Chapter 10 (1)
Chapter 10 (1)
'Jin Cheon....... Where on earth did he go.......'
Hong Seol-rin kept glancing behind her even while moving, hoping that Jin Cheon might come chasing after her, even if it was late.
'The Sword Empress-nim said he left because something urgent came up, but.......'
The Sword Empress had told her that she heard directly from Jin Cheon that he had urgent business he couldn't possibly postpone, and had intended to slip away midway through.
Naturally, it sounded like a lie because it was so sudden and full of holes, but,
'The Sword Empress-nim wouldn't have any reason to lie to someone like me.'
Because the world-renowned Sword Empress had no reason to lie about such a trivial matter, Hong Seol-rin couldn't help but wonder what on earth was going on.
And the Sword Empress, who had been checking on Hong Seol-rin's condition while moving with the Vermilion Bird Unit Leader as if guarding the surroundings, felt a little guilty at the sight of her.
In the end, no matter what excuse she made, the action she took had separated a man and woman who loved each other.
Still, she considered her actions right in the long run.
'It must be frustrating and sad right now. However, a child as talented and beautiful as you is not a match for a man who is frivolous, doesn't know how to respect his elders, and is only fit for the bottom of society.'
Even Seon Ga-ryeong, the Iron-Blooded Asura who had become a leader of the Evil Faction, was kind and naive when she was young.
That was why, no matter how much the man who clung to her sucked her dry of money, she didn't show a single sign of dislike and even offered him her money and her own body.
The Sword Empress had constantly tried to persuade her, calling the man trash, but Seon Ga-ryeong remained devoted to him until the end.
And in the end, due to the shock of being kicked in her pregnant belly by the man who was trying to run away, she became a leader of the Evil Faction out of hatred for him.
Even if that man didn't have such intentions, there was social pressure in this era for women to be obedient to men.
While a situation as extreme as that of her junior, who possessed talent superior to her own, might not happen, she was still worried that her achievements would not grow because she would have to tailor her talents to a man.
'You are a child who deserves to meet a better man and be happy. Don't worry, time will resolve your current feelings.'
Although she was a swordswoman who only used a sword, she knew a certain amount about other weapons like spears and sabers, so she could feel that Hong Seol-rin had outstanding talent for the spear.
And the fact that she didn't rely on her help, but rather tried to stand on her own using it as a stepping stone, was enough to make a great impression.
If she absolutely had to get married, she hoped she would do it after fully developing her own talent.
As time passed, the Jeongmumae's Vermilion Bird Unit and the Blood Alliance's Doyeong Unit arrived at the herb village that the Yakwangmun had requested to be investigated.
It was a fairly wealthy village because, although it was located deep in the mountains, they could obtain high-quality herbs, which they sold to the Yakwangmun or sold the surplus herbs in nearby large cities.
However, that wealthy village had turned into a ghost town.
"All the investigators from the Yakwangmun who entered this place have lost contact. Be careful."
The guide from the Yakwangmun warned them to be careful from this point on, and he himself began to check the surroundings.
This was because he was not only a guide but also had the role of checking what had happened and reporting it.
"As you've all heard, you must move in groups of three to investigate. Report even the most trivial things. Begin the search!"
Vermilion Bird Unit Leader Jin-woo-cheong deployed the Vermilion Bird Unit to find traces left in the village, but Doyeong Unit Leader Yong Jeo, who had been thinking about something for a moment, headed to a place away from the village.
"We will search the outskirts of the village!"
"Hmm? Excuse me, Doyeong Unit Leader."
Jin-woo-cheong approached Yong Jeo.
"Although we are divided into the Righteous Faction and the Evil Faction, we have a common goal, so why don't we cooperate? We don't know what kind of danger exists, so moving recklessly......."
"Isn't the Vermilion Bird Unit alone enough to investigate one village? It's better for us to divide the area and search."
"But, as I said before, we don't know what kind of danger exists. Since the Yakwangmun's investigation team has gone missing, there must be an enemy......."
"Pu-hahahaha!"
Yong Jeo suddenly burst into laughter at Jin-woo-cheong's words.
"They are just bandits targeting a wealthy mountain village at best. Of course, it's clear they are stronger than typical bandits. But even so, a bandit is a bandit. Do you think our Doyeong Unit would lose to mere opponents of that level?"
"But we don't even know if they are bandits or not yet......."
"Ah, stop. I have no intention of arguing with you. We'll handle them ourselves, so you should just reorganize the village and get some rest. Hahahaha!"
That was it.
The Blood Alliance had judged from the beginning that the culprits who caused this situation were a group of bandits who had made up their minds to raid this village.
It was certainly not a completely wrong judgment.
If you were to think about what kind of existence could cause trouble in a place like this, 90 out of 100 people would think of bandits.
