Baekma Hill — Part 3
The old man looked at me and smiled.
“It’s been a while.”
“Yes, it has.”
His face was still deeply wrinkled.
His eyes never left the Black Tiger Sword in my hand.
He wasn’t even trying to hide his emotions.
That raw, pungent greed.
“What brings you here?”
“I heard my grandsons made a mistake with you, so I came to check. Thankfully, I wasn’t too late. I was on a business trip and rushed here as soon as I heard.”
“Is that so? Well, they did make a mistake, but I don’t hold it against them. I was just about to leave. Would you mind stepping aside?”
I took a step forward, but the old man twisted his lips into a smirk.
“Hmm, before that, I have a proposition for you.”
“Go ahead.”
“Your sword. Sell it to me.”
“The Black Tiger Sword?”
“Yes, the Black Tiger Sword.”
“This was a gift from the Legion Commander.”
“I know that. So what?”
“Would the Legion Commander approve of this?”
I openly invoked the Legion Commander’s name.
The old man’s eyebrows twitched violently.
I had hit a nerve.
He was about to explode in anger but instead gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, barely restraining himself.
“That’s not something for you to worry about. I have my own plans. The only thing you need to decide is one simple question.”
The old man shifted his body as if he were about to draw his sword.
“Will you sell it or not? I’ll offer you 100 billion won. That’s enough for you to live comfortably for the rest of your life. No, for generations to come. What do you say?” (TL Note: Around 68 million USD)
Clink, clink.
The officers who had accompanied the old man waved their swords menacingly.
All of them were members of the Black Tiger Sword family, each wielding swords engraved with the emblem of a white tiger.
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
100 billion won?
It was a staggering amount of money.
But compared to the true value of the Black Tiger Sword, it was a complete lowball offer.
The Black Tiger Sword wasn’t just an indestructible SSR-grade weapon with high attack power. It was also the very symbol of the Eastern Army’s legitimacy.
If he had offered SSR-grade weapons along with several bonuses, I might have considered it. But for a mere 100 billion?
Not a chance.
“I refuse. The Black Tiger Sword is already my partner. Who in their right mind would sell their partner for a measly hundred billion won?”
“Hah. Bold words. Do you really think you’ll leave here unscathed?”
“I won’t sell it for money. How about a wager instead?”
“A wager?”
“Yes. If you, Major General, defeat me in a one-on-one duel, I will give you the Black Tiger Sword without hesitation. But if I win…”
“And if you win?”
“The 100 billion won will be mine.”
“Hahaha!”
The old man burst into laughter, while the officers around him erupted in outrage.
“How dare he!”
“This fool doesn’t know his place!”
“Just because he’s gained a bit of fame, he thinks he’s invincible!”
“They say a puppy doesn’t fear the tiger!”
“Father—no, Division Commander! Let me handle him! I’ll teach this brat a lesson!”
The old man irritably waved his hand, silencing the officers.
As they clamped their mouths shut, the old man turned to me with an incredulous look.
“Do you even know who I am?”
“I do.”
“And you still think you can challenge me to a one-on-one duel? Do you have a problem with your judgment?”
“You seem confident in your victory, Major General.”
“Of course I am.”
“Then allow me to point out something you might not know.”
“And what’s that?”
“Swordmasters die just as easily as anyone else when they’re stabbed in the gut.”
The old man’s face twisted into a scowl.
As expected, the officers behind him erupted into chaos, hurling insults like, “Tear him apart!” and “Off with his head!”
After enduring the commotion for a while, the old man suddenly drew his sword.
Clang!
A sharp, clear ring of steel.
Though his character might be petty, his skills were undeniably real.
His sword emitted a flash of brilliance, and then dark Sword Qi surged upward like a storm, taking shape.
Sword Force.
It was as if he had plucked the night sky to forge a lightsaber, one of the strongest offensive techniques for a warrior in both martial arts novels and the Arcane Seoul game.
Upon activation, it multiplied attack power several times over and added complex attributes like [Destruction], [Penetration], and [Severing].
Pointing his sword, wreathed in Sword Force, at me, the old man spoke.
“If you kneel and surrender now, I’ll pretend this never happened.”
