Chapter 03: It Means I’ve Found My Sworn Enemy

Unfortunately, the short man and the lanky man betrayed my expectations.

Avoiding a staring contest with the man in the white turban, the two of them even sheathed the weapons they had drawn, making it clear they had no intention of fighting. However, as if frustrated by having to retreat just like that, the short man showed his lingering resentment.

“I believe I’m older than you, but your words are harsh, One-Flash Blade. I’ll remember this.”

The turbaned swordsman scoffed.

“Hmph, what’s there to remember with that not-so-great head of yours, Blood-Axe? If you have a complaint, why don’t you settle it right here? If you can’t, then just get lost.”

Glaring at the turbaned swordsman, the short man gave a signal with his eyes, and the lanky man cautiously approached me. I took two steps back to let him take care of the unconscious Jo Useong. After hoisting Jo Useong onto his shoulder, the lanky man called out to the short man.

“Let’s go, Sang.”

After shooting one last glare at the turbaned swordsman, the short man joined the lanky man and left the scene. I watched them blankly as they entered the bushes on the left to avoid the swordsmen blocking their path, and then I too turned to leave. A commanding voice stopped me as I headed toward the mountain.

“Stop right there.”

The turbaned swordsman’s commanding tone annoyed me, so I responded defiantly.

“And what if I don’t want to?”

“What?”

Flames ignited in the turbaned man’s eyes. As he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, a man with impressive sideburns and a dignified air stepped forward to stop him.

“Calm down, Du-yeong. And don’t misunderstand, little brother. We didn’t come here to oppress you. As you just saw, we came to protect you from the lawless group that was trying to harm you.”

I tilted my head.

“Who are you to protect me?”

The man with the sideburns readily revealed his identity.

“We are from the Hundred Blades Alliance of Goyang. My name is Park Jeong. My comrades in the martial world call me Three-Moon Blade.”

“The Hundred Blades Alliance? Why would you want to protect me, a complete stranger? No, never mind. Whatever the reason, I don’t have even a frog’s toenail’s worth of desire to be protected by you. So let’s just go our separate ways. Goodbye.”

The turbaned man could no longer hold back and drew his sword.

“You arrogant brat. You must be full of yourself after defeating that brat from the Taegeuk Sword Sect, but if you keep acting so recklessly, your head might just fly off.”

The atmosphere suddenly turned menacing.

The man with the sideburns once again stopped the turbaned man.

“Have you forgotten the Grand Master’s instructions, Du-yeong? Leave this little brother to me and just watch.”

The turbaned man, who had been glaring at me as if he wanted to eat me alive, reluctantly lowered his sword. The man with the sideburns turned his gaze to me.

“Let me ask you one thing. Why do you refuse our goodwill?”

“It’s because of my late father’s advice to be wary of unsolicited kindness when I enter the martial world. He said it’s like the bait used to catch fish or the poison set out to catch rats.”

“Ah, now I understand. In that case, give me a chance to explain the situation. Once you know why we came here, you’ll understand. Will you listen?”

“Go ahead.”

“Thank you. First, let me explain how we came to know you. As you might have guessed, we first saw you during your duel against the successor of the Taegeuk Sword Sect earlier today. I don’t know if you’re aware, but that man was considered the most powerful contender for the championship in this tournament, along with our alliance’s young master. Since the main tournament, where true skills begin to emerge, had started, we had no choice but to observe him closely.

So we found a spot near the dueling stage early on and waited. To be honest, until then, we had no interest in you whatsoever. We predicted you would lose to him in three seconds. But the opposite result occurred, didn’t it? We were deeply impressed by your fluid movements and excellent improvisation. It was truly an admirable display of skill. Amazing.”

The man with the sideburns, who had been speaking with the fluency of a flowing river, fell silent, as if to gauge my reaction. His intentions were obvious, but I played along with his expectations and urged him to continue.

“And so?”

“As we were celebrating your triumphant victory as if it were our own, we realized it wasn’t something to be purely happy about. It’s not right to disparage other sects behind their backs, but the Taegeuk Sword Sect is a place where all sorts of nasty rumors never cease. We were worried they might secretly plot something in revenge against you for scratching the jewel they cherished so much. So we had someone follow you. In case the situation we feared occurred, we wanted to help you.

And sure enough, while we were having dinner, the person we had assigned to you came running with an urgent report. The successor of the Taegeuk Sword Sect, accompanied by two notorious villains from Anseong, was secretly tailing you. We dropped our spoons and ran out of the inn. Fortunately, we arrived in time to prevent any mishap. What do you think? Do you understand now?”

I grinned.

“It sounds plausible, but it’s still hard to accept. Why did you want to protect me in the first place? There’s no benefit for you.”

As if he had been expecting that question, the man with the sideburns answered immediately.

“I’d like to say it’s for the sake of justice in the martial world, but there’s a slightly more embarrassing truth. The Taegeuk Sword Sect and our alliance are rivals competing for supremacy in the Seongju martial world. We’re not just simple competitors, but sworn enemies. What they want is what we don’t want, and vice versa. If they try to harm someone, our will to protect that person is automatically triggered. That’s why we came here.”

I nodded.

“I see.”

Believing he had succeeded in dispelling my doubts, the man with the sideburns beamed.

“Then will you come with us? If you haven’t eaten yet, we’ll treat you to a meal. If you have, let’s share a drink to commemorate today’s meeting. Ah, but before that, I’d like you to greet our alliance’s Grand Master. He said he wanted to see you. He said your name sounded familiar.”

Strangely, my heart began to pound. Could it be? Could it be?

To hide my excitement, I deliberately lowered my voice.

“Let me ask one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“That Grand Master you mentioned. What’s his name?”

