Episode 129: Return to the Demonic Sect
The five assassins, who had been charging toward Sabigang, hesitated and pulled back slightly.
Sabigang had moved his hand to convey a message to Neung Sosu, but the assassins mistook it for some kind of sorcery.
Neung Sosu, on the other hand, understood Sabigang’s message perfectly.
He recalled the moment when he first made a pact with a spirit. Sabigang had told him that countless spirits existed in this world, not just the spirit of the wind.
The same was true for the water spirit.
So…
Sabigang was telling him to feel the presence of the water spirit.
With this realization, Neung Sosu closed his eyes and focused all his senses on the flow of the water.
Seeing this, Sabigang allowed himself a faint smile.
“He’s got some intuition.”
Yes, that’s how it should be.
If he’s to be my disciple, he should at least be able to keep up.
It might seem harsh, but with the calamities that lie ahead, there’s no time to coddle anyone through every little crisis.
Everyone must pull their weight.
Now, he could trust Neung Sosu to handle himself.
And as for the assassins…
“You’ll pay for targeting the wrong person.”
In the next moment, Sabigang’s eyes changed completely.
He drew his sword, Veritas, from his waist with a smooth motion.
Even underwater, the blade seemed to emit a sharp aura.
The five assassins, realizing it wasn’t sorcery, resumed their approach.
Shiiing!
The first assassin to reach him threw a concealed weapon while simultaneously slashing with his sword.
Even underwater, the assassin’s movements were unnaturally precise.
“Specialists in underwater combat.”
This meant they had planned for an underwater battle from the start, likely due to information provided by Seoraehyang.
Sabigang had intentionally used only fire-based magic in front of her.
She must have assumed he had mastered yang-based martial arts and passed that information to the assassins.
“The assassins chose an underwater battle, thinking it would be to their advantage.”
But they would soon realize how foolish that was.
In an instant, Sabigang thrust out his hand.
Crack!
The fiercely attacking blade was deflected by a translucent ice wall that appeared out of nowhere.
The sudden appearance of the ice wall left the assassins bewildered.
Meanwhile…
Shiiing! Shiiing! Shiiing!
Water splashed around Sabigang, and in an instant, ice arrows formed.
The assassins’ eyes widened in shock.
“Sorcery?”
They couldn’t think of anything else.
Freezing water so suddenly?
This was a technique one might expect from the Northern Ice Palace.
This was not the information they had received.
Their target was supposed to struggle and die in this yin-dominated environment.
Yet here he was, calmly using the environment to his advantage.
Sabigang’s lips curled into a wicked grin.
“Be bewildered and die.”
In the cold water, using ice-based magic was remarkably easy.
The time it took to cast ice spells was significantly reduced.
Finally…
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Sharpened ice arrows shot toward the assassins.
Whoosh!
“Ugh!”
The assassins quickly raised their swords to deflect the incoming ice shards.
Crash! Crack!
But around Sabigang, countless ice arrows continued to form.
Eventually, two of the assassins were hit, blood seeping from their shoulders.
As the situation spiraled out of control, the warrior holding Neung Sosu hostage furrowed his brow and tightened his grip.
With the hostage now useless, he decided it was better to kill him cleanly to eliminate any future threats.
But then…
Whoosh!
“What the…!”
The assassin’s eyes widened as a fierce whirlpool suddenly formed around him and Neung Sosu, the water’s flow violently shaking them both.
It was as if the water had a will of its own, moving unpredictably and disrupting the assassin’s balance.
“What is this…!”
The assassin gritted his teeth and had no choice but to release Neung Sosu to regain his balance.
Meanwhile, Neung Sosu, now free from the assassin, calmly let the water’s flow carry him.
“Damn it!”
The assassin pulled three daggers from his belt and hurled them at Neung Sosu.
But…
Whoosh!
The daggers, flying toward Neung Sosu, were suddenly caught in the swirling water and flung back toward the assassin.
Whoosh!
“What the hell…!”
The assassin widened his eyes and quickly swung his sword to deflect the returning daggers.
But the last dagger abruptly changed direction.
Moreover, it felt as if an invisible hand had grabbed his wrist, rendering him immobile.
“Ugh…!”
In truth, it was the work of Undine, a lower water spirit, but the assassin had no way of knowing that.
Thud!
“Argh!”
The final dagger embedded itself in the assassin’s throat.
As foam bubbled from his mouth, crimson blood spread through the water.
After a few convulsions, he died with his eyes wide open.
Seeing their comrade die so unexpectedly, the remaining assassins were visibly shaken.
With the hostage lost, they now had no choice but to eliminate their target, even if it meant sacrificing themselves.
The five assassins exchanged quick glances.
Moments later, the leader signaled with his fingers.
