Chapter 206
Chapter 206
The Iron Emperor — Chapter 206
What filled Dupyo's sight as he charged in on the saber-tooth tiger was the blue haze of light streaming in tendrils from Count Krian's sword.
Kwagwang!
Sparks flew and a tremendous roar—something that could not be called the mere sound of metal striking metal—echoed across the battlefield.
"Tahap!"
Failing to gain the upper hand in the first clash, Count Krian twisted his upper body on his horse and swung his sword. Dupyo blocked with the rear portion of his staff.
CLAAANG!
A second intense reverberation.
"Hmm."
Neither side was giving ground.
And yet Count Krian's face was etched with astonishment.
'Blocking Aura—that is certainly not simply the advantage conferred by a weapon.'
He himself was a Peak Sword Owner, short of Master level though he was.
With the martial prowess that had earned him the rank of count and the post of governor of South Roselin, he knew full well that his Aura was not being blocked merely by a weapon's power.
"Kuh-haaah!"
As if to give no opening, Dupyo came charging in, spinning his staff like a windmill. Count Krian charged in just as fiercely. Another exchange passed. This time it was Dupyo's brow that furrowed.
'Hmph. Damn it all... the old man's got some strength.'
Count Krian's sword held utterly steady against his staff, and Dupyo felt his temper rising.
"Let's see you block this too! Chahaaa!"
"Kyarreung!"
Dupyo's battle cry and the saber-tooth tiger's roar mingled as they flew through the air. It was not simply a leap—he launched himself forward, pouring the saber-tooth tiger's massive weight into his weapon as he brought it cleaving down.
"Hup!"
Count Krian hurled the shield he had held in one hand to the ground and grasped his sword's hilt with both hands, swinging upward with all his strength.
CLANG!
"Kihihihing!"
A thunderous roar burst forth, and Count Krian had no choice but to throw himself from his horse. Rolling twice before rising, Count Krian felt a crushing sense of dismay.
"Keuk!"
Count Krian felt his sword hand go numb. Before his eyes, his beloved steed—its forelegs completely shattered, unable to withstand the overwhelming force—lay crying out piteously.
"Hm."
Dupyo, who had been watching the scene with a frown, dismounted from the saber-tooth tiger's back. At that sight, Count Krian scowled and flung out a remark.
"Are you mocking me?"
"Mocking, you say. Hmph. It's a matter of pride."
"Kyarreur."
A low growling cry from the saber-tooth tiger sounded behind Dupyo. Count Krian took a step back at Dupyo's rough answer and parted his lips.
"Then I apologize."
Dupyo's meaning was that he had no wish to hear he had won only thanks to the saber-tooth tiger he rode. Count Krian, having grasped that, offered his apology. Dupyo clicked his tongue at those words and looked toward Count Krian's beloved horse, which was still crying piteously to one side.
"That fellow... are you going to leave him like that?"
"...Would you wait a moment?"
At Dupyo's words, Count Krian lowered his sword to his side with a pained look and sought his leave. Dupyo answered with a nod.
"You've served me well all this time."
"Hihihing."
As its master knelt on one knee and stroked its mane where it lay fallen, the horse rolled its great eyes and let out a low whinny, as if it understood. A moment later, Count Krian's sword—one hand covering the horse's eyes—came down.
"That fellow... you truly had a good master. Heh heh heh."
"A wretched master, rather."
Count Krian, knowing there was no malice in Dupyo's words, answered calmly and settled back into his stance.
"Then I shall come to you first!"
"Taha!"
Do men grow closer through fighting?
A voice rang out—spirited, yet with a warmth that could be felt—and Dupyo answered by gripping his cherished weapon tight and letting out a battle cry.
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!
Unlike the pattern of mounted combat, an unbroken clangor of steel rang out. Count Krian's sword came shearing down ceaselessly from every direction, almost too fast to see. Dupyo, gripping his staff at the midpoint, blocked the blue radiance by striking left and right in turn.
"Kuryaha!"
Dupyo, who had been forced onto the defensive, sprang backward and spun a full turn.
He poured that rotational force into his staff, extending it long as he swung, and Count Krian's form went flying through the air.
"Hayaaa!"
A long battle cry burst from Count Krian's lips as he descended from the air, bringing his sword down in a slash. Dupyo, who had exposed an opening due to the large motion, wore a look of dismay. It was already too late to pull his weapon back and block.
"Ee-ik!"
He twisted his body by force, springing his feet backward. Even so, Count Krian's sword pursued Dupyo as if it had eyes of its own.
Slice!
"Ugh!"
The sound of flesh parting mingled with the grimace on Dupyo's face. Count Krian's sword had carved a long gash into his flank—not deep, but long.
"Now rest at last!"
Count Krian pressed in after Dupyo, who had fallen to the ground trailing a long spray of blood, intent on finishing him.
"General!"
"General, sir!"
Urgent shouts from the soldiers of the South Roselin Assault Unit followed. But Dupyo rolled once on the ground, righted his upper body, and thrust out a hand.
