The Fighting Demon's Sparring Match 2
As the sparring match began, Bi So-hyang put as much distance between them as she could. For an archer, distance was a matter of life and death.
Especially when the opponent was Shin Gi-woon. She too had achieved remarkable growth through closed-door training—but the moment she saw him, all she could think was that she still had a long way to go.
If the distance closes, I lose. I need to pressure him from the start by keeping my range.
Archery wasn't her only specialty. Closed-door training left her with nothing but time, and naturally she'd taken an interest in martial weapons beyond the bow.
One of those was hidden weapons.
Whoosh!
To an expert's eye it was little more than a circus act. But with a limited number of arrows, she had no intention of drawing her bow from the start.
Of course, Shin Gi-woon swatted the projectiles away like he was brushing off bugs. It was that pathetic an attack.
She'd known it wouldn't work, but to have it dismantled so easily… The disappointment was real, though she didn't let it show on her face.
In the end, if she wanted to hurt Shin Gi-woon, she had to shoot. If this had been a real fight, the distance would already have closed.
Her judgment was quick. The moment Bi So-hyang nocked an arrow on her bowstring, Shin Gi-woon—who had been standing still—began to move.
CRACK!
"An archer with slow judgment? You think that'll cut it?"
"…!"
A single leap.
Just by kicking off the ground, the distance Bi So-hyang had first opened was closed. Shin Gi-woon showed no mercy.
He could have used his fists, but as if to remind her this was real combat, he immediately channeled internal energy into his spear and aimed for her heart.
But Bi So-hyang was more seasoned than expected. The moment she registered that the gap had closed, she abandoned her attack and put everything into defense.
Barely deflecting the spear with her bowstring, she pulled iron darts from her robes and flicked them straight at Shin Gi-woon's face.
He avoided them with a sharp turn of his head. Seizing the moment, Bi So-hyang opened the distance again while loading an arrow.
Fwoosh!
What followed flowed like water. The instant the bow flexed, the arrow was loosed.
A speed that chilled the blood. He managed to bat it aside with his spear—but if he hadn't reinforced the shaft with internal energy, it would have snapped and then some.
It was a moment that made clear why she'd been conserving her arrows.
Fast.
If someone made something look easy, they were a master of that field. In that sense, Bi So-hyang's archery was at a fraudulent level.
Among people her age, she was probably the best. Of course, taking this skill out into the martial world would be another matter entirely.
She needs a reality check.
Was there any guarantee an archer would always fight in spaces full of cover? Sometimes you faced a powerful enemy on open ground with nowhere to run.
He hoped Bi So-hyang would take something away from this spar. That was the mindset Shin Gi-woon brought to the match.
"Is that all you've got? Three years of results!"
"I haven't even started yet!"
Bi So-hyang bit her lip. The strike she'd launched at the perfect opportunity had come to nothing. Worse, her move had been read before she'd even loosed the arrow.
It was a completely different dimension. If they'd met as enemies, she wouldn't have left enough bones to bury.
In truth, he was still going easy on her even now. As things stood, Bi So-hyang couldn't force Shin Gi-woon to show his full power.
Not alone, at least.
"I can't just stand here and watch! Some guy who can't do anything on his own is sparring, and nothing's getting done!"
"W-What did you say?"
"This body will join in too! No complaints, right, strongest of Jamma Cave?"
"…Do as you like."
Ma Ra-jin, who'd been watching as referee, cut in. Just from exchanging a few moves, he could tell Bi So-hyang was at a disadvantage. He figured he needed to rattle Shin Gi-woon's focus from the front.
Bi So-hyang wasn't thrilled about him butting in—but it looked like the spar wouldn't go anywhere if she was alone, so she had no choice but to accept.
Well, fighting alongside a comrade instead of alone in open ground was a valid approach too. Ma Ra-jin had been looking restless anyway. If the two of them came at him together, he could throw himself into the spar without holding back.
"Come at me together. From now on, I won't hold back."
"I've been waiting for those words!"
Ma Ra-jin stomped into a combat stance. True to a guy who used bold, free-spirited fist arts, he seemed intent on going flashy from the opening move.
Shin Gi-woon kept his eyes on Bi So-hyang as he accepted Ma Ra-jin's challenge.
"Come on!"
"Haha!"
Ma Ra-jin threw a punch. Standing still and swinging at empty air looked almost comical—but the strike laced with internal energy came crashing down on Shin Gi-woon at a terrifying speed.
BAM BAM BAM!
Of course it didn't land. Fist wind met spear wind. Rather than canceling it out, he thrust his spear even harder and sent a counterattack flying at Ma Ra-jin.
Ma Ra-jin looked startled, as if he hadn't expected it to bounce back at him.
Behind him, Bi So-hyang loaded three arrows at once and—
Three arrows nocked as one. Loosed as one.
Whoosh!
