Chapter 041. The Condition of Loyalty
Baek Ri-gwan looked at Dam Jeok-san with a face that said he could not understand at all.
"Do you still think that the promise from that day is valid, Young Master?"
He asked while suppressing an indefinable emotion rising within him.
"Of course. Did your mind change in just that short time?"
"Just that short time? Did you say 'just'?"
A whole five years had passed since 'that day.'
Dam Jeok-san, who was once evaluated as a rising star who might overturn the succession structure of the Martial Sovereign Castle, had degenerated into a nuisance who lost his dantian. Meanwhile, Baek Ri-gwan, the fledgling saber user who had just stepped into the Peak Realm back then, was now on the verge of the Ultra-Peak Realm.
"Yes, it has only been five years at most, hasn't it?"
"……."
Considering the promise they made, five years was by no means a long time.
The day Dam Jeok-san defeats Baek Ri-gwan.
That was the day Baek Ri-gwan agreed to swear loyalty to him.
'I made such a promise because I respected the Third Young Master as a martial artist, not simply as one of the successors.'
With the talent Dam Jeok-san possessed, Baek believed that Dam would surpass him before long.
But now everything was wrong. A martial artist who lost his dantian could no longer be called a martial artist. If he had shown signs of struggling to overcome it, Baek might have felt at least some pity. But to mention the promise now only made him feel pathetic.
"You cannot win against me, Young Master."
Baek Ri-gwan asserted without a shred of hesitation.
He could no longer bear to see someone he once respected spouting nonsense.
Especially in a place that wasn't private, with the Northern Heaven Sword Venerable and the successor of the Namgung Clan present.
"Hmm……."
A suspicious nasal sound flowed from the mouth of the Northern Heaven Sword Venerable, who was observing the situation with her arms crossed.
"Interesting."
She muttered with a look of great intrigue.
What is it? Doubt settled on Baek Ri-gwan's face.
He thought the Sword Venerable would stop this together with him. Everyone in the Martial Sovereign Castle knew that she cherished the Third Young Master.
'There is something I don't know.'
Baek Ri-gwan intuitively realized that fact. However, he couldn't even guess what it might be.
"I, cannot, win, against you?"
Dam Jeok-san muttered, still not wiping the smile from his face.
"Shouldn't we verify that directly?"
He continued speaking in a slightly indifferent tone.
"Squad Leader Baek Ri-gwan of the Monster Repelling Squad under the Northern Wind Sword Corps."
"……."
Baek Ri-gwan flinched as Dam Jeok-san called out his full official title. An unknown pressure weighed down on Baek Ri-gwan.
It did not stem from internal energy. It was the presence of the person himself, fundamentally different from that. It was the kind of thing only those who had experienced countless hardships and adversities, and possessed solid self-assurance based on them, could exude.
It felt similar to when he met the Imperial Crown Prince who had come to inspect the North in the past.
"I, Dam Jeok-san, as a Nameless Guest of the Northern Branch, request a duel against you for the position of Squad Leader of the Monster Repelling Squad."
He drew his sword and continued speaking.
Even if he was of the noble status of the third disciple of the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle.
He had merely been ordered to transfer to the Northern Branch.
He was nothing more than a nameless novice with no position.
However, in the Northern Branch, anyone belonging to the Martial Sovereign Castle could challenge another's position.
Provided they obtained the Branch Manager's permission.
The eyes of the people in the area turned in unison to the Northern Heaven Sword Venerable, who held the decision-making power.
"I allow it."
She spoke briefly with her arms crossed and closed her mouth. It was a sign that she had no intention of intervening further. Of course, even if the Northern Heaven Sword Venerable gave permission, the person concerned could refuse.
However, throughout the long history of the Martial Sovereign Castle, cases of avoiding such a duel were rarely found.
In a battlefield where people died every day, a leader who avoided a fight would find it hard to command respect.
"Are you serious?"
However, Baek Ri-gwan had no choice but to ask Dam Jeok-san's intention one more time.
A duel wagering a position is never soft. It is a Life-and-Death Duel where no one is held responsible even if one party dies. It is not merely a nominal title to scare people. In fact, there were quite a few cases where one side died during the duel.
"To question me when I have requested a duel, are you insulting me now?"
Dam Jeok-san spoke, revealing that presence again.
"……No, I was rude."
He quietly shook his head.
A burning presence despite having no internal energy. And eyes that seemed to have transcended something.
Furthermore, the Northern Heaven Sword Venerable watching this formidable situation without stopping it.
'Don't tell me…….'
An ominous imagination flashed through Baek Ri-gwan's mind.
The Third Young Master requested a Life-and-Death Duel despite losing his dantian. And he used the past promise as justification. There are only a few reasons to throw oneself into a fight with no chance of winning.
