The Ambushers Ambushed
'Just what kind of bastard is he?'
Jang Ju-hwan, the Nine Nether Blade, scowled slightly.
He was glaring at two men.
One was a youthful young man who looked to be in his early twenties, and the other was a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his mid-thirties.
'To think the Blood Killing Squad is targeting someone like that.'
Jang Ju-hwan grumbled to himself.
The Blood Killing Squad was a pursuit unit created by Do Ye-cheon, the Vice Lord of Sadocheon, who used them as his personal hands and feet.
Even within Sadocheon, very few knew of the Blood Killing Squad or its leader, as their existence was kept strictly confidential.
They were a hidden weapon, nameless and faceless.
They served as Do Ye-cheon's favorite blade in the dark, a tool to threaten and intimidate his political rivals.
And for good reason—anyone targeted by the Blood Killing Squad met one of two fates.
They were either killed on the spot or abducted to a place where death awaited them.
Because of this, rumors of the Vice Lord's secret, ruthless weapon spread like wildfire throughout Sadocheon, despite no one knowing their names or faces.
'But this time, the order is to bring the target back alive at all costs.'
Such were Do Ye-cheon's instructions.
He had emphasized that the agreement with the Geumhwang Merchant Group required an unconditional live capture.
If it had been a Red Mission as originally planned, things would have been simple.
They could have trailed them in secret, launched a surprise attack mid-mission, or lured them into a trap. In fact, they had already prepared a trap.
But everything had gone awry when Jeok-un chose a Black Mission instead.
The mission in Tongseong County was particularly troublesome, as it involved both the Murim Alliance and the Black Hegemony Castle.
'If it were just a matter of killing him, it would be child's play...'
The problem lay in capturing him alive.
The pirates of the Black Hegemony Castle were one thing, but the mad dogs of the Tang Clan stationed in Tongseong County were lunatics that even the Murim Alliance couldn't control.
Therefore, the abduction had to be executed with absolute precision and meticulous planning.
"Tsk, damn bastard. He had to go and pick a Black Mission out of nowhere and make things difficult for us, Captain," one of the subordinates whispered, stepping up from behind.
"It's annoying. Just because he killed a third-rate lecher who couldn't even take a single punch, he thinks he's ready for a Black Mission? The arrogant brat doesn't know his place."
"If it were a standard mission where dead or alive didn't matter, we could have killed him right now."
Jang Ju-hwan nodded, agreeing that it went without saying.
"If that were the case, he would have been dead the moment he left Changsha. Even now, he's not much different from a walking corpse."
"Exactly. With us hunting him, how could he possibly survive?"
The squad member had every reason to be confident.
Their captain, Jang Ju-hwan, was a Master of the Transformation Realm, and every other member of the squad was an expert at the peak of the Peak Realm.
Whether looking at their individual martial prowess or their collective strength, they were formidable enough to rival the Ten Heavenly Squads.
Disposing of a nobody like Jeok-un should have been child's play.
Nevertheless, Jang Ju-hwan cautioned his men.
"Still, do not let your guard down. We will wait for the perfect opportunity and strike when he is critically wounded."
"Understood."
"You haven't forgotten your assignments, have you? Group One will abduct the target and retreat. Group Two will create a distraction and secure our escape route. Group Three will..."
After assigning tasks to each group, Jang Ju-hwan designated the final moment of execution.
"We strike when he boards the boat to enter the Black Hegemony Castle's branch office. There is nowhere to run on the water. No matter how fast he is, he won't be able to escape."
"Yes, Captain."
Once they subdued him, they would sever both of his legs to eliminate any risk of escape.
'Then, we summon the Geumhwang Merchant Group to hand him over, and the mission is complete.'
The signaling device given by his master to summon the merchant group was already tucked safely inside his robes. The plan was proceeding flawlessly, just as it always did.
Just then, he saw Jeok-un and the leader of the Ghost Dream Squad conversing in the distance.
Seeing this, the vice-captain quietly asked.
"Captain, what should we do with the leader of the Ghost Dream Squad?"
"The Vice Lord has deemed him useless trash. Dispose of him."
"Understood."
"Use Bone-Melting Powder to dissolve his corpse."
"Understood!"
All that was left now was to wait.
They had to remain patient until the moment Jeok-un and the Ghost Dream Squad Leader entered the Black Hegemony Castle's branch.
