Team Battle (1)
We had agreed to scatter the moment the team battle began. The Flag Bearer Corps fielded roughly forty members here, and with that many people moving all at once, the opening moments were bound to descend into chaos.
And chaos always produces stragglers. Someone gets separated from their squad, or mistakes an enemy for a teammate in the confusion.
Our plan was to prey on exactly that — pick off the stragglers. Of course, there was an equal chance we would be the ones getting picked off one by one, but that much we simply had to accept.
If you want the reward, you have to shoulder the risk.
Anyway, the confusion would only last so long — once it settled, we could regroup. That was the plan, provided the others could hold out until then.
However, I was soon forced to revise my thinking.
Thwang!
"Hrk!"
"Do not block my lord's path!"
The reason: Han Mook, reverse-gripping his wooden sword, was fighting unexpectedly well. He used quick footwork and the rebound of his own movements to build acceleration before striking at his target. Honestly, I was impressed.
Is that guy perhaps a Moyong bastard?
Moyong Hu's conduct had been deplorable to the last, but when it came to pure skill, the man was sublime — so it wasn't impossible. He'd been spouting nonsense earlier and I'd forgotten to ask what martial arts he actually practiced. I'd have to remember to ask later.
"Young Lord! Forgive me, but please fall!"
An ambush? Isn't that a bit low for royalty? The attack came hurtling in out of nowhere, and I reflexively swung my wooden sword, driving it hard up into my attacker's jaw.
Crack!
"Ughk."
The man crumpled where he stood, out cold. If you're going to ambush someone, at least announce yourself.
At any rate, Han Mook was fighting far better than expected. The problem was Sunwoo — and Ran.
Ran showed no aptitude for combat whatsoever, so as soon as the team battle started, I'd stashed her in a suitable thicket. She kept trying to follow me, so I'd thrown in the courtesy of picking her a few flowers, too.
But there was no telling when she'd be discovered, so I needed to retrieve her the instant the chaos died down. With that in mind, I laid into everything my eyes landed on with my wooden sword.
"Ughk."
"Gwak."
"Kiyaaa-ho!"
Someone's scream seemed off somehow, but I did my best to ignore it.
As I worked through them one by one, the initial pandemonium gradually began to thin.
Time to gather the others.
If the other Flag Bearer Corps members came to their senses and ganged up on us, we'd be crushed piece by piece. So I decided to round everyone up at once. As I circulated to reform the squad, I soon caught a familiar voice.
"Haahp! Behold the true power of the Wind-Snow Sword Art!"
"An art with nothing in it but downward strikes sure does talk a lot."
So Sunwoo was still holding out.
I immediately turned toward the sound of his voice — and the moment I saw who he was fighting, I picked up the pace.
"That son of a bitch Wang Ojong."
I couldn't say exactly how strong Sunwoo was, but I knew for certain he couldn't handle Wang Ojong.
"Hyaap!"
Sunwoo let out a battle cry and unleashed his Wind-Snow Sword Art. Wang Ojong took one look at it and snorted.
"That's just a downward cut."
With that, Wang Ojong's wooden sword arrested Sunwoo's mid-swing. In the same instant, his kick came flying.
Kehk!
The air burst from Sunwoo's lungs as he tumbled across the ground, and Wang Ojong raised his sword overhead.
"Sorry, but there's a man I have to surpass. And for that, I have no choice but to learn from the Vermilion Bird Pavilion Master."
Hearing this, Sunwoo's face twisted.
"You're already engaged to the Young Lord, and you still can't give up?"
"I never gave up!"
At that outburst, Wang Ojong brought his sword down — but I was already lining up the back of his head.
Thwack!
Cleanly struck, Wang Ojong collapsed on the spot.
He actually dared to covet someone else's fiancée?
After confirming Wang Yeomsu wasn't looking this way, I laid into Wang Ojong's back with my wooden sword. Sunwoo watched with an expression of pure revulsion, then collected himself and rushed to stop me.
"That's enough! Another hit like that and you'll actually kill him!"
"If I actually wanted him dead, I'd have hit his head instead of his back."
Truthfully, hitting the head didn't sound bad either, but that could stay my little secret.
Sunwoo tilted his head, half-convinced, half-not, but eventually nodded.
"Like I said before, everyone's about to start regrouping. I'll go bring Ran back, so if you find Han Mook, bring him here."
"Understood."
With the assignments settled, we scattered again. Wandering around looking for two people together would be a pointless waste of time — and besides, Ran, with her utter lack of combat ability, would have trouble lasting that long.
I sped up using the Shadow of Authority Art, one of the lightness techniques I'd relied on most in my past life. Practicing the Predictive Bow Stance had made me far more adept at manipulating my internal energy, and I arrived faster than I'd expected.
I set about searching the thicket for Ran at once.
She's gone?
She'd definitely been here, but she'd vanished. Had she already been discovered by another squad? Or maybe she'd gotten restless and wandered off on her own.
Either way, I couldn't afford to waste time. I was about to give one more quick search before heading back —
Rustle, rustle.
Someone's here.
I'd come straight here in a beeline, so it was no surprise someone had followed my trail. Slowly, I moved my hand toward my wooden sword.
Rustle.
Just as I tightened my grip, ready to use my draw technique to turn someone's chin into an afterthought —
"Ta-da! Did I scare you?"
"Ran?"
"Yep! It's me!"
Ran popped out of the thicket and flung her arms wide. She'd been holding her breath the whole time, apparently, planning to surprise me.
