Chapter 14: First Mission (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 14: First Mission (3)
Upon reaching the main gate of the Bae Gong Gang, Namgung Jun gripped his sword hilt without a word.
None were needed.
His sword swept horizontally, slicing through the air without hesitation and spraying blood.
"Urgh!"
"Aargh."
The throats of the Bae Gong Gang martial artists standing on either side of the gate were slit in the same instant.
They collapsed, their eyes wide with confusion, but Namgung Jun didn't spare them a single glance.
Creak!
He pushed open the main gate himself, his movements unhurried, as if he were simply entering his own home.
The eyes of the Bae Gong Gang members, who had been drinking in broad daylight, locked onto Namgung Jun.
"Look at the main gate."
"Who is that guy?"
Seeing Namgung Jun walk in so casually, the martial artists merely looked puzzled.
But that only lasted a moment.
A black bamboo hat. Cloud embroidery stitched onto blue sleeves.
No martial artist—especially one from the Demonic and Heretical Paths—could fail to recognize this attire. It was the single most important detail they had to watch out for if they wanted to live.
Tossing aside their cups, the Bae Gong Gang members scrambled to grab the weapons they had carelessly left on chairs and the floor.
"The Azure Heaven Association! It's the Azure Heaven Association!"
"Report this to the Gang Leader!"
The Bae Gong Gang martial artists moved with surprising coordination.
Some ran inside to alert their leader and the others, while the majority surrounded Namgung Jun, weapons in hand.
"What? He's just a kid?"
"Look at his cloud. He only has one."
"A clueless greenhorn! He must have underestimated us and come alone."
When Namgung Jun remained silent and still, the Bae Gong Gang members burst into laughter, mistakenly assuming he had frozen in fear at being surrounded so quickly.
"Hmm."
Tilting his chin up, Namgung Jun swept his gaze over them and muttered quietly.
"Is this all? Have your Gang Leader come out."
Hearing his words, a fierce-looking man nearby raised his saber.
"A punk like you isn't worthy of making our Gang Leader step out!"
Swish!
Mid-sentence, the man’s curved saber lunged forward in a surprise attack. He was clearly experienced in such underhanded tricks.
To Namgung Jun, however, it was nothing more than a clumsy strike, too pathetic to even be called a feint.
With his hand already on his hilt, Namgung Jun twisted his waist slightly, drawing a diagonal flash of blue light.
Splurt!
The single, diagonal draw of his sword severed both the man's right arm and his windpipe.
As spraying blood splattered against his bamboo hat, everyone's eyes locked onto the man's severed right arm as it rolled across the ground.
Amidst the heavy silence, Namgung Jun's low voice rippled through the air.
"Look at me."
Crackle!
A violent wave of energy erupted from Namgung Jun's entire body. The Thunder Qi of the Heavenly Thunder True Yang Formula crackled and roared.
At the same time, shouts erupted from all directions.
"Attack him all at once!"
"There's only one of him!"
"Don't hold back your hidden weapons!"
A chaotic frenzy of weapons surged toward him from every direction. As befitting members of the Demonic and Heretical Paths, their arsenal was a chaotic mix of exotic weapons, including serrated sabers, harpoons, and scythes.
How crude.
Six weapons visible to the eye.
Eight weapons sensed through his martial senses.
Having read the trajectories of all fourteen weapons in an instant, Namgung Jun adjusted his grip.
He relaxed his ring finger, slightly raised his middle and index fingers, and gripped the upper part of the hilt with a gentle, pressing hold.
He transitioned from the Thirteen Lightning Flash Sword Thunders to the Great Derivation Sword Technique.
Clang-clang-clang!
A rapid succession of metallic clashes rang out in a split second—the sound of every weapon targeting him being deflected simultaneously.
Having shattered the tight encirclement with a single strike, Namgung Jun executed an Earth-Trembling Stomp and lunged forward.
Thud!
