Jeok Seong (적성, Jeogseong) was the former captain of the Black Lancer's White Tiger Squad.[1] After his stint with the Black Lancers, he was employed as one of Hwangbo Soong's bodyguards during the search for the Golden Castle. His father was Master Jeok.
Appearance[]
Jeok Seong was a muscular young man with long sideburns and hair tied into a short spiky ponytail. He wore the typical armor of the Black Lancers and carried a sword around with him.
After the events of Yogok Gorge, his entire body and head was scarred and disfigured so he wrapped his body in bandages to hide the scarring.[2] The bamboo hat he wore sported a long tassel on top and hid his long ponytail. He also wore common garbs and carried his sword by the base of the hilt in his left hand.
Image Gallery[]
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Personality[]
Jeok Seong was a loyal and persistent man, when he was inducted into the Black Lancers, he fought desperately to survive. He was also quite treacherous since he would kill his own superiors if he thought they were holding back their chance to win the war. However, after he found someone worth following such as Yongbi, he would serve that person loyally. Jeok Seong also had a sense of justice as he saved a boy and his mother from bandits and even went as far as going to their stronghold to slaughter their entire band.[3]
He cared very much about his comrades as he often cried when he thinks about them and was haunted by their deaths. After escaping from the borderlands, he stayed true to his word and tried to track down his comrades' families to give them their wills. Despite initially being vengeful towards Yongbi and had tracked him down to kill him, he ultimately admitted before his death that deep down in his heart, he never really despised him and just wanted to see him again.
History[]
Jeok Seong was born to the very wealthy Jeok family and had a happy childhood. Later in life, he became a troublemaker and was eventually arrested for murder.[3]
As a result, Jeok Seong was inducted into the Black Lancers cavalry along with other criminals and fought in a war against the Horselords in the borderlands.[4] He rose to the rank of captain and led the White Tiger Squad.[1] However, things were not going well for in nine years, the Black Lancers lost nine Lord Commanders in battle with the two most recent ones confirmed to have been slain by Jeok Seong and the other officers. When their new Lord Commander Yongbi sent a military order to cease all operations and remain on standby until his arrival, the officers ignored it and planned to secure supplies in an ambush instead due to being on a back foot from loss of their last commander. Later at night, the Black Lancers successfully ambushed the enemies supply transport in Jail Gate Valley but Jeok Seong unnervingly felt that the attack was too easy. At that, warriors of the horse tribes poured out of the supply crates, revealing it was a trap, and reinforcements also arrive at the valley's entrance to block the Black Lancers off. As Jeok Seong yelled at his men to fight to the end, Yongbi arrived and flanked the warriors of the horse tribe, inflicting savage losses to them and giving the remaining Black Lancers a second wind. After the battle, he stared at Yongbi in awe as the commander addressed the troops.[4] Jeok Seong would serve Yongbi faithfully from thereon.
