Chapter 265
Chapter 265
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 265
Chapter Title: Frozen Showdown
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In a plain far from the cabin, Soo-hyuk and Si-woo faced each other.
Crack, craaaack-.
The ground froze over, and the surrounding air plunged rapidly. White vapor billowed from Soo-hyuk's mouth as he breathed.
Rumble-.
Dark storm clouds blanketed the sky.
Snowflakes began drifting down onto the earth. From their distant positions, the two leveled their spears and swords at each other.
Si-woo stood in the middle of the plain with his eyes closed.
In a normal spar, one might wait for the opponent to ready himself, but Soo-hyuk didn't.
Tzzzzzt-.
Blue lightning gathered at the tips of Soo-hyuk's fingers.
And without hesitation, he unleashed it toward Si-woo, who still hadn't opened his eyes.
Kaboom-!
The bolt shot from his fingertips struck Si-woo's body. The instant he fired the lightning, Soo-hyuk was already charging toward him.
Fwump-.
Si-woo's closed eyes snapped open.
He'd taken a direct lightning hit, but Soo-hyuk wasn't worried. After all, Si-woo's most terrifying trait wasn't his wide-area attacks or his sharp spearwork.
Tick, tick-.
Fine cracks formed around the ice encasing his armor.
But that was it.
Even after the lightning pierced his body, he didn't budge an inch.
He had already braced for Soo-hyuk's first strike and prepared his defenses.
Kwaaaah-!
Two lightning-wreathed sword strikes targeted Si-woo's flanks. With two flashes, Si-woo's spear clashed against Soo-hyuk's blade.
Claaaang-!
Craaaack-.
Their weapons collided repeatedly. The ice on the frozen plain shattered with cracks, and lightning bolts rained from the sky.
Kaboom, kurrum-!
Whoosh-.
Lightning fired out, only for frigid energy to push it back.
Whenever the sword tip pierced toward the armor, Si-woo's spear tip unerringly deflected Soo-hyuk.
The longer the fight dragged on, the hotter Soo-hyuk's gaze burned.
This battle was all about breaking through Si-woo's ironclad armor and shield. The moment that shield cracked, the real fight would begin.
'This won't cut it.'
Clang-!
Their weapons smashed together.
His grip throbbed as if it might tear. The cold bit so deep it felt like his skin was being sliced.
Up close, Si-woo's eyes overwhelmed Soo-hyuk. That gaze was Si-woo's greatest ability.
Fwoosh-!
A sudden gale blasted Soo-hyuk's body backward.
It was so cold his body felt like it would freeze solid, trembling uncontrollably. Mid-flight, Soo-hyuk conjured two spears in his hands.
Flash-!
Kaboom-!
The two spears shot toward Si-woo simultaneously.
As if expecting it, Si-woo swung his spear and casually swatted them away.
Clang-!
The deflected spears spun through the air above. Swoosh—Soo-hyuk, who had been blown back, landed by bracing against the piled snow on the ground.
As if it had never happened, searing heat coursed through his frozen body.
Tzzzzzt-.
His output steadily rose. The higher the lightning's power climbed, the fiercer the heat in his body grew.
Sizzle-.
In the subzero chill, hot steam rose from Soo-hyuk's body.
As his body boiled over, the biting cold and his pains faded away. All he could think about was unleashing this power as soon as possible.
That was when Soo-hyuk charged at Si-woo again.
"Hold on, hold up!"
Screeech-.
Soo-hyuk's body, barreling toward Si-woo, halted as if by magic.
Si-woo waved him off.
"Calm down. How far were you planning to go?"
"Huff, huuuff-."
Soo-hyuk, staring at Si-woo's palm, belatedly let out ragged breaths.
The aftermath of the fight hit him all at once. His breath came in gasps, and pain throbbed throughout his body.
Si-woo stuck out his tongue at the sight of Soo-hyuk massaging his shoulders and arms like someone with terrible muscle soreness.
"You okay?"
"Still good."
For the past few days, Soo-hyuk had sparred with Si-woo nonstop.
The accumulated fatigue was no joke. Fight after fight every day—that was how he sharpened his senses.
'I'd gotten so dull.'
Until now, Soo-hyuk had fought without rest. But those fights were nothing like the ones from his past life.
He needed a real fight. To reclaim his old instincts, he desperately needed spars against opponents on the same level as his former self.
He'd felt that most acutely during the showdown.
'The Heavenly Demon was trying to teach me that.'
Back then, Jin Ha-ryeong could have killed Soo-hyuk with a few swings if she'd wanted.
Yet she held nothing back, unleashing her full power.
There was one reason.
To show him. I've reached this level. So you need to get here too.
And that fight had elevated Soo-hyuk to the next stage.
Soo-hyuk drained the water bottle he'd brought. He wiped his mouth and slowly loosened his numb muscles.
"Let's rest a bit and go again."
"Again?"
Si-woo looked exasperated.
"I can still handle it. No problem."
"No, I'm getting tired."
"You?"
"The first day, I thought it was manageable, but you're like a different person every day. Especially with those clouds..."
Si-woo glanced up at the dark clouds overhead.
"It's hard for us to just take it easy too."
Only then did Soo-hyuk notice the sweat beading on Si-woo's forehead.
The guy rarely sweated due to his ice affinity. Making him sweat meant Soo-hyuk had pushed him pretty hard.
