Betrayal in the Secret Chamber
In I Yeon's line of sight, a hidden secret room came into view. One door had been shattered and blown away. Evidence that a sound assassin had been inside. Sensing the assassin's presence, Ju Ok-yeong must have smashed through the door and launched a surprise attack.
Blood. Drops of blood, seemingly fresh from moments ago, were scattered on the floor. The ambush had succeeded. But it wasn't a fatal wound. Fatal bleeding wouldn't look like this. So then...
I Yeon drew closer, opening her senses to the maximum. She felt it. Two presences in the underground secret room. Intense footsteps and the clash of weapons echoed up. The aura of a fierce battle.
Not too late yet. Without hesitation, I Yeon leaped into the underground secret room. First, join forces with Ju Ok-yeong to eliminate the sound assassin. Cleanup could come later.
Tak. She descended the stairs nimbly, crouching low with eyes wide open. Quick situational assessment—that was paramount.
Kaang! Kang! Two shadowy figures exchanging breathless sword strikes. One was naturally Ju Ok-yeong. The other was a hulking brute. The sound assassin, without a doubt. Finally, a glimpse of his face.
And that face was...
"...That man."
I Yeon narrowed her eyes and bit her lip. A familiar face. The branch leader's bodyguard. It was him.
Her prediction was spot on. The guess that he was the branch leader's confidant. Then the prediction that all this happened under the branch leader's tacit approval was likely true as well. If so, there was only one course of action.
Kill him and escape with Ju Ok-yeong. I Yeon made her decision. With the branch leader as the mastermind, they couldn't stay in the Golden Dragon Battlefield any longer. Regrettable that they couldn't dig deeper, but it couldn't be helped. At least she and Ju Ok-yeong would serve as witnesses, exposing the bodyguard's vile deeds to the world. It would surely deal a blow to the branch leader too.
—I'll join you. Swords have no eyes, so she sent a transmission to Ju Ok-yeong first. No reply in the urgent situation, but she must have registered it. I Yeon swept in a wide arc to position herself behind the enemy. Facing each other to encircle him. This way, they could coordinate their attacks easily.
Ju Ok-yeong's eyes gleamed. I Yeon took it as the signal. Ju Ok-yeong moved. A powerful downward slash infused with the domineering Single Moon Blade Technique.
"Tch."
The opponent desperately raised his bleeding arm to block. His back was exposed. Now! I Yeon thrust into the opening without delay. Perfect pincer attack, she thought.
At that instant. A sudden surge of powerful energy lashed out at I Yeon. Her eyes widened in shock. Caught off guard by the unforeseen attack, she couldn't react in time.
Pfwaaak! The blade tip, loaded with immense force, slammed into I Yeon's abdomen. Her body flew back like a severed kite string, crashing into the wall and collapsing.
Thud!
"Kuhk..." A pained groan escaped her.
Hurk. Internal injuries—she couldn't hold back a gush of bright red blood.
But the shock of pain was nothing.
"Why... why you...?"
I Yeon stared in disbelief at someone before her. There stood Ju Ok-yeong. With her usual icy expression. That first strike on the assassin had been a feint disguised as a real attack. Fooling I Yeon's eyes, then delivering a perfect ambush on her. In the end, I Yeon was gravely wounded, barely holding her trembling body upright.
Swish. Ju Ok-yeong raised her blade to finish I Yeon off.
But then.
"Stop."
The sound assassin said curtly.
"Yes, Master."
Ju Ok-yeong halted as if by magic. In that moment, I Yeon's pupils shook violently. Because Ju Ok-yeong stopped? No. Because of the words from Ju Ok-yeong's mouth. Words only a slave would utter, from the lips of a first-rate expert.
"Cough... Ju Ok-yeong, where has your pride gone? Yielding to threats from a filthy sound assassin like that isn't like you at all."
I Yeon pleaded desperately, hoping to sway her mind somehow.
But.
"Kuhukukukuku."
The sound assassin—no, Jang Il—burst into loud mockery.
"As if a bitch like her has any pride."
"You vile assassin. Watch your filthy mouth—"
"Khaak, ptui."
Jang Il suddenly hawked up a thick glob of phlegm onto the floor. A nauseating yellow slime oozed with uncleanliness.
"Lick it up."
"This dumb pussy bitch obeys your command, Master."
At Jang Il's word, Ju Ok-yeong dropped to her knees and slammed her face to the ground. Without a hint of hesitation, she extended her tongue long and licked up the sticky, filthy phlegm.
Slurp slurp. Like mopping with her tongue, she swept back and forth over the yellow mess.
And then.
Gulp.
She swallowed the phlegm coating her tongue.
"Th-this... can't be..."
I Yeon froze solid. The grotesque scene, impossible in reality, plunged her mind into panic.
"Ah, is that not enough?"
Grinning slyly, Jang Il kicked Ju Ok-yeong's upturned ass hard with his foot.
Thwack. Her plump buttocks jiggled from the force.
"Strip your bottom half."
"Yes, Master."
