What Kind of Crazy Place Is This? (5)
Kaang!
The blades slashed out by the swordsmen of North Sea Ice Palace were as fierce and razor-sharp as the words north wind and cold snow themselves.
They were strong enough that even compared with the blades of the Peng Clan he had seen before, they didn’t seem to fall short by much.
Of course, what he had seen at the martial arts tournament had been wielded by inexperienced younger disciples, so it could hardly be called the true blade of the Peng Clan.
But even taking that into account, they were still blades of the Peng Clan. The very fact that they could be compared to them was proof enough of just how extraordinary the warriors of the Ice Palace were.
As expected of the warriors of North Sea Ice Palace, one of the Five Palaces of the Outer Sea.
What was unfortunate, however, was that the martial prowess of the Mount Hua Five Swords had already long since surpassed that level with ease.
Grgrrk!
The sword drove the flying blade back.
This, this is…
Chu Gyeom’s face, the one leading the Ice Palace’s blade-wielders, stiffened in an instant.
Normally, a blade was a heavier weapon than a sword. If two people with equal strength wielded them, a sword should never have been able to overpower a blade. Yet that sword, bending as lightly as though it might snap at any moment, was pushing his blade back.
H-How?
The force transmitted through the blade was immense.
And yet, his opponent didn’t even seem to be exerting much strength at all, while his own blade was being shoved back helplessly.
“Y-You bastard!”
Forcing out power, Chu Gyeom tried to shake off the sword and create distance. But the other man’s sword clung to his blade as if fused to it, refusing to budge no matter how much strength he used, instead pressing down on him.
Wh-What kind of internal energy is that…?
Strength and internal energy—his opponent surpassed him in both.
When he considered that the person he was fighting looked so young, it was simply incomprehensible.
“Taaaat!”
Chu Gyeom drew up every ounce of internal energy he had and finally managed to shove the sword away, rolling back to escape.
“Huuuf!”
A rough breath burst from his mouth. In that single exchange, he had spent so much mental and physical energy that cold sweat was already pouring down his forehead.
“...Who are you?”
This time, his voice carried unmistakable tension. Baek Cheon, who still held his sword leveled at him, gave a small shrug.
“That doesn’t seem especially important. What matters more is whether you intend to keep fighting.”
“How insolent!”
Chu Gyeom ground his teeth.
That was the sort of remark one made while placing him completely beneath one’s feet.
“You think having a bit more strength changes anything? I’ll make you pay for that arrogance.”
At that moment, a sheet of pure white frost began to form along the tip of the blade in Chu Gyeom’s hand. He had driven the North Sea Ice Palace’s unique yin-cold energy technique to its utmost extreme.
Feeling the chill pouring from the tip of the blade, Baek Cheon adjusted his stance.
“First of all…”
Then he spoke with a calm, settled expression.
“There seems to be a misunderstanding, but I never looked down on you. I simply don’t want to fight if I can help it.”
The corner of Chu Gyeom’s eye twitched.
But the words that followed from Baek Cheon completely overturned his insides and left them in ruins.
“And among my sect brothers, I’m not even considered especially strong. You’d probably do well to train your body a little more…”
“You little brat!”
Chu Gyeom’s fury exploded so violently that his eyes nearly turned white, and he charged at Baek Cheon like a madman.
“Why are you getting so angry?”
Baek Cheon sighed as though he truly didn’t understand, then casually swung his sword.
Kwaang!
The moment sword and blade collided, a huge explosion thundered out.
In the past, if he had met such a blade strike head-on with his sword, the sword would never have withstood it. At the very least, the edge would have been damaged; at worst, it would have cracked outright.
But the Plum Blossom Sword newly forged from Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron cleanly received even that powerful strike without a single scratch.
Good.
It was lighter than anything and stronger than anything.
Now he understood exactly why that Chung Myung bastard had gone on and on about needing good swords.
And the benefits of this sword were not limited to defense.
Paaaat!
The sword that had blocked the blade strike moved with astonishing speed, now aiming straight for Chu Gyeom. Startled by that incredible pace, Chu Gyeom reflexively twisted his body. But he couldn’t avoid the sword brushing past his shoulder.
