Chapter 215

“Aaaah!”

“Gasp!”

“Brother Yang!”

The group of late-stage martial artists, who had just been mustering their courage, suddenly let out horrified screams.

Though they were children of martial families, none had ever faced real combat before. The brutal murder they had just witnessed was utterly terrifying.

What made it even more shocking was that the victim had been a familiar face—someone who had been laughing and chatting with them moments ago.

The chilling reality that any one of them could be next froze their bodies and minds in place.

At that moment, the assailant who had just killed someone casually chuckled with a cold smile.

“So that guy over there is the Jin family’s son, huh? And this one wasn’t? Well, no choice then. For now, I’ll just leave that one alive.”

Despite having just taken a life, the man was grinning as if he found it all amusing.

The late-stage martial artists swallowed hard, unable to hide their unease.

‘He’s only sparing the Jin family’s heir?’

The weight of those words pressed down on them like a stone.

It was clear the attacker intended to kill everyone here except Jin Gye-gun, the Jin family’s son.

All thirty or so of them.

“N-no way…”

“Th-this can’t be happening.”

They couldn’t accept it.

Having lived sheltered lives in Gwangju, under the Jin family’s protection, the late-stage martial artists couldn’t even imagine such a fate.

But unfortunately, the man’s words were no joke.

What was even more terrifying wasn’t just his cruelty.

One of the late-stage martial artists stared blankly at the sword the man was wielding and muttered.

“Is that… an ultimate master?”

Indeed.

The sword he swung emitted a vivid yellow glow.

It was the Dao Force.

The attacker was someone who had reached the pinnacle of mastery.

Among the late-stage martial artists gathered here, not a single one had reached that level.

Even Jin Gye-gun, the strongest among them, had only attained the highest rank of first-class mastery.

One of them whispered in despair.

“No… this can’t be…”

Their eyes filled with hopelessness.

Then, the wounded assailant shouted to his followers who had just entered behind him.

“Kill everyone except the Jin family brat over there!”

His men grinned with murderous intent.

“There are women too. Kill them all?”

The man scowled and barked.

“Who said to harm those precious things?! Are you crazy?! Do I have to spell everything out for you?!”

His roar made the men chuckle.

“Heh heh heh! Understood, boss!”

“Boss is the best!”

They turned their bloodthirsty gazes toward the late-stage martial artists and shouted.

“Let’s go!”

“Yeah! It’s a feast!”

“Yaaah!”

The blood-soaked attackers, like a pack of wolves, charged into the cabin where the late-stage martial artists had gathered.

They looked like starving beasts.

Clang! Clang clang!

“Y-you bastards, how dare you!”

“Do you know who we are?!”

“How dare you, mere numbers!”

Though shocked, the late-stage martial artists were still children of martial families, warriors who had trained their whole lives.

They gritted their teeth, drawing weapons to fight back.

But they were already overwhelmed.

Their lack of real combat experience made resistance nearly impossible.

Even the more skilled among them were quickly cut down by the attackers’ practiced strikes.

“Ugh!”

“Do you know who I am?! I’m from the Patrol Division…! Aaaah!”

“Haah! Ugh?! Aah!”

The battle was one-sided.

Some of the late-stage martial artists, lacking the courage to fight from the start, began dropping to their knees, begging for mercy.

“P-please spare me! I’m from the main family…!”

“Please! I surrender…!”

But it was useless.

Whoosh!

“Ahhh!”

“Ahhh! No!”

The attackers showed no mercy, slashing even those who surrendered.

They had no intention of leaving any men alive.

The late-stage martial artists realized there was no other choice.

They had to fight for their lives.

A deep despair began to consume their hearts.

Then, amid the chaos, the handsome man beside Jin Gae-in, Gyo Gwa-ryong, quickly scanned the surroundings.

Jin Gae-in clung tightly to his arm, helpless.

“Gyo Gungja, what should we do?”

But Gyo Gwa-ryong’s eyes didn’t meet hers.

