Chapter 91: The Path of the Void, A Battle Deferred

Who was the strongest opponent ever to appear on Silent Swordsman’s stream?

If asked, viewers would answer without hesitation.

The Field Boss-class monster who lived up to its title as the strongest in the Youkai Realm General Victro was undeniably the greatest foe.

But was General Victro also the strongest enemy in Half-Blood Requiem?

That was where opinions split.

 The final boss of the Youkai Route is insane.

 The final boss of the Half-Blood Route isn’t any easier.

 Isn’t the real deal the final boss of the Human Route?

The game had three different routes, determined by how much one had been tainted by or accepted the blood of the youkai.

Each route had its own final boss.

And every single one of them was powerful enough to rival General Victro.

 But if we’re going by that logic, doesn’t Crocodile Merchant fall short?

 Yeah, he’s just one of the five mid-bosses before the final fight.

Crocodile Merchant.

A boss-class youkai.

Stronger than early-game Field Bosses, but still far below the final bosses.

That was the general consensus among viewers.

 He’s probably on par with the Executioner you fight again in the late-game Youkai Mode.

 Yeah, strong like the Executioner, but different somehow.

He was powerful, but not quite at the peak.

If ranked, he wouldn’t be a top-tier fighter or a second-tier one.

Somewhere in between.

A 1.5-tier opponent.

However, if certain conditions were applied

For instance, if one judged his threat level solely based on martial arts and spear techniques, disregarding youkai energy and sorcery—

Then there was no doubt.

 In that case, it’s definitely Crocodile Merchant.

 He should’ve been named Spear God or Spear King instead.

 Why do these damn crocs use spears so well? It pisses me off.

 Bro, in the Amazon, even Awakened Natives get killed by spear throws, so why are they the ones wielding them?

 Even Fake Wukong uses a spear, and he’s crazy strong.

 That guy just abuses his cloning ability, though.

Crocodile Merchant.

Among all spear-wielding adversaries, he was the undisputed number one threat.

He wasn’t the strongest human or youkai.

But he was strong enough to challenge them.

A master spearman who had climbed to the ranks of the true spear gods.

‘My swordsmanship is superior, but his spear techniques deserve proper evaluation.’

For martial artists, swords and sabers were the most familiar weapons.

However, experience in fighting spear-wielding opponents naturally increased their understanding of spearmanship.

For example, there was the fundamental Lan-Na-Zha  technique.

Lan  – Pushing the enemy’s weapon outward.

Na  – Pressing down to block incoming attacks.

Zha  – A swift, decisive thrust.

Most spear techniques followed this core pattern two defensive moves and one offensive strike.

But this youkai’s spear style was different.

Crocodile Merchant’s spear technique was a higher-level art Shan-Fan-Xuan.

Shan  – A lightning-fast thrust.

Fan – Retracting the spear mid-thrust.

Xuan  – A sudden, disorienting feint.

A relentless barrage of thrusts.

At times, he would retract his spear mid-motion.

Other times, he would cut off a strike early to mislead his opponent.

He constantly disrupted the distance, tempo, and trajectory of his attacks.

And then, he would strike again from a completely unpredictable angle.

Despite maintaining a relentless offensive,

his feints and unpredictable maneuvers seamlessly replaced traditional defense.

Crocodile Merchant’s attack-to-defense ratio was an astonishing 9:1.

For every single defensive move, he unleashed nine attacks.

An overwhelmingly aggressive spear style.

 AAAAAAHHHHHH

 How the hell do you block this?!

 Seriously, how is anyone blocking this???

 Why does his spear look like multiple spears at once?

 Can you even react to this with just eyesight??

 My vision is officially broken.

 I’m not the only one seeing three spears, right?

 Nah, I see four.

 What? I see five.

 You idiots, more isn’t better.

 If you’re seeing too many, that just means you suck.

 …Welp, I saw thirteen. Guess I’m doomed.

 It’s okay, newbies make mistakes.

 Does being a ten-year VR game veteran still count as a newbie?

 You’re just a mid-tier newbie.

The sheer intensity of his barrage of consecutive strikes left even seasoned players unable to keep up.

Even streamers known for their top-tier reflexes were struggling.

‘If my sword gets entangled or I lose control for even a moment, it’s over.’

Parrying his thrusts was already a challenge.

Each impact gradually wore down the body, accumulating fatigue.

A dulled body and a slowed sword…

Neither could handle his spear.

To perfectly counter every attack…

To avoid being overwhelmed…

One needed to land a Just Action at least nine times out of ten.

[SpeedMaster has donated 100,000 won!]

“Piece of cake, right?”

[BreakingNewsReporter has donated 10,000 won with a video attachment!]

(A clip of SpeedMaster rushing in recklessly, getting baited by a feint, and instantly counter-killed.)

 This is why Crocodile Spearman is terrifying.

Even if you read the timing and trajectory, if you don’t hit Just Action, you accumulate too much impact and get staggered.

 Okay, but you think I can just trigger Just Action whenever I want?!

 And it gets harder with each strike.

The timing window shrinks, and by the end, the game basically forces you to land a Perfect Action or die.

 Meanwhile, Silent Swordsman is pulling it off like it’s nothing.

 Our streamer is a superhuman, though.

 The fact that SpeedMaster rushed in even faster is legendary.

 Yeah, legendary for speedrunning his own death.

 He was too fast to change directions.

While viewers and streamers lamented their past traumas against Crocodile Merchant…

Silent Swordsman was holding his ground in a fierce duel.

“What a divine swordsmanship. No matter the feint, you deflect every attack without fail… And you’re not even using your dominant hand.”

Crocodile Merchant pretended not to notice Silent Swordsman’s true strength,

describing her as merely “deflecting” his attacks.

