Chapter 95 - The winner [1]

Nervousness brewed within Moon Jiwoo when she watched both of them starting the duel. While Sookyung appeared to be serious about it, a light-hearted expression sat on Kim Namhyuk' face. "How strong is the King?" Jiwoo questioned, turning her head to face Aera. "About that, I have no idea; this is my first time seeing the King's strength. I just heard about it," Aera said, "Although he doesn't train much, the King is quite powerful— more powerful than everyone. It's a trait all Kings possess." "Oh," Jiwoo replied. The anxiety caused her to chew on her finger nails while observing Namhyuk and Sookyung go against each other. Namhyuk was the one to make the first attack. As he directed his sword at Sookyung's direction, Sookyung took couple of steps backward and took out his own sword. The King disappeared from his place and appeared behind Sookyung. As if predicting that, Sookyung moved couple of steps forward and blocked the King's sword by turning back with his. "One flaw with the King is that although he is quite strong, his moves can be quite predictable at times. If one learns his way of fighting once, it will be easier for them to go against the King second time because there are bȧrėly any changes in certain patterns," Aera explained. "I can see that," Jiwoo spoke out, "But still he has the skills to make up for that. I thought being old will be maKing him weak. However, that doesn't appear to be the case." Aera chuckled and stated, "Being old does put him at a disadvantage, but it is up to the Prince whether or not will be able to use them to his advantage. There are lots of openings when it comes to the King, but you need to be skilled and perceptive enough to take note of them." For someone like Jiwoo, who naturally possessed the skills to fight, she could see what Aera meant. The openings she spoke of was easily spotted by Jiwoo, but as for Sookyung, Jiwoo did not know whether or not he saw them. °°° A gasp escaped from Jiwoo's mouth she saw how the King made the attack against Sookyung's ċhėst. Fortunately enough Sookyung was smart enough to disappear at the right time or else this would have been detrimental to him. Compared to both of their neat appearance when they entered into the field, the two of them were at a dishevelled state now and have incurred quite an amount of damages. Blood spilled from both sides and covered the fields. Sookyung appeared at the left of the King, and Jiwoo's eyes fell on the huge slash on his ċhėst made from the attack now. As the wound was healing, the blood remained on his ċhėst. TaKing the King by surprise, Sookyung connected his fist against his waist before the King was able to face him. The impact from that caused the King to stumble a few steps backward before he fell on the ground. "That was amazing!" Jiwoo expressed as a wide smile formed on her face. Sookyung appeared to have more skills than she had originally thought. Maybe it would not be bad to get optimistic about it right now. "It seems that the prince is quite sharp," Aera said, "If this is maintained, he has a pretty decent chance of winning." Lifting his sword, Sookyung made his way towards the King, and looKing down at the King, Sookyung was about to make his attack on him before he was able to stand up. But the moment he was about to inflict the attack, a sharp pain went through his ċhėst, catching him by surprise, and Sookyung's grip on the sword loosened for a second. TaKing this as a opportunity, the King stood up and raising his leg he kicked at Sookyung's stomach. His attack sent Sookyung flying backwards. Before Sookyung was able to fall on the ground, he composed himself, and digging his sword into the field, he kept standing. Raising his head, he stared at the King when another wave of pain went through his ċhėst. It did not make sense to him on why would he suddenly be feeling this, and then, when his eyes fell on the smirk forming upon the King's face, his eyes widened.  The pain was too high for him to ignore, and squeezing his eyes shut, Sookyung tried to stand up straight. But the pain in his ċhėst did not make that possible for him. "Oh no," Aera said, "The King must have used unfair methods." Furrowing her eyebrows, Jiwoo questioned, "What do you mean?" "It is exactly as I said. The King probably poisoned the prince. When it comes to the King, I suppose such methods aren't new. Since he is the King, it is not like anyone can say anything against him." Fear began to rise within Jiwoo as she clenched her hand into a tight, and anger towards the King brewed up within her. The impulse to enter into the field and punch the King was there within her, but she held it in, praying that Sookyung will be alright. She hoped for a miracle to occur! TaKing this as his chance, the King moved forward, and a rush of wind came in Sookyung's direction pushing him backwards. Sookyung's back came in contact with the ground while he laid on the field. Sookyung let go of his grip on the sword, and by each passing second, he was starting to feel more and more weak. A slight dizziness went through his head, and the strength within his body was depleting. A victorious smirk formed on the King's face as he held the sword against Sookyung's neck and spoke out, "It was quite foolish of you to expect to win against me. Nonetheless, I am impressed by how foolish yet brave you are. Any last wishes?" Feeling a small pebble beside her feet, Jiwoo bent down to pick it up, and staring intensely at them, she shot the pebble at the King's direction. The pebble moved at an incredibly fast rate, and before the King was able to dodge it, it hit his head. Caught by surprise, the King raised his head to stare at Jiwoo's direction, and anger was clearly present in those eyes of his. Not only the King, everyone present at the scene was taken aback by Jiwoo's action and turned their head to face her. A gasp escaped from Aera's mouth before she mumbled, "Shin Daerin." Without paying attention to that, Jiwoo loudly spoke out, "Hey, Oh Sookyung! Didn't I say that if you lose to that damned fat King I will personally make sure you don't get buried properly. I will tear off all the limbs from your body and feed it to the dogs I swear.  How the hell are you so weak? It's better for you to die at there since you will be only bringing embarrassment to me. If you manage to come out of that alive and defeated, I will show you how pain feels like. If you are going to lose, you better die at there. Why are you lying there until now? Didn't you brag about how you will be winning!" "Shin Daerin, do you know the prince?" Aera questioned. Caught in the moment, those words left Jiwoo's mouth before she was able to think properly, and finally noticing everyone's attention on her, she awkwardly patted the back of her head. "Oh! I forgot to mention about it," Jiwoo said, "I am actually that Sookyung's protector. Some mishap happened, and I was separated from him. If it was not for you, I would not be able to watch him be so miserable. He is a hopeless case." "Heol! I did not expect that," Aera spoke out. A chuckle escaped from Sookyung's mouth as he voiced out, "Since she had mentioned about it, I can only imagine how scary it can be. I don't think I would want to go through that." "That's right, you better win if you are that scared of me," Jiwoo retorted. With that, Sookyung's lips curved to form a smile, and raising his hand, he connected it with the King's lips. Caught by surprise, the King's lips parted slightly, and taKing that to his advantage, he pushed the pill in his hand inside the King's lips. The King instantly moved backward, and placing his hand around his own neck, the King stared at Sookyung with widened eyes. "What the hell did you feed me?" Kim Namhyuk questioned as a burning pain went through his neck. Sookyung chuckled and spoke out, "What? Did you think that you are the only one with tricks up your sleeve? Tch! I just fed you a stronger dosage of what you have given to me." "You!" the king exclaimed, but the throb that went through his throat prevented him from speaking further. Taking advantage of this, Sookyung picked up his sword and pushed the king back with the sharp edge of the sword. ...tage of this, Sookyung picked up his sword and pushed the king back with the sharp edge of the sword. ...