Festival Of The Fallen Warriors (7)

It was a short yet long rest period.

It was only a moment when Moon Bora and I held hands and fell into a light sleep.

Before we knew it, the time for the final match approached.

I sat in the chair, gazing forward.

Her fluttering purple hair and the beautiful jewels draped on her body shone brightly.

Moon Bora, the dancer.

She, along with other dancers, performed a victory dance solely for me.

It felt as if her heart and emotions were naturally seeping into my body.

Soon, the dance ended.

Moon Bora, panting heavily, wiped her sweat and gave me a bashful smile.

She looked so incredibly beautiful.

“Stay strong.”

A spirited cheer through her lip movements.

I nodded.
I vowed to surely repay that sentiment.

-Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
-Wowww!!!!!!

A much louder drumbeat and cheers erupted than before.

Swish!

I stepped onto the arena.
Similarly, the opposite iron gate rose, and someone walked out.

The final boss and leader of this revealed himself.

A long-haired handsome man who didn’t seem much older than me appeared.

He nodded as if satisfied while looking at me.

“This is quite a challenger after a long time.”

He smiled, baring his teeth brightly.

He was a man with a likable appearance that suited the term ‘charming man.’

Two twin swords, presumed to be twin blades, were tied to his waist.

Like the others, he was in a state of evident spiritual manifestation, proving he was a powerful boss.

No matter how I looked at it, it was hard to believe he was a dead spirit.

‘…Finally out.’

‘Horman’.

Among the Supervisors, commonly known as ‘Brother Ho’.

Or one of the representative Supervisor crushers known as ‘Yu’.

Most Supervisors conveniently called him ‘Yu’.

“Perfect weather for a fight.”

As he walked out, he groped the buttocks and breasts of three women, presumed to be his wives, as if kneading dough.

“……”

Ahem.

It’s an awkward situation for me, but neither I nor Moon Bora found it embarrassing.

The idea that resonated here was akin to the demand for the union of spirit and energy.

The strong own everything.
A strong man chooses women and leaves his seed.

Roughly, it was a philosophy that ancient warriors might have had.

Soon, Yu made his wives step back.
Then he nodded at me.

It seemed like a resolution of ‘Surely, it will be a great fight…!’ but…

Having cleared this place dozens of times, I knew well.

‘He seems to be thinking of handling it roughly.’

He had no intention of taking it seriously.

This was one of Yu’s special gimmicks.

Drawing out his sincerity was also a Supervisor’s capability.

It was the biggest challenge facing me now.

“Nice to meet you, boy. You can call me Yu comfortably.”
“…Nice to meet you. I’m Yu Seha.”
“Good, good. Well, it’s boring for men to chatter away.”

Srrrng!

He drew his dual swords, holding one straight and the other in reverse.

He stepped forward.

The two swords drew elegant curves like reeds swaying in the wind.

“Since we’re warriors, let’s talk with this, shall we?”
“Sounds good.”

A subtle silence.
Immediately after, both he and I vanished.

The main routes of the are largely fivefold.

Strength symbolized by warrior Strength(强).
Speed symbolized by warrior Speed(快).
Skill symbolized by warrior Hwan(幻).
Magic symbolized by warrior Qi(氣).

And then…

‘The final sword style, symbolizing endurance and solidifying one’s advantage by using the enemy’s strength.’

That is Yu (柔).

A master of the soft and lethal soft sword, who perceives and counters everything that approaches in place.

They clash and collide.
No, let me correct that.

‘Can this even be called a clash?’

The sword of Yu was simple and plain.

The strength, speed, skill, and qi I faced until now each had strong individual characteristics.

They were swords that pressed the opponent based on their strengths.

But Yu was different.

He waited for the opponent to approach, not moving a single step from where he stood.

His was not a sword that asserted itself but one that countered.

It was unnecessarily ornate yet smooth.

It was so beautiful, as if sword dancing had evolved into a martial art.

Frankly, there were many parts I couldn’t understand with my common sense.

Despite the excessive movement waste and inefficiency…

‘How can he be so threatening?’

Surely this is…
The power of the realm he has reached now.

I barely dodged Yu’s flowing sword.

Blood trickled from the slight cut along my jawline.

Perhaps because I was faced with the intuition of pain and the situation of crisis?

‘…I can see it.’

In my eyes, the ‘steps’ where Yu stood became clearly visible.

Swoosh.

The [Overlord Sword Technique] based on strength (强) and speed (快) scattered like weightless paper against his twin swords and lost its strength.

‘It doesn’t reach.’

I knew it, but Yu’s sword was difficult to penetrate.

It was literally the pinnacle of flexibility overcoming strength.

