Boom! Ka-boom!
Dust clouds kicked up from seemingly everywhere.
This spectacle was quite impressive to behold. However, finding it enjoyable was another matter altogether when knowing human bodies slamming into the unforgivingly solid ground had caused this spectacle in the first place. This was Wiggins' sentiment on this situation.
"Hmm, maybe that was a bit too much...?"
He lightly swung his wand to activate a wind spell. Powerful gusts of wind swept across the scene to blow away the dust, revealing humans buried in the ground like stakes.
These people weren't even buried that deeply. However, the impact should still be considerable since 'craters' had formed where they made contact with the ground.
Wiggins scratched his head while looking troubled. He honestly had no thoughts of being this heavy-handed. Things ended up this way because he, too, lacked any sort of understanding of what this Thousand-Jin Ballast technique was like. He thought everything would be more or less fine if this technique merely raised one's weight as that didn't have any bearing on gravity. But now...
"How was I supposed to know that your technique generated a downward force?"
The martial artists nailed to the ground writhed in agony. Several even vomited out pure crimson fresh blood from their mouths, too. Still, it seemed no one suffered from grave (?) injuries, which was a relief to Wiggins.
Well, no one died, so that should be a sign that things were okay, no?
"Kuh-hum. Anyways. Engrave today's lesson on your souls, gentlemen. Charging at your enemy without figuring out first who you are dealing with is reckless and stupid. Unless you are blessed with nine lives, always remain wary of unfamiliar things."
Sure, the end result might not change all that much whether they remained wary or not. But it'd still ensure they would be 'fine' for extra few minutes, which was better than nothing.
"Well, your fundamental problems are still there, but that's a story for another day. Binding," Wiggins muttered while performing strange hand signs.
That was when tree roots-like things gushed out of the ground to tightly bind and restrict the collapsed martial artists.
Wiggins didn't even spare a glance at the bound martial artists and walked toward Director Choi. "My apologies. Have you been waiting for long?"
Director Choi's lips opened as if he wanted to say something, only for him to clamp his mouth shut. He hesitated for what felt like an eternity before his voice containing dispirited anger leaked out of his mouth. "Didn't you say you were a knight?"
"Mm? Yes, I was."
"Then, why aren't you using your sword!"
Wiggins couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, explaining this situation might take a while. Yes, there was a time in the distant past when a knight's title was a privilege exclusive to only those swordsmen deemed chivalrous. However, people start pursuing better utility as time goes on, no? As you can probably tell by now, my method does boast better efficiency and practicality. Besides, the importance of magic has only become more recognized in the modern era."
Director Choi faltered, then tried to say something.
However, Wiggins abruptly raised his hand and cut the director off. "Still, no need to feel disappointed. As I've said earlier, I'm a dual class. So, I shall now demonstrate my swordsmanship."
Wiggins' hand holding the wand suddenly disappeared into empty space. Eventually, his hand emerged out into the open, but the wand was gone.
Director Choi grimaced. "...Do you switch up your techniques depending on your opponents?"
"No, not really," Wiggins leisurely explained himself. "Using different techniques one at a time will not get you acknowledged as a dual class. So, I'm quite literally a magic swordsman. As in, a man who uses magic and swords. Isn't that cool?"
"...Cool?"
"Yes. It is every boy's dream, isn't it?" Wiggins cackled loudly. "My former colleagues with no sense of style used to deride me for thinking this way, but the truth about a magic swordsman is that only the chosen few can become one. It's like the sign of being a true warrior."
"You are insane!" Director Choi unhesitantly spat out his impression of Wiggins' utterance.
Wiggins' shoulders dejectedly slumped lower. "Is it that hard to accept the truth?"
"Shut up, you abominable bastard! I now know you're strong! But it's not over yet!"
"Of course I also know that. If it did end like this, I'd also be disappointed by how anti-climatic it was."
Director Choi's heart tightened. He could see that this former knight named Wiggins was relaxed. Utterly confident and unperturbed. And that heaped more burden on Director Choi's shoulders than he could handle.
'That man isn't even Kang Jin-Ho, yet we still can't even...!'
