An Unexpected Outcome
‘No choice. I’ll have to take a little damage.’
The moment the thought settled, Yoo Eunhyeon refused to wait any longer. Sickle in hand, he charged straight at Chang-hae. Chang-hae had no intention of simply receiving the attack either; he adjusted his grip on the sword.
Whoosh.
They were evenly matched, yet Chang-hae was the first to swing. He knocked the sickle aside and tried to close in, but Yoo Eunhyeon immediately pulled the blade back and lashed out again, denying him the distance. Chang-hae arched his waist, slipped every strike, and retreated a step.
“Thinking the same trick would work twice. Fool.”
A mocking smile touched Chang-hae’s lips. He drew his sword back once, then lightly launched himself forward, thrusting straight for Yoo Eunhyeon’s chest.
Yoo Eunhyeon raised the sickle and blocked the blow.
In that same instant Chang-hae’s fingers twitched, forming a subtle seal. A finger technique as sharp as a blade shot toward the hand gripping the sickle.
“Kh!”
The sickle clattered to the ground as a short groan escaped Yoo Eunhyeon. Blood dripped steadily from his palm, and a smile spread across Chang-hae’s mouth.
“It’s over.”
The technique that launched sword and finger energy as one—the Primordial Combined Finger-Sword. Looking down at Yoo Eunhyeon, who had been caught completely by that single strike, Chang-hae declared the fight finished. Yet Yoo Eunhyeon only glanced at the distant sickle and muttered as if to himself.
“I was prepared… but that hurts more than I expected.”
“What?”
The oddly drained tone made Chang-hae narrow his eyes and ask again. Instead of answering, Yoo Eunhyeon scooped up a handful of earth with his bleeding hand.
To a farmer, soil was something always familiar in the palm. And this was no ordinary dirt—it was the soil of the very field he had tended with his own hands until only recently. The feel of it against his skin was strangely gentle.
“Planning to stop the bleeding with dirt?”
Watching closely to see what Yoo Eunhyeon intended, Chang-hae tossed out the taunt. Yoo Eunhyeon gave no reply. He simply flung the soil in his hand straight at Chang-hae.
“A cheap trick!”
Throwing dirt was an old, simple, and reliable ruse, but it only ever worked in brawls between ordinary men. Chang-hae paid the soil no mind and actually increased his speed as he rushed in.
“Kh—?!”
In that moment a clump of earth dyed a deep red filled Chang-hae’s vision. The color was far too vivid to be mere bloodstains. He stopped in place, intending to brush the dirt away. The instant he tried to clear the red soil, a change no one could have predicted erupted.
Crack-crack-crack!
A sound like lightning splitting the sky rang out as crimson energy, sharp as thunderbolts, burst from the red dirt all at once. Completely unprepared, Chang-hae’s body took the full force of the assault.
“Gyaaaaah!”
His entire body went numb; agonizing pain flooded through him. The sword slipped from his fingers and he dropped to his knees. He lacked even the strength to twitch a finger; his meridians felt locked solid, utterly unresponsive.
Into the dazed Chang-hae’s pupils rushed the image of Yoo Eunhyeon charging toward him.
‘Damn it… am I going to die helplessly like this?!’
Only then did Chang-hae realize how completely he had misjudged. Once reduced to this defenseless state, the fight was already as good as finished.
‘This bastard… he was an absurdly high-level expert. Every technique breaks the ordinary principles. How…’
To say something “broke the ordinary principles” did not merely mean it was strange. It meant the level was so high it surpassed his own understanding. For someone like that to take the life of a man who could not resist was as easy as eating cold porridge.
Chang-hae closed his eyes and waited for the death that was about to arrive. Yet in that instant—
“Well then, see you next time.”
“?!”
Yoo Eunhyeon simply brushed past him. An incredulous sound escaped Chang-hae’s lips, but Yoo Eunhyeon paid it no attention and kept running.
The technique Yoo Eunhyeon had just used—Blood Wave Calamity–Thunder Chaos—was his own modification of Blood Wave Calamity, a form of Eoheolsangong. After grasping the flow of natural energy, he had become able to employ certain forms of Eoheolsangong without side effects, and this was one of them. Originally the form used a drop of blood as a nucleus, spreading a thin, wide blood-wave that deceived the eyes before striking. Yoo Eunhyeon had altered it one step further, refining it into a method that delivered direct impact.
Although this was its first use in real combat, a considerable gap in skill had already existed between Chang-hae and Yoo Eunhyeon from the start.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing, just letting him run?!”
Sa Yeo-un shouted sharply as she watched Yoo Eunhyeon flee. He never looked back; he simply launched himself toward the mountain.
“C-chase him…”
As the paralysis slowly lifted, Chang-hae clenched his teeth and forced himself upright. Byeon Ak rushed over to support him as he struggled to take a step in pursuit.
“Master Chang-hae, are you all right?”
“Form a pursuit team. Immediately!”
“Yes, understood.”
