Howling Ravagers
Ha-hu Bong was the new head of the Geumwon Express carriage guild, having recently taken over the position from his father.
As head, he had been personally leading the express teams heading to their major clients, greeting them face to face to strengthen his standing.
His wife, Ban So-ok, had accompanied her husband.
So-ok had originally been a renowned female swordsman of Mount Hua Sect.
In her mid-twenties she had reached the realm of Transcendence/Grandmaster, been selected as the Plum Blossom Sword Master of Mount Hua Sect, and was considered one of the three greatest beauties in the world.
When she gave up that prestigious position, returned to the secular world, and married Ha-hu Bong as his legitimate wife, a legend arose that every man in Shaanxi had rolled on the ground in agony.
That day, Ha-hu Bong had been leading the express team that departed from Zhengzhou in Henan, heading toward Xi'an in Shaanxi where the guild's headquarters was located.
On a mountain road they had traveled countless times before, something utterly unexpected suddenly occurred.
The bandit stronghold of Mohua Pass, which had been built in the vicinity, blocked their path.
At first Ha-hu Bong had not worried at all.
Mohua Pass was a familiar opponent to Geumwon Express; they would simply pay the usual toll.
But the representative who appeared instead of the usual channel chief was a stranger, and the situation quickly turned dangerous.
“We greet the brothers of Geumwon Express! I am the new channel chief of Mohua Pass, Ma Wo-bok.”
**Daeryeokgeowong** Ma Wo-bok.
A notorious greenwood bandit whose bounty of eight thousand taels of silver had been posted for less than half a year.
He had entered Mohua Pass, killed the former chief, and taken the position.
Ma Wo-bok immediately announced that the toll would now be raised to five times its previous amount.
That was already outrageous, but the subsequent demand was even more outrageous.
“Also, to mark my ascension as chief, I am holding a celebration banquet, but with no courtesans on hand it was empty. Your wife is quite fair-skinned, Lord Head. Come by our stronghold for a while, enjoy yourselves a bit, and leave.”
His treating of his own wife as a courtesan was an insult, so Ha-hu Bong’s rage burned from the crown of his head.
“Shut your mouth, you filthy bandit scum! What are the Geumwon Express couriers doing? Wipe them out at once!”
Ha-hu Bong immediately declared open war.
Even at that moment he had been confident.
Though the numbers were greater on Mohua Pass’s side, the average ability of the Geumwon Express couriers was superior.
Ma Wo-bok, who was evaluated as Transcendence/Grandmaster, had been a concern, yet he trusted Ban So-ok more than any common bandit.
“Ye-hwa, I’m sorry, but I leave the leader of these trash to you.”
“Leave it to me, my lord. Your humble servant will chastise that villain with the Plum Blossom Sword Technique.”
Ban So-ok drew her sword with dignity and charged together with the couriers.
And the most horrifying nightmare of Ha-hu Bong’s life began.
“Kuwaaaaaak—!”
Suddenly Ma Wo-bok let out a beast-like roar.
At once the bandits roared like madmen and attacked the couriers.
“Kuaaaaak—!”
“Kkyo ooooooooot—!”
Their strength was far beyond expectation, and they fought with carefree smiles even as they took blows that should have been fatal.
Ban So-ok and the Geumwon Express couriers were powerless to stop the tide and were forced to retreat.
The Mohua Pass bandits surrounded them and began to ravage without mercy.
“Keuk!”
Then Ha-hu Bong himself was struck by an enemy blade.
“My lord—!”
At the moment Ban So-ok turned to look behind her while battling Ma Wo-bok, the bandit chief’s fist pierced her abdomen.
“Kuk…!”
“So-ok—!”
Ma Wo-bok hoisted the unconscious Ban So-ok onto his shoulder and came before the fallen Ha-hu Bong to mock him.
“Khuk, the sturdy fellow is enjoying having his guts squeezed. Your wife will be our bedding, so don’t worry and go enjoy the bliss of the Western Paradise. Kuhahahaha!”
With the wound in her abdomen causing her consciousness to grow dim, Ha-hu Bong could only helplessly watch Ban So-ok being dragged away before his eyes.
When all the bandits had left, Ha-hu Bong painfully placed his hand in his bosom and pulled out a small pill.
It was the Zisol Dan given by his father, the former head of Geumwon Express, as a reward for the great help he had once provided to Mount Hua Sect.
He had always carried it with him and been instructed to swallow it when his life was in danger.
With the burning determination to survive and save Ban So-ok, Ha-hu Bong bit into the pill soaked in blood and swallowed it.
***
Upon hearing Ha-hu Bong’s story I thought:
That bastard Ma Wo-bok was here?
In the pre-regression history, he had been the leader of a bandit group that once dominated the Shaanxi region.
At the height of his power he had reportedly more than ten thousand subordinates.
Then when the Blood Cult’s Young Master caused chaos he had defected to the Blood Cult and risen to the rank of Blood Pillar, equivalent to an elder in a normal sect.
Among the thirty-six Blood Pillars he ranked outside the top thirty, but because he was rotten even as a Blood Pillar, the number of people he had killed in the pre-regression history was more than the population of a major city.
Even in the current history he would have been a nuisance if he had survived, so of course I planned to kill him.
