The Two (II)
Before long, the sky had reached its darkest hour.
The raindrops were thinning, little by little.
In their place, the wind began to blow a touch stronger.
After the Eldest Young Master’s appearance, the archers had ceased their fire.
Waaaaah—!
Because of that, the only sounds left were the distant, faint clash of weapons and dying screams drifting from the street battles in the city.
“…….”
The Eldest Young Master Yeon So-hyeon, of whom they had only heard rumors, was unexpectedly a refined beauty of a young master, with delicate lines.
In the past, Baek Cho Jin-in had once glimpsed Yeon So-hyeon’s mother, Yak So-yu, from afar.
In the Eldest Young Master’s fine features he could see a resemblance to her.
It was a face utterly unsuited to this blood-soaked battlefield.
His attire, devoid of any armor or weapons, was much the same.
The black outer coat he wore, woven as if from Heukjamsa—black silkworm silk—was the height of elegance, and not a speck of mud clung to his black leather shoes.
His hands, free of any ink stains or calluses, were like orchid leaves that had never known hardship.
That appearance of the Eldest Young Master stood in such stark contrast to those who had been rolling through this hellish place that it provoked an almost unpleasant sense of alienation.
“What?”
It was Cheonui Mubong Yeon Seo-rin who shattered the silence.
She tapped her own shoulder with the flat of her sword and laughed.
“You all chicken? Why’s everyone so quiet?”
Yeon Seo-rin’s provocative words.
“Nonsense.”
Twitch.
Wudang’s Steel Dragon Fang, Baek Cheong, who had been watching from a distance, bared his teeth.
“If you’re going to spout that crap, come at me right now.”
The disciples of Wudang and Mount Hua also flared with anger and began to raise their swords, but Baek Cho Jin-in stopped them with a slight raise of his hand.
“…….”
This was a moment that demanded caution with every move.
“I am honored to meet so distinguished a personage.”
Then the old man brought his hands together in a slow, almost leisurely, yet thoroughly respectful salute.
“This humble Taoist is Baek Cho, an elder of Wudang.”
An introduction befitting a man of rich experience.
He said nothing unnecessary that might reveal he was leading the vanguard force.
“Baek Cho Jin-in, Hyeonhyeon-ja—your renown is well known to me.”
But his counterpart was none other than that Eldest Young Master Yeon So-hyeon.
“The reason you took command of the vanguard this time is because the time is approaching for Wudang to nominate candidates for the next Grand Elder, is it not?”
“…….”
As if it were nothing at all, he had grasped the internal affairs of Wudang’s highest echelons.
“Baek Cho Jin-in. You have dirtied both hands all your life on Wudang’s behalf, yet as always, few take notice of those who toil in the shadows.”
Unlike ordinary people, the Eldest Young Master neither stammered nor drew out his words.
He never adjusted his pace to search for vocabulary, nor tangled his tongue while speaking long sentences.
It was as if one were watching an actor who had rehearsed his lines in advance.
“This participation in the war will be of great importance to you. I wish you martial fortune.”
He even brought his hands together in a formal fist-and-palm salute.
The attitude was quite courteous, yet the content was anything but.
To expose even the personal circumstances one would rather keep hidden, and then to wish martial fortune upon someone already suffering a heavy loss…
“…I am grateful, Eldest Young Master.”
Yet as a veteran tempered through a hundred battles, Baek Cho Jin-in received the salute with a deliberately composed expression.
“However, Eldest Young Master, are you not the commander of an entire army?”
Beneath the wrinkled, drooping eyelids, the old man’s deep eyes never stopped moving.
The placement of their archers is a headache. They have no intention of simply letting us go, do they?
“In such a critical situation, is it truly acceptable for the commander to leave his post…?”
Was the Eldest Young Master truly in overall command of the forces?
Just as the Eldest Young Master had done to him, it was a subtle method of fishing for information within a calm question.
“It does not matter.”
Unexpectedly, the Eldest Young Master readily admitted that he held overall command.
“In any case, your side has no outstanding strategist like Sama Dae-gunsa, nor any capable commanders, does it?”
The Eldest Young Master gave a faint smile and shrugged.
“So what reason would I have to keep holding the baton?”
Indeed.
Had the Eldest Young Master also discerned that Sama Dae-gunsa had not yet arrived?
“Is that so?”
