The Time of Endurance (3)
Yeon Wi’s eyes gleamed with intensity.
“Lord Patriarch!”
“This one is Secret Eight of the Intelligence Division!”
“What is the situation?”
Secret Eight delivered the current state of affairs in short, precise sentences.
After listening to the report, Yeon Wi turned toward Seunghyeon Jinin and offered a fist salute.
“I have been rude. Please accept my apology.”
Seunghyeon Jinin let out a long sigh.
Ever since Yeon Hojeong had visited him, he had sensed something off. That inexplicable strangeness was now completely resolved by the Intelligence Division member’s report.
“So I was suspected of being a spy.”
“That is correct.”
“Pung-byeok-ja was the spy?”
“It appears so.”
“Hoo…”
Seunghyeon Jinin closed his eyes.
“Truly…”
He seemed at a loss for words. Even after hearing that a spy existed among the Martial Alliance elders, he had remained half in doubt. Yet now he was told that Pung-byeok-ja—the leader of the Nine Great Schools, not even one of the Five Great Families—had been the spy.
Yeon Wi spoke firmly.
“Let us head to the Military Division together. We must protect the strategist in case of any unforeseen developments.”
Seunghyeon Jinin opened his eyes and gazed steadily at Yeon Wi.
“Can you trust me? I too could be a spy, you know.”
“If there had been even the slightest chance that the sect leader was a spy, this Intelligence Division member would not have revealed himself in the first place.”
The words carried absolute trust in Jegal Mun-ho.
Seunghyeon Jinin nodded.
“Let’s go. Let us go and protect the strategist.”
“Thank you. And I am sorry.”
Swish!
The two men launched themselves toward the Military Division.
The being who had become Seok Bang-heon, Vice Hall Leader of the Punishment Hall, thought to himself.
‘Truly… these are no easy opponents.’
It wasn’t simply that they were formidable. No organization within the Three Sects could operate their agents with such foresight and agility, always thinking several moves ahead.
‘Have I been exposed already?’
That probably wasn’t the case.
The spy known as Pung-byeok-ja possessed remarkably keen senses. His only flaw was a lack of experience, but even so, his capabilities as a spy could easily be considered among the best in the world.
And he himself was the handler who managed such a spy.
The most basic virtue of a handler was to never fall short of the spy’s own abilities. Beyond that, absolute loyalty was required, and one must remain unshaken even in the face of death.
Pung-byeok-ja had been afraid to die, but he was not. From the moment he was dispatched here, he had lived with the mindset that he was already walking through hell.
He no longer cared about losing his life. The only thing he feared was failing to complete his mission.
For him, the current situation was extremely unfavorable.
‘The Tang Family Head, of all people.’
The man standing with his hands clasped behind his back at the entrance to the Thunder Prison, gazing up at the sky, was none other than Tang Family Patriarch Dang Gwan.
His posture almost looked detached. He could have been lost in thought, or perhaps simply bored.
‘Could it be a coincidence?’
He shook his head.
‘There’s no way it’s a coincidence.’
Dang Gwan was a giant among men. Not just him—the Twelve Elders and the other high-ranking members of the Martial Alliance were all figures that could not be touched lightly.
So why was such a giant standing guard in front of the Thunder Prison at this exact moment?
‘I’ve been read.’
His eyes flashed.
‘It’s Jegal Mun-ho. Truly impressive.’
Having vast knowledge did not make one a good strategist. What mattered was how one utilized that knowledge and how creatively it could be applied.
Even more important was an intuition that could not be explained by logic alone. Sometimes such intuition surpassed logic entirely.
Just like Jegal Mun-ho right now.
‘Whether it’s certainty or simple precaution, the brain and instinct capable of reaching this point are astonishing.’
It was a shame.
‘If only our sect had a strategist of that caliber.’
If they had, they wouldn’t need to wait for the right moment like this. They could have controlled the madness of the Blood-Crazed God and plotted to conquer the world on equal footing with the other two sects.
