Only I Am A Reader
chapter-239

Swwwishh!

Geochin's iron sword was barely visible as his extreme speed started taking effect, dashing at Leo, his arm similarly flashed as it went for Leo's White Tiger!

'Well…'

Even with Leo's current Physique achieved through Internal Energy Strengthening, he knew that if the protagonist's sword touched his body, losing an arm like Namgung Geumryong wasn't impossible. Geochin was likely only going to disarm him by using his speed to manipulate his sword, but either way still ended with Leo's loss…

Although an iron sword was nothing in a battle of this level, the way Geochin shook his sword supported by Internal Energy basically turned into a chainsaw on steroids. The same fantasy elements that supported Leo's inhuman capabilities applied to his opponent.

Wiish!

As soon as Geochin made his move, dreamy clouds covered Leo's legs as they shone with light. Rather than confront the protagonist, he chose to run away!

Leo was someone who had spent over a decade training his swordsmanship between two worlds, not to mention the countless experience that he absorbed from books, but it was precisely because of that experience that he was sure that fighting Geochin was a lost cause. However…

'How long will you last?'

Who said that he needed to fight him in order to win?

Wiish! Woosh!

The White Tiger in Leo's hand seemed to be nothing more than decoration as he continued his dodge game. It would have been too late for him if Geochin managed to get close to him, but Leo was strategically retreating before they got to properly face each other. It was almost like he was running a few laps on stage!

The protagonist who had trained under the internal guidance of the Murim Lord was definitely a worthy opponent regardless of the setbacks that he faced. However, he was far from being capable of moving his body at this speed. Of course, that was unless…

'How long will your body handle your cheat?'

The reason that Leo's vast experience proved useless was simple. He wasn't facing Geochin, nor was he facing a 2nd rate Martial Artist… He was practically facing the Murim Lord himself!

Ever since the start of his ascension battle, Geochin had been letting the Murim Lord forcefully control his body. The degree of 'control' that a Martial Artist at the highest stage could muster using a 2nd rate's body was beyond 100%! It was even more ridiculous than a pro-gamer controlling his smurf account.

'Why…?'

However, the human body's limits existed for a reason. Without the support of the Murim Lord's actual Internal Energy, Geochin was incapable of freely using his cheat whenever he wanted. A minimum of a few seconds and a maximum of a few minutes, that was how long Geochin could use his extreme speed mode before his body breaks down.

'Did he…'

To make matters worse, his whole body couldn't go into overdrive at once. The Murim Lord's fine control made his body on par with the speed of a 1st rate, but he could barely push one limb beyond that limit!

'...See through my ability just by watching the two matches?'

Geochin desperately chased after Leo as countless questions filled his head. Although he could ask the Murim Lord to split his extreme speed between his two legs so he could catch up, he would have to give up his 'weaponized' hand. In both cases, his trump card would be rendered useless!

In a battle of swordsmanship, the two swords would often meet. However, since their battle had started, they hadn't clashed even once. If Cheon Baekho was running because he decided that winning against him was impossible, it would have made more sense for him to just give up. Undoubtedly…

His opponent knew the only way to defeat him!

'Finally approaching your limit?'

While Leo didn't put his entire focus into it back at the Heavenly Furnace, he had similarly started developing his Heavenly Reign Steps by using it as a skeleton to build up other footworks on. He wasn't confident in facing Geochin's cheat attack speed, but movement speed was a whole other story!

The protagonist could surely transfer his cheat 'buff' into movement speed, but he would lose the attack speed that guaranteed his win. The main problem was still that he couldn't freely exchange it at any time like an electrical switch!

In simple words, Geochin was stuck in a hard place. Just like he couldn't increase his movement speed, he also couldn't turn off his costly buff to conserve it for later. As soon as he did so, Leo could easily rush over to take him down.

<hey, Geo…>

'Is this is?'

As Namgung Geom spoke out, Geochin questioned the fateful end of the plan that had progressed up to this moment. His arm was already twitching, struggling to be relieved from its burden, but he didn't want to let go when he was this close!

'Plot armor shouldn't act up… right?'

Leo carefully observed the opponent that was about to break down. Considering that he only aimed to win rather than kill the protagonist, he believed that the chances of a sudden change of turns weren't that high. After all, he was similarly armed with a cheat of his own!

'This is for you, Yong.'

His cheat as a reader made it so he knew everything that the author had directly revealed!

In the original storyline, the excited Cheon Yong only chose to fight fairly. Miraculously enough, he was able to give the protagonist a hard time, requiring a couple more exchanges to lose in a bonding battle between a fighting demon and a worn and torn avenger. However, what he contributed to Leo's victory was much more!

In order not to make Geochin appear too overpowered, the author detailedly explained that he wouldn't have won had the opponent stalled for time. Just these few additional paragraphs had turned around the protagonist's fate.

Crack!

"Cheon Baekho wins!"

In the end…

[ Plot change confirmed. Legendary event occurrence has been detected... ]

The reader's semi-omniscience was the one to win the battle of cheats.