As Prophet - Chapter 85



Only Krnovel

Episode 85. Resignation from the training center

Sajik took a serious stance and rushed forward. Dalcheon lightly slapped away the sword that was flying towards him. It seemed like he was lightly pushing it away, but it flew away with a squeak. The sword he was attacking flew away, causing his body to sway. He barely managed to retrieve it and swung it down, dodging to the side and digging into his waist.

“Ugh.”

Sajik, who was in a dangerous situation after two attacks, took back his sword and raised it close to his body, spinning around to avoid the subsequent attacks. Seeing Sajik blocking with his sword, he struck horizontally, pushing the sword and the person back together. Dalcheon tilted his head when he was pushed back three steps and stopped again.

“Don’t you know? If you just swing it, it’s a dance. Foot kick! Why don’t you do it? You even do the heel kicking motion, but it doesn’t work.”

“I will do it!”

Sajik crossed his legs and advanced forward. His sword swung fiercely, gaining strength. However, Dalcheon lightly struck the surface of the sword, causing his upper body to sway back and forth. Then, he slashed at his exposed side with the back of his sword.

“I got stabbed once.”

“evil.”

If it were normal, he would have hit me hard enough to break my ribs, but he cut me with his sword. Sajik’s soul was sucked out of him. If it weren’t for the sword, his upper and lower body would have been cut in half.

After crossing his sword a few times, Dalcheon shook his head.

“No, that won’t work. When I say to do a kick, I don’t mean to apply strength. I don’t mean to grip the handle tightly. I mean to let the entire body’s movements explode with strength in the sword. Each posture of the swordsmanship contains a formula for kicking. The shape is perfect, but it doesn’t become kicking.”

“I will listen.”

“There is a trick to the movement of swinging the right foot while swinging. Also, don’t just cross your feet. There is a trick to striking the sword with the counterforce of the force pressing down on the ground. It would be good to practice striking with a wooden sword by planting a tree the thickness of a person’s torso in the ground.”

“Ugh.”

“Sword fighting is good. But that is the sword fighting of a dancer. There is no power to break down strength. Strength and energy are generated from the movements of the entire body. Studying internal energy is studying internal energy, kicking is kicking, and sword fighting is sword fighting. Starting today, do two shijin each time.”

“yes.”

I don’t know what he saw in Sajik. He thought that if he tried the sword and changed his training method, it would be different.

“There is a saw in the shed. Cut down a tree, put it in a stake, and hit it with your sword. Practice striking with your sword, mainly striking with your sword.”

“Can’t we go into the forest and do it?”

“Oh my, how much pain must the trees be in?”

“Cutting it also hurts.”

“I just knew it.”

The conversation is strange. Sajik went into the forest with his fellow trainees and cut down a tree. In the dark of night, they cut down the tree, tied it to a horse, and dragged it. They cut it into human-sized pieces with a saw, dug a hole in the ground, and planted it. It was a tall tree, so they made five or six of them.

Dalcheon, who was doing night reading, came over to me and glanced at me. No, I was just going to prepare today and start tomorrow, but since I was working hard, he told me to do it right away, so I started training in the dark of night.

There was a loud thud, and Dalcheon, who was teaching reading, made an uncomfortable expression. The students swallowed their saliva and looked at Dalcheon, who pointed outside.

“Striking with force does not cause the sword to break. It only slows down the sword’s speed.”

The little boy sitting at the end of the reading asked.

“If I do it quickly, will it work?”

“No. The energy has to flow through the movement, but this is the first time using the counterforce that occurs when you touch the ground. Try stretching out your palm while hitting the ground with your foot. You’ll feel the difference from just stretching out. That’s how you apply it to the sword.”

“Oh, yes.”

The teaching that he had Sajik do was done to students who were reading the scriptures. Sajik stayed up all night, but the sound of the beating did not improve. It should have been a heavier and duller sound, but only a light crackling sound resonated high into the sky. He had someone stop it while he was sleeping.

* * *

The next morning, Sajik started studying again. The sound of him studying alone from the morning was loud, and the people living under the same roof frowned. Dalcheon, who had made him study, listened to the sound and looked at it with a calm expression, but his face did not relax easily.

“What are you worried about?”

Now, Baek I-jeong, who is as lively as a secretary, asks secretly.

“In a way, it seems very easy, but it doesn’t work.”

“It’s easy for you, but it takes time for the long practice to wear off. For people like us, there are many times when we feel that the practice we did was actually poisonous. We practiced the wrong thing. Since we kept practicing the wrong thing, do you think it will be easy to fix it?”

“The legs, torso, arms, and sword play separately. The sword changes just by twisting the waist… … Rice does the same thing.”

“It will take time. That’s why I have to teach many people?”

“Yes.”

One thing looks wrong and the other thing doesn’t look right.

“I just practiced the smoothness of the movements. The angles, direction, and position are all good, and that’s what makes it look good. Hmm… … How about you demonstrate it later, young lady?”

“Me? What do I know?”

“You were like that before, but now you’ve figured out the secret of the awakening.”

“When you say that you cut it off, my vision has widened. If the blow is made at the moment of cutting, the magic you are talking about becomes a little closer.”

“Please teach me how to do that.”

“All right.”

In the academy, everyone is each other’s teacher. Baek Yi-jeong goes out to the training ground, but his loose-fitting uniform shows his arms. His pale arms are devoid of muscle, but with every movement, the magic Dal-cheon described comes to life. Dal-cheon smiled proudly.

