Chapter 10 (2)
Chapter 10 (2)
"Those bastards don't know pain! Cut their necks or sever their limbs! Don't scatter, fight in groups of at least three!"
"Yes!"
As the battle began, Hong Seol-rin led the second group following her and headed toward the Jiangshi.
"Move!"
She shouted toward the Doyeong Unit members who were struggling, then used her footwork to spin her spear before shooting the spearhead toward the head of one of the Jiangshi in one go.
Pagagagak!!
As the centrifugal force of the rotating spear was maximized, the head of one Jiangshi was pierced, and it collapsed while pouring out dead blood.
'Ugh! Harder than steel!'
It wouldn't have been a problem for a normal person, but as the recoil from the Jiangshi's hard body was felt through her hand, her expression twisted slightly.
"Their bodies are harder than steel! When you get a chance, pour all your power into a single strike! Ordinary attacks won't work!"
Having felt that the Jiangshi's hardness was greater than steel, Hong Seol-rin shared the information with her team members and gave new instructions.
As she fought the Jiangshi like that, she felt something was strange.
'Where is Sword Empress-nim?'
She had caught a glimpse of her fighting someone in black clothing with a mask earlier, so she checked her surroundings.
Kakang! Kakang! Kakang! Shwe-ek!
And near the cave, she could see the Sword Empress exchanging sword strikes with the masked person.
'Fast!'
The Sword Empress's attacks were truly fast, and she swung her sword threateningly, as if to show what a sharp attack was.
However, surprisingly, the masked person was blocking such attacks from the Sword Empress.
To be precise, they were being pushed back by the Sword Empress's offensive, but they were defending steadily and intermittently launching threatening surprise attacks.
A high-level battle that you couldn't see even if you paid for it.
'Are they trying to guard the cave entrance?'
There was the fact that their skills had improved, but the masked person was giving the feeling that they were absolutely preventing the Sword Empress from entering because there was something important inside the cave.
Looking around, the Doyeong Unit and Jujakdan, who had gained some breathing room, were cooperating to take down the Jiangshi one by one.
'If that's the case!'
She didn't know the identity of the masked person, but if it was a place that a master of that caliber was trying to protect, there would definitely be something important there.
If things went well, the probability of the masked person getting distracted and being hit by the Sword Empress couldn't be ignored.
"Gyu-sam! Gong-do! Follow me! There is a high chance that the bastards' true identities are hidden inside the cave!"
"Yes!"
"Understood!"
After becoming the leader of the 2nd group, Hong Seol-rin, who had called out the two Jujakdan members who followed her orders obediently because they admired her skills, ignored the Jiangshi and rushed into the cave.
Kakang! Kadeudeuk!
'Good, now slowly... hm?'
The masked person, who had been retreating into the cave while blocking the Sword Empress's attacks, planning to have the incomplete Jiangshi that caused explosions blow the Sword Empress up, was clearly flustered by the sight of Hong Seol-rin's group aiming for the cave.
'Damn it! These small fries!'
At this rate, the trap meant to catch the Sword Empress would be triggered by these small fries.
On top of that, since they had made an escape route that only they knew about inside the cave, they had to enter the cave regardless of whether the luring of the Sword Empress failed or not.
Originally, there were separate Jiangshi blocking the cave, but the problem was that the Doyeong Unit Leader, Yong Jeo, had reduced the number of Jiangshi with an unexpected performance.
Yong Jeo, who had been ignored by a young, nameless warrior like Jin Cheon, had become enraged that he had been living quietly all this time.
Therefore, to show that he wasn't someone to be ignored by a young punk, he had fought harder than usual and had to deploy even the Jiangshi that were supposed to be blocking the cave.
This content wasn't something that could be easily found out, and even if they had known, the Heaven-Breaking Association, which didn't consider it important, would have planned it as usual.
Anyway, the crack created by Yong Jeo's fighting spirit resulted in Hong Seol-rin's impulsive action.
Ka-ang!
"Stop!"
