Chapter 128: The Quiet Before the Storm
My skin felt prickly. My sensitive senses perceived the gazes pouring from all around in that way.
‘I am truly borrowing the tiger’s authority.’
What I carried now was the reputation of Senior Jang Mun-gyeong, who was called the Seamless and one of the Ten Swords of the World.
Although there had been times when I received attention before, this one was somewhat special.
[Even so, it is something you will have to shoulder within ten years or so.]
[Hoho! Considering your growth rate, it might be even sooner than that.]
[How is it? The weight of what you shoulder?]
“What I will shoulder must be even greater.”
[Good! Very good! Your head is screwed on straight!]
[Hahaha!]
Whether it was because they liked my answer, my masters’ laughter sounded pleased.
At the sound of my masters’ laughter, a smile naturally formed on my face as well.
Startle!
However, perhaps because my smile came across as having a different meaning to some, they trembled slightly and stood on guard.
The first to move was Hong Mun-gang, the Sect Leader of the Hongmu Sect.
“Won’t you help us?”
“You cowardly bastard!”
Jong In-geol gasped.
“In the end, the source of all evil is that man, Jong In-geol!”
The needy person digs the well. Out of the three forces facing off here, the Hongmu Sect was in the weakest position.
There was no need to be swayed by the words of such a person.
I knew the position I was in right now very well.
“I have no intention of joining hands with the Hongmu Sect. So go ahead and fight to the death. Because whether it is the Hongmu Sect or the Jungshin Merchant Group, I will crush whoever survives.”
I openly declared my intention to reap the fisherman’s benefit.
I will crush them both.
That was the conclusion I reached.
Of course, this required the premise that the Hongmu Sect intended to fight to the end with the Jungshin Merchant Group. If the Hongmu Sect lost their nerve and backed out, a situation where I had to face both the Jungshin Merchant Group and the Hongmu Sect at the same time might occur instead.
“Hehehe, is that so?”
But Hong Mun-gang laughed contentedly instead.
“That is indeed a brilliant plan. You will capture and kill us, the direct enemies, and that fellow, the indirect enemy, all alike? Good, very good. In any case, the Jungshin Merchant Group is finished as of today! Hahahahaha!”
The other disciples of the Hongmu Sect were also laughing with similar expressions.
The anger and hatred of the Hongmu Sect were as deep as an abyss.
“Crazy bastards…”
As things turned out like this, the one who panicked was the Jungshin Merchant Group.
If the Hongmu Sect, which had no retreat, rushed in to take them down with them, the damage would inevitably be heavy. To fight the Bright Fate Escort Agency, which had stored its strength intact, after suffering such massive damage?
Let alone when that Bright Fate Escort Agency had Jang Mun-gyeong, who occupied a seat among the Ten Swords of the World?
From the perspective of the Jungshin Merchant Group, this was a situation they absolutely wanted to avoid.
“This conversation is taking an odd turn.”
Above all, the Defeng Yin Clan, who had to fight to protect the Jungshin Merchant Group, did not want this.
Conflict was reflected on the face of the old man from the Defeng Yin Clan. The other martial artists of the Defeng Yin Clan also showed similar signs clearly.
‘It has been like that since they confirmed that Senior Jang Mun-gyeong is here.’
There was no reason to fight one of the Ten Swords of the World when they had no particular grudge. Even if they forgot their sense of shame for a moment and backed out, it was not something to be embarrassed about.
But Jong In-geol was a quick-witted man.
“Do not think of backing down! If we fall, the Defeng Yin Clan will also find it hard to remain safe!”
“Are you threatening me right now, Jong In-geol? Dare you threaten me, Yin Ji-seung?”
‘Yin Ji-seung?’
For a family like the Defeng Yin Clan, they naturally had experts whose reputations resounded nearby.
Yi Ji-seung was one of the names mentioned at the top of that list.
Mountain-Shattering Fist Yin Ji-seung. Renowned for his domineering fist technique since his youth, his martial arts were known to be powerful enough to shatter mountains.
He was a person who could fully take pride in the three characters of his name.
