Reincarnated Sword Ghost

Chapter 55 : Joining

Joining

Jeong-un asked.

"Did you split into teams?"

"That's right. Twenty people have been assigned to this mission."

Baek Sang replied. His eyes were sweeping over the surrounding scene.

The rising stars, their faces having gone pale from the sudden situation, were glancing back and forth between the warriors of the Myriad Gold Merchant Guild standing off against them and Jeong-un's group.

It seemed they still hadn't properly grasped what was happening.

At most, one or two among them seemed to have realized something, rolling their eyes while still seated.

They looked as if they were contemplating making a quick escape.

They'd realized that, if they weren't careful, they'd appear to be siding with the Evil Faction.

It was understandable.

It was said that as many as twenty warriors from the Heavenly Martial Hall of the Murim Alliance had arrived.

If any kind of connection was revealed, not only themselves but even the safety of their Gate of Death would be threatened.

"How many two-striped warriors have come?"

"Four, including myself. The rest are all one-stripes. Even that's more than enough."

It did seem like quite a number. Baek Sang added.

The number of enemies before their eyes continued to increase.

After seeing the head rolling across the duel platform, everyone was fuming; still, either from some sort of discipline or sheer wariness, none of them rushed in recklessly.

"You really are something."

"What do you mean?"

"A guy who went missing suddenly sends in a request for backup, saying he's found a major Evil Faction group. That's not a normal way of thinking."

Jeong-un had already picked up his black sword and strapped it at his waist.

He responded,

"I had no choice. I figured I'd let a few of them slip away if I acted alone. To annihilate them all at once, I needed help."

"No, I'm not saying you should have handled it by yourself...."

Baek Sang shook his head and trailed off.

"Either way, I'm impressed."

"Isn't this what we're supposed to do?"

"True, that's our job. If it were someone else, they'd probably have just tried to retreat straight away."

Meanwhile, the number of enemies had doubled. There now seemed to be over thirty of them.

A few more warriors from the Heavenly Martial Hall arrived and stood beside them.

Among them was someone Jeong-un recognized: Yeo Ho-jun, whom he had once dueled.

He looked obviously tense but greeted with his eyes only.

"Anything else we should know?"

"There's a warehouse in the northwest. There are many civilian corpses there—there must still be some alive too. They were probably locked up in a different warehouse."

"What about those over there?"

Baek Sang gestured at the rising stars. Jeong-un's gaze also turned in that direction.

"......"

They flinched, startled at the attention.

They had already lost their grasp of what to do.

They were the ones who'd interacted with the Myriad Gold Merchant Guild for a year.

Even if they figured out the general flow, drawing their swords and turning them on the merchant guild's warriors right away would not be easy.

But they also couldn't side with the merchant guild against the Heavenly Martial Hall either.

Regardless of right or wrong, they lacked the confidence in their own might.

In the first place, the Heavenly Martial Hall itself was much like the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering of the Central Plains.

Wasn't it a gathering of the very best prodigies from every region?

"We can investigate them separately after this is over. The Murim Alliance will hand down their punishments as appropriate."

"Fair enough."

Then, his gaze met Jin Seoyeon's.

She had been staring at Jeong-un, her face chalk-white since a moment ago.

Jeong-un bowed his head slightly, eyes signaling apology.

Whatever his intention, deceiving her while staying as a guest was a fact.

"......"

She gave a subtle nod in return.

She probably understood what was happening in an instant.

She seemed especially sharp and perceptive.

At that moment, one member of the Evil Faction stepped forward and spoke.

"Not only did you chop off our Young Master's head, but you also barge in making a commotion—just what are you doing here?!"

Even at a glance, his aura was different from the rest.

Sensing it, Baek Sang murmured beside him,

"He seems to have some status."

Then, without answering the man, he asked Jeong-un,

"Any need for conversation?"

"Yes?"

"You said you saw everything for yourself. Then we may as well just behead them all, right?"

Jeong-un gazed back at him silently.

It wasn't that he disagreed with what he said.

'Is he really a taoist?'

That, too, from Mount Hua, said to be one of the very top among the Nine Great Sects?

The elder Cheong Jin he remembered truly carried himself like a Taoist, on top of his mysterious aura.

But Baek Sang was so easygoing that it was hard to believe he was one of Mount Hua's top prodigies.

Thinking that, Jeong-un nodded in agreement.

He too felt there was no need for conversation.

At that, Baek Sang's lips curled slightly, and his form blurred.

It was an extraordinary lightness skill.

No wonder he'd reached Jeong-un's side so quickly earlier.

With a slam of his foot, he seemed to vanish, and the next instant, he was right in front of the man who'd stepped forward.

A line of lightning flashed sharply.

Pusuk!

The head of the man who'd stepped out came off and flew through the air in the blink of an eye.

Before anyone realized Baek Sang had even drawn his sword, he was standing there, sword still in the follow-through of the cut.

"......!"

As if prearranged, everyone's eyes turned to that head.

And that was the signal.

"Waaaah!"

"Kill them!"

The two groups clashed instantly.

Everywhere, surges of bursting energy erupted with all manner of sound.

'The numbers are sufficient.'

There were said to be twenty assigned here.

With five here, the remaining fifteen warriors from other teams of the Heavenly Martial Hall were probably locked in similar battles elsewhere.

