Sword Whisperer - Chapter 16
Chapter 16. Van of the Cho Family (1)
A newly coined, famous person was normally born after the preliminary rounds at the coliseum.
That was because it was hard to tell who was who during the preliminary rounds. When over one hundred warriors went at each other, it was difficult for one to determine to whom his attention should be directed.
Despite that, Van was able to attract everyone’s attention.
“…..Wow, you’re great.”
As soon as he returned to his room, Lee Kyung excitedly welcomed Van. Of course, he wasn’t the only one who was waiting for Van. Other warriors of the Cho Family also looked at him as they sighed.
“Aren’t you too strong to be a human? You finished us all off with only piercing, and not used any of our own swordsmanship.”
“It looked like you were toying with kids.”
“Were you impressed?”
Van smiled as he shrugged his shoulders. Hazleck who was next to Van sighed.
“I knew it was this guy as soon as I saw how the piercing was done. Not everyone is able to execute such a flawless piercing technique.”
Hazleck was the warrior, from the Cho family, who has participated in this preliminary round with Van. As the group was formed each day, there was no way to know who will be in the competition. Hazleck shook his head vigorously.
“I was lucky that I wasn’t near him. It would have been so embarrassing to be knocked out in the prelims by getting beat by that guy.”
“Would you have cursed me had that happened?”
“Putting on a curse would be the least thing. Most likely, I would have looked for revenge.”
“Not with your skill level?”
“…..You want to go at it, once?”
In the end, Hazleck had added one more count to the loss column against Van.
‘Too weak.’
It was an empty thought, thinking about Hazleck and other warriors. In fact, today’s preliminary round was one disappointment after another. Seriously, how bad were the opponents, such that no one was able to launch any kind of effective attacks against him.
Perhaps, that was a natural thing. The warriors who came with him from the highly regarded Cho Family did not have half the sword skill that Van had, so not much should be expected from others, that was.
In some sense, the chances of winning were better if there wasn’t anyone whose sword skill was superior to him, so it may not be something to complain about, Van thought. However, despite that fact, Van wanted to be challenged by a meaningful opponent. An opponent to fight against with all he had, yet difficult to defeat.
‘Was it a too much of a conceited thought.’
However, his wish soon came true.
Five days later, on the 5th day of the preliminaries.
Van found a deserving opponent.
§
The 2nd, the 3rd, and the 4th matches weren’t that much different than the 1st one. Of course, there might have been more powerful people when taking into account that there might have been some who hid their true skills, but even if they weren’t hiding their skills, they wouldn’t be as strong as Van had expected.
A person whose red hair partially escaped behind the mask left an impression on him. Holding a broad sword with both his hands, he looked a bit half witted, on the first impression. It was because he has never seen a well skilled swordsman while using a double handed sword.
However, he was different.
It appeared that he didn’t much care about the most important objective of being staying on his feet until he became one of the remaining 8 competitors. He fought like a wild dog, and devoured the opponents as much as he could. As if to say how boring it was to continue this competition, he dashed at others even before anyone else was even poised to attack him, and, him dashing towards others reminded him of a legendary, wild warrior.
The warriors who dreamed of glorious future after making it into the academy have become scared rats before him. When he approached them, they did not even have the mental stability to wield their swords. Rather, they looked so unprepared and pathetic as they just fell to the ground, and the spectators didn’t even have the time to boo them. It was that kind of battles. That was what was called overwhelmingly one sided fights. That’s what a warrior was. That was the impression that he projected.
‘Will I be able to face him?’
With that kind of swordsmanship, Van thought that he was probably familiar with using the internal energy, as well. 2 stars at the minimum….perhaps, 3 stars. Van moistened his lips with his tongue. He felt the urge in his hands. He wanted to jump into that coliseum, right at that moment. He wanted to exchange sword strikes with him, and wanted to absorb everything about his life which was inside that warrior’s sword.
“….I thought Van was the only hurdle in all of this.”
Hazleck murmured as he let out a sigh. His words were understandable. That red haired guy was an unexpected monster.
After that day, Van stepped up the intensity of his training. Having won the preliminary rounds with a breeze, his mind has become relaxed.
‘It’s a big world.’
He thought of the time he first met Number Five. He was almost killed by that single piercing.
As he was conceited, he was insufficient.
