If one must bear it. (3)

The world flickered [명멸(明滅)] on and off. Then it completely faded away.

Namgung Dowi collapsed on the spot without even a scream.

“Young Lord!”

Hye Yeon, arriving late, blocked Namgung Dowi. As he poured all his strength into fending off the successive blasts of Hot Yang Qigong [열양기공(熱陽氣功) – glossary], he shouted.

“Are you all right?”

“…”

“Young Lord!”

No sound emerged from Namgung Dowi’s mouth.

He wanted to answer. He wanted to nod and say he was fine, so there was no need to worry.

But his entire body, including his mouth, refused to move as he wished.

Only the scorching heat, so intense it almost felt cold, was registered clearly. A faint groan barely escaped him.

“Ugh…….”

White smoke was rising from his entire body. His flesh, flushed red, was obviously in poor condition at a glance. A normal person would have already died by now.

“Young L…”

“So, did you think I was that laughable?”

At the mocking voice, both Hye Yeon and Lee Songbaek turned to the Lord of the Sun Palace.

“Did you think if you threw away your life and charged in, something would work out?”

Hye Yeon’s face hardened.

“Siju…”

“Foolish bastards.”

“…”

“Those who cannot control their own impulses think only their path is the right one. They never wonder why others don’t walk that path. They only realize it when they’re about to lose their heads, but by then, it’s already too late.”

The Extreme Yang Qi swirling around the Sun Palace Lord rose like a heat haze. That oppressive aura was truly dreadful. 

Lee Songbaek bit his lip until it bled.

Both Hye Yeon and Lee Songbaek realized it then. They should never have allowed themselves such complacency.

There was no time to catch their breath – they had to cling to that man and drive him back at all costs.

They could claim it had been impossible, but they had to do it nonetheless. It was a fight they began at a disadvantage from the start. Even if it meant rushing in until their hearts burst, they had to push on until the end.

They were tempted by the momentary weakness the enemy revealed. Perhaps it was because they truly had no leeway.

“In this world, there are things decided from birth – things you can’t change no matter how hard you try!”

The Sun Palace Lord’s voice rang out like thunder.

“Amitabha.”

Hye Yeon bit his lip and chanted inwardly. How could he make such a predictable mistake? He had learned time and again that not even a moment’s carelessness could be allowed in a decisive battle.

It felt as though he could hear Chung Myung screaming in anger.

“You were foolish from the moment you dared to stand in my way. I will make you realize that truth so deeply it cuts to the bone!”

The Lord of the Sun Palace stomped the ground as he advanced. Even those who had been keeping their distance recoiled in terror at the heat he radiated.

Yet only two people, Hye Yeon and Lee Songbaek, could not retreat.

It was then.

“Guh….”

“Young Lord!”

Namgung Dowi, trembling, somehow forced himself to stand.

Chiiiiik!

As he gripped his sword, white smoke rose up.

“Namgung Siju! W-Wait!”

Namgung Dowi spat something out, then glanced down and let out a hollow laugh. The heat had dried his mouth so severely he couldn’t even spit blood.

“This… is nothing……”

Hye Yeon looked at Namgung Dowi with a pained expression. No matter how well-trained a warrior he was, Namgung Dowi’s injuries were too severe. He needed at least a little rest.

“Siju!”

“Compared to Maehwado……”

Namgung Dowi’s lips, which had become so dry they were practically stuck together, split open as though they were being ripped apart. Thick blood flowed out.

“……it’s nothing.”

Namgung Dowi aimed the tip of his sword at the Lord of the Sun Palace. Though he was trembling pitifully, no one in the world could laugh at him at that moment.

“Continue……”

Frankly, it was a reckless act. No, to be blunt, he would only get in the way. Fighting alongside the current Namgung Dowi would merely raise the odds of dying.

Yet instead of dissuading him, Hye Yeon nodded.

“Yes, Young Lord, that’s right. This is nothing, at least this much.”

Because that’s what it means to cross the line of death together. You don’t do it because it’s helpful. It becomes helpful because you do it together.

Hye Yeon stood next to Namgung Dowi.

“In return, you’ll have to buy the drinks, Young Lord.”

“…Count me in as well.”

Watching Lee Songbaek firmly backing them up on the side, Hye Yeon gave another nod.

Right then, the Lord of the Sun Palace unleashed his fearsome Hot Yang Qigong.

Divine Sun Palm [태양신장(太陽神掌) – taeyangsinjang]. It was the very technique known as the pinnacle of Hot Yang Qigong.

Boom!

Seeing the sight that looked as though a white sun was racing towards them, Hye Yeon widened his stance.

‘Let it be so.’

Hye Yeon knew. The Buddha merely watches. He only enlightens them with the steps he took first, but he does not reach out a hand to them.

But Hye Yeon still wished.

‘May His mercy be here.’

“Amitabha.”

The radiating golden Buddhist light from Hye Yeon’s fist collided head-on with the white energy roaring in.

❀ ❀ ❀

Swish!

Tang Gunak staggered back two steps. Through the long tear in his sleeve, a deep cut was visible on his forearm.

Drip. Drip.

