Chapter 167

Somewhere in the desert stretching across the southern edge and central region of the Empire.

On sand dunes long abandoned by human footsteps, a bright full moon rose and hung in the sky. Tonight, the moonlight was unusually clear, faintly illuminating the desert.

Under that cool moonlight, two men—Yuwon and Colbus Seral—stood facing one another, glaring without restraint. A chilling killing intent swirled between them.

“…Dual daggers? After losing the White Dragon Sword that day, was that really all you chose?”

As if finding the pair of daggers Yuwon had drawn rather unexpected, Colbus sent a subtle provocation, his eyes brimming with curiosity.

The sword was called the king of all weapons, and yet a warrior of Yuwon’s caliber had chosen daggers. That alone was strange enough. And not just one, but two. Weapons more suited to back-alley ruffians than to someone like him.

“Don’t worry. You may look forward to it. To begin with, the White Dragon Sword was merely a practice sword to me. These are far closer to my true strength.”

As if to prove his words were not empty, Yuwon spun the daggers in both hands with a swift flourish before gripping them again. At that sight, Colbus let out a quiet chuckle.

“To think the White Dragon Sword was only a practice sword. Does that mean you made a name for yourself and piled up achievements even while wielding nothing more than that? Ah, now that I think about it, that does make sense.”

“Even if I had been holding a wooden club instead of the White Dragon Sword, the result would have been the same. Of course, only the ‘battle result’ would have been the same. The aftermath might have turned out a little differently. A wooden club lacks style.”

“Ah. Indeed. Of course it does. For someone destined to be hailed as a hero, style is an indispensable element.”

On the eve of a battle that would decide life and death, the two spoke as if they were close friends, exchanging idle banter. But the conversation, which began as a joke, shifted its direction when Colbus turned serious.

“Before that, there is one thing I wish to ask. Fifth Prince.”

“…What is it?”

“Where, and how, did you learn the Mana Core?”

“The Mana Core?”

At Yuwon’s feigned ignorance, Colbus narrowed his eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them.

“You’re not going to say you don’t know.”

‘What even is a Mana Core?’

In truth, Yuwon genuinely did not know what a Mana Core was. But seeing the seriousness on Colbus’s face, he could not bring himself to admit ignorance. He pondered, and the answer came quickly.

‘So that’s what he means—accumulating inner energy in the dantian…! But how did he find out?’

At the same time that thought surfaced, Yuwon’s gaze focused on Colbus’s lower abdomen.

‘This man…! He’s storing mana in his dantian!’

A faintly perceived yet magnificent flow of energy. The source of Colbus’s power flowed from his dantian. It was something Yuwon had completely overlooked, having focused solely on the sheer magnitude of the enemy’s power.

‘To think there’s someone else in this world, besides me, who harbors power in the dantian… Is this also one of the traces my father left behind…?’

Ever since coming to this world, Yuwon had always examined his enemies with their hearts as the focal point. Since the flow of their mana began there, it was only natural. But having grown accustomed to that, he had neglected to examine the dantian. Then Colbus appeared before him, delivering a fresh shock.

Suppressing that shock from showing on his face, Yuwon answered calmly.

“I cannot tell you.”

At Yuwon’s gentle yet firm refusal, Colbus smiled as though he had expected nothing less.

“Then I suppose I will have to find out myself. I, too, have reasons why I must uncover it.”

“You seem to think you can.”

Yuwon smiled.

“Do you think I can’t?”

Colbus returned a similar smile.

That battle of intent did not last long. If their hierarchy could have been settled through such a clash alone, the two would not have been standing here, blades drawn against one another.

“…We’ve spoken long enough. Then, let us begin.”

Colbus adjusted his grip on the longsword in his hand and aimed it at Yuwon.

“….”

Yuwon answered only with a light nod.

—

Thud—!

Following the sound of feet striking the sandy ground, Yuwon and Colbus vanished at the same time. No—they seemed to vanish, but that was not the case.

Sharper than the blades in their hands, their eyes gleamed with piercing light. Not for a single moment did either of them lose sight of the other.

‘The Fifth Prince is fast…!’

‘This bastard—don’t tell me he’s actually keeping up with my speed…!’

As each struggled to conceal their shock at the other’s movements, their gazes met and tangled in midair.

Yuwon’s blue eyes and Colbus’s black pupils both shone with intense momentum. Their gazes were so sharp they seemed capable of piercing directly into the mind, reading each other’s movements.

‘It’s coming…!’

‘Hah…!’

The collision of gazes soon became a physical collision. Yuwon and Colbus thrust their blades toward one another simultaneously, at the fastest speed each could muster.

Screee—!

Following the sharp sound of air being torn apart, their movements traced shining arcs through the empty space. The mana infused in their weapons could not keep up with the speed at which the blades advanced, creating that phenomenon.

At the end of those advancing arcs—

KWA—A—A—ANG!

The blades collided, erupting in a thunderous roar. Instead of a metallic clang, the impact was accompanied by the explosive sound of mana detonating. In the aftermath of the collision, the mana clinging to each weapon scattered like sparks, whipping up a sandstorm.

Flutter—!

Grains of sand danced through the air. Behind them, remnants of mana fluttered wildly like flower petals.

A spectacular sight of manifested mana scattering and vanishing at random. Though the movements of the two transcendent beings could not be followed by the naked eye, the explosions that erupted each time they clashed were spectacle enough.

