Chapter 171: Do You Know Who I Am (5)
Chapter 170 – Do You Know Who I Am (5)
A touch-and-go situation.
If even one person moved, killing swords would fly and blood would splatter.
The confrontation lasted for quite a long time.
Since there was no telling when Bi Ryang would appear if he was truly hiding, and Namgung Cheon’s martial arts from a moment ago was by no means at a level that could be ignored.
“Ugh…!”
Conveniently, the Black Daoist, who had fainted, woke up groaning and saw the unorthodox martial artists confronting the cadets.
Because he had stabbed his own eyes, his vision was blurry.
As his focus gradually returned and he saw Namgung Cheon, his eyes rolled back and he jumped up.
“How dare that dog-like bastard…!”
“Calm down. Bi Ryang might be somewhere.”
Despite Yo Chung’s warning, the Black Daoist roared in furious indignation.
“Calm down my foot! That greenhorn bastard almost turned me into a eunuch! If I don’t turn that fellow into mush…”
At that moment, it seemed the ground suddenly shook, and stone dust fell from the ceiling.
Rumble…!
‘Is someone else entering again?’
The cadets tilted their heads reflexively.
However, this time it was slightly different.
Rumble…!
The shaking was transmitted more severely from the ground than the ceiling.
Clearly, some variable had arisen.
The unorthodox martial artists also deemed something unusual was happening and stood back-to-back, guarding the surroundings.
In a split second,
Crack! Crack!
“Uh, watch out!”
Paeng Su-hyeok shouted, taking a large step back.
Crack…! Crack! Crack!
Surprisingly, a long crack appeared on the floor and stretched in a straight line like a lightning bolt.
Coincidentally, the crack on the floor divided the unorthodox martial artists and the cadets exactly.
“Somehow I have a chilly feeling about this?”
No sooner had Paeng Su-hyeok finished speaking than one side of the ground collapsed with a thud.
“Aaargh!”
“Keugh!”
The cadets, who lost their balance in an instant, scrambled in confusion and looked around.
The unorthodox martial artists also guarded all directions, fully tense at the sudden change.
Rumble! Crash!
“Keugh!”
“W-What is this!”
Unfortunately, was only the ground where the cadets stood not cracking and collapsing wildly?
The moment the unorthodox martial artists reflexively retreated!
Rumble!
A sound like the heaven and earth shaking resounded, and the ground where the cadets stood sank in like a lie and began to collapse completely.
“Uwaaaaah!”
The cadets fell down the pitch-black cliff, letting out long screams.
The unorthodox martial artists who saw this ran to the edge and watched the cadets disappear into the darkness.
“Tsk… we should have killed them directly.”
The Black Daoist clicked his tongue and turned around.
Meanwhile, the cadets falling into the pitch-black darkness flailed their limbs and struggled in midair.
‘I can’t die like this!’
Falling at a high speed, Namgung Cheon circulated his internal energy to the maximum to enhance his vision.
How long did they fall like that?
Conveniently, something appeared in his view in the black space.
‘A rope…?’
There was definitely something thin crossing through the darkness.
Looking closer with concentration, it looked like a chain.
Namgung Cheon shouted loudly.
“It’s a chain! Everyone get your senses together and grab the chain!”
“Damn it, where is the chain!”
“Soon! Three, two, one!”
“Uwaaaaah!”
“Haaap!”
The cadets frantically moved their limbs.
Namgung Cheon also quickly reached out and snatched the chain.
Clang!
Clang, clang!
Yu Hyeon and Baek Mu-geuk also hung onto the chain one after another.
Since the falling force was applied directly, they felt a pain as if the palms clutching the chain were going to tear.
And Paeng Su-hyeok should have hung on… but?
Clang…! Slip!
‘Huh? Slip…?’
The moment Paeng Su-hyeok’s face turned pale blue, he bounced up briefly from the recoil and began to sink into the darkness again.
“Uh, uh? Uwaaaaah!”
He flailed his arms fiercely, but did not reach the chain.
