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Night deepened. Seizing the chance of the darkened streets, I slipped away from Eungmin.

As soon as the sunlight disappeared, the sounds of blade clashes erupted in the streets. The cries of people that couldn’t be heard during the day.

What filled the tip of the blades was greed. It was mixed with the suspicion that perhaps everyone was securing Turtle Messenger Black Wild Dan’s resources.

“Where do you think you’re sneaking off to at this late hour?!”

“This crazy bastard…!”

As greed tangled together, people lost their sight.

And that applied to me as well.

“Empty your pockets!”

Four men stood in my way. I tightened my grip.

“Get out of the way.”

“Attack!”

Prepared for anything, I charged my hands with all my strength.

Having witnessed Ansasugwi’s malicious tricks, I no longer underestimated my enemies inside the headquarters.

At once.

Completely all of it.

Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique.

Third Brother.

Overlord Demon Technique.

The blood aura enveloping my body swallowed the surroundings. In an instant, I dashed through the frozen warriors.

My strengthened body felt as if it were on fire. The techniques I unleashed were not mere power, but something closer to overwhelming force.

—Bang!!!

With a clear explosion, the three thugs distorted. I hammered down their shoulders, legs, arms, and abdomen without mercy.

“Kkkkhaaaa!!!!”

“W-What the…?!”

The weak blade energy dispersed and fell to the ground. I pointed at the last standing man, whom I had left untouched.

“Grab him.”

“Y-Yes! Thank you for sparing my life!”

There were a few more ambushes after that. Choosing a time when it seemed there would be no witnesses had turned out to be a bad strategy.

But fortunately, there were no persistent pursuers. They were all individuals stuck in their own greed, that was all.

Perhaps the real ones above were watching this whole situation. It has already been six months since the incident…

The skills of each side must have already been well observed, and it would be best to use that last moment to strike.

I managed to slip out safely towards the outskirts. After crossing through the wide-open castle gates, I immediately changed direction.

I felt a few presences chasing after me. Just in case, I now employed the nearly perfected movement technique.

Ghostly Spirit Step – Concealment.

—Snap!

The tree I climbed shook without a sound or trace. I concealed my breath and observed the passing people.

“I was sure it was this way…?!”

“Spread out and search!”

After sending a few of them away, the area finally quieted down. I carefully moved between the trees, ensuring no presence slipped away.

The villa.

It was indeed located where the map indicated. It was somewhat far from Eungmin, and the path was as rough as I had heard.

A villa carved into a cliff. But it wasn’t completely empty.

Warriors from several sects were already on guard. There was quite an imposing aura; it didn’t seem wise to underestimate them.

Should I break through? While I was in doubt, someone whispered from beside me.

“Is it over there that Mu Gongja is looking for?”

“…….?”

The mysterious Black Wind murmured beside me.

“Hmm. The guards are thicker than I thought. It seems they’re from the sect. If we cause a scene or get caught, it could become troublesome… But I can’t just kill the three pillars of the headquarters either…”

“When did you follow me?”

“Eh. It’s not like I was trying to follow. Since our paths crossed, I’ll help for the sake of decency. It’s nice to be able to contribute to saving someone. Hehe, maybe I can add another accomplishment to my record.”

“Is it really necessary to kill?”

Suddenly, a voice interjected from beside us.

It had a pleasant aroma.

“We can just lure them in. It’s an easy task for me, Warrior. Just leave it to me.”

“No, when did Black Lady come…?”

“It’s not hard for me to conceal my presence. I apologize for sneaking along… I just wanted to help.”

“……”

Two of them had stubbornly followed me. Now that they were here, there was no use in sending them back. I lowered my voice to warn them.

“I won’t forgive you if you interfere.”

“Interfere? No way, Mu Gongja. I can guide you through that inner path. It’s easy information. I already grasped the internal structure.”

“I’ll take care of the guards. You don’t need to worry about bloodshed.”

Seob Honyohee’s flask rattled at Black Danhwa’s waist. The liquid inside splashed out into the air.

Suddenly, the eyes of the warriors turned hazy.

“Whoa…? What are you doing here…?”

“Brother, I’m here… come here…”

Black Wind clicked his tongue, seemingly bitter.

