The Sword Dragon's Shadow
Ju Tae-hwi showed no mercy in his strikes.
As his epithet suggested, he was a man without blood or tears.
Of course, that did not apply to everyone.
He was someone who still tried to uphold the line of righteousness that the orthodox path pursued.
However, those who knew understood that his merciless swordsmanship stemmed from a life spent constantly on the front lines.
The Blood Sovereign cut down the White-Eyed Killer with a single stroke and ordered the Yellow Dragon Unit to clean up the surroundings.
Then he set up a tent and took a brief rest.
Muyoung and I consumed the recovery pills, and it took a full day before we finally regained our senses.
“Whew, that was terrifying. I never thought you’d come charging in here so recklessly.”
At Ju Tae-hwi’s words, I smiled silently.
If I had disappeared, Ju Tae-hwi would naturally have come looking for me.
Especially since it was the Zhushan Archipelago.
This place was dangerous, after all.
“You said contact had been lost. What about the family head and eldest brother…?”
“They’ll be fine. The family head is no ordinary man, is he?”
I nodded at Ju Tae-hwi’s words.
Yes, I knew.
What need was there to speak of the Sword Sovereign’s martial prowess?
He possessed overwhelming power, enough to single-handedly reduce even a major sect to ruins.
But it was not him I was worried about.
‘If it’s the family head… he’ll definitely push eldest brother hard.’
If the Sword Sovereign moved, even dozens of villages of the Soul-Destroyed would be annihilated within half a day.
Yet the family head would have forced eldest brother forward under the pretext of giving him an opportunity.
To become strong and unyielding.
To draw his sword without hesitation when necessary, even if the situation seemed unjust.
That was what he intended to teach.
But there was one variable even the family head had not anticipated.
The Sword Dragon was far more meticulous and inflexible than expected—rigid to the point of seeming inflexible.
At the very least, he had not foreseen eldest brother’s mind breaking.
“Did you find anything out?”
Since things had come to this, Ju Tae-hwi asked me openly.
“There are Soul-Destroyed people. It seems whoever created them here is no longer on the island.”
“An island full of Soul-Destroyed with no mastermind? Hah, things just keep getting stranger.”
Ju Tae-hwi’s expression grew serious.
There were not many martial arts in his mind capable of creating Soul-Destroyed.
But they all shared one thing in common: they were bizarre and used cruel methods to produce them.
“It must be a Demonic Cultist.”
“Yes.”
Ju Tae-hwi’s brow furrowed.
He seemed to be deeply contemplating something.
I was the same.
There was still one unanswered question.
Since pondering it alone would yield no answers, I eventually had to ask Ju Tae-hwi.
“Uncle, I have something to ask.”
“Speak.”
“The Demonic Cultist created the Soul-Destroyed here, and nearly every village except Muyeok Village has fallen.”
“……Hrm, don’t be so certain that every village is like that. We’ll know once we investigate starting tomorrow……”
“That’s not the important part.”
At my words, Ju Tae-hwi tilted his head.
“Why would they spread Soul-Destroyed here? What could they possibly gain? Surely a Demonic Cultist wouldn’t be eyeing the gold mines.”
“Hmm, now that you mention it, that’s true.”
Ju Tae-hwi nodded with a serious expression, as if he had never considered it before.
“Whew, this is why I’m not suited for the family head position. To think I couldn’t even come up with something like this.”
Ju Tae-hwi tapped his own head, then looked at me with shining eyes.
He seemed to be expecting something.
“What do you think? Those bastards or whoever they are—what do you think they’re after by pulling this kind of stunt here?”
“Hmm.”
I had asked because I didn’t know……
What could it be?
What exactly had Sa-an Gwi-gun been plotting here?
Would simply turning all the villagers into Soul-Destroyed bring him any benefit?
“I don’t know.”
“Whew, this is giving me a headache. Anyway, rest some more. We need to move as soon as dawn breaks tomorrow.”
“Yes, Uncle.”
With those words, Ju Tae-hwi stepped outside.
Normally, he would have told me to return to Muyeok Village, but the situation had become somewhat difficult.
There might be other combat units like the White-Eyed Killer or the Black Snake Unit.
Ju Tae-hwi judged that staying by his side would be safer.
And that was a fairly accurate assessment.
If even his side was not safe, it would mean death.
“Agh, I don’t know.”
I flopped backward onto the ground.
What exactly had Sa-an Gwi-gun been trying to do here?
Even if he created Soul-Destroyed here, there was nothing for him to gain.
They couldn’t board ships, and the moment they entered the harbor, they would surely be slaughtered.
It made no sense at all.
Carrying that complicated thought, I fell asleep.
* * *
The next day.
As soon as dawn broke, we packed up the tent.
The Yellow Dragon Unit, Ju Tae-hwi, Muyoung, and I.
We were all ready to search the island.
“From now on, kill every Soul-Destroyed you see. Since the family head’s safety is at stake, anyone who hesitates will be severely punished. Understood?”
“We will keep it in mind, Elder!”
The Yellow Dragon Unit also hardened their expressions with resolve.
“Move out.”
Under Ju Tae-hwi’s command, the Yellow Dragon Unit moved in perfect unison.
Following his orders, they were unstoppable.
Wherever they passed, not a single blade of grass remained, like a swarm of starving locusts.
Moreover, their speed was tremendous.
After annihilating three or four villages in an instant, we finally reached the far end of the island.
“There it is.”
An empty harbor village.
Not a single ship could be seen on the sea, and not even a trace of people could be felt.
As we approached the village, Ju Tae-hwi raised his hand and stopped everyone.
