Byeokrando (3)
"Ggheuk...! Ggeugeuk!"
The assailant, his shoulder pierced, writhed in pain and collapsed to the ground. As he did, the wound at his side tore open — the bleeding was worse than I'd thought.
If he died like this, I'd never learn who was behind it, so I hurriedly pressed down on the acupoints to staunch the flow of blood.
Hah. Hah.
I had a mountain of questions to ask him, but my breathing refused to settle. I'd thrown myself into the backlash so completely that, once again, I'd fought without a single thought for my own condition.
When I get back to the estate, I'll have to seal myself away in closed-door training or something.
As I kept steadying my breath, the assailant spoke in a voice like a punctured bellows.
"Young as you are, you truly are the young lord of a great house. Impressive skill indeed."
Not exactly the moment for him to be appraising other people's abilities. Suspecting he might be hiding something, I fixed him with a suspicious glare — and the man gave a small laugh.
"Heh heh. Curious who hired me, are we?"
"What?"
"I'll tell you. If it's truly necessary."
Was he pulling some trick to die a little more comfortably? Whatever his game, he'd offered, and I had no reason to refuse. I voiced the name that had been circling in my head from the very start.
"Choe Chunghon?"
"Hmm. There is a connection, at least."
Is this bastard messing with me?
Thrum.
The instant I drew my sword again, the man continued.
"Yi Munseong, Director of the Chancellery. He is the one who gave the order."
Yi Munseong. I'd heard that name before — Choe Chunghon's closest confidant, if I recalled correctly. If he was behind it, then it was as good as Choe Chunghon's own doing.
"So he wants a proper, full-scale fight, does he?"
If I died or was kidnapped, the Wang Clan would have no choice but all-out war. And that, I suspected, was the last thing Wang Inho wanted. For all the Wang Clan's immense power, the gap in strength between us and the Choe Clan — who held an entire nation in their grip — was simply too wide.
Just as I was untangling my thoughts, Ran, who had been staring uneasily into the darkness, quietly tugged at my sleeve.
"Young lord... something's wrong...."
The moment Ran's words ended, I spread my qi sense wide. Considering it had been Ran who'd first alerted me to the assailant's presence earlier, his instincts were not something I could afford to ignore.
Sure enough, killing intent crept in from every direction. Well, this is a real mess — I glared at the assailant, and he smiled so wide his eyes crinkled shut.
"KWAHAHAHA!"
He'd been stalling for time on purpose. Wait — if there are more enemies besides this guy, what happened to Hanmuk and Seonwoo?
...They might already be down. The thought sent me into a stance, positioning myself in front of Ran.
CLANG!
Huh?
My grip failed me. The sword slipped from my fingers. I looked down at my hands and found them shaking uncontrollably. Fear? No. That single strike that had run the assailant through the shoulder — that had been my limit.
I had no idea how many would attack, but if things went on like this, I would die.
"Ran! Run!"
At the very least, Ran had to survive. Bracing to buy time, I hurriedly forced my internal energy to surge — and Ran's eyes welled with tears.
"I... I want to stay with you.... Can't I come with you...?"
"What a heartrending love story."
I'm going to lose my mind.
Shffshffshff!
Veiled assailants came charging through the darkness. Five of them. A rough assessment told me every one of them stood at the First-Rate realm.
Ran was strong for his age, but against First-Rate fighters he wouldn't last ten exchanges. In the end, I'd have to fight alone. That said, I wasn't entirely without a card to play.
The Tiger Dragon Body Pill. Its energy still lingers at the very edge of my dantian. If I wring my internal energy to its limit, the pill's power should melt free and merge with it.
And if the Tiger Dragon Body Pill didn't respond... then I would simply fight with everything I had until I dropped.
Having steeled my resolve, I tore off a strip of my clothing and tossed it to Ran. He hesitated for a heartbeat, then quickly bound his hand to mine.
That way, we won't be separated.
"If anyone touches you, take them apart. If they don't, don't go picking a fight for nothing."
"Okay...."
Having given Ran my final warning, I fixed my eyes on the oncoming assailants. Not one of them showed the slightest carelessness toward a mere boy — all five had their internal energy fully raised.
It would've been easier if they'd been careless like that bastard was. Swallowing my regret, I unleashed the Shadow Following Art.
The Shadow Following Art was an unusual lightness technique that showed its true worth in darkness. For the briefest instant, the assailants lost track of my movement.
And that was all I needed. Appearing behind the rearmost assailant, I brought my sword down in a vertical arc.
Shraaak!
"GRAAAAGH!"
"!!!"
The others had no time to be shaken; they came rushing at me at once.
I could no longer use the Shadow Following Art for ambushes. Judging fast, I wove the intricacies of the Two-Point Defense Art into my Radiant Cloud-Splitting Sword — and for a fleeting moment, I managed to deflect every blade raining in from all sides.
Clang-clang-clang-CLANG!
"Hrk!"
