Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Along with Yu Seol-ah’s declaration, the air in the training ground sank coldly for an instant.

“……!”

Even the unit members, who had been roaring with excitement just moments ago, all held their breath. Yet their eyes were full of anticipation.

“The Vice-Captain is stepping forward personally!”

“How long has it been since we saw those twin swords?”

Amid the murmurs of the unit members, Yu Seol-ah said,

“You had better use the sword on your back.”

“…….”

Dokgo Jin looked at her blue twin swords for a moment, then turned his head toward the weapon rack set up on one side of the training ground.

Among the countless weapons, what he picked up was, unexpectedly, a wooden sword.

Yu Seol-ah furrowed her fine brows.

“What is that? You are going to face me with that?”

“I am the Dragon-Tiger Tablet Holder in name, after all.”

Dokgo Jin angled the sword’s tip and took his stance. Then a chilling sharpness rose from the wooden sword.

Yu Seol-ah flinched.

‘He can produce sword qi like that with a wooden sword……!’

If it were a real blade, she could not even guess what kind of wave of qi it would emit.

‘I expected it, but his level really is different.’

However, as the Vice-Captain, her pride would not allow her to be pushed back by a wooden sword.

Flash—!

Yu Seol-ah’s form blurred, and in an instant, she appeared right before Dokgo Jin’s nose.

If Mun Heum’s movement had been that of a stealthy snake, Yu Seol-ah’s was direct and explosive, like a hawk snatching away its prey.

Swish, swish!

In an instant, two swords swept across Dokgo Jin’s entire body.

Dokgo Jin struck in short bursts with the wooden sword and knocked away her attacks.

CLANG!

Though it was a wooden sword, sparks flew, and a sharp metallic sound rang through the training ground.

That was the beginning. Yu Seol-ah’s twin swords surged like a storm.

CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG!

‘Fast.’

Dokgo Jin’s eyes shone. They were not merely fast.

When the sword in her right hand cut past him, the sword in her left hand stabbed into the opening it created.

It was a precise, cogwheel-like sequence, as if two people were attacking him together at the same time.

It was an exquisite sword art that added delicate technique to the rough practicality of the Iron Soul Unit.

“Hey, are you only going to block?”

With a shout, Yu Seol-ah rotated her body and swung her twin swords like a storm.

Twin-Absolute Dance Sword, Third Form.

Downpour.

Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!

Dozens of sword shadows descended on Dokgo Jin like pouring rain.

It was a dense area attack that completely sealed off any space to evade.

An ordinary martial artist would have been overwhelmed by the momentum of the sword screen, retreated, and been cut down, but Dokgo Jin was different.

He calmly swung the wooden sword.

CLANG!

Dokgo Jin’s wooden sword struck Yu Seol-ah’s right sword blade hard. He had not simply blocked it.

He had read the exact trajectory of Yu Seol-ah’s sword as it returned and pushed it so that it overlapped with the path of her left sword.

CLANG!

“……!”

Yu Seol-ah’s two swords struck each other, and sparks flew. At the same time, a very tiny gap appeared in the sword screen.

Dokgo Jin did not miss that instant.

Flash!

The wooden sword dug into the gap between Yu Seol-ah’s crossed twin swords.

It was a quick sword that used the opponent’s own strength against her to collapse her defensive line, and the tip of Dokgo Jin’s sword rushed toward Yu Seol-ah’s throat.

“……!”

It would not have been strange for her to be flustered, but Yu Seol-ah was indeed worthy of being the Vice-Captain of the Iron Soul Unit.

She instinctively twisted her wrist, pretending to let go of her sword, then pressed down on Dokgo Jin’s wooden sword with the end of her sword hilt and rotated her body.

Flash!

The wooden sword missed and cut through empty air.

Yu Seol-ah used that rotational force to cut toward Dokgo Jin’s abdomen with the sword she held in a reverse grip.

Dokgo Jin drew back his wooden sword and blocked her reverse-grip sword.

CLANG!

With the two swords locked together, their faces drew so close they seemed about to touch.

“Not bad. To think you would twist my sword path away.”

Yu Seol-ah smiled right before his eyes.

“I saw an opening.”

Dokgo Jin smiled back without giving ground.

In that standoff, with sword and sword locked tautly together, the two kicked out at the same time as if they had made a promise.

THUD!

Their feet collided, and the distance between them widened.

Dokgo Jin lightly adjusted his grip on the wooden sword.

‘This should be enough to preserve the Vice-Captain’s dignity.’

He drew up a little of the energy of the Nine Nether Dark Heaven Scripture.

Tsssssss!

Dokgo Jin’s aura changed completely.