“Hm?”
I immediately realized why my uncle had given the halt order.
The path leading from here to the village.
Traces of battle remained along it.
The ground was deeply gouged, and an entire section of the forest had been blown away.
After examining the finely shattered chunks of rock, Ju Tae-hwi gathered his energy.
“It’s the family head’s trace.”
At his words, the entire Yellow Dragon Unit drew their swords.
The battle traces looked perilous.
Yet there were no corpses in sight.
Who in the world could have forced the Sword Sovereign to draw his sword?
Furthermore, the absence of any bodies meant that whoever had crossed blades with the Sword Sovereign had survived.
Everyone entered a state of tension.
The Ju Family’s gold mine existed on the outskirts of this village.
“Huh? Over there……!”
At that moment, one of the Yellow Dragon Unit warriors pointed somewhere with his index finger.
From the direction he indicated, someone was walking out while drenched in killing intent, sword in hand.
“Eldest brother.”
I recognized him at once.
Ju Seung-hyeok.
It was my eldest brother.
His entire body was covered in tattered, torn robes, and his face was etched with exhaustion.
He looked haggard and emaciated.
“Woo-jin……?”
His killing intent subsided in an instant.
I rushed toward him in a single bound.
“Are you all right?”
“What are you doing here? No, more importantly…… Elder?”
Ju Seung-hyeok let out a sigh of relief upon belatedly spotting Ju Tae-hwi and the Yellow Dragon Unit.
“Where is the family head?”
Ju Tae-hwi took a step forward and asked.
His expression was grave.
“I don’t know. He told me to wait here for a while, but it’s already been several days since he left.”
“……”
At those words, Ju Tae-hwi glared at Ju Seung-hyeok with terrifying eyes.
It was a completely different reaction from when he looked at me.
“What exactly happened here?”
At his question, Ju Seung-hyeok’s pupils trembled slightly.
“Would you like to see for yourself?”
He then led everyone to the gold mine.
The mine was quite deep.
When we reached a depth where the air itself grew thin, Ju Tae-hwi stopped first.
“This is……”
A heavy, oppressive atmosphere.
I too could feel the alien energy emanating from within the mine.
“I smell blood……”
Uncle nodded at my words.
Eldest brother pressed his lips together and continued walking.
Eventually, we reached a vast plaza.
It seemed to be a place where miners would bring the gold they extracted and load it onto transport carts.
But there……
“……”
The place was filled with corpses.
They did not appear to have been dead for long.
Moreover, each of their bodies bore only a single sword wound.
‘It’s the family head.’
I realized that my father had done this.
A supremely refined swordsmanship that targeted vital points with perfect precision, killing instantly with a single strike.
Ju Tae-hwi also seemed to have read the sword wounds.
“These people……”
The Blood Sovereign looked at me.
I nodded silently.
They too were Soul-Destroyed.
Father had apparently cut them all down without hesitation.
“Explain in detail what happened.”
At uncle’s words, eldest brother nodded.
Then, his mouth slowly opened.
* * *
The Sword Sovereign and Sword Dragon arrived at the Zhushan Archipelago.
The gold mine had already been occupied by the unorthodox factions, and the Ju Family’s Red Dragon Unit had also suffered heavy losses.
Of the thirty Red Dragon Unit members stationed here, twenty-seven had died, and the remaining three had to retreat with severe injuries.
Eventually, the Sword Sovereign realized the urgency of the situation and decided to move personally to clean things up.
Upon arriving at the gold mine, he cut down all the unorthodox martial artists.
No one could easily stand against the Sword Sovereign’s blade.
After finishing everything, the Sword Sovereign and Sword Dragon immediately began moving diligently to return to the main house.
They needed to quickly replenish the miners and merchant group personnel to send here again.
However, a problem arose for the group that had stayed near Muyeok Village for a day before departing.
An unexpected nighttime attack by the Soul-Destroyed had begun.
Even though they had already passed through the village, within a single day, all the villagers had become Soul-Destroyed.
Having lost their reason and sanity.
The Sword Sovereign knocked them unconscious and put them back into their homes.
Then he built barricades and confined them inside the village so they could not move.
But by then, the surrounding area was already swarming with Soul-Destroyed.
The Sword Sovereign had no choice but to retrace his steps.
After locking everyone away, they had to head back to the gold mine.
It had only been a single day, yet in that time, the place had turned into hell.
Even the inside of the gold mine they arrived at was completely filled with Soul-Destroyed.
The Sword Sovereign drew his sword once more and had no choice but to cut them all down.
And then……
“There was an ambush. It was as if they were deliberately trying to lure the family head out……”
“Hah, an ambush on the family head?”
“The opponent was on equal footing with the family head. That’s how it felt when I watched from afar.”
“……”
At those words, Ju Tae-hwi fell silent.
Someone on equal footing with the Sword Sovereign?
It was beyond common sense.
“Did everyone hear that? Search every inch of the coastline starting from this area.”
“Yes, Elder!”
The Yellow Dragon Unit immediately dashed out.
After glaring coldly at Ju Seung-hyeok for a moment, Ju Tae-hwi hesitated before also rushing outside.
Once it became quiet inside, I was finally able to approach eldest brother.
“Eldest brother.”
He avoided my gaze.
Trembling eyes, shaking fingertips.
Eldest brother’s gaze was completely different from before.
Instead of the Sword Dragon I knew, I saw only the remnants of a man who was losing himself.
“I am endlessly weak.”
It was an abrupt statement, yet it was also painfully honest.
Still, there was one fortunate thing.
If it were not me, perhaps no one else could have pulled him out.