As he was falling into the darkness like that…
Grab!
“Gasp!”
Was a hand that suddenly emerged from the darkness not grabbing Paeng Su-hyeok’s wrist?
When Paeng Su-hyeok raised his head, Namgung Cheon had reached out and was holding his wrist tightly.
“What are you just staring blankly for? Climb up quickly!”
As Namgung Cheon shouted irritably, only then did Paeng Su-hyeok snap back to his senses and quickly climbed up Namgung Cheon’s arm.
Paeng Su-hyeok, barely hanging onto the chain, moved slowly along with Namgung Cheon.
Going to one end of the chain, there was a fairly wide space.
The cadets, who barely saved their lives, threw their bodies onto that space and gasped for breath.
“Haa, haa, haa…!”
“I really almost died.”
“Ah, I really hate this! Why did I crawl into a place like this…!”
Paeng Su-hyeok, sprawled out on his back, threw a massive tantrum while looking at the dim ceiling.
Namgung Cheon walked to the edge of the cliff and scanned up and down once.
The upper side was also occupied by pitch-black darkness, and the lower side was an endless cliff.
And the chain stretched to the opposite wall.
“Is everyone safe?”
To the question thrown toward the darkness, the cadets replied individually.
“Yes, thanks to you.”
“Ahem! This much is a piece of cake.”
“I am safe.”
However, the opponent Namgung Cheon threw the question to was actually different.
The Azure Eagle Squad.
[Yes, we are safe.]
From somewhere, the transmission of Azure Eagle Squad Captain Son U-gon was heard.
The Azure Eagle Squad members saw Namgung Cheon falling into the darkness and immediately threw their bodies to follow him.
Hiding behind the unorthodox martial artists, they slid down while driving their swords into the cliff, allowing them to move relatively safely.
For the cadets crossing the borderline of death, they were too busy saving their own lives to notice the presence of the Azure Eagle Squad.
Namgung Cheon nodded and looked back to see a dark passage.
‘Maybe this is the real one?’
Namgung Cheon smiled, baring his teeth.
“As they say, life has its ups and downs.”
* * *
Meanwhile, the unorthodox martial artists, unaware that the cadets had narrow escapes, clicked their tongues while looking down into the darkness.
“Still, one of the cadets seemed like a useful talent, so it’s a pity.”
“Hmph, useful talent my foot. He was a guy who would have died by my hand anyway.”
The Black Daoist huffed in spite.
But just then, did a dark figure not suddenly pop out of the hole in the ceiling?
“Uwaaaaah!”
The figure that fell while letting out a long scream followed right behind the cadets, falling straight down the pitch-black cliff.
Hearing the scream fading away, the unorthodox martial artists stared blankly at each other.
“What is that guy again?”
“Bi Ryang…?”
However, contrary to their speculation, the person falling through the darkness was none other than Cheol-un.
‘Damn it! Even knowing I’m falling, I really hate this!’
An endless fall in the pitch-black darkness.
I seriously never want to experience it twice.
‘It should be about time for it to appear…’
Cheol-un, who drew up his internal energy fully, stared down into the darkness even while falling.
‘I see it!’
Surely, he saw the chain crossing through the space like a spider web in the darkness.
The first step to enter Madan Valley.
Bang!
Emitting internal energy in midair, Cheol-un took a suitable landing position and gathered energy in his toes.
Swish, clang!
Since he fell from such a high place, the chain swayed once, making a harsh sound.
Bouncing up from the recoil, Cheol-un turned a somersault in the air and landed smoothly on the chain again.
Land!
Truly, it was an agile movement that would make anyone applaud if they saw it.
It was also the reason he was called by the moniker Shadowless Demon.
However…
Snap…!
“Huh?”
Cheol-un turned his head sharply at a chilling feeling.
The chain was loosening?
‘No way. It’s a chain made of black iron. There is no way it would break…’
Snap…!
The next moment, Cheol-un’s eyes widened.
The chain was not breaking.
