Chapter 209: Internal Cleanup - 6
Chapter 209: Internal Cleanup - 6
The Blue Seal barracks.
Jiha returned immediately after the duel declaration.
Bran was waiting in Jiha's private training ground.
She stood there waiting, her expression heavy as Jiha approached.
"You came..."
Bran started to say something, but Jiha didn't wait.
Rebellion has to be crushed.
Jiha closed the distance and swung his arm without warning.
Smack!
Armor doesn't protect the face. His palm slammed into her cheek.
"What..."
Bran's mouth split open instantly. She staggered backward, trying to draw her sword.
But Jiha gave her no opening. He closed in again and struck her other cheek.
Smack!
"Wai..."
He'd channeled Mana into the blow, and the inside of her mouth burst with blood in an instant.
When Jiha began beating her without a word, Bran reflexively covered her face with her arm.
But Jiha didn't hit her again. He shook out his hand.
"Think carefully before you speak from now on."
The meaning was clear: that was only a greeting. And depending on how this conversation went, far worse could come.
Jiha lightly shook out his hand as he looked at Bran.
Red handprints were etched into the androgynous beauty's pale cheeks, and crimson blood trickled from her soft pink lips.
Considering she was a woman, the sight was oddly provocative.
But Jiha didn't blink.
Woman or not, what did it matter? She wasn't his woman.
As long as someone wasn't his woman, Jiha could kill them without hesitation.
And Bran was just a figurehead he'd planted to keep the escort guards in line.
Depending on how she acted, he could treat her well or badly.
But a duel request?
This was insubordination from a subordinate. Jiha had no intention of going easy.
Even the Uniques followed him. What made a nobody like her think she could challenge him?
No, no matter who it was, he couldn't let anyone who challenged his authority live.
Bran stood frozen, touching her cheek. She hadn't expected Jiha to turn this harsh so suddenly.
"Don't act like a woman now. Speak. And remember your life is riding on what you say."
"W-wait a moment..."
"What's this? New armor, too?"
Jiha laughed in disbelief.
Had it been a Dirga Weapon, Jiha could have controlled it at will.
Meaning the sword Bran normally used couldn't harm Jiha, and her armor couldn't block his attacks.
The fact that Jiha deliberately slapped her to assert dominance was meant to show that he didn't even need that advantage—he could destroy her regardless.
But now that he looked again, Bran's sword and armor weren't Dirga Weapons.
"Wow, you came prepared. So that's it. Your enthusiasm is commendable. Fine, I understand. I'll deal with you just as enthusiastically."
He'd had a use for her, but this changed things.
Jiha strode forward, and Bran hurriedly opened her mouth.
"It was Lady Narsha's orders."
With those words, Jiha understood the situation.
Jiha closed his eyes and sighed.
"...I assigned you to look after her, and instead, you let yourself be incited?"
Since Lungtao's death, Narsha had been considerably unstable mentally.
Worried that other escort guards might exploit that vulnerability to try something, Jiha had assigned Lijin and Bran—who was actually a woman—to take care of her.
Bran was somewhat inflexible, but she was genuinely loyal to Narsha. That was why he'd chosen her.
And this was the result?
"Ah..."
Jiha pressed his fingers to his forehead and sighed.
Bran had to obey Narsha.
Narsha also held control over the Dirga Weapons.
"Fine. Go. I'll handle it."
"No. It was Lady Narsha's orders, but... it was also my will."
Bran calmly drew her sword. Jiha narrowed his eyes and regarded her.
"You don't seriously think you can beat me, do you?"
Bran's strength was built around her reliance on Dirga Weapons.
Against Jiha, who held control over Dirga Weapons, she couldn't properly challenge him.
The sword she wore now and the armor she had on were nothing but well-made lumps of metal.
As a Normal Grade, all she had left was pure swordsmanship.
"Lungtao lost to you, but I haven't lost. I followed your orders only because Lady Narsha forced me to accept them... I need to confirm with my sword whether you truly stand above me."
Jiha's expression softened slightly.
For the first time, Bran was acting in a way he actually liked.
"Shouldn't you pull yourself together first?"
"No. I'll do it now. My head's perfectly clear now."
Ignoring the wound inside her mouth, Bran looked at Jiha with clear eyes.
Gripping her sword with both hands, she faced him directly.
"Good."
Jiha calmly drew his sword.
She'd demanded this directly, so he had to prove he was qualified to stand above her.
As Bran had pointed out, she had never actually lost to Jiha.
But how this would end was obvious.
Even if she could use Dirga Weapons, Bran, who had watched the death match with Lungtao, would know she couldn't win.
'A rite of passage, then.'
If he used Mana or Special Abilities, crushing her would be nothing, but in this case, that wasn't appropriate.
Bran was coming at him with nothing but her bare hands and a single sword. To take her in, he had to face her on equal terms.
Before, Jiha had dismissed Bran as someone who simply relied on Dirga Weapons. Now it was a little different.
Someone who cast all that aside and came at him with pure swordsmanship alone—he wanted to answer that.
Jiha and Bran faced each other and began to circle slowly.
A pure sword-against-sword fight with nothing else involved. Bran attacked first.
A light leap, then she stretched her body out and launched a sharp thrust.
Fast and keen.
Inwardly impressed, Jiha turned his body to evade.
When Bran tried to thrust again, Jiha deflected with his sword as he dodged.
