Martial Arts Returnee's Game Broadcast

Chapter 27

1.

[Story mode]

A sage with a long white beard.

His benevolent smile and calm demeanor inspired unwavering trust just by looking at him.

Charm.

Simply by existing, he manipulated the emotions of others—a mysterious power that calmed the hostility of the Silent Swordsman.

[“A human and a half-demon together, how strange.”]

[“Sage! The day has come for you to pay for your sins. Today, I will kill you!”]

[“Hmph. So, in the end, the demon’s nature has eroded you to the core. How unfortunate.”]

Instead of revealing his true colors or launching a surprise attack as expected, the sage remained unfazed.

Instead, he looked at the Silent Swordsman with pity in his eyes.

[“Young one, demons toy with human hearts, deceiving them. Whatever you heard that brought you here, can you truly say that those feelings are your own?”]

[“You vile sage! No matter how hard you try to deceive my friend, it’s useless. I already know all of your crimes!”]

[“You hinder the one who was holding back the sinking forest, and now, even as we speak, the forest is disappearing.”]

— “What? So the sage is actually a good guy?”

— “No clue.”

— “Neutral gear, engaged.”

— “Do you even know anything, you useless idiot?”

— “Whoa, what’s with the sudden outburst?”

— “It’s so frustrating, what kind of saggy-bearded guy acts like ‘I don’t know’? Annoying.”

— “Lol, why is that guy so mad?”

— “I turned on Half-Demon Song to watch the sage, but my jump wasn’t high enough, so I dived straight into the swamp, lol.”

— “Idiot, lol.”

[“The chirping of birds, the cries of insects, the rabbits running through the bushes.”]

[“This small, peaceful forest now faces its end, all due to the plague borne by those half-demons and fiends.”]

The sage, with his sunken eyes, gazed at the Human-Faced Spider and waved a talisman he pulled from his robe.

Zap!

[“Ow!”]

Startled by the sparks from the talisman, the Human-Faced Spider recoiled.

In the blink of an eye, more talismans flew through the air, embedding themselves in the ground around her, cutting off any path of escape.

Sage’s Talisman Technique

Five Elements Confinement Formation

Unable to move forward or backward, the Human-Faced Spider found herself trapped by the talismans, now crackling with electric energy.

[“What is this?! Let me out, let me out!”]

[“I will now put an end to this poor, wicked creature. Do not condemn me, for as long as she lives, peace will not return to this forest.”]

[“Help me! We’re friends, aren’t we? We promised we would get revenge together!”]

As the talismans began to glow with a blue light, intense lightning surged upwards, forming a cylindrical shape, closing in on the Human-Faced Spider.

One minute at most.

It was easy to tell that once the cylinder fully enclosed her, the Human-Faced Spider would meet her death.

Interaction Choices

[Do you trust the sage’s words?]

Trust the sage (Human-Faced Spider dies).Trust the Human-Faced Spider (Human-Faced Spider survives).

As the blue lightning displayed its geometric beauty in the air, the grotesque Human-Faced Spider screamed in pain.

Though the scene lacked clear moral judgment, the contrast between beauty and ugliness was stark.

In the middle of that moment—

[Trust the Human-Faced Spider (Human-Faced Spider survives).]

Trust the sage (Slay the Human-Faced Spider).Trust the Human-Faced Spider (Slay the sage).

With its massive head lowered, it sneered at the Silent Swordsman and the Human-Faced Spider.

[“Friendship that transcends species! Truly remarkable, isn’t it?”]

[“But if that friendship only leads to death, wouldn’t it have been better if it never existed at all? Your bond has sentenced you both to death.”]

[“Oh, young half-yokai, don’t blame fate for being cruel. Your obsession with revenge is what’s driving your precious human friend to their doom!”]

Following the defeat of the fake boss, the Human-Faced Spider, the real enemy revealed itself—Yokai Sage Mihura. The true battle within the great forest had just begun.

**

[Player Mode]

Yokai Sage Mihura wasn’t just enormous in size. When it lifted its massive tail, it loomed over the barren rock-covered ground like a mountain, casting a shadow that seemed to signal the end of the world. The overwhelming presence alone was enough to strike terror into anyone’s heart.

“A... Ahh...!”

The Human-Faced Spider was frozen in fear, utterly terrified.

Hae Eung Eung, seeing the pathetic sight, slapped the Human-Faced Spider hard across the face.

Smack!

“Ow! That hurt!”

