Mirroring the Enemy
The Maun Cliffs were riddled with traps and mechanisms installed by the Malicious Adventurer Alliance. It was, quite literally, a mountain of blades and a sea of fire. However, Bukjin was able to bypass every single trap with ease by using the navigation feature of his Map app.
Navigation active via Map App. Safe route for the Malicious Adventurer Alliance identified.
The navigation highlighted the safe paths used by the alliance members, allowing Bukjin to reach the Maun Cliffs without a scratch. The cliffs themselves were a staggering thousand feet high. Three sides of the precipice consisted of vertical, treacherous rock faces as smooth as mirrors. Only one side had a slightly gentler slope, with sharp, blade-like rocks and various weeds protruding from the surface, suggesting it could be climbed.
As Bukjin watched, he saw the silhouettes of adventurers moving back and forth across the rock face. It seemed the only viable path to the top was that gentler slope. Avoiding the trap locations indicated by his app, Bukjin began to scale the cliff cautiously, utilizing his Cloud-Piercing Rain movement technique. Finally, he reached the summit.
At the top of the cliff stood a fortress carved out of a massive, imposing rock. Though it was called a mountain stronghold, it was more accurately described as a stone castle. The summit opened up into a vast, circular plain. Sharp, jagged rocks jutted toward the sky from all sides of the plain, looking like a natural fortress wall from a distance. In the middle of these rocky walls lay flat land covered in lush grass and thick trees.
The Malicious Adventurer Alliance had taken advantage of this natural sanctuary to build a castle capable of housing at least a thousand people. The walls were about thirty feet high—low enough for a typical martial arts expert to leap over easily. However, since the area outside the walls led directly to the cliff's edge, it was no exaggeration to call it a natural fortress. Perhaps because of this, there were no sentries patrolling the walls.
The main gate was a massive pair of iron doors that looked like they weighed over a thousand pounds. Hiding in the tall grass, Bukjin began to observe the fortress in detail. Despite it being late at night, he could see many figures moving around inside. They all looked like adventurers, not much different from Ju Seong and his lot.
They were busy hauling looted goods or whipping men and women they had captured. It appeared they were involved in human trafficking as well. Security at the entrance was surprisingly lax. After disguising himself as one of them using the clothes he had stripped from Ju Seong’s corpse, Bukjin slipped into the fortress with ease.
Inside, the roads were well-organized, leading in various directions. Buildings of various heights, all constructed from stone, lined the streets. It was a remarkably well-designed city. As he followed the road from the gate toward the center, he saw taverns, brothels, and gambling dens lining both sides. Even though it was the dead of night, the city was boisterous.
Dejected adventurers with hollow eyes stumbled out of the gambling dens, while near the taverns, people were staggering or vomiting from heavy drinking. The stench of filth filled the air. Bukjin even witnessed a group of adventurers brawling. They fought with brutal disregard for whether their opponent lived or died, leaving blood splattered everywhere. No one stepped in to stop them, and since this was a place beyond the reach of the law, the corpses of those killed in the fights were simply left in the street. It was a den of chaos, devoid of any semblance of order.
As he walked through the city, Bukjin could feel the air thick with crime and sin.
'Dean Cho is strong. Given his status, they wouldn't have put him in a common cell. I should check the core areas of this fortress first.'
With that thought, Bukjin began moving deeper into the stronghold. A short while later, he arrived at a small plaza. Dozens of bonfires were lit across the square. Around the fires, dozens of adventurers were eating and drinking, the smell of roasting meat wafting toward him even from a distance. Various weapons were scattered around the plaza, most of them swords.
Beyond the plaza stood a large stone structure that resembled a grand hall, reaching about a hundred feet in height. It was a stone palace with countless rooms and corridors spread out like a maze. To the left and right of the palace's main gate, four black wooden pillars were planted in the ground, with corpses hanging from them.
Bukjin narrowed his eyes and examined the pillars. Squinting in the dim light, he checked the eight hanging bodies. He let out a sigh of relief when he confirmed that Cho Heun was not among them.
'Where would I find him?' Bukjin pondered silently.
Just then, one of the adventurers drinking in the plaza burst into a loud laugh.
