WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle

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◈ Raised by a Ruthless Swordsman ◈

Chapter 18: Fierce Battle

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I roughly wiped the blood from the corner of my left eye and cleared my vision.

Before I had a moment to breathe, the second man's sabre was already sweeping toward my side from close range.

I hurriedly stepped back at an angle and slipped out of the sabre's arc. Its tip passed my side by less than an inch and cut through empty air.

I immediately thrust my sword into the center of his exposed chest. I felt the blade push between his ribs through my palm.

Then I quickly turned my gaze aside.

Yang Hyeon was facing a giant his own size, gripping his broad sabre in both hands. His feet were firmly planted, and he did not look likely to be pushed back.

At the same time, Gwak Seok thrust his broad sabre beside him and cut into the man's shoulder. The two seemed to have been sticking close together, and they appeared to be working together well enough.

Then I heard a rustle overhead.

I looked up sharply. Another man was plunging down at me with an axe.

I kicked away the corpse impaled on my sword to free the blade and make space, deflected the axe at an angle, and severed the attacker's wrist.

"Arghhh!"

The hand, still clutching the axe, rolled across the ground. I drove my sword into the screaming man's chest, then pulled it free.

The scream faded.

I shook the blood from my blade and stepped back. Only then did my ragged breathing catch up with me.

Gwak Seok also stepped back beside me, breathing heavily. A stream of blood dripped from the tip of his broad sabre onto the dirt.

"Brother Gwak. Does this happen often on protection convoys?"

"Fuck, this is my first time seeing anything like this too."

Gwak Seok roughly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

I tightened my grip on my sword hilt and looked up.

The slope in front of us had fallen quiet for the moment. The yellow hoods had stopped at the top of the slope, hesitating as they watched us. Though dozens remained, everyone who came down had been killed.

They did not seem able to charge down recklessly anymore.

I turned to the other side.

Green hoods were still rushing down that slope. Du Gi and Jin Song had taken positions at its base, moving back and forth as they cut down the attackers one at a time.

Jin Song's swordwork was short and precise. Each time, he thrust only once at a single point, the side, neck, or wrist of someone rushing down, then withdrew his blade.

Du Gi's swordwork was much the same. His clean, efficient thrusts and cuts flowed with grace.

They were holding their side well, too.

I shifted my gaze toward the front of the procession.

Ma Jeongsan appeared to have been held up near the wagons on his way to the escort captain. He stood in the middle of a group of green hoods.

Ma Jeongsan's sabre was twice the size of an ordinary broad sabre. The blade was nearly half a person's height, and its spine was twice as thick.

A man used to swinging something like that could hardly help but use too much force when testing with a wooden sabre that felt like a toy. Only now did I understand how he had looked back then.

If Ma Jeongsan had faced me that day with this sabre in hand, it would not have been so easy to cut his ankle.

Holding the sabre in both hands, Ma Jeongsan swept it from side to side in a half-circle. Two green hoods standing there were split at the waist and collapsed onto the ground.

One man standing farther back raised a broad sabre to block it, but his sabre broke in two and his head was split apart in the same instant.

Ma Jeongsan raised his sabre above his shoulder once more.

Its weight kept his movements from being fast, but every swing sent two or three people flying at once.

Gwak Seok spoke quietly beside me.

"...That man's no human."

"I agree."

The entire procession was under attack, but almost all the ones falling were bandits.

Then two of the yellow hoods who had been hesitating stepped forward and charged down again.

I slipped inside the arc of the first man's sabre and cut his side.

As he collapsed sideways, another swung an axe at me. I stepped aside, let the axe slide past, cut the side of his neck, and moved through.

The two fell to the dirt almost at the same time.

There were many of them, but none seemed properly trained. They did not appear much different from the bandits I had met in Jang Sam's village.

At this rate, we should be able to get through without much trouble.

That was when a thunderous cry erupted from the rear of the procession.

"Waahhh!"

I turned around.

Black hoods were pouring around the bend in a mass.

At their head ran a huge man carrying a long spear tucked beneath his arm. He was as tall as Ma Jeongsan, though not as enormous as the man blocking the front. Still, his sturdy shoulders and calm, steady steps made him seem far from ordinary.