Director Choi did suspect that something was up when he heard about Kang Jin-Ho personally accepting that foreigner into the Martial Assembly. Still, to think Wiggins was this strong!
"Director Choi, please calm down!"
"Oh..." Director Choi hurriedly sobered up when a familiar voice hit him from behind.
"Director, this is not our first time dealing with a bastard using evil sorcery. In the end, sorcery is still sorcery! It can never match up to our orthodox techniques!"
"Y-yes, you're right..." Director Choi hurriedly nodded in a desperate attempt to shake off the anxiety in his heart. Unfortunately, this damn anxiety proved to be far more stubborn than he bargained for.
'Can you even call that evil sorcery, though?'
What was sorcery, anyway? If something was beyond one's capacity to comprehend, it'd automatically be labeled as 'sorcery'. It seemed Director Choi's fellow martial artists didn't want to change their repertoire at this late point in their lives.
Still, that relieved some pressure off Director Choi. Since these men were willing to disparage the enemy's abilities as some lowly sorcery, didn't that indicate they hadn't lost their will to fight? Which was quite different from Director Choi's situation, as he had almost given up by now.
How tragically amusing this was. Director Choi had figured out how strong his opponent was, so his fighting spirit had largely wilted away. However, his peers recklessly disparaging Wiggins' powers as some cheap sorcery were raring to attack that former knight.
Director Choi gained a renewed appreciation of the idea of ignorance breeding courage. Still, this was better than cowering away, so Director Choi was grateful for their ignorance, at least for the time being.
'Just from where does Kang Jin-Ho keep finding people like Wiggins?!'
Even that giant named Vator was like this. Director Choi didn't need to exchange moves with that big man to figure out how incredibly powerful Vator was. Just taking one look at Vator's hulking physique was enough. That physique seemed to scream that Vator had reached the absolute pinnacle of external arts.
Vator's appearance alone was enough to overwhelm Director Choi. However, even this foreigner turned out to be someone extraordinary!
Wiggins smirked. "No need to look at me like that. I'm also a human being like you."
"W-what are you talking about, you bastard!" Director Choi yelled back.
"Mm? Weren't you shocked by my powers?"
Director Choi scowled deeply. He oh-so wanted to punch Wiggins' smirk off that detestable face but refrained from doing anything rash.
Wiggins continued to smirk. "Director Choi, you don't need to rack your brain that hard. Your future has already been set in stone, you see?"
"Say what? How so?!"
"You're having so much trouble dealing with someone like me, yet you think you can handle my lord? Even ten of me can't win against him, you know?"
Director Choi's brows quivered in shock. "T-that's how strong Kang Jin-Ho is?"
"Huh? Are there only blind people in this place?" Wiggins tilted his head while narrowing his eyes.
He wasn't making an empty threat here. No, Wiggins genuinely believed ten of him would still not be enough to emerge victorious against Kang Jin-Ho. His abilities could potentially bewilder Kang Jin-Ho and create an opening for an attack. However, when the battle eventually shifted gear into close-quarter fisticuffs, Wiggins would never be able to keep up with Kang Jin-Ho's pace.
The situation of Wiggins wasting his energy but not leaving behind any appreciable damage to Kang Jin-Ho would repeat itself. In that case, the battle would turn into one of attrition. However, Kang Jin-Ho's stamina was like an active volcano's, which allowed him to remain relatively fresh even after a fierce battle against Vator. Considering that... How was someone like Wiggins, who wasn't a youngster anymore, keep up?
"Listen, Director Choi. There is this thing called wisdom that comes with age, yes? As you get older, you become more cautious and develop an eye for gauging your opponent's abilities. However, it seems your eyes are only for decorations. Just what madness drove you all to oppose my lord?"
"Shut the hell up, you bastard!" Director Choi roared in rage. "We built up the Yeongnam Group! Yes, we did! We and Kim Seok-Il! But some random punk that blew in with a passing wind wants to devour our Yeongnam Group?! Do you expect us to sit back and clap our hands like fools?! This... This is not the issue of winning or losing, dammit!"
