The Five Eagle Siblings (5)

Although everyone’s eyes were fixed on Hae Cheong-yeon, at least the two commanders on each side were not.

Heo Gyeong, who wanted to keep the momentum and raise morale, and Hwang Jang-gon, who aimed to reverse the mood, had no intention of yielding this round.

Heo Gyeong called the Guard Unit’s vice-captain, Lee Gongsan, whom he had planned to send first.

“I’ll count on you, Vice-Captain Lee.”

Lee Gongsan bowed with a fierce gaze and answered.

“I will not disappoint you!”

At that moment, Hwang Jang-gon of the Righteous Chivalry Guild was also summoning his fighter and giving instructions.

“I meant to save you for later. But it’s not that kind of situation. You know what you must do?”

The burly man before Hwang Jang-gon clasped his fists and replied respectfully.

“I will break their spirit completely with the most overwhelming victory.”

At the giant’s words, Hwang Jang-gon smiled in satisfaction and nodded.

“Exactly.”

Lee Gongsan of the Mountain Sword Sect, nimble as Cheon Jueun had been earlier, unfolded lightness skill and went out to the center of the plain.

The Mountain Sword Sect warriors, already whipped into a fever, greeted Lee Gongsan’s appearance with roaring cheers.

“Uwaaaah!”

“It’s Vice-Captain Lee Gongsan!”

“Vice-Captain! Cut him down in a single stroke!”

After the earlier bout between the lady warriors, the mood among the fighters had become almost like spectators enjoying a friendly sparring match.

Lee Gongsan arrived first and stood proudly facing the Righteous Guild side; from there, a man began walking forward slowly.

A half-naked hulk, like a bandit, holding two massive axes—one in each hand.

When the opponent came up before him, Lee Gongsan looked him over and asked in disbelief,

“I heard the Righteous Guild is an orthodox sect… so why is a bandit showing up?”

The other man chuckled lewdly, just like a real bandit.

“Heh heh… If I butcher unorthodox riffraff like you, that’s orthodoxy enough. What else matters?”

Eyes twitching, Lee Gongsan drew his sword at once and said,

“Then you are no orthodox man. You won’t kill me—you’ll be kneeling at my feet. I am Lee Gongsan of the Mountain Sword Sect!”

The other man raised both axes and took his stance.

“I am Yang Ho-ung of the Righteous Chivalry Guild.”

Lee Gongsan eyed the two huge axes in his opponent’s hands and thought:

“To wield two such heavy weapons—he must be very confident in his strength. Then I’ll circle fast and fight him with speed.”

Just as Lee Gongsan was thinking that—

Yang Ho-ung suddenly stamped the ground and charged.

Papak!

“Ugh?!”

With about three jang between them, Lee Gongsan had relaxed his guard; the sudden rush was unexpected.

Yang Ho-ung’s speed, too, was beyond expectation.

“He’s fast!”

At the utterly unanticipated burst of speed, Lee Gongsan flung himself aside in haste.

He intended to slip past on the reverse line of the charge and buy time.

But the surprises did not end there.

Papak!

Yang Ho-ung snapped at a right angle and came after him.

For such a big frame, it was a dynamism one could not have imagined.

Watching the duel, Hwang Jang-gon smiled contentedly and muttered,

“The day I first found him, I realized ‘innate divine strength’ beyond human limits really exists. He hasn’t learned to use weapon-qi yet, but his physical ability is already no different from a peak-master’s. So the instant you judge him by common sense, the duel is already over.”

Buuuaaaang!

Charging like a wild boar, Yang Ho-ung swept low across Lee Gongsan’s legs.

At that ferocious momentum, Lee Gongsan had no choice but to spring upward.

“Haap!”

But at that moment, he saw it—

Yang Ho-ung’s eyes, smiling like a crescent moon—as if to say, “Got you.”

Yang Ho-ung also leapt immediately, following Lee Gongsan.

With a shout, he brought the axe in his other hand straight down in a vertical smash.

“Uhaaaap!”

A savage blow, as if to split a mountain.

Psychologically driven to the wall, Lee Gongsan could not even think of attacking; he merely raised his sword to block.

But—

Clang!

Fwoosh!

Warriors on both sides—Mountain Sword Sect and Righteous Guild—went silent with a collective gasp.

Lee Gongsan’s body, along with his sword, was split cleanly in two.

