Chapter 56 : Chapter 56
Chapter 056. Proof
Dam Jeok-san was lost in thought while sitting in his office.
The meeting between Squad Leaders following the convocation order is approaching. It's called a meeting, but in reality, it's a place for Dam Jeok-san to assert his opinion.
Dark Heaven has designated him as the core of this operation, and all that remains is to ‘persuade’ the other Squad Leaders.
And in the North, persuasion is not conversation but fighting. Dam Jeok-san defeating Baek Ri-gwan through a life-and-death duel was also an example of that.
However.
The opponent he has to persuade this time is distinctly more powerful than Baek Ri-gwan.
Severing Sword Squad Leader Lee Myeong-gi.
He is one of only two Ultra-Peak masters among the Squad Leaders under the Northern Wind Sword Corps.
‘I shouldn't use that Half-Demon Murong Gang as a standard.’
When dealing with him, he really used all sorts of expedients.
Namgung Yeon, Gyeong-won, and the Black Panther Spear took charge of the vanguard, and he detonated several Heaven-Shaking Thunderbolt bombs used only in anti-monster warfare.
The most decisive factor was the ability of Decomposition Predation used by Dam Jeok-san himself.
Through a series of means, he was able to cross swords and fight with Murong Gang, but...
That doesn't mean Dam Jeok-san can defeat a martial artist who has reached the realm of Ultra-Peak in a one-on-one fight.
‘Vice-Squad Leader Baek Ri's words are correct. Ultra-Peak masters are on a different level.’
Peak is the limit a human can reach by polishing Essence, Qi, and Spirit through training.
A Peak master emits sword flames burning like fire from their sword and can easily handle a hundred elite soldiers who haven't learned martial arts.
It is a realm where one can confidently call oneself a powerhouse even among the countless martial artists as numerous as grains of sand by the river.
But Ultra-Peak is a different story.
As the word implies, transcending the Peak.
They are beings who have truly stepped into the realm of superhumans.
A hidden card that can change the tide in wars between sects or nations.
A butcher capable of annihilating an army single-handedly.
However, what Dam Jeok-san focused on was not what a Peak master or an Ultra-Peak master could do.
‘What is needed to reach Ultra-Peak, that is what’s important.’
Transcending the Peak means surpassing human limits.
The means to cross the wall can be anything.
Someone will cut through the wall with terrifyingly exquisite swordsmanship.
And someone else will break the wall based on an overwhelming amount of accumulated qi.
While there are those who cross the realm by mastering all phenomena, there are also those who cross the realm by polishing a single skill to the extreme.
Ultimately, Ultra-Peak masters are those who possess their own extremely refined weapons.
To deal with them, Dam Jeok-san also needs to imitate them, however clumsily.
Dam Jeok-san began to ponder what the sharpest weapon he possessed was.
...Excluding the ability of Predation which is outside the boundaries of martial arts, it would be Sword Intent.
The skill of melting one's mental image onto the tip of the sword. Depending on the situation, it is a secret technique capable of dealing even with an Ultra-Peak master.
‘But this is also just a temporary measure.’
A method whose effectiveness is questionable against the old swordsman Lee Myeong-gi, who reached Ultra-Peak with nothing but a single sword.
‘In the end, I must use this duel as a touchstone for growth.’
Even if he cannot jump over the solid wall of Ultra-Peak, he must become capable of contending with an Ultra-Peak master with skill alone.
Dam Jeok-san intuitively sensed that only then could he successfully carry out this operation.
How much time had passed like that?
"The meeting must have already started."
Dam Jeok-san muttered while looking at the completely burnt incense.
"I can enter at just the right time."
Although Lee Myeong-gi is the most difficult opponent, Dam Jeok-san is in a position where he has to ‘persuade’ all the Squad Leaders.
He lacks the leisure to deal with them one by one.
‘And it's bothersome too.’
Entering when they are all gathered would be wise in many ways.
A quite arrogant conclusion.
But Dam Jeok-san didn't care. He is not just a new armed force Squad Leader, but one of the candidates for the successor of the Martial Sovereign.
This level of arrogance is fine. As long as he can convince them.
No, he must be able to make them accept even this level of arrogance.
