Chronicles of the Lazy Sovereign

Chapter 86: The Slacker Grabs a Sword (2)

“A sword, you say?”

“Yes.”

Ha Daebung looked slightly surprised at Wi Yeonho’s request, but called over a subordinate without a word.

“A sword.”

The subordinate handed over the sword from his waist to Ha Daebung, who then offered it to Wi Yeonho.

“Here it is.”

Wi Yeonho accepted the sword, drew it from its scabbard, handed the scabbard back to Ha Daebung, and gave the blade a few experimental swings.

“This feels strange.”

It wasn’t the beloved sword he had always used during training, so the weight felt different. But what could he do? Ever since he’d left the cave, his own sword had never once been taken out of his pack.

Had he known, he might’ve brought it—but expecting the slacker like him to foresee such a situation and willingly carry a heavy sword was unthinkable.

“Let’s just get it over with. Quickly.”

After a couple of practice swings, Wi Yeonho stepped forward.

The man in black, who had been quietly watching, narrowed his eyes.

It wasn’t out of some special mercy that he had tolerated such a ridiculous scene.

Quite the opposite.

'He dodged.'

His sword moved silently. In other words, it meant that predicting and dodging his strikes was supposed to be impossible.

To others, the way Wi Yeonho closed the distance slowly before suddenly drawing and swinging the sword might have looked clumsy—but in the eyes of the man in black, everything had been precisely calculated.

And yet, he had dodged it.

Though he had tipped the chair over and fallen to the floor, in the end, he had completely evaded the strike.

“Attack together.”

The judgment came swiftly and accurately.

If someone could avoid his sword even without a weapon, it was impossible to imagine how dangerous they’d be with one. Reducing variables was important, and that meant not underestimating the opponent.

A typical martial artist might hesitate to call for a group attack on someone who looked like a mere boy. But these men prioritized efficiency above all—they had no concern for appearances.

All five masked men who had entered the Golden Flower Manor moved toward Wi Yeonho.

“C-cowards!”

Jin Soa shouted furiously, but Ha Daebung grabbed him and pulled him back.

“Wait a minute! Those bastards are ganging up on him!”

“You being here is more of a hindrance.”

With a clean, decisive motion, Ha Daebung suppressed Jin Soa’s resistance and retreated to a safe distance.

'Good, he's quick on the uptake.'

Being a merchant, he was quick to calculate. Having seen Wi Yeonho tear through the Silver River Pawnshop, Ha Daebung seemed to realize that they wouldn’t be of any help to him.

'This is getting messy...'

He had only planned to win a bit of money, but now things were spiraling out of control. At times like this, solving everything quickly left more time to rest.

“Not coming? Then should I go? I’d really prefer not to move, so if you could come to me, that’d be great.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the black-clad men encircled Wi Yeonho.

Though they kept some distance, their very presence exuded pressure.

Wi Yeonho grimaced at the gloomy killing intent he had never experienced before.

“Ugh, it’s all sticky.”

There was no way their strength could compare to Baek Muhan’s, but the suffocating, clinging killing intent they gave off was more than enough to irritate Wi Yeonho.

“Yaaaawn.”

He gave a long yawn and looked ahead.

As soon as he opened his mouth, the black-clad men, who had been aiming their swords at him, silently closed the gap in an instant.

And then...

Without a single whooshing sound, the swords came thrusting in, almost playfully.

There was no sound, so it didn’t seem threatening—but the speed at which the blades came in would have made any onlooker flinch.

Yet Wi Yeonho, still yawning with his mouth wide open, lazily stirred the sword in his hand as if to swat away a fly.

Cheng! Cheng! Cheng! Cheng! Cheng!

With five crisp metallic clangs, the five masked attackers each staggered backward, exchanging bewildered glances.

'The openings vanished for a moment.'

No matter how they looked at him, Wi Yeonho appeared full of openings. Even when they attacked, it was hard to decide where to strike—his whole body seemed riddled with weaknesses.

But just as their swords were about to touch his body, those weaknesses vanished as if it had all been a lie.

'This doesn’t make any sense.'

But even if it didn’t make sense, that changed nothing. Their orders were to accompany the Black Land Manor boss and be ready for any unforeseen trouble.

Especially if the young expert posed a threat—he had to be eliminated. That was why they had followed them into this gambling den in the first place.

They understood that sometimes you had to use a bull-slaying knife to kill a chicken. That was why they had obeyed without complaint. Had this not been such a scenario, they would’ve felt humiliated at having to deal with a mere boy.

'Good thing we came.'

“Let go of your contempt.”

Though his well-trained subordinates were unlikely to be holding such feelings, the man in black reiterated the command.

“Complacency doesn’t lead to failure. If you need an excuse, it’s better to bite your own tongue.”

“Yes.”

Wi Yeonho nodded as he listened to the voices echoing around him.

“Saying you let your guard down isn’t an excuse. Letting your guard down just proves how stupid you were. If someone had two lives, maybe they could afford to be careless. But you and I each have only one life, so never even dream of such a thing.”

“I got beaten badly that time…”

He had once joked that his master must have two lives since he was still alive despite everything. In response, he’d been pounded head to toe with rock-like fists. Just thinking about it now made his body ache all over again.

“I must really have two lives.”

Taking that kind of beating and still living—it wasn’t an exaggeration to say he had two lives.

