Chapter 12: The Duel (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 12: The Duel (2)
“Whew.”
The air was cold enough for my breath to turn into white mist.
Crunch!
As I reached the summit and stepped onto the snow-covered ground, my feet sank in up to my ankles.
A duel set against a vast, open snowy landscape under the sky.
It might have sounded poetic in words, but right now, my eyes were fixed only on them.
The massive, wild-looking Bizarre Hae Ak-cheon stood with his arms crossed, with the twin brothers lined up behind him.
The atmosphere was quite heavy.
Like me, they were brimming with battle garb.
Just as the Lesser Conversation Sword said, Song Jwa-baek and Song Woo-hyeon had grown considerably in size over the past three months.
They had become so burly that it wasn't an exaggeration to call them "Little Hae Ak-cheons."
Well, they were still small compared to Hae Ak-cheon himself, but they were definitely bigger than me.
The twins were now easy to tell apart, even without looking at the color of their clothes or listening to their speech patterns.
The "that one" the Lesser Conversation Sword referred to was the younger brother, Song Woo-hyeon.
His smooth head reflected the sunlight so brightly it was blinding.
He had fully transitioned from a receding hairline to a complete bald head.
Thanks to that, his impression had become much more intense, making him look less foolish than before.
Crunch, crunch!
I walked toward them, treading through the snow.
“Heh heh, are you ready to lose?”
Hae Ak-cheon spoke provocatively as soon as he saw me.
I wasn't going to fall for such shallow bait.
“We won’t know until we try, will we?”
I had no intention of losing.
At my words, Song Jwa-baek spoke with a voice full of ridicule.
“Why don’t you just surrender now and call me ‘Lord’?”
“You’re quite confident, aren’t you?”
“Of course. You and I are in different leagues now.”
For him to be this confident, he must have achieved results significant enough to guarantee victory.
Just then, Hae Ak-cheon smacked the back of Song Jwa-baek’s head.
Thwack!
“Hmph! Who gave you permission to blabber about surrender? This duel must be fought to the very end.”
Song Jwa-baek looked aggrieved.
It made sense, as he likely didn't know the true purpose of this duel.
To Hae Ak-cheon, this duel was a proxy war to avenge a humiliation from long ago.
By having the next generation defeat an old rival he could never beat himself...
Look at this guy’s wit.
Well, it was true in the end.
Regardless of what happened in the past, he wanted to prove that his current martial arts were superior to those of the Namcheon Sword Guest.
At the Namcheon Iron Sword’s words, the Lesser Conversation Sword grumbled.
However, knowing the importance of this duel, it stopped its chatter.
“Who am I supposed to fight?”
At first, since he always referred to them collectively as "the twins," I wondered if I was supposed to fight them two-on-one.
Fortunately, that wasn't the case.
Song Jwa-baek stepped forward.
“Me, obviously.”
I figured as much.
Even though the younger brother, Song Woo-hyeon, had grown stronger, he still had a foolish side that didn't suit a duel.
Of course, with his current look, his opponent might get scared first.
“Elder. You will keep your promise, right?”
“Heh heh, that’s only possible if you win.”
He clearly didn't think for a second that they would lose.
Seeing him so full of confidence, as if he had some secret trump card, I started to feel a bit nervous.
‘He’s not the type of person to bluff about something like this.’
I needed to be careful.
Song Jwa-baek and I faced each other, keeping our distance.
Meanwhile, Hae Ak-cheon and Song Woo-hyeon retreated about fifteen jang away from us.
Once both sides were ready, Hae Ak-cheon shouted.
“Begin!”
Song Jwa-baek took a Qi control stance.
As he rolled up his sleeves, iron wrist guards were revealed.
The way they gleamed suggested they weren't just simple protectors.
As I stared at them curiously, he spoke.
“You’re using a sword, so did you think I’d just use my bare hands?”
“That’s fair, but mine is just a rusty iron sword at best, while yours look quite nice.”
The Namcheon Iron Sword tried to speak up, seemingly offended by my words, but was shut down by the Lesser Conversation Sword.
The Lesser Conversation Sword was getting its revenge for being told to be quiet earlier.
Song Jwa-baek said with a smirk.
“It’s nothing much. The Elder said he used these in his younger days.”
“His younger days?”
Then they were definitely no ordinary items.
He talks about fairness while providing support with both hands and feet.
All that old man did for me was teach me the Myeongnyun Divine Art’s circulation method and look over my sword forms for about fifteen days.
Then again, what could I expect from a man who would steal a secret manual just to beat the Namcheon Sword Guest?
Shing!
Drawing the Namcheon Iron Sword, I took the starting stance of the Life Bright Sword Technique.
He, in turn, took a fist technique stance.
I had heard that Bizarre Hae Ak-cheon’s signature martial art was the Profound Iron True Fist, which involved developing the body to the extreme—like the Indestructible Diamond Body—to enhance the power of the fist.
Of course, Hae Ak-cheon claimed he told me this for the sake of fairness in the duel.
‘If you were going to do that, you should have told me all the forms too.’
I’m sure he analyzed the Life Bright Sword Technique manual as if he were dissecting it.
Song Jwa-baek and I glared at each other, searching for an opening.
He had clearly trained like his life depended on it; his posture was flawless.
It was then.
“I’m coming first!”
Dash!
Snow sprayed as Song Jwa-baek charged like a wild stallion.
His momentum was extraordinary.
Since he was the one charging, I, as a swordsman, had to utilize the advantage of reach.
