Chapter 233

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 233: The Imjin War (5)

Swiish!

A greenish-brown trajectory once again narrowly missed Yeongwoo’s chin.

‘Not bad at all. You would’ve definitely been the strongest in Incheon with your fists.’

As Yeongwoo admired this, the Incheon leader from Namdong-gu gritted his teeth and spat out his lines.

“Stop messing around and come at me seriously!”

Namdong’s Strongest Sword, Kim Yongkwan04.

He was feeling both anger and fear simultaneously.

It was because he knew that the outsider in front of him was deliberately maintaining a defensive stance.

Every time Yongkwan charged aggressively, his opponent would backstep precisely that distance, and this unbelievable sense of distance was the source of Yongkwan’s fear.

‘Woah, did this guy originally do boxing or something? Local swordsmanship doesn’t guide you on stepping like this.’

Especially since Yongkwan’s specialty was the check hook.

This is a type of counter that can only be used when the opponent actively attempts to attack, and the constant maintenance of a subtle distance was frustrating for Yongkwan.

“Hmph!”

Yongkwan then threw a bold middle kick to provoke an attack from his opponent.

Whoosh!

Kim Yongkwan’s left leg swung like a whip.

In response, Yeongwoo slightly hunched his upper body while firmly guarding, extending his left palm to the predicted strike point on his right side.

Then,

Thud!

As a result, he blocked the middle kick with both his right arm guard and his left hand, dispersing the impact.

“……!”

Yongkwan couldn’t help but be surprised.

It was clearly a kickboxing defense technique.

And then, like lightning,

Whoosh!

Yeongwoo’s right low kick countered.

Thwack!

The counter landed precisely on Yongkwan’s right leg, the one holding him up, and he realized at that moment.

‘This guy… he’s been going easy on me this whole time…?’

After taking the low kick and collapsing to the ground, Yongkwan quickly rolled backward and stood up.

Whoosh!

Then, he saw the outsider—no, the Strongest Sword of Joseon—casually taking a combat stance again, not even bothering to chase him.

‘Joseon’s Strongest Sword’

Finally, the opponent’s title hit him.

‘Could he really be from that Joseon?’

His mind understood it, but it was hard to accept the title of Joseon’s Strongest Sword, which he had never encountered before.

However, after taking a single low kick, his blood started pumping quickly, and his heart began to race.

Yongkwan’s heart also started to acknowledge his opponent’s presence.

The serious thought that he might be in a duel with the strongest in the Korean Peninsula.

“Damn it… He’s really something else.”

As Namdong’s Strongest Sword, Kim Yongkwan, said this and reignited his fighting spirit, Yeongwoo turned his head slightly to look behind his opponent.

New faces were appearing there.

『Gyeyang’s Strongest Sword』

『Seogu’s Strongest Sword』

“Gyeyang, Seogu… counting the ones who came earlier, almost all of Incheon’s Strongest Swords are here, right?”

As Yeongwoo asked this, Yongkwan’s face momentarily showed fear.

“Why, what is it now?”

“Now that all the witnesses are here, it’s time to settle this. We can’t keep fighting until we reach China.”

“…What?”

Yongkwan frowned and asked back, but he actually understood the situation clearly.

The reason Joseon’s Strongest Sword had been holding back was purely because there weren’t enough spectators yet.

“How do you determine the winner in a duel in Incheon?”

“……?”

“You’re fighting with fists because you don’t want to kill each other, right? Then how do you decide the winner? Knockout? Surrender?”

As Yeongwoo said this and finally lowered his guard halfway, Yongkwan flinched unconsciously.

“It’s… It’s similar to a street fight. It ends when one side stops wanting to fight.”

“Is that so? Then shout ‘surrender’ when you want to stop. The sooner you do, the better. Honestly, I’ve already killed people with my bare hands before.”

“……!”

An utterly menacing line.

Thud!

Yeongwoo extended his right foot forward.

It was the first forward step he had taken in this fight.

Seeing this, Yongkwan’s jaw dropped.

‘What, what is this?’

