Chapter 119
Chapter 119
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: The Unga Mountain Villa
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The mercenaries' surprise attack had failed.
Of the eighty mercenaries, only about sixty returned, and a significant number of the Ingeomdan's warriors were also missing.
“Hmph.”
The returning Ingeomdan and mercenaries glared resentfully at Bu Eun-seol's group, who were resting unharmed.
Mun Gwang was no different.
‘Since I'm not paying them, there's not much I can say.’
As he was suppressing his anger, a bald man with a large axe on his shoulder stomped over to Bu Eun-seol, fuming.
He was the leader of the third squad, Jo Cheon-san, the "Blood-Cry Axe."
“Living the good life, aren't we?”
As if determined to start a fight, he spat on the rock Namgung Un was leaning against.
“Was this the reason you didn't take any money? So you could sit back and watch who dies?”
Jo Cheon-san said, his eyes bloodshot with rage.
“If you're here as a hired sword, you should be fighting! Why are you just sitting around on your asses?!”
“What kind of bullshit is this? That fellow, Leader Mun, told us to guard this place, so we did!”
“He told you to guard it. So you just stood watch like a good little dog? While everyone else was dying?”
“What? A dog?”
An enraged Namgung Un shot to his feet to retort, but Heuk-pyo grabbed both his hands.
“Young Master, please calm down.”
“Calm down? Why should I? We also fought to the death yesterday…”
Namgung Un, who was about to shout, shut his mouth.
Heuk-pyo's expression was too dark and desperate.
“He's just lashing out because he's grieving for his comrades…”
Even mercenaries who sell their swords for money feel camaraderie.
Jo Cheon-san was in agony.
So much so that he couldn't bear it without blaming someone.
“I'm begging you, Young Master. Please, endure it.”
At Heuk-pyo's soft whisper, Namgung Un pressed his lips shut.
“Fine. Forget I said anything.”
Suppressing his temper, Namgung Un turned his head away and spun around.
Just then, Mun Gwang stood before the mercenaries and spoke.
“The failure of this raid is entirely my responsibility.”
He lowered his head, his expression pained.
“The Paedo-mun saw through our movements and intelligence. Even our surprise attack.”
Lifting his head, he swept his gaze over the mercenaries and the Ingeomdan before speaking again.
“The main sect has ordered us to halt the raid and return. But I will face them head-on one more time.”
At that, a mercenary with a greatsword slung across his back stepped forward.
“No matter how I think about it, that doesn't seem right. Isn't that the same as ordering us to die a glorious death?”
A man next to him spoke up as well, his voice hoarse.
“He's right. There's a strange formation set up around that mountain villa. Unless we break through it, we won't even get inside before we're slaughtered like dogs.”
The raid had failed not only because of the large number of assassins but, more importantly, because of the formation at the entrance to the mountain villa.
Mun Gwang bit his lip and said.
“I'll increase your pay. Double what you've received so far!”
But the mercenaries' expressions remained cold.
No matter how they lived their lives selling their swords, they didn't want to die on a battlefield with no chance of victory.
“A formation, you say.”
Just then, Bu Eun-seol, who had been listening silently, spoke up.
“We'll dismantle the formation for you.”
“What did you say?”
As Mun Gwang's eyes widened, Bu Eun-seol pointed to Namgung Un and said.
“He is an expert at dismantling formations. No matter what kind of formation is set up, he can unravel it with ease.”
Namgung Un's jaw dropped.
Since when had he become an expert at dismantling formations?
Flustered, he waved his hands in denial, but Mun Gwang rushed over and grabbed his shoulders.
“Is-is that really true?”
A fiery longing and an indescribable anticipation flashed in his eyes.
“No, I…”
As Namgung Un was about to shake his head, Bu Eun-seol answered confidently.
“Of course.”
“I see. If you can dismantle it, I'll pay your group triple.”
A grateful Mun Gwang nodded vigorously, but Bu Eun-seol shook his head.
