Etranger

Biyeon turned her head to look at the Marquis. He was gritting his teeth while recovering his ravaged body. He was annoyed at her smiling figure. The corners of her lips went farther upward.

“There needs to be some air circulation here. I’m sorry to have to say this to you, but your place stinks. Is this… the stink that the owner of this place likes?”

“Who are you?” the Marquis asked with blood flowing down a corner of his mouth.

“Oh my, my introductions were late. My name is ‘Yeon’. I’ve been commissioned by the Count of Essen to safely transport his cargo.”

Episode 2. Book 3: Infiltration – Chapter 7

‘What is the world coming to? This woman is an Awakened Warrior?’

He lifted himself in his chair. With one hand he cleaned the blood rushing down from the corner of his mouth. With his other hand, he lifted his sword. Killing intent was emanating from his face…

“Alright… what’s your reason? Why is an Awakened Warrior taking on a commission from a country Count? Don’t spew nonsense and just tell me the truth. Why did you come here? Why did such a powerful person like you come here?”

“We’ve been tasked by the Count to transport his cargo safely and to bring the sales of the cargo back safely to his estate. This precious cargo was almost forcefully taken by your subordinate, so we’ve come to ask for compensation. Don’t you think this is reasonable? Since we have to pass here twice, going and coming back, we wanted to clear the air with you. Have I said something wrong?”

“For that pitiful reason? You bitch! Are you trying to joke around with me? Do I look that easy to you?”

He put strength in his hands and lifted his sword. The other people in the room quickly moved back. Biyeon slightly widened her stance and bent her knees.

She waved at Dite to step back with her left hand and took her sword halfway out of its sheath with her right hand. Her eyes were already calculating the possible movements the Marquis could make.

Dite quickly grabbed hold of Yekin and Yeria and hid behind a pillar. In an instant, the area around the Marquis and Biyeon was cleared. The space became a battleground.

“To target another’s life and to have the audacity to say, ‘for that pitiful reason’! Hey old fogey! Are you kidding me? I don’t care what you do on this land or in your castle, but for a place that smells like it’s soaked in blood… the owner must be a psycho, right?” Biyeon stated.

“Are you looking to take over my territory? There were many people like you in the past,” Norian said while sticking out his tongue and wetting his lips.

“Not really?”

The two conversed naturally. They were standing and facing each other in a relatively large indoor space. However, the destructive level of their competing auras was immense. Small whirlwinds formed in the corners of the reception hall. The two had already entered into their battle.

Biyeon was nervous. Though she had overcome many life and death situations, she had never faced another Awakened Warrior in a one-on-one fight. Her specialty was in using martial force, speed, and spatial orientation and understanding. She wasn’t used to fighting individually.

Her opponent matched her level of destructive force and speed. He was also a veteran who had faced many battles and individual fights.

She took a deep breath and calmed her nerves, something she did with San all the time. She scrunched her face. She scanned her opponent’s aura. It was completely different from San’s. The Marquis carried a rough, sticky, cold, and evil aura. Finishing her scan, Biyeon’s face stiffened up. However, she started to slowly calm herself. The Marquis was probably doing the same.

The Marquis took a step forward with his right foot. It was an experienced first step. Biyeon quickly took a step to the side in response. They circled around each other without losing their balance. Their auras were still clashing against each other evenly.

A battle between Awakened Warriors happened at the speed of sound. There were more things that couldn’t be seen than seen. If they weren’t able to recognize each other’s specialties, then the one who made the first mistake would surely perish.

This was why Awakened Warriors avoided direct confrontations. Direct confrontations only happened as a last resort. Since this era was dominated by those in power, there was no real reason for Awakened Warriors to trouble themselves with each other. There were many opportunities to gain what one wanted elsewhere.

“I always hang the heads of those I defeat on the front gate doors.”

“That doesn’t really contribute to the beautification of your city.”

“There will be a few more heads hanging after today.”

“That’s a sad story.”

