The Weight of Real Combat
Swoosh! Clang!
Light flashed incessantly inside the spacious room.
Fierce battle spirit erupted in all directions, and the screech of clashing metal pierced my ears.
The scent of bloodlust tickled the tip of my nose.
The sheer intensity of the clash weighed heavily on my shoulders.
Screeech!
I dodged a sword thrusting toward me, taking two quick steps back. My stance faltered slightly from the hasty evasion.
Click.
My ears perked up at the sound. It was coming from the left. Should I duck? No.
Half a step to the right. Then spin.
I calculated the trajectory of the incoming blade by sound alone.
I estimated its speed, choosing the most probable path out of all the possibilities.
Once the calculations were complete, my body moved to execute the response.
Whoosh!
The sword grazed past my head, sending severed strands of hair fluttering into the air.
I had dodged the attack, but my body didn't stop.
The momentum was already built up. Using it, I lowered my waist slightly.
My heels naturally shifted backward.
Rather than trying to find my balance, I focused on the sensation of pushing off the ground with my feet.
As I ducked, I relaxed the tension in my twisted waist.
Grip.
I channeled that released energy directly into the sword in my hand.
A swift, crescent-shaped slash of blue energy.
Slash!
A brilliant blue energy swept through the air. The two martial artists rushing toward me were cut down, collapsing to the floor.
"Agh!"
"Cough...!"
I watched them slowly collapse, pooling blood.
Without hesitation, I lunged forward, driving my sword through one man's throat, and kicked the other squarely in the face, snapping his neck.
Confirming the kills, I yanked my sword free and threw it backward with all my might.
Spin! Thud!
"Gah?!"
The blade buried itself deep into someone's back.
It was a martial artist who had been sneaking up behind Do-hyeong.
Hearing the scream, Do-hyeong moved. He slashed the chest of the opponent in front of him before turning to face the one behind.
I ran over and pulled my sword out of the man's back. At the same moment, Do-hyeong sliced the man's throat.
Blood splattered onto the floor.
The nauseating, metallic stench of blood kept assaulting my nose.
I frowned, glancing over at Do-hyeong.
It's still just sitting there.
Do-hyeong's Guardian Spirit remained completely tranquil.
What was going on? Why?
Why is it just standing by?
A bloody battle was raging right here, so why was his Guardian Spirit showing absolutely no reaction?
Is that even a Guardian Spirit?
Judging by its energy, it definitely was one.
And a high-ranking one at that, classified as a mountain-god level spirit.
...But it's completely different from the Guardian Spirits I've seen before.
Its behavior was bizarre.
It didn't react to the danger at all, merely hovering lazily around Do-hyeong.
Was it really a Guardian Spirit? Normally, a Guardian Spirit would move violently or react in some way during a crisis like this.
But this one did nothing.
What was the reason?
I watched, unable to comprehend it.
At that moment—
Whoosh!
A sound came from behind. I tried to spin around, but—
Too late.
I felt I wouldn't make it. Should I roll on the ground? In the brief moment of hesitation—
Thud!
"Argh!"
The man trying to ambush me stumbled. Who was it?
It was Dang Ye-ran. She had slammed her shoulder into him, stopping the surprise attack.
It was a close call. It seemed like she could finish him off now.
However...
"...Huh?"
Dang Ye-ran just stood there, her eyes wide as she stared at the fallen martial artist.
Though she held a dagger firmly in her hand, she was trembling, frozen in place.
What was wrong with her?
Taking advantage of her strange hesitation, the fallen martial artist scrambled to his feet, raising his sword.
Even then, Dang Ye-ran stood helplessly, not knowing what to do.
Frowning at the sight, I swung my sword.
Slash!
I slit his throat. A spray of blood splattered across Dang Ye-ran's cheek.
"...Hic!"
Dang Ye-ran flinched, her body shuddering. I looked at her and spoke.
"...Are you alright?"
"Ah, a-ah... I-I'm fine... I'm okay."
"Thank you for just now."
