It Wasn’t a Martial Arts World, but the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 5: The Mad Dog of Bingzhou, and Unryong (2)

“Damn it! It’s the Mad Dog! Everyone, form up!”

The constantly changing scenery was vivid.

People’s screams, the sound of metal clashing, the sight of heads being severed, and sticky bloodstains.

In the middle of the enemy camp, I cut down enemies and shouted.

“Mad Dog?! Damn it, which bastard dared to utter such nonsense…!”

— Shiiik!

Before I could even finish my words, an enemy’s sword attack came at me.

I took a step back to dodge it and immediately swung my sword horizontally.

— Shraak!

Ugh, some of it got in my mouth.

Disgusting.

After spitting out the blood that briefly entered my mouth, I launched myself toward the enemy’s formation.

“The big brother is charging! You all, get your heads together!”

“Everyone, follow big brother!”

“Waaahhhhh!”

Before I knew it, my brothers had cut down all the enemy soldiers, following behind me.

I collided directly with the shield-wielding enemy line, along with them.

— Kwang!

The bandits stared at me in disbelief, as if they couldn’t comprehend that I had broken through their shields with my bare body.

As one accumulates internal energy, the body naturally becomes hardened.

Eventually, harder than steel.

To those ignorant bandits, I must have looked like a madman.

Honestly, no one else in this world would break through a shield wall with their bare body like me.

The bandits, unable to withstand the unexpected impact, were knocked back, and I continued running forward.

“You damn bastard! Do you think you can get away with this?!”

At that moment, a figure who appeared to be the leader of the bandits stepped forward, wielding a large sword as big as his body.

“We’re under the protection of the Black Mountain Bandits! Do you think peasants like you can withstand that?!”

Bandits, Black Mountain Bandits, all of you are nothing but mosquitoes sucking the blood of the people.

When mosquitoes appear, you swat them dead. Why would I care about something so trivial?

I scoffed at his words and swung my sword.

“Guh…!”

Unlike the small fries from earlier, he blocked my upward strike with his massive sword, scraping it along the ground.

In that case, I pivoted on my left foot and spun my body for a follow-up attack.

— Clang!

Sparks flew once, and my sword was sent flying into the air.

A confident smile spread across the bandit’s face, certain of his victory.

“You fool…! Who the hell loses their sword in the middle of a fight…?”

Sorry, but I didn’t lose it.

I just threw it away because it was a bother.

In an instant, I closed the distance into his guard and stretched my palm toward his large chin.

At that moment, his eyes widened like a rabbit’s.

Exploding Palm

“W-what the…!”

His head snapped backward.

No matter how big someone is, if you break them from within, they’ll obviously take damage.

His stance was completely broken.

I grabbed the sword that had fallen toward me and swung it again.

***

The bandit gangs, which had been quiet for a while, started acting up again recently.

It was because Dong Zhuo had entered Luoyang, ruining everything: public security, the economy, food supplies, and more.

That pig was probably, just like in the novel, fattening his belly using the people’s blood and flesh as his appetizers.

Because of that, missions like this had become more frequent.

“As expected, big brother, you’re a monster.”

While I sat cross-legged, regulating my energy, Unsam approached me.

“Any casualties?”

“Hey, big brother, you cut off their heads in no time. We didn’t even have time to fight, so at most, we only had a few wounded.”

That was a relief.

No matter how much stronger I was compared to the people here, I couldn’t protect those who weren’t within my sight.

That meant my brothers occasionally died in battle.

When that happened, I felt down for several days.

After all, I’d been with these guys for years.

When I heard that they died, it was only natural for me to feel upset.

That’s why, during battles, I focused on cutting off the head of the enemy’s leader.

Usually, when the leader died, the group would fall apart.

Putting my previous concerns aside for a moment, I spoke with a lighter heart.

“Then, distribute the spoils and share them with the people in the county.”

“Yes, Brother.”

Unsam respectfully clasped his hands together and then disappeared.

As I refocused on regulating my energy, trying to settle my mind again…

“The Mad Dog of Bingzhou? Quite a fitting nickname.”

Lately, that was the nickname I hated hearing the most.

The Mad Dog? What Mad Dog?

That’s way too harsh a name for a person.

Just because I caught a few bandits, they’re comparing me to a beast?

Even without opening my eyes, I knew whose voice it was.

“Well, we meet again, huh?”

“How could we not? The entire Manbo County is buzzing again today, all because the Mad Dog has thrashed another bandit gang.”

Opening one eye slightly, I saw Yeo, her pretty face wrapped tightly in a large cloth.

Last time, I had hurled my guts all over that cloth.

Thanks to that, she had beaten me so badly that the drunkenness evaporated completely.

Even now, the palm mark from her blow still lingered on my back, and every time we made eye contact, my back stung in phantom pain.

“What brings you here this time?”

As I shivered from the sudden chill, Haryeong appeared behind me, glaring with fiery eyes.

“Whatever it is, it’s business with your leader, not with you, so why don’t you stay over there? While I’m asking nicely, okay?”

“Ugh…! Brother! Why are you even talking to such a brute?!”

