Operation Breakthrough Paju (1)

"Hey, you dumbasses! Don't wimp out!"

The guy who had been the second-in-command until just a few seconds ago—and who now seemed to have risen to the top spot due to the previous leader's "biological parts being forcibly detached"—shouted at his subordinates.

"He only ended up like that because he charged straight at the sword on his bike! Surround her and wear her down slowly—"

"Ah, fuck this!! Screw you!!!"

The guy behind him revved his engine—Vrooooom!—and tried to pull a U-turn to escape.

"Who said..."

I kicked off the ground and leaped into the air. Hyeonsongcheonnyeo, sorry if this gets a bit bumpy!

"...you could..."

A vertical slash right at the guy trying to U-turn! The blade pierced through his shoulder and collarbone, plunging straight down and tearing right through the motorcycle seat.

"...fucking..."

A horizontal slash to the guy next to him! He became a headless corpse.

"...run away!!!"

A thrust to the next guy! I felt the sword pierce the exact center of his body, splitting his thoracic vertebrae.

Using the only three forms of the Three Talents Sword Style, one by one, I cut them all down!

"I wasn't trying to run..."

The guy who had briefly risen from second-in-command to leader let out a pathetic, aggrieved cry before turning into a corpse.

"And as for you!!"

I kicked the last remaining guy's motorcycle, sending it crashing to the ground.

"Aaargh!! Fuck, why is there a martial artist out here?!"

"Why am I out here? That's my line, you bastard!"

To make sure the guy trying to crawl away didn't try anything funny, I stomped my foot hard onto his chest.

"Urgh...!"

"Why did you bastards fighting for turf in Paju crawl all the way out here? What's the situation over there right now?!"

"F... fuck..."

The last survivor muttered, coughing up a fountain of blood.

"Gah...!"

At the same time, my foot sank deep into his chest, and I almost lost my balance for a second.

It seemed my stomp had completely crushed his ribcage, collapsing it inward. The blood he spat out was because his heart and lungs had ruptured.

"...Uh-oh."

I didn't mean to do that. I was going to kill him anyway, but I wanted to squeeze some information out of him first.

"Tsk, useless bastard. Can't even help me out on your way to hell."

If today were Day 1 of the Gate Outbreak, I would have freaked out, crying, Oh my god, I killed someone! Any normal person would.

But today was Year 10 of the Gate Outbreak.

I had seen far too much death in the meantime to make a fuss over something like this.

I guess I really have gotten stronger.

Even if you don't know fancy swordplay or palm techniques, just accumulating internal energy makes you strong to a certain extent. Simply flailing your limbs gets backed up by the sheer destructive power of your qi.

My dantian is a bit of a chaotic mess, but it seems to pack a decent punch.

The Bongrae Sect's Daoist qi I received from Hyeonsongcheonnyeo.

The demonic qi still swirling inside me.

And the Baekdu Sect's Daoist qi I accumulated through the White Dragon Divine Art.

Is it really okay to learn martial arts all willy-nilly like this? I wondered.

It's not like I wanted to end up this way, though.

Now, what do I do?

A notification popped up on the Jin Moorim Gallery, which I had pushed to the corner of my vision.

Ho-eamae?

Who is this?

Browsing the Jin Moorim Gallery was my hobby, but I had never seen this moniker before.

Let's search the posts... Ah, this must be it.

She laid it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out so cleanly.

"..."

Ah.

I paused after typing the "T_T".

...This is so cringy.

But to prevent anyone from realizing that 'Anon' and 'Peach Blossom Fairy' were the same person, I had to keep their speech styles completely different. That was the absolute golden rule of running multiple accounts.

Therefore, Peach Blossom Fairy had to use a sweet, feminine, and cute tone, the exact opposite of Anon's rough, blunt style.

Ugh... I just have to suck up the cringe.

An immediate reply came back.

Whoa.

The two of us exchanged messages like we were in a 1-on-1 live chat.

Damn it, how on earth am I supposed to write in a sweet, feminine, and cute way?

I tried to recall how the popular girls in school used to talk.

Okay, I am a super-popular, bubbly high school girl. Let's do this.

The rapid-fire chat suddenly ground to a halt.

Ah, crap. Did I step on a landmine?

?

Why the sudden change in attitude?

Was not knowing her name really that shocking?

Is she the type to keep me close just to torment me?

I hope she doesn't invite me to meet up as "friends" only to say, "Ah, you're here. Now get on your hands and knees."

Man, did I screw up?

But even if I end up as her errand boy later, I have to play along for now.

Inside a trashed office, the Chief of Heubmun Pavilion laughed boisterously.

"Bwahahaha!!"

Since the Chief was laughing, his subordinates naturally laughed along.

"Bwahahaha!"

"Hahaha!!"

"Bwaha! Hahaha!!"

SLAM!!

The Heubmun Pavilion Chief slammed his fist onto the table.

"Is this funny to you?"

