Our Kids Are a Little Rough Around the Edges (3)
Red plum blossoms burst open atop the cliff.
The sword qi that surged from Baek Cheon's blade rode the wind sweeping over the cliff face, scattering crimson flowers into bloom.
Hoo—
Baek Cheon's eyes were twisted tight as he poured all his strength into his shout.
Had he ever once, in all his life, painted plum blossoms with such force? These blossoms—exquisitely detailed, eerily vivid—contained everything Baek Cheon had built up until now.
And yet.
Blue sword qi surged up over the plum blossoms he had summoned with all his might. So dark and dense it seemed as though it might freeze the soul in place, that azure power crashed down like a monstrous wave and swallowed the flowers whole.
A plum blossom might endure the winter chill, withstand the blazing summer sun, and bear up against the howling gales, but before a wave that came rolling in to smash it apart, it could only be crushed and perish without resistance.
Baek Cheon’s face contorted.
Kwaaaah!
But that still wasn’t the end of it. The blue qi that had trampled every last blossom wriggled and undulated like a living serpent, then shot straight toward Baek Cheon.
“Kuh!”
It felt as though that qi had a will of its own. The thick malice coiled within it made his skin crawl.
Kagagagak!
The Plum Blossom Sword, driven by every ounce of qi Baek Cheon could force into it, collided with the onrushing energy.
“Ghh!”
A groan he couldn’t quite swallow burst from Baek Cheon’s throat.
It felt as though his grip might tear apart. The force riding that surging qi had far surpassed anything he had expected.
Hold on... just hold on...
But then the blue qi wrapped around the Plum Blossom Sword writhed violently, as though it were alive, coiling around the blade before surging toward Baek Cheon himself.
What?
A trained body moved faster than the mind. Baek Cheon threw himself down, rolling across the ground as if he had been slammed there. The blue qi skimmed past directly overhead, just barely missing him.
Sweat poured down his face like rain.
It’s like the energy is alive!
It was an absurd method of control. It turned the leftover force from a clash of qi-infused blades into a fresh attack.
Of course, it wasn’t impossible.
But Jang Il-so wasn’t only fighting Baek Cheon right now, was he?
Grgrrk.
Baek Cheon drove his sword into the ground and shoved himself upright at once. Then, without a second to think, he kicked off the earth and charged straight at Jang Il-so.
If his blade stopped, those energies would go after his martial brothers. He could never allow that.
He knew it. He had just stepped beyond death.
Had he rolled an instant later, he would already be cooling on the ground, drenched in blood.
Was he afraid?
Don’t be ridiculous.
What was frightening wasn’t dying. What was truly terrifying was surviving and having to look at the dead with his own eyes.
I die first.
That was how Baek Cheon of Mount Hua lived.
Just then, Chung Myung flashed into view like an arrow loosed from a bow, flying straight at Jang Il-so.
“Chung Myung!”
Fwaaaat!
The erupted qi swallowed Chung Myung’s back. But at that exact moment, his sword began spewing countless plum blossoms. Each one was so vivid it looked alive.
And yet, what struck even harder than that clarity was the sheer scale of it. In the instant it bloomed like a cloud, the forest of plum blossoms made it far too difficult to pick out even a single flower.
Kagagagagak!
The blue palm force flaring like fire and Chung Myung’s plum blossoms tangled together in midair.
Tap!
Then Chung Myung lifted himself lightly into the air and, in one stroke, brought down both the Plum Blossom Sword qi he had scattered and Jang Il-so’s palm force together, all at once.
Fwaaaat!
He cleaved the qi in two and surged forward as naturally as flowing water, yet with blinding speed.
But Jang Il-so was already rushing straight toward him, as if he had foreseen that very move.
“Haha!”
Jang Il-so spread both arms wide, his broad sleeves fluttering like scarlet wings.
Fwaaaat!
Lightning-fast slashes followed.
The instant Chung Myung’s sword, wrapped in red qi, came flying in, Jang Il-so’s flowing sleeves sharpened as though they were blades.
Cheng! Chaeng! Cheng!
