Casino Commotion (3)
Even while watching the players preparing for a fight, the big man did not lose his composure.
Instead, his eyes gleamed like a chef with fresh ingredients laid out right in front of him.
How should he cook this?
How should he cook it so people would talk about how deliciously he had done it?
Things that looked like they would fold in half with just a little force were actually daring to act up like this?
'This actually works out better.'
One of the most effective weapons in the process of intimidation was fear.
Showing them firsthand that if they did not quickly comply with the demands, they could end up in a horrific state!
Those people had come with their own feet to increase the effectiveness of the threat.
Swiish.
The big man who had been looking at Baek Jinwoo instead took a step back.
'There's no need for me to personally step in against small fry like that.'
Then he swept his gaze across the front.
"Is that all of you?"
The ones who stepped forward numbered about twenty in total.
Only 20 out of 212.
Among them were even members of the Five Emperors, those Koreans, and ordinary rich people who had joined in out of sheer nerve.
"To think there are as many as twenty people who can't even grasp their place. That's a surprisingly telling indicator in its own way. Boys."
The big man tilted his head.
"Break one arm and one leg each first. If they still resist, you can just kill them. Show them how frightening we are."
"Yes, boss!"
"Hehehe."
Out of the fifty terrorists, about five stepped forward.
It seemed they thought that was more than enough to deal with twenty people.
There really was a huge difference in physique.
It was the kind of scene where, even though it was 5 vs 20, the five looked like the overwhelming side.
At that moment.
Baek Jinwoo was concentrating with strength gathered in his fist.
'I learned the rough basics from HunGyo.'
He had not learned by using his body directly, but he had at least been taught the general locations of the pressure points.
-From the flow of the twelve meridians, to the acupoints of the twelve regular meridians, to the eight extraordinary meridians, the conception vessel, the governor vessel, and so on…..
HunGyo had not taught him the complicated names, but he had accurately indicated the locations while flowing energy into them.
Pressure points such as Baihui, Qimen, Tangmen, and Jiemen were fatal points that could bring an opponent to death if struck.
Points such as Jugol, Cheonju, Biyu, and Gokji were paralysis points; the moment they were struck, numbness and paralysis would set in.
Points such as Gyeonjeong, Amun, Bongan, and Ipdong were mute points; if struck, they would leave someone helpless or unable to speak.
There were also water points, fainting points, and so on, for a total of 81 major points, but honestly, it was impossible to master all of that in such a short time.
Baek Jinwoo chose focus and concentration.
'Baihui.'
A representative paralysis point.
Commonly known as the top of the head.
It was the pressure point located at the very crown of the head.
'Let's just focus on that one.'
If an opportunity came during the fight, he would strike there and subdue them completely.
"Everybody, get back."
Baek Jinwoo spoke to the guild members and the others preparing to fight.
Then he stepped one pace farther forward.
"Wow."
"Look at that bastard's spirit."
"Kekeke, stepping forward first was bold enough already, but don't tell me you're planning to take all of us on by yourself? Huh?"
One of the five terrorists shoved his face right in front of Baek Jinwoo's.
Thud!
He bumped forehead against forehead.
"What."
He shoved him in a thoroughly unpleasant way.
"What are you gonna do by yourself? Why, want to hit me first? Then go on, hit me as hard as you can. I think it'll just tickle, kuhahahahat!"
"...."
Baek Jinwoo did not move even slightly.
It was strange.
Why was he acting so defenseless while swaggering around like that?
Was he trying to lure him into dropping his guard and then land a counter?
Or did he really want to get hit first?
"Why can't you hit me? Scared now? Huh?"
He was even sticking out the exact crown of his head that Baek Jinwoo had memorized in his mind.
Well, would you look at that.
'Works for me.'
There was no need to think deeply about it.
In an instant, Baek Jinwoo raised his right arm and straightened the edge of his hand, then struck the terrorist right on the crown of the head.
