Chapter 30
In a darkness so complete that not a single point of light could be seen, a martial artist in his fifties, dressed in black combat robes, was racing toward the Murim Alliance’s dungeon.
At the head of the group was Jin Mu-heon, the captain of the Hyeonmu Guard. Even as he ran at full speed, he continued receiving reports.
“What’s the situation?”
“An unidentified martial artist broke into the Alliance’s third dungeon. It seems most of the guards, including the warden, have been killed.”
“Cut the useless details. Do we know anything about the intruder?”
“I’m sorry. We still haven’t identified him……”
“Useless.”
Jin Mu-heon shot a sharp glance at Jang Wonsul, who was relaying the information. Feeling that look, Jang Wonsul quietly averted his eyes. Then, as if something had just occurred to him, he spoke again.
“There is one more unusual point.”
“Unusual?”
“The last report said he was in combat with someone.”
“And the person he was fighting?”
“They said they couldn’t confirm that either.”
“Ha…… Do I have to verify every single thing myself?”
“I’m sorry……”
Jin Mu-heon’s razor-edged aura was so fierce that everyone running with him could feel it. Jang Wonsul and the rest of the Hyeonmu Guard fell silent and hurried after him.
An intruder assaulting the Murim Alliance’s dungeon? Who the hell is he?
That was the only thought in Jin Mu-heon’s mind.
How strong is he?
That question mattered. The dungeon the intruder had targeted was not one holding any especially important prisoner.
Because of that, the guards stationed there were not particularly strong either. Which meant that even a mediocre martial artist could still pull off a surprise attack on the dungeon.
But to assault the Murim Alliance’s dungeon with only weak martial artists? That was unrealistic.
Unless the man was insane, no martial artist living in the Central Plains would want to make an enemy of the Murim Alliance. So there were only two possibilities.
One: the intruder was a tremendous expert.
Two: some huge force was backing him from behind.
Either way, it was bad news for Jin Mu-heon. If the intruder was a tremendous expert, then neither Jin Mu-heon nor the Hyeonmu Guard could handle him. And if he was being supported by a major faction, then the Hyeonmu Guard, no, Jin Mu-heon himself, would naturally die.
Then who is the one fighting him?
Jin Mu-heon had been serving as the Hyeonmu Guard’s captain for ten years. Yet this was the first time he had ever encountered an incident with so little information.
He spent a long time thinking about the identities of the two men in the dungeon.
“Captain. The dungeon’s in sight.”
At Jang Wonsul’s words, Jin Mu-heon lifted his head and stopped moving. What he saw was the Murim Alliance’s third dungeon.
“Hold position for now.”
“Understood.”
The fifty members of the Hyeonmu Guard hid their presence at Jin Mu-heon’s command and waited for the next order. But Jin Mu-heon did not move lightly.
For the span of half a breathing cycle, he stared fixedly at the third dungeon. He could see nothing unusual.
He raised one hand lightly. The signal meant he wanted the scouts moved forward first so they could pinpoint the intruder’s position.
Just as he was about to bring his hand down, a thunderous kaboom exploded, and a figure was blasted out of the dungeon.
Jin Mu-heon studied the man who had been thrown clear. But he found no memory of him anywhere.
The man’s body was so gaunt he scarcely looked like someone who practiced martial arts at all. Jin Mu-heon hesitated for a moment.
Should I strike now?
He scanned the surroundings for half a breathing cycle. There was no force shielding the man. Which meant he was completely alone.
And that skeletal old man did not look like an expert at all.
“Captain. Your orders!”
“Surround him.”
“Understood.”
The deliberation was long, but the decision was swift. Capture the man who had invaded the dungeon and killed the guards and prisoner? That would clearly be a major boost to Jin Mu-heon’s career.
Thrown out by Baek Mugeuk’s attack, Song Wol did not rise at once. He lay on the ground instead, staring up at the sky swallowed by darkness, with no moonlight visible through the clouds. And yet to Song Wol, it looked like a sky blazing with light. It was the sky he was seeing for the first time in ten years.
The freshness of the earth, the scent of the forest drifting on the wind, the fragrance of nature itself. Everything felt alien. But what he felt now was not the happiness one found in ordinary daily life. It was only longing for the sect that had been stolen from him.
The sword in his hand was trembling. As if it were thirsty.