However, the moment they turned their heads to track their targets' movements...
'Huh?'
Every single one of them froze in sheer bewilderment.
"Where the hell did that bastard go?"
"Who are you calling a bastard, you bastard?"
"!!"
Suddenly, an uninvited guest had materialized in their midst like a phantom.
The only difference was that while a phantom had no physical form, Jeok-un was very much flesh and blood.
"Scatter—!"
Sensing the anomaly, Jang Ju-hwan barked out an immediate order.
They had intended to rely on the element of surprise, but now that they had been discovered, they would have to subdue him by force or wear him down through a battle of attrition.
That was the intent behind his command, and most of the Blood Killing Squad members leaped back to dodge.
Crack!
But not all of them were fast enough.
"You rats are quite nimble."
"...!"
The head of the squad member closest to Jeok-un—the one who had been a fraction of a second too slow—burst like a ripe watermelon.
Disbelief, shock, and rage.
A storm of conflicting emotions flared in the eyes of the surviving squad members.
"Pant, pant...! C-Captain Jeok, why are you suddenly here? Eek!"
Jang Bo-heum, who had rushed over a moment too late, gasped in sheer horror as he realized what was happening.
Jeok-un looked over the masked faces of the Blood Killing Squad and spoke calmly.
"I like guys who wear masks like you. It means you're up to no good anyway, so there's no guilt in killing you."
Sring!
Jeok-un smiled as he drew Il-cheon.
"Now, die."
Jang Ju-hwan stared in horror at the gruesome remains of his subordinate.
With his head obliterated, death had been instantaneous.
A Peak-stage martial artist had been killed instantly without even being able to lift a finger.
'I didn't sense even a trace of his movement...!'
There had been no flare of energy, nor any indication of his approach.
It was utterly unbelievable that such a thing could happen right under the noses of more than ten seasoned killers.
"Still spacing out?"
"!!"
Whoosh!
But he had no time to dwell on his shock.
Jeok-un's sword, ablaze with roaring flames, was already sweeping toward them in a wild frenzy.
Seeing this, Jang Ju-hwan barked out an order without a moment's hesitation.
"Form the sword formation, now!"
"Understood!"
The squad members fell into formation in the blink of an eye.
Excluding the one who had just been killed, there were eleven of them left.
Nine of them swarmed Jeok-un, while the remaining two targeted Jang Bo-heum.
"Decapitate him!"
At Jang Ju-hwan's command, the sword formation sprang to life.
The formation was a lethal construct designed to combine the most efficient angles and movements to slaughter a target.
Swords thrust forward in a seamless sequence from Jeok-un's left, right, above, below, front, and back. Yet...
"Using the power of the stars on you lot would be a waste."
Slash!
A simple horizontal slash tore through the air with a deafening screech.
But the result was catastrophic.
Fwoosh!
Il-cheon unleashed a torrent of extreme Yang fire, completely engulfing the space in front of him.
"Aaargh!"
For Peak-stage experts, ordinary heat or cold could not easily penetrate their defenses.
This was because the internal energy circulating through their bodies maintained a constant equilibrium.
However, that only applied to "ordinary" temperatures. Once the heat surpassed a certain threshold, even a Peak-stage master could not endure it.
"Ugh, cough...!"
"I—I can't breathe!"
The extreme Yang energy radiating from Il-cheon was precisely that kind of overwhelming force.
They could somehow endure the blistering heat searing their skin and hair.
But no matter how high their cultivation, they had no way to survive when the superheated air scorched their lungs from the inside out.
"Hold your breath! Tighten the rotation between offense and defense!"
Jang Ju-hwan roared, though he knew it would do little good.
'Damn it! How can heat be this intense...?!'
Only Jang Ju-hwan, who had reached the Transformation Realm, could barely withstand it.
He knew his Peak-stage subordinates were feeling their airways burn to ash.
Under such conditions, the sword formation was rendered completely useless, reduced to a mere formality.
"Aaargh!"
"Now, that makes three."
Furthermore, Jeok-un did not miss a single opening.
He harvested the heads of the squad members one by one, steadily thinning their ranks.
In the span of just a few breaths, their numbers dwindled from nine to seven, then to six, and finally to five.
