Heating Things Up
Baek Jung-hyeok went flying straight over the hill from the rear kick that had just been unleashed.
Crash!
Seeing the scattering cloud of dirt and dust, Gwak Yeon's heart pounded.
Thump!
It was finally starting to kick in.
But today was not a day with justification to go all the way.
Compared to the Honcheon Sect leader Ma Gwan-wol he had killed before, or the other black-path types…
A bit ambiguous.
The Baek Jung-hyeok who had just scrambled back to his feet over there did not look like that caliber of villain.
"Uwaaah! You bastard hit me while I was off guard? You're dead!"
Just a red-faced brat.
That was about the level of it. He might throw filthy temper tantrums, but according to the information Gwak Yeon had gathered, the guy might deal with rough pirates—yet he had never killed innocent commoners.
It's not a fight where either of us is thinking of death either.
Which meant using the vampire abilities that might leak out to others was a little too risky.
Still…
Much better than when I was fighting family.
This would be enough.
He had only half-unlatched the bolt on his violence, yet every muscle in his body was already twitching and the blood throughout him began to circulate hot and fierce. A long arc of a smile curved at the corner of his mouth as he faced Baek Jung-hyeok, who was huffing and settling into an attack stance. Gwak Yeon started his charge.
"What the hell are you smirking about!"
Three points of light shot toward him like arrows.
Iron balls.
While sprinting, he swayed left and right to dodge one of the three off-beat projectiles, then the instant he struck the remaining two head-on—one with the scabbard in his left hand, the other with the sword in his right—
Psssh.
Whitish smoke burst from the shattered balls and immediately blanketed his face. Energy-scattering poison.
The moment the toxin that disrupted a victim's internal energy washed over Gwak Yeon, Baek Jung-hyeok threw his head back and roared with laughter.
"Kuhahaha!"
Right after, something glittered from the far side and came cutting through the air.
An iron weight.
Gwak Yeon batted it aside with a sharp clang and tried to leap forward—only for the weight to seem to fly the opposite direction before whipping back toward him again. The long iron chain attached to its end was gripped firmly in Baek Jung-hyeok's distant right hand.
"Hangzhou country bumpkin! First time seeing something like this, huh!"
"Oh."
"Come at me again! Come on, you bastard!"
From range, Baek Jung-hyeok's iron weight writhed like a living snake, striking at Gwak Yeon again and again. Every time it smashed into the ground where he had just been, rock fragments exploded outward with terrifying force. The attacks multiplied until residual images seemed carved into the sky itself.
How many times did Gwak Yeon dodge and parry the iron weight as it danced and lashed through the air?
"Not yet, you bratty little bastard!"
This time a clattering sound rang out from afar, and a glittering sickle blade scythed toward his legs.
A chain-sickle.
Parrying the new weapon whose handle Baek Jung-hyeok still held from a distance, Gwak Yeon let out a short snort of laughter.
"Of all things, a chain-sickle."
"What are you muttering! I can't hear you, so come closer and say it! Ah—if you can, that is! Kuhaha!"
From afar, Baek Jung-hyeok busily worked both hands, toying with Gwak Yeon's limbs using the two weapons. The chain weight and chain-sickle whipped through the air like flying serpents, fiercely hunting him.
Clang—! Clang-clang—!
With sword and scabbard in either hand, Gwak Yeon met every strike. A smile lingered at his lips.
He could see right through the guy.
He was stalling for time.
Until the poison he had spread across the island and the energy-scattering poison just now sank deeper into Gwak Yeon's body, he was desperately keeping him at range.
Grin.
Even knowing all of it, Gwak Yeon smiled. In truth, his body had grown a little heavier than when he first stepped onto the island. But this was simply an appropriate weight for amusement.
"Looking ridiculous, dodging around like a rat! Why don't you start babbling like yesterday again! Kuhahaha!"
Baek Jung-hyeok's attacks poured down like a rainstorm. The guy's reputation was real. From the initial speed of his thrown daggers to the way he left more than a dozen residual images in the air with those long chains in each hand—not just anyone could do that. None of the black-path bosses Gwak Yeon had executed in this life could even compare.
