KR Translators:
・StarrySkySailor
・KawaiiKage
・ImmortalInk
・KingPotato
・SugoiSenpai
Chapter 3: You’re Wrong. Study. (2)
In my memory, she clearly gave a harsh criticism,”What a waste of a hero’s blood.”If that turns into admiration, it’s a proper success.
“I’m ashamed.”
My father cast an emotionless gaze at me. It’s a look with a unique glint that I hadn’t seen before. Well, if I were truly sixteen, I wouldn’t have acted like this.
While I’m at it, should I try a bit more?
“But what brings you here?”
At my question, the air between my family members rapidly froze. My father removed the unique glint from his eyes and replaced it with a growling energy, and my mother also sent a disapproving look.
The most amusing thing is my brother next to me. He looks as if he’s about to slap me across the face.
Levidian put down her teacup and spoke with a seemingly inquisitive expression.
“Was I not supposed to visit without a purpose?”
“Of course not. But I didn’t think someone like the Sword King would visit our family without a reason.”
“Do you think you can speak so carelessly just because I had a good impression of you a moment ago, Arisein-gun?”
Fwoosh!
The air changed.
Her eyes narrowed, and a murderous aura that felt like my whole body was being pierced with blades poured out. The air chilled. A being who has reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship aims at my heart with the sword of her gaze.
A premonition of death descends. The feeling of charging forward while embracing despair once again takes over my whole body.
I’m going to die.
If I stay like this, if I don’t apologize, if I don’t apologize for arrogantly trying to stand as an equal with her, I’m going to die!
My breath catches in my throat. The feeling of my lungs shrinking dominates my whole body. Her black eyes become the darkness of the abyss, approaching stickily. A darkness that will bind my whole body and drag me into the shadows……!
But……what is this?
In those eyes, within that gaze, I see a hint of expectation. Even while fear washes over me, as I look directly into her eyes, that thought comes to mind.
She’s expecting something from me.
Mouth, open.
Inhale and expand your shrunken lungs.
And speak.
Quickly!
“Is it the sword?”
I squeezed out my voice.
At my words, Levidian’s eyes widened. At the same time, the murderous aura disappeared.
Phew! I……I’m going to live……I really thought I was going to die.
“Amazing. I didn’t expect a young boy to be able to withstand focused killing intent to this extent.”
I tried to smile at her. But right then, there was a hand pressing down on the back of my head.
“I, I apologize! My foolish younger brother dared to speak to the Sword King-nim so disrespectfully……”
My brother apologized to Levidian while pressing down on my head. I was still paralyzed with fear, so I had no choice but to yield to his touch. As I involuntarily lowered my head, I heard Levidian’s voice.
“No need to apologize. Remove your hand.”
“Huh?”
My brother’s hand moved away slightly, and I slowly raised my head. My heart was still pounding, causing me to breathe heavily. I, I really thought I was going to die.
Her expression had returned to normal at some point. The suffocating murderous aura had vanished as if it were a lie. She put down her teacup, leaned back comfortably on the sofa, and said,
“That’s incredible. I didn’t know a young boy could withstand my killing intent to that degree. And you said something quite interesting.”
I forced a smile. I truly tasted the brink of death again. But my gamble paid off.
She was testing me.
I spoke,
“I thought……that’s what you desired.”
“How did you know?”
“Because our family’s swordsmanship is the best in the Empire. I guessed that the Sword King would be interested.”
The founder of our family was one of the founding contributors of the Empire. And he was also a hero who saved the continent from crisis. He was also famous for his sword, and his swordsmanship has been passed down through generations of our family.
The reason the Sword King visited our family was to see our family’s swordsmanship and gain enlightenment to overcome her weaknesses.
I learned this when I was twenty-two years old, but the current Levidian had a certain habit in her swordsmanship.
For a swordsman to have a habit is the same as having a fatal weakness. A habit is, in other words, an opening, and being aware of this is directly linked to life and death.
Since she has earned the title of Sword King, even if she has a habit, if she wins before it’s discovered, it’s over, but she herself is bound to feel limitations from that habit.
The current Levidian knows she has a habit, but she doesn’t know what it is. She won’t realize it until three years from now……
“That’s right. I’m sorry to say this, but I came to see the Herduke family’s swordsmanship. I need an opportunity to gain new enlightenment. It might take a long time, but I don’t mind spending that time.”
