The Blood Mist Descends
"Take care on your journey, everyone. While recovering the goods is important, human lives are far more precious."
At Do Sang-woon's words, Ho-sung and Shin Yu-pil bowed their heads.
—Ho-sung, you must be especially vigilant. The Rogue Sword is by no means an easy opponent.
—Do not worry, Master! I will keep a very close eye on things!
Ho-sung's confident assurance finally put Do Sang-woon's mind at ease.
In truth, ever since he had decided to help Shin Yu-pil, what had weighed most heavily on Sang-woon's mind was the man's temperament.
Shin Yu-pil was the type of man who would gladly throw his life away if it meant recovering the merchant guild's cargo.
That very stubborn loyalty was why Ha Tae-gun trusted him above all others, which was precisely why Do Sang-woon and Do Yoo-chan hoped Shin Yu-pil would not act rashly and throw his life away.
The reason they had sent Ho-sung along was not just because he was their strongest martial artist, but because his reliable nature ensured he would prevent their worst fears from coming to pass.
"I pray for your safe return."
With those final words, Shin Yu-pil departed the Heavenly Sword Academy alongside Ho-sung.
Do Sang-woon and Do Yoo-chan watched them go for a long time before finally turning back inside.
From a distance, Yoo Sung watched the entire departure with an indifferent gaze.
Late that night, the Rogue Sword, Gang Man-do, was receiving a report from one of his subordinates.
"They've set out, boss!"
Gang Man-do stroked his chin at the report.
A few days ago, he had launched a brutal raid on the Cheonhyang Merchant Guild led by Shin Yu-pil.
All the goods they carried had become his spoils of war.
However, what actually remained in his hands was pitifully small.
The stolen goods had all gone straight to the Blood Sword, leaving Gang Man-do with nothing but a meager pittance as a reward.
'Damn bastard. I do all the heavy lifting, and he reaps all the benefits.'
The sinister face of the Blood Sword rose in Gang Man-do's mind.
As the right-hand man of Pa-gun and the third-in-command of the White Wolf Bandit Clan, the Blood Sword was a powerhouse far beyond Gang Man-do's league.
'He must be anxious too.'
Gang Man-do could understand the Blood Sword's plight to some extent.
With Pa-gun aggressively recruiting new talent lately, the Blood Sword's position had grown unstable, fueling his impatience.
While Gang Man-do could tolerate it to a degree, the man had been crossing the line far too often lately.
No matter how much he had received from the Blood Sword, he couldn't bring himself to trust the bastard blindly.
'It's not like I got any of this for free.'
The Blood Sword's methods were always simple.
He would send Gang Man-do in as the vanguard first to test the enemy's strength, and only move personally when victory was absolutely guaranteed.
Otherwise, his actions depended entirely on whether Gang Man-do lived or died.
To the Blood Sword, Gang Man-do was nothing more than bait.
At the same time, he was a disposable pawn to be discarded at any moment.
Even this time, it was the Blood Sword who had ordered him to block the Cheonhyang Merchant Guild's trade route and slaughter them all.
*Slam!*
"B-Boss..."
The sight of his terrified subordinate instantly grated on Gang Man-do's nerves.
"Pathetic fool. If there are intruders, you just kill them. What is there to be afraid of?"
"B-But..."
Glaring contemptuously at the trembling bandit, Gang Man-do stood up.
"...?!"
As he stepped outside, his eyes widened in sheer horror.
"Is that the place?"
Yoo Sung thought to himself as he looked at the bandits laughing and drinking in the distance.
Honestly, Yoo Sung had no intention of getting his hands dirty personally.
But Gang Man-do's existence was a nuisance.
In particular, the fact that his father and brother were agonizing over the Blood Sword behind Gang Man-do annoyed him.
'They are mere bandits.'
Yoo Sung highly disliked seeing his family lose sleep over whether or not to kill a lowlife like Gang Man-do.
However, since it wasn't his place to make the decision for them, he had kept his mouth shut.
Even when Ho-sung and Shin Yu-pil departed, his father and brother had failed to reach a definitive conclusion regarding Gang Man-do's fate.
And so, Yoo Sung took matters into his own hands.
He would kill Gang Man-do himself and conceal the tracks appropriately.
If they needed time, the easiest way to buy it was to make it look like the work of a mysterious third party.
That was the sole reason Yoo Sung had bothered to seek out Gang Man-do on this dark night.
*Step.*
"Huh?"
A bandit who had stepped outside to relieve himself stared blankly at Yoo Sung.
