〈 Episode 524 〉OMAKE #006, The Invincible Military God
Pwaaang!?!
The bamboo staff cut through the wind with a whistling sound. The man narrowly avoided the spear aimed at his eyes by turning his head and tumbled to the floor.
The black-haired woman stood silently with her spear. Her long black hair, reaching down to her hips, lay neatly spread out. The man got up, clearly irritated.
“Hey! Are you crazy?! Are you trying to kill me?!”???
“This is real combat. You never know what might happen.”
“What if I get hurt? What if I go blind from a pierced cornea?”
“I can stop precisely in front of your cornea… It seems Commander lacks faith in me.”
The woman kicked the tip of her spear and lunged forward. The sharply honed spearhead stopped just a paper’s thickness away from the man’s throat. Tensing up like a frog facing a snake, the man swallowed hard.
Gulp. “Kehp?!”
Why did he swallow? By swallowing, his throat moved and the spear tip pierced it. The woman quickly retracted her spear and looked out the window.
“…This isn’t my fault.”
“If it’s not your fault… Hah. Never mind. Another loss added to my tally.”
The man slumped his shoulders and got up. The woman extended her hand, which he took. Compared to the woman’s rock-hard hands, his were infinitely soft.
“So this is the famous hands of a warrior…”
“I’m ashamed. Compared to Lady Yuna and others…”
“They’re all ranged attackers. You’re different. You’ve been wielding weapons since childhood. And listen…”
The man firmly grasped the woman’s two hands. Her face turned red.
“It’s because you’ve become so strong that we’ve come this far. Always thank you.”
“Let’s reflect on today’s training.”
The woman knelt on the wooden floor. The man followed suit. Sunlight filtered through the paper windows, warmly illuminating the floor. The woman placed her spear beside her and smoothed her hair over her collarbone.
The man chuckled wryly.
“You still haven’t broken that habit.”
Startled, the woman touched her hair resting on her knees. A lifelong habit isn’t easily changed in just a month.
Xiao Lin closed her eyes briefly to calm her mind.
“I am no longer the bird trapped in Father’s cage. I am no longer someone confined by the name ‘Unjang’.”
Xiao Lin smiled softly as she folded her hands on her knees.
“I am your Military God. Your strongest Hero who follows your orders first and foremost.”
“Isn’t it embarrassing to call yourself the strongest?”
Xiao Lin’s lips curled slightly downward.
“It’s the truth. And doesn’t Park Ra-on say the same about being stronger?”
“…Ah, no. That’s not it.”
The man chuckled nervously at the cold sweat running down his back. Trying to joke around had only fueled her competitiveness. Xiao Lin covered her mouth with her fist and giggled.
“You seem so childlike at times, Commander.”
“…Are you teasing me for being childish?”
“No. You’re cute. But don’t do that with others. They might misunderstand. Especially Yui Nah.”
“Why would Yui Nah-”
Xiao Lin froze mid-laugh. The man clearly didn’t understand the implications. Touching the ring on her left ring finger, Xiao Lin calmed herself before changing the subject.
“Let’s reflect on today’s training. Do you remember how many losses this makes?”
“…33 battles, 33 defeats.”
The man looked dejected. Xiao Lin nodded seriously.
“That’s right. 33 defeats. That means you’ve been killed by me 33 times.”
“Just wait. One day I’ll knock you out with a single blow.”
“If you can.”
Xiao Lin struck the man’s head with her spear like lightning. Clutching his head with both hands, the man shot Xiao Lin an aggrieved look.
“I’ve always wondered – does this actually work?”
“…At best, your current level could be considered D-Rank. But Commander must train your body. For Phoenix who gave you her core and passed away, leaving her heart with you.”
“I get that part. What I don’t understand is-”
The man started to protest earnestly. Xiao Lin prepared herself for the inevitable.
“With this much mana alone, I can defeat any monsters or fiends. Why bother with forms and martial arts when you can just rely on physical strength?”
“Geehrrr!”
