This Isn’t Exactly A Good Choice Either. (4)

“Ghk…….”

Seo Yeon-Shin gritted his teeth hard enough to break them.

Yet the spear he was pressing down with all his might was blocked by a rusty sword that looked ready to snap at any moment, unable to move even an inch.

‘What the hell is this guy?’

He admitted it. The martial arts of military officers did not measure up to those of martial artists from the martial world.

Unlike martial artists, who could devote all their time to martial arts and focus all their abilities on one-on-one combat, military officers had far too many things to worry about.

But even so, there was no reason for military officers to fall behind martial artists in terms of physical strength and internal qi. This was not merely Seo Yeon-Shin’s opinion, but a fact proven by countless examples.

And yet…….

Gaaaak.

It did not budge at all. It was as if he had slammed his spear into a boulder the size of a house.

‘How?’

No, this was not even a matter of discussing the difference between a martial artist and a military officer. How could someone who looked young by anyone’s standards withstand his strength and internal qi? This made no sense.

“Grrrgh!”

Feeling his already wounded pride being crushed beneath his feet, Seo Yeon-Shin pressed down on his spear with every last ounce of strength. But Chung Myung, feeling that force transmitted through the sword, merely answered Seo Yeon-Shin’s determination with a crescent-moon smile.

“Oh, you’re stronger than I expected. I heard the supplies were so poor that you lived on watery gruel, but did you manage to gnaw on some meat because you’re a high-ranking official?”

“Y-you turtle bastard!”

“Ha. Good grief.”

Chung Myung’s face twisted violently.

“Why do you keep calling me a turtle bastard? Have you ever seen a turtle this handsome?”

“Is he crazy?”

“What is he even saying?”

“He’s saying whatever he wants just because his face is covered.”

At the Mount Hua disciples’ voices, still finding time to heckle him even in the middle of this, Chung Myung ground his teeth.

“……Those useless good-for-nothings.”

This should be enough. What more did they want, anyway? He was better than the original version.

“Ghk…….”

Seo Yeon-Shin’s face contorted miserably. He had blocked his spear and was even calmly making jokes? Seo Yeon-Shin could not even remember whether he had ever suffered a greater humiliation in his life.

“Haaahhh!”

Boom!

Seo Yeon-Shin exploded with power along with his battle cry and sent Chung Myung flying in one burst.

“Huh?”

Chung Myung, who had leaped back, tilted his head.

“That just now was something…….”

“You little baaaastard!”

Seo Yeon-Shin’s spear spun fiercely in his hands and shot toward Chung Myung’s face.

Its momentum was so fierce that the four characters “charge headlong like a boar” immediately came to mind. It was an attack that crushed its opponent with nothing but strength and speed, as though he had no intention of using any crude tricks. Chung Myung’s lips twisted instinctively before that straightforward attack that never looked back.

“Hrraaah!”

Kwaaang!

“Gyaaah!”

Chung Myung struck the incoming spear head-on, but could not withstand the recoil exploding from the clash and went tumbling backward.

The Mount Hua disciples blinked as they watched.

“What was that?”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Why would he clash with that head-on? Did he take some kind of drug?”

The Mount Hua disciples looked at Chung Myung with eyes demanding an explanation.

To begin with, facing such a heavy weapon head-on was unbelievably stupid. The opponent wanted nothing more than that, so why move exactly as he wished?

“Ow. I’m dying.”

Chung Myung shook his head several times as though his skull were ringing, then quickly got to his feet.

“You idiot! What are you doing?”

“Shut up! You people don’t even know what romance is!”

“Huh?”

Chung Myung’s eyes bulged.

“Look carefully. Sure, that man is thoughtless, has no plan, is excessively rash for someone who commands a nation’s army, and is so weak for his age that he could drop dead any day now, but!”

“……Just insult him properly, you bastard.”

What kind of thing is that to say to someone’s face?

“Anyway, he’s a man who grabbed a single spear and dared to charge at me to keep his subordinates from getting hurt!”

“Uh…….”

“When a man shows that kind of sincerity, the proper thing is to answer it with sincerity. That’s how men do things. Understand, you filthy martial-world bastards?”

Baek Cheon turned his head and looked at Yoon Jong with an indescribable expression.

“Didn’t you give him his medicine?”

“……I’m sorry. I forgot.”

“Ha…….”

I’m not joking—I wish some divine physician would just drop out of the sky and cure that bastard’s madness.

“If we receive a reward for this, should I ask the emperor to lend us an imperial physician?”

“I’m against it.”

“Why?”

“Because if I learn that even an imperial physician can’t cure him, the rest of my life will feel too hopeless.”

“Ah…….”

They say people die when they have no hope…….

While Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong swallowed their tears, Chung Myung continued provoking Seo Yeon-Shin with a grin.

“I have to admit, you’re strong. I apologize for underestimating you.”

“You, too, deserve praise for daring to face my spear head-on. I commend your courage.”

“Haha.”

“Heh heh.”

The two men’s heated gazes intertwined in midair. Watching them, the Mount Hua disciples muttered with dumbfounded expressions.

“What are those two doing?”

“Do idiots have some kind of connection with one another?”

“Don’t call him an idiot. He’s a military officer who protects the nation.”

“……We’re the ones pointing swords at that military officer, sasuk.”

“Ah, right. I thought we were on his side because we were trying to beat up Chung Myung.”

“…….”

Chung Myung and Seo Yeon-Shin clashed once more.

Kaaang!

The huge spear and blunt sword repeatedly met and parted in midair. Each time the weapons collided, a sharp vibration ran through Chung Myung’s wrists.

‘It’s really been a long time since I did this.’

After dealing with nothing but people who fussed around with this or that myriad-sword technique, should he say that facing someone who clashed strength against strength for the first time in ages made his blood boil? Vitality was surging through his entire body…….

