The Beginning of the Cleanup (3)
“Is this the right way?”
“Just keep going.”
“Damn it, why is it always like this? Can’t you at least give us some updates in between?”
“When have we ever run things normally? Shut up and run!”
“Just one more thing! One more!”
“What!”
“Are they coming too?”
“Not toward us.”
“Then where are they headed? Well, looking at the map, there’s no place where they’d be particularly useful anyway.”
“That’s the answer right there. They went where they could be useful.”
“Interesting.”
“Shut up! I’m out of breath! We’ll miss the timing! Just run!”
“Ah, yes, sir!”
Seok Gyeong’s eyes deepened.
“So that’s where they are.”
“It seems so.”
“Their presence is ambiguous. It feels like one, maybe two, or even three.”
“Did they know we were coming?”
“I don’t know. But I heard their martial arts are at the level of a sect leader. With that kind of skill, they would have sensed our forces.”
“They might have known in advance, but at the very least, they read our killing intent and prepared for it.”
“Isn’t that always the case? You know that.”
“Indeed.”
Unlike Seok Gyeong, Gok Gang’s face carried a subtle arrogance.
He was the last of the Eighteen Martial Generals to be appointed. Naturally, his rank was the lowest among them.
Though he had survived countless battles, he had never been deployed on an operation as a Martial General. His desire to earn merit and rise through the ranks was strong.
At the same time, his pride as a Martial General was immense. The troops accompanying him were also formidable, so his expectations and arrogance were inevitable.
Seok Gyeong clicked his tongue as he watched Gok Gang.
“Don’t let your guard down. Yo Roe and Gyu Jeok died at their hands. If they were incompetent, would we have brought this many troops?”
“I know. That’s why we brought them. That’s why I’m at ease.”
Seok Gyeong shook his head inwardly.
Regardless of age, to react this way despite having enough experience with life and death could only be called his nature.
In other words, even with such an arrogant temperament, the fact that he had risen this far meant his talent was exceptional.
Unless he met an opponent capable of breaking that talent, it would never change.
“Enough idle talk. Let’s finish this quickly.”
“As you say. Ah! Come to think of it, we’re supposed to capture them alive, not kill them, right?”
“If possible, capture them alive. If not, killing them is fine.”
“That’s good.”
Gok Gang’s lips curled into a thick, murderous smile.
From the start, he had no intention of letting the designated enemies live. If ordered to capture them alive, he would have no choice, but otherwise, he would push forward with the intent to kill without exception.
“Let’s go.”
With Seok Gyeong, Gok Gang, and the silent Thirteenth Martial General Mu Seong at the forefront, one hundred and fifty elite warriors of the Shinhwa Sect advanced.
‘Hmm.’ Seok Gyeong surveyed the surroundings. ‘The terrain is peculiar.’
The entrance was narrow and long. Cliffs rose on both sides, high enough that even the most supreme movement technique would struggle to scale them.
This land was certainly different from their homeland. The terrain was far more dynamic, and thus more complex.
He suddenly understood why the people here were so adept at strategy and tactics. Having fought countless battles across the vast Central Plains, they had no choice but to constantly develop countermeasures based on terrain and weather.
“Could it be a trap?”
At Gok Gang’s question, Seok Gyeong shook his head.
“In a place like this, the most effective tactic would be the falling rocks strategy. They might also throw oil barrels and shoot flaming arrows.”
“I see.”
“But I sense no presence or killing intent, and given their numbers, it’s hard to believe they’ve prepared something on that scale. Moreover, they’ve been constantly moving. Aside from manpower, they wouldn’t have had time to set up such a trap.”
“You’re right.”
At that moment, Mu Seong spoke.
“What if all of that was part of the trap?”
Mu Seong lived up to his name—silent. If no one spoke to him, he could go a month or two without uttering a single word.
Seok Gyeong shook his head.
“If that were the case, it wouldn’t make sense to begin with. It would mean the Provincial Commander colluded with them to set the trap, and if we think that way, we’ve already lost from the start.”
Mu Seong nodded silently.
“That aside…”
A star-like gleam flashed in Seok Gyeong’s eyes.
“This is incredible.”
Whoosh!
A chilling aura could be felt from afar.
The density of that presence was truly formidable. A heaven-piercing fighting spirit and an unfathomable abyss-like energy were felt simultaneously, and neither could be taken lightly.
‘Incredible.’
Regardless of who was stronger, the fact that two such vastly different temperaments could harmonize so strangely was remarkable. Though their cultivated martial arts differed, their qi complemented each other perfectly.
‘In other words, they’re on the same side.’
Just then—
Whoosh!
Two storm-like presences approached at terrifying speed.
It was a sudden charge. Seok Gyeong, Gok Gang, and Mu Seong all instantly prepared for battle.
Whoosh.
However, the two unknown masters had no intention of engaging in combat immediately.
“Hmm.”
Standing at a distance, the middle-aged man Dang Gwan stroked his chin as he surveyed the Shinhwa Sect’s elites.
“Two of you died, so you came in droves. Quite the lineup. Especially…”
Dang Gwan looked at Seok Gyeong.
Seok Gyeong met his gaze with unwavering eyes.
‘He’s strong.’
He was clearly different from that hulking brute.
The level of martial arts felt similar. Seok Gyeong seemed slightly stronger, but the difference was negligible.
What mattered wasn’t that.
‘His mindset is different.’
Yo Roe had been a master worthy of full marks in most areas a martial artist should possess—strength, internal energy, stamina. Yet he had also possessed the attitude a martial artist must always maintain.
Carelessness. Arrogance.
Perhaps those were weaknesses shared by most strong individuals.
But this man was different. Though he was the strongest among the masters leading this group, he maintained an appropriate level of tension. At the same time, a fighting spirit that declared he would never lose could be felt.
