Chapter 109: Inside the Nine Dragon Fortress

Meanwhile, Mao and So-o, who had entered the underground passage of the Nine Dragon Fortress first, were in a state of panic.

“Jang I-seo…?”

“This is bad…”

No matter how long they waited, there was no sign of Jang I-seo and Gwa-pyeong following them in.

Moreover, So-o had seen it clearly.

‘To think the Third Elder would appear…’

It was a natural course of action given that his son had been kidnapped. But no matter how he tried to rationalize it, his startled heart refused to calm down.

The Divine Spear Demon, Maeng Cheol-yong.

One of the absolute masters representing the Demonic Cult had just tried to kill them. The fact was still hard to believe.

‘Jang I-seo. Is this the scale of the board you’ve been playing on?’

As a crow cleaner, he had always lived in the rear, erasing traces. So he had virtually no experience standing at the forefront where events unfolded.

But now that he had stepped onto the stage where Jang I-seo stood, it was beyond imagination.

A strange sensation of both fear and exhilaration.

“Let’s go back. Jang I-seo isn’t coming!”

“Haha, right. It’d be better than both of us going in. Even if we did, there’s no one to explain things about us.”

Mao and So-o nodded. And the moment they turned around.

「Halt!」

A thunderous command dropped from inside.

“Damn it.”

Shadows fell across both their faces, and heavy sighs were exhaled.

Ta-da-da-dak!

Instantly, armed soldiers rushed in and formed a phalanx.

Their rugged features identified them as Iron Horse Bandits.

Mao, tense under the spears leveled at them, nudged So-o in the ribs.

“Hey, inn proprietor. Say something.”

“My name isn’t inn proprietor… anyway.”

Ahem. So-o cleared his throat and opened his mouth.

「Excuse me.」

「Invaders!」

「Wait!」

One bandit spun his spear shaft and thrust it straight at So-o’s abdomen. So-o twisted aside to dodge, but seuh-seuh-seuh! the bandits closed the gap in an instant, pressing spear tips forward without giving him room to breathe.

“What are you doing?!”

“Haha, these friends are a bit sensitive, aren’t they?”

“Ugh. Fine. Leave this to me.”

“Wait, Young Master?”

Ignoring So-o’s protest, Mao stepped forward, crossed his arms to push aside the spears blocking his path, and shouted with commanding presence.

“I am Mao! I came to negotiate with your Captain!”

The Iron Horse Bandits exchanged whispers with serious faces.

At this, a grin crept onto Mao’s lips.

Just as expected. As a genius predicted.

Just like Gwa-pyeong, there had to be someone who understood their language, and the underlings couldn’t help but falter at the word “Captain.”

Why? Because a genius like him was beyond their pay grade.

Mao laughed confidently and glanced back, asking quietly.

“What are they saying?”

“They’re saying to kill us.”

“What?!”

FWIIIISH!

When he turned his head, a bandit with a vicious face lunged forward with his spear.

“Crazy bastard!”

But he was no longer the Mao of the past.

Compared to Jang I-seo, whom he had been dealing with all this time, this level of spear work was child’s play.

He tilted his head to dodge, then slammed his palm hard into the bandit’s chest.

“Gah!”

The bandit let out a grunt, flew backward, and crashed into the wall, unconscious.

As the other bandits bristled and moved to attack.

Ting!

This time, So-o from behind flicked his fingers and sent hidden weapons flying.

“Gah?!

“Kahek!”

Bandits fell backward, struck in the forehead.

「Coins?!」

Looking down at the ground, two coins rolled back toward them.

Everyone stared in shock, and So-o, equally startled, quickly scooped the coins back up.

“Why did I throw these?”

Good grief, what a hopeless bastard. Mao rubbed his palm with a scowl and spoke.

“What are you looking at, you bastards.”

The bandits realized these two were strong.

A momentary silence fell, and a standoff ensued.

Mao and So-o stood back to back, congratulating each other on surviving the previous exchange.

“You’re different from what I heard.”

“You’re pretty strong for an inn proprietor. Though a bit petty.”

“Haha, I’m not an inn proprietor. I’m So-o.”

“Mao.”

Clack!

The two turned, pressing their backs together, and took stances facing the bandits. Having traveled together for a few days, they coordinated surprisingly well.

“Anyway, is this what you meant by ‘they’ll handle it’? The situation just got worse.”

“They started it.”

Should’ve just caught the dragon with Adjutant Jang instead. Maeng Cheol-yong. So-o shook his head and surveyed the surroundings.

「These bastards dare…」

The Iron Horse Bandits bared their fangs, radiating killing intent. They were far beyond the point of resolving things through conversation.

Moreover, the way they stood diagonally to avoid interfering with each other’s spear thrusts showed they were properly trained.

“So what now.”

Mao asked. So-o slid his tinted glasses up with his index finger and replied.

“I don’t usually work for free, but since you’re the Seventh Young Master, I’ll handle this.”

“How?”

“Cleanup is my specialty.”

“The feeling is mutual, but fine. Fix it.”

Mao stepped back, and So-o stepped forward. Changing of the guard.

So-o cleared his throat, then raised both hands warmly toward the furious soldiers and shouted.

“We surrender!”

“What?!”

At the deflating turn of events, Mao let out a breath of disbelief.

“Unbelievable.”

Mao narrowed his eyes and rolled up his sleeves. A declaration of intent to fight. Honestly, after taking down one of them, he had gained some confidence.

‘I just struck without thinking, but I felt it.’

