Chapter 95: Ban Yeo, Becomes Urgent

With a cracking sound, a Black Sand Army man crashed away, breaking the table. He was the fifth man to be pierced in the chest by Ma Young-gi’s spear.

There were eleven men lying on the floor. Mujin had cut down six of them.

In such a short time, more than ten men had fallen, and their leader, Woo Myeong, was rather shocked inside.

He glared at Mujin and Ma Young-gi and asked,

“Just what are you people?”

Mujin asked back with a relaxed expression,

“Isn’t that what I should be asking you?”

Outwardly they looked at ease, but neither Mujin nor Ma Young-gi let their guard down.

That was something Lee Jaseung always emphasized.

Once a fight starts, never let your guard down!

The reason a master who should never die ends up dead is always because of carelessness.

Plus, these masked men were no ordinary fighters.

The reason they had been able to kill over ten of them in such a short time was because the enemy had been careless.

If they had come at them with full intent from the start, the number of fallen men would have been far fewer.

There were still about thirty men left. Thirty masters whose anger had boiled over with the poison of losing comrades, fully aware of their opponent’s skill. They were enemies who could use any hidden weapon or tactic.

— Be careful.

Once again, Mujin sent a voice transmission to Ma Young-gi. Though they held the same rank as Captains, at times like this Mujin felt like an older brother. Ma Young-gi did not feel even slightly offended by his manner.

If anything, he was grateful.

No one worried about him. He was the fearsome Iron Cavalry Captain of the Black Way Alliance.

But he was still human.

Sometimes he wished someone would show him genuine concern.

Woo Myeong, still glaring at Mujin and Ma Young-gi, gave an order to his men.

“Gather everyone.”

The Black Sand Army originally numbered about a hundred. Moving so many at once was burdensome, and he had judged that they didn’t need that many for this job.

He also thought even bringing forty had been overkill. It was a result of the strict order that this mission must not fail.

But his opponents were far more skilled than he had imagined. On top of that, they showed no sign of trying to flee. That unsettled him, as if they were determined to kill every last one of his men.

Following his order, one man took a signal firework from his robe. He went outside and shot it high into the sky.

Shooo, boom!

Seeing the fireworks burst loudly in the sky, Woo Myeong felt a sense of ease return.

But Mujin also watched it through the window and smiled.

Woo Myeong asked with a displeased look,

“Why are you smiling?”

“Because it’s pretty. Nice fireworks you’ve got there. We should also use something like that.”

“What?”

Woo Myeong looked bewildered, but the word “We” in Mujin’s sentence stuck in his mind. The way he said it made him sound like he belonged to some kind of organization.

Woo Myeong spoke with a mocking smile.

“Enjoy it while you can. It’ll be your last.”

“True. I can tell your side’s impressive, seeing how no one has come despite all this commotion in a tavern in broad daylight.”

“Do you now see what kind of people we are?”

Woo Myeong spoke with vigor, intentionally raising the morale of his subordinates, which had dropped from their comrades’ deaths.

“How many did you call?”

“Enough.”

“Seems you don’t care much about a warrior’s pride huh.”

When Mujin mocked him, Woo Myeong snorted.

“What matters is completing the mission.”

“That’s admirable.”

“What gives you such composure?”

Unable to stand it any longer, Woo Myeong snapped in anger.

Mujin smiled and replied.

“It’s not composure, it’s trying not to get excited. I realized long ago that getting angry like you are right now is pointless.”

“You bastard!”

Woo Myeong shouted.

At that moment, one of the men near Mujin couldn’t restrain himself and lunged.

Swoosh!

Thud!

But Mujin’s sword was faster. The overly loyal man spewed blood from his heart and collapsed.

Shhhk.

Shaking the blood off his blade, Mujin spoke.

“I used to get worked up a lot. My hands moved before my mouth, and I flared up over little things. People even said I had a sharp temper.”

Ma Young-gi, looking incredulous, and asked,

“Really?”

Mujin nodded.

“That’s hard to believe.”

“I find it hard to believe too that I’d change like this.”

“How did you change?”

“Well… it’s because of our Senior Brother. Watching him up close, I was naturally influenced. He showed me that getting worked up means losing. That stubborn man would smile in situations that would have made me blow my top.”

Ma Young-gi nodded. He also knew that Lee Jaseung’s anger felt ice cold. Still, Mujin’s confession about his past temperament was truly unexpected.

Mujin looked at Woo Myeong as he spoke.

“You’re curious, right? Why is this guy acting so smug after you set off that flare for help? Is that right?”

“And if I am?”

“I believe in something too.”

“What is it you believe in?”

“The same thing you believe in.”

Woo Myeong frowned in confusion.

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“That firework, it’s not like only you can see it. I’ve got reliable brothers too. If they saw an emergency firework go off where I was drinking, they wouldn’t just say ‘how pretty.’ Of course, it’s possible they didn’t see it. If so…”

Mujin grinned at Ma Young-gi and spoke.

“Then we run.”

“Then I’ll take the left window.”

Ma Young-gi’s joke made Mujin laugh heartily.

“Ahahahahaha. That was hilarious.”

Woo Myeong looked at them in disbelief.

“Crazy bastards.”

