—————————————
[What next? ]
Daein quickly confirmed the number and location of the enemy.
‘One, two, three… A total of seven, including the one who didn’t enter the guest house and was waiting on the roof.’
The number of masked people was seven. They immediately attacked and aimed at Daein.
Whick!
The enemies began killing Daein from the beginning, as if they had no intention of keeping him alive. To them, anything that was not a target was just an obstacle.
“Careful!”
Namgoonghyun shouted from behind. Instead of answering, the man kicked the chair next to him.
Pow!
The chair carrying the internal force crashed into the stomach of the masked man who rushed in from the front. The masked man’s upper body was bent. At that moment, the great man rushed forward and swung his arms like a thunderbolt.
“First one.”
Phew!
The chopsticks got stuck in the masked man’s neck and came out. The great man pushed the corpse towards the masked man following him.
The masked man who was following swung his sword at his colleague without hesitation. I was planning to cut down my colleagues and the great man at once.
Sigh!
But all he cut down was the corpse of his once comrade. The great man had already returned to the masked man’s side.
Ugh!
An enormous amount of energy appeared above the great man’s fist.
“Now two.”
The great man’s fist landed in the chest of the masked man who turned around in a hurry.
Pow! The masked man was hit by the man’s fist as if he had been hit by a truck and flew all the way to the kitchen.
dump.
The fallen masked man convulsed for a moment and then calmed down.
Whick!
The great man bent his knees and lowered his body as if he was sitting down. Two blades passed over his head.
The great man immediately stood up and swung the chopsticks in his right hand.
The bamboo chopsticks drew a flowing line,
and wow!
The chopsticks passed by the neck of one of the masked people. Phew! Blood spurted out one beat late.
The great man struck the corpse with his left palm and pushed it towards the masked man who was running from the side. The corpse and the masked person were tangled together.
The great man threw chopsticks at the two men who were hugging each other passionately.
Phew!
The chopsticks impaled the two men into one. The two men, who were shaking, collapsed peacefully.
“This makes four.”
As four of their colleagues fell down in an instant, the masked people stopped and looked at each other. It seemed like they were exchanging electric signals.
“Where are the bastards going to get their kicks?”
The great man had no intention of giving his enemies time to discuss. He kicked the table next to him.
Teuong!
Fish sauce meat and roe deer meat bamboo leaf salad on the table flew through the air. Daein stretched out his hand, grabbed a piece of roe deer meat, and grabbed the empty bamboo leaf syrup bottle upside down.
There are two masked people remaining.
They slowly backed away and turned around to run away.
“Where are you going?”
The great man threw a liquor bottle at one of the fleeing guys.
Whirling!
The liquor bottle flew like a boomerang and hit the masked man in the back of the head.
Bah! The masked man with the back of his head broken stretched out like a stoned frog.
“This makes five.”
“It’s six.”
When I turned around, I saw a masked person lying in front of Namgoonghyeon with his arms and legs bent in the opposite direction.
“Huu… Huu….”
Namgoonghyun took a deep breath and calmed his surprised mind. She looked around the commotion inside the guesthouse and finally looked at Daein.
There were so many things I wanted to ask.
The masked men suddenly attacked and the figure of Daein, who had just defeated them with his incredible skills.
‘Nonsense. ‘I might be stronger than my grandfather.’
Namgoonghyeon looked at Daein with wary eyes.
Although I just defeated the masked men, my long life on the run has made it difficult for me to trust people.
“…What’s going on all of a sudden?”
The great man walked to an intact table and took new chopsticks in his hands.
“I think you know better than me, right? No matter how you look at it, you were the one they were after. “I stayed here and got caught up in it.”
For a moment, Namgoonghyeon was speechless.
“That’s…”
Namgoong Hyun had a complicated expression. There was no doubt that he had been discovered by his pursuers.
‘That’s especially true when grandfather isn’t around…’
When Namgoong-hyeon’s thoughts reached that point, he realized that this situation was very strange.
The enemies attacked as soon as Grandpa left? How do you know?