* * *

Baek Yi-jeong does not try to teach others. Even when that time comes, he does things differently from Dal-cheon. He has the advantage of showing others what to do and making them follow suit.

Baek Yi-jeong went next to Sa-jik and began to strike the log he had made at night. The sound was already different. With one stroke, the thick bark was peeled off. Sa-jik, who had been diligently repeating, turned his head. His mouth, which had been open as his chin dropped, would not close. His face turned red at the sight of a woman who was weaker than him doing better than him.

“Cow… … me.”

“yes?”

“How could you… … .”

Baek Yi-jeong showed off her ability to cut while straightening her bent body. She hit it twice, and the bark of the tree popped out.

“It was a cut-off. It hit me somewhere in the body at the right moment.”

“ah!”

“Try it, warm.”

Sajik snapped his wrist and made a face, but it seemed like his hand was in more pain.

“Because I lack physical strength, I mainly studied footwork.”

“Balgyeong… … The Lord Governor also talked about that.”

“Try it. It’s amazing!”

It seemed like he was studying alone next to me without trying to say anything, so I watched carefully and followed along since it was different from me. Old habits dull my sword, but keeping that in mind and making an effort to change it made a different sound.

Baek Yi-jeong raised his hand and told him to look, then he turned his whole body and struck diagonally. He struck a log of the same material with the wooden sword, and the side of the wooden doll dented.

“ah!”

It was not the time to be amazed. Even women do it… … . Sajik began to imitate the subtlety hidden in Baek I-jeong’s smooth movements. Dal-cheon, who was sitting on the floor far away and writing something, gradually softened his face. Just by listening to the sound, he knew he was getting better.

* * *

Even during the standing practice (practice of standing in the same posture for a long time), the training of the Sajik did not stop. Even though it was the same training, it was good if the surroundings were quiet, but the regular, crackling sound was irritating to the human ear.

Dalcheon couldn’t stand to watch so he went out to say something, but a procession of carriages led by horses approached. They had to go straight to the main road, but they weren’t coming on the road leading up to the school building. The procession was long and there were a lot of people. Dalcheon called the little boy.

“Little kid. I think those gentlemen have taken the wrong path. Go and tell them.”

“Yes, your majesty.”

As the little boy runs, the flounder joins him. It looks like the two children’s bodies are tied together with a string.

The little boy who went out the door greeted me broadly.

“Elders, this is Yangju Academy. I think you’ve taken the wrong road. The main road is over there.”

The guide standing in front smiled brightly.

“It seems like you’ve come to the right place, Yangju Hakgwan.”

“You came here?”

The boy tilted his head and looked back, and saw a mountain of luggage piled on top of the carriage, and dozens of people following behind, carrying their personal belongings on their backs.

“Are you really looking for Yangju Academy?”

“His Majesty sent it. One cart was sent from the military police, and another from the military police. Those ladies and gentlemen over there were sent from the Gyeonggi provincial government.”

“What’s going on? What should I report?”

“What about the report? We should go and say hello.”

The little boy quickly glanced around and then ran up.

“Your Majesty. The military police*, the private police**, and the Gyeonggi provincial government came from here. The wagon belongs to the military police, and those following behind seem to be slaves, and seem to have been sent by the Gyeonggi provincial government. The private police is said to have fallen a little behind.”

* Gunkisi: A government office in charge of manufacturing weapons, flags, banners, and other items. It performed a similar role to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and was located at the site of today’s Seoul City Hall.

** Sabuksi: An office established to oversee matters related to horses, pastures, and ranches.

“I guess so.”

“They say a horse is coming behind you. Is this the place where the Saboksi raises horses?”

“Yeah, it’s similar. The horses are raised in the stables, and the barracks manage the whole thing.”

“I would like to start by saying hello.”

Dalcheon called Baek Ijeong. But there was no need for that. It was a remote place where not a single person passed by all day, but when a large procession came, everyone came out to see.

The procession stopped at the entrance and formed a line, then a man wearing a military uniform came up to the main hall with two subordinates.

“I am the Chief Inspector of the Military Police.”

“Nice to meet you. I am Gwanju Dalcheon.”

The person named Gwanju was young and did not have a surname. He seemed like he could be treated roughly, but just in case, he stood and reported without changing his posture.

“By His Majesty’s order, I have brought the military police, the private police, and the slaves of the Gyeonggi Provincial Office.”

Dalcheon took a thin booklet with the list of items and brought it up to the main building.

“It’s hot. Come up here.”

“thank you.”

I was sitting on the veranda looking around when he brought out some wild strawberries.

“The front is the military police’s inventory, and the back is the civilian police’s inventory. The third is the slave inventory. These are the government slaves of the Gyeonggi provincial government.”

“Whew. You said you’d help me, and now you sent me this.”

Dalcheon checked the water level correctly and passed it on to Baek Ijeong.

“Check the water level as you get off.”

“Yes, your majesty.”

“Ask the trio to help you.”

“Yes, your majesty.”

When I expressed my gratitude to the military police chief, he looked around and asked.

“Is this a school that trains military officers?”

“Yes.”

“You are amazing. To think of something like this.”

“I wanted to do something that would help society, but this was the only thing I knew how to do, so I had no choice but to start.”

The sharpshooter explained himself.

“We are the secretaries of the Ministry of War. We are under the command of the Ministry of War. We have gathered as you commanded, but if there is anything lacking or if you need anything additional, please bring us the details.”

“I can’t do much since I have so much to give. Please tell him that I will use it well.”

“… … .”

“Please eat. You have come a long way, and since this is the countryside, we have nothing to offer you.”