Kwaaang!

“Gyaaahhh!”

“……You’re really going to die if you keep this up, you bastard.”

Chung Myung, who had rolled across the ground again, shook his head vigorously. Having his blood boil was all well and good, but at this rate he would end up breaking a bone. That man’s strength was the real deal. Good grief, just look at those bulging biceps.

“You bastard!”

Seo Yeon-Shin leaped over the fallen Chung Myung like a flying tiger.

“N-no!”

Seeing the spear, carrying a terrifying momentum, flying toward his face, Chung Myung rolled away without a moment’s hesitation.

Crack!

Seo Yeon-Shin drove his spear into the bare ground for no reason, then chased after Chung Myung in a fury, repeatedly stabbing the ground with his spear.

“Don’t run away, you bastard!”

“What, then, do you want me to die?”

“Have you only learned how to run away, you man? You shameless wretch!”

“Did this man stop studying military strategy halfway through? Where did he sell off the Thirty-Six Stratagems?”

“You good-for-nothing whose mouth is the only thing alive!”

Just as Seo Yeon-Shin was about to thrust his spear powerfully again, Chung Myung suddenly kicked off the ground and threw himself toward Seo Yeon-Shin’s legs.

“Wha—!”

Unable to react in time to Chung Myung’s attack, which struck his leg with his back(?), Seo Yeon-Shin rolled across the ground. Meanwhile, Chung Myung quickly put distance between them, sprang to his feet, and proudly stuck out his stomach.

“Ha ha ha! Military officers are naturally weak against attacks on the lower body.”

“……Don’t be proud of that, you bastard. Please.”

“I don’t think that can even be called martial arts.”

“Even if all that matters is whether it works, he’s using lazy donkey roll as an attack now.”

What on earth were they supposed to call that?

Why was Lazy Donkey Roll called Lazy Donkey Roll? Was it not named that because a lazy donkey rolled around on the ground? But what should one call it when that lazy donkey rolls across the ground to attack?

“You, you bastard!”

Of course, Seo Yeon-Shin did not consider Lazy Donkey Roll a shameful act. A battlefield was a place where one’s dignity was treated as worth less than a rag for one’s feet. As long as it could bring down the opponent, any method was justified.

The reason he felt humiliated was not because he had fallen victim to Lazy Donkey Roll, but because that young brat had caught him off guard.

If this had been a battlefield, he would have died the moment he rolled on the ground. The enemies arrayed densely before him would have swarmed over his fallen body.

By the same standard, Chung Myung, who had already rolled across the ground several times, would also be as good as dead. But from the outset, one could not apply the same standard to that young brat and himself, could one?

“……I’ve been humiliated several times today.”

Seo Yeon-Shin’s eyes grew cold.

Chung Myung’s actions just now seemed to have brought him to his senses somewhat. His impatience with an opponent who was so few in number, and the pressure of the situation he was currently in—all of it had clouded his composure.

Seo Yeon-Shin exhaled deeply, grasped his spear, and held it out in front of him.

“I’m not curious about who you are. No, I should say that it’s no longer important.”

“Hm?”

Seo Yeon-Shin glared at Chung Myung with an intense gaze.

“You’d better prepare yourself now.”

“Hm, I wonder. Are you sure? You must have felt the difference in our abilities by now.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“Hm?”

Seo Yeon-Shin looked at Chung Myung with eyes utterly free of hesitation.

“Whether the enemy is strong or not, a soldier simply fights and wins. If he retreats because the enemy is strong, then he is no longer a soldier.”

A brief glimmer appeared in Chung Myung’s eyes. Sensing from his opponent’s posture and gaze that he meant every word, Chung Myung found himself smiling faintly.

“Right. That’s how a soldier should be.”

Chung Myung straightened his shoulders.

It was not as if he had been playing around. He had merely thought that buying as much time as possible was far more advantageous than ending the fight carelessly.

But if his opponent came at him like this, Chung Myung had no choice but to become serious as well. In any case, his opponent was someone who had fulfilled his duty all his life in that desolate northern frontier. Even if his path differed from Chung Myung’s, he was more than worthy of respect.

Chung Myung naturally assumed a ready stance. Perhaps he had read Chung Myung’s intentions from his actions, for Seo Yeon-Shin also adjusted his grip on his spear and lowered his gaze.

The watching Mount Hua disciples held their breath.

The tension was at a breaking point. The two men faced each other in a standoff amid an atmosphere that felt ready to explode at any moment. It was a taut moment in which neither could move easily.

Tuk.

At the sound of a branch falling somewhere, the two men charged at each other as if they had made an agreement.

“Ooooooh!”

“Hrraaah!”

The spear spun furiously, while the sword scattered vivid blue sword qi. The two weapons, wielded by men with no intention of yielding even an inch, struck fiercely against each other in midair.

And at that exact moment.

Snap.

“Hm? Snap?”

Chung Myung blinked. His wide-open eyes clearly saw that damned sword, which had collided with Seo Yeon-Shin’s spear, snap cleanly in half.

“Uh…….”

It broke? The sword?

No matter how rusty it was, this was ridiculous. It was still a sword, but if it broke like that…….

Seo Yeon-Shin’s spear, which had sliced through the rusty lump of metal—barely worthy of being called a sword—as easily as tofu, made one sweeping circle in midair.

“N-no! Wait!”

That’s not fair! You have to give me time to change swords!

At that moment, Seo Yeon-Shin’s spear, which had swept through the air, wrapped itself in a powerful aura and thrust toward Chung Myung’s swordless body like lightning.

“Eeeek! S-save meee!”

Chung Myung’s face turned deathly pale as he retreated in terror—backward, and then farther backward.