“I’ve brought them. Dammit…”
“I greet my liege.”
After the Iron Fist members had their turn to sprawl on the ground, it was time for the vassals to take their turn.
Aside from Reton, who was away for magic training, the four others, including Birence, gathered at the innermost training ground. All of them looked bright-eyed, except for Hoden, who looked like he was at a funeral.
“Sian. It looks like you’ve been making progress lately?”
“Yes! I’ve reached the fourth rank.”
“Oh? That’s good.”
The Three-Step Treasure. It was a Lightfoot and movement technique that allowed one to shape their environment and pressure the enemy within three steps. I had passed it on to Sian, but it was a martial art of considerable difficulty. She had already mastered it up to the fourth rank. No wonder she looked pleased.
‘It’s a high-difficulty technique… Hmm. There certainly are many people with martial talent in this world.’
Considering the difficulty of the Three-Step Treasure, this was a significant achievement.
“Well done. Next, you must go beyond simply planting moves into your motions and move toward application.”
“Application, you say?”
“Watch.”
*Thump.* Feeling Sian’s focused expression, I sprang my body forward.
*Thump. Thump.*
My body felt lighter with every spring. The Qi flowing through my bloodlines was majestic. The moment I tapped into it as if playing a variation of that energy—
*Bang!*
My body leaped high.
‘Observe the surroundings in a single move.’
*Thump.* With the second movement, I shifted the ground.
The altered earth bestowed energy upon me. I used that energy, carried in by the spring of my body, to fill my entire frame.
*Bang.* The moment I kicked off for the final, third step.
*Whoosh!*
My body shot forward like a bolt of lightning.
“Argh! Why me?!”
“Try to block it.”
*Whoosh!* The speed was enough to propel my body toward Hoden in an instant.
*Kboom!*
Before Hoden could even draw his sword, my body, imbued with the power of the earth, had already reached him.
*Pang!*
“…Ugh.”
Only three steps. The essence of the Three-Step Treasure, which transformed power through change and suppressed the opponent, unfolded.
“Arghhhhh! Stop hitting me in the solar plexus… *Gasp.* *Wheeze*…”
Leaving the agonizing Hoden where he was, I looked at Sian, whose eyes were sparkling even more.
“Did you see?”
“Yes!”
“This is the basic and the essence of the Three-Step Treasure. Also, since the Three-Step Treasure absorbs energy while performing the martial art…”
“You said that, theoretically, infinite combat is possible.”
“Right. It’s only a theory, but there was actually someone who implemented it similarly.”
“That’s amazing.”
Je-gun. The man who followed me in the Murim specialized in the Three-Step Treasure. There was no way Sian, a person of this world, could know of Je-gun. However, because I said such a person existed, she simply believed it with shining eyes.
‘Surprisingly, her interest in martial arts is high.’
In the beginning, Sian had followed along reluctantly. But by now, she had tasted the flavor of martial arts and was following of her own accord. The fact that her loyalty rose while receiving my teachings was a bonus.
Compared to her…
“Hoden. Stop exaggerating and get up.”
“…Ugh. It hurts so much.”
“Want another hit?”
“I’m up!”
*Snap.* Hoden, who stood up like an arrow, was becoming more shameless by the day. He tried every possible way to skip training whenever he had the chance.
‘Did he get laziness instead of talent… Well, I suppose that balances things out. A lazy genius. That’s Hoden.’
Out of the three—no, the four of them—he trained the least, yet his learning speed was the fastest. Was he not already forming the shape of the Total Sword? His body also possessed innate traits, developing to suit the Total Sword he was learning. At some point, his body became more agile, and his arms became more flexible, extending further.
“Now that you’ve felt the results, isn’t it about time you focused on the training method?”
“I’d say I’m doing quite a bit for someone like me?”
“You’ve only gotten better at talking.”
*Thump. Thwack.*
Furthermore, he had quickly mastered the technique of shedding force. Even now, I threw a punch, but the impact was minimal. Hoden had momentarily recoiled his body, disrupting the point of impact. Having worked him the hardest every time we trained, he had somehow managed to acquire such a skill.
‘He really is fast.’
His talent alone was top-tier.
“Oh?”
“Ugh…”
“Don’t say that when you were just enchanted.”
Leaving the complaining Hoden aside, I looked at the remaining people. Sian, Gazei, and Birence were looking on with even brighter eyes. Birence was even snorting as if he wanted to move immediately. Birence was a born warrior.
“Let’s see how far you can roll. Everyone, take your weapons.”
“Yes!”
“Understood!”
*Shriiing.* Everyone drew their swords and surrounded me. I was blocked on four sides by the four of them.
“Good.”
With everyone surrounding me, the preparations were complete. My recent method of teaching those who had mastered the basics was simple.
“Let’s begin!”
A duel where they attacked with real swords. Using not just one, but all four of them, I was tempering the four subordinates.
The start was always the Heavenly Mechanism Step.
*Vrummm.* Mana moved simultaneously.
If they were becoming stronger by learning martial arts from me, I was in a situation where I was carving my own path by adding magic to my martial arts.
“Here I come!”