I drew the Black Tiger Sword and Mjolnir.
“It will be you who surrenders, Major General.”
“Hah! That tongue of yours is sharp. Let’s see if your swordsmanship is just as sharp.”
I took a deep breath.
I was in perfect condition.
The energy from the elixirs coursed powerfully through my body.
I could feel the strength of Mjolnir and Aegis.
The Heart of Abundance and the Geumo Set amplified me further.
The Iron Fist on my hand was solid, and the Star Spawn armor I wore wriggled continuously.
The Prophet’s Ring monitored the old man, while the Eclipse Ring stretched and flexed slowly, preparing itself.
“I’m coming.”
“Come.”
[Giant’s Strength] [Mana Soul] [Swordsmanship Expert]
[Sword Qi] [Flash] [Aerial Assault]
I started with a charge, extending my sword forward.
Lightly tapping the ground, the power of the Geumo Set launched me forward like a cannonball.
Boom!
The sound of air splitting echoed.
Sword Qi surged wildly.
I shot forward like a meteor tearing through the atmosphere, heading straight for the old man.
His face, which had been grinning the entire time, finally cracked.
“Hah!”
A single sharp cry—whether of admiration or exertion, I couldn’t tell.
He twisted his sword, countering with a strike.
A black fang seemed to pierce toward my head, the sheer force stabbing at my back like a predator’s warning bite.
I twisted my body instinctively, dodging the strike at a 90-degree angle while sweeping my sword in a wide arc.
[Tiger King Sword Technique]
The fourth technique.
Tiger King’s Flight!
The Sword Qi flew outward.
It wasn’t a flash but a crescent arc.
The Sword Qi I sent was swallowed whole by the old man’s Sword Force.
The old man shifted his counterattack into a defensive maneuver, blocking my strike.
However, my attack didn’t end there.
This was only the beginning.
[Divine Power] [Holy Radiance] [Divine Relic]
[Throw] [Empathic Vision] [Mana Explosion]
I hurled Mjolnir.
I incorporated part of my Paladin build into the throw, even enhancing it with the new trait I had just acquired.
Boom!
A thunderclap resounded as lightning struck down.
The old man’s eyes widened.
The composure and arrogance he had shown earlier vanished without a trace, replaced by shock and disbelief.
“Divine Power? Impossible!”
Even for a Swordmaster, it wasn’t an attack to be taken lightly.
The old man swiftly brought his sword in front of his chest.
With a light circular motion, the blade, along with the Sword Force surrounding it, vibrated and spread out like the ribs of a fan.
From this, a circular barrier formed— a Sword Shield.
Bang!
Mjolnir crashed violently against the Sword Shield.
The barrier, constructed from condensed Sword Force, held firm and didn’t shatter.
But the storm of lightning and explosions didn’t relent until Mjolnir returned to my hand.
The officers standing behind the old man gawked at me in disbelief.
“W-what is that?!”
“That’s impossible! Is he a Paladin of Thor?!”
“I thought he was just an honorary Paladin!”
“No Level 5 could do something like this!”
At a glance, it looked as though I had the old man on the ropes.
But that was only because of the difference in gear.
The old man was wearing several magical artifacts—an undershirt, a watch, greaves, medals, a beret—but they couldn’t compare to mine.
All my gear was at least SR-grade, and thanks to [Divine Relic], I was maximizing the effects of Mjolnir and Aegis.
Still, letting my guard down for even a second would be fatal.
Even though he was far weaker than the Massacre Empress, a single slash from him could kill me all the same.
Suddenly, a chill ran down my chest.
I instinctively raised Aegis to block my heart, and an ominous black glow erupted forth.
Crash!
It was pure instinct that saved me.
[Vajra Body] [Undying] [Mana Soul]
[Mana Shield] [Shield Bash] [Empathic Vision]
Had I not cycled through these traits and blocked in time, I would have died.
The proof was in the faint white barrier of Aegis, now cracked halfway through.
Dash!
Following the Sword Force, the old man charged forward.
His cold, unshaken eyes locked onto me.
Even if he couldn’t compare to the Legion Commander, a Swordmaster was still a Swordmaster.
