Chapter: 18
Three days later, just before dawn.
After organizing all the intelligence he had obtained from the Hao Clan, Namgung Cheon stepped out of Chwiwol Inn.
The chilly dawn air cleared the heaviness from his mind after spending the entire night sorting through information.
Mujin, who had come out with him, shrugged and asked,
“So, what’s the plan now? You’ve been staring at those reports all night with such a serious face.”
Instead of answering immediately, Namgung Cheon suddenly stopped walking and turned around.
He silently looked at Mujin for a moment before asking quietly,
“I’m going to deal with creatures that can hardly be called human. What will you do?”
“What do you mean?”
Mujin asked.
Namgung Cheon lightly tapped the sheath of Mukhon hanging at his waist.
“It means there’ll be blood. Do you have a problem with that?”
It was Namgung Cheon’s way of showing consideration.
Mujin was merely his guest, so there was no need for him to accompany him.
Seeing through his intention, Mujin chuckled.
“For a wandering swordsman, seeing blood is an everyday occurrence. Of course, doing it without payment isn’t exactly common.”
He stepped forward until he stood shoulder to shoulder with Namgung Cheon.
“Let’s go. If even you say they’re barely human, I ought to see for myself what kind of monsters they are.”
Namgung Cheon slowly nodded and resumed walking.
Their first destination was Purple Canopy Mountain, located west of Hefei.
The Black Tiger Fortress.
BOOOOOM!
With a deafening explosion, the massive wooden palisade surrounding Black Tiger Fortress was torn apart like paper.
Wooden splinters and clouds of dust exploded in every direction as two figures calmly walked through the breach.
“E-Enemy!”
The desperate cry from the watchtower echoed throughout the fortress.
The once peaceful mountain stronghold instantly descended into chaos.
Bandits who were still half-drunk from drinking since daylight stumbled awake, while others hurriedly grabbed their weapons, shouting in confusion.
Standing side by side in the middle of the shattered entrance, Namgung Cheon and Mujin watched the swarm of bandits rushing toward them like a swarm of bees.
“Who the hell are you?! How dare you invade Black Tiger Fortress!”
The deputy fortress chief, carrying a pair of gigantic battle axes, charged at the front and roared like a beast.
Just as Namgung Cheon was about to step forward, Mujin moved first and blocked his path.
“Young Master. Leave this place to me.”
Namgung Cheon simply nodded.
Then, without another word, he leaped deeper into the fortress, heading straight for its most luxurious building.
“You bastard! Where do you think you’re going?!”
The deputy chief tried to chase after him, but Mujin’s sword blocked his way.
Clang!
With a clear ringing sound, Mujin’s blade collided with the twin axes.
“Your opponent is me.”
His cold voice echoed through the battlefield as the bloody fight began.
Leaving Mujin behind, Namgung Cheon advanced deeper into the fortress.
He showed the bandits not the slightest trace of mercy.
“Aaaagh!”
The neck of the first bandit to charge flew into the air.
Namgung Cheon’s movements were astonishingly calm and efficient.
Slash!
Every time Mukhon’s black blade traced through the air, exactly one life disappeared.
He simply slashed.
He simply thrust.
With the most efficient movements possible, he severed the enemy’s lives with absolute certainty.
“M-Monster!”
The bandits retreated in terror.
But it was already too late.
Slash.
Another head rolled across the ground.
After witnessing that, none of them dared approach.
Seeing them hesitate, Namgung Cheon lowered his sword and calmly continued walking.
He had only one target.
Their leader.
The fortress chief.
At last, he reached the grand hall at the deepest part of the fortress.
BANG!
The doors burst apart as a gigantic man stepped outside wielding a massive iron mace.
Namgung Cheon recalled the information he had received from the Hao Clan.
Ma Jung-san, leader of Black Tiger Fortress. Looks exactly like the description.
Ma Jung-san looked around at the sea of blood and corpses.
His eyes immediately turned bloodshot.
“Which son of a bitch dares wreak havoc in my territory?!”
Then his gaze landed on Namgung Cheon, standing alone amidst the mountain of corpses.
“So it was you!”
With all reason gone, Ma Jung-san roared and charged.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Every step shook the earth.
Whoosh!
His enormous mace swung down with enough force to crush a mountain.
Namgung Cheon did not dodge.
He simply raised Mukhon.
Fwoosh!
Dark blue flames erupted from the blade.
Sword Aura.
Ma Jung-san’s eyes widened in horror.
“S-Supreme Realm!”
But it was already too late.
