Swift and Decisive (2)
When facing multiple opponents, there are several strategies to consider.
You can lure the enemy into a trap, launch a surprise attack, or engage in a prolonged battle while evading capture.
For today’s fight, I chose a different tactic.
Swift and decisive.
I would overwhelm the enemy quickly and finish them off.
I was the wind blowing through this eerie and dangerous alley. Not as tumultuous as a typhoon, yet not as gentle as a spring breeze.
Suddenly, three men lunged at me from the front, merging into a single force as they charged.
Three swords gleamed, targeting me.
Their attack was a masterful three-pronged assault aimed at my face, neck, and abdomen.
Instead of dodging, I charged straight at them.
The three swords sliced through the air towards me.
I leapt, my body twisting in midair. Two swords grazed my stomach, while the third brushed past my back.
The men never expected me to make such a move.
Bam!
I kicked the face of the man in the middle, spinning my body around.
In an instant, the daggers in my hands slashed the two men below. Minimal movement, but the result was deadly.
Thud! Thud!
The man whose face I shattered with my kick flew backward, while the other two stumbled past me, collapsing to the ground.
Their chests were slashed open, and they were already dead. Blood dripped from the daggers in my hands.
My unexpected response and rapid movements left them unable to defend against my attack.
I sprinted down the alley again.
Swish! Swish!
Men running along the wall clutched their throats and fell. My daggers had found their marks.
Ahead, the building I was targeting came into view.
Men leapt down from the roof in unison.
Seven of them, and their movements were anything but ordinary.
In that moment, I too leapt into the air, slashing with my sword.
Whoosh!
The aura from my Suramyeongwang Sword burst forth.
In the next instant, the aura split.
Slash!
The divided aura continued to split rapidly.
Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!
Two became four, four became eight. The aura writhed like a living serpent, striking at the vital points of the men. They were skilled, but not enough to withstand the deadly technique of the Chuhonsuragum.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The seven men hit by the aura fell like rain.
They were already corpses.
I swung my sword again, shattering their bodies with my aura.
After erasing all traces of my martial arts, I entered the building.
Chilho and Im Yeonjeong returned to the manor.
They acted as they always did. Im Yeonjeong diligently prepared for the grand ceremony, while Chilho assisted her.
In the hallway, Ilho spoke to Chilho.
“The ceremony will begin in a few days. Ensure the security is flawless until then.”
“Yes.”
“Are you alright?”
“Yes.”
Her response was as brief as ever. When she gave him a puzzled look, as if to ask why she wouldn’t be alright, Ilho smiled and turned away.
She seemed the same as always, but she was completely different now.
She was no longer part of this organization.
She felt no guilt towards Ilho.
She knew he thought of her as special. Despite being trained to suppress emotions, she had recently regained them. And she was a woman. How could she not understand Ilho’s feelings?
But that was all.
He was the one who trained and raised her, so what now? Was he asking her to accept that the past couldn’t be helped?
Chilho entered Im Yeonjeong’s room.
The tray that once held food was now empty. Im Yeonjeong no longer skipped meals. In fact, she ate every grain of rice.
As Chilho was about to take the empty dishes away, Im Yeonjeong suddenly asked.
“Do you know how large our organization is?”
“I have a rough idea.”
“No, you don’t. If you did, you wouldn’t make such decisions.”
Im Yeonjeong couldn’t hide her anxiety. She had a sense of things. She trusted Chilho, and she knew Biryedan was no ordinary person.
But her son was involved. With her son held hostage by the organization, she had to be cautious.
“Perhaps.”
“It’s vast and powerful. Our organization is established all over the central plains.”
Honestly, Chilho didn’t know much about the organization she belonged to. She had simply followed orders all her life.
Im Yeonjeong asked again.
“Do you trust him?”
“To be honest, I don’t know him well.”
“Then why?”
“Even so, I feel I can trust him. Isn’t it strange to trust someone you don’t know well?”
Chilho found one answer to that question.
Fate.
The word “fate” always brought one thought to her mind.
I’ll live like this and eventually die.
But now she sensed a new fate.
“If you didn’t trust him, you wouldn’t have told him about Seohaksa.”
As Chilho gathered the tray, she added.
“Trust the choice you made, sister.”
“Trust the young master.”
At Gwangdu’s words, Song Hwarin turned her head.
Gwangdu, rowing the boat, looked more serious than usual.
“Why do you say that all of a sudden?”
“I happened to see you crying.”
Suran, sitting beside them, was startled by Gwangdu’s words.
“You cried?”
Song Hwarin wasn’t flustered. Instead, she seemed relieved that it was brought up.
“I said it was dust in my eyes, but I really did cry then.”
She could be honest with Gwangdu because she knew his heart. Gwangdu genuinely wished for her to be with Biryedan. His sincere support was palpable.
That’s why seeing Gwangdu made her feel good. The more she liked Biryedan, the more fondness she felt for Gwangdu.
“When he told me to stay longer, I was so happy I cried like a child. I was so embarrassed I could have died.”
Suran looked at Song Hwarin with a dazed expression. The Song Hwarin she knew wasn’t someone who easily showed her feelings to others, especially such embarrassing emotions.
‘She’s really changed a lot.’
Once, Song Hwarin had asked.
Do you think people change easily?
Back then, Suran had replied.
Not easily, but… I think they do change.