Ink-dark waves of qi rose from his entire body like a haze. It was not merely a manifestation of inner arts.

It was a heavy pressure that seemed to press down on space itself.

“……!”

Yu Seol-ah’s eyes widened.

Instinctive fear.

The man before her felt like a massive mountain, like an abyss whose depth could not be known.

‘Is this…… your true appearance?’

It was an aura that far surpassed what she had assumed.

Her legs almost trembled, but she clenched her teeth and endured it.

‘don't make me laugh. I am the Vice-Captain of the Iron Soul Unit!’

Yu Seol-ah converted her fear into anger and raised her inner arts to the limit. If she backed down now, she felt as though she would never even see that man’s back again.

“Haaap!”

Yu Seol-ah lowered her stance, and her body spun like a top. Her twin swords danced, raising a fierce blade wind.

Twin-Absolute Dance Sword, Fourth Form.

Revolving Twin Dance.

Swish, swish, swish, swish!

A sword strike that maximized destructive power through rotational force rushed toward Dokgo Jin’s neck.

The sword wind was fierce enough to seem as if it would tear Dokgo Jin’s clothes to shreds.

‘A good form.’

Dokgo Jin’s impression ended there.

Even within that storm, his eyes could see a “gap.”

Step.

Dokgo Jin stepped into the storm of sword strikes.

Swish! Swish!

Yu Seol-ah’s twin swords grazed past Dokgo Jin’s ear and shoulder.

The moment she thought she had cut him, Yu Seol-ah felt a chill run down her spine. The sensation of her swords cutting through empty air had been far too hollow.

‘Huh?’

Dokgo Jin disappeared from her field of vision. No, he had not disappeared.

Before she knew it, he was inside her guard, at the deepest point.

Tap.

Yu Seol-ah’s body, unable to stop its rotation, froze. A cold sensation touched beneath her chin.

The end of Dokgo Jin’s wooden sword had stopped right in front of Yu Seol-ah’s Adam’s apple, one inch away.

If she had moved even a little more, she would have thrust her own neck forward.

“……!”

Yu Seol-ah could not even breathe.

Her twin swords were lifted toward empty air as if she were throwing her hands up in surrender, while Dokgo Jin was aiming at her vital point in a relaxed posture, as if he had been there from the beginning.

“When the movement is large, the space inside the guard is bound to be empty.”

“……!”

At that perfect defeat, one that left no room for excuses, Yu Seol-ah could not say a word.

The Iron Soul Unit members watching them erupted into cheers.

Waaaaaaaa!

“To think he would break the Vice-Captain’s Twin-Absolute Dance Sword like that!”

“A real monster has joined us!”

Admiration and awe poured toward Dokgo Jin.

***

The next day.

For the first time in a while, Yeom Baek called Yu Seol-ah to the office on the third floor.

“What brings you here, Captain? You are actually in the office?”

“What do you mean, what brings me here? As the Captain, I have to do at least the minimum amount of work.”

“Ah, it is the report on the Dragon-Tiger Tablet Holder, is it?”

“That is right.”

As he said that, Yeom Baek held out a sheet of paper covered in rough scribbles.

Yu Seol-ah felt an ominous feeling creeping up and asked cautiously.

“What…… is this?”

“A report.”

“Pardon? This scribble is?”

“Unfortunately. I submitted it yesterday, and it was rejected beautifully.”

“…….”

“Organize it so it can be sent up properly.”

“Haa. I knew this would happen.”

Yu Seol-ah grumbled, but still went to her seat and sat down.

It was not as if this had happened only once or twice.

Yeom Baek was weak at writing reports and handling documents, and Yu Seol-ah, as the Vice-Captain, had to polish and organize them again.

Yeom Baek asked with a smile.

“How is our new recruit?”

Yu Seol-ah answered while moving her brush.

“He is doing well. After the Battle Banquet, he became close with the unit members very quickly. I was a little worried because he is a quiet friend, but thankfully, it worked out.”

“I knew it would. A man recognizes another man.”

“Besides, he is bold. This morning, he used the Dragon-Tiger Tablet as justification and asked for his lodging to be changed to a private room.”

“Ha ha, is that what you call adapting well?”

“I fully understand. If he had to use the same room as the other fellows…… ugh.”

Yu Seol-ah shook her head.

“Hmm, does our Iron Heart Hall have an empty room?”

“There is one. Here on the third floor.”

“Ah, I see.”

The first floor of Iron Heart Hall had the dining hall and meeting hall, the second floor had the unit members’ lodgings, and the third floor had the lodgings and offices of the leadership, including the Captain.

It differed by combat unit, but some units had two or more Vice-Captains. However, since Yu Seol-ah was the Iron Soul Unit’s only Vice-Captain, there was an extra room.

