Chapter 190 — Jin Galyang 2
Jin Galyang frowned as he watched the spear shaft grow longer and longer.
He glanced aside for no reason and muttered under his breath.
"Isn't that cheating? Using a weapon that long in a duel?"
So Cheol-un shouted.
"Then don't give him distance, you pig! Pig! Pig!"
It was half a jeer, half an order.
At the 5th Unit's peculiar way of cheering for their own side, Jin Galyang's face twisted.
He might get beaten to death once this was over.
Jin Galyang looked down at the axe in his hand.
It was a double-bladed axe, edged on both sides.
The blades were broad only near the head, and the two short flaring edges balanced each other left and right.
The cutting edges had been forged thick, tapering ever so slightly near the end to form an angle that could bite into flesh.
The back carried no useless ornament.
Its heavy outline showed itself plainly, as if a lump of iron had simply been beaten into shape.
Small nicks lined the edges of the blades.
Marks from repeated clashes and grindings remained embedded in the metal.
The haft was a little longer than that of an ordinary axe.
When he stretched out his arm, it reached down below his elbow.
Even so, compared with the hwando at his waist, it was miserably short.
It needed the body to close in deep before its strength could truly land.
The grip was wrapped in rough leather.
Several layers had been wound around it so that sweat would not make it slip.
Once gripped, it caught firmly in the hand; once released, it looked as if it would drop at once, a crude balance made for impact.
Its weight leaned toward the blade.
When swung, it fell through a short arc and drove down with crushing force.
It was no sword for cutting through space.
It was a tool that dug in and broke things apart.
This weapon belonged in close quarters.
It was made to shove the body in until breath touched breath, then strike and scrape again and again from short range until the enemy collapsed.
Placed beside Yeongu's weapon, the difference began with size itself.
That one was a blade that carved open a battlefield.
This one was an axe that ended matters at grappling distance.
Seeing its length, Yeongu gave a faint chuckle.
"You're going with that?"
"You going to keep talking down to me?"
"I told you I wrote my resignation letter. And you're not my superior anymore, are you? I mean, let's speak honestly. Have you ever done anything that made me respect you as a superior? You just happened to sit in that position and expected me to bow my head without question."
"You little bastard!"
The two were exactly alike.
They had learned little, so they were rude; being rude, they clashed in the most direct manner.
Raw, unfiltered words flew back and forth between them.
"You bastard. I'll beat some sense into you today."
"That's what I wanted to say."
"You little—"
"Are you fighting with your mouth?"
While the two snapped at each other, the long list of conditions was read to the end.
Park Geun-su's adjutant quickly received seals from several witnesses.
He had chosen three at first, then worried it might become a problem later and found two more.
Once the five witnesses were seated in the center, So Cheol-un struck the bell.
Deng. Deng. Deng.
No one knew what that bell was meant for.
So Cheol-un seemed to think anything would serve as long as it announced the beginning.
As soon as the sound rang out, Yeongu moved in.
They called it the Nine Palace Step.
If there were nine palaces, then space was divided into nine squares to form order and movement.
Three times three made nine.
The center, east, west, south, north, and the four diagonals together formed the nine.
The feet stepped through the nine squares, while the intent gathered at one point.
So long as the center was held, no direction would collapse.
The first step settled at the center, and the second moved toward the opponent's opening.
The third step returned to the center again.
One advanced and returned, always leaving the center open.
It did not advance in a straight line.
It always twisted and circled.
One step attacked, and one step withdrew.
This was a footwork that guarded one's own center while stealing the opponent's.
Moving as he had been taught, Yeongu quickly exposed the man's flank.
He swung the banner and covered the man's sight.
As the man waved his arms, Yeongu drove the spearhead against him.
The tip struck the large man's waist and pushed him back.
"Hey, hey, you bastard!"
The spearhead did not pierce the armor.
Yeongu drew it back, hooked the man's shoulder armor with the ring on the opposite side, and pulled.
He pushed, then pulled, and the man who had been bracing himself stumbled forward.
Yeongu circled to the side and lightly caught his leg.
The man went down flat.
The thick armor made him slow.
Yeongu struck his back with the spear shaft.
Tak. Tadadak.
"Agh!"
The man screamed and rolled to the side.
Yeongu had struck him with the shaft, so the injury would stay manageable.
As the man rolled and tried to rise, Yeongu moved behind him and struck him on the head with the shaft.
"Aaagh!"
The man, halfway up, clutched his head and sank down.
He froze stupidly for a moment, then got up on all fours.
Yeongu circled to the other side and struck sideways.
This time the man blocked with his axe.
The force of the long weapon still shoved him sideways.
Seeing him beaten so badly, one of his men seemed to lose patience and threw him a small shield.
The man strapped it to his left arm and took his stance.
Yeongu struck from the opposite side.
The man blocked with the shield.
Ttadang. Tang.
Even while blocking, he was driven back, and the shield blow seemed to hurt.
When Yeongu struck once more, the man's face twisted before he even raised the shield.
On the second exchange, Yeongu feinted at the shield and swept low.
The strike landed on the haengjeon* around the man's leg, and he toppled sideways.
*Haengjeon: cloth or leather bindings wrapped around the lower legs to secure them.
Yeongu struck the fallen man from above.
The man rolled backward and avoided it.
Before he could rise, Yeongu struck again.
The second blow landed, and the man twisted at the waist with a choked groan.
He had strength, but no real command of martial skill.
Yeongu waited until the man rose, then swept low again.
The man limped and hopped aside.
Yeongu waited for him to stand properly, then swept once more.
The man's leg bent at an angle, and he collapsed to the ground.
Yeongu struck the fallen man again and again.
Now the man could hardly even think of getting up.
He beat the man, now turned into a yellow pit of dust, as if he were shaking dirt from a mat.
His head snapped from side to side, and teeth flew out.
One shoulder seemed dislocated; his left arm hung loose and useless.
Yeongu made the other side the same, then approached from behind.
Then he wrapped an arm around the man's neck from behind and choked him.
"Agh, agh—s… spare me."
"What did you say, you bastard?"
"S… spare me, please."
The words barely came out.
Pressure on the carotid artery could kill a man in only seconds.
"Please spare me."
Yeongu released him and stood.
The man collapsed sideways into the dirt.
"I have left him alive. Take him away!"
At Yeongu's shout, men who appeared to be his subordinates rushed in and carried him off.
Yeongu spun the spear shaft, wrapped the banner around it, then planted it upright and stood still.
He looked at the five witnesses.
"Victory to Lee Yeongu!"
Still, Yeongu waited.
"Today's duel was conducted according to the rules of the match, and we confirm that there are no objections."
"Thank you."