Having thrown all his strength into the attack, he couldn’t stop the mace now.
It crashed directly into the dark blue Sword Aura.
Slice.
“…!”
His eyes bulged with disbelief.
The object still in his hand was no longer a mace.
It was merely half of one, neatly severed in two.
No matter how powerful Ma Jung-san was, he could never overcome the Sword Aura of a Supreme Realm master.
Panic spread across his face.
Thud!
He immediately threw his huge body onto the ground and bowed until his forehead touched the earth.
“I’ll give you anything! Please spare me, Great Hero! Money! Women! Whatever you desire!”
The ferocious aura he had shown moments ago had vanished completely.
Now he was nothing more than a man begging for his life.
Namgung Cheon looked down at him coldly.
“What value does your life have?”
“…Pardon?”
The information he had received from the Hao Clan flashed through his mind.
Information so disgusting it was difficult to even write down.
—During the past six months, twenty-three children have disappeared around Hefei. Most were homeless orphans or young slave children sold because of debt. Black Tiger Fortress is believed to be responsible. The kidnapped children are sold to the infamous human trafficking organization known as the Ghost Face Syndicate in Hunan.
Back when he had been the Heavenly Demon, he had witnessed countless forms of evil.
Betrayal.
Massacre.
Greed.
Madness.
That was the Demonic Path.
That was the Demonic Cult.
But even they had a line they would not cross.
Using powerless children as tools to satisfy one’s own greed.
Even the Demonic Cult despised such acts.
The final sentence of the report resurfaced before his eyes.
—Not a single child sold to the Ghost Face Syndicate has ever returned alive.
That one sentence was enough.
There was no reason to hear another word from this beast.
Namgung Cheon’s gaze turned icy.
Then he asked quietly,
“Can your life bring back the children you’ve already sold?”
“I-I…”
As Ma Jung-san desperately tried to answer—
A black flash filled his vision.
Slash.
Thud.
That was the last thing he ever saw.
His severed head rolled across the ground.
The bandits rushing toward them froze in place.
Namgung Cheon kicked the head toward them before speaking softly.
“Leave before I kill every last one of you.”
Just one cold sentence.
The moment the words fell, the bandits scattered in every direction as fast as they could.
At that moment, Mujin returned after finishing the fighting near the entrance.
Looking around at the now-empty fortress before glancing at Ma Jung-san’s head lying on the ground, he clicked his tongue.
“He was all bark and no bite.”
He then asked Namgung Cheon,
“Why not kill them all?”
“Weeds grow back no matter how many times you pull them.”
Namgung Cheon turned around.
“Will you keep pulling every weed forever?”
Mujin smirked and shook his head.
As Namgung Cheon flicked the blood from his sword, he continued,
“Groups like these collapse on their own once you cut off the head.”
“Just like the Blood Sword Corps?”
Namgung Cheon silently nodded.
Watching him, Mujin could only marvel inwardly.
How does a young master who’s only just reached adulthood know such things…?
He behaved like a seasoned veteran who had lived through countless battles.
But Mujin quickly shook away the thought.
This was no time for idle contemplation.
This was only the beginning.
“So where to next?”
With his sword hanging loosely at his side, Namgung Cheon answered,
“We’re going to the Deadly Kill Gang.”
Inside the Guild Master’s office of Golden Jade Tower, headquarters of the Gold Coin Guild, the usual clacking of abacus beads echoed through the room.
“Damn it all!”
Guild Master Baek Du-gwang slammed the ledger shut with a loud bang.
Sweat glistened across his shiny bald head.
“Naeng Cheol-san! Those beasts from Black Tiger Fortress are already five days overdue on their loan! Add the interest and collect every coin!”
The strategist, Naeng Cheol-san, frowned.
“Guild Master, they’re Black Tiger Fortress. If we provoke them…”
“Shut up! Money doesn’t care whether it’s Black Tiger Fortress or White Tiger Fortress! Those bastards borrowed money from us just to buy weapons! Go tell them my name and collect it! If they say they’ll split our bellies, then split theirs first!”
At those words, the vice guild master, Iron Ghost, who had been standing silently by the door, clenched his fist.
“Understood! I’ll go rip open their stomachs immediately!”
As Iron Ghost turned to leave without hesitation, Baek Du-gwang’s face instantly turned pale.
“H-Hey! Wait! Get back here!”
He hurriedly grabbed Iron Ghost’s arm.
When the man turned back in confusion, Baek Du-gwang awkwardly coughed before lowering his voice.