However, even such a prestigious reputation could not suppress Jong In-geol’s urgency.
“Do you think I do not know about the suspicious things the Defeng Yin Clan has been doing over the past ten years?!”
‘Suspicious things?’
It seemed there was indeed something.
As soon as he heard those words, the wrinkles on Yin Ji-seung’s old face deepened. Having been stabbed in his sore spot, Yin Ji-seung was clearly flustered.
“I get it, so shut your…”
Clang!
Yin Ji-seung’s hand, which had been calming Jong In-geol, struck away a sword strike that suddenly flew in.
Yin Ji-seung, who showed off a powerful strike worthy of his alias Mountain-Shattering Fist, frowned.
“You have no manners.”
“This is hardly the place to worry about that, is it?”
Hong Mun-gang, who launched the sneak attack, growled.
“Looking at your reaction when you heard Jong In-geol’s words, I knew. You bastards will not give up on that wicked man.”
It seemed the reason he had dilly-dallied and conversed was that he thought the Defeng Yin Clan might back down.
However, since he realized that hope was gone, there was no longer any need to hold back. Therefore, he did not hold back.
“You will die. All of you!”
“Did you think we came here without even that much resolve?”
Hong Mun-gang’s resolve was extraordinary. It was clearly visible even to me as I watched.
“You are walking corpses.”
“Hand over your head, old man.”
Hong Mun-gang moved once more.
He did not move alone this time.
“Kill them all!”
“Waaaaaa!!”
The disciples of the Hongmu Sect also drew their swords and rushed forward all at once.
“Hah!”
Yin Ji-seung showed deep bewilderment at the behavior of the Hongmu Sect, which rushed toward a place where death was obvious.
‘If we only compare their capability, the Mountain-Shattering Fist would be stronger, but…’
The momentum of the Hongmu Sect was stronger.
Hubei was the home ground of the Wudang Sect, the Southern Respect. For this reason, the overall skills of the martial artists were higher than in other regions.
The Hongmu Sect was a powerhouse that dominated a region in such a Hubei. The skill of Hong Mun-gang, the Sect Leader of the Hongmu Sect, could never be underestimated.
Furthermore, the Defeng Yin Clan even had the deadweight called Jong In-geol. With a numerical disadvantage, pushed back in momentum, and having a troublesome deadweight, the outcome became unpredictable.
‘They are staring so intently.’
The people of the Bright Fate Escort Agency ground their teeth as they glared at the bloody battle.
The Jungshin Merchant Group, the Defeng Yin Clan that had shielded them, and the Hongmu Sect. All of those shedding blood over there were the enemies of the Bright Fate Escort Agency.
Those enemies were pushed to the edge of the cliff and killing each other. There was no way they could take their eyes off it.
‘If I am to make a move, it is now.’
It was a situation where everyone’s attention was focused.
“Yi Hwa.”
“Yes.”
“Seeing that old man Jong In-geol opening his mouth, it seems the Jungshin Merchant Group has gathered evidence disadvantageous to the Defeng Yin Clan. Bring that to me.”
“Yes.”
Yi Hwa, who replied dryly as if it were an extremely easy task, quietly vanished.
It was a mysterious art no matter how many times I saw it.
‘Should I try learning sorcery as well? If it is a power based on divine power, I might be able to learn it too.’
“I will go with her. We do not know what might be inside.”
But suddenly, Lady Jang So-wol also moved.
Lady Jang So-wol, who moved before I could even stop her, lightly leaped over the manor wall, avoiding people’s eyes.
Suddenly, it ended up putting Yi Hwa and Lady Jang So-wol together.
‘Will they be alright?’
It was a somewhat worrying combination.
However, I could not continue worrying.
‘Uh, this is…?’
Suddenly, something that pulled all of my nerves was felt.
“Ugh!!”
“Hmm? What is it?”
Baek Mu-ho, surprised by the groan that suddenly escaped my mouth, asked.
It must have meant it was that foreign.
“It is nothing. Just… I smell something strange.”
“What do you mean, smell? Well, the trash is indeed burning well over there, though.”
“Right.”
