Hwick!
One of the students standing right beside Changkwon fell to the side.
Blood was gushing from his neck, having been beheaded by the Japanese.
âYou, damned son of bitch! Sock it to me!â
Shouting at the top of his voice, Changkwon brandished his sword wildly.
Though he wasnât good at wiedling it, he was in very high spirits.
The raider who beheaded the student stepped back at his shouting.
But there were miserable screams here and there.
Though members of the resistance group used their bamboo spears, they couldnât beat the Japanese.
On the other hand, the Japanese beheaded them one by one whenever they brandished their swords.
âBe careful!â shouted Yoni, pushing Kanghyok to one side.
One of the Japanese with buck teeth approached, brandishing his sword.
Yoni couldnât behead him swiftly, but she was defending against him.
âSon of a bitch!â
Kanghyok, who stepped back for a moment, wielded his bag.
âOuch!â
The Japanese fell down, with his sword broken.
âWow, this bag is much more effective than a sword.â
Kanghyok could use it not only as a weapon but also as a shield.
Another Japanese also stepped back when his sword couldnât pierce Kanghyokâs bag.
Yoni seized that moment to stab him in the chest.
âMaster!â
âYes.â
âJust put down your sword. Use the bag.â
âOh, I was thinking of it, too.â
Then he threw the sword at a Japanese charging toward him.
The sword hit his forehead straight by sheer luck.
Watching it, Yoni praised him, âWonderful! Youâre quite good at throwing things.â
âHahaha.â
Though Yoniâs remarks were ludicrous in a situation like this, Kanghyok laughed before he knew.
Another student nearby collapsed, cut off by Japanese.
For some reason the farmers were much better fighters than the students and teachers.
âI might have already perished if I had stood at the rear.â
Looking at those at the rear who died in the fighting, Kanghyok shuddered.
Though many Japanese were killed, there were many more farmersâ bodies that were slaughtered.
When Kanghyok was about to run away, Changkwon shout at the top of his voice.
âHey, weâre almost done. Cheer up!â
His body was full of minor and big scars.
But he was clearly in good spirits even now.
At his strong encouragement the farmers and studentsâ morale went up again.
âYahhh!â
The Japaneseâ spirits were broken by their roaring uproar.
They began to fall one by one, with some beheaded by the farmersâ swords and others pierced by their spears.
As they were outnumbered by the resistance group, the victory was on Changkwonâs side.
At that moment Yoni screamed, pointing at somebody with the tip of her sword.
âWatch, master!â
âThat son of a bitch!â
One of the staggering Japanese was walking toward Kanghyok, wearing a black helmet and long sword.
That Japanese raider brandished his sword abruptly, which killed a fellow Japanese who was moving back at the moment.
Changkwon, who had been boldly fighting up to now, became pale at the scene.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Obviously, the Japanese was a nimble and veteran fighter.
Pushing aside the beheaded Japanese, he kept coming forward.
The remaining village fighters, including Changkwon, moved back, but stopped to come to their senses.
Though his fellow fighters were moving back, terrified, Changkwon moved forward.
âWe shouldnât retreat here!â he shouted.
His hand holding the sword was trembling, but he didnât stop taking off his step.
âProfessor!â
Several students, impressed by their masterâs resolute posture, came forward.
But the Japanese made fun of them with a sarcastic smile.
He seemed to be stronger than the Japanese rider that Kanghyok and Yoni met the previous night.
Above all, he was well-built, armed with a longer sword.
âShall we run?â Kanghyok turned back and said to Yoni.
Kanghyok could see an escape route among the Japanese now.
âRun away from here?â
But Yoni shook her head calmly and replied in the negative, âWe are superior in numbers. We can win if we stick it out here.â
âBut you know theyâre far more experienced than us.â
âI was alone yesterday, but there are many fighting with us today.â
Though Kanghyok wanted to run away even now, he resisted the urge with difficulty.
Suddenly, that Japanese raider began charging toward Changkwon and the others.
Another student fell when that Japanese cut him down with a single stroke of sword.
