Chapter 102: Chapter 102
Leaving Anon’s playful banter behind, Jang Geon brushed off his stinging right hand and stepped out of the warehouse. Rakka was struggling to push himself up at the edge of the dock, only to collapse limply once more. The center of his chest, directly struck by Jang Geon’s Subduing Dragon Palm, had its smooth skin split open and caved in. It was a wound where bones were shattered and internal organs completely ruptured. To anyone lacking internal energy cultivated through martial arts, it was an injury that should have brought instant death.
“···What is this? Is it··· the magic of the Central Plains people···?”
Looking down at Rakka, who vomited blood and asked in broken Central Plains speech, Jang Geon spoke quietly.
“O Baal···”
“Let’s see if that god of yours will save your soul.”
Rakka slowly shook his head.
“That is a matter decided by how faithfully I served him··· Not something for you yellow monkey to concern yourself with!”
Shouting thus, he drew the sword hanging at his waist with a reverse grip using his left hand. A flash of white light attempted to slice Jang Geon’s waist in two.
However, having already noticed Rakka’s squirming hand and posture, Jang Geon avoided the blade simply by taking a slight step back. Rakka tumbled onto the ground again due to his full-body plunge, and Jang Geon sought to move in and finish him off without missing the opening.
Yet he pulled back again due to an instinctual premonition felt at that moment. This time, he leaped backward much farther.
The instant he pulled back, the smoke that seemed to be dispersing from Rakka’s body gathered into the shape of a blade and slashed through the air. A sharp sound of tearing air rang out with a bang.
Having launched that surprise attack, Rakka used the sword in his left hand as a cane to slowly stand up. The gathered smoke dispersed again, fluttering in the air over the docks. Rising with great difficulty, he spotted Anon walking out of the warehouse behind Jang Geon.
“He, hehe··· Hiding behind another after calling yourself a warrior? Step forward if you have courage···”
“Are you talking to me? No thanks. If I just stall a little, you’ll die on your own, so why should I?”
Anon answered Rakka’s provocation bluntly and blocked one side of the dock path to cut off his escape route. Rakka stared blankly at that response for a moment before bursting into giggles. It was a laugh mixed with futility and rage.
[Yes, Anon. You were always like that on the ship too··· Pretending to care about honor, yet throwing it away without hesitation when necessary. You would stake your life for pride, only to abandon it the next day as if nothing happened. But even so, it seems you couldn’t give up this sword?]
Speaking in his native language, Rakka aimed the sword he had used as a cane at Anon. Above a lavish hilt inlaid with gems and covered in silver stretched a gracefully curved blade. Intricate patterns resembling complex ripples showed on the blade, and its sharpness could be sensed without needing to test it.
The curved scimitar with its mysterious patterns flashed brilliantly even under the foggy sky. Seeing it, Anon’s expression hardened. He muttered something softly under his breath, which Jang Geon was certain was a curse.
Just then, the flashing light of the blade began to quiver wildly. Along with it, the smoke emanating from Rakka’s body thickened once more, covering his lower body, while the blaze in his two eyes returned.
[I don’t know what that captain bitch was thinking when she handed this weapon to your hands. The power of magic can only be wielded by those who are qualified. Swordsmen like you could never use it no matter how long you swung it until death. Should I say it’s fortunate that it let me escape this crisis? Khahaha··· Now, let me show you the true power of this weapon···]
Seeing Rakka regain his initial form even while stumbling, Jang Geon asked Anon:
“What is he blabbering about?”
“No need to know. It was just bullshit.”
Anon answered Jang Geon thus and raised both hands. In the center of both palms, an emblem emerged and began to glow in golden light. Then, on the blade of the curved scimitar Rakka held, an emblem identical to the one on Anon’s palm appeared, glowing and trembling violently. Rakka was shocked upon seeing it.
[Th-This is···]
[Return.]
Rakka struggled to hold onto the scimitar, but against a difference in force as if pulled by a giant, he ultimately had to release his grip. The scimitar flew spinning through the air and landed cleanly in Anon’s hand. Deprived of his weapon, Rakka instantly lost his strength, coughing up blood as his back arched forward.
Anon swung the sword back in his grip a few times and said:
[I don’t know how much of the captain’s magic is embedded in this sword. But I remember very clearly that she inscribed a spell to return it to my hand once a day as long as I can see it, even from a distance. Because the captain explained it to me.]
