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< What's next? >
The man quickly checked the number and location of the enemy.
‘One, two, three… seven in total, including the one waiting on the roof without entering the guest room.’
The number of masked people was seven. They rushed straight at the man.
WHEEK!
The enemies had no intention of letting him live, and from the beginning, they began to prey on him. To them, anything that was not a target was nothing more than an obstacle.
“Be careful!”
Namgung Hyeon shouted from behind. Instead of answering, Daein kicked the chair next to him with his foot.
Phew!
The chair with the history crashed into the stomach of the masked man who was rushing in from the front. The masked man’s upper body bent down. At that moment, the great man rushed in and swung his arms like lightning.
“One thing first.”
Phew!
The chopsticks got stuck in the masked man’s neck and then came out. The man pushed the body towards the masked man who was following him.
The masked man following behind swung his sword at his comrade without hesitation. He intended to cut down both his comrade and the great man at once.
Choaack!
However, all he saw was the corpse of his former comrade. The man had already turned around to face the masked man.
Woohoo!
A huge amount of energy flowed above the man’s fist.
“Now two.”
The masked man turned around in a hurry and the big man’s fist slammed into his chest.
Phew! As if he had been hit by a truck, the masked man was hit by the man’s fist and flew all the way to the kitchen.
dump.
The fallen masked man convulsed for a moment and then became quiet.
WHEEK!
The man crouched down, bending his knees as if he were sinking down. Two blades passed over his head.
The man immediately got up and swung the chopsticks in his right hand.
The bamboo chopsticks drew graceful lines,
Choaack!
The chopsticks slid past the neck of one of the masked men. Boom! Blood spurted out a beat later.
The man struck the corpse with his left palm and pushed it towards the masked man who was rushing from the side. The corpse and the masked man became entangled.
The man threw chopsticks at the two men who were hugging each other passionately.
Phew-!
The chopsticks pierced the two men together. The two men who had been trembling fell down together.
“That’s four.”
As four of their comrades fell in an instant, the masked men stopped and looked at each other. They seemed to be exchanging messages.
“Where the hell are you guys going to roll your brains out of?”
The great man had no intention of giving his enemies time to deliberate. He kicked the table beside him.
Thud!
The fish sauce, deer meat, and bamboo leaf syrup on the table flew into the air. The man reached out and took a bite of the deer meat, then snatched the empty bottle of bamboo leaf syrup upside down.
There are two masked people left.
The guys slowly backed away, then turned around and tried to run away.
“Where are you going?”
The man threw a bottle of liquor at one of the fleeing men.
Whirlyrick!
The bottle of alcohol flew like a boomerang and hit the back of the masked man’s head.
Bam! The masked man with his head broken stretched out like a frog hit by a stone.
“Five with this.”
“There are six.”
When he looked back, he saw a masked person lying in front of Namgung Hyeon with his arms and legs twisted in the opposite direction.
“Phew···. Phew···.”
Namgung Hyun took a deep breath to calm her surprised heart. She looked around the chaotic guest house and finally looked at the master.
There were so many things I wanted to ask.
The masked men who suddenly barged in, and the great man who had just shown his incredible skills and knocked them down.
‘That’s ridiculous. He might be stronger than Grandpa.’
Namgung Hyeon looked at the man with wary eyes.
Although he had just defeated the masked men, his long life on the run had made him untrustworthy.
“···What is happening all of a sudden?”
The man walked over to the intact table and took a new pair of chopsticks in his hand.
“You probably know better than I do. No matter how I look at it, you’re the one they’re after. I was just here and got caught up in it.”
For a moment, Namgung Hyun was speechless.
“that···.”
Namgung Hyun had a complicated expression. He had definitely been caught by his pursuers.
‘And it just so happens that it happened when my grandfather wasn’t around…’
When he thought about it that way, Namgung Hyun realized that the situation was extremely strange.
The enemies attacked as soon as Grandfather left? How did you know?
There was only one conclusion.
“It’s a trap! Grandpa is in danger!”