Wiggins chuckled. "Most issues in the world are about winning or losing, Director Choi."
"Don't make me laugh! If, if... If your country is being pillaged by a more powerful enemy nation, are you just going to roll over and give up because you know you can't win?!"
"Mm, well..." Wiggins scratched his head. "When you put it that way, I can't help but sympathize with why you're doing this."
Of course, that didn't mean Wiggins fully understood these men and their motivations. To him, comparing one's loyalty toward the Yeongnam Group to patriotism toward one's country was incomprehensible, to begin with.
However, this verbal exchange made one thing certain. Now that Director Choi said things like that, arriving at a compromise was no longer possible. Even though neither Wiggins nor Director Choi was thinking of doing that in the first place.
"If that's what you believe, then any further persuasion will be pointless," said Wiggins. "Still, allow me to offer you a piece of advice. If that's what you genuinely believe, you should've chosen a different method. You should've thought long and hard about if it's really wise to gather some random riff-raff to form the resistance army and attack the occupying force."
"It seems you foreigners are too talkative!"
"Well, I can't deny that."
Screeeech...!
Wiggins casually dragged the tip of his longsword on the ground. The unpleasant screeching noise got on the nerves of the Yeongnam Group elders.
"What's the point of talking any further at this point? We're enemies, anyway. Although I'm slightly bummed out that my first battle in Korea is to quell internal unrest, it's all good as long as I can wield my sword. Now, come! You all have your duties to fulfill, while I need to prove my strength. Since that is the case, let us agree that our purposes align rather nicely!"
Director Choi's expression became a little more heated up as he glared at Wiggins. This former knight was right. They only needed to fight. Yapping on about whose stance was right and whatnot wouldn't convince the other party to put their weapons down and retreat.
Even then, why was Director Choi so desperate to drag things out by talking? He bitterly chewed on his lips since he knew why. He knew that they had no chance of winning here.
If he didn't have the eye to discern the opponent's combat strength, Director Choi wouldn't have survived until now. After all, he had lived through the way-too-long era of conflicts and the accompanying darkness. If he had been too slow-witted to see how strong his opponents were, Director Choi would've already been buried in the backwoods somewhere and turned into a bug-infested skeleton by now!
This battle was something he could not back down. However, his defeat was inevitable. And the awareness of his situation mercilessly tormented Director Choi.
'Even then, we... must win!'
Director Choi's expression grew icy. This battle might be a lost cause, but they must win the war itself! If they crumbled here, everything they had prepared for would be for nothing!
"Tell everyone to get ready!"
"Yes, Director Choi!"
Director Choi growled quietly. "Tie him down. Keep him occupied. That's all I ask for. I won't tell you to risk your necks. However, you should still be prepared for heavy injuries, at the very least! With that much determination, it should be doable."
"Kekeke, Director Choi? It seems you've gotten old! The past you would've told us to never back down even if we die."
"You never listened to me, anyway. You punks!" Director Choi grunted, then clenched his teeth. Why did it feel like these bastards had become even more detestable after getting a bit older? Still, such qualities were greatly appreciated in a situation like this. "Let's go! It's too humiliating to let a foreigner continue to pillage our land like this!"
Elders carefully approached Wiggins. The former knight leisurely watched the aging warriors surround him and smirked odiously. "It's not my hobby to abuse the elderly, but..."
"You are no spring chicken yourself! Still, you're young enough to do chores for us if you were born on this side!"
"I'll have to decline. Rather than chores, though... Allow me to offer you this," said Wiggins while raising his sword. Blinding rays of white light gushed out of his sword as 'aura' permeated its pristine blade. "I've demonstrated my magic plenty of times, so it's naturally the turn of my swordsmanship, don't you agree? You better be prepared, gentlemen. Our swordsmanship has been refined for many millennia!"
"That is the same story for us!"
As if there was no need to talk anymore, the elders simultaneously charged at Wiggins.
"Mm! Excellent mindset, gentlemen!"
Wiggins ever so slightly placed his sword before him to welcome the elders as a bright smile bloomed on his face.