At that time, Song Hwarin’s transformation had just begun. Now, that change had completely transformed her.
Gwangdu chuckled and said.
“Miss, the key to relationships is the art of push and pull.”
As Song Hwarin and Suran looked at him with curiosity, Gwangdu’s rowing took on a cocky ease.
“If you show too much interest, men quickly lose interest.”
Suran quickly interjected.
“Men are so pathetic!”
Gwangdu continued with a laugh.
“I agree. But it’s the same for women.”
Suran couldn’t deny it.
If it became known that Gwangdu had recently experienced a miserable breakup, his credibility would plummet, yet his theories on romance continued.
“But if you push them away too much, that’s a problem too. Most men are clueless. They think, ‘Does she really dislike me? Ah, forget it. I’ll just find someone else.’”
“Really pathetic!”
Suran chimed in again, and Gwangdu grinned.
“Fortunately, our young master isn’t that clueless. Anyway, what I’m saying is, take back the initiative, miss. From what I see, our playboy young master has the upper hand right now.”
“Haha.”
Song Hwarin laughed pleasantly. If Gwangdu truly saw Biryedan as a playboy, he wouldn’t have used that term. So there was no reason to be upset.
“Thank you for the advice.”
“You’re welcome. I’m always on your side, miss.”
As they chatted, the boat reached the island. Galsaryang, who had been informed in advance, was waiting for them.
After a brief greeting, Galsaryang led the way.
“Be careful, the entire island is covered in formations.”
As they walked, Galsaryang explained the basics of the formations. It sounded complicated.
But Song Hwarin had a sudden thought.
No matter how complex a formation might be, it couldn’t be more complicated than the dynamics between men and women.
Crack.
A man with a broken neck slid off my body and collapsed to the floor.
I stepped over him and continued walking slowly.
As if on cue, doors on both sides of the hallway burst open, and men rushed out.
Since entering the building, I hadn’t used the Chuhonsuragum technique.
Instead, I relied on the Silent Crane Technique to move silently and eliminate enemies as quickly as possible. In the narrow hallway, the Silent Crane Technique was far more advantageous.
Swish!
I narrowly dodged a flying sword, closing in on the man as if embracing him.
Thud! My hand struck the man’s neck with precision.
Swish! Swish!
As the man fell, another sword came at me. It was fast and accurate. They showed no hesitation even as their comrades fell.
I deflected the incoming sword with the back of my hand and launched myself forward.
Swoosh! Thud!
My elbow struck the opponent’s solar plexus with pinpoint accuracy.
With a thud, the man crumpled to the ground. I had taken him down in one swift move, but he was no ordinary opponent. If it weren’t for me, this place could have been considered an impregnable fortress, teeming with formidable fighters.
The more I encountered this organization, the more it astonished me. How on earth did they gather such skilled individuals? And where did they get the funds to support all this?
My admiration was short-lived as another attack came my way.
Thunk.
The ceiling opened, and a man leaped down, aiming for my head.
Wham!
I jumped up and kicked him mid-air.
My precisely calculated kick narrowly missed his sword, shattering his wrist and face.
I caught the falling man and propelled forward, hurling his body at another man charging at me.
The man ducked to avoid the corpse and tried to thrust his sword.
But my attack was faster. I followed the corpse, slamming my knee into his face.
As his face caved in, I leaped over him and swiftly headed for the second floor.
Seo Hak-sa was meeting with another person to assist with the grand ritual, aside from Im Yeon-jeong.
“I’ve marked the parts you’ll be responsible for.”
“Yes, understood.”
The man respectfully took the booklet and examined its contents.
Moments later, he exclaimed in awe, just as Im Yeon-jeong had.
“Oh! This is truly remarkable. I can’t believe you’re teaching me something so incredible!”
Seo Hak-sa smiled warmly.
“Isn’t it said that love and knowledge should flow naturally from above to below? I hope you’ll also work hard for your juniors in the future.”
“Thank you.”
“Go back, study thoroughly, and prepare without missing anything.”
“Yes. I’ll take my leave now. I will never forget this kindness.”
After bowing several times, the man left.
Once he was gone, Seo Hak-sa’s expression changed. The gentle mentor from moments ago was nowhere to be seen.
“Sorry, but you’ll forget it forever.”
There were three participants in this grand ritual, including himself.
It was a massive ritual that couldn’t be conducted alone. Of course, once it was over, he planned to eliminate both the man and Im Yeon-jeong.
This would prevent his secret techniques from leaking and remove potential rivals, achieving two goals at once.
“The one who survives to the end is the winner.”
This had been his unchanging philosophy since his youth.
Loyalty? Compassion? He considered them the most useless emotions and constraints, created by the weak for self-consolation.
Just then, the door opened, and someone entered.
“Did you forget something?”
Naturally assuming it was the man from before, Seo Hak-sa turned his head carelessly, only to be startled. The man standing at the door was not the one from earlier.
He wasn’t surprised at all by my sudden appearance. His calmness stemmed from his confidence in his martial arts skills.
Seo Hak-sa asked in a low, composed voice, “Do you know who I am?”
Of course. I knew well that he was a despicable man who killed his own comrades. He was more vile and treacherous than your average villain, betraying trust and stabbing people in the back.
“Knowing is your problem.”
I stepped inside and quietly closed the door behind me.
“I know you’re a filthy bastard, so drop the act.”