Chapter 7 (3)
Chapter 7 (3)
"Damn it! Of all places, why did they have to find that one!"
"Keep running!"
Because of the possibility that the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword might be at the Jegal Clan, the Demonic Cultists had turned the Jegal Clan into a mess. Among them, three who were late to escape and had been hiding in a safe house were now fleeing due to the Jegal Clan warriors who had tracked their traces.
There were several reasons why they weren't fleeing outside the village, and one of them was.......
"There they are!"
"Kill the Demonic Cult bastards!"
"Hah!"
"Kyaaaak!?"
It was to use the ordinary civilians as meat shields.
One of the Demonic Cultists grabbed a woman who had been caught in his eyes and threw her toward the Jegal Clan warriors.
"Aaaack!"
"Ca, catch her!"
Naturally, as warriors of the righteous faction, and furthermore, as the face of the Jegal Clan, they had no choice but to catch the woman flying toward them.
"Issue an evacuation order!"
"Make sure the civilians don't get caught by the Demonic Cultists!"
A few Jegal Clan warriors quickly issued orders to ensure the civilians wouldn't become shields for the Demonic Cultists.
However, the civilians, who hadn't even anticipated the sudden man-made disaster that popped up without any warning, were already nothing more than prey for the Demonic Cultists.
"Hahaha! Die! Die!"
"Don't kill them!"
"I know!"
When the alarm bell rang late, the Demonic Cultists ran toward the fleeing civilians and inflicted wounds on them that wouldn't be fatal.
Chwak! Chwa-ak! Puk!
"Aack!"
"Keuheok!"
"Kkiaaaak!"
Using the weapons they carried, they attacked the arms, legs, and parts of the bodies of the civilians, intending to flee to the outskirts of the village after creating a large number of wounded.
They judged that if they were people of the righteous faction, they wouldn't be able to chase after them while leaving this many wounded behind.
Their prediction was only half right.
Because the Jegal Clan warriors had influence in this region, they couldn't just leave the wounded civilians alone.
However, they hadn't expected that a young martial artist with new talent who had just appeared in the Murim would be here.
"That's far enough!"
"Eut?"
"Above!"
Feeling the killing intent from the sky, the Demonic Cultists scattered in different directions to evade.
Ku-ung!
The young martial artist who had landed as if stomping on the ground threateningly, Taecheon Shinryong Yeon I-gang, unleashed his killing intent toward the Demonic Cultists who had used martial arts against the powerless civilians.
"How dare you use martial arts against the powerless! No matter how vicious the Demonic Cultists are, this is going too far!"
If one is a martial artist, they do not lay a hand on those who have not learned martial arts.
Enraged by the sight of the Demonic Cultists breaking that unwritten rule, he curled his fists and took a stance, as if he were a fist fighter.
"Don't force your Central Plains common sense on us! Attack!"
Judging that they would be defeated one by one if they scattered here, they pressed in on Yeon I-gang from three directions.
Generally, if people with weapons attack simultaneously from different directions, one should step back to evade or induce the enemy to attack from one direction.
Nevertheless, Yeon I-gang instead moved forward, intending to take on the offensive from all three directions himself.
The two Demonic Cultists with broadswords and the one with a saw-toothed dagger to inflict wounds swung them with the intention of crushing Yeon I-gang's body in an instant.
However, Yeon I-gang swung his fist toward the empty air at them.
If it were just this, one might think it was a stupid, suicidal act, but in the world of martial arts, the story is different.
Hung! Hu-ung!
An intense fist wind rose from the fist he had thrust out slowly, and the upper bodies of the two Demonic Cultists who were about to swing their broadswords collapsed, causing them to lose their balance.
Peong!
"Keuk!"
At the same time, he instantly approached the Demonic Cultist with the dagger rushing from the front and lightly swung his fist, crushing his face.
"Die!"
