Chapter 17
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Thirty-Two Green Forest Strongholds
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The carriage wheels, which had been rolling along smoothly, suddenly lurched violently.
Thud!
The carriage slowed as if caught on a rock.
"Halt—!"
One by one, they stopped following the lead horses and the front carriage, the long procession curving gently into a line.
"Young Master."
Shaking off the youth and boy's worries, I watched the situation unfold.
Hiiing!
The chief escort calmed the startled horses and glared at the group blocking the road ahead.
"What in the blazes do you think you're doing?"
That rock was a man.
Swish.
Men dressed in ragged clothes, armed to the teeth with all sorts of weapons.
They spread out across the road, and in an instant, over a dozen more "rocks" scattered in all directions.
"Just as we heard—a new escort agency we've never seen before. This seat is Ma Gang-han, Vice Stronghold Leader of the Great Tiger Tooth Stronghold in the Thirty-Two Green Forest Strongholds!"
Stroking his bushy beard, he straightened the massive crescent blade slung over his shoulder.
Boasting about "this seat" and "Great Green Forest"—he was a bandit whose ridiculous appearance wasn't even amusing.
No matter how peaceful the era, thieves and bandits never truly vanished.
Since not everyone could live in abundance, they were like maggots rooted excessively in humanity's greed, one of its base instincts.
But that single flaw could never be completely erased. Not unless everyone in the world died out.
'It used to be seventy-two strongholds before.'
It had dwindled quite a bit over time.
A sign of how peaceful the era was.
The number of bandits served as a gauge of prosperity, making the Green Forest a necessary evil of sorts.
Was that why?
"...Fearless fools."
I clicked my tongue at Ma Gang-han's display.
"We know who you are. But do you know whose goods you're blocking?"
"Goods headed to the capital, perhaps?"
The chief escort responded with refined calm, but the man just cackled mockingly.
"Nine out of ten say the same. But when you check, most aren't. Isn't that right, Chief Escort?"
Bandits and thieves were similar, but their styles differed.
Bandits seized openly; thieves stole in secret.
Ma Gang-han was a straightforward bandit, a mountain brigand.
The necessary evil of banditry lay in uniting the endless spawn of thieves— no matter how shameless, gatherings of people inevitably bred rules and order.
The authorities turned a blind eye partly because the Green Forest fell under the martial world, but even for escort agencies alone, without bandits, half their business would dry up.
'Forty... sixty...'
Like escort agencies and merchants, bandits and the Green Forest—and Waterways—were inextricably linked.
Paying a modest toll to pass was custom and convention, but clashes weren't unheard of. What surprised me was that the hidden bandits numbered well over a hundred.
To flaunt power, you had to show yourself.
"Hoo, I've heard your words clearly."
"Doubt it."
"How much?"
Fearless Ma Gang-han, based in North Hebei.
Despite the circumstances, drawing official eyes wouldn't end well, but as I probed his intentions, Yang Jeong added an explanation.
"I've heard of Tiger Tooth Stronghold."
"Notoriety?"
"More than that. Most Green Forest groups are petty thieves, rarely known by name. Even among the thirty-two, only a few top ones have any fame."
Tiger Tooth was one of them.
"As you know, they're black path, but a different shade. Tiger Tooth's base is in Shanxi, not North Hebei. Vice Leader Ma Gang-han is called the Thunderbolt Giant Blade."
Flashy title for a bandit.
"So, conclusion—they won't let us pass nicely?"
"Likely."
The two strongholds combined neared two hundred, and his "just as we heard" meant they'd targeted us from the start.
"Goods info leaked, huh."
Bandits might be crude, but not stupid.
"You lot stay put. Yang Jeong, protect A-so well."
It meant the cargo was valuable enough to risk it, and sure enough, bloodshed arrived swiftly.
"Toll's fine. Even if it's steep?"
"Sure."
Led by Ma Gang-han, master of formidable arts.
"One chief escort, three more escorts. Warriors and porters, about fifty each."
He sized up our forces and grinned, baring his teeth.
"Kill them. All."
Under the clear sky, arrows rained down.
"Stay inside."
"Young Master!"
Leaving A-so and Yang Jeong behind, I stepped out of the carriage.
Thwack, thwack, thwack.
Arrows flew from all sides, embedding like thorns in brambles.
Hiiing—!
The terrified horses bucking wildly were no exception.
The next volley followed. The arrows' gentle arcs would soon collapse unpredictably.
Crack!
I slashed one arrow flying straight at me and snatched another.
Snap!
An ordinary sword, but reliable enough. Decent. Infusing modest inner energy into the technique was natural, and the blade A-so procured matched those used by my clan's warriors—a thoughtful touch.
I swung the hilt-gripped hand repeatedly.
Until the arrow rain ended.
Just guarding one carriage and horses, but the Sang Man Escort Agency's escorts and warriors were earning their keep.