“What’s with that look? It’s not like I’m scared or anything!” The Human-Faced Spider quickly added, trying to regain composure.

“We just need to hang in there until we find an opening. With a body that massive, it’s bound to tire out soon.”

Hae Eung Eung nodded in agreement.

Together, she and the Human-Faced Spider navigated the wreckage of the half-destroyed great forest, dodging the shadow of the enormous legs as they ran out of its reach.

“What the heck is this?!?!”“Is this real? A Gigantamax yokai?”“Is this the final boss battle?”“Why is there a yokai boss by the third field? This is insane!”“Wait... was the sage actually a yokai all along?”“Can they even win against that?”

The chatroom was in chaos.

While the viewers were in a state of panic, overwhelmed by the sight of the giant enemy, the Silent Swordsman, who had drawn the attention of both the massive yokai and countless spectators, showed no sign of wavering. With his characteristic speed, he dashed beyond the range of the yokai’s attacks without hesitation.

“It’s annoying.”

While everyone marveled at the spectacle, impressed by how this hidden boss fight had been triggered and how the Silent Swordsman’s physical prowess and decision-making had opened it up, there was only one person who felt genuinely humiliated: Speedmaster.

‘Even though he’s fast, he’s not as fast as me.’

Everything the Silent Swordsman could do, Speedmaster could do as well. However, because Speedmaster had always played by the book, following the game’s prescribed routes and methods, time wasn’t on his side.

‘Even though he’s strong, he’s not stronger than me.’

Having already cleared numerous fields and even reached the altar at the northern edge of the forest as instructed by the sage, Speedmaster had defeated the fake boss guarding it. But...

The moment he stopped following the game’s path and paused his progression, all that awaited him was a field that had turned into a swamp and the absence of the sage.

‘Everything the Silent Swordsman can do, I can do as well.’

Yet, he had never doubted anything. He simply enjoyed following the path laid out before him, fully immersed in the experience. And why not? There had been more than enough excitement along the way.

It had been 10 long years since Banyogok was released.

Despite a decade of time, he had convinced himself that he had seen all that Banyogok had to offer, drawing his own self-imposed limitations.

“Everyone, let me make one promise,” Speedmaster suddenly announced to his viewers.

“Huh? Out of nowhere?”“A promise from Sensei? I’m all ears.”“Big news incoming!”“Dun-dun-dun!”“So, what’s the deal?”

“I believe I can do everything that the Silent Swordsman is doing.”

“Oooh?”“Are you planning to play Banyogok?”“Wait, is Sensei really going to join?”“But now’s not the best time...”“Silent Swordsman is already in the middle of a major route.”

“Of course, I’m not disrespecting the Silent Swordsman. So here’s my pledge.”

A bruised ego, burning competitiveness, and respect for the pioneer all merged into a compromise Speedmaster could live with.

“I won’t start playing Banyogok until the Silent Swordsman dies even once or completes the game.”

“What if he dies?”“Or finishes the game?”

“If the Silent Swordsman dies, or if he sees the ending, that’s when I’ll begin my own hidden route walkthrough.”

Though it wasn’t even his own stream, Speedmaster knew this promise would cause a stir, with many of his viewers inevitably flocking to the Silent Swordsman’s stream, waiting to see if he’d die.

That was the handicap.

For now, the Silent Swordsman was ahead, but if he faltered or hesitated even once, Speedmaster was confident he could catch up and surpass him.

This was the confidence of a true physical streamer. His skill, his audience size, and his ability to lead the gameplay of Banyogok—he was sure he could overtake the Silent Swordsman in all of these areas.

“LOL, I saved the clip of Sensei’s promise.”“No take-backs, Sensei!”“It’s been so long since we’ve had something this exciting.”“Speedmaster tackling the hidden route of Banyogok? That sounds epic.”“But he can only start if Silent Swordsman dies...”“There’s no way he can survive that massive yokai, right?”“We’re talking about fighting something as tall as a six-story building!”“Not even a swordsman could handle that; you’d need a wrecking ball!”

As the excitement that seemed it couldn’t possibly rise any higher continued to burn like molten lava, the Silent Swordsman kept running, charging forward once again.

The centipede yokai’s massive body slammed into the ground with thunderous force, and the Silent Swordsman dashed towards it.

‘Give it your all, Silent Swordsman.’

With every ounce of physical strength he could muster and every bit of potential he could unleash, the Silent Swordsman knew he had one chance.

Only one opportunity would allow him to push forward. Until the day his undefeated legend finally met its end.