Blood dripped down. Of all the martial arts in the world, the Tang Clan’s requires the utmost precision. Accordingly, a wound like this on his arm was all the more fatal.

“Is that wound my doing?”

Jeok Ho’s curt words grated on Tang Gunak’s nerves.

The meaning behind those words was plain. Rather than a clean hit from his blade reaching the target, it was Tang Gunak who had revealed an opening.

In other words, it was a rebuke – how dare Tang Gunak lose focus with Jeok Ho standing before him.

Indeed, this wound was the result of Tang Gunak’s mistake. Yet, for Tang Gunak, there was no helping it.

‘Namgung Dowi…?’

Namgung Dowi had fallen. That meant the Lord of the Sun Palace had gained the upper hand. The battlefield, which had barely stayed in a stalemate, could tip at any moment.

Unlike Jeok Ho, who only had to face Tang Gunak, Tang Gunak couldn’t fully focus on this duel alone. Even if he won, if Cheonumaeng lost, everything would be over.

“You have too many distractions. The title ‘Poison King’ seems wasted on you.”

Tang Gunak’s gaze turned cold. Silently, he reversed his grip on three flying daggers.

“Indeed, I should eliminate the obstacle right in front of me first.”

A faint smile lingered on Jeok Ho’s face, partially obscured by his blade.

“Come on, then. Let’s see.”

Shweeek!

Almost before Jeok Ho finished speaking, Tang Gunak’s daggers tore through the air.

Three flying daggers. Three streaks of light.

Kang! Kang! Kaang!

But they all bounced harmlessly off Jeok Ho’s blade. It was an agility almost unthinkable for such a heavy weapon [중병(重兵)].

Viiing!

At that moment.

Another dagger shot out from Tang Gunak’s hand, spinning fiercely as it dove towards Jeok Ho’s chest. It seemed to pull in the surrounding air along with it. One could clearly sense the tremendous internal energy packed into that small dagger.

Kagagagagak!

Jeok Ho held his blade upright in reverse to block the dagger’s path. The dagger, pressed against the blade, did not bounce off but continued rotating as it pushed forward.

Jiiiiik.

Jeok Ho’s feet dragged backwards across the ground. It was almost comical to see a man with a heavy blade being pushed back by a mere flying dagger. Yet the look on Jeok Ho’s face, gripping his sword with one hand as he endured, was deadly serious.

Kwaang!

In an instant, the dagger bounced off and shot up. But after mustering every bit of strength to fend off that dagger, what Jeok Ho saw were five more of them, flying in as a five cardinal directions of the elemental formation*.

They squirmed as though each possessed a life of its own. A chill crawled up Jeok Ho’s nape.

Kaang! Kaang! Kaaang!

They all flew in simultaneously yet staggered by subtle intervals. Missing even a single move would mean a flying dagger would bury itself in a vital spot right away.

Kaang!

As one of the daggers bounced off, some unknown liquid splattered from its blade. Jeok Ho guessed it was probably one of the deadliest poisons [극독(劇毒)] of the Tang Clan. Not even the slightest negligence was allowed.

‘Five…?’

Jeok Ho’s blade knocked aside the last of the five daggers.

Kaang!

But at that moment, Jeok Ho’s eyes flew wide open.

He was sure he had deflected it, and yet in the spot where the flying dagger had ricocheted off, another one suddenly appeared – almost as if the one he had just struck had been an illusion.

Jeok Ho twisted his body with all his might. But the dagger pursued him like a hunting dog, curving in a graceful arc as though it had anticipated his very move.

“Haaaap!”

Kwaang!

Jeok Ho struck the dagger squarely with the pommel of his sword [도두(刀頭)**]. It was a near-spur-of-the-moment response, but it saved him from being skewered by that dagger.

The problem lay in just one thing.

Jeok Ho glanced briefly at his shoulder. Through the torn gap in his clothing, a reddish wound was visible.

It was merely a graze. But his opponent was none other than the Poison King, Tang Gunak. Naturally, the significance of that wound could be an entirely different matter.

Jeok Ho focused his internal energy on his shoulder.

Expelling poison through Ungong [운공(運功) – energy circulation] would be best, but doing so in the midst of battle is only possible if there’s at least a one-rank difference in ability. Attempting Donggong*** against such a formidable foe is practically suicide.

‘He’s strong.’

Indeed, it was the Poison King, Tang Gunak.

In particular, that strange flying dagger technique was troublesome to deal with. The incredible degree to which he seemed to combine multiple styles on his own was astonishing, but more than that, the problem was how unfamiliar and alien that technique felt to Jeok Ho.

‘Tricky.’

Yet Tang Gunak felt much the same.

“Huuf!”

Tang Gunak exhaled a long breath. Sweat trickled down his forehead.

‘Only a single scratch?’

Four consecutive attacks. In truth, if one included the hidden blows in those, it amounted to more than a dozen strikes. Yet the result was just one scratch on the enemy’s body. Even if he had succeeded in infecting him with poison through that scratch, it was a bad trade-off.

