403 – Battle of Pride (3)

Unlike the Gaia Cult, the Gulag Cult has a uniquely close connection to ‘sacrifice’.

For this reason, the priests in charge of the ceremonies and the godmothers of the dancers tend to be favored by the Gulag.

Even though the Tatars displayed their savagery, the influence of this religion was so strong that they were recognized as a state.

Even the most favored dancer was a princess of the Gulag, so its religious prestige is high compared to other countries in the world.

Even Byzantium learned the know-how from Tatar believers and performed rituals. It was as if a nation was founded on one religion.

As the power of the Gulag grew stronger in Tatarstan, the status of dancers naturally rose as well.

Who are the dancers? Aren’t they women who seduce others with their captivating dances and gorgeous costumes?

There are cases where even foreigners and Tatars curse them, calling them ‘vulgar’ and saying they are no different from prostitutes.

But in such cases, the dancer directly points out the opponent and engages in a duel. What is the result?

[A being with sharp fangs inside a sweet fragrance. They are dancers.]

[You want to take them? Then beat them. But be prepared to have your limbs broken.]

[If the Gaia Church has monks, the Gulag Church has dancers.]

Most people have had bad experiences. There have been many cases where they looked down on dancers and ended up losing their corn.

Dancers are beings who prepare their own bodies for rituals. They have to have strong stamina.

The same goes for martial arts. They know better than anyone else that they are beautiful, so they consistently practice various martial arts.

In Tatar, force is considered a virtue, and dancers have many virtues, including beauty.

So, most of the companions of dancers are those who are strong in power or force. Let us also remember that Hector’s wife was a dancer.

Some have hypothesized that Hector was chosen by the Gulag because of the influence of his dancer wife.

In fact, it was a reasonable hypothesis, and Hector did not specifically deny it but was positive about it, so it was accepted as an established theory.

For various reasons, the Tatar dancer can be defined as follows:

‘The poisonous desert rose.’

-Wow!

A clear and crisp noise rang out. It was a sound that pierced my ears.

Luna frowned and pushed away urgently. As she pushed away, Io also stepped back.

“Oh my······”

Luna frowned and wiped her forehead, sweat running down her eyes and obscuring her vision.

The eyebrows were supposed to block the sweat, but even the eyebrows were soaking wet. It was difficult in many ways due to the continuous fighting and the heat.

‘furthermore······’

Even after wiping the sweat off, I couldn’t open my eyes. I could only close my eyes halfway, making a squinted look.

It wasn’t that my eyes hurt or that Io had sprinkled sand on them, but for some reason, my eyes wouldn’t open properly.

For Luna in particular, eyes are very important, as they are for everyone else. She has good eyesight.

He even advised me that I was relying too much on my eyes. I am not a predictor, but rather a blocker.

So, although Lord had training to increase his predictive ability, it was still far from enough.

‘Why on earth? Did you use some trick?’

Even if the sweat was like that, it was difficult to understand why my eyes kept stinging.

But that doesn’t mean I can give up. I’m about to run out of stamina anyway, so a long-term battle is out of the question.

‘Not one room, but one chance.’

Lord told me to distribute the shots rather than aiming for one shot and create one opportunity.

To do that, I was taught that counterattack, or counter, is the most important. I plan to use this.

Luna then gripped the sword tightly with both hands. She blinked because of the sweat running down her eyes, but she could still endure it.

Meanwhile, Iodo also slowly took a stance. He put his left palm forward and slightly moved his stance backward.

‘Come. Come. Come.’

Luna waited patiently, but did not forget to move her legs to wait for an opportunity.

As she began to move little by little, Io also moved little by little, but in a slightly strange direction.

Normally, they would go in opposite directions and draw a circle around each other, but Io was not like that. She followed Luna, maintaining a straight line.

In fact, this kind of movement wasn’t the first or second time. It was strange because it followed along while giving and receiving compliments.

‘Why on earth are you doing that?’

Luna narrowed her eyes and stared at Io. It was an incomprehensible movement.

What on earth are they aiming for that makes them turn in a straight line instead of sideways?

Not only her, but other Tatars also did similar things. Not horizontally, but following her like that.

-Sparkle!

But that question didn’t even go away, because the sharp, scorching sunlight hit her blue eyes.

The sun had left the center of the sky and was shining at a subtle angle. Luna realized it only then.

‘sunlight······!’

It’s sunlight. It was moving like that to turn its back on the sun.

The Tatar warriors were thoroughly taking advantage of their home ground.

So he moved in a circle to quickly turn his back on the sun.

“You noticed quickly.”

But Io would not let Luna turn her back on the sun. She approached quickly, mumbling calmly.

Then, a fierce right fist flew forward. The fist was aimed straight at Luna’s abdomen.

“I knew it!”

“?!”

The fist did not reach the abdomen. There was only an empty space where the body should have been.

Also, Luna’s voice pierced Io’s ears like a spear. It was a triumphant cheer.

-Shhh!

Luna’s sword advanced towards Io’s shoulder. If this continued, she would be badly injured.

