The Swordmaster Wants To Live Peacefully [EN]: Chapter 121

Swordmaster Wants to Live Peacefully – Episode 121

Swordmaster Wants to Live Peacefully 121

Sword Spirit (4)

“Catch that bastard!”

“If we don’t catch him, the boss will kill us! Run faster!”

All sorts of Chinese words swirled around in my ears.

I had been running for quite a while, and my heart felt like it was about to explode.

I wondered if the people who had escaped with me had made it out safely.

“Those damn bastards, when are they going to stop chasing us…?”

Hiding in the shadow of a building for a moment to catch her breath, she muttered and adjusted the glasses on her face.

Her name was Hetris.

She had a longer name, but people shortened it to Hetris.

She was an alchemist and diver dispatched from Greece to China. [Divers are individuals with special abilities who explore and navigate the Abyss.]

Although she was in a production role and didn’t directly enter the Abyss, she had a decent physical ability, around C-grade.

‘I thought I was just coming to wave my hands around for a bit, but these crazy bastards… are they trying to imprison me and use me as an alchemy slave?’

China had been throwing money around, saying they would recreate various elixirs from stories, and had gathered alchemists and apothecaries from all over the world.

They wanted to restore the Violet Elixir of the Mount Hua Sect from martial arts novels, the Taiqing Pill of the Wudang Sect, and the Great Revival Pill of the Shaolin Temple, among others. [These are legendary healing and power-enhancing potions from Chinese martial arts lore.]

What apothecary or alchemist wouldn’t be interested in such elixirs?

Hetris was also drawn to China by the promise of revealing the recipes.

At first, China seemed to be open to sharing the recipes and helping with the restoration, but suddenly their attitude changed.

When progress was slow, they tried to imprison them and turn them into elixir-making slaves.

Since the apothecaries and alchemists were all affiliated with various organizations, people were dispatched to rescue them, but China went so far as to blockade the area.

That meant they were desperate to create the elixirs.

If they succeeded in recreating the elixirs, they could seize global hegemony.

The Martial Arts Alliance planned to use the elixirs to make divers stronger and even make ordinary people as strong as divers.

Martial virtue and chivalry had fallen to the ground.

That was the current situation in China.

The imprisoned people racked their brains to come up with an escape plan and eventually managed to escape, but they were all on the run.

China released divers to chase after the escapees, and some had already been caught again.

Perhaps they were dead.

Hetris sighed deeply, regretting coming to China.

She had learned the recipes for the elixirs the bastards wanted, and she was starting to get a sense of how to make them.

“…Okay, being caught or dying is the same. So rather…”

She realized that there was an entrance to a Special Abyss nearby.

If she used the various drugs she had made in the lab, she could distract the guards.

‘I’m going to the Special Abyss. If I can just find another exit, I can somehow make it.’

The Special Abyss in China was said to be relatively calm.

Chinese divers regularly went in to clean it up.

So, she headed towards the Special Abyss.

* * *

As soon as Sword Spirit was established, its first task was decided.

Rescuing VIPs. It was a type of job that Yoo Seong-woo hadn’t done much of until now.

But it was no different from what he had been doing.

Just cut down everything that stood in his way and rescue the VIP.

“So, we can’t officially enter China, so we have to smuggle ourselves in or something?”

“Yeah. It seems like China has started a blockade. You can’t get in or out.”

There were only two ways to get into China now.

Smuggle in, or go through the Special Abyss that connected to various places around the world.

Yoo Ji-woo thought about smuggling.

It was the best way to do it right now.

Yoo Seong-woo could smuggle himself in without being detected.

“But… it won’t be easy to find a ship to smuggle on.”

“I think Oppa can run across the ocean.”

“Am I Jesus?”

He could probably do a lake, but the ocean was impossible.

In the first place, the Chinese ocean was under naval surveillance, so it was impossible to approach.

If a ship was caught smuggling, it would escalate into an international issue, so smuggling wasn’t a good option either.

Baek Woo-hyun said.

“Then it seems like we have no choice but to go to China through the Special Abyss?”

“How? Walk that distance?”

“That’s not it. The distance between the inside of the Special Abyss and Earth isn’t the same. So, we tried to shorten the travel time through the Special Abyss….”

“It all went to hell because of the monster attacks. Using transportation that makes a lot of vibration or noise inside the Special Abyss is suicide.”

Besides, the stabilization period was over.

That meant that monsters would swarm as soon as they entered the Special Abyss.

Yoo Seong-woo, who had been listening quietly, opened his mouth.

“How long would it take to get to China from here through the Special Abyss?”

“About 200 kilometers in a straight line. If you go 20 kilometers a day, you’ll arrive in ten days. But you have to go around because of the terrain, so it’ll probably take fifteen days, assuming nothing goes wrong.”

The distance to the entrance of the Abyss in China was over 800 kilometers, so it was definitely possible to drastically reduce the time.

“Only Oppa can do this. It’s impossible to go back and forth through the Special Abyss. You can give up if you don’t think it’s right. We can bring them back in another way.”

“There’s no other good way right now.”

“…Yeah.”