“State your identity, murderer.”
The Hyeonmu Guard martial artists formed a ring around Song Wol, who was lying there. Then Song Wol slowly pushed himself to his feet.
“Hyeonmu Guard?”
“I’ll say it again. State your identity, murderer!”
At Jang Wonsul’s words, Song Wol said nothing. The sword in his hand was vibrating even more violently.
“I see. You’re thirsty.”
“What a mad old man.”
Jang Wonsul turned his head and looked at Jin Mu-heon. Jin Mu-heon gave a curt nod.
With Jin Mu-heon’s permission, Jang Wonsul shouted in a solemn voice, “Hyeonmu Guard! Arrest him.”
At his command, the ten Hyeonmu Guard martial artists surrounding Song Wol began closing the distance.
Song Wol looked at them coming closer. To him, they were no martial artists, only a single meal.
“Ten won’t be enough.”
“Don’t insult the Hyeonmu Guard. Ten is already too many for some old man like you.”
“No. That’s not what I mean.”
Song Wol’s mouth curved. He showed no intention of moving. He simply let his body follow the sword’s direction while forcing more inner power into it.
Crackle!
Thunder qi snapped and sparked where his sword swept, and the slaughter began. In the blink of an eye, ten Hyeonmu Guard heads were severed cleanly. Then, with the sword still buried in a Hyeonmu Guard body, Song Wol smiled.
“I said ten wouldn’t be enough.”
Jin Mu-heon swallowed a groan at the sudden carnage. The man was stronger than expected. At the very least, he had to be beyond the pinnacle level.
More than that, the man was no normal martial artist. He looked like a demonic cultivator driven mad by sorcery. And yet the sword he wielded was unmistakably orthodox. Jin Mu-heon could not say exactly what style it was, but it was certainly a righteous sword.
“A demonic sword?”
There was a legend drifting through the Central Plains. Somewhere in the world, there existed a sword that could turn a man into a demon obsessed with the blade.
Until now, Jin Mu-heon had believed it was only a legend. No, not even a legend, just a baseless rumor spread by poets to dramatize the danger of swords.
But seeing this man, he found himself wondering whether a demonic sword might truly exist after all. Yet when Song Wol heard the words “demonic sword,” his face twisted as he glared at Jin Mu-heon.
“A demonic sword? This is the sword of orthodoxy more than anyone else’s……”
His mouth shut abruptly midsentence.
Song Wol’s expression warped as he looked at Jin Mu-heon. His eyes were full of hatred and rage, while his mouth stretched wide at the corners in a ghastly smile.
“Heh-heh-heh-heh. You shouldn’t have come so soon. I was going to kill you myself anyway. Isn’t that right?”
Seeing that hideous expression, Jin Mu-heon felt something had gone terribly wrong. There was more than just chills crawling down his spine.
What was even stranger was the sense that he had heard that voice before.
“Who the hell are you?!”
“You don’t even remember?”
Jin Mu-heon quickly sifted through his memory. But no matter where he looked, he had never seen this man before.
“If you can’t remember, I’ll make sure you do. I’ll tell you exactly who I am!”
Song Wol yanked the sword he had lodged in a Hyeonmu Guard body free with all his strength, then began striding toward Jin Mu-heon. The Hyeonmu Guard tried to stop him, of course, but stronger thunder qi gathered over Song Wol’s sword, cutting them down one by one as if he were slicing through stalks of grass.
Once again, ten heads went flying in an instant. Exhilaration glimmered in Song Wol’s eyes, as though he truly believed he might be able to kill the man who had been his lifelong enemy.
Apart from the fact that it was the sword of a madman, Song Wol’s blade was graceful and beautiful. It moved with the poise of a true master.
Before he knew it, Jin Mu-heon found himself sinking into that sword. It was Jang Wonsul’s scream-like voice that snapped him back.
“Captain! Pull yourself together!”
“What?”
Twenty Hyeonmu Guard had already died. Judging from the man’s skill, Jin Mu-heon doubted he could run far even if he used his subordinates as shields. He could also feel the man’s breathing growing rougher and rougher.
He’s exhausted too.
That had to be it. He must have fought the guards first, and after that he had been fighting the Hyeonmu Guard in succession. No human could keep from tiring under that kind of strain.
So the conclusion Jin Mu-heon reached was that he needed to attack together with his men.