“But…… why are you making us do the work twice? You should have called me yesterday.”

“You were teaching the new recruit various things, were you not? I thought I could handle at least this much.”

“You overestimated yourself far too much.”

“I suppose I did.”

It was then.

Yeom Baek’s face hardened as he sensed something. He spoke toward the office door.

“Who is there?”

“I am from the White Fang Corps, Captain of the Iron Soul Unit.”

“……!”

“I have come under the Flag Master’s command.”

The office door opened.

***

Dokgo Jin asked the white-masked figure who had appeared before him.

“Who are you?”

“I am from the White Fang Corps.”

“The White Fang Corps?!”

The White Fang Corps was the White Tiger Flag Master’s direct guard made up of twelve people, also called the Twelve White Fangs.

They were loyal retainers who obeyed only the White Tiger Flag Master’s orders.

‘No wonder his aura is extraordinary.’

Most people who had spent many long years under the White Tiger Flag never even met the White Fang Corps.

‘And that White Fang Corps came for me?’

A strange light appeared in Dokgo Jin’s eyes.

“What business does the White Fang Corps have with me?”

“The White Tiger Flag Master has summoned the Dragon-Tiger Tablet Holder.”

“……!”

“We have already informed the Captain of the Iron Soul Unit, so you may follow me as you are.”

The white mask turned around without even hearing Dokgo Jin’s answer.

“…….”

Dokgo Jin wore a faint smile.

‘Am I finally meeting a Flag Master?’

He immediately followed behind the white mask.

After leaving Iron Heart Hall, the two began walking along the inner castle’s enormous main road.

“…….”

No footsteps could be heard from the white mask walking ahead.

‘They said the greatest guards are close to assassins, did they not?’

The White Fang Corps was certainly extraordinary.

‘The Northern Heaven Alliance…… truly possesses many masters.’

After gauging the white mask’s level, Dokgo Jin’s gaze naturally swept over the surroundings.

‘It really is vast.’

Northern Heaven Castle was an enormous fortress with a permanent population approaching ten thousand.

Its structure was far larger and more thoroughly divided into districts than he had expected.

The western district where they stood, the White Tiger Camp, was truly a rough wasteland.

There were chimneys of blacksmiths’ workshops spewing crimson flames everywhere, as well as stone buildings crudely carved and built.

The scent of iron and coal carried on the night wind made it clear that this was a space made for combat and destruction.

“…….”

Dokgo Jin’s gaze turned to the opposite side. There, houses covered in blue roof tiles stood in rows, and it was the territory of the Blue Dragon Flag, the Blue Dragon Camp.

To the south was the Vermilion Bird Camp, and to the north, in a dark valley, lay the Black Tortoise Camp.

All these territories belonged to the inner castle of Northern Heaven Castle.

Outside them was the outer castle, where residential areas for the families of ordinary warriors and merchants, as well as the enormous market that drove Northern Heaven Castle’s economy, had formed.

Located on the boundary between the inner castle and the outer castle was the Cloud Guest Pavilion, where Dokgo Jin had stayed briefly.

‘They divide the districts, restrict exchanges between them, and naturally make them compete.’

There would be side effects, but it was certainly effective for increasing combat strength.

Before he knew it, Dokgo Jin had followed the white mask into the deepest part of the White Tiger Camp, an area of rugged cliffs.

From this point on, the air was different. It was a quiet and solemn domain untouched by the commotion below.

Before his eyes, at the edge of a sheer cliff, stood a massive pavilion shaped like a crouching beast, precariously yet arrogantly.

Tiger-Watching Tower.

The writing on the signboard seemed to be growling, as if it might leap out at any moment.

After confirming it, a strange light appeared in Dokgo Jin’s eyes.

‘So that is Tiger-Watching Tower.’

It was the residence of the White Tiger Flag Master, called the “spear” of the Northern Heaven Alliance.

There was not a trace of splendor to be found. The ethos of the White Tiger Flag, which worshiped only strength and struggle, radiated from the building itself.

‘Amazing. It is only a building, yet.’

Beyond that pavilion, high above in the dizzying upper levels, an endless staircase faintly continued toward Heavenly Pole Castle, the residence of the Alliance Leader hidden by clouds.

Dokgo Jin recalled the fragmentary information he had about the White Tiger Flag Master.

Among the Five Pillars of Northern Heaven, he was known as the most combative and tyrannical. Dokgo Jin looked forward to seeing just how much force he gave off.

‘Am I finally meeting him?’

Dokgo Jin began climbing the steep stone stairs leading to Tiger-Watching Tower behind the white mask.

It was his first step toward the true tiger’s den, into the deepest heart of it.