It had barely been any time since the clash began, and already people dying were appearing.
While three martial artists of the Hongmu Sect died, a martial artist of the Defeng Yin Clan also had his neck pierced.
I felt an unknown disgust from among them.
‘This is not psychological.’
It was something else.
A disgust for something more physical.
Come to think of it, I felt as if I had experienced this disgust once before.
‘…The Mount Hua Sect! Gu poison?!’
Perhaps because it was such a memorable event, it came to mind quickly.
Master Heavenly Demon had said that detecting the presence of Gu poison and feeling disgusted by it was an instinctive contempt for sinister things.
‘It is… even worse than back then…’
Furthermore, I felt that this time had nothing to do with Gu poison.
Because if Gu poison had been the cause, just like at the Mount Hua Sect, I would have sensed it immediately.
‘Could it be the Defeng Yin Clan?’
Although I had been determined to teach them a lesson since they were Yin Si-hoo’s family and the force that joined hands with the Jungshin Merchant Group, I had never doubted that they belonged to the orthodox path.
But this disgust felt right now was not something people of the orthodox path should have.
‘Did the Demonic Cult plant a spy in the Defeng Yin Clan, like Sang Woo-kyung of the Mount Hua Sect?’
Suddenly, I felt regret that I had sent Yi Hwa for no reason. Because if Yi Hwa had been here, she would have been able to grasp it more clearly.
It was around the time that regret crossed my mind.
“Yi…!”
Yin Ji-seung’s old face, which turned red as if about to explode at any moment, changed bizarrely. The sight of the tendons and veins in his neck bulging and throbbing was extremely hideous.
“…You bugs!”
“Ugh!”
Whether he sensed danger instinctively, Hong Mun-gang slightly pulled back his body and tried to deflect the incoming attack.
He tried to dissipate the force by withdrawing his body and deflecting it at an angle, but something unimaginable happened.
Clang! Crunch!
“Keo-heok!”
It shattered the sword deflecting the force and crushed his left chest.
A fist strike that still had power left over even after crushing a sword filled with an expert’s internal energy!!
It was a power that defied common sense.
‘It grew thicker…’
Above all, the moment Yin Ji-seung revealed that power, the disgust grew even thicker.
Crack!
Yin Ji-seung smashed Hong Mun-gang’s head in an instant, who was as good as dead after his left chest was pierced.
“Sect Leader!”
“This old monster!”
Enraged by the sight of Hong Mun-gang collapsing after losing his head, the martial artists of the Hongmu Sect rushed forward, but they were easily split apart when he swung a claw technique shaped like a tiger’s claws.
What followed immediately after was a tiger throwing itself into a pack of rabbits.
Kwaaaa!
The martial artists of the Hongmu Sect were torn apart in an instant.
Yin Ji-seung kicked the dead martial artists of the Hongmu Sect, trampling their corpses.
“Bugs! Trash!”
Although there were cases where one’s personality became violent due to the excitement of battle, that was something that only appeared among young experts with little experience.
Yin Ji-seung’s appearance, looking as if he had suddenly transformed, could not be considered normal.
It looked as if a demon who had learned an atrocious demonic art was running wild.
It was a sight that made the hair of those watching stand on end.
Perhaps dizzy from the excessive cruelty, Madam Woo staggered. If she had not been a person of steadfast nature, she would have collapsed onto the floor right then and there.
In fact, the surroundings were full of people whose faces had turned pale and were vomiting.
“It is a crazy old man!”
“The Jungshin Merchant Group was raising a crazy murderer!”
People screamed and fled in a hurry.
Without taking my eyes off Yin Ji-seung’s figure, I asked.
“Have you ever seen such martial arts before?”
The person among our group who was most knowledgeable about the recent Martial World.
Senior Jang Mun-gyeong, who was looking at Yin Ji-seung with deeply sunken eyes, opened his mouth.
“No. At least, not among the martial arts of the orthodox path.”
“Does that mean…”
“The Blood Sect… I smell their kind.”
The name that suddenly popped out of Senior Jang Mun-gyeong’s mouth carried a weight that could not be spoken of lightly.