Season 3: Chapter 258. The Sword (2)
Honda's strike landed precisely on Almond’s neck. Almond staggered back, almost losing his balance, but he managed to take another step and steadied himself.
They were in a limbo position. Blood trickled from Almond’s neck, dripping off his chin and nose. Instinctively, he touched his neck and could feel it. He was still alive.
[HP: 45%]
Almond had barely avoided a fatal blow. His eyes gradually lowered to see who had struck him.
[Honda]
It was Honda.
Their eyes met and Honda muttered, "A vice commander?"
Due to the samurai’s [Decapitation] trait, even a glancing blow could be lethal if it struck a vital point, especially for a lightly armored spy like Almond.
Since Almond didn’t die, it meant he had to be a vice commander. Vice commanders in the fourth era gained a significant health bonus, making killing them nearly impossible with a single blow. He likely lost just over half his hp.
"They must have placed their bet on you too," Honda said and swung his sword again.
Saaak!
The Japanese sword sliced through the air menacingly. Almond quickly straightened up from his limbo position and raised his sword diagonally.
Kiiing!
The swords clashed with sparks flying.
“......!”
Honda’s footing faltered. Was it luck? The uneven terrain caused him to stumble slightly.
Almond used this brief moment to stand up fully.
Thud.
He successfully put some distance between them.
“Phew.”
They stood in a brief standoff. Almond took a deep breath and readjusted his grip on his sword. The sword tip trembled slightly and beyond it were anxious eyes.
‘I could handle him with a bow.’
He had defeated Honda before, but never with a sword. Almond had ascended through the ranks by defeating all the other aces in Civil Empire, but he had done it with a bow.
Not just in Civil Empire, his life had been a series of challenges and victories with the bow. He had overcome all adversity with his bow, piercing through every difficulty with his arrows.
‘This time...’
This time was different. He could no longer use his bow. Neutralizing the defense towers was his limit. Using it any further would render him unable to wield even his sword.
A sense of powerlessness washed over him. He had felt this way before when he couldn’t solve problems with his bow.
“Is this what you call a report? Huh?”
He was a misfit in this cold and affluent society. He lost all his value just because he couldn’t shoot his bow. He had dreamt of a day when he could shoot his bow again, but such a day never came. Not until he made a significant decision. Not until he took a big step forward.
‘This time too...’
Thud.
He took a step forward first. He accepted that he was the one in a hurry. Honda's goal was to buy time.
Swish!
Almond lunged forward with his sword. He moved swiftly as a spy and aimed for Honda's opening.
Clang......!
The opening had been perfect, but sparks flew as Honda blocked it.
“!?”
Honda had blocked his sword as if it was the most natural thing. Almond swung at another spot.
‘Again...’
Clang!
It felt like hitting a wall.
‘Again!’
Clang!
Honda blocked everything.
“......”
Honda didn’t say a word or take a step. Almond couldn’t speak either. The silence between them filled the space with an overwhelming tension.
Behind Almond, the sounds of battle could be heard.
“Arghhh!”
“Break through!”
“Block them! Block them!”
The fight continued, each side trying to push forward. If he got delayed here or lost in the worst-case scenario, their morale would plummet completely. Everything would have been in vain.
Everyone was watching his back rather than the enemy in front of them. Almond’s success or failure would change the entire outcome.
“Gulp.”
The anxiety made him swallow hard.
‘How much time do I have left?’
He had to take down the enemy commander before the Japanese could do the same. Almond knew this, but he didn’t know exactly how much time he had left.
‘Sword against sword is disadvantageous.’
Facing the Japanese with swords was inherently disadvantageous for an archery civilization like Joseon. This thought made him even more anxious.
Then, it happened.
Ding.
‘Huh?’
A command surprisingly came.
[1 minute]
This short message had a clear meaning. He only had one minute left.
‘Time...’
Time was running out.
***
Clop, clop, clop!
“Did it work?!”
Bread rode her horse and glanced behind.
The commander had suddenly entered commander mode and looked up, seemingly lost. She could give commands in commander mode even outside the palace if needed.