“If you think about it, the beggar brother you love so much is no different from a brute.”

“Both of you, shut up. Can’t you see I’m busy?”

Gathering energy into internal qi is a delicate process.

A single imbalance can lead to qi deviation — an energy backlash that could destroy your meridians

It requires intense concentration.

Moreover, since my meridians were hardening and the flow of energy was becoming more natural, it seemed I was close to a breakthrough.

“Are you doing this to ease your guilt or something?”

Guilt, my ass.

Can’t you see I’m meditating?

Seriously, people here had no common sense when it came to martial arts.

Yeo clicked her tongue at my silence and kept her mouth shut for a while.

Finally, after my meditation finished, I slowly opened my eyes.

Good.

My internal energy had become even more solid!

“Hmph, with that soft heart of yours, you’ll never make it as a real warrior, let alone a petty thug.”

“That’s not it.”

Really, it wasn’t.

“Sure, whatever you say.”

“I said it’s not.”

Really, truly, it wasn’t.

Why should I feel guilty about cutting down those scum?

Those bastards who harassed the village women deserved to die.

“If you keep living like that, you’ll die soon. How long are you going to live relying on emotions?”

“Oh, come on, damn it, I’m not mourning those bastards!”

“Do you know what the most important thing in this world is?”

She ignored what I said and continued.

“It’s yourself. Your life. All you need to do is live for that. No matter how you live, the world won’t change. You’re just making trouble for yourself.”

“Think whatever you want.”

No point in arguing; she wouldn’t listen anyway.

So, I decided to let her misunderstand.

“By the way,” Yeo sat down next to me on the ground with a long sigh, “because of you, I’ve lost all my toys.”

“Toys? After all that yelling, it seems like you wanted to play hero too.”

At my words, Yeo twisted her lips into a smirk.

“As if. The only thing I believe in is power. Strength that everyone envies. That’s all you need to live comfortably.”

Despite saying that, she didn’t seem particularly strong.

However, there was a strange certainty in her shadowed eyes.

The kind you’d see in a fanatic worshiping something.

This woman was dangerous.

“Anyway, thanks to your flashy antics, I’ve ended up staying here longer than I planned.”

“What does your being here have to do with me?”

“Don’t you find it amusing to watch an animal make a fool of itself? I do. That’s what I’m doing now.”

“You’re really full of it. Rotten woman.”

When I furrowed my brow and spoke, Yeo leaned in toward me and opened her mouth again.

“So, I’ve got a proposal for you.”

“I refuse.”

“Huh?”

“I get the feeling it’s not a reasonable one.”

“It’s something I really want to tell you, though.”

She sighed, seemingly exasperated.

With no choice, I motioned with my chin for her to continue.

At that, Yeo snapped her fingers, as if she’d been waiting.

“Join me.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll make sure you’re treated well. Of course, there are some conditions.”

“And just who do you think you are to offer me this?”

She ignored my question and continued.

“You’re pretty useful. Just from watching your breathing and your footsteps, I can tell. Plus, you use some strange footwork in battle.”

Does this woman have a voyeuristic streak on top of being hysterical?

Where was she hiding to watch me fight?

“What I’m saying is, you’re worth far more than some street beggar.”

“Oh, thanks for the compliment. So, what’s this condition you’re talking about?”

“The condition is that only you join me. The rest of your crew is trash.”

With a faint smile, she held out her hand.

“This is your chance to throw away that silly sentiment and indulge in pleasures beyond your wildest dreams.”

“Just when I thought I’d heard everything…”

I let out a sigh.

Did she have trouble learning?

“Get lost.”

“Huh?”

Yeo’s head tilted back in shock at my sudden rejection, then she nodded.

“Oh, right. You don’t know who I am yet, so of course you’d say something like that…”

She began unwrapping the cloth she’d been wearing.

I grabbed her arm before she could do it.

“Whether you’re Yeo, Kim, or some high-ranking noble, I’m never going to accept such a dumb offer.”

“…”

She glared at me for a moment, then withdrew her hand.

“Stubborn as ever. You could live in luxury if you just let go a little.”

I shrugged at her words.

“Clinging to worldly values like that will only shorten your life.”

“Well, it’s better than being a spineless man, but you’re still a fool.”

With that, she stood up abruptly, as if admitting defeat.

“I suppose someone like you won’t understand until death is staring you in the face. I hope your so-called ‘righteousness’ will still be there when that day comes.”

She walked away, her mocking laughter lingering behind her.

I raised my middle finger in response.

Of course, Yeo didn’t understand what it meant and just looked confused.

As we exchanged our usual petty banter, something else happened.

“Big brooooooo!”

My ears were about to burst.

Why the hell is he running over like that?

The guy was so out of breath he was drooling and sniffling, all while trying to catch his breath.

I rubbed my stinging ears and patted his back.

“Catch your breath. What’s the rush?”

“This is bad… This is really, really bad…”

The guy trembled like someone who’d just encountered a wild beast.

“An army is coming this way, big brother!”

Sudden events always arrive at the most unexpected moments.