“It’s something similar to what I went through. There are no natural objects or mechanisms to take as a foundation… What did you do?”

“You saw it. My Mussu Baekyu is similar to a moving formation, isn’t it? Can you make those people shake their waists in the air with me too?”

“You’re complimenting me! Complimenting! Ugh, I’m scared to talk. Mu Gongja, did you hear? If I hang around with that chatterbox, I won’t survive. We need to finish this quickly.”

“Chatterbox? Have you said everything now?”

“Follow me.”

Black Wind lightly stretched out his leg, executing a clean movement technique without a flaw.

We simultaneously passed through the front gate. The interior was relatively spacious. However, its condition was far from intact.

Everywhere was broken. It looked as if battles had taken place; nothing here was untouched.

Black Wind touched a broken wall.

“Is someone trapped in here?”

“I don’t know.”

“…Hmm? Then why?”

“I’m thinking of finding clues starting from here.”

“Clues… huh…”

Black Wind glanced at me sharply.

“Let’s cut the crap, Mu Gongja. To me, you’re a benefactor. If you hadn’t stopped Seob Honyohee, I’d have slipped and drained my innate energy by now. To regain my original state would probably take years. Naturally, I intend to repay that favor, and that’s why I followed you. Of course, it looked entertaining, and I had matters to attend to in Eungmin too.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“But the thing is, I can’t just help you without knowing who you’re trying to save. To put it bluntly, if you’re looking to save a legendary demon, it would be a bit strange for me to help, wouldn’t it? So just tell me who you’re trying to save. Then, I will cooperate.”

“I told you, cooperation is unnecessary.”

“If that’s the case, then give it a try on your own. Tracking isn’t easy.”

“…….”

I examined the traces. I rummaged through the broken spots, searching for any sign of Wolhyang.

However, in the end, all I could discern was that a huge battle had taken place here. A clash strong enough to shake the entire villa.

“…….”

I needed help. Someone proficient with this kind of thing.

“Black Gongja.”

“I see you’ve caught on pretty well. I thought it would take at least another day.”

“The person I’m trying to save is Member of the Blood Sea Organization Wolhyang.”

“Oh. So that’s what you meant… what? Member of the Blood Sea Organization?”

Black Wind took a step back.

“What… I thought they wouldn’t be ordinary people, but… a Member of the Blood Sea Organization? Are they really part of the Blood Sea?”

“N-No, they aren’t. However, I can’t disclose my affiliation. I’m just following the missing traces that led me here.”

“…Hmmm…”

Black Wind coughed lightly.

“A chase team looking for a Member of the Blood Sea Organization… Now this is an exciting development. I’ll help. We were curious about it from the start.”

“We?”

“Pay attention. Ha ha! Then let’s track it down.”

Black Wind scanned the scene.

“What occurred here was a massive clash. But it seems to be a many-to-one struggle. Do you see this? The ones who stood here had multiple blade pressures, but the one sitting on the opposite side only had one. Wow. Just from the traces, I can tell. Facing this many high-level masters at once… the Member of the Blood Sea Organization is indeed a monster.”

“Is that all?”

“If that were all, I wouldn’t name it tracking. There was a blood match, but here, something doesn’t add up. The Member of the Blood Sea Organization was in an advantageous position, yet suddenly, the traces just stop. An ambush? Surely not. There should have been signs of a struggle. It seems they suffered a bizarre attack that the Member of the Blood Sea Organization couldn’t respond to. They aren’t dead. It’s close to a disarmed state. And then, they were carried away. Where to? Over there.”

Black Wind pointed in a direction.

“Not just the Member of the Blood Sea Organization, but there were two others here too. One suffered serious injuries and died… and the other was captured. It must have been a child. From the looks of it, it’s probably a girl. Judging by her features, it’s likely… an unusual hair color not seen at Seven Star Gate…”

“If it’s a hair color rare at Seven Star Gate, then there’s only one person that could be.”

“Exactly. The protagonist of the rumors, Yeon Mi-ryeong. It’s probably her. No one can rival her when handling medicine. She was here and got captured. Wolhyang likely went along with her. It seems they allowed some unknown ambush… but it doesn’t seem like they’re dead. Being subdued seems a bit odd… for a Member of the Blood Sea Organization to be subdued? Hmm… It feels like something bizarre occurred. Anyway, they were dragged away…”

Black Wind stroked his chin.

