“What a bunch of morons..." Elena coldly muttered in disapproval while watching the Yeongnam Group elders charging straight at Wiggins. It was like watching moths flocking toward a bonfire on a late Summer evening. “What do they think knights are?”
Elena wasn't saying this because the knight in question was her father. No, even if it wasn't Wiggins but some other knight of the Round Table, her evaluation would not change. That was how scarily otherworldly a knight's martial prowess was. However, anyone with a functioning brain would have figured that out for themselves.
...As long as they understood the apparent contradiction of the Round Table, that was.
The knights of the Round Table were supposed to be equals. The Master did possess the authority to mediate, but other than that? He didn't have the power to override other knights. On the surface, this arrangement seemed perfectly democratic and fair. However, the truth beneath the surface was anything but that.
Each knight represented their mother nation. They didn't discuss their opinions with their compatriots nor allowed someone to assist them. They were the sole voice of that nation, in other words. Just them alone!
Even on the surface world, presidents and premiers couldn't act as the sole representative of their respective nations and their positions. Even the kings and emperors had to be mindful of their retainers and their opinions. Any leader attempting to do everything their way was painted as a tyrant and dictator or recorded in history books as an architect of absolute monarchy.
However, the Round Table still imposed this system. It wanted one knight to act as the sole voice representing their country. In that case, it should not be difficult to imagine the incredible weight of burden placed on each knight's shoulders.
Naturally, all knights were expected to boast superior levels of martial prowess, a high degree of understanding on current affairs and various academic knowledge, as well as sharp judgment and a genius-level intellect. The training and education regime a prospective knight must receive to meet that impossible-sounding threshold would easily exceed most people's imaginations.
That was how a knight was born. Even now, Elena was quite confident about something. The only ones strong enough to oppose her father in South Korea were either Kang Jin-Ho or Vator. And even then, all they could do was physically 'oppose' Wiggins.
In terms of sheer physical prowess, Kang Jin-Ho and Vator could overwhelm Wiggins with relative ease. However, what if every facet of a person was taken into consideration? Those two men would never rival Wiggins.
If Elena was being honest, she saw someone of Knight Wiggins' caliber acting as some random director of a small country's organization as a serious waste of a talented individual. A complete disservice to humanity, that's what this was! It'd not be enough for him to serve as the Martial Assembly's Assembly Master, but a mere director?!
Didn't she nearly blow her fuse when her father was treated like some eccentric lecturer from another country by the Assembly's younger generation earlier?
'Just what does he want to achieve here?'
Elena might not respect Wiggins as a father figure, but she certainly respected him as a knight. But someone like that had cast aside everything of his to settle down in this place. Why was that? Elena just couldn't wrap her head around it.
Even if Wiggins felt limited, nay, stifled, by being a knight, wasn't his alternative choice a bit too insignificant in scope?
Elena had asked her father about this multiple times, but the only reply Wiggins offered was that she was still too young to fully understand.
'Very well. I'll keep watching, Dad.'
Elena would keep watching Wiggins to figure out what he wanted to achieve here and... And to see if he had made the right decision.
***
“Fuu-huuph!”
His arms were pulled back. Each muscle groaned and tightened as power seeped into them. Hair-raising tension quickly filled their bodies. And then...
A powerful strike came flying in!
WHOOOOSH!
The longsword was slashing down!
Wu Il-Hwan clenched his teeth as the longsword's blade closed in on his head.
That should be nothing more than a sword slash, a plain-looking downward slash that Wu Il-Hwan had defended against hundreds, thousands, nay, millions of times before! It looked like an ordinary downward slash aiming for his head, yet...
Wu Il-Hwan's expression as he tried to defend against that slash was contorted hideously in sheer dread.
“Euh!”
Wu Il-Hwan hurriedly crossed his arms, causing batons held in his hands to create a defensive X above his head. He didn't stop there and forcibly injected every ounce of qi accumulated in his hands into his batons. And then, he braced his legs to prepare against the impact force about to crash down on him.
His preparations had been pretty good. Although he wouldn't call it the perfect defense, Wu Il-Hwan still thought he had done everything he possibly could. Unfortunately for him, though... Some things in this world were impossible to resist.
BOOOOOOOOM!
