We’ve Already Come Too Far (3)
"Speed it up!"
Gojin-ak, the captain of the North Sea Ice Palace’s Ice Sword Unit, barked the order to his men in a loud voice. A knife-like blizzard lashed at their faces, but their pace never once faltered.
Mountain Hua brats.
A faint twist touched the corners of Gojin-ak’s mouth.
For the Ice Sword Unit itself to be dispatched on a mission to apprehend a bunch of insignificant punks like this was ridiculous. It was the very definition of using a butcher’s cleaver to kill a chicken.
But they were warriors of the Ice Palace.
No matter how trivial the task, once an order was given, they carried it out with all their strength. That was the way of the Ice Palace, and the way of the Ice Sword Unit.
"Captain!"
A sharp voice came from behind him.
"There, up ahead!"
Gojin-ak sharpened his gaze and looked forward. Sure enough, through the raging snowstorm, he spotted something moving rapidly in the distance.
"A battle?"
"It looks like we’re a step late."
"Idiot."
At his subordinate’s words, Gojin-ak gave a thin smile.
"If there’s a battle, that means there’s an enemy. Which means it’s not too late yet."
He reached out and gripped the sword at his waist.
As the cold steel touched his hand, a thrill ran through him.
"Now then, let’s have some fun!"
The moment he was about to kick off the ground and charge forward—
"Hm?"
Something strange entered his field of vision.
Among the tangled mass of figures ahead, several suddenly broke away and began charging straight toward them.
"……What are those bastards doing?"
"Looks like they’re coming to meet us."
"Hah……."
Gojin-ak let out a snort of laughter.
The closer they drew, the clearer it became. By their clothing alone, by the way they ran, there was no chance those people were warriors of the Ice Palace.
"So those must be the Mountain Hua brats."
Open mockery settled on his face.
"I’ll praise their nerve for daring to draw their swords against us, but they should’ve known better than to think we’re as soft as the old geezers in the Central Plains."
He murmured low, then suddenly shouted, "Subdue them all! Anyone who keeps resisting can be killed!"
"Yes, sir!"
Once the order was given, he kicked off the ground and accelerated. He had no intention of leaving everything to his subordinates. He meant to crush that arrogant brat leading the charge in a single stroke and seize the initiative.
And the approaching brat seemed to think the same, charging straight at him without the slightest hesitation.
What an insolent bastard!
Gritting his teeth, Gojin-ak poured all his inner force into his blade and brought it down like lightning toward the head of the charging opponent.
KAAANG!
The clang of metal rang out, and Gojin-ak’s body was flung backward as if struck.
What?
For a moment, he couldn’t understand what had just happened. What dragged his fading consciousness back into focus was the vicious pain in his wrist and forearm, and the freezing wind that struck his face.
Spinning.
He twisted his body in midair with great difficulty and landed on the ground. Then he looked forward again, his eyes now sharpened.
A sword that gleamed with an unusually white light was pointed at him. The face of the man standing there, his neat long hair whipping in the wind, was chillingly calm.
"……You……."
Before Gojin-ak could even finish, the man before him spoke.
"I’m Baek Cheon, second-generation disciple of the Mount Hua Sect."
"……."
"And you are?"
Gojin-ak stood back up and raised his sword to point directly at Baek Cheon.
"I am Gojin-ak, captain of the North Sea Ice Palace’s Ice Sword Unit. In the North Sea, they call me the Northbound Sword."
"Gojin-ak of the Northbound Sword."
Baek Cheon repeated the name once, then gave a slight nod.
"Forgive me for not being able to speak at length. I’ll make sure I remember the name, though."
"You insolent bastard……."
The taunt that was barely a taunt made Gojin-ak tremble. And yet, even so, he couldn’t bring himself to rush Baek Cheon immediately.
The heavy ache still lingering in his hand made him hesitate.
That was impossible strength.
His opponent wasn’t even particularly large, and yet somehow he had managed to pack that much power into such a thin sword. It was baffling.
"Captain."
