Episode 198: Return to the Demonic Sect
Swoosh!
With a sharp sound slicing through the air, the sword aimed straight for Mok Dan-hwa’s chest.
Yet, she didn’t retreat.
She didn’t even bother to defend herself.
Instead, she lowered her body and thrust her sword forward.
Swish!
Amazingly, her sword moved faster than the one flying toward her.
“Hah!”
A shout of determination erupted.
Clang!
The incoming sword was forced to change its path, blocking Mok Dan-hwa’s strike.
Seeing her opponent stagger back, she swiftly turned and attacked again.
Swish!
Clang!
Once more, the clear sound of clashing metal rang out as the opponent attacking from behind stumbled backward.
Indeed, she was facing two opponents at once.
There was no time to rest.
The first opponent, whom she had deflected, now aimed for her back.
Mok Dan-hwa stepped forward, her foot striking out.
Thud!
“Ack!”
Baek Mi-ryeong cried out as she was kicked back.
Mok Dan-hwa turned again.
But then,
Swish!
‘What!’
Min Yu-hyang’s sword was coming straight for her neck.
It was a situation where counterattacking or even defending seemed impossible.
In that instant, Min Yu-hyang hesitated.
It was only a fleeting moment, but Mok Dan-hwa seized the opportunity and thrust her sword forward.
Swoosh!
Her sword stopped precisely at Min Yu-hyang’s neck.
Min Yu-hyang raised her hands with an awkward smile.
“I… I surrender.”
“You’re amazing, Dan-hwa.”
Baek Mi-ryeong approached, her voice full of admiration.
But Mok Dan-hwa’s expression was far from pleased.
She spoke coldly.
“Again.”
At her words, Min Yu-hyang and Baek Mi-ryeong exchanged pleading looks.
“Why? Isn’t this enough?”
“Yeah, even with both of us attacking, we couldn’t beat you. There’s no point in continuing…”
“Lies!”
Mok Dan-hwa’s sharp voice cut through, silencing them.
Her gaze fixed on Min Yu-hyang.
“During your last attack, you could have overpowered me. But you hesitated, didn’t you?”
“Well, that was…”
“I told you not to hold back! Do you think I’m weak?”
“That’s not it.”
“We just thought you were pushing yourself too hard…”
“I’ll decide that for myself.”
Mok Dan-hwa replied icily.
She bit her lip and walked a short distance away.
“Come on, attack again. Give it your all.”
Min Yu-hyang and Baek Mi-ryeong exchanged troubled glances.
It had already been three hours.
Even though they had been holding back, the prolonged training was exhausting and they were hungry.
Meanwhile, Mok Dan-hwa clenched her teeth.
‘This won’t do!’
Lately, she had been plagued by a sense of urgency.
She never imagined she would feel this way.
She had always been confident.
She believed no one her age could match her.
But that wasn’t the case.
Dan Ri-jeong, whom she once ignored, had become a formidable leader, and Jo Mun-tak, who she thought was just a show-off, had become incredibly fast.
Gok Bo-ok had grown strong enough to defeat a martial arts master.
Yeon Woo-gyeong and Yeom Ja-ryang had surpassed her skills.
And even Dam Woo-gi, who was once the weakest, had become the brains of their group.
He was truly a genius.
But…
‘I’m still…!’
Mok Dan-hwa looked down at the sword in her hand.
The sword she had obtained thanks to Sa Bi-gang.
Though her previous sword was also thin, it didn’t sway like this one.
The new sword, Sa Sim-ja, wavered unpredictably like a snake’s tongue.
Perhaps that was the reason.
‘Did the leader give me this sword on purpose? Because I was too harsh?’
Even if that were true, she had no excuse.
When she was first assigned to the special class, she had resented Sa Bi-gang deeply.
Of course, the bitterness hadn’t completely faded.
But who could have predicted?
That he would end the war, become the leader of the inspection bureau, and organize the cadets into an elite group.
The once problematic special class had become the top unit.
Looking back, so much had happened.
Especially the four years of cave training, which left a deep impression.
Yet…
‘I’m still too inexperienced.’
Compared to the other cadets at Yongcheon-gwan, she had grown incredibly strong.
But her progress was slow compared to the special class cadets.
The lack of relative advancement made her anxious and impatient.
‘I must master this sword, no matter what. Sa Sim-ja is undoubtedly a good sword!’
Resolving herself, she gripped the sword tightly and shouted.
“Come on, attack! No holding back this time!”
“Dan-hwa…”
“Now!”
Min Yu-hyang and Baek Mi-ryeong reluctantly raised their swords.
At that moment,
“Bullying your peers is becoming a habit.”
A familiar voice interrupted.
Turning around, she saw Jo Mun-tak smiling.
Mok Dan-hwa frowned.
“What does it matter to you?”
“Hey, don’t be so harsh. I’m part of the same group.”
Her expression grew even colder.
Once, he wouldn’t have dared to meet her gaze.
But now, Jo Mun-tak was more important to their group than she was.
He was essential to almost every mission.
‘Compared to him, I’m…!’
Recently, she had been excluded from many missions.
Mok Dan-hwa turned her head away with a frosty expression.
“Mind your own business and leave.”
“I can’t do that. We’ve been summoned.”
