The Hunter Becomes the Prey
"They're moving, Squad Leader."
"Heh, did they actually realize we're coming?"
"It's highly possible."
Hong Sun-won, the Daeju of the Cheonlang Squad—one of the six martial divisions of the Cheonhyeol Sect.
The 7th-grade swordsman stared straight ahead, idly tapping his fingers. He was calculating how to unleash their full, devastating power the moment they clashed with the prey they were pursuing.
Just then, Hwang Cheon-ak, the 6th-grade swordsman and Vice Daeju of the Cheonlang Squad standing beside him, tilted his head in confusion as he stared down at the compass in his hand.
"Huh? This is strange."
"What is?"
"Their life signatures suddenly grew incredibly faint a moment ago."
"What? What do you mean?"
At Hong Sun-won's question, Hwang Cheon-ak glanced at the palm-sized compass in his hand and quickly picked up his pace.
"It seems they've used some sort of trick we aren't aware of," he said.
"Will it affect our tracking?"
"No. Fortunately, the Blood-Warm Compass is still functioning, so we shouldn't lose them. However, the signal is so weak that I can't guarantee anything if the distance widens further. I've never seen anything like this before. We should report this to the elders later."
"We've run into some troublesome bastards."
"Keke, once we capture them and drag them back, we'll find out exactly what kind of trick they pulled, won't we?"
When Wi Baek-hon, the vanguard leader of the Cheonlang Squad, chimed in with a smirk, Hong Sun-won shook his head.
"We don't have the luxury of wasting time on useless things. We have no idea how many other factions have swarmed into this place besides us."
"So we just eliminate them immediately, seize their resources, and leave, like we did before?"
"Yes. Ideally, I'd like to wrap up this hunt as quickly as possible, but..."
Hong Sun-won trailed off, looking at Vice Daeju Hwang Cheon-ak, who shook his head.
"Their movement speed is faster than ours. We're barely keeping up."
"If we push our speed any further, we might not be at full strength when we clash."
"Heh, just let me take the lead and handle them all. There's no need for you or the Vice Daeju to step in. Didn't you say there are only four of them? If you just give me the vanguard..."
"Absolutely not."
The enemy numbered only four.
In contrast, the Cheonlang Squad boasted thirty-five members.
At a glance, deploying the entire squad for the pursuit seemed like a waste of resources, but...
"Eliminating those bastards isn't our only concern. We might attract unwanted pests. We aren't the only ones here."
Just as the upper echelon had warned them beforehand, the scale of this desert pocket dimension, named the Sa-yeol Desert Cave, was the largest in history.
While that meant the probability of encountering enemies inside was lower...
...it also means that once we do cross paths with someone, we must completely annihilate them.
They couldn't allow random rabble to wander around, snatching up the spiritual beasts and treasures within the pocket dimension. Since the resources of a pocket dimension were finite, it was highly advantageous to eliminate competitors as quickly as possible.
"Hmph, I assume the other squads are pulling their weight too?"
The Cheonhyeol Sect had dispatched a whopping four martial divisions this time.
Normally, only one or at most two divisions would be covertly sent to a pocket dimension, but they couldn't afford to do that for the Sa-yeol Desert Cave.
Because the entire world found out about it.
Knowing that all sorts of trash would flock here, the Cheonhyeol Sect had made up its mind and poured in all their available forces.
What a waste.
In truth, for Hong Sun-won—who had managed to advance from a 6th-grade to a 7th-grade swordsman using the rewards and contribution points gained from raiding the Mansi Sect's secret base—the upper echelon's handling of this matter was not entirely to his liking.
He wasn't pleased with how the Cheonhyeol Sect's leadership was operating.
Since we belong to the same sect, I can't exactly attack the other squads either.
He hated that he now had more allies with whom he had to share the limited resources.
Although they had scattered in different directions, they would eventually have to sweep the entire interior. In the end, dividing the spoils was inevitable.
I'll just have to pray the other squads run into terrible luck.
While the leadership had deployed all spare forces to prevent any unforeseen disasters inside, Hong Sun-won felt their anxieties were entirely groundless.
Why worry when we have the Blood-Warm Compass?
The Blood-Warm Compass was a flawless tracking device. It perfectly displayed the locations of humanoid lifeforms. If the enemy outnumbered them, they could simply avoid them; if the enemy was few, they could swoop in and slaughter them.
But these guys are surprisingly persistent.
They had been tracking them for over two hours, yet the distance between them hadn't shrunk at all.
Could they be martial artists of the Murim? It was highly likely. Considering they had maintained this speed for so long, they were far more likely to be martial artists than spellcasters.
How dare they be so reckless...
A pocket dimension of this scale would have numerous gaps and cracks, even if one didn't use the official entrance. It seemed they had poked around and somehow lucked their way inside.
Which is all the more reason to hunt them down and kill them.
For mere mortals, who weren't even cultivators, to covet the spiritual beasts and resources of a pocket dimension was an absolute waste.
Just as Hong Sun-won's eyes flashed and he tightened his grip on the pursuit, a subtle change occurred in the targets' movements.
"Their speed is dropping noticeably."
"Kahahahaha! The bastards must be exhausted!"
Hong Sun-won nodded.
Even for them, who practiced body-tempering arts, this had been a grueling chase. Moving at this speed, in this sweltering heat, for such a long duration was bound to rapidly drain anyone's stamina.
"Just hold on a little longer. I'll let you taste blood soon."