“We don't need the money.”
“You don't need payment? Why?”
Instead of answering, Bu Eun-seol simply offered a faint smile.
Seeing this, Mun Gwang pressed his lips together.
Because that smile looked like the grin of a grim reaper laughing in the long, black darkness.
“I-I understand.”
In the end, Mun Gwang turned away with an uneasy expression.
Unga Mountain Villa.
An abandoned mountain villa deep in the forests of Mount Sangyang.
One had to pass through a dense bamboo forest and then climb a winding, narrow path to reach it, making it a natural fortress.
Bu Eun-seol, Heuk-pyo, and Namgung Un were using their lightness techniques to quickly ascend the steep, narrow path.
“This is going to be difficult. A formation on the only path to the villa.”
After finally passing the bamboo grove, Namgung Un carefully examined the small path leading up to the Unga Mountain Villa and nodded.
“And it's not just an ordinary formation; it's one that includes mechanisms, like the Shin-nyeo-gung's Cheonjang-isipsa-jin. There must be countless hidden weapon traps as well.”
No matter how much of a ruffian he was rumored to be, Namgung Un had received an excellent education growing up in the Namgung Family.
That education included not only the sword but also poetry, calligraphy, art, and the study of formations.
“A formation of that level is designed to handle an assault by at least several hundred masters. It's absolutely impossible to dismantle it with our numbers.”
To Namgung Un's explanation, Bu Eun-seol replied calmly.
“Dismantling it is unnecessary.”
“Didn't you just boast to that Mun Gwang fellow that you'd dismantle it?”
“I mean that to enter the villa, we don't necessarily need to dismantle the formation.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Bu Eun-seol stared intently at Namgung Un and said.
“Didn't you just say it? A formation of that level was clearly made to annihilate a large number of people.”
“Well, yes.”
“To put it another way, they failed precisely because they brought a large force, which is exactly what the formation was designed for.”
“I don't quite understand.”
As Namgung Un shook his head, Bu Eun-seol's eyes gleamed.
“What if just one person were to enter?”
“Well, since it's a formation designed to kill a large number of enemies… it probably couldn't use all of its tricks.”
A sense of foreboding washed over Namgung Un, and he quickly added.
“But that's just a theory, isn't it?”
“We'll find out once one person goes in.”
“Haha, right. Who would go in alone into a formation that could annihilate hundreds of people?”
Bu Eun-seol said nothing, simply staring at Namgung Un with his profound eyes.
Feeling a chill, he took a slight step back and smiled.
“That 'one person' you're talking about... you don't mean me, do you?”
Instead of answering, Bu Eun-seol spoke to Heuk-pyo.
“You wait here. When the villa's gate opens, fire the signal flare. The mercenary squad and the Jin-cheon-mun masters waiting below will come then.”
“Understood.”
In the end, the mercenaries had agreed on one condition.
They would only join the fight once Bu Eun-seol's group dismantled the formation and opened the path to the villa.
“Brother Seol. Are you serious? You want me to go alone?”
“Didn't you say you wanted to gain experience in the Jianghu?”
“Yes, I did. But I didn't say I wanted a tour of hell.”
Namgung Un shook his head, breaking out in a cold sweat.
“There are many easier ways to commit suicide... Why choose such a difficult and complicated one?”
When there was still no reply, Namgung Un's eyes lost their focus.
“Brother Seol, did you know? They say the assassins of Eum-sa-gok slice people up like sashimi when they kill them. That's why they favor twin blades that can carve through flesh.”
“I see.”
“So, what I'm trying to say is... I'm not going in.”
As Namgung Un backed away, the corners of Bu Eun-seol's lips curled up.
“Are you afraid?”
“What did you say?”
“I asked if you are afraid.”
—Are you afraid?
Those words were like a magic spell that triggered Namgung Un's temper.
“Damn it! Who said I was afraid? I was just saying!”
Drawing his Geumchim-geom, Namgung Un bared his teeth and said.
