Chapter 657
Chapter 657
Chapter 657
Shwiiiiing!
Thuk!
"Kurgh!"
It was a split second.
The arrow that left the bowstring flew straight toward Eom Cheol's right elbow.
If Eom Cheol hadn't reacted quickly, he could have lost his entire right arm in that situation.
'This crazy...!'
Eom Cheol's eyes rolled back.
'He shot an arrow even while I'm holding a hostage?'
As he ground his teeth and was about to thrust his sword to kill Ong Su-ryeong.
Shwiiiiing!
"Huh!"
He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Dozens of strands of red Kang Qi were extending through the air like living creatures, weren't they?
Moreover, they curved around the hostage Ong Su-ryeong as they flew in.
'This is impossible!'
He flailed his sword desperately.
Tadadadang! Thuk! Thuthuk!
He deflected a few strands of Kang Qi, but several flew straight into his vital points.
"Kurgh...! Kuwaaaak!"
His energy flow twisted and he began vomiting.
By the time Eom Cheol, having spat up a handful of blood, lifted his head, Sa Biran's form had already flown in like the wind and was kicking his chest.
Pyeok!
"Kurgh!"
Shwuuuuu, kwang!
Eom Cheol flew like a cannonball and tumbled down, breaking a large tree trunk.
At the same time.
"Sweep away every last one of those bastards!"
With a sharp voice, battle cries erupted from all around.
Soon after, a group of martial artists rushed out of the forest and began clashing with the Blood Command Squad, starting a melee.
Chachangchang! Chang! Chang!
"Kraaak!"
"Die!"
The martial artists who just appeared were also from the White Transformation Squad.
Sa Biran had selected a small elite force and ordered them to ambush, and when the battle had progressed to a certain point, Deung Ga-hwi appeared leading the rest of the martial artists.
A look of dismay appeared on Eom Cheol's face.
Even fighting against the White Transformation Squad's small elite force had been difficult for him.
As such, winning against the entire White Transformation Squad was close to impossible.
In the first place, the Blood Command Squad wasn't accustomed to fighting while fully exposing themselves like this.
They were specialized in covert ambushes.
They could be seen as similar to assassins, but what was different was that they didn't necessarily have killing someone as their only objective.
They also handled stealing things or extracting information.
Or they stepped forward when there was work that needed to be handled without anyone knowing.
But this situation...
Even if he gave up on the Magic Stone, he had to survive and return.
At the very least, now that he knew they had dug a trap, he couldn't just ignore the White Transformation Squad anymore.
He needed to report their capabilities and response to his superiors.
'There's no choice!'
Having made up his mind, he turned his body and kicked off the ground.
But at that moment.
Chwareureureureuk!
He heard the sound of chains sliding.
Chwaralak! Chalkak!
A chain sickle that flew from somewhere wrapped around his ankle, didn't it?
"Huh!"
As he gasped and tried to pull his foot free.
Hwik!
"Argh!"
Eom Cheol let out a single scream and flew into the air.
Tadat!
Just then, a woman rushed forward at high speed along the chain.
She flew forward while swinging her flexible sword.
Chwiriririririt!
The flexible sword undulated like a snake as it flew in.
Kagaang!
Sparks flew with a metallic sound.
As Eom Cheol, who barely blocked it, tried to rotate his body.
Chwalak!
"Huk!"
The chain sickle bound to his ankle pulled him strongly downward.
Shwuuuuuk, kwadaang!
Eom Cheol, who plummeted straight to the ground, spat blood once more and staggered to his feet.
"This damn...!"
Furious, he glared fiercely at Seok Geom-yeong, who had thrown the chain sickle, and Yeon Seol-yeon, who had swung her sword.
Eom Cheol took a deep breath for a moment and began slowly raising his internal energy.
Seeing this, Sa Biran narrowed her eyes.
"That again?"
It was a similar phenomenon to when they fought at Songbaek County before.
Back then, the enemies operated their internal energy in a strange way, then charged forward as if they knew no pain.