Dam Jeok-san organized his thoughts and stood up. It was still a quite leisurely gesture.
No more smoke rose from the completely burnt incense stick.
* * *
The meeting of the Squad Leaders under the Northern Wind Sword Corps takes place in the training ground, not in a separate pavilion.
The reason is very simple. It is because they cannot destroy a pavilion every time they have a meeting.
Even a thick wall of cold iron can be easily pierced if an Ultra-Peak master decides to emit qi. Let alone a pavilion made of stone and wood.
After the building collapsed about three times. The location for the Squad Leader meeting was fixed to the training ground.
The meeting between the Squad Leaders under the Northern Wind Sword Corps was that rough and dangerous.
To the extent that it's amazing no one has died yet.
"Tsk tsk, this meeting is strangely quiet."
An aged voice resonated throughout the training ground. A voice that strangely overwhelms despite not containing any special internal energy.
At the source of that voice was an old man bent like a hunchback.
The old man, barely standing while leaning on his sword like a cane, looked like it wouldn't be strange if he lay in a coffin right now.
However, everyone gathered in the training ground was wary of the old man.
Considering they are Peak masters commanding at least fifty to over a hundred personnel, it is quite strange.
"Old Man Severing Sword knows too. This is all because of one greenhorn who hasn't even come yet. When that guy comes, I will show him what's what with this axe."
However, if that old man is Severing Sword Squad Leader Lee Myeong-gi, the Squad Leaders' reaction was understandable.
A giant holding two large axes also opened his mouth with a somewhat annoyed look.
However, his eyes were full of dissatisfaction with Dam Jeok-san.
The guy rose to the position of Squad Leader with a single life-and-death duel, despite having been secluded for the past few years.
Up to there, he can understand. Proving one's skill through a bloody fight risking one's life and seizing the position is the tradition of the North.
However.
— The center of this operation is the new Monster Repelling Squad Leader. I will issue a convocation order, so anyone with complaints should defeat him at the meeting.
This alone was hard to accept. Even if he is the disciple of the Castle Lord, isn't Dam Jeok-san just a novice?
He, who had not watched the life-and-death duel between Baek Ri-gwan and Dam Jeok-san, had no choice but to think so.
"Don't get too angry, Broad Battle Squad Leader. Everyone knows that you are sucking up to the Eldest Young Master anyway."
A woman with a cold impression, bandages wrapped around both fists, spoke sarcastically toward the huge Broad Battle Squad Leader.
She was one of the crowd who watched the duel between Dam Jeok-san and Baek Ri-gwan.
‘It was a fantastic sword.’
Enough to make her want to crush it.
As a Peak fist fighter, she was a maniac who gained supreme pleasure from breaking her opponent's weapon.
"Tsk tsk, Dream Moon Squad Leader is right. There is no need to get heated already. It won't be too late to prattle after checking the Third Young Master's martial prowess."
Lee Myeong-gi, watching the scene, stroked his beard and said.
Third Young Master, not Monster Repelling Squad Leader.
It means Lee Myeong-gi also hasn't properly acknowledged Dam Jeok-san yet.
Even as time passed, Dam Jeok-san still did not appear, and a chilly tension hung over the venue.
Among the Squad Leaders, two were burning with fighting spirit the most.
Broad Battle Squad Leader, Mountain Breaking Axe Ju Cheon-gi.
Dream Moon Squad Leader, Soul Killing Fist Mae Eun-ryeong.
It is known that the two possess power not inferior to Ghost Blade Baek Ri-gwan.
Although their motives are opposite, their will to fight Dam Jeok-san without fail is also full.
The rest of the Squad Leaders did not bother to step forward.
Severing Sword Squad Leader Lee Myeong-gi had no intention of dealing with Dam Jeok-san until he stood on two feet and aimed his sword at him.
And the Squad Leaders excluding him were clearly inferior to Baek Ri-gwan.
‘The Third Young Master is quite late. Does he intend to defeat everyone at once?’
Severing Sword Squad Leader Lee Myeong-gi fell into thought while leaning his body on his sword.
As he intended, those willing to fight Dam Jeok-san and those not were clearly distinguished.