After a moment of thought, Yoo Seong-woo nodded and opened his mouth.

“Okay. Let’s go to the Special Abyss. If we delay any longer trying to find another way, the people there will be in more danger.”

The place they were going to was the Special Abyss.

A cruel place that forced them to choose between life and death.

The Chinese trackers would also be moving, so going to the Special Abyss was the fastest way in terms of time.

“Let’s go over it one more time. What we have to do is go to China through the Special Abyss and rescue the people, right?”

“Yeah. To be exact, they’re researchers from Meteo Industry. They said they were making elixirs in China this time, so I sent them over, but I didn’t know things would go this wrong.”

“I see. What else? Can I kill anyone who tries to kill me?”

“…It’s a heartless thing to say, but death inside the Abyss isn’t punished unless there’s clear evidence. No one will say anything about who Oppa kills there.”

“I see.”

“And if possible, I’d like you to save other people besides our people. If we save them and send them back, we can do favors for various guilds.”

“Okay.”

“So, who are you going to take? Are you going to take Woo-hyun with you?”

At Yoo Ji-woo’s words, Baek Woo-hyun looked at Yoo Seong-woo.

He had a face that said he wanted to be taken with him, but Yoo Seong-woo shook his head.

“You stay here. It’s not good for two people in the guild to suddenly disappear.”

“…Yes, sir.”

“Practice using the Southern Blue Sword, or you can attack the Abyss. The person I’m going to take this time….”

Yoo Seong-woo rolled his eyes, looking for someone to take.

He couldn’t take the other S-ranks. [The highest rank of divers, indicating exceptional power and skill.]

They all had things to do, so they couldn’t be away for more than two weeks.

He couldn’t take Schuel or Yuwol either.

They were a bit much in terms of stamina and combat power.

Schuel would be the best in terms of versatility, but she had terrible stamina….

It would be good to take someone who was good at fighting, had good stamina, could heal, and had some experience.

And there was one person who fit the above conditions.

* * *

Jeanne couldn’t understand why she had to accompany Yoo Seong-woo.

But she was persuaded by the words that it was a matter of saving people, and she had no choice but to head to the Special Abyss with him.

“…This is daunting.”

The point of the Special Abyss that Yoo Seong-woo and Jeanne entered was Iron Mountain, which they had visited once before.

A living hell where iron turtles and iron spiders lived.

Neither Yoo Seong-woo nor Jeanne needed gas masks.

Yoo Seong-woo blocked it with his aura, and Jeanne protected her respiratory system with magic.

“How are we going to get through those things?”

And, the two faced a horde of monsters.

The current Special Abyss, ‘Iron Mountain,’ had passed its stabilization period and entered its active period.

That meant that the monsters were moving more actively.

And, of course, as soon as the two entered the Special Abyss, they encountered a herd of iron turtles.

They were already ferocious, but because it was the active period, they were moving around in groups.

“What else can we do….”

Time was of the essence.

Yoo Seong-woo took out a special compass that was not affected by the magnetic field of Iron Mountain, checked the direction he had to go, grabbed Jeanne by the scruff of the neck, and tucked her under his arm.

The fact that they were turtles meant they had shells.

So, he didn’t need to knock them down; he could easily get over the herd by stepping on their shells.

If anyone heard Yoo Seong-woo’s thoughts, they would have retorted that it was crazy.

Iron turtles were turtles in name only and were different from real turtles.

They attacked with their long tails and necks, and their hard shells were the ultimate shield.

Normal turtles couldn’t reach their necks and tails behind their backs, but iron turtles’ tails and necks were different.

It was a method that no one but a crazy person would try.

But Yoo Seong-woo did it easily.

Without even drawing his sword, he tucked Jeanne under his arm and stepped on the shells of the iron turtles with light steps.

The number of iron turtles exceeded thirty, but Yoo Seong-woo did not allow a single attack and quickly crossed the herd of iron turtles, quickly leaving the Iron Mountain area.

Jeanne realized once again that people could run this fast.

“Keheck, keheck….”

After leaving the Iron Mountain area, Yoo Seong-woo put Jeanne down when the iron dust in the air decreased a little.

As soon as she got out of his arm, she coughed and tried to calm the things churning inside her.

‘If I had known this would happen, I shouldn’t have eaten anything….’

Jeanne calmed her stomach, raised her head, and looked around at where they had arrived.

Everywhere she looked was a forest.

She could see large trees and insects flying around.

The only unusual thing was that the size of the insects was unusual.

And the humidity.

300% humidity.

She made a crying face at the sensation of being in the water.

“Where is this place?”

“Um… I heard it called the Water Forest.”

“Water Forest?”

“No. It’s Water Forest. They say it’s a forest in the water. It means that the humidity is so high that it restricts activity.”

“…Certainly.”

The sensation of water pressure pressing down on her body. Clearly, divers who weren’t properly trained would have difficulty even standing here.

Jeanne, who was in another extreme environment different from Iron Mountain, shed another tear.

It was to save people’s lives, but in this state.

She felt like she would die before she even arrived.

Yoo Seong-woo looked at Jeanne and said.

“Are you done crying? Then let’s go. We have a long way to go.”