Chapter 50

Chapter 50. Northbound Train (2)

"So..."

Jegal Geum stroked his white beard and nodded.

"You're the young people who've recently been making names for yourselves in the central-western region."

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

Seok Taejun asked cautiously...

"Sir, what brought you to Cheonan?"

"I heard that a rare item would appear at an auction house here."

"I also wanted to take a look at the atmosphere in the central-western region."

"So I came down for a short visit."

"An auction..."

"Yes."

Jegal Geum smiled.

"Would you like to see what I bought?"

A short while later...

He showed them a rather old-looking sword.

Its blade appeared dull.

It didn't look especially impressive.

"What is it?"

"The Mountain-Breaking Sword."

Jegal Geum smiled.

"A genuine one."

"Mountain-Breaking Sword...?"

"...?!"

Lee Jukheon, who had been listening quietly, suddenly stood.

"Old man."

He stared at the weapon.

"That's really a Mountain-Breaking Sword?"

"Lee Jukheon, do you know what that is?"

"I used the Azure Steel Sword before."

"And I've always been interested in famous Chinese swords."

Lee Jukheon stared seriously at the old weapon.

"The name 'Mountain-Breaking' literally means breaking a mountain."

He swallowed.

"Just like the name says, it supposedly has enough power to destroy a mountain in one strike."

"Seriously?"

"The problem..."

"It's over after one use."

Jegal Geum calmly finished the sentence.

"This Mountain-Breaking Sword is a one-use weapon."

"Once you use it to unleash its enormous destructive power..."

"That's the end."

He shrugged.

"You could think of it as something like a grenade."

"Then this one hasn't been used yet?"

"An appraiser checked it."

"It's definitely unused."

"If it really can destroy a mountain, that's incredible..."

"Hey, Seok Taejun!"

Lee Jukheon suddenly shouted.

"Don't touch it casually!"

"If you mess up, your body could get cut in half!"

"I wasn't going to touch it!"

"I was just trying to look more closely."

"There was once a farmer in ancient China who accidentally discovered a Mountain-Breaking Sword."

Lee Jukheon looked serious.

"He accidentally split a stone with it."

"That single mistake destroyed its value."

"You have to handle something like this extremely carefully."

Lee Jukheon continued staring at the sword.

He was far more serious than usual.

"Old man."

"How much did you pay for it?"

Jegal Geum chuckled.

"This object's value is more as a relic than for practical use."

"This one is in good condition, so it was quite expensive."

"More than one billion Coins, I assume."

Lee Jukheon grimaced.

He still owed more than one hundred million Coins himself.

He had no chance of buying something like this.

Then Joo Minha spoke.

"Sir."

"Hm?"

"Wouldn't it be dangerous to bring such an item onto a train?"

Jegal Geum laughed.

"Don't worry."

"Even if someone wanted to steal this sword, they wouldn't be able to lay a finger on it."

In the blink of an eye...

The Mountain-Breaking Sword vanished.

Everyone looked toward the case.

The sword had already returned inside.

"You're extremely fast."

Jegal Geum smiled.

"I'm not old yet."

The movement he had just shown was anything but ordinary.

If Jegal Geum swung a sword at that speed...

Dodging would be nearly impossible.

"Sir, I wasn't talking about someone stealing it."

Jegal Geum raised an eyebrow.

"Then what?"

"If a sudden accident causes a powerful impact, the Mountain-Breaking Sword might activate by mistake."

Joo Minha remained calm.

"From what I heard, it sounds like an item that needs to be handled very carefully."

"An accident..."

"There was a train accident recently."

"If something like that happens again, it could be dangerous."

Jegal Geum chuckled.

"That's a reasonable concern."

"But..."

He smiled.

"I happen to enjoy traveling by train."

"If that's the case, there's nothing we can do."

Joo Minha turned her eyes toward the window.

"I only mentioned it because suspicious things have been flying outside for a while."

"What?"

Jegal Geum's expression changed.

Seok Taejun also looked surprised.

"J-Joo Minha, what's outside?"

"Look."

Joo Minha pointed through the window.

A winged reptile was flying through the sky.

"That's...!"

"A Wyvern."

Joo Minha spoke coldly.

"It isn't an especially powerful creature."

"Even if a single Wyvern attacks, it won't be able to do much against the train."

"So there's no need to worry."