And then a mere variant like himself wouldn’t have needed to run wild like this.
‘The problem is…’
His eyes sank deeply.
‘Whether I can deceive Dang Gwan’s eyes and infiltrate the Thunder Prison.’
Or perhaps kill Dang Gwan.
‘Killing him will be difficult for now.’
Gwang-hyeol-gwi-myeon-gong was a demonic art that allowed one to perfectly mimic another person’s appearance and bone structure in an instant.
But in exchange for that single ability, many things had to be sacrificed. One of them was the ability to freely manipulate internal energy.
He could still use movement techniques to a certain degree, but anything beyond that was difficult. In his current state, he could instantly overpower most peak-level masters, but it would not work against someone of Dang Gwan’s caliber.
‘Then I must sneak in.’
Stealth techniques were also part of movement arts. And his stealth was nearly impossible to see through unless the opponent was a Sacred Heaven expert.
The problem lay in the structure of the Thunder Prison.
‘There is no way in except through the entrance.’
This had always been an operation that disregarded any thought of retreat. Once the work inside the Thunder Prison was finished, his death would complete everything.
He could simply smash through the door, but with a giant like Dang Gwan standing guard in front of it, the difficulty was beyond imagination.
‘It seems I won’t even be allowed to die as I please.’
He took a single cautious step backward.
It was then.
“I don’t recommend running.”
Even he could not help but be startled in that instant.
Dang Gwan spoke in a calm tone.
“An impressive stealth technique. If I hadn’t spread the Cheonra Dokmang, I wouldn’t have noticed you even if you walked right past me.”
Cheonra Dokmang.
One of the highest secret arts of the Sichuan Tang Family. Normally it required three or more poison experts working together, but at Dang Gwan’s level, he could maintain the deadly formation alone for half a day.
“Let me warn you in advance. The moment you step more than two zhang away from there, you will be poisoned. You’ll experience pain so severe you’ll wish for death. But you won’t be allowed to die. Not unless I permit it.”
It was a chilling statement.
For a handler like him, there could be no more effective threat. To one who had already accepted death, becoming incapacitated without being allowed to die was the ultimate humiliation.
“Come out now.”
A moment later, he stepped out from his position.
Dang Gwan nodded.
“Wise choice. You probably didn’t want to die without exchanging a single word either.”
Dang Gwan turned his gaze toward the handler.
At that moment, his eyes flashed.
“I’ve seen you before.”
“……”
“Weren’t you the Vice Hall Leader of the Punishment Hall? I believe your surname was Seok.”
One of the elders in charge of both the Punishment Hall and the Thunder Prison was Moyong Gun. And Dang Gwan, who had once shared a boat with Moyong Gun, had met the Hall Leader and Vice Hall Leader of the Punishment Hall in the past.
The handler who had become Seok Bang-heon spoke.
“Impressive. You knew I would come here?”
“Someone told me to come this way. Said this place might be targeted.”
“The Jegal strategist, huh.”
“Well, that’s none of my concern. What I find more impressive is you. Have you truly been living as the Vice Hall Leader of the Punishment Hall since the founding of the Martial Alliance? Or have you been living under the name Seok Bang-heon even before that?”
Since Dang Gwan knew nothing about Gwang-hyeol-gwi-myeon-gong, it was natural for him to think that way.
And the handler had no intention of explaining it to him.
Watching the man stare at him in silence, Dang Gwan continued.
“Looking at those eyes of yours, it seems persuasion or threats won’t work. You’ve been thoroughly trained. The kind of bastard who would throw away his life for the mission.”
“……”
“Still, I suppose I should at least try. Switch sides to our alliance even now. I’ll spare your life and make good use of your value as a human being.”
It was an offer worse than doing nothing at all.
The handler remained silent. There was no change in his expression or in his eyes.
Dang Gwan nodded.
“Loyalty is a fine thing. But I don’t see that attitude of yours as true loyalty. Even a dog won’t follow its master without reward, yet your loyalty seems like nothing more than worthless faith that receives worse treatment than a dog.”