However, it was impossible to control production and her body would be defenseless. It wasn’t something to do as a fugitive, but she did it anyway. It was that important of a command.
“It worked.”
The commander grabbed the reins again. It didn’t take long.
“What kind of order—”
Pew!
A bullet whizzed past Bread. The Japanese had caught on to their location and continued chasing them. Japan hadn’t used cavalry at all, but many horsemen suddenly appeared.
“Damn. They must have built a stable here,” Bread cursed and looked back.
“Can you ride alone?”
Sa-Rang nodded.
“Then...”
Bread jumped off the horse without hesitation.
Thud!
She drew her sword and stood in the path of the oncoming cavalry. She steadied her breath and held her sword upright. The enemies still aimed their guns at the commander, but things changed as she charged at them.
“Arghhhh!”
Her sword struck down one rider and she blocked another.
Thud!
“Ugh, what?!”
“Neigh!”
The horses reared up and caused them to instantly halt. As the samurai and musketeers fell, she swung her sword without hesitation.
Slash!
Slash!
***
Everyone could rest in the hospital room, but some couldn’t rest like the other patients.
“It’s urgent. Too urgent.”
A man sat on the bed and watched the screen with a tense posture. It was Hui-Chul.
“Almond! Almond is facing Honda!? Oh my God, it’s one hurdle after another!!”
“Can he do it!? Best Yi Sun-Shin is already being chased!”
The match quickly turned into an all-out battle. As the original commander of this team, he couldn’t watch calmly.
“I know it’s urgent... just a bit slower. Almond...”
He focused more on Almond’s side than on the commander’s escape. This was far more important. Ringo would likely die at Almond’s hands if they faced each other, so Honda kept defending as Japan’s ace.
It was a strategy completely different from Best Yi Sun-Shin. Ringo believed he could hold out. It was impossible to say who was right at this point. The winner would be proven right. That was the nature of competition. Right and wrong depended on the outcome of a single stroke.
“Can he win with a sword? Against Japan?”
Hui-Chul’s girlfriend, watching beside him, covered her mouth in anxiety.
“He can. We have a fourth era sword and they have a third era sword. At the very least, he won’t be outmatched. Almond needs to realize that. He probably lacks experience.”
Currently, Almond was armed with a fourth era weapon and Honda had a third era weapon. Regardless of the civilization's focus, Almond was in a better state. However, he wasn’t fully aware of this.
Almond was fundamentally an archer, an ace archer. He wasn’t prepared to use a sword, especially not in the fourth era. Joseon was an archery civilization, so it made sense.
However...
“That’s how war is,” Cookie repeated what he often told his team.
“One country’s sword is strong, another’s bow is strong... At first, the differences are significant.”
Historically, especially in wars, that was true.
“But through repeated wars, they learn each other’s strengths. It’s the descendants who label things. Those who lived then had no reason to worry about such things before survival.”
Each side adopted the other’s weapons, learning from their strengths. Discarding weaknesses and embracing strengths.
“That’s true for our swords too.”
Almond had a chance if he fought at his own pace.
***
“Hah... hah...”
Almond couldn’t break through. Honda still firmly held his ground and time ticked away mercilessly.
‘Thirty seconds left.’
With trembling hands, Almond gripped his sword tightly and never took his eyes off Honda’s blade. He didn’t know when Honda would counterattack. Although Honda was on the defensive, he wouldn’t hesitate to take a clear shot.
‘Oh...?’
While watching Honda’s sword, Almond realized something.
‘It’s similar.’
Their swords were similar enough that he couldn’t tell the difference. The third era Hwandos had slight differences, but not his current sword.
Almond briefly examined the Tachi, which was a long sword that evolved from the Hwando. Joseon had developed it after absorbing the advantages of the Japanese sword post-war.
“Tachi is a term used in Civil Empire. Its exact name isn’t fixed.”
He recalled what Hui-Chul said.
“Just as a sword gets stronger with more hammering, so does a nation through war.”
War was about life and death. It was the most fundamental and inescapable issue for all of mankind. They needed to constantly research enemy weapons and explore reasons for defeat. This was true for Joseon too.
