Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Episode 16. The Price of Life (1)
“Ha!”
Un-hyeok let out a hollow laugh.
He never dreamed they would launch such an open surprise attack in broad daylight.
‘Go Eoryeong.’
He remembered seeing him during the Central Plains Blood War.
Later, when Dok Mu-won, a prodigy of the century, led the Poison Demon Sect back to prosperity, that guy was sticking close by his side.
‘As far as I remember, he was a guy with incredibly sharp intuition.’
His mind worked so fast that Un-hyeok’s schemes were foiled by him several times.
‘His skills weren’t ordinary either. I almost got into big trouble by letting my guard down.’
If the opponent hadn't been Un-hyeok, the three of them would have been cut down and taken prisoner.
Speaking of which.
“Lord Neung, how did you know to come here?”
“I heard that Black Kill Sect warriors were lurking around the medical hall. I rushed over immediately, just in case of a surprise attack.”
“Hmm… Then, what happened to the wound on Won-i’s side?”
“I’ll explain that, Brother.”
Mu-won, clutching his side, walked over with difficulty.
“What happened was….”
Un-hyeok nodded after listening calmly to Mu-won’s story.
‘Impressive. He planned it well.’
During the Central Plains Blood War.
Despite his moniker, the Iron-Blooded Poison Lord, Mu-won was also called the Demon Among Heroes among the common folk.
‘By the book.’
That could be said to best describe Mu-won’s character.
‘Would this kind-hearted fellow just stand by while an old woman was being threatened?’
The objective was clear.
Since the relationship with the Black Kill Sect had soured recently.
‘He probably planned this targeting me. Attacking my brothers was likely to take them hostage.’
Just then.
“Young Master Dok!”
So-ye arrived a step late.
“You’re here?”
“Huff… Huff?!”
The scene was a bloody mess.
So-ye, catching her breath, was startled.
“Who on earth would do such a thing!”
“Over there.”
Un-hyeok’s chin gesture indicated the spot.
So-ye immediately recognized the young man’s face.
“Go Eoryeong?”
“Yes, well… it’s a guess, but from what I see, it looks like he acted alone.”
“What do you mean?”
“This is a matter that could lead to war with the Poison Demon Sect if it fails. If the Black Kill Sect Leader had been involved, he wouldn’t have handled it so clumsily.”
Come to think of it.
Even to So-ye, the number of assailants seemed far too small.
“In short.”
Un-hyeok’s gaze turned to Go Eoryeong.
“It’s the act of some ignorant brat who didn’t think about the consequences.”
“What…!”
Eoryeong bristled.
But Un-hyeok didn’t even spare him a glance.
“Lee So-ye, I have a favor to ask.”
“Please tell me, Young Master Dok.”
“It’s just that, could you please escort my brothers and Lord Neung to a safe place?”
Fortunately, Seo-ryeon seemed fine, apart from being startled.
But the problem was Mu-won.
Especially the deep stab wound in his right side.
It looked like he was bleeding heavily, so he needed treatment as soon as possible.
“Of course. I’ll take them to the medical hall right away.”
Un-hyeok placed a hand on Mu-won’s shoulder.
“Won-a, you’ve been through a lot.”
“Brother….”
“Leave this place to me now and get some rest.”
The words brought such relief that Mu-won’s legs gave out, and he sank to the ground.
As the Dragon Brocade Hall escorts who came with So-ye tried to help the three, Japil alone refused.
“I… will remain here and assist the Young Sect Leader.”
Japil readjusted his grip on his sword.
“I know the Young Sect Leader’s skills better than anyone, having experienced them firsthand. But that arm….”
The arm wrapped in plaster and bound with cotton cloth.
Japil, who was the one who inflicted the serious injury on Un-hyeok, couldn’t help but be concerned.
“It will be difficult to face Go Eoryeong with that arm. So, let’s combine our efforts…”
“Ha.”
Thwack-!
“…Huh?”
Japil, whose shoulder was grabbed, was pushed back.
“Enough, just come out. Who are you trying to help in that state?”
At that moment, Un-hyeok slammed his plaster-encased arm against the wall.
Clatter-!
Pieces of plaster fell off.
