Chapter 152
Chapter 152
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 152
Chapter Title: A Flea Can Only Jump So High
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"We've captured them all, Young Master."
At the report from the Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, Byeok Taesan looked at her.
This time, to capture them, they had formed teams of one ronin, one from the dark path, and one from the Secret Heaven Group.
An Underworld Sect member was assigned to each team to confirm and relay information and instructions. They were also there to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.
While the primary goal of this operation was to annihilate the enemy's intelligence network in one fell swoop, establishing a system of cooperation between members from different organizations was also a key objective.
And so far, it had been successful.
"Three died during the capture. Ninety-seven remain."
That meant there had been a hundred of them originally.
This matched the information extracted from the woman in black, so Byeok Taesan simply gave a slight nod.
"What are your orders? Shall we proceed with the interrogation?"
The Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion's eyes sparkled as she looked at Byeok Taesan.
Seeing this, Byeok Taesan asked impassively.
"Is there something you want?"
As soon as the question was asked, the Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion poured out her words.
"The ones we captured this time use a very peculiar technique. If we can utilize it well, it could be of great help to the Underworld Sect's future activities. Depending on how the technique is used, it might even be possible to integrate it with the Shadow Steps."
They used inaudible sounds to exchange signals.
That was the technique the Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion was referring to.
"Fine, do as you wish."
With Byeok Taesan's permission, the Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion smiled brightly and quickly bowed her head.
"Thank you! I will be sure to live up to your expectations, Young Master."
He had no idea what expectations she was referring to or how she planned to meet them, but Byeok Taesan just nodded.
The Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion gave a few more reports before departing.
The current situation in Wuhan was extremely peaceful.
Despite the large-scale battle that took place yesterday, nothing much seemed to have changed on the surface.
This was partly because everyone had moved covertly, and partly because Nameless had scrambled the information, preventing the Martial Alliance, the Black Alliance, and other groups from taking any action.
They still didn't know what happened yesterday.
They might find out little by little as time passed, but it would only be a fraction of the truth.
They would likely never know what truly transpired.
Not unless this side openly told them.
Left alone, Byeok Taesan sank into his thoughts.
Yesterday, he had extracted and burned the souls of the woman in black and the leader of the Blood Spirit Brigade, and though he had reviewed many of their thoughts, he had yet to sift out any valuable information.
Hwaok was currently handling that process, but even she had looked quite baffled at first.
The important thing was information about the figure Byeok Taesan had seen in the thoughts—the man in the white robes, Hyeokryeon Gyun.
Their thoughts were so steeped in blood and terror that the details were unclear.
He could only proceed based on conjecture.
While information regarding the Blood Spirit Brigade's gathering point was very clear, any information about Hyeokryeon Gyun was vague, no matter whose thoughts he checked.
Even Gyeong Baekjun's thoughts had been the same.
As he was organizing his thoughts, Hwaok entered hurriedly and bowed.
"Young Master, the initial analysis is complete."
When Byeok Taesan nodded, Hwaok quickly took a large map from her robes and spread it across the table.
It was a map of Wuhan.
"Based on the information you provided, Young Master, I have narrowed down the locations. The most likely places are here, here, and here."
Hwaok pointed to three spots.
The information was so ambiguous that she couldn't pinpoint a single location.
But this was more than enough.
"Which of these is the most probable?"
Hwaok pointed to one spot without hesitation.
"This one. In my opinion, the probability is over seventy percent."
Hearing the probability was over seventy percent, Byeok Taesan nodded. To Byeok Taesan, a seventy percent probability meant it was the answer.
At least, that was his standard.
There was no time to hesitate. There was no telling where that bastard would run off to next.
If that man managed to escape Wuhan while he was wasting time, it would lead to a rather tedious chase. That would be extremely troublesome.
As Byeok Taesan headed outside, Hwaok followed, continuing her report.
"For now, all three locations are under surveillance by the Underworld Sect. We are watching from a distance as cautiously as possible, but you should be prepared for the possibility that we've been discovered."
The risk of being discovered didn't mean they could forego surveillance.
Byeok Taesan understood this well enough, so he nodded and quickened his pace.
When Byeok Taesan suddenly vanished before her eyes, Hwaok stopped in her tracks, shaking her head and clicking her tongue.
Even though she knew how incredible Byeok Taesan was, moments like these still managed to startle her.
