The enemies who were rushing in retreated at Jeok Seohwa's roar and lined up in front of the building. Cheonyeong, who had stopped at the sight of them lining up in a row with their backs to him as if to protect Jeok Seohwa, burst into laughter.

What a sight.

At Cheonyeong's sneer, Jeok Seohwa scans the left and right with sharp eyes.

They were no ordinary punks.

Putting aside the two punks who were standing as if guarding the gate of the Daegakjeon, the sense of intimidation felt from the giant with a huge iron club on his shoulder was not ordinary.

"Keu-eu..."

He could see a dozen or so people groaning, stuck here and there.

Although they had not lost their lives, they did not look like they could fight anymore.

"Useless things."

How could the guards who protect the center of the family be in such a state?

His scanning eyes stop at the young man standing in front of the giant.

"Who are you? Who on earth are you to cause such a commotion?"

"Can't you tell just by looking? If someone suddenly appears and makes a mess like this, of course they're an enemy."

"An enemy?"

At those words, Jeok Seohwa frowns, his eyebrows pointing in different directions.

What is this absurd situation?

An enemy?

Are you going to attack the Blue Serpent Sect with just four people?

"Heh, you reckless punks. Do you even know where you are to be spouting such nonsense?"

"I came because I knew."

"What did you say?"

"The Blue Serpent Sect."

"..."

"I've come to take Jeokseong's head, as I warned you."

"As you warned?"

Jeok Seohwa's head tilts.

A warning, Jeokseong's head.

Then his eyes fly open and he shouts at Cheonyeong with a surprised face.

"T-Tang Cheonyeong?"

"Yes."

"How are you here?"

"Through the back door, on foot."

"What?"

"It was easy. So lax. It made a person who had put in all their effort feel awkward."

Although Cheonyeong was telling the truth as it was, Jeok Seohwa seemed unable to believe it. The way his pupils and even his body were trembling, he seemed quite surprised.

"How on earth are you here? How can a punk who should be at Sapyeong be here? The Saman-gwi were surely..."

"Ah! Them?"

Cheonyeong said with a grin, as if he had just remembered.

"They're probably all dead by now."

"What did you say?"

"I said they're probably dead."

"Ha! You're mocking me. The leader of the Saman-gwi is a strong man who was once called one of the Five Heroes of the Blue Serpent Sect. And the warriors under him are some of the best in our Blue Serpent Sect. But what did you say? Dead?"

Although Jeok Seohwa glared at him, his clenched fists trembling, Cheonyeong was just calm.

"You seem quite proud. But our Inner Hall Master is no ordinary person either. Have you heard of the Twin Flash Rakshasa?"

"Twin Flash?"

"Yes. She's usually demure, but when she sees blood and gets pissed off, she doesn't see anything. Whether it's the Five Heroes of the Blue Serpent Sect or the Ten Heroes of the Blue Serpent Sect, they probably won't be a match for her. And there's a guy named Baekgang, and he's good at handling kids. Because he doesn't act all high and mighty and always does everything with them, the kids follow him well without any complaints."

"You crazy punk. Are you comparing a warrior unit made of vagrants to the Saman-gwi?"

"Yes. Well, everyone says so. What about vagrants, what about such lowly things. But you're saying that because you haven't seen them."

"What did you say?"

"Have you ever lived as a vagrant? Kids who live on the streets naturally accept dying on the road as their fate. Should I say they're somewhat detached from death?"

Cheonyeong said with a bitter smile on his lips, as if to enlighten Jeok Seohwa on a common sense he didn't know.

"Those kinds of punks had a dream of wanting to live, of wanting to become strong. And they felt that dream coming true. When they were about to give up, they were often disciplined with a loving rod. Do you know what that means?"

"..."

"It means they're tenacious. No matter what they do. Since they don't have talent, they train twice as much as others, and even if they're taught a single movement, they repeat it until it's perfect. I made them that way. So harshly that they thought they wanted to die."

Starting from the Hoyeon Unit, to the Green Warrior Unit and the Blue Warrior Unit.

Although they were still lacking, the kids ran every day, and they climbed up and down the cliffs every day. They were punks who had thrown hidden weapons until their hands were raw under the teachings of the Tang family for several years like that.

Although it must have been so hard that they wanted to die, they gritted their teeth and endured. Because they must have thought it was a better life than the days they had lived without a dream.