The end of the chain embedded in the cliff wall was about to slip out. And for good reason, since it had to support the weight of the cadets and the Azure Eagle Squad members, which far exceeded the expected number of people.
Originally, Madan Valley was designed so that a very small number of demons could enter this way and go to the king’s chambers to open a proper entrance.
At that time, the demons could leisurely move the boxes containing the spirit pills and other items through the entrance.
And the Shadowless Demon Cheol-un’s role was to go to that very king’s chambers and open the entrance.
However…
Snap, snap!
“Damn it!”
As the chain embedded in the cliff wall slipped out completely, Cheol-un’s body sank downward.
Swoosh!
Cheol-un, who quickly gripped the chain, flew toward the cliff drawing a half-circle and crashed hard.
Crash!
“Keugh!”
Snap, snap…!
He barely caught the chain, but the other side was also on the verge of slipping out.
‘I-I must climb up!’
Cheol-un quickly grabbed the chain and climbed up at high speed.
It was just when he had almost reached the edge of the cliff.
Snap!
‘Oh, no!’
Was the only chain that was barely embedded not pulling out completely?
The moment Cheol-un, feeling his body lighten, was about to fall down the endless cliff,
Clang!
Someone wound the chain and pulled him up.
Cheol-un opened his eyes wide, and Namgung Cheon, holding the chain, shouted out loud.
“What are you doing? Climb up quickly!”
“Ah…?”
The moment Cheol-un, who realized the situation belatedly, grabbed Namgung Cheon’s hand,
Whoosh!
Dragged by a monstrous force, Cheol-un rose to the edge of the cliff in an instant.
Thud!
Cheol-un, who barely put his back against the solid ground, gasped for breath.
“Kehh, haa, haa, haa!”
It was not that he consumed that much internal energy just for this, but his mental energy consumption was severe at the crossroads of life and death.
Cheol-un, who barely caught his breath, casually spoke to Namgung Cheon.
“Th-Thanks…! Huh?”
Only now did Cheol-un, returning to his senses, retreat hastily while being wary of people here.
And it was not just one person.
A total of four.
But it was too dark to see clearly.
‘Who is it? The cadets? Is Bi Ryang here too?’
However, Namgung Cheon approached with a smirk.
“Why are you so surprised? It makes you look very suspicious.”
“W-Who…?”
“Who else but your savior. It’s disappointing if you act like this after I went out of my way to save you.”
“Are you a cadet?”
“Indeed.”
“Are you all?”
“Well, something like that.”
Cheol-un, staring intently into Namgung Cheon’s eyes, smirked.
“You’re laughing?”
“You shouldn’t have saved me.”
“Why?”
“Why else? Because you bastards will die!”
Swish!
In an instant, Cheol-un threw his body like a flash of lightning. His hand extending through the darkness clutched Namgung Cheon’s neck…
‘Huh?’
Surprisingly, what Cheol-un clutched was Namgung Cheon’s hand.
He suddenly ended up interlocking fingers with Namgung Cheon.
Crack!
“Gyaaaaaah!”
As Namgung Cheon applied force, Cheol-un knelt down on the spot, screaming wretchedly.
Cheol-un’s eyes became bloodshot.
“You son of a…!”
Slap!
In an instant, Cheol-un’s cheek was turned aside. It felt like seeing stars in the darkness. Severe pain still rose from his twisted wrist.
“L-Let go of this…!”
Slap!
Again, his cheek was turned aside.
‘Damn it!’
Slap! Slap! Slap!
As his cheek was slapped three times successively, it felt like his neck was going to pop out and his face was going to burst.
Namgung Cheon, still not letting go of the interlocked hand, said.
“Listen, when someone saves your life, you should know to bow your head and be grateful. Huh? I pull you out of the water, and you try to steal my bundle too?”
Slap! Slap!
“Keugh! S-Stop!”
“Why?”
“I-I was wrong.”
Namgung Cheon stared indifferently, then asked.
“Do you know who I am?”
“W-Who?”
Namgung Cheon said, as if letting everyone hear.
“The master of this place, bastard.”
Slap!