Boom! Ka-boom!
Dust clouds kicked up from seemingly everywhere.
This spectacle was quite impressive to behold. However, finding it enjoyable was another matter altogether when knowing human bodies slamming into the unforgivingly solid ground had caused this spectacle in the first place. This was Wiggins' sentiment on this situation.
"Hmm, maybe that was a bit too much...?"
He lightly swung his wand to activate a wind spell. Powerful gusts of wind swept across the scene to blow away the dust, revealing humans buried in the ground like stakes.
These people weren't even buried that deeply. However, the impact should still be considerable since 'craters' had formed where they made contact with the ground.
Wiggins scratched his head while looking troubled. He honestly had no thoughts of being this heavy-handed. Things ended up this way because he, too, lacked any sort of understanding of what this Thousand-Jin Ballast technique was like. He thought everything would be more or less fine if this technique merely raised one's weight as that didn't have any bearing on gravity. But now...
"How was I supposed to know that your technique generated a downward force?"
The martial artists nailed to the ground writhed in agony. Several even vomited out pure crimson fresh blood from their mouths, too. Still, it seemed no one suffered from grave (?) injuries, which was a relief to Wiggins.
Well, no one died, so that should be a sign that things were okay, no?
"Kuh-hum. Anyways. Engrave today's lesson on your souls, gentlemen. Charging at your enemy without figuring out first who you are dealing with is reckless and stupid. Unless you are blessed with nine lives, always remain wary of unfamiliar things."
Sure, the end result might not change all that much whether they remained wary or not. But it'd still ensure they would be 'fine' for extra few minutes, which was better than nothing.
"Well, your fundamental problems are still there, but that's a story for another day. Binding," Wiggins muttered while performing strange hand signs.
That was when tree roots-like things gushed out of the ground to tightly bind and restrict the collapsed martial artists.
Wiggins didn't even spare a glance at the bound martial artists and walked toward Director Choi. "My apologies. Have you been waiting for long?"
Director Choi's lips opened as if he wanted to say something, only for him to clamp his mouth shut. He hesitated for what felt like an eternity before his voice containing dispirited anger leaked out of his mouth. "Didn't you say you were a knight?"
"Mm? Yes, I was."
"Then, why aren't you using your sword!"
Wiggins couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, explaining this situation might take a while. Yes, there was a time in the distant past when a knight's title was a privilege exclusive to only those swordsmen deemed chivalrous. However, people start pursuing better utility as time goes on, no? As you can probably tell by now, my method does boast better efficiency and practicality. Besides, the importance of magic has only become more recognized in the modern era."
Director Choi faltered, then tried to say something.
However, Wiggins abruptly raised his hand and cut the director off. "Still, no need to feel disappointed. As I've said earlier, I'm a dual class. So, I shall now demonstrate my swordsmanship."
Wiggins' hand holding the wand suddenly disappeared into empty space. Eventually, his hand emerged out into the open, but the wand was gone.
Director Choi grimaced. "...Do you switch up your techniques depending on your opponents?"
"No, not really," Wiggins leisurely explained himself. "Using different techniques one at a time will not get you acknowledged as a dual class. So, I'm quite literally a magic swordsman. As in, a man who uses magic and swords. Isn't that cool?"
"...Cool?"
"Yes. It is every boy's dream, isn't it?" Wiggins cackled loudly. "My former colleagues with no sense of style used to deride me for thinking this way, but the truth about a magic swordsman is that only the chosen few can become one. It's like the sign of being a true warrior."
"You are insane!" Director Choi unhesitantly spat out his impression of Wiggins' utterance.
Wiggins' shoulders dejectedly slumped lower. "Is it that hard to accept the truth?"
"Shut up, you abominable bastard! I now know you're strong! But it's not over yet!"
"Of course I also know that. If it did end like this, I'd also be disappointed by how anti-climatic it was."
Director Choi's heart tightened. He could see that this former knight named Wiggins was relaxed. Utterly confident and unperturbed. And that heaped more burden on Director Choi's shoulders than he could handle.
'That man isn't even Kang Jin-Ho, yet we still can't even...!'
