The martial competition had reached its midpoint.
During this time, twenty-five martial artists had already been carried away.
After throwing the fifteenth martial artist, William calmly wiped the blood off his sword with a leisurely movement.
“Today, I’ll have to give my sword a thorough cleaning.”
Though he hadn’t cut through any internal organs, the sword still needed to be carefully cleaned since it was stained with blood. William shook the blood off his fingers and looked around at the martial arena, which was gradually descending into chaos.
“Hey!”
“I offer you my blade!”
“You shall witness the mastery of the Holy Roaring Sword Technique.”
‘What a racket.’
Trying to maintain composure amidst the chaos of a chaotic fight.
William scratched his head as he watched the martial artists who were pretending to look impressive while fighting. Regardless of how openly exposed their vulnerabilities were, none could reach William, who had established an unparalleled presence on the martial stage.
None of those who had charged at him had withstood a single strike. The people on the stage must already have realized this.
The winner of group nine had already been decided. It was either to ignore William, who was standing still and observing from the sidelines, and try to conclude the competition with some dignity, or…
‘Five.’
…form a coalition and somehow challenge William again.
Even though it was an unbecoming sight to see five people ganging up on one, it was unavoidable from the perspective of the participants in group nine.
Charging at him alone against an overwhelmingly powerful opponent was akin to suicide.
If this weren’t a martial competition but an actual battle, the martial arena would have been soaked with blood and entrails.
‘Nevertheless, it’s not entirely impossible.’
This was the thought that simultaneously crossed the minds of five martial artists. The fights leading to the elimination of twenty-five participants hadn’t really been well-coordinated group attacks, had they?
With a brief introduction and some coordination, these five should at least avoid getting easily overwhelmed.
“A cowardly maneuver, but please understand.”
“In combat, there’s no such thing as cowardice. The ultimate truth is that the survivor defines the rules.”
William, replying with a matter-of-fact voice, repositioned himself.
The Ox Guard stance.
Tension began to spread across the martial arena. The six martial artists preparing for battle and the spectators observing the scene.
Everyone’s gaze once again fixed on William.
“We move.”
The five martial artists, maintaining their distances, simultaneously charged in.
Their blades came from different angles, as if to prevent the blade of the blue-eyed swordsman from deflecting them all.
William, scanning the blades, rushed towards the martial artist on the far right.
“Huh?!”
Even without using any advanced techniques like flying movements or advanced footwork, William managed to close the distance with simple, primitive stepping. He deflected the sword that swung leftward and then capitalized on the momentary loss of balance by striking the martial artist on the forehead with the pommel of his sword.
“Uaaaaaah!”
“Next time, work on strengthening your lower body.”
After generously pointing out areas for improvement, William spun around and observed the four charging blades.
‘Their coordination is clumsy, pieced together on the spot.’
It’s difficult to move without interfering with each other even after briefly practicing group formations.
Formations by nature require extensive training over time.
William blocked the blade thrusting in from the far right with his sword’s edge and forcefully pushed it aside. The unexpected strength knocked the martial artist’s blade off course, disrupting the blades of the other three and causing a sharp clang.
“This…!”
“Incredible!”
“Damn it…”
With their swords blocking each other, the result was the swords failing to reach William, and instead entangling their wielders in a messy pile.
‘Time to bring this to an end.’
As there was no one in group nine capable of competing with William, he could resolve the situation whenever he wished. William approached the off-balance martial artist, kicked him aside, and left a long slash on the chest of the nearest one.
Observing the situation, Wang Hu, a member of the temporary cooperative team, braced his legs and deflected the flying sword strike.
‘What power…!’
Recalling the adage of great size equating to great strength, he gritted his teeth.
Forcing the sword to slide diagonally, he narrowly avoided the devastating strike.
Apparently expecting this resistance, William smoothly lowered his body with the slip and immediately swung his sword upward.
The precise sword strike sent the blade in the martial artist’s hand flying.
“…I have lost.”