"Hehe, I'll take the lead."
As the vanguard leader, Wi Baek-hon, spoke with eyes gleaming with murderous intent, Hong Sun-won gave a quiet nod.
To lead hot-blooded young men, he had no choice but to support those who stepped forward like this. It was the only way to boost the squad's morale and keep their edge sharp.
Besides, now that I've become a 7th-grade swordsman, it's only a matter of time before I'm promoted to an elder.
Before that, he needed to hand over all authority to Vice Daeju Hwang Cheon-ak. He trusted that Hwang Cheon-ak, having worked alongside vanguard leader Wi Baek-hon for so long, would manage just fine on his own.
But it's none of my concern. This mission will be my last anyway.
Hong Sun-won deliberately ignored the slight laxity in the squad's discipline.
While he was lost in thought, the distance to their targets closed rapidly. Then, in an instant...
"Huh?"
The traces of the targets they were tracking on the Blood-Warm Compass suddenly vanished. The red dots were gone.
"What in the world?!"
As Vice Daeju Hwang Cheon-ak let out a startled cry, a sharp sense of crisis rushed into the mind of Daeju Hong Sun-won, who was running at the front.
"You fool! Abandon the previous targets and scan the surrounding area immediately!"
"U-understood!"
The moment Hwang Cheon-ak abandoned the targets they had been pursuing and ran a fresh scan of the area, the Blood-Warm Compass picked up something rapidly closing in on their position from afar.
"A-about an hour's distance away. Multiple hostiles."
...They had been played.
Only then did Hong Sun-won realize that the targets who had just vanished from the compass had lured them here. They had dared to use themselves as bait to draw them in.
"What is the count of the new targets?"
"...Approximately fifty."
"A decent number," Hong Sun-won spoke in an intentionally calm tone to his agitated squad members.
In times like this, the leader had to remain unshakable. Sure enough, seeing Hong Sun-won's composure, the members of the Cheonlang Squad quickly regained their footing.
"Their speed?"
"Roughly equal to ours."
"Then they are highly likely to be martial artists."
"How dare mere martial artists..."
If they clashed head-on with martial artists, they wouldn't lose even if the enemy outnumbered them threefold. The experts of the Cheonlang Squad had mastered a body-tempering cultivation technique. Though it appeared similar to the martial arts of the Murim at a glance, it was a discipline on an entirely different dimension.
"Everyone, take your positions. We will annihilate them here before we move on."
"Understood!"
As the focused experts of the Cheonlang Squad quickly deployed their formation, the Slaughter Grand Formation, in the middle of the desert clearing, the distance between them and the enemy closed rapidly. Before long, the figures of their opponents came into view.
And...
Hong Sun-won unconsciously swallowed a low groan.
"The Wulin Alliance..."
"Well, well, look who we have here! If it isn't the Blood Sect! To what do we owe the honor of such humble guests gracing this precious place with their presence?"
A heavily muscled, middle-aged man approached at the very front, letting out a boisterous laugh. Slung across his back was a great blade larger than a grown man. Seeing this, Hong Sun-won's calm face gradually contorted into an ugly grimace.
"Hm? Now that I look closely, aren't we familiar faces? Good to see you, good to see you! You recognize me too, don't you?"
"..."
The Blue Dragon Hall Leader of the Wulin Alliance, the pride of the Hebei Peng clan and a peak master: Great Strength Tyrant Blade, Paeng Cheon-u.
Why on earth did that troublesome bastard have to be here of all places?
"By the way, what was your title again? I definitely remember hearing it. Let's see..."
"I believe that fellow is the Slaughtering Ghost Sword of the Blood Sect."
Beside Paeng Cheon-u stood a shriveled old man barely five feet tall, his face covered in deep wrinkles. As the old man spoke, smacking his lips, Paeng Cheon-u slapped his own forehead.
"Ah, right! That was it! Aw, Elder, I would've remembered even if you hadn't told me!"
"We don't have time. We need to finish this quickly and move on, you brat."
In truth, Hong Sun-won's gaze was completely locked onto the five-foot-tall old man beside Paeng Cheon-u, unable to look away.
Of all people, why is that old monster here...
The Six-Finger Old Monster, Go Se-geuk. The Sect Leader of the Mosan Sect—the only orthodox-aligned cultivator sect, and a public enemy to all other traditional cultivator sects.
Running into him in a place like this could not be explained by mere bad luck. To put it bluntly, this situation was...
Fucked.
There was absolutely no way to avoid it. Had it only been Paeng Cheon-u, he could have found a way to break through. Though casualties would be inevitable, he was confident he wouldn't lose. Now that he was a 7th-grade swordsman, he could crush anyone as long as they weren't a master of the Transcendent Realm.
But not this.
He had to retreat. Paeng Cheon-u alone was a handful. But if the Sect Leader of the Mosan Sect lent even a single hand, they would be utterly and unilaterally slaughtered.
In fact, we probably couldn't even run if we tried.
If Go Se-geuk, the Sect Leader of the Mosan Sect—or the Six-Finger Old Monster, as the orthodox faction called him—had set his mind on tracking them, there were virtually no ways for Hong Sun-won to escape.
"Are your eyes darting around trying to find an exit? No, no, that won't do! You might have come here of your own free will, but you aren't leaving the same way!"
Paeng Cheon-u spoke with a mischievous grin as he unstrapped his great blade, gripping it in his hand as he stepped forward. Instantly, the surrounding air began to vibrate with heavy tension.