Episode 41
A pale waxing crescent moon cast deep shadows over the jungle night.
Sak Mu-heun, the squad leader of the Shadow Division’s Fourth Squad within the Martial Alliance—and regarded as the most exceptional warrior among all former Shadow Division members—waited silently in the dense forest for his target to appear.
The target was a woman named Cheong-yeon, a member of the Seven Squad of the Thirteen Greats of the Flying Dragon.
Tonight was the night he was ordered to kill her.
Of course, he didn’t know what crime she had committed to warrant death. Frankly, he didn’t want to know.
Given that she was currently serving on the front lines, it was likely an unjust death.
But once the order came down, there was no turning back.
They had no choice.
[Disobedience to orders will be met with death without complaint.]
That was the oath they had signed upon joining the Shadow Division.
So once you set foot here, you had no option but to obey orders to survive.
The only comfort Sak Mu-heun had was that this life would end in just one more year.
After ten years of service, he would finally be able to step into the light.
As always before a mission, Sak Mu-heun steeled his resolve.
“I will endure one more year and stand proudly before him.”
Like a warrior’s ritual, he focused his mind and turned his attention back to the task at hand.
This mission was a bit more troublesome than usual.
If she had been discharged, he could have simply waited for her to leave alone and struck then. But since she was still active duty, things were more complicated.
Still, it was only a minor inconvenience, not a real challenge.
A week ago, under the guise of Martial Alliance inspectors, they had visited the Thirteen Greats and gathered detailed information on each member’s schedule and personal data.
Showing the insignia of the Martial Alliance inspector, the squad leader Heon Young-bo had cooperated fully, handing over all the information without resistance.
Based on that intel, Sak Mu-heun decided to strike during the Seven Squad’s nighttime patrol.
Gathering his squad quietly, he spoke in a low voice.
“Squads Five, Six, and Seven will lure the Gan-gwi. Can you handle it?”
Not being the squad leader himself, the members—still referred to by their numbers—nodded crisply.
They were as familiar with frontline duty as any veteran, so there was no concern.
“Squads One and Two will hold off the squad leader, Seol Poong. From what we know, he’s a peak master—not a novice, but a seasoned expert. He might be on par with me, or even better.”
At this, the member of the Shadow Division’s Second Squad, one of the three peak masters, spoke up.
“That’s nonsense. How could someone barely in their twenties compare to the squad leader, who’s considered the best in the entire Shadow Division?”
Indeed, Sak Mu-heun was in his late thirties and regarded as the top warrior in the Shadow Division. If he survived one more year, he might even become the official leader of the Martial Forces.
But Sak Mu-heun shook his head coldly.
“It’s better to overestimate the enemy and prepare thoroughly than to underestimate and be caught off guard. I don’t think you’ll lose, but don’t let your guard down.”
“Yes, squad leader!”
“Understood!”
The plan was to lure the Gan-gwi and force a clash with the Seven Squad, then abduct the woman named Cheong-yeon.
Seol Poong, the person of interest, would be held in check by the peak masters of Squads One and Two, while the rest of the squad would handle the other members.
Sak Mu-heun would then swiftly abduct the woman and retreat.
Everyone else, aside from Squads One and Two, were top-tier warriors, so the plan was solid.
Kidnappings by the Blood Sect’s demon leaders on the front lines weren’t uncommon, so everyone would likely assume the Blood Sect was behind it.
All that remained was to wait for the target to approach.
About half an hour later, rustling sounds and faint voices drifted through the trees.
They had arrived.
“Buuu! Buuu! Buuu!”
Sak Mu-heun imitated the call of a mountain bird with his mouth.
Though indistinguishable from a real bird’s cry, his comrades, having trained together for so long, recognized the subtle emphasis in the call.
Then, without alerting the enemy, they began to slowly retreat.
It was time for Squads Five, Six, and Seven to lure the Gan-gwi.
“There are ambushers ahead. They’re falling back to match our pace. Looks like they want to choose the attack point.”
That was a message from Squad Leader Seol Poong.
We looked at Cheong-yeon with heavy hearts.
On the surface, she seemed calm, but anyone could tell she was the one suffering most.
Cheong-yeon had already anticipated this.
If there was an attack, it would likely be tonight.
She had learned that a week ago, inspectors from the Martial Alliance had obtained detailed information about the Thirteen Greats from Heon Young-bo.
If those inspectors were the attackers, they would probably strike at night—and that meant tonight.
But despite her foresight, she added with a dark expression:
“Of course… I hope all this worry is for nothing.”
For her, the best possible outcome was that her prediction was wrong.
If the attack was real, it meant the Martial Alliance was truly killing frontline warriors, and that Cheong-yeon’s uncle figure, Je-gal Ji-gang of the Heavenly Thunder Sect, had truly decided to kill her.
To be hunted by someone she once trusted—that was a feeling she knew all too well.
That filthy loneliness of being left utterly alone in the world.
