To the Limit of Horse and Ox
The training grounds of the guards, located on the outskirts of the massive Restis Ducal Residence.
Normally, it was a place where off-duty guards sweated it out half-heartedly or ran through drills. But right now, the air was thick with taut tension.
Clang—!Kaaang—! Harsh metallic clashes echoed across the grounds.
“Urk!”
“Gaaah!”
Two guards flew through the air with screams, crashing hard into the dirt. The crude iron swords in their hands rolled limply away.
“Huff… huff… Who’s next?”
Standing tall in the center was Weger, glaring around with heavy breaths, gripping his iron sword at a slant. His worn leather armor was torn in places, caked in sweat and dust, but his eyes burned sharp as blades.
“That crazy bastard! What the hell did Weger eat to get like this!?”
“No way! Just a few years ago, he was rotting away sickly in the Northern Annex, wasn’t he!?”
Dozens of guards encircling the grounds recoiled in horror, stumbling back. At Weger’s feet lay over ten men, foaming at the mouth or clutching limbs in agony. Even the squad leaders—top dogs in the main estate guards—couldn’t withstand a single one of his heavy blows, scattering like fallen leaves.
In the shadowed entrance to the grounds, Kael watched the chaos with arms crossed, intrigued. Beside him stood Ella, hands clasped tight, gazing anxiously at Weger.
Hoo, not bad at all.
A faint smile curved Kael’s lips. Weger’s movements still looked crude and full of openings to his eyes, but the sheer momentum was impressive.
There were no flashy techniques or feints in Weger’s swordplay—just straightforward chops, thrusts, and parries, brutally simple and stubborn. Yet woven into that simplicity was the profound essence of the Jongnam Sect’s advanced sword art, the Palgunjin Sword. No ordinary guard could block those strikes.
“No one else stepping up? Then fetch the captain right now!”
Weger spat blood-mixed saliva onto the ground and bellowed. It was outright insubordination, calling out the direct superior who’d unilaterally canceled his assignment and demoted him to patrol grunt.
“You bastard! You think you can run wild here!?”
Then, the barracks door at the far end slammed open, revealing a hulking man. A middle-aged brute with a long scar across his face—the captain of the main estate guards.
“Ha, finally showing your precious face, Captain. Fuck it, let’s throw down!”
Weger raised his sword high and roared. The captain sneered, drawing the massive longsword from his belt.
“Servicing the young master in that annex must’ve bloated your balls. Don’t even dream of a reassignment. Today, you’ll get beaten half to death by my hand and rot in the brig.”
“Bullshit! I’m challenging for promotion fair and square, by the guards’ own rules! Beat you, and I pick my own post, right!?”
“Crazy fuck. Pups don’t fear tigers, huh? Brain rotted in that annex? Come at me. Win, and I’ll approve your damn request.”
A faint glow rose from the captain’s body. Aura. Not as dense or sharp as a formal knight’s, but the bluish energy cloaking his blade proved he was no slouch.
“Hup!”
Weger kicked off the ground fiercely, charging the captain. His iron sword cleaved the air, crashing down heavily toward the man’s head.
Kaaaaang—!!
Their blades met head-on with a eardrum-shattering boom. The shockwave scattered sand everywhere.
“Urgh…!”
Pain leaked from Weger’s gritted teeth. His feet dug deep trenches in the sand as he slid back three full steps. His hands tingled like they’d been electrocuted.
The captain, rooted like a boulder, smirked viciously.
“That all the strength you trusted to rampage? Just a dumb hick with brute force.”
Hmm, impressive. He’s right on the cusp of first-rate.
Weger was barely second-rate entry-level. Even within second-rate, the gap between beginner and peak was vast. Kael’s eyes narrowed from the sidelines.
But not an insurmountable one. Show me, Weger.
Weger gnashed his teeth and lunged again.
“Not over yet!”
But the fight turned one-sided. Each swing of the captain’s longsword tore Weger’s armor, carving shallow cuts into his skin.
Clang! Kaang! Thud—!
“Gahk!”
Weger’s sword flew aside again, and the captain’s heavy kick slammed his gut. He soared into the air before tumbling across the dirt.
“Weger!!”
Ella started forward from the entrance, but Kael extended an arm, blocking her.
“Watch quietly.”
“But Young Master! He’ll get killed like this!”
“Didn’t I tell you to leave it to him? Don’t mock a man’s vow. He’s staking his life right now, Ella.”
Ella teared up at Kael’s firm tone but halted.
Blood trickled from Weger’s mouth as he lay in the dirt. His body screamed in agony, head spinning, the urge to black out overwhelming.
