Black and White Martial Emperor

Inside the box were two hand axes.

Of course, they were no ordinary hand axes.

“They were made using my clan’s secret alloying technique. They will be a little heavier than ordinary iron, but even with your clumsy axe work, the blades will not be damaged. So long as you do not do anything foolish, you should be able to use them semi-permanently.”

For an instant, Yeon Hojeong’s eyes filled with rapture.

Tang Gwan said bluntly, “What are you doing? Pick them up.”

“Yes? Ah, yes.”

The polite answer came out before he realized it. That was how much the axes were works of art.

Yeon Hojeong lifted one of the two axes.

Amazing.

It was slightly longer than an ordinary hand axe. Was the total length roughly a foot and a half?

The axe blade itself was also broad and long, the edge stretching down until its tip nearly reached the end of the handle. The blade itself was close to a foot and a half long.

Its width was a little over a handspan, and its thickness was about two finger joints, making it extremely thick. With a blade that large and thick, even ordinary iron would have made it as heavy as a decent long blade.

Moreover, perhaps because it had been made with the Tang Clan’s secret alloying technique, it was about thirty percent heavier than the same amount of iron. It was called a hand axe, but for an ordinary person, it would be rather burdensome to grip and swing.

How on earth did they make this?

The axe blade, engraved with strange wave-like patterns, was itself like a work of art. On top of that, a dynamic dragon shape had been carved into it as if it might leap out at any moment, making it look even more splendid than Mad Dragon.

The handles were different colors. One was black, and the one Yeon Hojeong was holding was white.

The material was unknown. Even though it was white, it did not seem likely to stain. Moreover, the surface was not slippery, so the sensation in his hand was perfect.

“One of the foremost master craftsmen in my clan made those axes. That craftsman named them the Black-White Twin Dragon Axes.”

Black Dragon Axe, and White Dragon Axe.

One might ask why mere hand axes needed names, but after seeing their form, it actually felt as though Black-White Twin Dragons was too simple a name.

“How are they? Do you like them?”

Yeon Hojeong spoke in an entranced voice.

“They are the best.”

Tang Gwan gave a small laugh. No matter how often he had cursed Yeon Hojeong as a mannerless brat or an idiot, he acknowledged him.

Seeing a brat like that looking utterly spellbound, even Tang Gwan could not help but feel pleased.

“Per your order, they also put round rings at the ends of the handles. Are you planning to hook them to a chain and swing them?”

“Yes.”

“Use them well. Those two axes contain eighty percent of the casting technology my clan has researched until now. It would not be excessive to treasure them more than your own body.”

“.......”

“Even if your head gets cut off, do not lose those.”

Yeon Hojeong looked at Tang Gwan with wavering eyes.

Tang Gwan frowned.

“What is that burdensome look?”

“......Thank you.”

“Don’t make me laugh. You practically threatened me when you asked, and now you are thanking me?”

“I never imagined I would receive something this magnificent.”

The corners of Tang Gwan’s mouth rose. If this insolent brat was saying that much, he truly must have liked them.

Yeon Hojeong cupped his fist.

“I have received a great favor. As long as it does not violate righteousness, I will repay this favor by any means necessary.”

“And even in the middle of that, you attach a condition. You and your father are alike in that respect.”

“Yes?”

“Enough. If you like them, take them and get out.”

“Ah, yes.”

Yeon Hojeong hurriedly gathered up the Black-White Twin Dragons.

They would be rather heavy for an ordinary person, but for Yeon Hojeong, the weight was perfect. He was, to begin with, someone who swung a heavy weapon weighing over a hundred pounds, so if he truly tried, he could likely swing these as quickly as he swung his bare fists.

They are magnificent.

Yeon Hojeong already felt his heart pounding.

In battles of many against many, Mad Dragon will be better, but in one-on-one fights or chaotic melees, these might be better.

Of course, he could fight more than well enough with Mad Dragon alone.

However, the reason Yeon Hojeong had asked Tang Gwan for hand axes was because he did not know what kind of missions he would be deployed on in the future. If he were assigned to operations like stealth or assassination again, the Black-White Twin Dragons would be far less burdensome than Mad Dragon and far more versatile.

I truly received an excellent gift.

His hands itched to swing them right away. Holding that pounding excitement in his chest, Yeon Hojeong stepped out the door.

That was when it happened.

“Wait.”

Yeon Hojeong turned back.

Tang Gwan was looking at him with his hands clasped behind his back.

“Do you have something else to say?”

“Do you not feel regret?”

“Yes?”

Yeon Hojeong held up the Black-White Twin Dragon Axes.

“How could I not? I want to swing them this very instant.”

“I am not talking about those.”

“......?”

“I am talking about letting the First Warrior-General get away. Do you not regret it?”

“Ah.”

Yeon Hojeong shook his head.

“I do regret it, but what can be done? He has already fled, so what matters is what comes next. Besides, the strategist and Hu Gae are investigating in many directions, so for now, each of us only needs to fulfill our duties in our own place.”

“That is true, but......”

Tang Gwan’s eyes deepened.

In truth, that was not what he really wanted to ask.

“Do you remember what you said to me before?”

“Yes?”

“You knew that I had a hidden hand.”

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes shone.

“That is correct.”

“How did you know?”

Naturally, it was because he had seen it during his days as the Dark Emperor.

But Yeon Hojeong could not speak honestly about that part.

“I just felt that you would.”

