The Fall of the Sa-geom Sect
"That’s right, young master. We’re just a bunch of low-lives with nothing but numbers, how could we possibly commit such a bold act? We were just trying to scrape together a little toll money from the road..."
As expected, these types only listen when you beat them. I didn’t even wait for him to finish his sentence before I sent the bandits off to join their comrades in the afterlife. I could see the villagers gathering the victims of the tragedy to bury them, but I headed toward the Sa-geom Sect as fast as I could. Mourning could wait until the work was done.
The bandits in this area were nothing more than bait. It was a diversionary tactic by the Heukdo—the Black Path—to strike at the Sa-geom Sect, the largest sect in the vicinity. A sense of unease began to creep up my spine. Crazy... has the raid already started? It was much faster than I had anticipated. My happy sex life...
Did they storm the place after seeing Jeri pass through? Unlike the small, mid-sized sects nearby, the Black Path shouldn't have been able to do anything to the Sa-geom Sect. Damn it, I was worried about those Black Path bastards colluding with the Blood Sect, just as Jeri had mentioned. But the Great War of Righteous and Evil hadn't even begun yet. There was no way the experts of the Blood Demon Sect would be roaming around so freely... Had I been too complacent?
Was it the right choice to help Jeri and try to persuade my father? Even if I were back in that situation, I didn't think I could have convinced him. He was the type who could only be broken by force... I desperately suppressed the rising anxiety and began to move in a hurry.
'Sohye and Hyewon... they have to be safe...'
I had exhausted a significant portion of my stamina and internal energy in the earlier skirmish, but given the urgency, I pushed my movement technique to its limit. Before long, I was back at the Sa-geom Sect. However, the first thing that caught my eye was the main gate, which had been split in half. Seeing the once-magnificent gate reduced to tatters made cold sweat run down my back. The guards who had been on duty were already dead.
'They were all taken out cleanly. With this level of skill, a formidable expert must have done this in an instant... Could it be that I arrived too late?'
Someone might say, "It's just a novel, you already know the flow, so why be an idiot and risk your life for two women? A man who can't even protect his own woman..." Imagining the worst-case scenario, I shook my head, stood up, and walked inside the gate.
I moved as quietly as possible, and when I entered the sect, the training grounds were a carnage. The corpses of low-tier Black Path thugs and sect disciples were left scattered everywhere. They had clearly been used as cannon fodder. In the distance, a large number of men in black and two men in ominous blood-red robes were literally slaughtering the disciples. The disciples of the Sa-geom Sect were resisting fiercely, but the outcome was already obvious. I was worried about my father and mother, but since my father was here, I wasn't overly concerned.
'Who are those guys? Blood-red robes? Could they be from the Blood Sect?'
The only thing that came to mind with blood-red robes was the Blood Sect. I hadn't expected them to move directly, rather than just supporting the Black Path... As anxiety swept through my entire body, I hurried toward the main building to find the two women.
'Damn, the path to the main building...'
The path to the main building was in the middle of a bloody battle. But no matter who looked at it, the sect disciples were at a disadvantage. If I joined in, I might be able to buy them more time, but Gihu was more worried about the safety of his family and the two women.
'I have to go around.'
Following a side path, he arrived at the rear pavilion and witnessed a reality he didn't want to believe. Was I too late? The rear pavilion was already burning, and there was no sign of anyone. What happened to Hyewon? Dang Hyewon? She was a Peak Stage expert, so I hoped she would be fine... but seeing those guys in blood-red robes, I couldn't be sure.
I could see the corpses of Black Path thugs and sect disciples scattered nearby, and I also spotted the body of someone I didn't want to see.
"Palbong..."
I closed the eyes of Palbong and the servants, who were staring wide-eyed as if in resentment. I searched for Dang Hyewon's body, just in case, but thankfully, she wasn't there. But it was too early to be relieved. Gihu quickly slipped away from the spot.
Arriving at the main building along the downhill path from the rear pavilion, the inner corridor was thick with the scent of blood. Everywhere, there were corpses of Sa-geom Sect disciples, and occasionally, fallen men in black and Black Path thugs. I shifted my gaze to the end of the corridor and saw Sohye fighting a man in black.
'You, you damn evil bastard!'
I was furious, but shouting during a surprise attack would be insane. I screamed in my heart and struck with a blow of justice. Die! You vermin!!!! Take this strike of justice!!
