Ch.234EP.52 – A Lady’s Heart is Like a Reed (4)

“Fish Sword Technique….”

Ihan gave a serious look toward the branch floating in the air.

Though it was merely a branch, he didn’t show even the slightest carelessness.

Snap.

“You’re taking this quite seriously. It’s nothing but an insignificant branch.”

“…From what I can see, this doesn’t seem like just an ordinary branch. It might be even more troublesome than an actual sword.”

“You sensed that through intuition? Impressive.”

“Not intuition, just….”

Thwack!

-It was simply caution from not having read martial arts novels in vain.

Ihan kicked off the ground and swung his iron sword still in its scabbard.

He was testing it without drawing the blade, and when the scabbard collided with the branch.

Boom!

“…Physicists would grab the back of their necks if they saw this.”

A heavy impact sound rang out, like hammers colliding.

It had a heaviness that couldn’t possibly be attributed to a dry branch, and while he couldn’t understand how such a phenomenon was possible, Ihan gave a bitter smile, remembering that superhumans weren’t bound by common sense.

Therefore.

‘Let’s just think of it as having more sparring partners.’

Ihan decided to think simply, and resolved to consider the branch attacking him as a swordsman and sparring partner. He readjusted his stance and prepared to evade.

Why choose evasion rather than attack or defense?

Of course he had to evade.

Whoosh! Whoooosh!

When the opponent wasn’t just one, but seven…!

There were seven branches floating in the air, and all seven rushed at Ihan at once.

Normally, he would have blocked them with Geumgang, but remembering Felinshia’s instruction not to use any techniques, he had to put in more effort.

Swish.

Some might consider him technically inferior because he usually crudely blocks blades with his body, but Ihan had never been negligent in practicing fundamentals, swordsmanship, and footwork.

Would he be able to use complex techniques like the Phantom Eight Trigrams Step otherwise?

Whoosh!

Ihan demonstrated swift and flexible movements that belied his large frame.

Though lacking in flashiness, his footwork was filled with simplicity, moving not as if walking on the ground, but gliding on ice—smooth and swift.

And when such footwork harmonized with swordsmanship.

Slash!

“Excellent!”

Subduing a swordsman (branch) like this wasn’t difficult.

Finally, Ihan’s sword shattered one of the branches, and Felinshia clapped her hands in delight.

“I’m not a clown, you know.”

Though he expressed his displeasure at feeling like a performer, Felinshia ignored him and continued sending branches his way.

“Well then, let’s increase the intensity a bit.”

Whoosh!

“!!?”

As if suddenly raising the difficulty of the test, the speed and pressure emitted by the branches changed.

Thwack!

“Son of a…”

Ihan barely blocked the branch, but the impact on his wrist was so different from before that he reflexively cursed.

‘This isn’t just simple Fish Sword Technique.’

He thought this might be the ultimate form of Fish Sword Technique, often called the realm of Heart-Controlling Sword.

‘Or maybe it’s even a step beyond that.’

Ihan resolved not to define her Fish Sword Technique, or rather [Void Sword], within the framework of his knowledge or common sense.

He was certain he would never win if he confined this sword technique within his own framework.

Shing!

Ihan threw away his scabbard and finally drew his blade.

To show his sincerity, the best he could offer.

Sure enough.

CRASH!!

…The already heavy branches emitted an even greater pressure.

As if telling him that quickly drawing his blade without showing off was the right answer.

“Hup!”

Slash!

Ihan inhaled and engaged in a test of strength with the branch that challenged him, and the branch was promptly destroyed.

Thwack!

The same happened to the branch sneaking up behind him.

Crack!

Though his sword strikes seemed monotonous, the power behind them was tremendous.

The wind pressure and sword energy created from a single swing resembled a sword storm.

It was understandable ferocity, considering it was a horizontal slash refined while holding a barbell weighing hundreds of kilograms for three years.

“…Remarkable. Not just your strength, but it shows you haven’t skipped a day of training. Did you reach this level with just basic swordsmanship?”

“I didn’t have a master who could teach me suitable sword techniques.”

“That makes it even more impressive and admirable. Because you had no master, you beat yourself harder…! You’re no different from an ingot in human form. I can’t even gauge how much you’ve been refined.”

Felinshia didn’t hold back her praise.

It was such excessive praise that it might seem like mockery, but there was validity to Felinshia’s lavish compliments.

“Child, you weren’t particularly talented, were you?”

Whoosh!!

“Your body is impressive, but that body is probably a work created through training impossible for ordinary humans. Not a Mystery, it seems. You probably underwent experiments that enhanced your body’s recovery ability. You must have suffered a lot since childhood.”

CRASH!