The masked person forcefully deflected the Sword Empress's sword with strength and rushed toward Hong Seol-rin's group, who were trying to enter the cave.
"Haaat!"
Since the goal wasn't to enter the cave from the beginning, but to create an opening for the masked person, Hong Seol-rin, who had been preparing from the start, swung her weapon along with Gyu-sam and Gong-do.
Kakakak!
Just as the masked person, who had easily deflected the three people's weapons, was about to swing their sword to kill Hong Seol-rin's group,
"I guess I looked like a joke to you."
"!!"
The Sword Empress delivered a voice filled with killing intent from behind the masked person.
"Eek!"
Seogeok!
"Keuk......!"
The masked person hurriedly twisted their body to defend against the Sword Empress's attack, but the Sword Empress's sharp sword strike grazing their side came first.
'Sword... Empress....... To be... this... strong.......'
Thinking that the Sword Empress would be the biggest obstacle to the Heaven-Breaking Association, he bit his molar hard, and as soon as he did, he closed his eyes with the sensation of his consciousness melting into darkness.
'Suicide by poison......!'
The Sword Empress, who had held back her hand enough that he could have lived if he had quickly stopped the bleeding, even though she had cut deep into his side, clicked her tongue at the masked person's resolve to commit suicide by poison as soon as they thought about the possibility of being taken prisoner.
However, because of that, a reason arose to check inside the cave and find out information about those who had done such things.
Because an organization with people like this would approach the Murim world as a great threat.
"That was a good judgment, but it was dangerous."
The Sword Empress, who had flicked the blood on her sword into the air to shake it off, noticed why Hong Seol-rin had acted this way and gave her both praise and a warning.
"I thought it was a gamble worth taking, since this situation would end once Sword Empress-nim dealt with the masked person."
"Hmph, indeed. A Murim warrior should have that much audacity. Instead, next time, try to find a way to lure them out more safely."
She gave a satisfied smile at the fact that Hong Seol-rin, whom she had been keeping an eye on, had good guts and judgment.
"We will check inside the cave! The people who made the Jiangshi might be hiding inside, or they might be erasing their tracks."
Thinking about it logically, it seemed safer to defeat the Jiangshi with the Sword Empress and have the Jujakdan and Doyeong Unit join forces to investigate carefully.
However, because creating Jiangshi meant being ostracized by both the righteous and evil factions and being branded as a public enemy of the Murim world, those behind the masked person would try to erase their tracks by any means necessary.
Therefore, it was urgent to check for information that could reveal the enemy's identity, even if it was just a little bit, before the masked person's group inside the cave erased the tracks.
"I will go with you. If there is a master of this caliber, it is dangerous for you alone."
"Yes!"
Hong Seol-rin entered the cave with her two subordinates.
With the Sword Empress supporting them from behind and keeping them safe, the three people, emboldened, entered the cave.
Naturally, there were no special traces at the entrance, so they had to head deep inside.
'What is this? I clearly don't see anything, but I can feel a strong Death Qi?'
The Sword Empress couldn't hide her puzzlement as she felt a Death Qi that felt like it was at close range.
'Something is definitely suspicious. Searching inside the cave is dangerous.'
"Wait a mome......."
However, before she could finish saying to stop, a trap was activated.
Vwoooong!
"Kyaak!?"
"Uwak!"
"Ugh!"
Suddenly, a strong force like a magnet pulling iron began to hold Hong Seol-rin's group's feet so they couldn't move from the ground.
"A formation of this level!?"
The Sword Empress, who had escorted the people of the Zhuge family as they created important formations during the Great War against the Demonic Cult, was flustered that a formation of this power had appeared in a place like this.
'Is it a trap!?'
"Kuaak!"
"Kyaaak!"
While the Sword Empress was surprised, the Jiangshi, which had been hiding their appearance due to another formation, began to move and rushed at them.
The Jiangshi didn't seem to be affected by this formation, and unlike the group whose feet were bound, they rushed in at high speed.