The weight of her words was even more palpable because they were spoken by someone who had vowed to dedicate her life to the sword. I thought that this person wouldn’t hesitate to spend her entire life for enlightenment.
Even so, isn’t three years a long time?
I’ll shorten that time for you.
While putting on the practice armor, I recalled my memories.
The previous Sword King had stayed in our family for three days and left disappointed.
The reason was that when I was truly sixteen, not only my brother and I, but even my father failed to pique the Sword King’s interest. My brother was dismissed because his swordsmanship was filled with selfish desires, and I was deemed not worth watching.
My father?
Although my father was skilled in swordsmanship, the Sword King gained nothing. She simply stayed for three days and then left.
“But the situation is different now.”
I smiled.
I couldn’t handle a sword properly when I was sixteen. Strangely, most of the skills I possessed showed explosive growth around the age of twenty, but by then, the good opportunities had already passed.
Even though my current body is that of a sixteen-year-old, those memories remain. The twenty-six-year-old me couldn’t defeat my brother, but now, my brother is nothing. Hoho, I can even make him pay for constantly looking down on me.
Anyway, with my current skills, I can surprise the Sword King.
How will I surprise her?
The habit in Sword King Levidian’s swordsmanship.
By targeting that weakness.
“What are you thinking?”
“Huh? What?”
“Why did you provoke the Sword King-nim?”
“That doesn’t matter. Isn’t it enough that the Sword King-nim is satisfied?”
My brother looked at me with strange eyes. And mixed with the usual contempt was a slight hint of astonishment. Surely, the me he remembers would be drastically different from yesterday.
He frowned and said with a displeased face,
“You? Did you hit your head or something?”
“What do you mean?”
“Until yesterday……never mind. Hmph. I’ll just assume you’ve gone elegantly mad.”
My brother slung the practice sword over his shoulder, opened the door to the armory, and went out. And I watched his back, then silently turned my head. If I were before, I might have been hurt by those words, but now it’s different.
Creak!
Tightening the straps of the practice armor, I grinned.
“There are still many more surprises to come, brother.”
We haven’t even started yet.
Sword King Levidian’s swordsmanship is said to be a secret technique passed down within the ‘Hall of Martial Arts’ where she trained. The exact name is unknown, but people call her sword ‘Seven Star’ after witnessing it.
Seven stars shine, and in the path of their light, no one can survive.
In other words, ‘Death Star’.
When the seven stars flash, all that remains is death.
Now, the owner of those stars is wielding her sword.
“Haah!”
Clang! Chaang! Chajajang!
My father and Levidian were fully engaged in a spar with practice swords. My father is also ‘somewhat’ close to the pinnacle of swordsmanship, so he doesn’t easily fall to the Sword King.
It was the same in the past, and it’s the same now.
Wheeik!
My father’s arms and legs move smoothly. However, within that smoothness lies a powerful force. If you underestimate those dance-like movements, your head could be severed before you even realize it.
I muttered unconsciously while watching them,
“Just like before.”
“What was that?”
“Nothing.”
“How foolish.”
Let’s just ignore my brother’s words for now. First of all, the spar between Levidian and my father is proceeding exactly as I remember.
Ching! Chang! Ting! Tang! Chajajajang!
They clash swords, sometimes retreating, sometimes advancing, fiercely exchanging blows, and then suddenly standing still, cautiously observing each other. The swords clashing between them, even though they are practice swords, create a flower garden that blooms with sparks.
A flower garden of flames is created and then overturned. The two create a single large flame and then distance themselves.
Levidian, still expressionless, speaks to my father,
“You’re amazing. As expected of the master of the ‘Dance of Nine Swords’, Your Grace.”
“You’re too kind. The Sword King’s sword is truly legendary. It’s flawless.”
She’s praising my father quite a bit, but in reality, she has the complete upper hand. Because my father is dripping with sweat and his shoulders are heaving, but her breathing isn’t even disturbed.
I wonder where such power comes from that slender body. Even considering the age difference, it’s not easy for a twenty-six-year-old woman to push a thirty-nine-year-old man to this extent.