Each time a dagger is launched, it consumes a massive amount of internal energy. Unlike a sword or heavy blade, you can’t just wield it lightly. What’s more, the Twelve Flying Daggers [십이비도(十二飛刀)] were closer to the concept of “sword mastery [어검(御劍)]” rather than a mere “flying swords [비검(飛劍)****],” and required even more internal energy.

So the essence of the dagger technique is to strike decisively in a single blow. And even though Tang Gunak had unleashed that fatal blow repeatedly, his opponent showed no sign of collapsing. At this rate, Tang Gunak would be the first to fall from exhausted internal energy.

Of course, if he were to start stacking up small wounds from now on to deepen the poisoning effect, victory would almost certainly fall into Tang Gunak’s hands. However…

“Too late.”

For the current Tang Gunak, that method is impossible. This is neither a fair duel nor a spar, nor a one-on-one life-or-death fight.

‘Faster…’

Tang Gunak was about to tighten his grip on his dagger.

Kwaaang!

Contrary to his expectation that the other man would minimize movement to prevent the poison from spreading, Jeok Ho stomped down as if to tear up the ground and instead closed the distance.

He aimed to finish the fight before the poison could spread any further.

Tang Gunak reflexively scattered his flying daggers.

Clang! Kaang!

Two daggers that cut through the air were mercilessly destroyed by two blade strikes. It was a moment that clearly revealed the limits of short weapons – so effective for offense, yet weak in defense.

Paat.

Tang Gunak’s steps crossed. In the next instant, he appeared three jang behind his original position. It was the pinnacle of lightfoot techniques [경공(輕功)].

But Jeok Ho’s blade was faster.

Flash!

A blade strike that tore through the air split the space and appeared right above Tang Gunak’s head.

He had honed that strike through thousands upon thousands of repetitions, far beyond the realm of common sense.

Kaaaang!

Tang Gunak crossed both hands, gripping the daggers to block the heavy blade crashing down on his head. Yet, from just that single block, a crushing shockwave swept through his entire body.

Tung!

But he wasn’t called the Poison King for nothing.

After knocking the blade aside, he spun on the spot and launched four flying daggers.

At a distance close enough for their shoulders to almost touch, the daggers shot straight for Jeok Ho’s body.

Kaang! Kaang!

Two of the daggers were stopped by the blade, and one grazed past the side of Jeok Ho’s head.

That left just one more dagger.

Crunch!

It embedded itself in Jeok Ho’s flesh. Yet Tang Gunak couldn’t conceal his shock.

The dagger had lodged itself in none other than the back of Jeok Ho’s hand.

Jeok Ho, instead of pulling back to dodge, smashed the flying dagger aside with his fist. Twisting his lips into a sneer, he then unleashed the full force of his blade towards Tang Gunak.

Vweeeeeeeng!

A strike at its peak, delivered from point-blank range.

Tang Gunak clenched his teeth and prepared to counter.

Right at that moment.

“Father!”

Suddenly, Tang Pae rushed in from behind, scattering a shower of gleaming caltrops [철질려(鐵蒺藜)*****]. Surprised by this unexpected attack, Jeok Ho cursed and flung himself backwards.

Tudududuk!

Countless caltrops slammed into the spot where Jeok Ho had stood.

“P-Pae…?”

“I’m here to help!”

Tang Pae landed beside Tang Gunak.

Tang Gunak bit his lip. He should be scolding his son right now, but thanks to him, he’d just narrowly avoided a serious injury. Of course, even without help, Tang Gunak wouldn’t have gone down so easily.

In any case, it might have worked out for the best. This wasn’t the time to be weighing every possibility. Even by accepting Tang Pae’s help, he needed to finish this man quickly…

At that instant, Tang Gunak’s eyes widened slightly.

Caltrops.

The ones lodged in the ground were unmistakably weapons from the Tang Clan. There was no doubt about it – only the Tang Clan could craft that shape and color. However…

‘Poison?’

The liquid clinging to the caltrops – the poison – looked strange. It was definitely similar to the Tang Clan’s poison, yet oddly different. A small discrepancy only someone like Tang Gunak would notice…

‘A fake?’

Tang Gunak instinctively twisted his body aside.

“Too late.”

But Tang Pae’s hand had already plunged into Tang Gunak’s side.

Kwaaaaang!

Crunch!

With a thunderous aftershock, the sound of bones shattering echoed. Tang Gunak, spewing blood from his mouth, bounced up like a kicked ball and then slammed into the ground.

“Ugh… ughhh…”

Groaning in agony, Tang Gunak grabbed at the blood-soaked dirt. Even as he did, dark blood gushed from his mouth like a waterfall.

“You……..”

He forced his gaze up, and there was his son, Tang Pae, looking down at him with a crooked smile.

Just then, Jeok Ho walked over and shook his head in displeasure.

“I could have handled this.”

“It’s better to be certain.”

Tang Gunak ground his teeth.

This wasn’t Tang Pae. Though he wore Tang Pae’s face, he was not the real Tang Pae.

“Cheon Myeon……”

“With this, our debt is settled, Poison King Tang Gunak.”

Tang Pae – no, Cheon Myeon Susa Dam Yeohae – looked at Tang Gunak with the most contemptible smile.