“It might seem like Joseon always lost...”
Joseon’s history could seem like a series of defeats, but they survived.
“They survived anyway, so they got stronger.”
They grew stronger, though unseen, and nurtured their inner strength. If Japan’s swords were strong, they melted them down in the foundry. If Mongolia’s bows were strong, they took them apart.
If they couldn’t, their descendants did. If not them, their descendants’ descendants. The blood shed by ancestors seeped into the land, continuing their legacy. New seeds were planted, some never seeing light and facing humiliation. However, some sprouted and bore fruit.
‘This too...’
One of those fruits was now in Almond’s hand.
‘It’s long and similar in reach.’
He hadn’t realized since he was handling a fourth era sword for the first time. The threatening aspects of the Japanese sword were now also in his hands. At that moment—
“!”
He saw a path.
“When using a Tachi, it’s okay to take one step back.”
Bread’s words came to mind. She had been using a Hwando and talked about how to close the distance when facing Japan. She briefly mentioned an exception.
“Their lengths are similar, so this is possible too.”
Swish.
He instinctively replicated her movements and realized it.
‘No need to rush in.’
He didn’t need to close the distance. Even if he was in a more desperate situation, he could strike without moving much if they had the same reach.
Clench...!
He firmly planted his foot and shifted his weight. The kinetic energy traveled through his waist, became rotational force that extended through his arm, and transformed into slashing power at the sword’s sharp edge.
Flash.
That was the right expression. It happened in an instant.
“──!”
Just a blink was enough.
Thud.
Honda widened his eyes as his head fell to the ground.
Almond immediately began running without a hint of hesitation, sense of triumph, or relief.
Thud, thud, thud......!
He sprinted toward the marked red path.
‘Twelve seconds.’
He counted the seconds in his head. Pillars flew past him and the red path shortened.
‘Ten seconds.’
All the spectators stood. The commentators and Hui-Chul also stood in the hospital.
Bread eventually collapsed and died.
Thud!
The approaching horses trampled her body and closed in on Sa-Rang.
Sa-Rang looked exhausted. Even riding the horse required the use of her lower body.
The distance rapidly closed.
Clop, clop!
Almond finally reached the end of the red path.
‘Here.’
Rrrrrr!
He burst through the door of Ringo’s room.
‘Not here.’
Ringo wasn’t there. Almond quickly checked the floor and spotted footprints. He followed them and ran like mad.
‘Six seconds.’
Time was running out. Sa-Rang finally placed her hand on her sword.
Click.
The musketeers aimed at her simultaneously. Thanks to Bread, their numbers weren’t much anymore. Only three remained. One charged with a sword and two carried muskets.
Sa-Rang made her decision.
Swish!
She dashed back and drew her sword.
Slash!
Her blade decapitated the samurai.
Bang!
At the same time, a bullet struck her abdomen.
“... Ugh!”
Almond’s eyes widened.
‘There...!’
He saw it.
Ringo was fleeing on horseback. He had prepared in advance and gained considerable distance. A spy on horseback would be faster, but it seemed hopeless because—
‘Three seconds.’
Bang!
A second shot came flying at Sa-Rang. She couldn’t dodge or deflect it. Her sword had already struck the samurai. She closed her eyes tightly.
[HP: 20%]
A musketeer’s bullet was fatal even if it was only a graze. Their only hope was Almond. He had to catch Ringo first.
Pew!
However, the bullet missed by a wide margin.
‘An arrow?’
Someone had shot the enemy’s arm.
It was Pang. He had survived the sinking and rode toward them. Next to him, Malatang also charged with a moon blade raised.
The musketeers hastily aimed at Sa-Rang again.
‘Two seconds.’
“Phew.”
Almond took a breath and finally pulled out his bow.
Creak......!
‘Just once.’
His right hand trembled and the arrow tip wavered.
‘Upper right, lower left, upper left...’
Almond closed his eyes.
‘One second.’
He released the arrow. The musketeers fired simultaneously.
Bang!
The arrow flew straight and ripped through the air.
Then, a deafening cheer erupted.