That noise resembled a massive boulder rolling down a steep mountainside. It was far too loud and heavy to be produced by a human being!
The loudness of a sound was dependent on the impact force. The harder the hit, the louder it would be. So, such a loud impact noise could only mean the force behind the attack exceeded Wu Il-Hwan's imagination. And he had to pay dearly for trying to defend such an attack with his body.
“Kuh-euuuh...!”
Fresh blood gushed out of Wu Il-Hwan's mouth like a crimson waterfall. So much blood came out that he even dazedly wondered if he'd die of excessive bleeding instead.
His vision grew dimmer but he still caught the sight of his broken and bent arms.
'T-that's not a human...'
Wu Il-Hwan's thoughts couldn't continue anymore. He collapsed weakly to the ground after even his spine was crushed. Although still technically alive, his body would never recover back to normal after this.
“Hmm. Maybe I should've adjusted my strength even further...?” Wiggins tutted while grimacing. He looked genuinely troubled by what happened. He thought these elders should be able to withstand that level of force, but it seemed he had overestimated their capabilities somewhat. “My apologies.”
Wiggins wasn't mocking Wu Il-Hwan here. No, he was genuinely apologizing. He never wanted to be this heavy-handed, even if the likelihood of them working together as allies in the future was remote, to say the least.
“Kkururuk...!” Foams of blood and spit bubbled out of Wu Il-Hwan's mouth.
Wiggins casually shook the longsword to remove any blood on it, then scanned his surroundings. He could feel other people staring at him as if they were looking at a monster.
There they were, the sheer disbelief and astonishment. Wiggins was quite familiar with such gazes. He sighed exaggeratedly before addressing the silent crowd. “I know, I know. I know what you want to say right now. Allow me to apologize for failing to satisfy your expectations. Then again, people encountering martial artists from another region for the first time always seem to have a problem comprehending it.”
For some reason, folks in Asia seemed to think that the Western swordsmanship only consisted of precise, speedy strikes. Could this mindset be a victim of fencing's popularity and impact? Whatever the case might be, most people in this part of the world expected the Western swordsmanship to focus on speed and accuracy rather than pure power.
Unfortunately, that was a huge misunderstanding. Actually, it was the East that focused on speed, not the West. As for the reason why? Simple: the existence of defensive equipment.
Eastern swordsmanship evolved as a training tool. As such, it tended to overlook the existence of defensive armor; as long as the swordsman could quickly stab or slice their enemies, their victory would be guaranteed.
However, that wasn't the story in the West. When fighting against a knight completely covered from top to bottom in full-plate mail armor, or at least in chain mail, the sword strike's accuracy or speed were meaningless. This situation would be even more pronounced while riding a horse.
In that case, the optimal way was to turn the enemy into minced meat instead of cutting them up with each strike. Not to forget, it was practically a given that knights would carry around shields, too. So, the attacker had to somehow damage the enemy even if they blocked the incoming blow.
Due to these factors, the Western swordsmanship evolved to focus on pure power. If the enemy blocked with a shield, split that bloody thing up in half! If the enemy wore sturdy armor, simply chop them apart in one go! That would resolve the conflict right away.
Even so, wasn't that a bit...
'...Indeed, that is a bit dumb. Barbaric.'
People would subconsciously start anticipating certain things when a white-haired veteran picked up a sword. The attacks they would demonstrate to the world should be preternaturally swift yet flowing gently like a stream. And they should also be steeped in the experience of a veteran and techniques polished to the nth degree.
An attack that declared to the world that the expert had overcome all the loneliness and bitterness of the pursuit of martial perfection to achieve transcendence! That was the kind of attack most people would expect to see from an expert.
How unfortunate it was, then, that Wiggins couldn't answer such expectations. His swordsmanship used all the aura permeating his sword to bludgeon his opponents to death, after all!
'In times like this, I can't help but get a bit too conscious of myself...'
Indeed, Wiggins felt a bit embarrassed whenever people stared at him with eyes that screamed, 'What kind of an old man hits like that?!' He didn't know people would look at him this way until joining the Round Table and going on overseas missions for many years.
'I'm telling you, movies are to blame for this misconception!'
Knights in movies would clash swords and tumble and roll around during their action set-pieces. And those scenes seemed to have brainwashed people into believing that every Western knight fought like that!
