Ong So-hu glared with one eye wide open as he stared at Gold-necked Hwan.
At that moment, the center of his left pupil was split apart by force. If it had gone any deeper, it would have cut all the way to the bone.
“How could you not get caught?”
Ong So-hu didn’t know, but Gold-necked Hwan had been tailing Ong So-hu, keeping a steady distance ever since Ong So-hu left the battlefield.
Of course, that didn’t matter much to Ong So-hu right now. The important thing was that this damned brat had come out alone.
That was his chance. A chance to take the evidence. And if he could take Gold-necked Hwan’s head as revenge for Ong Mungyu’s death, there was nothing more he could ask for.
There would be a bit of commotion in Jungwon, but he couldn’t return to his father with nothing to show for it.
“You’ll regret not killing me with that single sword.”
Ong So-hu assumed the starting stance of the Guhyang Geombeom. Gold-necked Hwan drew a strange sword path. Ong So-hu, being inexperienced, couldn’t recognize what martial art it was.
“Is that the Namhae Sibigeom?”
“No.”
“Then die!”
Ong So-hu struck preemptively. It was a quick, arched slash, but far faster than Ong Mungyu’s sword, almost like a snake flying through the air.
Gold-necked Hwan blocked by touching the back of his blade with his hand. Clang—the sound rang out as Gold-necked Hwan’s small body was pushed back.
Ong So-hu tried to keep pressing the attack. Since Gold-necked Hwan was forced back while blocking, the center of his weight must have shifted backward. Ong So-hu didn’t want to waste that opening.
He instantly unleashed Hoesanbo and spun to the right. He moved so fast that it created a gust of wind; his foot barely even touched the ground before he stepped again.
“Got you.”
The moment Ong So-hu caught sight of Gold-necked Hwan’s back, he thought so. By now, at the very least, Gold-necked Hwan’s waist should have twisted halfway if he was to block.
His blade sliced rapidly through the spot where Gold-necked Hwan’s neck had been. Ong So-hu’s eyes widened. He hadn’t felt the sensation of flesh being cut.
A failed attack meant it was now his turn to defend. Ong So-hu instinctively raised his sword vertically.
Gold-necked Hwan hadn’t even looked back; he simply bent forward a little to dodge. Then, using the rotational force of his turning body, Gold-necked Hwan swung his sword backward at Ong So-hu’s ankle.
That strike was sharp and flawless. Ong So-hu felt a chill. He’d thought he could win with just this one move.
Ong So-hu’s level was first-rate. He didn’t know about Gold-necked Hwan, but during his fight with Ong Mungyu, Gold-necked Hwan hadn’t even revealed his Qi. Of course, since he beat Ong Mungyu, he was at least second-rate, but being so young had an absolute impact on one’s martial arts level.
In reality, Ong So-hu and Ong Mungyu had often sparred, and Ong So-hu always won easily—even though Ong Mungyu was more talented.
“This brat’s move…”
Ong So-hu’s words trailed off. At the moment he thought he’d met Gold-necked Hwan’s left eye as he turned—
Suddenly, Gold-necked Hwan’s figure blurred, and a cold aura swept over the back of Ong So-hu’s neck.
The ankle strike was a feint; Gold-necked Hwan’s real aim was to get behind him. An unbelievable Sinbeop. He swayed left and right, vanishing—Ong So-hu couldn’t even tell which way he’d gone.
“Trying to use cheap tricks, huh?”
Ong So-hu barely managed to swing his sword behind him and block. That’s when he realized. There was no comparison to Ong Mungyu’s skill.
Ong So-hu immediately released his Qi. There was a world of difference between fighting with and without Qi. Even if you traded blows equally, the one with weaker Naegong would suffer continuous internal injuries.
Blue Qi enveloped Ong So-hu’s sword. Gold-necked Hwan gathered both feet and kicked off the ground, leaping far back.
Seeing that, Ong So-hu’s lips curled into a smile.
“Still can’t use Qi, huh?”
Gold-necked Hwan didn’t answer. That silence was as good as an admission. Ong So-hu unleashed the Guhyang Geombeop with his sword infused with blue Qi.
