Chapter 24
Chapter 24
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Sparring Match (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Gulp.
I kept swallowing dryly.
The sparring match would begin soon, but the trembling that started in my fingertips showed no sign of stopping.
‘Tch. Dammit.’
I had to avoid letting my nerves get the best of me and failing to show my true skills.
After all, I'd already made a big boast, staking the name Jo Gwang-uk on it.
But knowing something in my head and feeling it in my body were two completely different things.
I just couldn't seem to get a grip.
Honestly, right now, even just deciding where to look was difficult.
There was nowhere I could comfortably rest my eyes.
In front of me was the Cult Leader; to my left, the Five Heavenly Pillars; to my right, the old monsters were glaring.
Every single one of them was a monster who didn't even seem human.
‘I'd rather….’
I shifted my gaze to the competitors standing with me in the training grounds.
‘Tsk, just looking at the eyes of these rich kids is enough to piss me off.’
The gazes I received in return weren't friendly, but oddly enough, this felt more comfortable.
Of course, I didn't even dare to glance toward the right corner where my lord was standing.
Honestly, someone of my level couldn't gauge it accurately, but I couldn't feel much of a difference between my lord and the monsters in the VIP seats, so looking at him was overwhelming.
Especially when my body was trembling with tension like this.
Right now, the best I could do was stick to my plan.
‘The moment it starts, I'll strike that bastard Geom Cheon-ha!’
Don't they say it's better to be the head of a snake than the tail of a dragon?
The moment my lord entered Group 24, I gave up any thought of being the final winner anyway.
Since it had come to this, the best course of action was to take down that bastard Geom Cheon-ha, who was receiving all the expectations, and snatch those expectations for myself.
If I did that, support would pour in for me and my failing gate.
‘Of course, it's a shame to be eliminated in just the third test, but if I can at least take him down, I won't be looked down upon.’
Actually, what bothered me most wasn't my family's affairs, but the members of my group who had already passed the test.
Those guys were down below the training grounds, casually plotting how they were going to mock me.
I had to take down that bastard Geom Cheon-ha, if only to shut those guys up.
If I succeeded, I'd be the first in my group to defeat one of the Five Phoenixes, One Dragon.
‘Of course, I also want to show my lord how much I've grown.’
I tightened the straps of the fist guards I had acquired a fortnight ago with all my strength.
I'd only been using them for a fortnight, but they were already quite familiar to my hands, so there would be no problem using them in the test.
This was all thanks to my lord, who had bestowed his teachings upon me before he left for those two weeks.
To master it, I had to train until my new fist guards were worn out.
‘Could it be that my lord had thought of even such minor details when he gave me that lesson?’
My trembling had stopped at some point. I lifted my head and looked at my lord.
If that was really the case, my respect for him would turn into awe.
Come to think of it, there was no reason a technique would specifically require training with fist guards.
Well, I could just ask him about it after the test was over.
But there was no time to ponder now; the head instructor announced the start a little earlier than expected.
“Now that all the cadets of Group 24 are here, we will proceed with the 24th sparring match.”
The head instructor's voice reached my ears.
I had to move the instant his words ended, so I focused all my attention.
Thud.
The head instructor finished speaking and took a step back.
That was it. The long-awaited third test had finally begun.
I had to move faster than anyone.
If Geom Cheon-ha moved first, he would target my lord, not me. And if my lord moved first, no matter who he targeted, the crowd's attention would be drawn there.
Today, I had to risk my life in this one test to draw everyone's attention.
It was the fastest way for my declining gate to rise again.
‘I can't rely on my lord for my family's affairs! I have to handle this myself.’
Because I had poured all my focus into the head instructor's words, I was able to take the first step.
And thanks to that, I could unleash the new technique my lord had taught me on that bastard Geom Cheon-ha.
I infused internal energy into my right arm, wrapped in its heavy fist guard, and rotated it in an instant.
My sudden attack, with no warning, caught him off guard.
Geom Cheon-ha had to face my fist without even fully drawing his sword from its sheath.
This might be a chance that would never come again. It had only been a fortnight, but I shouted, thinking of the blood and sweat I'd shed for this one punch.
“Revolving Fist!”
As its name suggested, it was a simple attack, just a short rotation added to a punch.
A technique that one would inevitably underestimate upon first encounter. But hidden within it was a terrifying destructive power.
It was possible because it added rotating internal energy while fully utilizing the force of the heavy iron fist guards.
When he was first taught it, even Jo Gwang-uk himself had been disappointed, but once he started training, it showed power beyond his imagination, so he quickly made it his ultimate technique.