My overworked body spat blood, as if to say enough already. The assailants seized on the opening and swung their swords in unison.
Nearly hacked to pieces on the spot, I sprang backward, clinging to whatever scraps of reason I had left.
"Hah... hahh..."
"Young lord. You fought magnificently. You have my respect."
Bullshit.
Just as I'd hoped, forcing my internal energy past its limits had begun to dissolve the Tiger Dragon Body Pill's power. The problem was that the rate was absurdly slow. Worse, on top of everything, the backlash refused to activate.
Or perhaps it had already activated and I simply couldn't feel it. That would make sense, given how my consciousness was steadily growing hazy.
Ah. This is bad. Really bad.
No matter how I racked my brain, no way out of this situation came to me. Just as I was contemplating the humiliating step of begging for Ran's life—
"MY LORD!!"
A familiar voice rang out from far away. Someone who would call me my lord—
"Hanmuk...?"
"My lord! These bastards are already dead men walking! So please, just hold on a little longer!"
I'm the one one step from being a dead man walking — what kind of nonsense is that?
But before I could even feel exasperated, I laid eyes on Hanmuk — and my blood ran cold.
He had appeared practically painted head to toe in blood. Given who could have done it, there was only one answer.
These bastards, seriously.
I wrapped the internal energy born of the melting Tiger Dragon Body Pill around my sword and spun my body — and was met with an unexpected sight.
"Hnngh."
"What in the..."
The very men who, moments ago, had been fighting with all four limbs intact were now crawling on the ground, each missing an arm or a leg.
Who in the world—?
I turned my gaze and saw a man in robes embroidered with the Black Tortoise, standing where Ran was, sheathing his sword.
The man noticed my stare, turned to face me, and spoke.
"I trust you're not gravely wounded anywhere vital? My apologies — I very nearly arrived too late."
"Ah."
"You were ambushed on your way to meet your companions. Fortunately, I happened to be out on a stroll."
"And Seonwoo?"
"Seonwoo? Ah — he lost a great deal of blood, so he's being treated now. That said, young lord, you too should receive—"
My consciousness gave out then and there. With both my body and my dantian in complete ruins, the moment the tension left me, I could no longer hold on.
Gu Hanseong, Master of the Black Tortoise Pavilion, lifted the fallen Mujin onto his back and issued orders to the martial artists of the Black Tortoise Pavilion.
"Treat the ones who carried out the attack. Then beat them half to death again."
"If they finish spilling every last piece of information, how should we handle them?"
Gu Hanseong looked at the man who'd replied with eyes as cold as frost.
"Did you not hear me? I said beat them half to death again. Surely you don't intend to let those who dared lay hands on the young lord here in Byeokrando die a peaceful death?"
"My apologies, sir!"
As the soundly reprimanded martial artist hurried off, trembling toward the captives, Gu Hanseong walked on, murmuring under his breath.
"Whew. And just how am I supposed to explain this to the Clan Lord?"
Even Gu Hanseong had someone above him.
"You say Mujin was ambushed?"
"Yes. Seven attackers in total. Two are dead, and the remaining five are under interrogation."
Wang Inho massaged his throbbing temples. Who could have imagined Choe Chunghon would make such a drastic gambit? It seemed his connection with the King had become entangled after all.
Of late, he had been exchanging letters with the Shin Clan, and their alliance was slowly taking concrete shape. On the matter of preventing the King's deposition especially, their views aligned perfectly.
If Choe Chunghon went so far as to depose the King, the Choe Clan's power would swell beyond all restraint. Unless the six great clans forged an alliance as a whole, they would struggle to check him even for a single moment.
So while he had been working alongside the Shin Clan to block the King's deposition, this disaster had erupted.
That was a near catastrophe.
Had Mujin died in this ambush, a full-scale war would have been unavoidable — entirely against Wang Inho's will. The will of the Clan Lord might be the will of the clan, but this matter was simply too great.
"How is Mujin's condition?"
At Wang Inho's question, Gu Hanseong answered, sweat beading down his face.
"Fortunately, none of his wounds struck anything vital. However, he expended far too much internal energy, and his state is..."
Hoo.
At Wang Inho's sigh, Gu Hanseong flinched. If blame fell on him for arriving late, he might well be made to offer up his neck.
"Summon Moyong Hu."
"You mean the Commander of the Royal Sword Brigade, my lord?"
"At the very least, I'll need an escort for the road from Byeokrando back to the estate."
"With respect, no. I myself will attend the young lord."
Guilt over his blunder had made Gu Hanseong speak up in haste. Wang Inho studied him for a moment, then smiled faintly and waved a hand.
"I don't doubt your devotion. But Byeokrando is in greater disarray than it has ever been. Since the port's security rests entirely in your hands, there is a great deal here that requires your labors."
"I am grateful for your consideration."
Scrape.
Once Gu Hanseong, Master of the Black Tortoise Pavilion, had withdrawn, Wang Inho leaned back in his chair.
He could feel it in his bones — a great many things were about to happen.