Right now, Eom Cheol gave off exactly that feeling.
'I can't let him use sorcery!'
Pabababat!
This time, both Sa Biran and Yeon Seol-yeon flew forward simultaneously.
As expected, in lightness technique alone, Yeon Seol-yeon was slightly faster.
Shwiiiiiit!
She slashed horizontally with her sword first.
Ttaang!
Eom Cheol raised his sword and blocked the flexible sword.
Chwiriririt!
In a split second, the flexible sword became like a snake, wrapped around Eom Cheol's sword, and aimed for his wrist.
"Tsk!"
As he clicked his tongue and released the handle.
Chwareuk!
"Hup!"
The chain sickle that wrapped around his ankle again yanked sharply, pulling him to the ground.
"Haat!"
Sa Biran, who had just rushed in, let out a battle cry while bringing her sword down vertically.
"Grk...!"
Eom Cheol clenched his teeth tightly and twisted his body as much as possible.
Paak!
Sa Biran's sword barely grazed his shoulder and struck the ground.
Immediately after, Eom Cheol sprang to his feet and sent a palm strike toward the ground.
Kwaang!
It was indeed a power incomparable to ordinary palm strikes.
Having barely escaped from the chain sickle, he performed lightness techniques in the air and moved.
But before long.
Shwiiiiing!
An arrow flew through the air like a beam of light.
"Grk...!"
Eom Cheol twisted his body with all his might and deflected the incoming arrow with his dagger.
Kaang!
"Krut!"
As sparks burst, the deflected arrow fluttered as it fell.
Seeing this, Eom Cheol was dumbfounded.
'A grass blade...?'
That's right.
What flew at him wasn't an arrow, nor was it a tree branch.
A grass blade.
Yet his palm holding the dagger felt pain as if it would tear apart.
That said, he had no leisure to just stand there surprised.
Shwishwiiiiing!
Two arrows flew at him in succession.
He had no time to determine whether they were arrows or not.
Eom Cheol simply extended both palms while drawing out his Body Protection Kang Qi to the extreme.
Kwakwaang!
With an explosive sound, whatever had been flying at him burst apart.
But then.
Thuk!
"Kruuuugh!"
Eom Cheol's eyes bulged as he turned his head.
There stood Dan Li-hyeok, who had shot the arrow, with a sunken expression looking this way.
"Damn it...!"
Eom Cheol slowly lowered his head and looked at the tree branch that had penetrated his solar plexus.
As expected, it wasn't an arrow.
The problem was that he hadn't noticed this tree branch at all.
Like a hidden weapon thrown by an assassin.
It flew silently and quietly in the darkness.
This was a unique martial art of Ilseong Sword Gate called 'Dark Current Arrow (暗流矢)', created by Dan Li-jeong with Sa Bigang's help.
Originally, when Dark Current Arrow reaches its peak, even a single arrow can be shot without any sign.
In other words, the victim only realizes the fact after being hit by the arrow.
However, Dan Li-hyeok hadn't reached that level yet.
Therefore, he mixed in other energies noisily.
And among them, he carefully shot one arrow using Dark Current Arrow to deal a fatal blow.
Theolsseok!
Eom Cheol, who had dropped to one knee, clenched his molars and glared at Sa Biran.
"I'll take you along as a companion to the afterlife...!"
Shwiit, taktaktak!
In an instant, Sa Biran flew like lightning and struck Eom Cheol's demonic acupoints.
Eom Cheol, who had been trying to activate a self-destruction technique, let out a single scream and collapsed unconscious.
Sa Biran looked down at the back of his fallen head and muttered coldly.
"That kind of companion should be taken along quietly. If you say it so openly, no one wants to go."
Meanwhile, as the squad leader fell, the Blood Command Squad members began to lose coordination.
Deung Ga-hwi didn't miss the opportunity and raised his voice.
"The enemy's squad leader has fallen! Sweep them all away with this momentum!"
"Acknowledged!"