Despite lacking any movement skills, he closed the gap between us in an instant.
His blade, like a black tiger, descended to split my head in two!
“Ugh!”
A head-on clash with a Swordmaster was suicide.
Instead, I threw myself backward.
[Aerial Assault] activated, flipping me into the air automatically.
The world turned upside down.
As I twisted midair, my hands moved quickly.
Reaching for my waist, I swapped out the Black Tiger Sword and Mjolnir for dual pistols.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
“Tricks!”
I had imbued the bullets with the [Stun] attribute.
The old man roared in frustration.
The bullets didn’t harm him, but they bought me 0.1 seconds.
And that was enough.
Crash!
I hurled Mjolnir again.
Even the old man couldn’t ignore it, forcing him to block with his Sword Shield.
In the meantime, I reloaded the dual pistols I had briefly tossed into the air and resumed firing.
Then, catching Mjolnir on its return, I hurled it again while activating [Mana Explosion], disrupting his sight before charging forward.
“Hah!”
I seized the initiative.
The old man ground his teeth as he met my assault head-on.
Boom! Boom! Bang!
Mana clashed with mana, crackling and snarling as though trying to consume each other.
Sweat evaporated from the sheer heat, forming clouds of white steam.
Both of our faces were flushed red.
Our eyes were bloodshot to the point where it was hard to recognize either of us.
The old man unleashed a series of razor-sharp counters, each one carrying the killing intent of a seasoned warrior.
I barely managed to block them with Aegis.
The Black Tiger Sword unleashed sharp arcs of light, each strike aimed to deflect his blade.
As I parried one of his slashes, Mjolnir flew in for a strike.
I even slammed him with Aegis, rammed him with my shoulder, and shot him with my pistols whenever there was an opening.
Sparks flew from the old man’s eyes.
No, they were reflected sparks from my own eyes as I switched traits repeatedly.
Every second.
No—nearly dozens of times per second.
The constant trait-switching caused electricity to spark from my brain and eyes.
Under normal circumstances, no matter how skilled I was at switching traits, I would have already lost my head by now.
But one particular trait kept me standing.
[Mars Swordsmanship]
The ultimate combat sword technique.
With this trait equipped, I became the epitome of a master—a seasoned warrior with countless battles under his belt.
My attacks were sharper and more aggressive than any ordinary Swordmaster.
I could effortlessly overcome critical moments, break through impenetrable defenses, and tear apart the old man’s stability.
“Die!”
The Warrior’s Black Tiger Sword.
The Paladin’s Mjolnir.
The Defender’s Aegis.
The Gunslinger’s Dasan Guns.
The Brawler’s Close-Combat Mastery.
I brought all my builds together to push the old man to his limits.
But still, he held firm.
It wasn’t easy.
With the composure of a mountain and the steadfastness of an iron wall, he blocked, countered, and deflected every single one of my attacks.
The old man was ordinary.
By no means was he a genius.
If I had Trait Swap, he had nothing of the sort.
But even an ordinary person has their own path.
Though he had been compared to his father, his siblings, and his peers, he had never stopped honing his blade.
And so, he reached the realm of Swordmaster.
There was nothing flashy or fancy about his techniques.
Yet he stood his ground, safeguarding himself with an unyielding will.
His petty, narrow-minded character aside, even the jealousy and inferiority complex that fueled him had been tempered into his blade.
‘This isn’t working.’
I could see it.
The moment the elixir’s effects wore off.
The instant my stats began to diminish.
When the old man fully adapted to my style and launched a proper counterattack—
The result would be my severed arm and me kneeling in defeat.
The Prophet’s Ring showed this future clearly.
I lacked one decisive strike.
One final blow to finish him.
The Meteor Sword, which had served me well numerous times before, was no different this time.
If I were Level 6, I might have been able to manifest Sword Force myself. But for now, I was still Level 5.
‘I have no choice but to take a risk.’
I pushed forward with even greater intensity.
There was no point in deliberately showing weaknesses—such tricks wouldn’t work against a Swordmaster.
Instead, I gave it my all, pouring every ounce of strength I had into my attacks, gritting my teeth as I struck with everything I had.
