Chapter 274: Something Is Going On

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Eventually, the fiercely attacking Ghost-Slaying Leopards faltered.

Only about ten remained alive.

The Ghost-Slaying Leopards, slowly retreating backward, cried while baring their fangs.

“GEUREUREUNG…”

“KEURUK, KEURUK…”

“KIHAAK…”

The sounds were fierce, but no killing intent could be felt.

They seemed to have realized that they had instead become prey.

At that moment.

HWAAAK…

Do Jwa-baek emanated an intangible pressure.

Even denser killing intent and fighting spirit poured forth.

At that, the Ghost-Slaying Leopards let out shrill cries and scattered into the darkness with a HUDADAK! sound.

Following that, the Righteous Sea Martial Gate and Crow Pattern Sword Hall parties each sheathed their swords.

“You’re inviting unnecessary danger. Satisfied?”

When Danli Hyeok furrowed his brow slightly along with those words.

CHEOLKEOK-

Do Jwa-baek, having sheathed his sword, shrugged his shoulders.

“Just think of it as warming up. Why not just kill them now anyways? You came prepared for at least this much anyway.”

Danli Hyeok shook his head repeatedly and asked again.

“What will you do now?”

“Search a bit more, then go somewhere appropriate to rest.”

Having spoken thus, Do Jwa-baek’s expression suddenly stiffened with a FLINCH!

PAK!

He moved his body toward the dark side.

At the same time, Danli Hyeok also moved swiftly while shouting.

“Wait for a moment!”

Thus, the two people pushed through the bushes and arrived at a certain point where they both stopped abruptly.

It was a location not far away, about five zhang from where the parties were positioned.

Do Jwa-baek, having drawn his sword, rolled his eyes while executing thought transmission.

At that, Danli Hyeok beside him nodded.

He too had drawn his sword before he knew it.

Do Jwa-baek and Danli Hyeok moved the torches in their left hands while observing all directions.

However, at that moment.

Someone’s secretive presence was caught by their energy sensing through circulating internal power.

‘Above!’

When the two raised their heads with that same thought.

PAPAP!

A pitch-black shadow dropped down from atop a large tree.

“KAK!”

A killing-intent-filled ambush attack from a figure screaming.

Do Jwa-baek and Danli Hyeok deployed sword moves without either taking the lead.

When two sharp sword energies crossed in midair.

CHYUHAAK, CHYUHAAAAK!

The bisected body tumbled to the ground while scattering blood.

“KKEURUK… KKEUREUREUK…”

The mysterious figure, whose waist had been cleanly severed as he fell, made sounds as if phlegm was boiling.

“How dare you – did you think I’d fall for such an ambush?”

Having spoken coldly, Do Jwa-baek immediately pierced the opponent’s heart.

KKWADEUK- PUUUK!

The sword tip plunged deep after smashing the sternum.

Thus the person in question died.

Do Jwa-baek, having withdrawn his sword, held the torch toward the corpse on the ground.

But upon confirming the identity of that figure, he was quite surprised.

“No way…!”

Danli Hyeok’s reaction beside him was no different.

It couldn’t be helped.

Because the clothes of the man, estimated to be in his twenties, were the martial uniform of an orthodox faction.

On his left sleeve, the three characters ‘Iron Flower Blade’ were prominently embroidered, symbolizing his affiliated sect.

That signified the fact that he was from the Iron Shadow Blade Gate, located in Zhangdu, a medium-sized city on the southeastern coast of the Guangdong region.

However, for some reason, he wasn’t carrying a blade.

That’s right.

He had just attacked barehanded like an animal.

Danli Hyeok, who had been examining the deceased, let his gaze sink heavily.

“Why would a disciple specifically from Iron Shadow Blade Gate do such a thing…?”

At that, Do Jwa-baek spoke with a meaningful expression.

“This might be connected to the incident where the Iron Shadow Blade Gate’s direct disciple went missing.”

“Ah…”

Danli Hyeok had also heard that rumor.

That Iron Courage Lady Ok-aeng, the second direct disciple of the current Iron Shadow Blade Gate Sect Leader Vast Wilderness Iron Blade Hoon-sol, had suddenly disappeared while wrapping up her sparring expedition as part of her martial training…

Regarding that matter, such words circulated publicly.

Since Ok-aeng normally had great courage and had even earned the epithet Iron Courage Lady as a first-rate female blade wielder, she might have departed on a secret training journey exploring dangerous mountain backwaters alone.

It was a reasonable statement, but just speculation.

Danli Hyeok soon gazed at the corpse on the ground and spoke.

“Doesn’t this seem strange? If the missing Ok Maiden’s destination was the Shiwan Mountains, and Iron Shadow Blade Gate confirmed her whereabouts and came to find her, why would they launch an ambush attack? He clearly had killing intent toward us.”