"You can't even handle this much? What kind of trash are you? Is this all Do Ye-cheon taught you?"
Gritting his teeth at Jeok-un's mockery, Jang Ju-hwan lunged forward.
"I'll kill you!"
The blade energy that had earned him the title of Nine Nether Blade split into dozens of sharp arcs, raining down upon Jeok-un.
Jang Ju-hwan was still brimming with confidence.
It was true that the target's divine weapon had thrown a massive wrench into their plans.
'But in terms of absolute martial prowess, I am superior.'
Jang Ju-hwan's confidence stemmed from this belief.
To a martial artist, he believed that one's realm of cultivation was the ultimate measure of strength.
"Hmm, the Transformation Realm? You certainly move more like a human than these insects, but..."
Swish!
With effortless grace, Jeok-un dodged every single blade strike that rained down like a torrential downpour.
"!?"
"Cultivation realms aren't the absolute measure of strength, kid."
Jeok-un pointed his sword at Jang Ju-hwan.
Realizing that Jeok-un was far more formidable than he had anticipated, Jang Ju-hwan raised his guard to the maximum. However...
"Aaargh!"
Fwoosh!
The target Jeok-un had actually aimed for was not Jang Ju-hwan, but the remaining squad members.
In the brief instant Jang Ju-hwan and Jeok-un confronted each other, the squad members had momentarily relaxed their guard. Jeok-un had instantly seized upon that split-second opening.
"Tsk, tsk. Lower your guard, and you turn to ash."
The sickening stench of burning flesh filled the air as the squad members were consumed by the raging flames.
Now, only four of them remained, including Jang Ju-hwan himself.
"It's... hot..."
"G-Gah...!"
The dying men whimpered in agony, but...
'I can't let it end like this.'
Jang Ju-hwan ignored their cries entirely.
The only thing that mattered now was killing the target.
He summoned the two men who had been dealing with Jang Bo-heum.
"Leaders of Group One and Two, join the fray!"
At their captain's command, the leaders of Group One and Group Two abandoned Jang Bo-heum and joined the front line.
Even if he was past his prime, Jang Bo-heum was still one of the Ten Heavenly Squad Leaders, which was why Jang Ju-hwan had assigned group leaders to handle him.
'Damn it! We should have focused all our strength on the target from the very beginning!'
But regret came too late.
Even so, it wasn't entirely hopeless.
Only the rank-and-file members had fallen.
Since the group leaders were still mostly intact, they could still achieve their objective.
Or so Jang Ju-hwan thought.
"I told you, it's not happening."
There was no change in the trajectory of Jeok-un's blade.
Nor was there any mercy.
"Aaargh!"
"S-Spare me...!"
Every time his sword slashed, foul-smelling smoke rose instead of blood.
The extreme Yang energy of Il-cheon was instantly vaporizing their blood and searing their flesh.
"R-Run...!"
Finally, someone uttered the word "retreat."
It was a desperate cry driven by survival instinct rather than reason, but...
"Oh, I can't let you do that."
No one could escape Jeok-un's grasp.
Jang Ju-hwan desperately tried to exploit any opening to strike Jeok-un down.
The remaining squad members also fought like cornered beasts, determined to land at least one blow before they died rather than perish in vain.
Yet, no matter what they tried...
Jeok-un crushed the Blood Killing Squad with overwhelming force.
It was a sheer, insurmountable difference in power.
Thud!
With the death of the Group One leader, who was the most senior among the group leaders and also served as the vice-captain...
Every single member of the Blood Killing Squad lay dead on the ground.
Their heads were shattered, or their limbs were severed.
"T-This is impossible...!"
"Why are everyone's last words always so cliché?"
Slice!
Jeok-un's sword was faster than Jang Ju-hwan's tongue.
With eyes wide in sheer terror, Jang Ju-hwan's head rolled across the dirt.
Whoosh!
Frizzle!
At the same time, Jang Ju-hwan's bisected corpse was engulfed in flames and began to burn to ash.
Jang Bo-heum stared blankly at the gruesome end of their pursuers.
Jeok-un, who was about to walk back to the horses as if nothing had happened, suddenly paused.
'Wait, what is that?'
Amidst the ashes of Jang Ju-hwan's charred remains lay a small horn whistle, no larger than a finger joint.
A strange gleam flickered in Jeok-un's eyes.