#1
5
9.
“Fire! Fire!”
Wake everyone up!
As the flames originating in the pavilion spread in all directions, Mukhyeolbang was in a frenzy, as if struck by a bolt from the blue.
The warriors, drunk and unable to even properly fasten their sashes, staggered as they scooped water from the well and poured it onto the hall, but the flames showed no signs of subsiding.
A cartwheel rolled down a mountain ridge does not stop until it hits a stone.
The nine dark sects of Akyang, led by Mukhyeolbang and Heukbugung, will not stop the war merely because the leader of Mukhyeolbang is dead.
The black bandits of Akyang are the very wheel.
And the obstacle that will stop them is, paradoxically, the exact same method they have used so far—’creating fear.’ Once the Head of the Bloody Clan dies, the Deputy Head will step forward.
If the Deputy Head of the Bang dies, the Black Palace will step forward in place of the Black Blood Bang.
The way to stop them is to make them realize that their lives are also hanging by a thread.
And not the life of a subordinate to be used and discarded like a disposable item, but the life of the decision-maker.
Because the guts of those bastards up there are all the same.
Even within the Murim Alliance, the number of politicians willing to throw away their lives like mere blades of grass is few and far between.
Furthermore, I don’t think at all that the Black guys are better than the White guys.
“Wake up the kids! The fire is spreading!”
Everyone is out at Yujangmun, so we are short of people.
“Then wake the villagers up! Tell them to help if they don’t want to die!”
The fire engulfing the massive palace where the ark resided made them even more anxious.
Watching the scene from a distance, I once again unleashed my spiritual movement and ran toward the point furthest from the burning palace. ‘It begins now.’ A massive shadow fell over where I stood due to the huge flames spreading from the palace.
I hid my body in the shadows using the Ghost-Eating Technique and went around the Dark Blood Sect, keeping an eye on only the guys giving orders.
“Hey you bastard! Run! Aren’t you going to run!?”
A hulking man spewing curses and radiating murderous intent from one side.
The guy, swinging an axe as big as a human torso, looked like he would split disobedient subordinates in two with a single blow, and for that reason, the warriors of the Mukhyeolbang did not even approach the giant.
I rode the shadow and approached the giant from behind.
He must have sensed my presence, as he cursed and swung his fist.
“Hey you bastard! Who do you think you are…?”
Phew.
As if feeling a foreign object lodged in his chest, the massive man’s head slowly bows.
“What is your rank in the Mukhyeolbang?”
“…….”
It was strangely quiet, so I tapped him and found that the giant was no longer breathing.
“Oh my… I thought I was just going to stab shallowly.”
I dragged my massive body out of sight and put it away, then once again darted back and forth between the shadows, searching for a suitable opponent.
However, the people presumed to be in command were too close to the palace while trying to put out the flames, so no suitable one could be found.
Instead, they started targeting the low-ranking guys.
“Hey, who are you…….”
Phew.
“Hey! Why aren’t you moving the water…?”
There was no need to fight.
Because once I caught and killed the ones who were frantically moving water one by one, others would often fill their place.
Before I knew it, the narrow alley behind the building where bodies were piled up was packed to the point where there was no room to even set foot. ‘I guess I’ll have to go a little further inside.’ *Crack*
Just then, unable to withstand the flames, one side of the pavilion collapsed, and fire spread in all directions.
“Get out of the way! The fire is spreading!”
“Come out, you bastards!”
“Lord of the Ark! Has anyone seen you!”
As the pavilion collapses, the adjacent pavilion catches fire.
The guys, half-crazed, stopped putting out the fire, threw down their buckets, and started running in all directions.
bang.
Eventually, the largest building collapsed, turning the area around the Grand Training Ground and the Grand Demon Arena into a sea of fire.
“The fire is spreading over there too! Bring some water!”
We are short on buckets.
“Bring me some dirt, you bastards!”
The moment when people’s eyes are focused on another pavilion.
I slowly approached from behind the dazed guys.
And just as I grabbed one and was about to pierce his neck.
A strange voice was heard from above my head.
What a fearless fellow.
“!”
The moment I lifted my head, dozens of footprints filled the air.