“It seemed so, but they purposely obscured the directions. The strange ones split up deliberately. They probably headed into the forest. The traces seem clearly erased, so to deceive the pursuers, they must have forced a change in direction. The remaining pursuers left this place, but… there’s an area they visited prior.”

“An area they visited?”

“Hehehe. While they can fool others, they cannot fool me, Black Wind. I am not just someone who… cough cough. Anyway. That’s not how I’m known.”

Black Wind reached into his robe pocket.

He sprinkled some unknown powder.

Clearly appearing on the ground were traces. Most of the tangled footfalls pointed towards the forest we had crossed, but two stood apart.

The five consecutive footsteps came to a stop in the center of the villa.

Black Wind lifted a piece of rubble. He touched the floor, which looked fine.

“Hmmm…”

“Is there something inside?”

“It’s thick. Very thick. There’s no mechanism in the world that can’t be undone. I don’t know if this is the work of that bizarre character or if it belongs to Seven Star Gate, but they must have poured a good amount of money into it. But since it’s in the hands of this Black Wind, all locked doors might as well be open…”

Black Wind turned his head.

His expression turned serious.

“Mu Gongja. Do you have any companions?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Then an unwelcome guest has come to play.”

Black Danhwa clapped her fan. Black Wind placed his hand on his sword.

—Boom!

The heavy sound echoed through the collapsed villa. Amid the rising dust, a massive figure moved.

In an instant, the swirling wind settled the dust. With his shirt stripped off, clear and thick brown muscles rippled over his body.

A body trained to the extreme. Its weight naturally exuded from that.

“Who are you?!”

I placed my hand on my sword.

“We are…”

“Oh, that’s enough. Anyway, I’d rather hear the story later. It’s rare to find someone willing to speak honestly in front of current Eungmin.”

The man cracked his knuckles.

“At this hour, those who entered by knocking out the guards won’t be standing around normally. Let’s smash them to the pulp before hearing their story.”

“What? First, let’s talk about—”

“What talk? What conversation is needed among martial artists? The only thing to exchange here is this fist. If you’re a liar, I’m tired of it!”

Two men who arrived late behind him gasped for breath.

“Master! I told you not to go alone so many times…!”

“Why should I blame your slowness? You idiots.”

“How many people in the world can follow you…?!”

“The world is broad, and the sky is high. Sweet compliments are bad for the body. That trivial small talk is enough for now. Since the number of students I trained seems to match up…”

The beast-like man grinned.

“One at a time, then. ”

“…….”

Those were not the type to talk reason.

Seob Honyohee waved her fan.

“Leave it to me, Warrior. I’ll handle everything…”

“That doesn’t seem right. They don’t look easy to deal with. Black Lady is powerful in prepared circumstances, but in improvised situations, her strength can diminish a bit, can’t it?”

“…How do you know that?”

“I saw it when you subdued the gatekeeper. The aura felt much lighter than what I had sensed before.”

“…….”

“I won’t refuse help, but one person would be enough for you to handle.”

Whatever power Mussu Baekyu had, it surely had its limits. If it took the form of a technique, then it would even more so.

Black Danhwa gently nodded her head. Black Wind sighed.

“In that case, I suppose I’ll have to take on one too. I’m not too confident in a head-on duel.”

“Just buy some time. I’ll follow as soon as I handle things.”

“Alright. Since I agreed to help, I’ll handle my share. Just be careful, Mu Gongja. That man in the middle doesn’t look easy.”

The giant cracked his neck.

“I won’t concede the stage. It’s the last courtesy I extend to my junior. But if you don’t come in during the count of ten…”

His voice lowered.

“I’ll personally smash that head of yours.”

“…You sure talk a lot, old man.”

I drew my sword.

Ear Sword Bai Ya unleashed its resonance.

“If you keep oppressing, then I’ll just retaliate.”

“Oppression and countering. That is indeed the principle of the headquarters.”

The giant bared his teeth.

“If you want to resist, you should be stronger than me. Come on, kid. Before asking something, chew on that bizarre sword of yours and savour it! Kha ha!”

 

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