“Senior.”

“How did it go?”

Ga Deoksang let out a sigh.

“All the remaining shadow warriors blew themselves up along with the explosives and turned the entrance to Ink Dragon Manor into a wasteland. I just confirmed it.”

“Is that so?”

Looking toward the southwest, Pae Yul nodded.

“I understand.”

“Senior.”

“......?”

“I was sorry.”

“For what?”

“For the way I picked a fight with you before, over something pointless.”

“When did you ever pick a fight with me? If you really had, I would have cut your head off.”

It was a joke that did not suit him. Which only made Ga Deoksang feel even more sorry toward him.

Senior is suffering enough as it is.

The Mo Yong Clan shadow warriors disguised as the Guizhou Merchant Guild’s trade caravan had not all died.

Yeon Hojeong had tried to persuade them no matter what, and when the number remaining finally dropped to fifty, they stopped attacking.

After that, Yeon Hojeong had pleaded with them fervently. He had kept telling them there was no need to die like this, that it would be better to give Mo Yonggun a blow instead.

But they could not do that. Every one of the shadow warriors had been poisoned with chronic toxins.

In the end, if they did not take the antidote in time, they were fated to die. And naturally, Mo Yonggun had never intended to give them the antidote.

If they did this, they died. If they did that, they died.

And if they did not die, the lives of the families Mo Yonggun held captive would become miserable beyond words. That was the reason they had come at them so desperately, ready to die.

And yet those people, moved by Yeon Hojeong’s persuasion, had turned and risked their lives to land a blow on Mo Yonggun.

I will never forget your names.

Watching Ga Deoksang sigh once more, Pae Yul said in a flat tone,

“What is with all the sighing from a beggar?”

“Are beggars not allowed to sigh?”

“You are already a luckless beggar. Keep sighing like that and even the little luck you have left will run away.”

“Hehe, are you worrying about me?”

SHRING.

“......Sorry.”

Pae Yul let out a snort and sheathed his sword again.

“We should get moving too.”

“Yes, sir.”

“By the way, where was the place again?”

“......”

“What?”

“There are times when you really do seem wise, but moments like this make you look truly stupid.”

CLAAANG!

“Ack! I was joking! Really, I was joking!”

“A cheap joke. It only costs one life, after all. Yours.”

“I-I said I was sorry.”

“Hmph.” 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Ga Deoksang smacked his lips.

“We head northwest of Changsha, toward Yiyang. First we need to get to the outer streets of Changsha.”

“Understood.”

At that moment, Je Gal Ahyeon, who had been quiet until now, spoke.

“Um......”

“What are you doing? Hurry and get ready. Tang Sang-a, you too.”

“U-um, Senior?”

“What is it?”

“That......”

Pae Yul frowned.

“Are you becoming like that beggar too? Stop dragging it out and speak.”

Je Gal Ahyeon swallowed.

“I think we overlooked something.”

“What?”

“Ink Dragon Manor’s response.”

“What?”

“I thought this distance would be enough...... but it seems it wasn’t.”

Pae Yul turned his head, wondering what she meant, and his face instantly hardened.

Shock spread across Ga Deoksang’s face as well.

“Th-that......?!”

KRRRROOOOOM.

Around Mount Yuelu, where Ink Dragon Manor was located—

a large mass was scattering in every direction, kicking up clouds of dust.

No, calling it a large mass did not fit. The number of warriors who had appeared was well over a hundred.

“......At a glance, it looks like more than a thousand.”

“Goddamn it.”

Pae Yul barked harshly,

“Move!”

SHRAAAAK!

The four of them quickly dove into the brush.

Quiet!

The distance between them was great, but one never knew. This was near Changsha, the place in Hunan where Dark Path informants were most densely spread.

Unfortunately, the only person among them who could properly detect the presence of double agents was Pae Yul. And even Pae Yul could only do that properly when calm. In a situation as urgent as this, even his senses could waver.

Tang Sang-a sent voice transmission to Je Gal Ahyeon.

