I stand on the edge and peer into the smashed roof. Since the man is wealthy, I can see a spacious… space below.
‘Not a house. This is a palace.’
He definitely has a lot of money which is why he sent assassins to me and also spent money everywhere to recruit people to fight the South Horizon Sect.
I respect merchants who make legitimate money from their businesses even if they aren’t strong warriors.
However the Baijian Society and forces like them are different.
They definitely obtained their money by sucking people dry and taking countless lives.
I couldn’t think of any other possibility when I saw this large house. A sword suddenly comes up from beneath my feet.
Kwak!
I move to the roof’s edge to avoid the sword qi and someone completely smashes the roof with the sword. As soon as the roof begins to collapse I unfold my footwork into the air making them unable to approach me.
I stand there on the edge to look at their level.
At the same time a red-robed swordsman soars high into the air lands on the roof’s edge and looks at me.
‘Are you some kind of guard?’
He looks like a man in his early 30s. Even while standing still his eyebrows look tilted up which means he’s the kind of person who enjoys intimidating others. However he seems a bit young to lead men in the Baijian Society.
The enemy asks.
“Who sent you?”
It’s funny since I asked that same question to the assassin. However people rarely answer such questions correctly.
“…”
At the same time a fire flares up near the center of the manor. Nam Garak runs rampant while setting fire to everything with the gunpowder he had prepared. The flame is difficult to put out and continues to burn.
I stare at the enemy with a sneer.
“…”
Usually when your house catches fire you will panic but the enemy’s expression doesn’t change. It is as if he has a lot of money and burning down one house doesn’t matter.
Below us the warriors of the manor reveal this man’s identity.
“Head are you alright?”
Surprisingly this man here is the head of the house. He then responds to his subordinate.
“Make sure to get this one alive. I will torture him to know who sent him.”
“Yes.”
His warriors begin to climb up to the broken roof as I mumble with an altered voice.
“Get me alive? With those skills?”
I look at the five or six swordsmen and then fly under the broken roof. After seeing the rest of the people coming up I jumped up to the roof again.
No matter where I go my control over my footwork is excellent.
All these idiots are jumping where I jump at the same time and I just swing my sword toward the one who comes after me first.
Their body is torn apart with the sound of my slash and I immediately jump back into the manor.
Now up on the roof…
This time there is a moment of silence. It must be because that person just died way too easily.
Actually if someone wanted to bring the fight to the South Horizon Sect it is better to just set the place on fire and then run away.
However it is slightly disappointing since the leader of the Baijian Society didn’t pop up. Judging from the structure of the place it seems like the leader is in the deepest part of the complex. I think of leaving but I want to see how his face looks so I use my sword on the ground instead.
Puak!
The entire floor shakes showing an entrance that goes further down. While holding my sword I jump away from the other people on the roof and use the assassin needles.
Tang!
Even their younger members must have taken a lot of pills and elixirs considering the money here. So the assassin needles I use are quite heavy.
I move away with my eyes fixed on the ceiling before kicking the door with my legs and walking with my sword dragging along the wall.
Since my sword can cause damage the Baijian Society’s residence becomes messed up as I pass. In the first place my sword is hard to stop and with fire qi infused no one can touch it. On the other hand the house is coming down as fast as paper.
There is no reason to hesitate.
I will smash the walls cut them and stab them whenever I want to.
As I enter the hallway I run into someone who suddenly appears and pulls out his sword to defend himself. As soon as he tries to adjust I stab him in the stomach.
Puak!
I grab the dead man by the head and throw him down the stairs. As the corpse collides with the people coming up…
Pualk!
I launch my qi at the bottom of the stairs tearing apart the corpse with it. The people hit by it receive additional damage from the flying limbs.
In an instant both sides of the stairs and the bottom are stained with blood which makes the scene gruesome.
Walking down the stairs I briefly encounter an enemy following me. He orders a subordinate forward while he stays in the back.
“…”
The enemy who looks relatively calm gives an order in a calm voice.
“Stop him there.”
The enemy speaks as if he hears footsteps on the stairs while I continue to move.
“Did Situ Kang send you?”
I decided to stay silent but honestly I couldn’t believe how they thought that Situ Kang would send people.
At this time I hear a heavy voice from further below.
“Move.”
A person appears from a place where many enemies are gathered.
“Head Cheon is dead?”
The enemy who is blocking me then answers.
“Alive. But his limbs must be cut off.”
“I see.”
The one who had come from below has a spear reaching about shoulder height with an additional blade that almost touches the ceiling.
As soon as I see that I raise my hands.
“I surrender. I cannot defeat a spear.”