A peculiar energy he had never felt before emanated from his opponent.

No matter how strong an opponent was, they still exuded a certain animalistic aura, but the man before him felt like a dense fog.

A massive fog that stealthily enveloped his ankles and neck without him realizing.

“Huh…?”

And in reality, he was astonished to see that the Strongest Sword of Joseon had already approached right in front of him.

“Speak before it’s too late, got it?”

The Strongest Sword of Joseon, who had silently closed in within striking range, made a sudden move.

Smack!

Suddenly, Yongkwan’s upper body was lifted momentarily as a flash exploded before his eyes.

“Ugh!”

A right straight.

Yeongwoo had struck Yongkwan’s face like a flash of light.

Then,

Thud!

He kicked the guy’s solar plexus with his left foot, sending him flying backward.

Whoosh!

This time, he fired a middle kick with his right foot.

“Watch your ribs…”

Yeongwoo kindly warned of the target point, and Kim Yongkwan barely managed to lower his guard in time to block the kick from Joseon’s Strongest Sword.

Smack!

Of course, it was quite different from when Yeongwoo had blocked a kick earlier.

“Gah!”

As soon as he blocked the kick, Yongkwan’s mouth spewed bile, and his body was thrown sideways.

“Huh?”

“This is insane…!”

“How is that even possible?”

The five other Strongest Swords of Incheon, watching the fight, could instinctively tell that the results were different even though both had exchanged middle kicks.

‘He’s getting destroyed.’

‘Who is this guy? Is he really Joseon’s strongest?’

‘Why is a nationwide champion here?’

In effect, Kim Yongkwan was taking a beating on behalf of the other Strongest Swords of Incheon.

Meanwhile, Yeongwoo’s shadow moved swiftly once more.

Tap tap!

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Following the opponent, who had been pushed back by the kick, Yeongwoo launched a rapid one-two punch.

Thud!

“Guh!”

An overwhelming attack that pierced through his guard with sheer force made Yongkwan’s upper body sway.

Despite that,

“You bastard!”

Yongkwan’s voice, full of unyielding determination, spat out as he threw a punch at Yeongwoo.

Whoosh!

Of course, Yeongwoo easily dodged by slightly turning his head.

‘He’s truly remarkable.’

Yeongwoo admired Yongkwan’s swollen eye as he thought.

If he fought this well with bare hands, how strong would he be with a sword?

But given the situation, this duel needed to end quickly.

Even while fighting Incheon’s leader, Yeongwoo kept an eye on the horizon beyond Yeongjong Island, noticing that the horizon was becoming increasingly distinct.

“Let’s stop here. It looks like we’re almost to China.”

After announcing this, Yeongwoo dodged his opponent’s straight punch.

Swoosh!

Then he grabbed the arm aimed at his head and wrapped it around his body.

Like fastening a seatbelt to himself.

Next, he flowed seamlessly into a throw, rotating his upper body.

Thwack, boom!

An enormous sound echoed as Kim Yongkwan’s back hit the concrete floor, and this sound made Incheon’s Strongest Swords reflexively reach for their swords before stopping.

It was humiliating to have an outsider take Incheon’s title, but if the opponent was indeed Joseon’s undefeated swordsman, it was a natural order of things.

Incheon, known for insisting on bare-knuckle fighting to determine true strength, had a profound respect for true strength compared to other regions.

In other words, if you fought fairly and won, you became Incheon’s leader regardless of your origin.

“Damn it.”

When Yongkwan, planted on the ground, found himself staring at the sky, he stopped struggling.

“Is that a surrender? If we continue, you’ll get seriously hurt. Since you didn’t draw your sword, I don’t want to see blood either.”

Yeongwoo asked softly, looking down at Yongkwan, who finally spoke respectfully.

“Yes, I surrender. I surrender, sir.”

“……”

With his title immediately changing to ‘sir,’ Yeongwoo couldn’t help but chuckle.

Then he extended a hand to help Yongkwan up.

“Sorry for hitting you. And for everything else.”

“What do you mean by everything else?”

In response, Yeongwoo scratched his chin.

