Frontal Breakthrough (2)
“Cover the rear!”
Yeom Hwa-sin responded to Baek So-cheon’s shout.
“Don’t worry about it!”
Enemies surged in from all directions. The two men fought back-to-back with the carriage as their central pillar.
Baek So-cheon struck down his foes with precision. Every time his sword sliced through the air, an enemy fell without fail. Even as their comrades dropped, the attackers pressed on relentlessly, as if they harbored no fear of death.
Despite the nauseating swarm—like ants overwhelming their prey—Baek So-cheon remained utterly calm.
He slashed and felled them, over and over.
When the endless onslaught finally ebbed, Baek So-cheon turned with a sigh of relief.
“This side’s all cleared.”
At that exact moment.
Puuk!
Something pierced straight through Baek So-cheon’s chest.
“Kuhuk!”
Baek So-cheon let out a wretched scream.
A human hand was embedded in his chest. His gaze slowly traced the arm up to the face of his attacker.
Yeom Hwa-sin was grinning at him.
“……You!”
Blood gushed from Baek So-cheon’s mouth.
“Did you think you could fool me forever? I knew you’d recovered your inner power.”
“……When did you find out?”
“From the start.”
Baek So-cheon crumpled slowly to the ground.
As Yeom Hwa-sin withdrew his hand, blood poured out in a torrent.
Looking down at the fallen Baek So-cheon, Yeom Hwa-sin spoke coldly.
“I never liked that wench called Cheon-geuk.”
“Why do you hate her?”
“Because…… she’s too beautiful.”
“What?”
The next instant, Cheon-geuk’s eyes snapped open.
Morning sunlight streamed across her face as she lay on the bed.
It was a dream.
She stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment before bolting upright.
“Damn it! Even my dreams have to be this messed up?”
Worrying about Baek So-cheon had led to nightmares like this.
“It’s all that damn old man’s fault.”
Honestly, Yeom Hwa-sin’s special fondness for Baek So-cheon gnawed at her.
She liked Baek So-cheon and knew exactly what made him appealing.
That appeal had blossomed into love for her, but why did Yeom Hwa-sin favor him? If he were just a perverted old lech chasing men, it’d be easier to understand—at least his motives would be clear.
But to treat someone who’d stabbed a sword into his own heart with such favoritism?
Dangerous.
To her, it felt dangerously precarious. And not knowing Yeom Hwa-sin’s true intentions only amplified her unease.
As she navigated this chaotic morning, Dong-seong’s voice came from outside the door.
“Alliance Lord, the Murim Alliance’s Grand Strategist is here to see you.”
“The Grand Strategist?”
Her heart skipped—had something bad happened to Baek So-cheon?
When she hurried down to Daroo Tea House, Je-gal Hyeon was sipping tea while gazing outside. Only then did Cheon-geuk relax. If something had happened to Baek So-cheon, that man couldn’t possibly look so serene.
“Welcome, Strategist.”
“Sorry to visit so early. I didn’t wake you, did I?”
“No, not at all. How have you been?”
“Quite well. Times this peaceful feel like a distant memory.”
Of course, the Black Heaven Alliance’s mass recruitment of warriors had put the Murim Alliance on high alert.
But since then, the Black Heaven Alliance had gone eerily quiet—no movements at all, which was worrying in itself. This stillness resembled the calm before a storm.
“I came with one question.”
“Please, ask away.”
“Do you know where Baek So-cheon might have gone?”
“No idea.”
Cheon-geuk lied. If Baek So-cheon had wanted Je-gal Hyeon to know, he’d have told him himself.
Plus, there was another reason. Telling a woman but not her? Even the most broad-minded person would feel a twinge of resentment. Given Baek So-cheon and Je-gal Hyeon’s relationship, a white lie was the kind choice.
“He doesn’t share work stuff with me much.”
“I see.”
“Probably off training somewhere. Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing like that.”
In truth, Je-gal Hyeon had a specific reason for visiting Cheon-geuk.
The Black Heaven Alliance’s recent behavior was undeniably off—everything felt frozen in place. Having dealt with them for so long, he could sense it instinctively.
They’ve clearly received orders from the top: no provocations, stay put.
And curiously, their halt coincided exactly with Baek So-cheon’s departure from the Alliance for “training.”
“If I hear from him, I’ll let you know.”
“Appreciate it. Excellent tea.”
“Come anytime.”
After Je-gal Hyeon left, Cheon-geuk rested her chin on the windowsill, gazing out. Unaware of her turmoil, passersby basked in the full bloom of spring, their faces bright.
“Dreams are opposites, right? Those two are probably having a blast.”
Thung!
A flying dagger grazed Baek So-cheon’s head and embedded itself in the carriage’s rear partition.
Baek So-cheon halted the carriage abruptly and shouted.
“We’re under attack.”
The assaults had continued nonstop since leaving Cheon-yang Ui-ga.
Yeom Hwa-sin stepped out of the carriage.
“I’ll take the rear.”
Masked assailants swarmed from all sides.
With his back to the carriage, Baek So-cheon faced them calmly.
Shik! Shik!
Daggers flew from Baek So-cheon’s hand.
They struck the throats of attackers charging from both flanks. The two collided and crumpled to the ground. Baek So-cheon leaped forward, stepping on their backs.
Shik! Shiiik!