Ong So-hu’s Guhyang form targeted nine of Gold-necked Hwan’s vital meridian points.
Tutu-tutok.
With a step that wasn’t even Sinbeop, Gold-necked Hwan advanced, thrust his sword, then swept it. The movement was like a child playing with a toy wooden sword.
But Ong So-hu couldn’t laugh. That random sweep had perfectly blocked all nine sword paths.
“This is called the Pa Hyeong Sword Technique.”
Just then, Gold-necked Hwan spoke. It seemed to be an answer to the earlier question about the Namhae Sibigeom.
“I am the Daejongsaji.”
Again, Gold-necked Hwan’s figure blurred and vanished. Ong So-hu was shocked when Gold-necked Hwan suddenly appeared right in front of him. He hurriedly raised his sword to block, but Gold-necked Hwan used the sword crossing to wrap around his defense and push in.
“You little bastard!”
Ong So-hu barely dodged, but he couldn’t avoid the blade brushing past him in the darkness.
Gold-necked Hwan kept circling to Ong So-hu’s left, attacking his blind spots. Ong So-hu, overwhelmed, staggered back.
What he couldn’t understand was that all his techniques were countered in an instant. They weren’t just blocked—they were uprooted from the foundation. How was this even possible?
“You’re using witchcraft! You piece of trash!”
Ong So-hu shouted in fury. Gold-necked Hwan didn’t reply and kept up the assault.
Ong So-hu, driven by rage, poured his Qi into his sword and swung it through the air. Gold-necked Hwan didn’t try to match Qi with Qi—instead, he used Sinbeop and his sword to deflect as much as possible.
How much time passed?
Gold-necked Hwan finally spoke.
“The way to use Qi—I get it now.”
Suddenly, a blue flame flared from Gold-necked Hwan’s sword. The razor-sharp blue energy shot straight for Ong So-hu’s heart.
Saaak!
Blood spurted out, incomparable to when his eye was cut.
Ong So-hu’s head, filled with disbelief, rolled across the ground.
***
I took Ong So-hu’s head. Inside the airtight leather pouch made for carrying heads was a yellow liquid, sloshing around. It was the Geumryeongsu I received from Myung Jaehee. By soaking it in this yellow fluid, a corpse wouldn’t rot and could be preserved for a long time.
I tightly bound the pouch’s opening and sealed it. This would soon be a gift for someone.
Having finished my business, I returned to the main hall. The fighting here seemed almost over as well. Gwak Jindo was looking out the window, commanding repairs and reinforcement of the walls.
Internal matters like that were, of course, the job of the Hwanggeum Family’s Outer General. And I intended to handle the external affairs of the Hwanggeum Family.
Just then, from a shadowy spot in the corridor, Yeo Sangwoo suddenly popped out. I sometimes forgot, but he too was from Biyeon-gak. At least his lightness skill was truly superb.
There was no reason to delay. I asked right away.
“How did the battle go?”
“A complete victory.”
“That’s a relief.”
“You must have known already, didn’t you?”
Suddenly pressed by Yeo Sangwoo’s sharp question, I paused a moment before replying.
“There’s always such a thing as ‘just in case’ in this world.”
“To think the one who can precisely estimate the arrival time of martial artists from Wuhan to Namchang is being so modest.”
I just laughed. That was a knack I’d acquired whether I liked it or not. Probably, even if you searched the whole world and all the martial sects, you wouldn’t find someone with this particular skill.
Most strategists make decisions by stepping forward and gathering open information. But since I was always shut in darkness, I calculated in my head every day. If you asked me, for instance, how long it would take troops to move from Honam to Unnam, I’d answer instantly.
Every time, I thought, walking on these two legs, breathing air under the sky—it’s an amazing thing.
“You look full of regret. I’m honestly curious, but—are you really twelve years old?”
“Yes.”
Soon, from outside the building, the lively shouts drifted in. The Cheongmu Unit, having organized the troops, was returning.
Then, from behind Yeo Sangwoo, someone called out.
“Biyeongakju!”