*Pukak*
“As I hurriedly stepped on the Taeeul Palman Divine Treasure to dodge, the floor made of Cheonggang stone shattered into pieces, sending rocks flying in all directions. ‘What the hell is this destructive power…'”
I had heard that his technique was absolute, but I never imagined that a foot without even a bet would shatter the blue stone into pieces.
“To think you ran away from me and then came back. Did I look that easy to you?”
A middle-aged man coming down from the roof with his hands behind his back.
The man, whose goatee made his impression look even more cunning, chuckled and said.
“I heard the Black Flame Dragon was all talk and no action. I see you have mastered some strange martial arts.”
“I am not the Black Flame Dragon.”
I saw you at the Night Journey of the Black Road.
Damn it, was he one of those Black Sect bastards who gathered back then?
“Ah! So we have a connection. Then, would you mind stepping aside? This is a matter between Mukhyeolbang and me.”
Evil twisted his goatee with his fingers and said
“To be precise, it is a matter between Mukhyeolbang and Yujangmun.”
Now that there is no one to pay us, isn’t there no need to work so hard?
I always receive payment in advance.
“I suppose to trust a scoundrel like that. You’re a total idiot.”
“Hehehe. You reek of Taoism in your martial arts, yet your mouth sounds like a back-alley thug.”
The evil snake with its hands behind its back
He lifted his right foot and swung it eight times like a whip.
*Pow pow pow pow pow* Even though I had not lacked external martial arts training and had even surrounded myself with ki, the part that was grazed by the blow hurt as if my bones were shattering.
Moreover, the movement of each technique is faster than a normal fast sword, making it impossible to find an opening.
He tried to create distance and swing the Black Dragon Sword, but Evil did not let him.
He says something trivial to create an opening.
“I am a master swordsman; would you not like to witness my swordsmanship?”
“Pfft, are you talking about that swordsmanship that killed the Mukhyeolbangju? I have no nerve, so I have no curiosity.”
However, he was different from those stupid Sojeongdae guys.
Each of them occupies the space in the room without any gaps, and if you try to retreat, they threaten with a bigger attack and close the distance.
“Where do you think you’re going, you rascal!”
Whenever I rushed in to take him down, he struck my thigh with an attack utilizing the close distance, delivering a shock powerful enough to make my body stagger each time. ‘His improvisation is incredible.’ It was not a fighting style honed through sparring or practice, but an extreme form of close-quarters combat forged through real-life combat.
Therefore, even when using the same technique, it felt like a different technique, and even when using a different technique, it felt like the same technique.
It was only for a brief moment, but as the battle dragged on, members of the Mukhyeolbang began to look in this direction one by one.
It was clear that if I delayed any longer, the intended sense of fear would fail, so I desperately pulled away.
Retreating is also an important tactic.
Are you still trying to run away?
“Because there is someone I am waiting for.”
I will pass on the message that you can’t go.
“I will decline. I prefer to speak directly.”
He creates three illusions while stomping on the Taeeulpalmansinbo with extreme force.
He twisted his body desperately and threw his sword to dodge the Holy Fire Demon Slayer.
Papang, papang, papapapang.
With the sound of an explosion, embers burst out in all directions.
“I felt it earlier, but this is an extraordinary flame. Just what kind of martial art is this?”
“I am the flame of justice that strikes down the Black Path.”
I scattered the Holy Fire Demon-Slaying Water along with my horse to create an opening, then turned and put strength into my legs.
However, at that moment, the evil one blurted out something strange.
He’s still mine. Don’t touch him.
Hesitant.
It’s clearly not directed at me.
The moment I quickly lowered my head at the strange sensation climbing up my spine.
Whoaah
With a sharp piercing sound, the hair was severed and fell to the floor.
Didn’t you sense my presence?
Eun clicked his tongue as he looked at my hair that had fallen on the floor.
“Tsk tsk, I told you not to mess with me.”
“Snake, the employer is dead. Stop messing around.”
“See? I told you to take the advance payment.”
Why do you get gloomy during battle?
Ah, I really hate this.
One guy was just cracking smirks even though his employer had died, and another was sulking like a child because he said he wouldn’t get paid.
There are many strange people in the White Path martial arts world, but compared to the Black Path guys, they are extremely normal.
“Huh? Your slip is running away.”