‘Now we’re facing proper opponents.’
Just then—
“This is getting interesting.”
Yeon Hojeong stepped forward.
Whooooom.
The Mad Dragon Axe slung over his shoulder let out a fearsome cry.
Facing his natural enemy, a surge of rage boiled up from his dantian, stirring a fierce killing intent. That killing intent flowed into the Mad Dragon Axe, drawing out a sharp wail.
In the past, the organization Yeon Hojeong had fought to the death was the Sayeum Sect. He had never properly clashed with the Shinhwa Sect.
But to him, the Shinhwa Sect and the Gwanghyeol Sect were no different from the Sayeum Sect.
They were, after all, the Three Sects. Because of the Three Sects, everything he had to protect had been destroyed, and the precious people he had shared brotherhood with had lost their lives.
And now, in this altered history, they had become a threat to his surviving family as well.
Past, present, and future.
In all these realms, Yeon Hojeong could find no reason not to be enraged at the Three Sects.
“You three—are you the Eighteen Martial Generals?”
His voice, laced with laughter, carried a thick killing intent.
Seok Gyeong’s eyes deepened.
“You knew our identities?”
“Those rabble you brought with you are Shinhwa Soldiers.”
Shock and tension appeared on Gok Gang’s arrogantly twisted face and on Mu Seong’s expressionless one alike.
Seok Gyeong’s face twisted slightly.
“How do you know so much about us?”
“Your comrade told me.”
“Our comrade?”
“The Twelfth Martial General. After some interrogation, he spilled everything.”
It was nonsense.
The Eighteen Martial Generals were not a position one could attain simply by being strong in martial arts.
Martial prowess was the foundation, but one also had to prove absolute loyalty to the sect. At the level of a Martial General, the chance of rebellion, even in dreams, was low.
In other words, no matter how horrific the torture, they would never divulge the sect’s information. With that level of mental fortitude, one could not become a Martial General to begin with.
Even Gok Gang, who was arrogant beyond measure, would rather die than reveal a single piece of information about the sect.
Seok Gyeong stared at Yeon Hojeong for a moment before continuing.
“We’re wasting time, so let’s skip the pointless talk. In other words, you’re the ones who killed our sect’s Martial Generals.”
There was much he wanted to ask, much he wanted to know.
But this was a battlefield. There was no need to waste mental energy on unnecessary verbal sparring.
Kill them or capture them alive. That was enough.
At Seok Gyeong’s words, Yeon Hojeong nodded.
“That’s right.”
“Looking at your faces, it seems meaningless, but I’ll give you your first and last warning.”
Fwoosh.
Seok Gyeong’s pupils turned a deep blue.
He too had cultivated the Blue Furnace Purification Art that Gyu Jeok had practiced. But the aura he emitted had reached an entirely different level.
Deeper, hotter, more lethal.
A monstrous presence that could turn this entire area into a sea of fire alone pressed down on them.
“Surrender. For now, you won’t lose your lives, and even if you die later, I’ll grant you a painless death.”
His words carried a terrifying confidence.
And that confidence was justified. With this level of numerical superiority, even the most timid person in the world would find courage.
The difference in forces between the two groups was that vast.
“No.”
Yet Yeon Hojeong’s voice held not a trace of wavering.
Seok Gyeong nodded.
“Very well.”
That was the end of it.
“Everyone, prepare for battle.”
Whoosh!
In that instant, Yeon Hojeong and Dang Gwan unconsciously furrowed their brows.
Fwoooooosh!
It felt as if lava were flowing through the entire narrow path. The monstrous heat qi emitted by over a hundred masters made even the air flinch and try to flee.
Both Yeon Hojeong and Dang Gwan knew how to deal with masters who cultivated heat-based arts.
But there were limits. Facing this overwhelming heat qi gathered together, even the two greatest masters under heaven would find it difficult to approach.
‘As expected, it won’t be easy.’
Killing intent was killing intent, but reality was reality.
Yeon Hojeong coldly scanned the line of masters.
‘Each one is strong. And none of them are careless…’
Yeon Hojeong’s gaze stopped on Gok Gang.
He looked younger than forty. To have broken through the Wall of No Limits at that age, he must possess truly astonishing talent.
Yeon Hojeong grinned.
He had sensed a subtle arrogance in Gok Gang’s expression.
Thud!
Yeon Hojeong struck the ground with the Mad Dragon Axe slung over his shoulder, then raised it again to point at Gok Gang.
“You. What’s your name?”
Yeon Hojeong’s judgment was accurate.
“……”
“You little bastard.”
Gok Gang’s face twisted sharply.
The boy before him looked at least ten years younger. Yet that boy was pointing an axe at him, and Gok Gang’s mood soured instantly.
Before Gok Gang could speak again, Yeon Hojeong said,
“I’m Yeon Hojeong.”
“……?”
“Do you know me?”
A glint flashed in Seok Gyeong and Mu Seong’s eyes.
‘The greatest rising star under heaven.’
Even they could not be ignorant of the fame of the Wall Mountain Tiger Lord. He was the hottest name in the current martial world.
‘As expected.’
The Wall Mountain Tiger Lord, Yeon Hojeong. Eldest son of the Yeon Family of Byeoksan.
In the renowned sword clan of the Yeon Family, this era’s greatest genius wielded a massive axe as his primary weapon and had built an immense reputation.
Gok Gang’s lips curled upward.
“So that’s why you were holding an axe. You madman. Just because you picked up a decent weapon, you think the world is yours…”
“Come at me.”
“……What?”
“Let’s have the weakest fight first.”
“……?!”
“Isn’t that right? You’re the weakest one here. You’re perfect as the vanguard.”
In that instant, killing intent exploded from Gok Gang’s body.