“You just watch from there and see whether I'm afraid or not!”
Then, like a wild boar fleeing a forest fire, he plunged without hesitation onto the steep path leading to the Unga Mountain Villa.
*Fwaaa!*
The moment he stepped onto the narrow path, dozens of steel needles rained down from the left, right, and above.
Normally, Namgung Un would have flaunted his swordsmanship by ostentatiously deflecting all the hidden weapons.
But his recent experiences had stripped him of any useless formalities in real combat. He ducked low and dashed forward as if fleeing, dodging the barrage of projectiles.
*Whoosh! Thud-thud-thud!*
In that instant, logs and boulders rained down from above like a meteor shower.
‘What is that?’
Due to the formation's influence, the logs and boulders were overlapped with faint shadows.
No matter how he looked up, it was hard to tell which were real and which were illusions.
“Hngh!”
Namgung Un charged forward, slashing at the falling objects with his Geumchim-geom.
However, the Geumchim-geom's blade was too thin and slender; while it could cut through the logs, it struggled to parry the large boulders.
“Damn it! If we'd come in a large group, we'd have been annihilated.”
If a large number of people were crowded onto this narrow path, there would be no escape.
But since Namgung Un had entered alone, he could cut down the falling logs and dodge the boulders.
But as the formation's influence intensified, the shapes of the logs and boulders began to blend with the shadows.
“Now what is this?”
He was pushing forward with all his might, but his speed was slower than usual.
Looking closely, he saw that the ground had become like sticky glue and was flowing backward.
‘Isn't this a formation on the level of the Shin-nyeo-gung?’
It was impossible for a mere clan of assassins to set up such a high-level formation.
The Paedo-mun was also just a gathering of swordsmen; they had no one with such mastery of formations. There had to be another accomplice.
‘I have a bad feeling about this.’
Watching the endlessly falling logs and boulders, he once again used his movement technique to press onward.
“Pant, pant.”
His tongue was hanging out, but Namgung Un couldn't stop running.
Under the formation's influence, the moment he stopped, he would be pushed back toward the falling boulders.
*Poof!*
Just then, with the sound of a gourd bursting, a white powder scattered through the air.
“More energy-scattering powder?”
Remembering how he fell into Wang Jeong's trap in the Buljeong Mountain gorge, Namgung Un gritted his teeth.
“I won't fall for the same trick twice!”
As he executed the Wild Flurry of the Azure Sky Swift Sword, the powder swirled into a vortex and began to rise back into the sky.
It was a moment where his experience in the Jianghu truly shone.
“How do you like that!”
Namgung Un looked up at the sky with a grin, but his expression froze.
This time, a massive chunk of iron, large enough to cover the ground, was descending from above.
“Wh-what is that?”
The colossal piece of iron was immense, seemingly stretching for miles. No matter how fast he ran, there was no way to escape it.
*KWOONG!*
Just then, with a ground-shaking vibration, a large bell landed beside him.
Now he could see that what had fallen from the sky wasn't a giant chunk of iron, but a massive temple bell large enough to trap a person.
“The Paedo-mun really came prepared.”
“Brother Seol.”
Namgung Un saw that Bu Eun-seol had followed him at some point and clutched his chest in relief.
“When did you get here?”
“You broke through it properly.”
Bu Eun-seol surveyed the surroundings, where all sorts of traps had been sprung, and nodded.
The hidden weapons were no longer falling, and the formation's influence had vanished.
They had finally broken through the path covered in mechanical traps and arrived at the gate of the Unga Mountain Villa.
*Creeeak.*
As he swung the main gate wide open and looked inside the Unga Mountain Villa, despair filled Namgung Un's eyes.
“What in the world is this…”
The buildings inside the Unga Mountain Villa were completely empty; in their place, another forest stretched out before them.
And throughout the forest, the thick, cloying killing intent of hidden assassins filled the air.
In the end, it was a mountain villa in shape only; the inside was no different from a forest.