The White Transformation Squad swept away the enemy like a raging tide with a resounding cry.
***
Hong Yeom furrowed his brow deeply and looked at the blood-soaked man.
"What... is this again?"
Sa Biran smiled brightly.
"As you can see, a bad guy."
"That's not what I... why are you bringing something like this to me..."
"He holds a very important key to the mission the White Transformation Squad is undertaking this time. We need to find out what conspiracy they're plotting."
"And so?"
"I'd like to ask you to take him to the Demon Annihilation Palace for investigation."
Hong Yeom hummed while looking at the blood-soaked man.
The blood-soaked man was Blood Command Squad Leader Eom Cheol.
Whether he had been tortured, all his teeth were missing, his nasal bone was broken, and his cheekbones were sunken.
On top of that, whether due to having his acupoints struck, his body didn't move at all.
"Hmm. I don't know if he'll even be able to speak."
"I'm sorry. I tried various methods, but he wouldn't open his mouth."
When Sa Biran made a smile mixed with charm, Hong Yeom chuckled helplessly and said.
"Alright. I should cooperate at least that much."
"Of course. It's work to protect the martial world, after all."
At Sa Biran's words, Hong Yeom smiled wryly.
"So you're planning to stop by Heaven New Martial Hall and then move immediately?"
"Yes, there's no benefit in delaying."
"True. With Spotted Cat, you should be able to find their base without difficulty. Then I wish you success."
"Yes, thank you. Uncle."
"Don't mention it."
Having finished speaking, Hong Yeom sent a mental transmission to someone.
Then a shadow dropped from the darkness, hoisted the fallen Eom Cheol onto his back, and disappeared.
Hong Yeom stopped as he was turning around and looked back.
"Ran."
"Yes?"
"Always be careful."
Sa Biran smiled brightly.
"Don't worry."
***
Dawn was breaking.
Dan Li-hyeok was still staying on that rock where he had sat last night.
He had been rubbing his right index and middle fingers with his thumb.
Having shot a bow just a few times, the calluses that had been almost faded had returned like a lie and settled in firmly.
Suddenly sensing a presence, he turned around to see Ong Su-ryeong approaching hesitantly.
"Um... thank you!"
She bowed her waist deeply in gratitude.
"Ah... well... it was nothing..."
What should I say?
It had been truly a long time since he received thanks from someone.
Ong Su-ryeong's face reddened slightly as she said.
"Thanks to you, I survived. Although I can risk my life for justice, if I had died then, my parents would have been very sad. Thank you again for saving me."
'Wow, what an unusual way of giving thanks. She must have grown up in a rather frustrating household too.'
Dan Li-hyeok swallowed his inner thoughts and nodded his head slightly.
"Well... I just did what was natural."
"Then... please take care of me from now on too."
"Are you asking me to save you again...?"
"N-no! I just meant since we'll have to carry out missions together from now on..."
"Haha, I was joking. No need to be so tense."
"Ah, yes. Yes! Then I'll be going...!"
Ong Su-ryeong bowed once more, then turned around and dashed away.
"Isn't she cute?"
At the voice that suddenly came, Dan Li-hyeok frowned and turned his head.
As expected, Sa Biran was standing there.
'This woman always appears like a ghost.'
Normally he would have countered with a mischievous joke.
But right now, he wasn't particularly in the mood for that.
Dan Li-hyeok shrugged his shoulders and replied.
"Well... I suppose."
"How is it?"
"What are you talking about? Do I look like someone who hits on just any woman?"
"You're the one talking nonsense. I'm asking how it feels to hold a bow again."
"Ah..."
Dan Li-hyeok flinched, then soon smiled wryly.
Then he muttered with a sunken expression.
"How else? It feels like shit."
"You saved that cute friend's life."
"It's fortunate the result was good, but the opposite could have happened."
Dan Li-hyeok's gaze followed the receding figure of Ong Su-ryeong.
Ok Ryu-hyang's image kept overlapping with her form.
'It could have turned out the opposite like that day...'