There was only one conclusion.
“It’s a trap! “Grandpa is in danger!”
Daein had the same thought. He came out of the guest room. Namgung-hyeon hurriedly followed behind him.
“First, let’s ask the guy who looks high.”
“yes?”
“Someone just ran away.”
While the two were talking for a moment, the masked man hiding on the roof was running away.
As if he had mastered a considerable level of light engineering, the masked man’s back was already shrinking into a dot.
He was a man called Lee Ho in the organization. Lee Ho looked back and gritted his teeth.
‘We have to tell Ilho what happened here! ‘I can’t believe that Hanryang, who stayed in the guest house, was an expert like you can’t even imagine!’
Everyone was fooled!
Maybe this was all a trap planned from the beginning. Thinking like that, Lee Ho felt goosebumps rising on his back.
At that time, Daein threw chopsticks at Lee Ho’s back.
Whick!
Lee Ho, who had been looking back, turned his body to the side at that moment.
‘You can never hit it at this distance.’
Lee Ho was confident. The distance had already widened by more than a hundred pieces, and he had escaped the pursuit of a top expert with light attacks alone.
‘Bido, who was thrown from that distance, can’t possibly hit if he moves just a little bit to the side…’
At that moment, the chopsticks that were moving to the side changed their trajectory and flew towards Lee Ho.
Lee Ho’s eyes widened in shock as he looked back.
“Oh, swordsmanship…!”
At that moment, Lee Ho desperately turned to the side. However, that action ended up shortening his lifespan.
Phew!
The chopsticks pierced Lee Ho’s temple. His body fell to the floor like a doll with its strings cut.
dump.
After a while, Dae-in approached the fallen Lee Ho and scratched his head.
“Is it because I still lack skill? “It didn’t hit where I aimed.”
Just now, it was a technique that could not be completely called swordsmanship. In the end, only the orbit was slightly modified, so it was at the level of applied technology.
Of course, that alone was enough to astonish Namgoonghyeon.
“What on earth is this!?”
“A mysterious expert who fell from the sky.”
Saying that playfully, the great man searched the corpse for anything useful.
All it took was memorization and a little money in a medicine cabinet.
The great man took care of the loot. Namgoong Hyun’s expression changed subtly as he looked at that scene.
“You’re a mystery expert…?”
“Are you curious about my identity now? “We have to save Grandpa first.”
“That’s right. “We have to hurry!”
Daein grabbed Namgoonghyeon’s arm as he tried to run away.
Susssut.
At that moment, Namgoonghyeon felt a warm energy flowing into his body, calming his startled mind.
‘It feels somehow familiar. It’s like…’
Then the great man said.
“Don’t be impatient. “Your grandfather is not a man who can be defeated so easily.”
“Ah… that’s right.”
“First, go back to your guesthouse and pack your bags. “Before more people come.”
“…yes.”
Namgoonghyun nodded as if he was possessed by something.
After a while, the two took their luggage from the guest room and came out.
They first went to Old Man Yang’s house.
“I don’t know anything!”
At first, Old Man Yang denied knowing anything, but after seeing the great man find a masked man who had remained as a guard and double his arm and leg bones, he gave up.
“I’m sorry, Hyun-ah…”
Old Man Yang knelt down and begged Nam Gung-hyeon.
“He suddenly came to me a few months ago and asked me to pretend to be his dead nephew or he would kill my wife and my son who lives in Liaoning… I’m really sorry. Hehehe.”
Old Man Yang bowed his head to the floor and shed tears.
Nam Gung-hyeon was shaken by the feeling of betrayal.
“How could Grandpa Yang, not anyone else, do this!”
Five years since I settled in this village.
During that time, the only person that Old Man Jin trusted and opened his heart to was Old Man Yang. They were like sworn brothers.
“I had no other choice… They poisoned me and threatened me…”
“I should have told my grandfather. Then we could help!”
“…Help me? “Don’t say anything you don’t mean.”
At that moment, Old Man Yang raised his head and shouted.