Then… shall I warm the body up a little.
Without detoxifying the poison still coating him.
"Come on! Come on, I said!"
"Alright."
"What? Speak up! You idiot! Muttering since earlier—you look like a scared little brat!"
"Please!"
"Kuhahaha! Already begging for your life!"
Thinking it had been far too long since he properly loosened up, Gwak Yeon began swinging the sword and scabbard in earnest.
"You better not give up halfway!"
"Ha! What the—!"
The moment he settled his center and began whirling both hands, Baek Jung-hyeok's chain weight and sickle—pouring down like a storm—were mercilessly battered aside.
Clang-clang-clang!
Even so, Baek Jung-hyeok still wore a predator's expression as he ramped up his attack speed. Toward him, Gwak Yeon took one step, then another. Swinging both hands as he closed the distance, a smile filled with growing madness began to curl across his face.
The ships surrounding the uninhabited island.
One of them.
Right behind the bow of the Seoho Gwak Family vessel, a man clutched his head and cursed under his breath.
Damn it! That's why I said send the third young master, why!
It was Steward Yu.
To someone without deep insight into martial arts like him, Gwak Yeon currently looked to be on the back foot. The initial lucky hit had been the end of it. After that he had failed to press the advantage and seemed reduced to desperately blocking the attacks of Baek Jung-hyeok, who had retreated to range.
Fuck! Shit!
There was a reason even Steward Yu—who usually found Gwak Yeon distasteful—had his eyes squeezed tightly shut.
It was because of Steward Gam of the Jusan Baek Family, whom he had met not long ago.
"…You arrived early?"
They had studied together at the same academy, yet ever since Gam had joined the Jusan Baek Family his swagger had only grown worse.
"By the way, that proposal you mentioned last time regarding this duel—is it still on the table?"
"That is…"
"Difficult, I suppose? Haha, a wise decision. After all, we're playing in different leagues now. You wouldn't have the guts to take on the same risk."
"What?"
It had been a wager discussed ahead of the duel between the two families' successors—a way of measuring how well each had raised their respective houses. Naturally, the talk of a bet had only come up under the assumption that Gwak Ho-shin would be the one fighting.
But then…
"Well, win or lose is secondary. Our monthly stipends are completely different. Honestly, even you would find it burdensome, Steward Yu."
"I receive a rather generous stipend myself."
"Then how about adding a little more to what we discussed—two hundred taels of silver. Can you put that up?"
"T-two hundred taels?"
"Ah, my salary rose considerably not long ago. Oh my, does our Steward Yu not receive a stipend that can cover that much? If it's too much, you can always back out."
"……"
"Well, when a sparrow tries to follow a stork… ah, my mistake."
"…We'll do it."
"What? You will?"
"Of course. I'm treated like a king in the Seoho Gwak Family. You think I don't have that kind of money?"
Pride had kept him from canceling.
"Good. Let's do it!"
"Yes, let's!"
Damn it all.
Steward Yu normally pushed for Gwak Ho-shin as the young family head of the Seoho Gwak Family, but this time he had no choice.
……Please!
He had no option but to cheer for Gwak Yeon with desperate sincerity.
Please… just win!
On the Jusan Baek Family ship.
Like the flags fluttering along the side of the vessel, Steward Gam was swaying his body in high spirits.
He was thrilled.
Hehehehehehehehe.
Even a glance showed Baek Jung-hyeok held the advantage. That Gwak Yeon fellow was doing nothing but desperately blocking Young Master Baek's relentless assault.
I really did well joining the Jusan Baek Family.
He giggled to himself. Not only was he about to receive two hundred taels of silver for free, he was on the verge of thoroughly flattening the nose of that Steward Yu who had gotten under his skin ever since their academy days.
Though meeting the right opponent played a part.
Originally Gwak Yeon was the one beneath Gwak Ho-shin. Even if he had won a family duel by sheer luck, Steward Gam had never imagined the Seoho Gwak Family would be soft enough to send that idiot to an external event like this.