He had not counted it, but by feel, the whole process had probably taken about 0.1 seconds.
And then.
Puguh-uhk!
A strange sound rang out.
Not the sound of a blow landing...
It sounded more like something, like a watermelon cracking?
'Huh?'
The big man who had been shoving him around playfully could not say a word and simply collapsed to the floor.
Flinch!
Baek Jinwoo took one step back.
The remaining four terrorists, and even the boss himself, were shocked.
That huge guy went down from just one hit?
And not only that.
"Hey."
"Oi, you okay?"
The surrounding terrorists nudged the fallen big man's body with their feet, but he did not move at all.
Sensing the seriousness of the situation, one of them quickly checked the pulse in his neck.
"..Boss."
He muttered in a slightly trembling voice.
"He's dead?"
"...?"
Baek Jinwoo was just as flustered.
No, he had learned paralysis points instead of fatal points because he did not want to dirty his hands…...
And he died from just one hit?
Could a human head really be that fragile?
—My lord…..
That was when HunGyo came to his side and whispered in his ear.
—It seems you will need to control your strength. When I said it looked manageable, that was by the standards of ordinary martial artists.... These guys are weaker than they look.
"Hoo."
Baek Jinwoo let out a sigh.
This was the first killing he had committed unintentionally....
Surprisingly, he did not feel much of anything.
He had once seen Park Changseok carry out an immediate execution at the old café, and he had also smashed up a gang before.
'They're just trash.'
Whatever the case.
From the moment they began committing terror while weighing other people's lives on a scale, to Baek Jinwoo they looked like social evil itself.
"Y-you son of a bitch!"
Maybe it was because of the rage of losing a comrade in an instant, but one hulking man nearby swung a fist at him with great force.
Swaeaeak!
It was a strike fast enough to even tear through the air, but for some reason—
'Was it always this slow?'
To Baek Jinwoo, it looked slow enough that he could dodge it while yawning.
'Fatal points, paralysis points.'
I don't need any of that crap.
These guys are at a level where I could beat them up while fooling around.
Tilt.
Dodging the fist with nothing more than a slight turn of his head, Baek Jinwoo—
'He told me to control my strength, right?'
With the strength drained from his arm, he snapped a strike toward the abdomen.
The target was the liver.
Naturally, he also twisted his waist to add rotational force.
Even though he struck lightly like that—
Puh-uh-uhk!
With a dull thudding sound, the big lump of a man lifted slightly into the air.
"Ku, kuheo-eok!"
Something filthy burst out of his mouth, and the terrorist immediately clutched his abdomen, gagging and unable to breathe.
It hurt and tormented him so much that tears streamed down his face.
What the hell.
At this level, this was honestly disappointing…..
They acted that arrogant with only this much skill?
"...."
"...."
Silence settled over the space.
The boss big man, too, threw away his playful expression and hardened his face.
"Well now."
Baek Jinwoo lightly shook out his hand and muttered,
"No matter how I look at it, you guys seem way too weak to be threatening us. Right?"
This won't do.
'I'll have to hold back even more.'
Whiik, whiik!
Baek Jinwoo loosened his wrists.
Gulp.
The boss big man swallowed dryly.
'Does that even make sense?'
Not even a summoned creature, but an ordinary person, instantly killing someone with a single knife-hand strike, and then sending a heavyweight giant floating into the air with one light punch?
'What is this, some third-rate Chinese movie?'
The big man now realized it was no longer time to act relaxed.
Forget the others, that one man had to be dealt with quickly.
'He's probably just absurdly strong with his fists.'
In his view, things like those urban-legend-style fights where one man takes on thirteen people did not exist in reality.
If everyone piled on together and mobbed someone, even famous fighters like Fedor or Ngannou would not be able to do anything about it.
"Boys!"
The big man pointed at Baek Jinwoo.
"Go kill him!"
"Yes, sir!"
At the boss' precise order, the terrorists, sensing something was off, rushed forward all at once.
