Episode 9

The hectic night spent dealing with the bodies and cleaning up had passed, and morning light broke once again.

It was time to part ways with the ronin and head back to the front lines.

The usually cheerful faces of the ronin had grown somber overnight.

It was only natural.

For martial artists who lived by the sword, losing a comrade wasn’t unheard of, but losing someone close was never easy for anyone.

Especially since Yang Musha, who always kept the mood light, and Lee Musha, who was his perfect partner in crime, were now gone—their absence was painfully obvious.

“Travel safely, Lord Seonwoo. I wish you the best of luck in battle.”

“Thank you. I pray for the health of Jang Musha and Jong Musha as well. And may Gong Musha build a happy family.”

I shook hands firmly with each of them, then pulled out three thin booklets I had tucked away in my pack.

I had been jotting down notes here and there over the past few days.

“I originally prepared five copies, but I never imagined I’d be giving them to only three people.”

“What’s this?”

They took the booklets with curious eyes. I smiled wryly and answered,

“It’s nothing extraordinary, but it’s better than the Yukhap Simbeop.”

Their eyes, previously clouded with grief, suddenly brightened.

“Yukhap Simbeop? You don’t mean—?!”

“Yes, it’s called Bowon Simbeop.”

“Lord Gong!”

They gasped and hurriedly flipped through the unmarked booklets.

Bowon Simbeop was no shabby technique, as I had said.

It was a martial art I had learned thanks to Seolpung Jo Jang in my previous life, who had somehow procured it for me.

Back then, with almost no internal energy, I had risen to the rank of Ilgapja—top-tier first-class—within less than ten years thanks to this technique.

It couldn’t compare to the pinnacle arts like Honwon Mugeukgong that I was currently mastering, but if I had to rank it, it was just barely in the first-class league.

It was naturally incomparable to the third-rate Yukhap Simbeop.

“I also included a few basic sword techniques I know at the end. Nothing spectacular, but they should be helpful.”

As Jong Musha and Gong Musha’s eyes widened, flipping through the booklets in a frenzy, Jang Musha looked at me with reddened eyes and said,

“Lord Seonwoo, why are you doing this? How can we ever repay such a debt…?”

I knew well what proper internal energy techniques meant to wandering warriors like them—something that even a lifetime wouldn’t easily grant to those without the right background or connections.

I had suffered because of that in my past life.

The moment I decided to give them proper internal energy techniques was when we had met the bandits at Nokhochae.

Seeing them put their lives on the line to let me escape first, standing their ground against the enemy…

There had been a few like that in my past life.

Friends who stayed behind to protect their comrades…

Early on at the front, when my martial skills were weak, I was often the one being protected. They sent me away and stayed behind, and most of those comrades never survived to be seen again.

But I saw that same spirit in these men.

They were just mercenaries hired for money.

No matter how much they were paid, no one values money over their own life. I knew well how most mercenaries behaved in dangerous situations.

Usually, they’d abandon their clients and flee first.

But these men didn’t.

Whether it was conviction or because they had grown attached to me, I didn’t know. But at least, I wanted to repay the trust they had shown me.

I smiled gently and said,

“We’ve shared a bond and crossed the line between life and death together. Aren’t we friends? Since I no longer need these, giving them to friends is no big deal.”

“…Lord Gong.”

He looked at me as if on the verge of tears. I hurriedly added,

“Well, I should be going now. If I stay any longer, it’ll take a whole day just to cross two mountain passes. When we meet again, I hope we’ll all be first-class warriors.”

He wiped the tears streaming down his face and smiled.

“Indeed. I will become first-class and come find you again. Then we’ll drink together with true joy.”

We clasped hands firmly one last time, then I turned and walked away without looking back.

Even after walking for a while, when I glanced back, they were still standing there, seeing me off.

It warmed my heart.

What Seolpung Jo Jang had done for me in my past life, I was now able to do for them.

That alone made life feel worth living once more.

At that moment, Cheongyeon Sojeo, who had been silently standing beside me, suddenly spoke.

“I’ve never seen a martial artist share their skills with an outsider… Lord Seonwoo, you’re quite an unusual person.”

I chuckled softly in response.

“It’s not the Seonwoo family’s way, so it doesn’t matter, does it?”

She looked at me silently for a moment, then muttered something under her breath.

“…”

I didn’t catch it and asked,

“Pardon? What did you say?”

“Nothing. Just talking to myself.”

Anyway, I thought it was about time to have a proper conversation with this unusual Sojeo.

“Miss Sojeo, are you really planning to go to the front lines? There are countless monsters there that even sword energy like that won’t affect. You could really die.”