Flustered and having fumbled his initial response, Geom Cheon-ha would surely fall to this attack. I had no doubt.
As if to prove it, the face of the Sword Pillar, seated to the left in the VIP section, contorted.
In just another instant, it seemed I would achieve my long-desired goal.
But then, the unbelievable happened.
I had definitely been the first to move.
Until I took a step and threw my punch, no one else had even moved their feet.
Even Geom Cheon-ha, just before receiving my ultimate technique, had only managed to start drawing his sword.
But who was this person who had just inserted themselves between me and Geom Cheon-ha?
His intrusion was truly instantaneous.
He casually deflected my ultimate technique, the ‘Revolving Fist,’ with one hand, and even sent Geom Cheon-ha, who had his sword half-drawn, flying back ten feet.
Thanks to him, I ended up planting my fist into the innocent training ground floor.
A thick cloud of dust billowed up.
All I could do amidst the dust was try to sort out my chaotic thoughts.
‘It was just an instant. If only another instant had passed, my fist would have undoubtedly slammed into that bastard Geom Cheon-ha's stomach. But what is this? A fortnight's effort, the hope of my gate, my own worth… all gone up in smoke….’
“I'll tear you to pieces!”
An irrepressible rage boiled up from my core.
I glared, scanning my surroundings.
The face of the intruder was obscured by the thick, rising dust.
However, I could faintly make out a black figure, like a shadow, that I presumed to be him.
I launched my original fist technique toward it.
My body reacted before I could even think.
But my fist was blocked with far too much ease.
Thwack.
The man had effortlessly caught my fist.
But something was strange.
‘To be able to wrap around my fist like this, his hand must be bigger than mine… No way!!’
A chilling thought flashed through my mind.
I had a premonition more ominous than anything I had ever felt in my life.
Thanks to that, a saying I'd heard since I was a child came to mind.
Think before you act or speak.
I regretted not having engraved those words deep in my heart sooner, but it was already too late.
A familiar voice pierced my ears.
It was my lord.
“Tear me to pieces? And then what?”
Haa… Why are ominous premonitions never wrong?
With a mournful heart, I forced a smile. If I didn't, it felt like that large fist would come flying at me as its target any second.
“Huh? Hahaha. So it was you, my lord. But did I say something like that?”
My captured right hand was already a lost cause.
I scratched the back of my head with my left hand, trying my best to feign ignorance.
But, unfortunately, my lord hadn't asked the question to get a straight answer.
“You're still far too lacking to tear me to pieces… Well, I'm a merciful man, so I can give you plenty of chances. Gwang-uk. If you want, I can help you relive the memory of when we first met. How about it?”
“Keuk!”
The words ‘memory of our first meeting’ felt like they had dealt me an internal injury.
My first meeting with my lord.
If I had to pick the most horrific day of my life, I would choose that day without hesitation.
It was the first time in my life I had ever been beaten so one-sidedly.
For the first time ever, I had begged someone to just kill me instead.
And all because I had opened my own door at the wrong time.
It was a memory made all the more sorrowful because it was not only painful but also deeply unfair.
So for him to offer to relive it... wasn't it natural to feel internally wounded?
I had to bow my head and apologize as quickly as possible.
There was a chance my lord's heart might soften.
But that bastard Geom Cheon-ha, who had been knocked back ten feet, interrupted that crucial moment.
“Cough. Cough. Who dares interfere with me! I will tear you to pieces with my own hands!”
“There are a lot of people who want to tear me to pieces today. Right?”
That son of a bitch.
The bastard said something he shouldn't have.
It was as if he was pointing out my ‘mistake’.
‘Agh! My Revolving Fist should have landed. Whose fault is this….’
Geom Cheon-ha's arrogance made me frown without realizing it.
Did that perhaps displease my lord?
My lord asked, showing me that same murderous smile from our first meeting.
I could vividly feel the killing intent hidden within his smile on my skin.
Fortunately, he had already let go of my captured right arm. If he hadn't, my bones would have surely been broken.
“It seems our Gwang-uk still has some complaints?”
“N-No, of course not! I'm different from that bastard! If my lord commands it, I will immediately take that fool's neck….”
“Enough. The test must be fair.”
As expected of my lord. He was completely different from the Five Phoenixes, One Dragon, who had always acted so dirty and petty.
Of course, he could probably subdue all nine of us cadets, myself included, in an instant, but for him to withdraw the offer from his own subordinate and speak of fairness...
It was a moment to lay on the flattery.
