“Hey, number eleven practitioner! You can’t just stay in the attack range like that! Move faster!”
Practice and actual combat are different.
Especially maintaining an array formation in real combat is quite challenging. The difficulty of maintaining it has been proven by countless martial arts novel protagonists. Just a little opening, and someone with an eagle’s eye can slip in and turn the formation of dozens, or even a hundred, into a complete mess.
No matter how many people sweat and bleed practicing, just a tiny gap can cause everything to collapse like dominoes.
“Attack number two incoming! Change quickly!”
Swishhhh!!
On the platform, Tang Do-yeon swung the long iron chain. The thirty-foot-long chain sliced through the air, mimicking the Black Armored Dragon’s attack style. While it was a bit too clunky to be called a whip, it was surprisingly fast for an imitation of the Dragon’s move.
Considering they can’t display their abilities in actual combat, training needs to be tougher than the real deal.
“Heavenly Man’s Form!”
At Su Dal-cha’s command, twelve individuals jumped into the air simultaneously.
Oh boy, if this were real combat, they’d all be dead!
How high is the ceiling of the underground cavern? Even if they jumped, it’s hard to avoid, and their height only puts them within thirty meters of that dragon’s range.
The Surahana-hanjin consists of twelve members, all of whom are Peak Experts with impeccable capabilities; however…
The problem is, all twelve have zero experience.
Not even an ounce of actual combat experience hunting entities!
“Hey! The flow’s been interrupted!”
“We’re too far apart, what can we do?”
“Then you should’ve avoided creating distance!”
Even though this wasn’t actual combat but practical training, it was chaos.
“Alright, we’ll end practice here for now.”
After just one hour of training, the Peak Experts were sprawled out on the floor, drenched in sweat. Having practiced an inflexible form like Taekwondo forms, they suddenly faced training more intense than real combat, so it’s no surprise they’re wiped out.
“Practitioners. The best I can provide is this training environment.”
“Ugh, I’ve made a big fuss, and now I’m embarrassed.”
Maintaining the Surahana-hanjin and improving the members’ skills was something the Warriors of Podalap Palace had to handle. I could only point out problems and provide a training environment.
“C’mon, Porcha, quit rampaging around so much!”
“Ha, isn’t that because your Qi output is just too weak?”
“What?! I can only lower my output because the incoming flow is unstable; don’t you understand that?!”
Seeing them toss blame back and forth, it seemed like proper camaraderie would take a little more time.
They would figure it out among themselves.
Leaving the practitioners, who were yelling with veins bulging, I went to find Miss Yeo Il-ye.
“Honorable Person, you’ve arrived?”
“So, are you prepared well?”
“Hmm, I’m not so sure.”
Swish, swish, swish!
The massive spear held by Yeo Il-ye was imbued with strong Qi.
“Haah…!”
Crack!
With a loud shout, Yeo Il-ye thrust the spear into the ground. While it barely penetrated for a Peak Expert’s technique, considering the ground was rock rather than soil, it was lodged quite deep.
“As expected, I’m not accustomed to using a spear, so I waste a lot of Qi formation.”
“It’ll get better over time.”
“Yes, as it’s not only about helping you but also rescuing Sara, that child, I must give my all.”
“Hmm, thank you.”
“Hehe, you’re welcome.”
Yeo Il-ye gave me a light smile before she started inspecting the spear again. The efficiency in forming Qi depends on understanding the weapon. As she would be using the spear during the hunt, she needed to improve her understanding to utilize her energy more efficiently.
Watching Yeo Il-ye concentrate on the spear, I thought about it.
Honestly, when Jeong Cheol appeared from the Tang Clan, I expected Yeo Il-ye to return to the Jeomchang Faction.
Yet, she remained by my side.
While she claimed to be repaying kindness, deep down, she seemed to trust me. She likely believed that helping me would be the best way to crush Jeong Cheol and end the conflict between Sacheon and Yunnan.
Though she never expressed this in words, such feelings can be sensed through actions.
Since leaving Sacheon, I’d stirred up quite a bit. I arrived at the city, gathered information, prepared stage magic, performed, and so forth… with so many things going on, I could only train my martial arts in bits and pieces.