The others nodded with grim determination.
The signal meant underwater self-destruction.
Finally, the five assassins surged forward, intent on reaching Sabigang at all costs.
They used their energy to propel themselves at maximum speed.
But then…
Crack! Crack!
A thick ice wall began to form between Sabigang and the assassins.
Crack! Crack!
It was the Ice Wall spell.
It activated much faster than it would on land.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The assassins struck the ice wall with their weapons, but it didn’t budge.
In the end, they attempted to break through to the surface.
But Sabigang wasn’t about to let them escape.
“Not so fast.”
In an instant, Sabigang leaped upward, extending his hand.
Once again, he used the Ice Wall to freeze the surface completely.
Crack! Crack!
Thud! Thud!
A thick layer of ice formed above the assassins’ heads.
They were trapped in a block of ice.
But that wasn’t all.
The assassins felt the temperature around them plummet.
The space they swam in was freezing over.
Their bodies began to stiffen.
Finally, fear appeared on their faces.
Sabigang cast a cold glance at them before turning away.
He saw Neung Sosu floating in the water, unconscious.
He must have fainted from the sudden threat and the rapid depletion of mana.
Still, he had managed to summon Undine, so he had done well.
But if left like this, he wouldn’t survive.
Sabigang quickly swam toward Neung Sosu.
**
Crack. Crack.
The surface of the river was freezing over.
Whoosh!
A biting wind blew across the ice.
The cadets standing by the riverbank blinked in disbelief.
“Is it… really freezing over?”
Jo Muntak muttered, staring at the ice forming on the river.
Yeom Jaryang nodded, dazed.
“It seems so. Can ice really form so visibly like that?”
“I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Strange phenomena had been occurring for a while.
Though it was early winter, the river shouldn’t have been freezing over.
Yet now, the surface was solid ice.
And Sabigang, who had dived into the water, and Neung Sosu, who had fallen in, were nowhere to be seen.
What on earth was happening?
Maeseollan bit her fingernail.
A chill seeped in, and her soaked body shivered.
She had exhausted all her energy rescuing the cadets.
There wasn’t enough left to keep herself warm.
The unexpected situation had left her overly agitated.
“I need to improve myself before I can criticize the cadets’ skills.”
She reproached herself as she scanned the cadets who had made it to shore.
Fortunately, none seemed injured.
The problem was Neung Sosu.
He had been underwater for too long.
Without martial arts training, he would have drowned by now.
“Please…!”
The fact that her boat had been wrecked only added to her guilt.
Dang Ihyeop approached and draped his robe over her shoulders.
He could have offered to warm her with his energy, but he knew she would refuse.
She wasn’t the type to calmly accept energy transfer while a cadet’s life hung in the balance.
“They’re taking a while.”
Dang Ihyeop spoke in a heavy voice.
But beneath it was a belief that Sabigang would return.
Snap.
Maeseollan’s nail finally broke under her teeth.
She shrugged off the robe and took a determined step forward.
“I can’t just stand by. I have to go in.”
“You can’t. It’s too dangerous in your condition.”
Tang Yi-hyeop quickly stopped Mae Seol-ran.
Mae Seol-ran turned to him. “Then, perhaps you could go in my place, Instructor Tang…”
Tang Yi-hyeop shook his head firmly, cutting her off. “We don’t know who the enemy is, but it’s clear they’ve attacked us. If I go in, it could put the cadets’ safety at risk. For now, the best course of action is to trust in our lord and wait.”
It was a reasonable argument.
Mae Seol-ran bit her lip in frustration and turned her gaze back to the river.
The river before them presented a strange sight. On the far side, it was frozen solid, while on their side, the water flowed gently as usual.
“Could it be an ambush from the Northern Ice Palace?”
The sight of the ice naturally raised the question.
Tang Yi-hyeop shook his head. “The Northern Ice Palace has no reason to do that.”
“Maybe they’ve allied with the Blood Sect.”
“If that were the case, their target would be the Justice Alliance, not us.”
“True, but still…”
“I think the ice might be due to our lord’s influence.”
“Oh…!”
Mae Seol-ran gasped. It made sense when she thought about it. Sa Bi-gang was known for his unique martial arts. If that were the case, there was still hope.
Just then, a sudden splash erupted in the distance, and a figure shot up from the water.
All the cadets watching the river craned their necks to see who had emerged.
It was Sa Bi-gang. In his arms was Neung So-so.
With a graceful arc, Sa Bi-gang landed on the bank, using his water-walking technique to rush to shore.
“Wow! It’s the instructor!”
“And So-so is with him!”
Reaching the riverbank, Sa Bi-gang gently laid Neung So-so on the ground, almost collapsing himself. Her face was as pale as a ghost’s.