Chapter 241
Chapter 241
The Iron Emperor — Chapter 241
Chapter 77: The Pride of Marlon
After ending the communication with his homeland, Prince Ssen leaned back in his chair, feeling tired.
"Master."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"What do you make of it?"
Duke Union Ken was the hidden Sword Master of the Marlon Kingdom. He was also Prince Ssen's swordsmanship instructor, but he could not readily answer the question.
"......It is difficult to gauge."
"What do you mean?"
In response to Prince Ssen's question, Duke Ken slowly inhaled and then exhaled as he continued.
"Hoo, I could not grasp their martial prowess clearly. Especially that man called Mong Ryu-hwa who escorted Your Highness here earlier—even on my own, I find it difficult to guarantee victory against him."
"W-What exactly does that mean?"
"It means he might be a Sword Master."
A look of suspicion and disbelief crossed Prince Ssen's face.
"Even putting aside the existence of such a person, are you saying they assigned him to guide us?"
"That is the mystery. Moreover, the large man and the slender man who stood beside Mong Ryu-hwa also seemed to be of a similar level."
"Huh!"
Clatter!
The startled Prince Ssen shot to his feet, oblivious to his chair tipping over backward.
"And as for Baron Gowin."
"I know about him."
Prince Ssen nodded at Duke Ken's words.
"His martial prowess is publicly known to be at the Intermediate Sword Owner level, but judging from the energy I sensed today, he has surpassed Advanced Sword Owner."
"You mean he has reached Peak Sword Owner?"
"Yes."
"Who would believe any of this?"
"I can't believe it either. I think it's impossible."
Duke Ken shook his head, showing disbelief in his own judgment.
"In truth, I've never seen another Sword Master, so I may have been mistaken."
"But doesn't it mean there are at least four swordsmen at the Peak Sword Owner level?"
"That is correct."
"Hooo."
Prince Ssen's sigh grew deeper and deeper.
The next morning, Prince Ssen and Duke Ken set out early to tour the Gauri capital under Mong Ryu-hwa's guidance, walking in silence.
They were left speechless at the sight of the construction site for Risel's Magic Tower, and they marveled at the lively appearance of the common people. Even the greetings the passing citizens offered Ryu-hwa were filled with sincerity and respect.
'As expected, if he is this respected...'
Prince Ssen's suspicion toward Ryu-hwa deepened.
'Is he here to keep watch on us after all? Or did they deliberately assign strong men to break our spirit?'
Duke Ken was also lost in his own worries.
"Might it be possible to see the soldiers' training ground?"
He inwardly wished to observe the knights' training, but it was only normal for such processes to be kept secret. Who would willingly reveal their nation's military strength?
"Yes. Follow me."
To Prince Ssen's cautious question, Ryu-hwa answered readily.
'It's a shame, but checking the quality of the soldiers is one measure of national power.'
The foundation of a strong army is strong soldiers.
A knight's martial prowess can raise the quality of the troops, but training strong soldiers is just as crucial.
As Prince Ssen followed Ryu-hwa's steps, he focused his hearing on the spirited shouts coming from afar.
"Attention! We greet Daesaja Mong!"
"Good work. Are Dupyo and Giyul inside?"
"Yes! The two Daesaja are inside, supervising the training."
"Supervising, my ass. I'd be surprised if they weren't just goofing off."
After grumbling briefly at the soldier's report, Ryu-hwa politely spoke to Prince Ssen and Duke Ken.
"This is the training ground where Gauri's soldiers are drilled."
"The spirited shouts are thunderous; they seem full of energy."
"You are too kind. There are still many new recruits, so you will see plenty of rough edges. Please, come in."
With faces full of curiosity, Prince Ssen and Duke Ken followed Ryu-hwa's guidance and stepped inside.
Not long after they began walking, a huge bellow erupted.
"Hmph, is that running or crawling!"
"It's crawling, what do you expect."
At Samdopyo's bellow, Ryu-hwa approached and sneered.
"Look who's here to rub salt in the wound... Oh! Daesaja Samdopyo pays his respects to Prince Ssen."
"I hope we are not disturbing you while you are busy. Pay us no mind and continue training the soldiers."
"Thank you. You bone-picking bastards, move those feet!"
At Prince Ssen's words, Dupyo, who had quickly acknowledged them, turned his head and shouted again, causing the soldiers to move their feet even faster as if their lives depended on it.
"Nyang!"
"Nyang?"
When Dupyo called out loudly for Nyang, Prince Ssen, who could not possibly understand the meaning, tilted his head. But Nyang's identity was soon revealed.
"Kyaong!"
"Huurk!"