“……!”
“……!”
In an instant, So-ye’s and Japil’s eyes widened.
How?
Despite suffering such a serious injury.
How could he recover so quickly?
Un-hyeok unwrapped the bandage around his arm and began to rotate his shoulders.
“Phew, I feel much better now.”
In fact, Un-hyeok’s injuries had almost completely healed a while ago, though he hadn’t revealed it.
For the past few days, Un-hyeok had focused solely on operating the Ten Thousand Streams Return to Poison Divine Art.
‘Who would have known? Just operating the Divine Art would improve my recovery rate this much.’
Indeed, no matter how difficult it was to learn, there was a reason why things were called Divine Arts.
Of course, it felt a bit awkward not having used his arm for a while, but it was nothing major.
Whoosh- Clack-!
Un-hyeok gripped the dagger borrowed from the Dragon Brocade Hall in reverse and took a stance.
“Lee So-ye. You wanted to hear about the plan to capture ‘that person’ earlier, right?”
So-ye immediately focused on Un-hyeok’s words.
The plan So-ye had devised to capture Woo Mun-so would have taken at least ten years.
No matter how outstanding Un-hyeok’s abilities were, his opponent was no ordinary foe.
Woo Mun-so was the leader of the Magnificent Gate, on par with the Beggar’s Sect, a single faction, and possessed martial arts skills that ranked among the top in the city.
‘It would take at least five years to capture him.’
But.
“One hundred days.”
Un-hyeok raised his index finger.
“I will grant your wish within one hundred days.”
“Whaaaat?!”
For a moment, So-ye thought she had misheard.
One hundred days.
‘Did I misjudge the person…? Isn’t this too much of an exaggeration?’
So-ye asked cautiously.
“Are you serious…?”
“Why? Does it look like a joke?”
“It’s not that, but…”
So-ye wore a worried expression.
“Young Master Dok, you must carefully consider capturing Woo Mun-so. If you make a clumsy attempt and fail, he will disappear without a trace.”
“Don’t worry. The plan is already perfectly laid out.”
“But Young Master Dok. Didn’t you say you were going into the Water Demon Cave? Your movements will be restricted there, so how on earth…?”
Un-hyeok said without a flicker of hesitation.
“I will deal with him while he is inside.”
Later, many important figures from various sects across the Central Plains, both righteous and demonic, would lose their lives.
At the time, they didn’t know, but it was later revealed that this was one of the trials within the Water Demon Cave, known to be the work of the Demonic Cult.
‘I’ll take that opportunity to eliminate Woo Mun-so.’
However, he couldn’t tell So-ye this.
Just then, Eoryeong’s sword struck down before him.
“How dare you be distracted in front of me!!”
“Young Sect Leader, be careful!”
CLANG-!
Un-hyeok’s daggers crossed in a pair, blocking Eoryeong’s attack.
“If you don’t believe me. Watch closely.”
Un-hyeok bared his white teeth.
“I’ll make you believe me from now on.”
Meanwhile.
Eoryeong was bewildered by the current situation.
‘The plan was definitely perfect.’
Of course, Neung Ja-pil was an unexpected variable, but it wasn’t enough to change the outcome.
However.
‘Dok Un-hyeok.’
When this guy interfered, the entire situation was reversed.
Eoryeong clicked his tongue.
‘Useless fools, I brought them all this way, only for them to be taken down by mere projectiles.’
Not only that, but even the surprise attack, which he thought was perfectly aimed at a weak point, was easily blocked by Un-hyeok.
Eoryeong’s mind was spinning.
‘Should I run?’
No, that’s a low-class tactic.
The deed is done, and now all that’s left is to clean up.
Moreover, Eoryeong hadn’t shown his full strength yet.
The only fortunate thing was that he sensed Dok Un-hyeok was bluffing.
Eoryeong’s gaze subtly shifted to the woman next to Un-hyeok.
A beauty that could be called peerless.
‘Even she’s a woman, trying to act tough.’
Dok Un-hyeok would surely overexert himself trying to impress her.
That guy is undoubtedly the one who will kill Dok Un-hyeok today.
‘I’ll wait for an opportunity and finish him off in one blow. Neung Ja-pil and the others can be killed later.’