But unlike the Eldest Young Master, Baek Cho Jin-in had no intention of admitting it so readily.
“Yet, Eldest Young Master, might this not also be Sama Dae-gunsa’s tactic of emptiness and substance, designed to exploit your carelessness? Or else—”
The old man casually shifted his gaze past the Eldest Young Master’s shoulder as he continued.
“Sama Dae-gunsa may, at this very moment, be aiming not here but at the Moyong Family.”
“Amusing.”
The Eldest Young Master laughed.
“But empty bluster will not work on me.”
“Heh heh. Do you think so?”
They were not simply wasting time.
[Archer No. 11, movement and deployment complete.]
[Archer No. 5, relocating to new sniping position.]
The Eldest Young Master’s archers were securing the most perfect positions centered on him,
[White three-story building, right window—three archers. Orange-tiled four-story—two archers confirmed.]
[Right side, archers moving along the white rooftop wall.]
[Confirmed.]
while the Wudang martial artists, careful not to let any telepathic transmission leak, rotated their hands behind their backs and used hand signals to pinpoint the archers’ locations.
“In truth.”
The Eldest Young Master raised one hand vertically and clasped the other behind his back.
“Even if your words were true, it would not matter.”
His feet swept the ground with elegant composure, lowering the center of gravity in his lower body.
Ssssh—.
It was nothing more than a simple motion.
Yet that alone made the moisture-laden air seem to press down heavily upon the gathering.
“If I deal with you here, this battle will end regardless.”
Baek Cho Jin-in clicked his tongue inwardly.
So buying time only goes this far.
The Eldest Young Master’s archers finishing their preparations was just a little faster than their own side completing countermeasures against those archers.
“This humble Taoist agrees with the Eldest Young Master’s words.”
Shring—.
Baek Cho Jin-in’s sword, a touch shorter than a typical Wudang blade, released a sharp aura into the darkness.
It was a sword meant for Hyeonhyeon-ja, Wudang’s troubleshooter who often had to wield it even indoors.
“If I deal with you, Eldest Young Master, here, this war will end.”
A chilling smile settled on Baek Cho Jin-in’s wrinkled face.
“So I likewise have no particular objection.”
A formidable killing intent.
“…….”
“…….”
Even though they were allies, the disciples of Wudang and Mount Hua felt a momentary chill.
“Then—”
At the very instant he declared the conversation over—
Kwaaang!
“Then the talk ends here!”
Yeon Seo-rin’s preemptive strike cut off the breath of the moment with perfect timing.
Improved Taiyi Fist
Shoulder Technique — Heavy Mountain Shoulder
“Keheuk…!”
Struck by Yeon Seo-rin’s lightning-swift shoulder charge, a Wudang disciple was sent flying all the way to the opposite rooftop.
And that became the signal that announced the start of battle.
[Open fire!]
Bang! Tatatang!
From afar came a sound like beans being roasted, and muzzle flashes flickered into view.
Kang, kakakakang!
Swords of the Wudang and Mount Hua disciples flashed like light-beams and split the bullets in midair, sending them cascading down.
“Go!”
At Steel Dragon Fang Baek Cheong’s shout, the disciples scattered in all directions as planned and began to run.
Their targets were the archers.
“Where do you think—!”
There was no time to react or counter.
Yeon Seo-rin charged at them with unbelievable speed.
Crack!
She tore the shoulder of a Wudang disciple who had turned his back with her bare hand, and at the same time sent a Mount Hua disciple’s head flying with her sword.
Puhwak!
“Cheonui Mubong…!”
Hot on her heels came Steel Dragon Fang Baek Cheong.
“Your opponent is me!”
As if sealing off every direction in a single breath, his sword savagely shredded the air.
“Hmph…!”
But Yeon Seo-rin, snorting in contempt, was already outside his range.
“Who said I’d be your opponent?”
From the start she had no intention of facing Steel Dragon Fang Baek Cheong.
Yet he could not simply let her go when she was targeting the disciples.
I’ll make you regret showing me your back!
Power flooded into the hand gripping the sword, and sparks seemed to fly from Baek Cheong’s tightly clenched teeth.
Taiqing Sword Art
Four Symbols — Chaotic Mist Form
Clearly Yeon Seo-rin knew that white-hot sword lights were rushing to strike her from behind.
Yet—
“Kraaak!”
“Keoeok…!”