What an insane notion that was, though! Focusing only on the enemy before one's eyes on a chaotic battlefield was the fastest way to get stabbed in the back. Which knight in their right mind would act that illogically? The important thing to remember was utility. Even so...
“Maybe I should think about attending classes in stunt choreography or something. Tsk...”
Even so, it was still uncomfortable when people looked at him this way. However, that didn't matter, anyway. Wiggins could just transform their surprise into astonishment, and that would take care of everything!
“Huph!”
Wiggins powerfully swung his sword, no longer giving his opponents time to relax.
WHOOOOOSH!
The noise of air splitting apart assaulted the Yeongnam Group elders' ears. The strike was so powerful that the soundwaves alone might be enough to kill someone!
BAAAANG!
Unsurprisingly, the power behind the strike was undeniable. A martial artist defending against the incoming flat part of the longsword was smacked away in the air. As if he was fired out of a circus cannon, the poor man flew away at a scarcely-believable speed before crashing on the ground some distance away.
Bang! Boom!
He bounced a couple of times on the ground before getting buried in the dirt. His figure remained dead-still. Unmoving.
One strike, one kill! Of course, things only ended this way because Wiggins used the flat part of his blade. If he hadn't, the two halves of that martial artist would be tumbling around on the ground by now!
“Here... We... Go!”
What happened next was a slightly odd spectacle. Each of Wiggins' sword strikes carried enough energy to seemingly blow away Mt. Tai. One swing of his sword contained the power to kill highly-trained martial artists.
However, Wiggins looked utterly calm and unhurried while attacking with so much power. His sword strikes seemed lazy and lacking in focus, as if he was doing nothing more than chasing a fly away. Even then, those who got hit still vomited blood while every bone in their body was shattered.
'Goddamn it!'
Director Choi gritted his teeth. How could Wiggins be this powerful? So powerful that it made no sense! And how was it possible for a human to wield his sword like that? It was simply incomprehensible!
'You sure have gathered some scary monsters, haven't you? Kang Jin-Ho!'
Kang Jin-Ho's strength was one thing, but to think he also enjoyed great luck with people! Director Choi grew more and more anxious as the enemy's power became more and more apparent.
'We can't lose like this!'
Behind Wiggins was none other than Lee Hyeon-Su. Obviously, everyone in the Yeongnam Group, including Director Choi, knew how calculating Lee Hyeon-Su was. The group itself had benefited greatly over the years thanks to that man's brain, after all!
Director Choi was convinced that other places were also under attack, not just here. So, if he and his peers fell now, the former knight Wiggins would leave and join the other raiding party.
Such a thing could not be allowed to happen!
'How long do you still need?!'
They only needed to buy a little more time. That was all! Just a little more time, then a way to...
“Director! We're ready!”
Color quickly returned to Director Choi's pale complexion when he heard that yell. He looked back and cried out, “It's about damn time! Shoot, now! Kill the bastard!”
“Yes, director!”
Director Choi smirked villainously while glaring at Wiggins.
'Yes, I acknowledge that you're strong. However!'
However, the era had changed. These days, an individual's strength wasn't enough to achieve anything. And soon, that foreigner would learn that painful truth! No, wait...
He'd die before learning that lesson!
***
'What's that...?'
Elena frowned, her probing eyes trying to read the current situation down below.
As expected, none of these so-called elders were a match for her father. However, this fight had already been decided when those people tried to fight while not knowing what kind of an existence a knight of the Round Table was.
If they knew, those people would never have gotten into an open confrontation with a knight when their forces were so pathetic. Indeed, they would've tried to flee as soon as spotting Wiggins' approach.
Their fate had been sealed when they chose to hurl some choice words to hurt each other's feelings like school kids before grouping up in the middle.
Elena thought that to herself while casually scanning the ground below... Only to spot something strange.
What she saw should not be visible from the ground, but Elena was floating mid-air. The angle made it probably too tricky to notice anything for the people on the ground.
That spot was a window of the former Yeongnam Group HQ building. And between the window frames, she could see something black protruding ever so slightly. It was slender and long, like a...
'...A barrel?!'
Before her brain could fully process the information, Elean's mouth cried out first. “Dad! Watch out! There's a sniper!”
Unfortunately, her voice was drowned out by the echo of a loud gunshot.
