The Hidden Stakes
Chaeng-!!
A clear, crisp metallic sound rang out without pause.
“...Huh? Can you see that?”
Teraden, watching the duel, let out a tired voice and a look of utter disbelief.
I understood his reaction all too well.
At that spot, all I could hear were the ringing clashes of steel and the impacts between Ineung abilities.
Even with my full awareness flared, it was nearly impossible to catch their movements in my eyes.
“It’s because the distance is too great, I guess. I couldn’t see much at all. I couldn’t even hear the conversation they were having earlier.... Probably need to get closer.”
Of course, distance played a role in why the battle was invisible, but the main reason was that their levels far surpassed ours.
As one could tell from the heavy weight of the sword they were using, Jubern’s style leaned more toward raw power than speed.
Still, his movements were so blindingly fast that catching them with the naked eye was nearly impossible.
“Hey, you’ll get spotted if you keep this up.”
“With just the opponent in front of you already being a heavy burden, you probably don’t have the leeway to watch your surroundings too. Just approach carefully until you’re out of striking range.”
“Hmm, okay. Let’s go in carefully then. Hey, you three, be careful too. Watch your step, all right?”
“Yes, Hyung.”
“Understood, Mr. Teraden.”
After agreeing on a plan, we lowered our postures and crept forward as quietly as possible toward the battlefield.
Slither... Slither...
After carefully picking our steps, we reached a safe spot perfect for observation. We hid once more in the bushes.
Now that the distance was closer, the battlefield came into much clearer view.
“Hey, that guy. Isn’t he the one who was fighting outside back when you all escaped the yokai cave in Dongye?”
Teraden narrowed his eyes at Jubern and poked my side with his elbow.
“That’s the loud, unlucky-looking guy from back then, right? Yeah?”
“Yeah, that sounds right.”
Blanser, staring blankly into the air as if reliving the moment, nodded along.
‘I should formally introduce myself. I am Blans the Count, who was given orders by His Majesty the King of the great Eastern Kingdom and appointed as temporary commander of the encirclement.’
As Teraden had said, the man currently sparring with Jubern was definitely the Blans Count I had met in Dongye before.
After returning from Dongye, Teraden and I had looked into him out of curiosity.
The Blans Count was the deputy commander of the elite Central Knights of the Eastern Kingdom and known as the King’s closest aide.
“He’s one of the strongest among the Counts, hard to find a match for, they say.”
“More importantly, the biggest issue right now is why a guy from the Eastern Kingdom is fighting Jubern here.”
“Oppa, shouldn’t we help Jubern?”
“...It’ll be fine. Let’s just watch quietly for now.”
Maru’s concern was valid, but Jubern’s skill wasn’t ordinary, so there was no need to worry.
If Jubern’s strength were lacking, Ren Lan wouldn’t have sent him here.
Also, back when we three—Teraden, Blanser, and I—had gone all out last semester, he hadn’t even been able to touch a single hair on our heads.
Even when we were just messing around without using full power.
His current strength had grown so far beyond that point that I couldn’t imagine him losing to Blans the Count, no matter how many times I thought about it.
“Yeah... Why is Jubern fighting that guy... Wait. Wasn’t it him who ambushed Tant-nim and the others? Turns out it was this guy’s doing?”
Teraden’s opinion sounded convincing, so I nodded quietly in agreement.
“Same here.”
“We’ve got one more reason to catch this guy and beat him up. Better keep your heads on straight just in case we have to jump in right away.”
“And we need to find out why he did this, no matter what.”
After our conversation, we decided to hide again to prepare for any unexpected trouble.
* * *
Chaaeng!!
A long, sharp sword filled with an aura clashed with another broad, crude sword that was just as powerful and ruthless. Shockwaves exploded outward.
After the shockwave passed, Ineung abilities clashed again, each moving on their own will.
By now, dozens of such collisions had happened, and everyone was looking like they’d been through a battle, but neither of them cared.
No, more accurately, they simply couldn’t look away from their opponent.
Ka-ka-kak!!
“This guy... This strong?”
The two, pushing each other back with their swords again, thought the same thing internally.
Their strength was perfectly balanced. There was no sign that the battle was tilting one way or the other.
The fight had gone on similarly to what we saw in Dongye before, but both felt that facing each other now was much more uncomfortable than before.
Of course, there were a few reasons for that.
When they fought in Dongye, each had disadvantages.
The fact that there were allies nearby and they had to hold back was the same, but Jubern had the added psychological pressure of needing to protect the wounded Yebaek, and fighting the knight squad alone had left him physically at a disadvantage.
Blans the Count, on the other hand, had been riding high on his noble status.
He had almost no real combat experience where even a mistake could cost him his life.
But this time, both sides had mostly overcome their past weaknesses.
Jubern was in top form, and Blans the Count had spent the continent looking everywhere for Jubern, gaining plenty of real battle experience.
He had fought famous warriors as well as those using all sorts of dirty tactics, so he could handle nearly every variable that could arise in combat better than before.