"N-no... Young Master... What on earth is..."
Still unable to grasp the situation, Dang Ye-ran questioned me.
Clang! Clang!
The surrounding area was still filled with the din of battle. This was no time for a detailed explanation.
"...It's an ambush. They are enemies of the Dang Clan. If we don't kill them, we die."
I gave the briefest explanation possible and immediately moved.
I looked around.
The floor was already littered with corpses.
How many people had I killed in such a short span of time?
I didn't know. I stopped counting after three.
My heart kept pounding wildly. If I didn't focus, even my breathing would fall out of rhythm.
Aware of this, I forced my body to move.
Most of the Dang Clan martial artists who had entered with us were already dead.
Though many of the corpses belonged to the attackers as well...
Even so, we had only cleared about half of them.
We had killed half, but that meant another half still remained.
Tsk.
I tried to move, but a sudden sharp pain shot through my shoulder.
Ugh...
Glancing down, I saw blood soaking through my martial robes.
I must have been cut during the melee.
How bad is it?
My hand was barely moving. Fortunately, it was my left shoulder.
Still, the pain inevitably slowed my steps.
Biting my lip hard, I looked around.
This time, my eyes landed on Cheon Ui-jin.
He was facing his enemies with a grim expression.
Were there two of them?
I dug my feet into the ground and dashed forward.
Right then, as if by some cruel joke, Cheon Ui-jin's sword was knocked away, leaving him wide open. The enemy martial artist didn't miss the chance and lunged with his blade, but—
Flash!
"...Agh!"
I threw myself between them, my body erupting with light. It was the Moon Wave.
The blinding light threw the enemy off balance. I didn't stop there.
"Left!"
Hearing my shout, Cheon Ui-jin quickly retrieved his sword and slashed the opponent on the left.
Meanwhile, I took care of the one on the right. Afterward, I clutched my shoulder.
The sudden, violent movement made the pain flare up even worse.
"...Young Master Bang!"
Cheon Ui-jin approached me with a worried look.
I stared at his handsome face with weary eyes.
Ah, this is really tough.
Thanks to reaching the First-rate realm, my body felt much lighter than before.
But this was my first time in a real, life-or-death battle.
I had always known I would have to face a real fight eventually, but...
I didn't expect it to be this exhausting.
I never imagined I would experience a battlefield this chaotic and urgent.
Corpses piled up on the floor.
And as they piled up, blood flowed.
Along with the pooling blood, a wave of revulsion welled up inside me.
It was more than enough to shake my resolve.
I squeezed my right hand, gripping my sword tightly once more.
Their numbers were steadily dwindling.
Fortunately, Do-hyeong was strong, and Cheon Ui-jin wasn't weak either.
Though Dang Ye-ran was a concern, overall, the situation wasn't entirely hopeless.
At least their numbers are shrinking.
So far, so good.
However...
There was a reason my anxiety only grew despite the turning tide.
...In the end, that guy hasn't moved a muscle.
Even as his subordinates fell and the room was stained crimson, Palduyeok merely leaned against the wall, arms crossed.
He acted as if the current situation had absolutely nothing to do with him.
How could anyone look so serene in this carnage?
Sigh...
I let out a silent sigh and shifted my gaze.
From start to finish, his eyes had been locked onto me.
No matter how much their numbers dwindled, my unease persisted because of him.
The others probably felt the same way.
As long as he is here...
This dread will not fade.
The sheer presence Palduyeok exuded made the number of ordinary martial artists in front of him completely irrelevant.
...It seems true that he doesn't want to kill me.
But whether that was his personal choice or not, his subordinates didn't hesitate to swing their sharp blades at me.
It meant there was a discrepancy.
He kept staring at me, contemplating something.
And in the midst of it all, I struggled to keep fighting.
Even as I gritted my teeth and forced my body forward, my eyes drifted toward Yoo Chun-gil.
Yoo Chun-gil, along with Dok-jon, was watching the scene unfold, just like Palduyeok.
How long are you just going to watch?