He was searching only for a way out.

He thought neither fighting nor surrendering was wise.

There was only one path he could take.

Suddenly, he shook off Jin Gae-in’s grip and without hesitation leapt backward.

Startled, Jin Gae-in screamed.

“Ah! Gyo Gungja!”

But he was already breaking the window at the back of the cabin and jumping outside.

Crash!

Jin Gae-in’s face fell in despair.

She had believed with all her heart that he would protect her with his life.

Being abandoned by him was a greater shock than the attackers themselves.

She muttered in disbelief.

“Gyo… Gyo Gungja?”

At that moment, the enemies burst right up to her.

“Bitch!”

Their greedy, beast-like faces and blood-splattered weapons loomed before her.

Jin Gae-in was paralyzed with fear.

Having no will to resist, she collapsed to the floor.

Instinctively, she screamed.

“Aaah! I’m the Jin family’s daughter!”

The attackers’ faces twisted into greedy smiles.

“Oh? The Jin family’s daughter, huh?”

They grabbed her and dragged her helplessly to their leader.

Though she hadn’t been struck with pressure points, she trembled and didn’t resist.

“P-please spare me.”

“Heh heh! Quite a pretty one. So you’re the Jin family’s daughter?”

“Y-yes!”

There was none of the proud spirit she always boasted of as the daughter of the strongest sect in Guangdong.

She looked utterly pathetic.

Jin So-eun stood in a corner, taking in the entire scene.

It was unbelievable.

Those late-stage martial artists who had been so arrogant just moments ago were now crumbling like broken men in the face of real danger.

It was absurd that these were supposed to be children of martial families, even including the Jin family’s own.

Especially the sight of Jin Gye-gun standing helplessly in the back, and Jin Gae-in begging desperately for her life—it was horrifying.

The Jin family’s warriors prided themselves on their fierce spirit and tenacity, unmatched anywhere in the world…

Jin So-eun quickly scanned the area.

She confirmed that if she escaped through the window Gyo Gwa-ryong had used, she could still get out.

‘The way out is there.’

But she only confirmed the escape route; she had no intention of fleeing.

Even if she got outside, they’d be surrounded by the attackers’ ships.

More importantly, as a Jin family member, she couldn’t abandon the others.

Jin So-eun calmly surveyed the now chaotic cabin.

Clang! Clang! Clang clang!

“Ugh!”

“Hahaha! Die!”

Whoosh!

“Ugh!”

The situation was clear.

Though the late-stage martial artists had finally snapped out of their shock and were desperately fighting back, the attackers’ coordinated assault was overwhelming.

They were pressed from all sides, making it difficult for anyone to break through and help.

Jin So-eun licked her lips thoughtfully.

‘Then maybe…’

Having trained mostly in the mountains, Jin So-eun lacked real combat experience.

But her grandfather had used various methods to make up for that.

He’d sent her, covered in blood and armed only with a dagger, into packs of wolves.

Or had her fight bandits barehanded without using internal energy.

Though harsh for a woman, she had always diligently completed his tasks.

Perhaps that was why she could see the chaos clearly now.

Her eyes quickly scanned the surroundings.

She needed something to wield.

‘Longer would be better, but even something short…’

Her gaze landed on the corpse of a late-stage martial artist.

He still clutched a short spear that could no longer be used.

Her eyes sparkled.

‘That’s it!’

The problem was the corpse lay behind the attackers.

Right behind where they were swinging their swords wildly.

Going for it would mean walking straight into a trap.

Still, Jin So-eun didn’t hesitate.

‘No choice!’

She grabbed a nearby dining table and hurled it with all her might toward the attackers.

“Hah!”

Whoosh!

“Huh?”

The attackers paused for a moment, puzzled as a dining table flew toward them—but then they chuckled softly.

At that speed, a flying table was hardly a threat.

One of them swung his sword down onto the table and shouted, “What a pointless stunt!”

Crack!