A gesture he usually made when he was contemplating or in trouble.

Then, as if deciding something, he pointed to his head with his index finger.

‘Joseon’s Strongest Sword.’

“This, actually means North Joseon.”

“……?”

* * *

Joseon’s Strongest Sword.

The highest title, signifying the supreme warrior north of the Korean Peninsula.

More precisely, it should be the highest title in North Korea.

In any case, Yeongwoo gathered the Strongest Swords of Incheon, who had a notably high proportion of tattoo bearers, and briefly explained the events that had transpired.

How he became Joseon’s Strongest Sword and why he had come to Incheon.

“Mister, then who is the strongest in our country?”

Upon hearing the story, the Strongest Sword of Bupyeong raised his hand and asked.

Kim Yongkwan, still with a swollen face, rebuked him.

“What were you listening to? Our brother here is practically the strongest in our country.”

Of course, he had to add the qualifier “practically.”

It was true that he was the strongest in practice, but his title was still “Joseon’s” Strongest Sword.

“Then what is the highest title in our country? Daehan’s Strongest Sword?”

This was the opinion of the Strongest Sword from Michuhol.

Then the Strongest Sword of Yeonsu, two steps ahead, raised an intriguing question.

“Then is there possibly an integrated title for the Korean Peninsula? If there really is, there might be a next level too…?”

“Ho.”

A plausible inference.

Since there were titles for each region within a country, there might also be an integrated national title.

Perhaps something like the Strongest Sword of Korea-China or the Strongest Sword of East Asia.

“Or maybe the Strongest Sword of the East… I don’t know.”

Yeongwoo scratched his chin again.

But that wasn’t the immediate concern.

“You all know we’re about to reach the Chinese border, right? So I also came to see the situation in Incheon, but it’s very different from what I expected.”

“Why? Do we look too weak?”

The Strongest Sword of Bupyeong immediately bristled.

“No, that’s not it.”

Yeongwoo looked around at Incheon’s Strongest Swords, whose average age seemed to be in their early twenties, with a troubled expression.

He knew their combat strength wasn’t ordinary, but they were still just barely adults.

To someone in their mid-thirties like Yeongwoo, they looked like kids.

‘Well, the fact that I’m a candidate for the strongest in our country is more of a problem.’

Yeongwoo carefully observed those who would now become the guardians of the western border of Korea.

Then the Strongest Sword of Michuhol pointed with a slightly displeased expression at Yeongwoo’s belt, which was lying far away.

“Um, mister.”

“Yeah?”

“Can you put your clothes on now?”

“Oh.”

Come to think of it, he had thrown off all his clothes for the duel.

“But I can’t wear a top anyway, so it doesn’t make much difference.”

“Why can’t you wear a top…?”

Michuhol looked shocked.

But they couldn’t hear the answer.

Rumble…!

Yeongjong Island, which had been cutting through the Yellow Sea, suddenly shook violently.

“What, what’s this?”

“What is it? Is there a problem?”

While everyone was startled and looking around for something to grab onto, Yeongwoo, sensing something, turned his head towards the sea.

‘It seems like we’re slowing down.’

And sure enough.

“……!”

The horizon looked much thicker than the last time he checked.

‘We really are almost there. That must be Chinese land.’

To the naked eye, it was still just a thick horizon, but at five times magnification, the story would be different.

Yeongwoo immediately activated his “clairvoyance” to examine the horizon again.

Flash!

Then he saw countless Chinese people gathered along the coastline, presumably the southern tip of Shandong Province.

‘…My God, are they preparing for war?’

As someone from the Korean Peninsula, frequently invaded by foreign powers, Yeongwoo assumed the worst.

But what happened next completely overturned his pessimistic imagination.

Moments later, a banner written in Korean was raised among the Chinese crowd, and it read,

“Shandong Province welcomes your arrival… Shandong’s Twin Evil, Zhang Jaham.”

[TL/N: Contextually correct name would be zhang since that’s more of a real chinese name than jang which is kinda korean, so that’s the name we’ll use in future.]

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]