Chapter 43
The masked men moved in perfect unison once more, shifting their battle formation.
'This formation was not devised by our main division, so you cannot possibly know it!'
The leader of the masked men had been smiling with confidence, but in less than half a quarter-hour, his face stiffened pale.
It was futile.
Whatever formation they employed, Bu Eun-seol immediately swung his sword toward the point where a gap lay.
"Aaargh!"
"Aack!"
Every time Bu Eun-seol swung his sword, the masked men fell like autumn leaves before the wind.
"That bastard... at that age, he's a master of battle formations?!"
He was mistaken.
Bu Eun-seol had never learned battle formations, and he did not even know that they were using one.
It was simply that, after mastering the Secret Manual of Wilderness Single Turn, he had been able to combine the Way of the Beast with the Internal Energy Method to expand his senses.
Because of that, no matter what formation they deployed, he could preemptively seize the positions and shatter the formation.
"Ghk!"
With a single thrust of Bu Eun-seol's sword, three masked men clutched their throats and vomited blood.
He had merely torn through the spot where a gap had revealed itself, yet the masked men positioned in that direction collapsed in droves.
Watching this, the leader shouted urgently.
"Scatter!"
The masked men hastily broke their formation.
But the fifteen comrades had already dwindled to ten.
"Is the dance finished, then?"
At Bu Eun-seol's low sneer,
Crunch.
A masked man clenched both fists and ground his teeth.
'To think this bastard is a master of battle formations.'
A battle formation allows one to exert power greater than the individual martial force each member possesses. But when a formation collapses, the damage received likewise swells like a snowball.
Having deployed the formation in advance to kill the formidable enemy that was the Ten Demonic Heir, they had instead suffered a fatal counterattack precisely because of the formation.
'If only we had simply fought, we could have handled him easily!'
But it was already too late.
The leader, swallowing his regret, ground his teeth.
"Strike!"
Numbers are absolute. No matter how strong Bu Eun-seol was, he could not possibly withstand five elite operatives.
But that was the leader's second mistake.
"Aaargh!"
Once again, screams rang out.
When they fought without deploying a formation, Bu Eun-seol's sword became even more exquisite and sharper.
In truth, the masked men's sword techniques were also very refined, and their real combat experience was abundant.
Individually, each of them was at a level where they could make a name for themselves if they entered the Martial World, but against Bu Eun-seol, they could not display their skills at all.
'How in the world...'
The leader's eyes wavered as he watched his subordinates fall futilely.
It was not that Bu Eun-seol was using extraordinary sword techniques, nor astonishing martial forms.
But every time Bu Eun-seol swung his sword once, without fail, a mist of blood bloomed.
Thuk.
As yet another masked man collapsed, the fierce battle briefly entered a lull.
'Did the Demon Hall deliberately leak false information?'
The leader shouted toward Bu Eun-seol.
"It was said you had certainly never learned the True Power Sword Art!"
"It is not martial arts."
"What?"
"It is merely a struggle to survive."
Until now, Bu Eun-seol had always been forced to face opponents stronger than himself.
Because of that, he had never even calculated the probability of survival. He had simply exerted all his power to fend off the shadow of death closing in.
"Stop spouting nonsense! How can you fight without using martial arts?!"
"One can kill an enemy even without martial arts."
During the Ten Demonic Heirs Tournament, Bu Eun-seol had killed the strongest contender, Neung Un-gang, while having learned no martial arts at all.
"What separates life from death is not martial skill, but who lands a fatal wound on the opponent."
Bu Eun-seol, who had been gazing at the distant sky for a moment, spoke toward the leader.
"The reason you have lost is that you took absolute superiority for granted in a battle where lives were at stake."
"What nonsense are you spouting."
"From the very beginning, you were certain you could kill me."
Around Bu Eun-seol's body as he looked at the masked men, a northern wind and cold snow seemed to blow.
"While thinking that you yourselves would never die."
Huduk.
Bu Eun-seol flicked the blood droplets from his rusted iron sword and murmured lowly.
"The moment you raise your sword toward an enemy, you must first see your own death."
Bu Eun-seol's murmur echoed in their ears like the breath of a grim reaper.
—To kill an enemy, one must first be prepared for one's own death.
This was what Bu Eun-seol was saying.
'Were we the ones mistaken?'
They had all thought of themselves as hunters.
The enemy had always been prey, and they had prided themselves on being certain to kill once they caught it.