But now was not the time for comfort—it was time to act.
She could never be allowed to die.
The attackers didn’t realize it yet, but they had already made two critical mistakes.
First, boldly gathering intelligence under the guise of Martial Alliance inspectors.
Second, underestimating the detection range of Squad Leader Seol Poong.
They would soon learn that their covert attack had failed from the start.
And that the hunters were not who they thought.
We continued forward, pretending to be unaware.
Seol Poong judged it best to follow them until their intentions became clear.
About a moment later, the squad leader shouted.
“Gan-gwi! Shadow warriors! Gan-gwi are coming from three directions!”
At once, the shadow warriors dashed out like beams of light toward the directions Seol Poong indicated, shouting:
“Damn it! Not this again!”
“Gan-gwi! Shadow warriors! Gan-gwi are coming from three directions!”
Sak Mu-heun, lying in ambush, was taken aback by Seol Poong’s voice.
They shouldn’t have noticed us yet—how did they already?
What followed was even more bewildering.
A man launched himself at the charging Gan-gwi with a powerful new technique, scattering something over them.
“Take this!”
Whoosh!
To everyone’s surprise, the Gan-gwi went into a frenzy, turning to chase only after the man’s back.
“Grrrrr!”
“Raaaar!”
The man lured all three groups of Gan-gwi away and quickly disappeared.
The Shadow Division members who had been secretly leading the Gan-gwi were stunned by this unexpected turn.
Cheong-yeon had anticipated that the attackers might use the Gan-gwi to cause chaos.
That was why the shadow warriors had prepared by collecting their own blood to lure the beasts.
But Sak Mu-heun and the others, unaware of this, were thrown into confusion as their plan unraveled from the start.
Sak Mu-heun hesitated.
If they pressed on now, there could be casualties beyond the target.
Should they wait for another chance or proceed immediately?
At that moment, a sudden scream snapped him back to focus.
“Aaaargh!”
It was Seol Poong.
He had drawn the four claws of the Fierce Tiger Squad and suddenly struck, piercing one of the ambushers.
By the time Sak Mu-heun realized what was happening, a second comrade was already impaled.
Thud!
“Ughhh!”
Horrified, Sak Mu-heun understood the truth.
They knew about the ambush?!
They knew we were going to attack?!
How?!
Desperately, he shouted:
“Squads One and Two! Hold the rear!”
Then he dashed forward like a streak of light.
The target was the woman at the very back, her bangs covering her face.
The peak masters of Squads One and Two clashed fiercely with Seol Poong and his men, their swords and sabers radiating fierce energy as they slaughtered the attackers.
“Hah!”
“Take that!”
“Hmph!”
Crash! Boom! Bang!
But the ambush seemed to have no effect.
Seol Poong and his men blocked the attacks from Squads One and Two with ease.
This was going to be no easy task.
Sak Mu-heun had to finish quickly and retreat.
As he leapt over their heads toward the target, Seol Poong suddenly shouted:
“Number Three!”
Number Three?
Sak Mu-heun wondered what that meant even as he closed in.
But he didn’t have time to ponder.
The next moment, Cheong-yeon spun around and fled.
“!”
“Number Three” was their code for when the opponent’s martial energy was unusually strong, signaling Cheong-yeon to escape and buy time.
“Don’t let her get away!”
Gritting his teeth, Sak Mu-heun gave chase.
It was a clever move, but perhaps it worked in their favor.
Though it would take longer, separating her from her allies might make her easier to handle.
Of course, this confidence stemmed from the fact that she was nothing more than a top-tier first-rate expert, and with over seventy years of internal energy cultivation under my belt, there was no way I couldn’t keep up with her.
But just then, one of Ha Cheong-yeon’s comrades—a handsome young man—shouted out.
“Captain Na! The enemy is chasing! Be careful!”
Captain Na?
His words made Sak Mu-heun hesitate.
Could it be that the woman with her face hidden behind her bangs wasn’t the target after all?
As he glanced again toward the other women, he caught sight of one of them looking at him with a panicked expression.
That young man’s sharp gaze was fixed on me.
I’d been tricked!
The realization hit me immediately.
Turning back, the woman who seemed to be the target was already far ahead.
“Damn it!”
Grinding my teeth, I launched myself forward again, only to hear a voice from behind.
“Jin! Go after her! She’s got over seventy years of cultivation!”
But I didn’t need the captain to tell me—I was already moving. The enemy chasing Captain Cheong-yeon was moving at an alarming speed.
I’d set a trap, but at this pace, Captain Cheong-yeon would be caught before even reaching it.
A supreme master with over seventy years of internal energy cultivation…
If I faced him head-on, I’d be cut down in an instant.
I quickly decided on a countermeasure and sprang into action.
“Hah!”
Whoosh!
I scattered hidden needles behind him.
He glanced back, pushed off a tree, and shifted direction slightly to avoid the area where the needles had been thrown.