All while keeping the bigger picture in mind.
I wasn’t just fighting for the moment—I was planning for what would come after the elixir’s effects wore off.
The more ferociously I attacked, the more the old man’s eyes deepened.
His gaze was like an abyss, cold and inscrutable as he observed me, scrutinizing my offensive.
The battlefield grew silent.
Even the officers, who had been making such a fuss earlier, fell quiet, watching the clash between the old man and me.
They knew.
Although it looked like I had the upper hand, the reality was far from it.
Even with over ten advanced traits.
Even with hundreds of other traits at my disposal.
I still couldn’t surpass the one pinnacle trait of the Swordmaster—[Master of the Blade], the ultimate expression of dominance in swordsmanship.
For more than thirty minutes, I unleashed a relentless onslaught.
But in the end, I couldn’t bring the old man down.
Crack.
The sound was faint but ominous.
The disaster I had been dreading finally arrived.
The elixir’s effects had worn off.
My strength and endurance weakened slightly, my senses dulled a bit, and my mana flow slowed just enough to make a difference.
Was that all it took?
The old man’s deep, meditative eyes flickered with a sharp glint.
Flash!
His Sword Force struck directly toward my chest.
It was a flawless attack.
At that moment, I had just swung Aegis to strike the old man, leaving me unable to block with my shield.
Normally, I could have slipped away smoothly, perhaps throwing Mjolnir or unloading my pistols in response.
But the small gap created by the elixir’s expiration was all it took to break my rhythm.
Desperately, I activated [Iron Fist].
Steel scales enveloped my entire body.
I added [Mana Armor] to the mix.
Then layered on [Domain Shield], [Mana Shield], and [Mana Barrier].
It was essentially a five-layered defense.
Ordinary attacks wouldn’t even scratch me.
The problem, however, was that this wasn’t an ordinary attack—it was Sword Force. And the one wielding it was a Swordmaster.
Slash!
Everything was pierced.
A sickening sound of flesh being rent apart.
A searing pain tore through my chest as if I were being branded by fire.
“Gah!”
Blood spilled from my mouth.
At the last second, I twisted my body to avoid having my heart destroyed.
But that was as far as I got.
The old man’s sword stabbed clean through me, protruding from my back.
His cold gaze bore down on me.
The old man looked at me with arrogant disdain.
“Well done.”
His tone carried a grudging hint of praise.
“But this is the end. Surrender. For the sake of the Legion Commander’s honor, I’ll spare your life.”
A faint smirk tugged at my lips as I spat out a short, mocking laugh.
“This insolent brat…”
The old man’s eyebrows twitched in irritation.
He gripped his sword tightly, now weakened from having pierced through my Iron Fist and the layered barriers.
It was clear he intended to channel Sword Force again to tear me apart completely.
But I was faster.
Even with the sword lodged in my chest, I reached out with both hands and grabbed the old man’s arm.
Crunch!
Then I squeezed, crushing his arm entirely.
Despite his age, his arm was thick and strong.
But once caught in my grip, there were no exceptions.
The bones in his arm shattered into dozens of pieces, leaving it limp and useless.
“Arghhhh!”
The old man let out a pained scream, a sound unbecoming of his dignity.
“D-Division Commander!”
“Father!”
The officers screamed in shock as they called out to him.
Still impaled by the sword, I moved behind the old man.
With my unyielding arm, I wrapped it around his neck in a chokehold.
My other arm locked tightly around his waist.
With just one twist, I could snap his neck.
“Cough…! What will you do?”
He coughed up blood as he spoke.
“Will you make me surrender… or…”
I ignored the pain radiating from my chest.
I had [Undying], the ultimate regeneration trait.
As long as my head wasn’t severed, my heart wasn’t split apart, or my brain wasn’t destroyed, I wouldn’t die.
The old man closed his eyes tightly.
“…I surrender.”
The larger plan I had been working toward from the beginning had succeeded.
I, a mere Level 5.
Despite gaining fame recently, I was nothing more than a promising talent in the eyes of the superhumans who stood above the clouds.
And yet, this was the moment I officially defeated a Swordmaster.
–TL Notes–
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