[Those bastards reacted insanely fast, little sister.]

[Now that I think about it, they had no choice. The entire entrance collapsed. I just never imagined there would be that many masters stationed around it.]

Je Gal Ahyeon gritted her teeth.

[This is my fault. With the Lord of Ink Dragon Manor collapsed, a guard like that should have been obvious.]

[It’s not your fault. Don’t dwell on it too much. More importantly, where were those people hiding? If they had been stationed there the whole time, the shadow warriors should have been caught too....]

[They were wearing the clothes of a trade caravan. And since no one knew what their purpose was, they couldn’t just kill them on sight.]

[I-Is that so?]

[Yes. If they killed every person who came near, they would only be announcing to the whole world that some suspicious group was hiding there.]

[Mm. True.]

Nodding, Tang Sang-a scratched her head.

[But do we really need to move like this? Those bastards don’t know who we are anyway, do they?]

[Ugh.]

Je Gal Ahyeon nearly stumbled over her own feet.

[Big sister! The Dark Path informants already know all our faces! We blew up the estate to fake our deaths, so if we get recognized, we’re in serious trouble!]

[Ah...... Then we’re in a pretty serious situation right now, huh?]

[Very serious!]

[Anyway, we won’t be seeing those people again, right?]

[As long as we get out safely.]

[Hmm. Good.]

Tang Sang-a pulled a small golden sachet from inside her robes.

No one even had time to stop her. She hurled the sachet into the brush far off to the northeast.

THUUUNK!

The sachet burst apart, scattering purple powder.

Je Gal Ahyeon’s eyes went wide.

[Big sister? Wh-what did you just do?]

[It’s Heartbreak Powder. A supreme poison secret to the main house.]

[N-no, I mean, why did you throw that there......?]

[They’re moving in all directions. So we mislead them.]

[If that was the plan, you should have scattered it behind us!]

[No.]

[What?]

[If I spread it over here, wouldn’t that just advertise that we’re moving through this brush?]

[......Ah!]

Je Gal Ahyeon smacked her own forehead repeatedly. She had just finished saying that Ink Dragon Manor’s warriors could not kill everyone at random, because that would reveal their position.

In the end, the trap Tang Sang-a had laid was little different from an application of Je Gal Ahyeon’s own words. To show that kind of improvisation in a mere instant—Je Gal Ahyeon was newly impressed.

[That was incredible, big sister!]

Tang Sang-a’s face reddened.

[It wasn’t anything......]

At that moment, Pae Yul grumbled openly,

“You all are having a fine time. Did you come here for a picnic?”

“......Your voice is loud, Senior.”

“With those bastards making the earth shake with all the noise they’re causing, what loud voice?”

“Ah.”

Je Gal Ahyeon and Tang Sang-a both bowed their heads. They had gotten nervous for no reason and started talking through voice transmission unnecessarily.

“But that poison pouch was well used. It should be effective for shaking off pursuit for a while.”

“Th-thank you.”

“Now stop babbling uselessly and run.”

“Yes!”

The four of them slipped out of the brush as stealthily as possible while moving as fast as they could.

“Hoo, we should be all right now, right?”

Ga Deoksang wiped his forehead. He was sweating from the tension.

Pae Yul nodded.

“We’ve opened enough distance. From here on, we only need to watch for Dark Path informants. Everyone, put on your wind cloaks.”

“Yes!”

The group covered their faces with wind cloaks.

After walking for some time—

KUUUURRRRMMMM.

Pae Yul’s eyes flashed.

“They’re fast.”

A good portion of the more than one thousand masters were moving north. It looked like several of them had already fallen victim to the poison Tang Sang-a had scattered.

“Don’t make it obvious. Just walk. There’s another stretch of brush two hundred paces ahead. Blend in with the people.”

“Understood.”

It was then—

KRRRROOOOOM!

With a violent explosion, an entire pavilion collapsed.

“Aaaagh!”

“S-save me!”

“Run! Ru— Aaaagh!”

The four of them stopped walking.

