Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: A Needle in the Satchel (1)
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Just ten years ago, the world was so peaceful that even traveling merchants had no reason to fear bandits. Unfortunately, things had changed recently, with fierce outlaws rampaging across the land.
At least bandits from the Green Forest would have been less worrisome. They only took the poor travelers' luggage at most, and otherwise just collected a toll for passage.
Even the mountain bandits of the Green Forest weren't fools. They knew that as their power grew and the body count rose, they'd draw the attention of the imperial troops and face extermination.
So they set up in convenient passes, fleecing unfortunate travelers or small escort caravans for a modest sum and calling it a day. But lately, everything had changed.
Rumors spread openly in the cities that these fiends now killed as a matter of course and even deliberately kidnapped people. Fear was starting to swell like a living thing.
Bang Hyeok, the escort leader of the Golden Present Escort Agency, had heard the rumors too. But with the agency in dire straits lately and no incidents on recent trips...
He'd thought this run would be fine too. That complacency had finally brought disaster. Bang Hyeok stared in dismay at the agency's escorts collapsing before his eyes.
"B-block them! Block them somehow!!"
"W-we can't hold them off!!"
"Aaaagh!!"
"What kind of hell is this...?"
The third-rate warriors dropped like paper dolls, unable to resist at all. The few second-rate escorts were barely hanging on, but even they were at their limit.
At first, he'd thought they were just beggars—shabby clothes, carrying sticks—lurking by the roadside in such numbers. But the moment he'd approached for passage...
They'd revealed their true colors. Pulling hidden weapons from their clothes, they'd slit the throats of the agency's men in an instant and launched this ambush.
But these were proper escorts from a rural agency, warriors not ashamed of the title. And yet they'd been dispatched this easily.
"Take whatever you want! Just spare our lives, please!!"
Bang Hyeok had tried negotiating to save their skins at least. But the bandits didn't even pretend to listen. Instead, they laughed and replied.
"What we want are your lives."
"All second-rate and above captured alive."
"Good work. Kill the rest of the trash, grab the loot, and we're out."
"Understood!"
They'd never intended to let a single one live. Bang Hyeok's desperate pleas fell on deaf ears. If only he'd spent more on protection...
As he wallowed in futile regrets, awaiting death, a sudden sharp flash sliced the throats of two bandits right in front of him.
The fiends who'd toyed with the escorts like playthings died without reacting. Hope reignited in Bang Hyeok's fading eyes.
He scanned desperately for the unknown master who'd appeared out of nowhere. In this situation, survival meant clinging to that expert.
But when he realized the wielder of that strike was just a young girl, even Bang Hyeok couldn't help but panic. What in the world...?
"I thought you were running late today... Looks like the ambush was right on schedule."
"As expected of Master."
"Master! I want to fight too!"
"Not yet, Seolhwa. Your basics are still too weak—you could get hurt."
"......"
What kind of bizarre scene was this?
Bang Hyeok was speechless at the surreal sight. They looked like an old man out for a stroll with his grandkids.
But their conversation was anything but normal—facing bandits who killed without batting an eye. What was even stranger was the bandits' reaction.
These killers who'd massacred the escorts without hesitation were now dithering before one old man and two kids? It made no sense.
But that was just the view of an ignorant country bumpkin. The bandits who ambushed the agency spotted the old man's extraordinary nature the moment they saw him.
'His clothes are ragged as can be... but that aura is no joke.'
'That girl's strike was near first-rate in sharpness alone. So her master has to be at least first-rate—probably pinnacle.'
'No choice. Unleash full demonic arts and go all out.'
Demonic arts built internal energy without restraint. They allowed unmatched speed in accumulation, but stability was their fatal flaw.
A righteous first-rate expert could unleash ultimate techniques steadily, despite slower growth. Demonic arts users often exploded mid-technique.
So they suppressed their power normally, unleashing it only in critical moments—and even then, not for long.
That alone crushed anyone second-rate or below... but against first-rate? Different story. Experts like those from the Five Great Clans or Nine Great Sects.
Even if they burned out midway.
It was enough to fight at full power.
The five remaining warriors ignited their resolve and unleashed their suppressed demonic arts in unison. Crushing internal energy rivaling first-rate masters pressed down on the air.
Yet facing their savage, uncontrolled beast-like auras, Nameless remained unnaturally calm. Weak dogs always bark the loudest, after all.
As the five beasts charged together, Nameless drew his sword. His horizontal sweep wasn't yet worthy of "Sweeping a Thousand Armies."
The Three Disasters Sword Art encompassed the mysteries of heaven, earth, and man between—the beginning and end of all swordsmanship. How could he claim mastery?
Not deep enough yet to even call it a form.
Its name was merely.
Horizontal Slash.
Was even livestock not spared the midsummer swelter? Or was pulling a cart laden with goods and people far more grueling than humans imagined?
The horses hauling the Golden Present Escort Agency's wagons gulped down river water as if to drain the stream dry. At least the clients weren't complaining.
Otherwise, things would've gone south from the start. Bang Hyeok forced a friendly smile onto his plump-cheeked face to mask his impatience and approached the girl.
The rare sight of a ghostly white-haired, red-eyed girl seemed novel to her. She sat by the drinking horse, tugging its mane this way and that in play.
"Looks like horses are a novelty for you, miss?"
"Yeah, first time seeing one."
'Kid's got some nerve talking down to me... Tch, whatever.'
Hearing such casual speech from a girl his daughter's age made Bang Hyeok bristle inwardly, but recalling the abuses he'd endured as a small agency's leader, he held it in.
"Seolhwa, come here. Time to eat."
"Got it, Master!!"
'Right, endure it. She's that great hero's disciple! Patience now brings fortune later.'
Half a month ago, near Golden Present Mountain, Bang Hyeok had nearly lost everything, including his life, to those fiends. But by sheer luck, he'd survived—thanks to a fateful encounter.
True first-rates seize opportunity in crisis. The ragged old beggar-lookalike was actually a pinnacle realm master.
Seizing the chance, Bang Hyeok had solo-decided on this unscheduled trip south to Henan, covering not just repayment but meals too.
Even Nameless had balked at the excessive gratitude. The agency's escorts weren't thrilled either.
"You really think that old man's pinnacle realm?"
"Sure, he's no half-baked second-rate... but what would a pinnacle master be doing in the sticks?"
"First-rate at best, maybe...?"
They had lost to those bandits, true—but not overwhelmingly. With equal numbers of second-rates, they'd have won.
Too low-level to even notice the old man hadn't fought at full strength, they blinded themselves with envy and jealousy instead.
"This time, my gut's screaming. That great hero's an absolute master who could rival the Murim Alliance Leader!!"
"Didn't your gut screw the last escort run too?"
The agency's warriors sighed and shook their heads at Bang Hyeok's theatrics. An absolute master on par with the Alliance Leader, in this backwater?
Get real.