Skill With the Sword II

After Tae Yong yelled ‘Attack’, the soldiers ran towards the participants. The young masters in the group were standing in the fighting stance ready to receive their opponent. The one that had never held a sword before looked at them and tried to mimic their stance. It was far from perfect but they thought it might help them. Tae Yong observed this and a smile came across his face. Those commoners and slaves might be looked down on but with some training they might be a force to recon with. They had nothing to lose but everything to gain. The participants were waiting for the soldier to arrive.

The commoners and slaves knew that they wouldn’t die but they were still scared about fighting the soldiers. It didn’t help that the soldiers running towards them looked intimidating and ready to kill them. Nam Mu and the other young masters were watching to see who would be their opponent but the soldiers were running in an unorganised manner. They were running in a weaving pattern, making it difficult to know who they would be attacking. For the participants it felt like an eternity for the soldier to finally arrive but it was only a few seconds before they clashed. The sound of wood against wood and men screaming echoed through the whole area.

Dae Seong frowned watching the fight. “Why are you letting them fight? I thought you wanted to train them?" Tae Yong . "I just want to see what they got. We'll also know who has potential." The others didn't ask anymore questions. They focused on the 'battle'. Nam Mu was holding the sword in an awkward manner. To everybody except Li Jie, it seemed that Nam Mu didn't know what to do. He was actually thinking how he could last 30 minutes. If he used all his strength now, hell get tired before the time is over. He needed to save his stamina and try to disarm as many opponents as he could. While he was thinking of a strategy, his opponent had finally reached him.

Without a warning the soldier tried to stab Nam Mu. Nam Mu took a few steps back. Nam Mu wanted to smile but he kept a poker face. The soldier had some strength but compared to Nam Gil, it was mediocre. He was sure he could beat him in a few minutes. The soldier thought that Nam Mu was scared of him. He intensified his attacks. Nam Mu would block or avoid the attacks but didn't attack back. This made the soldier lower his defences and act careless. Nam Mu saw that and gave the soldier a sly smile. Before the soldier could defend himself, Nam Mu had managed to slam the wooden sword against his neck, killing him. Nam Mu didn't use much force but it still hurt.

Tae Yong and the other had been looking at Nam Mu, because he was one of the few that hadn't been disarmed yet. Tae Yong's eyes lit up when he saw Nam Mu fight. 'He might be good.' Tae Yong pointed at Nam Mu. "He's holding back. Chungho. You go, make him go all out. I want to see how good he is. Also tell the soldier that he has to run the field." Chungho understood what Tae Yong ment and walked towards Nam Mu. The soldier was ready to attack Nam Mu again but Chungho stopped him. "Find someone else. After this is over I want you to run this field 20 times. You know what you did wrong?" The soldier looked down, giving a nod. "Good. Nor go."

Chungho stood in front of Nam Mu. "I hope you'll show us what you really have." Nam Mu scratched his head before giving a bow. "Then I won't hold back anymore." Nam Mu ran towards Chungho with determination. Nam Mu made a stabbing motion but in the last seconds he changed it to a slash. Chungho's eyes grew big, he managed to parry his sword. Chungho felt his sword tremble forcing him to grab his sword with both hands. 'His strength is crazy.' Chungho pushed his sword forward trying to counterattack with one hand. Nam Mu now knew Chungho's strength and it was still nowhere near Nam Gil's. He knew that he could win by using brute force but he didn't want to use that methode. He wanted to last as long as possible. They both began to slice and stab at each other before retreating to a safe distance. They were trying to learn each other's fighting style.

Nam Mu had just been cautious, trying to analyse Chungho but Chungho didn't give him the chance. After a few minutes, Chungho really went into attack. He was sure he would be able to defeat Nam Mu. He pulled his body down, stabbing at Nam Mu from below. Nam Mu reacted in a flash by parrying his sword and jumping back. He didn't wait for Chungho to come up, striking Chungho's head. Chungho lifted his sword stopping Nam Mu. He had to use a lot of strength making the tip of Nam Mu's sword hitting his back. Chungho rolled to the side and stood up. He looked at Nam Mu with a smile on his face. "This is more like it." Nam Mu smiled back before going in for the next attack.

Nam Mu made a trust move towards Chungho's stomache but at the last second he changed it to a slicing move near Chungo’s neck. Chungho parted but he still managed to hit Chungho's right arm. Chungho grunt. Nam Mu had hit him hard making his arm numb. He moved the sword to his left hand and went straight into attacking. Nam Mu lowered his sword "You're ambidexterity?" Chungho nodded. "That is standaard if you want to be a soldier under the Crown Prince's regiment. Nam Mu glanced at the Crown Prince. "Is it an important standaard?" Chungho crooked his head. "That's the first thing we learned, so I think so..." "You still have five minutes. What are you two doing!" Chungho and Nam Mu turned towards Dae Seong. They had forgotten that they were fighting. Chungho and Nam Mu both gave a silly smile before getting back into their fighting stance. "We can talk later." Nam Mu nodded before attacking again.