Every time a form of the Great Derivation Sword Technique was unleashed, four or five Bae Gong Gang martial artists collapsed. Not a single one could withstand his sword. They were swept away as helplessly as scarecrows.
A serrated saber lunged for his thigh while a poisoned dagger curved sharply through the air, hurtling toward the back of his head. Meanwhile, a harpoon thrust toward his flank as three swords lunged at him from the front.
Though a barrage of weapons descended upon him with lethal intent, it was Namgung Jun's sword that tore through the air with the most ferocious light.
Amidst the chaotic flurry of clashing steel, the blade wrapped in blue Thunder Qi stood out above all else.
Dozens of blue sword strikes branched out wildly in every direction. With each flash, the ground was dyed a deeper shade of crimson.
Namgung Jun never stopped advancing, and the rate at which the Bae Gong Gang martial artists fell only accelerated.
What a monster!
What the hell! Didn't they say someone with only one cloud wouldn't be this strong?!
Damn it!
Dozens were slaughtered in the blink of an eye. Their comrades were cut down so quickly that the survivors had no time for their morale to even break.
In an instant, the confident eyes of the Bae Gong Gang members clouded over with sheer terror.
"Spare me!"
"Damn it! When is the Gang Leader coming?!"
Screams erupted from all sides, but Namgung Jun's sword showed no signs of stopping. There was not a shred of mercy in his blade.
He had already read of the Bae Gong Gang's tyranny in the Azure Heaven Association's reports, and now he had witnessed it firsthand.
Namgung Jun had no intention of talking.
Thus, he was utterly fierce and ruthless.
"Stop!"
A shout infused with formidable internal energy reverberated through the courtyard. Even as it rang out, Namgung Jun's sword was piercing the chest of another Bae Gong Gang martial artist.
"Finally showing yourself."
Namgung Jun looked at the middle-aged man walking out from the back. The aura he exuded was sharp. Namgung Jun knew instinctively that this was the Bae Gong Gang Leader.
"I can guess why you've invaded. It's because of the commoners our gang captured, isn't it?"
"You know well."
"To walk into the jaws of death all alone for commoners whose faces you don't even know… You truly are a chivalrous hero."
Wearing a sinister smirk, the Bae Gong Gang Leader sized Namgung Jun up before drawing the sword at his waist.
"I have already sent my men to the underground dungeon. Soon, every single one of those prisoners will be dragged out here."
When Namgung Jun didn't respond, the Gang Leader added, unbothered, "I will slaughter them one by one for every man of mine you've killed. I'll make you realize just how foolish your actions were."
The Bae Gong Gang Leader intended to use the lives of the commoners to bind Namgung Jun's hands.
For the first time, the corner of Namgung Jun's otherwise expressionless mouth curved upward.
"What's so funny?"
"Because you haven't deviated from my expectations in the slightest."
"What?"
Namgung Jun took a step toward the Bae Gong Gang Leader.
"The scenario you're hoping for will not happen."
His blood-drenched blade was now pointed directly at the Gang Leader.
"Are you prepared to take responsibility?"
* * *
At the entrance of the underground dungeon, Heo Il stood before a dozen corpses of Bae Gong Gang martial artists.
"I'm glad I wasn't too late."
These were the men sent on the Gang Leader's orders to drag out the commoners to use as hostages.
"Prioritizing the safety of the commoners over personal achievements, is it?"
While Namgung Jun drew all the attention at the main gate, Heo Il had quietly scaled the back wall and located the underground dungeon.
—Senior Heo, I heard that besides your sword, you also specialize in tracking.
—It's nothing major. Just one of the minor tricks I've picked up.
—In that case, while I draw their attention, please find and protect the commoners imprisoned by the Bae Gong Gang. This is my request.
—If I do that, it will diminish your achievements, Young Hero.
—To me, saving every single commoner is the greatest achievement.
