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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Shrine
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What kind of swordsmanship is the Haenam Sword Sect’s special technique, the Haenam Thirty-Six Swords?
If you ask the swordsmen of the Central Plains, nine out of ten will answer like this:
A marvelous swordsmanship that pours out attacks like the waves of the sea, and when defending, draws the opponent in like the receding tide, restricting their movements.
Its movements were as fierce and swift as waves, to the extent that even the proud martial artists of the Central Plains acknowledged the Haenam Thirty-Six Swords as an excellent special technique.
Therefore, Mu-guang had confidence that the 24 forms of the Haenam Thirty-Six Swords that second-grade disciples were given access to , could rival any swordsmanship.
The Haenam Thirty-Six Swords was a sufficiently powerful swordsmanship even without the latter forms, which only first-grade disciples were allowed to access.
Especially with his own understanding of the sword, which was particularly sharp and precise among second-grade disciples.
So although his realm was lacking and his qi output was immature, he had perfectly grasped the swordsmanship itself.
‘Even though Senior Martial Brother Mu-guang is obsessed with sparring, his skills are good…’
‘Junior Martial Brother Mu-guang will personally show the fearsome might of the Haenam Thirty-Six Swords to the foreign swordsman.’
The disciples of the Haenam Sword Sect, who had never set foot outside Haenam Island in their lives, watched with anticipation of how William would face the Haenam Thirty-Six Swords, never even considering the possibility that the foreign swordsman could win.
Mu-guang, the disciple who carried the expectations of his fellow disciples, drew out the first form, which was the starting point of the offense.
“I’ll go first! One Strike, Ten Thousand Waves!”
A wave of sword strikes that pressured the opponent by fiercely continuing even if blocked or evaded.
A martial artist who knew the Haenam Thirty-Six Swords would watch for an opportunity to cut off the flow and attempt a counterattack, but if they didn’t know, they would lose the initiative to the continuously linked attacks and inevitably allow a strike.
Even if they luckily block the first form, the essence of the Haenam Thirty-Six Swords’ transformation was to immediately change the sword path and continue the offense with the next form, not giving a chance to counterattack.
‘The moment the first form is blocked, to the third form…’
His first form flew towards William’s chest, accurately and swiftly drawing the sword path.
In reality, it was closer to a probing attack.
Through this move, Mu-guang wanted to get a glimpse of what Western swordsmanship was like.
‘Slow sword? Heavy sword? Swift sword? What could it be…’
What kind of swordsmanship would William show in response to the Haenam Thirty-Six Swords?
Mu-guang looked at William’s sword with eyes full of anticipation.
The moment the swords intertwined, William’s wooden sword slid along Mu-guang’s wooden sword towards the inside, as if it had been oiled.
The wooden sword that slid along the blade eventually collided with the base of the blade.
At this rate, it wouldn’t be strange to enter a contest of strength.
However, both in the Central Plains and the Western Regions, clashing blades and competing in strength was a foolish action that only occurred in acts.
The two, like skilled swordsmen, drew out their next moves.
Mu-guang used the fourth form, Balance begets Fierce Waves, and William…
“Huh?!”
Mu-guang’s head tilted back, instinctively sensing danger.
In Mu-guang’s vision, who narrowly avoided the attack, the hilt of the wooden sword entered his sight.
A completely unexpected sudden attack.
Not a slash, not a thrust, but a smash.
If he hadn’t followed his instincts, he would have offered his forehead to that move.
Mu-guang swallowed his saliva and immediately retreated backward to gain distance.
“You dodged it.”
William let out an exclamation mixed with regret.
It was praise for Mu-guang, who showed a more agile reaction than he expected.
‘For now… shall I observe?’
He gripped the handle with both hands and raised it to head level.
Then, he aimed the blunt tip of the wooden sword at Mu-guang.
Ox guard.
A stance for both offense and defense, often favored by knights.
Faced with a stance he had never seen before, Mu-guang didn’t readily take the offensive.
He couldn’t predict what kind of attacks and defenses were possible from William’s stance.
At a glance, the stance with the handle pulled back behind the head seemed like it could lead to a thrust, and the slightly bent wrist seemed like it could unwind into a slash.
Mu-guang assumed a basic stance and reviewed the previous attack.
‘Using the force from sliding along the blade, he penetrated inward.’
Just when it seemed like a defense maneuver, it transformed into an offensive one in an instant, utilizing a strange movement.
Whether it was an improvisation or a characteristic of Western swordsmanship could only be confirmed by further clashing swords.