As Baek Sang had said, it was plenty.

He had already gauged the skill level of the Evil Faction members here.

They were numerous, but as individuals, their strength was not high.

If any had made an impression, he'd have remembered them already.

In contrast, the Heavenly Martial Hall warriors were each as sharp and tempered as a fine blade.

They'd surely hold the advantage in other fights too.

'I need to hurry.'

With that thought, Jeong-un's sword style became even swifter.

He didn't let a single small fry escape.

Now, only the leader was left.

The man who came out of the warehouse that night, radiating ominous energy.

That one had to be killed at all costs.

Baek Sang, sensing Jeong-un's urgency, casually asked as he approached,

"Looks like you've got something to do."

"The leader here is disguised as the merchant guildmaster. I need to capture him."

"Do you know his location?"

"I've already scouted it."

"Good, then go and catch him. I'll finish up here and follow right after."

He then cut down another foe without hesitation.

By now, nearly half the enemies were dead on the ground.

Despite being outnumbered, the Heavenly Martial Hall warriors' martial prowess was overwhelming.

The enemies barely managed a few exchanges at best.

Off to the side, the rising stars of Jinyang Prefecture just stared blankly.

A handful had already slipped away in the chaos.

It didn't matter. They would all be apprehended and investigated.

Even if they tried to run, these were men who'd lived here all their lives—the only place they could flee to was their own home.

"Well, I'll go ahead."

Jeong-un uttered briefly, then surged forward with a burst of lightness skill.

Unlike last time, there was no need to hide his presence. Determined, he leapt over several buildings in an instant.

Clang! Boom!

Just as he expected, fierce fighting was taking place everywhere.

One tall pavilion was even in flames from whatever had happened earlier.

Taking it all in below him, Jeong-un quickly focused on introspecting his body.

'I haven't used up much true ki.'

After fighting the one they called Young Hero Baek, and cutting down several others, his state was nearly unchanged from before he'd arrived.

His lower dantian was full of natural energy; he hadn't even replenished half the internal energy he should have.

Furthermore, whenever he circulated true ki, that natural energy stuck to it stubbornly, making it flow less smoothly than before.

He'd grown more used to it over the past month or so.

Still, there was no denying his body was not as it once was.

He couldn't ignore it anymore.

He might not be at his peak in every battle, but he had to at least always remain ready for a fight.

"Nobody realized things had gotten this bad? Bunch of incompetent fools!"

Even amid the chaos, a thundering voice not far away drew his attention.

The owner was scolding his underlings.

The voice belonged to someone clearly older.

'There it is.'

Without further deliberation, he sped in that direction.

No matter how large the merchant guild estate, to a martial artist using lightness skill, it was but a few steps.

Soon, he arrived at the source of the shouting.

'Nine of them.'

There was the one disguised as merchant guildmaster, and eight Evil Faction men arrayed around him.

Tap.

He landed lightly before the leader.

There was no need to hide. The battle was already in full swing.

Trying some awkward sneak attack and missing would have been worse.

"Who are you?!"

His aura was fierce from the start.

Bloodshot eyes full of heat glared at Jeong-un, murderous intent stabbing at his skin.

"T-that's him!"

"What?"

One of the men beside him, recognizing Jeong-un, stuttered out in alarm.

"That, that's the swordsman who stayed as a guest at the Huayeon Gate! He's the one who ripped out Young Hero Baek's head barehanded...!"

That underling didn't even finish his words.

His head burst apart—the leader had struck him out of sheer fury.

"Are all you people like this? Not knowing the value of your comrades. Were you trying to run away just now?"

He looked utterly enraged. That suited Jeong-un just fine.

He knew just how effective provocation could be.

"Still, you should avenge your son, don't you think? You won't get another chance after tonight."

This, too, worked.

The leader's eyes went wide, and he pointed at Jeong-un, shouting,

"What are you doing?! Before you go, I want to see his head torn off!"

He inwardly sighed with relief. Judging from those words, he really had been trying to escape.

If he hadn't hurried, he might have missed him.

"Kill him!"

"Waaaah!"

Soon, the goons charged as a group.

The merchant guildmaster watched from behind, eyes blazing.

Swoosh!

At the moment of the draw, Jeong-un easily felled one enemy.

Such riffraff no longer required profound sword moves.

He just glided among them with Moonlight Swift Steps and swung his sword.

One slash for each.

"That brat...!"

The leader's eyes grew wide.

Jeong-un was displaying much more power than expected.

Internally, Jeong-un winced.

He worried the enemy might lose his nerve and run.

"At that age, with such martial skills... You cannot be left alive. You would interfere with the great task."

But fortunately, the opposite seemed true.

The leader adopted the recommended method's basic stance.

It resembled the one Young Hero Baek had used—it seemed this martial art was passed down among them.

Just then, Jeong-un finished off the last henchman.

"You may have a sharp presence for a youngster, but you will never so much as scratch my body with just that."

At those words, Jeong-un's eyes raked over the leader's physique.

He wasn't bluffing—he could make out faint waves like a heat haze covering the leader's body.

"Are you talking about body-protecting ki?"

"Hmph, you have a good eye. I have shrouded myself in multiple layers of strong energy. Your swift sword will never cut through it."

"My sword was that fast?"

Jeong-un asked back, face puzzled.