"But, you know. When I think about it, it seemed like a waste. It's a loss if they get hurt for no reason. How much money went into feeding, housing, and clothing them all this time."

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"I left them behind. Things that your proud Saman-gwi would never be able to survive."

The corners of Cheonyeong's mouth, which held a desolate feeling, stretched up to his cheekbones.

***

A short while after Cheonyeong had left, at Sapyeong.

Peng!

The sound of something exploding.

Peo-peo-peo-peo-peng!

Starting with the first one, sounds of unknown identity were heard continuously from the reed fields on the left and right.

Chwa-a-a-a-a!

Then, with a noise like a rushing wave, the reeds on both sides began to lie down at once.

No, they were being cut down and falling.

While Ban Myo-saeng was talking to Sanghui, the pupils of the Saman-gwi, who were waiting in a line along the road, were filled with anxiety.

Something was flying towards them, but since they couldn't identify it, it was so.

It was the same for Ban Myo-saeng, who was about to attack Sanghui.

Attack!

At the same time as those words, the explosion and the sound of reeds being cut that had erupted from the left and right behind them.

What on earth is this?

An unbelievable thing began to happen in the pupils of Ban Myo-saeng, who had turned his head sharply.

An enormous amount of hidden weapons shot from both sides, piercing through the reeds.

Kwa-a-a-a-a!

It was as if they were pouring down all at once from a hole in the sky like a downpour and covering the Saman-gwi.

"Ah, prepare for the hidden weapons... Kra-ak!"

Someone shouted, but he finished his words with a scream.

If they were ordinary hidden weapons, they could have blocked them by swinging their swords or dodged them. If there were a few more, they would have twisted their bodies to avoid a fatal wound. The Saman-gwi had that much skill.

But how does a person walk in the rain?

If a 'giant in the rain' were possible, he would not be a person, but an immortal.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!

"Kra-ak!"

Try to dodge it hard.

On the contrary, they were hit by more hidden weapons because of their movements.

And it doesn't end.

Peng! Peo-peo-peo-peo-peng!

The rain that had poured down like a downpour for a while continued without any sign of stopping.

Would I have loaded them onto the carts for nothing?

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!

The hidden weapons that poured from the left and right of the road were so numerous that no gap could be seen, and they struck everything, whether it was a horse or a person. They were struck not only in their blood vessels, but also in their eyeballs, and the Saman-gwi were annihilated without even being able to put up a proper response.

"Tang Family's estate! Annihilate the enemy!"

The rain had stopped, but the sky had not cleared.

As Tang Baekgang shouted loudly, the Tang family's warriors, dressed in blue and green, who had revealed themselves over the cut reeds, rushed towards the enemy on the road.

The footwork of the Jinkagu assassins, which continued with 'no sound', 'no shadow', and 'no form'.

It was what Cheonyeong had taught them.

Although they had not yet reached a complete 'no sound', the speed reflected in the blurred eyes of those who had been hit by the hidden weapons was truly a flash of lightning.

Seu-geok!

"Kra-a-ak!"

Every time the left and right crossed and the sword light shone, blood splattered.

Ppadeu-deuk!

"Y-you punks!"

At the sight of his subordinates dying, Ban Myo-saeng, with a face contorted like a demon, was about to join in right away.

"Hey."

"...?"

"Where are you going? Didn't you want to enjoy the clouds and rain with me? Come here, I'll make it fun for you."

Sanghui raises the twin swords she was holding in a reverse grip and smiles faintly.

"You X-bitch!"

Pa-ang!

Ban Myo-saeng, who had jumped up from his horse, drew his sword and immediately swung it. The sword qi, which was pale blue on the sword, bent like a whip and drew an arc.

Sword qi.

The ultimate level that swordsmen who use internal energy realize.

But it's not omnipotent.

Cheonyeong had said so.

That sword qi was just one way of using internal energy. And since there was a limit, if you used a lot of internal energy, the consumption would be just as fast.

Pupil Technique, Red Eye.

Sanghui's pupils turn red, as if on fire.

The trajectory of the bent sword began to be seen clearly, and Sanghui digs into the gap in that trajectory. Hadn't she also learned and mastered the footwork of the Three No's from Cheonyeong? For much longer than the kids who had passed through the Hoyeon Unit.