*Bang!*
The moment I sprang my body, the surrounding energy exploded.
“Try to block me.”
“Ugh.”
*Zing!*
My sword swung, pressuring Gazei. With one step, I checked Sian, and with a slight twist of my body, I avoided Hoden, who came rushing in with a swing of his sword.
“Waaaaah!”
Birence charged like a bull.
“Too honest, aren’t you?”
*Boom!*
I thrust my remaining fist straight at him. In an instant, I checked, swung at, and pressured the four of them. That was enough for a start. In an instant, a field where the five of us played was created. Of course…
“Let’s see how long you hold out today.”
“Dammit all!”
It was a form where I alone pressured all four of them.
—
The Crows called by the Count.
Ident, the leader, had no choice but to return while tracing the tracks of the Bandit Group.
‘Maybe it’s for the best that I’m returning anyway.’
Since he had been far away, midwinter was arriving by the time he returned. The arrival of winter was synonymous with the time when the monsters of the North would begin to move.
He sent a portion of the Crows he led to the North. Then, leading the remaining members, he returned to the Count’s direct territory.
A castle named after the Count of Ophern.
Ophern welcomed Ident with its usual appearance, as if expressing the personality of the Count’s family.
“It has been a while.”
Count Ophern did not reproach Ident for being unable to carry out the orders he had given for so long.
“Have you still not uncovered everything?”
“It is deeper than I thought. Instead, I have learned that various things are entangled.”
“Entangled?”
“Yes. It seems not only the Old Fox or Gisert are involved. A few more seem to be connected. The entire kingdom is in turmoil, is it not?”
“So, it’s no ordinary matter. That will do. I will continue to deploy people there as well.”
“I shall follow your command.”
The Count had merely listened to Ident’s report. Then.
“I assume you’ve heard?”
“Yes. I heard the Old Fox has been playing tricks. It’s about time we moved. There are many of them, after all.”
“Indeed. They were always like that.”
The Old Fox, Marquis of Owen.
Leading the Owen family, he constantly eyed the Count of Ophern’s family. There had been actual crises. When the current Count of Ophern had just inherited the title, the Marquis of Owen had struck the Ophern family from behind.
Ophern, who lacked experience compared to the Fox, had been able to protect the family only after losing quite a few people. Since losing many people back then, Count Ophern had remained silent. He kept his silence to suppress his youthful vigor and protect the family.
Silence was the Count’s way of protecting the Ophern family. That silence of the Count’s was finally being broken.
“There are always many who try to shake us. Our Ophern, that is.”
“It must be because it is a precious place.”
“Haha. You’ve only gotten better at saying what I want to hear. Should you be getting so silver-tongued?”
“I shall call it a slip of the tongue.”
“Fine. Even though I am merely a Border Count, I have too many enemies. I wanted to reduce the number of enemies by at least one by the time I pass down this title.”
It was the first time the Count had revealed his inner thoughts. There were too many enemies for the Ophern family.
Originally, they should have focused on blocking the enemy nation, the Nation of Resen. Since the duty of a Border Count lay in protecting the borders, that was only natural.
Even so, his surroundings continued to target him. Because there were many enemies, it was difficult to expand or develop. Had there been even one less enemy, the power of the Ophern family might have been different from what it was now.
“I feel guilty saying this… but reducing the number of enemies is a difficult task. As the one who must provide you with information, I have no choice but to speak the truth.”
“I am aware. I will be the one to come up with the plan to bring the enemies down. You just handle the processing separately.”
“I shall accept any command.”
He was a rough Count, yet he was second to none when it came to taking care of his people. Ident’s body, which had followed him, had grown old and weak, but he was a man who filled his deficiencies with the wisdom acquired through a long life.
He bent his knee.
“My liege, what would you have me do?”
“Scrutinize the Fox Dens.”
A command was given to the aging Crow to investigate the Marquis’s territory.
‘It’s finally here. I don’t know how far this will go… but I must see it through.’
This was an expected development. The problem was the Count’s command that followed.
“Furthermore, you must release more Crows into the territory.”
“Into the territory?”
The Crows were already spread out here and there. To deal with the Old Fox, more foxes were needed. Even so, the Count wanted to allocate some of them again.
“Things beyond my control are happening within the territory. You must have felt it as well?”
“…Yes.”
“So find it. The cause!”
“I shall obey your command.”
“Go.”
“Yes!”
Positive things were happening in the territory. However, they were things that should have been under control. To find the cause, Ident gathered the Crows together.
“Gather the kids at Ophern Castle. New ones would be better than old men like us.”
“They will still be lacking.”
“It’s fine. Wouldn’t it be better to move from the safe interior first?”
“If that is what you wish… I shall release them.”
“Good.”
He coordinated all movements before dealing with the old Marquis.
The Crows sent to the North flew to help the eldest son, Eldin, prevent the monster movement. The elders of the Crows set out to deal with the Old Fox’s den.
“It’s our first mission.”
“Let’s move.”
The young Crows who had just left the nest arrived at Ophern Castle. It was to carry out the Count’s command.
It was midwinter.
Even at a time when one should huddle against the cold, those in the territory were moving busily.