Things had gotten this bad.
Why was that old man just standing there spectating?
The smirk on his face was as annoying as ever.
His downward gaze, as if telling me to give it my best shot, was infuriating.
Those blue eyes, observing everything as if he already knew the outcome, were suffocating.
At the same time...
...Damn old geezer.
I disgusted myself for believing that everything would somehow work out just because he was here.
"...Bang Seong-yeon."
I heard Do-hyeong's voice. I looked beside me to see him standing there, looking slightly fatigued.
"Are you alright?"
"...No, I feel like I'm going to die."
"I'm glad you're alright."
"...Why did you even ask?"
I was so dumbfounded that a laugh escaped my lips.
"...Um, are you okay?"
As I chuckled to myself, Cheon Ui-jin stumbled over. He didn't seem injured, just exhausted.
"I don't think you're in any position to worry about others, Young Master Cheon."
"...I am fine."
"Right, as if I'd believe that."
Who would believe him when he looked like that?
What was with these guys? Seriously, everyone was weird.
There were still enemies left. Do-hyeong looked slightly tired but otherwise fine.
Cheon Ui-jin, on the other hand, seemed to be reaching his limit.
And me?
Need I even ask? I feel like death.
My injured shoulder throbbed.
Mental and physical fatigue had piled up to the brim.
Ah, so this is how brutal real combat is.
My time in the Martial Alliance was practically heaven.
I realized how good I had it back when I was just locking up petty criminals.
If I had known it would be like this, should I have just stayed nestled in the Martial Alliance instead of coming to Cheongwol Gate?
The thought crossed my mind, but...
Whew.
Instead of speaking, I gripped my sword tighter.
There was nothing more useless than regretting the past.
Besides...
Would my choices have been any different if I went back?
Probably not.
So, wiping away my sweat, I was about to raise my guard once more when—
"That's enough."
A deep, heavy voice rang out—
Huh?
My vision shifted.
The room rapidly receded from my sight.
My senses were sluggish.
Wait.
Am I flying through the air?
Crash!
"Cough..."
I slammed hard into the wall.
Blood trickled from my mouth.
"Seong-yeon...! Ugh!"
I heard Do-hyeong's panicked voice.
Through my blurred vision, shaken by the impact, I saw something.
Clutching my head, I forced myself up. Standing before me was Palduyeok, spear in hand.
And at his feet, Do-hyeong knelt, collapsed on the ground.
"...As I thought, this kind of thing doesn't suit my temperament. Why on earth do I have to bother with such tedious tasks?"
Do-hyeong tried to force himself up, but Palduyeok swung his spear without even looking at him.
Do-hyeong quickly raised his sword to block the strike, but the sheer force sent him flying through the air, crashing far away.
It happened in the blink of an eye.
...Where was Cheon Ui-jin? I scanned the room. He was already collapsed on the floor.
Judging by the blood pooling around him, he was badly injured.
Ah.
This is bad.
My head throbbed. Feeling something warm trickling down my face, I realized I was bleeding too.
Damn it.
I was stupid.
I had assumed things would be fine, but humans are volatile creatures. They change their minds.
That guy is far more hot-tempered than I anticipated.
The world doesn't run on calculations.
I knew this well.
Even so, I had tried to do what I could within those calculations.
"...Seriously, damn this Central Plains."
This land never agreed with me.
No matter how much I racked my brain, it was meaningless in the face of overwhelming power.
What a truly garbage world.
So...
"...Stop messing around and help me already, will you? Or should I just bite my tongue and end it?"
I spoke in desperation. No answer came from the empty air.
I was about to actually bite down on my tongue when—
I saw those blue eyes hurriedly approaching me.
Huff... Huff...
My breathing grew ragged. It hurt, yet the pain felt distant.
Ah, I'm really in deep trouble, aren't I?
As I struggled to catch my breath, sensing the ominous signs—
The old specter spoke to me.
I felt a large hand rest gently on the crown of my head.
At that moment—
All the strength drained from my body.