Despite my irregular training, Yeo Il-ye would always stick by my side, helping me. Seeing her prioritize my training over her own naturally led me to think these thoughts.
Someday I should express my gratitude.
Without disturbing Yeo Il-ye, who was in focus, I quietly left.
Clang! Clang!
The next place I headed was the smithy. The resounding hammering echoed nonstop as Tang So-yeol was busy swinging a hammer.
Tang So-yeol was making chains.
It looked like he was just randomly smashing, yet the iron folded and formed rings in an instant. In no time, a single ring was completed, and more refined iron folded into another ring.
The speed at which the chains were being created was unbelievable. Piles of completed chains had already stacked up in one corner of the workshop.
Tang So-yeol noticed my arrival, set down the hammer, and picked up a pipe.
“My disciple.”
“Yes, Master.”
“I feel a sense of self-loathing and distress about coming all the way to this distant city just to make chains.”
“Haha, Master, but isn’t it true you’re the only one who can create the chains and tools strong enough to catch entities?”
This was true. To catch the Black Armored Dragon, many chains and tools were necessary, and they weren’t just any chains; they had to be incredibly strong.
“Hmph.”
He didn’t seem truly angry, but spending all day making chains seemed to have put him in a slightly bad mood.
“By the way, do you think we’ll even use all these chains, spears, and hooks?”
“Well… if we’re lacking, we’ll be lacking, but we definitely won’t have extras. And if we find ourselves in a pinch, having excess is better than being short, right?”
“Are you speaking so freely despite not being the one making them?”
Hunting entities.
Using the term “hunting entities” sounds like a fantasy game, but it’s basically the same content as raids in other games.
Regardless of the genre or game, a key component in raids is the gimmick required to take down the raid boss.
Like attacking the legs to bring it down, defeating clones to weaken it, or creating shields to withstand devastating attacks. Why are these things important?
Even in combat-focused games, those gimmick factors are already prepared on the battlefield, but in the Martial World, you must craft those gimmicks yourself for entity hunting.
The difficulty of hunting entities varies based on the equipment prepared and how the gimmicks are overcome, and that’s what makes entity hunting in the Martial World unique.
Hence, it was right to prepare as much as possible ahead of time.
For that preparation, Tang So-yeol had no choice but to keep working.
I felt a little sorry, but… this was just the role of a smith during entity hunts, so it couldn’t be helped.
That’s the fate of a craftsman, right?
“Entity hunting… make sure to bring back anything that might be useful. I’d like to handle that Black Ripple Stone too.”
“Understood.”
“Hmm… your response is a bit too enthusiastic for my comfort.”
Tang So-yeol looked at me suspiciously. My clear reply seemed to raise some doubts, but I had intended to bring the Black Ripple Stone to him from the start.
Tang So-yeol needed to process it for it to be used as a Nine Yin Absolute Pulse treatment.
Having a capable craftsman in the group made things so convenient!
“Ah, I should get to work.”
Receiving my kind gaze, Tang So-yeol grimaced as if chewing on a bug and shook his head. Watching him return to hammering the iron, I reflected.
Preparation was going smoothly.
Tang Do-yeon was practicing handling the chains as the practitioners’ opponent, and Yeo Il-ye was adapting to the spear, while Tang So-yeol was diligently producing equipment.
I wasn’t sure how the attack group’s preparation was going, but the countermeasures team was thoroughly gearing up.
I mentally counted the time. The preparation for the countermeasures team should take at least three days at a minimum, and if generous, it might take a week.
Ultimately, it all boiled down to how quickly the practitioners could coordinate properly.
Should I check once more on how the array practice is going?
Thinking that, I arrived at the training hall where array practice was taking place.
“Su Dal-cha! You should’ve unleashed the Asura form just now!”
“Maybe the Asura form would have been correct; however, the commanding authority is mine!”
“If you stay that far apart, it’s difficult to maintain the flow of Qi—how many times do I have to say this?!”
“Ha, but I can maintain it from that distance; why can’t you?”
“No way…!”
Another round of heated blame-shifting was beginning.