Clang!
Pure physical strength without Mana—Jiha naturally held the advantage in weight class. Bran's arm shook violently.
Even with the armor supplementing her weight, Bran was lighter than Jiha.
When Bran was pushed back, Jiha didn't let up. He pressed in, bringing down a fast slash. Bran hurriedly blocked it and threw a punch at the same time.
A reasonably clean straight thrust. Inwardly admiring it, Jiha smoothly redirected it with his palm.
At the same time, he swung the Gladius back up.
"Kgh!"
Jiha had been deliberately attacking from the same direction, then suddenly changed the trajectory. Flustered, Bran tried to block with her arm but hesitated.
"Why did you hesitate?"
Jiha, holding his sword to her throat, asked calmly.
Even if she'd continued, Jiha would have won, but Bran had definitely hesitated.
"It isn't the armor I usually wear... My judgment slowed for a moment, wondering if it was safe to block."
"At least you know why you lost."
Jiha withdrew his sword and spoke lightly.
"Your offense isn't bad. Clean form. The problem is that it's mostly linear, but it's usable. Your defense, though—that's weak."
This was likely a side effect of fighting while constantly relying on Dirga Weapons.
Powerful items helped in the short term but stunted long-term growth.
When you grow dependent on an item, you become weak the moment you can't use it.
"...Yes."
Bran nodded, her expression relieved.
Even if Jiha hadn't held control over Dirga Weapons, she wouldn't have been able to defeat him in the end.
Now that she'd experienced it firsthand, she understood.
"You were right. Lungtao went easy on me."
"No need to get dispirited. The completeness of your offensive technique is decent."
Jiha meant the compliment sincerely.
In Warsland, the strong all relied on Mana to fight, so highly refined technique wasn't common.
For a strength-based attack to be properly effective, you needed to strike with the correct posture to deliver power effectively.
That was why martial artists typically practiced the same motion thousands, tens of thousands of times to ingrain it into their bodies.
But with Mana, you could deliver impact even with a careless swing.
So in close-quarters and hand-to-hand combat, outcomes were often decided by situational judgment, reaction speed, and Mana capacity rather than technical refinement.
On top of that, if you had a Special Ability, you usually settled things with that, so close-quarters fighting rarely even happened in the first place.
Jiha, with his relatively low Mana, had to overturn situations using Special Abilities, so he'd had no choice but to favor close combat.
Bran was a Normal Grade with no Mana, so she had trained by honing her technique.
And even after obtaining Dirga Weapons, those skills hadn't rusted.
"Although your defensive technique needs some reinforcement."
"Right. Then..."
Bran nodded obediently. She planted her sword into the ground, knelt before it on one knee, and bowed her head.
"I lost. So as promised, I will dedicate my sword and my body to your use."
An oath of loyalty. Jiha answered quietly.
"Accepted. Get up."
"Yes."
Bran rose quietly and bowed her head once more.
A changed attitude. She had truly chosen Jiha as the master she would serve.
Not just because he held control over Dirga Weapons, but because she had been won over by Jiha's skill and swore to follow him.
"Though it's presumptuous of me at this early stage, may I make one request?"
"Speak."
"Lady Narsha is extremely anxious. Please, I beg you to set her mind at ease."
"What if I refuse?"
Jiha tested her deliberately.
Bran, who apparently hadn't considered this, wore a stiff expression for a moment, then shook her head.
"Then I have nothing more to say."
"You really are inflexible... If it's truly urgent, you should be grabbing my trouser leg and begging."
Bran couldn't seem to tell whether he was serious or joking.
Jiha let her off lightly.
"It's a joke. I'll handle the Narsha problem, so stay out of it. Go see a healer and get treated."
She hadn't been injured in the duel, but her cheeks were split where Jiha had struck her.
But Bran hesitated for a moment, then spoke carefully.
"Th-this may sound strange, but... thank you for hitting me."
"I can't accommodate that kind of taste."
Though slapping a woman's bottom while holding her was quite enjoyable.
Jiha stopped himself from adding more and closed his mouth.
Would that be taken as a sexual demand?
Jiha smashed anyone who came at him as an enemy, but once they submitted, he didn't torment them further. He preferred to use the carrot and stick, treating them well.
Dealing with a female subordinate he hadn't slept with was a little unfamiliar.
Bran shook her head.
"That's not what I meant... It's because you didn't go easy on me just because I'm a woman."
Well, Jiha didn't consider gender when fighting.
But Bran seemed inwardly pleased.
She was satisfied that he had treated her not as a woman, but as a warrior holding a sword and facing him—as an equal.
Dressing as a man, deceiving Narsha, becoming a skilled fighter who received Dirga Weapons—there must have been all sorts of hardships along that path.
Jiha nodded.
"Understood. Now go get treated. I'll issue the next order soon."
"Yes, sir."
Bran said that and took her leave.
Left alone, Jiha scratched his head lightly.
"Well, I'll just treat her as a subordinate."
Bran's technical refinement was decent. If she used Dirga Weapons like before, she'd display considerable ability.
"Right. Now, split up and redeploy the escort guards..."
Jiha's face darkened as he thought about what lay ahead.
Bran's issue was settled like this, but not everything was resolved.
The one who had created this situation remained: Narsha Russellarms.
"I'll have to fix that habit."
Before facing the external battles to come, it was time for internal cleanup.