'Mostly first-rate and second-rate.'
Enemy and ally levels were evenly matched.
Sword-body unity or man-sword oneness.
First-rate martial artists typically wielded swords like limbs.
The fruit of thousands, tens of thousands of swings.
The sword path breathed qi; regardless of fancy techniques, simple, clean sword trajectories and endings repelled interference.
Impressive skill.
But so were the enemies'.
Waaah!
Bandits burst from the brush one after another.
The arrow volley yielded little, but Ma Gang-han's unflustered face suggested it was mere greeting.
The agency's escorts and warriors were long prepared.
Not zero casualties, but they'd weathered the first wave. Tension thickened before the main clash.
"You alright?"
"Th-thanks."
A porter bowed his head.
Even as a temporary guest escort, the duty remained. Status irrelevant now—I protected cargo and people like any warrior.
They didn't want damaged goods either, so I guarded myself and those around me.
Warriors aside, porters...
"Argh!"
"S-save me!"
Those useless in combat were defenseless.
"Tch."
Outnumbered four-to-one, the agency held strong, but spears and swords pierced the porters' soft flesh.
"Haha, I'm first—?!"
I slit the throat before me and spun, slashing the bandit clutching his own neck, then swept second and third from behind the carriage.
"What's this?"
"An escort? This kid?"
No camaraderie.
"Look, even got a sword."
"Beaten by a brat not even in his twenties?"
Slow to grasp the situation. Casual tones, battlefield sloth. Eyes gleaming with greed alone, oblivious to time and place.
Whoosh!
No need for inner energy.
The blade's innate sharpness, simple skill, and speed left two men bleeding out, faces dumb till the end.
"...".
Familiar scent, familiar sight.
Iron cloaked in blood, sticky gore soaking the ground—a battlefield, however small.
Shaking off untimely sentiment, I swung my arm ceaselessly.
"Argh!"
Fixed intervals, sword realm. Piling corpses from the limited radius forced footwork amid the dead.
'If this continues.'
It wasn't long after.
Prolonged resistance, but the outcome was sealed.
Clang!
Their numbers dwindled faster.
One body had limits, tipping balance as flames rose high.
They fought valiantly enough.
'Seven at peak level, vice leader's second realm maybe.'
Reading the tide, I narrowed targets and concluded.
'Near third realm, even.'
Obscure bandits and stronghold, as rumored.
Anyway, to reverse it—decapitate the heads swiftly.
I shook blood off like water and leaped.
Swoosh—
Then, as I vaulted.
A fluttering energy brushed past my eyes.
'...What?'
In slowing time, a butterfly circled air and softly landed.
"Heh."
A voice trailed its afterimage.
Landing spot—where porters gawked, matching the vice leader and chief escort's standoff.
Pierce!
A sharp wind-hole punched the chief escort's chest. Without warning. His bulging eyes registered the change, but far too late.
'Pale Hand Blood Demon Art...?'
The butterfly was vicious cold qi.
So stealthy and vicious even a third-realm chief couldn't sense it. Process differed from tales, but result clear.
Thud!
Short recoil traced afterimage, cold tail linking to the beast.
"Wh-what?!"
Escorts with his hands bound collapsed.
"Guh!"
Same wound, same hollow faces.
"...Annoying."
Shelving the plan, I reached out.
Crack!
Snatched a butterfly cold clump in range.
As the thin cold dispersed, the culprit's brow twitched.
Circle reformed instantly, but I spotted the technique's owner amid porters.
A porter with delicate hands.
Remembered him—pale, slender like jade.
'Deal with him later.'
Decision quick despite reversal.
One escort left—the agency's young leader.
Prioritize reforming battle lines, ignoring his shock.
Command broken, annihilation inevitable. Pretending ignorance of the rear threat, I kicked off the ground.
"Ah, ugh."
Warriors who'd held their own now faltered.
"Arm! My arm—!"
"Aaaah!"
Screams skewed, pandemonium erupted; before melee turned to slaughter.
Priority: common bandits.
"Huh?"
Sliced the smug face, seized his spear.
Severed the lone hand on the shaft, plunged into disrupted ranks.
Clang! Scraaape!
Clashing blades lessened, roars drowned in screams; I drew maximum attention.
Stab!
Gut-pierced bandit wore disbelief.
"One down."
Sudden raid over warriors nullified a peak-level foe, crumpling him.
Stepping over, I yanked the spear free.
Crackle.
Spear tip skyward exploded in shards.
Nearby bandits and warriors gaped, arms limp, silence fell.
Grip.
The peak warrior's long spear—inverted overhead grip, I hurled my new weapon with full force.
"Two."
Theatrics brought another hush.
Dust from the spear seized eyes.
Silence layered, dots connected to lines, shock rippled through the mass.
All noise ceased.
Motion halted; amid myriad gazes, gripping another spear, I shouted.
"Don't fear—!"
Like before. In this young body.