Chapter 168 – Breaking Dojos (6)

I knew enough about the Gwangun Sword Family’s swordsmanship style because I had analyzed it thoroughly.

It was neither flashy nor destructive, and it didn’t even pursue speed.

At a glance, it was an extremely ordinary sword style.

This sword style, which looked so simple as to be considered the sword style of one of the 10 great sword families, had a tendency to pursue solidity and stability to the extreme.

And what Kang Su-ah was showing today was the very foundation of the Gwangun Sword Style.

“Just as I heard, it’s a very stable sword style.”

Although I said it indirectly, I was actually saying it was boring.

Because even with good opportunities, she never advanced with a forward step, but always returned to a defensive posture.

“I know what you’re thinking. But the Gwangun Sword Style is not all about stability. People often get taken down after looking at it that way.”

“I know.”

It was a method of waiting for the opponent’s opening with extreme persistence, and then pouring out all their capabilities when the time came.

Kang Su-ah was circling around, waiting for Choi Ho-joong to expose an opening.

She never reacted strongly to small openings.

I don’t know how many times she repeated the pattern of just hitting once and then pulling back.

“You think it’s boring, don’t you?”

“Swordsmanship isn’t done for fun.”

On this part, I was sincere.

The form and method of swordsmanship are not important.

The only value of swordsmanship is to subdue the opponent.

“Choi Ho-joong, was it? He seems to have run out of options, being blocked by Su-ah’s defense every time.”

“Is that how it looks to you?”

“No matter how he attacks, isn’t our Su-ah cutting everything off?”

That was because Kang Su-ah was just waiting for Choi Ho-joong to come in.

Of course, that didn’t mean a perfect defense was an easy thing.

“Ho-joong is also still exploring.”

“That’s what you’d like to believe.”

“Of course not. Hasn’t your daughter also failed to show a single decisive blow yet?”

“Just wait a little longer for that. You’ll see some interesting scenes soon enough.”

Kang Jae-gu gave me a sly smile.

The aspect of the Bimu at a glance seemed to be Kang Su-ah foiling all of Choi Ho-joong’s attacks, but in fact, I was the one holding Choi Ho-joong back.

So that he wouldn’t get excited and launch a barrage of attacks as soon as the Bimu started.

What I demanded was to carefully observe the opponent for at least 10 minutes.

Even if he entered the opponent’s territory, it was to be kept at a level of exploration.

Contrary to what was being shown on the outside, the true aspect of the confrontation was a shield versus shield.

As time passed, Kang Jae-gu seemed to have noticed to some extent.

“It’s a bit different from the Haewon Sword Family’s typical style. It feels like he’s being dragged into our Gwangun Sword Family’s pace, shall I say?”

“Is it because our side is also being too cautious?”

Kang Jae-gu nodded his head.

“But you can’t catch up to the original just by imitating it.”

To some extent, I agreed.

Kang Su-ah was showing great concentration right now.

Like an eagle in the sky eyeing its prey, she was ready to launch her sword at any moment Choi Ho-joong showed an opening.

In fact, since Kang Jae-gu’s side had shown such strong confidence, I had expected them to show something a little different, but the Gwangun Sword Family had stuck to their own signature.

If they hadn’t, I might have been a little disappointed.

Anyway, Kang Jae-gu was also confident of victory with his own logic.

That if the confrontation became loose like this, Kang Su-ah, who would maintain her concentration until the end, would win.

“Our Gwangun Sword Style becomes very cruel the moment the opponent falls into the antlion pit.”

“I see.”

“This bet. It seems I’ll have to take it. The 15 percent stake in the Chamryongdan. Are you okay with that?”

Honestly, betting a stake in a sword unit on a single bet was a crazy thing to do.

But when you had no confidence in losing, it was also a gamble worth taking.

I also had my eyes on something from the Gwangun Sword Family.

“I’m the one trying to swallow a piece of the know-how the Gwangun Sword Family has built up. Are you okay with that?”

“Since I plan to invest in the future of the Haewon Sword Family, I should also bet that much.”

His insight was remarkable.

After being turned down once, a family head would usually not even look at it again out of disgust, but to persistently stretch his demonic hands towards the Chamryongdan’s shares.

Even though it had been almost 10 minutes since the Bimu started, Kang Su-ah showed no signs of faltering.

She was still just loading a big one, waiting for the moment to unleash it.

People started to yawn here and there.

They wouldn’t have come without knowing this style of the Gwangun Sword Style, but it seemed this deadly boredom was unavoidable even when you knew.

‘An antlion pit, he said?’

You could just carve out the entire pit.

Or just smash it.

Before long, 10 minutes had passed.

Choi Ho-joong subtly shifted his gaze to me, looking for a sign.

When I nodded my head, he grinned.

“Family Head.”

“What is it?”

“Don’t be angry.”

Of course, Kang Jae-gu had a look of not knowing what was going on.

“It was a fair fight.”

Kwaaaaaaaang!!!

“And sometimes, experiencing defeat is also a good experience.”

Kwaaaaaaaang!!

At Choi Ho-joong’s successive destructive assaults, Kang Su-ah barely managed to raise her sword to block.