“Hyeonmu Guard! All units, kill the murderer!”
The moment the order ended, Jin Mu-heon shot forward like an arrow. At the same time, the rest of the Hyeonmu Guard hurled themselves at Song Wol as well.
Twenty-six swords poured down from every direction. Jin Mu-heon was certain this could not be blocked. But as if mocking his confidence, Song Wol’s body spun violently as he unleashed his inner force. Blood-red sword energy infused with thunder qi burst outward in all directions, carving through the Hyeonmu Guard.
“Ugh!”
“Aaaagh!”
Amid the chorus of screams from the Hyeonmu Guard, there was only one man untouched by the sword energy.
The captain of the Hyeonmu Guard, Jin Mu-heon.
Only he had avoided the sword energy and could still thrust his blade toward Song Wol. It was almost as if the sword energy had been unleashed specifically to leave Jin Mu-heon alive.
And yet Jin Mu-heon’s sword never reached Song Wol either. Having already released his sword energy, Song Wol had somehow adjusted his stance and blocked the attack.
“How in the world…?”
Jin Mu-heon flicked his eyes to the side and checked the surroundings. Fortunately, the Hyeonmu Guard martial artists were not dead. Since the sword energy had been used defensively, their wounds were not severe.
“Worried? Because the men who can help you are still alive?”
Song Wol smiled with a thin, bloody curl to his lips and thrust his sword toward Jin Mu-heon. It was not the same violently overwhelming sword he had shown moments earlier.
This was not the domineering, flowing sword he had displayed before, but a soft sword. A supple sword. And Jin Mu-heon knew this blade.
“Green Wind Sword Art? Songwon Sect?”
“So now you remember?”
“You’re a survivor of the Songwon Sect?”
“Survivor?”
Bloodshot veins began to spread in Song Wol’s eyes. Rage flared at the fact that Jin Mu-heon still did not remember him. In Song Wol’s memory, Jin Mu-heon had been one of the investigators the Murim Alliance had sent to look for the murderer.
“You worthless bastard, a bug of an investigator who couldn’t even find the murderer who slaughtered my clan! You still don’t know who I am?”
“Just who are you……?”
Song Wol unleashed a murderous aura and lashed his sword at Jin Mu-heon, using the very Green Wind Sword Art his clan had once been proud of.
Only one thing was different. Unlike the Green Wind Sword Art of the past, which had moved like a pure breeze, the Green Wind Sword Art Song Wol now unfolded carried the scent of blood on the wind as it struck.
“What are you idiots doing? Hyeonmu Guard! Get up and help me suppress this murderer!”
“……”
Gradually being driven back, Jin Mu-heon bellowed until his voice was hoarse, calling to the Hyeonmu Guard martial artists. They were not so badly hurt that they could not move, but fear had already filled their eyes.
“We’re sorry, Captain.”
“My legs won’t move.”
“You fools! Get up already. If I die, all of you die anyway!”
Even after Jin Mu-heon shouted himself raw, they did not move. No, perhaps they could not move. Song Wol’s sword was steeped in so much killing intent that it had become as thick as tar.
“You investigator who doesn’t even know my name. When you die and meet the people of the Songwon Sect, make sure you apologize. For the ones who died because of your incompetence.”
“Shut up!”
Jin Mu-heon poured every ounce of inner power he had into his sword. But before Song Wol, he was no different from a child.
Jin Mu-heon’s sword was broken too easily.
“Don’t resent it. Once I’ve swept away the righteous bastards, I, Song Wol, will follow after them.”
“Song Wol……? They said you were dead!”
Jin Mu-heon’s sword was knocked skyward by Song Wol’s blade. Then Song Wol’s sword began to fall toward Jin Mu-heon’s neck.
In that instant, his life flashed before his eyes. Especially the moment he had been dispatched to the Songwon Sect as an investigator and was cleaning up the scene.
He felt the sword sink into his neck. Without realizing it, he squeezed his eyes shut. Only one thought remained in his head.
I’m dead.
Clang.
Jin Mu-heon thought he had died. But for that brief moment, he felt no pain at all.
He cautiously opened his eyes.
He saw the back of a man.
“You look exactly like a gatekeeper for the Murim Alliance.”
It was Baek Mugeuk, holding the sword Jin Mu-heon had been knocked out of his hand.