"Then..."

"However..."

Her voice became colder.

"If there's more than one, that's different."

"...!"

At that exact moment...

The train shook violently.

The impact seemed to come from the opposite side.

"Aaaah!"

"W-What?!"

"Dozens of Wyverns?!"

Passengers screamed as they looked outside.

Countless Wyverns were flapping their wings and charging toward the train.

"Wyverns don't normally inhabit this area."

Joo Minha narrowed her eyes.

"So if this many are flying around here..."

Lee Jukheon shot to his feet.

"A Quest!"

He immediately pulled his sword from the luggage rack.

Seok Taejun woke the Chimera sleeping inside his backpack and grabbed his spear.

[Quest: Assault of the Winged Reptiles]

[Overview: A group of serpents with bat-like wings has appeared. They are starving and searching for anything that can fill their stomachs. No matter where you hide or run, they will continue pursuing you. There is only one way to avoid being eaten: drive them away.]

[Completion Condition: Repel the Wyvern swarm within 1 hour.]

[Completion Reward: 500,000 Coins.]

"Tsk."

Lee Jukheon clicked his tongue.

"That's a stingy reward for dozens of Wyverns."

"Everyone who participates gets five hundred thousand Coins."

Seok Taejun replied.

"If enough people join, it adds up."

"That still means only two million total for the four of us."

"Lee Jukheon, you've gotten spoiled lately."

"Yeah."

Lee Jukheon grinned.

"Traveling with you people has made me very well-fed."

"Got a problem?"

While talking...

They turned the emergency release handle and opened the door leading outside.

"Is this train not stopping?"

"Maybe the driver thinks stopping would be more dangerous."

"So we're supposed to fight on top of a moving train?"

Lee Jukheon grimaced.

"What is this, an action movie?"

"Well..."

"Seok Taejun."

Joo Minha spoke.

"Wouldn't it be better if I ride the Chimera with you again?"

"Yes."

"That's probably best."

"Hey!"

Ignoring Lee Jukheon's shout...

Seok Taejun and Joo Minha mounted the Chimera and went outside first.

"Hey, Kang Yujin."

Lee Jukheon looked back with a frown.

"What do you want to do?"

"Are we climbing onto the roof?"

"If we fall off, even Contractors could get seriously hurt."

"..."

Kang Yujin remained silent.

He stared outside through the open door.

"Why haven't you said anything for a while?"

"I was thinking."

"Thinking?"

At that moment...

Jegal Geum approached from behind.

"Hoho."

He smiled.

"Are you afraid to jump outside?"

"..."

"Fighting on top of a moving train would certainly be frightening."

"Then this old man will show you how it's done."

"Wait, sir."

Lee Jukheon looked worried.

"Wouldn't that be too much for you?"

Jegal Geum stroked his beard.

"You seem to have forgotten who I am."

"...!"

"You don't become one of the Eight Guardians by luck."

"Some may rise through political influence..."

"But I reached my position through skill."

Jegal Geum smiled.

"And that skill hasn't rusted yet."

"Understood."

"Kang Yujin, was it?"

Jegal Geum looked toward him.

"Watch carefully."

"I'll show you what Movement Arts really are."

Jegal Geum smiled and moved toward the open door.

Kang Yujin stared silently.

Then...

Just as Jegal Geum was about to step outside...

Kang Yujin spoke.

"Enough."

Jegal Geum stopped.

His expression became puzzled.

"What did you say?"

"I said enough."

Kang Yujin's tone was short and cold.

Jegal Geum fell silent.

"Hey, Kang Yujin."

Lee Jukheon looked confused.

"What's wrong?"

"Something felt strange."

"Strange?"

Kang Yujin stared at Jegal Geum.

"Why did we meet one of the Eight Guardians inside this train?"

"What?"

Lee Jukheon froze.

"When Seok Taejun and I first entered the central-western region..."

"We met Ma Taesu, an important figure of the Black Dragon Society."

"So?"

"Now..."

Kang Yujin continued.

"We board a train to the Capital Region..."

"And somehow meet Jegal Geum, one of the Eight Guardians."

"..."

"What is this?"

"Am I destined to randomly meet major figures from every region I visit?"

"W-Wait..."

"Meeting Ma Taesu was at least understandable."

"He was already active in that region."

"But this old man..."