“What can I do when they know where my son lives and are threatening me? Help me? If you and Jinga run away from this town, it’s over! “But what can we do!”
“That…”
As if he had been in a lot of pain, Old Man Yang let out the anger he had been holding in. The attitude was that if you’re going to kill me for something like this, kill me.
“In the end, are you also martial arts people who only think about themselves? Those damn knife-wielding bastards! “It wasn’t meant to be in this village from the beginning!”
“…….”
Nam Gung-hyeon was speechless. Old Man Yang’s words pierced my heart painfully.
‘Have I brought misfortune to these people?’
Am I a being who is harmful to the world just by being alive?
At that thought, Namgoonghyeon fell into a deep sense of self-destruction.
“Do I have to live like this?…”
Daein clicked his tongue next to him.
“Do your self-reflection during adolescence later. “This old man was just taken advantage of.”
It was a typical tactic of the black swordsmen.
They threaten civilians who don’t care, poison the food they eat, spread false information, and set traps.
Later, the anger of the Murim people caused innocent civilians to suffer.
It’s been a while since I saw something like this, and Daein was annoyed.
‘They’re trash.’
The great man crouched down in front of Old Man Yang, who was still kneeling.
“Young Master. “Drink this.”
“This is…”
Old Man Yang looked at what the great man held out. Green liquid was seething in the precious glass bottle.
Old Man Yang muttered with a resigned expression.
“It’s poison… Please ask me for one thing. I will drink it obediently, but please spare my wife and son. Please just kill me and have mercy…”
The great man laughed.
“Okay, so let’s drink it quickly.”
Old Man Yang gulped down the potion like a loyal subject who had taken poison. Then I closed my eyes and waited for death to come.
“…….”
But the death I had been waiting for did not come.
On the contrary, the poison accumulated in the body was drained, and Old Man Yang’s complexion became better than before.
“This…”
Old Man Yang opened his eyes after realizing that he had taken the antidote.
Daein was already leaving the house with Namgoonghyeon.
“Look!”
Old Man Yang shouted at the back of the two people.
“Are you going to save me? why?”
The great man waved his hand without even turning around.
In his hand, he was holding a pouch that he had taken out of Old Man Yang’s arms at some point.
***
The two ran straight toward the Palryongchae mountain building. I heard the location from Old Man Yang.
Swish swish!
Namgoonghyeon launched a light attack with all his might and looked at Daein leisurely following him with a strange expression.
“Why do you look at me like that?”
“I was so out of my mind that I couldn’t say this…. “Thank you for saving me.”
If it weren’t for Daein, he would have been kidnapped by the masked people by now.
They could have won one or two of them in a fight, but they would have been caught in the end because they couldn’t make up for their weak stamina and lack of actual combat experience.
“Whoa… Whoa…”
Even now, Namgoonghyun was getting more and more out of breath. It wasn’t even 10 minutes since the light attack began.
“You should exercise regularly.”
Daein put his hand on Namgunghyeon’s back. Then warm energy flowed in and breathing became easier.
“Whew. thank you. But… what is your true identity?”
Namgoonghyeon asked cautiously. But the great man answered the question with a question.
“Then what are you?”
“…….”
At that moment, Namgoonghyeon was unable to give any answer. Daein also looked ahead and said.
“Well, let’s find out more about your grandfather first. “It’s a hassle to do it twice separately.”
In the distance, I could see Palryongchae’s mountain temple. Black smoke was rising from inside the living quarters.
The strong smell of blood was permeating the wind.
***
“Damn. A monster-like old man….”
Yang Chun-sam, no, Ilho of the Amhyeoldan stepped back, stopping the bleeding on the cut side of his severed right arm.
“Aaaah! “You bastard!”
In front of him, old man Jin, covered in blood and hair, was roaring.
There were dozens of holes in his body, and the skin on his entire body was turning dark blue, as if he had been poisoned.
The most serious wound was a sword mark carved diagonally on his back. The blood flowing from the wound where the bone was exposed was almost forming a puddle on the floor.
Even when it got to that point, Old Man Jin was still fighting like a beast.