Jo Mun-tak shrugged with a playful grin.
**
The insurgents who had seized Jeokha Fortress sought to legitimize their actions by adopting a new official name.
They called themselves the Martial Alliance.
They declared independence from the Justice Alliance and expressed their intent to continue the war against the Blood Sect.
This was a ploy to rally the orthodox martial artists who held a hardline stance against the unorthodox sects.
However, among the martial world, disappointment and anger toward Seol Baek and Deung Wang-pae had reached a peak, leaving them with few supporters.
In fact, more people were coming to the Justice Alliance, offering to help deal with them.
Nevertheless, since those who had fled were under the jurisdiction of the Inspection Bureau, Sa Bi-gang declared that they would handle the matter independently.
Sa Bi-gang then led the Heavenly Destruction Unit and the Iron Blood Corps to camp near Jeokha Fortress.
Accompanied by Dan Ri-jeong, the leader of the Heavenly Destruction Unit, and Go Jeok-san, the leader of the Iron Blood Corps, he approached the fortress gates.
Someone appeared atop the tightly shut gates.
“Isn’t it the infamous con artist, Instructor Sa?”
The man shouting from the wall was a martial artist named Mak Choong.
He had been an elder of the Justice Alliance and was particularly close to Seol Baek.
He was the first to propose Seol Baek as the interim leader.
It seemed he had been chosen as the leader among those calling themselves the Martial Alliance.
With his face covered in hair and his curly beard, he shouted.
“After slandering Elder Seol and driving us here, what brings you?”
Sa Bi-gang chuckled.
“To say thank you.”
“What?”
“It’s tiring to hunt down scattered insurgents one by one. But with you all gathered here, it’s so convenient. Makes things easier. Whose idea was it? I feel like giving them a kiss.”
“You little…!”
“Well, if you surrender now, I’ll spare your lives. But…”
Sa Bi-gang’s smile widened.
“You won’t surrender, will you?”
“Of course not! Do you think I don’t know how you’ve been deceiving our leader?”
“You’re shameless. Thanks for making it easy.”
“What?”
“Now I can wipe you out without any guilt.”
“How dare you!”
He roared in anger.
At that moment,
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Archers appeared densely along the wall.
Then,
“Fire!”
At the command, a dark cloud of arrows filled the sky.
Sa Bi-gang’s expression turned icy.
“Such a dirty trick.”
In the next moment,
“Stone Wall!”
He shouted, and suddenly, a wall of stone rose from the ground.
Rumble!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The arrows rained down, clattering against the stone barrier with a loud noise.
Moments later,
Rumble…!
The stone wall crumbled.
Mak Choong, standing on the wall, was visible again.
He blinked repeatedly, eyes wide.
‘Damn it! What was that?’
For a moment, he thought he had been bewitched.
But the countless arrows scattered on the ground proved otherwise.
In truth, Sa Bi-gang had deliberately used a flashy spell.
The arrow attack could have been easily deflected with a simple shield.
But he wanted to instill despair in the cornered enemies and hasten their surrender by using an impressive spell.
The effect was evident.
Many archers, witnessing the unbelievable phenomenon, seemed to lose their fighting spirit.
Sa Bi-gang spoke coldly.
“I came to talk, but it seems you’re ready to fight to the death. If you insist on refusing a friendly drink and opting for a bitter one instead… I’ll make sure it’s a strong one. Heh heh.”
The archers turned pale at the chilling laughter.
“But before that… we have someone here who’s quite skilled with a bow.”
No sooner had Sabigang finished speaking than—
Thwack!
Danlijung released the bowstring.
The entire process of drawing and shooting was executed with remarkable speed and precision.
Whoosh!
“You scoundrel!”
Makchung roared in anger, extending his arm in a sweeping motion.
Boom!
A thunderous sound echoed as the arrow was deflected.
Yet, even Makchung was forced to take several steps back.
‘Damn it…!’
Makchung widened his eyes, staring at his own palm.
It burned and throbbed.
To think that an arrow shot by a mere cadet could shake him like this!
Sabigang waved his hand and shouted, “See you next time, then.”
**
That night, Sabigang summoned the Heavenly Annihilation Squad to the barracks.
“The leader of those guys is Elder Makchung. Tonight, we’re going to take his head.”
“Tonight?”
The squad members echoed in surprise.
Red Fortress was notoriously difficult to breach.
Infiltrating the fortress was a challenge in itself, let alone assassinating the enemy leader.
How on earth would they manage it?
Sabigang continued, “There’s a secret passage into Red Fortress. But Elder Makchung doesn’t know about it.”
“A secret passage…?”
“It was built after the Blood Alliance took over.”
Sabigang grinned.
He recalled the story he had heard from Seoraehyang.
“No matter how impregnable a fortress may seem, it can fall if you’re unlucky. So while I was there, I made an emergency escape route just in case. It was hastily made, so there are no mechanisms or anything.”
Seoraehyang had personally shared this information with him the day before he left for Red Fortress.
She had even marked the exact location of the exit.
For her, it was also about avenging her fallen subordinates who had perished while stationed at Red Fortress.
After explaining the situation, Sabigang looked up and asked, “So, who wants to take the head of that old fox?”