Yeon I-gang didn't stop there; he swayed his upper body like flowing water, and the broadsword aimed at his upper body swung through empty air.
Naturally, Yeon I-gang, aiming for that opening, struck the Demonic Cultist's abdomen with a palm strike.
Kwa-ang! Kung!
Along with the sound of hard objects colliding, the Demonic Cultist's body, unable to even scream, slammed into a house and became embedded in it.
"Damn it!"
The remaining Demonic Cultist judged that he couldn't defeat Yeon I-gang with his own skills, so he passed him by and fled at full speed.
The Demonic Cultist, who had just happened to spot a young guy loitering in front of him, swung his broadsword widely, perhaps intending to take him hostage or inflict an injury to tie him down.
The man with the strange backpack tilted his upper body to the left as if to avoid the broadsword, then made a face as if to say 'not this way,' and dodged to the right again.
This is a feat impossible unless one possesses overwhelming skill compared to the opponent.
'He dodged my attack by going back and forth!?'
No matter how he looked at it, he was a young kid who looked much younger than himself.
Thinking that he couldn't suffer such humiliation from a guy like that, the Demonic Cultist tried to swing his broadsword to attack again, but,
Kkujijik! Chii-iik!
"Uwe-ek!"
Due to a fist that had embedded itself into his side at a speed he couldn't even perceive, and the pain that was roasting his very internal organs, he vomited out what he had eaten and spewed out pain.
Kwajak!
The man with the backpack slammed his fist, which was engulfed in flames, directly into the Demonic Cultist's face.
The area where his fist touched was charred black.
To sear flesh at the same time as striking, one must possess a high level of Yang Arts.
The man with the backpack, Jin Cheon, looked as if he couldn't grasp whether he was strong or if this Demonic Cultist was weak, seeing the Demonic Cultist who hadn't been able to react at all to his attack.
"Well, the Demonic Cult isn't much."
"Jin Cheon!"
In any case, realizing that not all Demonic Cultists were strong, Jin Cheon spotted Yeon I-gang approaching him while calling his name.
"Thanks for catching the Demonic Cultist I missed."
"Don't make me laugh. You knew I was there and let him go on purpose."
"Oh my, you caught me? Honestly, I wanted to see your skills."
Yeon I-gang had become curious about the skills of Jin Cheon, who was of a similar age to him yet exuded an intense aura.
So, he had deliberately let one Demonic Cultist slip by, ready to run over and help at any time if he lacked the skill.
He checked the state of the fallen Demonic Cultist while also capturing the one Jin Cheon had attacked.
'There's a burn-like wound on the impact site. Did he learn Yang Arts?'
However, what remained deepest in Yeon I-gang's mind was Jin Cheon's movement of dodging back and forth while looking at the broadsword that had been swung as if to split his head open.
'He dodged the enemy's attack, but then made a look of discomfort and dodged to the other side. And he did that while staring at the broadsword flying at him with the intent to split his head open. He still looks inexperienced, but dodging an enemy's attack by going back and forth is impossible with ordinary courage.'
It was one of two things.
Either there was that much of an overwhelming difference in skill, or he didn't fear death.
Or,
'Both. An interesting guy has appeared.'
After entering the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes, and after receiving the title of Taecheon Shinryong by winning the sparring tournament of the young talents held by the Righteous Martial Alliance, the only beings among his peers who could be called worthy rivals existed only within the Five Dragons.
But now, as a peer who had just appeared in the Murim showed such activity, the competitive spirit of a martial artist, regardless of whether they were righteous or demonic, began to burn, wanting to see more of his skills.
'Originally, his aura was so murderous that I was just going to intervene a little and end it.'
At first, like the Jegal Clan warriors, he had wondered if he was a Demonic Cultist.
He was exuding his aura too openly, and the strangely shaped backpack was eye-catching, too.
Nevertheless, the reason he helped Jin Cheon was because both situations had benefits.
First, if he really was a Demonic Cultist, it might be a diversionary tactic to distract the Jegal Clan.