In the aftermath of one battle, the remaining government official, who had survived the battle, scolded Yongbi for sacrificing his own superior officers to capture an enemy fort, and then tried to strip Yongbi of his command. At that, Yongbi reiterated his orders to kill every living being in the fort and Jeok Seong drew his sword, decapitating the official.[5] During another siege, he scolded one of the rookies Hwang Inbok for bothering Yongbi and sent him on his way. The very next day, Jeok Seong was stunned when Gwi Doh listed Inbok among the deceased.[6] In another battle, Yongbi led the Black Lancers in pursuit of their enemy and eventually cornered them at a river bank. The barbarians prepared to resist but Yongbi unexpectedly told his men to standby to the shock of Gwi Doh. As the Black Lancers rested and had a meal, Gwi Doh expressed doubts on Yongbi's strategy but Jeok Seong gave justifications for it. Eventually, the Black Lancers were ordered to attack and they decimated their opponents.[7]
One day, Yongbi had a meeting with his superior, the Grand General. Later, when the Grand General was about to leave, Jeok Seong asked him to confirm that the members of the Black Lancers will be given pardons after the war is over, and the Grand General confirmed it was true, adding that they will also be rewarded (this was a lie). The next day, Jeok Seong brought Biryong to Yongbi and the latter sets out, exclaiming that he will end the war in ten days.[8] Not long after, the main army of the Horselords led by their leader arrived at the Black Lancer's fort and the soldiers scrambled to prepare for battle. After Yongbi had a brief word with his officers, they set out. Yongbi then motivated his men with a battle cry and led the charge against the Horselords.[9] Jeok Seong smashed through the Horselord's vanguard but froze from shock that the main army was waiting for him, realizing that they never intended to use tactical maneuvers in the first place. As the Horselords charged him and were about to kill him, Yongbi leaped out of nowhere and cuts them down, saving Jeok Seong's life. Yongbi scolded Jeok Seong and then commanded him and Gwi Doh to continue on with their plan elsewhere while he dealt with the main army.[10] Later, Jeok Seong and Gwi Doh's squads were being pursued by the Horselords led by their Prince and as planned, they led the Horselords into the Yogok Gorge.[1]
In the Yogok Gorge, Jeok Seong dishearteningly watched as explosions rang out across the gorge and boulders rained down on them with both comrades and enemies perishing due to the trap set by the Grand General.[11] Jeok Seong was approached by the Horselord's Prince who told Jeok Seong that Yongbi won't be coming to the Yogok Gorge and Jeok Seong responded to the accusation by attacking. However, the Prince easily blocked the attack and beheaded his horse. Then the Prince left after having a brief word with him. After narrowly evading a large boulder, he eventually found Gwi Doh who was severely injured and blinded by shrapnel. Gwi Doh, worried about Yongbi's well being, asked Jeok Seong if their commander had come to the gorge. Gwi Doh then took Jeok Seong's silence as 'no' and gave a smile, noting that he was glad Yongbi was not trapped in there with them before succumbing to his injuries.[12][11] Jeok Seong managed to escape by some unknown means and his life was saved by Elder Muk's healing.[13] He also learned of Yongbi's fate through Elder Muk.[14]
Later, Jeok Seong roamed the murim to bring his comrades' wills to their families only to learn the tragic fates of their families. He even returned to his childhood home and learned about the fate of his family. It was revealed that his father, Master Jeok, sold off all their assets and left for the capital city to gain the favor of an influential figure for help. Three years later, he returned home, unable to find any information on Jeok Seong. Master Jeok eventually died from stress with his wife following soon after. As Jeok Seong brooded over this revelation in the ruins of the Jeok manor, he became acquainted with a group of kids and through them, he learned of the bandits terrorizing the village. In the morning, Jeok Seong set out and encountered three bandits assaulting a woman and her son. He killed two of them and forced the remaining one to lead him to their stronghold where he slaughtered the entire group of brigands. However, returning to the Jeok manor the next day, a group of villagers confronted him and informed him that the woman and child (Sugil) he saved yesterday were brutally murdered by another group of bandits as revenge for Jeok Seong's slaughter of the bandits at Cheonma stronghold. The bandits ordered the villagers to tip them off to the perpetrator's location but the village elder tells Jeok Seong to leave instead, noting that they would deal with the fallout. After the villagers left, Jeok Seong burned down the manor and then sets out.
On the way, he was confronted by the group of bandits as one of the villagers sold him out. The bandits moved in to attack and Jeok Seong killed them all. After the battle, Jeok Seong rested against his sword and recalled Elder Muk claiming how Yongbi had such an innocent smile despite having such a tragic and brutal life. At that, Jeok Seong said that he want to see that smile too and decided to go seek out Yongbi.[15][3][16]
Plot[]
Yongbi the Invincible[]
Volume 5[]
During the search for the Golden Castle, Jeok Seong was a member of Hwangbo Soong's bodyguard retinue. He mostly kept to himself and ignored all attempts by his comrades to socialize leading to them thinking he was mute. Even when accosted by the Fake Goo Hwi and Mount Cheonpung bandits, he did not lift a finger except to slice apart a boulder flying in his direction.