“The Sword King-nim is truly amazing. I can’t see any openings.”
My brother muttered to himself with a groan from beside me.
For now, I’m willing to agree with that statement, but that’s not going to help anything other than appeasing my brother’s ego, so let’s drop it.
To tell you the truth, I’ve already figured out her habit.
It was possible because I knew her habit beforehand.
It was a very small habit that I probably wouldn’t have noticed if I didn’t know about it beforehand.
Since she’s such a skilled swordsman, there’s no need to point it out, but if she were to encounter someone on par with her, it would be fatal.
However, my father, who is not on par with her, said with a hardened expression,
“Phew, then let’s finish this.”
“Gladly, if that’s what you wish.”
Determination fills my father’s stern face.
Even though it’s a spar, an air more serious than a real battle emanates from him. Our family’s swordsmanship is about to be unleashed.
Dance of Nine Swords.
It’s a unique sword technique passed down through our family, and when mastered, it creates the illusion of nine swords dancing, hence the name. It’s a type of illusionary sword technique that deceives the opponent’s eyes and even their senses by moving the sword rapidly.
My father has the qualities of a skilled swordsman, but it’s always been said that he doesn’t have the qualities to be the best. In ten years, he’ll be able to manifest seven swords, but right now, five is his limit.
“My sword. It dances, playing with space……”
The incantation of the sword passed down through generations of our family. The words that have been chanted since training to enhance focus echo throughout the room.
“Here I come!”
Whoosh!
The five-meter distance closes rapidly.
An ingenious approach that confuses the opponent’s judgment with irregular footwork. And a technique that disrupts their concentration by assaulting their vision with the swaying tip of the sword unfolds.
Wheeik! Chak!
Just as I remember, my father charges forward with a murderous aura, then suddenly lowers his thrusting sword and throws his body forward.
In a brief moment, a time too short to even react, my father pulls the sword with his whole body and swings it upwards. It’s a brilliant surprise attack that utilizes a short opening created by an unexpected movement.
Whoosh!
A tremendous force is unleashed, as if a tree uprooted from the ground is being swung around. Levidian, caught off guard by the sudden change, dodges by leaning back, but my father, having already turned his body, strikes her legs with his own.
Crack!
An ordinary swordsman would have fallen, but the Sword King avoids it by flipping her body backwards.
Her body bends like a bow, and with her empty left hand, she touches the ground and spins around. However, before her feet can touch the ground, my father thrusts his sword.
Three times in a single breath, with incredible speed.
Tatadang!
Blocked.
Even though she can’t even see the sword properly, she manages to block all three thrusts by swinging her sword precisely three times. And when she raises her head, my father has begun to unleash his swordsmanship in earnest.
“Haaaat!”
A powerful shout accompanied by a whirlwind of swords!
Whiwhiwhiwhiwhiing!
It doesn’t look like a single sword.
The illusion of swords simultaneously slashing towards both arms, both legs, and the neck!
In the face of this inescapable illusion, the Sword King raises her sword.
The meaning behind this action is only one.
If you can’t escape, break through!
“Chaaat!”
Whoosh!
Her body moves like a fleeting afterimage. As if guided by her body, her sword doesn’t yield an inch and clashes head-on against the incoming swords.
Seven streaks of lightning strike towards the five illusions!
Chajajajajang!
Five sounds ring out in an instant.
In that moment, a moment where an instant and an eternity overlap, Sword King Levidian’s sword tip is aimed at my father’s Adam’s apple, and my father’s hands are empty. There’s no need to confirm where those swords have gone.
I shrug and look up into the air.
Woooong……Woong……
A sword is spinning in the air, falling towards me. Really, there’s no need for such minute details to be exactly the same. It seems the recreation of the past is too perfect. It’s like déjà vu.
I take half a step back.
Thud!
The sword lands precisely in front of my feet, sticking into the ground. However, I don’t look at the sword and keep my gaze fixed on the Sword King. As I expected, she’s looking at me.
When I was truly sixteen, I panicked and dodged the flying sword. Back then, the Sword King had also followed the trajectory of the flying sword with her gaze and saw my pathetic figure. She had sighed with disdain at my flustered state, but not now.
Her eyes are filled with surprise and admiration.
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