss. A very big one.”

“Yes……?”

“I was wearing the hat of Chief Escort Leader, so I was late to realize it.”

Ak Ho-gun wore a bitter smile.

“We are the Green Forest. Those who have been abandoned by the world and hid in the mountains because they hated that world. But at least within the Green Forest, we were dignified. But now you’re telling us to submit to the world we abandoned? I… no, we don’t want to do that.”

It is only after losing what is truly precious that one realizes it.

Just breathing was not enough to be alive.

The Green Forest’s identity.

It was their own will towards life, which could not be replaced by any wealth.

“Dignified……?”

Eventually, Dan Ak-seon’s patience reached its limit.

“What’s so great about the infamy you’ve built through robbery and crime?”

“That’s our Green Forest. We’re just finding our true selves now.”

At that answer, the anger he had been suppressing reached its boiling point.

“If you’re human, you should at least know shame. What’s so great about that that you shamelessly boast about it? Did you abandon your conscience as a human being when you gave up on the world?”

Ak Ho-gun’s eyebrows twitched.

He had felt it when facing Je Gal-yeon, but he couldn’t possibly win against the young man in front of him with words.

“You’re just a kid who doesn’t know the ways of the world, but your tongue is sharp. But I’m not asking for your understanding.”

“Good.”

Dan Ak-seon gripped Muk-ryong [likely a sword name] and stepped forward.

“Let’s settle this in the way martial artists desire so much, Chief Escort Leader.”

Discomposure flickered in Ak Ho-gun’s eyes.

“You’re saying you’ll fight me?”

For a moment, Ak Ho-gun was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t even laugh.

He couldn’t believe that Dan Ak-seon, of all people, would volunteer to fight him.

At that moment.

Dan Ak-seon suddenly felt a chilling premonition flying towards his chest.

Dan Ak-seon hurriedly took a step back.

Thwack.

A crude sword that had flown through the air was embedded in the spot where Dan Ak-seon had been standing just a moment ago.

Meanwhile, Ak Ho-gun, now empty-handed, glared at the Shinma Samjon with a reproachful look.

It was an unspoken pressure for anyone to step forward.

Even though he was a top expert in the martial world, he couldn’t possibly cross swords with a kid who wasn’t even twenty yet.

At that moment.

Something happened that even Ak Ho-gun hadn’t expected.

Dan Ak-seon suddenly leaped forward and charged at him.

It happened before the Shinma Samjon could even stop him.

“Ha!”

Ak Ho-gun, confirming Dan Ak-seon closing the distance in an instant and the Muk-ryong in his hand, inwardly felt absurd and showed bewilderment.

But only for a moment.

“Interesting. Really interesting.”

A chilling glint flickered in Ak Ho-gun’s eyes.

Confirming the Shinma Samjon’s expressions, who were also unable to hide their bewilderment, Ak Ho-gun spat out a chilling voice.

“I’ll make you regret that decision.”

His gaze was directed at Dan Ak-seon, but the words were meant for the Shinma Samjon to hear.

Dan Ak-seon’s eyes sank heavily.

A gaze flickering with intense killing intent and a threatening aura to match.

The addition of a bizarre aura made one feel an unusual danger just by facing it.

However, Dan Ak-seon did not hesitate and closed the distance even further.

Screech.

The moment the dark shadow that covered the entire front swallowed Ak Ho-gun.

“Be careful……!”

With someone’s exclamation behind him, Dan Ak-seon, who was wielding Muk-ryong with all his might, felt his heart sink.

Ak Ho-gun’s hand, beckoning in the air, and the sneer on his face belatedly caught his eye.

Slash!

The area near Dan Ak-seon’s shoulder split open, revealing a long, red gash.

“……!”

With a burning pain, Dan Ak-seon’s figure rolled across the floor.

Although it was only a shallow wound where the skin was cut, if his reaction had been a little slower, his arm would have been cut off.

The sword that flew from behind was that stealthy and skillful.

An exclamation of astonishment burst from Beom Gyewi’s mouth.

“Igieodo (以氣御刀) [Controlling the blade with Qi]?”

A supreme realm that any martial artist who has mastered weapons would long for.

Not just the level of throwing knives, but an absolute martial art technique that can attack freely with the power of thought, without being restricted by distance, was Igieo.

A weapon that has escaped the human hand and gained true freedom possesses trajectories and changes that can never be achieved due to the structure of the human body.

But soon, Beom Gyewi shook his head.

If Ak Ho-gun’s martial prowess was at that level, he should have made a name for himself as the greatest expert in the world long ago.

As expected.

“He’s imitating Igieo by using Gyukgong Seopmul [Manipulating objects with internal force].”

At Han Seol-hwa’s words, Beom Gyewi nodded as if he knew it.

“You con man!”

On the other hand, Cho Ak-ryang let out a groan.

In fact, that alone was a great feat.

It was because the distance between Ak Ho-gun and the sword he had recovered with his inner strength was considerable.

Above all, the application of making it return to the desired trajectory was proof that he had repeated considerable training.

No matter how successfully Dan Ak-seon had completed his secluded training, Ak Ho-gun was still a formidable opponent in terms of skill and experience.

“Oh!”