Explosions rang out, and screams filled the air. They all hurriedly turned their heads toward the source.

“......!!”

Shock filled all four faces.

SHRAAAAK!

“Kyaaaak!”

“Mom! M-Mom! Kuhk!”

“Please save me! Please! I have a child— Cough.”

It was a horrific massacre.

More than thirty masters who had come running from the area around Mount Yuelu were cutting people down at random. They were butchering commoners without a word, simply flashing bloodthirsty eyes as they hacked them apart. It was slaughter without discrimination.

Ga Deoksang’s fists trembled.

Je Gal Ahyeon quickly seized his forearm. But her own eyes were bloodshot as well.

At that moment, one of the warriors shouted,

“There must be people collaborating with the culprit! Kill everyone in Changsha if you must, but find them!”

It was a ridiculous justification.

Of course, the low-ranking warriors would not have carried out a suicidal self-detonation attack by themselves, so the assumption that a commander must be nearby was a reasonable one.

They had seen through the chain of the incident correctly enough, but their method was twisted beyond all measure. No organization under heaven would do something this insane just to find a collaborator.

In truth, they were the Soul-Slaughter Band, said to be the most vicious force in Ink Dragon Manor. They were a unit not deployed unless matters were serious, and every one of them was a notorious fiend among the Dark Path.

“Kyaaaak!”

“Dad! A—!”

“Aaaagh! Please save me!”

Horrific screams, merciless terror, mad slaughter.

CRACK!

The dagger in Tang Sang-a’s hand shattered outright. It could not withstand the grip strength of her extreme fury.

But neither she nor Je Gal Ahyeon could step forward easily. They were both enraged enough to go mad themselves, but they knew that if they revealed themselves here, the situation would become vastly more complicated.

Then—

SHRAAAAK!

Ga Deoksang’s body shot out like a violent gale.

“You crazy dog sons of bitches!!”

KRAAASH!

With a brilliant explosion, two Soul-Slaughter Band warriors flew backward, vomiting blood.

It was a heavy palm force, terrifying in might. Drawing up the Inner Qi of his entire body and smashing it out, his strike created an impact like a thousand-geun boulder crashing down.

WHAM!

Terrifying Killing Intent rose from Ga Deoksang’s body.

“You bastards aren’t fit to be chewed up and spat out!”

One of the warriors shouted in a voice boiling with Killing Intent,

“A suspicious one! Capture hi—!”

In that instant, Ga Deoksang’s leg moved like a whip.

THUUUNK!

The warrior’s head exploded on the spot.

It was a brutal killing blow unlike Ga Deoksang. It showed how furious he truly was.

“You motherfucking bastards! Come on then! Come on, you lunatics! Try killing me too!”

One of the warriors pulled a small whistle from his robes.

PIIIIIIK! THUNK!

The whistle cut off halfway. At some point, an iron coin had sunk into the warrior’s forehead.

RATTLE-RATTLE-RATTLE!

Tang Sang-a took her place beside Ga Deoksang, dagger raised. She, too, could no longer endure it.

The warriors shouted from all directions.

“Enemy!”

“It’s them!”

“No! There may be others too! Call in only this company!”

Just then—

“Sorry, but we are all of them. Don’t make this annoying. Call everyone at once.”

KRAAASH!

A single savage streak of radiance, as if it could bore through a mountain, punched large holes through the bodies of five warriors.

Pae Yul, who had entered the battlefield before anyone noticed, spoke in a chillingly cold voice.

“Beggar.”

Ga Deoksang shouted in fury,

“Don’t stop me!”

“You did well.”

“......!”

“Because you stepped out first, I barely managed to keep my dignity. I was actually thinking hard about it.”

CRACK!

Je Gal Ahyeon came flying through the air like a celestial maiden and snapped the neck of one Soul-Slaughter Band member.

Just like that, the four members of the ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) operational team gathered back-to-back and glared in all directions.

Terrible Killing Intent swirled in Pae Yul’s eyes.

“To hell with the mission. We save people first.”