Jang Il-so’s sleeves and Chung Myung’s sword collided in the air. Cloth met steel, yet the sound that rang out was absurdly like swords clashing against swords.
“Not bad...”
Fwaaaat!
Jang Il-so broke off mid-sentence and snapped his head violently to the side. Chung Myung’s sword flashed past the side of his face with terrifying force.
Fast, powerful, and then, impossibly, it stopped dead in midair—before turning smoothly, softly, redirecting toward Jang Il-so’s throat.
Jang Il-so’s waist bent sharply backward. Chung Myung’s blade skimmed just in front of his nose. No—he had thought it would skim past.
But then.
Fwaaaaaat!
Chung Myung’s sword, halted once more, twisted in midair and changed direction again, aiming to strike down on Jang Il-so.
Jang Il-so’s eyes went wide, nearly splitting open.
His body accelerated toward the ground.
Bang!
Slamming a hand into the earth, Jang Il-so twisted his body sideways, evaded Chung Myung’s blade, and spun through the air with incredible speed. At the same time, his feet lashed out at Chung Myung dozens of times.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
Chung Myung raised his sword in a flash and blocked every single one of the oncoming sequential kicks. But each time they met, his body was driven back inch by inch.
Jo Gul and Yoon Jong did not miss the opening he had created.
“Raaahhhh!”
Jo Gul shot forward like lightning and brought his sword down at Jang Il-so while he was still in the air. At the same time, Yoon Jong charged from the opposite side, drawing a clean plum blossom and engulfing Jang Il-so in sword qi.
“Dieee!”
Kagaaaaang!
Jang Il-so’s bracelet collided with Jo Gul’s sword. Jo Gul was flung backward even faster than he had charged in. At the same time, the plum blossoms surging in from the other side tangled with the blue flames Jang Il-so had unleashed.
Kwaaaaang!
With a tremendous blast, Yoon Jong was shoved back a long way. Blood spewed from his mouth and ran down his chin in a steady stream.
Tak!
The moment Jang Il-so landed on the ground.
Fwoosh!
Like a ghost, Yu I-seol appeared behind him and drew her sword in a streak of light.
“Kuh!”
Jang Il-so’s body jerked violently sideways.
Fwaat!
Yu I-seol’s sword sliced across the waist Jang Il-so had bent back. But as if she had expected even this, Yu I-seol instantly withdrew her blade and launched it out again, dozens of times in rapid succession.
Kagagagang! Kagang!
Every thrust Yu I-seol sent flying was blocked by Jang Il-so’s hands without missing a single one. The metallic ring rang out again and again like music.
Bang!
When her final thrust and the hand Jang Il-so shot out collided head-on, Yu I-seol was unable to withstand the shock and was flung backward, rolling across the ground.
“...”
Jang Il-so slowly lowered his gaze to his own hand.
His eyes twisted slightly.
Red blood had welled there.
It wasn’t a serious wound, of course, but the fact that his hand had been cut was what mattered.
In the instant Yu I-seol was rebounding, she twisted her blade and sliced his hand open.
A truly vicious kind of single-mindedness.
It was a sword that could only be attempted by someone willing to trade a piece of flesh for one drop of Jang Il-so’s blood.
“...This is hardly dignified.”
It wasn’t just his hand.
His clothes were shredded all over, slashed into tatters. Even his neatly arranged hair had been thrown into disarray.
Every person had their own beauty.
For him, as the leader of the Four Hegemons Alliance, to stand here in such a state while these people toyed with him—this was not the beautiful scene he had envisioned.
Grgrgrrk.
Then a sharp scraping sound drew his attention.
Turning his head, he saw Chung Myung dragging the tip of his lowered sword across the ground as he approached.
“How’s that?”
“...”
“How does it feel to get bitten by a dog?”
Jang Il-so’s mouth twisted as he answered.
“For a righteous sect dog to fight in a group and still act so smug. Isn’t that right?”
“I’m the one who feels like I could die of shame hearing that from a bastard who throws oil and uses explosives.”
“Haha.”
Jang Il-so bared his teeth.
It was true: these were a dangerously vicious pack of wild dogs. Even tigers were sometimes killed by wolves, and if they were unlucky, a pack of wild dogs could tear them apart too.
