SLASH—!! WHACK!

That sickening sound kept coming.

The wet, relentless noise of flesh being torn, the endless screams—

and the blood stench blasting so hard it clogged my nose.

Even in a situation where standing still made you want to retch, I kept running. This wasn’t a moment where stopping was allowed.

I moved fast, eyes spinning. I checked the faces around us—

SHING—!

I put strength into the sword in my hand. Then—

“Left side. Ponytail.”

I pointed out a man.

The hulking brute beside me reacted instantly.

“Confirmed.”

BOOM—!!

Like a beast pouncing, Black-Grand Saber lunged.

A dark, ink-colored sword force poured off his saber like spilled ink.

WHACK—WHACK—WHACK—!!

“Ghk!?”

The man jolted and raised his guard against the sudden intrusion.

No hesitation. Black-Grand Saber just swung.

“W-what are you doing!?”

The man shouted, panicked.

He was wearing Martial Alliance clothes—he looked like the same side.

But—

‘Malevolent aura.’

It was too clear behind his back.

That was why I’d called him out to Black-Grand Saber.

GRIP—!

Black-Grand Saber didn’t answer. He just tried to crush the man down with sheer force.

The man started shaking. I could see his strength bleeding out of him.

I put strength into my legs.

Finish it.

That was the thought—

SWISH—!!

Wind cut in first. Something flashed past my side.

And then—

WHACK—!!

“Guh-heok—!”

The bastard Black-Grand Saber had been pressing down let out a choked cry and collapsed.

Cut down.

Not by me.

Do Hyeong and Cheon Eujin had rushed in and carved him apart.

“Ch.”

Black-Grand Saber clicked his tongue.

“My body’s fucked up. I can’t put strength in like I want.”

He frowned like it offended him that he hadn’t gotten the kill himself.

As if it mattered who did what.

And—

‘Fast.’

Watching Black-Grand Saber was one thing.

But the two of them sprinting in like that was something else.

Black-Grand Saber claimed he’d “confirmed” it with Heaven-Martial Body instinct.

Those two didn’t have that.

‘And they still didn’t hesitate.’

How do you swing first like that when you don’t even know what the other guy is?

It was honestly weird.

Cheon Eujin especially.

‘Something...’

He felt different.

But I couldn’t put my finger on what.

Then—

“That one’s different now.”

Black-Grand Saber, unbelievably, said the same thing.

“Did something happen?”

“......Who knows.”

What happened to Cheon Eujin?

It wasn’t exactly “nothing.”

‘Moon Eyes awakening.’

Awakening Moon Eyes in the fight against Baek Cheonin—that was the biggest change.

But—

‘Can that change you this much?’

It felt too sudden.

And his wounds weren’t even fully healed.

As I was thinking that, Yoo Cheongil spoke to me like he was explaining.

[If Moon Eyes awakened, that change is exactly what you should expect.]

Exactly?

Just because his eyes turned blue?

Can that really do this?

[It’s not just your irises changing. What matters is why it changed.]

I listened.

[The principle behind Moon Eyes awakening is how deeply the Blue Moon Heart Art has soaked into the body. It can’t stop at the dantian—it has to seep into meridians and skin. Only when it reaches that point and affects even the eyeballs does Moon Eyes awaken.]

Mixing with the internal art.

Meaning: when the body starts syncing with the heart art, Moon Eyes awaken.

Which, in other words—

‘It feels like reaching pinnacle.’

A pinnacle martial artist.

The point where inner power naturally begins to soak into the body, and you rise into what people call the realm of the superhuman.

Moon Eyes awakening felt similar to that.

And—

[Correct.]

Yoo Cheongil nodded like that was the answer he’d wanted.

[Moon Eyes awakening happens alongside pinnacle.]

‘......!’

My eyes widened a little.

Which meant—

‘Cheon Eujin reached pinnacle.’

Cheon Eujin, who’d been first-rate, hit pinnacle and awakened Moon Eyes.