But in truth

Her sword wasn’t just redirecting the spear.

It was countering it.

“It’s as if I’m trapped in an endless ocean.”

No matter the range or tempo

Silent Swordsman’s blade closed the distance without warning.

When Crocodile Merchant pulled back his spear, aiming for a ten-step distance,

She stepped away even further like a receding tide letting his attack lose momentum before swatting it aside.

When he shortened his grip, preparing for a close-range strike at three steps,

She closed in even faster like a rising tide striking before he could fully commit.

“A flawless, mistake-free defense… Beyond human precision.”

Unlike a wide slashing arc or a sweeping attack, a spear thrust always aimed for a single, absolute point.

Failing to read that point,

If one were to clumsily extend lines or surfaces,

Attempting to block by mere estimation and trickery,

His spear would tear through those lines and pierce through those surfaces.

But Hae Eung Eung met his point with her own.

A waste of strength.

A waste of trajectory.

With near-perfect self-control that left no gaps born from mere guesswork,

She focused all her power into a single point and struck back.

Kagagagagang!!

In an instant, they exchanged over a dozen blows before separating.

She severed his linked attacks with a single sword,

Leaving him floundering alone, as if lost in the vast ocean.

His attacks,

His spacing,

His balance—

She neutralized them moment by moment, rendering them meaningless.

Every small step she took

Swelled like waves crashing upon a ship

Or swiftly pulled away beyond reach.

[ Is this really the Aura-Sealing Zone???]

[ Why does she look even faster than before???]

[ Can Awakeners even use mana in there?]

[ Someone tried before, but it didn’t work.]

[ So she’s moving at that speed purely without magic?]

[ A sword skill that rivals the greatest spear technique in the Half-Demon Valley ]

A battle too evenly matched to determine superiority.

And yet, even a fight that seemed like it would never end inevitably came to a conclusion.

8.

[Story Mode]

A battle of equals.

The first to lower his weapon and step back was the Crocodile Merchant.

[That’s enough. It seems our fate is not to settle things here.]

[If we continue, the expelled guards will only return.]

[I have no intention of sharing this rare delicacy with such lowly creatures.]

Spinning his spear shaft with one hand,

He smoothly retrieved it into his arms.

The competitive glint in his eyes had yet to fade.

[I look forward to the future where I devour you and grow stronger…]

[But true strength, true growth

They can only be obtained when one clashes at full power.]

[I don’t know how, but I can tell you still have strength left.

If we meet beyond the Aura-Sealing Zone,

You will surely be even stronger than you are now.]

Though he could have joined forces with the other monsters to kill her,

He chose not to seize that opportunity.

His pride,

His belief that true supremacy was only achieved through devouring the strong,

Would not allow it.

One could mock such pride,

Calling it a luxury in the face of survival.

But Hae Eung Eung did not.

‘That is exactly what I wanted as well.’

She, too, was intrigued.

How strong could this monster truly become

If his spear technique was reinforced with aura?

The thought alone sparked her competitive spirit.

Step.

Step.

The Crocodile Merchant walked away not toward the central facility of the junkyard,

But outside.

Then, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

[One last thing. A word of advice.]

His deep voice

Dug into her mind like a warning.

[No artifact is perfected by legacy and history alone.

Only after tragedy has struck does it truly become complete.]

[The Bogeyman you so dearly carry—

He is one who has willingly hidden himself inside an artifact.]

[As long as you walk with one who is bound to tragedy,

You will never escape it yourself.]

[Swordswoman, until the day of our rematch,

Be sure not to be swallowed by your own tragedy.]

With that ominous warning,

He turned his back to the setting sun and resumed walking.

[Hey, Croc bastard! Where the hell are you going?!]

[That’s the opposite direction from where the Warden is…]

His towering figure cast a long, stretched shadow.

For a moment,

It flickered—

Like a dying streetlamp.

Then, two yokai guards’ severed heads rolled down the junkyard.

[Player Mode]

Watching that display of martial prowess, Hae Eung Eung realized something.

‘Are you trying to claim that you were holding back against me?’

The Crocodile Merchant was gone.

Control over her body returned.

Surrounded by the corpses of fallen monsters,

And half-demon slaves trembling in fear.

Standing in the middle of it all,

Hae Eung Eung silently raised her sword.

And she cut down the half-demon slaves who had betrayed her.

‘You weren’t the only one conserving your strength.’

A faint purple light shimmered along her blade.

The Aura-Sealing Zone—

A sealed domain where all energy was blocked.

Yet Hae Eung Eung was able to manipulate her energy within it.

The Ability of Nullification.

A power that erased all energy—

And, because it shared its roots with the art of dispersal,

Even the Aura-Sealing Zone’s influence could be resisted at will.

And yet, she had chosen not to use that power.

‘Because we are both martial artists who walk the path of the void.’

Just as the Crocodile Merchant had respected her swordsmanship and enjoyed their battle,

She had simply enjoyed crossing blades with his spear.

‘I look forward to our rematch.’

Blood from the half-demons dripped down her sword.

And before the one half-demon who had remained loyal to her,

She finally halted the slaughter.

‘A spear that drinks the blood of the strong, and a sword that stacks the blood of traitors.

Which will prove stronger next time?’

But before that, there were two ties she had to settle.

The half-demon trembling on the ground in fear.

And the silent ally still hidden within the wardrobe.

How much could she trust them?

How far could she go with them?

Even if not now,

One day, she would have to find an answer.

‘And that day doesn’t have to be today.’

Like the promise of a future rematch,

She chose to postpone the decision.

Just for today,

She would allow herself not to call it cowardice.

The cold sweat on her hands.

The suffocating memories of betrayal tightening around her heart.

Clack.

She slid the nameless sword back into its scabbard.