I quickly opened my mouth to praise my lord.
If I didn't do something, I didn't know when I might get beaten up.
“Truly, this is just like you, my lord!”
“Your flattery skills have improved over the past fortnight.”
Judging by my lord's reaction, even though he said that, he didn't seem displeased.
However, this golden opportunity was ruined by the clueless Geom Cheon-ha and the seven other cadets.
“Ha! The lowly worms are sticking together, and now they're putting on their own little show? Fair? Fine. Let's do this. Everyone, draw your swords!”
“Sir!”
Shing! Shing! Shing!
At Geom Cheon-ha's words, the seven cadets drew their swords together.
It seemed all seven of them were his lackeys.
They said it was random, but I wasn't even angry at how ridiculous this was.
“How dare they! The filthy bastards are all the same. My lord himself spoke of fairness! My lord, if you just give the order, I will rush those fools….”
“Yes, rush them and attack me together.”
“Yes! Attack together……. Huh? What did you just say?”
The absurd command my lord had given me was so shocking that I had to ask again, even though I knew it was disrespectful.
I thought my ears must have been playing tricks on me. But they weren't.
“You heard me clearly. Why do you question it? Go and help them defeat this one.”
I wasn't the only one dumbfounded by those words.
The spectator and VIP sections began to murmur, while Geom Cheon-ha and the seven cadets just blinked their eyes.
Then, as if they'd decided my lord's words were an insult, they erupted in fury.
“You arrogant bastard! I don't need some damn monkey to take you down! I am more than enough by myself!”
Geom Cheon-ha was the most furious among them.
Part of it was his rotten personality, but it also seemed he was quite conscious of the many eyes watching.
He infused his drawn sword with internal energy and charged straight at my lord.
In response, I reflexively prepared to counterattack, gathering internal energy in my fists to protect my lord.
But what was this?
“Gwang-uk. Are you disobeying my command?”
“What?!”
“Come at me with all your might, just like him. If your will to defeat me is weaker than his, I will not let you live.”
My lord was serious.
‘Dammit!’
I had no choice but to turn around and unleash a technique at my lord, even before Geom Cheon-ha could.
“Hyaaap!”
Clank, the sound came from my fist guards.
It was a natural sound that occurred when I infused my right arm with rotating internal energy.
I had used my ultimate technique, Revolving Fist.
Since my lord himself had ordered me to strike, if I was going to do it, I had to do it with all my heart.
Honestly, I didn't want to be beaten to death for having a weaker will than that bastard Geom Cheon-ha.
But my ultimate technique was blocked far too easily.
In a way, it was to be expected.
My lord was the master who had taught me the technique.
Now I could see how my lord had moved in that instant when I first launched my attack on Geom Cheon-ha.
My lord had used his overwhelming physical power and incredible leg strength to instantly evade my attack range.
And then, he had effortlessly used the rotating energy in my right arm to redirect my attack.
He had simply used the direction of the rotation to give me a light push.
Since I had put so much force into it, I was sent flying easily and quickly, and Geom Cheon-ha was right in my path.
“Get out of my way!”
But Geom Cheon-ha, that damned bastard, swung his sword right at me as I flew toward him.
Fortunately, because the distance closed so suddenly, I wasn't badly injured.
But the two of us ended up tangled together.
“You crazy bastard, you swung your sword there?!”
“What are you talking about, you ignorant monkey who can't even tell friend from foe!”
“Agh! If it weren't for my lord's command, I'd just…!”
If I was a monkey like he said, then he was a son of a bitch.
We went at each other like cats and dogs.
But that, too, was only for a moment.
Because my lord had appeared before the two of us at some point.
We were still trying to recover from the impact of our tangled collision.
Because of that, the seven cadets stepped forward to block my lord's path instead.
Of course, they were sent flying spectacularly.
It was just a single blow.
That was all my lord needed to deal with the seven cadets.
I had expected it, but honestly, I didn't know the wall between us was this immense.
Even that bastard Geom Cheon-ha seemed to have finally grasped the situation, as he was clenching his jaw shut.
I said to him.
“Hey. You finally get it? If we fight amongst ourselves, we'll end up like them. Cooperate with me, now.”
“…Just this once. The moment we deal with him, I'm coming for your neck.”
He ground his teeth as he replied, but with this, the minimum conditions to carry out my lord's command to strike him were met.
Of course, even so, I couldn't see any way we could possibly defeat my lord.
Just then, my lord made an attractive offer that was impossible to refuse.
“I will not use any internal energy. So don't be afraid, and give it your all.”