Now that Byeok Taesan was on the move, she considered Hyeokryeon Gyun as good as caught.
At least, that was what Hwaok thought.
"Then... the next task is to find the bases of Nameless."
Hwaok decided she should start preparing for that and moved on.
***
Hyeokryeon Gyun paced the room, a mixture of irritation and anger churning within him.
Something had definitely happened yesterday.
But it had happened too suddenly, and with his subordinates all but wiped out, he couldn't respond immediately.
The price for that brief hesitation was the appearance of watchers in his vicinity.
"How in the world did they find me here? No, more than that, how did they even find out about my existence? I just don't understand."
He couldn't comprehend the situation, and he was angry and frustrated, but he wasn't worried.
What was there to fear? He had power.
Honestly, he wouldn't care if every member of the Martial Alliance and Black Alliance in Wuhan came for him.
If every so-called master in Wuhan were to attack him, he might not be able to defeat them all, but escaping with his life would be a simple matter.
The confidence that he could slip out of Wuhan quietly at any time overshadowed Hyeokryeon Gyun's fear.
Besides, he was not alone.
Did they think he would come to Wuhan, so far from his usual sphere of activity, relying solely on the Blood Spirit Brigade?
Hyeokryeon Gyun had much more power at his disposal than just the Blood Spirit Brigade, and since he had come personally this time, he was accompanied by some of the most renowned masters from Nameless.
The only problem was that even someone like Hyeokryeon Gyun couldn't command these masters with a flick of his finger, but now that things had come to this, they would be a tremendous asset.
He had brought them along to prepare for a situation like this anyway, so whether they followed his orders well or not hadn't mattered much until now.
As he paced for a moment, the door burst open and two men entered.
They were old men with stark white hair, but their gazes were so piercing that even Hyeokryeon Gyun would break into a cold sweat if he let his guard down.
"Elders, you've arrived."
The two elders, Wol Cheondeuk and Wol Cheonrak, nodded in unison and spoke.
"We heard there's been some trouble."
The two elders were brothers who had shared life and death since they were very young.
When they had come to Wuhan at Hyeokryeon Gyun's request, they had done so with a light heart, thinking of it as a leisurely trip.
But now that trouble had indeed found them, another feeling they had long suppressed began to stir.
Hyeokryeon Gyun saw the thick killing intent in the two elders' eyes and nodded.
"Due to my incompetence, I have lost all the subordinates I brought with me."
At his words, the two elders' eyes widened.
"Did you not bring the Blood Spirit Brigade this time?"
"I did."
"What kind of bastards are in Wuhan that they could be defeated?"
"I have not yet been able to clearly identify the enemy. It is shameful."
The two elders shook their heads with grave expressions.
"No. To be able to wipe out the Blood Spirit Brigade, they must be no ordinary foes. It's only natural that you couldn't easily identify them. Even if you had, it would likely have been a false identity."
The two elders assessed the situation on their own and then asked Hyeokryeon Gyun.
"So, what would you have us do now?"
Hyeokryeon Gyun replied with a serious expression.
"I intend to leave this place now."
The two elders nodded emphatically.
"So you want us to stir up some chaos in Wuhan. That's not difficult. Do you have a particular method in mind?"
The elders' tone, expressions, and eyes were all tinged with a slight excitement, as if they had been waiting for just this kind of situation.
"And shouldn't we also consider the possibility that this is an internal conflict?"
"I am considering it."
The corners of the two elders' mouths lifted slightly.
"We would be grateful if you entrusted the work to us then as well."
"Hearing you say that, I feel as if I've gained an entire army."
Hyeokryeon Gyun said, cupping his fist respectfully.
The two elders chuckled and waved their hands.
"Enough with the formalities. If you don't have a preferred method, we'll do things our way. First... we'll clean up the rats scurrying around here, so watch the situation and make your move."
"I'm counting on you."
Hyeokryeon Gyun said, bowing his head respectfully.
When he looked up again, the two elders were already gone.
A smile formed on Hyeokryeon Gyun's lips.
"I've bought some time... I should get out of here as soon as the situation allows."
Hyeokryeon Gyun muttered to himself and looked out the window.
He could see the two elders already heading toward a distant alley. He could feel a violent energy slowly taking over the surroundings.
***
Wol Cheondeuk and Wol Cheonrak did not move separately.