"Who..."
Before he could even ask who the intruder was, his head popped off and thudded onto the ground.
Ignoring the cleanly decapitated corpse, Yoo Sung strolled forward with leisurely steps.
*Crack.*
*Sssss...*
A bizarre, ominous energy erupted from Yoo Sung, sweeping over the bandit stronghold like a thick fog.
The mist he conjured moved as if it were alive, effortlessly snuffing out the lives of the bandits inside.
Without even realizing how they were dying, the bandits' bodies contorted in grotesque, unnatural angles.
It was a truly brutal and bizarre spectacle.
A wide-range technique that conjures a living crimson fog, consuming the life force of all enemies within its reach.
Although it consumed a significant amount of internal energy, it was highly efficient for slaughtering large numbers of enemies in an instant.
'They aren't worth keeping alive.'
On his way here, he had heard rumors about Gang Man-do and his men.
Even if spared, they would only go back to tormenting and murdering the weak. There was absolutely no reason to show them mercy.
Yoo Sung absorbed the natural energy of the surroundings, steadily expanding the range of his Blood Mist.
With every step he took and every glance he cast, life withered away.
This was why Yoo Sung had earned the title of one of the Three Calamities of the Jianghu.
*Sssss...*
The sight of the crimson fog swallowing the bandits was horrifyingly surreal.
"W-What in the world is this?!"
At Gang Man-do's cry of rage and panic, Yoo Sung turned his gaze toward him.
"Are you Gang Man-do?"
"Who the hell are you?!"
Gang Man-do glared at Yoo Sung with eyes burning with fury.
Though they were far from perfect, these were men he had painstakingly gathered.
Seeing the subordinates who were supposed to serve his future grand ambitions dying like dogs drove Gang Man-do into a frenzy.
"I don't know who you are, but to dare come to my territory—"
*Slash.*
Before Gang Man-do could even finish his sentence, Yoo Sung casually waved his hand as if swatting an annoying fly.
To Yoo Sung, Gang Man-do was nothing more than that—an insignificant insect.
A primitive creature unworthy of even a single exchange of words.
"Now, what kind of trace should I leave behind?"
Pondering what kind of clues would best divert the public's attention elsewhere, Yoo Sung walked through the stronghold, systematically snuffing out every last breath of life.
His actions were the very definition of ruthless, unmerciful coldness.
"That should do it. Time to head back."
Sensing the approach of people in the distance, Yoo Sung casually slipped away.
A short while after Yoo Sung's departure, Ho-sung and Shin Yu-pil arrived at Gang Man-do's stronghold.
"What in the world?!"
As Shin Yu-pil looked around in utter shock, Ho-sung stepped up beside him.
"Good grief..."
Ho-sung was left utterly speechless by the gruesome carnage before his eyes.
What appeared to be Gang Man-do's severed head lay discarded, and his subordinates were scattered about, dead in the most horrific manners.
"This is..."
Examining the corpses, Ho-sung's eyes trembled violently.
"We must report this immediately."
Realizing at a glance that something incredibly grave had occurred, Ho-sung turned back without a moment's hesitation.
While he couldn't make heads or tails of this, Do Sang-woon and Do Yoo-chan would surely be able to deduce the truth.
To prepare for any unforeseen danger, Ho-sung swiftly retraced his steps.
Long before dawn, the lights in Do Sang-woon's office were burning brightly.
Beside him sat his eldest son, Do Yoo-chan.
"Killing Gang Man-do is a problem, but leaving him alive is also a problem."
"Indeed, Father. The Blood Sword backing him will find some way to provoke us regardless."
The threat of Gang Man-do himself was minor compared to the nuisance of the Blood Sword behind him.
Starting with Gang Man-do, the White Wolf Bandit Clan had begun actively sabotaging the Cheonhyang Merchant Guild to avenge the death of the White Tiger Unit.
Unlike before, the White Wolf Bandit Clan was no longer hiding their murderous intent, and their relentless raids had cast a dark, tense shadow over the Cheonhyang Merchant Guild.
Naturally, public opinion within the guild had turned incredibly hostile toward Ha Tae-gun, who was seen as the root cause of this conflict.
"Everything is unfolding exactly as they planned."
"So it seems."
Even now, things were playing right into the hands of Kwak Yoo and Pa-gun.
If they were to kill the Rogue Sword, Gang Man-do, and draw the Blood Sword directly into the fray, matters would become incredibly complicated.
