EP.206 Land Flowing Like a River - 8
Jangseonggi. Blade Gun.
A weapon created by Gunguk with painstaking effort solely for Historia.
They were two revolvers with the ends of their grips connected by an iron chain. Sharp blades protruded from the edges of the black gun barrels, their edges sharply honed, making them suitable for both thrusting and slashing.
Just because blades were attached did not mean the guns or the chains were useless. Inside the muzzles, specially processed heavy bullets lay in wait for the enemy, and the iron chains connected to the revolvers had their own uses as well.
The gun Historia threw flew right in front of the Regressor's eyes, its iron chain rattling.
Not a bullet, but the gun itself.
'That damn gun. Neither a proper gun nor a proper sword...!'
The Regressor spun Jizan and thrust it forward. It was an attempt to wrap the chain around it.
Sensing the opening in that instant, Historia aimed her other gun and pulled the trigger. The Regressor reacted with Cheonbangyeong and blocked the bullet, but taking advantage of that gap, Historia yanked the chain and charged forward.
Ta-tang, two suppressing shots. With his actions restricted by them, the Blade Gun fell toward the Regressor's head. The Regressor struck back up with Jizan.
Clang, the Jangseonggi and Jizan collided. Historia frowned at the heavy impact.
'A black and heavy sword. Hmm, I guess I can think of it as the opposite of the invisible sword roughly. There's no need... to clash head-on.'
The judgment was swift. Historia's wrist twisted smoothly. Letting go of the grip and only hooking it with her fingers, the Blade Gun spun while caught on Jizan. Instantly shaking off Jizan, the Blade Gun aimed its muzzle at the Regressor.
"Tch!"
The heavy Jizan is slow to react. Instead, the Regressor swung Cheonaek. Right before the bang of the gunshot echoed, the Regressor successfully struck the muzzle to deflect it upward. As the fierce gunshot grazed past, both of their ears went numb.
It was too minor a damage to stop the fight. The Regressor and Historia clashed again.
A brief contest of strength. Compared to the short Blade Gun, Cheonaek was long. Just as the Regressor shook off the Blade Gun and tried to slash the gunner's face deeply—
A military boot swept across the floor from below the field of vision. Ugh, the Regressor let out a groan as he lost his balance from his thigh being kicked.
"Damn it...!"
Stealing his line of sight in an instant, dazzling his eyes and ears with the muzzle and the gunshot. A low attack following up from an unstable posture. From the receiving end, it was a chilling experience.
Historia, however, muttered nonchalantly.
"Sorry, my legs are a bit long."
"Want me to make them shorter!"
As Cheonaek was about to fall like lightning, the iron chain rattled and intervened. The enraged Regressor put force into his swing, intending to cleave through the chain along with it. The blade of Cheonaek drove precisely into the joint between the chains.
"Phew. You took the bait."
As Historia whistled—
Shrrrrrk.
The chain slackened instantly, softly wrapping around Cheonaek. At the same time, Historia drew a small circle with the tip of her foot, lightly coiled the chain, and launched it.
In the Regressor's vision, it looked as if dozens of chains were rattling and pouncing from all directions.
'Cheonbangyeong isn't reacting...! Does this mean it's an unexpected attack across all my past lives?! How does she attack in such an outlandish way every time!'
Instead, Cheonbangyeong also had a defensive stance that reacted to unexpected attacks. The Regressor urgently shouted.
"Cheonaek!"
He released the compressed space within Cheonaek. The space swelled like a bubble, widening the distance between the gunner and the Regressor.
The safest shield in the world is distance. No matter how much one attacks, it is meaningless if it doesn't reach; if the recoilless Jizan is the strongest shield that can block anything, then Cheonaek is the best shield that nullifies the attack itself.
However, that did not apply to the gunner.
Boksagyeong, Yeongjeomjabi.
Bang. The bullet, promised to hit its mark, tore through space.
"Hoh."
The torn hem of the coat along the trajectory and the blood seeping through the gap scattered in the wind.
The bullet grazed past the Regressor's right arm. It was too much to call it a graze since a piece of flesh on his right arm was torn off and blood flowed out, but it was still pathetic for a result produced by Gigong that reached the realm of principles.
"Good weapon, good clothes, good reaction. If even one of the three was missing, you'd have lost an arm..."
Muzzle smoke mixed with Gigong rose. Historia blew a breath over the muzzle. The scattered smoke drifted backward with the wind.
"Of course, the biggest reason is that my gun's power weakened because I fired in a hurry. Anyway, you. You're sturdy. Different from how you look."
The Regressor gritted his teeth, ignoring the throbbing laceration on his right arm.
"You're tricky...!"
"You really don't hold back your words with your older sister, do you."
Historia, who pulled the chain with the tip of her foot, twirled the Blade Gun. The Regressor slowly healed his wound with Hyeoljosul and raised Cheonaek.
'A gun is still a gun no matter how strong it is. It's tricky, but that's it! I can deal with it somehow...!'
Even excluding the gun, Historia was just strong.
She is young. Her stamina is abundant. Her movements are like acrobatics, and her strength is considerable. Above all, with her innate combat sense, she makes the most of the given situation and weapons.
She wages psychological warfare with the wavering muzzle and responds appropriately at both long and close range. If he focuses on that, the flashing blade strikes. If he swings his weapon to block, his means to respond to the following bullets disappear, and if he tries to adjust the distance, she closes in with martial arts in close combat and with the chain at mid-range.
'Should I open the Unmyeongan? But this sense-type is difficult to deal with.... Tch, it's truly incomprehensible. That this woman, who is closer to Gunguk than anyone else, would become a key figure in the New Kingdom...!'
