The Axe Flies
The axe blade shot through the air.
━━━Kwajik!
The specially refined axe head, from handle to tip, slammed into the ordinary steel sword… yet Baek Jung-hyeok did not flinch.
No.
There was no room left for shock.
“Keep going! Keep at him!”
Because the attack landing right in front of him belonged to Gwak Yeon.
His hands whirled sword and scabbard faster and faster, generating afterimages that blurred left and right.
The figure’s eyes gleamed brighter still, radiating an aura hot enough to sear skin.
He is going to die…
Terror seized him in that instant.
“Harder! Even faster!”
“Hup!”
“Kihahahaha! That’s it!”
“Uaaaaaah!”
Roaring as he battled, Baek Jung-hyeok gripped the remaining iron axe handle with both hands, drawing every last trace of inner energy from his body and swinging with full force.
How many times had they collided?
The air around them tore apart.
He could not even tell whether the sting on his face came from flying stone fragments or the gale of wind.
“Uaaaaaah! Die! Die!”
“That’s it!”
He was pushed backward inch by inch.
Stumbling, feet sinking deeper and deeper from firm ground into soft sand.
Still receiving blows, he kept retreating.
“Kup!”
Baek Jung-hyeok realized.
Gwak Yeon’s assault was growing steadily stronger.
‘…Mad…’
Unlike him, who poured everything into the fight, the bastard still had not shown his full strength. It was unbelievable.
Even now.
While endlessly pouring out attacks, the smile on the opponent’s face carried an eerie delight.
“Skill isn’t bad! Why does someone like that keep pulling these weird stunts? Eh?!”
“Kueeeaaak!”
Baek Jung-hyeok understood.
At some point, the backward retreat had become too difficult.
His body had been driven to his knees in the sand by the shore.
“Hey.”
“Eh… ah…”
“What are you doing? It’s over.”
“!”
“I’ll need to get a new weapon.”
As soon as he spoke, Gwak Yeon gave the scabbard a light flick.
The axe handle in Baek Jung-hyeok’s hand flew far away with a sharp crack.
“Hup… hup…”
The tip of Gwak Yeon’s sword touched the shoulder of the fallen man.
He blinked rapidly, panting, his face a mask of disbelief that the events of the last few moments had really happened.
“Still going?”
Gwak Yeon spoke calmly.
There was no reply.
He tapped Baek Jung-hyeok’s shoulder with the flat of his blade, then nodded as if genuinely entertained.
‘Hah.’
The duel was over.
With this, he would obtain more information on the hidden forces behind the family head.
And.
‘Ah, right.’
Gwak Yeon drew his sword and pressed the point against Baek Jung-hyeok’s chest, then tore the necklace from the man’s neck.
‘This… the restraint that the Black Sparrow spoke of.’
The black-feathered spiritual bird that had been secretly following him in Hangzhou not long ago.
Through the vampire’s ability, Baek Jung-hyeok had confessed that he had been using the necklace as a hostage to make the spirit beast move as he pleased.
—Because of the necklace! Because of the necklace!
Among the other pieces of information he had overheard from the spirit bird through the vampire’s power was knowledge of Baek Jung-hyeok’s weakness, but he had not bothered to elaborate during the fight. There was no need to make a subordinate suffer as much as he had.
Still.
“Impossible… this can’t be…”
Facing Baek Jung-hyeok, who stood dazed with his knees sunk deep in the sand, Gwak Yeon spoke softly.
“Baek Jung-hyeok.”
“…?”
“You have talent. Keep working hard from now on.”
“!”
A storm of emotions flashed across Baek Jung-hyeok’s eyes. He slowly turned and walked in the opposite direction, but the roar that erupted from behind him carried the fury of a defeated man.
“Uwaaaaaah!”
“The voice is strong.”
Gwak Yeon continued walking.
Toward the direction where the Seoho Gwak Family ships were anchored.
Thud… thud…
By then, everyone aboard every vessel surrounding the island already knew.
“The, the young master won!”
“Wooooah!”
“The Seoho Gwak Family has triumphed!”
The fact that Gwak Yeon had won the duel.
* * *
The Seoho Gwak Family side was in utter chaos.
Small waves lapped against the ships as the passengers cheered wildly in their own ways.
“The, the second young master won!”
“That’s right!”
“We won!”
“Congratulations!”
“Kihahahaha!”
The warriors of Biryongdang and every elder of the major family shouted at one another, eyes blazing with pride.
“Look at the wretched Baek bastards!”
“We’re still the best in Zhejiang!”
“So you should have looked at your opponent and sneered!”
They began sharing the joy of finally receiving their due.
Of course.
Some still wore dazed expressions, bewildered that Gwak Yeon could display such martial prowess.
“Ku! Kihihihaha! Thank you, thank you!”
Their whispers were swallowed by the cheers of the one person in the family who had always regarded Gwak Yeon as the most unreliable.
“Ah! Thank you! I knew the second young master would win!”
It was Yoo, the steward.
The same steward who had wagered a staggering two hundred silver taels on the outcome of this duel between the families.
As he leaped about the bow, arms flailing in a display of utter shamelessness, the cheers only grew louder.
“Hm.”
Gwak Seo-ryong hid his satisfied smile as he glanced at Wi Jong-geuk beside him.
“Yeon also has talent in two-handed swordsmanship?”
“He has been practicing diligently on his own.”
“Hmm.”
“Word from the family elders is that the young master has been seen sparring with several demonic sects in Hangzhou recently.”
“He seems to be trying to sharpen his real-combat instincts.”
“Yes.”
“Those sturdy swords and scabbards must have been obtained outside the family.”