He was standing just behind the larger Yeo Sangwoo, so I couldn’t see clearly, but from the aged voice and the casual manner of address, it was obviously an Elder. What stood out was how oddly excited his voice sounded.
Yeo Sangwoo turned back with a hearty laugh.
“Ah, Elder. I really owe you my life.”
“You did far more than me. When did you learn such strategy?”
Suddenly, the Elder started bombarding Yeo Sangwoo with questions without even giving him time to answer.
“It was a brilliant strategy. You’re the only one who could command the whole force here. Gwak Jindo isn’t the type to come up with such plans.”
“Well…”
“Mixing formations with the martial artists’ Jin, balancing the lines so nothing conflicted—it’s been a while since Biyeongakju made a splash, and now you deliver! Really impressive.”
“N-no, actually—”
Yeo Sangwoo tried to say something, but it seemed the Cheongmu Unit members following the Elder up from the first floor had already gotten the wrong idea and were cheering.
“Thank you, Biyeongakju-nim!”
“The Jinbeop was outstanding!”
By then, Yeo Sangwoo had no choice but to cut them off.
“Enough! That’s enough. All of this was planned by the Youngest Master. The formation, the strategy, the tactics, even calling the Elders—all of it was this friend’s plan. The whole battle was thanks to him.”
Saying this, Yeo Sangwoo stepped aside to the left. Only then did my line of sight clear enough to see the Elder’s face.
A middle-aged man with white hair tightly tied back, with blood and dust from battle still visible on his clothes. The eyes of all the Cheongmu Unit members, who bore the traces of battle, now turned toward me.
“Haha.”
A laugh escaped someone’s lips.
“You’re saying this little brat was the commander?”
The Cheongmu Unit members, taking the words of the higher-ranking Biyeongakju seriously, looked uneasy, but the Elder didn’t seem the type to care.
“Haha, that’s the funniest joke I’ve heard this year.”
The Elder strode right up to me and crouched down. From afar, he hadn’t looked it, but up close, he had a lot of wrinkles.
“Kid, what’s your name?”
“I am Gold-necked Hwan.”
“I am Kang Mun. In the martial world, they call me Manroe.”
So said the Elder. There was a brief silence. I nodded.
“Yes. Pleased to meet you.”
The Cheongmu Unit members’ reactions behind me were even more intense than mine.
“What? How can he not know Kang Un the Elder…”
“The Gangnoe Do Beop is so famous, all the kids know it!”
Listening to that, I realized: the Elder before me was quite a famous martial artist in Jungwon. When I looked at Kang Un, he seemed a little embarrassed at my stare and quickly changed the subject.
“So, is it true what this old man just said?”
Kang Un seemed to treat me as a child wanting credit for the battle. It wasn’t unreasonable. Still, I told the truth.
“Yes.”
As if surprised I’d answer so, the Elder scratched the back of his head. He looked quite awkward.
“Lying is a bad habit for a kid, you know.”
“Elder, it’s true. Let’s report it to the Maengju.”
It was the Cheongmu Captain, Cheon Jiak, coming up from the first floor who answered, not me. Come to think of it, Cheon Jiak and Seong Yubeom already knew I was the overall commander.
Even so, it seemed they hadn’t told the unit members that the Youngest Master was the commander. A wise choice.
The problem was, the Elder still didn’t believe it.
“Come on. What kind of joke is this? If this little brat is really the commander, I’ll give up my right hand.”
I wanted this situation to end quickly. I still had things left to do. Unfortunately, this wasn’t something I could resolve myself.
Fortunately, Cheongmu Captain settled it for me.
“I’d stake my sword on that boy’s plans.”
When the sword came up, the Elder’s gaze finally softened. He looked at me. The Cheongmu Unit members, who had been silently watching, also turned their attention to me.
In their eyes, they must have seen only a child, but now their expressions had completely changed.
Even though the battle was a complete victory, from their faces, you’d think we’d suffered a crushing defeat.
In any case, what mattered most to me was that the situation was now over.
“There are things to discuss about the aftermath. Shall we talk for a bit?”
Because I had to keep moving forward.