156 I Am... A Better Swordsman!

The wild mountain wolves had concentrated towards their location as it offered a path that would bring them to the dead bodies of players that would serve as their food. That said, Yojiro's relentless attacks were able to suppress their advance as if the opened path was a clogged sink.

However, Yojiro was, in the end, only a human. As Yojiro planted his feet and prepared himself to do another strike, his body leaned forward a tad bit lower than his usual stance, whilst his hands trembled a tad bit--consequently making his grip on the handle of his Katana a tad bit loose. 

"Tch!" He flicked his tongue after he noticed that his body has started to show signs of fatigue.

That said, he bit his lips in response and tightened his grip to the handle of his Katana--ignoring whether his hands would be bruised or not. At the same time, he lifted his arms slightly up and down to shake his muscles and loosen up the tension in it. 

Then, when the next wave of wild mountain wolves arrived, he took a deep breathe and swung his Katana with full force at the perfect moment. The first row of wild mountain wolves were split in half whilst the succeeding rows of wild mountain wolves behind it--inside the ten meter radius from him, were sliced by the wind blade that was created by his strike. 

Afterward, Yojiro felt his body tremble a little bit, making him force out a smile and stole a glance towards Lony and Roval--who were fighting the slightly burned wild mountain wolves that were brave enough to endure the heat of the flaming forest just to circle around and attack them from their back. 

'Shit!' He cursed deep inside as he flicked his tongue. Then, he grumbled to himself, 'Only a few minutes had passed and It seems like I am almost at my limit? If only I didn't obtain an injury back then!' 

At this moment, Yojiro felt an ominous sign as his past started to play into his mind. From the thought of the said 'injury', he remenised eveything as to why he was where he is today. 

~~~Flash back~~~

Inside a wooden hut, a woman wearing white clothes stood infront of the children who were gazing at the wooden pieces--that was curved and shaped to resemble a human figure, while a huge figure made of rock stood opposite the wooden pieces on top of the wooden table. 

"A hundred years ago... A violent storm had entered our lands..."

~~~~~Flash Back inside a Flash Back~~~~~

"Pawng!" The lightning screamed and crackled through the sky, making the people scramble and hide into their house. The thick dark clouds hid the 'ball of fire' (sun) as tornados formed and advanced towards their village. 

The man pondered as wind started to blew towards them--just strong enough to make him feel cool after a hot sunny weather. Despite the wind getting stronger, the man kept staring to the sky, at the direction from where the dark clouds and strong winds originated. 

In a flash of a lightning, a figure of a giant floating man was revealed inside the biggest tornado that was located at the center most part of the incoming storm. The man was flabbergasted to the point that he even did not give a damn care to their windows that were already slamming back and forth because of the strong wind. 

On the other hand, the man's wife and children were filled with fear. Hence, as their children starts to cry, the woman shouted towards him, saying, "What the hell are you staring at?! Close the windows before something bad happens to our house!" 

However, despite his wife's cry, the man simply gestured to his wife as if he was saying to her 'wait', while his eyes were locked towards the center of the giant tornado where he saw the figure of a giant man.

Of course, the woman could only frown in response. Her fear became stronger as the wind blew into their house that was getting stronger and stronger each second. And just when the woman was at her limits and was about to stood to close their windows, another lightning flashed--revealing the giant figure of a giant man once again.

This made the man 'unconsciously' touch the handle of the door of their house before he stole a glance back to his children and wife. Then, he opened the door without saying another word and went out of their house.

The wind blew into their house--strong enough to wiggle their wooden door and windows. That said, the woman did not think twice. She stood immediately and closed the doors and windows--calming the inside of the house. 

At the same time, she could only shook her head when she saw her husband outside their house--going against the wind and was barely able to plant his feet into the ground. That said, she paid no attention to his 'seemingly retard' husband and simply went under the wooden table to accompany and comfort their children. 

As for the man, when he was able to establish a stable footing--strong enough to resist the wind, he went down to his knees, bowed, and said, "Dear Great Deity! What could this lowly man offer, for you to spare this peaceful and humble land from your wrath?"