If he defeats the Broad Battle Squad Leader and the Dream Moon Squad Leader, others will also come to acknowledge Dam Jeok-san.
‘However, this old man won't be easy.’
Lee Myeong-gi engraved the duel between Dam Jeok-san and Baek Ri-gwan in his eyes without missing anything.
Him cheekily using the Three Talents Sword Technique.
And him surprisingly mastering Sword Intent at the end of it.
He watched it all.
He couldn't help but be jealous.
Because he was truly a heaven-sent sword talent.
It has been nearly 60 years since he held a sword. Lee Myeong-gi spent most of those years as a low-ranking martial artist.
Looking back, it was a level where he was lucky to survive for a long time.
His realm was at most second-rate.
In the North where most are elites, he was practically no different from a laborer.
But luck is also skill, and surviving is also ability. At the age of forty-five, Lee Myeong-gi, who had survived thousands of times, suddenly realized the Way of the Sword.
Dodge and stab, dodge and cut. Don't die and kill. It was a shallow realization that that was all there is to the sword.
But that realization made Lee Myeong-gi a first-rate master.
Having reached the realm of first-rate, Lee Myeong-gi finally became a low-ranking member of the Severing Sword Squad, which could be called an elite armed force.
His realization meshed with the advanced swordsmanship provided to Severing Sword Squad members, creating a tremendous synergy.
Lee Myeong-gi became a Peak master in 5 years, and at that time, he was appointed as one of the Vice-Squad Leaders of the Severing Sword Squad.
When a few more years passed like that. Lee Myeong-gi became the temporary Severing Sword Squad Leader replacing the Squad Leader who died in battle.
It was when he was nearing the age of sixty.
One day, 10 years later. Lee Myeong-gi realized that his sword had surpassed a certain limit and become a single ray of light.
He had ascended to the realm of Ultra-Peak. The Sword Addict who was with him at the time gave him the alias Severing Light Sword.
Tenacity close to madness had created growth close to a miracle.
During that time, Lee Myeong-gi never once forgot his first realization.
Dodge and stab, dodge and cut. Don't die and kill. Because that is all there is to the sword.
If the Third Young Master's Sword Intent cannot surpass this realization, he will never be able to defeat him.
Well, of course, he would have to defeat the Mountain Breaking Axe and the Soul Killing Fist, who are emitting fierce eye glints, before that.
Nearly half a double hour has passed since the meeting started.
Only then did Lee Myeong-gi think, feeling Dam Jeok-san's presence approaching the training ground.
* * *
Stomp, stomp―
Dam Jeok-san approached the training ground with a gait that looked slightly crooked.
"Dual swords...?"
The questioning voice of a Squad Leader who spotted Dam Jeok-san from afar was heard.
As said.
Dam Jeok-san was currently holding the Red Demon Sword in one hand and Sky Thunder in the other. However, that was not to use dual swordsmanship.
‘To end it at once.’
The probability that he can immediately exchange blows with the Ultra-Peak master Lee Myeong-gi as soon as he enters the training ground is extremely low.
Because miscellaneous guys will cling to him before that.
He shouldn't waste time dealing with them.
He must settle it in a single exchange.
Considering that each one is a skilled person comparable to Baek Ri-gwan, it won't be easy, but...
‘If I aim for gaps, it's not impossible either.’
Thinking so, Dam Jeok-san moved his steps.
Having arrived inside the training ground before anyone knew it, he scanned the venue with an indifferent look.
"Since it's mutually bothersome, I won't chatter about introductions. There wouldn't be anyone who doesn't know me anyway."
Dam Jeok-san opened his mouth with a bored look.
However, that was only a camouflage.
He was grasping the Squad Leaders one by one with sharp eyes.
‘Only two have the will to fight.’
A woman with bandages wrapped around both hands and a giant holding a huge axe.
‘Both are clearly inferior to Baek Ri-gwan.’
They seem to think they are on a similar level, but Baek Ri-gwan said Peng Cho-seol might be stronger.
He thought it was arrogant. But it wasn't exactly wrong either.
"Those with thoughts of fighting, attack now."
Dam Jeok-san tapped the ground with the Red Cloud Sword and spoke provocatively.