As the two hunks of meat thudded to the ground and Yang Ho-ung, drenched in blood, gave a greasy grin toward the Mountain Sword Sect, the scene was utterly different from the bouts the lady warriors had shown so far.

While both sides stared, aghast and speechless, a Righteous Guild officer—at Hwang Jang-gon’s signal—shouted in a great voice:

“Eradicate demons! Kill the unorthodox scum!”

From here and there, warriors took up the cry.

“Eradicate demons! Kill the unorthodox scum!”

“Eradicate demons! Kill the unorthodox scum!”

Soon all Righteous Guild warriors were shouting the murderous slogan.

“Eradicate demons! Kill the unorthodox scum!”

“Uwaaaah!”

Warriors on both sides, who had felt like they were watching an exhibition match, suddenly realized—

This wasn’t a friendly bout, but war….

The mood flipped in an instant.

The Righteous Guild warriors roared with killing intent, while the Mountain Sword Sect warriors stared, pale and voiceless.

Having succeeded in turning the tide as he wished, Hwang Jang-gon smiled in satisfaction.

This was the atmosphere he truly wanted.

He was sure that the fear now branded into them would make the Mountain Sword Sect collapse by itself.

Sect Leader Heo Gyeong of the Mountain Sword Sect was in a panic.

He hastily called the Guard Unit captain and pleaded.

“Captain Moon! You must avenge him!”

“Do not worry, Sect Leader! I will surely avenge the vice-captain and return!”

Heo Gyeong, though the Guard Captain was somewhat older, sent him out as the main duelist.

Anything less would not do against this opponent.

But what Heo Gyeong soon witnessed was appalling.

He, too, was chopped in two within a few exchanges.

“Th-this can’t be!”

And then another.

Three Mountain Sword Sect officers were split by Yang Ho-ung’s axes in succession without even showing a proper fight.

The Righteous Guild warriors went wild.

“Uwaaaaaah!”

“Yang Ho-ung!”

“Reborn Xiang Yu, Yang Ho-ung!”

Standing a little back and watching now, Bi Sayoung murmured,

“Savage… That’s a full-on monster.”

Sag Muhun nodded.

“Impressive. Beyond martial skill—it’s sheer speed and power. Among first-rate fighters, he has no rivals.”

“All the morale our ladies raised just got crushed. The Mountain Sword Sect feels like a funeral hall now.”

“Indeed—grim.”

As they said, Sect Leader Heo Gyeong felt utterly at a loss.

There was no one left he could send out.

Nor did anyone seem willing to go.

Whenever he looked around, everyone averted their eyes.

Ahead, Yang Ho-ung was loudly taunting them.

“Are there only such trash in the Mountain Sword Sect?! Chopping firewood in the mountains would be harder! Wahahaha!”

The provocation made the Mountain Sword Sect’s mood even more miserable, while the Righteous Guild warriors shouted without rest.

“Uwaaaah!”

“Eradicate demons!”

“Kill the unorthodox scum!”

Only now did Heo Gyeong understand why Hwang Jang-gon had proposed one-on-one duels.

With someone like that, he must have thought he would never lose unless a peak-master came out.

It was a dreadful feeling.

He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to think what to do.

He could foresee it now.

Even if they didn’t fight the enemy today, they were as good as crushed.

After this duel, they would collapse on their own.

Just then—

A heavy voice addressed him.

“Send me out, Sect Leader.”

At that welcome voice, Heo Gyeong’s eyes flew open.

“Oh! And you are…?!”

But when he opened them, he realized his eye-level reached only to the other’s belly, and he raised his gaze.

Towering over him like an iron pillar stood a massive, muscular giant.

“I am Bae Jonggwan, eldest of the Five Eagle Siblings.”

“…The Five Eagle Siblings?!”

Life returned to Heo Gyeong’s eyes at those words.

The Five Eagle Siblings’ feats today were so great that even if everything ended here, they deserved great rewards.

And if even this eldest brother could perform as his younger sisters had?

Heo Gyeong asked, voice trembling,

“Can you… defeat that man?”

Bae Jonggwan answered in a deep voice,

“I’ll be back before the wine grows cold.”

There was no warmed wine anywhere, but of course he knew what Bae meant.

Heo Gyeong nodded vigorously.

“Very well. I leave it to you!”

Bae Jonggwan strode proudly toward the plain.