The three-pronged arrows hurtled toward Shin Gi-woon. At the same time, Ma Ra-jin gathered his energy and charged straight in.
Their coordination was so seamless it was hard to believe they'd spent three years in closed-door training together. Shin Gi-woon found himself getting fired up.
"Now this is more like it!"
He batted the arrows aside first. With a moderate amount of internal energy, he could handle two of them—but from the third, he had no choice but to fall back. Ma Ra-jin had closed right in on him.
BOOOOM!
"You think you can fight by running away like that?!"
By a paper-thin margin, Ma Ra-jin's fist slammed into the ground. If his judgment had been a beat slower, Shin Gi-woon would have been flattened into jerky right where he stood.
But the fact that Ma Ra-jin's attack had failed meant it had set up the perfect situation for a counter.
Not missing the opportunity, the moment Shin Gi-woon was about to bring his spear down on Ma Ra-jin's head—the arrow he hadn't managed to deflect came flying at the back of his skull.
From a distance, Bi So-hyang was controlling the internal energy laced through the shaft. Ma Ra-jin, as if he'd known this would happen, raised his fists again and charged in.
A hair-trigger situation. Shin Gi-woon used demonic energy to ignore the approaching arrow—and met Ma Ra-jin's fist driving straight at him with the Battle Demon Heavenly Spear.
Spear met fist head-on—power against power, no retreat.
BOOOOM!
"Guh!"
The one sent flying was Ma Ra-jin. It had been a perfect coordinated attack, but a reckless attempt that hadn't accounted for their opponent's realm.
As he went flying, Shin Gi-woon's gaze naturally turned to Bi So-hyang.
She'd been staring blankly, stunned by his power, and only just snapped back to her senses—but Shin Gi-woon was already right on top of her.
"Damn!"
"Stand there gawking and you'll—"
He closed the gap to point-blank range in a single breath. The instant he aimed his spear at her throat, she gripped her bow like a club and swung it. Caught off guard by a trick he'd never seen, Shin Gi-woon stepped back—
And that too turned out to be a feint. Bi So-hyang nocked an arrow right in front of his nose.
Twang!
"Didn't see that coming."
The arrow grazed his right shoulder. An archer grabbing her bow and swinging it like a stick? In Shin Gi-woon's experience, he'd never seen it even once—and it had forced him to retreat.
Had that been part of the plan too? Ma Ra-jin, who'd taken a direct hit, had already seized Shin Gi-woon's rear.
An archer blocking the front, a fist fighter striking from behind. A seamless role switch that flowed like water.
He might need to get a little more serious.
"This ends—"
Ma Ra-jin smiled as he swung his fist. But Shin Gi-woon was no longer there.
Bi So-hyang lost track of his movement for a split second too—and that was a critical mistake.
"Aaagh!"
Having killed his presence, Shin Gi-woon smashed Bi So-hyang across the lower back with his spear shaft.
She went flying with a scream. Ma Ra-jin panicked and unleashed a continuous barrage of fist winds, but—
Thud. Thud. Thud.
"Weak."
"Guh!"
Ignoring them all, Shin Gi-woon charged in and drove a palm strike into his solar plexus.
Ma Ra-jin floated up as he exhaled. Still, that massive frame was worth something—he immediately recovered and clenched his fists, but—
Where'd he go?
Shin Gi-woon was already nowhere to be found. In a fight, the price of losing track of your opponent was always steep.
Having leaped high without Ma Ra-jin noticing, Shin Gi-woon smashed the back of his head with the spear shaft.
"Squeeeal!"
With a sound like a pig having its throat cut, Ma Ra-jin's consciousness cut out. Shin Gi-woon landed lightly—and before he could do anything else, he had to twist at the waist.
He'd thought one hit would be enough. Bi So-hyang had endured it and even managed to fire an arrow.
Judging by her deathly pale face, the damage had gone deep. Even so, the grit of never letting go of her bow until the end was something he liked. If there'd been cover, she might have given him more trouble.
But a coordinated attack from Second-Class martial artists just barely looking at First-Class, against a Peak-level expert—was nothing more than hyenas before an elephant.
"Let's end the spar here. Beating each other to a pulp further doesn't benefit either of us, does it?"
"…Yeah. I guess you're right."
Bi So-hyang set down her bow and raised both arms—a sign of surrender. Then, wincing and groaning with her injured body, she helped Ma Ra-jin up.
Shin Gi-woon approached to help, but at her refusal, he let her go. They headed for the infirmary connected to the training grounds; it should wrap up without any serious internal injuries.
Everything was fine—but something felt lacking. He wished an opponent he could use a bit more power against would show up.
"Here she comes."
As if reading his thoughts, Ryu-jin pointed at something.
"Hm? Ah."
"Still got fight left in you? I'm next."
Someone stood before Shin Gi-woon with a sword in hand.
Radiating a fierce aura—the woman who had been the strongest of Jamma Cave three years ago.
It was Se-hwa.