Simultaneously as those words fell, the Mountain Breaking Axe rushed in fiercely.
A spirit like a wild beast charging.
Intense flames soared from the two axes.
They were heading exactly for his chest as if to split Dam Jeok-san in half.
Dam Jeok-san, seeing that scene, wore a bitter smile.
‘This is really...’
Because things went smoothly exactly as he thought.
The axe containing the Mountain Breaking Axe's immense strength approached Dam Jeok-san, leaving a chilling trajectory.
The time it took was truly an instant.
Dam Jeok-san, who was just digging the ground with his sword, seemed to have no strength to block the axe.
"Farewell, greenhorn!"
The Mountain Breaking Axe babbled, intoxicated with a sense of victory. Because it was clear Dam Jeok-san would suffer an injury rendering him unable to recover with this strike.
But.
CLANG!!!
The Mountain Breaking Axe's axe was blocked by something at Dam Jeok-san's chest and couldn't move forward.
He blocked the axe strike by infusing internal energy into the Dragon Scale Armor.
"Tsk, it's quite heavy."
It wasn't pierced, but the shock transmitted through the Dragon Scale Armor was more powerful than imagined.
If he made even a slight mistake, his ribs might have broken.
However, a chilling smile hung on Dam Jeok-san's face.
The opponent doesn't know the existence of the Dragon Scale Armor.
Fatal traps always come from the unknown and unexpectedness.
‘Opportunity!’
Dam Jeok-san struck the head of the Mountain Breaking Axe, whose flustered look was evident, powerfully with the flat side of Sky Thunder.
Simultaneously as he collapsed as if losing consciousness.
WHOOSH!!
A single fist shot by the Soul Killing Fist flashed at Dam Jeok-san's face.
It is an attack launched predicting that a gap would appear to block the axe strike containing the Mountain Breaking Axe's immense strength.
"Not a bad attempt."
If there's a problem, is it that Dam Jeok-san took the axe strike with his body?
He drew both swords with this situation in mind from the beginning.
The Red Cloud Sword, wrapped in brilliant light like the night sky, was touching the Soul Killing Fist's neck as if skipping causality.
"...?"
It was the Monkey-Destroying One Flash of the Heaven-Breaking Star-Destroying Style, an extreme fast sword technique manifested without even a presence.
The moment a stream of blood flowed from her neck.
"...I lost."
The Soul Killing Fist admitted defeat obediently. Because it was a position where instant death would have occurred if it went even an inch deeper.
FLUTTER―
Dam Jeok-san's hem fluttered slightly in the blowing wind.
Dam Jeok-san subdued two Peak masters in literally one breath.
He caught his slightly roughened breath and looked at Severing Sword Squad Leader Lee Myeong-gi.
"Now, do you feel a bit like drawing your sword?"
He asked while putting Sky Thunder back into its scabbard and holding only the Red Cloud Sword.
Light and arrogant, but a tone tinged with courtesy for a swordsman who dedicated his entire life to the Martial Sovereign Castle.
"Of course. My blood is boiling."
Lee Myeong-gi smiled brightly and said.
Only a desire close to madness for the sword was burning in his eyes. So purely that not a single speck could be seen.
The moment Lee Myeong-gi lightly swung the sword he was leaning on the ground into the air.
The old man waiting only for death with a bent back disappeared, and a well-forged single sword filled that spot.
"Tsk tsk, if your blood boils at that age, you die."
Contrasting with his idle words despite feeling sharpness that seemed to cut his flesh, deep tension settled in Dam Jeok-san's eyes.
He could know the moment he saw the shabbily dressed old man.
That person is a proper swordsman. Furthermore, a pure human against whom the power of the Predator doesn't work. If caught wrong once by the sword tip, his body will be split as is.
‘Well, whatever.’
A fierce smile hung on Dam Jeok-san's mouth.
This is a struggle.
Splattering flesh and blood, Crossing the boundary of life and death, Tempering each other's swords, A swordsman's struggle.
For a very brief moment, complex thoughts about victory and defeat were erased from Dam Jeok-san's mind.
That old geezer's vigor made Dam Jeok-san's blood boil.