Volume 6[]
With his party stopping for the night, Jeok Seong had a drink and meal as a girl tended to him. As the night grew late, the girl suggested that he go to bed but after Jeok Seong's continuous disregard for her, she mentioned that she can get another girl to serve him if she was not to his liking. He responded by removing the bandages around his face revealing that he was hideously scarred and then left the building. Outside, he saw an apparition of Yongbi yelling at him and he dispelled it with a swing of his sword. Having witnessed this, fellow bodyguard Lim Jin-Choong praised Jeok Seong's skill with the sword and then Jeok Seong asked the assassin about Yongbi, revealing that he had a history with the young man.
Volume 7[]
Jeok Seong was with his group as they entered the Muhae Valley, on Yongbi's party's trail.
Later inside the Muhae Valley, Yongbi set up a decoy with the fake Golden Medallion and various groups of martial artists slaughtered each other to obtain it. Then Jeok Seong entered the fray and started slaughtering the other martial artists. With his fellow mercenaries joining the slaughter, he went up to the decoy and used the branch it was skewered with to determine Yongbi's location from the trajectory and locked eyes with him. Slowly walking up to Yongbi, Jeok Seong called out the young man's name before attacking. Then as they locked weapons, Jeok Seong confirmed Yongbi's identity.
Volume 8[]
During their battle, Yongbi questioned Jeok Seong on his identity (unable to recognize him due to the bandages) but he evaded the question. However, after Jeok Seong hurled his sword in an attempt to impale his opponent, Yongbi informed him that he had a vague idea of his identity. At that, Jeok Seong unleashed a Black Lancers' technique and Yongbi looked on in shock as the technique closed in on him. Due to him using a spear technique with a sword, the attack was too shallow and Yongbi manged to evade it, receiving a cut to the shoulder. As Yongbi looked on in shock that Jeok Seong used the same form of martial arts as him (still unaware of Jeok Seong's identity), the latter combined his sword with a staff to create a spear. Then Yongbi recalled the battlefield at the Yogok Gorge littered with corpses, noting that no one could have survived that. At that, Jeok Seong revealed himself as Yongbi's former subordinate and unable to accept that Yongbi was no longer the cruel and ruthless man he once knew, he moved in to attack while Yongbi screamed out in anguish.
Unable to cope with the situation, Yongbi hid his consciousness deep within his mind while his body fought on autopilot which only angered Jeok Seong further. He then expressed his detestation of Yongbi gathering money to send to the remnants of the horse tribes he had destroyed during his time with the Black Lancers; something Jeok Seong considered insulting to his fellow Black Lancers who fought to the death under Yongbi's command. Eventually, he incapacitated Yongbi's unconscious body and prepared to run his opponent through but was interrupted by a horde of animals running in his direction forcing him to focus on them, cutting them down. As he wondered why the predators and prey animals were charging side by side, the ground suddenly opened up swallowing them.
Later underground, he approached the unconscious Yongbi and prepared to kill him but Elder Muk arrived in time to save the young man. He and Elder Muk had an argument but in the end, he left due to owing a debt to the elder for saving his life in the past. But before leaving, he remarked that he will come back later to kill Yongbi.
Volume 9[]
In a flashback, Jeok Seong recalled the day Yongbi became the Lord Commander of the Black Lancers and brooded over this memory, stating that Yongbi was no longer the man he once knew.
Volume 10[]
Jeok Seong showed up in Yongbi's vision of his old Black Lancers comrades, as well as the Horselords and their Prince. Looking in the Prince's eye, Yongbi woke up and came back to reality. Then thinking back to his clash with Jeok Seong in the Muhae Valley, he finally realized that the bandaged man was his former subordinate.