Chang-hae glared at the mountain where Yoo Eunhyeon had vanished and growled low. Byeon Ak had witnessed the fight with his own eyes as well. Watching the monstrous Chang-hae be subdued so helplessly had been a severe shock even to him.
“No pursuit is necessary. Stop here.”
At that moment Yeo Chang-dong appeared and spoke calmly. Byeon Ak’s face filled with bewilderment.
“Squad Leader Yeo Chang-dong? What do you mean by that?”
Ordinarily a mere squad leader would never have dared interfere in a place like this. Yet the presence Yeo Chang-dong now radiated was nothing like usual. Most telling of all, Chang-hae—who should have been the first to explode in rage—lowered his head instead and spoke quietly.
“My apologies, Vice Commander. I failed to complete the mission.”
“V-Vice Commander…?”
At the title that left Chang-hae’s mouth, Byeon Ak’s eyes flew wide in shock. He stared at Yeo Chang-dong as if he could not believe it. Yeo Chang-dong simply wore a mild smile under that gaze.
“The Black Lotus Merchant Alliance has always been of great help to us. Especially… the fact that you keep your mouths shut is something I particularly appreciate.”
The end of the sentence stretched with subtle weight. Byeon Ak was not so foolish that he failed to grasp the meaning contained in those few words.
“O-of course.”
Byeon Ak bowed deeply.
“Then I will leave the cleanup here to you.”
“Yes! I will handle it cleanly!”
The moment Yeo Chang-dong finished speaking, Byeon Ak asked nothing further and turned away. In the Demonic Cult, those who held the title of Vice Commander could be counted on one hand. Such figures were people a merchant-group leader like Byeon Ak might never meet even once in an entire lifetime. Idle curiosity could endanger not only his own life but the safety of the entire alliance. What was needed now was not curiosity, but proper conduct. Byeon Ak understood that perfectly.
“An unexpected result has come of this.”
Yeo Chang-dong murmured.
“I have no face to show.”
“Not at all. This is not something for which Master Chang-hae should be blamed.”
Yeo Chang-dong spoke casually, yet Chang-hae’s expression remained rigid.
“Why did you stop the pursuit?”
The anger he had been holding down burst out; Chang-hae’s voice roughened. Yeo Chang-dong regarded him for a moment, then answered in a level tone.
“He has already fled. Even if we chase him now, catching him will consume no small amount of time and manpower.”
“No! If the Cheonhwang Paeundae and the Mangakjipwon Unit coordinate right now and cast a heaven-and-earth net—”
Chang-hae cut himself off mid-sentence. He knew better than anyone that pressing further would cross a line.
“Hold on. What on earth is going on? Why aren’t we chasing him? Why are we just standing here?”
At that moment Sa Yeo-un strode over and cut in. As she came fully close, Chang-hae hastily lowered his head.
“I have shown an unsightly display, Young Lady.”
“Doesn’t matter. You never looked that respectable to begin with.”
Sa Yeo-un tossed the remark out with an indifferent face.
That Sa Yeo-un’s temperament was like this was already widely known within the Cult, so everyone simply kept their heads down. She turned her gaze to Yeo Chang-dong. Then she narrowed her eyes and twisted one corner of her mouth upward.
“Well now, another familiar face.”
“Young Lady Yeo-un. It has been a long time.”
Yeo Chang-dong answered with a light smile.
“I was wondering why I hadn’t seen you anywhere lately… so you’ve been hiding this even from me and doing this kind of work.”
“It was the Cult Leader’s order.”
“Of course it was. Brother Chang-dong would die if Father told him to die.”
The words sounded like a joke, yet a subtle edge ran through them. A brief silence fell before Sa Yeo-un spoke again.
“It’s not as if I’ve only been coming here to look around for a day or two. Why is it that you never once showed your face until now? Don’t tell me… you’ve been avoiding me?”
It was a sharply pointed remark. Yet Yeo Chang-dong’s expression did not waver in the slightest. Instead he smiled easily and replied.
“Haha. How could that be? I’ve simply been so busy that we never happened to cross paths.”
“Don’t feed me lines that won’t even work as bait. You and I haven’t known each other for just a year or two. If you wanted to avoid me, you could just say so. Lying about it only makes it more ridiculous.”
Yeo Chang-dong fell silent for a moment. Then he shrugged.
“I couldn’t exactly say it out loud either, could I?”
It was as good as an admission. Sa Yeo-un’s eyes lifted slightly at the corners.
“And yet you’re honest at times like this.”
She gave a short laugh, then turned her head. With one finger she pointed toward the distant mountain—the direction in which Yoo Eunhyeon had vanished moments earlier.
“So why show your face today of all days?”
Her gaze returned to Yeo Chang-dong.
“Don’t tell me… it’s because of that man?”
As though he had been waiting for the question, a faint smile rose to Yeo Chang-dong’s lips.
“It seems Young Lady Yeo-un already knows who he is.”