The elite raid team of Sado Clan formed to subdue Mu Pungsura.

As if to show Sado Clan’s true intentions, the front lines with the righteous factions became a solidified barrier in an instant. They began pulling troops from the front line to chase after me.

The quantity and quality are definitely on a different level from the Green Forest’s Seventy-two Strongholds, which Sado Clan had dismissed.

But our allies were simply pleased with that alone.

“Looks like our workload has decreased.”

“To think that someone would walk out of that impregnable Sado Clan… Mu Pungsura was right to not recognize us under her name. The enemy is basically blind now.”

A clever ploy.

The move to conceal the real Sado Clan lord under the name of Mu Pungsura worked perfectly.

Song Nam-cheon and Gu Ok-gyeong put their heads together. I had nothing substantive to contribute to the ongoing operational plans.

All I had to do was wait.

Gu Ok-gyeong called out to me.

“Rest.”

“What?”

“Rest. Don’t do anything unnecessary and cool your head. Seriously. Your condition is the most important factor in this operation. It might be our last chance to achieve both your goal and my goal simultaneously, you know? Yeong-wol. That wicked woman might have come out of Sado Clan on her own, but I doubt she came alone. Being so well-prepared, she might have set up something I don’t know about.”

Gu Ok-gyeong lifted her heel and patted my head.

“So go and rest. Got it? My personal doctor?”

“I’m not your personal doctor.”

“I’ll entice you fully once the job’s done. Look forward to it.”

As she waved her hand with a chuckle and walked away, I spent the suspended time organizing what I needed to do.

Jin Baek-cheon.

He might very well be by Yeong-wol’s side right now. That being the case… I should prepare myself properly based on what I’ve learned.

However, through the battles of the Green Forest’s Seventy-two Strongholds, I have managed to fully master everything I possess now.

What should I do to grasp any further? A question arose, but I couldn’t easily find an answer.

Su-ryeon, who had diligently stayed by my side, asked.

“Jeok-un.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s take a break. Both of us.”

“……”

The thought of whether I could take a break was decided by that one sentence.

I wanted to honor the request of the Head of Sapa, who had been struggling alone against Sado Clan while thinking of me.

I spent some relaxed time with Su-ryeon after a long while. We casually strolled through the market and I bought her what she wanted to eat.

Money wasn’t a big issue. I had saved quite a bit, and Gu Ok-gyeong had also given me a decent amount when she asked me to go have fun.

While browsing for accessories, Su-ryeon subtly pointed at one.

“Does it please you?”

“No. I thought it would suit Jeok-un.”

I received a bracelet, which I had never worn in my life, and accepted it with joy.

Not wanting to stop there, I chose two similar ones as well.

After handing one to Su-ryeon, I quietly tied the other on Il-ho’s arm, who had been following along silently.

Il-ho flinched.

“W-Why me…?”

There wasn’t any particular reason.

“I just wanted to give it to you…”

“……”

“I’m sorry if I overstepped.”

“Oh, no! Please let me wear it! I’m begging!”

Begging, to that extent?

Su-ryeon also reached her hand out next to me. I carefully placed a bracelet on her small wrist too.

“We’re a trio now.”

“That’s right.”

We leisurely enjoyed some food together. The drink we accompanied with was, how should I say it, tremendously mundane.

Having made some progress in the work, I wanted to contact the Demon Cult. I wanted to inform them that I was still alive.

But Su-ryeon shook her head.

“Currently, there isn’t a single capable person available to send to the Demon Cult. The distance is far, and the vigilance has tightened even more. Jeok-un. There isn’t a place in the Central Plains that isn’t a battlefield right now. Massacres are happening everywhere. To cross the front lines is quite difficult, even for secret assassins.”

“Hmm…”

“It’s like sending my subordinates to their deaths. I’m sorry, but I don’t wish to do that.”

“If that’s the case, then there’s nothing that can be done. I spoke too rashly.”

It was my mistake to think it would be as before. It would be better to deliver news to the Demon Cult directly upon my return.

I wanted to return immediately after taking care of Yeong-wol and Jin Baek-cheon, but there was one more thing to do.

A proper farewell with Gu Hwa-rin and her disciples.

It would be good to at least let them know I am alive. I heard that the organization they established, Former Society, is related to me; I wanted to help them too.

They are the only group calling out for justice amidst this chaotic situation; it’s only natural for my attention to go their way.

If there were any other matters to take care of…

I also wanted to say my proper goodbyes to those I encountered while acting as a member of the righteous factions.

“Jeok-un. Are you ready?”

Gu Ok-gyeong came looking for me. I stared blankly at the bracelet on my wrist.

Jin Baek-cheon. Are you really here?

The unanswered question lingered in the air before vanishing. I replied to her calmly.

“Yes.”

It doesn’t matter whether you’re here or not.

Now, I won’t be losing to anyone…

“Let’s go.”

In the middle of a forest, numerous warriors stood. Followers of Gu Ok-gyeong.

Feeling the determination in them, I drew my sword as well.

Come at me, Jin Baek-cheon.

This time, it won’t just end as a simple plaything.

…

Yeong-wol felt something peculiar.

And that peculiarity made her keep looking back at herself ever since leaving Sado Clan.

Anxiety. All the strangeness began from there. What is this anxiety? It feels like I’m missing something…

Where does it even begin?

She looked over her troops. Masters piled up, and even the lesser troops surpassed elite status, at the very least.

Didn’t she bring along ‘that’ as well? No matter how great a master Hyun-kyung was, she felt confident she could take him down.

But… for some reason, the anxiety wouldn’t fade.

“Lady Lianju? Are you alright?”

“…….”

Why is it so difficult to catch one person?

