Children of the Gods (1)
The riders on the camels were dressed in lavish finery. Most looked to be around thirty, with a handful of twenty-somethings mixed in among them.
"What seems to be the trouble?"
The speaker wore pale golden robes. His face was unremarkable, but his small eyes lent him a vaguely gloomy air — Gongson Mugi, the Gentleman Sword, eldest son of the Taehwa Gongson Family, the Empress's own clan.
"It's nothing."
Irab Dahan shook his head.
"Did that fellow disrespect you?"
"I told you, it's nothing..."
"You there. Answer me."
Gongson Mugi looked at Jin Yigang as he spoke.
"Hey... know who I am?"
Jin Yigang said it while staring him dead in the eye.
"...Huh?"
Gongson Mugi's eyes went wide.
It was the unfamiliar tone that did it. Ever since his family had become imperial in-laws, the standing of anyone bearing the Taehwa Gongson name had skyrocketed. Not a soul in the land dared speak down to them — court ministers included. People fawned over them constantly, and some grew positively twitchy at the mere mention of the surname Gongson.
And now a man had appeared who used casual banmal with him. Worse, a wretched, lowborn wretch who couldn't even muster the nerve to give his name.
"Kuk-kuk-kuk!"
"Kik-kik-kik!"
"Pfft!"
"Hohohoho!"
Laughter burst out from every direction.
"Do you want to die?"
A thick, syrupy killing intent began to seep from Gongson Mugi's body as he glared at Jin Yigang.
"You look like you want to cry. Want me to slap your cheek for you?"
"You know me well, then. What's your name?"
"Gu-chil."
"..."
Gongson Mugi simply stared, wondering what this man thought he was relying on to act like this.
"I've got practice to do, see?"
"Practice?"
"I'm entered in the race. I got the instructor's permission to use this camel, so if me riding it bothers you, go take it up with the old man. Move along."
Jin Yigang smacked the camel's flank again.
Ku-eok!
Chunja let out a bellow and started walking.
"Move one more step and I'll kill you. For the record, I'm someone who can kill trash like you without ever answering for it."
Jin Yigang stopped in his tracks.
Then he turned his head and looked back at Gongson Mugi.
"Are you... stronger than Padun the Great Iron Demon?"
"..."
Gongson Mugi couldn't answer right away.
Padun was a monster whose victory over even a skilled opponent could never be guaranteed.
"So that's him?"
It was a woman who spoke, her face shifting and flowing as though she were wrapped in illusion. This was Yuna, the Spirit Ghost, heir to the Ghost Gate Phantom Family. A woman shrouded in secrets — even her face and her age were properly unknown.
"Who?"
asked the woman beside her. Silver hair and blue eyes — Seok Yu-ran, the Heavenly Flower of the Geumsan Seok Family, the richest house in all the Central Plains. Yu-ran's exotic looks came from her mother, a woman of the Parsa Kingdom.
Her father had made countless trading journeys to Parsa in his youth and struck up a friendship with its king — who gave his daughter in return.
"The lunatic they say fought Padun to a draw in the mess hall."
"I heard Padun went easy on him, though?"
chimed in yet another woman. Her black irises were larger than most people's, giving her a faintly unsettling presence — Jongri Yeon, eldest daughter of the Mangeum Jongri Family, known as the All-Knowledge Heavenly Brain. The Mangeum Jongri were merchants by trade, but Jongri Yeon was more famous for her genius intellect.
"Why would Padun go easy on him, do you think, Lady Jongri?"
Yuna asked.
"For all that he's one of the Ten Great Evils, he couldn't very well use his internal energy against a commoner who has none. And a martial artist trains his fist arts every day of his life — even without internal energy, he'd be incomparably stronger than any commoner. Besides, this is the punitive expedition's training grounds."
"So for all those reasons, Padun held back his internal energy?"
Seok Yu-ran said.
"That would appear to be the case."
Jongri Yeon nodded.
"Then if he were to use his internal energy against that fellow, he'd be proving himself a lesser man than Padun, one of the Ten Great Evils. Wouldn't he?"
Huh?
At Seok Yu-ran's words, Jongri Yeon's eyes widened slightly.
That remark hadn't been aimed at any of them — it had been aimed squarely at Gongson Mugi, who at that very moment was pouring killing intent down at the man called Gu-chil.
The ten people gathered here were known collectively by the name of the Ten Great Founding Merit Families — outwardly friendly, inwardly locked in fierce competition. The parents fought over power; the children fought over prestige. And just now, Seok Yu-ran had declared, in front of everyone, that she would never acknowledge a victory bought with internal energy. Gongson Mugi, who had long harbored feelings for her, now found himself backed into a corner: to cut the figure of a gentleman, he had no choice but to fight without raising his inner power.
What will he do?
Jongri Yeon watched Gongson Mugi.
"Get down here!"
Gongson Mugi barked.
"Is that really necessary?"
"You insulted me."
"How, exactly?"
"You dared compare me to Padun. That is a vile insult."
"You people are hilarious. You walk up to a man minding his own business, pick a fight first, and now I'm the one insulting you? Why not just draw that sword and take my head while you're at it? Doesn't look like it'd be much trouble for you."
Jin Yigang said it while staring straight at him.
"I will not use my internal energy."
"You'll regret it."
"You should be worrying about yourself before you worry about me."
Whoosh!
Gongson Mugi flung himself off the camel and landed in a flourish of grace.
"Chunja!"
Jin Yigang called to his camel.
"This here is my precious meal. You drop it and you're getting scolded, got it?"
Kku-eok!
"Let's see if I can trust you."