However, at this stage he was merely one of many unknown figures, so it had been difficult to find him through rumors alone.
After handling other matters I had planned to use the information network of the Haomen sect, but…
It was fortunate that I had run into him here.
At that moment Ha-hu Bong, his body still injured, prostrated himself before me and knocked his forehead on the ground.
“Lord! Though shameless, I have a request. Once we escape this mountain road, there will be people from Geumwon Express waiting for me. Please go in my place and immediately ask Mount Hua Sect for rescue.”
As someone who also had a wife, I understood his desperate heart perfectly.
I grabbed his shoulder and helped him up.
“Don’t worry, Lord. Your wife will be rescued by us right now.”
***
Later, after learning that the Heavenly Reverence Sword Empress Baekri Ye-hwa was among our party and that the martial prowess of the other two was not inferior to hers, Ha-hu Bong finally found some peace of mind.
First, I had him carried into the carriage he had ridden in.
The carriage was spacious enough for a patient to lie down comfortably, and its sturdy outer walls made it safe even if wild beasts or crows came to smell the blood.
Then, chasing the traces of the bandits, we entered deep into the mountains.
While pondering something intently, the fox spirit opened her mouth.
“My lord, the martial skill called by that Ma Wo-bok. It resembles one of our sect’s martial arts.”
I nodded.
“You are correct. The one he uses is the **Mae ngwonpohu-gong**.”
After the fall of the Heavenly Demon Palace and the internal strife within the Elder Council, a considerable number of the madmen of the Heavenly Demon Cult had crossed into the Central Plains.
Naturally their demonic arts had also spread, and the **Mae ngwonpohu-gong** was one of them.
A martial skill that temporarily exploded an ally’s latent potential by roaring with inner energy.
It was thanks to this skill that Ma Wo-bok had been able to rise to Blood Pillar in the pre-regression history, despite his own strength.
“Hmph, using the martial arts of this sect and then acting like a mere bandit. He is not a man who can be killed cleanly.”
So-ok added with cold eyes.
“Yes. Easy death for such villains is a luxury. We must punish them severely so that the way of heaven still exists.”
Soon Mohua Pass’s stronghold came into view.
Surrounded by a fence on all sides except one narrow pass, the terrain was mostly cliffs, and watchtowers were set up at intervals.
For a bandit nest it was quite a decent fortress.
We instructed them to hide in the bushes and wait, and I alone infiltrated the stronghold.
Sss—
Carefully approaching the side of the stronghold by avoiding the guards and leaping across the cliff.
I crossed the fence and moved stealthily through the interior.
After spreading my perception wide to confirm, there were roughly five hundred of them.
Ma Wo-bok was in the center holding a drinking party with his close subordinates.
He had the body of an unfurred bear with a pig’s head and human-like features; he stood out even from afar.
“Kuhahah—! Thinking of body replenishment with that fair girl Ban So-ok tonight makes the wine taste even better!”
The table was well-stocked with meat from the horse that had pulled the stolen carriage and the wine they had looted.
Leaving the bandits to their merrymaking, I went in search of Ban So-ok.
She was locked in a prison in the corner of the stronghold.
Kneeling with both hands bound behind her back, her entire body was tightly bound, and a gag had been stuffed in her mouth.
Outside the prison two bandits who appeared to be guards were drooling while watching her.
“Kyah~ The more I see her the more I want to fuck her. She was the Plum Blossom Sword Master of Mount Hua Sect back then, right? People say she smells like plum blossoms there—could it be true?”
“It doesn’t matter if she doesn’t smell like plums. I just want to stuff my nose into her cunt and die.”
“That Ha-hu Bong bastard is really stupid. A nobody merchant like him ends up dead with a pretty girl like that, what a waste.”
At those words a spark of fire flared in Ban So-ok’s eyes.
“Ugh—!”
“Puhaha! She’s angry now?”
“You stupid bitch, you don’t even know your current situation!”
“If you don’t know, I’ll teach you. Hey, do you know why our chief didn’t just fuck you right away and kept you here? Binding you and beating you is boring, so he’s preparing you so you’ll be tasty when he wants to eat you out.”
“When the mountain poison I fed you earlier completely drains your inner energy, I’ll torture every inch of your body with aphrodisiacs. Then I’ll have you dance and beg our chief first, and after that the whole stronghold will take turns using you.”
“…!!!…”
Ban So-ok’s face turned deathly pale, and the bandits laughed while mocking her.
“Kukuk… You understand now, bitch. From now on we are your husbands.”
“Forget about that dead bastard. We’ll treat you well. Kuhaha!”
That was their farewell.
Because I had stealthily approached and cleanly severed their necks.
I kicked open the prison door and entered.
And addressing the startled, frozen Ban So-ok I said.
“I have come to rescue your wife at the request of Lord Ha-hu Bong.”
At that moment tears gushed from Ban So-ok’s eyes.
Once I removed the gag and bindings, she asked me in an anguished voice.
“Is… is it truly you, my lord? You are safe?”
“Yes. Though your injuries are severe, they are not life-threatening. We will speak in detail later. First, escape.”
At the same time I sent a long-distance transmission to the fox spirit and Ye-hwa.
[Targets secured. Go wild.]
Kuaaaang—!
Immediately a majestic boom echoed from the main gate of the stronghold.
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HP: [x] / [max]