The purpose given to the Jiangshi was one.
Get close to the living by any means necessary.
In a situation where there was no controller to command them, they couldn't understand complex orders, so they were in a state where they had only received the order to unconditionally stick close to the living.
"You bastards!"
"Uryaat!"
Although they couldn't lift their feet, their upper bodies were free, so Hong Seol-rin and those who followed her poured their internal energy into their weapons and swung them toward the Jiangshi rushing at them.
With the belief that if they held out for a little while, the Sword Empress would be able to shoot a Sword Ring or do something.
The Sword Empress also prepared to help Hong Seol-rin's group while checking if there were other traps.
However, their hope was broken in vain as the Jiangshi's bodies swelled up.
Bugeul-bugeul-bugeul!
Pung! Peopung!
Due to the Jiangshi that swelled up and exploded in an instant, Gyu-sam and Gong-do had their upper bodies blown away without even being able to scream.
The only traces of them were chunks of flesh flying away mixed with those of the Jiangshi.
"Gyu-sam! Gong-do!"
"Self-destruction!?"
Hong Seol-rin screamed at the death of her two subordinates.
The Sword Empress was flustered by the unexpected explosion.
If they had faced an explosion of this magnitude without any countermeasures, the Sword Empress herself would not have been safe.
At that moment, something unexpected happened to the Heaven-Breaking Association that had set up this trap.
Ujik! Ujijijik!
The ground, unable to withstand the strong explosive power of the Jiangshi, began to collapse.
"Kyaaaak!"
As luck would have it, they were in a situation where they couldn't move because they were trapped in the formation, and from there, one Jiangshi rushed toward Hong Seol-rin.
At this rate, she would die like Gyu-sam and Gong-do.
However, if the Jiangshi exploded, she would be trapped in the collapsing ground.
'Then, I'd rather choose the option with even a slightly higher chance!'
"I'm sorry! Sword......!"
Pung!
"!?"
Hong Seol-rin, who was pouring her internal energy into her spear and taking a javelin-throwing stance, witnessed a Sword Ring flying past her head and exploding the Jiangshi's body.
"There's no need to be sorry. This is my judgment."
"Sword Empress-nim......."
The Sword Empress, who had stepped in for Hong Seol-rin, who was trying to explode the Jiangshi to save her own life.
She had deliberately acted first so that Hong Seol-rin wouldn't feel guilty toward her.
Kwareureureu!
The two people, whose feet were bound by the formation, fell toward a hole where only darkness existed as the ground collapsed.
Rather than screaming and pathetically begging for their lives, Hong Seol-rin, who had half-resigned herself, closed her eyes, hoping not to die painfully.
'Jin Cheon......!'
Holding onto resentment and longing for Jin Cheon, who had suddenly disappeared.
-Fortunately, you won't die.-
"Yes?"
-Be careful not to get water in your nose.-
"Yes? What do you mean by that......."
Just as she was about to ask back, wondering what she meant, while falling, hearing the calm Sword Empress's telepathic message,
Pung-deong! Pung-deong! Pung-deong!
"~~~~~~~!!"
Suddenly entering cold water, she flailed her arms and legs in the sudden situation and was flustered.
'What is this? It's cold! Water? I survived!?'
She held her breath and swam to the surface of the water.
"Puhaat! Keolok! Keolok!"
Having suddenly entered the water, she coughed and spat out water.
When she calmed her breathing and looked up, she discovered the ceiling of the cave beyond a small hole.
'The entire floor collapsed, but looking up from here, it looks very small. If the groundwater hadn't been flowing.......'
If that had been the case, she would have been a bloody mess.
Hong Seol-rin, who felt a chill thinking that, heard the Sword Empress's voice in her ears.
"Light. That way."
Hong Seol-rin, who looked around at the Sword Empress's voice, discovered a place where light was twinkling, just as she had said.
The two people started swimming toward the place where the light was, since there was no answer to staying here, and,
Kwadudeuk!
"Damn! Move quickly!"