That was certainly true. In the past, he had simply poured in raw strength, but just now, without even realizing it, he had channeled a small amount of internal energy from his dantian into his palm and emitted it.

The internal energy circulation method Jang I-seo had taught him had reached the stage where he could execute it instinctively, without conscious thought.

In short, he had just taken his first steps.

But Mao’s fighting spirit quickly evaporated at the voice that reached him.

[Seventh Young Master, let’s head inside for now.]

A voice inaudible to others. Sound Transmission Concealment, a high-tier sonic art that was difficult to master. Mao’s eyes went wide. What the hell was this guy?

[These ones don’t seem to know how to strike pressure points either. For now, pretend to surrender. Wouldn’t it be better to go in and find the Sixth Young Master first? That’s what we came here for anyway.]

If you don’t, the dragon outside won’t stay still either.

At So-o’s persuasion, Mao deliberated and eventually nodded.

“Damn it.”

He spat a curse and raised both hands. He figured it was better than charging in blindly, whether he trusted the man or not.

The bandits roughly approached, stripped him of the Azure Dragon Blade on his back, and bound him with coarse rope.

「…Bring them!」

And so Mao and So-o were led toward the prison.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the very hour those two were being thrown into the prison.

“Gwa-pyeong. Stay with me, Gwa-pyeong!”

Jang I-seo charged into the underground passage with Gwa-pyeong on his back.

“Stay with me!”

He was more desperate than he had ever been. Naturally. The image of the man saving him, smirking, and then being torn to shreds was still seared into his eyes.

How could he possibly be in his right mind after seeing that?

Moreover…

‘He’s still alive.’

Though faint, he could definitely feel the heartbeat through his back. It was a miracle. He had lost a lot of blood and his body was battered to ribbons. But his innate dense musculature had narrowly deflected death.

If he could just get treatment quickly, he might survive.

‘Just hold on a little longer.’

So Jang I-seo gritted his teeth and sprinted through the underground passage.

Before long, a group of Iron Horse Bandit soldiers blocking the path appeared.

「Halt!」

Sharp shouts from the warriors pierced his ears. The tone was not friendly.

‘What happened to Mao and So-o?’

The ones who had entered first were nowhere to be seen, leaving only heavily guarded bandits behind. Jang I-seo looked down and picked up a bent coin from the ground.

Faint traces of blood on it.

He understood instantly. The situation hadn’t been good.

「Throw him in too!」

The bandits charged.

Negotiation would have been ideal, but right now there was no time to explain things step by step starting from the gatekeepers.

So there was only one answer.

FWOOSH!

Jang I-seo kicked off the ground and charged straight back at the oncoming bandits.

「B-block him!」

The panicked soldiers drew their swords from their positions. But their broken formation was full of holes to Jang I-seo’s eyes.

Dropping his stance low, he wove through the gaps between soldiers in a zigzag pattern, breaking through in a single breath.

「C-close the gate!」

Inside, they frantically tried to shut the second gate leading to the Nine Dragon Fortress. But they were too late.

「Gah!」

Jang I-seo burst through before the iron doors could even move.

He snapped his head up and surveyed the surroundings.

A dark, enclosed space.

A dozen armed bandits waiting with tense faces.

And in the very center, a ladder leading upward!

There.

「Intruder! Don’t let him escape!」

At someone’s predictable shout, the scattered bandits swarmed toward Jang I-seo. But that too was predictable.

Jang I-seo kicked off the ground once more.

「What?!」

He stepped on the knee and shoulder of the nearest bandit, using them as springboards to run across the tops of their heads. Then dash! he leaped nearly two meters high, grabbed the ladder, and hung on.

Movements that would put a flying squirrel to shame.

Below, they scrambled to draw bows and nock arrows. But that too was brief.

「Stop!」

A man who appeared to be a senior figure raised his hand with narrowed eyes, calling for restraint. Everyone was bewildered, but the reason was clear.

They had finally recognized who was on Jang I-seo’s back.

「Vice Captain…!」

Gwa-pyeong, bloodied beyond recognition and completely unconscious.

It was him.

The soldiers could only sigh at the incomprehensible situation, like a dog chasing a chicken only to watch it fly onto the roof.

And having climbed the ladder, Jang I-seo finally entered the Nine Dragon Fortress and froze for a moment at the sight before him.

“This place is…”

The dark, musty interior resembled a back alley in a plague town. All sorts of junk formed a maze of pathways, and old sick people draped in rags sat scattered throughout.

Every one of them was skin and bones, with hollow eyes, as if suffering from the same disease.

Some were so severe they could barely hold themselves upright.

“Who in the world are these people…”

They were so worn down that even the appearance of a stranger drew only indifferent faces. These were people who had battled illness so deeply that nothing could surprise them anymore.

It was far different from what he had imagined.

Still, seeing them meant there was still hope.

If the inside was in this state, they must have sought out a physician.

「Physician. Where is the physician!」

When he shouted in their language, the sick exchanged glances. Jang I-seo spoke even louder.

「Gwa-pyeong is critical!」

Only then did everyone’s faces fill with alarm. Gwa-pyeong. The situation instantly turned chaotic, and a commotion erupted.

And a moment later.

「Gwa…pyeong?」

Someone spoke as they descended from a dim staircase at the far end.

The sick who spotted him bowed their heads in unison. Jang I-seo turned with a rigid expression.

Two figures stood tall there.

People who radiated a dangerous aura by their very presence alone.