Catching the Hidden Ferocious Beasts (4)
Even after unmasking the Twin Shadow Ferocious Demon Brigade, the men knew their true nature yet still faltered in confusion.
"Brothers!!! What the hell are you thinking?! No, you might not know this, but don't I always go alone when I'm off to meet a woman?"
"Huh……."
It was hard to believe that the comrade who'd been by their side all this time was the enemy.
"On top of that! I answered late, sure, but I did give a clear response. It just took me a second because I wasn't interested…… How does that make me the culprit?!"
The bond built with the real person had already transferred to this impostor wearing the same face and mimicking the same actions, making it impossible to see him as fake.
"Ask something else, then! You can't pin down the killer with just one damn question!"
That was why suspicion arose, yet never fully took root. What if it's not him? What if it's just a momentary mistake? They had to believe that…… so the camaraderie they'd clung to wouldn't shatter.
It was the reason so many elite Murim Alliance squads had fallen.
And our Small Justice Squad? We'd been suspicious of each other from the start, long before any infiltration. The moment anything felt off, we struck first with our blades. Sure, innocents died unjustly, but at least we never fell to hidden killers.
Shing.
The Black Dragon Sword slid free, and the Seo Plains Five Dogs—no, now the Seo Plains Three Dogs—turned to me.
"Wait a second…… It's not certain yet……."
I could understand the man's anguish. You couldn't turn on a brother you'd shared decades of trials and triumphs with on a dime.
But the cunning Twin Shadow Ferocious Demon Brigade never missed such openings. They exploited the basic trust inherent in every human.
"I said wait!!!"
As I advanced, the second brother raised a hand to block me.
He couldn't believe it easily. But we had ironclad proof.
I unleashed Lianhua in a flash, hurling the second brother straight at Blood Fight.
"That damn bastard again!"
Thud! Boom!
Blood Fight swung to smash him away, but the second brother twisted midair, kicked off the fist, and shot back toward me instead.
"You crazy fuck……! Little bro!"
"Yes, brother!"
Even these infamous dogs with "hound" in their nicknames shared unbreakable bonds among themselves. That was why the Twin Shadow Ferocious Demon Brigade earned universal hatred, transcending righteous and unrighteous paths alike.
The two swung their sabers in unison. Blades arced to cleave head and waist simultaneously.
I deployed Iron Plate Bridge technique while maxing out Tae-eul Eight Myriad Divine Steps, threading the razor-thin gap to charge the Twin Shadow Ferocious Demon Brigade member.
"You lunatic……!"
The fourth brother scattered saber strikes in desperation at my uncanny footwork. His style matched the other Seo Plains Dogs perfectly.
Clang-clang-clang-clang.
As I pierced through Great Heaven Sword Method to sever his throat, three saber qi blasts came from behind. I spun urgently, barely deflecting them.
Boom-boom-boom!
Before fully dissipating the qi, I whirled back and unleashed Cartoon Invincible Fist on the fourth. Dozens of fist images battered him airborne, slamming him three zhang away into the wall.
Crash.
"Guhk!"
He sprang up, regripping his saber, body trembling as he bellowed.
"Brothers!! Can't you see?! He's picking us off one by one!"
Desperate expression, quavering voice, twitching lips, eyes brimming with fear. Could brothers of decades ignore that?
Even I'd wonder if the guy was innocent.
If not for the Red Phoenix Ring.
For some reason, it absorbed a dew-like trickle of my qi only when facing this impostor.
Killing intent laced saber qi rained from behind.
"You've given up thinking, I see."
What a bizarre sight. Righteous sect disciples acted the same way. Even after Inspection Hall scoured the scene and Execution Hall ruled it a hidden killer, a desperate brother's plea made all evidence crumble. It must be some political frame-up…… Our brother could never be a traitor……
Even unrighteous paths mirrored it perfectly.
Is this why the Demonic Cult once dominated the world?
These bastards drove us mad. Stripped our humanity. Shattered our common sense and morals.
That's why I could never forgive the one who'd inherited that damned Heavenly Demon's blood.
I maxed Socheon Sword Technique to counter the saber qi while blocking the fourth's path.
As I pressed him, the three Seo Plains Dogs formed a joint strike array, stabbing six vital points at once.
I'm dead!
Individually mediocre, but united, they were a massive threat. I rolled twice midair to evade, but not perfectly.
Riiip. Drip-drip.
Long gashes opened on my forearm and thigh, blood dripping freely.
The three met the fourth's eyes, nodded, and reformed their array.
I warned the synchronized trio.
"I get wanting to trust your brother. But…… it's not a wise choice. You're shielding your sect leader's killer."
I tore cloth to bind my wounds and regripped the Black Dragon Sword. The flushed second brother's jaw clenched.
"We'll investigate that ourselves."
"That's…… exactly what you can't do."
"Even if he's a traitor, we can handle him!"
No matter the brutal training, no one could easily doubt and kill someone wearing their brother's face.
Maybe that's why they couldn't cast out the Twin Shadow Ferocious Demon Brigade. Even if just shells, they hoped their siblings lived.
Confirming the one beside you as fake meant declaring the real one dead.
When even absolute masters fell to grandsons' disguises, martial skill meant nothing.
The only way out of this trap…… pure malice and venom.
"That's why you lost to the Small Justice Squad."
Only beasts could tear down fiends.
I unleashed Tae-eul Gate's patchwork art, Tae-eul Yang Armor.
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!
In my past life, its power was pathetic for the qi invested, but with four gapja of internal energy, efficiency didn't matter.