Five minutes later both of them had still not 'killed' or disarmed one another. They had managed to hit each other a few times but that was it. Even though Nam Mu was much stronger than Chungho, Chungho had more experience in a life and death fight. He was able to stop Nam Mu many times. They were both sweating and gasping. "30 minutes is up! Next group!" Chungho and Nam Mu lowered their swords and bowed to each other.

"I hope to train with you some more. How should I address you?" Nam Mu gave Chungho a big smile. Chungho froze looking at Nam Mu's face. "Y... You... C... can call me..." "Chungho! Return here! Bring him with you!" Dae Seong was shaking his head looking at them. "L... Let's go." Nam Mu and Chungho moved towards the canopy. Li Jie walked towards him. "You failed." Nam Mu frowned and hit his arm with the sword. "This doesn't count." Li Jie laughed, grabbing Nam Mu's sword. "Doesn't matter. You owe me a wish." Nam Mu wanted to hit him again but he didn't have the sword anymore and Li Jie had already run away. 'You just wait.'

Nam Mu pouted while walking away with Chungho. "Is that your friend?" Nam Mu nodded. "We trained together. He is just as good as me." Chungho turned to look at Li Jie. "Brother Chungho, you should let one of your best soldiers fight Li Jie. That's the only way to see his true potential." Chungho turned red. He thought about it and walked towards Dae Seong. He repeated Nam Mu's words.

"Sung! With me." A lanky soldier detached himself from the group and came running over. Dae Seong pointed at Li Jie. "You are to fight him. Don't need to hold back." Sung nodded and ran to stand in front of Li Jie. "I'll be your opponent." Li Jie looked at Nam Mu with hostility in his eyes. Nam Mu stuck out his tongue. "Serves you right." He mouthed at Li Jie. "Ready! Attack!" Li Jie and Sung started to fight. "What is your name?"

Nam Mu turned his head away from Li Jie’s and Sung's fight. He noticed Tae Yong and the others looking at him. "My name is Nam Mu, sirs." Tae Yong and the others nodded. "Where did you learn to fight?" Tae Yong was especially curious to find that out. "My d.. Father taught me and Li Jie how to fight." The others looked at each other. They were all wondering who his father could be. Tae Yong, Jeong Ho, Zheng and Dae Seong knew many nobles but they hadn't heard of Nam Mu. They were all wondering from which noble clan he was from. "My father is from Goryeo. His name is Nam Gil and a merchant." Dae Seong shook his head.

"I don't think he's just a merchant. If he taught you to fight and shoot like that, he must have been a soldier." Nam Mu shrugged. "I've never asked him and he has never told me." Tae Yong became curious and wanted to see this merchant called Nam Gil. "I would love to meet you father someday." Nam Mu smiled. "He promised to visit after the examination. Your Highness." The others looked confused. Nam Gil would be of a very high clan if he was able to visit the palace. 'Maybe he meant outside.' They thought.

On the field Li Jie was cursing Nam Mu in his head and heart. Sung was giving him a very hard time. He wasn't fighting for his life but it did feel like it. He promised himself to beat Nam Mu up later, if he still could lift his arms. Sung and Li Jie's fight wasn't as impressive as Nam Mu's but it came close. When the 30 minutes were over Sung and Lie Jie had managed to 'kill' each other twice. They were really evenly matched. When Dae Seong yelled that the fight was over, they were both out of breath and drenched in sweat. Sung classed Li Jie's hand with a smile on his face. "That was a great fight. You are really good. Your name?" Li Jie smiled.

"It’s Li Jie. Thank you... Can I call you brother Sung?" Sung nodded, looking happy. "Of course. You earned it." Li Jie laughed. Sung was called back to stand with the other soldier. While Nam Mu and the other participants from the first group were told to stand with the second group. Tae Yong stood up and stood in front of the participants. "You did well. The next few days are going to be like this. If you are sure you can't do this, tell us now and you may leave." He looked at the group. Nobody said a word. "Alright. You will be brought to the barracks. Eat and rest. I expect you all here at sunrise. Tardiness will be punished. Dismissed." Chungho and his soldier led the group towards the barracks. Nam Mu turned and waved at Hoa Yo. Hoa Yo waved back. Tae Yong noticed this straight away.

"Do you know him?" Hoa Yo was shocked by Tae Yong's question. "No well, Your Highness. I met him once. He was with my brother." Tae Yong was disappointed by Hoa Yo's answer. "Are you sure? You and him seem friendly." Hoa Yo didn't know how to answer his question. He hadn't expected Nam Mu to be that friendly. "I... Maybe.. I think he's just a nice person. Your Highness" Hoa Yo looked at the Prince bewildered. Tae Yong turned around, leaving Hoa Yo feeling like he had done something wrong. "Wait... I want you tomorrow too. I want you to keep on recording the training." Hoa Yo nodded. He was in position to refuse Tae Yong. "Yes, Your Highness." With a bad taste Hoa Yo packed up his stuff and left with the other scribs. "Master is going to kill me." The other scribs nodded looking at him with sympathy.