Unfortunately, the wind wistled even louder--indicating that the wind blew stronger, while the lightning strikes became frequent in response. The giant tornado altered its direction as it now heads toward the direction of the man.

This made his heart tremble as his life might end in any second. Despite that, he remained on his knees--bowing toward the giant tornado.

Fortunately, when the largest tornado was just hundreds of meters away from him and his village, it slowly vanished into thin air, together with the dark clouds in tthe sky and the lightning strikes that were terifying the land. Still, at this point, the man remained bowing his head, as in the next second, a breeze of wind blew past him and a figure of a man--twice as big as him, arrived infront of him. 

A fresh scar run from his forehead down to his right cheek--including his right eye. Whilst fresh scars could be seen all over the giant man's body, indicating that he had just came from a fight. That said, the giant man stood tall--flexing all his well toned muscles, and his had rock abs.

He took a deep breathe as he combed his white long hair upwards and said, "Are you sure... That you have what it takes to fulfill the needs of a god?"

Strong wind blew past the bowing man as if threatening him that one wrong answer would cost his life. That said, the man remained composed and said, "Great Deity! This humble being shall do whatever it takes to satisfy your request..."

The strong wind continued to blew past through them as the giant man stared towards the still bowing man. After a few seconds, the giant man bursted into laughter and said, "I applaud your bravery human! Seldom lower life forms could remain calm infront of us!"

The strong wind stopped, calming the surroundings and returning everything back to normal. That said, the figure of the giant man vanished as a loud voice spoke and was heard all through out the village.

"I'll spare your little village but for a cost! At this time of the year, your village must send at least one young man or one young woman, at the coming of age, to the peak of the nearest mountain. They must be the most skilled and the most talented amongst their peers as their return to your village would depend upon their own strength. If you miss one year, I shall return here and take your village instead! Consider yourselves warned... And remember my words..."

~~~~~Flash Back inside a Flash Back ENDS~~~~~

"And remember my words... for thousands of years!" The woman imitated a man's voice whilst she held the stone figure--finishing her story to the children. 

Half of the children were listening to her her story attentively. While some of them were busy on their own matters. Either they were asleep, staring outside the window, or were just not interested and were just removing boogers from their nose. 

"Teacher! You have told us that story for almost a hundred times! Can't you let us practice our sword arts instead?" The young Yuson, around twelve years old, asked whilst removing a booger on his nose.

The young Yojiro, who was sitting beside him, frowned and slapped the back of his head without second thought. 

"Ouch!" The young Yuson cried, "What was that for, brother?"

"Where's your manners?" The young Yojiro scolded, "A swordsman must be patient, obedient, and respectful! Why are you being rude to our teacher?"

The young Yuson simply pouted in response. This made the young Yojiro furrowed his brows, and was about to send anonther slap. Fortunately, their teacher clapped her hands, stopping the young Yojiro from slapping young Yuson's back.

Then, she said, "Alright! Yojiro, that's enough! The class had also ended!"

"But--" The young Yojiro wanted to argue, but he was interrupted by the celebration of his classmates as they stood up and waved goodbye to their teacher. 

The young Yuson was not an excemption. He stood and waved goodbye to their teacher whilst happily singing, "It's time to practice sword art! It's time to practice sword art!..."

The young Yojiro could only sigh in response as his teacher nodded towards him as if saying 'Just let it go!'. He could only shook his head as he stood, then, he bowed towards his teacher and said, "Thanks for the knowledge, teacher!" 

"It's nothing Yojiro! I hope that one day... You'll be able to succeed the Wind God's Trial like your father... The Village Chief and the master swordsman!" 

~~~~~Flash Back ENDS~~~~~

As another wave of wild mountain wolves appeared, Yojiro took a deep breath and he planted his feet. This time, he had prepared almost perfectly without any signs of fatigue. His eyes stared daggers towards his target as his hand gripped tight to the handle of his Katana.

When the wild mountain wolves pounced, he swung his Katana towards them at full force, while saying--resembling his young version, replying to his teacher, "I am... a better swordsman!"