Since When Were We Three?
Since when did you think we were three? The faces of the Guizhou Five Kills hardened rigidly. It was a remark utterly beyond the pale. In the martial world, words like that would spark an instant blade fight. Even against someone who merited a concession, there was a limit to what anyone could stomach.
"Urgh, what the hell is that lunatic babbling...?"
Fourth Kill started to spit out a furious retort, but First Kill raised a hand to silence him. Fourth Kill clamped his mouth shut with obvious reluctance. Still, his glare remained razor-sharp, fixed on Bang So-un.
Bang So-un dismissed the stare without a hint of intimidation, brushing it off lightly.
First Kill forced himself to cool his emotions first. "Are you perhaps the Golden Dragon Battlefield Leader?"
"Do you think a worm like you has any right to know this elder's identity? If you're so curious, make me talk with your skills."
Bang So-un let out a cold sneer.
"That bastard really!"
"What arrogance!"
"Hmph, not a cute guy at all."
Third Kill, Fourth Kill, and Fifth Kill bristled in outrage. Once more, First Kill held them back. True to his role as leader and eldest, he was already scrutinizing the situation closely.
That guy... he's been watching us all along.
What Bang So-un had just said was an exact echo of Third Kill's earlier mockery toward the Swift Shadow Swordsman. He'd thrown it right back at them. First Kill realized it instantly. That meant he'd been spying on the inn's chaos at least since before the brawl erupted.
But he didn't intervene.
The Golden Dragon Leader was an observer at the sword conference. True to their merchant roots, the Golden Dragon Battlefield stayed neutral, leaning neither way. They had no close ties that would compel them to step in over a slap to Haenam Sect's face. The South Sea martial world was the same.
Yet...
Why pull this shit now, all of a sudden?
First Kill furrowed his brow, lost in thought. But no clear motive surfaced. He wasn't suddenly playing righteous hero, that much was sure.
In the end, First Kill gave up guessing. That wasn't the priority now. What mattered was gauging the Golden Dragon Leader's power. Their choices would hinge entirely on that. That's how the martial world worked.
First Kill narrowed his eyes.
Sword conference observers can be ruled out.
Sword conference elites weren't like the frog-in-a-well types they lorded over locally. They were genuine masters with fame across the Central Plains. Would one of those hide behind the Golden Dragon Leader? No way. If they meant to act, they'd have done so already.
That left...
Hm, I'm sure there was more than one male guard.
He distinctly remembered that bear of a man. The guy had bellowed thunderously, drawing eyes. And the inner energy in that roar was no joke.
But...
I can handle that one alone.
First Kill was confident. The power in that lion's roar was impressive, but the man's gait screamed amateur peak expert—green from lack of real combat, sheltered his whole life. He'd crushed plenty of half-baked masters like that.
No, the real issue wasn't him. It was the other guards who weren't visible.
Veiled women... definitely at least two. Where are they?
As First Kill's eyes darted around, scanning the interior for traces—
"Didn't you hear me say lick it?"
Bang So-un spat another provocation.
Before his brothers could explode, First Kill cut in swiftly. "Listen here, Golden Dragon Leader. You must be new to your post and ignorant of the martial world's ways. Let me enlighten you. In Murim, preserving face matters more than anything sometimes."
Coming from the Guizhou Five Kills after their reign of terror here, it was brazen hypocrisy—but not wrong. The current situation proved it. With so many watching, throwing out an absurd humiliation like "lick it" left no room for retreat. It was an insult that shredded any chance of holding one's head high. They'd have no choice but to lunge and bite back. Even victory would leave scars. Unless one's power was overwhelmingly superior, you gave ground to save face.
Yet the Golden Dragon Leader, green as he was, had sealed off any escape from the start. A foolish move that demanded blood.
"Does the martial world these days even bother saving face for non-humans?"
Bang So-un didn't flinch. He mocked them instead.
"What?"
"Kuk, relying on your petty backing and going too far!"
"You think this is Hangzhou?"
"Hmph, what a trashy man."
The rest of the Guizhou Five Kills teetered on the edge of eruption. Even First Kill's patience frayed at the unrelenting arrogance. He wasn't some saintly soul. If anything, he was beastly—devouring prey without hesitation.
What stayed his hand was Bang So-un's position as Golden Dragon Leader. And their ignorance of his exact power.
But if he kept this up, collision was inevitable. Tucking tail here would shatter the Guizhou Five Kills' hard-earned infamy.
"You really want blood? Like my brothers say, this isn't Hangzhou. Think hard about what that means."
First Kill held back one last time. Instead, he sent a transmission to Second Kill.