Noticing that Gojin-ak’s momentum had weakened slightly, a subordinate who had caught up to him called out urgently. Only then did Gojin-ak come fully back to his senses.
I made a pitiful show of myself.
He bit down hard on his lip and leveled his sword.
"I admit you’re not to be taken lightly. So don’t blame me if my sword kills you."
The corner of Baek Cheon’s mouth curled faintly.
"By all means!"
With that short reply, Baek Cheon kicked off the snow and swung his sword.
"……There he goes again, that guy."
"And why the hell are you so rude to Sasuk?"
"……I-It was a mistake, so put your fist down. Why has Sasuk suddenly become so violent?"
"I’m not the one who’s become violent—you’re the one who’s lost his mind!"
Hye Yeon, running behind Jo Gul and Yoon Jong as they bickered, couldn’t begin to find an answer to this conversation.
"Amitabha."
They both seem right.
The world was fair, after all.
"Stop spouting nonsense and focus! They’re no easy opponents!"
"Yes, Sasuk!"
Jo Gul and Yoon Jong’s swords flashed blue almost at the same time.
Meanwhile, Yu I-seol, who had been running silently, finally opened her mouth.
"Soso."
"Yes, Sago!"
"To my side."
"Yes!"
Dang Soso clenched her teeth determinedly, sword in hand. Yu I-seol quietly steadied her.
"I’m beside you. If you show what you can do, it won’t be hard."
"Yes!"
Dang Soso shouted with resolve and pointed her sword forward.
Centered on Baek Cheon, they split to the left and right—Yoon Jong and Jo Gul, Yu I-seol and Dang Soso—forming their lines and unleashing their swords.
The falling snow, drifting down like petals, was cleanly sliced apart by the sharp edge of their blades. And then, instead of stopping there, those swords shot even more sharply toward the oncoming Ice Sword Unit.
Swaaash!
A swift sword strike like lightning.
Shocked by the unexpected speed, the Ice Palace warriors frantically deflected the blades.
Kang!
But the swords of Mount Hua were not the sort to end with one clash.
Paahhh!
The repelled blades were thrust out again with even greater speed than before. The swords, blending impossible velocity with uncanny movement, were so ruthlessly practical it was hard to put into words.
Chwaaaak!
Frozen leather armor was split long and wide in an instant, and streams of blood burst forth.
"Kuh!"
Having been embarrassed after exchanging only a single move, the Ice Palace unit stumbled back in disarray. Their faces were full of shock.
F-fast.
Just from a single exchange, they could tell.
These swords were unbelievably fast, brutally practical.
Though their owners still looked young and inexperienced, their blades hunted for vital points with a murderous intent as precise as that of veteran masters who had rolled through the jianghu for decades.
Anyone trying to block them could feel a chill crawl up their spine.
Now that they had seized the initiative, the younger disciples of Mount Hua drove in attack after attack, their swords brimming with sword aura, refusing to relinquish the upper hand.
"Kuh!"
The Ice Palace warriors struggled to regain their footing. But with more than a dozen strands of sword aura flying in at once, there was no way they could maintain a normal stance.
Once their balance was broken, it only deteriorated further, and with that, the qi behind their own swings weakened as well.
And then—
Schlk!
"……."
One Ice Sword Unit warrior’s eyes went wide as a blade raced past his side and split him open.
He collapsed without even managing a proper scream. Even as he fell, he caught sight of Yoon Jong’s expressionless face sweeping past him.
These men had lived by the sword in the North Sea for decades, and yet these young swordsmen were somehow more seasoned.
Realizing he had lost in the one thing that mattered most to a swordsman, he could not overcome his despair and pitched face-first into the snow.
"Uraaaaah!"
Jo Gul’s sword moved with ferocious strength as well, dropping with blinding speed.
Kang!
The man who lost in a contest of raw force was driven backward in a long skid. Each step he lost left a deep track in the snow.
"Take this!"
Once he confirmed the distance, Jo Gul shouted a short cry and swung his sword.
The tip trembled violently, and dozens of plum blossom petals bloomed into existence.
Like snow plums blooming in the depths of winter.