The scene was reflected in Io’s eyes like a mirror. And Io’s reaction to this was······

-Shhh

It was to draw an ominous smile.

******

-Wow!

The cheers of the crowd came through the aisle. Well, it didn’t really matter that it didn’t have to be through the aisle.

Because I was watching the whole situation from the end of the passage. The guide said it was okay up to there.

‘You lost the water fight.’

It was good that he avoided the regime. He fought well despite being physically exhausted and facing the sun head-on.

But physical exhaustion is mental exhaustion. I could see one step ahead, but I couldn’t see two steps ahead.

Iodo Luna must have expected a counterattack because he immediately countered. By completely bending down, he completely avoided the path of the sword.

He suddenly got up and kicked Luna in the jaw. It was a kick that looked like something out of a fighting game.

‘······If you think about it, it’s a world inside a game······? I don’t know.’

Anyway, Luna fought hard. She fought against three people, so she went beyond just blocking and showed great performance.

The Tatars probably also have quite a fondness for Luna, since strength is considered a virtue here.

“Next person, please come in.”

I listened to the guide and took my weapon. The weapon was, of course, the one-handed hammer I had purchased yesterday.

Although the handle is a bit short, it is still easy to swing.

Besides, you’ll probably never need to use a hammer. If you do, you’ll probably use it later.

-What? Aren’t you Korean? Your skin is brown?

-I heard your skin is tanned. It was originally a light brown color.

-That student subdued Queen Sand Scorpion, right? I wonder how skilled she is.

As I entered, the crowd was filled with roars rather than cheers. I felt like I had already become a famous person in Tatarstan.

Rather, they questioned my skin color, but I didn’t really care.

“I······excuse me.”

“?”

“Is one of your parents a Tatar?”

I feel like I’ve heard that somewhere. I pointed at myself in response to the dancer’s question.

A dancer nodding to him. She looks like a female version of Geum Tae-yang, but she is quite polite.

In addition to her beauty, she was also quite good-looking. From what I saw earlier, she seemed to be able to control lightning, albeit weakly.

‘It’s clear that the Gulag loves dancers.’

I can 100% guarantee that Kara will do the same. I just can’t bring myself to say no.

‘You are very good.’

It’s not sarcasm, it’s sincere praise. Thanks to that, my eyes were happy.

The dancers were not shy about exposing themselves, so it was a win-win for both of them. First, let’s answer.

“No. I don’t know.”

“You don’t know… No. You spoke our language before?”

“I taught myself.”

“Um······That could be the case. Anyway.”

The dancer slowly took a stance. It was amazing how firm she felt despite her slender body.

Then she looked at me with sharp eyes and opened her mouth quietly.

“You’re Shivar, right?”

“yes.”

“I see. Then······”

-Dismissed!

Are you going to go all out from the start? A lightning bolt struck the dancer’s hand.

The momentum also started to exude a murderous air. It’s not like he has any feelings of resentment towards me, so why is he acting like that?

“I will defeat you no matter what.”

“Why?”

“His Majesty said that whoever defeats you will be granted whatever he wishes. My brother was rude enough to want the princess.”

Brother. Are you talking about that golden sun guy who’s still hanging around?

While I was looking elsewhere, Geum Tae-yang’s younger sister declared confidently.

“But I’m different. I’m going to be a queen.”

“······Who?”

I was embarrassed and let out a strange reaction. The queen is the king’s companion.

In other words, the dancer said she would marry Hector. From Hector’s perspective, it would be a remarriage.

‘Was there originally a character like this?’

I couldn’t remember it even after trying to recall it. Maybe it was because Hector died.

“The Tatar dancer wants to receive the seed of the strong. His Majesty Hector is the strongest in Tatar.”

“··· ···”

“You haven’t had many opportunities so far. I will definitely defeat you today. To make Tatar even more powerful.”

You keep making statements that Chaos would like. They’re even persuasive.

If I receive the seed of someone stronger than me, my child will also become stronger, and naturally, the national power of Tatar will increase.

I thought about those words carefully and then opened my mouth quietly. Just in case.

“······Are all dancers like that?”

“Of course. That’s why dancers are strong.”

“then······”

Does Kara feel the same way? I was about to ask, but then I shook my head.

I thought that asking for nothing would only make the atmosphere awkward. I also have a knack for reading things.

Above all, that’s not what’s important right now. I slowly got into position.

Even if I did get into a position, I only ended up turning my body by half.

“Then I will go.”

“Come.”

-Phajijik!

At the same time, the dancer rushed forward, her fists flashing with small lightning.

It’s not quite as powerful as Hector and Kara, but in this world, lightning is one of the most powerful abilities.

It would be powerful enough to knock out a normal person in one hit if hit properly.

-Kwaaang!

But not me. How many lightning strikes have I been struck by so far?

Among them, there were even ‘divine punishments’ personally handed down by the Gulag.

“What, what······?!”

The dancer’s eyes widened in shock. No wonder, her fist hit me squarely in the stomach.

But it’s understandable to be flustered because he’s standing upright without falling. Maybe his own hand hurts more.

“ouch.”

I said expressionlessly.

“sick.”