Volume 11[]
Jeok Seong sat around and recalled the tragedy at Yogok Gorge. After he was finished brooding over the past, he armed himself with a sword from a corpse and then as he left, Jeok Seong briefly saw Ilgak heading in the opposite direction.
Volume 12[]
Later, Jeok Seong confronted Yongbi again when the latter was quarreling with Hong Ye-Mong. As he approached his former commander, Biryong galloped over and lovingly greeted his old friend. Jeok Seong confirmed Biryong's identity but continued on towards Yongbi. At that, Hong Ye-Mong intercepted Jeok Seong noting that she still had business with Yongbi but was convinced to stand down. In the ensuing clash, Yongbi continuously overpowered him while constantly downplaying Jeok Seong and eventually asked him on the whereabouts of the other Black Lancers. Then Jeok Seong, (thinking that Yongbi was the one that orchestrated the trap at Yogok Gorge) angrily replied that no one else had survived. Yongbi responded to this claim by laughing and insulted them for being weak which enraged Jeok Seong.
Volume 13[]
As their clash continued, Jeok Seong was continuously floored by Yongbi, no match for his martial arts. Eventually, Jeok Seong informed Yongbi of some things that puzzled him. Firstly, Jeok Seong wondered why Yongbi was wandering around the murim as a bounty hunter instead of being a key figure in the Grand General's Command and despite having a fiancee of incredible wealth and influence. When he found out that Yongbi was gathering money for the Horselords, he set out to kill his former commander as vengeance for his comrades. Secondly, he wondered why Yongbi now wouldn't kill him despite his ruthlessness in the past. As Jeok Seong was about to reveal the third thing that puzzled him about Yongbi's actions, Yongbi told Jeok Seong to shut up.
Jeok Seong argued with Yongbi and accused him of being bored of the peaceful life in the murim and that the only reason Yongbi refused to kill him was because his existence brough back good memories of his thrilling past. Then Jeok Seong attempted to commit suicide but Yongbi stopped him. Yongbi then revealed that he did not have good memories of his past and that it was something that haunted him to that very day. Yongbi recalled the Prince's words to him at the Yogok Gorge and exclaimed that everyone severely misjudged him since they did not know his true goals and motives. He then criticized Jeok Seong for dedicating his life to revenge despite having earned his freedom. Jeok Seong accused Yongbi of lying, adding that he did not witness his former commander return to Yogok Gorge. Unable to accept the truth, Jeok Seong ran off.
As Jeok Seong wanders through the underground passages, he witnessed an apparition of the traumatic event at the Yogok Gorge, and watched as his comrades died around him. He stumbled across a dying Gwi Doh who expressed relief that their commander (Yongbi) was not stuck in the trap with them. As Jeok Seong held Gwi Doh's body, the apparitions faded away and he wept.
Volume 14[]
As Jeok Seong crouched over in despair, he saw another apparition of his deceased comrade Gwi Doh. Walking over, Gwi Doh mentioned that Jeok Seong's motives for tracking down Yongbi was not for revenge but for something else that he refused to admit. Then the apparition dissipated and he wept for his dead comrades.
Eventually, Jeok Seong started to make his way towards the Golden Castle. He later showed up in a flashback of his time with the Black Lancers. In it, Jeok Seong revealed to Yongbi that the men exchanged wills so that the survivors can take them to their families after the war and that despite their camaraderie, they would never meet up again as they intend to leave their past behind. Yongbi inquired further if they will see each other again even if betrayed and Jeok Seong responded that he will let it go just to erase his memories of the brutal battlefields.
Later as Jeok Seong traveled through the Golden Castle, a wall in front of him explodes out and he encountered Yongbi among the wreckage. They stared at each other briefly and then, Jeok Seong rushed over to block a sneak attack from the body of Sanggwan Chaek possessed by Lightning God's Blue Dragon Sword. At this point, both of them noticed that that the sword spectre was still controlling Chaek's body despite the head having been blown off. Yongbi screamed at Jeok Seong to fall back but it was too late and the godly sword gruesomely cuts Jeok Seong apart. Enraged, Yongbi obliterated Chaek's body, launching the Lightning God's Blue Dragon Sword out of the Golden Castle and into the depths below. Yongbi then desperately tried to tend to Jeok Seong but the wound was too severe and before passing away, Jeok Seong finally admitted that his reason for seeking Yongbi out was not for revenge but to see him again as none of the Black Lancers blamed their former commander for what happened at the Yogok Gorge.