He set the tray of food carefully atop the hump, then hopped down.
The two men stood facing each other.
"One punch each with these?"
Jin Yigang raised his fist.
"Naturally."
Gongson Mugi nodded. He had trained in fist arts since childhood, and people often told him the force of his blows differed little whether or not he channeled internal energy.
"I'll decide the order. Heads is Young Master Gongson, tails is...?"
Yuna looked at Jin Yigang.
"Gu-chil!"
Jin Yigang answered.
Yuna tossed the coin.
Tok!
"I have the first strike, then."
Gongson Mugi smirked.
"Where are you going to hi—"
POW!
"Guhk!"
Jin Yigang wobbled — then pitched forward onto his face. For all the world, a clean knockout. Gongson Mugi's entourage watched with taut faces. If Jin Yigang failed to rise, the match would end in Gongson Mugi's victory.
"Young Master Gongson wins—"
"Geez, that wasn't a fist, that was a straight-up rock."
Jin Yigang, who had been sprawled face-down, simply rolled over onto his back.
"...?"
Gongson Mugi stared at him, dumbfounded.
"You didn't secretly hit me with a rock, did you?"
Jin Yigang asked as he got to his feet.
"His toughness is no joke."
said a man with eyes like cold water. He was dressed so impeccably you'd never guess he'd just ridden a camel across the training grounds — Shindo Geommyeong of the Gwangmyeong Shindo Family. At his waist hung a single saber: the Radiant Saber, the blade that had earned him the title Radiant Demon Saber. The Gwangmyeong Shindo Family was the clan of the Second Empress.
"This is getting interesting."
said the man beside Shindo Geommyeong. Elbow propped on the camel's hump, chin resting in his hand as he gazed down — Tae Muryong, the Demon-Subduing Divine Dragon, eldest son of the Hwanggeum Taesan Family. Word had it the Hwanggeum Taesan were wealthier even than the Geumsan Seok. Perhaps that was why Tae Muryong carried a rough, wild energy while still exuding an air of refinement. His sideburns and beard were groomed with unmistakable flair.
"I suppose they go until one of them passes out?"
Yuna asked.
"Or until one of them declares defeat, I'd imagine."
Tae Muryong said.
"You really didn't just wallop me with a rock?"
Jin Yigang asked, rubbing his jaw.
This was no act — Gongson Mugi's punch had been genuinely ferocious. Had he not undergone that pain-threshold training(?) at Jecheon Uiseon's place, he would have blacked out without question.
"My turn now, then?"
Jin Yigang took a single step forward and planted himself directly in front of Gongson Mugi.
"Begin."
Gongson Mugi said.
"I will."
Jin Yigang's left foot slid forward, and his upper body tilted to the left.
'The left fist!'
Gongson Mugi shouted inwardly.
Judging by the angle of that tilted torso, the left fist was headed for either the solar plexus or the chin. Gongson Mugi hastily drew up his internal energy. At that moment, he caught sight of Jin Yigang's fist driving toward him.
'The solar plexus!'
He doubled the flow of internal energy to shield it. He had promised not to use inner power on the attack — nothing had been said about defense.
Gongson Mugi's eyes locked onto the incoming left fist. It was right then that Jin Yigang's right fist sliced through empty air — and in the same instant, the left fist that had been shooting forward snapped back to its original position.
'A—a feint!'
"Clench your teeth."
POW!
There was no time to clench anything.
A colossal shockwave born at his jaw tore through his entire body. Gongson Mugi's feet left the ground.
"Hoh!"
Tae Muryong let out an involuntary gasp.
No need to check. That was a knockout, plain and simple. No — Gongson Mugi's consciousness had already been severed clean.
'So he knew I'd raise internal energy to defend — he baited the whole thing.'
Gongson Mugi realized it as he flew: feint at the solar plexus with the left, then hammer the chin the moment his opponent commits to blocking.
'This guy is something else.'
He had no choice but to acknowledge Jin Yigang's victory.
CRASH!
Gongson Mugi hit the ground hard.
His entourage watched him in silence for a while. Unlike Jin Yigang, he showed no sign of coming to.
"Gu-chil wins."
Yuna said quietly.
Jin Yigang looked at her.
"What?"
"Don't winners get some kind of prize?"
"You already got one."
"What exactly did I get?"
"Your life."
"...Damn. So that's how it works."
Jin Yigang walked over to Chunja and lowered the tray down. Whether she understood his words or not, Chunja stood patiently still, the tray balanced on her hump. He picked it up and carried it over to Yuna.
"What?"
"I can't ride Chunja while holding this."
"You want me to hold it?"
"I won, so you can manage at least that much, right?"
"Fine."
Yuna took the tray from him.
Jin Yigang gripped the hump and swung himself up in one motion.
"Good work out there."
he murmured in the Qamir tongue, stroking Chunja's neck.
Then he held out his hand toward Yuna.
Yuna set the tray on the ground — and it floated gently up into Jin Yigang's grasp.
"Thanks. And I'll make good use of the life you saved."
Jin Yigang flashed a grin and wheeled Chunja around.
Sreeeng!
The sound of a blade leaving its sheath cut through the air.
It was Irab Dahan — silent until now — drawing the sword he'd left hanging on his camel. Unlike the straight blades of the Central Plains, his curved in a long, wicked arc.
"Our business is far from finished, you! Hyah!"
Irab Dahan roared and kicked the camel's flank without mercy.
POW!
Ku-eok!
The camel shrieked and barreled straight toward Jin Yigang. Irab Dahan raised his sword high. From the blade, standing tall against the sky, poured a cold gleam and a thick, curdling killing intent.