Chapter 115: Giant Tree Grove (2)

‘They’re not waiting for an opportunity.’

Jang Woo-hyun reached a single conclusion.

The invisible enemies were neither a new force nor pursuers. They seemed to be on the same side as the humans fighting the giant over there.

Then why hadn’t they helped them and instead come here?

‘Their attacks don’t work on the giant.’

There was no detectable presence, no indication of where the attacks came from, but their power was weak. Judging by how they couldn’t pierce the Sacred River Flowing Armor, it seemed they couldn’t penetrate the armor of Qi that the giant had wrapped around its body either.

‘That’s why they came this way.’

Trying to sense the enemy, Jang Woo-hyun continued his thoughts.

Attacks coming from nowhere. A completely vanished presence. And the fact that they weren’t going for a head-on confrontation but aiming for an opening due to insufficient strength.

These clues led him to suspect the enemy’s identity.

‘An assassin?’

Unlike in the Central Plains, hiding in midair was unusual, but this was the Central Heavens Realm. It couldn’t be judged by ordinary logic. Not long ago, he had already concluded that bizarre martial arts like the Transcendental Sword and Thousand Sword Stream were entirely possible here.

‘They’re just good at hiding.’

If the power had been stronger, Jin Ha-un’s neck or his own arm might have been severed earlier. But the previous attack wasn’t like that. The hiding was impressive, nothing more.

Now that he had a sense of how to deal with the opponent, Jang Woo-hyun moved. He moved the Qi Threads to wrap Jin Ha-un in the Dragon King’s Scales.

“Hyung-nim?”

Armor made from the bladed scales of Yongwangrin. The Dragon Scale Armor.

Jang Woo-hyun armored Jin Ha-un to protect him.

“Ha-un, go help the giant.”

“Yes.”

Pushing aside the fleeting doubt, Jin Ha-un moved.

Kicking off a massive branch, he instantly closed the distance and swung his sword. From the tip of his newly made blade, hundreds of strands of Sword Qi poured toward the enemies.

‘Now they’ll have no choice but to move.’

The fight between the giant and the five humans remained deadlocked. Now that Jin Ha-un had entered the fray, the tide of battle would inevitably shift.

And naturally, the hidden enemy would be forced to act.

Just as expected. The air behind Jin Ha-un split open, and someone in a black mask leapt out. It wasn’t the old man who had spoken earlier, but the assassin who had aimed at Jin Ha-un’s back.

Ka-ga-ga-k!

“Ugh!”

There was impact, but the attack targeting Jin Ha-un failed to pierce Yongwangrin.

It wasn’t a perfect block, but it sufficed. It created a brief window.

And Jin Ha-un made full use of that time.

Though lacking compared to Jang Woo-hyun, Jin Ha-un still had the talent and skill worthy of being called a genius.

Feeling the impact, he immediately turned his body and drew another sword with his left hand.

The Hongyeomin of the Cheonghong Ssangik.

A sword forged for Swift Sword.

With that sword, he unleashed Blue Star’s ultimate technique. Due to the Cheongun Jeokhagum, the enemy’s body was split in two.

Standing at his original position, Jang Woo-hyun saw that and immediately moved.

The moment he stepped forward.

‘It’s coming!’

His heightened Qi sense detected danger.

As he took his first step, using Void Movement Technique to tread air, a sword shot out from his left waist.

Knowing it wouldn’t work, the enemy still had no choice but to intercept. If Jang Woo-hyun reached the fight, everything would be over.

Using Secret Flowing Body Technique, Jang Woo-hyun had completely concealed his presence, leading to the enemy’s miscalculation. Upon realizing Jang Woo-hyun was nearby, they should have fled with their comrades immediately.

Kwa-ji-jik!

Stronger than the last strike, this one shattered the Sacred River Flowing Armor around his flank. But that was all. Far from killing Jang Woo-hyun, it hadn’t even left a proper wound.

And that was the end.