Don’t call a person a slip! You crazy bastard!
Sword Evil raised its head at the evil words
Suddenly, he appeared before my eyes and blocked my escape route.
“Do not run away. Voucher.”
“At least treat me like a human being!!”
As he scattered the Twin Heaven Sword Techniques and tightened the grip on Geom-ak from all directions, one of Geom-ak’s eyebrows twitched.
In an instant, the Sword of Evil began to move so fast that it appeared blurry.
ping
– Ping
I was astonished by Geomak’s move.
Good heavens, to think you don’t distinguish between a ghost sword and a real sword.
Illusion
It deceives and misleads.
Conversely, it means that if you cast aside both illusion and truth without distinguishing between them, you will not be deceived.
It sounds like a total idiot’s comment, but seeing it in person makes me marvel.
It’s enough to make you secretly covet it.
“How much money are you supposed to receive?”
“Receive a lot.”
I can give you a lot too.
“How much are you going to give me?”
“Ten thousand taels of gold?”
One of Geomak’s eyebrows twitched.
Wait, are you saying they’re going to cross over again?
“……
What should I do?
“Please kill those Mukhyeolbang bastards and that evil snake over there.”
As he listened to the story, the wicked grumbled and threw a projectile.
“Hey, that idiot, what is he listening to again!”
Geom-ak pouted his lips sullenly and shook his head.
“Evil, bad temper. Holds a grudge. Torments you for a long time.”
I spoke while avoiding the evil’s angles using the Iron Plate Bridge technique.
“Can’t we just kill him here?”
“Evil, if you die, you won’t get a job.”
Are the two of you friends?
The answer came back from evil.
They call them childhood friends.
Oh, so you’re saying we’re friends?
So that’s why adults told us to choose our friends wisely.
It is all thanks to me that that fellow became one of the Eight Evils.
As the wicked said, perhaps because the two have been working together for a long time, they complement each other’s shortcomings quite well.
Above the waist, the evil sword takes away the soul, and below the waist, the evil tangles the feet.
It is already difficult enough dealing with just one person, so having to split up against two makes me not even dare to run away.
I began to formulate a plan while taking in the two people’s martial arts skills one by one.
Is ruining your friend’s life something to be proud of?
Like the Black Flame Dragon, notoriety is also a form of fame.
Fuck, since when did my nickname become Infamy?
A question surged up to my throat, but was swallowed once again by the sword blade that suddenly appeared before my eyes. ‘What kind of sword technique has no presence!’ As if my earlier senses were not wrong, Geom-ak’s sword technique was once again devoid of any presence.
Speed aside, since it cannot be grasped by the senses, I cannot look away.
As I fix my gaze on Geomak, Saak stares persistently at my lower body.
There it is! There’s the intruder!
The members of Mukhyeolbang, who had been stunned by the flames, began to gather one by one.
Pow pow, pow, pow.
Chaechachachachachang.
The Twin Heaven Sword Techniques scattered by the Ten Thousand Swords are shattered into pieces by the Sword of Geom-ak.
It would have been more powerful if it harbored sword energy, but it couldn’t buy time because it was busy dealing with evil.
The members of the Mukhyeolbang, who had occupied the area before I knew it, could not easily approach due to the aftermath of the battle, but they exuded a menacing aura, ready to charge at me with their weapons at any moment.
“Give up on the slip. You’ll lose your arm.”
Just as he said, I was moving my sword and hands so frantically that I couldn’t even swear.
It feels like a foreign object stuck between two perfectly fitting latches.
It is truly a situation where even the slightest tremor makes it difficult to escape death.
Instead, I threw myself into their embrace.
“Is this saying that my foot deserves to be hit?”
The wicked bet clearly swings the young foot with all its might.
Destructive power expected to render not only the bones but also the skin undamaged the moment of impact.
He grabbed the blade of the evil sword with his retrieved left hand.
The skin cracks and blood gushes out like a fountain.
“huh?!”
While Geom-ak wore a surprised expression, Sa-ak unleashed the Lotus Flower technique of the Pear Blossom Grafting with all his might, twisting Geom-ak’s sword path with his foot.
Phew.
pop!
The sound of meat being pierced and the sound of condensed energy exploding rang out.
