Chapter 30
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Do You Acknowledge It?
Namgung Ji-hu stared at the sword pointed straight at him.
The opponent poised to strike at any moment.
Baek Ri-pyeong.
And around him, the seven squads of the Fierce Dragon Corps.
It was irritating.
Truly irritating.
How long had it been since he'd felt this way? To think that he, the young lord of the great Namgung Clan, was getting this feeling from a ragtag bunch like the Fierce Dragon Corps.
'Preconceptions are dangerous, no matter who the opponent is.'
Having already experienced their skills in a three-on-one bout, Namgung Ji-hu channeled every ounce of his inner energy.
A surging battle aura emanated from his body.
Had they ever faced an aura like this before?
Namgung Ji-hu unleashed the most powerful technique of his Celestial Bow's Boundless Sword.
From the start, he intended to shatter them with his strongest strike. That was his resolve.
Majestic power and domineering spirit, laced with ferocious battle aura.
It wasn't aimed at any one person.
A single sword stroke to sweep away all five.
Nak Woo-jin was the first to leap forward. Defending against a frontal assault was his role.
He poured all his inner energy into his shield and charged head-on at the sword strike with every bit of strength in his body.
At the same moment, Dan Mok Un-roe and Yeon Ha-min moved.
The sword strike seemed to engulf the entire battlefield, but the two trusted that Nak Woo-jin would halt its advance.
Without missing that split-second gap, they targeted Namgung Ji-hu's left and right flanks for a counterattack.
Dang Jin-san followed behind Nak Woo-jin.
If he perfectly blocked the strike, he'd counter immediately; if not, he'd assist with defense.
Finally, Baek Ri-pyeong was gathering his inner energy to the utmost.
It was a single strike.
The moment he sensed the prickling aura from his opponent, he knew.
If that strike overwhelmed them, the momentum would crush everything in its path.
But if they blocked it, the one shattered would be Namgung Ji-hu.
That was why Baek Ri-pyeong trusted his comrades and prepared the pinnacle technique of his Three Talents Sword with all his might.
To seize that fleeting instant.
Namgung Ji-hu's expression shifted at the sight of his foes moving in perfect harmony.
Even his full-power strike didn't look easy.
In that case, he had no choice but to raise his momentum further.
Now his sword surged not just with battle aura, but with outright killing intent.
Had any first-year Fierce Dragon Corps cadets ever faced an opponent like this?
Nak Woo-jin's back was drenched in cold sweat under the terrifying energy bearing down on him.
Yet he didn't halt his movement.
It was possible because this wasn't his first time being enveloped in such killing intent.
The Black Leopard!
That damned beast.
The chilling killing intent it had exuded in waves.
Its eerie breath right up close.
Hadn't Nak Woo-jin faced it firsthand?
Compared to the Black Leopard's, Namgung Ji-hu's battle aura and killing intent fell short.
That was why Nak Woo-jin could act without the slightest hesitation, just as he'd planned.
Boom!
A massive crash echoed as Nak Woo-jin's body reeled backward.
In that instant, he felt a solid force supporting his back.
It was Dang Jin-san.
The moment Namgung Ji-hu's sword clashed with Nak Woo-jin's shield, Dang Jin-san abandoned his attack to aid him instead.
That disrupted the flow of Namgung Ji-hu's sword.
Dan Mok Un-roe and Yeon Ha-min didn't miss the opening. Their swords surged upward from below.
The sword, already blunted by Nak Woo-jin's shield, had failed in this strike. And now the counterattack came.
Namgung Ji-hu had no choice but to twist his sword to deflect Dan Mok Un-roe and Yeon Ha-min's blades.
It was swift, no less than lightning-quick swordplay, but in that rapid shift, a tiny gap appeared.
Baek Ri-pyeong didn't miss it. A thrust with all his power.
The Heaven technique among Heaven, Earth, and Man of the Three Talents.
Namgung Ji-hu panicked at the thrust piercing his perfect opening.