"Didn't I tell you to stay put?"
"But I got so bored."
One light scolding and she pouted on the spot, looking for all the world like I'd wronged her beyond words.
There's no arguing with that face.
Either way, I'd found Ran, so it was time to hurry back. By now Sunwoo was surely waiting at our meeting spot with Han Mook in tow.
I crouched down so I could move quickly — so I could carry Ran on my back, since she couldn't use lightness techniques.
"All right. Hop on."
Without a moment's hesitation she clambered aboard, wrapping her arms tight around my neck. Once I'd confirmed her grip, I used the Shadow of Authority Art just as before and made for the meeting point.
***
Just as I'd expected, Han Mook and Sunwoo were already there. Both were completely caked in dirt — it looked like they'd had a rough time of it.
"Looks like there are about five squads left, counting ours. From here on, we split up two by two."
"Again, my lord?"
Sunwoo answered with a face that said, then why did we bother gathering? I understood the sentiment. Regrouping only to scatter again right away wasn't exactly intuitive.
But I had my reasons, and I explained them one by one.
"First — we're going to butt into fights that are already in progress."
"Fights already in progress, you say?"
"Yeah. But if all four of us pile in at once, it just becomes a three-way standoff."
"Then with two... you mean it becomes a different kind of fight entirely?"
"Correct."
With two people, we could latch onto one squad and help crush the other. But if all four of us charged in together to gang up, would anyone actually trust the others? Everyone would be too paranoid about betrayal to cooperate.
That's why it had to be two. Four was too many, and one was too risky.
Having laid all that out, I paired Han Mook with Sunwoo. I planned to carry Ran myself as I moved.
"When we strike together, Han Mook disrupts first. Then, the moment an opening shows, Sunwoo uses that Wind-something to finish it. That way the pincer works out pretty smoothly."
I'd been thinking about their martial arts while watching them fight, and this was the most efficient combination. Han Mook's strength was speed, so rather than committing to a single opponent, he was better off harassing several at once. If Sunwoo's downward strikes then drove straight into the gaps he created, we would almost never lose.
"Yes, my lord! I shall pierce every gap with the Wind-Snow Sword Art!"
"Right. You go stab the gaps with that Wind-whatchamacallit."
"Yes, my lord! The Wind-Snow Sword—"
"You do great work with your Wind-something-or-other. It's actually a decent art."
"....."
Sunwoo stared at me with a face full of grievances, but I refused to engage.
Wind-whatchamacallit and Wind-something-or-other are basically the same thing. Why does he have to make such a fuss over a slight wording difference?
Anyway, having dispatched the paired-up Han Mook and Sunwoo, I carried Ran on my back and went hunting for anyone who'd lost their squadmates.
Thwack!
"Ughhh!"
The man whose belly I'd run through with my wooden sword dropped to his knees and keeled over. Meanwhile, another came at me swinging.
I channeled my internal energy through the subtleties of the Two-Coins Stance, coiled it around his blade, and flung him sideways — then, seizing the opening, drove a kick up into his jaw. Two bodies hit the ground in a single exchange.
It was a combat method I'd refined so the Two-Coins Stance could be used in plain offense and defense alike. In theory I'd have had the added option of striking with my left arm, but with Ran riding my back, kicks were all I had. A little regrettable, admittedly.
"Young Lord, you're amazing! You made something super hard look so easy!"
"Do you even know what I did?"
"You just spun around and around! That's hard!"
She seemed to be talking about the spinning game. You know the one — twirl your body around until you get dizzy. I did it as a kid too, so I know: five turns and you can't even walk straight.
"That game just gives you motion sickness. You should play a different one."
"Hm?"
At my words, Ran tilted her head as if she had no idea what I meant. Were there other games besides the spinning one?
Just as I was giving it serious thought, something caught my senses.
This is—
A familiar presence. That cold energy, without a doubt...
Seolha?
The instant her name flashed through my mind, something came flying at me.
Shwoong!
In the blink of an eye, a hand-span-long ice awl was right in front of my nose. Startled, I swung my wooden sword, channeling internal energy into it, and batted the awl away.
"Seolha, it's me!"
The moment I'd deflected it, I declared myself. She was probably too far away to recognize me — that must be why she'd shot first.
But wait — is it really okay to be launching ice awls in a group sparring match like this? Isn't that dangerous? I was still mulling it over when another ice awl came flying. This time, there were three of them.
I frantically deflected and dodged, and by the time I was done, Seolha had closed the distance to within plain sight.
I opened my mouth to demand what her problem was — and immediately shut it. Cold fury was pouring off her eyes in waves.
By the calculations of my brilliant mind, Seolha was furious about Ran latching onto me earlier. Desperate to defend myself, I barely managed to pry open my trembling lips.
"Seolha, just hear me out. There's been a massive misunderstanding here. A colossal one. Let me explain everything."
For a long moment Seolha didn't move a muscle — then she abruptly gave a slight nod of her chin. A silent gesture: go on, keep talking.
"That girl, Ran — she just threw herself at me out of nowhere. It's not like I wanted to hold her, okay? And think about it — didn't I pull her off right away?"
Even by my own standards, that was an extremely convincing defense. I was just thinking Seolha's anger might finally thaw when she raised her hand and pointed at me.
No — to be precise, she was pointing above my head.
I looked up. And there, beaming down at me with a radiant smile, was Ran.
Ah. I'm still carrying Ran right now, aren't I.
"Young Lord... who's that woman?"
Oh no. I am so dead.