Samurai Hearts – Chapter 1: For Vengeance (5)
Dohyeon withdrew the sword he had aimed at Kanbei and turned his head.
Even with his limited experience in games, he knew this fight wouldn't end with Kanbei.
There were three swordmasters here—including Kanbei.And the event title was literally "Trial of the Three Swordmasters."
The person Dohyeon locked eyes with next was the handsome man sitting to the east, wearing floral yukata and two swords at his waist.
The man smiled faintly and rose to his feet.
"I am Hojo Mananeri, of the Cheonhyangshin-ryu (Thousand Fragrance Divine Style). To witness the sword of the new Sword Saint with my own eyes—an honor indeed."
Shhhk—
Mananeri drew both his swords.
A short blade in his left hand.A long blade in his right.
The long sword extended forward in a probing posture,while the short sword floated like a shadow behind it.
Even though he held two swords, he felt utterly different from Sword Saint Kato's Niten Ichiryu.
Dohyeon simply let his own sword hang loose and watched him.
Mananeri seemed to take that as acceptance.
"Then I shall go!"
With that shout, he rushed forward.
And just like with Kanbei, Dohyeon did not try to actively parry Mananeri's strikes.Only when a blow truly couldn't be avoided did he deflect it.Otherwise, he merely dodged or blocked lightly.
Giving Mananeri space to display the full sword style.
Seungyeon and the viewers now understood why.
Seungyeon shrugged.
"My brother is really greedy. He wants to learn Cheonhyangshin-ryu too, after Niten Ichiryu and Jakye-Seomho-ryu? Normally you're only allowed one style."
-This man's GREED meter is overflowing -Niten + Jakye + Cheonhyang = ???-Don't forget Jegeom-ryu too-Ma, this is some SKAAMUBARA-level nonsense!-Sword-style stew pot-LMAOOOO
Dohyeon calmly observed Mananeri's movements.
Cheonhyangshin-ryu (Thousand Fragrance Divine Style).A style named for a thousand scents carried by the divine blade.
And Dohyeon quickly learned why.
Cheonhyangshin-ryu was varied and dazzling.
Just as its name implied, it was overflowing with subtle transitions and elaborate form.
The short blade in the left hand—at times purely defensive,but in the blink of an eye, it slipped in with a sudden thrust.
The long blade in the right—one moment slashing forward,the next moment retreating into a guarded posture.
A sword that never lets you relax, Dohyeon thought.
Because the two blades traded offense and defense at will—creating constant unpredictability.
A sword Dohyeon expected to defend could suddenly attack.A blade he expected to strike could suddenly guard.It was designed to confuse the opponent.
But Dohyeon soon realized:
The essence of Cheonhyangshin-ryu was not the flourish, but the balance beneath it.
He could tell from Mananeri's attack.
"You cannot escape!"
SWISH—!
The long blade stabbed straight toward his throat.
But did the short blade stay idle?Never.
It hovered exactly where it could intercept Dohyeon's counterattack at any moment.
Dohyeon hopped back and thought:
There it is.
Even mid-attack, defense was never forgotten.Even while guarding, offense never stopped.
Perfect equilibrium between offense and defense.
That was the true core of Cheonhyangshin-ryu.And also its unique sword-style trait—granting fluid transitions between attack and guard.
At first, Dohyeon had wondered:
If it's all flashy and unpredictable, why is it considered the most balanced style?
But now he understood.
The flashiness was only camouflage—meant to obscure the unshakeable structural balance beneath.
It really is perfectly balanced, he thought.
Though, of course, he didn't know that ordinary players called it "balanced" simply because its basic stat modifiers were evenly distributed.
People weren't interpreting its hidden philosophy—they were just reading numbers.
Same conclusion, completely different reasoning.
Not that it mattered.
I've seen enough.
Dohyeon had grasped Cheonhyangshin-ryu's mechanisms.
There was no more need to watch.
He moved.
Mananeri had no means of stopping him.
His skill level was roughly equal to Kanbei's—but against Dohyeon's talent for dissecting swordplay, he was helpless.
CLANG—!
Dohyeon lifted and redirected the long sword slash with a single strike.
His second blade movement broke through the defensive short sword.
If he lowered his blade toward Mananeri's exposed neck, the fight would be over.
It was much simpler than his fight with Kanbei—not because Mananeri was weaker, but because their styles were a terrible mismatch.
Dohyeon, who could unravel an opponent's sword down to its blueprint, was Cheonhyangshin-ryu's natural predator.
-lmfao he shredded him instantly-What happened?? I looked away for ONE SECOND-"He was Sword-Saint'd…" press X to pay respects-X-X
"…I concede."
With Dohyeon's sword resting against his unprotected neck, Mananeri admitted defeat.
He stepped back and sheathed his twin blades.
Dohyeon turned toward the final swordmaster.
The only woman among the three.
Receiving his gaze, she stepped forward confidently.
"I am Izumi Mio, of Jegeom-ryu (Control Blade Style).New Sword Saint—please grant me your instruction."
-Mio noona is hereeeee!!-Mi-ha! (short for "Mio hi!")-Mi-ha Mi-ha!!
SHING—!
Mio drew her sword in one clean motion, settling into a mid-level guard stance.