She glanced toward the front lines for a moment before answering.

“I’ve thought about it a lot since yesterday. But I still think I have to go.”

I felt a bit frustrated.

To be so stubborn after seeing all that, she must be quite immature.

Unable to hold back, I asked again.

“Even after seeing it with your own eyes?”

Still looking toward the front, she finally spoke.

“I don’t understand.”

“Hm?”

“How is it possible that no one in the martial world knows we’re fighting those things?”

“…”

What she said was true.

Most people only knew that many died at the front, but had no idea what exactly was lurking there.

It was all because of a secret oath.

The Martial Alliance made every warrior entering the front swear never to reveal what they saw or experienced there. If they did, they’d be hunted down.

“They said it was to prevent chaos in the martial world,” I said.

But those of us who had been there suspected it was to hide the shameful past of the Jeomchang faction, one of the Nine Schools, and the Martial Alliance’s disgraceful defeat.

Even so, that didn’t fully explain why such a strict silence was imposed.

She continued,

“As you said, Lord Seonwoo, if those things appear in great numbers at the front, someone must be fighting them right now. But if I turn back now, I’d be ignoring that.”

Though I couldn’t see her eyes, her firm voice made it clear.

She wasn’t driven by childish heroism.

“I didn’t learn martial arts to live like that. My father didn’t raise me that way either. Lord Seonwoo, what do you see me as? A woman? Or a warrior?”

Her voice was calm, but there was no hesitation.

I sighed deeply.

“Haah.”

She was right.

She was a warrior before anything else.

One who had reached the highest first-class rank.

Mentally, she seemed far more mature than I was at twenty-one.

To have treated such a warrior like a naive girl was pathetic and embarrassing.

I bowed respectfully and apologized.

“I misunderstood your firm conviction, Miss Sojeo. I sincerely apologize.”

A faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

It was the first time I’d seen her smile.

“I accept your apology. Lord Gong, you’re quite refreshing in admitting your mistakes and apologizing.”

For some reason, I found her small, full, coral-colored lips very beautiful.

---

“Haah!”

Whoosh!

“Kyaaaah!”

A blade of energy sliced across the bare chest of a Miao tribesman.

Blood splattered as his chest was cut open, but he only faltered briefly before lunging again at the young swordsman.

“Fall back, Jeongrang!”

“Hah!”

The young swordsman leapt back to avoid the charging Miao, and while the Miao’s gaze was fixed on him, a woman’s sword came in from the side, slicing the wounded chest again.

Chuk!

“Kyaaaah!”

The Miao’s chest split even deeper. As his eyes followed the woman’s retreating form, the man who had stepped back suddenly launched his sword like a ray of light, piercing the Miao’s heart.

Pook!

“Kyaaaah!”

The Miao screamed in terror, wildly flailing his arms, but the man had already dropped his sword and retreated.

It was a familiar coordinated attack, like the turning of gears.

The man grinned at the woman.

“We got one. Good work, Sonmae.”

“You too, Jeongrang.”

The hellhound spirit with a shattered heart would soon slow and stop moving altogether.

They were truly dead now.

After exchanging a brief, tender glance with Sonmae, the man looked around.

Eight comrades were scattered throughout the dense jungle, paired off and fighting other hellhound spirits.

Seeing no one in immediate danger, the man smiled again at the woman.

“Looks like we finished the fastest.”

“Seems so.”

As the two kept an eye on the shifting battlefield, ready to support their comrades if danger arose, they also stole brief moments of respite amidst the chaos by subtly holding each other’s hands.

They had started dating a year ago. For warriors stationed on the front lines—isolated from the world and constantly facing death—romantic relationships were one of the few remaining acts of humanity and a rare source of joy.

Of course, there was an ironclad rule: their relationship must never interfere with combat.

“The squad leader went off hunting some mid-level demons, right?”

“Yes. There were a couple that our sword techniques couldn’t touch.”

The man, watching their comrades’ fight closely, gave the woman a faint smile.

“I hope the squad leader returns soon. So it’s just the two of us again.”

The woman smiled shyly in response—just then, something suddenly burst out from the nearby bushes.

“Kuhahaha!”

Though engaged in conversation, the man hadn’t let his guard down. He shoved the woman aside and, lightning-fast, drew the dagger strapped to his thigh, swinging it fiercely.

“Haah!”

But the attacker’s weapon was overlaid with a crimson aura.

Zzzt!

It was a powerful energy.