Of course, one could say he had wasted unnecessary stamina by defeating Tant and the others, but that was just light warm-up.
Finally, no one here could hold them back, so there were no restrictions on using their full power.
Whoosh-!!
Jubern’s crescent blade sliced through the wind, falling from above.
It would have chopped even a massive steel sword like a melon, but Blans the Count immediately laid his sword flat above his head and caught it steadily.
Chaaeng-!!
The impact from receiving Jubern’s crescent blade left a deep dent around Blans the Count and his surroundings.
“Kuh... Uhm...”
‘Even with pure power alone, he’s at a level where it doesn’t make sense.’
Blans the Count, who had felt Jubern’s sword with his own body, clicked his tongue low in surprise.
“Now I understand why I rejected your offer back then. After all, you’re one of Ren Lan’s people.”
“You bastard...!”
Ka-ka-gak!! Kak-gak-gak!!
When Blans the Count once again casually mentioned his lord’s name, Jubern couldn’t hold back his fury and poured more power into his sword.
“Ugh...! K-Khaaaaaargh!!”
Blans the Count, who had cried out in pain, immediately leaned his sword sideways to deflect Jubern’s strike.
Flash!
Noticing Jubern’s stance falter slightly, he immediately dove into his guard without hesitation and slashed down from his left shoulder.
But Jubern used the unstable stance to twist his upper body and dodge it, then summoned a massive wave of his Ineung in retaliation.
“From now on, I will collect the debt for the crimes you have committed against them, and the price for daring to speak casually of my lord’s honor.”
Swoosh-a-a-a-a-a...
The wave grew higher and higher, darkening everything it touched. The sight would have felt like walking on thin ice to anyone watching.
‘Come on. Hurry up and show me that thing from back then once more!’
But Blans the Count, seeing it, burned with even greater determination.
He had only been waiting for this moment.
“True... Aqua...”
‘Now!’
Kwaaaaargh-!!
Blans the Count also prepared to clash his every last Ineung against it.
But suddenly, a strange sound rang out not far away.
* * *
“Eek...!”
Pruduk! Kwa-jik-!!
A voice of panic suddenly came from behind Blanser.
He turned around in surprise and saw Blanser sitting on the ground with a dazed look on his face.
Apparently, he had been crouching and then suddenly fallen backward, landing hard on his rear and crunching up the branches.
“Who the hell are you?!”
The sound was loud enough that Jubern and Blans the Count, right before unleashing their technique, turned their heads toward us.
Blans the Count quickly withdrew his power and distanced himself from Jubern upon noticing us.
“Ah, we got caught...”
Blanser’s face had gone pale as he kept glancing back and forth between me and Teraden, his mouth stuttering.
“A-Ah, no, Hyung! I-This isn’t what I meant to do...! I was crouching for too long and my legs went numb, so I just...!”
Blanser, realizing his mistake himself, flailed his arms wildly as he hurriedly continued.
Maru shook her head silently, and Junior simply glanced at Blanser once before looking away.
“Ah, it’s okay, it’s okay. Well, that could happen.”
If it were the usual Teraden, he would have torn into Blanser for his blunder, but this time he didn’t get angry at all and patted him gently instead.
“Y-You’re... Hyung...”
Blanser, who had been shrinking back with wide eyes, covered his mouth with both hands in embarrassment as his face turned red.
But Teraden’s next words were even more shocking.
“I knew this would happen from the start. So even if you piled up a pile of crap, I wouldn’t mind at all.”
“Ah...”
Blanser let out a soul-weary sigh far worse than any insult.
At this rate, he should have just yelled instead.
“...”
Meanwhile, since we had remained silent without any reaction, Blans the Count suddenly swung his sword sideways toward us.
It was the same fast sword I had seen him use when we first met in Dongye.
Back then I hadn’t been able to react to the movement, but now I could clearly see the technique.
It was channeling Ineung through the air to send out wind.
“Expansion.”
Kak-gak-gak-!!
Junior, who had launched himself, blocked us and twisted the direction of the slash.
“Are you all right, everyone?”
“Eh.... That’s what we should be asking. Are you all right?”
“Yes, no problems.”
“No choice. Since we’ve come this far, we might as well intervene and take him down.”
“Yeah, screw it! Hey, everyone charge! Grab that bastard!”
“K-Kiyoooooot-!!”
Perhaps because he wanted to make up for his mistake, Blanser leaped out first, followed immediately by Junior.
“If there might be more of them, Maru, check around first and stay close to Jubern.”
“Yes! Oppa!”
Soon, Jubern spotted us bursting from the bushes and widened his eyes, just as Blans the Count did.
“Teraden-nim... Maru-nim? And even Haru-nim? How did you get here? This place is dangerous, so please...!”
“You guys were there in Dongye that time...? Heh heh...! Ah, so that’s how it went.”
Blans the Count, muttering to himself in confusion, turned his back and started running away.
“Eh? Eh? Hey! That guy’s running away!!”