“……”
“Loyalty that seeks reward is not true loyalty.”
“Is that so?”
“I have no desire to discuss loyalty with you. However, I too shall make one proposal.”
“How refreshing. A caught fish making a proposal. Quite the unusual situation.”
“I am not a fool. And neither is our sect. There is no way they would send someone heading into enemy territory without taking any measures, is there?”
“Hmm.”
“Seeing that you are here, it seems you already know who the spy is.”
“Pung-byeok-ja? …That son of a bitch deserves to be torn apart and eaten.”
Confirmed.
The handler thought that the Martial Alliance was truly no easy opponent. They had already stolen a great deal of information, so that alone was enough.
However, he hoped that his death could bring even a little more benefit to his sect.
The essential mission had been completed. But anything beyond that seemed impossible.
If so, he should at least kill a few of the giants who could become serious headaches for the Gwang-hyeol Sect in the future.
“There is a technique called Pokhyeol-gong sleeping within my body. The moment my life is severed or my heart veins receive a severe shock, everything within a radius of ten zhang will be reduced to ashes.”
“That’s rather unpleasant.”
Pokhyeol-gong was a self-destructive demonic art. It was a forbidden technique in the current murim, closer to a legendary martial art now known only by name.
Of course, while that was true, several organizations in the murim planted similar demonic arts inside their members.
However, if the Pokhyeol-gong the handler spoke of was the real thing, the situation would become truly serious.
“Make your choice. Will you die? Or will you quietly let me into the Thunder Prison?”
“……”
“Either way, I will die. The only difference is whether you die with me or not.”
“I thought I held your life in my hands, but it seems the opposite is true?”
“It doesn’t matter. I have no intention of continuing this conversation. If you do not choose before I count to three, I will detonate right here.”
The distance between the two men was only five zhang. And that distance was more than enough to fall within the radius of Pokhyeol-gong.
Dang Gwan’s eyes flashed.
Even while being forced to choose, he did not waver.
“According to rumor, in order to reduce the power of Pokhyeol-gong, the most ideal method is to destroy either the Gihae or Myeongmun acupoint before the self-detonator dies, thereby killing the true qi conversion before the explosion.”
“Would you like to test it?”
“Shall I?”
“If you so much as twitch a finger, I will detonate.”
“You are underestimating both me and my family far too much.”
“Even a Sacred Heaven expert at this distance…”
“To spout such nonsense even after being caught in the Cheonra Dokmang. How laughable.”
The handler’s eyes deepened.
What was it? What made him so confident?
Thud!
In that instant, the handler looked down at his own solar plexus.
A long sword that had pierced his Myeongmun acupoint from behind was now protruding cleanly through his chest.
Dang Gwan clicked his tongue in disdain.
“This is why those who don’t understand poison are so troublesome. Did you not even notice when your senses began to dull?”
“……!!”
The handler’s eyes widened as he looked forward.
At some point, both Dang Gwan and Moyong Gun were standing in front of him. The one who had flown in like a ray of light and destroyed his Myeongmun acupoint was Moyong Gun.
Ziiiing! Ziiiiiiing!
The handler’s skin repeatedly flushed blood-red before turning a sickly blue.
The handler grinned.
“You will all die.”
“Wrong.”
A clear voice rang out from the air.
Baaaang! Boom!
Yeon Hojeong descended in front of Dang Gwan and Moyong Gun and raised the Black Tortoise energy to its peak.
The strongest defensive art of the Four Gods, the North Heaven Twelve Walls, surged with pitch-black water qi and erected an absolute, invincible barrier.
It was an invincible wall that could even block cannon fire. There was no way it would be breached by a disordered Pokhyeol-gong.
From behind the translucent black water, Dang Gwan laughed coldly.
“You’ve worked hard. Farewell.”
The handler closed his eyes.
In the next instant, a light as intense as the sun exploded from his body.
Kwaaaaaaaaang!