"Keuk, you... such a coward... in the middle of a duel... ugh."
The man in black, his vital point pierced, groaned and died. Stupid bastard, you should have always watched your back. What kind of duel is this in such a situation...
"G-Gihu? Haa..."
Sohye looked at me and collapsed, her tension finally breaking. I pulled the righteous blade out of the man's vital point and helped the fallen Sohye up. Sohye looked at me, panting with exhaustion, and smiled. I wanted to let her rest, but the situation was urgent. We had to escape quickly. Examining her carefully, she wasn't seriously injured, but she had exhausted all her internal energy and was completely drained... Also, seeing a streak of blood flowing down her beautiful thigh truly broke my heart. Touching what's mine... you bastards.
"Sohye, let's get out of here, quickly!"
"What about the others? Are they safe?"
"Yeah, now we just need to get out..."
Of course, it was a lie to put her at ease. In this situation, even if we made it out of here, most of them would have been taken out by the guys lying in ambush. But if the battle wasn't over yet, we might be able to slip out while the disciples were buying us time. I picked Sohye up and headed for the back door.
I hurriedly carried Sohye toward the back door. As soon as I stepped out of the building, I sensed that something had gone wrong. This chilling energy... 'The sounds from the training grounds have stopped... This is a death flag!'
Wasn't this the typical death flag you'd see in horror movies or thrillers? I felt cold sweat running down my back and realized I was already cornered, but I prayed in my heart that it wasn't true. I looked around and, without looking back, ran toward the back door. There were already several corpses at the back door, and among them... believe it or not, was the body of the Sa-geom Sect Leader, my father.
'T-this makes no sense.'
I hurriedly looked around and realized, fortunately, that my mother's body wasn't there. But I couldn't guarantee she was still alive... It looked like my father had been buying time to help my mother escape. I couldn't believe that my father, who was on the verge of reaching the Transcendence realm, couldn't break through this kind of encirclement. My mind knew he wasn't my real father, but I could feel my body and heart crying. Sorrow leaked out as if a hole had been punched in me.
However, before I could even grieve, two other monsters in ominous blood-red robes blocked our path. It was a f*cked-up situation at a glance. 'These guys, they're much stronger than me? At least on par with my father, or maybe one step below?'
Just as you can't accurately know the top of a mountain from its base, a low-tier first-class fighter like Gihu couldn't accurately gauge the martial arts level of the blood-red robed monsters. Whether they were Peak Stage or Transcendence experts, this wasn't a situation Gihu could easily overcome. If it were one, I might be able to manage, but could I even buy time against two?
A monster with a cross scar on his chin and stitches on his limbs, looking frivolous, and a calm-looking middle-aged man with brown hair.
"Ke-ke-ke-ke, where are you going in such a hurry?" the frivolous monster, who sounded like a third-rate villain, asked with a mad laugh.
'This is... f*cked!'
I ignored the alarm bells ringing in my heart and looked around, but there seemed to be no way out. Even if I sent her toward the main gate, she would be caught by those two guys and the men in black from earlier. 'I want to at least get Sohye out of here somehow...'
The middle-aged man, who had been watching us for a while, took out an ominous purple jewel from his robe and said, "It seems that girl is the body the Great Emperor wanted... You can do whatever you want with the woman."
The frivolous monster's eyes curved into arcs. "Ke-ke-ke-ke, that's great. I'll cut off her arms and legs to make her a toy and carry her around for a while. Ke-ke."
Hearing that, Sohye buried her face in my chest and trembled. "Gihu... put me down, I can fight too." Sohye said that, but I could tell there was no confidence in her trembling voice. A dilemma—I started to sweat. There was no such scene in the novel...
'Damn it... what should I do?'
I would have to block the two of them with the resolve of mutual destruction. Even if winning was difficult, buying time against the two seemed sufficient. Rather than watching what's mine be taken, I'd rather risk my life and charge in. 'I haven't tried it, so I'm not sure, but if I draw out all the energy in my body, couldn't I buy at least half an hour?'
After putting Sohye down on the ground, I kissed her forehead lightly and called to her. "Sohye..."
That was when it happened.
"Cl-cl... I wondered where the disgusting stench of the Reverse Blood Demon Art was coming from, and it was you bastards."
Could it be... the Heavenly Demon...?