Sa-gak! Sa-sa-sak!

Ban Myo-saeng's sword qi cut countless innocent reeds.

"Y-you damn woman!"

Ban Myo-saeng, who had not been able to cut Sanghui even after dozens of seconds had passed, adds his energy with a furious expression.

The veins on the hand holding the sword bulged out, and the trajectory filled the space even faster.

Seu-geok!

For the first time, Sanghui's clothes were cut. Her flesh was torn and blood splattered.

Sanghui's clothes are cut, revealing her white flesh.

Although it was something that would bother a woman, to reveal her skin to a strange man, there was no change in Sanghui's expression.

Ga-ga-ga-ga-gak!

Unlike before, Sanghui began to block Ban Myo-saeng's sword strikes with her sword. Because it was difficult to dodge with just footwork.

"You woman! It seems you're finally running out of strength! Of course! You're going to face me? You woman! I'll strip you of your skin!"

Ban Myo-saeng, whose momentum had risen, put even more internal energy into his sword.

Kkang! Kka-ga-ga-gang!

Sanghui's eyes, which had blocked the sword strike, trembled. It was a heavy force that felt like her palms would tear. She had almost lost her grip on the sword.

But the opportunity comes.

Just once, a fleeting moment.

Sanghui endured and endured, even though another wound was formed and a stinging pain spread throughout her body.

"Hup!"

Ban Myo-saeng, who had been swinging his sword without rest, lets out a rough breath, as if he had run out of breath for a moment.

And the sword became dull.

The consumption of his internal energy had reached its limit.

The moment he was about to create distance to catch his breath.

Kung!

Sanghui, who had gathered her feet and bent her knees as if squatting, concentrated all her internal energy, and her pupils spewed out a flame.

Samyang...

The internal energy flowed to the Yongcheon acupoint on the soles of her feet, and her bent legs straightened out, pushing off the ground.

Pa-a-ang!

The red afterglow, which had caught up with the retreating Ban Myo-saeng in an instant, creates a long line in the empty air.

"Y-you woman!"

The flustered Ban Myo-saeng hastily swung his sword, but Sanghui's figure had already passed him. And a red line is engraved on Ban Myo-saeng's neck.

"Keok!"

Ban Myo-saeng, who had grabbed his neck, tried to turn around to look at Sanghui, who was now standing behind him, with his eyes wide open.

Tuk, de-gu-ru-ru.

But, his head fell to the ground and rolled before it could even turn back.

Kwal-kwal-kwal.

Blood poured from the body that had collapsed, tilting, and soaked the ground, and the head that was rolling on the ground was covered in dirt. He still seemed not to understand what had happened to him, his eyes wide open.

"Wue-ek!"

And Sanghui, with her hands on the ground, vomited blood.

"Sanghui-ya!"

"Cough, cough."

She had suffered internal injuries.

Because she had rapidly drawn up and used her internal energy so as not to miss the crucial moment.

"Damn it!"

"Let's take care of your body first! Hurry."

Baekgang took out a Yosangdan from his bosom.

"The fight?"

Sanghui, who had blocked his hand, asks with tired eyes, the red light gone.

"We won. A great victory. Although many are injured, they can all move."

"Good."

Sanghui, who had finally put her mind at ease, eats the Yosangdan.

But she couldn't rest for long.

She had to hurry and follow the Family Head's party to help.

"Baekgang-ah."

"Yeah!"

"Go first."

"What?"

"I know the Family Head is amazing, and there are other punks, but there are only four of them. It's too much to fight the Blue Serpent Sect. We have to help."

"But..."

"A few kids to guard me is enough. I'll take care of my internal injuries and follow right away."

"Hmm... I understand. But don't overdo it. Got it?"

"Yeah."

Although Baekgang seemed to hesitate for a moment, he realized that Sanghui's words were right and hurriedly headed to Seongdo.

***

"Perhaps, by now... they've annihilated the Saman-gwi and are coming here?"

"Nonsense."

"Well, everyone thinks differently."

Cheonyeong smiles faintly and draws the sword he had been carrying on his back.

"Now, then I should also achieve the purpose I came for, right? Before the punks at the main gate all rush over."

And he aimed.

"Hand over your son. If you give me his life, I will retreat, but if you don't, the Blue Serpent Sect will be annihilated today."

(End of Chapter)