With that declaration I put down my sword and kicked it away.
Puak!
The sword which flies with the infusion of fierce qi stabs itself into the chest of the spear-wielding man.
At the same time I jump off the wall on either side of the stairs by using both hands for recoil. I then cling to the body of the collapsing man pull out my sword from his chest and then grab his spear with my left hand.
At the same time I swing my spear to make the enemy retreat.
Those who try to approach are cut down by my sword which is covered in sword qi. As soon as I land on the ground my sword is back in its sheath and the spear is now in my right hand.
A scream warns of the spreading fire outside while another explosion fills the air.
‘Amazing. Nam Garak…’
He is a guy who can mess around with fire better than I can. Nam Garak must make it a habit to set buildings on fire and then run away.
Well he has to do it.
I still remember the first day I held a long spear in my hand. I had been almost to death many times for not doing it right.
I slash an approaching enemy with the spear before retreating and exiting the hallway.
In a place where his men are being cut left and right the enemy still looks calm.
“You don’t seem like an assassin. Who are you?”
I look at the floor and memories fill my mind. I see the shadow of someone walking and then I hear a low-pitched voice.
“Head Cheon did Situ Kang come?”
The enemy asks.
“No just a few rats.”
“Huh…”
I throw the spear toward the origin of the voice with speed.
Swish!
As the enemy reflexively turns and avoids the spear which rushes at him in a straight line the spear is also halted in mid-air. It is hard to see but there is a sudden silence.
The warrior is holding the spear with his bare hands.
I admire him.
‘Pretty good.’
To catch a long spear that I had thrown with the power of the Wood Chicken so easily.
Actually if he is a leader in the Baijian Society then doing something of this level is expected. However I deliberately look shocked and then turn without regret.
It is as if I am doing an art performance by expressing my emotions with my body.
At the same time those who are pursuing me fiercely follow me and soar into the air.
After spinning the body once in the air I draw my sword.
Swish!
Three to four men lose their lower bodies with a cry of pain as they jump toward me. I climb up a wall without difficulty and retreat without trying anything.
Because fights always happen when one jumps into the air the sound of the wind made by their movement gives them away.
They can only pursue me if they are skilled but these men are just following orders.
I gradually increase my speed while running. After a while Nam Garak appears out of the darkness as I catch up with him.
The two of us confirm the mission’s success with our eyes exit the light and race through the darkness.
The distance between us and those who are chasing after us gradually increases. Soon the warriors of the Baijian Society are nowhere to be seen. I feel like it is too early for them to have given up chasing after us so we decide to continue moving in the dark.
“Isn’t that thing there everything?”
Nam Garak sits on the root of a cut tree and answers my question with his mask still on.
“I have the Black Killing Troops the Iron Strong Clan the service group and more. If all sides decided to gather and attack then the battle between those two sides would be enormous. I looked at their weapons and it felt like their army must have grown a bit.”
“Did you burn a lot?”
“I set fire to more than a dozen of places. They will have a hard time tonight. Should we join the team at the South Horizon Sect right away? Or shall we continue observing the Baijian Society from here?”
Before we came here I had divided the troops and temporarily sent Nam Yeon-pung to the South Horizon Sect.
I listen to the surroundings for a second and whisper.
“Put the mask on.”
“…”
Nam Garak hurriedly covers his face with the mask without knowing why. After escaping into the low mountains we are resting in a wide open space. After a few moments we hear a faint artificial sound from a distance away.
I ask Nam Garak a question.
“It is strange. Is the Baijian Society stronger than we know?”
Nam Garak nods and replies.
“Probably… it looks like it.”
“It is weird to wait together so let’s split up. If I am late head back to the place we stayed in.”
I put my finger to my lips to stop him from answering and Nam Garak disappears into the darkness again.
I looked toward where I had come from with a puzzled expression.
The tree branches sway and a middle-aged man I am seeing for the first time comes down from the air.
He has a long beard. As he approaches me he asks.
“Did you think you could run away?”
What is with that leisurely act?
Is it because he’s really skilled? Or because he has confidence that he is the strongest?
Or is it because I look like a stupid man in black? As I am listening to the surroundings closely it seems he caught up with us quickly as the surroundings are quiet.
Despite a one-on-one duel it feels strange that I am still more excited about the bright moon above.
‘What kind of situation is this?’
A large fish I didn’t expect to cross paths with has come to me on its own. Since it seems that he’s not the type who will die quickly I feel more satisfied.
I get up with my arms crossed and speak in a serious tone to this warrior man.
“Come on already you strong-looking baldy..”
“…”