He was busy blocking the attacks from his left and right flanks; he hadn't had time to guard against it.
A perfect blunder.
"Damn it..."
Spitting a curse, Namgung Ji-hu gritted his teeth and shook his sword violently. His face flushed beet red.
He deflected Dan Mok Un-roe and Yeon Ha-min's attacks in one go. The sheer force sent the two tumbling backward.
Even as they resisted with all their strength.
But in exchange, Namgung Ji-hu's guard was wide open.
A perfect vulnerability.
Baek Ri-pyeong's sword flew straight toward it.
Joy lit up everyone's faces.
It's done!
In that moment, the expressions of all five in Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven were undoubtedly the same.
Ha Mu-baek, who had been watching silently, frowned.
'Too soon. You idiots. In real combat, that hesitation gets you killed.'
The split-second pause brought on by the thrill of victory.
Namgung Ji-hu didn't miss it.
His sword moved faster than lightning, surging with immense momentum toward Baek Ri-pyeong's strike.
Boom!
The moment Namgung Ji-hu's sword, brimming with sword energy and faintly glowing, clashed with Baek Ri-pyeong's, a thunderous roar erupted.
"Urk..."
Overwhelmed by the colossal force, Baek Ri-pyeong couldn't steady himself and was flung back.
His sword was left with only the hilt.
Shattered fragments flew everywhere, and Baek Ri-pyeong suffered minor cuts from his own blade's pieces.
Namgung Ji-hu stood motionless in place.
His face had gone deathly pale.
"Urk."
He vomited blood in that instant. Darkened blood.
He'd sustained severe internal injuries.
Gazing arrogantly across the field, Namgung Ji-hu spat blood and dropped to one knee.
He had pushed his Celestial Bow's Boundless Sword beyond its limits, and this was the price.
"Damn it..."
Another curse slipped out.
"This is bad."
Mok Hae-jin, who had been observing, leaped forward.
"Hold! Pause the match!"
At his shout, everyone froze in place. Ignoring the referee's order meant instant disqualification.
Mok Hae-jin rushed first to Namgung Ji-hu, checked him over, and shook his head.
"Do you acknowledge it?"
Namgung Ji-hu bit his lip hard at Mok Hae-jin's question. His eyes still burned with fighting spirit.
Mok Hae-jin stared steadily at him.
A moment later, Namgung Ji-hu bowed his head.
He knew it too. His injuries were too grave to continue the Summer Combat Festival.
He just couldn't admit it.
That he'd lost to the Fierce Dragon Corps, of all things.
"And..."
Mok Hae-jin looked up at one spot. Ha Mu-baek was already there.
"What the hell were you thinking?"
Yeon Ha-min stared with a complicated expression at Nak Woo-jin, sitting in front of her.
His thigh was soaked in blood.
Namgung Ji-hu had shattered Baek Ri-pyeong's sword.
When the fragments scattered wildly, Baek Ri-pyeong dodged, and the others blocked with shields.
It had been too sudden—or rather, their overconfidence from victory had slowed their reactions, so they barely managed with their shields.
The problem was Yeon Ha-min.
She had no shield.
Nak Woo-jin spotted it and hurled his own shield to swat away a flying fragment headed her way.
In exchange, a fairly large shard embedded deeply in his thigh.
"I could've kept fighting with just a slight dip in power, but if you got disqualified, we'd lose our commander. That's why."
Nak Woo-jin said calmly.
Yeon Ha-min bit her lip at his answer.
Ha Mu-baek, who had been examining Nak Woo-jin's wound, stood up.
"You're lucky. It missed all the vital spots perfectly. Just lodged in the muscle."
The squad seven cadets who had gathered around breathed sighs of relief at his words.
Ha Mu-baek gazed silently at those cadets.
That was all.
He said nothing more.
Then Mok Hae-jin approached.
"Cadet Namgung Ji-hu is disqualified. And Cadet Nak Woo-jin is also disqualified, as he cannot continue the Summer Combat Festival normally."