There had to be more than forty black hoods following him.

A bead of cold sweat ran down my back.

In an open area like this, it would be difficult for each of us to fend off eight attackers at once. And if they reached us, the men hesitating on the slopes would charge down again.

If we were surrounded from all sides, we would collapse in an instant.

I quickly looked around. Cargo wagons stood in a line ahead of us, with the mountainside slope beyond them. The space between the wagons and the slope was narrow.

"Fall back!"

Jin Song shouted from beside me.

"We need to get between the wagons! We have to meet them in a narrow place!"

He had apparently had the same thought. Du Gi had as well, and was already moving backward.

Yang Hyeon flinched as he took a step back with his broad sabre in one hand, but Gwak Seok grabbed his shoulder and pulled him along.

"Come on! This way!"

All five of us moved toward the rear cargo wagon at once.

"Escort Captain! We'll all die at this rate! Clear us a way through!"

Gwak Seok shouted roughly as he ran. Ma Jeongsan, who had been cutting down green hoods pouring off the slope, turned his head toward us.

His gaze reached the black hoods approaching from beyond the bend, and his face hardened.

"Move!"

Ma Jeongsan swung his great sabre with both hands and split apart two green hoods blocking his way. Then he began moving toward us.

We soon reached the cargo wagon.

The two escort warriors guarding it had drawn a sabre and a sword respectively and were laying attackers on the ground. We joined them.

"Turn the wagon sideways! Block the entrance!"

Jin Song shouted to them.

The two escort warriors understood at once and each put a hand against the wagon. Gwak Seok and Yang Hyeon added their hands beside them. Together, they shoved the cargo wagon sideways.

The wagon blocked the narrow road.

By then, the black hoods had reached the other side.

"Die!"

With a rough shout, the foremost attacker stepped onto the wagon. But before he could even climb over, Du Gi's sword pierced deeply into the center of his chest.

He collapsed and rolled back over the wagon.

Another tried to come around the side, but Jin Song cut his neck in one stroke and filled the opening.

Another climbed onto the wagon beside him.

One escort warrior swung his sword and cut deeply into the attacker's side.

They could only come one or two at a time.

Thanks to the narrow passage, the black hoods could not rush in all at once. Whenever one climbed onto the wagon, the nearest of our seven met them. Whenever one tried to come around the side, the person standing there stopped them.

It seemed as though we had finally gained a moment to breathe, but it did not last.

The wagon suddenly lurched violently. The giant kicked its side, climbed onto it with his long spear in one hand, and immediately thrust downward.

An escort warrior raised a sword to block it. But he could not withstand the spear's weight, its downward momentum, and the force behind the giant's strike.

The spearhead buried itself deeply in the center of the escort warrior's chest.

His face twisted sharply, then his knees buckled and he collapsed. Blood poured from his chest.

He was the one who had woken me while standing night watch. We had become familiar and spoken a few times, but now I would never speak face-to-face with him again.

When the escort warrior died in one exchange, I felt Yang Hyeon go rigid.

Without delay, Jin Song moved forward and briefly thrust his sword toward the giant's feet atop the wagon. The giant lightly stepped aside, then drove his spear toward Jin Song's chest.

Jin Song raised his sword and barely redirected the spear to the side. Even so, the weight made him stagger.

The giant did not miss the opening. He lifted his foot and kicked Jin Song in the chest.

"Urk!"

Jin Song's body flew far backward. He rolled once across the dirt before his back struck the wagon behind him and brought him to a stop.

The giant pulled back his spear, kicked off the wagon, and leaped toward Jin Song, thrusting straight at him.

This was no time to conserve Inner Energy. I hurriedly drew the energy in my dantian into my sword and was about to move to knock aside the spear.

Then a great sabre shot out from the side and violently knocked the spear shaft away. The spearhead aimed at Jin Song missed and sank into the dirt beside him.

Ma Jeongsan had finally cut through the green hoods and arrived.

As though unwilling to give him any opening, Ma Jeongsan did not stop. He raised his great sabre over his head and brought it down.

The giant twisted his body in midair, shedding the force pressing against his spear shaft while evading the sabre. Then he landed firmly on the ground with both feet.