But she couldn’t help but be pushed back unsteadily.

“I trust that you will accept the result without holding any grudges.”

Kwaaaaaaaang!!

The momentum Choi Ho-joong was emitting had changed.

As sword and sword clashed, a fierce roar echoed around the Bimu arena.

Kang Su-ah’s expression, which had been unshaken until now, was already filled with bewilderment.

And above all, her defensive posture had crumbled.

This was not something Choi Ho-joong would miss.

A pinpoint attack that was now properly going in.

Kwaaaaaaaaaang!!!

Ho-joong, you’ve suffered a lot holding back that itch until now.

“H-how can this be!”

And Kang Jae-gu, who was even more agitated than Kang Su-ah.

I slightly bowed my head towards Kang Jae-gu.

Because the antlion pit was being mercilessly shattered, and the Bimu was coming to an end.

***

By my standards, there was no upset.

Choi Ho-joong’s recent growth had been frightening, and it had reached a level where it was difficult to find an opponent among the newcomers.

Above all, the fact that he had faithfully carried out my instructions and strategy was commendable.

I’ll have to give him a gift when I return to the Sword Family.

Kang Jae-gu.

He was trying hard to act calm, but I could fully feel his foul mood.

But I couldn’t postpone receiving what I was owed from the bet just to accommodate Kang Jae-gu’s feelings.

If I had lost, I would have handed over a portion of the Chamryongdan’s shares starting today.

As soon as the Bimu clean-up was over, I went to Kang Jae-gu’s office.

As expected, Kang Jae-gu was sitting with a sour look on his face.

“I don’t think I was able to greet you properly earlier in all the confusion.”

Because as soon as the Bimu ended, Kang Jae-gu had stormed out of his seat.

“And it was a good match. I was deeply impressed by your daughter’s refusal to give up until the very end.”

Of course, I was just being polite.

Only the Gwangun Sword Style itself was slightly interesting; today’s Kang Su-ah was completely overwhelmed by Choi Ho-joong.

To be honest, a slight question mark had attached itself to Kang Jae-gu’s skills as well.

Because there seemed to be a bit of a skill gap to group him in the same category as old man Han Byeong-cheol as one of the Three Sword Gods.

“You look happy.”

“Isn’t winning a match always a happy occasion?”

“We’re both busy, so let’s get straight to the point.”

At Kang Jae-gu’s command, a secretary came in with a document.

The Gwangun Sword Family’s Abyss raid list file that I had requested.

He wouldn’t have played any tricks with this.

He wouldn’t want to tarnish the reputation of one of the 10 great sword families over such a trivial matter.

“For now, I can only show you the list. If you choose one from here, I’ll give you a copy of all the related documents.”

“Thank you.”

I received the document from the secretary.

The quest lists of the Abyss that the Gwangun Sword Family had raided so far were listed.

Like the Haewon Sword Family, as a sword family at the forefront of Abyss raids, unfamiliar quest areas that other sword families had not yet reached caught my eye.

If my prediction that there was a connection between the Gwangun Sword Family and the man-eating humans was correct, I would be able to find a clue somewhere in here.

‘The ghost stories about man-eating humans started circulating recently.’

Then, places that were too old needed to be excluded from the candidates.

Of course, this level of filtering was not enough.

Because the number of recently raided places was not small either.

Thus, one more new filter was needed.

The number and identity of the personnel who raided the Abyss.

If too many people had raided the quest at the same time, it would be difficult to keep their mouths shut, and information about the man-eating monsters would have leaked out.

But since the related information was still being controlled, it was highly likely that only a certain number of people or fewer had participated in that quest.

And I had a hunch that a key figure from the Gwangun Sword Family was among those people.

After filtering one more time like that, the number of candidates I could choose from was clearly reduced to six.

What was left now was to look at the name of the quest and pick one without any basis.

In a situation with no more clues, what I had to believe in was, as expected, Nike’s Ring.

This item that brings good fortune would bring a mysterious harmony to my pick.

“Still thinking? I’m a bit tired, so could you choose quickly?”

“Yes. I’ll choose right away.”

In the end, I chose one that I had a feeling about.

“Hardeon Continent?”

For a moment, Kang Jae-gu’s brow twitched.

I couldn’t tell what it meant, but I could detect a fleeting agitation.

“Yes. It seems to be a 4-page report. I’ll copy it and take it right away.”

“May I ask why you chose this place?”

He was so eager to get me out of here as soon as possible, yet he had to ask something like this.

“Is there any particular reason? They are all unfamiliar places anyway.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

“And it’s impossible to raid it right now anyway. Since I’m still in the early stages of the Abyss.”

Kang Jae-gu looked genuinely surprised to hear about my Abyss raid progress.

While acknowledging my potential, he had come to realize that I was still a green rookie.

“When the day comes that I raid this place in the future, I will refer to it well.”

But for some reason, Kang Jae-gu’s stiff expression remained.

For now, he ordered his secretary to prepare the documents.

Since it had the family head’s seal, it didn’t take long to prepare a copy.

I immediately opened the document I received from the secretary.

Because if I was going to check the contents, I had to check it in front of Kang Jae-gu to see if I could get anything more out of him.

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