“Of course it’s strange. Seeing that there’s no party in sight, some incident we don’t know about seems to have occurred.”

“Hmm, could it perhaps be the doing of the Snake Sect? If they bewitched Iron Shadow Blade Gate’s personnel with some kind of sorcery…”

“Wait.”

Do Jwa-baek, having interrupted, moved his blade tip to lift the corpse’s upper lip.

At that.

“HUT!”

Surprise was contained in Danli Hyeok’s two eyes.

Because of the corpse’s fangs, which were pointed like an animal’s.

Do Jwa-baek, having withdrawn his sword, muttered while smiling.

“Hoot, this is really my first time seeing something like this. Beast-like fangs… how very interesting.”

“Hmm, did he consume some nameless strange medicine and change like that? Something the Snake sect researched in secret…”

“Well, it’s too early to conclude. As you know, it’s not just the Snake sect that’s here.”

Danli Hyeok, having heard those words, slightly nodded.

“Well, true…”

Since ancient times, the Shiwan Mountains was a place famous for being inhabited by the factions of evil heterodox nature, including the Snake sect.

Therefore, anything could happen.

Do Jwa-baek pivoted his body while speaking as if giving instructions.

“Now, let’s go. Oh, and later when you visit the Iron Shadow Blade Gate, please explain well. That this was unavoidable. If I explain, it’ll just invite needless misunderstanding and suspicion.”

“Alright, I understand what you mean.”

The two hastily recovered the corpse and returned to where their parties were waiting.

Then they told them about what had happened earlier.

At the moment the party wore surprised expressions upon hearing that story.

-KKYAAAAK!

Far away, a woman’s scream echoed like an echo.

It seemed like some kind of urgent situation.

Do Jwa-baek, Danli Hyeok, Danli So, and both parties immediately deployed lightness arts and headed toward the source of the scream.

After a while.

A cave appeared before the party as they crossed through the forest.

Danli Hyeok looked at its dark entrance and spoke.

“It seems to be inside there. Everyone, light new torches.”

At that, both parties replaced their torches in perfect order and finished preparations to enter.

Following that, Do Jwa-baek and Danli Hyeok took the lead.

JEOBEOJEOBEO, JEOBEOJEOBEO…

The uneven cave was as long as the underworld hell.

Endless darkness.

Do Jwa-baek, who had been rolling his eyes, spoke softly.

“The width is getting wider as we go.”

Advancing a little further, moss, grass, and such covered the cave floor and walls.

Danli Hyeok, having discovered that, awakened their vigilance.

“This is a place well-suited for poisonous creatures to live. Be especially mindful.”

At some point, when the cave bent at a right angle, the party turned direction with discreet footsteps.

SAT, SASAT, SAT-

At that moment, Danli Hyeok and Do Jwa-baek at the front hesitated.

‘…!’

The personnel in the rear also immediately stopped.

The reason was one.

Because they had seen several corpses tangled together on the ground not far away.

Moreover, their entire bodies were in a state of being torn to shreds by something.

Everyone’s belly skin was split open, as if their internal organs had been completely devoured.

Suddenly.

“KKAK!”

The woman’s scream they had heard earlier rang out again.

‘Close!’

Do Jwa-baek, Danli Hyeok, Danli So, and the others all moved forward in unison.

After a while.

A young woman wrapped tightly in pure white threads like a silkworm cocoon entered their two eyes.

As if caught in a large spider web.

At that moment, Danli So shouted.

“Ah! Miss Ok?”

The woman’s identity was Ok-aeng, the Iron Courage Lady of the Iron Shadow Blade Gate, with whom she was acquainted.

“Ah! H-help…!”

Ok-aeng thrashed about while speaking in an urgent voice.

Danli Hyeok, having quickly gone to her side, tried to cut the threads with his sword.

However.

TEONG!

Tremendous repulsive force bounced the sword away.

Seeing that, Do Jwa-baek executed a single cut using internal power, and the threads were cut.

TUDUDUK-!

Danli Hyeok and Danli So also immediately injected a large amount of true energy into their swords and began cutting.

Amid that, Ok-aeng spoke with a pale complexion.

“This is the spider thread of a poisonous creature with man-eating habits! Everyone must be careful! It disappeared behind there, but it’ll probably appear again soon…”

Before she could finish speaking, strange sounds beat against the party’s ears.

SHWISHWISHWISHWI, SHWISHWISHWISHWI-

From beyond the darkness, a truly massive shadow quickly approached while emitting bluish eyes.

It was far too large.

Large enough to fill more than half the cave’s width.

Do Jwa-baek swiftly stepped to one side and assumed a combat stance.

“Most Likely, it’s a Dark Soul Great Spider!”

Dark Soul Great Spider.

One of the poisonous creatures of the Shiwan Mountains, a monstrous insect recorded in ancient texts.

“It’s stronger than the Ghost-Slaying Leopards! Attack in coordination!”