Prioritizing the safety of the commoners was a fundamental virtue of the Azure Heaven Association. However, rookies embarking on their first mission were usually blinded by the desire for achievements and often overlooked it.
But Namgung Jun was different. His focus remained squarely on the commoners.
Recalling their conversation, a smile spread across Heo Il's face.
"He's quite an interesting junior."
He was born with dazzling talent, and he knew it. It would have been natural for him to be full of pride, especially at his age. Yet, Namgung Jun didn't overestimate himself and showed no hesitation in asking for help.
"And it's not as if he lacks pride or ambition, either."
Even so, Namgung Jun's priorities were crystal clear. Heo Il was more than happy to accept that.
Although the Ink Fragrance Department conducted strict entrance exams, it was impossible to filter everyone perfectly. Moreover, because Namgung Jun had been recommended by the Hall Master, he had only taken the martial arts-related tests.
Heo Il had been secretly worried, but now, all his anxieties regarding Namgung Jun had vanished. In fact, he had even grown quite fond of him.
Heo Il turned and looked at the commoners locked inside the dungeon.
"Please bear with it a little longer. I will release you once everything is over. For now, it is safer for you to remain inside."
With that, Heo Il stood guard at the dungeon entrance, never leaving his post. He only occasionally tapped his gourd bottle with his fingertips.
Even though Namgung Jun was facing the entire Bae Gong Gang alone, Heo Il showed no signs of worry.
He trusted his new junior.
Just as his junior had trusted him and left the commoners entirely in his hands.
* * *
Clang-clang-clang!
To the sharp screech of clashing metal, the Bae Gong Gang Leader was pushed back relentlessly.
How can a mere brat possess such sword skills!
He was young, and only a First Cloud. The Gang Leader had been confident he could overpower Namgung Jun. After all, he still had surviving subordinates, and he himself was a swordsman who had entered the threshold of a First-Rate master.
However, with their very first clash, his confidence burst like a bubble.
The boy's internal energy wasn't particularly extraordinary, aside from its Thunder Qi. In fact, considering his age, his mastery of it was still quite lacking.
His sword skills, on the other hand, far surpassed the realm of the ordinary. It was as if an old swordsman who had spent decades doing nothing but training with the blade had possessed the boy's body.
He was compensating for all his shortcomings purely through his sheer mastery of the sword.
"Hah!"
The Bae Gong Gang Leader let out a shout and lunged forward with a long thrust. Namgung Jun met it with a thrust of his own.
The moment their blade tips met with pinpoint precision, Namgung Jun twisted his wrist.
Clink!
With a light metallic ring, the trajectory of the Gang Leader's sword was deflected.
In that split second, Namgung Jun used the rebound to unleash three consecutive variations, his blade darting toward the Gang Leader's shoulder.
"Ugh!"
As a burning sensation flared in his shoulder, the Bae Gong Gang Leader sensed imminent danger.
This brat… something is wrong with him.
He had intended to toy with the boy before killing him on a crowded street to make an example of him. But now, far from making an example, he was on the verge of being devoured himself.
Retreating continuously, the Bae Gong Gang Leader hurriedly opened his mouth.
"Young Hero, wait a moment—"
Namgung Jun completely ignored him.
Pivoting his upper body to the left, he unleashed a sword strike that pierced straight through the Bae Gong Gang Leader's heart in a single, fluid motion.
A First-Rate swordsman had lost his life in a mere eight exchanges.
The Bae Gong Gang Leader couldn't even let out a scream. All he could do was glare with bloodshot eyes, filled with bitter resentment.
But Namgung Jun didn't care.
He calmly moved his hand, driving the sword even deeper.
Whoosh!
Before Namgung Jun could pull his sword from the man's body, a new presence surged from behind.
A sinister, venomous Palm Force swept toward Namgung Jun's back.
Flash!
Not missing it for an instant, a blue light flickered in Namgung Jun's eyes.