The Military God unleashed a lion’s roar. The man flinched and became subdued. Though perhaps too loud, Xiao Lin decided to use this opportunity to reinforce discipline.
“Don’t you know the saying ‘a healthy mind in a healthy body’? The same applies to mana. If sheer mana quantity determined victory, how could I have defeated Ya Huang and Princess Seolhwa?”
“…That’s true.”
The man acknowledged Xiao Lin’s point. Indeed, though ranked lowest in mana capacity, she had emerged victorious in the team’s mock martial arts tournament.
“In the end, it’s about how efficiently you use your mana. Even if you have mana overflowing like the sea, there’s no need to use a water tank to boil instant noodles.”
“…Hmm.”
Though something felt off, the man decided to let it pass and nodded silently.
“We don’t know what challenges lie ahead. To bring out close to 100% of Commander’s potential, there’s no other way than to strengthen yourself. If… someday…”
Xiao Lin lowered her head with a bitter smile.
“I were to be killed in battle, then Commander must-”
“That won’t happen. Absolutely not.”
The man declared firmly. His slouched shoulders straightened, his half-closed eyes opened wide.
“I will never allow you to die. If such a thing were to happen…”
The man swallowed hard before continuing.
“I’d reset this world.”
“…I don’t know what you mean. But I understand your resolve. Please approach future training with that determination.”
Xiao Lin stood up and approached the man. As he tried to stand, he winced.
“…Feels like a rat biting me.”
“…Did you forget about wrapping mana around it?”
Xiao Lin lifted him effortlessly by placing her hands under his armpits. Like a cat, the man was smoothly raised upright and chuckled awkwardly before hastily pulling his buttocks back. Xiao Lin blushed as she noticed the bulge in his pants swelling slightly and gently set him down.
“……Ahem, cough!”
“……Commander?”
“I-I-it’s a physiological reaction! I can’t control it!”
The man shouted defensively despite feeling embarrassed, but Xiao Lin understood completely, smiling faintly before clapping her hands.
“Let’s end today’s training here and do some cool-down exercises, shall we?”
“Eh, yeah. Usual stretching-”
Xiao Lin looked up lazily at the man. Without realizing, the man swallowed hard while checking his watch. The hour hand had just passed eight.
“Sh-Shao Lin? We haven’t even had breakfast yet and the regular meeting starts at nine-”
“Commander.”
Xiao Lin loosened the hair covering her chest slightly.
“Would Commander run away from the battlefield? Hehe, if you give the order…”
Xiao Lin rose on tiptoe and whispered into the man’s ear.
“I’ll forfeit my vacation and go full course with this week’s training.”
“Shao Lin.”
The man gripped Xiao Lin’s shoulders with determined resolve.
“I never fight losing battles.”
A new battlefield unfolded on the tatami mat.
* * *
Drrrrk. The bridge door opened and the commander appeared in his black uniform.
“You’re late! Where have you been until now?!”
“N-Nuri. Don’t be so harsh…”
Ya Huang was causing trouble while the Holy Maiden tried to calm him down. Walking awkwardly, the man’s appearance made Cheong-un frown deeply as he whispered to the two.
“…It smells lewd.”
“What?!”
Ya Huang glared fiercely at the man, ready to grab his collar. The people on the bridge watched uneasily as the Holy Maiden blocked the man’s path with a dark expression.
“I-I baked your favorite dessert, Commander…”
“Yui Nah.”
Hearing his name, the Holy Maiden’s face lit up.
“Yes!”
“Thanks to you, I won.”
The man patted the Holy Maiden’s head and slumped into the captain’s chair.
For a victorious general, he seemed rather dazed. The three temporarily agreed to investigate what had happened later and began the regular meeting. Despite obvious signs of fatigue, the man skillfully led the meeting.
“Commander, here’s your coffee.”
“Thank you.”
The man took the coffee offered by the Holy Maiden and drank it all at once. While the meeting momentarily slowed down, the man muttered unconsciously.