But in his mind flashed his pledge days ago in the Northern Annex yard.
—I’m ready to die for you anytime, Young Master!
And Kael’s cool yet warm rebuke.
—You two—don’t you dare die before me without my permission. Got it?
Right. If I crumble here, who protects our Young Master? This little trial? Don’t make me laugh!!
Fierce flames reignited in Weger’s dimming eyes. Trembling, he braced his arms, using his sword like a cane to stagger up.
“Stubborn bastard. Still not learned after all that?”
The captain irritably raised his longsword.
“I’ve got shit to do!!”
Weger roared with bloodshot eyes, gripping his iron sword two-handed. Deep in his dantian, the inner energy of the Mysterious Heaven Kun-Gon Heart Method surged wildly.
Before, he’d unconsciously channeled it into his blade. This time was different. The first essence of the Jongnam Sect’s Palgunjin Sword that Kael taught him.
The heavy sword bends for no will.
A heavy, unyielding intent to crush the foe. Weger’s energy responded.
Vrrrrm—!
His iron sword hummed strangely, vibrating. The rippling air around the blade swirled into a vortex, sucked toward the tip.
The captain’s eyes widened.
What the—? A mere guard handling that kind of energy!?
The aura from Weger’s sword was fundamentally heavier than anything from the soldiers he’d faced.
“Tch! Cheap trick! Think I’ll wait!?”
Sensing danger, the captain unleashed his full aura and swung down. Weger’s blade whipped upward in response.
Palgunjin Sword, First Form: One Sword Parts the Heavens—the opening strike to claim all directions. In mastery, it could cleave the sky itself. Weger unleashed it.
Kaaaaang—!
Imperfect, but enough.
“Gaaaah!!”
The captain screamed in pain. His prized longsword shattered, fragments flying. Unable to withstand the shock, his bulk flew back, rolling across the ground.
Thud—!
Dead silence fell over the grounds.
“Huff… huff…”
Weger leaned on his near-breaking sword, panting raggedly. Covered in sweat and blood, his presence was overwhelmingly intimidating—no one dared approach.
“Cough… You damn… fucker…”
The captain struggled up, spitting blood, glaring. His right arm hung limp, grotesquely twisted and broken.
Weger staggered forward.
“Fight’s over. My post’s mine to choose now.”
The captain gnashed his teeth.
“Arrogant shit! Break my arm and walk free? I’ll never approve your reassignment! It’s the acting patriarch’s order!”
Weger’s face hardened at the excuse—
“The acting patriarch’s command, eh? Quite the powerful backer.”
A chilling voice shattered the silence. Silent footsteps approached: Kael.
As he walked, guards blocking the path parted like the Red Sea in terror. His invisible pressure dwarfed the captain’s imagination.
What… is this? The eldest young master this strong?
Rumors painted him sickly, out of the succession race. But the heir before him was anything but.
Kael stopped before the fallen captain, looking down.
“So scared of the acting patriarch’s word? Then my command as the family’s first son must sound like a joke.”
The captain stammered under the pressure.
“Code? I respected it. No power plays. Weger earned it all himself. Isn’t that right?”
“B-But!”
“You’d trample his effort with one ‘acting patriarch’s order’? Fine. Then I’ll kill you here with the heir’s authority.”
The captain shut up at the icy threat. No matter the secret orders, defying the heir’s public command in broad daylight before subordinates? No grounds for a mere captain.
The matter was out of his hands now.
“…I obey. Young Master Kael.”
He bowed grudgingly through the pain.
Relief washed over Weger; he turned dazedly to Kael.
“Y-Young Master… I did it.”
Kael grinned brightly, patting his shoulder.
“Yeah, from start to finish—brilliant.”
“I did it, Young Master!”
“You did. Outstanding, Weger. A strike worth praising.”
“Heh heh… Better than Oliver, right…?”
Kael chuckled.
“Comparing to a dog, even?”
“Might be nothing to you, Young Master, but I gave it everything… Gotta be better than a dog, yeah…?”
“Still miles from Oliver, you oaf.”
“Ah, damn.”
Weger grinned foolishly—then his eyes softened.
Thud—
His massive frame collapsed into the dirt, utterly spent and fainted.
To the limit of horse and ox, huh. Heh. Good man.
“Weger!!”
Ella rushed over, struggling to support him. Kael gently lifted Weger’s body onto his shoulder.
“No fuss. Just exhaustion. Hurry and prep a soft bed.”
With fainted Weger slung over, Kael shot a mocking glance at the encircling guards and strolled out.
You lot better pick your sides wisely.