As a result, in the round of 64, after 5 days later, the man who was matched against him was very unlucky. Well, to be matched against Van, itself, was a bad luck, that was.
It was the same behemoth from the preliminary.
“….I don’t take you lightly.”
In the waiting room. The man spoke as he looked at Van. He was wearing a wolf hide armor suit in this round, and he was holding an axe that had much longer edge than earlier. After taking a quick peek at Van’s uniform, he spoke.
“A member of the Cho Family?”
“Yup. I trained my sword there.”
“….That explains why you’re so strong. Is everyone in Cho Family that strong?”
“Well….I’m just simply a person living there. I couldn’t even be compared to the actual members of the family’s bloodline.”
That was a fast truth even by looking at the sparring session with Yeoryung. Although it was said to be a draw, the highest level that Van was able to reach, at the end of that training, was to not lose to Yeoryung, at best. Of course, even that was a great accomplishment, but what would have been the outcome, had it been a real fight. If Yeoryung was fighting to kill him, for example…..
“I’m McDead.”
“I’m Van.”
“I admit that you’re strong, but I advise you to not underestimate me. I’m the strongest person in my village, even.”
“Strength….”
It was regrettable, but fighting a strong warrior was familiar to him. McDead must have thought a lot as he has been watching Van fight, but that was not going to be enough. Van wiped his sword as he put on a bitter smile.
A trumpet sounded. Holding the Cho Family’s sword, Van walked out. The sound of the spectators murmuring was heard as they saw Van’s clothing, and as the warriors from the Cho Family were familiar in this coliseum, the fact that their approving nods and admirations were understandable.
-Van, a warrior of the Cho Family. McDead of the Black Mountain Range. His Highness will observe your braveries. Give all you’ve got in the battle.
And again, the trumpet sounded.
“Whoawhoawhoawhoaaaaa!”
McDead pounded his chest as he roared. It was quite a threatening posture. He seemed so overpowering that those who were not used to battles might have easily fall to the ground, losing their footing.
However, Van had endured so much tough time in his own right to be showing such weakness.
McDead wielded his axe. It was quite fast, unlike his big physique. Perhaps, that was natural since he was a powerful person.
However, it still was not enough.
“You have too much fat, to claim yourself a warrior.”
“Krrr….!”
The fact of having a big physique, itself, could be intimidating, but it was meaningless to someone who felt no such intimidation, at all. It would be a different story, had he fought while wearing a heavy armored suit. As it would be difficult to deliver any sort of damaging strikes, it would be quite challenging to counter attack, even when he was wielding his axe in such big motions.
However, what he was wearing was only made out of hide.
“The warrior, whether a blood line or not, of Cho Family does not wear armor suit. Do you know why?”
McDead could not answer. He did not have the time to. He was just too busy, just to be swinging his axe.
It would appear to the spectators, who had no foresight of the battles, that the fight was being pushed in one way by McDead. It was because Van has not even once swung his sword, yet.
However, that wasn’t the reality. McDead’s axe did not even post any threat to Van. Due to those big muscles, Van knew clearly how and to where that axe was moving to, each time the behemoth’s muscles flexed.
It would not be possible to get hit by an axe, when one knew to where that axe was being swung at.
“That’s because it’s better to dodge something after seeing it, whether it was a sword, a fist or something else. To warriors, speed was a skill. Just like the fact that you can’t get a hand on me, like this.”
“Aaaaaahhh!”
“Shouting louder does not make you faster. McDead. And…..”
Van trailed his words. And it was at that moment. Van’s sword was swung with a flash of light, and McDead’s axe broke and fell to the ground. To McDead, who was blankly looking at only the remaining axe grip in his hand, Van quietly said.
“Such an unorganized strength is useless.”
“Van…..!”
“Do you want to give up? Or are you going to give up after some scars?”
Instead of replying, McDead gripped his hands into fists. Watching McDead rushing towards him with a roar, Van raised the ends of his lips.
“You ignorant bastard.”
However, that ignorance wasn’t something he disliked.
Van grazed by McDead. There appeared a long stab wound in the center of McDead’s chest. He looked down on the wound as if to say that he could not believe it. Then he knelt down on his knees….
A cheer exploded.
Van of Cho Family
That was the moment that that name made an indelible impression on the Citadel people.
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