Swiish-!! Clang--!!

Light keeps flashing through the wide room.

Fierce fighting spirit pours everywhere and the tearing sounds inside it stab at my ears.

Killing intent stings the tip of my nose.

The violence buried at its end presses down on my shoulders.

Kraggg—!!!

I dodged the sword coming in. I step back two paces. My stance collapses a little from the hurried evasion.

Clack.

My ears prick at the sound. Left side. Duck? No.

‘Half-step to the right. Then turn.’

I calculate the sword’s approach by sound.

Speed is prediction. I pick the highest-probability line among my expected possibilities.

Once the calculation ends, I execute with my body.

Shwick—!

A blade passes my hair. Cut strands scatter in the air.

I avoid the strike, but my body doesn’t stop.

The recoil is already on my frame. I use it and dip my waist slightly.

My heel naturally angles back.

Rather than “hold center,” I keep the sensation of pushing the ground with my foot.

Staying low, I loosen the twist in my waist just a touch.

Clench.

I feed that loosened force into the sword in my hand—

‘Moon Wave.’

ShaaAAAA—!!!

Blue energy sweeps the air. Two martial artists rushing me are cut and crash to the floor.

“Gahk!”

“Ghk...!”

I see them bleeding out, sinking down.

I sprint, spike one man’s larynx with my sword, and snap-kick the other in the face to turn it outright.

I finish the confirmations, rip the planted sword free, and hurl it back the other way with all my strength.

Whirr! Thunk!

“Ka—!?”

A sword sticks in someone’s back.

It was a martial artist sneaking up behind Do Hyeong.

At the scream, Do Hyeong moves—carves the chest of the foe in front and then turns for the one behind.

I dash in and yank my blade out of the back. At the same time, the man’s neck is cut by Do Hyeong.

Blood spills across the floor.

The reek of iron keeps scratching my nose.

I grimace and glance toward Do Hyeong.

‘Still just circling.’

Do Hyeong’s guardian spirit is still calm.

What? Why?

‘Why is it just idle?’

A massacre is raging and that guardian spirit of his has been radio silent the whole time.

‘Is that really a guardian spirit?’

By qi alone, it’s a guardian spirit.

One classified as mountain-spirit rank at that.

‘......It’s nothing like the guardian spirit I saw.’

Its behavior is off.

It barely reacts—just circles around Do Hyeong.

Is that really a guardian spirit? In a situation like this, a proper guardian spirit should surge or give some kind of response.

But that thing doesn’t.

Why?

I keep watching because I don’t get it.

At that moment—

Shlick—!

A sound from behind. I try to whirl my back around—

‘Too late.’

It feels late. Should I just roll? That thought flickers for a split instant.

Thud!

“Kh!”

The man trying to ambush me staggers. Who—?

Tang Yeran. Tang Yeran shoulder-checks him and breaks the ambush.

Close. She can finish that martial artist as is.

But—

“......Hm?”

Tang Yeran only stares wide-eyed at the fallen man.

The dagger she somehow drew is fine in her hand, but she just stands there shaking.

What?

At her unreadable reaction, the fallen martial artist scrambles up with his sword.

Even then, Tang Yeran just stands there like she doesn’t know what to do.

I frown and cut.

Slash—! I take his neck. Blood spatters Tang Yeran’s cheek.

“......Eek!”

She flinches and shudders. I speak.

“......Are you all right?” 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

“Ah, ah... I-I’m... I’m fine.”

“Thank you for that just now.”

“N... no. Young master... what is this...”

Still not understanding, Tang Yeran asks me.

Clang—! Clang—!

The air is still full of noise. This is no time to explain in detail.

“......It’s an assault. Those men are enemies of the Tang clan. If we don’t kill them, we die.”

I keep it as simple as possible and move at once.

I sweep my eyes around.

The floor is already littered with bodies.

How many people did we kill in an instant?

No idea. I stopped counting after three.

My heart keeps lurching. If I don’t focus, my breathing tangles.

Aware of that, I force my body to move.

Most of the Tang martial artists who came in with us are already dead.

Among them were several of the infiltrators.

Even so, in numbers that’s about half.

We killed half, which means half are left.

‘Tch.’

I go to move with that in mind, but a pain pricks my shoulder.

‘Kh...’

A glance shows blood soaking my martial coat.

Looks like I got cut during the fight.

‘How bad?’

My hand barely moves. Lucky it’s the left.

Even so, the pain drags at my steps.

I bite down hard and look over.

This time toward Cheon Eujin.

He’s fighting with a grim face.

Two on him?

I drive power into my legs and sprint.

Just then, as if lying, Cheon Eujin’s sword is slapped away and an opening appears. A martial artist lunges to thrust—

Fwaaaa—!!

“......Urk!”

I jump in and flare light from my body. Moonlight.

Vision flares and the man wavers. I don’t stop.

“Left—!”

At my shout, Cheon Eujin seems to catch it—he snatches up his sword and cuts the man on the left.

I deal with the other on the right. After, I pinch my shoulder lightly.

Moving too hard made it hurt more.

“......Young Master Bang...!”

Cheon Eujin comes toward me, worried.

I look at his handsome face with slightly tired eyes.

‘Ah, this isn’t easy.’

Thanks to hitting first-rate, my body is much lighter than before.

But this is my first time in something like this, a real field.

I knew someday I’d see a real battlefield—

‘Didn’t think it’d be this hard.’

I didn’t think I’d face something this rough and urgent.