“What a bunch of morons..." Elena coldly muttered in disapproval while watching the Yeongnam Group elders charging straight at Wiggins. It was like watching moths flocking toward a bonfire on a late Summer evening. “What do they think knights are?”
Elena wasn't saying this because the knight in question was her father. No, even if it wasn't Wiggins but some other knight of the Round Table, her evaluation would not change. That was how scarily otherworldly a knight's martial prowess was. However, anyone with a functioning brain would have figured that out for themselves.
...As long as they understood the apparent contradiction of the Round Table, that was.
The knights of the Round Table were supposed to be equals. The Master did possess the authority to mediate, but other than that? He didn't have the power to override other knights. On the surface, this arrangement seemed perfectly democratic and fair. However, the truth beneath the surface was anything but that.
Each knight represented their mother nation. They didn't discuss their opinions with their compatriots nor allowed someone to assist them. They were the sole voice of that nation, in other words. Just them alone!
Even on the surface world, presidents and premiers couldn't act as the sole representative of their respective nations and their positions. Even the kings and emperors had to be mindful of their retainers and their opinions. Any leader attempting to do everything their way was painted as a tyrant and dictator or recorded in history books as an architect of absolute monarchy.
However, the Round Table still imposed this system. It wanted one knight to act as the sole voice representing their country. In that case, it should not be difficult to imagine the incredible weight of burden placed on each knight's shoulders.
Naturally, all knights were expected to boast superior levels of martial prowess, a high degree of understanding on current affairs and various academic knowledge, as well as sharp judgment and a genius-level intellect. The training and education regime a prospective knight must receive to meet that impossible-sounding threshold would easily exceed most people's imaginations.
That was how a knight was born. Even now, Elena was quite confident about something. The only ones strong enough to oppose her father in South Korea were either Kang Jin-Ho or Vator. And even then, all they could do was physically 'oppose' Wiggins.
In terms of sheer physical prowess, Kang Jin-Ho and Vator could overwhelm Wiggins with relative ease. However, what if every facet of a person was taken into consideration? Those two men would never rival Wiggins.
If Elena was being honest, she saw someone of Knight Wiggins' caliber acting as some random director of a small country's organization as a serious waste of a talented individual. A complete disservice to humanity, that's what this was! It'd not be enough for him to serve as the Martial Assembly's Assembly Master, but a mere director?!
Didn't she nearly blow her fuse when her father was treated like some eccentric lecturer from another country by the Assembly's younger generation earlier?
'Just what does he want to achieve here?'
Elena might not respect Wiggins as a father figure, but she certainly respected him as a knight. But someone like that had cast aside everything of his to settle down in this place. Why was that? Elena just couldn't wrap her head around it.
Even if Wiggins felt limited, nay, stifled, by being a knight, wasn't his alternative choice a bit too insignificant in scope?
Elena had asked her father about this multiple times, but the only reply Wiggins offered was that she was still too young to fully understand.
'Very well. I'll keep watching, Dad.'
Elena would keep watching Wiggins to figure out what he wanted to achieve here and... And to see if he had made the right decision.
***
“Fuu-huuph!”
His arms were pulled back. Each muscle groaned and tightened as power seeped into them. Hair-raising tension quickly filled their bodies. And then...
A powerful strike came flying in!
WHOOOOSH!
The longsword was slashing down!
Wu Il-Hwan clenched his teeth as the longsword's blade closed in on his head.
That should be nothing more than a sword slash, a plain-looking downward slash that Wu Il-Hwan had defended against hundreds, thousands, nay, millions of times before! It looked like an ordinary downward slash aiming for his head, yet...
Wu Il-Hwan's expression as he tried to defend against that slash was contorted hideously in sheer dread.
“Euh!”
Wu Il-Hwan hurriedly crossed his arms, causing batons held in his hands to create a defensive X above his head. He didn't stop there and forcibly injected every ounce of qi accumulated in his hands into his batons. And then, he braced his legs to prepare against the impact force about to crash down on him.
His preparations had been pretty good. Although he wouldn't call it the perfect defense, Wu Il-Hwan still thought he had done everything he possibly could. Unfortunately for him, though... Some things in this world were impossible to resist.
BOOOOOOOOM!