'One is to make a reckless move with a gambling mindset.'
The Third Young Master Baek Ri-gwan knew was not such a person.
He appeared reckless at first glance, but there was usually a meticulous design behind his actions. Of course, the probability that his personality changed after losing his dantian and going half-mad could not be ruled out. But looking at Dam Jeok-san's clear eyes, that didn't seem to be the case.
Then only one remains…….
"Let's have the duel at the Grand Training Hall of the Northern Branch, not here. I would prefer to have a large audience if possible."
Since it would be the stage announcing his splendid return. The more eyes watching, the better. Dam Jeok-san spoke with that intention.
"A large, audience, you say?"
However, Baek Ri-gwan received those words with a bitter voice, as if a thorn were stuck in his throat.
'I suspected it, but.'
It seemed the Third Young Master intended to make the duel with him his grave. Rather than dragging out a pathetic life after losing his dantian, he intended to face a heroic end as a martial artist in front of everyone. In other words, an honorable death.
'Indeed, that suits you better, Young Master……!'
In an instant, Baek Ri-gwan's eyes became moist.
The disappointment he had felt toward Dam Jeok-san melted away like snow, and respect bloomed in its place again. He was a person who decided his own final moment. It would be rude to even dare to feel sad or pity him.
What he could do was clear. As a martial artist, respect his will and prepare a stage where he would have no regrets.
'The reason the Sword Venerable accompanied him inside the gate was to see her Martial Nephew off for a little longer on his final journey.'
He was thoughtless, truly thoughtless.
"I apologize, Young Master. I misunderstood you greatly."
Baek Ri-gwan bowed his waist, his eyes welling up with tears.
"……Misunderstood? What misunderstanding are you talking about?"
Dam Jeok-san tilted his head, but Baek Ri-gwan dared not speak further.
He thought it was only right to remain silent if the Young Master did not wish to speak of it.
'Why is he acting like that?'
Dam Jeok-san tilted his head as he looked at Baek Ri-gwan, who was revealing a troubled expression.
Well, he remembered him having a rather unique personality originally.
In the first place, saying he would only swear loyalty after defeating him wasn't exactly normal.
'Well, I remember his nature wasn't evil, so…….'
Rather, he had a very upright and straight character. There were reports that his methods were sometimes excessively cruel. That was how he earned the alias Ghost Blade.
However, even that was mostly when dealing with unspeakable villains. Dam Jeok-san didn't mind it much.
'If I can bring him to my side, it's a good thing.'
There are not many martial artists aiming for the Ultra-Peak Realm at Baek Ri-gwan's age.
From the start, an Ultra-Peak master is not simply a single martial artist, but a tactical weapon capable of changing the tide of a battle itself.
"Squad Leader of the Monster Repelling Squad, let's go in now."
Seeing the conversation roughly settled, the Northern Heaven Sword Venerable spoke with a light nod of her chin.
"……Yes! I will escort you."
Baek Ri-gwan, who had been lost in thoughts about Dam Jeok-san, hurriedly gathered his wits and spoke.
Thus, Dam Jeok-san's group entered the true Northern land beyond the gate, guided by the Squad Leader of the Monster Repelling Squad, Baek Ri-gwan.
* * *
The Demonic Realm is a space no different from hell manifested in the human world.
A barren land where living things cannot survive.
A land of death where monsters or things belonging to them become transcendently strong, and humans find it difficult even to breathe properly. The sky is always dark and ominous regardless of day or night. The earth is also a desolate paradise for monsters all year round.
The only ones who can exert their full power there without restrictions are the masters of the Entering Transformation Realm who have polished their mental imagery to the limit and reached completion.
However, that is a scenery one can only see after crossing the gate and traveling for a long time to enter the real 'Demonic Realm.' The location where the Northern Branch of the Martial Sovereign Castle was situated was not much different from the grasslands at the northernmost tip of the Central Plains.
The sky was somewhat gloomy, but the green color still remained on the earth.
"We have arrived."
Baek Ri-gwan spoke, extending his arm with a polite demeanor.
A rough and practical-looking building came into view. A shabby exterior that could not be compared to the Main Castle of the Martial Sovereign Castle in Shanxi. It was a building that looked more like a military camp than a branch castle.
In other words, it was not a grand structure at all.
However, the dignity of the branch that had protected this land for hundreds of years was not at a level that could be ignored.
"It must be a long time since you've seen the branch. Do you feel anything?"
Un Wol-hyang asked, glancing at Dam Jeok-san.
A slight expectation lingered in her eyes.
If it weren't for Dam Jeok-san, Un Wol-hyang might still have been in seclusion.