-Go up top now and check for Golden Dragon Leader's female guards nearby. I've scanned inside—no unusual auras. If they're here, they're outside.
-Got it, big bro.
No sooner had the transmission ended than Second Kill shot upward.
Boom!
In an instant, he smashed through the third-floor roof and onto the tiles. His hawk-like eyes swept every inch within ten zhang.
Soon, he spotted a veiled woman with ominous energy.
-Big bro, one bitch up here.
-Just one, right?
-Yes, definitely.
-Good. One, huh. Come down.
-On it, big bro.
A faint smile tugged at First Kill's lips. The Golden Dragon Leader's guards: two total. Decent skill, no doubt. That must be fueling his bravado...
They think the Guizhou Five Kills are pushovers.
Hard-won fame from countless battlefields. Nothing fake about it. Sure, if this were Hangzhou, they'd grit their teeth and withdraw despite the humiliation. But this was no Hangzhou.
An island at the southern fringe, thousands of ri from Hangzhou by waterway. Even if shit hit the fan, Golden Dragon Battlefield couldn't help.
Greenhorns are greenhorns.
First Kill slowly gathered his killing intent.
Unaware or uncaring, Bang So-un scolded sternly. "What are you doing on someone else's turf? Even beasts have lines they don't cross. You've gone way over yours."
Justification.
Bang So-un's words built a moral high ground.
Contrary to First Kill's thoughts, Bang So-un was cold, cunning, and sharp as a blade. He'd calculated everything before intervening—odds of victory, how this would look to others. Especially to Yu Seol-young.
Grab attention by any means.
Bang So-un smirked inwardly. He'd already caught some notice. But it wasn't enough. He needed sustained spotlight.
And besides...
Time to debut new slave bitches to the world—and add one more.
Bang So-un's gaze shifted to Fifth Kill. Vicious face, but pretty enough. Solid skills too—perfect war trophy.
"You are the ones going too far!"
First Kill finally bellowed. The signal to fight.
As if they'd been waiting, the rest of the Guizhou Five Kills moved.
"One more bitch outside! Second and I will handle her—you three take the bear!"
"Heh heh, got it."
"We'll smash him."
"Ho ho, leave it to us."
Third, Fourth, and Fifth Kill closed in on Jang Il from three sides.
"You idiots. I gave you a way out with your lives, but you insist on drinking the poison?"
Clap!
Bang So-un clapped his hands.
Boom!
The door burst open violently as a veiled woman entered. Not Yeon Su-rin, not Gal Sahyeon, not Ju Ok-yeong.
Muyeong Bido. It was her.
Appearing for the first time to wield force for her true masters.
"Big bro!"
"I see her!"
First and Second Kill squared off against Muyeong Bido.
The battlefield split into two fronts.
Gulp.
Onlookers swallowed dryly, tension thick in their eyes.
One thing was certain: deep down, everyone rooted for the Golden Dragon Leader's crew.
Everything unfolded exactly as Bang So-un intended.
Sword-wielding Third Kill, spear-wielding Fourth Kill, hidden weapon Fifth Kill.
Masters who'd effortlessly crippled the Swift Shadow Swordsman and South Sea heroes.
All first-rate, their combined assault wasn't something Jang Il—mere peak inner energy—could take lightly.
Jang Il felt it.
Yet he burst into incomprehensible laughter.
"Puhahaha, just two?"
"Two? You think you can handle two? Were you expecting 'even two is too much' or some crap?"
Third Kill bared his teeth in a laugh.
"Hahaha! As if, you moron! Think we'd pull cheap tricks when we're three strong? We'll carve you up nice and thorough."
"Puhah, right, third bro. This musclehead's trying some lame ploy."
"Ho ho ho, I'll gouge out those rotten mackerel eyes myself."
Fourth and Fifth Kill chimed in with mocking laughs.
"Jeez, I said two, and you can't even count."
Jang Il tsked his tongue.
Third Kill raised his sword.
"Hmph, enough lame tricks."
Fourth Kill thrust his spear forward.
"Repent serving the wrong master in hell, you retard."
Fifth Kill slipped her hidden weapons onto her fingers.
"Ho ho, I hate dumb men."
A cornered bear. That's how it looked to everyone.
That instant—
"Quietly kill one."
Jang Il muttered in a sinister tone.
No one understood.
But Jang Il alone heard the clear reply in his mind, like an auditory hallucination.
......Yes...... Master......
A venomous smile curled Jang Il's lips.
"Shut your dog mouths and die already—"
Puk!Puk!Puk!Puk!Puk!
"Guh... guhuk...?!"
Third Kill's eyes bulged in horror, nearly splitting open.