Sword of the North – Part 2

The woman, who had her face buried in the mud, spat out the dirt that had entered her mouth along with saliva.

Something that was a mix of dark brown and vivid red was dotted on the ground like a period.

“I thought you only knew how to use ‘swordsmanship’ with decorum. You were hiding your fangs.”

The tribe’s great warrior, who rose with her hands on her knees, said. Her neatly braided hair was slightly disheveled.

The man who received the great warrior’s question did not open his mouth again except for the short words he had said earlier.

“It’s nice to see you so relaxed. Yes, that’s how it should be to make it fun to hunt.”

Speaking to herself, understanding on her own. The great warrior nodded and picked up the greatsword again.

The heavy weight of the greatsword slung over her shoulder pinned her mind back to the earth.

As if her insides were a mess, a small amount of blood flowed from her mouth. It was probably an injury that would require treatment if she returned to the tribe.

She was so focused on the immediate fight that she put aside the future where she would have to show her body to the Shaman and receive treatment.

She smeared the blood on her lips with her thumb. And she used her hand like a brush to draw a long line down her cheekbone.

It was a similar shape to the blue Tattoo on her body.

“Is that a Tattoo?”

The duke, who had been silent, asked. The tone was somewhat lighter, the usual stiffness softened.

“Curious?”

When the tribe’s great warrior smiled, revealing her Saberfang, the man nodded.

“When you achieve great things as a member of the tribe, you get a Tattoo, each part and each shape has a meaning.”

“This means that I hunted prey alone before I had my coming-of-age ceremony. It was three Saniri.”

The woman pointed to a mole-like Tattoo under her eye.

“This means that I had my coming-of-age ceremony. The fact that the end of the Tattoo is an arrowhead means that the size of the prey I caught at the coming-of-age ceremony that year was the largest.”

“Hoo-“

When the duke reacted unexpectedly, the great warrior continued to explain with excitement.

“I didn’t know you were so interested in me.”

When she finished her explanation, the man scratched the back of his head, perhaps embarrassed.

“Do you only get a Tattoo when something memorable happens?”

Suddenly, the man asked, as if something had piqued his curiosity.

“What?”

The woman asked back, as if she didn’t understand the meaning of the question.

“I was wondering if personal disgraces are also recorded as Tattoos, like when you are chased by prey or run away from a war between tribes.”

The man moved his neck from side to side, loosening his stiff muscles.

“There is no such thing. We only get Tattoos for glorious things.”

The woman said, taking a fighting stance.

“I see.”

“Don’t you need a weapon?”

The great warrior gestured to the weapons lying on the floor.

“I don’t think I need one.”

A vein popped out on the woman’s forehead at the duke’s words.

“Your personality as well as your fighting style has changed. Well, what does it matter if you have a weapon or not? After all, the one fighting is this body given by the earth!”

The great warrior charged like a wild boar. An unstoppable pressure emanated from her speed as she approached quickly, as if sliding on ice.

The man knew what that pressure was. It was momentum.

The greatsword was swung as if to bisect his waist.

The man gauged the speed and weight with his eyes, then dug inward again.

“Do you think I’ll fall for the same trick again?”

The woman, who had already dropped her sword, punched him in the face.

From the beginning, the greatsword was bait to lure him out. The great warrior wore a bitter smile on the man’s face as he approached her fist.

But the premonition of victory was short, and she instinctively turned her body to the side.

This was because the man’s heel was falling from above like a snake’s fang, aiming for her shoulder.

Not liking that he had only struck the innocent ground, the man clicked his tongue.

The woman threw the longsword that had fallen on the floor, and the man avoided it by arching his back.

When the man attacked, the woman dodged.

When the woman counterattacked, the man blocked.

‘His movements are really unique. They seem organized, but sometimes they are as instinctive as a beast.’

She thought, blocking the man’s fist coming for her stomach with the flat of the greatsword.

The timing of the attacks was textbook. If she expected his right foot, he would attack with his right foot, and if she expected his left fist, he would attack with his left fist.

It was enough to predict and counterattack.

The problem was the situation after the counterattack.

After receiving the visible attack and counterattacking, the previous appearance disappeared, and he showed a very intuitive appearance.

He rolled on the ground to dodge, or bent or arched his body, showing unpredictable movements.

‘I feel like I’m getting drawn in.’

Another fact that bothered her was in his hands.

Since the momentum had changed, he had not been using weapons.

It is a natural principle that the one with the weapon has the upper hand in a fight between a weapon and bare hands.

However, the man was showing a better performance than when he had a weapon.

‘Is he hiding his strength? No, he’s not the kind of man to use such a trick in front of an enemy.’

She thought about why he had become stronger, but no clear answer came out.

Then she came to the conclusion that there was no need to think about it.

Another textbook attack comes in. If she dodges this and counterattacks, he will show chaotic movements again.

Then how about this method?

She recalls her memory of hunting Saberfangs sometime ago.

That Saberfang was also annoying because its movements were so quick.

‘How did I catch him back then?’

In a moment, she recalled her memory, took large strides, and looked at his foot falling on her shoulder.

She felt his heel touch her left shoulder, followed by intense pain.

She gritted her teeth and looked into the man’s eyes.

Even though the attack was successful, his eyes were filled with panic.

That was because his foot, which had been slammed into her shoulder, was still fixed on her shoulder.

“I caught him like this.”

Even with the feeling of her shoulder breaking, the great warrior could laugh heartily.