In any case, Steward Gam turned toward Baek Ryang-san, who was watching the duel from beside the bow, ready to offer smiling congratulations.
"Allow me to congratulate you in advance, Family Head! For the victory banquet, would meat be preferable, or—"
"Be quiet."
"?"
"Damn it."
A deep furrow like the character for "river" was carved into the forehead of Jusan Baek Family Head Baek Ryang-san. Not only that—his daughter, Baek Jung-hyeok's older sister, wore a more serious expression than Steward Gam had ever seen. And every person on the ship with any real eye for combat had the same darkness gathering in their gaze.
……What?
The uneasy atmosphere they formed had already settled coldly over the entire vessel.
What the hell is going on?
Even that usually clueless Heoksijo was silently flapping its wings atop the mast without a single word.
Sweat had begun to bead on Baek Jung-hyeok's skin.
The moment he decided he needed to use the information Heoksijo had gathered was when he felt Gwak Yeon's breakthrough power far exceeded his expectations.
Clang-clang-clang!
Gwak Yeon closed in while batting aside the endless storm of chain weight and chain-sickle with sword and scabbard. Even though the weapons were held separately in each hand, they moved as organically as a single long staff. Following the strange, sinuous motion of his shoulders, they had long since transformed into a dazzling yet impenetrable sword dance.
And so, at a distance where they could hear each other without shouting—
"It's just starting to get fun. You're not already tired, are you?"
"Crazy bastard putting on airs."
"You're the one forcing that composure right now."
"Shut up!"
Suddenly Baek Jung-hyeok's eyes gleamed.
The only reason this Gwak Yeon had been able to push this far was because he had been rapidly parrying every attack with the weapons in both hands. So he would break one of them.
First… that scabbard!
Up close it looked like an ordinary dark scabbard. If he could snap it in half first, the advantage would be his. At longer range he had only been able to glance the impact points, but at this distance that would no longer be possible.
Clatter—!
He looped one chain around his left arm to shorten the distance; the chain-sickle flashed forward and sliced through the air. Its razor-sharp edge targeted the exact center of the scabbard Gwak Yeon had raised on the opposite side.
Perfect aim.
A smile was just beginning to bloom on Baek Jung-hyeok's lips as he watched the collision—
Clang——!
A tremendous shock slammed into his hand. The impact was so severe that the hand gripping the chain trembled violently, and he lost hold of the chain-sickle that had struck the scabbard head-on.
The scabbard… hadn't been cut?
"You underhanded bastard! What the hell did you do to that scabbard…!"
"Durability passes for now. They definitely didn't just hand me any old weapon."
"You son of a—!"
"Is that all? Then I'm a little disappointed."
Gwak Yeon provocatively whirled the sword and scabbard through the air. It should have been sliced clean through—yet what mattered to Baek Jung-hyeok right now was not the identity of that bizarrely sturdy scabbard.
His blood was boiling. His goal was singular.
"Take out that thing on your back. I haven't had my fill of the feeling yet today."
Gwak Yeon stood right in front of him, smiling with casual ease. Wiping that smile off the bastard's face was the only thing that mattered.
"Huu."
With a sigh, Baek Jung-hyeok drew the axe he had been carrying on his back. Drawing the weapon that was practically his personal signature, he twisted his lips into a sneer.
"Fine. I'll admit it."
"Shall we?"
"Getting this far—among guys my age, you're the first. You can go brag about it anywh—"
"Is it because of the poison spreading?"
"……!"
"You've been talking too much since earlier. Looks like you're waiting for the poison to sink deep into my body."
At that moment Gwak Yeon cut a shallow wound into his own arm. He flicked the dark-red blood that welled up onto the ground; with a soft hiss, a faint haze rose.
"That poison—I just finished detoxifying all of it."
"What the hell is that—!"
"Alright. From now on we drop all the miscellaneous crap between us. In this whole wide world, it's just the two of us beating the hell out of each other."
"You crazy bastard!"