“You blockhead! Just threaten them! Only threaten them! Act like you’re going to gut them! Learn some flexibility!”
After calming Iron Ghost down, Baek Du-gwang collapsed into his chair and let out a long sigh.
Even those beasts from Black Tiger Fortress are starting to look down on us…
It had already been five years since he abandoned everything in Jiangxi and fled.
Leading a gang of street thugs, he had clawed his way up through blood and sweat just to build what he had now.
Life had only recently begun to improve.
Yet there was still a long road ahead.
Just then, the office door burst open.
“Guild Master! Some of the new recruits caused trouble at an inn and beat someone up!”
“What bastard did that?!”
Baek Du-gwang jumped to his feet.
His face flushed bright red with anger.
It wasn’t merely because his subordinates had caused trouble.
It had violated the deepest rule born from his survival instincts.
“Drag those idiots here and make them crawl in on their knees!”
A short while later, the new recruits knelt before him with their foreheads pressed to the floor.
Baek Du-gwang took a long drag from his Forget-Worry Grass pipe before speaking quietly.
“…Have you ever seen wolves hunt?”
The recruits looked utterly confused.
Standing beside him, Naeng Cheol-san calmly added,
“Guild Master, you’ve never seen it either.”
“…”
Baek Du-gwang glared at him before pretending nothing had happened.
“Never mind that. Anyway, even when a starving pack of wolves attacks a village, the old wolves never raid the chicken coop first. Know why? Because the chickens scream and wake the whole village. Then instead of hunting, the wolves lose their own lives.”
He lightly smacked one recruit on the head.
“Are you trying to attract every watchdog in town over a few chickens? Don’t be idiots. The Gold Coin Guild has only one rule.”
“Don’t bark unless you have to.”
The recruits nodded fearfully.
Baek Du-gwang clicked his tongue and dismissed them.
Looking out the window at the peaceful streets of Hefei, memories surfaced.
The organization he had belonged to back in Jiangxi had once possessed rules and order as well.
They had been a clever pack of wolves.
But one day, mysterious people infiltrated the leadership.
After that, they burned villages and slaughtered anyone they encountered.
Merciless killing.
Endless extortion.
And in the end…
Baek Du-gwang watched yesterday’s comrades slowly transform into mindless beasts.
He instinctively knew.
The heavens would never allow such madness to continue forever.
And eventually…
A lone swordsman had appeared from nowhere.
In a single night, every one of those rampaging beasts had been butchered.
Every last one of them died.
The memory was like heavenly punishment.
By sheer luck, he had survived only because he had been away on business that day.
He abandoned everything and fled to Anhui with a handful of followers.
He swore then.
He would never become the same kind of beast.
Yet bitter thoughts still lingered.
What’s the point? The world’s full of people like them.
He exhaled another stream of Forget-Worry Grass smoke.
Just then, a subordinate drenched in sweat rushed inside, his face deathly pale.
“G-Guild Master! Something terrible has happened! Black Tiger Fortress… has been wiped out!”
“What?”
Baek Du-gwang leaped to his feet.
“Black Tiger Fortress? By who?”
“We don’t know! We went to collect the debt, but the place was filled with corpses! The fortress chief and deputy chief were both dead! No one else was there!”
A chill ran down Baek Du-gwang’s spine.
The power to annihilate Black Tiger Fortress overnight.
Aside from the Namgung Clan, was there anyone in Hefei capable of such a feat?
Unease gripped him.
Before sunset, that unease became reality once again.
“The Deadly Kill Gang has also been exterminated!”
Every trace of color drained from Baek Du-gwang’s face.
Black Tiger Fortress.
Deadly Kill Gang.
Two enormous unorthodox factions had disappeared in a single day.
“Damn it… what kind of disaster is this?!”
As he clutched his head, one final report arrived.
“The Mad Blood Sect has also been wiped out!”
They had fallen one after another with unstoppable momentum.
The Blood Sword Corps had already collapsed.
Now the three major unorthodox powers that had sought to seize the opportunity had all been destroyed.
Then…
The teacup slipped from Baek Du-gwang’s hand and shattered.
Black Tiger Fortress.
Deadly Kill Gang.
Mad Blood Sect.
That means only one remains.
The Gold Coin Guild.
His own organization.
A heavy silence filled the guild master’s office.
Even the subordinate who had delivered the report held his breath, waiting.
After a long silence, Baek Du-gwang quietly muttered to Naeng Cheol-san beside him,
“…Cheol-san.”
“Yes, Guild Master.”
“…Should we… take down our signboard and close shop for a year?”