Ilho lost his right arm as a result of inflicting a deep sword wound on Old Man Jin’s back. He gritted his teeth and muttered.
“Lion Sword Jinchung. “A tiger is still a tiger even if its teeth fall out.”
“Kaaaaaaaa! “You bastard!”
Every time Old Man Jin swung his sword, the limbs of the masked men flew through the air.
Dozens of sword energy shattered the living creatures, and the strong sword wind made it difficult for the masked men to even approach.
Jinchung, the lion sword
, was a peak master who had attended the final class of Baekdae master 15 years ago.
Old Man Jin, with his eyes raised like a tiger, glared at Ilho and scolded him.
“Yangchunsaaaam!”
Old Man Jin vomited blood and scolded. He swung his sword, cut down the masked people that were clinging to him, and rushed towards Ilho.
There was only one thought in Old Man Jin’s mind right now.
‘They must have been targeting Hyeon-i too. ‘We have to save Hyeon-i!’
However, the trap surrounding Old Man Jin was too severe to achieve his goal.
Ilho stepped back and shouted.
“Shoot the crossbow!”
Masked men surrounded from all sides firing crossbows.
Most of them could not pierce Old Man Jin’s sword, but a few of them penetrated small gaps and penetrated the flesh.
Phew! Sigh!
Old Man Jin staggered as arrows landed in his thighs and forearms. The masked people who had retreated rushed back.
“Cast the net!”
A dozen iron nets were thrown over Old Man Jin’s head. Old Man Jin resisted fiercely and cut off the iron net.
Ilho looked at that scene and chewed his lower lip.
“Damn it. At first, I tried to capture them intact…”
There were already more than a dozen subordinates who had fallen around the lion sword.
They were not bandits or anything like that. They were trained assassins and warriors who had trained for more than 10 years.
In addition, traps were dug and poison and crossbows were prepared.
We approached with full preparations to catch the peak expert who had resisted pursuit for more than 10 years.
Even so, it suffered this much damage.
“Kwaaaak!”
In the end, Old Man Jin fell to the floor, unable to bear the weight of the increased wounds and the poisonous iron net.
The iron net that bound him was stained red with blood.
“Huh… gasp….”
Old Man Jin could barely breathe. After checking his condition, the subordinate came to Ilho and shook his head.
“It’s a miracle to be alive. “It would be difficult to survive even an inch in that condition.”
“Damn it…”
The damage was so severe. Dozens of his men were killed, and Ilho himself had his arm cut off.
Moreover, there has been no news yet from the subordinates who went to capture Namgunghyeon.
‘There’s something wrong over there.’
Ilho gave orders to Saho, the highest rank among his surviving subordinates.
“Saho. “You take the remaining guys and catch the Jeomsoy kid.”
“Jonmyeong!”
Saho, with his head bowed, led about a dozen people down from the mountain hut.
Ilho walked to the old man who was barely breathing.
“Elder. “I tried to give you your life out of consideration for our past affection, but because you resisted like this, it ended up like this, didn’t it?”
“Kaaak- ugh! “Shut up, you dirty bastard!”
Old Man Jin spat blood mixed with Ilho. Ilho turned his head to avoid the spit.
Ilho squatted down in front of Old Man Jin. A cruel smile appeared on his lips.
“Tsk. What are you going to do with your cute grandson if you die first? “You’re going to suffer harsh torture on behalf of the elders, aren’t you?”
“Whoa! This guy…!”
Old Man Jin struggled in the net.
“Everyone stay back.”
Ilho’s voice calmed down. He left all his men behind and confronted Old Man Jin alone.
“Lion Sword Jinchung. The only survivor from the Geomhwangmun Blood Death. “Are there even two of those Jeomsoy kids who are the bloodline of Geomhwang?”
“……”
Old Man Jin pursed his lips 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 you just teach? “You probably know anyway, right?”
Contrary to his calm appearance, Ilho was impatient on the inside.
‘I haven’t heard from Lee Ho, who went to catch Jeom Soi.’