"How long does it take to make those clouds?"
"Depends on the time—the size and potency vary. For that size... about an hour?"
"An hour..."
Si-woo looked up at the clouds with regret, smacking his lips.
"Tough to use in real combat."
"Unless you set up the stage ahead of time, yeah."
"Gonna be hard this time?"
Soo-hyuk nodded at Si-woo's question.
"Actually, the opposite. They'll know we're coming."
The Sacheon Tang Clan was the Poison King's stage. The Poison King was dangerous enough normally, but on his home turf, he was several times stronger.
"That old coot's gotta be scared stiff."
In this fight, Ye-ryeong would be the Poison King's direct opponent.
So there was no need to worry. Si-woo absolutely trusted Ye-ryeong's skills.
Of course, that didn't mean they could let their guard down completely.
"They'll pull some trick."
The Poison King and Kim Il-su had some connection, even if not deep.
If he knew Ye-ryeong was coming, the Poison King wouldn't step foot outside the Sacheon Tang Clan.
"They'll prepare something—or someone."
"Doesn't matter."
"...?"
"I sparred with Ye-ryeong on the way back here."
Soo-hyuk's eyes twitched at the memory.
"She's no joke."
"More than me?"
"Different vibe. From you."
Fights with Si-woo were tough, but Ye-ryeong's had a whole different edge. Sparring with her was walking on thin ice in another sense.
Moments of unrelenting tension. In twenty years, her movements and hidden blades had grown far sharper.
Si-woo grinned knowingly.
While Soo-hyuk and Si-woo had been sparring these past few days, Ye-ryeong had holed up in the room with Hyeo-min. Uncharacteristically, she'd been dead silent.
She was sharpening herself.
For that moment against the Poison King. Staring at the bedridden Hyeo-min, she honed her hidden blades in her mind, steeled her resolve, and suppressed her killing intent.
"Yeah, exactly. If he's the Poison King, she's the Shadow King."
Shadow King.
That was one of the many names Ye-ryeong had been called back in her prime.
If the Poison King reigned supreme in poison, Ye-ryeong ruled in stealth and hidden blades.
Whoooosh-.
A biting chill swirled around Si-woo again, as if to say they were done talking.
"Poison King or whatever, bring as many as they want."
His sharp blue eyes gleamed.
"We'll show them how much we've been waiting for this."
Gillot gathered, sifted, and selected information.
All data related to the Poison King. Those closest to the truth. And the verified facts.
It took a full ten days to compile and organize it all. A long time, but not unreasonably so for a heavyweight like the Poison King.
And so the promised time arrived.
Soo-hyuk and Ye-ryeong visited the dark map together.
"Here it is."
Seeing Gillot's eye bags ten times darker than ten days ago, Soo-hyuk and Ye-ryeong could tell he'd worked without sleep.
But for all that, the results weren't impressive.
"One sheet?"
Flutter-.
Just a single sheet of paper.
Ye-ryeong glared at Gillot as she flapped it.
"You messing with us?"
Whoosh-.
The paper flew from Ye-ryeong's hand.
"Eek!"
"We gave you ten days, and this is all you got? Where's Arantia! Hey, get out here!"
Ye-ryeong shot to her feet, bellowing. She figured she'd confront Arantia directly now.
"I-I'll explain!"
"Explain what? Hey, do we look like a bunch of pushovers? You trying to pull some scam..."
"Hey, hold up."
It was Soo-hyuk who calmed the raging Ye-ryeong.
Soo-hyuk was reading the single-sheet intel that Ye-ryeong had tossed to the floor.
"Why?"
"Seems like there's a reason."
"What reason?"
"This."
Soo-hyuk pointed to the 'Accuracy' field next to the intel.
"Accuracy: 100%. For real?"
The dark map graded intel based on multiple factors.
The biggest were rarity and utility. Rarer and more useful info naturally got higher grades.
But there was another key factor as important as those.
Accuracy.
"Is that even possible?"
"Y-yes. I filtered it down to only the most precise info..."
"And if it's not?"
"M-my head rolls. Literally."
Gillot was terrified of the Soo-hyuk and Ye-ryeong before him, but his response brimmed with confidence.
He was absolutely certain this intel was 100% accurate.
'Knew something was off assigning a newbie like me to HQ.'
Gillot was an oddity even among dark map informants. His volume might be low, but no one else guaranteed 100% accuracy like him.
Sometimes, sheer quantity could be a poison. Especially when Soo-hyuk only needed one solid, core piece.
Soo-hyuk scanned the single-page intel.
'Useful.'
Little in quantity, but packed with value. Worth the wait.
Having read every densely packed line, Soo-hyuk nodded.
"This is enough."
"Th-thank you!"
"I'll come back if I need more."
"Yes, sir!"
Gillot scurried away after finishing his task. Ye-ryeong craned her neck to peek at the paper Soo-hyuk was reading.
"Why? What's it say?"
Only now did Ye-ryeong show interest, thanks to Soo-hyuk's approval. He handed her the already-read sheet and asked,
"Ye-ryeong."
"Yeah?"
"You confident?"
No need to explain what he meant.
She didn't even need to read the intel. The picture was already complete in Soo-hyuk's mind.
Ye-ryeong grinned confidently.
Her words eerily matched what Si-woo had said.
"Watch closely. I'll show you how much your big sis has been sharpening for this."