A masked foe lunging from the front had his throat slit. Another followed, thrusting at Baek So-cheon’s heart—but Baek So-cheon had already spun, slashing another assailant from behind.
As the first foe turned back.
Puk!
Something pierced his throat. Darkness claimed his vision. His final thought: Fast.
Baek So-cheon’s combat flowed as naturally as water downhill. Facing multiple enemies, he knew precisely who to eliminate first and how for maximum effect.
Just look at how he handled the three charging now.
Chwaaak!
Baek So-cheon slashed the middle one, twisting left.
Two swords grazed his shoulder and waist.
But his strike didn’t miss.
Peok!
His elbow smashed the left assailant’s jaw, while a dagger flew at the right one. All in one fluid motion.
To the followers, it looked like all three fell simultaneously.
Though they charged together, Baek So-cheon distinguished them clearly: who arrived first or lagged, who was strongest or weakest. Thus, who to target first and how.
The gap in skill was already vast, but his recent power growth—especially from extreme quicksword training—made their movements seem even slower.
His judgment sharpened too.
Since traveling with Yeom Hwa-sin, something had shifted. Their conversations had sparked insights in Baek So-cheon.
Fighting the hordes, he made full use of thrown daggers. Corpses riddled with them littered the ground. When dodging toward bodies, he’d retrieve a dagger and hurl it anew—reusing them against fresh foes.
Moments that looked perilously reckless were prime training for him.
A chance to know himself through his enemies.
When Baek So-cheon turned after clearing the front, Yeom Hwa-sin stood right behind him.
“What’re you doing?”
“Just watching how you fight.”
The attackers who’d gone for Yeom Hwa-sin were already strewn as corpses.
“Your skills have improved since the trip began.”
“Fighting confirms it.”
No point in hasty deceptions with this man. As always, Baek So-cheon met him with honesty.
“And you?”
“Same as ever. Just watching you close the gap to my level.”
Yeom Hwa-sin sighed theatrically.
“Why sigh? Things are going exactly as you planned.”
“Planned? What plan?”
“Expecting me to grow stronger and give you a real challenge?”
“Hahaha, sharp as ever.”
“Since we’re on the topic, teach me something. You saw me fight—surely you have advice?”
“None. It was perfect.”
Baek So-cheon wondered: Would he really fulfill his promise to restore his inner power? Even after a breakthrough, granting that to a rival who’d nearly caught up wouldn’t be easy.
Then, a groan leaked from Jong Mu-jin in the carriage.
“Ughhh.”
The elixir’s effect had worn off, triggering the poison’s spasm.
Yeom Hwa-sin fed him a pill.
Jong Mu-jin’s convulsions stabilized. Yeom Hwa-sin eyed the concerned Baek So-cheon.
“You seem pretty worried about him.”
“Not worried—just observing. No deep bond there. But……”
“But?”
“He’s someone’s subordinate too.”
“Meaning?”
“Lately, I tell my own men: Don’t be suckers. Don’t get sacrificed to the organization’s logic.”
Yeom Hwa-sin chuckled.
“You always make me laugh.”
“What’s so funny?”
“Mu-jin would rage if he heard you calling him a subordinate like that.”
“That’s what makes him a sucker. Suckers don’t know they’re suckers.”
“Hahaha. Don’t become Alliance Lord. That mindset would wear you down—and your men too.”
“I get why it’d wear me down, but why them?”
“In a small group, your heart reaches them fine. But an Alliance Lord with such sentimentality breeds chaos and complaints. ‘Why’s he favoring others over me?’ Can you treat every subordinate equally? All personalities, all types?”
“……”
He’d never considered that angle.
“Don’t trust humans too much. They’re not all like you.”
“Don’t worry—I’ve zero interest in being Alliance Lord.”
“Life doesn’t always go your way.”
That much, at least, he’d control.
“Let’s get moving.”
The carriage rolled onward.
The carriage pressed toward Gyo-ryong-mun without pause.
The enemies surely had a solid plan.
Relentless attacks to drain them completely by arrival—not a scrap of inner power left. The endless waves aimed to leave them too exhausted even to lift chopsticks.
But they made two fatal errors: underestimating Yeom Hwa-sin’s power, and Baek So-cheon’s.
Their minions fell faster than expected. Forces meant to hold for an hour were wiped out in moments.
Gaps in the onslaught gave breathing room. Neither the mastermind nor the elite ambushers—mere humans—could overcome the duo’s unpredictability.
These breaks kept Yeom Hwa-sin’s inner power topped off and let Baek So-cheon recover his stamina.
After another skirmish, Baek So-cheon sighed.
“Why the sigh?”
“This blood stench is nauseating.”
“Not satisfying?”
“Don’t want to smell it anymore. If I could just kill you, I’d retire quietly. If I’m that lucky.”
Yeom Hwa-sin stared silently at Baek So-cheon.
“Why that look?”
“I imagined that quiet life.”
“And?”
“It’s not a blessing—it’s a curse. Can’t fathom how dull and monotonous. I’d probably kill myself from boredom.”
“Found your way to kill you, then. Bore you to death.”
“Hahaha.”
More enemies appeared in the distance.
“Lucky you—more fodder to stimulate you.”
Yeom Hwa-sin smiled faintly.
“My pleasure is traveling with you. This is just the path back to it.”
Like waves into a bottomless jar, the enemies surged.