Volume 15[]
Even as the strength of the tremors increased, signifying the impending eruption of the volcano, Yongbi clutched Jeok Seong's lifeless body. Jeok Seong lastly appeared in the two final chapters of Yongbi the Invincible that consisted of a flashback story covering his activities in the Middle Kingdom following his rescue from the Yogok Gorge.
Powers and Abilities[]
Jeok Seong was an incredibly competent warrior in his own right, having honed his skill in countless ferocious battles against the Horselords. He was an exceptional swordsman being able to effortlessly slice a massive boulder into pieces from a sitting position and hurl gusts of wind with his sword.[2] His style of combat was to use his sword solely to attack and kill without a shred of fear of his opponents and no regards for his own defenses.[17] Despite his great martial ability, Jeok Seong was inexperienced in using techniques based on inner ki and was completely overwhelmed by Yongbi's martial arts in their second clash.[18]
Weapons[]
During his time with the Black Lancers, Jeok Seong used a spear and sword with such proficiency that he was able to cleave through several enemies with a single swing.[4][10] In the murim, he mostly uses a sword as his main weapon. Jeok Seong also carried a collapsible staff around that when locked together and has a sword inserted as the spearhead, can be used as a spear when the situation calls for it.[19]
As a former member of the Black Lancers, Jeok Seong used the Black Lancer Techniques as well as other martial art techniques:
Quotes[]
- (To Yongbi) "Were you surprised that someone other than you used that form of martial arts..."[19]
Notes & Trivia[]
- Jeok Seong was involved in killing two of the Black Lancers' commanders before Yongbi.[4]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Chapter 93 (Yongbi)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chapter 64 (Yongbi)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Chapter 148 (Yongbi)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Chapter 87 (Yongbi)
- ↑ Chapter 86 (Yongbi)
- ↑ Chapter 15 (Yongbi 2)
- ↑ Chapter 17 (Yongbi 2)
- ↑ Chapter 89 (Yongbi)
- ↑ Chapter 90 (Yongbi)
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Chapter 91 (Yongbi)
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Chapter 127 (Yongbi)
- ↑ Chapter 110 (Yongbi)
- ↑ Chapter 81 (Yongbi)
- ↑ Chapter 137 (Yongbi)
- ↑ Chapter 135 (Yongbi)
- ↑ Chapter 149 (Yongbi)
- ↑ Chapter 78 (Yongbi)
- ↑ Chapter 116 (Yongbi)
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Chapter 79 (Yongbi)
[]
| Yongbi the Invincible - A Side Story Characters | ||
| Martial Artists | ||
|---|---|---|
| Beggars' Sect | Fixer • Jang Woon | |
| Black Lancers | Gwi Doh • Hwang Inbok • Jeok Seong • Yongbi • Yook Somyung | |
| Black Snake | Goo Hwi • Jang-Ryong • Pung-Ho | |
| Cheonwoong Faction | Hyeon Jae-Yang | |
| Grand General's Command | Yuk Jingang | |
| Murim Alliance | Murim High Lord | |
| Red Bloods | Hong Ye-Mong • Muk Dal-Pyeong | |
| Secret Sword School | Heukweol • Lord Moonjoo • So Moonjoo • Yeonhwa | |
| The Shaolin | Ilgak | |
| Unaffiliated | The Gold Bug | |
| Non-Martial Artists | ||
| Animals | Biryong • Lightning Flash | |
| Humans | Gongson Seung • So Jinmyung • Yook Socheon | |