A common posture—yet the form, the air, the sharpness she exuded…
Dohyeon had never seen anything like it.
Ordinary foot soldiers used spears, and ninjas used ninjatō.
A dual-wielding Sword Saint, a man swinging a two-meter greatsword, and another dual-swordsman like Mananeri would never take a middle stance (Chūdan-no-kamae).
But Mio did.
"I'm coming!"
SWISH!
She stepped in hard and delivered a straight downward cut.
Dohyeon tried to dodge sideways, just as he had against Kanbei—but his body flinched and he raised his sword instead.
A purely instinctive reaction.
CLANG!
Steel rang sharply as Dohyeon and Mio each took one step back.
"…Hmm."
Dohyeon's eyes widened slightly.
He now understood what a Perfect Parry was,and he had been using it freely.
And the effect that just triggered was unmistakably a Perfect Parry.
Yet despite that, both he and Mio had been pushed back equally.
Just like with Sword Saint Kato.
Even Kanbei and Mananeri had flinched when Dohyeon landed a Perfect Parry—yet Mio did not.
Is she on the same level as the Sword Saint?
But… not quite.
Something important was missing.
Sword Saint Kato's blade carried a suffocating pressure even when parried—Mio's blade, despite matching him step-for-step, felt normal.
Having fought Kato with his life on the line, Dohyeon could tell the difference clearly.
Curiosity stirred.He took the initiative.
Though unlike earlier, this time it was to see Mio's sword, not to overpower her.
CLANG! CLANG-CLANG! CLANG!
Blades crashed again and again, neither giving an inch.
Her refusal to flinch even after a Perfect Parry proved that earlier wasn't a coincidence.
And that was enough for Dohyeon to identify the strange sensation he felt from the start.
So this is Jegeom-ryu…
Jegeom-ryu .
'Je' here was not (emperor), but —"to restrain."
The Sword-Restraint Style.
A style that restricts, entangles, and suppresses the opponent's blade using one's own.
Suppressing the opponent's sword meant many things:
From suppressing small movements—all the way up to suppressing the impact of their strikes.
And that explained the strange sensation during the earlier parry:
She suppressed the backlash of my Perfect Parry.
It also explained why Dohyeon instinctively met the strike head-on rather than dodging.
Once ensnared by Jegeom-ryu's suppression, the fight becomes troublesome.So he chose to confront it before she fully established the bind.
To avoid being trapped by Jegeom-ryu's signature trait:"Suppress the enemy's blade."
So this is why Jegeom-ryu is considered defensive…
Watching Mio made it clear.
Her sword was firm, unwavering, always pushing forward with quiet, heavy pressure.
No ferocity like Jakye-Seomho-ryu,no flourish like Cheonhyangshin-ryu,but an unshakeable, grinding dominance that pressed the opponent into compliance.
Slow, steady inevitability.That was Jegeom-ryu's strength.
And that is why it was considered a beginner-friendly, defensive style.
But—
Even so, it could not reach the Sword Saint.
"Hup!"
BOOM—!
Dohyeon's twisting counterstrike made Mio's sword fly back with a heavy crash.
Mio herself staggered three steps backward.
A decisive difference from earlier, when they both stepped back equally.
This time, the blow carried intentional force—not instinct.
If you can't suppress the opponent's power, Jegeom-ryu has nothing left.
Even Jegeom-ryu couldn't restrain everything.
If it could, the Sword Saint would have been Izumi Mio, not Hatsuragi Kato.
No matter how firm and methodical,a blade that tries to suppress everything can be overwhelmed by raw, greater force.
And Dohyeon had just learned a style that embodied overwhelming force.
I'll use Jakye-Seomho-ryu's offense…
CLANG—! CLANG—! CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!
A storm-like assault.
Compared to earlier, it was as if everything had been play-fighting until now.
Mio, caught in the tempest, was tossed about like a small boat on violent seas.
"Kh…?!"
CLANG!
She tried desperately to regain her stance—but Dohyeon would never allow her the space.
In a sense, this was Mio's misfortune.
The more Dohyeon fought,the more sword styles he saw,the more overwhelmingly strong he became.
Thus the last person to fight him was at the greatest disadvantage.
"Kyaaa!"
With a lone cry, Mio collapsed to the ground.
An undeniable defeat.
The three swordmasters of the Heavenly Flower Sect—all defeated by Dohyeon.
"Simply extraordinary swordsmanship. As expected of the new Sword Saint—one who felled even the Sword Saint of the previous era."
Tengu stepped forward once the outcome was settled.
With his usual chuckling, he spoke—but he addressed the Black Wolf, not Dohyeon.
Because the event cutscene had triggered again after Mio's defeat.
"If it isn't rude of me to ask—what sword style do you follow?"
"My sword style is…"
The Black Wolf began to answer—and stopped.
The same game-freeze phenomenon from earlier struck again.
But this time, he didn't blurt anything out.He had experienced it once already.
Something different happened:no choices appeared.
Instead, a single scroll, like those used for in-game system messages, unfurled before him.
Its text read:
─ Creating a Sword Style suited to the player's tendencies.
A new Sword Style… being created.
A reward for clearing the "Trial of the Three Swordmasters."
And then—three new scrolls appeared before Dohyeon.
Three choices.
So it's choices again, he thought.
He examined the scrolls floating before him.