Yet, they couldn't simply leave the Rogue Sword to run rampant forever...
As their worries deepened,
"Master!!!"
"Ho-sung? What is it?"
Hearing Ho-sung's urgent voice, the faces of the two men darkened.
But their anxiety quickly turned to sheer bewilderment as Ho-sung delivered his report.
"Gang Man-do is dead?"
Do Sang-woon asked again, wanting to make sure he had heard correctly.
"Yes, Master. At first, I wasn't sure either. But the stronghold was far too quiet, so..."
Leaving his hesitant subordinates behind, Ho-sung had boldly entered Gang Man-do's camp.
What he found was shocking.
"Gang Man-do's severed head was left rolling on the ground. Judging by the state of decomposition, it appears he died about three days ago."
"Three days..."
"Indeed, his movements have been unusually quiet for the past few days... The timeline fits perfectly."
Because Gang Man-do was already dead, his bandits had been quiet.
"And the one who killed him?"
"I do not know. However... the traces left behind were highly unusual."
Ho-sung described exactly what he had witnessed to the two men.
"Mmm. Are you certain the mutilated body belonged to Gang Man-do?"
At Do Sang-woon's question, Ho-sung nodded.
"The damage was severe, so there is room for error, but... I am almost certain it was him."
"Then..."
"It is highly likely the work of a demonic practitioner. Sichuan has been plagued by demonic martial artists lately, so it could be one of them."
At Do Yoo-chan's words, Do Sang-woon and Ho-sung nodded in agreement.
However, they couldn't simply write it off as a demonic practitioner and leave it at that.
If a true demonic practitioner was roaming nearby, the provocations of the White Wolf Bandit Clan would be the least of their worries.
"I must go and inspect the site myself."
"I will accompany you, Father."
Do Sang-woon did not refuse Do Yoo-chan's offer.
After all, Yoo-chan was the future successor of the academy.
"For the time being, exercise extreme caution when going outside, and warn the townspeople to avoid going out late at night."
After giving his instructions to Ho-sung, Do Sang-woon and Do Yoo-chan swiftly leapt toward the mountain stronghold where Gang Man-do had resided.
'Perhaps it is finally time to make a decision, just as Hye-mi said.'
For a long time, he had turned a blind eye to reality, chasing after an ideal.
He had felt for a long time that it was no longer feasible to maintain the academy.
Yet, he had stubbornly persisted, unwilling to let go of the legacy left by the Sovereign Sword of the Blue Sky.
But if that stubbornness only brought suffering to his family and the precious people of Baekmyo County...
...wouldn't that be the true betrayal of the Sovereign Sword's will?
Do Sang-woon, who had always waited for the right moment to make a stand, realized that the moment had finally arrived.
Meanwhile...
"Gang Man-do is dead?"
"Yes, my lord."
News of Gang Man-do's death left Pa-gun with a strange, complicated feeling.
He had certainly wanted the man dead, but the timing was far too early.
"Did the master of the Heavenly Sword Academy move this quickly?"
As Pa-gun furrowed his brow, bewildered by a death that had occurred far sooner than he and Kwak Yoo had anticipated,
"Well... it appears that the Butcher, Lee Min-sang, has shown himself."
"What?"
Pa-gun grimaced at his subordinate's report.
He was well aware of who Lee Min-sang was.
In fact, it was thanks to such figures that he had the breathing room to move as he pleased.
The only reason the martial artists of Sichuan couldn't focus their attention on Pa-gun and Kwak Yoo was because they were too busy dealing with the sudden emergence of demonic practitioners like Lee Min-sang.
But to think that very distraction would now disrupt his own plans.
'To interfere at a critical moment like this.'
Pa-gun felt a deep sense of unease at Lee Min-sang's sudden appearance.
'The timing is far too coincidental.'
Yet, the reality of the situation made it hard to deny outright.
"We need to verify if it really is Lee Min-sang."
"Indeed."
"Tell the Blood Sword to continue disrupting the Cheonhyang Merchant Guild's trade routes as planned."
"Then, what should we do about Gang Man-do's territory?"
The subordinate had assumed they would deploy the Blood Sword, but since he was ordered to stay put, they had to dispatch another force.
"Actually, this might work in our favor. If it truly is Lee Min-sang... there are bastards who are absolutely obsessed with hunting him down. Pass this information along to them."
"Understood!"
Watching his subordinate immediately rush out to execute the order, Pa-gun's mind raced.
"I cannot tell if this will turn out to be a blessing or a curse."