We Will Not Let Them Live to Tell It (1)
Thud!
Every time his feet struck the ground, the shock surged up through his legs and into his chest.
That was probably why his heart felt as though it might burst at any moment.
Faster!
His feet were kicking against the earth like mad, and yet for some reason his own body felt slower than ever before.
The distance to the battlefield was not that great. Under normal circumstances, he would have arrived in a single breath. But now, no matter how hard he ran, the gap between them refused to close.
Had he grown weaker in the meantime? No, that was impossible.
Gwak Hwan-so knew better. It wasn’t that he was slow; it was that they were fast. In truth, he was running faster than usual, more focused than ever, but their abilities were simply on a level that made comparison meaningless.
Damn it!
With his heart pounding, Gwak Hwan-so struck the ground even harder.
“S, Senior Brother!”
A breathless scream came from behind him, but he did not slow down even a fraction.
This is!
Bang!
His body shot forward even faster.
This is Hainan!
Mount Hua might be stronger than them. It might even be natural that the Namgung Clan or the Tang Family were stronger.
But this was a war to defend Hainan Island, of all places.
Even if the Hainan Sect was weaker than those others, there was no way they would stand by and let someone else seize the glory while they handed everything over.
Yet the Heavenly Friends Alliance disciples who had already engaged the enemy seemed to know nothing of Gwak Hwan-so’s feelings, because even now they were driving the Myriad Man Manor fighters back with overwhelming momentum.
As though they had resolved to turn the Hainan Sect disciples into nothing more than straw men.
“Aaaaah!”
Gwak Hwan-so roared until his chest felt ready to split and sprinted forward. Geum Yang-baek and the elders seemed to share the same thought, because they too shot toward the enemy like arrows loosed from a bow.
Faster!
Running like a leopard sighting prey, Gwak Hwan-so lunged at a Myriad Man Manor fighter who looked visibly flustered.
“This is Hainan Island, you bastards!”
Flash!
The Hainan Sect’s unique martial art, Jangpung Paran Sword Art, unfolded like rough, surging waves. The sword qi that spilled from Gwak Hwan-so’s blade washed over the ghost-skull unit in an instant.
“W-wait!”
Whether they were still rattled by the sudden numbers rushing at them, or had not yet recovered from the first wave of the Heavenly Friends Alliance’s assault, the Myriad Man Manor fighters who had raised their sabers in resistance were swept helplessly away by Gwak Hwan-so’s sword momentum.
“Aaagh!”
Bright red blood spurted from the long slash across a chest. At the same time, a hot surge rose in Gwak Hwan-so’s own heart.
Blood.
As a disciple of Hainan, one who inherited the line of the righteous sects, it was hardly something he could say aloud, but how long had he longed for the blood of those evil bastards? How many times had he dreamed of the moment he would cut them down with his own sword?
Bang!
Seizing the momentum, Gwak Hwan-so stamped down hard and shouted himself hoarse.
“Drive back every evil bastard who has invaded Hainan! Don’t lose to the Heavenly Friends Alliance!”
“Yes, Senior Brother!”
Gwak Hwan-so lunged straight ahead as well. He now understood exactly what it meant for blood to boil in one’s veins.
This is a real fight!
Only then did he suddenly realize something: until now, he had never once truly cut down another person.
He had spent his entire life training in martial arts as a disciple of Hainan Sect, one of the great sects of the southern sea. It might sound strange to say that someone like him had never before cut down a person.
But until now, the Hainan disciples had rarely faced life-and-death battles. There had not been much conflict in Hainan Island itself, and because of the island’s nature, they rarely had cause to go out on chivalrous journeys either.
And now, the first people he was facing in real combat were none other than those scum from the Evil Tyrant Alliance’s Myriad Man Manor. Of course he was excited.
Gwak Hwan-so tightened his grip on his sword.
Even this far south, on remote Hainan, the tales of Mount Hua had reached them. How could he not know what incredible things they had accomplished?
Every time he heard such stories, the heart of the warrior Gwak Hwan-so swelled with admiration. His fighting spirit, too, burned hotter. Countless times he had sworn that someday he would stand against enemies just as they did.
And that long-cherished wish would be fulfilled here, today, in this very place.
I can do this too!
Clenching his teeth, Gwak Hwan-so charged forward like lightning.
“Taaaah!”
His sword swung with ferocity.
The feel of the earth beneath his feet.
The fullness of inner energy flooding his entire body.
The weight of the sword hilt in his palm!
And above all, the overwhelming sense of unity!
This was what it meant to become one with the sword.
His blade came crashing down in a straight line toward the head of the still-stunned ghost-skull unit fighter.
Claaang!
And in that instant, Gwak Hwan-so’s mouth fell open on its own at the horrible pain that shot into his wrist.
His sword had been stopped by a huge saber that flashed up to meet it. Even though he had brought all his strength to bear, the ghost-skull fighter’s saber blocked the blow completely, like a rock wall.
No…
Flustered, Gwak Hwan-so looked into the other man’s eyes. Through the narrow gap where sword and saber crossed, he saw bloodshot eyes glaring back at him, and the hot blood boiling in his chest began to cool.
The ghost-skull fighter sneered and muttered, “You little brat…”
Bang!
With a thunderous explosion, Gwak Hwan-so stumbled backward, then backward again, staggering in panic. The palm that had met the blade had split open, and dark red blood ran down in streams.
But he had no time even to feel the pain. The enraged ghost-skull fighter had already exploded with killing intent and charged straight at him.
“You bastard!”
Crash!