"Let's begin again."
Bu Eun-seol, who had swept his gaze over the masked men, calmly raised his sword.
As they stared into Bu Eun-seol's coldly stilled eyes, the pupils of several masked men contracted.
Perhaps the fear that they themselves could become prey was creeping over them.
"S-Squad Leader."
One of the terrified masked men approached the leader with cautious movements.
"With our current combat power, it's impossible. We must retreat."
"Retreat?"
"Yes. We should withdraw first, then report to the Chief Strategist and reinforce our strength before seeking another opportunity..."
Splaaash!
Along with a thick spray of blood, a fountain of blood erupted from the masked man's neck.
The leader had suddenly sent his subordinate's head flying.
Flick.
Having shaken off the blood, the leader shouted at his subordinates with rage-filled eyes.
"There is no retreat in our main force! To be killed while showing your back means dishonor even in death!"
"Is honor more important than life?"
At Bu Eun-seol's question, the leader snorted.
"Life must be precious to demonic heads like you. But we are different."
"What's different?"
"Because we do not raise our swords for personal glory."
The leader's eyes were filled with blind loyalty.
"Even in failure, one can die honorably."
"Don't make me laugh."
Clink.
Bu Eun-seol's eyes, as he twisted his grip on the iron sword, flashed with a blue gleam.
"There is no honor in a coffin!"
Peerless Thunderbolt.
The killing sword of Cheon Un-gwang, the Wind and Cloud Hero of the Fire Rain Sword Sect, was about to unfold from Bu Eun-seol's hand once again.
"Strike!"
The moment the leader, sensing something amiss, shouted at his subordinates,
Pssshht!
With a sound like air escaping, the masked men's movements stopped.
"..."
As if by some promise, they looked at each other while clutching their throats.
Before they knew it, Bu Eun-seol's iron sword, extending coldly like the claws of a grim reaper, had slashed through their carotid arteries like lightning.
Thud. Thud.
With the sound of thick blood dripping, three masked men collapsed to the floor like logs.
The leader had been standing right in front of them, yet he had not even seen how the sword techniques had unfolded.
"Bu Eun-seol."
The leader, staring at Bu Eun-seol, spoke in a low voice.
"You... have already become a member of the Demonic Path."
Sssssss!
Before he knew it, a fountain of blood began to spurt from the leader's neck as well.
"Even as a ghost, I will curse you."
Glaring at Bu Eun-seol with eyes full of grudge, he,
Thud.
Collapsed to the floor like a log.
Clink.
As the last masked man fell, Bu Eun-seol slid the rusted sword back into its scabbard.
A sea of corpses and blood.
As he gazed at the corpses strewn in all directions, Bu Eun-seol's eyes were dyed a shade deeper than the darkness.
This was a sight he had seen constantly on Hell Island. And he had thought he would never see such a sight again.
But only now did he realize.
That the place where he already stood was the very center of hell, where blood and flesh burst apart, and that he could not escape the shackles of favors and grudges.
Clop-clop.
At that moment, along with the sound of hooves, a carriage came racing toward the reed field.
Prrrrrt.
With a snorting sound, the carriage came to a stop right in front of Bu Eun-seol.
Click.
As the carriage door opened, the figure of a middle-aged man with a rock-hard expression appeared.
It was Baek Yeon, the commander of the Wind and Cloud Corps.
"You've made quite a spectacle."
Baek Yeon, who had been scanning the corpses strewn in all directions, spoke flatly.
"Well, it must have been good experience."
"Commander."
Bu Eun-seol, giving a light bow, asked.
"How did you know to come?"
"Tracking the movement line of a brat like you is nothing."
Chuckling, he looked down at Bu Eun-seol's disheveled appearance and said.
"As expected, you were treated poorly on the way back? That's just how narrow-minded people behave."
Judging by his tone, it seemed Baek Yeon had anticipated both that Bu Eun-seol would not take a carriage and that he would be ambushed on the way back.
"Who are they?"
Baek Yeon did not answer. He stepped down from the carriage and studied the masked men with keen attention.
He examined not only their faces but also the weapons they clutched, the fabric of their clothes, and even the personal effects hidden inside their garments, inspecting every last detail.
So it was them after all.
Having examined all the masked men, Baek Yeon's eyes flashed.
This is troublesome.
"Brigade Leader."
When Bu Eun-seol asked again, Baek Yeon waved his hand.