Nak Woo-jin bowed his head.
The other squad members did the same.
Not defeated by the enemy, but disqualified for failing to dodge sword fragments.
Since Namgung Ji-hu had broken the sword, one could argue it was his doing, but it still felt unfair somehow.
"Yes. Understood."
Nak Woo-jin, head still lowered, replied softly.
Then he looked up and scanned his squad mates.
"It avoided vitals, but I can't walk properly. I'd just be a burden if I stuck around. Disqualification's right."
Nak Woo-jin was unusually talkative today.
"Then let's start emergency treatment."
The bandage soaked through with emerging blood, turning red.
In the meantime, Nak Woo-jin's face had paled.
From the pain of the treatment.
"Hmm. Now what."
Mok Hae-jin said, as if pondering.
The remaining fighters had to continue the Summer Combat Festival. The disqualified ones needed escorting to the base of the mountain, but both were injured.
The referee couldn't leave his post, and sending them down alone felt risky.
"I'll go with them. Doesn't matter since they're out anyway, right?"
Mok Hae-jin's face brightened at Ha Mu-baek's words.
"I'd appreciate that."
Mok Hae-jin pulled a blue sash from his pouch and tied it diagonally from both men's shoulders to waists.
The mark of disqualification.
Namgung Ji-hu gazed bitterly at the blue sash.
"Then let's head down."
At Ha Mu-baek's words, Nak Woo-jin struggled to his feet and limped forward.
Namgung Ji-hu also tried to move but wobbled precariously.
"Tch. You need to circulate your energy first and heal those internal injuries."
What stubbornness.
Even after disqualification, Namgung Ji-hu hadn't tended to his wounds.
Namgung Ji-hu, his eyes defiant as he prepared to refuse Ha Mu-baek, finally sat cross-legged under the instructor's steady gaze.
Ha Mu-baek looked at Mok Hae-jin. At his glance, Mok Hae-jin gave a wry smile.
"You could've said that directly. Looks like we need to give him space. Let's move elsewhere for now."
Mok Hae-jin addressed the four surviving members of Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven.
Baek Ri-pyeong discarded his broken-hilted sword and picked up the one Nak Woo-jin had dropped. Yeon Ha-min retrieved her shield.
Yeon Ha-min took the lead, and the four soon vanished. Mok Hae-jin followed behind.
"Sorry."
Baek Ri-pyeong forced the words out.
No one replied. They all knew what he was apologizing for.
"No. We all messed up."
Dang Jin-san said with a dark expression.
"Yeah. In that moment, not just you—we all let our guard down. Like idiots..."
Yeon Ha-min said, her face full of self-reproach.
"It was understandable. It was Namgung Ji-hu. We blocked his strike and counterattacked—we almost won. In just one clash. Unlike the spar with the instructor, and without a single dropout."
At Dan Mok Un-roe's words, smug satisfaction flickered across their faces.
But it was an illusion.
Namgung Ji-hu had exceeded their expectations in power.
Though it had cost him internal injuries.
"Just one breath. That tiny hesitation, and this result..."
Baek Ri-pyeong couldn't forgive himself.
"Well, that's how we learn. The instructor would probably say the same. So let's stop reflecting here. The Summer Combat Festival isn't over. And neither is our revenge."
Dang Jin-san clapped Baek Ri-pyeong's shoulder.
The word "revenge" brought fire back to their eyes.
"Next?"
Dan Mok Un-roe looked to Yeon Ha-min.
"Obviously, Dang Chu."
At her answer, Dang Jin-san took the lead, heading to where he'd lured and ditched him.
"Move stealthily, everyone. Leave no traces. Dang Chu wouldn't stay put or backtrack—he's probably gone deeper. We'll track his signs and encircle him."
The three nodded at Yeon Ha-min's orders.
Cockiness? Overconfidence?
Once was enough.
Dang Chu was the true target for revenge. Now it was time to settle that humiliating defeat.