If that Jeomsoi kid had run away, he had no choice but to get a clue about Geomwang’s martial arts from the dying Jinchong.
“Tell me the place where the Sword Emperor’s martial arts were hidden. Or you can call Gugyeol. Then I will spare the child.”
“Tsk. “Bullshit…”
There was a reaction for the first time. Although the reaction was negative, Ilho saw it as hopeful.
“I promise on my honor. “If you just tell me where I hid the martial arts weapon, I won’t chase that kid anymore.”
The Amhyeoldan, the organization to which Ilho belonged, was an organization that handled all kinds of affairs for Moorim upon request.
Murder Kidnapping Robbery. I would do anything if you gave me money.
A request came to them 10 years ago along with a huge advance payment.
-Find Lion Sword Jinchung-
Lion Sword Jinchung who is said to have died in the Geomhwangmun blood temple.
At first, I couldn’t understand why they were asking me to find him.
Moreover, the request itself had many flaws.
‘So I looked into it separately.’
In this industry, prying into a client’s back was a taboo that should not be broken, but the Amhyeoldan was an organization that often crossed taboos if it was profitable.
And only recently did I receive information beyond my imagination.
The night the Geomhwangmun Blood Death occurred 15 years ago.
Jinchung, the Lion Sword, secretly ran away with Munju’s daughter, who was a newborn, under the orders of the Emperor Munju at the time.
By taking care of the martial arts level of the Emperor of Swords.
In other words, contrary to what is known to the public, Geomwang’s martial arts did not disappear in flames.
‘If only I had the Geomwang’s tax-saving martial arts skills…’
Greed flickered in Ilho’s eyes. He was also an unavoidable warrior.
“I’ll write it down, so call Gugyeol! “If you want to save that child…”
Ilho said, unable to hide his impatience. It was visible that Old Man Jin’s life was quickly fading away.
At that moment, a faint smile appeared on Old Man Jin’s lips.
“Hehehe.”
Even though he fell into a trap this time, he was also a warrior who rolled around in the martial arts world. It was not difficult to guess why the other person was impatient.
“Seeing as you’re in such a hurry, it looks like you didn’t catch Hyun? Haha…cough!”
Old Man Jin laughed and vomited blood. Seeing that happy expression, Ilho stood up and drew his sword.
“…Inspiration. “I’ll make you regret it.”
Lion Sword Jinchung.
I know that torture is not an enemy that will work. However, I had no intention of killing him gracefully.
I was planning to at least vent my anger about losing an arm.
“It seems like there is nothing to be afraid of because you are an old man who has lived long enough.”
Ilho smiled bitterly and continued.
“We’ll see if that kid can be as resolute as you. Skin them alive, sprinkle salt on them, and boil them in boiling water. And then…”
“And then?”
The moment Ilho heard a familiar voice behind him and felt something flying, he reflexively turned around and swung his sword.
Sigh!
The head separated from the body and fell to the ground.
But it was not the enemy’s head.
“Saho…?”
Saho, who had been sent with his remaining men to catch Jeomsoi, was dead with his eyes wide open as if he was terrified.
And then I saw a familiar face walking behind me. He was a great person.
The great man walked with his sword draped over his shoulder like a city official. Every inch of his clothes was soaked in blood.
“After boiling it in boiling water, what comes next?”
“Why are you…?”
Ilho looked at Daein with an expression of incomprehension.
He was a guy who looked like he was at the level of a second-rate warrior.
The guy who should have been kicked out of the guest house just because he was unlucky was now walking towards him, looking fine.
‘Are you hiding your martial arts skills like me? Salsu who has learned a special technique? Could it be that another organization got involved in this?’
While Il-ho was freely delusional, Dae-in trudged over and stood face to face with Il-ho.
Daein glanced at the fallen old man and smiled at Ilho, showing his teeth.
“What’s next? “I have to let you know so I can use it against you.”
“…….”
Ilho froze at the fearsome murderous energy flowing from Daein.
[What next? ]End
ⓒ Ganjjajang