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Daeindo had the same idea. He came out of the guest house. Namgung Hyeon hurriedly followed him.
“Let’s ask the guy who looks taller first.”
“yes?”
“One just ran away.”
While the two were talking for a moment, the masked man hiding on the roof ran away.
As if he had mastered a considerable level of lightness, the masked man’s back was already shrinking to the size of a dot.
He was a man called Lee Ho in the organization. Lee Ho looked back and gritted his teeth.
‘I have to tell Ilho what happened here! That bum staying at the inn was an unimaginable master!’
Everyone was fooled!
Maybe this whole thing was a trap planned from the beginning. Thinking so, Lee Ho felt goosebumps run down his spine.
At that moment, the man threw chopsticks at Lee Ho’s back.
WHEEK-!
Lee Ho, who had been looking back with concern, turned his body to the side at that moment.
‘You can never hit it from this distance.’
Lee Ho was confident. The distance was already more than a hundred meters, and he had escaped the pursuit of even the best masters with just light moves.
‘There’s no way a raindrop thrown from that distance would hit you if you moved a little to the side…’
At that moment, the chopsticks that had been flying sideways corrected their trajectory and flew towards Lee Ho.
Lee Ho’s eyes widened in shock as he looked back.
“Ah, swordsmanship···!”
At that moment, Lee Ho desperately turned his body to the side. However, that action ended up shortening his life.
Phew-!
The chopstick pierced Lee Ho’s temple. His body fell to the floor like a doll whose strings had been cut.
dump.
After a while, Daein approached Lee Ho, who had collapsed while performing light martial arts, and scratched his head.
“Is it because I’m still lacking in skill? It didn’t hit where I was aiming.”
Just now, it wasn’t a technique that could be called a complete swordsmanship technique. It was only a slight correction to the orbit at the end, so it was at the level of an applied technique.
Of course, that alone was enough to astonish Namgung Hyeon.
“What the heck is your true identity!?”
“A mysterious master who fell from the sky.”
As he spoke playfully, the man rummaged through the corpse to see if he could find anything useful.
All he had was a book, some medicine, and a little money in his pocket.
The man carefully collected the loot. Namgung Hyun’s expression changed subtly as he watched.
“A secret master···?”
“Are you curious about my identity right now? I need to save my grandfather first.”
“Oh, that’s right. We have to hurry!”
Daein grabbed Namgung Hyeon’s arm as he was about to run away.
Sssssut.
At that moment, Namgung Hyun felt a warm energy flowing into his body, calming his startled heart.
‘It feels somehow familiar. Like···.’
Then the master said,
“Don’t be impatient. Your grandfather isn’t the type of person to be easily swayed.”
“Ah···. That, that’s right.”
“Let’s go back to the guest house and pack our bags first. Before more guys show up.”
“···yes.”
Namgung Hyun nodded his head as if possessed by something.
After a while, the two people packed their bags and came out of the guest house.
First, they went to the old man’s house.
“I, I don’t know anything!”
At first, the old man Yang denied knowing anything, but after seeing the great man find one of the masked men who had been left behind as a guard and double the bones in his arms and legs, he became very angry.
“I’m sorry, Hyuna···.”
The old man, kneeling, begged Namgung Hyeon.
“He came to me out of the blue a few months ago and asked me to pretend to be his dead nephew, saying that if I didn’t, he would kill my wife and my son who lives in Liaoning… I’m so sorry. Sob.”
The old man bowed his head to the floor and shed tears.
Namgung Hyeon trembled with betrayal.
“How could Grandpa Yang do this, and not someone else!”
Five years since settling in this town.
During that time, the only person Jin No-in trusted and opened his heart to was Yang No-in. They were like sworn brothers.
“I had no other choice… They poisoned me and threatened me….”
“You should have told your grandfather. Then we could have helped you!”
“···You’re saying you’ll help me? Don’t say things you don’t mean.”
At that moment, the old man raised his head and shouted.