Why is managing one organization so complicated?

Yeong-wol slowly moved the raid team. It was laughable to think that they had amassed this much power for a single master, yet everyone was likely aware of it.

The opponent had defeated the Green Forest’s Seventy-two Strongholds all by himself.

She couldn’t let her guard down.

Yeong-wol slowly looked down from the moving palanquin. Based on the information brought by the scouts, it seemed likely that the enemy was hiding somewhere in the mountains.

First, she spread her subordinates wide to prevent any chance of escape. Next, she began to ascend the mountain slowly.

She could see animals fleeing in fear from the advance of numerous warriors. But why? The numbers felt oddly small.

It’s a dense mountain. Yet compared to that, the number of animals is remarkably low. Almost as if they had already run away in advance.

What could have scared the animals away?

…Perhaps it’s related to humans.

“…….”

In the strangely quiet midst of the forest, Yeong-wol halted her troops. The anxiety pulling at the back of her neck began to intensify.

Instinct. This is instinct. If she didn’t withdraw, something terrible was bound to happen.

…Perhaps she shouldn’t have left Sado Clan in the first place? No, that’s not it. Lately, her judgment has been skewed.

Damn Gu Ok-gyeong. It’s because you left my side. I shouldn’t have let myself be blinded by love; that’s why I feel like I’m going mad. Ever since that day I lost you, something just feels off.

Why is it so quiet like this?

Why am I so anxious?

“…Lady Lianju?”

“…….”

She stared intently into the forest. She spread her perception widely, but there was nothing out of the ordinary.

What she could see was nothing but an ordinary mountain. That’s all.

…However.

“Prepare for battle.”

She felt like she had just stepped into a trap.

The moment that thought crossed her mind, Yeong-wol urgently shouted.

“Prepare for battle!”

“Y-Yes?”

“Prepare for battle…!”

Before her words could even finish, the earth flipped over. Something began to surge from below, and blood burst forth from everywhere.

“Kuagh?!”

“What is happening?!”

Immediately, the warriors drew their swords, but it was already too late.

The formation broke apart. The palanquin she was riding tilted and shattered as well.

—Kwahng!

With a deafening sound, human screams echoed amidst the chaos. At the same time, a rancid smell wafted through her nostrils.

“Fire is the best way to throw them into confusion!”

“…….?!”

As the forest caught fire, a familiar voice rang out.

The voice she could never forget. The one she had chased after, spreading out her Heavenly Net.

That voice, which should have been hiding far away from here…

Piercing through the soldiers, it came closer to her.

“Hey. Bitch.”

“…Gu… Ok-gyeong?! How are you here?!”

The soldiers parted. Among the myriad of blood spilling with smoke, a warrior armed with a sword advanced.

The barrier was torn in half. From within, a woman leaned on her sword, grinning.

No longer needing to hide, she tossed away the cloth covering her face to reveal the face she had long sought.

A face that should have been distorted, death imminent…

It was perfectly intact, just like before.

Even the strike that split the soldiers wasn’t normal. It felt as if she had regained her original prowess, not resembling an injured person at all.

“I… She should definitely be poisoned…! This isn’t poison that you can just cure alone! I told you it wasn’t possible!”

“Oh, right. I couldn’t clear it on my own. Da-un is here too. It was best to prevent it from spreading further. But you know what? A miracle fell from the heavens.”

“…What?”

“I heard it’s a fellow with a deep connection to you… What do you think?”

Amidst shrieks and the clash of metal in the battlefield, a man revealed himself.

Tearing through those blocking him, he emerged like a beast. From beneath the blood-drenched hat, eyes glinted with ferocity.

“Are you Yeong-wol?”

It was a familiar face. Yes, she had seen it before.

That face. That build.

H… however…

“You’re supposed to be dead…! I saw it with my own two eyes!”

“Where is Jin Baek-cheon?”

“…….?!”

The moment he mentioned that name, she could tell he was a true being. The ones forcibly revived through great laws usually lacked a will…

Could they have even surpassed that? How? Or had he truly come back from that corpse?

Her head spun. Was it because of the chaos of blood and flesh around her? Or the impossible situation unfolding right in front of her?

“…Hahaha.”

She didn’t know.

She didn’t know anything.

“Oh. Right. You were that kind of woman. Gu Ok-gyeong. It’s really hard to win you over, isn’t it? Bringing back someone I was sure I killed… You even held the sword to defeat me to the very end. That’s why I fell for you. It’s because you resemble that woman.”

“What the hell are you talking about, you bastard.”

“So I’ll crush everyone here. If a dead person shouldn’t come back, let’s just bury them again. I just have to catch you, who I once let slip away.”

Yeong-wol reached out her hand.

At that moment, a coffin suddenly popped out from within her palanquin.

“In every battlefield, corpses tend to pile up. And amidst them, there was something worth salvaging.”

“…….”

“If you’re really Jeok-un, if you’re the Martial Alliance Inspector… you should recognize this face, right?”

As she whispered, the lid of the coffin that shot out from behind her popped open.

The figure of a warrior stood unveiled beneath heaven’s light.

The face of a warrior in front of her twisted.

“…Do you truly not understand moderation?”

“Moderation? What use is that? After all, Reverse Heaven is law. Under heaven, there’s nothing we can’t do.”

Heaven and earth began to tremble.

The air filled with electrical energy.

As the songs of the dead filled the air…

To summon the thunder dragon from the heavens.

“My words are law. Everything I do is law. Is that right? Lord Im Wol-ryong?”

The remains of the master of Hyun-kyung, once laid bare by Jin Baek-cheon.

The corpse of Lord Im Wol-ryong of Cheonryong Association began to stir.

 

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