"You're not getting past us!"
"Fine, let's fight!"
At this point, it had turned into a full-on brawl.
From the hostages' point of view, they had just witnessed with that one move that Baek Jinwoo was their only hope.
Even if they were scared, they wanted to step up now and help Baek Jinwoo take down even one more terrorist.
But before the hostages could even properly get into position, Baek Jinwoo moved first.
Whiik! Thud!
Swaeak! Crack!
Baek Jinwoo moved with nimble speed!
He dodged the punches thrown by the hulking men with the smallest possible movement, and with that rebound, he drove his fists or feet precisely into their vital spots.
Puguguguguk!
With each light blow, the hulking bodies were sent flying here and there like wax figures.
It did not even need to become a group brawl.
Baek Jinwoo tore through the place like a tiger thrown into a herd of rabbits.
"W-what the..."
"Is that even human?"
"That's not a summoned creature, that's a person?"
The hostages who had been about to fight began pulling out their phones one by one.
How could they possibly miss such a rare sight?
Even the guild members like Hong Ari, who had originally been ready to fight, could only stand there with her mouth hanging open.
'A monster.'
'He really is a monster. Well, those guys might lift chunks of metal and spend a little time working out... but our guild master carries those chunks of metal while running and jumping for hours every single day.'
No one could scientifically explain how that small body could exert such physical force, but the guild members were used to it.
That was just the kind of guy he was.
That was Baek Jinwoo of South Korea.
"D-dieeeeee!"
A terrified big man threw a punch with all his strength, but—
Whirik!
Baek Jinwoo bent at the waist and flicked his foot upward into the man's chin.
Crack!
The big man's neck bent backward from that single hit, and without even managing a proper scream, he rolled across the floor.
Baek Jinwoo was different.
He was not something an ordinary person could be.
"Ah, my mistake. I didn't control my strength."
Tremble, tremble.
The fallen big man's body convulsed.
That blow had clearly put severe strain on his neck bones.
He was not dead, but he might have to live the rest of his life with injuries like a ruptured disc.
"That's why you should've picked your fights after reading the situation."
By now, even the hulking men could not recklessly charge in.
It had only been a brief rush, but more than half of them were already sprawled on the floor, sobbing or vomiting.
Someone had broken ribs, and someone else had lost consciousness and passed out.
'T-this is insane.'
'Does this make any sense?'
'One person can do that by himself?'
'And he doesn't even look tired. How are we supposed to fight a monster like that?'
The difference in level was obvious.
Was this what it felt like when you entered the Tower of Trials and faced a boss too strong to handle?
The terrorists had all frozen up, not knowing what to do.
Some had even started backing away.
"You idiots! This happened because you charged in one after another like brainless morons while barehanded! Get moving! Go take hostages if you have to!"
As the fight failed to go the way he wanted, the boss big man barked angrily in frustration.
"Forget hostages. Think carefully."
Step, step.
Baek Jinwoo walked forward and spoke quietly, but the terrorists heard his voice clearly.
That was only natural, since all of their attention was fixed on him.
"Do you want to keep listening to your boss and live the rest of your life crippled? Or do you want to turn yourselves in now and just serve prison time?"
Fear of overwhelming force.
Even with their terrifying boss shouting at them, the terrorists could not bring themselves to charge at Baek Jinwoo.
Even as he walked straight toward the boss big man…..
One of the hulking men actually hurriedly stepped back, as if afraid even the hem of Baek Jinwoo's clothes might touch him.
Smirk.
Baek Jinwoo smiled.
Were these really the same guys who had been grinning and threatening people earlier?
"W-what the hell are you bastards doing?!"
The boss big man panicked.
"He's coming this way! Smash him! I said smash him!"
Smash what?
'Before that, I'll smash you.'
Having closed the distance to some extent, Baek Jinwoo—
Taat!
Kicked off the floor and began sprinting forward in one clean burst.