WHOOSH!
"Hut!"
A startled sound burst from Count Krian's lips as he closed in. Something had come flying from Dupyo's abruptly extended hand with a violent crack, hurtling straight for his head.
CLANG!
It struck the flat of his sword and glanced off.
"A stone?"
A hollow voice escaped Count Krian.
In the moment Dupyo had rolled on the ground, he had snatched up a stone and hurled it. Count Krian felt a touch of disbelief but soon shook his head. Judging by the impact transmitted through his sword, it would have been more than enough to smash his skull.
"Ugh. Damn near died."
Dupyo, having caught his breath, rose while clutching his flank.
"General!"
At his miraculous survival, several knights of the South Roselin Assault Unit raised their swords and rushed over.
"Stay back!"
"G-General!"
The knights who had been rushing to his aid came to a halt at Dupyo's roar.
"A scratch on the hide doesn't kill a man!"
"General..."
Dupyo grinned at the worried knights, baring bloodstained teeth.
"If it were you bastards, would you want other people butting into a fight this fun? Heh heh heh."
At Dupyo's unruffled demeanor, the knights could find nothing to say and merely shook their heads as if there was no helping it.
"Isn't that right, Count Krian?"
"Kuahahaha! Of course!"
The two men's laughter rang out long. Yet a voice intruded upon that amicable(?) scene.
"'A scratch,' he says. Blood's pouring out of your side like a stream."
"He'll be fine. That lout's so big that even losing that much blood won't faze him."
It was Gye Ung-sam, standing with arms crossed and looking on as he taunted—and beside him, Buyeo Gi-yul, rubbing salt in the wound. At the two's appearance, Dupyo scowled and grumbled.
"Damn it, it's just a figure of speech. Hmph."
"All he's got left is that mouth of his..."
At Dupyo's words, Ung-sam was still muttering as if something had put him in a foul mood. Meanwhile, Count Krian, who had surveyed his surroundings at their arrival, felt a sense of futility.
The knights who had been fighting around him had all been captured or struck down dead, and the sounds of battle were steadily diminishing, ringing out only sporadically.
'It is over, then...'
He could sense that the battle had already ended.
Defeat.
Those two syllables drained the strength from Count Krian's body. But his own duel was not yet finished. He turned his head and shifted his gaze toward Dupyo. The figures of Ung-sam, standing behind with arms crossed, and Giyul beside him, holding twin axes, came into view.
'Warriors equal to this commander called Dupyo before me—or even stronger!'
Admiration flickered in Count Krian's eyes as he beheld the two men.
"We've no intention of interfering in this fight. If you don't fight to your heart's content, won't you be left with regrets?"
Ung-sam perched himself on a pile of rubble to one side and tossed out the remark.
"I am grateful."
A faint smile touched Count Krian's lips. And he felt his drained strength and fighting spirit surge back to life.
Tap, tap. Shwaaaaah.
A passing shower?
What began as one or two droplets quickly became a fierce downpour. Count Krian briefly washed his face in the cool rain streaming down through the air, then opened his mouth with a resolute expression.
"It seems the war is lost. But this duel, at the very least—it seems I must win!"
The bold ring of Count Krian's voice resounded, and Dupyo answered with equal spirit.
"Keu-heung! I can't very well throw cold water on a battle we've already won!"
The instant his words ended, Dupyo launched himself forward.
Count Krian's sword danced dazzlingly, deflecting the incoming attack. Whether because the wound in his flank hampered his movement, Dupyo's motions had grown noticeably sluggish.
CLANG-CLANG!
Denying him the advantage of a long weapon, Count Krian's sword slipped inside and beat relentlessly against Dupyo's Mukbit iron staff.
'Hm?'
A flicker of unease crossed Count Krian's face as he poured on the assault. Dupyo, who had sustained wounds large and small from his attacks, showed no sign whatsoever of retreating.
'As if...'
As if he was drawing him in.
Before that thought could fully register, Dupyo's form closed in right before his eyes!
"Hut!"
Count Krian sucked in a sharp breath.
Dupyo had slipped inside his sword and seized him by the nape of the neck with a powerful arm. Flustered, Count Krian hammered Dupyo's forearm with the hilt of his sword, but the grip—clenched like iron—would not loosen.
THWACK!
"Keo-heok!"
The moment Count Krian felt Dupyo's head seem to recede into the distance—his forehead came hurtling close in an instant...
Dupyo's triumphant headbutt struck home.
His head ringing, his senses swimming, Count Krian desperately swung his sword.
Slice!
"Ugh!"
As the tip of the sword gouged through his flank, Dupyo groaned, and the arm he had locked tightly around his opponent began to loosen.
"Kaat!"
Count Krian swung his sword toward Dupyo as he reeled away with blurred vision. From his lips burst a battle cry laden with every ounce of his strength, blood spraying as he did.
SLASH!
A red line of blood appeared across Dupyo's neck where Count Krian's sword had passed. That was his final attack.