Bodies pile on the floor.

Blood flows in proportion to the pile.

And the more the blood piles, the fouler the feeling crawls up.

That’s enough to fill the body and shake the mind.

I grip the sword again with my right hand.

Their numbers keep thinning.

Luckily, Do Hyeong is strong, and Cheon Eujin is no slouch.

Tang Yeran worries me, but aside from that, the situation isn’t all bad.

‘At least the count’s going down.’

Up to there, fine.

But—

Even in this, there’s a reason my unease keeps growing.

‘......In the end, that man still doesn’t move.’

Even as his own subordinates fall and the room washes red, Pal Duyeok just leans on the wall, standing still.

An attitude like none of this matters.

How can he be that calm.

‘Hoo...’

I sigh inwardly and roll my eyes.

From start to finish, he’s been watching me.

No matter how the numbers drop, my unease doesn’t fade—because of him.

Everyone else likely feels the same.

‘As long as he’s there—’

This unease won’t vanish.

The presence Pal Duyeok showed makes the number of swords in front irrelevant.

‘......I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to kill me.’

That seems to be his own choice, yet his subordinates keep swinging sharpened blades at me.

Which also means something’s different.

He’s staring at me, turning something over and over.

In that gap, I keep fighting like I’m flailing to stay afloat.

I grit my teeth and strain—

And with my eyes, I look at Yoo Cheongil.

Yoo Cheongil, with the Poison Sovereign, watches us just like Pal Duyeok does.

‘How long are you going to just watch?’

Until things got like this.

Why does that old man only watch?

The smile at his eye corner is as hateful as always.

The downward gaze that says “go on and try” is shit, too.

Those blue eyes, surveying like he knows everything, weigh on me.

At the same time—

‘......Shitty old man.’

And I’m disgusting, too, for believing that as long as he’s there, things will somehow work out.

“......Bang Sungyeon.”

Do Hyeong’s voice. I look to the side—he’s at my shoulder, face slightly tired.

“You all right?”

“......No, I think I’m going to die.”

“Good. Glad you’re fine.”

“......Why did you ask?”

Unbelievable. I actually laugh because it’s so absurd.

“......Are you all right?”

Cheon Eujin staggers in, seeing me laugh without knowing it.

Doesn’t look injured; just tired.

“This isn’t the time for you to worry about someone else.”

“......I’m fine.”

“Sure, I’ll believe that.”

With that face, who would?

What are these people... They’re all weird.

There are still some left. Do Hyeong looks a bit spent but okay.

Cheon Eujin seems closer to his limit by comparison.

What about me?

‘What do I even say. Feels like dying.’

My hurt shoulder throbs.

Mental fatigue and physical fatigue are already stacked high.

Ah—so real combat is this hard.

‘The Martial Alliance days were heaven.’

I realize I liked the time when I just bagged small-time thugs.

At this rate, should I have stuck to the Martial Alliance instead of the Blue Moon Sect or whatever?

That thought flashes—but—

‘Hoo.’

I grip my sword instead of answering it.

There’s nothing more useless than regretting what’s past.

And anyway—

‘Would the choices change if I went back?’

Probably not.

So, as I wipe sweat and raise my guard again—

“That’ll do.”

A deep voice—

‘Huh?’

My vision shifts.

I’m receding from the space I was just watching.

My recognition lags.

This—

Am I flying?

KRAAANG—!!!

“Ghk....”

I’m smashed into the wall.

Blood runs out of my mouth.

“Bang Sung—! Kh!”

I hear Do Hyeong’s urgent voice.

Beyond the blur of impact I see something.

I grab my head and push myself up. In front, Pal Duyeok stands with a spear.

And in front of him, Do Hyeong is on his knees, collapsed.

“......As I ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) thought, this kind of thing doesn’t suit my temperament. Why am I bothering with such a nuisance.”

Do Hyeong tries to force himself up, but Pal Duyeok doesn’t even look his way—he just swings the spear.

Do Hyeong snatches up his sword and blocks, but his body lifts and flies far back.

It happens in an instant.

...Where’s Cheon Eujin? I sweep my sight. He’s already on the floor.

Blood is flowing; looks like he’s hurt.

‘Ah.’

Not good.

My head throbs. Something warm is running; I must be bleeding too.

‘Ah, fuck.’

Stupid.

I’d convinced myself it’d be fine once. But thinking about it, people can change like anything else.

‘He’s hotter-blooded than I expected.’

The world doesn’t move by calculation.

I know that well.

Even so, I was trying to do what I could inside it.

“......Damn this shitty Central Plains.”

This land never matches me, as always.

No matter how I run my brain, it’s meaningless before overwhelming force.

What a truly fucked world.

So—

“......How about you stop screwing around and help me? I’ll just bite through my tongue.”

I say it like I’ve given up. No answer comes to the words I throw into the air.

So I go to clamp down and bite—

[Hey now. Stop. You, impatient brat.]

Blue eyes rush toward me in a hurry.

Hoo... Hoo...

My breath gets a little rough. It hurts, but it doesn’t.

Ah, this is really bad, isn’t it?

As I steady my breath with difficulty, sensing the sign—

[Would’ve been perfect to watch a bit more, but I suppose this much will have to do.]

The old devil speaks to me.

[Not bad at all. Ah, but don’t let your mind slip.]

A big hand seems to settle on the crown of my head.

In that instant—

[I’ve got a lot to show you now.]

The strength drains clean out of my body.