That noise resembled a massive boulder rolling down a steep mountainside. It was far too loud and heavy to be produced by a human being!
The loudness of a sound was dependent on the impact force. The harder the hit, the louder it would be. So, such a loud impact noise could only mean the force behind the attack exceeded Wu Il-Hwan's imagination. And he had to pay dearly for trying to defend such an attack with his body.
“Kuh-euuuh...!”
Fresh blood gushed out of Wu Il-Hwan's mouth like a crimson waterfall. So much blood came out that he even dazedly wondered if he'd die of excessive bleeding instead.
His vision grew dimmer but he still caught the sight of his broken and bent arms.
'T-that's not a human...'
Wu Il-Hwan's thoughts couldn't continue anymore. He collapsed weakly to the ground after even his spine was crushed. Although still technically alive, his body would never recover back to normal after this.
“Hmm. Maybe I should've adjusted my strength even further...?” Wiggins tutted while grimacing. He looked genuinely troubled by what happened. He thought these elders should be able to withstand that level of force, but it seemed he had overestimated their capabilities somewhat. “My apologies.”
Wiggins wasn't mocking Wu Il-Hwan here. No, he was genuinely apologizing. He never wanted to be this heavy-handed, even if the likelihood of them working together as allies in the future was remote, to say the least.
“Kkururuk...!” Foams of blood and spit bubbled out of Wu Il-Hwan's mouth.
Wiggins casually shook the longsword to remove any blood on it, then scanned his surroundings. He could feel other people staring at him as if they were looking at a monster.
There they were, the sheer disbelief and astonishment. Wiggins was quite familiar with such gazes. He sighed exaggeratedly before addressing the silent crowd. “I know, I know. I know what you want to say right now. Allow me to apologize for failing to satisfy your expectations. Then again, people encountering martial artists from another region for the first time always seem to have a problem comprehending it.”
For some reason, folks in Asia seemed to think that the Western swordsmanship only consisted of precise, speedy strikes. Could this mindset be a victim of fencing's popularity and impact? Whatever the case might be, most people in this part of the world expected the Western swordsmanship to focus on speed and accuracy rather than pure power.
Unfortunately, that was a huge misunderstanding. Actually, it was the East that focused on speed, not the West. As for the reason why? Simple: the existence of defensive equipment.
Eastern swordsmanship evolved as a training tool. As such, it tended to overlook the existence of defensive armor; as long as the swordsman could quickly stab or slice their enemies, their victory would be guaranteed.
However, that wasn't the story in the West. When fighting against a knight completely covered from top to bottom in full-plate mail armor, or at least in chain mail, the sword strike's accuracy or speed were meaningless. This situation would be even more pronounced while riding a horse.
In that case, the optimal way was to turn the enemy into minced meat instead of cutting them up with each strike. Not to forget, it was practically a given that knights would carry around shields, too. So, the attacker had to somehow damage the enemy even if they blocked the incoming blow.
Due to these factors, the Western swordsmanship evolved to focus on pure power. If the enemy blocked with a shield, split that bloody thing up in half! If the enemy wore sturdy armor, simply chop them apart in one go! That would resolve the conflict right away.
Even so, wasn't that a bit...
'...Indeed, that is a bit dumb. Barbaric.'
People would subconsciously start anticipating certain things when a white-haired veteran picked up a sword. The attacks they would demonstrate to the world should be preternaturally swift yet flowing gently like a stream. And they should also be steeped in the experience of a veteran and techniques polished to the nth degree.
An attack that declared to the world that the expert had overcome all the loneliness and bitterness of the pursuit of martial perfection to achieve transcendence! That was the kind of attack most people would expect to see from an expert.
How unfortunate it was, then, that Wiggins couldn't answer such expectations. His swordsmanship used all the aura permeating his sword to bludgeon his opponents to death, after all!
'In times like this, I can't help but get a bit too conscious of myself...'
Indeed, Wiggins felt a bit embarrassed whenever people stared at him with eyes that screamed, 'What kind of an old man hits like that?!' He didn't know people would look at him this way until joining the Round Table and going on overseas missions for many years.
'I'm telling you, movies are to blame for this misconception!'
Knights in movies would clash swords and tumble and roll around during their action set-pieces. And those scenes seemed to have brainwashed people into believing that every Western knight fought like that!