“Thanks to Yui Nah, I won. The Military God was a tough opponent…”
The temporary adjutant and Holy Maiden Yui Nah smiled smugly beside the man, though she wasn’t sure why he brought up past events. Knowing she had helped defeat the Military God filled her with renewed energy.
Fortunately, the biggest obstacle to her plans, Military God Shao Lin, wasn’t present. The Holy Maiden already knew Shao Lin had gone on vacation starting today.
May this moment never end. The Holy Maiden prayed earnestly by the man’s side.
“You perverted bastards! If you were going to do it in the training room, shouldn’t you have aired it out?!”
Seol Hwa Princess’s entrance dropped the bridge temperature below zero.
“When I said go to sleep quietly, you gave me shame, didn’t you?!”
“Uwaaaahhhhh!!!”
Ya Huang finally grabbed the man by the collar and shook him while the Holy Maiden burst into tears. Cheong-un gripped his spear in the corner of the bridge. An operator rushed to stop him.
“C-Cheong-un-sama! There must be no fighting!”
“Let go. Today is the day I settle things with the Military God.”
“I’m coming too! I won’t hold back anymore!”
While they argued, the Military God had already left the ship on vacation. The man lost consciousness.
* * *
♪♬
A sparrow perched on the railing. The man wanted to shoo it away with his hand, but he had none to spare.
With arms severed above the elbow, the man weakly chased away the sparrow and pushed his wheelchair with a sullen face. With no one behind him to help, the ruler of all under heaven had to push his own wheelchair.
Clunk, clunk. A woman in a green dress appeared across the garden. She had discarded the traditional clothing the man had so insisted upon, wearing instead elegant Western attire.
“I’ve arrived, Father.”
“…I never had a daughter like you.”
“Would you even be alive without me? All the people want to kill you.”
Shao Lin twisted her lips in mockery, causing the man – Mo Taegyeong – to contort his face.
“If it weren’t for those bastards, my grand plan would have succeeded! If only you hadn’t spread your legs for that foreigner-”
“Father, I forgive your insults toward me. But…”
Shao Lin disappeared from Mo Taegyeong’s field of vision. She grabbed the wheelchair from behind. Having someone capable of slicing her neck with a mere gesture standing behind her caused Mo Taegyeong’s whole body to shiver.
“I cannot forgive your insults toward him.”
“Then kill me! Rather than live like this, I’d rather die!”
“You don’t even have the courage to bite your tongue?”
Mo Taegyeong swallowed hard. Shao Lin’s words pierced his heart like a dagger.
“…As much as I’d like to kill you myself, since he doesn’t wish it, consider yourself lucky. Keeping you alive in this garden is the minimum mercy I can offer and the final filial duty for being raised by you.”
“What has made you like this? Was it because I forced you to live as Unjang? Because I sacrificed the Red Earth and millions of people? Because I killed the President and declared myself Emperor? Why!!”
“…The wind is cold. Go inside and rest.”
Shao Lin released the wheelchair and left the garden.
How long had she walked? The melancholy mood during her aimless stroll across the plains had somewhat dissipated after essentially severing ties with her last remaining blood relative. At that moment, she suddenly longed to see the first and only man she had ever loved.
“Hm?”
A call came in. It was the man.
[Shao Lin! Sorry! I’m coming your way-]
“I already know. Thanks for letting me know.”
She could feel ominous mana approaching on the wind. Dark, damp, cold mana heading toward her. Just then, another call came in from Ya Huang.
[You thieving cat! Stay right there! I’m coming with Cheong-un and Seol Hwa Princess to teach you a lesson!]
“Perfect stress relief while I’m feeling down.”
Shao Lin broke off a tree branch.
“Let’s re-establish the rankings again, shall we? Who truly belongs by His side. Come try to beat me. Then…”
Shao Lin raised her left hand and flipped it back and forth. The ring on her left ring finger sparkled in the sunlight.
“I’ll give you this.”
Smiling as she watched three chunks of jealousy fall from the sky, Shao Lin gripped the branch backwards and swung it high toward the heavens.
About an hour later.
The finger pointing to the sky of the plain still sparkled with the ring on the Military God’s hand.