At that moment, the door banged open and someone appeared.

Unfortunately, it was not Mujin’s subordinate, but one of Ban Yeo’s men.

Woo Myeong laughed loudly.

“Hahahahaha. Too bad for you. My side got here first. Now you’re as good as dead.”

But the man who entered spoke urgently.

“It’s not that…”

The next moment.

Thwack!

A sword flew from behind and pierced his chest.

The man collapsed on the spot.

Woo Myeong and the Black Sand Army fighters were stunned.

Through the open door stepped a man. It was Cheongap, the First Chief of the Divine Sword Regiment. Despite the coldly glaring men around him, he showed no fear.

Pulling his sword from the man’s back, he asked.

“Are you all right?”

When Mujin nodded, he spoke quietly.

“Those coming to support this place have all been eliminated.”

Woo Myeong shouted after hearing his words.

“You crazy bastard! Stop talking nonsense!”

Cheongap frowned at his outburst. Mujin spoke with his gaze on Cheongap.

“Give him a break. He’s got some anger issues, and some problems.”

“It looks that way.”

“How many did you bring?”

“The first, fourth, and fifth units are here.”

“That’s a lot huh.”

“Given the circumstances, it had to be.”

Mujin turned to Ma Young-gi with pride.

“See? They came in force out of concern for me.”

“If it were my unit, the whole force would’ve come.”

“Sure.”

“You’ll get to see next time.”

“Wanna make it a bet of one hundred silver coins?”

“...”

“Heh.”

“At least more than three units would have come.”

“Heheheh.”

Watching their banter, Woo Myeong asked with a face full of fear.

“Who the hell are you people?”

The playfulness vanished from Mujin’s face.

“You keep asking questions. Who was your target for you to come here?”

Without his playful air, Mujin’s presence was not just cold but frightening.

“You and I are just expendables following orders. In that sense, if you drop your sword now, I’ll let you live.”

Woo Myeong hesitated for a brief moment. He really wanted to drop his sword. His instincts told him to.

But he couldn’t. His master was not someone who forgave betrayal.

Woo Myeong drew his sword with killing intent.

“Don’t make me laugh.”

Mujin nodded.

“I figured as much.”

Walking toward Woo Myeong, Mujin ordered Cheongap,

“Tell them to come in and kill them all.”

* * *

“Ah! I’m full.”

Baek Seolyoung wore a satisfied expression.

“When did you get this good?”

The pheasant and rabbit meat Lee Jaseung roasted over the campfire had been delicious, even better than a skilled chef’s cooking.

“It’s nothing special.”

During the seven years of war, proper meals were rare. At first, a group of cooks for the Black Way Leader accompanied them.

But the battlefield was no place for civilians. It wasn’t long before the group disbanded.

“I often had to roast food myself. I learned a secret seasoning back then too.”

“When?”

“I traveled around a lot.”

“It certainly seems that way.”

She felt envious. All these sides of him must have come from such experiences.

“Do you know how to cook anything?”

At his question, her face turned red.

“No.”

‘Come to think of it, I only ever ate what others made. ‘

As the heiress of the Northern Sky Clan, she’d never had the opportunity to cook.

But right now, she was feeling embarrassed.

It would have been nice to have at least one dish she could make well, something she could serve him and earn his praise for.

“I think it’d be nice to know how to make at least one thing. Let’s learn together sometime.”

Baek Seolyoung became surprised at his words.

“Really? You’d actually learn with me?”

“Why are you so surprised?”

“Well…”

It didn’t seem like something that suited him. And she wasn’t sure if he truly meant it.

As if reading her mind, he suddenly said,

“I mean it. Let’s learn together next time.”

Baek Seolyoung nodded.  

Just then, Lee Jaseung heard Mook Young’s voice transmission.

— The Divine Sword Captain and Iron Cavalry Captain have taken care of the Black Sand Army.

Hearing the report, Lee Jaseung gave a faint smile.

He had trusted from the start that together, they could handle any enemy.

“Why are you smiling?”

He answered with a smile,

“No reason, I’m just in a good mood.”

* * *

“Even the ones sent to bring in his disciples have lost contact.”

Heukso reported with a grave expression, his earlier composure was gone.

Ban Yeo, however, was not so surprised.

“Who did you send?”

“The Black Sand Army.”

Ban Yeo said with certainty,

“They were all taken out.”

“By Seop Mu-pyeong and his disciples?”

“No. Someone else intervened.”

“Who could it be?”

Ban Yeo was certain now. If it had only been the matter of his three units, he could have thought it was some unexpected variable.

But for even the Black Sand Army sent after Seop Mu-pyeong’s disciples to vanish? There was only one person who could produce such a result.

“The Murim Alliance Leader.”

“But we’ve been monitoring all the organizations under the Alliance Leader’s command. None of them have moved.”

“It’s not the Leader.”

“Huh?”

He had just said it was the Alliance Leader, and now he was saying it wasn’t. He wondered if he was just too angry to think straight, but Ban Yeo was calmer than ever.

Ban Yeo’s eyes deepened.

“It’s them.”

“Who do you mean?”

Then came an answer he never could have imagined.

“The ones behind the Leader of the Murim Alliance.”

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