What an insane notion that was, though! Focusing only on the enemy before one's eyes on a chaotic battlefield was the fastest way to get stabbed in the back. Which knight in their right mind would act that illogically? The important thing to remember was utility. Even so...
“Maybe I should think about attending classes in stunt choreography or something. Tsk...”
Even so, it was still uncomfortable when people looked at him this way. However, that didn't matter, anyway. Wiggins could just transform their surprise into astonishment, and that would take care of everything!
“Huph!”
Wiggins powerfully swung his sword, no longer giving his opponents time to relax.
WHOOOOOSH!
The noise of air splitting apart assaulted the Yeongnam Group elders' ears. The strike was so powerful that the soundwaves alone might be enough to kill someone!
BAAAANG!
Unsurprisingly, the power behind the strike was undeniable. A martial artist defending against the incoming flat part of the longsword was smacked away in the air. As if he was fired out of a circus cannon, the poor man flew away at a scarcely-believable speed before crashing on the ground some distance away.
Bang! Boom!
He bounced a couple of times on the ground before getting buried in the dirt. His figure remained dead-still. Unmoving.
One strike, one kill! Of course, things only ended this way because Wiggins used the flat part of his blade. If he hadn't, the two halves of that martial artist would be tumbling around on the ground by now!
“Here... We... Go!”
What happened next was a slightly odd spectacle. Each of Wiggins' sword strikes carried enough energy to seemingly blow away Mt. Tai. One swing of his sword contained the power to kill highly-trained martial artists.
However, Wiggins looked utterly calm and unhurried while attacking with so much power. His sword strikes seemed lazy and lacking in focus, as if he was doing nothing more than chasing a fly away. Even then, those who got hit still vomited blood while every bone in their body was shattered.
'Goddamn it!'
Director Choi gritted his teeth. How could Wiggins be this powerful? So powerful that it made no sense! And how was it possible for a human to wield his sword like that? It was simply incomprehensible!
'You sure have gathered some scary monsters, haven't you? Kang Jin-Ho!'
Kang Jin-Ho's strength was one thing, but to think he also enjoyed great luck with people! Director Choi grew more and more anxious as the enemy's power became more and more apparent.
'We can't lose like this!'
Behind Wiggins was none other than Lee Hyeon-Su. Obviously, everyone in the Yeongnam Group, including Director Choi, knew how calculating Lee Hyeon-Su was. The group itself had benefited greatly over the years thanks to that man's brain, after all!
Director Choi was convinced that other places were also under attack, not just here. So, if he and his peers fell now, the former knight Wiggins would leave and join the other raiding party.
Such a thing could not be allowed to happen!
'How long do you still need?!'
They only needed to buy a little more time. That was all! Just a little more time, then a way to...
“Director! We're ready!”
Color quickly returned to Director Choi's pale complexion when he heard that yell. He looked back and cried out, “It's about damn time! Shoot, now! Kill the bastard!”
“Yes, director!”
Director Choi smirked villainously while glaring at Wiggins.
'Yes, I acknowledge that you're strong. However!'
However, the era had changed. These days, an individual's strength wasn't enough to achieve anything. And soon, that foreigner would learn that painful truth! No, wait...
He'd die before learning that lesson!
***
'What's that...?'
Elena frowned, her probing eyes trying to read the current situation down below.
As expected, none of these so-called elders were a match for her father. However, this fight had already been decided when those people tried to fight while not knowing what kind of an existence a knight of the Round Table was.
If they knew, those people would never have gotten into an open confrontation with a knight when their forces were so pathetic. Indeed, they would've tried to flee as soon as spotting Wiggins' approach.
Their fate had been sealed when they chose to hurl some choice words to hurt each other's feelings like school kids before grouping up in the middle.
Elena thought that to herself while casually scanning the ground below... Only to spot something strange.
What she saw should not be visible from the ground, but Elena was floating mid-air. The angle made it probably too tricky to notice anything for the people on the ground.
That spot was a window of the former Yeongnam Group HQ building. And between the window frames, she could see something black protruding ever so slightly. It was slender and long, like a...
'...A barrel?!'
Before her brain could fully process the information, Elean's mouth cried out first. “Dad! Watch out! There's a sniper!”
Unfortunately, her voice was drowned out by the echo of a loud gunshot.