Director Choi did suspect that something was up when he heard about Kang Jin-Ho personally accepting that foreigner into the Martial Assembly. Still, to think Wiggins was this strong!
"Director Choi, please calm down!"
"Oh..." Director Choi hurriedly sobered up when a familiar voice hit him from behind.
"Director, this is not our first time dealing with a bastard using evil sorcery. In the end, sorcery is still sorcery! It can never match up to our orthodox techniques!"
"Y-yes, you're right..." Director Choi hurriedly nodded in a desperate attempt to shake off the anxiety in his heart. Unfortunately, this damn anxiety proved to be far more stubborn than he bargained for.
'Can you even call that evil sorcery, though?'
What was sorcery, anyway? If something was beyond one's capacity to comprehend, it'd automatically be labeled as 'sorcery'. It seemed Director Choi's fellow martial artists didn't want to change their repertoire at this late point in their lives.
Still, that relieved some pressure off Director Choi. Since these men were willing to disparage the enemy's abilities as some lowly sorcery, didn't that indicate they hadn't lost their will to fight? Which was quite different from Director Choi's situation, as he had almost given up by now.
How tragically amusing this was. Director Choi had figured out how strong his opponent was, so his fighting spirit had largely wilted away. However, his peers recklessly disparaging Wiggins' powers as some cheap sorcery were raring to attack that former knight.
Director Choi gained a renewed appreciation of the idea of ignorance breeding courage. Still, this was better than cowering away, so Director Choi was grateful for their ignorance, at least for the time being.
'Just from where does Kang Jin-Ho keep finding people like Wiggins?!'
Even that giant named Vator was like this. Director Choi didn't need to exchange moves with that big man to figure out how incredibly powerful Vator was. Just taking one look at Vator's hulking physique was enough. That physique seemed to scream that Vator had reached the absolute pinnacle of external arts.
Vator's appearance alone was enough to overwhelm Director Choi. However, even this foreigner turned out to be someone extraordinary!
Wiggins smirked. "No need to look at me like that. I'm also a human being like you."
"W-what are you talking about, you bastard!" Director Choi yelled back.
"Mm? Weren't you shocked by my powers?"
Director Choi scowled deeply. He oh-so wanted to punch Wiggins' smirk off that detestable face but refrained from doing anything rash.
Wiggins continued to smirk. "Director Choi, you don't need to rack your brain that hard. Your future has already been set in stone, you see?"
"Say what? How so?!"
"You're having so much trouble dealing with someone like me, yet you think you can handle my lord? Even ten of me can't win against him, you know?"
Director Choi's brows quivered in shock. "T-that's how strong Kang Jin-Ho is?"
"Huh? Are there only blind people in this place?" Wiggins tilted his head while narrowing his eyes.
He wasn't making an empty threat here. No, Wiggins genuinely believed ten of him would still not be enough to emerge victorious against Kang Jin-Ho. His abilities could potentially bewilder Kang Jin-Ho and create an opening for an attack. However, when the battle eventually shifted gear into close-quarter fisticuffs, Wiggins would never be able to keep up with Kang Jin-Ho's pace.
The situation of Wiggins wasting his energy but not leaving behind any appreciable damage to Kang Jin-Ho would repeat itself. In that case, the battle would turn into one of attrition. However, Kang Jin-Ho's stamina was like an active volcano's, which allowed him to remain relatively fresh even after a fierce battle against Vator. Considering that... How was someone like Wiggins, who wasn't a youngster anymore, keep up?
"Listen, Director Choi. There is this thing called wisdom that comes with age, yes? As you get older, you become more cautious and develop an eye for gauging your opponent's abilities. However, it seems your eyes are only for decorations. Just what madness drove you all to oppose my lord?"
"Shut the hell up, you bastard!" Director Choi roared in rage. "We built up the Yeongnam Group! Yes, we did! We and Kim Seok-Il! But some random punk that blew in with a passing wind wants to devour our Yeongnam Group?! Do you expect us to sit back and clap our hands like fools?! This... This is not the issue of winning or losing, dammit!"