There, Yang Ho-ung—axes in both hands, drenched head to toe in blood—was grinning amid what had been six people, now in pieces.

Yang Ho-ung said,

“Oho! This one’s a bigger chunk. Splitting him will feel special.”

Ignoring him, Bae Jonggwan clasped his fists and raised his voice.

— “I am Bae Jonggwan, eldest of the Five Eagle Siblings!”

Warriors on both sides murmured.

“The Five Eagle Siblings?”

“He’s one of the Five Eagle Siblings too?”

“Then he’s the ladies’…?”

Yang Ho-ung’s eyes also took on a curious light.

“You mean you’re the elder brother of that young lady earlier?”

Even his tone had changed.

Guessing the reason well enough, Bae Jonggwan snorted.

“Come then. If you happen to kill me, my sister might spare you a little interest.”

Yang Ho-ung’s eyes flared alive.

“Is that so? Then—”

He raised both axes and said,

“Draw your weapon! Let’s start at once!”

But Bae Jonggwan chuckled.

“With the likes of you, I need no weapon.”

“…What?”

Feeling insulted, Yang Ho-ung’s face twisted.

His eyes, full of fighting spirit, now spilled killing intent.

“How dare you… Don’t regret it!”

Papak!

Yang Ho-ung stamped the ground and charged.

It was that unbelievable rush that had already shocked his opponents three times.

But Bae Jonggwan did not evade.

In his head, a conversation with Hae Cheong-yeon a short while ago replayed.

“He’s strong. He seems a very top-tier first-rate; his physical ability would not be an exaggeration to call peak-master level already. His speed and power will match yours, Young Lord Bae—but as a martial artist, he likely surpasses you.”

With a grave face Bae Jonggwan had asked,

“Then how should I deal with him?”

Hae Cheong-yeon had smiled.

“Must you deal with him at all?”

While Bae Jonggwan recalled that, Yang Ho-ung closed in an instant and brought his axe down with all his might.

“Uhaaaaaap!”

A blow charged with the intense will to split Bae Jonggwan’s massive body in a single strike.

The blow crashed down on Bae Jonggwan’s head like lightning.

Kwah-jijijik!

His swing was merciless.

From the top of Bae Jonggwan’s head down past the groin, Yang Ho-ung’s hands pressed the axe through in a straight line.

Expecting a ghastly scene, Mountain Sword Sect warriors were already groaning.

“Uuugh!”

“No!”

“Again?!”

But what they actually saw was a bit different.

Yang Ho-ung stared blankly at his beloved weapon, now only a haft in his hands.

The axehead that struck Bae Jonggwan’s skull had shattered to pieces.

“Wh-what is this…?”

Watching in hiding, Seonu Jin clenched his fist and muttered,

“Good!”

Sag Muhun, beside him, asked blankly,

“Is… is that possible?”

Seonu Jin smiled and explained,

“Once you reach first-rate, you can concentrate inner energy in chosen spots and multiply the effect of external training. Knowing the opponent would target his head, he focused his qi there. In that state, Jonggwan is no worse than a mid-grade Gangwi or even an Owl Ghost. Without a pinnacle-master’s weapon-qi, you can’t even scratch him.”

Impressed, Sag Muhun nodded as he looked at Bae Jonggwan.

And then—Bae Jonggwan moved.

He drove an all-out uppercut into Yang Ho-ung’s jaw—the man who was staring, stupefied, at his axe.

Buuuaang!

Mentally shocked, Yang Ho-ung could not defend at all; the punch landed clean.

Bbo-eoeok!

“Guh-ack!”

Yang Ho-ung’s jaw shattered; his great frame floated up into the air—

Then, a moment later, he fell head-first.

Thud!

With that single blow, Yang Ho-ung’s senses flew far, far away.

It was a complete victory.

Bae Jonggwan threw his head back and poured a great roar into the sky.

“Uraaaaaaaa!”

A beast-like bellow announcing his triumph.

The Mountain Sword Sect warriors, who had been staring in a daze, snapped back to themselves and answered with a thunderous cheer.

“Uwaaaaaaah!”

“He won!”

“Iron-Nerves, Copper-Bones—Bae Jonggwan!”

“Adamantine Body—Bae Jonggwan!”

For a man who had plowed only the path of external arts all his life, those shouts were fire in his chest.