"Let's talk after we return."
Then he pointed to the carriage he had ridden in.
Clear Breeze Studio.
This was where Deputy Pavilion Lord Dan Cheong resided.
Having arrived at Langya Pavilion together with Baek Yeon, Bu Eun-seol sat side by side with him at a table set up in the guest hall of Clear Breeze Studio.
"Drink."
Dan Cheong, seated across from them, extended his hand.
Clink.
As the lid of the teacup was lifted, white steam rose and a clear fragrance spread, as though it were washing the lungs clean.
Gazing at the tea water, now stained a deep brown, Bu Eun-seol asked.
"Is this Five Dragon Tea?"
"Have you tried it before?"
When Dan Cheong made a surprised expression, Bu Eun-seol shook his head.
"I've only heard of it."
"Heard of it?"
Bu Eun-seol recounted in detail the situation in which he had met the Elders' Hall Master, Jeok Bung.
"To think that old man who runs people ragged is still alive and well."
Having heard the whole story, Dan Cheong let out a long sigh.
"I wondered why the Fire Rain Sword Sect and White Horse Temple, who had been grinding their teeth so fiercely, would so readily acknowledge you... So that was the reason."
"He is one who has risen to the Three Demons... He must be a great man, is he not?"
At Bu Eun-seol's words, Dan Cheong opened his eyes faintly.
"Of course. How else would he have earned the epithet 'Blood Demon'? In the past, he was a Demon Lord who took boundless pleasure in smashing the skulls of those who offended his eyes."
At those words, Baek Yeon frowned slightly and spoke.
"Seeing that the old man has taken an interest in this child, it seems he has some other hidden motive after all."
Hearing that, Bu Eun-seol could not contain his curiosity and asked.
"Is the position of Elders' Hall Master one that can defy the Demon Hall Lord?"
Dan Cheong held a bitter smile.
Bu Eun-seol possessed a talent for martial arts surpassing anyone. But he was in a state of complete ignorance regarding the political landscape of the murim and its sects.
"In a coalition of the Demon Hall's scale, position is not such an important thing."
Dan Cheong began to explain in detail to Bu Eun-seol.
"The Demon Hall's authority is divided three ways among the Demon Hall Lord's faction, the Elders' Hall's faction, and the Demonic Path Ten Gates's faction. In particular, the Elders' Hall, where the masters of the previous generation gather, has considerable influence."
He paused for a moment, then opened his mouth again.
"Especially the Elders' Hall Master, Jeok Bung, is secretly building his own power. As if he is quietly trying to line his own pockets while avoiding the Demon Hall Lord's eyes."
"The Demon Hall is a complicated place, then."
At Bu Eun-seol's answer, Dan Cheong held a smile.
"It is a chronic affliction of organizations that are coalitions rather than master-disciple lineages. Because authority is scattered into fragments... all manner of schemes and secret struggles run rampant as everyone tries to seize even one more piece of power."
Bu Eun-seol nodded.
"Leading a place where martial artists from all sorts of sects gather seems to be a difficult task."
"In truth, if you look at it purely from the perspective of authority, sects that pass down through master and disciple are the same. Because you need that much power to command those beneath you."
Dan Cheong spoke.
"That is why the supreme martial arts are taught only to the sect leader, and why martial arts are transmitted in graded fashion, divided into first-generation disciples and second-generation disciples and so on. Those below only follow when you hold power."
"Is the Main Pavilion the same?"
At Bu Eun-seol's bold question, Dan Cheong laughed heartily.
"Hahaha. Of course, we are different. As long as you properly learn the martial arts, that's all that matters. We are the best under heaven when it comes to loose rules."
Grinning, Dan Cheong asked Bu Eun-seol.
"So. After you entered the Demon Hall, what happened?"
Bu Eun-seol explained in detail how he had met the Myriad Talents Hall Master and gone to the Myriad Demonic Hidden Treasures Pavilion.
And how he had met Neung Gak and Go Gun-pyeong, and how he had taken the test of the five martial forms.
However, he omitted things like the matter of Hyeokryeon Eung, or the words Baek Jeon-cheon had said to him.
Then, when he reached the part about being ambushed by masked men on the way back, flames flashed in Dan Cheong's eyes.
"Ambush?"
A chill coldness seeped from Dan Cheong's voice, which had been utterly indifferent until then.
"How dare they ambush a disciple of our pavilion."