Kang Yujin's eyes narrowed.

"He doesn't normally operate in Cheonan."

"Yet by 'coincidence,' he came down to Cheonan."

"By 'coincidence,' he boarded the same train as us."

"By 'coincidence,' he sat near us."

"And by 'coincidence,' a disturbance happened that gave him a reason to start talking to us."

"W-What are you trying to say?"

Kang Yujin ignored Lee Jukheon and looked directly at Jegal Geum.

"You knew from the beginning that we'd board this train."

"..."

"You approached us on purpose."

"Hoho..."

Jegal Geum stroked his beard.

"That's quite an amusing idea."

"Why would I do such a thing?"

"Are you saying I'm wrong?"

"There's no reason for me to do that."

"To begin with..."

"Stop pretending."

Kang Yujin glared at him.

"I can see through people's lies."

"I already know you're pretending."

"..."

The smile disappeared from Jegal Geum's face.

"Kang Yujin..."

Lee Jukheon stared.

"You can do that too?"

"No."

"What?"

"I lied."

Lee Jukheon stared blankly.

"I was testing him."

"And it worked."

Kang Yujin had not missed the instant Jegal Geum's expression stiffened.

That reaction itself was clear proof that Jegal Geum had been hiding something.

"If my guess is wrong, I'll apologize."

Kang Yujin continued.

"But those man and woman who picked a fight with us earlier..."

"Were they acting under your orders too?"

"..."

"Wait."

Lee Jukheon's eyes widened.

"Kang Yujin, are you serious?"

"When they left..."

Kang Yujin recalled the scene.

"They looked around like they were checking someone's reaction."

"Thinking about it now..."

"They seemed to glance toward this old man."

The behavior of the man and woman had indeed been strange.

There were only two of them.

Kang Yujin's group had four people.

No matter how confident they were in their own skills...

Would two Contractors really pick a fight with a larger group of Contractors inside a train?

If it remained a fistfight, perhaps.

But if weapons were drawn...

They could easily die.

Picking a fight inside a train where escape was difficult was far too risky.

"But that's not the important part."

Kang Yujin looked toward the flying Wyverns.

"The real problem is this Wyvern Quest."

"..."

"If you were involved in this too..."

His expression hardened.

"Then you're far more shameless than I imagined."

"Why would I arrange something like this?"

Jegal Geum's voice became more serious.

"I thought about it."

Kang Yujin answered slowly.

"And I could only come up with one answer."

"What is it?"

"To use us."

That was the only explanation.

"You researched us beforehand."

"You learned that Ma Taesu gained enormous benefits by using us."

"And..."

Kang Yujin stared straight at Jegal Geum.

"You decided to copy him."

"..."

"Ma Taesu earned our cooperation because he helped Seok Taejun and me when we were wandering through the central-western wilderness because of the train incident."

"So this time..."

"If another problem prevented us from reaching the Capital Region by train..."

Kang Yujin continued.

"Then you, one of the Eight Guardians, could step forward and help us."

"And naturally..."

"We would become your collaborators."

The Wyverns were part of that plan too.

Whether they forced the train to stop...

Or forced Kang Yujin's group to leave the train...

The goal was the same.

Prevent them from reaching the Capital Region normally.

If Kang Yujin's guess was correct...

Then Jegal Geum's Constellation may also have been involved.

"That's why you approached us."

"Haah..."

For the first time...

Jegal Geum sighed.

"You say an extremely bold theory without hesitation."

"Most people wouldn't even dare voice something like that."

Lee Jukheon looked awkward.

"Well..."

"This guy is pretty shameless about saying whatever he thinks."

Then he looked at Jegal Geum.

"So, old man..."

"Is it true?"

Jegal Geum looked at them calmly.

"Suppose I really did arrange all of this."

He smiled faintly.

"What would you do?"

"What else?"

Kang Yujin answered clearly.

"I'd beat you down right here."

"And then I'd make you take responsibility for putting not only us, but every passenger on this train in danger."

Jegal Geum's eyes sharpened.

"Choose your words carefully."

"If you're careless..."

"It may sound as though you're challenging Jegal Geum, one of the Eight Guardians, to a fight."

Kang Yujin stared directly into his eyes.

"Maybe you're old enough that your hearing has gotten bad."

Then he spoke slowly and clearly.

"I am challenging you to a fight."