The Red Moon (5)

Han Cheol-sang was taken aback.

“Remarkable.”

“Indeed.”

Jin-hyeon’s eyes gleamed.

‘Good judgment.’

The rule that you are disqualified if you deliberately kill or inflict a critical wound.

It was a truly ambiguous rule. Depending on the referee and the onlookers, one person might be disqualified while another seizes victory.

So contestants all fought cautiously. Even when they landed hits, they left room for retreat, and even when they saw an opening, they held back to avoid killing.

In such a duel, Seol So-ha was showing the optimal approach.

In terms of realm, Heo Jang-un was plainly stronger than Seol So-ha.

He held the edge in nearly every other aspect, but the one thing Seol So-ha could match was speed.

“If you strike me, you get struck too.” Once that thought is planted, Heo Jang-un also cannot act rashly. Taking excessive damage from a supposed inferior would wound his pride.

Seol So-ha had read Heo Jang-un’s temperamental flaw and adopted a bold strategy.

‘She’s grown this much already. Impressive.’

Come to think of it, Seol Hong-baek was the same.

He seemed the type to cling stubbornly to orthodoxy, yet he foresaw conflict with Lee Ho-gon and pre-positioned his clan’s forces in enemy ground.

He upheld law and justice, but used harsh ploys when needed. Seol So-ha took after such a father.

‘To grow this much from a single life-and-death bout is remarkable. You must value your life yet be able to throw it without hesitation. Both at once. She will become great.’

However.

‘The opponent is bad.’

Just as Jin-hyeon thought.

Having been checked by the same ploy several times, Heo Jang-un’s eyes went cold.

Sasasak!

The rough pudao sketched a short cross-slash, a short vertical slash, then even shorter diagonal cuts in succession.

The motions were small, but the blade work was fast and precise. Seol So-ha withdrew swiftly and used Snow Shadow Sword’s Freezing Wind.

Jjeojeong! Peoseok!

In the air, it looked as if translucent shards of ice were breaking apart.

Driven to the limit, her Ten-Thousand-Year Only-White True Qi made Freezing Wind excellent for defense as well as attack. But Heo Jang-un’s three-step strikes were fierce enough to smash that wall at once.

Paaak!

He had dropped any thought of toying with her. His movement made that plain.

His pudao traced bizarre lines for Seol So-ha’s neck. Anyone could see the killing intent. It would be no exaggeration to call it a death stroke.

At the moment the crowd gasped.

Sak!

Bending her upper body to evade, Seol So-ha immediately aimed for Heo Jang-un’s chin.

Hair shorn by the pudao fluttered like black snow, but her eyes didn’t waver. The longsword forged by the Yeo Family Ironworks moved cleanly to her will.

Hook!

Tilting his head to dodge, Heo Jang-un made a tight pivot.

Peok!

Seol So-ha retreated seven steps sideways, her eyes tightening slightly.

‘Got me.’

It hadn’t been the blade but his knee. The attack aimed true at her side and cracked her right ribs.

Paaak!

Heo Jang-un didn’t let go. Closing in with another violent surge, he slashed mercilessly.

Pabababak!

A barrage of pudao shadows targeted all of Seol So-ha’s upper body.

It was like a tiger’s two forepaws flying in at once. With her posture, she couldn’t evade, and it was too powerful to block.

Then her sword shot like an arrow with terrifying spring. Between the scattered sword-images, she stabbed straight for Heo Jang-un’s Heaven-Projection acupoint¹.

In that instant, Heo Jang-un weighed his options.

If he pursued his attack, he could pulp her upper body. Killing was banned, so he would have to pull power, yet he could still inflict serious injuries.

The problem was her sword. It came in on a rhythm he had never seen, faster than before.

The instant his blade cut her, that sword would pierce his neck. He could twist to avoid it, but a heartbeat late and his carotid would be torn.

‘Tch.’

He hesitated for a breath. Then the decision struck like lightning.

Jjeojeojeojeong!

All those pudao strikes crashed onto her single sword.

‘Ghk!’

Seol So-ha hurriedly fell back.

The shock up her blade numbed her right shoulder. Blocking so many strikes tore her grip.

‘He’s strong, as expected.’

If this were a fight to the death, she would already be dead.

Chiiik!

As her mind grew urgent, the Ten-Thousand-Year Only-White Art also reacted fiercely.

The Cold Ice True Qi surging from her body dropped the arena’s temperature. Heo Jang-un, about to charge again, faltered in surprise.

“Ice arts?!”

Light flared from Seol So-ha’s eyes.

Hook!

She attacked again with Snow Bow, a form of the Snow Shadow Sword.

It was the same form as before, but worlds stronger. Spreading Cold Ice True Qi as she rushed, she made sidestepping awkward, and the faint white gleam at her tip carried brutal penetration and a biting chill.

Heo Jang-un didn’t dare belittle it. He swung his pudao at full power.

Jjeojeojeojeojeong!

At last their blades began to clash like the work of spirits.

Until now they had traded attacks into openings, but now it changed. Each dragged out every ounce of strength and hammered away. It was a furious exchange that left jaws agape and seized the arena.

“Uwaaah!!”

The crowd’s roar was like blazing flame.

Gritting her teeth, she unfurled the Snow Shadow Sword. With ice arts in hand, her fierce waves of Qi alone could bind her foe.