CLANG-!
Eoryeong spun several times in the air, widening the distance from Un-hyeok.
“Impressive. You said you beat Neung Ja-pil, so you must have been hiding something?”
It was then.
Eoryeong’s form flickered.
Then, he completely vanished like a mirage.
“What is this…?”
“Wh-where did he go!”
So-ye and Japil frantically looked around.
As if he had never been there in the first place.
His presence was completely erased.
It felt like being possessed by a ghost.
Eoryeong chuckled, watching the flustered Japil and So-ye.
‘How’s that? This is the ultimate technique of the Black Death Illusion Sword, Black Death Annihilation!’
Go-gu had also admired Eoryeong’s Black Death Annihilation.
Such perfect concealment.
But only Un-hyeok remained unfazed.
He simply closed his eyes peacefully.
Eoryeong smirked at the sight.
‘Heh heh heh…! He’s seen it somewhere. But with your ki sense, you’ll never detect my location.’
He was surely panicking inside.
Eoryeong crept towards Un-hyeok.
The Poison Demon Sect, which his father could never overcome.
The opportunity to fulfill his long-held wish was right before his eyes.
‘Farewell, Dok Un-hyeok. This is the end!’
SWISH-!
The moment he swung his sword towards his neck!
CLANG-!
Un-hyeok opened his eyes and precisely blocked the sword!
‘N-no… How?’
Eoryeong was momentarily stunned.
He truly never imagined this attack would be blocked as well.
At that very moment, a green light flickered from the dagger in Un-hyeok’s hand.
‘That bastard… Could it be, he can see me?! That’s impossible!’
He desperately tried to block Un-hyeok’s counterattack, but he was unprepared and ended up a step too late.
Slice-!
“Ack…!”
His abdomen was cut.
It wasn’t a deep wound, but it bled a little.
Eoryeong, who had stumbled backward, gradually became visible.
Un-hyeok looked precisely at where he was standing and said.
“Was it a bit shallow? Well, it doesn’t matter.”
“How dare you….”
Eoryeong glared at Un-hyeok with murderous intent.
“You, who are nothing, deciphered my sect’s ultimate technique?! What kind of sorcery did you use!”
“You fool, this isn’t the time to be asking that.”
At that moment.
‘Huh… Why do I suddenly see two Dok Un-hyeoks?’
Spin-!
His head spun.
The world spun with it.
‘What is this…?!’
Thump-!
Eoryeong knelt down and suddenly began to vomit.
“Ughhhhhh-!”
“The poison is taking effect, I see.”
Poison?
Then, was that flickering light from the dagger poison?
Dok Un-hyeok, who had lived as a wastrel until now, was practicing Poison Arts.
A completely unexpected situation.
“Gurgle….”
Eoryeong foamed at the mouth.
His whole body trembled, and why was he sweating so profusely?
It felt like every meridian and muscle fiber in his body was tearing apart.
If there was a pain worse than death, it might feel like this.
Less than half an hour later, Eoryeong could only surrender.
“S-save me… P-please… I, I was wrong….”
Even if it was pathetic, he had to save his life.
Un-hyeok slowly walked towards him.
CRUNCH-!
Eoryeong’s face was immediately slammed into the ground.
“Kyahhhhhh-!”
“Don’t worry, I won’t kill you.”
If he killed Go Eoryeong now, it would truly mean war with the Black Kill Sect.
‘I still need to build my strength.’
Even if he were to wage war.
It should be done when he could definitively win against the opponent.
‘However, I have no intention of letting this slide.’
Eoryeong, in pain, grabbed at the dirt and gasped for breath.
Un-hyeok slowly bent down.
“Hey, Go Eoryeong.”
“……”
“I, for one, really hate it when people mess with what’s mine. You almost killed my brothers and the warriors of our Poison Demon Sect?”
“ I’ll pay for it all! No one died! S-so please forgive me….”
“This is not something you can handle. So, you need to call someone who is on your level.”
“Wh-what do you mean…!”
“I’m curious.”
The corner of Un-hyeok’s mouth curved slightly.
“I wonder, what will your father offer as the price for his son’s life?”