[Not everyone who reaches pinnacle can awaken Moon Eyes, but to awaken Moon Eyes, you must reach pinnacle. Of course.]

Yoo Cheongil smiled faintly as he added,

[Unless you’re a strange case like you.]

‘.......’

I’d awakened Moon Eyes with a third-rate body.

Not even close to pinnacle.

Yeah, like he said—strange. Special.

With Yoo Cheongil’s “help”... no. Not help.

‘Forced.’

Not half. Fully forced.

He shoved it into my body like he was planting a bomb.

‘Anyway. So Cheon Eujin changed because of that.’

At “pinnacle,” I looked at Cheon Eujin.

“......Hah...... hah.”

His face was flushed, keyed up.

Looks like he’d realized something had changed in him too.

‘......Mm.’

Should I call that good?

Not something I should be thinking about right now... but yeah. It was good.

‘Fine. Cheon Eujin makes sense.’

I turned my gaze back.

Cheon Eujin and Do Hyeong, sure.

But—

‘What about her?’

I looked at Sword Phoenix behind us.

She’d been following with Murong Yeongsun, but she hadn’t really done anything.

That wasn’t “bad.”

‘The weird ones are them, if anything.’

Black-Grand Saber—Heaven-Martial Body. Fine.

But Do Hyeong and Cheon Eujin, rushing in to kill because I said so?

That was weird.

Swinging at someone you don’t even know is weird.

So Sword Phoenix just quietly following us was closer to normal—

But—

‘Something feels off.’

It didn’t feel like it was just that.

That nagging sense—like something kept tapping at me—I shoved it down.

‘We’re almost there.’

Thousand-Mile True Sight’s place was right in front of us.

*****

Tap.

A young man walked down a forest path.

He wore black martial robes, his entire body glistening with blood.

Even the sword in his hand was soaked red, and the air reeked of iron.

“Hmm.”

The young man exhaled low.

Baek Cheonin.

He scanned around him.

Slaughtered corpses filled the space.

“They keep coming. I’m sick of it. Worms.”

White martial robes—clothes that marked them as Martial Alliance martial artists.

Baek Cheonin looked down at them with naked contempt.

“Disgusting.”

CLACK.

He spat the curse and slid his sword back into his waist.

Then someone appeared from another direction and dropped to one knee in front of him.

“Deputy Leader.”

“Report.”

Baek Cheonin didn’t even look at him as he spoke.

The man bowed deeper.

“They report that HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE successfully began the assault on Main Alliance Headquarters.”

Baek Cheonin let out a small, amused breath.

“So they broke through the formation? They’re earning their keep for borrowing something precious. And?”

“The plan is proceeding in Henan’s county seat as well... and the Heaven-Breaking Palace Lord is engaged in combat with Divine Spear.”

He’d reported it confidently, but at the mention that he was truly fighting Divine Spear, Baek Cheonin clicked his tongue.

So he wasn’t just someone with a pretty mouth.

“It seems you’ve reached the point you mentioned, so I report.”

“Good. Then it’s time to move.”

Baek Cheonin turned his body.

The timing had come.

“We need to let those narrow-minded orthodox bastards know the DEMON CULT has returned.”

SSSS.

Baek Cheonin’s eyes began to change.

From pitch-black to vivid red.

“Gather all forces.”

“Your command.”

The man vanished as soon as he answered.

Watching him go, Baek Cheonin raked a hand back through his hair.

“The Lord better have understood what I said.”

The Lord who’d declared he would kill Divine Spear and the Little Sword Saint.

Baek Cheonin had told him one thing.

Divine Spear—handle him however you want.

But the Little Sword Saint was Baek Cheonin’s kill.

Don’t touch him.

“Shall we?”

Baek Cheonin moved, that thought still in his head.

And then—

KUUUUUUU—!!

Black energy seeped out of his body and soaked into the ground.

Thick. Vicious. Suffocating.

*****

KUUUNG—!!