Clack!
As expected.
He was cautious.
Rather than blocking, he chose to evade—smart move.
It was a fine stance, but not exactly a welcome one for me.
I immediately threw more needles.
Whoosh!
He changed direction again to dodge.
His fierce glare was clearly irritated.
Because I deliberately threw the needles skewed toward Captain Cheong-yeon’s side, slowing his pursuit.
Annoying, right?
So, one more time!
I focused on tossing needles around him repeatedly, trying to slow his steps.
A mosquito tactic—buzzing annoyingly from all sides.
Finally, it seemed he decided I was the one to deal with first.
Suddenly, he changed direction sharply and charged at me.
A blue sword aura flashed from his blade.
The feeling of a supreme master with over seventy years of cultivation truly coming at me was terrifying.
But it didn’t matter.
I’d been preparing to run from the start.
“Hah!”
With a shout, I threw my full strength into my leap.
In our group’s ranking of new techniques, Captain Seol-pung and Bi Sa-yeong were tied for first, and I was right behind them.
No matter how supreme a master he was, there was no way he could catch someone genuinely fleeing.
After all, my nickname was the Flying Black Wolf.
He shot me a look of disbelief as I fled like a streak of light, then immediately turned to retreat.
It seemed he wasn’t planning to truly fight me, just intimidate me into running away.
But what could he do?
I had no intention of letting him send me off so easily.
So, stopping mid-leap, I uttered the magic word to hold him in place.
“Moorim Alliance.”
He flinched, eyes locking onto me.
Though he tried to keep calm, the moment he stopped and looked at me, he’d already failed to pretend ignorance.
I smiled coldly and added one more barb.
“Quite the stomach you have. For a warrior of the Alliance to stoop to such dirty deeds.”
His eyes twisted in anger.
A murderous aura began to radiate from him.
I knew exactly what he was thinking.
Now that the secret was out, he’d have to kill me to cover it up.
He’d be curious how much I knew, and how far this went.
Crash!
As he lunged at me like a fierce tiger, I was ready and leapt aside.
The chase was on again.
Whoosh!
This time, he threw needles at me as he pursued.
The roles had reversed.
And with the situation flipped, I began to understand his mindset a little better.
Dodging needles while fleeing was no easy task.
Swish! Swish!
I barely avoided them.
The needles brushing past my clothes sent a chill down my spine.
But this was only the beginning.
Though my new technique was slightly superior, the needles from a supreme master with over seventy years of cultivation were threatening enough to ignore that difference.
Swish! Swish!
“Ugh!”
I lost count of how many times the needles had grazed my collar.
I could only praise myself for not having been hit directly yet.
It wouldn’t have been surprising if one had pierced me by now.
My spine was chilled to the bone.
Thankfully, I’d trained my senses under the captain’s guidance; otherwise, I wouldn’t have managed to escape like this.
These days, I prided myself on senses as sharp as most beasts, if not quite the captain’s level.
But dodging needles from a supreme master while fleeing was a matter of life and death every moment.
Shhaaak!
“Ugh!”
As I dodged, the distance between us was closing.
And as the gap narrowed, the accuracy of his needles increased.
A vicious cycle.
“Damn it!”
For a moment, I was tempted to stop and fight rather than risk being hit while running.
But I gritted my teeth and kept running.
Repeating in my mind:
“Just a little more, just a little more. Almost there!”
And soon, I reached the place I’d been aiming for.
The spot where I’d set the trap to confront the enemy.
“Yes!”
I cheered silently, then leapt forward and cut the hidden wire behind a tree.
Shhhk!
The taut string snapped, releasing dozens of arrows I’d concealed, firing all at once toward the pursuer.
Pew pew pew pew pew!
“Hmph?!”
He let out a startled shout as the arrows rained down like a storm.
But that was all.
Though I’d crafted the mechanism with great care, a supreme master with over seventy years of cultivation was no easy opponent.
After a brief moment of surprise, he swung his sword and deflected every arrow.
Shhaaaak!
Tat tat tat tat tat!
For a moment, his sword seemed to create a blue wall in midair.
A sword barrier, just as the legends said.
Truly an incredible master.
“But! I wasn’t expecting much!”
I hadn’t hoped to kill him with this trap.
What I really wanted was just to divert his attention for a moment.
After deflecting the arrows, he looked around with a flustered expression.
In that brief moment, he lost track of my whereabouts.
Hidden in the shadow of a tree, I used the stealth techniques I’d honed fighting the mine creatures on the front lines to vanish from sight.
I began to track his movements not with my eyes, but with my other senses.
Then, I opened the mouths of the sacks I’d prepared and placed beside the tree.
From within, dozens of snakes slithered out.
The snakes immediately recoiled, as if repelled by the scent emanating from me.
The scented pouches I’d made using the secret formula from Dakam were proving effective.
“Now, the real battle begins.”
This was a fight of stealth.
A deadly duel.