Chapter 20: Showdown (2)

“Phew.”

The air was cold to breathe.

Clench!

When I reached the top of the mountain peak and stepped on the snow-covered ground, it reached up to my ankles.

A battle on snowy peaks under the sky. It sounded glamorous in words, but I can’t feel it.

There was Hae Ack-chun with his giant arms crossed together. Standing beside him were the twins. The atmosphere felt heavy.

Like me, they were committed too.

-Doesn’t this seem a bit familiar?

As Short Sword said, in just 3 months, Song Jwa-baek and Song Woo-hyun had grown considerably. As a result, they couldn’t even be arrogant, unlike before.

Compared to Hae Ack-chun, they were still small, but they were bigger than me. The twins were now easy to tell apart.

-He looks fine today....

The person Short Sword referred to was the younger twin, Song Woo-hyun. The way his smooth head reflected the sunlight was dazzling.

It’s shocking how his hair loss led to such a dazzling bald head. But thanks to that, he gave off a stronger impression.

Clench!

I stepped into the snow and walked to them.

“Kulkul, are you ready to lose?”

As soon as he saw me, he asked me this. But I wasn’t going to fall for this shallow provocation.

“Shouldn’t we fight to know?”

I harbored no thoughts of falling for their cheap words. Then Song Jwa-baek said.

“Why don’t you just surrender now and call me master?”

“You seem confident?”

“Of course. Because you and I are different.”

Being confident meant being sure of victory. Right? At that time, Hae Ack-chun hits Song Jwa-baek on the back of his head.

Pak!

“Huh! Who gave you the right to talk about surrender? This fight will have to go till the end.”

Song Jwa-baek frowns.

Well, we didn’t know the real purpose of this confrontation, so this was to be expected. For Hae Ack-chun, this confrontation was like a way to avenge the humiliation of his past.

He wanted his next-generation disciple to defeat the might of his enemy...

-He is trying to win mentally.

Look at his witty conclusion. Well, in the end, it was true.

Whatever the past was, he wanted to surpass his opponent, the South Heavenly Swordsman, who outmatched him.

-No, stay quiet, Short Sword. If the fighting spirit dies, he cannot fight.

-Shh.

At South Heavenly Iron Sword’s words, Short Sword grumbled. But she knew the importance of the confrontation, so she stopped.

“Who will I fight again?”

I knew that I had to compete with one of the twins first. But fortunately, I didn’t have to take on both of them at the same time.

Song Jwa-baek stepped up.

“It is me.”

I thought so. Song Woo-hyun, the younger twin, didn’t fit the concept of the fight as he was still a bit immature.

Of course, a typical opponent would be intimidated by his current appearance.

“Elder. Will you keep your promise?”

“Kulkul, that happens only when you win.”

I never thought that I would lose.

As he continued to show a confident expression, I slowly became nervous.

‘Because he isn’t the kind of person to brag.’

I had to be careful. Song Jwa-baek and I looked at each other as the other two moved back.

Then Hae Ack-chun shouted.

“Start!”

Song Jwa-baek took a stance. As he approached me with extended arms, I could see the iron wrist guards on him.

It seems like they weren’t there just for protection. He then looked at me and said.

“You are flexible!”

I was slightly surprised when he praised me.

And now the fist came right for the face.

Chang!

I blocked it again with Iron Sword, but my body was being pushed back.

“I won’t miss this!”

Song Jwa-baek tried to close the distance again.

‘I am annoyed.’

Iron Sword mumbled.

-This is the basic tactic one uses when going against a sword with fists. Of course, there is more of an effect he has since he knows most of your sword technique.

That made me realize just how much Hae Ack-chun had studied the stolen technique. It would be no exaggeration to say that these fist techniques were born from the bitter memories of the old man.

So he must have read the book and polished his technique over the years.

“Kilkil.”

It seems like pushing me was fun. At least his smiling lips told me that.

“How long will you dodge and defend? Why don’t you try some techniques?”

He was provoking me.

Maybe he knew how to counter my movement. If not, he wouldn’t say this.

“Okay?”

My hands were ready to unfold the sword technique, and he smiled.

“Wait!”

He came in like a bullet, and it felt like dozens of fists were coming toward me.

Chahcahchang!

I quickly blocked the guy’s fist with the side of my iron sword. My form then began to get pushed back again.

“Be ready to call me master!”

He was shouting in joy already.

“Wake up from the dream.”

“What?”

When my body was pushed back, I bent backward and jumped ahead.

“Ugh!”

It was the Hidden Clam Sword. A counterattack technique for explosive attacks.

When the swordsman, who was supposed to be almost dead, rushed for him, Song Jwa-baek took a defensive stance.

Chachachang!

“Kuak! W-what is this?”

He was visibly shocked. Well, that was expected.

This was different from what the technique Hae Ack-chun must have taught him. And this wasn’t the Xing Ming sword technique, either.

“Hik!”

The opponent blocked my offensive and tried to use a technique. He rotated like a top and tried to push me back with his stronger hand.

But I expected this.

‘If you come at me with force.’

I utilized the third technique I learned, left myself to the flow, moved like a loach, and swung my sword.

“Kuak!”

Song Jwa-baek was startled by my curving attack as my iron sword approached him gently rather than speedily to pierce through his chest unerringly. In his panic, he made space between us.

“Damn it!”

Tatatak!

I tried to widen the distance again instead of chasing him.

“Are you going to keep running away?”

But despite my provocation, he didn’t stop. His eyes were looking elsewhere. It was the direction where Hae Ack-chun was standing.

‘Oh my,’

Hae Ack-chun didn’t look normal. His expression clearly showed that he was shocked at how I managed to cover the shortcomings in the technique he showed me.

How would he look if I turned the tables then?