The strike was almost savage, but the plum blossoms Jo Gul had brought forth blended with the white snow so beautifully it was eerie. A truly breathtaking scene unfolded. The most dazzling sword art in the Central Plains was now showing off its beauty without the slightest reservation in this remote land of the North Sea.
The Ice Palace warrior, seeing the red plum blossoms fly toward him, could only stare with eyes wide open.
T-this kind of sword art…….
Anyone in the Ice Palace who used a sword would dream of this once in their life. A dream of piercing every cutting blizzard with the sword. And the dream that, with relentless effort, one day they might reach such a realm.
But at that moment, he understood.
If he wanted to reach that realm, he should have been faster.
Only then could he have blocked these plum blossoms. With his current skill, it was impossible to deflect every one of the blossoms that outnumbered the snow itself.
"Kraaaaaaah!"
The plum blossoms that flew with the blizzard swept across his body in an instant. Slashed shallowly all over, he soon sprayed blood in all directions and collapsed.
The wounds were not especially deep, but the shock of being cut dozens of times in an instant was enough to snatch away his consciousness.
"Good!"
Jo Gul clenched his fist in satisfaction and was just about to rush his next opponent when Yoon Jong’s cool voice rang out.
"Too rough."
"……."
"Stay calm. This is a real fight."
"Yes, Sasuk!"
With great difficulty, Jo Gul restrained his excitement and hardened his expression, lowering his sword slightly. Seeing that his lower body had steadied again, Yoon Jong gave a slight nod and pressed his own blade down a little.
This guy really is…….
Jo Gul’s rate of growth was terrifying. He was only unstable because he was naturally so clumsy. The agility and swiftness of his sword were already at a level Yoon Jong could hardly hope to keep up with.
But that was no reason to be satisfied. Excessive excitement always opened a gap, and could just as easily lead to unexpected mistakes.
"Let’s go!"
"Yes!"
The two of them swung their swords toward the encroaching Ice Sword Unit.
Jo Gul’s quick, cutting sword and Yoon Jong’s comparatively weightier, more deliberate blade harmonized as though wielded by a single person, surging forward together.
Schlk!
Schlk!
Their blades meshed like interlocking gears, and their opponents fell like autumn leaves.
While one focused on the offense, the other blocked the incoming blade. Then, together, they savagely attacked the openings created by the other’s sword.
As one attacked from the front, the other scattered petals from the rear. Sharp sword flowers rained down from behind, yet there was not the slightest hesitation or fear in the movements of either man.
Unshakable confidence.
And absolute trust.
The two of them had already fought the Maninbang’s armed forces without giving ground. Even if the Ice Palace was called one of the Five Hegemons Beyond the Passes, there was no reason its armed forces would be any stronger than Maninbang’s.
Of course, if this had been only a few months ago, the situation would have been different.
But now, after the fierce battles with Maninbang, the two of them had gained hard-earned experience and unwavering confidence. And through the Tang Family expedition, they had even thoroughly absorbed the fundamentals they had once lacked.
There was nothing to fear, and nothing to hesitate over.
"Let’s finish this quickly and go help Soso, Sasuk!"
"……I told you not to get cocky!"
Every time the red plum blossoms bloomed, the faces of the Ice Sword Unit turned pale.
Petals carrying a sword’s chill colder than the northern wind stained the sky of the North Sea red.
"D-dodge it!"
"Aaaagh!"
Panicked cries and loud screams rang out from every direction.
As Yoon Jong’s plum blossoms drifted down slowly, disrupting their formation, Jo Gul’s sword shot in like lightning.
Ever since meeting Cheongmyeong, the two of them had never once put their swords completely down, not for a single day. The long, grueling hours of training were now blossoming through their blades like plum flowers meeting spring, blooming with breathtaking brilliance.
Jo Gul, having completely seized the momentum, bared his teeth and grinned like a mischievous brat.
"If you’re this shocked already, that’s disappointing! My sword is even faster than this!"
"Ah! I told you to stop running your damn mouth!"
……It had blossomed in a somewhat strange direction, but still.