As the sound of something collapsing was heard from above, the Sword Empress, who became urgent, made her swim quickly.
Pung-deong! Pung-deong! Chwa-ak!
Along with the sound of the collapse, huge boulders poured down to where the Sword Empress and Hong Seol-rin were.
Feeling the waves created as the heavy boulders fell, the two people swam quickly and moved to the place where the light was, and fortunately, they found land they could step on.
"They are thorough people. As if a suicide attack with Jiangshi wasn't enough, they even collapsed the cave itself."
"Was it a trap?"
"Yes. That masked person kept trying to stop me from going into the cave the whole time. If it weren't for you, I would have entered the cave first and......."
The rest didn't need to be said.
"You saved my life. If I had been alone, I would have been blown up with the Jiangshi before the ground collapsed."
"I also survived thanks to the sacrifice of Gyu-sam and Gong-do."
"Yes, let's not forget the sacrifice of those two."
The two people observed a moment of silence for the two warriors who had been blown up by the Jiangshi.
"That aside, what is this light? It seems to be coming from above... huh? Could it be......?"
Hong Seol-rin, who had raised her gaze upward to find the source of the light that was bright enough to distinguish objects, was surprised.
"Night-luminescent pearls! This many!?"
"An enormous number of Night-luminescent pearls....... Even I have never seen this many before......."
Night-luminescent pearls.
Pearls that emit light on their own.
A treasure of the Murim world whose value is enormous due to its rarity.
However, if Jin Cheon had seen this sight, he would have screamed like crazy and shouted like this.
'Arghhh! It's all over! I'm going to die from radiation exposure! Dying from radiation exposure after coming to the Murim world! Dying from radiation exposureeeee!'
Among the radioactive elements that have self-luminescent properties, the most famous are radium and uranium.
Naturally, both substances emit radiation, so they are substances that require special management.
In other words, if all these Night-luminescent pearls of this brightness and in this number were radium or uranium, they would be emitting a significant amount of radiation.
In legends related to jewels that emit light on their own, there are many stories about sudden death, unknown illnesses, and being cursed.
Who knows about the old days, but from the perspective of a modern person, it is clearly the result of radiation exposure.
If they are to survive, the laws of this world must be different, or they must stay far away from the Night-luminescent pearls.
"Anyway, let's hope there's a path following the Night-luminescent pearls... hm?"
The Sword Empress, who was wringing the water out of her clothes, looked inside the cave and had a puzzled expression.
"This is... a door?"
"Yes? A door?"
"It's made of stone, but it's definitely a door."
There is an artificially made stone door in a cave like this?
The two people nodded toward each other, gripped their weapons carefully, and opened the stone door.
The two people, who had expected with a very high probability that it was the hideout of those who had made the Jiangshi, steeled themselves to fight, opened the door strongly, and went inside.
However, what greeted them was a very low-probability possibility.
"Sword Empress-nim, this is......."
"Yes, someone lived here. And for a very long time."
It was the traces of someone who had lived, and the weight of time piled up on those traces.
The two people rummaged through the inside, trying to find something.
And Hong Seol-rin found an old book.
"There is a book here."
"I hope it's a diary. We might be able to find a way out."
The two people started to check the contents of the book through the light of the twinkling Night-luminescent pearls here as well.
The content was something that, if Jin Cheon had seen it, he would have been able to find out the reason why the will of the world had separated him and her.
-Young person who discovered this place. This old man is.......-
They had found the hideout of a reclusive master and had obtained the fortuitous encounter of learning the martial arts established by the reclusive master.
If he had been with Jin Cheon, he would have eliminated the choice itself of only a small number of people entering the cave during the battle.
Or Jin Cheon might have obtained this fortuitous encounter after saving Hong Seol-rin from danger.
But now, that 'obstacle' had disappeared for some reason.
In other words, it meant that this fortuitous encounter existed for her from the beginning.
Hong Seol-rin, who looked at the book with the Sword Empress, started to have her eyes shine every time she saw the content.
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