“Are you trying to dodge the question vaguely?”

“To put it bluntly, if someone is the head of a clan, is it not normal for him to have one or two martial arts he has not shown publicly?”

“.......”

“My father is like that, and so is Mo Yonggun. In particular, in the fight against Beonjak this time, my father brought out a move he had kept hidden until now.”

Tang Gwan remembered that as well.

It was incredible.

Yeon Wi’s final single sword strike, which had inflicted a terrible wound on Beonjak’s upper body.

He had not displayed an especially dazzling technique, nor had he used a unique weapon. Yeon Wi’s final single sword strike had literally maximized sword power itself.

That was what made it an even more remarkable strike. It required time to unfold the martial art, and after unleashing that strike, he was briefly unable to fight, but if it landed, it contained terrifying power capable of sending anyone down the road to the underworld.

Should one call it a strike truly befitting Yeon Wi? Yeon Wi’s absolute single sword strike, reminiscent of a lightning bolt, was terribly simple, yet showed the ideal of the way of the sword that a sword-art master ought to pursue.

To think he was hiding such power.

He likely had not hidden it with the intent to hide it. Yeon Wi’s personality itself was not suited to hiding things.

He had simply never needed to show it until now.

Now that I think about it, Clan Lord Yeon’s martial arts have always been like that. Orthodoxy among orthodoxy. He follows a middle path without even an inch of deviation and does not reach for anything wicked. In some respects, it is frustrating beyond measure, but through the stubbornness of pushing his convictions to the end, he shows the qualities of a swordsman capable of standing against anyone.

When Tang Gwan had first spoken deeply with Yeon Wi, he had instinctively sensed that Yeon Wi was a person completely different from anyone he had known until then.

That was why he had kept needling him and testing him several times. His instincts had grasped Yeon Wi’s character, but his mind could not easily accept that such a person could exist in this world.

As time passed, Tang Gwan came to acknowledge Yeon Wi completely.

There was no way not to. Yeon Wi did not lie, staked his life to resolve the situation given to him, and even while sitting in such a position, always knew how to treat others with sincerity.

A man who lived by the blade could not be called a sage, but at the very least, in this world of the martial world, it would be difficult for another sage as upright as Yeon Wi to appear.

That was why Tang Gwan liked Yeon Wi. Not because he was kind or walked a righteous path, but because he had the guts to respect others while protecting his own convictions to the end.

If Yeon Wi had tried to coax him with pleasant words or approached him while rubbing his palms together, Tang Gwan would never have acknowledged him.

And.

Tang Gwan fixed his gaze on Yeon Hojeong.

That father produced this son.

Even as empty praise, Yeon Hojeong was not someone who resembled Yeon Wi. At least, not outwardly.

But now Tang Gwan could see it too. No, he could understand it.

No matter what anyone said, Yeon Hojeong was Yeon Wi’s child.

Yeon Wi, a chivalrous hero of his generation who trained orthodox swordsmanship, valued norms, and regarded morality as the highest value.

Yeon Hojeong, the greatest younger-generation master under heaven, who had refined his own unique martial arts and, without being bound by norms or morality, showed unconventional words and actions along with exceptional intelligence.

In that way, the two were completely different, yet there was one part of them that was astonishingly alike.

When this father and son show sincerity, they do not entertain impure thoughts or needless worries at all.

He had known Yeon Wi was originally that sort of person, but he had not expected Yeon Hojeong to show that side as well.

That was why Tang Gwan had come to acknowledge not only Yeon Wi, but Yeon Hojeong as well.

“But why are you asking about that?”

Tang Gwan, who had been staring silently at Yeon Hojeong, asked as if tossing the words out.

“Do you trust me?”

It was an abrupt question.

Yeon Hojeong tilted his head.

“That is a peculiar question.”

“Answer me. Do you trust me?”

“I do. To a degree.”

Tang Gwan gave a small laugh.

“So you do not trust me completely.”

“I do not know why you are asking such a question, but I have a very bad habit of suspicion. I cannot be a sage like my father.”

“Of course not. Even if you cultivated yourself for a thousand years, you would not reach your father’s feet.”

“I know. That is why I live while acknowledging myself.”

“There is nothing more important than knowing your own place. Seeing that, you are certainly no ordinary brat either.”

“I will take that as praise. But why ask such a question so suddenly?”

Tang Gwan stared silently at Yeon Hojeong for a moment.

This brat does not know. It is not that he refuses to acknowledge it. He simply does not know.

He looked into Yeon Hojeong’s eyes.

Those transparent, deep eyes, with black and white clear within them.

This brat is unmistakably Clan Lord Yeon’s eldest son. This brat, toward me......

Tang Gwan closed his eyes.

Utterly foolish brat. Even after fighting so fiercely, you still trust me?

Because they had fought together while risking their lives? No. Yeon Hojeong was not such an easy brat.

He had gone to fight alongside him because he already trusted him. That was a small but great difference.

Tang Gwan opened his eyes.

“You said you would repay the favor, did you not?”

“Yes?”

“You said you would repay the favor of being given those axes, so long as it did not violate righteousness.”

“That is correct.”

Tang Gwan nodded.

“Follow me.”

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes shone. For some reason, he felt as though he knew what Tang Gwan wanted.

“I am not in the best physical condition.”

“I have no intention of taking your life, so stop talking nonsense and follow me.”

Yeon Hojeong grinned.

“Yes, let us do that.”