The thick padded clothing he wore tore open in an instant, and blood spurted out in a red spray.
Baek Cheon swiftly withdrew his sword, then thrust again at Chu Gyeom before the blood that had flown into the air even had time to fall onto the snow.
“Kuh!”
Chu Gyeom hurriedly swung his blade to block the thrust. But as a heavy weapon, the blade could not hope to keep up with the sword’s speed.
“Aaaaargh!”
Realizing that if this continued he would be cut down without even getting the chance to use his hands properly, he poured all of his internal energy into the blade and swept it in a wide arc. Even if a few places got pierced, he was determined to wound the other man’s body by force.
But the moment Baek Cheon saw the blade move, he simply retreated without hesitation.
Whoooosh!
As a result, the blade cut through empty air in vain.
“...”
Throb.
At the same time, the dull pain in his shoulder made Chu Gyeom stare blankly at Baek Cheon.
Just looking into the other man’s lowered, steady eyes made his spine go cold and gooseflesh race over his whole body.
He doesn’t even seem to be twenty yet—how can he be so calm?
The sword was not just sharp; it was almost wickedly so. Yet the man wielding it, Baek Cheon, radiated nothing but composure and ease.
Where do monsters like this even come from…?
Then Baek Cheon lightly lowered his sword.
“Are you going to keep going?”
“...”
“If you don’t intend to fight, then leave now. I don’t want to make trouble if I can avoid it.”
“...The trouble has already been made.”
“Hm.”
Baek Cheon nodded as though there was no helping it.
“Then don’t blame my sword for being merciless.”
Baek Cheon kicked off the ground and closed the distance to Chu Gyeom in a single breath.
Kakang!
Yoon Jong, who had deflected a blade aimed at his head, narrowed his eyes.
Indeed...
The cold iron sword had increased the power of their swordplay by another level, but the reason his blade now felt far more at ease was not simply because of the sword itself.
My lower body has become stronger.
Legs that planted themselves firmly against the ground allowed the sword to be used with far greater breadth.
Now that the internal energy from the Jaso-dan had fully settled into him, combined with the muscle he had steadily trained and a good sword—together with a lower body sturdy enough to support Mount Tai itself—it felt as if his skill had doubled in a short time.
And above all else…
“Diiieee!”
“Kang!”
Does real combat harden a person this much?
The experience he had gained fighting Maninbang was pouring out of him unchanged.
If it had been the old him, he would have flinched at the sight of such a murderous blade charge. But not now. He could maintain perfect calm even as he looked at that sword.
Tak!
Yoon Jong did not stop at simply blocking; he thrust out his foot and preemptively drove his sword toward where the opponent’s blade was going to extend.
Kaaang!
“Kuh!”
A blade that could not complete its swing could not display its full power. The slender sword tip completely suppressed the heavy blade.
It felt as though the world had suddenly opened wide.
Even while fighting the enemy right in front of him, it felt as though he could see everything behind him and to both sides. At that almost intoxicating sensation, Yoon Jong drew in a low breath and forced his mind to settle.
I’ve become strong.
He had been surrounded by monsters for so long that he hadn’t noticed.
Chung Myung aside, even Baek Cheon and Yu I-seol were far beyond his reach. And honestly, there was no need to even bring them up—Jo Gul alone had already surpassed Yoon Jong completely in raw skill.
Because of that, he had humbly accepted the fact and tried to be satisfied with supporting them. But even so, his sword was steadily, continually growing stronger. As though there were still far more roads ahead of him.
With a slight curve at the corner of his mouth, Yoon Jong shoved the opponent back.
“I’m going to get even stronge—”
That was when it happened.
“Woaaagh!”
Yoon Jong, who had been about to chase after the man he’d forced back, suddenly stopped dead in place and whipped around. Jo Gul, who had been fighting behind him, rolled across the ground to evade an incoming blade.
“...What are you doing?”
When Yoon Jong asked in disbelief, Jo Gul scrambled to his feet with a flustered expression and cried out in complaint.
“S-Sahyung! This isn’t working!”
“...What nonsense are you talking about?”