[You, you··· Anon···]
Anon turned to Jang Geon and nodded, indicating it was finished. Jang Geon gave a small nod in return and walked steadily toward Rakka. Rakka looked up at Jang Geon with a face that seemed to have aged decades in a brief moment.
[O Baal··· grant salvation···]
Standing before Rakka, Jang Geon raised his right foot high.
“Still searching for your god?”
Extending his leg almost in a straight line upward, he brought his foot crashing down directly onto Rakka’s head. With a loud thud, Rakka’s head slammed into the stone pavement of the pier. Thick blood slowly welled up from a small crater. The prone body trembled briefly before ceasing all movement.
Looking down at the corpse, Jang Geon brushed his hands and stepped back, while Anon approached and squatted before it.
[···Farewell, Rakka. While aboard the ship, you were truly like a brother to me. I will offer a brief prayer for your soul to the gods··· You should have known when to draw the line.]
After offering a brief prayer, he picked up the scabbard from the corpse’s waist and stood up. It was a scabbard just as ornate as the blade itself. Anon slowly slid the blade into the scabbard.
Having stepped back slightly, Jang Geon pulled a leaf of tobacco from his robe, rolled it, put it in his mouth, lit it with his index finger, took a deep drag, and spoke while exhaling smoke:
“Is the blade intact?”
Anon, securing the sword at his waist, turned to Jang Geon.
“Intact. Thank you, Jang Geon. Thanks to you, I recovered my sword and stopped Rakka’s madness. Meeting you at that smithy was undoubtedly guided by the gods.”
Jang Geon turned his head to look at the middle-aged man sitting slumped at the warehouse door. He did not know his name, but he was the only gangster who survived inside.
“I wonder. If that guidance had come a bit earlier, several lives might have been saved.”
“···The will of the gods does not always mean life. Their souls must have crossed the Styx toward the land of peace.”
Exhaling smoke, Jang Geon silently raised his head to gaze at the sky. Sunshine was softly seeping through the sky that had been hazy with thick fog all through dawn and morning. As rays of light penetrated the heavy mist, the pale fog turned a vibrant orange, shimmering dazzingly. Jang Geon narrowed his eyes slightly against the brightness, but did not look away. He smoked his cigarette while watching the fog disperse.
A short while later, Mandeok, the clerk sent with a silver coin, arrived alongside martial artists of the Martial Alliance. Leading the martial artists was a familiar face, Jo Won-sik. Spotting Jang Geon, he laughed heartily and said:
“Warrior Jang, why haven’t you stopped by the branch? We’ve been telling you to come collect your medal and reward money.”
“I was a bit busy. I’ll drop by later.”
“Be sure to drop by. The Branch Head wishes to see you again.”
Giving a casual nod, Jang Geon explained the situation. With Chu Yang-seon as a witness and the burned bodies inside the warehouse, there was no cause for Jang Geon to be misunderstood. However, since the culprit had died with his skull crushed, the only one being dragged away in the end was the dazed Chu Yang-seon. Paying the price for his greed, he looked at Jang Geon and Anon with complex eyes before being quietly led away by the Martial Alliance martial artists.
Jo Won-sik wished for them to accompany him since they had met, but Jang Geon declined. Unable to push further, Jo Won-sik sealed the warehouse, gathered the corpses, and left the pier. Having finished his business, Mandeok, the smithy clerk, bowed politely and turned to leave. Jang Geon stood with arms crossed, watching them recede into the distance.
Just then, Anon standing beside him spoke:
“Jang Geon, I want to express my gratitude.”
“Didn’t you do that earlier?”
Anon fidgeted with his sword hilt and continued:
“That was mere words of thanks. I want to offer a proper token of gratitude.”
“···And what do you plan to do?”
Grinning, Anon pointed toward the south pier.
“Let’s go to the ship. If I ask, the captain will give you a gift. Besides, meeting the captain itself will be a fine experience.”
Having originally intended to tell Anon to return to the smithy to claim his reward and then head back to the brothel to inspect his new sword, Jang Geon scratched his chin in thought for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.
“Did you say your people were from Persia? It might be interesting to meet her.”