Having shouted thus, Do Jwa-baek and both parties advanced with fierce momentum.

In the meanwhile, Danli Hyeok and Danli So continued working hard on rescuing Ok-aeng with swords using internal power.

“Brother, just a little more…!”

“Right!”

Unlike ordinary spiders, the Dark Soul Great Spider emitted pure white threads from its entire body.

CHWIRIRIRIT- CHWIRIRIRIT-!

It felt as if a massive fog was being sprayed out.

Do Jwa-baek skillfully evaded while warning.

“Don’t let that touch you!”

However, one Crow Pattern Sword Hall member was caught.

“EUUUK!”

The moment it brushed against his skin, his strength completely drained and he was flung backward hard.

The disciple, transformed into a silkworm cocoon by the thread bundle shot by the Dark Soul Great Spider.

“Damn, blast it…!”

Some members went there and began cutting to extract him.

CHWIRIRIK- CHWIRIRIK- CHWIRIRIK-!

When the Dark Soul Great Spider frantically shot out threads as if going berserk, the party was too busy avoiding it to easily approach.

Suddenly.

“BASTARD!”

Do Jwa-baek, having shouted, executed the ultimate move of his sect’s supreme sword technique, the Crow Light Sword Forms.

SHYUSHYUSHYUSHYUSHYUSHYUT!

Crow-shaped sword energy imbued with extreme-level internal power cut through the pouring threads and advanced, compressing the gap.

PUHAAAK!

It pierced straight through the Dark Soul Great Spider’s green eyeballs along with its entire face.

It was lightning-fast sword art befitting the epithet Flash Blade Sword.

Immediately after, unpleasant screams rang out wildly.

“KKUGEOK! KKUGEOK!”

The Dark Soul Great Spider, having sprayed out something like blue blood, thrashed its body violently as if smashing the cave walls on both sides.

KKWANG, KWAKKWANG, KKWANG…!

“Now!”

Do Jwa-baek and the party, having raised their voices, extended their swords straight.

Sword wind and sword energy were simultaneously released.

PEOPEOPEOPEOPEOPEOPEONG…!

A heavy roar shook the interior of the cave.

In the meanwhile, Danli Hyeok and Danli So safely rescued Ok-aeng, and the member who had been caught in the spider web earlier also escaped with his colleagues’ help.

Suddenly.

URUUREU… URUREUREUREEU…

Starting from the cave ceiling, the entire space vibrated violently.

Signs of collapse.

Sure enough, with a JJEOJEOJEOK! sound, rocks began falling one by one.

“Everyone, out quickly!”

At Do Jwa-baek’s shout, the party ran toward outside the cave, some ahead and some behind.

Immediately after safely escaping.

WAREUREUREUREREU, WAREUREUREUREUREEU… KUGUGUGUG, KUGUGUGUUNG…!

The deep interior of the cave collapsed entirely.

Both parties each calmed their startled hearts while sitting on the ground and regulating their breathing.

Soon, Ok-aeng leaned her back against a tree and bowed her head while conveying her thanks.

“Thank you. Truly… I almost died.”

At that, Danli So, who was beside her, patted her shoulder while asking.

“Miss Ok, how did you come to set foot in such a place?”

Ok-aeng, having met her gaze, spoke hesitantly.

“My thoughts are a bit… complicated.”

“Pardon?”

“The person who lured me and the disciples into the cave… was the Sect Leader of the Righteous Sea Martial Gate.”

Everyone was greatly startled by the unexpected words.

Brilliant Sea Sword Lion Danli-yeol, the father of Danli Hyeok and Danli So…?

Silent shock shook everyone’s hearts.

Amid that, Do Jwa-baek smiled while sheathing his sword.

“Huhut, it seems something is indeed going on in this Shiwan Mountains. I don’t know what it is, but… the more time passes, the more I want to find out.”

* * *

-Must you really go?

-Because it’s an order.

-But…

-Don’t worry too much. I promise. That I’ll finish quickly and return.

-Then please embrace me before you leave. So that the anxiety in my heart might diminish a little.

FLASH.

Cheol Ryu-heun, having awakened from his dream, opened his eyes.

It was bright.

Was it already morning?

The first thing that entered his eyes was a red ceiling.

It seemed to be someone’s inner chamber.

“Ah! Are you coming to your senses now?”

When Cheol Ryu-heun turned his head to the side, drawn by the voice, three devils looking like murderous evil demons were staring at him, each with eyes flashing.

They were the three Hook-Nose brothers – Guyang Cheon, Guyang Ji, and Guyang In.

Cheol Ryu-heun, having furrowed his brow, muttered grumpily.

“It’s a nightmare.”

At that, Guyang Cheon asked.

“Did you have a bad dream?”

“No, because of your faces.”

“…”

“Get out of the way. You’ll give me nightmares I didn’t even have.”

“…”