It was then that a short exclamation burst from Beom Gyewi’s mouth again.

It was because he had witnessed blood spurting from Dan Ak-seon’s thigh and side once more.

The eyes of the three people shook as they watched Dan Ak-seon’s clothes turning red as blood spread rapidly.

They wanted to rush out and knock down Ak Ho-gun right away, but they couldn’t.

This was, after all, Dan Ak-seon’s decision and will.

It would have been different if they had stopped him from the beginning, but now that the fight had already begun, their intervention would clearly hold Dan Ak-seon back for a long time to come.

Of course, they would have no choice but to step in at the very last moment, but for now, they could only pray that Dan Ak-seon would find a way out of the crisis on his own.

But above all, the real reason they couldn’t step in was different.

It was because of Dan Ak-seon’s eyes.

In reality, Dan Ak-seon’s situation was precarious, and he was barely holding his own against Ak Ho-gun.

Yet, there was no sign of agitation in his eyes.

Rather, even at this moment, they were shining coldly with a firm and unwavering will.

But that didn’t last long.

Dan Ak-seon, who had barely managed to deflect the countless attacks that were pouring in one after another, lost his balance for a moment and staggered.

And Ak Ho-gun was not one to let this opportunity pass.

“Die!”

With a thunderous shout, Ak Ho-gun brought down his sword.

It was a single strike that poured out all the pent-up resentment he had suppressed until now, putting all his strength into it.

Dan Ak-seon also did not back down and answered by wielding Muk-ryong to collide with it.

Clang!

Muk-ryong, which soared into the air, creating blue sparks.

Dan Ak-seon’s figure, unable to deflect the impact, was pushed straight back.

Dan Ak-seon’s face turned pale in an instant.

He had almost dropped Muk-ryong.

He was barely holding on to Muk-ryong, which was shaking in his hand, but as a result, his wrists burst open, and he was instantly covered in blood.

He was newly horrified by Ak Ho-gun’s martial prowess.

Ak Ho-gun’s sword contained something heavy and sharp that could not be contained with mere inner strength and skill.

A sword that had been stained with blood and resentment by cutting down countless opponents was this terrifying.

But the problem was not only that.

The shock that traveled up his wrist and made his shoulders tingle was shaking his insides as they were.

As a result, the breath he couldn’t exhale blocked his trachea, and he almost stopped breathing.

Dan Ak-seon, who had been pushed back more than three yards, carving deep furrows, used all his strength to circulate the Wihwa Shin-gong [likely a martial art technique] in order to somehow control the frantically boiling true energy.

At that time, Beom Gyewi, unable to bear it any longer, stood in front of Dan Ak-seon.

“Doctor Dan. Leave it to me now.”

“Not yet.”

“Any more…….”

Beom Gyewi, who was about to speak firmly, closed his mouth.

It was an expression he had never shown him before.

It was the look of a martial artist.

“Please.”

Eventually, Beom Gyewi was pushed back by Dan Ak-seon’s momentum and stepped aside.

Ak Ho-gun curled his lips into a sinister smile at Dan Ak-seon.

“You’re acting recklessly. But it’s over now.”

In an instant, Ak Ho-gun disappeared from Dan Ak-seon’s sight.

No, the moment he felt he had disappeared, he was already within reach.

Dan Ak-seon’s eyes wavered for the first time as he realized that the tangible sword energy that had risen like clouds was covering the entire front.

‘It’s different from then.’

Of course, Dan Ak-seon had also experienced a life-or-death struggle.

But now, the situation was different from the situation in the grasslands in many ways.

At that time, the war situation itself was chaotic due to repeated battles, and the opponent did not know Dan Ak-seon’s true strength.

Above all, this was the first time they were competing by clashing strength against strength.

But then.

―The crowing of the rooster that awakens the dawn scatters the lingering dreams, and the rooster star in the sky serenely looks down on the world. Yesterday and today, the rooster crows and the star is there, using one as a friend and the other as a bamboo staff, just moving forward.

Suddenly, a line of poetry that came from somewhere flashed through his mind and awakened his spirit.

It was Namgung Baek’s own understanding that he had mentioned sometime ago.

At the time, it resonated strangely in his heart, but he could not understand the true meaning.

But now, the true essence contained within it pierced through the crown of his head like a thunderbolt.

“……!”

A strange heat flickered over Dan Ak-seon’s face.

With a burning joy that captivated his mind and body, Dan Ak-seon was able to break the sword and shackles he had unknowingly put on himself and stand there completely.

‘Yes.’

Dan Ak-seon, who had corrected his wavering heart, pulled up the Wihwa Shin-gong.

Woo-woo-woong.

The pattern of Muk-ryong, which was filled with the true energy of Wihwa Shin-gong, became clearer and emitted a magnificent cry.

‘Believe in the path I have walked, and just move forward without wavering.’

Sinkgeomhabil (身劍合一) [Body and Sword as One].

It was said that the sword is already there where the heart goes, so there is nothing that cannot be cut.

It was the moment when Dan Ak-seon melted the mysteries of Geoma Ilche (劍我一體) [Sword and I as One], another form of a truly free sword that is not bound by stances or inner strength, into his own.

Clang!

It was immediately after that that a roar that could not be compared to anything before swallowed the area.