“These insane bastards… You’re telling me they’re the same kind of human?”

“…”

Bernid spat out a curse at the sight unfolding before his eyes, while Hastings fell silent, concentrating with all his might to follow even a single instant of that duel with his eyes.

Hastings and Bernid. Their impressions were not what mattered. Around the two men facing each other in the distance, flashes of light burst forth.

Flash—!

Yuwon’s blade tore through the air, and immediately after, Colbus’s sword spewed light. After that brief moment when the flashes bloomed, the two revealed themselves again amid a sharp metallic clang.

Clang—!

At the very center of where the two had been facing each other at a distance just moments before, they now stood with their blades pressed together.

Grrrk— grrk—!

A grating sound of metal grinding against metal rang out from between the crossed blades. It was a rare sight in a duel between swordsmen who wielded mana.

Refined sword aura was something that cut through iron as if it were radish. Thus, battles between mana-wielding swordsmen were normally decided by the sheer force of mana. However, the clash between Yuwon and Colbus could not be settled so simply.

Dragon and tiger locked in combat. The mana the two released failed to establish superiority, and the mana infused in each blade canceled the other out, leaving blade to clash directly against blade.

It was a contest of strength between a pair of dual daggers and a single longsword.

“Ghk…!”

“Hrk!”

Yuwon and Colbus. Veins bulged along the forearms of the two gripping their weapons, and sounds that were neither quite battle cries nor groans leaked from between clenched teeth. It was proof that both were exerting their full strength in this contest.

This was not a simple test of brute force, as it appeared. If one side merely pushed with raw strength, it would indeed be nothing more than a straightforward contest. But the two men facing each other here were not such greenhorns.

If, during a contest of blades, one side suddenly withdrew strength, the opponent who had been pushing with full force would inevitably lose balance. And in a battle between men of Yuwon and Colbus’s caliber, losing balance for even a single moment meant death.

The two subtly adjusted the strength in the hands gripping their swords, seeking even the slightest opening. With every minute change at their fingertips, both wagered their very lives.

Grrrk— grrk—!

Had they continued exchanging blows by crashing blades, it would have been enough time to clash ten times, twenty times—no, several dozen times over. Yet with their blades still locked together, Yuwon opened his tightly shut mouth and voiced a sincere compliment.

“Ghk, you bastard…! As expected, you’re no joke!”

“And you yourself…!”

It had been expected, but seeing it in reality was even more astonishing. The level of accomplishment the two enemies displayed to one another was more than enough to leave each of them shaken.

‘If I had lived an ordinary life as Tang Yuwon, I could never have reached such heights. To think there was a monster in this world for whom words like common sense meant nothing…!’

‘So there truly is always a higher sky above. To think someone three or four years younger than me has achieved this much… The world wasn’t small—my vision was.’

This was not idle chatter meant to build camaraderie in the midst of battle. With all his senses focused on the hand gripping his blade, Yuwon continued with difficulty.

“Kh… At this rate, it doesn’t seem like this will be decided easily….”

Colbus, finding the situation just as difficult, replied with equal strain, his arms and lips trembling.

“Hrk… I, I agree.”

“Then let’s count to three and—ugh!—pull back at the same time.”

“…What?”

“Don’t believe me if you don’t want to.”

At that moment, as if to prove his words, Yuwon halted the subtle changes in his blade. Feeling that delicate shift through the blades pressed together, Colbus’s eyes gleamed.

“I trust you.”

No further words were needed. The two counted together in a single voice.

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One.”

The instant “one” was spoken, both withdrew their blades simultaneously and leapt backward, opening distance between them. Having created space, neither dared to attack recklessly again, only glaring at the other with piercing eyes.

‘There’s no need for a war of attrition. I’ll go all out. If not now, there won’t be a next time. Either I die, or he does. It ends here.’

‘This won’t be settled as it is. I need to make a move….’

Yuwon decided to bring out his trump card, but the Colbus facing him could not do the same. Matching Yuwon’s tempo up until now had already been the extent of his strength.

‘Swift and decisive. Here I go…!’

A shout sounded only in his heart as Yuwon silently flicked his hand toward the enemy. Following that motion, throwing daggers flew into the sky.

Sshheeek—!

Yuwon’s attack was so fast that it was impossible to tell when, where, or how the daggers had appeared in his hand.

An assassination technique of the Sichuan Tang Clan, worthy of being called peerless in the martial world, was recreated by Yuwon’s hands upon land so distant that it should never have been reached.

Yuwon, who rarely placed assassination techniques at the forefront, drew upon them early this time. To him, assassination techniques were synonymous with poison-coated daggers hidden on his person—a decisive trump card.

Thus, without any warning, his ultimate move poured forth from his hand. The daggers that left Yuwon’s grasp filled the sky, raining down upon the enemy like a sudden downpour.

Colbus noticed Yuwon’s gesture half a beat—no, a quarter of a beat too late. And the moment he realized it, a deep shadow fell across his face.

‘This… I can’t block it…!’

No matter how exceptional a swordsman was, he could not evade rain. Before Colbus’s eyes, rain was pouring down.

The moon hung bright in the night sky, and beneath its light, daggers gleamed beautifully like dew-laden petals, reflecting that radiance.

Mantianhuayu. Rain fell from a dry southern desert sky. A rain of flowers filled the desert.

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