“Th-that…”
Jo Gul looked back and forth between his sword and the enemy with a deeply troubled face.
“Every time I try to do something, that keeps coming out! That thing!”
“...That thing?”
“Ah! That thing, that thing!”
Ah, that thing.
Yoon Jong looked up at the sky for a moment.
When will that idiot become a human being?
Apparently, every time Jo Gul swung his sword, the Plum Blossom Sword Art was being unleashed naturally.
That meant he had already reached the level where sword intent could flow into the blade without deliberate thought, which should have been praised—but the problem was that they currently needed to hide their identity.
“Agh! What kind of sword art made this stupid thing anyway!”
“...You’re one more insult away from getting hit.”
If the ancestors heard that, they’d beat him with plum branches themselves!
In truth, if it were another sect’s sword art, it wouldn’t be easy to identify it just by looking. Sword arts were, by nature, fairly similar in outward appearance.
But what other sect in the world used sword qi like flowers?
“Use basic swordsmanship, basic swordsmanship! You idiot!”
“I’m trying to, but it just keeps happening! Aaaagh!”
Under the ceaseless rain of blade strikes, Jo Gul rolled across the ground again. Yoon Jong shut his eyes tight.
Jo Gul.
What exactly are you good at?
He let out a long sigh, then snapped his head around.
This isn’t going to work.
It would probably be faster for him to get stronger than to keep propping up that bastard.
Steeling himself, Yoon Jong raised his sword with resolve.
“Are you all right, Father?”
“...I-I’m fine.”
Hong I-myeong watched the battle unfolding before his eyes with trembling pupils. He had thought that if things went badly he would carry the child away and rush back in, but the situation was far beyond anything he had expected.
I knew they wouldn’t be ordinary people, but...
This had surpassed even his imagination.
It wasn’t that Hong I-myeong was stupid. He knew the aura they gave off was sharp, but considering their age, he had never imagined they would be this strong.
Especially that swordsman...
Watching Baek Cheon casually handle Chu Gyeom had left him beyond surprise and close to speechless disbelief.
Who was Chu Gyeom? He was someone with enough martial strength to rank as a squad leader even within North Sea Ice Palace. He was likely at least twenty years older than Baek Cheon.
And yet, he couldn’t even put up a fight against that young swordsman Baek Cheon.
And it wasn’t just Baek Cheon.
Sshaeak!
A sword light as light and graceful as a dancing butterfly rode up along the blade and repeatedly sliced shallow cuts across the wrists.
“Guh!”
The instant a groan like a burst of wasted breath sounded, the sword lightly jabbed the shoulder, then the hilt spun around and struck the back of the opponent’s head.
The entire sequence was astonishingly light and fast.
“Krrk…”
Thunk.
Yu I-seol, giving a cool, indifferent glance to the unconscious man collapsed on the snow, walked slowly toward the next opponent.
Her fluid movements were enough to make any onlooker marvel without meaning to.
To think each and every one of them is a Peak Realm swordsman...
Not only Baek Cheon and Yu I-seol, but even that Yoon Jong and Jo Gul were incredibly skilled swordsmen.
And then—
“Amitabha!”
Flash!
“Aaaaaaaaaagh!”
A blinding golden light burst forth, and one person was sent flying into the air.
There could hardly have been a more unreal sight in the world. Hong I-myeong’s mouth fell open in dazed astonishment.
What in the world is that monk supposed to be?
The twin-tailed woman who was single-handedly taking on one of the Ice Palace warriors was clearly dazzling in her own right, but because the people guarding the surroundings were so absurdly strong, she looked comparatively weak.
Every young martial artist gathered here was a master capable of overwhelming the Ice Palace’s swordsmen.
“How can there be people like this…?”
But then—
“Ah, seriously!”
Another head popped up from the cart’s baggage compartment.
“...”
Chung Myung, wrapped so tightly in a bear pelt that only his head showed, shouted in open irritation.
“Hurry up and finish this so we can go, you slugs! What the hell are you doing?”
“...”
That guy…
What exactly was he supposed to be?
Hong I-myeong fell into utter confusion before a human being he had never seen the likes of in his entire life.