The Nature of Possession

389 – EP.14 The Sword of the North-2

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She buried her face in the mud and spat out the dirt that had entered her mouth along with her saliva.

Something of a dark brown and bright red color dotted the ground.

“I thought you only knew how to use the word ‘swordsmanship’ while smirking. You were hiding your molars.”

The warrior of the tribe spoke, standing up with her hands on her knees. Her neatly braided hair was slightly disheveled.

The man who was questioned by the great warrior did not open his mouth again except for the brief words he had just said.

“It’s nice to see you so relaxed. Well, that makes hunting more enjoyable.”

He spoke to himself, and understood to himself. The great warrior nodded and picked up the greatsword again.

The heavy weight of the greatsword slung over her shoulder grounded her mind back to the earth.

A small amount of blood flowed from his mouth, as if his insides had been convulsed. Perhaps it was an injury that would require treatment when he returned to the tribe.

She was so absorbed in the immediate fight that she put aside the future of showing her body to a shaman and receiving treatment.

He rubbed the corner of his mouth with his thumb to get some blood. Then he used his hand like a paintbrush to draw long lines down his cheekbone.

It was similar in shape to the blue tattoo on her body.

“Is that a tattoo?”

The silent duke asked. His tone seemed somewhat lighter, his usual stiffness softening.

“Are you curious?”

The man nodded as the tribal warrior smiled, revealing his teeth.

“When you achieve great things as a member of a tribe, you get tattoos. Each part and each shape has a meaning.”

“This means that before I had my coming of age ceremony, I hunted prey on my own. Three mountain lions.”

The woman pointed to the dot-like tattoo under her eye.

“This means I’ve had a coming of age ceremony. The fact that the tattoo has an arrowhead at the end means that the game I caught at my coming of age ceremony that year was the biggest.”

“Hoo-“

When the Duke unexpectedly reacted, the Grand Master continued his explanation as if he was in awe.

“I didn’t know you were this interested in me.”

When she finished explaining for a long time and started speaking, the man scratched the back of his head as if he was embarrassed.

“Are tattoos only done for special occasions?”

Suddenly, the man asked, as if he had a question.

“what?”

The woman asked back, as if she didn’t quite understand the question.

“I was wondering if personal humiliation, such as being chased by prey or fleeing from a war between tribes, was also recorded in tattoos.”

The man moved his neck from side to side to relax his tense muscles.

“There is no such thing. Tattoos are only given for glorious things.”

The woman also took a fighting stance and said.

“I see.”

“Don’t you need a weapon?”

The Grand Master nodded to the soldiers rolling on the floor.

“I think it’s not necessary.”

At the duke’s words, the veins on the woman’s forehead stood out.

“It seems that not only the way you fight, but also your personality has changed. Well, it doesn’t matter if you have a weapon or not. After all, what you’re going to fight with is this body that the earth has given you!”

The warrior ran like a wild boar. As if sliding on ice, an unstoppable pressure radiated from her speed as she approached.

The man was not unaware of the nature of the pressure. It was momentum.

The greatsword was swung as if to split the waist in two.

The man guessed at its speed and weight, then dove inside again.

“Do you think you’ll get hit by the same number again?”

She dropped her sword and swung her fist at his face as he approached her.

The greatsword was originally a bait to draw him out. The great warrior smiled bitterly at the face of the man who was approaching his fist.

But her sense of victory was short-lived, and she instinctively turned to the side.

It was because the man’s heel fell from above like a snake’s fang, aiming for her shoulder.

The man clicked his tongue, perhaps not liking the fact that he was only striking the ground.

The woman picked up the longsword that had fallen to the floor and threw it, and the man avoided it by bending his waist back.

When a man attacks, the woman dodges.

When a woman fights back, a man blocks her.

‘The movements are really peculiar. They seem organized, but at times they are instinctive like a beast.’

She thought as she blocked the man’s fist aimed at her stomach with the flat surface of her greatsword.

The timing of the attack was standard. If you expected a right foot, you would attack with your right foot, and if you expected a left fist, you would attack with your left fist.

It was predictable enough that we could have counterattacked.

The problem is what happens after the counterattack.

After receiving that visible attack and counterattacking, the previous appearance disappears and it appears to rely heavily on intuition.

They show unpredictable movements, such as rolling on the ground to dodge, or ducking or bending over to dodge.

‘I feel like I’m getting more and more involved.’

Another thing that was irritating her was the fact that he had his hands on him.

Since the change in momentum, he has not been using his weapon.

In a fight between a weapon and an unarmed opponent, it is natural that the one with the weapon will generally have the upper hand.

However, the man was actually showing off his better appearance than when he was holding a weapon.

‘Are you hiding your strength? No, I’m not a man who would do something like that in front of an enemy.’

I thought about why I became stronger, but I couldn’t come up with a clear answer.

Then, you come to the conclusion that there is no need to think about it.

Another routine attack comes in. If you dodge this and counterattack, you’ll see another dizzying movement.

So how about this method?

She recalls a memory of a saber-toothed tiger she once hunted.

That saber-toothed tiger was just as annoying as this man because of its quick movements.

‘How did you catch that guy back then?’

For a split second, she walked briskly, searching her memories, and looked at his feet falling on her shoulders.

She felt a heel touch her left shoulder, followed by a sharp pain.

She looked into the man’s eyes through gritted teeth.

Even though the attack was successful, his eyes were filled with confusion.

That would be the case, because his foot, which had been lowered onto his shoulder, was still fixed to his shoulder.

“I caught it like this.”

Despite the feeling of his shoulders breaking, the warrior was able to laugh heartily.