Wiggins chuckled. "Most issues in the world are about winning or losing, Director Choi."
"Don't make me laugh! If, if... If your country is being pillaged by a more powerful enemy nation, are you just going to roll over and give up because you know you can't win?!"
"Mm, well..." Wiggins scratched his head. "When you put it that way, I can't help but sympathize with why you're doing this."
Of course, that didn't mean Wiggins fully understood these men and their motivations. To him, comparing one's loyalty toward the Yeongnam Group to patriotism toward one's country was incomprehensible, to begin with.
However, this verbal exchange made one thing certain. Now that Director Choi said things like that, arriving at a compromise was no longer possible. Even though neither Wiggins nor Director Choi was thinking of doing that in the first place.
"If that's what you believe, then any further persuasion will be pointless," said Wiggins. "Still, allow me to offer you a piece of advice. If that's what you genuinely believe, you should've chosen a different method. You should've thought long and hard about if it's really wise to gather some random riff-raff to form the resistance army and attack the occupying force."
"It seems you foreigners are too talkative!"
"Well, I can't deny that."
Screeeech...!
Wiggins casually dragged the tip of his longsword on the ground. The unpleasant screeching noise got on the nerves of the Yeongnam Group elders.
"What's the point of talking any further at this point? We're enemies, anyway. Although I'm slightly bummed out that my first battle in Korea is to quell internal unrest, it's all good as long as I can wield my sword. Now, come! You all have your duties to fulfill, while I need to prove my strength. Since that is the case, let us agree that our purposes align rather nicely!"
Director Choi's expression became a little more heated up as he glared at Wiggins. This former knight was right. They only needed to fight. Yapping on about whose stance was right and whatnot wouldn't convince the other party to put their weapons down and retreat.
Even then, why was Director Choi so desperate to drag things out by talking? He bitterly chewed on his lips since he knew why. He knew that they had no chance of winning here.
If he didn't have the eye to discern the opponent's combat strength, Director Choi wouldn't have survived until now. After all, he had lived through the way-too-long era of conflicts and the accompanying darkness. If he had been too slow-witted to see how strong his opponents were, Director Choi would've already been buried in the backwoods somewhere and turned into a bug-infested skeleton by now!
This battle was something he could not back down. However, his defeat was inevitable. And the awareness of his situation mercilessly tormented Director Choi.
'Even then, we... must win!'
Director Choi's expression grew icy. This battle might be a lost cause, but they must win the war itself! If they crumbled here, everything they had prepared for would be for nothing!
"Tell everyone to get ready!"
"Yes, Director Choi!"
Director Choi growled quietly. "Tie him down. Keep him occupied. That's all I ask for. I won't tell you to risk your necks. However, you should still be prepared for heavy injuries, at the very least! With that much determination, it should be doable."
"Kekeke, Director Choi? It seems you've gotten old! The past you would've told us to never back down even if we die."
"You never listened to me, anyway. You punks!" Director Choi grunted, then clenched his teeth. Why did it feel like these bastards had become even more detestable after getting a bit older? Still, such qualities were greatly appreciated in a situation like this. "Let's go! It's too humiliating to let a foreigner continue to pillage our land like this!"
Elders carefully approached Wiggins. The former knight leisurely watched the aging warriors surround him and smirked odiously. "It's not my hobby to abuse the elderly, but..."
"You are no spring chicken yourself! Still, you're young enough to do chores for us if you were born on this side!"
"I'll have to decline. Rather than chores, though... Allow me to offer you this," said Wiggins while raising his sword. Blinding rays of white light gushed out of his sword as 'aura' permeated its pristine blade. "I've demonstrated my magic plenty of times, so it's naturally the turn of my swordsmanship, don't you agree? You better be prepared, gentlemen. Our swordsmanship has been refined for many millennia!"
"That is the same story for us!"
As if there was no need to talk anymore, the elders simultaneously charged at Wiggins.
"Mm! Excellent mindset, gentlemen!"
Wiggins ever so slightly placed his sword before him to welcome the elders as a bright smile bloomed on his face.