“Guhk!!”

“AAAGH!!”

We kept moving while fighting.

The number of enemies kept increasing.

And the number of dead kept climbing with it.

I didn’t even know how many I’d cut down already.

‘There’s no end to them.’

Why are there so many?

And how were they hiding this well?

Could Martial Alliance really have this many spies inside?

Questions just stacked higher.

And it wasn’t just Martial Alliance numbers—HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE forces themselves were appearing in even greater numbers behind them.

‘How did they break through like this?’

Even if there were a lot of spies, Martial Alliance wasn’t weak.

Breaking in this easily made no sense.

‘Even if they were complacent, this is too much.’

At this point, the odds were high they’d used some other method.

Whatever it was.

“How much farther?”

Black-Grand Saber asked from beside me.

He looked tired. Understandably.

‘Everyone’s condition is trashed.’

We’d only just finished our matches.

The fact we’d lasted this long in this state was already insane.

“Right there.”

The good news was we were basically at the destination.

I could see it.

Thousand-Mile True Sight’s residence.

As we closed in—

SHING—!!

A martial artist in front of us drew his sword, face twisted.

“Stop!”

“If you come any closer, I’ll kill you.”

KIEEEEEK—!!

At the warning, I stopped.

The men’s condition was brutal. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Their uniforms were shredded in places, stained dark with blood.

Meaning they’d already been through countless fights.

I stopped and addressed him immediately.

“I’m Bang Sungyeon of Blue Moon Sect. I’ve come to see the strategist.”

“Blue Moon Sect......?”

The Martial Alliance man examined me—checking the clothes I wore.

“The Little Sword Saint.”

“......In this situation, you can’t see the strategist.”

He’d confirmed my identity, but he still didn’t let me through.

Of course. With an attack underway, that was the correct response.

But—

“Go inside and tell the strategist. Bang Sungyeon is here—tell him his grandson came to see him.”

“......What?”

“Huh?”

“What did you just say?”

At the word “grandson,” not only the guard but even the others nearby widened their eyes.

“Grandson? What are you talking about?”

Murong Yeongsun reacted hardest—she came up and grabbed my arm, like it hit her that hard.

But this wasn’t a time to cater to her shock.

“Just deliver it. I can help.”

“.......”

The Martial Alliance man closed his eyes for a moment, then whispered with the others.

“......Wait.”

One man went inside.

The moment he did, Black-Grand Saber, Do Hyeong, and Cheon Eujin turned their bodies.

They fell into a perimeter stance.

A moment later—

“H-he says... come in.”

As expected, permission came down.

*****

Inside, martial artists were scanning everywhere with extreme vigilance.

I watched them one by one as I went deeper—

and then I saw the man I’d come for.

“You came.”

“......Yes.”

Thousand-Mile True Sight.

The Martial Alliance strategist—the God of War—looked at me with a blank face.

And beside him—

the Sword King, the one I’d been trying to find.

“Clan Head.......”

“.......”

The Sword King stared at me and his daughter with startled eyes.

While I was looking at him, Thousand-Mile True Sight spoke.

“In this chaos, you came to see me.”

“Yes. Grandfather is in danger, so as a grandson, how could I just stand and watch—”

“Spare me the nonsense. Get to the point. What help can you provide?”

“.......”

Impatient old man.

My gaze flicked around.

There were three men here in commander robes.

Commander rank meant at least the level of an absolute master.

And the man who’d been watching me earlier was here too.

I looked over them, then back to Thousand-Mile True ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) Sight.

“I can help. But before that.”

My gaze moved from Thousand-Mile True Sight to the Sword King.

“Sword King.”

“.......”

The Sword King looked at me.

“I’m going to use one wish.”

“......!”

The Sword King flinched.

I watched the reaction and continued.

“Kill the man standing right beside you.”

And then—

SLASH—!!!

“Huh?”

Without hesitation, the Sword King cut off the neck of one of the commanders beside him.

It happened in an instant.