Secret Branch Infiltration Operation 3
"Something's not right..."
Ok-gang, the branch master overseeing Kunlun's secret outpost, let out a low hum as he looked over the corpses of his disciples — slaughtered without mercy.
When the first report had come in, he hadn't thought much of it. They had plenty of enemies; it was only a matter of time before someone made a move.
But standing at the scene, the oddities piled up one after another. The tracks led in directions that made no sense.
"If these footprints are right, they should have slammed straight into a wall..."
They had cut a perfectly straight line. Judging by the size of the prints, there hadn't been many of them. And at the end of that straight line stood a wall.
The idea that they had scaled it never crossed his mind. Formations guarded this place. If anything had gone wrong, he would have known long before now.
"Branch Master! The footprints only go this far!"
"We found movement traces through the forest. Everything points to a Demonic Cult intrusion!"
"A Demonic Cult intrusion... Who was the last demonic martial artist locked in the prison?"
"The vice-leader of the Thousand Transformations Soul Chasing Squad."
"..."
Ok-gang bit down on his lip. The Kunlun Sect had held the front line against the Demonic Cult for generations. No orthodox sect understood them better.
The Thousand Transformations Soul Chasing Squad was one of the five great battalions under Guangming Palace, where the Cult Leader himself resided — a unit specializing in disguise and tracking. Perhaps the vice-leader's imprisonment had been intentional all along.
With that thought, Ok-gang rose to his feet.
"Everyone, to the prison—"
Whiiish!
Mid-sentence, Ok-gang slammed his foot into the ground and launched himself into the air. By a hair's breadth, someone's sword carved through the empty space where he had stood.
The attacker was a middle-aged man in Kunlun robes. The other Kunlun Taoists stood frozen in confusion.
A man they had known since childhood, baring hostility? Attacking Ok-gang, a Transcendent expert? None of it made sense.
But Ok-gang's eyes went wide. That unnatural curl at the corner of the man's mouth. That was—
"All martial artists within the branch, assemble here at once!!"
"You're too late."
Slashhh!
The man who had ambushed Ok-gang swept through the Kunlun Taoists like a scythe. Warriors they had thought of as comrades were cut down mercilessly beneath his blade.
"KRAAAAGH!"
"Guh—!"
In an instant, three or four heads sailed into the air. The Lion's Roar had drained a considerable amount of internal energy, but this was no time to count the cost.
If he held back to conserve his power, his disciples would die. Ok-gang charged desperately toward the man's sword.
"You bastard! You dare set your sights on the great Kunlun's secret branch?!"
"Sharp old man, as expected."
"Kh—!"
BOOOOM!
The man swung his sword and Ok-gang was blasted backward. Only then did the other martial artists grasp the situation. The man who had murdered their allies was no ally at all.
He was an enemy wearing a friendly face. And the power to force a Transcendent expert like Ok-gang onto the back foot — this was no ordinary martial artist.
"Thousand Transformations Ghost! Do you have any idea where you are, holding your head so high?!"
"Ah, so I've been found out."
"Th-the Thousand Transformations Ghost...?!"
"The leader of the Thousand Transformations Soul Chasing Squad! An Extreme Demon expert!!"
Shindogun, the Thousand Transformations Ghost. Leader of the Thousand Transformations Soul Chasing Squad, and one of the few Extreme Demon experts on the Demonic Cult's side.
He had earned the name Thousand Transformations Ghost for his ability to become anyone. His signature Face-Changing Technique was unmatched by anyone under heaven.
On top of that, his martial prowess had reached the Extreme Demon realm — a thoroughly troublesome opponent. The Kunlun disciples finally understood why Ok-gang had unleashed his Lion's Roar.
With the forces currently stationed at the secret branch, handling a single Extreme Demon expert was already a stretch.
"Just hand over our vice-leader and I'll walk away."
"You dog! So it was a trap after all!"
"What else would you call getting yourself caught like an idiot, if not a trap?"
"All disciples below Peak level, fall back and observe the situa—"
"Do you really have the leisure to give orders with me standing right here?"
"...!"
Thwack!!
Shindogun's hand shot out like a thunderbolt. Ok-gang's reaction came a fraction too late, and Shindogun exploited the opening, carving a long sword wound across Ok-gang's chest.
"B-Branch Master!"
"Call for reinforcements! Now!"
"Yes!"
Thoughts of the infiltrators vanished from Ok-gang's mind. They would have gone down to the prison by now, and the secret branch's strongest force was already waiting there.
I leave it to you, senior brother. I'll take care of this damned demonic fiend myself.
A resolute will settled in Ok-gang's eyes. Even if this body of his fell here, he would annihilate the demonic fiend before him.
Meanwhile, Shindogun coolly assessed the situation.
He sent those Jamma Cave brats into the prison without a word?
How stunned had he been when the report came in? Lee Hyeong-seop had always rubbed him the wrong way, but to pull a stunt this catastrophic...
This was a secret branch that housed Transcendent experts. Using something like this as a Jamma Cave graduation exam? How was that any different from telling them to go die?
Word would have reached the Cult Leader by now. Whatever Lee Hyeong-seop had been scheming, he was a dead man walking.