He hadn’t blocked it before because he didn’t know. Now that he did, defending was easy. He had already seized complete control of the surroundings.

Kwa-ak.

He grabbed the sword blade and yanked it in. The enemy released the sword, but it was too late. With his other hand, Jang Woo-hyun seized the enemy’s arm and pulled.

Instead of an invisible enemy appearing, it was as if he had pulled someone out from another space—someone slid out.

Letting go of the sword blade, he clenched his fist around the enemy’s wrist and threw a punch.

Kwa-ang!

“Gurk!”

And then once more.

With the second punch, the enemy’s head exploded.

He had no intention of leaving the assassin alive to extract information or identify their backer. Assassins who could erase their presence so perfectly were far too troublesome. They were a danger to Jin Ha-un too.

Casually tossing aside the assassin who had targeted him, Jang Woo-hyun turned his head to see the rampaging giant.

The battle that had remained in balance was now utterly tilted with Jin Ha-un’s arrival.

The five had been systematically coordinating against the giant, but Jin Ha-un’s intrusion had thrown their formation into chaos.

The giant exploited that gap and crushed the humans attacking him—like swatting bugs.

“I should probably leave at least one alive…”

Puh-eok!

A human body shattered into pieces by a massive fist.

Before he could finish speaking, the excited giant struck the last person to death. He had hoped to keep at least one alive to learn more about them, but it all went to waste.

The giant, his face red with fury, exhaled through flared nostrils.

“You. What are you?”

Eyes gleaming with killing intent turned toward Jang Woo-hyun and Jin Ha-un. Though the two had saved him, the giant seemed to perceive them as enemies.

“We just helped you survive. Wouldn’t a thank you be proper manners?”

“Help. None. Still. Win.”

Jang Woo-hyun observed the giant as the short phrases spilled out.

His hair spread out like a lion’s mane, and beneath thick eyebrows, large eyes gleamed with murderous will.

His speech was awkward, but he didn’t seem stupid. It wasn’t a lack of intelligence—he likely just didn’t know human language properly.

“Win? You couldn’t even catch one of them.”

“Big body, no manners at all.”

“I. Tawi.”

The giant pointed at himself with a thumb as thick as a grown man’s waist.

“I’m Jang Woo-hyun.”

“I am Jin Ha-un.”

At their names, Tawi nodded.

“I. Us. No trust in small ones. Small ones. Cause accidents.”

“It seems it’s because of those guys, but we really have nothing to do with them…”

“Check. Myself.”

“What?!”

Saying only what he wanted, Tawi threw a punch toward Jang Woo-hyun. The massive fist fell like a meteor tearing through the sky.

‘He’s got great strength.’

But that was all.

It was too simple and straightforward.

Jang Woo-hyun was already fully prepared to face an enemy.

He stepped forward with his black sword and drew a circle. He intended to deflect the attack using Three Wheels Sword Art.

The moment the small circle and the giant’s fist collided—

Jang Woo-hyun realized his judgment had been wrong.

Kwaaang!

“Ugh!”

With an explosion that echoed in all directions, Jang Woo-hyun was blasted backward from the impact.

“Hyung-nim!”

Before Jin Ha-un, standing nearby, could even attack the giant, another fist targeted him. Jin Ha-un too was hurled away by the overwhelming shock.

Kuroorung. Bang! Kwa-gwang!

He flew back with such force that he smashed through three massive trees. The shattered bases of the trees fell with a resounding crash. It wasn’t until he struck a fourth tree that Jang Woo-hyun finally came to a halt.

“Ghh…”

Had it not been for the Sacred River Flowing Armor, his body would’ve been broken in several places by that attack.

‘What was that just now?’

It wasn’t a normal attack. It couldn’t even be called martial arts.

The energy emitted from the giant’s fist didn’t fly toward or push the opponent—it detonated on contact.

It defied common sense. Using energy in such a way should hurt not only the enemy but also oneself.