With true Cold Ice Qi behind it, a single cut would freeze to the bone. Heo Jang-un wore a cautious look, yet met her sword with ease.

Jjeojeojeojeong! Pasa-sasak!

Dozens of blade shadows raked the floor, and shattered fragments skittered, cracking the paving here and there.

It was an unrelentingly violent exchange. One mistake by either could mean a mortal wound.

The referee considered halting the fight, then gave up when he saw the crowd’s fever.

How much time passed like that?

Hook.

Heo Jang-un, after unleashing uncountable strikes, eased back.

“Huff… huff…”

Unlike Heo Jang-un, whose breathing had not wavered, Seol So-ha’s was uneven.

The two ribs cracked by earlier blows had now broken, and overdriving her internal energy had caused internal injury. Fighting on without mistakes had left heavy shock throughout her body.

Her longsword was stained with blood. A torn palm bled profusely.

Chiiik!

She temporarily froze the wound with Ten-Thousand-Year Only-White True Qi.

Jin-hyeon’s brow twitched.

‘Dangerous.’

Unless one had reached a state where the body could be fully suffused with Cold Ice True Qi without harm, the state of Unhindered Flow, sealing wounds with Cold Qi was dangerous.

One could suffer frostbite, even require amputation if severe. Seol So-ha surely knew that.

‘Is she planning to end it quickly?’

By contrast, Heo Jang-un was relaxed. He saw her ragged breath and noticed her sealing wounds with cold.

Time was on his side.

“Impressive. For a wench, you’ve learned astounding arts.”

His voice was drowned by cheers, yet Seol So-ha heard it clearly.

Spinning his blade, Heo Jang-un said,

“How about surrendering now? Before it gets uglier.”

Her gaze turned feral.

Rage rose at the provocation. The madness she’d kept well in hand began to stir.

It was then.

‘I liked the composure you showed at the start. It isn’t easy to always bring that into a fight. What matters is that you fought without tensing up or being dragged around.’

Jin-hyeon’s voice rang faintly in her mind.

In that moment, her eyes regained their cool.

“Hooo.”

With one deep breath, she blew away her inner-demon.

Heo Jang-un’s face twisted. In trying to provoke her, he had let her steady her breath.

With a calm face, Seol So-ha tipped her sword.

“Shall we begin again?”

“…Crazy bitch.”

Paaaaang!

Darting in low, Heo Jang-un arched his torso and took the pudao in both hands.

Though he showed so many openings, they were unusable. She swiftly used Moon-Shadow Divine Steps.

Kwang!

The descending blade force looked capable of splitting stone.

There was no killing aura, yet it was powerful enough to turn a human body to mince.

The referee’s eyes flashed.

Further contest was meaningless. He hurried to speak.

“The match—!”

At that moment, Seol So-ha lunged from his side.

Her footwork was swift like a ghost and wondrous as heaven. The perfect union of internal and external arts, laden with Ten-Thousand-Year Only-White True Qi, was cool and beautiful as moonlight on ice.

Buuung!

With a devilish face, Heo Jang-un unleashed a lateral slash meant to blast her away in one blow.

‘Here!’

Her sword split into two, then three.

In a heartbeat that felt like it split a heartbeat, her sword dispersed like a blade mirrored in crystals. It divided into eight, then swept out to cover every direction.

The first form of the Three Later Moves, never yet used in real combat.

A destructive sword technique that bombarded all directions. Snow Light Eight Positions.

Semi-transparent white Sword Qi whirled in rings.

Kwakwakwa-Kwang!

The bluestone floor split apart and menacing dust rose.

Pueo-eong!

It was a form of extreme power, but sadly her internal energy was not enough.

Heo Jang-un’s single slash shattered three streams of icy sword strikes and sent her body flying.

Hook!

Before she could be flung to the far side.

His eyes gone red with fury, Heo Jang-un hammered her abdomen with a fist.

Pu-hwaak!

Seol So-ha spewed a bowlful of blood from her nose and mouth and skidded across the floor.

He started to charge and cut again, then halted. If he struck here, she would surely die.

‘You damn bitch!’

He ground his teeth and rubbed his side.

It wasn’t deep, but it wasn’t shallow either. A wound from failing to block all the icy strikes.

It was fortunate his cultivation of internal arts was high. At a similar level, the invading Cold Ice Qi would have reached his organs and required half a month of recuperation even with medical help.

Eudeudeuk!

Murderous desire boiled. Truly, he wanted to rush in and hack her to pieces.

Just then, the referee shouted,

“The match is over! The match is over!”

Heo Jang-un’s eyes, stained with killing intent, returned to normal.

“White bracket’s Heo Jang-un is the winner!”

“Waaah!”

The crowd split between those cheering and those worrying over the fallen Seol So-ha.

Seureuk.

Her party had come onto the stage and were checking her.

“Khuek!”

Pale, she coughed wetly.

But her expression was bright. She hadn’t won, yet she had poured out everything she could.

“H-how was it?”

Even in this moment, she wanted his assessment.

Jin-hyeon smiled and said,

“You almost lost yourself in the middle, right? You’ve still got a ways to go, bu—”

Her eyes closed. She had fainted.

Jin-hyeon smiled wryly.

“You should at least hear you were the best before you let go.”