—she paid them no mind and continued laying hands on the Wudang and Mount Hua disciples with her back turned.
Their concentration disrupted by the rain of gunfire, they could not even properly block Yeon Seo-rin’s single strikes and met their end.
How dare she—!
Eyes bloodshot at her actions, Steel Dragon Fang Baek Cheong poured even more power into his sword.
At the very moment the sword light grew still more intense, an urgent telepathic message flew into his ear.
[Behind you!]
Before he could even realize the message was from Baek Cho Jin-in, he instantly abandoned the sword strike he had been executing and rolled hard across the floor.
Kwaaang!
It was as if a thunderbolt bomb had detonated at point-blank range.
Could a human fist produce such power?
Crrrraaack!
The single fist that exploded in midair explosively shoved the surrounding air outward and heavily collapsed the rooftop floor.
“……!”
A sight that made the hair on one’s head stand on end.
Before Steel Dragon Fang Baek Cheong could even confirm that the master of that Hundred-Pace Divine Fist was the Eldest Young Master, Hyeonhyeon-ja Baek Cho Jin-in closed in on the Eldest Young Master’s rear.
“…….”
No grand shout.
No sword presence either.
Mysterious Void — Finger-Twining Killing Method
The tip of the sword moved as if alive like a serpent’s head, aiming for the Eldest Young Master’s vital points.
“Hup—!”
Yet without even looking back, the Eldest Young Master moved his opposite hand first and drew a flow through the air.
Yang true qi that began at the fingertips describing a circle met Yin true qi rising from the lower body through a stroke of the foot across the floor, and for a moment they achieved harmony.
Thooong—!
It was like seizing a serpent’s body to block its venomous fangs.
A martial study of softness overcoming hardness that perfectly suppressed Baek Cho Jin-in’s killing-intent-laden sword.
“What…?!”
Having immediately recognized the nature of that martial study, Baek Cho Jin-in’s face filled with both shock and fury.
“You dare use our Wudang’s Taiji Fist…!”
Leaving only a faint smile in answer toward the old man, the Eldest Young Master once more formed a sword-finger seal with his opposite hand and aimed at the distant Steel Dragon Fang Baek Cheong.
Sun Shooting Sword Art
Ultimate Form — Houyi Shoots the Sun
Was this how the arrow with which Houyi shot down the sun must have been?
As if one could see neither the beginning nor the end of light, the Eldest Young Master’s sword stroke drew a long, straight line all at once.
“Bastard…!”
Had it not been for Baek Cho Jin-in clinging tenaciously to the Eldest Young Master—
“Damn it…!”
—Steel Dragon Fang Baek Cheong would have died instantly with a hole bored through the back of his head without even knowing what hit him.
“Haha, Diancang! Excellent!”
As if mocking Steel Dragon Fang Baek Cheong who had rolled across the floor once more, Yeon Seo-rin’s sword, aimed at the enemy disciples, let out a long cry.
Sun Shooting Sword Art
Light-Splitting Sword — Second Form
Puhwahwahwak!
“You damned woman—!”
Watching yet another wave of heads tumble from the disciples charging toward the archers, Steel Dragon Fang Baek Cheong roared.
“Stay calm, Baek Cheong!”
Baek Cho Jin-in shouted thus and clicked his tongue inwardly.
The archers targeted the disciples of Wudang and Mount Hua.
The disciples of Wudang and Mount Hua targeted the archers, yet Yeon Seo-rin targeted them.
Steel Dragon Fang Baek Cheong targeted that Yeon Seo-rin, yet the Eldest Young Master targeted him.
Baek Cho Jin-in targeted the Eldest Young Master who targeted him, yet still without a proper effective blow—
—only the disciples were falling dead one after another.
The level of the Eldest Young Master, who freely wielded both hands, was gradually exceeding his own imagination.
“You intend to face both of us?!”
Having grasped the situation, Steel Dragon Fang Baek Cheong immediately twisted his body and charged at the Eldest Young Master.
“This arrogant bastard…!”
“…….”
Though he did not say it aloud, Baek Cho Jin-in agreed with Steel Dragon Fang Baek Cheong.
The Eldest Young Master’s present actions amounted to nothing less than declaring he would face two Wudang masters at once.
“Come.”
The Eldest Young Master smiled arrogantly and beckoned to the senior and junior brothers.
“I shall let you master and disciple feel yet another wall.”