The corners of Mu-guang’s mouth reached his ears.
‘This is fun!’
Western swordsmanship that was vastly different from the martial arts world’s swordsmanship.
Mu-guang suppressed his excitement.
There was no situation more dangerous than getting excited during a spar.
William also wanted to observe Haenam’s swordsmanship a bit more, so instead of pursuing his opponent as he would on the battlefield, he stood still and maintained his stance.
“This is kind of boring.”
“I thought they would be madly exchanging blows…”
Disappointed words flowed from the disciples’ mouths.
They had expected a scene where the two swordsmen would roam around the training hall in a dance, their swords intertwining.
However, the moment the two swordsmen crossed swords was fleeting.
William didn’t rush in, and Mu-guang hesitated to take the initiative.
The training hall was soon enveloped in a suffocating silence.
What broke that silence was Mu-guang’s exclamation.
“Using the hilt instead of the blade… If I had been a little late, I would have been lying on the training hall floor by now.”
“I thought it would end with that just now, but your senses are good.”
William answered Mu-guang’s exclamation with a shrug of his shoulders.
To think you would dodge that.
‘As expected, those who don’t wear armor are agile.’
Or is it because of their footwork?
William didn’t miss Mu-guang’s feet treading a strange path as he rushed forward.
‘For now, I need to adapt to his agile movements.’
William also analyzed Mu-guang’s first move and prepared for the offensive.
And so, they were in a situation where they were watching each other.
Only when the grumbling of the spectators and the breathing of the two filled the training hall, Mu-guang opened his mouth.
“May I request to see another move?”
‘I attacked first last time, so this time you attack.’
At Mu-guang’s clear expression of intent, William bent his right leg and lowered his stance.
Naturally, the handle above his head also lowered to his waist, and the tip of the sword rose diagonally upward.
‘Only basic stances in succession… Are there no techniques?’
Come to think of it, the previous movement was also too concise to be called a technique, wasn’t it? The moment Mu-guang had that thought,
William charged towards Mu-guang like a rampaging rhinoceros.
A simple and straightforward movement without the flash or complexity of the Central Plains’ footwork.
But an approach so swift that it belied his large physique.
Instead of evading the charge, Mu-guang pulled his upper body back and raised his sword in an attempt to break the flow of the attack.
He would deflect the attack with the blade and return the previous first move with a rotating sword strike.
The swords of the two, who had different thoughts, clashed in midair.
And Mu-guang was startled by William’s action-gripping the sword he usually held with both hands, with one hand, and extending his left arm.
‘Letting go of the sword!’
Letting go of a sword held with both hands while clashing would be a dangerous action.
But William released his left hand from the handle as if it was natural.
His left arm wrapped around Mu-guang’s arm from the outside, locking the two together, before rotating his body.
“Argh!”
William, who naturally ended up twisting Mu-guang’s right arm from behind, confirmed Mu-guang’s wooden sword flying backward and released his stance.
“Hey, are you okay?”
‘What just happened?’
Mu-guang looked at his own sword that had flown far away with a perplexed face.
The moment the swords touched, a large and long arm wrapped around his, and the arm twisted backward-
‘Did I twist it too hard? I hope it’s not fractured.’
Since it was a legitimate spar, no one would make a fuss about it now, but it would still leave a bitter aftertaste if an injury occurred.
William approached Mu-guang, who was kneeling and not moving, and tried to place his hand on his shoulder but refrained after remembering that he had just twisted that arm.
“Hey-”
“I’m fine. I was just surprised by Sir William’s move.”
Mu-guang raised his head and looked up at William. In his eyes, a competitive fire could be seen.
‘Sword fanatics are all the same.’
William held out his hand to Mu-guang. Mu-guang stared at his hand for a moment, then grabbed it and got up.
“I lost.”
“It was a good spar.”
In fact, they only crossed swords twice, but it was a spar with much to learn from, so the two had no complaints.
“Sir William. If you have time…”
“If you want.”
Gaining a rehabilitation training sandbag… no, helper.
“Hoho…”
Mu-guang’s master, who had closely observed the spar’s exchanges, stroked his beard and showed a bittersweet smile.
‘That kid won’t beg other disciples for spars anymore.’
How many times had he been scolded by the Sect Leader because of his disciple who was crazy about swords?
It seemed that life was over now.
He looked at the foreign swordsman, who was talking with Mu-guang, with eyes full of goodwill.
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Good man.
Noice
Good will? I am not think so