“I only know that his surname is Hong; I don’t know his given name.”

The beating of my heart grew louder. I was conscious of my voice trembling.

“By any chance, does he have a long sword scar running from his left ear down to his collarbone?”

The man with the sideburns, his smile wiped from his face, asked back.

“Are you acquainted with Grand Master Hong?”

Instead of answering, I raised my hands and interlocked my fingers.

Crack.

“Hah, to think things would work out like this. It was worth traveling a thousand miles, sleeping in the open and eating in the wind.”

While the man with the sideburns, drenched in bewilderment, was trying to figure out the situation, the silent turbaned man asked bluntly.

“What are you talking about?”

“What do you think? It means I’ve found my sworn enemy.”

The swordsmen’s complexions changed. The turbaned man, more angered by my informal speech than the shocking content, raised his sword without asking any questions. Then, before the man with the sideburns could stop him, he rushed at me.

The situation deteriorated rapidly.

I took out a pebble from my pocket and threw it at the turbaned man.

The turbaned man was quite skilled. Not only did he knock away the pebble I threw without losing his balance, but he even increased his speed.

Closing the distance of twenty paces in an instant, the turbaned man swung his sword like lightning. I remembered the short man calling him One-Flash Blade earlier. He was a master of the swift blade, worthy of his moniker.

The turbaned man’s sword strike was not a threat. He brought his sword down like an axe, intending to split me in two from my shoulder to my groin. I didn’t retreat but twisted my upper body to deflect his sword. Startled by my agility and flexibility, the turbaned man flinched. That momentary pause decided his fate.

Slap!

With a crisp sound of impact, the turbaned man was sent flying. Thanks to me controlling the strength of my slap, he avoided the catastrophe of having his head smashed, but his cheekbone and jaw were shattered, so he would never regain his original appearance.

As the turbaned man fell, the other swordsmen hastily drew their swords and rushed at me. Just by looking at their footwork and posture, I could tell that the man with the sideburns was the best among the four.

Clink.

Grabbing a handful of pebbles from my trouser pocket, I threw them at the swordsmen rushing toward me. It might have looked like I threw them randomly, but the stones flew precisely toward their vital points.

Only the man with the sideburns managed to knock away the hidden weapons I threw without much damage. The other three were hit by one or two stones each and let out screams of pain.

I prioritized attacking the relatively superior man with the sideburns. As I appeared before him in a flash, the startled man with the sideburns swung his sword in an exaggerated manner. It was more of a defensive move to stop my approach than an attack. He must have intended to make me retreat and then run away. Bending my knees as if to sit down, I let his crescent moon blade pass over my head, then immediately shot up and headbutted his jutting chin.

Before the body of the man with the sideburns, which flew in a parabola through the air, hit the ground, I took care of the stragglers who had been injured by my pebbles. I delivered a body blow to the one who thrust his wolf-fang sword at me, and sent the other two, who were standing awkwardly, flying with a scissor kick.

After dealing with them, I shifted my gaze to the pine forest on the right.

“You might as well crawl out of there too.”

The one who peeked his head out from behind an old pine tree was an old man whose face was covered in wrinkles.

The old man, who approached me with a sauntering gait as if he were out for a walk, suddenly cursed at me.

“You beggar-like bastard. Am I a cockroach? Crawl out? And when did we meet that you’re using informal speech? Shall I teach you the etiquette of addressing a respected elder of the martial world?”

“I didn’t know the person hiding there was an old man.”

The old man flared up in anger.

“Still, you brat! You must be feeling pretty cocky after catching a few minnows. Even though you know who I am…”

I cut the old man off.

“How would I know who you are?”

“What? You really don’t know me?”

“Didn’t we just meet for the first time?”

“…”

The speechless old man suddenly straightened his back and pounded his waist with both fists. Then, he plopped down on the ground.

“You sit your butt down too. My neck hurts from looking up at a big guy like you.”

When I remained standing, the old man got angry.

“I said sit down, you brat. I have a mountain of questions to ask you.”

I held my ground.

“Who are you, old man?”

The old man, who seemed about to erupt in anger, changed his attitude and sighed.

“What a tiring fellow. I’ll tell you everything, so just sit down first.”

Looking down at the old man, I complied with his request. As I sat cross-legged in front of him, the old man launched a barrage of questions, spitting saliva as he spoke.

“Seeing as you don’t know me, whom even three-year-old snot-nosed kids know, you must have just come out into the martial world after being stuck in some remote place, right? Judging by your actions, you must be a clueless fool who knows nothing about the ways of the world.

Who are these elders who taught you this and that? It seems you have a grudge against that Grand Master Hong of the Hundred Blades Alliance, what’s the story? Since you, who grew up in a remote place cut off from the world, couldn’t have formed a grudge with that man, it must be a problem related to one of the people who taught you, right? Why did that person make you, a half-wit, do it instead of taking care of that man himself? You have a nearly 100% chance of dying a violent death while trying to get revenge.

Surely you don’t intend to face the Hundred Blades Alliance alone, do you? Don’t be foolish, you brat. Do you even know what kind of place the Hundred Blades Alliance is? Of course you don’t. That’s why you just went and headbutted those pathetic fellows. Hey, you brat. If you found your enemy by a stroke of luck, you should have played dumb and planned things secretly, not made such a scene…”

My patience ran out, and I cut off the old man’s long-winded speech.

“I’ll take care of it myself, so you mind your own business, old man.”

“The way this brat talks. I’ll tolerate it because you’re uneducated, but if you keep provoking me, I might just crush your mouth.”

Even though I knew it was a threat, a chill ran down my spine. My instincts warned me that the old man before me was an extremely dangerous person.

[End of Chapter]