It was incomparable to someone like Jeong Kwang-hyuk, the Supervisor.

My strength and speed were lost before his softness.

Perhaps Yu’s abilities, like mine, were a balance type with everything evenly elevated.

He probably boasted an almost perfect hexagon.

And his overall size would also be larger than mine.

Yu smiled gently as he looked at me.

He twirled the twin swords in his hands and aimed them.

“Already tired?”
“No way…”

Could I be!

The flow of time.
The awareness of the changing day and night.
Sweat dripping down my jawline to the floor.

The pattern of the fight was always the same.

Yu blocked my feints like a gentle breeze scattering them.

The [Saint’s Sword] and the twin swords clashed for a long time, creating a clear sword resonance.

I thought.

‘It’s like running.’

It felt like running an endless race course that never ends.

Even if I ran with all my might…

Yu was always running ahead, smiling leisurely.

It seemed like I could catch him, yet…

He always slipped through my hands like trying to grasp formless wind.

It was during one of those repeated fights.

Yu suddenly put strength into his hands and pushed me away forcefully.

“Hmm…”

I instinctively knew.
This was a signal from Yu.

‘…Already?’

I looked up at the sky.

And then, I was surprised.

Even in this , the sun and moon existed.

The arena was so brightly lit that I couldn’t perceive the darkness.

Before I knew it, the sun had turned into a clear full moon.

What this meant was simple.

‘…Has it already been 6 hours exchanging swords?’

Was time always this short…?
Were moments always this fleeting…?
A sense of emptiness washed over me…

I still want to swing my sword more…
I want to climb up that towering ‘staircase’ before me…

Yet he was telling me to stop, bringing it to an end.

“Hmm~ Yawn.”

Yu covered his mouth with his hand and yawned.

He turned his back.

“I lost. Challenger, it was nice to see a talent as radiant as the shining sun after so long.”
“……”
“The dancers will guide you out. Ensure you leave safely.”

Yu said only that and walked away slowly.

He neither handed over the twin swords he was holding nor said anything else.

A defeat accepted so easily.

This was the basic conclusion of the .

Most Supervisors accepted Yu’s words as they were, acknowledged the clearance, and exited.

They could take the swords of the defeated swordsmen as they were.

They could keep the stats they had gained so far intact.

Most were satisfied and returned from here.

However…

I couldn’t miss this opportunity.

‘I must climb higher.’

I could see it.
I could see it more clearly than anything else.

As I grew stronger, the vague realm…
This moment that stood out so distinctly…

A place filled with darkness.

Unknown gigantic stairs stacked high up to the sky.

Below me…
Above me…
The stairs stretched endlessly, as far as the eye could see.

‘…I can see it.’

Far above.

The great warrior Horman.

Yu was looking down at me.

Above even Yu, Peng Jin-ah was standing.

Where Peng Jin-ah stood was surely a place close to the summit.

Nevertheless, there were a few who stood even higher than her.

At the same time, I saw it.

A position near an unknown peak.

An old man with multiple swords hanging all over his body, casting a fierce glare.

‘…Someday, I will reach that height too.’

That time won’t be too far off.

With the talent I possess…

Surely, within a few years, I will become strong enough to challenge them.

But that’s not enough.

‘…That would be too late.’

I made a vow before coming here.
To become stronger.
To gain more power.

Power strong enough to defeat unexpected foes like Jing Daram.

I needed power right now to protect my girls.

For that…

I need to soar even higher.

‘Hoo…’

I took a deep breath.
I shouted loudly.
Yu stopped at my cry.

“Great warrior, Horman!”
“…Huh? I don’t think I mentioned my name…”

He narrowed his eyes at my shout.

His previously gentle demeanor subtly turned sharp.

I wasn’t bothered as I already knew.

“I entered here after paying respects to the warrior at the fallen statue.”
“…!”

Yu’s eyes twitched slightly.

“The woman engraved at the very center of the statue.”
“……”
“I already know that she is your mother.”
“…You. You don’t seem like just an ordinary challenger, do you? What’s your intention?”
“I have no ulterior motives. I just know a lot. I came here to exchange swords in the true sense.”
“……”

I raised my hand.

Crackle!

Small lightning bolts surged around me.

Before I knew it, around me were a greatsword, an eastern sword, a curved sword, a short sword, and a blunt weapon.

A total of five weapons floated and spun around.

Among them, I grabbed the blunt weapon.
I gripped [Khan’s Mace] tightly.

“I am a challenger aiming my sword at you with rightful qualifications.”

If you send me like this, it will end up tarnishing your mother’s face.

“Do you truly desire that?”
“……”

At my words…

Yu sent a serious gaze for the first time.