"Haha! Those wenches from the Fire Rose Adventurer Team were really something else! Especially that seventeen-year-old one—she resisted until the very end! What a waste! I can't believe the Alliance Leader sold them off already. I didn't get to enjoy them enough! He should've kept them in the city for a few more days!"
Another adventurer nearby chuckled in response. "It's better for your health to only enjoy those fierce ones once in a while! If you try to play with them too much, they'll fight back until they bite your junk off. Heh, if you want a woman that badly, just go to the brothels. You can have anyone you want there!"
"Exactly! A bear like you breaks every woman he plays with anyway. If you'd kept them for a few more days, they would've lost all their market value!"
Laughter erupted from all sides.
"Heh, I heard that among the group Ju Seong went to catch, there are two female students... They're young, but they say their skin is as fair as white jade!"
Listening to their vile conversation, a cold murderous intent bloomed in Bukjin’s heart. The fate of the captured female swordsmen from the Fire Rose team had been horrific. From their words, he realized they had already been sold off.
Leaning against the shadows, Bukjin constantly formulated a plan. The adventurers currently drinking by the fires were all wearing polished, high-quality armor and possessed strong auras. He surmised they were the palace guards. If anyone knew Cho Heun's whereabouts, it would be them.
Bukjin carefully counted them. There were twenty in total. All of them were at the Warrior Rank. If Bukjin made his move, he could kill them all in the time it took to finish a cup of tea. However, doing so would immediately alert others and draw in more enemies. He was thinking of a way to lure one of them away for interrogation when it happened.
Several people suddenly walked out of the palace.
"Hehe, Brother Mannyeon, the gifts are all prepared. Since you insist on leaving in the middle of the night, I won't stop you."
A burly old man with thinning white hair spoke with a calm smile. "Brother, please, when you see the Master, put in a good word for me. I want to leave this filthy, stinking place as soon as possible."
Hearing this, a short, stout middle-aged man smiled. "Brother Mugeuk, rest easy. You've treated me so well this time, how could I forget you? When I see the Master, I will surely mention you so that your wish can be fulfilled."
"Thank you! Brother Mannyeon!" The burly old man laughed heartily and bowed in gratitude.
About eight people followed behind them, each radiating the powerful aura of the Martial Warrior rank. Seeing them, Bukjin’s heart raced.
"Sinsin, use the Screen Mirroring app to scan them."
As Bukjin gave the silent command, the app activated.
Screen Mirroring
Target scan in progress... Target identified: Grand Alliance Leader Mugeuk. Scanning complete.
A faint light, visible only to Bukjin, swept over the targets and completed the scan. At that moment, the guards drinking in the plaza finally noticed the group coming out. They scrambled to their feet and lined up on both sides.
"Greetings to the Grand Alliance Leader and the Alliance Leaders!"
The burly old man—the Grand Alliance Leader—frowned slightly at their disheveled state, gave a dismissive snort, and walked past them. The group from the palace passed the guards and headed toward the city. It seemed they were seeing off the man called 'Brother Mannyeon.'
The guards, no longer daring to relax, hurriedly packed up their things and followed closely behind the leaders.
'This is a perfect opportunity.' Bukjin rejoiced. The burly old man with white hair was definitely the Grand Alliance Leader of the Malicious Adventurer Alliance. And the others following him were the subordinate leaders. While the identity of 'Brother Mannyeon' was unclear, he was clearly someone of high status given how the leaders treated him.
Once they left, the plaza became empty. As the group disappeared from sight, a plan formed in Bukjin's mind.
"Sinsin, execute Screen Mirroring."
『Yes, Master.』
The Screen Mirroring app hummed to life, and light poured out. A hologram of the Grand Alliance Leader, who had just passed by, appeared before Bukjin. It was completely indistinguishable from the real person. Bukjin stepped up right behind the fake Grand Alliance Leader created by the mirroring app. Together, the hologram and Bukjin entered the plaza.
"Greetings, Grand Alliance Leader!"
Two guards who had remained behind bowed toward the hologram. Although they were confused as to how the Grand Alliance Leader had returned so quickly, they didn't harbor a shred of suspicion and paid their respects with trembling nerves.
That was when Bukjin stepped forward and asked.
"That academy teacher you captured a few days ago—where is he now?"