RARITYSUPER RARE

ENGLISH V.A.Mike chi

STORYHansaneega@Lee Jongbeom

Chuck Joon-GyungA sword that splits mountains and oceans.The greatest armament in the history of Korea. The one who is said to have made a castle fall by himself. He is worshipped as a god of war thanks to his power that surpasses the limits of humans. But whether a weapon is for good or for bad is determined by the person carrying it, and depending on who becomes the master, Cheok Jun-gyeong can be a hero or a traitor. What will he be in the world after Stroke? A sword. Long, straight iron. The moon reflected on one side of the sharply honed blade. “I don’t know.” Cheok Jun-gyeong looked down at the sword. The ones who stood in front of him, the Jurchens, were merely trembling. They just had to run into the owner of the sword. If it was an honorable situation, then they would have tried to say something to save face, but now they couldn’t even do that. Behind them were the bodies of Joseon people scattered around that they’d killed. ‘We, we’ll have to strike, right?’ ‘You’re going to strike? That?’ ‘Then should we just stand here and die?’ ‘Damn this…’ The Jurchen warriors weren’t lacking in number. The number of fully armed men added up to 30, so it would be better to say they were large in number. In comparison, Cheok Jun-gyeong was alone. The only thing that protected him was a single sword and scabbard. He didn’t even have a single piece of armor on. “I don’t know…” Unlike the nervous Jurchen warriors, Cheok Jun-gyeong was merely looking down at the sword. He kept repeating that he didn’t know what to do and saying general nonsense. He had his guard down. It would be a strange situation not to think that. “Strike…” It was then. The Jurchen commander’s head was chopped off as he called out an order because he thought they couldn’t miss this chance.  “Uh…” Cheok Jun-gyeong just stayed where he was, still looking at his sword. But the air was becoming heavier and heavier. It was like the air was soaking up blood, and it became hard to even breathe. Finally the Jurchen warriors realized they had entered Cheok Jun-gyeong’s space. “Stay there for now.” They were all dead now. If they were going to do something, they had to move in now. They were in the midst of thinking that when Cheok Jun-gyeong did something unexpected. He resheathed the sword and pulled a letter from inside his shirt. “I was wondering who I should discuss this with… You guys should be good.” Discuss? The commander of the Koreans. And not just any commander, but the owner of the sword—no, the god of war Cheok Jun-gyeong—having a discussion with Jurchen warriors? They thought it was strange, but no one could ask about it. “Lord Yi Ja-gyeom sent me this letter.” His speech was slow. His actions were also slow. Cha Jun-gyeong spoke as he wandered through the armed Jurchen warriors as if on a stroll. But no one could find a weak spot. The breaths in between his words made them restrain themselves. The feeling that he would pull his sword and attack at any time overwhelmed them. “He’s tempting me to overthrow His Majesty and take control… What should I do about him?” Though he was asking, they couldn’t even answer. This was because he didn’t ask the question wanting an answer.  He continued answering his own questions. “It’s deeply agonizing as a vassal to commit a disloyal act… And yet it’s not as if it’s not tempting.” “Agh.” Then, one warrior couldn’t resist the pressure and swung his sword. No, he was about to swing his sword if his throat hadn’t been cut first. The unfortunate thing was that no one saw Cheok Jun-gyeong draw his sword or even move. A god. They were facing a god. “It would be best to let go of the hope that you’ll live. Who else would I dare talk to about this other than people who will die?” Instead of putting the letter away, the god let it flutter away in the wind. It couldn’t float away entirely. It couldn’t because Cheok Jun-gyeong shredded it with his sword. That was the last sight that the Jurchens saw. At some point, all who were standing there became dust and blew away. “His Majesty and the lord. Who is more fitting to be my owner?” The country’s owner would change based on Cheok Jun-gyeong’s choice. The criteria for deciding that? What would it be? ‘Who can make me… More powerful?’ ----------------- “What… Are you thinking about?” Cheok Jun-gyeong looked back at the man who asked for him. A red-brown face and a large spear. The number of men he killed was so great, it was useless to count anymore. “My thoughts are never important.” “You’re going on about the owner thing again.” “Come.” “Ha!” Before they knew it, the sword was in his hand. -Whoosh The sword rushed towards the opponent, tearing through the space with an audible slash. If it was an average opponent, they would have been ripped to shreds already. Like the boulder behind him. “Ha!” But all the opponents he met on the platform were far beyond average. “Good!” And of those, the god of war in front of him was special. To be able to fend off this sword! He felt like he wanted to praise him. “Damn it, you can’t even distinguish Heaven and Earth! How can you be so strong?” The only thing he didn’t like was how much he talked. But it was okay. -Clang Just look at him right now. He took the hit from the sword but didn’t stop, nor did he even bounce off from it. Cheok Jun-gyeong surged up to the sky and grinned wildly. He really felt like he’d selected a good owner this time. To think he could fight against a powerful man like him all he wanted. “Haa!” About a dozen passed by in a moment.  He wasn’t simply happy. It was a fight for his life. That should be the same for his opponent. This made him realize something. ‘Moving like that, here? The reason… is clear.’ He nearly died. At first, he wondered if he was a crazy man because he was called the god of war. But he was someone who could be called by that name. To think that he was a man who was on a level where he could dare to teach Cheok Jun-gyeong something new! “How is it a man like you is listening to a being like that?!” He was about to feel excitement, but the god of the war addressed him again. Cheok Jun-gyeong thought about his owner rather than answering. What kind of being was he? To be honest, he wasn’t sure whether what his owner said was right or not. But the one thing he was sure about was that he could keep fighting against the god of war if he stayed beneath his owner. ‘That should be quite enough!’ What could there be at the end of a fight? Of course, he could die. But on the day he cut off the bearded head of that god of war, he could get stronger. “Shut up!” shouted Cheok Jun-gyeong as he swung his sword. He was determined to end their draw, which had continued over the course of dozens of fights, today.