Or perhaps one day, unable to bear the skepticism about life, she might have committed suicide. Or she might have died a violent death wandering the battlefield. But the few months spent with the young Dam Jeok-san completely changed her life.
This branch was a place where her footprints were intact.
Like a child boasting of a sandcastle they built. Un Wol-hyang wanted to boast about this branch.
"It is magnificent."
Dam Jeok-san spoke in an admiring voice.
He could feel it too. The countless lives and deaths embedded in this place. And the burden of Un Wol-hyang, who had to take responsibility for all of it and move forward.
"And it is moving. To think that I eventually came to stand here."
When he first received the Castle Lord's command, he thought this branch would be his grave.
Now it felt completely different. The Northern Branch would be his new home and battlefield.
"Mm-hm……! You saw well."
Un Wol-hyang replied, stroking her hair as if quite satisfied.
A pure smile, different from before, briefly hung on her lips and then disappeared. The burden she carried was too heavy to smile comfortably.
While the two were conversing like that.
"……Will this really be alright?"
Baek Ri-gwan asked, looking at him with worried eyes.
Smirk.
Dam Jeok-san smiled faintly at him, who still did not know the fact that he had recovered his dantian. He didn't know what on earth Baek was thinking, but his reaction was quite amusing.
"Of course. As I said, I would like there to be many spectators. Young Family Head Namgung."
He opened his mouth while looking at Namgung Yeon.
The grander the stage, the better.
If he was going to announce that the Sword Dragon had returned, it would be better to be as loud and flashy as possible. Those gathered would become witnesses and convey his return to the Gangho.
"Young Family Head, I would like the personnel from the Murim Alliance to observe as well. Could you pass on the message?"
"Pardon……?"
Namgung Yeon asked back with a slightly flustered look. But soon, seeing Dam Jeok-san's calm eyes, she understood the situation.
'I see, Lord Dam is confident of victory.'
Perhaps it is only natural.
Is he not Dam Jeok-san, who stood resolutely even against Murong Gang?
The Squad Leader of the Monster Repelling Squad is also a formidable opponent, but Dam has sufficient odds of winning.
'Well, the Squad Leader himself seems to be thinking something completely different, though.'
That can't be helped.
If Namgung Yeon hadn't seen Dam Jeok-san take action personally, she would never have believed the fact that he had recovered his dantian, let alone that he might have become stronger than before.
"Alright."
Thinking of it as giving a small help to a benefactor, it wasn't a difficult task. Namgung Yeon grasped Dam Jeok-san's intention and readily accepted.
"Hmm……. I will simply strive to follow your will, Young Master."
Baek Ri-gwan muttered with an even more serious expression.
Thinking, 'Is the Young Master intending to face his end in a place watched by the entire Murim?'
"I don't know what you are going to strive for, but make sure to keep the promise."
Dam Jeok-san simply gave a gentle smile seeing Baek Ri-gwan like that.
"Branch Manager, I would like to check my body briefly before the duel. Could you lend me a training room?"
Soon after, Dam Jeok-san asked looking at Un Wol-hyang.
"A training room?"
"Yes."
He had faced two Half-Demons in succession.
One was a peak master, and the other was an ultra-peak master.
Furthermore, both were big shots who had received demonic energy directly from a Cardinal of the Yin God Cult.
Dam Jeok-san had gained an unmanageable amount by consuming the two in succession.
Not only the immense demonic energy converted into internal energy, but he also encountered their lives and the life of his past life, Seo Woo-joo. Right now, vague realizations he couldn't quite identify were floating in Dam Jeok-san's mind.
'Grasp what can be grasped, and boldly discard what is impossible.'
Squad Leader of the Monster Repelling Squad, Ghost Blade Baek Ri-gwan.
He is a master knocking on the door of the Ultra-Peak, and at the same time, a pure human martial artist.
He is different from the two Half-Demons Dam Jeok-san faced in succession.
A target against whom the overwhelming monster-slaying functions of the Predator's ability and the Heaven-Breaking Star-Destroying Style cannot be used. Therefore, before fighting, he must thoroughly sharpen what he has.
"Alright. I will lend you my personal training room, so use it comfortably."
"……!"
At Un Wol-hyang's words, shock appeared on the faces of the people in the area. Lending a personal training room privately was something that would only happen in a master-disciple relationship. No matter how much Un Wol-hyang cherished her Martial Nephew, this was quite a surprising event.
'Young Master, I will ensure that you achieve your will.'
Baek Ri-gwan, who arbitrarily guessed something from Un Wol-hyang's action.
A deep sense of duty now lingered in his eyes.
However, at no moment did Baek Ri-gwan consider his own defeat.