Gwak Hwan-so barely managed to block the saber flying toward him, and his body was knocked back. It felt as though the whole arm he used to hold the sword had been shattered from the shoulder down. He had likely suffered internal injuries from the collision of their inner energies, because a mouthful of blood surged up into his throat.
So strong…
He was absurdly strong. So strong it was hard to believe these were the same men who had been so helplessly swept aside just moments ago.
Why?
At that moment, Gwak Hwan-so understood what mistake he had made.
They had only seemed weak because the Heavenly Friends Alliance disciples pressuring them were even stronger. In truth, these were the very fighters of the Myriad Man Manor who had once made the whole world tremble with fear.
So, naturally, they were not enemies Gwak Hwan-so could hope to face alone.
The reason his first sword strike had worked was because they had been rattled by the earlier barrage of attacks. If they met him head-on, with skill alone, he would never be able to handle them.
He had overlooked that fact for a fleeting instant, swept up by excitement and by the confidence that his first attack had landed.
What an idiotic mistake…
But as always, regret comes too late, no matter how quickly it arrives.
“Die!”
Before he could properly repent for his blunder, the saber strike the ghost-skull fighter unleashed came flying straight for his chest.
“Kh!”
Clang!
Gwak Hwan-so twisted his sword desperately and managed to block the saber. He poured every ounce of his inner energy into the blade, and thankfully that was enough to throw the attacking saber off its line. The problem was that his own sword was knocked away.
And into the brief opening at his throat, the saber came flying again—faster than before.
“S-Senior Brother! Nooo…!”
The world seemed to slow.
Lee Ja-yang’s shocked scream stretched out as though heard underwater. Even the saber, which had been flying like a streak of lightning, seemed to crawl forward slowly enough for a fly to land on it.
Ah…
But in that world slowed by terror, Gwak Hwan-so was no different. No matter how he strained or twisted his body, there was no way to evade the saber aimed at his throat.
Damn it…
Just as he instinctively squeezed his eyes shut, sensing death, something suddenly cut into his field of vision.
A sword?
A sword of pale white light flew in at incredible speed and blocked the saber that was aiming for Gwak Hwan-so’s throat.
But to Gwak Hwan-so, it looked far too fragile to be real resistance. Wasn’t it obvious common sense that in a clash of strength, a heavy saber would overpower a slender sword?
And yet the scene that unfolded before his eyes shattered that common sense completely.
Claaang!
The instant sword and saber collided, the sword twisted slightly and drained away all the force behind the saber. At the same time, the sword qi bursting from the blade sent the heavy saber flying back as if it were made of paper.
What?
Gwak Hwan-so could clearly see the ghost-skull fighter’s face contort. Judging by the twitching in his wrist, he seemed to be suffering the same pain Gwak Hwan-so had felt just moments ago.
The sword that had knocked away the saber did not stop there.
Flash!
The white blade moved, drawing an illusion-like trajectory through the air. It was straight, yet also curved; sharp, yet somehow soft.
Seeing the sword come for his throat, the ghost-skull fighter jerked in alarm and threw his head back to dodge.
Swish.
The razor edge of the blade skimmed past the ghost-skull fighter’s throat.
Once again, in that sensation as though the world had slowed, Gwak Hwan-so saw it clearly: the skin on the man’s neck splitting open, and a few drops of blood springing from the wound.
He dodged…
Gwak Hwan-so’s eyes widened.
The sword that had passed by the ghost-skull fighter’s throat came to an abrupt halt in midair, then was drawn back twice as fast as when it had first struck.
And then Gwak Hwan-so saw it.
He saw the blade, recovered along a trajectory completely different from the one it had taken on the thrust, slash across the ghost-skull fighter’s throat.
Slash!
The ghost-skull fighter’s face, which had clearly shown relief at having avoided the first strike, was slowly overtaken by shock. That shock gradually turned to despair, and then to unmistakable fear.
Thud.
Blood burst from the fallen ghost-skull fighter’s throat and seeped into the white sand, spreading outward.
Gwak Hwan-so could not say a single word. Gooseflesh rose all down his spine. It was not because he had survived a mortal danger.
This is… their true skill.
He had seen it clearly, and felt it: the unimaginable distance that separated the Heavenly Friends Alliance from the rest of them.
Among the people here, how many would realize that the man who had just fallen had been cut by two swords, not one?
If Gwak Hwan-so himself had not been so terrified that time seemed to slow, he might have believed the first sword had already cut the man’s throat. And if he ever had reason to examine the corpse later, only then would he have wondered why the wound across the neck was not one but two.
He understood then: true skill does not always reveal itself clearly to the eye. It hides in the fleeting instants that ordinary people never notice.
“Are you all right?”
“...What? Ah… yes!”
Gwak Hwan-so looked up blankly. Before him stood a handsome young man wearing a pure white hero’s headband.
“Ah…”
“You’re not fighting alone! You’re fighting alongside your martial brothers and sisters. Don’t forget that this is not Gwak So-hyeop’s battle, but Hainan Sect’s war.”
Still dazed, Gwak Hwan-so nodded again and again, and the man nodded back lightly in return.
“Then…”
The man—Baek Cheon—turned in a smooth motion and flicked his sword lightly, shaking the blood from its tip as he said, “Let’s go seize the ship.”
“...Yes!”
Gwak Hwan-so, who had only been staring at Baek Cheon’s back as he ran ahead, clenched his teeth. Then he shouted,
“Follow the Acting Sect Leader!”
“Yes, Senior Brother!”
The Hainan disciples in their blue robes surged forward like the rough waves crashing onto the shore, sweeping over the ghost-skull fighters.
It was the moment white sword light scattered like sea foam across the blue waves, and bright red petals seemed to bloom across the southern sea’s vast expanse.
---