Did I come too fast?
Tearing this secret branch apart single-handedly was nothing. The problem was how deep the children had already penetrated.
The vibrations radiating from where the prison was presumed to be were anything but ordinary. If the Cult Leader's daughter came to serious harm...
The Kunlun Sect would be reduced to ashes on the spot. Shindogun shook his head vigorously at the mental image of the Cult Leader's enraged face.
Whose daughter was she, that he should worry? She was Cheon Yu's daughter. The sole Deconstructive Demon expert of the Divine Cult, and the greatest talent since the founding Cult Leader himself.
There was no need to worry. She would rescue the vice-leader and return safely.
But what he did not know was this: among those who had infiltrated the branch, the strongest force was not Se-hwa — but a man whose name he had never even heard.
"Kh—!"
Shin Gi-woon finally let out a groan he could no longer suppress. Driven onto the defensive, he couldn't even handle his spear properly.
A Transcendent expert, indeed. The moment the Kunlun Radiant Sword focused solely on combat, Shin Gi-woon was immediately pushed to the brink.
Watch your right!
Whiiish!
He was only still standing because Ryu-jin kept warning him of potentially fatal attacks. His entire body had long since been reduced to tatters.
The Kunlun Radiant Sword, by contrast, was still going strong. His internal energy had taken a hit, but he clearly had stamina to spare. For all his earlier bravado, Gi-woon was getting thoroughly wrecked.
"What's the matter? Is this the end?"
"..."
"Even that filthy mouth of yours has gone quiet. Reached your limit, have you?"
"Shut up."
Shin Gi-woon gripped his spear tighter. The situation wasn't hopeless. He had fought Ryu-jin and won before.
But winning wasn't the point of this fight. This was a battle to buy time — until those who had gone down into the deepest reaches of the prison could return.
And this was nothing like fighting Ryu-jin. Facing a beast and facing a person were entirely different things.
"Just as I figured. You're talking because the old man is starting to tire out, aren't you?"
"As if that could be."
"Haha, right. You think I can't tell your breathing's gone ragged?"
Shin Gi-woon's gaze turned frigid. Meeting those eyes, the Kunlun Radiant Sword twisted one corner of his mouth.
A cunning little brat. He knew how to fight — well enough that the Kunlun Radiant Sword's own breathing had been disrupted more than once.
If the Kunlun Radiant Sword's goal was to kill Shin Gi-woon, then Shin Gi-woon's goal was to drain the Kunlun Radiant Sword's stamina.
It was the optimal strategy for a martial artist fighting from a disadvantage.
"Our sect's disciples will be here soon."
"And?"
"Surrender now, and I'll spare your life."
"Ha! Looking at those eyes of yours, itching to kill me, I somehow don't buy that at all."
"...Not taking the bait, are you."
The Kunlun Radiant Sword's face twisted into something monstrous. Ask any decent person looking at this scene —
In this situation, who was the demonic fiend and who was the Taoist?
The Kunlun Radiant Sword poured out killing intent with deliberate malice. Now it was clear why he had been left alone to rot in the prison. This man was almost certainly the strongest force within the branch.
He had no hesitation about killing people, either. Stationing him in a prison no outsider would ever see made perfect sense.
The soft-handed gentlemen of the orthodox sects weren't used to death, after all.
Here, the Kunlun Radiant Sword could unleash his full power without restraint. But he had made one critical mistake.
"You've given me far too much time."
"What?"
"Now!!"
Whiiish!
A crimson sword aura erupted from the darkness, aiming for the Kunlun Radiant Sword's throat. He stepped back calmly, one measured pace.
Shin Gi-woon poured every scrap of energy he had left and charged straight at the man's solar plexus. Dodging the sword aura had left a glaring opening fully exposed.
"HAAAH!"
There was no reason to think about what came after. Letting a golden opportunity like this slip away was something Shin Gi-woon would never forgive himself for.
And just as the tip of the White Fang Spear was about to pierce the Kunlun Radiant Sword's solar plexus—
"GAAAAH!"
"Kh—!"
The Kunlun Radiant Sword's Lion's Roar knocked the White Fang Spear off its trajectory, and his sword batted the spear aside.
Shin Gi-woon clicked his tongue and fell back. At the same time, Se-hwa — who had supported him with that crimson sword aura — stepped up beside him.
"Having a hard time, huh?"
"You try fighting a Transcendent expert. The fact that I'm not dead yet is a miracle."
"I'm kidding."
With Se-hwa joining the fight, the balance of power seemed roughly restored — but a closer look at her condition said otherwise.
She had clearly burned through a great deal of internal energy in her desperate battle with the gatekeeper. Still, two was better than one. And if the reinforcement was Se-hwa, all the better.
"I'll hold him. You strike."
"Shouldn't that be the other way around?"
"With the strength you have left, you won't be able to block properly. Just do as I say."
"...Fine."
There were no further objections. Se-hwa didn't have the energy left to take the Kunlun Radiant Sword's blade head-on.
Shin Gi-woon would absorb every attack from the front, and she would exploit the openings. That was the formation they settled on.
"Let's go!"
Round two begins.