The Marquis lifted his sword with his right hand and rotated his gloved left hand downward.

Biyeon had half her sword out of its sheath while taking a step to her left. As soon as her foot came down, the stone flooring beneath her feet broke into small pieces, causing a plume of dust to rise up.

The Marquis shifted toward his right while shaking his left hand. He lowered his sword onto the ground and started scraping the ground with the tip. He was trying to put her on alert.

She started quickening her side shuffle movement. Each time she put her foot down, another plume of dust rose up. The reception hall floor was slowly being torn up, both from the Marquis sword and Biyeon’s heavy steps. The Marquis’s left hand, which had been moving around playfully, suddenly shot out small marbles.

“Chit-”

Biyeon bit her lips and quickly moved. It was a bit difficult to find footing on the torn floor. If she lost her footing, she’d lose her balance. Losing one’s balance meant that any attack would be powerless.

Against a single opponent, not having good footing made it difficult to mount an effective attack. If this were to happen against a large army, the battle formation would quickly break down, leading the individual soldiers to be lost.

He was using a skill to break one’s concentration. It marked the beginning of his attack.

“Is this a skill from the Ki-Jang Clan? It effectively breaks down one’s focus. It’s a nasty tactic…”

As soon as she spoke, she jumped back and threw a small stone. The Marquis’s sword swung at the same time.

A puff of dust filled the air as the stone exploded. As he was about to make his next move, Biyeon had already unsheathed her sword and lunged towards his left.

He quickly moved his hand. She moved her head to one side immediately. His blade passed through a few strands of her hair. A small locket of her hair was scattered by the rushing wind.

The Marquis started shaking his left hand once more. As if she was dancing, she quickly moved her waist back. Her body, which had been moving forward just a moment ago, quickly shifted 90 degrees to the side.

Clearing some room, she swung her sword at his neck. Her bent waist and shoulders were at unnatural angles. However, her white sword swung forward.

The Marquis held his breath. He lunged backward and then opened his eyes wide. He was cut on his right cheek. He barely avoided her strike on instinctive reflexes. After blocking her strike with his sword, she had used the rebounding force to jump and swing upwards, creating the tear on his face.

He put on a greasy smile. He believed he understood what skill she was using.

It was similar to the Dong-Myung Clan’s ‘Multiple Axis Folding’ attack… movement based on unnatural body angles… it was a skill that could be used in attack and defense.

‘If that’s so, then… I have you now-”

He unfurled all the fingers on his left hand. He shot his arm forward as if he was throwing a ball. A reddish cloud enveloped Biyeon, who was still in the air. At the same time, the Marquis quickly shifted his weight and moved to his side. Using his foot as an axis, he rotated his body and swung with his sword, aiming for Biyeon’s mid-section.

Even if she was able to revolve her body around four axes, it would be hard for her to avoid his attack. Her breathing was most likely already affected by the reddish poisonous dust…

Su-Kuk-

He felt the telltale resistance and vibration of having hit his mark. ‘I got her.’ However, his expression immediately changed. His eyes started shaking in disbelief.

“Phew- Like the rumors say, you’re truly an underhanded fellow. I’ll acknowledge that you do seem skilled in killing people. Since we’re injured about the same, let’s say we’re even for this round? How about it? Let’s get into it from this point forward. You… will need to put your life on the line. I’m starting to change my mind. I think I’ll go ahead and kill you.”

With her sword pointed towards the ground, Biyeon coldly stared at the Marquis. She was struck on her left shoulder. The fabric of her clothes was cut, and a slash mark could be seen on her shoulder. Blood was trickling down from her injury. Though there was red powder all over her body, she didn’t seem to be affected by it.

The Marquis had thrown Alpin toxin and various other toxic compounds in powder form. It would normally cause a person to momentarily lose vision, have breathing issues, and cause confusion. Unfortunately for him, she already knew what the powder was just by smelling it.