If he fell for that diversion, the Demonic Cultists would escape, so he shouldn't create a commotion.
Second, if he was just an ignorant martial artist.
In particular, he had intended to prevent a pointless fight by seeing that he wasn't even a little bit scared of the Jegal Clan warriors.
Even then, he had thought he was just a rookie who had learned martial arts from some hidden master and was just full of confidence, but seeing him now, his level seemed to be on par with his own.
"There they are!"
Just as the gazes Jin Cheon and Yeon I-gang were exchanging became increasingly intense, the Jegal Clan warriors who had followed late came swarming in.
"Thank you, young master. We almost lost those brutal Demonic Cult bastards."
A middle-aged man with a composed aura among the warriors cupped his hands toward Yeon I-gang and bowed.
"It is nothing. The Jegal Clan warriors had already worn them out, so I was able to deal with them easily."
Yeon I-gang, who deliberately lowered his own credit for the sake of the Jegal Clan's pride.
"Heh. They looked pretty fresh to me."
Naturally, Jin Cheon, who had felt that the Demonic Cultists' condition was almost fresh, burst into a wry laugh as if he were dumbfounded.
'Ugh, that pride of the prestigious families. This is why I hate the righteous faction route.'
Do people of the righteous faction have some kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder about not being arrogant? They just keep spouting empty words like "I was lucky," or "It's thanks to others," even when they do well.
Jin Cheon didn't have a hobby of stealing others' credit, but as someone who held the mindset that the actions he took himself should be acknowledged, he felt a frustration as if he had eaten 100 sweet potatoes.
"And the young master over there?"
The middle-aged warrior, who had confirmed Jin Cheon's existence through that wry laugh, asked for Jin Cheon's identity with a slightly uncomfortable expression, as if he had felt the mockery beyond the laugh.
"That friend's name is Jin Cheon. He caught the Demonic Cultist I missed."
"Jin Cheon."
Jin Cheon thought he should at least offer a greeting, so he cupped his hands and bowed, but the middle-aged warrior's face became even more uncomfortable at the sight of him looking arrogant despite his young age.
As proof of this, even though he should have asked about his martial arts or sect, he deliberately ignored him and began to say what he wanted to say.
"Ahem. On behalf of the Jegal Clan, I express my gratitude to both young masters."
"As a fellow member of the righteous faction, it is only natural."
'Ugh, do I really have to listen to all that useless dialogue?'
From Jin Cheon's perspective, as he had to listen to useless dialogue, he felt uncomfortable being here and opened his mouth right away.
"I've subdued the Demonic Cult bastards, so I'll be going now. Farewell."
As if he didn't want to be here anymore, he didn't even wait for the middle-aged warrior's reply and used lightfoot technique to move outside the village.
"Ahem."
The middle-aged warrior, whose face became uncomfortable at the sight of Jin Cheon, who had no respect for his elders.
As Jin Cheon headed somewhere, Yeon I-gang opened his mouth hurriedly toward the Jegal Clan warrior.
"I must also return to my sect now. I'm way past the time I was supposed to return due to this unexpected incident."
"I will keep the favor of you acting personally for the Jegal Clan deep in my heart."
He didn't originally have to help the Jegal Clan.
However, Yeon I-gang couldn't just watch the Demonic Cultists, so he had stepped up himself to help catch them.
The middle-aged warrior felt gratitude for Yeon I-gang's actions and offered words of thanks to him as he tried to return for a reasonable reason.
As soon as the greetings were over, Yeon I-gang ran off quickly, using his lightfoot technique.
"Hmm? Is the Taecheon Sect in that direction?"
The middle-aged warrior was puzzled by the sight of Yeon I-gang heading in a different direction from where the Taecheon Sect was, but soon thought he was going to run an errand he didn't know about or to buy a gift, and began to tie up the subdued Demonic Cultists and handle the aftermath.