“I said she seemed like someone from over there, not that she definitely is. Those two are clearly different.”
“Either way.”
At Jang Geon’s reply, Anon smiled and nodded.
“Let’s go. The rest of the crew will like you too.”
Following Anon’s guidance, Jang Geon walked along the docks. As the fog cleared, the pier was regaining its vibrancy. The port workers, who had shrunk back slightly due to the commotion caused by the Martial Alliance martial artists earlier, immediately began shouting, bustling, and moving energetically as soon as the martial artists departed.
Jang Geon walked for a long while along the shoreline of the bay, passing cargo being disembarked and loaded onto sailing ships, as well as people coming and going. Only when reaching near the far end of the Gamsan City pier did he spot a sailing ship fitting the one Anon would have boarded.
The sailing ship was quite large. It was larger than the vessel Jang Geon had ridden across to this New Continent, possessing a massive hull comparable to most Han Empire warships. Another unique feature was that among its folded sails, one was made of green cloth.
“The captain dyed it at her own expense, saying it needed to be easily distinguished from other ships. I wondered if that was really necessary, but when explaining this ship to others, nothing was more convenient.”
Anon offered light chatter as he approached the vessel. Looking up at the ship, he shouted:
“Hey-! [I’m back! Lower the gangplank!]
As he called out mixing Central Plains speech and his native tongue, a few heads soon poked out over the ship’s railing.
“What nonsense kept you until now? Do you know how annoyed the navigator was because we couldn’t depart without you, Big Brother? If you hadn’t returned today, every sailor on our ship would have moved out to search for you!”
“My apologies! There was a minor issue! But I’ve resolved it all, so there’s no problem now!”
The faces looking down soon spotted Jang Geon.
“Who is that beside you? A new crew member?”
“No! My friend! I’m going to introduce him to the captain!”
Upon hearing his answer, a clattering noise rang out aboard the ship, and soon a wide gangplank was lowered down. Anon caught it from below, adjusting its angle and position for easy stepping, then turned to Jang Geon.
“Let’s go up.”
The gangplank creaked unsteadily, but presented no real issue for climbing. Stepping onto the sailing vessel, Jang Geon faced the array of faces looking at him from the deck.
Blonde hair, black hair, red hair; blue eyes, black eyes, green eyes; white skin, black skin, brown skin, and more. Crew members of all races lounging across the deck were all staring at Jang Geon. While Jang Geon calmly scanned those eyes, Anon, who climbed up beside him, raised both hands high and shouted:
“I have returned!”
“···I don’t know what you were up to. Was helping that guy Rakka settle down really so troublesome?”
A man presumed to be the one who had shouted from the ship earlier—and likely a Central Plains native—said that as he looked at Anon. Anon looked at him and replied:
“I’ll tell you later. Where is the captain?”
“The captain is in the captain’s cabin, of course.”
“Captain’s cabin, got it. Let’s go, Jang Geon.”
Anon led Jang Geon into the interior of the vessel. Heading down into the cabin below the deck, he greeted crew members resting here and there while venturing deeper inside. He then stopped before the door at the far end.
He knocked loudly on the door and said:
“Captain! First Mate Anon has returned! May I enter?”
“Come in.”
Anon grinned at Jang Geon, then pushed the door wide open. Jang Geon, who had been curiously inspecting the interior of the vessel, followed him into the captain’s cabin.
Even a casual glance upon entering revealed that the captain’s cabin was filled with all manner of weapons. Dozens of blades and swords—varying in length, straight and curved, single-edged and double-edged—hung on the walls or stood stacked in corners.
Besides swords, axes and maces could also be seen. Standing out among them were wooden targets set up on one side with throwing axes embedded in them. They were heavy weapons made entirely of iron, down to their handles. Like Anon’s blade, those axes also featured beautiful wave patterns.
The room contained more than just weapons. Chainmail, plate armor joined with leather cords, thick padded cloth armor, and more were on display. What surprised Jang Geon most was a near-complete set of black full plate armor standing in the corner. Wearing that would cover almost the entire body in steel plates.
And at the innermost side, sitting at a desk with her back to the window, was a dark-skinned woman looking toward them. Wearing sailor attire with long hair cascading down under a headscarf, the female captain wore a curious smile as she observed Jang Geon scanning the room.