The table shattered instantly under the blade.

But their eyes were fixed on the broken table, so they didn’t notice Jin So-eun slipping beneath it.

She slid in with the grace of someone dropping to the floor, smooth and swift.

Whoosh!

In an instant, she reached the bodies lying behind the enemies.

The attackers blinked in surprise, caught off guard by the sudden intrusion.

“W-what?”

“Is that… a guy?! No, a woman?”

They hesitated, thrown off by her short, boyish haircut and yet undeniably pretty face and figure.

Just then, a bright smile spread across Jin So-eun’s face as she gripped her spear firmly.

And in that moment, the spear shaft sliced through the air like lightning.

Whoosh! Crack!

“Gahk!”

One attacker’s neck snapped with a sickening sound in the blink of an eye.

Strangely, she hadn’t struck with the spearhead but with the shaft itself, delivering a fatal blow.

The attackers, now snapping out of their shock, shouted and swung their weapons wildly.

“How dare you!”

“You bitch!”

“Die!”

Swish!

But before they could reach her, the spear shaft began to whirl around Jin So-eun like a living thing.

Whirrrrr!

It was a strange sight.

She simply extended her hand, and the spear shaft spun around her arm, deflecting the attackers’ blades with precise timing—only blocking the edges of their swords, not the flat sides.

Clang clang clang!

The attackers screamed in confusion as their sword strikes were knocked off course.

“Ugh?!”

“W-what is this?”

Then, the spinning spear shaft surged forward, crashing into their bodies.

Bam bam bam!

“Ugh!”

“Argh!”

The rotating shaft slammed one attacker’s wrist, forcing him to drop his sword; it struck another’s ankle, knocking him down; and then it landed a precise blow to the back of a third’s neck.

Crack!

His neck bent at a right angle—another enemy down.

The other attackers nearby finally recognized the threat she posed.

“Look there! Kill her first! She’s no joke!”

“Arrgh! Die!”

One attacker lunged at her, swinging his greatsword like an axe in a brutal overhead strike.

Whoosh!

Without hesitation, Jin So-eun swung her spear shaft to meet the blow head-on.

Screech!

The part just below the spearhead snapped off, and the blade fell uselessly to the ground.

The wooden shaft couldn’t withstand the force of the greatsword’s strike.

The attacker who’d shattered her spearhead laughed wildly and swung his sword again.

“Hahaha! It’s over for you!”

But he didn’t notice the satisfied smile spreading across Jin So-eun’s face.

She was grinning brightly, reveling in the familiar sensation in her hand.

‘Good.’

Removing the spearhead had shifted the balance perfectly.

The familiar feel she hadn’t experienced in fifteen years flooded back, and the bare shaft in her hand seemed to come alive, writhing as if eager to leap free.

Whirrrrr!

The bare shaft, now freed from the spearhead, moved differently than before.

Whoosh!

It was like a living whirlwind.

If before it had only seemed alive, now it truly moved with a life of its own.

The shaft spun around her fingertips and hair strands, striking down the greatsword and battering the attackers.

It no longer looked like a mere spear shaft.

Its fluid movements resembled a small dragon circling her.

Crack crack crack!

“Arrgh!”

The attacker swinging the greatsword at Jin So-eun was pummeled by the shaft and collapsed, his bones shattered.

Others who rushed in met the same fate.

In a flash, their swords were knocked aside, and they were hammered relentlessly by the shaft.

Bam bam bam!

“Gahhh!”

“Ughhh!”

Everyone in the cabin now focused on her.

Her spear technique, moving like a living creature, was unlike anything the attackers—or even the seasoned fighters—had ever seen or heard of.

“W-what is that?”

Indeed.

They had no knowledge of her martial art.

Except for one.

Jin Gye-gun, the head of the Jin family’s guards, cornered and staring in shock, muttered under his breath.

“C-could it be…?”

As the Jin family’s chief steward, he had at least heard of such a level of mastery before.