In the Jeongmumae as well, more than half already saw it as a problem caused by bandits.
That was why they had dispatched the Vermilion Bird Unit, which was in the middle tier of skill among the Four Divine Beasts Unit—the martial force of the Jeongmumae composed of young rising stars—to induce them to gain practical experience where young people could grow by gaining experience and skill.
At first, Jin-woo-cheong also thought it was a bandit problem, but after seeing the state of the village, he felt that the atmosphere was unusual.
'Bandits? No. If it were bandits, there's no way the village would be this clean.'
If it were the work of bandits, broken utensils, destroyed homes, and traces of a massacre that should be scattered everywhere should be found.
However, this place felt a silence as if they had been living normally and then suddenly disappeared, without any signs of destruction.
In other words, those who raided this village had no intention of obtaining loot in the first place.
Whether Yong Jeo knew that fact or not, he was full of thoughts of subjugating the bandits to look good to the Yakwangmun.
He could share the questions he had found with him even now, but,
'If the Evil Faction fails, the opportunity will fall to us.'
The enemy was not bandits aiming for meager property, but a group with some other purpose.
Moreover, since they had annihilated the Yakwangmun's investigation team, they must already be aware that they were coming.
They just needed to prepare for a surprise attack and support them after the Evil Faction's Doyeong Unit had faithfully fulfilled the role of meat shield.
Besides, he had warned him enough.
It was Yong Jeo himself who didn't listen and ignored it.
Jin-woo-cheong was wary of a surprise attack while searching the village, and the Doyeong Unit began to move to find the existence that had raided the village, leaving the Vermilion Bird Unit behind.
They seemed to have discovered something, whispering among themselves, and began to move in a northeast direction.
"There are no signs of battle inside the village."
"The items inside the buildings were all left as if they were being used as usual."
"It is clear that they were targeting and kidnapping only the people."
As expected, the information the Vermilion Bird Unit members found while checking the village matched Jin-woo-cheong's prediction.
"Are there any other traces?"
"Unit Leader-nim! We have found traces of several people moving to the northeast!"
"The northeast? If it's there, there is a natural cave used by the village. The villagers were using that place like a warehouse."
When one unit member reported finding traces, the guide who was well-versed in this village immediately gave a detailed explanation of what was there.
'So there was a reason the Doyeong Unit moved in that direction.'
"Everyone, after reorganizing, head to the cave in the northeast direction!"
As he thought earlier, Jin-woo-cheong deliberately dawdled and, after spending an appropriate amount of time, began to move in the direction of the cave.
"Keuhuk! Keuk! He...help...me......!"
While moving like that, an injured warrior appeared from inside the forest.
It was a warrior wearing the Doyeong Unit's uniform.
Because he had been around like an adjutant to Yong Jeo, he knew his face.
'What is this? It's only been about a quarter of an hour (15 minutes) since they went ahead of us, right?'
How long had it been since they went in the direction of the cave that he was injured like this and asking for help?
Flustered, Jin-woo-cheong hurriedly asked about the situation.
"No, what on earth happened......."
"Jiang...shi......! Jiangshi......! Jiangshi ambushed us near the cave......!"
"Jiangshi!?"
Originally, a Jiangshi was an existence created by Taoist arts that manipulated the dead to make them move on their own so that they could return to their hometown.
However, because the legion of the dead, who felt no pain and needed no rest or food, was very attractive, evil secret arts to turn Jiangshi into weapons had been developed in the shadows.
Naturally, not to mention the Righteous Faction, even if it was the Evil Faction, no one wanted to be used as a Jiangshi after death, so such evil secret arts were only used by groups like the Demonic Cult.
But those Jiangshi had appeared here?
"Move at a fast pace! Support the Doyeong Unit!"
If it was a Jiangshi, the story became serious.
Especially if it was a Jiangshi of the Demonic Cult, even more so.
Jin-woo-cheong, who realized that it was not the time to be divided and fighting as Righteous Faction or Evil Faction, quickly began to move.
"I will go ahead."
At that moment, the Sword Empress brushed past Jin-woo-cheong and increased her speed at once.
When they ran that fast and arrived at the place where the cave was,
"Kuaack!"
"Uryaaaa!"
"Die!"
"Kehek!"
They witnessed the scene of the Doyeong Unit and the Jiangshi engaging in a chaotic battle, and the Sword Empress fighting a masked person whose face was covered.
"Support the Doyeong Unit! Attack!"
"Waaaaah!"
"The Vermilion Bird Unit is here! Hold on a little longer!"
Normally, the Righteous Faction's Vermilion Bird Unit and the Evil Faction's Doyeong Unit should have been growling at each other.
However, in front of the monster called Jiangshi, they became one and began to fight a desperate battle.