But...
“Even if a thousand dogs came at me, they still couldn’t take me on. Do you know why?”
“...”
“Because there’s an incredibly simple way to deal with them.”
In that instant, a ferocious light blazed from Jang Il-so’s eyes.
Fwaaaat!
He charged at Chung Myung with terrifying speed. It was so fast his body looked like nothing more than a single red line.
Jang Il-so, rushing like a mad hound, wore a ghastly smile as he brought his attack down in one blow.
Whooooosh!
Blue flames bursting from his right arm surged out and swallowed Chung Myung. Chung Myung leaped back without hesitation, but Jang Il-so slammed his palm into the ground and used the rebound to pursue him even faster.
Kwaaaaang!
Behind them, the spot where Jang Il-so had struck the ground exploded a beat late. But by then both men were already well clear of the area.
As Chung Myung flew backward, he thrust his sword at the pursuing Jang Il-so.
Dozens of sword qi launched in an instant flew straight for Jang Il-so’s vital points. But before they could fully extend, they collided with the palm forces Jang Il-so had already created.
Kagagagang! Kagagang!
Jang Il-so ground down and blocked the surging sword qi, then bared his teeth and twisted his wrist. Chung Myung’s sword, aimed for Jang Il-so’s throat, scraped against the bracelet and slid off to the side.
Kagang!
Jang Il-so took that opening and, with a flick of his sword-dislodging hand, unleashed three fists in one breath at Chung Myung’s wide-open chest.
Chung Myung, using the full force of his left hand to unleash Plum Blossom Scattering Hands, rapidly intercepted the fists coming at him.
Bang!
The first strike twisted his wrist.
Kwaang!
The moment the second strike collided, his left hand could no longer resist the force and was knocked back, striking his own chest.
And the third!
Kwaaaang!
Jang Il-so’s fist slammed into the hand that had risen to protect his chest. Blood burst from Chung Myung’s mouth in a fountain.
“Kuh!”
Chung Myung, who had been retreating endlessly, suddenly kicked off the ground and changed direction, charging forward instead.
But then.
Kwaaaaaaaang!
Chung Myung’s body rolled across the earth and was flung sideways. Jang Il-so had already sent palm force in the direction Chung Myung would leap, as if he had known his thoughts in advance.
“You’re easy to read. Really!”
As Jang Il-so moved to charge at Chung Myung, who had barely managed to regain his stance, Yu I-seol and Baek Cheon—who had already closed in behind him—leaped at once and scattered plum blossoms toward his back.
But Jang Il-so didn’t even look back. Instead, he hurled palm force behind him and drove straight toward Chung Myung. The imperfect technique opened a gap, and the plum blossom sword qi that slipped through the palm force buried itself in his back.
If he had tried to block it, there was no reason he couldn’t have. But Jang Il-so didn’t spare the rear even a glance. Right now, it was as if Chung Myung was the only thing in the world that existed for him.
Kwaaaang!
With a powerful kick off the ground, Jang Il-so pounced on Chung Myung just as he was barely getting himself back up and swung his right arm. The sharp claws of palm-force, fierce as an eagle’s talons, clashed head-on with Chung Myung’s sword.
Kagagagagagaga!
The Dark Fragrance Plum Blossom Sword bent as though it might snap, and Chung Myung’s body was shoved backward in one long push. The claws of qi extended right up to his face, raking across it in every direction.
Several bloody lines appeared instantly across Chung Myung’s contorted face.
“Hahahahaha!”
Jang Il-so burst into loud laughter and kept pressing him back.
“Chun— Chung Myuuuung!”
Crushed by the force, Chung Myung’s body was rapidly driven to the edge of the cliff. And since that still wasn’t enough for Jang Il-so, he hurled himself after Chung Myung and leaped out over the cliff as well.
The two men, with sword and hand locked together, began to plummet beyond the cliff’s edge in an instant.
Gagak! Gagagagagak!
“Hwahahahahaha!”
As the two of them fell tangled together into the abyss, madness and murderous intent boiled in their eyes like lava.