The great sabre sank deeply into the spot he had just vacated. Dirt flew up to the side. As Ma Jeongsan prepared himself again, the giant made a short thrust toward his side.

Ma Jeongsan yanked up the embedded sabre and caught the shaft at an angle. The sabre's weight seemed a beat too slow, and the spearhead tore along the cloth at his side before missing. Fortunately, there was no blood on its blade. It seemed only to have grazed him.

Ma Jeongsan planted both feet firmly and raised his great sabre above his shoulder again.

The sabre swept from side to side in a half-circle.

The giant stepped aside at an angle and raised the spear shaft in both hands, preparing to receive the sabre.

The sabre's weight came down heavily upon the shaft, but the giant twisted it once and let the sabre slide away to the side.

Taking that opening, he thrust the spear tip straight toward the center of Ma Jeongsan's chest.

Ma Jeongsan hurriedly stepped aside and pulled back his sabre, redirecting the spear at an angle. Once again, the spearhead tore across the cloth over his chest before missing.

Ma Jeongsan lifted his great sabre above his head again, measuring the distance.

Their exchanges continued.

Whenever Ma Jeongsan struck down from above, the giant moved his feet wildly to evade and delivered a quick thrust. Whenever Ma Jeongsan swept in a half-circle, the giant stepped again, twisted the spear shaft, and slid the sabre aside.

Every exchange was heavy.

If Ma Jeongsan's great sabre landed, it would be decisive. But the giant's footwork kept throwing him off, and the sabre could not reach him.

On the other hand, the giant's sharp thrusts seemed half a step faster than Ma Jeongsan every time. Yet they only tore his clothes and could not inflict a serious wound.

It was the first time I had seen real martial artists fight. And it was a clash between a spear and a sabre. I had only ever faced sword against sword, so it was a sight I had never seen before.

My eyes followed the paths traced by the giant's fast spear and Ma Jeongsan's deep, heavy sabre.

The bandits seemed distracted by the fight as well. Nearby, no weapon sounds could be heard except from those two.

The result of this fight would decide victory or defeat at the rear of the procession.

Then, as their footsteps tangled chaotically together, several large stones suddenly flew toward Ma Jeongsan from the upper slope.

I looked up with a start. Two yellow hoods had positioned themselves on the slope and were throwing stones.

"Scum!"

Du Gi roared unlike himself, leaped up the slope, and severed their heads in an instant. His movement was extraordinary.

But this was not the time to watch Du Gi.

"Escort Captain!"

Gwak Seok's urgent shout rang out. I hurriedly looked at Ma Jeongsan, but the giant's spear had already pierced through his right thigh.

"Urk!"

Ma Jeongsan went stiff, then his right knee buckled onto the dirt. His great sabre sank heavily into the ground beside him.

The giant retrieved his spear in one motion and slowly stepped toward Ma Jeongsan. He wore a sinister smile and moved with ease, apparently certain of victory.

I tightened my grip on my sword.

I had measured the rhythm of their exchanges.

The giant's spear was heavy and precise, but each thrust traveled far. Between the end of a thrust, its recovery, and the next attack, a brief opening appeared with every breath.

If I closed the distance in that gap and redirected the spear shaft, his wrists would be exposed as he held it in both hands.

It was worth trying.

I drew all the energy from my dantian into my feet. With one step, five paces vanished at once.

Only then did the giant's gaze turn toward me. His eyes widened in surprise, but his body reacted quickly. He retreated at once and made a short, quick thrust toward my chest.

It was exactly as I expected. I gently pressed the flat of my sword against the spear shaft, twisted my wrist, and redirected the incoming spear to the side.

The spearhead passed a foot's breadth from my chest.

The giant's face hardened.

Without stopping my rushing body, I used the same turn of my wrist to draw my sword down at an angle. In one sweep, its tip passed across both wrists gripping the spear shaft.

The blade cut through both wrists almost at the same time.

The severed wrists, still clutching the spear shaft, fell in a line onto the dirt. Blood spraying from them struck my face.

I did not stop my sword. I carried it upward, and its tip slashed across the thick blood vessel beside the giant's neck.

He stood stiffly for a moment, his arms empty below the severed wrists, his gaze fixed clearly on me.

Then he fell sideways.

He struck the dirt with a heavy thud.

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