The grotesque sickle, glowing with this energy, sliced the dagger clean in half and pinned it in place. The man’s expression shifted instantly. He dropped the broken dagger and leapt backward, shouting:

“Sonmae, run! It’s Ssangsak Chilhyung!”

But the woman had already been subdued by the monster that had snuck up behind her.

“Ah! Jeongrang!”

The man’s gaze froze as he saw the woman, her blood vessels marked and held captive.

That brief hesitation sealed his fate.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

“Jeongrang!”

From behind, the sickle of the pursuing monster plunged into the man’s chest.

“Khehehehe! How dare you turn your back on an elder like me?”

“Jeongrang!”

“Kehhelhelhel! Is that girl your lover? Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you forget all about him soon enough. Kehhelhelhel!”

Seven monsters had gathered around the woman.

They were the Ssangsak Chilhyung—the twin sickle-wielding brothers of the Blood Sect’s demon hunters.

These seven middle-aged siblings were fearsome warriors: three had reached the pinnacle of mastery, while the other four were at the highest first-class level.

“Look at this one, brother! My mouth’s watering already.”

“Told you, the girls of the Biryong Corps are a delicacy.”

“But brother, there’s another girl over there. Are we just going to take this one and leave?”

One of them pointed, and they saw a woman spotting them, firing a red signal flare into the sky.

Fwoom!

Watching the red flare spread across the sky, the eldest brother, Jimak, said:

“The red flare means the annoying reinforcements will be here soon… but let’s catch one more before we go.”

“Right! Sounds good, brother!”

“Second and third, follow me!”

“Yes, brother!”

“Yes, brother!”

Three of the Ssangsak Chilhyung charged toward the woman who had fired the flare.

At that moment, Mae Yeogyeong, the deputy leader of the Biryong Thirteenth Squad, shouted to her comrades:

“Cease fighting! Regroup immediately and form a defensive formation!”

At her command, the squad members disengaged from their battles with the demons and gathered, quickly forming a circular defense.

Their movements were precise and practiced.

But to the three Ssangsak Chilhyung at the peak of their power, it was nothing but a joke.

“Khehehehe! You think that’s enough?!”

Jimak, the eldest, unleashed a crimson energy—the mark of a master—and charged at them.

Mae Yeogyeong, a top-tier warrior, gritted her teeth and shouted:

“Hold the line! The squad leader will be here soon!”

Chak-chak-chak!

The squad members fought with all their might to fend off Jimak’s attacks.

But their weapons were already gouged and battered by the relentless energy.

“We’re here too!”

“Khehehehe!”

Behind them, the second and third brothers of Ssangsak Chilhyung launched their assault. Though not as strong as the eldest, their sickles still radiated a faint but deadly energy.

The squad members’ faces twisted in pain as they clenched their teeth—then, suddenly, a whistle pierced the air.

Piiiiiiik!

A long, sharp whistle, reminiscent of a hawk’s cry—the unmistakable signal of the squad leader, Mayugyeom, the master of the Jeomchang Sword Technique.

“The squad leader’s here!”

“He’s arrived!”

The squad’s spirits lifted instantly as a handsome young man streaked through the air like a shooting star.

“Damn, Jeomchang Sword Technique’s here! Brother, what’s the plan?”

The second brother asked Jimak, who scoffed.

“Just one guy? I’ll take him. You handle the others!”

With a shout, Jimak lunged at Mayugyeom.

“You brat, die!”

“Haah!”

Their clash in midair sent red and blue energies colliding, sparking brilliant flames.

Tang! Tang! Tang! Bang! Bang!

Mayugyeom’s skill was astonishing.

Though still in his twenties, he matched the notorious Jimak blow for blow.

But that wasn’t all.

The fourth brother of Ssangsak Chilhyung, arriving late, shouted:

“Big brother! Another one’s coming!”

He pointed to a woman racing through the treetops at terrifying speed.

Even from afar, her beauty was striking. The fourth brother cried out in alarm:

“That’s Dang Yeoeun! Brother!”

Dang Yeoeun, the third squad leader of the Biryong Thirteenth and known as the Dang Family Sword Peak, was famed throughout Yunnan Province for her beauty.

The fourth brother’s eyes burned with fury.

And so did Jimak’s, locked in battle with Mayugyeom.

In truth, their repeated attacks on the Biryong Thirteenth were all to capture Dang Yeoeun.

Jimak shouted amid the fight:

“I’ll handle this one! You all go! Just catch her and get out of here!”

His brothers cheered in response:

“Yes, brother!”

Then, carrying the woman they had captured earlier on one shoulder, they charged toward Dang Yeoeun.