“You first  tell people not to let their guard down, after that you're the one who makes them let it down.”

Who was the one that beat people senseless regardless of time or place, whether they were awake or asleep? And then had the nerve to lecture about never letting one’s guard down. The price of letting your guard down had been three days of groaning in bed thanks to those stone fists.

Getting hit with just the fists was actually the best case.

Things had gotten truly miserable once his master started using a sword.

Even getting punched made him cry for mercy like a waterfall. But when the sword came out, there wasn’t even time to say anything.

“Ugh…”

Wi Yeonho shuddered as he recalled those dreadful memories.

Still, these opponents seemed to be martial artists who prided themselves on vigilance, and that stirred a desire in him to face them seriously.

'How long had it been?'

This felt like the first time he had wielded a real sword since leaving the cave.

Now that it was in his hand, he felt strangely at peace. He used to hate even touching a sword while in the cave, but after five years of never letting it out of his hand, the blade now felt like an extension of his body.

“Strike.”

As he watched the black-clad men rushing toward him, Wi Yeonho’s eyes sank low.

His sword slowly shifted to mid-guard.

Heavenward Slash.

The most basic and essential starting stance for any swordsman.

As soon as he took the stance, a razor-sharp wave of sword qi began emanating from Wi Yeonho’s body.

The man in black instinctively felt something was wrong.

Wi Yeonho without a sword and Wi Yeonho with one were two completely different beings.

He should have realized that much sooner.

“Don’t obsess over techniques.”

“I know.”

Wi Yeonho gripped the sword, remembering what sounded like his master’s voice echoing in his ear.

The beginning was a steady heart.

Even when the enemy’s blade came near, the heart must not waver. Only with a mind like frozen steel could one handle all situations.

Next, one must pour their heart into the sword.

The sword was just a sword.

Nothing more than a piece of metal. You shouldn’t rely on it—but without pouring yourself into it, a true swordsmanship couldn’t begin. Not depending on it, yet trusting it—that paradox was at the core of being a swordsman.

Then, not the heart—but the mind.

Optimal strikes. Optimal distribution.

A perfect sword was forged by a cold, rational mind.

Wi Yeonho’s sword let out a hum and began to sway gently left and right.

Wooooong—

The gentle sway turned into rapid trembling, and then light shot out from the sword, wrapping around Wi Yeonho’s entire body.

'What is that?'

The man in black felt his heart jump into his throat.

What kind of sorcery was this?

But he didn’t have the luxury of shock. The countless white sword shadows enveloping Wi Yeonho’s body suddenly burst outward.

“Huahhh!”

Though he had been trained thoroughly never to scream, not even at the moment of death, he couldn’t keep his mouth shut before this astonishing sight.

The radiant white blades bursting from Wi Yeonho’s body pierced straight through them without mercy.

KWAANG!

The remaining sword shadows soared into the air and shattered the entire ceiling of the Golden Flower Manor.

Bright daylight streamed in.

Thud.

Thud.

Those who hadn’t even made it close to Wi Yeonho’s body collapsed where they stood.

Lowering his sword, Wi Yeonho spoke.

“I’ve severed your qi and sealed your martial arts. From now on, you won’t be able to wield a sword. Whatever life you’ve lived up to this point, you’ll no longer be able to harm others. That’s the price you pay for living by suppressing others with strength.”

Jin Soa gaped at Wi Yeonho, who was speaking in such a solemn tone.

'That guy had this side to him?'

Wi Yeonho spun the sword a few times and tilted his head, seemingly unsatisfied. Then he looked up at the sky.

He clicked his tongue at the sight of the gaping hole in the ceiling and shook his head.

“My master once told me to reach the level where I am no longer bound by the sword... but I’ve still got a long way to go.”

Since it wasn’t his beloved sword, the sword shadows hadn’t moved as he wanted. Not wanting to hurt anyone, he had shot the remaining energy into the ceiling—and this was the result.

Fortunately, no one seemed to be hurt. Still, if there had been a rat living in the attic above, it would’ve been a tragic story.

“T-the ceiling…”

As Kang Cheonrip began foaming at the mouth, Wi Yeonho put on an apologetic face.

“You can bill me for the repairs. It wasn’t intentional, but I’m sorry nonetheless.”

“Ghhh…”

Finally, Kang Cheonrip foamed at the mouth and collapsed. Wi Yeonho simply shook his head.

There were still matters to resolve, but that wasn’t the priority right now.

Wi Yeonho looked at the black-clad men groaning on the floor and furrowed his brow.

'This feels strangely familiar.'

Looking back on his life, there was no way he had ever had a chance to witness a shadow sword. And yet, it felt oddly familiar.

“Well, I’ll figure it out eventually.”

People like them didn’t give answers just because you asked.

He had heard enough from his master to know just how terrifying shadow swordsmen were. Getting one of them to open their mouth usually required cruel torture—and Wi Yeonho knew he didn’t have the heart for something like that.

No point wasting energy. Better to just give up, even if he was a little curious.

It was too much hassle anyway.

Wi Yeonho looked down at them a moment, then lifted his gaze.

“Eek?!”

Gwak Dosan jumped back in fright when his eyes met Wi Yeonho’s.

“Uh, so…”

Wi Yeonho scratched the back of his head.

“Who was it again that said they were going to kill me?”