“…”

Even though Biyeon was looking down on him, he kept his mouth shut. He was lucky to have avoided her first attack. If they were to clash again, would he be able to survive? Also… he saw that she had moved directions in the air without any foothold, a ‘space movement’ skill. Furthermore, she changed directions twice, once horizontally and another time vertically. She must be at least a second-level Awakened Warrior.

If one was able to change directions three times, that person would be able to fly.

As Dongye had observed on the battlefield, the ‘space movement’ skill that San and Biyeon used was similar to the Han-Sung Clan’s special skill. The skill would allow freedom of movement that was unmatched, allowing the user to defend and attack at will and from any angle. It was also the perfect skill to escape from danger.

The skill was a natural enemy to the skills used by the Ki-Jang Clan, which heavily relied on mental illusion and organizational attack skills. 

For Marquis Norian, the main issue was that his Awakened Warrior opponent was using two different types of skills in her own way. She didn’t seem to be confined to the skill set of one Absolute Clan. This exemplified that she was a second-level Awakened Warrior... however, the larger issue was that she probably had much more up her sleeve.

Norian shuddered at the thought. He kept staring at her as he thought about what to do.

“Is the man who travels with you at the same level as you?” he asked in a low voice. His voice couldn’t mask an underlying tone of fear and dread.

“He’s a combat specialist. I’m an information analyst by trade. He said he visited you in the early morning hours. I guess you guys didn’t exchange greetings. He’s already told me a lot about you. Is that a good enough answer for you?” she replied while wiping the blood from her shoulders.

“Early morning…? What did he say?” he asked in a trembling voice.

“Nothing much… just that I should resolve our dispute directly with you. He also assigned some work for me to do. This battle experience has been helpful. After our initial battle, I now understand that there are many levels of Awakened Warriors. Though, I’m surprised that you’re actually an Awakened Warrior with such a weak body…”

Her eyes became sharper as she spoke, “Alright! I haven’t heard your answer yet. Are you up for more? It’ll be a bit different this time around. I’m not sure if you’ll survive this next round, as well as your military…”

She lifted her sword up horizontally. Her explosive aura spread out. It was many times more powerful than what she showed previously. Her hair started fluttering.

The aura she was projecting had a different feel from before. There seemed to be a sort of electric field that shocked one’s body. Sparkles of light started forming at the tip of her white sword. She was focusing her electric energy output on one point…

“How much did you want in compensation again?”

Norian quickly dropped his sword onto the ground.

Episode 2. Book 3 – Chapter 8

The front gates opened.

San and the rest of the transportation crew walked in through the opened gates. A great many warriors hurriedly stepped aside to make room for them to pass through. However, the way through was only wide enough for two to three people to pass at a time.

Many of Norian’s warriors and soldiers were at a loss while holding their weapons backward and looking away. 

“Grabbing our weapons backward… what kind of order is this?” asked a warrior to his commanding officer while keeping his head low.

His blade was facing him while the blade tip was pointed towards the ground. He looked comical. The others were also taking the same stance with their weapons.

“How should I know? They told us to not look at them either, so keep your head down and don’t cause a scene…” replied the commander in an annoyed voice. He was carrying an ax with the handle shooting straight up into the air.

Usually, when passing through another territory’s gates, one would get off their horses. One would then have to present official paperwork to the guards and go through a complicated process of verifying one’s identity and cargo value.

It was a detailed, tedious process that was similar to stripping off one’s clothes. This was especially true when they went through the cargo. Weaker merchants and residents would have to also go through an embarrassing round of ridicule from the soldiers.

Since everyone from the north had to pass through the Marquis’s doors before continuing on south, the Marquis was able to charge high passage fees. One could say it was extortion rather than a transaction fee. Due to this, Norian was able to grow rich and powerful.

Since the Orom Mountain Range blocked all passages into the north, no large nations existed in the northern regions. Large military armies couldn’t freely move around, so the Marquis’s business was relatively safe.

He did have to pay off the Dong-Myung Clan to appease them, but he saw it as the cost of doing business.