“Ah, I don’t mean that’s bad. In my younger days, there were people with recovery abilities like yours. They trained their bodies in ways similar to how you do now. By the way, among those with recovery abilities, there was one with the amazing Mystery called [Regeneration], and he was also talented in swordsmanship… But eventually he became arrogant with his strength, and was the first to die later.”

Crack!

“The others with recovery abilities also failed to surpass their limits in the end. They lacked persistence, ‘determination’.”

Slash!

Ihan had no time to listen to her words.

The branches had gained cutting power as if they had edges, and began slicing through his clothes.

They were also incredibly heavy, gradually pushing Ihan back more and more.

However, this…

“This is getting annoying.”

Didn’t mean they could push Ihan into a crisis.

Crunch!

Ihan’s muscles showed dynamic movement and writhed.

Like a spring or rubber band trying to return to its original state, Ihan’s muscles expanded tightly, preparing to release power.

Though he wasn’t using “Gyeong,” his muscle strength alone already possessed explosive power, and when that compressed strength was released through the medium of his sword, that power was truly…!

CRASH-!

It exerted a powerful force like a shell had dropped.

CRACK…!!

The explosive sound that shook the ground enveloped the building and created cracks in the floor.

A cloud of dust enveloped the garden like fog, but it quickly dissipated, revealing Ihan and the branches.

“…These are the most terrifying branches I’ve ever faced.”

All seven branches were shattered and scattered on the ground, but Ihan was far from satisfied.

Crack….

“What kind of situation is this where an iron sword breaks…”

His own sword was also on the verge of shattering.

Looking at his cracked sword, Ihan gave a bitter smile.

* * *

“In-Instructor shouldn’t call Kunta a mystical race anymore. Kunta thinks the instructor is more mysterious.”

“I agree, very much…”

“Haha…”

Kunta and Arno de Ophen were dumbfounded watching their master who had cracked the ground without using any fighting technique or Gyeong.

Even a Barbarian famous for strength would probably be nothing more than a weak person compared to him.

Only Levi Jeanne d’Arc timidly countered with “Isn’t it cool…?” but no one agreed with her statement.

“…Elza, I hate to ask this, but is Lord Turtle really human?”

“…I’m not sure?”

While those who witnessed Ihan’s magical “strength” all showed dumbfounded reactions, Ihan’s gaze was firmly fixed on Felinshia.

“Excellent. I can see how persistently you’ve trained your body. You are indeed greater than that arrogant person from the past, and more admirable than those with talent.”

“I’m not interested in being compared to others or being praised for being better.”

Shing.

Ihan pointed his sword, which could break at any moment, at Felinshia.

“Why don’t you come at me directly now? Or will you use that Void Sword again?”

“Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. If I did, I might kill you this time.”

“…That’s quite a brutal thing to say.”

Ihan recognized that this wasn’t confidence, but simply fact.

If she were to use the Void Sword again, Ihan would seriously bring out all his skills, but he couldn’t imagine defeating an Aura user even with everything he had.

If he charged in, rather…

‘I’d probably become a human cactus.’

The thought of branches making pretty holes all over his body made his temperature drop already.

Just imagining it was chilling…

“Hmm, I think I understand your problem now.”

“…?”

“Hehe, you seem to have forgotten while sparring so seriously. We weren’t fighting, were we? I was just trying to learn about you through a ‘light sparring session’.”

“…It didn’t feel light at all…”

Snap.

Just as he was about to retort that there was nothing light about that sparring, she tapped the ground with the branch in her hand.

As if telling him to focus on what she was saying.

“Child. Your problem is nothing else. Your use of mental energy, that is, ‘mental power,’ is still clumsy.”

“??”

Ihan tilted his head.

It wasn’t that he didn’t understand her words, but that there was something he couldn’t comprehend.

‘…How do you use mental power?’

He was expressing doubt about whether mental power could be utilized, and she smiled gently.

“Are you curious about how to use mental energy? Well….”

─It feels like this.

Felinshia lightly extended her palm.

It seemed like a puzzling gesture, and as Ihan tilted his head in confusion….

Rumble…!

“……”

A decorative rock in the middle of the garden began to be uprooted.

A rock that was about 20 meters away.

And without any warning, in an instant…!

“It looks like a [Mystery], right? But it’s not a Mystery. It’s simply my mental energy pulling out that rock.”

“…That’s completely telekinesis.”

“I told you it’s not a Mystery. It’s just…. Yes, anyone can do it with just ‘fighting spirit’ and ‘belief’!”

“……”

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No, just….”

…If such things were possible with just fighting spirit and belief, he thought one could probably split the sea in half.

‘Is this the miracle of the Red Sea….’

It was a moment when he became convinced that an Aura user could be successful as a religious leader.