Scorching heat blasted everywhere, momentarily halting the Seo Plains Four Dogs' breaths.
I followed with newly learned Pure Pure Divine Art to blind them, then thrust Socheon Sword Technique.
Swoosh—
The Seo Plains Dogs swung to bat away the arrow-like Black Dragon Sword, but I was a hair faster.
Slash.
A deep gash tore the third brother's chest; he crumpled.
As I readied another thrust, the Dogs assumed defensive stances. To disrupt their formation, I unleashed Great Heaven Sword Method to confound their vision.
Shiiiing.
Dozens of sword images targeted throats, vitals, eyes. They flailed wildly, but most were illusions.
I amplified the chaos with another Socheon Sword Technique.
Swoosh—
"Damn……!"
"Ngh……."
Realizing it was futile, second and youngest dodged sideways. I hammered the fiend with Cartoon Invincible Fist.
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
Crash.
The fourth was pummeled into a corner unwittingly. I thrust the Black Dragon Sword at him.
Shiiiing.
Like metal fan ribs unfolding, illusions of real and fake swords filled the air. The fourth shuddered.
Finally breaking, he kicked off the floor and leaped skyward.
But I had no intention of letting him go.
"Where?!"
Ping—
The Flying Dragon Claw whistled faintly, coiling his ankle. Using Xuehua's power, I yanked him crashing down.
Boom-boom!
"Guhk……."
Wincing in agony, he curled up. I stepped into True Strike to cleave his head.
Clang!
Greeee.
The Black Dragon Sword clashed with a saber, weapons grinding horrifically.
"I warned you to stop……!"
Blood trickled from the second brother's mouth, yet he roared.
I poured more power into the Black Dragon Sword.
"He's the culprit."
"The fourth used his techniques even in panic. And as he said…… he answered, albeit late."
He sneered at me from beside the man.
"Defending the enemy? Looks like you want to die next."
The second brother's saber hand trembled.
"Guhk…… Stop anyway! Last warning."
Clang!
Force pushed us back three steps each; third and youngest flanked him protectively again.
The second stared ahead, asking the fourth.
"Fourth."
"Yes, brother."
"One question: What do I do every time I have free time?"
The fourth raised his voice indignantly.
"Fishing! Fishing! Even without bait or hooks, you fish! Your martial arts enlightenment ties to that too!"
"Then, youngest's first love?"
"Soon-i from the next village. After she became a concubine to some lord, he cursed the world and turned unrighteous."
The second's gaze grew complex.
"And third's recent screw-up?"
"Stole from your money pouch, second brother."
"……What?"
The second patted his pouch in shock, glancing at third, who nodded admission.
"……Look at this! He's obviously my brother, so why the suspicion……."
Yeah, he seemed real. No—the man believed the fourth was the "real" one. A natural human emotion, beyond righteous or unrighteous.
Our survival wasn't just from low jokes. The precise reason:
"Still don't get it? Three in joint strike overwhelmed me, so why did four push me back?"
"……."
……Lack of humanity.
We'd become beast-like, surviving that hell.
Paradoxical, right? Shed humanity to live as humans.
But were we still human after shedding it?
The man turning away met my eyes.
"What…… are you doing now?"
He tilted his head at my stance.
"Catching the culprit."
With those words, I unleashed White Moon Heaven-Subduing Three Forms, First Form: Extreme Swiftness.
Whoosh.
Air tore with a shriek; wooden chairs and tables in the room toppled powerlessly.
In a blink, the sword qi—too fast to perceive—severed the fourth's neck.
Splurt.
The fourth clawed his throat in vain. "Th-this…… isn't right…… isn't……."
Thud.
His head hit the floor; blood fountained.
Witnessing their brother's death, the three stared blankly, minds broken.
"Wh-what…… what did you do? To my…… my brother……."
The second, drenched in his sibling's blood, gaped in disbelief.
It wasn't just the Seo Plains Dogs. Blood Sword Sect members lost reason at the blood, charging me.
"Raaagh! Kill him!"
"Rip him apart!"
"How dare you…… to our Blood Sword Sect!!"
As the Blood Sword Sect hacked wildly, the freshly bereaved Seo Plains Dogs surged with feral aura.
Onlooker Blood Fight finally moved.
"……You mad bastard!"
He joined the fray in shock; Gun Yu-hyeon followed, toppling warriors with his fluttering robe.
"Jin Gongja! We must retreat!"
Ignoring Gun Yu-hyeon's urgent cry, I dove deeper, maxing Tae-eul Eight Myriad Divine Steps to circle behind.
Knowing my intent, the encircling unrighteous swung desperately, but I sought something else.
I swiftly grabbed the fourth's severed head and retreated to my spot.
The Seo Plains Three Dogs' eyes bulged in frenzy at the trophy.
Blood Sword Sect ground their teeth, ready to bite.
"Drop the fourth's head now!"
"Black Flame Dragon! Insult us more, and we'll tear you to shreds!"
Without pause, I gripped the severed head and ripped off the face skin.
Riiip.
Skin that shouldn't peel came off easily. Everyone imagined horrors, averting eyes.
But it wasn't what they feared.
As chaos subsided, a stunned voice rang out.
"H-human skin mask?!"
All eyes locked on my hand: the face skin from the "fourth." And……
The stranger's face who'd impersonated him.
Blood Sword Sect forgot the fight, fixated on the mask and face.
I addressed them.
"This is what you risked your lives to protect."
The Seo Plains Three Dogs dropped their weapons with a clatter.
Righteous or unrighteous, reactions to the truth were the same.