“What do you want me to do when they know where my son lives and are threatening me! Help me? If you and Jin-ga run away from this town, it’s over! But what do you want us to do!”
“That, that···.”
It seemed as if he had been suffering a lot, so the old man let out all the anger he had been holding in. His attitude was like, “If you’re going to kill me, then kill me.”
“Are you guys the only ones who think about yourselves as martial artists? You damned swordsmen! You shouldn’t have been allowed into this village in the first place!”
“······.”
Namgung Hyeon was speechless. The old man Yang’s words stabbed his heart painfully.
‘Have I brought misfortune upon these people?’
Am I a being that is harmful to the world just by being alive?
Thinking about that, Namgung Hyeon fell into a deep sense of self-loathing.
“Do I have to live like this…?”
The man clicked his tongue next to him.
“You can reflect on your teenage years later. This old man was just used.”
It was a typical tactic of the black bastards.
They threaten innocent civilians, poison their food, spread false information, and set traps.
In the future, the anger of the martial artists will be passed on to innocent civilians.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen something like this, and I feel annoyed.
‘Those scumbags.’
The man crouched down in front of the old man, who was still kneeling.
“Sir, drink this.”
“This is···.”
The old man looked at what the man had handed him. A green liquid was rippling in the precious glass bottle.
The old man muttered with a resigned expression.
“It’s poison… I have just one request. I will drink it without hesitation, so please spare my wife and son. Please kill me and have mercy….”
The man laughed in vain.
“Okay, then drink it quickly.”
The old man drank the potion like a loyal subject who had accepted poison. Then he closed his eyes and waited for death to come.
“······.”
But the long-awaited death did not come.
Rather, the toxins accumulated in his body were removed, and the old man’s complexion became better than before.
“This, this is···.”
The old man opened his eyes, knowing that he had taken the antidote.
Daein was already leaving the house with Namgung Hyeon.
“Look here!”
The old man shouted at the backs of the two people.
“Are you saving me? Why?”
The man waved his hand without even looking back.
In his hand was a pouch that he had taken out of the old man’s arms at some point.
***
The two ran straight towards the mountain house of Palryongchae. The location was heard from Yang Noin.
Swish swish swish!
Namgung Hyun deployed his light attack with all his might, and looked at the person leisurely following him with a strange expression.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I couldn’t say this because I was out of my mind… Thank you for saving me.”
If it weren’t for the big guy, he would have been kidnapped by the masked men by now.
He might have won one or two battles if he had fought, but he would have been captured in the end because he could not compensate for his weak physical strength and lack of combat experience.
“Phew···. Phew···.”
Even now, Namgung Hyun was getting more and more out of breath. It hadn’t even been 10 minutes since he had performed the lightness technique.
“You should exercise more often.”
The man put his hand on Namgung Hyeon’s back. Then, a warm breath flowed in and it became much easier to breathe.
“Whew. Thank you. But… What is your real identity, hyung?”
Namgung Hyun asked cautiously. However, the man answered the question with a question.
“Then who are you?”
“······.”
For a moment, Namgung Hyun was unable to answer. He looked straight ahead and spoke.
“Well, let’s talk about the details first, then ask your grandfather. It’s a hassle to do it twice separately.”
In the distance, the mountain village of Palryongchae was visible. Black smoke was rising from inside the mountain village.
The smell of blood was thick in the blowing wind.
***
“Damn. You freaking inspirational guy…”
Yang Chun-sam, or rather, the leader of the Amhyeoldan, stepped back while stopping the bleeding from the severed right arm.
“Kwaaak! This bastard!”
In front of him, a bloody, disheveled old man was roaring.
There were dozens of holes in his body, and his skin was turning black all over his body as if he had been poisoned by a terrible toxin.
The most serious wound was a diagonal sword cut across his back. Blood flowed from the wound, exposing the bone, forming a puddle on the floor.
Even in that situation, Jinnoin was fighting like a beast.
Ilho lost his right arm in exchange for inflicting a deep sword wound on Jinnoin’s back. He gritted his teeth and muttered.