A foolish and reckless attack.

Jang Woo-hyun’s eyes returned to the giant. Then he understood why the giant fought like this.

—It’s similar to how we use the Heaven-Dominating Divine Armor. Like you and me, they fight while clad in something like armor made of Qi.

‘He’s relying on his armor to make such insane attacks?’

He absorbed the damage with his armor and detonated his internal energy at close range.

‘That’s beyond reckless.’

It was different from the Windstorm Great Saint who charged while ignoring injuries, or the Beastkin who put all their strength into each strike.

The giant’s method was like setting off a bomb between himself and the enemy during close combat.

Jang Woo-hyun, about to charge forward, paused as he saw Tawi approaching him. With a sweep of his hand, he dispersed the dust cloud.

Kuung.

Tawi, having closed the distance, landed on the ground.

“Small one. Tough.”

Jang Woo-hyun looked at the giant standing before him and smiled.

‘Interesting.’

The Sacred River Flowing Armor wrapped around his body gleamed even more brightly. Then, as he extended his hand, the Dragon King’s Scales that had been protecting Jin Ha-un flew back to him.

Facing a brute fight where one detonated energy in front of their opponent, Jang Woo-hyun decided to respond in kind. After all, he too had armor.

Charruk.

The bladed scales of Yongwangrin flew around and enveloped Jang Woo-hyun.

Dragon Scale Armor.

A defense and armor made from Yongwangrin.

Jang Woo-hyun now had two armors.

“St-stop! I get it now! You're not on the same side! I believe you!”

Wearing the Dragon Scale Armor and fully unleashing the Sacred River Flowing Armor, Jang Woo-hyun fought even more brutally than Tawi. He wasn’t lacking in internal energy, so he recklessly triggered explosive bursts of Qi in all directions.

Jin Ha-un, who had been watching their fight from a distance, looked worn out just from watching.

Tawi’s armor made of Protective Energy was formidable, but it couldn’t compare to Jang Woo-hyun’s. The armor of Qi covering Tawi’s body was the first to break, and what followed was nothing short of a savage beating by Jang Woo-hyun.

He hadn’t intended to kill and had struck with the back of his blade, but since the sword contained the power of Destructive Slash, every blow made Tawi feel like his body was being shattered.

“That’s why, when someone helps you, you should show gratitude and hear them out. You just throw a punch without a word?”

“Apology! I apologize! Thank you! Forgive! me! Sorry!”

Every time Jang Woo-hyun raised the black sword threateningly, the massive giant flinched and spouted words of apology.

“At this rate, you’re going to kill the giant. That’s enough.”

Now that the situation had settled, Cho-su approached riding the Flying Apparatus. Despite having lived for hundreds of years, even he had never seen a giant get beaten by a human like this.

“Nation of Mechanical Marvels? Why?”

Tawi was startled upon seeing Cho-su appear so suddenly. From his perspective, it was completely unexpected for someone from Nation of Mechanical Marvels to show up.

“We’re looking for something with this friend. So, about that, there’s something we’d like to ask…”

Tawi-i-i-i-i!

The cry interrupted Cho-su’s words.

Another short-haired giant crashed through a massive tree and glared murderously at Jang Woo-hyun.

“It’s you bastards again!”

Without hesitation, the giant kicked off the ground and charged at the group.

“This isn’t it. Hurry, stop him. Tell him it’s a misunderstanding. The situation now…”

Cho-su, who was mid-sentence, trailed off.

A giant battered and covered in bruises. A human standing before him with a sword. It was a situation ripe for misunderstanding.

But it was truly a misunderstanding. The fight had to be stopped somehow.

“Leave it. Just let it happen.”

“What?”

“Whether it’s this one or that one. They’re both a mess.”

They just charged in based on their own assumptions.

Not willing to let it slide, Jang Woo-hyun once again donned the Dragon Scale Armor and activated the Sacred River Flowing Armor.

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