The Heubmun Pavilion Chief was a giant, standing well over two meters tall with shoulders broader than a meter.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"No, sir!"

"It's not funny at all!"

"Not even a little bit, sir!!"

The Chief's glare locked onto the last subordinate who spoke.

"...Not funny, you say?"

"Yes! It's not funny!"

The Chief's fist slammed directly onto that subordinate's crown.

CRACK!

With his neck bones completely shattered, the subordinate collapsed on the spot.

He was either dead instantly, or he would soon wish he had been.

"Is it funny now?"

"..."

"..."

"Well, I find it funny. Bwahahaha!"

"Hahaha!"

"Bwahahaha!!"

Beside the roaring Heubmun Pavilion Chief and his laughing lackeys, an old man with a face full of deep wrinkles chuckled.

"Hehehe... The Poyang Mounted Bandits and the Mabang are as good as destroyed. Paju is practically ours."

"Hahaha! It was all thanks to the help of the Pasado Sect. How can I ever repay ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this debt?"

"Just pay the monthly tribute of twenty million won as promised."

"Hahaha! How can I ever repay this debt? This foolish Chief simply cannot see any way to repay the Pasado Sect's grace."

"Just pay the twenty million won every month as per the contract."

"Bwahahaha!!"

"Hehehe."

"Bwahahaha!!!"

"Hehehe."

"..."

"..."

Just as the Heubmun Pavilion Chief reached for his giant hammer and the Pasado Sect elder rolled up his sleeves—

VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!

The deafening roar of a motorcycle engine ripped past their building. The noise was so intense that the window panes rattled.

The Heubmun Pavilion thugs leaped to their feet.

"The Mounted Bandits?!"

"To think they'd ride right past us!! They've got some nerve!!"

"The rats must be making their final desperate stand before they die!"

"Hahaha!! Let's clean up the remnants first!!"

The Heubmun Pavilion Chief charged out, brandishing his hammer.

"Stop right there!!"

To counter the highly mobile Mounted Bandits, Heubmun Pavilion had also equipped themselves with motorcycles.

Among them, the Chief had his own custom ride.

A massive machine built by mounting a V8 car engine directly onto a motorcycle frame.

"Stop right there!!"

"Yee-haw!!!!"

With the Heubmun Pavilion thugs hot on her tail, Cheon Doyeon sped through the streets of Paju on her stolen motorcycle.

As I kept speeding along the route Ho-eamae had mapped out in the corner of my vision—

“Wh-What is that?! Boss!! Heubmun Pavilion tracked us down and is charging right at us!!”

“Damn it all!!! We have nowhere left to hide anyway! Even if we die, let's fight to the bitter end!!”

From the gaps between the buildings, the motorcycles of the Poyang Mounted Bandits poured out.

Whoa?!

Is this really going according to Ho-eamae's plan?!

Which meant, if I kept blasting along the drawn path—

“Chief!! The bandits have chased us here!”

“Is that so... Hmph...! So they want to go all the way...! Everyone, get out there and fight!!”

Even the Chief of the Mabang cartel was aggroed and came charging out.

And the three factions, emerging from their respective hiding spots, collided head-on at an intersection large enough to accommodate them all.

“Ah!!”

“There they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠are!!”

“Those bastards!!”

“Kill them!!”

“Kill them all, boys!!”

“Damn it all!!! Tear them to shreds!!!!”

A ruthless three-way war erupted. Axes, hammers, fists, swords, and all kinds of unorthodox martial arts clashed.

Oops.

In my excitement, I forgot to use my sweet, feminine tone.

I hope she didn't notice.

Her moniker was Ho-eamae.

Her real name was Jegal Ayeong.

With her long, straight hair and sharp, elegant eyes, she was a striking beauty and the brilliant flower of the Jegal Clan, one of the Seven Great Noble Families.

Currently lying on her bed in pink pajamas, she muttered aloud.

“Does she really not know who I am...?”

Members of the Jegal Clan rarely went to the front lines, and even when they did, they seldom made flashy, public displays of martial prowess.

Thus, it wasn't impossible for someone to not know who Ho-eamae was. Though anyone in the know would recognize the Jegal Clan.

And if she really didn't know...

If she had praised her intellect as being "like Zhuge Liang" under those circumstances...

“…Hehehe.”

Jegal Ayeong kicked her feet against the bed in sheer delight.

Friend.

If those words weren't empty flattery but came from the heart... she was the very first friend Jegal Ayeong had ever made in her life.

“Hehehehe!!”

Jegal Ayeong's feet drummed against the bed once more.

I really want to meet her. She said she was heading to Gaeseong, right?

If she left now, she could arrive within a few days. Should she ask to meet up there?

What's wrong all of a sudden?

“!?!?!?”

A sudden realization flashed through Jegal Ayeong's brilliant mind.

Perhaps... she had hastily befriended someone absolutely absurd.

**

Jegal Ayeong (Ho-eamae)