Life is Easier If You’re Handsome
Chapter 275

Caw.

Caw.

Caw.

The crows fly in the sky.

Beneath them, a man pries at the corpses, his presence entering the audience's sight.

The Sword Demon who was testing the durability of his sword earlier—

Where did he go?

Now, the entire battlefield beneath the sky becomes visible.

An open field.

But instead of the hardy weeds that would normally fill it, there are cold, lifeless corpses that have already lost their color.

There’s no one wearing armor that looks valuable.

It’s a meaningless war of attrition that ended on a meaningless land.

Yet, the man continues his repetitive actions, collecting swords.

The sword made of iron isn’t suitable for pressing with weight.

It should be sharp to fight, but its durability is awful to preserve that sharpness.

He can’t just carry several swords with him either.

So, he’s gathering them this way to save as much money as possible.

And behind this man,

"What are you?"

Five samurai approach.

Their armor is similar to the lifeless bodies around them.

But there’s no uniformity.

"You’re the one who’s been stealing swords from the dead, huh?"

The samurai leader at the front doesn’t receive an answer.

Instead, the man just rises and surveys the situation.

Roll.

The man’s eyes turn, captured on screen.

There are exactly five of them.

No additional reinforcements are expected.

As this silence lingers,

Caw.

Caw.

Caw.

Just when it seemed like the crows were waiting for this moment, they slowly begin to fly in and fold their wings, watching the situation unfold.

A signal that they wouldn’t miss an opportunity to feast on fresh corpses.

At the same time,

"Kill him!"

The samurai move.

Musashi is an action movie.

And the most important thing in an action movie is, of course, the action.

At this moment, the very first action scene is crucial.

Because the first action scene is the only way to guess what kind of scenes the movie will show, what kind of exploits the protagonist will embark on.

Whoosh!

The screen focuses on the man.

It’s almost as if it’s telling the audience to carefully watch how the protagonist slays the minions.

Swoosh!

The man’s sword shines in the sunlight.

That light brings death.

Thud!

The first samurai to charge forward gets his throat pierced exactly by the blade, and the sword hilt twists as it turns.

Crunch!

A snapping sound is heard, and the samurai collapses to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

The action in Musashi isn’t flashy.

Since it’s the story of a samurai, they can’t use explosives or create Hollywood-style action.

Nor is there any grand scale.

Because it’s telling the personal story of Musashi.

There can’t be large-scale battles with epic proportions.

So, what kind of action can Musashi offer?

It’s simple:

'Speed.'

The audience doesn’t even realize their mouths are hanging open as they watch the action unfold.

"Graaaah!"

A scream fills the air.

And at the same time, the man moves swiftly.

This isn’t an action that could be created just with editing techniques.

The film crew, now watching as audience members, could tell this.

'A single actor creating such speed...!'

'He really doesn’t use a stunt double.'

'The level is different, it’s on a whole different dimension.'

By the time they’ve silently admired it countless times, the man on screen is continuing his sword dance.

Whoosh!

Below the field filled with corpses, the man’s face zooms in on the camera.

And the hidden blade behind him appears, looking like a snake ready to strike.

Thud!

"What the hell is this guy?!"

Another one falls.

But there are still three left. ₎

That still means numerical superiority, so the samurai hesitate not at all and swing their swords.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

But it was nothing more than child’s play.

Those who had killed others based solely on numbers, couldn’t withstand the man rolling through the field of corpses.

The three charging ahead were coming in a straight line.

They couldn’t even run side by side to swing their swords.

One by one, they came, in order.

"Hhaaaa!"

The sword raised high above their heads, so predictably that the man simply dove into the samurai in the lead.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Threads and dragons.

When there’s no need to use a sword, don’t use it.

If there’s a more effective method, don’t hesitate to employ it.

With that belief, the man’s free hand strikes the samurai’s solar plexus.

"Ugh!"

Breath halts, and with a disrupted breath, the samurai loses balance, and the once neat line of attackers is instantly scattered.

The man doesn’t miss that opening.

Thud!

He plunges the dagger he had hidden in his sleeve into the heart of the lead samurai.

Using the samurai’s body as leverage, he flings himself to the left.

"What... what’s going on?!"

The samurai on the right crashes into the lead samurai.

The samurai on the left immediately meets the man head-on.

Without giving them a chance to process the situation, the man grabs the left samurai’s wrist.

Crunch!

"Graaaah!"

He twists it.

It wasn’t just to make the samurai release the sword.

No, it was far crueler.

He twists the hand holding the sword itself, forcing the blade to face the samurai’s own throat.

Naturally, it couldn’t just slice through.

Boom!

Like hammering the back of a knife, he strikes the unsharpened side and drives the sword into the samurai’s neck.

"Ahhhhhh!"

It started with five, but by the time the dust settled, only one remained.