The Regressor was confident in his stamina, but even if they fought more like this, it was unclear who would win.
However, the Regressor did not feel anxious. The one who would have the advantage in a prolonged fight was the Regressor.
"Ugh...!"
It was a single strike.
A general flew through the air. Just as the general, who had barely withstood the blow dealt upon his weapon, was about to slide with his bayonet stuck in the ground, his body was sucked toward the white girl.
Not a single piece of clothing or a strand of hair fluttered even in the fierce wind. Tir, who had been strolling as if time had stopped, alone, with a pitch-black parasol tilted toward the sun, reached out her hand.
"Adjusting my strength is difficult, so survive on your own."
The pervasive darkness from all directions headed toward its master. The general, unable to escape from that flow, flailed his arms. It was futile resistance.
With a movement that could be called leisurely, Tir spread her palm and pushed the general away.
It was a hand gesture that looked like a noblewoman's tantrum, but the one hit by it did not think so. He felt as if gravity had suddenly changed direction and slammed him into the ground.
His waist folded, and his body floated up. The crumpled body tumbled across the flowing land.
The general, who was like the sky to the soldiers, was knocked away without any significant resistance.
An officer who was rallying the troops shouted, pale-faced.
"Unstoppable! Unstoppable!!"
It was a pathetic scream, an urgent report, and the simplest expression of this situation.
Tir advanced, pushing them back one by one, ensuring no one could be behind her.
"Major General! We need to request support! We can't... stop them!"
Historia herself was also being held up by one person, so she could not answer that. Historia let out a hollow laugh.
"...I have to admit, your defense is impressive. I can't break through easily."
The Regressor replied, breathing heavily.
"Full of confidence, aren't you!"
"Cutie. Sorry. I don't have time to relax."
Historia pointed the muzzle upward and pulled the trigger.
Taang.
A flashing light bloomed into the sky. It was a signal flare. Historia, who had gathered her weapons, muttered in a tone that sounded regretful.
"I wanted to buy time until the main force arrived if possible, but... It can't be helped. I have no choice but to call them."
"They'll be far away. Will they come all the way here just because you shot a signal flare?"
"Of course, they can. How do you think I got ahead of you? Or should I first ask whether I really came alone?"
It was exactly as she said.
Gunguk is a nation where tactical retreat is proudly included in its operational manuals. Setting aside avoiding engagement, once they decided to fight, Gunguk would never choose a sloppy method.
At the very least, securing a tactical advantage before initiating a battle was Gunguk's way.
If so, a question arises here. What exactly is the combat advantage that Gunguk had in mind?
'Even for Gunguk, it would be difficult to face Tirkanjaka without a high-ranking mage or a high-ranking priest.... There's no way Gunguk has priests. Could it be?'
The moment the Regressor, who seemed to have realized something, felt a sense of foreboding and turned his gaze, her voice was heard.
"I will begin the magic."
A powerful voice calling upon mana settled low over the Meta Conveyor Belt. The Regressor's expression, having guessed who its owner was, grew urgent.
'No! This is probably...!'
"How about it. Even with this, is time on your side?"
This time, the one who charged was Historia. Unable to respond, the Regressor continued the fight.
In the meantime, the magic began.
"Set."
What is the way for a human to reach the top of a mountain?
"Ri."
They could run up powerfully, or they might leap up to stand on it. Someone might climb up by scaling the cliff, or fly through the sky and lightly land.
Or, born at the peak from the very beginning, they might not even know of the existence of the lower villages.
However, the most ordinary method is to climb up step by step.
Foolishly, and sincerely.
Those who overcome paths no one else could find in outlandish ways and present a path for those who follow are called pioneers. People send them admiration and praise.
And they mock as foolish those who walk step by step toward the distant peak. Because climbing the stairs one by one in a way anyone can do brings neither admiration nor emotion.
The foolish only earn ridicule.
[Meta Conveyor Belt operator, Gunguk communications soldier Piyu. I warn the Gunguk servicemen.]
Between the ensuing chants, the golem shouted at the top of its lungs.
[Shortly, Commander Prelviyor's magic will be cast. Servicemen, please implement the maximum possible self-defense measures individually.]
It is stupid and inefficient. Life is short and the path is distant, so the limits are clear. They will fall out before even reaching the halfway point, let alone the peak.
However.
The great nature that humans admire is also formed by the gathering of dust. The water drops that carved rocks over steadfast years draw admiration, and one is moved to see the river carved by the flowing water.
Even if it is a foolish act, when it piles up and accumulates, it becomes the way to move mountains.
She gathered and gathered mana like dust. While others created new worlds, she only used magic that anyone could use. She only used standard magic to build her foundation step by step. She always ate what was good for mana and trained, increasing her mana capacity and affinity.
Like that, days, weeks, months, years, decades.... After repeated training and research, she became a Yukjangseong.
She still could not use high-dimensional magic. She had no talent for it.
However, the magic of the Majang instead developed to an incomparable degree in the quantitative aspect.
[Otherwise, you will die.]
Even before the communications soldier's warning ended, the servicemen were already hiding in their positions, crouching down heavily wrapped in waterproof and fireproof tarps.
Preparations were complete.
"Check."
Unique Magic, Magic of Scale.
The mana that seemed to blanket the world converged to a single point in an instant.
A low voice was heard. A powerful 'chant' that could only be produced by a great person who had dug only one path with unwavering dedication, someone who had actually achieved a monumental feat.
"Fahrenheit, Millionaire."
The sun descended.