Even as he cursed, a thousand thoughts raced through Baek Jung-hyeok's mind. Was that really the poison just now? He detoxified it like that? More than that—had he known from the start that he was poisoned? And he had moved exactly the same way while the poison was spreading?
But he quickly pulled himself together.
Flash—!
Drawing the blue-edged axe, Baek Jung-hyeok simultaneously launched his next strategy.
"Ha! A nobody with nothing trying so hard to act like a man!"
"Shall we begin."
"A guy with no pride! Kneeling to some black-path trash, then drinking every night trying to forget it! Then running into them again by chance, getting slapped around, and doing nothing—you spineless sucker! Even your family people—"
"Did your crow tell you that?"
"………!"
"Ah, you called it Heoksijo, right?"
"…………!"
Baek Jung-hyeok sucked in a sharp breath.
One of his schemes.
In other words: using the spiritual beast Heoksijo to stay near a duel opponent for weeks beforehand, digging up every weakness. Secrets they wanted hidden, vulnerabilities, past mistakes—he would drag them all out mid-duel to create even the smallest opening, then turn that opening into a weapon. That had always been Baek Jung-hyeok's way.
"But Heoksijo told me something. You once begged pirates for your life and pissed your pants, right? Because of that you—"
"Sh-shut up!"
"Enough. I won't fight dirty like you. Even as a martial artist, I know digging into someone's weaknesses is shameful."
"Grrk!"
"That's more like it."
Eyes flipped with rage, Baek Jung-hyeok charged with the axe raised.
"You're too worked up. Come at me a little calmer."
"Die! Just die already, you bastard!"
————Clang!
Sword and scabbard met the axe in sequence.
Pride no longer mattered. With every ounce of strength he possessed, Baek Jung-hyeok tried to smash Gwak Yeon. Internal energy that belonged only in ultimate techniques exploded from every strike.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Legs, arms, shoulders—he poured tyrannical attacks without pause.
And yet…
Rather than exploiting the openings of an enraged opponent, Gwak Yeon met every full-powered blow purely with force and power of his own.
Clang-clang-clang—!
The speed and rhythm with which he swung the weapons in each hand were as fluid and elegant as a flowing river. Once, twice, thrice. Thunderous impacts erupted through the air as the collisions continued.
"Yes, harder!"
"Kh!"
"More, more, more! This isn't enough! Come harder!"
"Kraaah!"
Drawing every scrap of internal energy and whipping it into a storm, Baek Jung-hyeok suddenly realized something.
He was being pushed back.
Why?
This kind of head-on clash was his home ground. He had perfected it by cutting down pirates, wanted men, every rough bastard the sea could throw at him. It was the area he was most confident in.
Don't tell me…
Was this bastard saying he had walked through an even bloodier hell than that? No matter how much Hangzhou was a den of black-path types, was he really more skilled at this kind of brutal melee than someone who had carved his way through the storms of the open sea?
Impossible.
But the longer the fight went on, the clearer it became. Rock fragments blasted outward by the shocks flew in every direction; the sand beneath their feet rose in whirlwinds. Amid the chaos—
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!
Baek Jung-hyeok's face, driven to its limit, had turned purple. In contrast, Gwak Yeon's expression only grew more delighted.
Thump!
As his breathing grew labored and his vision began to blur, Baek Jung-hyeok understood.
……Crazy bastard.
Gwak Yeon.
The madman currently tearing through the air alongside him was, quite literally, a monster who had gone insane for fighting.
"Good! Keep going! Let's keep going!"
Weapons clashed without rest. Blood droplets sprayed in every direction. Amid spatters whose owner no one could tell, the residual images of the two martial artists' continuous attacks whirled like a tornado—until at one moment!
"More!"
"You bastard!"
"More, more!"
"Just die!"
"More, more, more!"
"Kh!"
"More, more, more, more!"
"Khhhk!"
"More, more, more, more, more!"
Even as the palms gripping their different weapons split open and bled, Gwak Yeon's mouth stretched wide in a madness-filled grin.
"Ku-hahahahahaha!"
In the end, Jung-hyeok simply could not take any more.
—————Crunch!