Naturally, the last one tries to flee.

"Move! Get out of the way!"

The cold, lifeless body of an old comrade blocked the man’s path.

A body that had perished in an instant.

Its weight was something the terrified samurai could not easily shake off.

"Please... please save me..."

All he could do now was beg.

The same man who had shown the ferocity to kill moments ago was now a tiny figure, shrinking as soon as numerical disadvantage appeared.

In the blink of an eye, the man who had killed four remained unchanged in expression.

He was like an office worker calmly going about his tasks.

The process of killing was clinical, cold, and professional.

Once the scene ended, the audience finally took a breath and collected themselves.

'Another long take.'

'Is long take action now just Kim Donghu’s default?'

'Not a single breath is taken lightly. Every move carries meaning.'

'Wait, how are they pulling off such scenes...'

'Isn’t this just the Japanese version of John Wick?'

Amid continued admiration, the movie continued.

When the man, no—

Musashi first showed his swordsmanship,

"Woah!"

"Insane!"

People who loved Japanese culture couldn’t help but react.

If you loved Musashi, you would be familiar with this style of swordsmanship.

To actually see it firsthand?

The immersion in the film deepened, and after a while, as attention remained fixed, the final confrontation with Sasaki Kojiro approached.

"Ah."

The audience sighed.

Beyond the gravel, waves lashed.

In the middle of a rocky island,

Musashi, leisurely riding a boat, appeared.

The scene evoked an indescribable emotion.

A light appearance, yet an aura that felt so profound.

In his hand, a long sword was held casually.

Everything about the scene felt effortless, yet intense.

The wind scattered his hair, and Musashi, amidst the disarray, casually spoke.

"Will I be the best in the world if I kill you?"

Representing a clan, with so much at stake, but that was all irrelevant.

At this moment, two swordsmen stood, staring at each other, both risking their lives.

"Does that really mean anything now?"

"Of course it does, it absolutely does."

With those words, Musashi moved toward Sasaki, as if signaling that there was no need for any formal duel declaration.

And after several retakes, the stunning swordsmanship continued.

Swoosh!

A clash between the longsword meant to kill and the katana striving for the title of the world’s greatest.

It was a battle that seemed to be on the verge of conclusion, but never quite arriving.

They pressured each other fiercely.

To handle the long sword with ease, Musashi constantly shifted his balance, adjusted his stance, and corrected his position.

Every step he took, he carved a path through the gravel as though ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ a ship was cutting through the ice.

When would the final blow come?

How long could they continue cutting each other down?

Blood splattered, and their bodies grew weary.

"Huff...!"

Sasaki moved a beat faster.

The final move.

At the point where their energy was almost exhausted, Musashi, certain his opponent could not dodge, launched his attack.

Tsubame Gaeshi.

Swoosh!

From above, from below, the longsword flashed in an instant, said to have cut even a swallow in flight.

Musashi didn’t meet it head-on.

Instead, he flung his body backward, ignoring the potential criticism of cowardice or foolishness.

To him, that didn’t matter.

The key was survival.

Once dead, nothing could be used.

Having stepped back, Musashi caught his breath, and then moved toward Sasaki, whose exhaustion mirrored his own.

Even though his own body had been cut, Musashi’s grip on his sword remained unshaken, and he copied Sasaki’s movement perfectly.

More perfectly.

More swiftly.

With the 5kg sword now handled as lightly as a feather, Musashi delivered another Tsubame Gaeshi.

Thud!

While not able to cut with the short sword, he shattered the target with perfect precision.

Clank.

Sasaki immediately collapsed to his knees.

"Finally... your name?"

"Miyamoto Musashi."

With that answer, a great wind blew.

And at that moment,

"Oh... oh!"

The audience could not contain themselves and rose to their feet.

Nothing could better express their excitement.

***

Musashi, Acclaimed at Cannes

Continuous Standing Ovation, Both Cannes and Japan Surprised by Musashi’s Triumph!

Kim Donghu, The Perfect Resurrection of Musashi—Who Can Stop Him Now?

Excited Japanese Journalists: “Thank you, Kim Donghu, for playing Musashi!”

Director Kiryuu, Tearfully Grateful After the Screening: “It was an honor to work with Kim Donghu.”

Articles poured in.

After the screening, an overwhelming amount of praise erupted, and, as expected, people flocked to the director and actors of Musashi.

But actually,

"Where’s actor Kim Donghu?"

"Ah... He went to rest, due to his condition."

Kim Donghu was nowhere to be seen.

Which, in hindsight, was somewhat expected.

Because—

"Kim Donghu, he’s crazy... He kidnapped someone and took them straight to the hotel."

"He’s right there, what are we supposed to do? If you meet him, you have to have fun."

"Is this the place to play? The suite?"

"It’s the grown-up kind of fun."

He was catching up with an old childhood friend.