“The Lion Sword is real. Even if its teeth fall out, a tiger is still a tiger.”
“Kwaaaaaah! This bastard!”
Every time Jinno swung his sword, the limbs of the masked men flew into the air.
Dozens of sword blasts shattered the mountain village, and the powerful sword wind made it difficult for the masked men to even approach.
Lion Sword Jinchung
He was a top master who was ranked among the last of the 100 masters 15 years ago.
Jin No-in, with his eyes raised like a tiger, glared at Il-ho and scolded him.
“Yangchunsaaaaam!”
Jinnoin shouted, spitting out blood. He swung his sword, cutting down the masked men who were clinging to him, and rushed towards Ilho.
There was only one thought in Jinnoin’s head right now.
‘They must have been after Hyun-i too. We have to save Hyun-i!’
However, the traps surrounding Jinnoin were too severe to achieve his goal.
Ilho stepped back and shouted.
“Shoot the crossbow!”
Masked men surrounded them from all sides and fired their crossbows.
Most of them were unable to penetrate the old man’s sword, but a few of them penetrated the flesh through small gaps.
Phew! Phew!
The old man staggered as arrows struck his thighs and arms. The masked men who had retreated charged again.
“Cast the net!”
A dozen iron nets were thrown over the old man’s head. The old man resisted fiercely and cut the iron nets.
Ilho looked at the sight and chewed his lower lip.
“f*ck. At first I was trying to capture you completely···.”
There were already dozens of fallen subordinates around the Lion Sword.
They were not bandits or anything like that. They were trained assassins, warriors who had been training for more than ten years.
In addition, they dug traps and prepared poison and crossbows.
We approached the top expert, fully prepared, to catch him after more than 10 years of pursuit.
And yet, this much damage was suffered.
“Kwaaaaak!”
Eventually, the old man, unable to bear the weight of the increasing wounds, poison, and overlapping iron nets, fell to the ground.
The iron net that bound him was dyed red with blood.
“Ugh···. Gasp···.”
Jin No-in was barely able to breathe. After checking his condition, his subordinate came to Il-ho and shook his head.
“It’s a miracle that I’m alive. I don’t think I’ll be able to last another minute in that condition.”
“shit···.”
The damage was so severe that dozens of his subordinates were killed, and Ilho himself lost an arm.
Besides, there has been no news yet from the subordinates who went to capture Namgung Hyeon.
‘There’s something wrong over there.’
Ilho gave orders to Saho, the highest ranking of his surviving subordinates.
“Saho. You take the rest of the guys and catch that little Jeomsoi kid.”
“Your name!”
Saho, with his head bowed, led a dozen or so men down from the mountain.
Ilho walked towards Jinnoin, who was barely holding his breath.
“Elder. I was thinking of the affection we had for each other, so I tried to spare your life… But it is because of your resistance that you ended up like this.”
“Kaaaak- Thud! Shut up, you dirty bastard!”
Jinnoin spat blood-tinged spit at Ilho. Ilho turned his head to avoid the spit.
Ilho crouched down in front of Jinnoin. A cruel smile appeared on his lips.
“Tsk. If you die first like this, what will happen to your cute grandson? He’ll have to endure the cruel torture in place of you.”
“Ugh! This guy···!”
The old man struggled while trapped in the net.
“Everyone, stand back.”
Ilho’s voice suddenly calmed down. He pushed all his subordinates back and spoke alone with Jinnoin.
“The Lion Sword Jin-chung. The only survivor of the Sword Emperor’s bloodshed. No, that little boy, who is the Sword Emperor’s bloodline, is that two too?”
“······.”
Jinnoin kept his mouth shut and glared at Ilho. However, the smile on Ilho’s lips grew even deeper.
“Where is the Sword Emperor’s martial arts? Did you learn it? Or did he just teach it to you? Either way, you should know it, right?”
Contrary to his calm appearance, Ilho’s inner feelings were anxious.
‘There has been no contact from Lee Ho, who went to catch Jeom So-i.’