Blood gushed from his body belatedly, but there was no way of knowing how he was cut down.
When he signalled to his fellow Japanese, they began to attack again.
Now, this Japanese was fighting against Changkwon and four others.
Without Kanghyok and Yoni, they would have already collapsed.
âIâll kill you, son of a bitch!â shouted Kanghyok, wielding his bag.
In the back, Yoni was busy brandishing her sword.
She seemed pretty exhausted with her wounded thighs.
But she was still pretty much resistant.
âLooks like I have to kill that Japanese, master.â
The very one that she pointed at with the tip of her sword was that Japanese with a black helmet.
As that Japanese was so nimble and swift, none of the students, farmers and teachers could fight him.
âDamn it!â
If Changkwon fell at the stroke of that Japâs sword, the next would be Kanghyok.
For there were more than ten Japanese beheaded by Yoni and Kanghyok.
âLetâs move to cut down that bastard!â
âYes, master.â
She nodded her head, as if she were waiting for his order.
While both of them were running toward him, another student collapsed.
Now it was Changkwon alone who was fighting against him.
Given that his bloodstained arms drooped, it looked like Changkwon would soon be killed.
âYap!â
Shouting at the top of her voice on purpose, Yoni brandished the sword.
Her purpose was to draw his attention, which turned out to be effective.
âUgh? Woman?â
Almost at the same time Kanghyok wielded his bag, but missed the target because that Japanese twisted his body cunningly.
âThanks,â said Changkwon to Yoni and Kanghyok.
âWe have to beat him first.â
âI know.â
Knitting his brows, Changkwon turned back.
If that Japanese could get out of here, it would be hard to annihilate the Japanese riders this time.
As if he was strongly determined, Changkwon held the sword again.
At that moment they heard some loud noise from the distance.
âLook at them over there!â
Somebody shouted with joy.
Several hundreds of cavalry soldiers led by General Shin were dashing toward the village.
Just like the elite army of Joseon, they were terrific troops that overwhelmed the Japanese.
Some of the Japanese in the field were cut down swiftly.
Even that Japanese wearing a black helmet looked at them as if he was embarrassed.
And then he ferociously began to attack again.
âIâll kill you all,â he shouted.
At his shouting other Japanese joined him.
As if they were determined to fight to the end, they violently brandished the swords, running wildly.
Without his bag, Kanghyok would have been killed many times.
Tung!
The bag was unusually strong and bullet-proof.
âWhat the heck is this?â shouted that nimble Jap.
He stepped back and staggered when his sword hit against the bag with a bang.
Changkwon seized the moment to attack him.
But that Japanese quickly wielded his sword to cut his hands.
Changkwon dropped his sword, but didnât stop.
He dragged himself towards him and hugged him tightly.
âStab him!â shouted Changkwon.
âWhat?â
âStab him now! Otherwise we would be all killed!â
There were lots of rice paddies around the village.
And that would clearly hamper the cavalry troopsâ mobility.
It would take long for them to reach here.
Accordingly, all the fighters on Changkwonsâ side would probably be killed unless they kill that nimble Japanese first.
Yonji, who was holding the sword, trembled.
She looked at Kanghyokâs eyes with a restless look.
âDame it!â
He would not want to make this kind of decision.
âUrgh!â
Another farmer was killed while Yoni was hesitating.
After all, Kanghyok nodded.
âYea, stab him!â
âYes, master.â
With a hardened face she walked behind Changkwonâs back.
âSorry, professor.â
With a short deep breath, the tip of her sword pierced through Changkwonâs back.
At the same time it cut through that Japâs solar plexus.
When she pulled out her sword, that Japanese, who never seemed to die, slowly fell to the side.
And bubbles of dark red blood came out of his mouth at the same time.
Though he didnât die at the single stroke of Yoniâs sword, he could not get up forever.
âAre you alright, professor?â
Kanghyok and Yoni rushed to Changkwon.
He shook his head with difficulty.
Dark red blood gushed from his mouth suddenly.
âHelp them over there!â
âHey you, go over there to help the farmers. Let me take care of the professor.â
âYes, master!â