Swish!
I deftly thrust my sword toward the space between Song Jwa-baek’s eyebrows.
At that moment, Song Jwa-baek crossed his arms and deflected the sword with his iron wrist guards, pushing it aside.
Clang!
“Huh?”
The tip of my sword vibrated, and my body was pushed back by the powerful recoil.
Step, step, step!
To my surprise, he didn't give me a moment's respite and followed up with a rapid assault.
“Hah!”
To block him, I swung my sword in various directions rather than just thrusting.
However, I was repeatedly pushed back as my blade struck his guards.
‘His fists are like lumps of iron.’
The wrist guards were definitely not ordinary, and his internal power was worlds apart from three months ago.
If he had become this strong, it was worth being suspicious.
“Did you take some kind of spirit medicine?”
“What are you talking about!”
Song Jwa-baek strongly denied my question.
For someone who said it wasn't true, his eyes were shaking quite a bit.
He really was a terrible liar.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!
Perhaps because I had hit a nerve, his attacks became even more aggressive.
The Namcheon Iron Sword, which was directly clashing with him, gave me advice.
‘A first-rate master?’
Just how good was the spirit medicine they fed him for him to reach the level of a first-rate master?
That would mean he had nearly twenty years' worth of internal energy.
Could it be that the daily beatings weren't just him venting his anger, but actually a form of opening his pressure points?
‘Tsk. I need to pull back.’
Zip!
Following the Namcheon Iron Sword’s advice, I threw myself backward to create distance.
The more I did, the more he refused to let go, using his footwork to stick close to me.
‘Ugh!’
His body lightening method was even more impressive than his martial arts.
It was difficult just to widen the gap.
Every time I tried to pull away, he would close in and rain down punches; it seemed Hae Ak-cheon had given him proper advice.
‘Ah!’
Just then, his fist aimed straight for the center of my chest.
Instinctively, I leaned my body backward.
Then, I spun as if doing a handstand to create distance.
“Ha!”
Song Jwa-baek looked surprised, as if he hadn't predicted this.
It wasn't something I had learned, but an improvisation born from my desperate attempt not to get hit.
“You’re flexible!”
His surprise was brief, and he threw another punch at me.
Reminiscent of the Shaolin Temple’s Hundred-Step Divine Fist, his body lunged forward as he extended his fist.
Clang!
I blocked it with the flat of my iron sword.
However, my body was pushed back once again.
“I won’t let you get away!”
Song Jwa-baek tried to close the distance again.
‘This is annoying.’
The Namcheon Iron Sword spoke to me.
It showed just how much Hae Ak-cheon had researched the Life Bright Sword Technique.
Then again, he must have spent the fifteen years since the Namcheon Sword Guest’s disappearance grinding his teeth and refining his skills. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say this fist technique was steeped in Hae Ak-cheon’s resentment.
“Heh heh!”
He seemed to be enjoying pushing me back.
The corners of his mouth were practically tearing from his grin.
“How long are you going to just block and dodge? Why don’t you try using a martial form!”
He taunted me.
He likely had mastered the perfect counter to the forms, not just the basic sword patterns.
There was no other reason for him to have that look in his eyes.
“Is that so?”
Then I wouldn't hold back.
My grip on the sword hilt was about to become fierce.
At that moment, he smirked and unleashed a fist technique.
“I’ve been waiting for this!”
His punches flew like a rapid-fire cannon.
It felt as if dozens of fists were flying before my eyes.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!
I quickly blocked his punches with the blade of my iron sword.
My body began to be pushed back continuously by the force of his fists.
“Get ready to call me Lord!”
He shouted in a voice full of joy, certain of his victory.
“Keep dreaming.”
“What?”
At that moment, my body, which had been pushed back, arched like a bow and then snapped forward.
“Gah!”
Life Bright Sword Technique, 2nd Form: Hidden Convergence Void Sword.
It was a counter-attacking form that explosively released suppressed momentum to strike back at the opponent’s attack.
As the sword stance, which had seemed all but dead, surged forward like a madman, he hurriedly switched from offense to defense.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!
“Ugh! W-what is this?”
He was flustered.
Naturally so.
It must have been significantly different from the forms he had heard about from Hae Ak-cheon.
This wasn't the same Life Bright Sword Technique from back then.
“Eek!”
As he blocked the onslaught, he tried to turn the tide with another form.
He spun his body like a top, attempting to push back with a stronger fist technique rather than just blocking the sword stance.
But I had anticipated that as well.
‘If you’re going to come at me with such fierce momentum...’
Life Bright Sword Technique, 3rd Form: Illuminating Shadow Sword.
Entrusting my body to his momentum as he spun like a supple willow branch, I launched a sword form as if hitching a ride on his movement.
“Gah!”
He was startled as the sword form pierced through his fist technique with fluid, curving grace.
As the iron sword, which had been as gentle as a willow branch, sharply aimed for his chest—
“Dammit!”
Step, step, step, step, step!
Song Jwa-baek finally used his footwork to create distance.
When I lunged forward to catch up, he used not just footwork but his body lightening method to widen the gap even further.
“Are you just going to keep running?”
Despite my provocation, he didn't stop.
However, while he was running away, his gaze kept shifting somewhere as if checking for a reaction.
It was toward Hae Ak-cheon.
‘Oh boy.’
Hae Ak-cheon’s expression was a sight to behold.
He, too, seemed bewildered that I was performing a version of the Life Bright Sword Technique with its flaws corrected.
How does it feel now that the tables have turned?