A saber-tooth tiger leaped over the roof of a building and pounced on Dupyo like lightning. Startled, Prince Ssen staggered backward, and Duke Ken beside him swiftly drew his sword and swung.
Clang!
The sword Duke Ken had thrust toward the saber-tooth tiger stopped with a loud metallic clang.
"Ah, this big cat is basically that fellow's pet. You dense bear, don't call him out of nowhere—you'll scare the guests!"
"Heh heh heh heh, my apologies. Nyang, stop licking me, it tickles."
The sight of the giant saber-tooth tiger hanging on Dupyo and licking him was astonishing enough, but Duke Ken's surprise lay elsewhere. His sword, drawn in a split second, had been blocked so casually. And wasn't Ryu-hwa's weapon a spear? Duke Ken had moved first, yet Ryu-hwa's later-drawn spear had still intercepted his sword.
"Nyang! The stragglers are your meal! Bite 'em!"
"Kyaoong!"
"Heeeyuk!"
"S-Save me!"
As if unconcerned with Prince Ssen and Duke Ken's shock, they merely cackled while watching Nyang chase after the soldiers' heels.
Putting their shock aside, they followed onward to where another man was raising his voice.
'That man, too, was with those two earlier...'
Duke Ken considered himself lucky to get a closer look at all three men he had watched carefully the previous day.
"What, you swinging chopsticks now?"
"You ever seen chopsticks that big?"
Apparently amused by Buyeo Gi-yul's grumbling, Ryu-hwa could not resist needling him.
"Hmph, stupid bastards. Prince Ssen, what brings you to such a humble place? I am Daesaja Buyeo Gi-yul."
"Pleased to meet you."
Muttering as if he did not like it, Giyul offered his respects to Prince Ssen. Having acknowledged Giyul's greeting briefly, Prince Ssen and Duke Ken fell into serious thought as they watched the soldiers' training.
'Is this truly a training ground for ordinary soldiers?'
As he watched the training soldiers, Prince Ssen began to harbor doubts. Earlier he had only seen them running, but now it was different. Every single one of them was gripping axes and slamming them down into thick tree stumps, and each blow looked deadly.
"Clean and heavy blows."
Duke Ken also voiced his admiration and began to share the same doubts as Prince Ssen.
"Well then, please take your time looking around...."
"Don't mind us."
"Then if you'll excuse me."
At Prince Ssen's words, Giyul turned his back and began to yell at the top of his lungs.
"You dense bastards! I told you to put everything into one strike! What's with the jerks fiddling with their axes right now!"
Giyul approached, shouting irritably, and reached for his waist.
'Double axes?'
Prince Ssen's eyes gleamed with interest.
As he watched Giyul take an axe in each hand, Prince Ssen could not help but exclaim at what followed.
Giyul crossed his twin axes through the two tree stumps on either side faster than the eye could see, and the two trunks slowly toppled behind him.
"As expected...."
Though it was only one move, Duke Ken knew his judgment had not been wrong.
"Shall we head back now?"
"Is this all?"
To Prince Ssen's disappointed question, Ryu-hwa answered with a light laugh.
"Haha, the other places are no different from this anyway. Looking around would be a waste of time."
"Then there's nothing to be done."
Still unsettled, Prince Ssen and Duke Ken kept glancing back, unable to shake the sense that something was being hidden from them. But there was no further way to verify it.
As they reluctantly left the training ground, Gye Ung-sam appeared before them.
"I am Joui-du Daehyeong Gye Ung-sam. Did you have a good look around?"
"Hah, how could watching some kids fool around be interesting?"
When Ryu-hwa cut in with a grin, Ung-sam shot back with a menacing expression.
"For a man who skips every soldiers' training session, your mouth sure works well...."
"It's His Majesty the Yeolje's order, what power do I have?"
Seeing Ryu-hwa's brazen expression as he played innocent, Ung-sam gripped the hilt of his long sword, trembling, and spoke quietly.
"Come at dinner time."
"Why?"
"Let's spar. It's been a while."
"......Just say you want to kill me."
Leaving the deflated Ryu-hwa behind, Ung-sam offered his respects to Prince Ssen again and then turned toward the training ground. Duke Ken carefully spoke up.
"Taedaesaja Mong."
"Yes?"
He was still dejected.
"Is that noble named Gye Ung-sam stronger than you, Taedaesaja? He doesn't look that strong to me..."
"Tch. I'd be lucky if I were anywhere close."
"How much stronger is he...?"
Prince Ssen added his question.
"If the two peers you saw earlier and I attacked him together, we'd probably be about evenly matched."
"......."
"......."
Following Ryu-hwa as he resumed walking, Prince Ssen and Duke Ken had to ponder whether his words were true or not.