They were formidable on their own, but they knew they were more than twice as strong together, so they never split up.
This was due to the martial art the two had mastered.
It was a peculiar art that amplified the power of their internal energy and enhanced their physical abilities just by being near each other.
They could have cleared out the rats in the area much faster by moving separately, but the two still moved together.
The watchers in the vicinity were positioned quite far away, and most of them belonged to the Underworld Sect.
The two elders realized this as they approached the watchers.
"Looks like the Underworld Sect."
"I think so too. But since when did the Underworld Sect start making such a fuss?"
"I think I heard they've changed a bit recently... I don't really know. And frankly, I don't care."
"True, why bother finding out when we can just kill them all?"
"Exactly. And there's our first target right over there."
The two saw a narrow alley.
And at the end of that alley, they could feel the presence of a person in hiding.
They walked leisurely in that direction.
They had no intention of hiding, so they didn't bother to conceal their presence.
A violent aura naturally flowed from them, gradually dominating the surroundings.
The person hiding in the alley flinched.
He was being crushed by their aura.
"Now, how should we kill him?"
"I'll pull off his arms and legs, you pull off his head."
"Sounds good. It's been a while since I've had some fun."
The two elders had already entered the alley. They rounded the corner and saw the person hiding there.
He was a middle-aged man who looked at the two elders with a mixture of confusion and fear.
"No time to waste. Get pulling."
Of the two elders, Wol Cheonrak was the first to act.
Wol Cheonrak grabbed the man's forearms.
The man was completely unable to resist. It felt like he might be able to escape if he struggled, but he couldn't even do that.
Wol Cheonrak regarded the man's state as perfectly natural. Then, he slowly began to pull his arms out.
He didn't rip them out at once; pulling slowly made it more painful, more terrifying.
Just as he started to apply force, he felt a blatantly obvious presence behind him.
Wol Cheonrak scowled and turned his head.
"I was just about to have some fun, what bastard..."
"Were you in the middle of pulling that out?"
The person who appeared behind them, Byeok Taesan, asked nonchalantly.
Wol Cheonrak tightened his grip and said.
"Yes. I was about to. No, I suppose I'm already in the process."
Byeok Taesan grinned.
"It seems you enjoy pulling things out."
Wol Cheonrak smirked as he pulled on the arms.
"I do. I pull out arms, legs, and necks. Sometimes, I even pull out hearts. Sounds fun, doesn't it?"
Despite applying considerable force, the arms wouldn't come off, so Wol Cheonrak pulled harder.
"This bastard, why is he so tough?"
As he exerted more force with a puzzled expression, he saw the face of Wol Cheondeuk standing nearby.
Wol Cheondeuk's eyes were wide as if they would tear, looking startled by something. And he was looking at him.
Wondering what could have startled him so, he followed his brother's gaze and found it fixed on his own hands gripping the man's forearms.
"Huh?"
He was clearly exerting force, yet the hands gripping the forearms looked completely limp.
He tried to move his arms, but they wouldn't budge.
"Huh? Huh?"
Only then did Wol Cheonrak understand the situation. His own arms had been dislocated and were dangling uselessly. They had been pulled out.
Byeok Taesan glanced at the stunned, open-mouthed Wol Cheonrak, then looked at the man whose arms had been held.
"What are you doing?"
The man, startled, bowed deeply to Byeok Taesan and fled in a hurry.
Neither Wol Cheonrak nor Wol Cheondeuk thought of chasing him.
Byeok Taesan grinned at the two men.
"I like pulling things out, too."
The moment those words fell, Wol Cheondeuk charged at Byeok Taesan. He had an instinct that if he didn't attack now, he wouldn't get another chance.
Byeok Taesan swatted his hand as if shooing a fly.
*Crack!*
The back of Byeok Taesan's hand exploded against Wol Cheondeuk's cheek.
*CRACK!*
His neck bent at an impossible angle, Wol Cheondeuk slammed into the ground and his body twitched violently.
Byeok Taesan strode over to Wol Cheonrak, who was staring blankly at the scene with a look of disbelief, and placed a hand on the crown of his head.
Just as he was about to extract the soul, he sensed someone moving quickly in the distance.
Byeok Taesan glanced in that direction and let out a short laugh.
"A flea can only jump so high."
Muttering this, he ripped out Wol Cheonrak's soul.
< A Flea Can Only Jump So High > End