“Next time, consider evasive maneuvers first. You are trained in footwork, so you should use it appropriately.”
“Thank you for the advice, Great Hero Wi.”
Thus, three eliminations were made.
William rotated his slightly aching shoulder and leaned to the left to dodge an incoming blade from behind. The sword passed harmlessly where he had been.
Grabbing the attacker’s wrist and pulling him close, William immediately attempted a throw.
“Aggh!”
Had the attacker been of similar skill level, this might not have worked, but against someone so far inferior in both technique and experience, there was no way to resist.
Diverting his gaze from the martial artist he had just thrown, William addressed the others who were retreating in awe of his prowess.
“It’s almost time for dinner, so let’s wrap this up soon.”
—————————-
“Uncle was amazing! Every time you swung your sword, someone fell! Tossing, throwing, kicking!”
“Sister Hye-ryeong is right. This was an excellent demonstration of martial skills.”
“Nothing too extraordinary, I simply swung my sword.”
Given the lack of fighters at the peak level, simply avoiding mistakes ensured victory, so receiving praise for this felt a bit strange.
“That’s not true. Great Hero Wi’s performance in the chaotic battle alone will have opened the eyes of many martial artists.”
Is that so?
I merely won in a straightforward way by fighting safely in the chaos.
Deterring attacks with overwhelming presence, efficiently subduing opponents, identifying and quickly neutralizing the weakest links to create opportunities.
Warfare often involved chaotic battles, so this was a method naturally learned—indeed, partly trained through the leader.
If a knight finished charging with a lance and encountered resistance, it marked the start of a chaotic melee. Although the situation was somewhat different due to the heavy armor and aura shields.
In real-life terms, knights were akin to tanks. Here, they were literal ‘tanks,’ their aura-armored charges capable of devastating opponents as though they were being hit by trucks.
“Haha. I managed to make it to the main event by following Uncle’s techniques! So, it was truly remarkable!”
“…Still, it was somewhat tense at the end.”
The last opponent was slightly above Hye-ling’s level. She was distracted while attacking…
And the audience was watching too.
Though I found it a bit irritating, I couldn’t help but notice the swaying chests during the matches. Today, though, they seemed less prominent, as if she had bound them more tightly.
I should probably buy her a sports bra if they existed here.
Such modern conveniences really highlight how fortunate we are in this world.
“In any case, you made it to the main draw!”
“Yeah, yeah, good job.”
Anyway, please stop getting so close in public. People are watching. Let me eat in peace.
I picked up a piece of meat with my chopsticks and savored the marinated flavor.
“This place doesn’t serve a single bad dish.”
“Hehe, the chef in charge of this restaurant once worked in the royal palace.”
Royal palace?
How did they acquire such high-level talent? Someone with this skill set wouldn’t have been let go easily by the royal family.
“For a chef of this caliber to come to the Martial Alliance, something must have happened.”
“Most likely due to internal palace politics…”
Perhaps he lost in the power struggle. I nodded in understanding at Ha-jin’s evasive answer and picked up a dumpling with my chopsticks.
Mm, delicious.
“Uncle, what’s next?”
“Training.”
We need to get our bodies warmed up before the main draw.
I should also mentally review today’s preliminaries.
It was the first time I had the opportunity to witness various martial arts at once, so I wished to reflect on them, perhaps increasing my understanding.
As all martial arts ultimately share common roots, internalizing what I’ve observed could lead to progress in my comprehension.
To fuse European arts with the martial techniques of the Central Plains, such a process is necessary.
Their methods are entirely different.
“I want to train too…”
“Hye-ling, Elder Baek has offered to evaluate your sword technique. After finishing our meal, go to the elder for instruction.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Uncle, see you later…”
“Stop pouting. There are only a few days before the main event, anyway.”
“Whimper…”
I gave Hye-ling’s slumped shoulders a couple of pats before standing up.
“In that case, I’ll take a short walk before heading to the training grounds…”
“Safe travels…”
“Goodbye, Great Hero Wi.”
With their farewells, I left the restaurant.