Ju Ok-yeong reached back in that position, pulling off her pants and stockings together. Her full, voluptuous ass, marked with a fresh red footprint from the kick, was fully exposed. Her pussy and anus bared shamelessly.
"J-Ju Ok-yeong..."
I Yeon's face drained white, her body shuddering.
But this was just the beginning.
Thud!
"Shake your shithole."
Jang Il commanded mercilessly, kicking her ass again.
"This dumb pussy bitch obeys your command, Master."
Ju Ok-yeong lifted her ass higher and shook it vigorously side to side.
Wobble wobble. Wobble wobble wobble. As if shaking her ass was her sole purpose in life, the first-rate female expert devoted everything to it. And it wasn't just any ass—every shameful part was on full display. Vulgar beyond measure. Utterly lewd. Utterly bizarre.
Jang Il didn't stop there.
"Pucker your asshole."
"This dumb pussy bitch obeys your command, Master."
Her wobbling ass cheeks parted, her asshole gaping wide in spasms of relaxation and contraction.
Wobble wobble. Pucker pucker. Wobble wobble wobble. Pucker pucker pucker. A spectacle beneath human dignity. One glimpse would ruin a life. Her ass and asshole declared her existence more worthless than livestock—base, lowly, debased.
"Kyahahaha!"
Finally satisfied, Jang Il roared with laughter. A declaration of total victory.
But a premature one. Her opponent wasn't fully neutralized yet.
"Die, you monster! Filth like you must die!"
Had I Yeon ever been this enraged? Never. She now knew bone-deep that Jang Il was the worst monster martial arts history had ever birthed. Even the Heavenly Demon, called the Martial World's Great Enemy, or the Blood Demon, the ultimate slaughter ghost, were nothing compared to him. They took countless lives, but never crushed personalities so thoroughly, shattered them, toyed with them, defiled them. Never treated dignity like a plaything. A monster that shouldn't exist in this world!
I Yeon gathered every last drop of her remaining energy. Life and death be damned. An all-or-nothing mutual destruction strike.
Tak!
Kicking off the floor, she charged at Jang Il ferociously. Panic flickered in Jang Il's eyes. He hadn't expected her, gravely wounded and mentally shattered, to unleash such power.
"Qu-quick, protect me!"
He urgently ordered Ju Ok-yeong, but he'd forced her into a position where she couldn't react fast. Per the implicit rule to obey without reply in crises, she rose silently—but her stance was awful. I Yeon's sword was already descending on Jang Il's neck.
"Eeeek!"
Jang Il screamed. In that instant, a figure shot from behind like a hail of arrows, barely deflecting I Yeon's blade upward.
Kaaang!
The immense force flung I Yeon's sword skyward.
"Ugh."
A groan escaped her. She'd overexerted her injured body for that strike. The rebound wracked her entire frame in agony.
Drip. Blood streamed from her mouth. Her internal injuries worsened.
Swish.
"It's over."
A blade at I Yeon's throat. Held by Yeon Su-rin.
"Knock her out."
"Yes, young master."
Thud! Yeon Su-rin's palm strike hit I Yeon's nape.
"Ah..."
I Yeon's consciousness faded as she pitched forward. Yeon Su-rin caught her and laid her on the floor.
"Y-Young master!"
Jang Il called out to Bang So-un with a face full of gratitude. A sigh of relief escaped him. Any later, and he'd be dead.
"I told you not to get complacent."
Bang So-un clicked his tongue.
"I thought the prey was as good as dead..."
Jang Il scratched his head. Watching him, Bang So-un thought: That's just how he is. Even after a hundred close calls, he'd slack off again. He'd have to stay vigilant from behind.
"Fine. As long as you're intact."
Bang So-un's gaze shifted to the unconscious I Yeon.
"More importantly, we've finally caught the spy. The scheme worked perfectly."
"As expected of you, young master."
Jang Il flattered Bang So-un first, then touted his own merits.
"My quick thinking ordering her to stab my arm fooled this bitch completely, haha."
"Yeah, good job. I'll give you that."
Bang So-un chuckled and continued.
"We've escaped immediate danger for now. But plenty left to handle."
"Like what?"
"First, keep the spy's oddity from tipping them off until we've secured all twenty perfectly."
"Ah... right. They'd switch tactics if they noticed."
Jang Il nodded.
"Also, don't let the other bodyguards spot anything off about her condition right away."
They had only three secured so far. Even counting the unprocessed I Yeon made four. So her injuries couldn't be noticed until healed.
"I'll handle it with suggestions as much as possible."
"I'll tell my wife to pair the ones we've got with us in shifts for a while."
"Got it. Just careful till her wounds heal."
"Those two for now. And most crucially."
"What is it, young master?"
"Find out her backers, contact methods, info sent—everything, thoroughly."
Bang So-un wasn't one to just take hits. He'd repay manifold. Jang Il shared that trait.
"Haha, leave it to me, young master. She'll spill not just that, but even how many hairs in her pussy bush."
Jang Il's laugh sealed I Yeon's fate.