If that little dotty boy had run away, the only clue to the Sword Emperor’s martial arts would have been obtained from the dying Jin Chung.
“Tell me where the Sword Emperor’s martial arts are hidden. Or you can call Gugyeol. Then I will spare the child’s life.”
“Ugh. Nonsense···.”
For the first time, there was a reaction. Although it was negative, Ilho saw it as something hopeful in itself.
“I promise on my honor. If you just tell me where you have hidden the martial arts, I will stop chasing that kid.”
The organization that Ilho belonged to, Amhyeoldan, was an organization that took on commissions and handled all sorts of work in the martial arts world.
Murder, kidnapping, robbery. Anything for money.
They received a request ten years ago with a huge down payment.
-I will find the Lion Sword Jin-chung-
Jin-Chung, the Lion Sword, is said to have died in the Geomhwangmun Bloodshed.
At first, I couldn’t understand why he was telling me to find him.
Moreover, the request itself had many questionable aspects.
‘So I looked into it separately.’
Although digging up a client’s background was a taboo in this industry, the Dark Blood Group was an organization that often broke taboos if it was profitable.
And only recently, I received information beyond my imagination.
15 years ago, the night the Geomhwangmun Massacre occurred.
At that time, Lion Sword Jin Chung received orders from the Sword Emperor Munju and ran away secretly with Munju’s daughter who was then a newborn.
I’m talking about collecting the Emperor’s secret weapon.
In other words, contrary to popular belief, the martial arts of the Sword Emperor did not disappear into thin air.
‘If only I had the Sword Emperor’s peerless martial arts skills…’
Greed flickered in Ilho’s eyes. He too was helpless.
“I’ll write it down, so call Gu-gyeol! If you want to save that child···.”
Ilho spoke without hiding his impatience. He could see that Jinnoin’s life was fading away quickly.
At that moment, a faint smile appeared on Jinnoin’s lips.
“Kuuuuu.”
Although he had fallen into a trap this time, he was also a skilled warrior who had been around for a long time in the martial arts world. It was not difficult to guess why his opponent was impatient.
“It looks like you couldn’t catch Hyun-i because you’re in such a hurry? Hahaha… Cool!”
Jinnoin laughed and spat out blood. Ilho, seeing his joyful expression, stood up and drew his sword.
“···Inspiration. I won’t make you regret it.”
Lion Sword Jin-Chung.
I know that torture is not an option for you. But I have no intention of killing you kindly.
I was thinking of at least venting my frustration at losing an arm.
“It seems like he’s not afraid of anything since he’s lived long enough.”
Ilho continued speaking with a bitter smile.
“Let’s see if that kid can be as upright as the old man. I’ll skin him alive, sprinkle salt on him, and boil him in water. Then…”
“What next?”
The moment he felt something flying towards him along with a familiar voice behind him, Ilho reflexively turned around and swung his sword.
Choaack!
The head separated from the body and fell to the ground.
But it wasn’t the enemy’s head.
“Saho···?”
Saho, who had been sent to capture Jeomsoi with his remaining subordinates, was found dead with his eyes wide open, as if he was gripped by fear.
And then I saw a familiar face walking towards me. It was Daein.
The man walked in with his sword slung over his shoulder like a street thug. His clothes were soaked in blood.
“You boil it in boiling water, then what?”
“Yes, why are you···?”
Ilho looked at Daein with an expression of incomprehension.
He seemed like a second-rate warrior at best.
The guy who should have been kicked out of the inn just because he was unlucky was now walking towards him in perfect health.
‘Were you hiding your martial arts skills like me? A killer who learned special techniques? Could it be that you’re from another organization and getting involved in this?’
While Il-ho was freely letting his fantasies run wild, Dae-in walked over and stood face to face with Il-ho.
The old man glanced at the fallen old man and smiled at Ilho, showing his teeth.
“What’s next? If I tell you, you’ll use it against me.”
“······.”
Ilho was frozen in place by the incredible murderous intent flowing out of the man.
< What's next? > End
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