“Yes. It seems the young master is preparing to step beyond the family’s walls.”
“Beyond.”
A spark lit Gwak Seo-ryong’s eyes.
What he had been hiding all this time was in preparation for one proper leap.
If he could reach this level…
At that moment, he had believed Gwak Yeon possessed the qualifications to carry out the family’s long-cherished wish as promised.
‘…Ah.’
Cheon Gang remained a whirlwind of complex emotions.
‘My young master… to this extent…’
Countless feelings churned inside him.
Admiration, shock, relief, pride, and even a strange twinge of envy flooded in.
‘His decision to change is certainly a good thing…’
Yet it came far too quickly.
Yesterday he had been running the training grounds with the young master, forging his body and testing the family’s martial arts, and now he stood at this level?
It was not merely about talent.
Gwak Yeon had begun training like a madman after the duel with Gwak Ho-shin.
But the ‘real-combat sense’ he had acquired by sparring with the demonic sects in Hangzhou’s back alleys had risen to this height.
‘Why push yourself this hard alone.’
It was a kind of crisis.
Was he useless as a bodyguard, or was his strength so feeble that it would be a burden to face the demonic sects? Whichever it was, Cheon Gang could not accept it.
‘I also… I am not good enough.’
He would become stronger.
No matter how much he failed, he could not allow the one he served to be disappointed.
He had to become far stronger than he was now, so that the second young master could feel even a little peace.
By the time Cheon Gang had made that resolve—
“Congratulations, young master!”
The victor of the duel, Gwak Yeon, stepped aboard the ship amid universal cheers.
* * *
While the Seoho Gwak Family side exploded with cheers, the Jusan Baek Family side was as quiet as a funeral.
“Let’s go.”
“Family head, the young master is—”
“Tell him to come on his own.”
The bubbling anger in Baek Ryang-san’s words.
His face, on the verge of exploding if touched, made everyone too afraid to voice even a single dissenting opinion.
They simply lowered their heads in silence.
“………”
“………”
“………”
“………”
“………”
Amid the silence that felt like death itself.
Behind the mast, a man struggled to suppress his groans.
“Eh… ahueu…”
It was the steward.
The same steward who had wagered two hundred silver taels on the outcome of the duel between the families and was now choking on his fury.
That was when—
Crack!
One thick mast of the ship snapped.
The family head, unable to contain his temper any longer, let out a thunderous roar.
Fuduk!
The Black Sparrow that should have been perched on the mast was nowhere to be seen, but no one was paying attention to such trivial matters.
“Uaaaaaah━!”
“F-FAMILY HEAD!”
It was not merely defeat.
Especially not when—
“That stupid brat! Why would he make such a bet!”
“Family head, please calm yourself!”
“Family head!”
“What are you all doing?! Stop the family head!”
The bet had been made with a one-year flag-raising condition: the losing family must fly a banner praising the winning family for an entire year.
And the steward of the Cheonhae Merchant Group, Yeo Geum-hwi, had attested to it.
“The Seoho Gwak Family is the best!”
As a result, the Jusan Baek Family was forced to live with a flag planted in their main fortress for a whole year. The family head’s rage sent waves crashing against the water near the ships.
* * *
On a massive vessel that allowed both families’ ships to be seen side by side from the perspective of the uninhabited island ahead.
“Fuhah! Fuhaahahaha!”
The old captain let out a boisterous laugh.
Moyong Wol-un of the Seven Great Families.
Once more he drained his wine cup in one gulp, then turned to Yeo Geum-hwi beside him, his eyes sparkling like a child’s.
“In this case, with the attestation you provided, those Seoho Gwak fools will have to parade a flag praising their family for a whole year, correct?”
“Correct.”
“At the very beginning, that wager was one they always enjoyed, wasn’t it?”
“Of course.”
“Fuhaahahaha! Acting so arrogant, you meet your match in this insignificant Zhejiang province!”
“How was the fight? Did you enjoy it?”
“Of course! I didn’t even need the side dishes! This duel was deliciously intoxicating!”
Yeo Geum-hwi glanced at the table in front of Moyong Wol-un.
He had enjoyed the fight so much that he had emptied several bottles of wine, yet almost none of the side dishes remained untouched.
“What was that fellow’s name again?”
“Gwak Yeon.”
“Yeah, Gwak Yeon! How did he do it? Ah, right.”
Recalling everything he had seen, Moyong Wol-un took another long swig from his wine bottle as a side dish.
Glug… glug… glug…
When his gaze shifted from the old captain, Yeo Geum-hwi looked upward.
Sparkle.
Beyond the porthole of the ship’s quarters, the distant shore was still visible.
Looking in that direction, it was the Seoho Gwak Family side.
That troublesome man had shown curiosity toward the victorious Gwak Yeon.
In that case.
‘First, I’ll have to assign my next escort mission to that friend.’
The approximate direction had been settled.
For now, that was all.
The rest would have to be thought out after moving to a new spot.
“Ring the bell.”
“Yes.”
Following Yeo Geum-hwi’s order, the captain with the goat beard nodded and spread the command throughout the entire fleet.
Dong━━━━!
Dong━━━━!
Dong━━━━!
The peal of bells echoed across the sea.
It was not only the official end of the duel hosted by the Cheonhae Merchant Group but also the signal that began ringing on every vessel, announcing the preparations for the ensuing banquet.
“Look, Chan.”
“Yes.”
Placing his wine cup down, Moyong Wol-un spoke quietly to Jegal Chan, who had been scribbling notes on paper.
“Those people.”
The eyes of the steward beside him widened like lantern flames.
“You should bring one of them to our family gathering once.”