Single-Instant Blade

Chapter 73 : One Step Up (3)

The sword moves.

The wind sweeps across the ground. It advances, lying flat on the ground. Then, it suddenly stands up. The sword splits into four and strikes four places at the same time.

Three are feints, and only one is a real move.

The one who receives the feint will strike the empty air, and the one who meets the real move will either shed blood or face a strong sword.

‘Dark Wind Four Moons!’

Dark Wind Four Moons was a sword form recorded in the second volume of the Blood Sword Sutra.

When she had practiced with Ah Geol, it was one of the sword forms she had executed with the most confidence.

Shwoooosh!

She swung her sword.

Since it was a sword form executed in the water, it was slower than she had imagined. The secret of the Dark Wind Four Moons was its speed, but she could not bring out its secret. But the Mud Pill One Sword was telling her to use it!

Shwoooosh!

The sword advanced, cutting through the water.

It was questionable whether she could strike the water bandits wearing water leather with such a sword, but since the Mud Pill Palace had told her to, she executed it. Confidently, based on her experience of practicing with Ah Geol.

Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!

They blocked her sword.

Strange? It was a very slow sword, so why did they react? Even with such a slow sword, could they not distinguish between a real move and a feint?

Mongseol found their reaction strange.

Anyone could see that it was a real move and a feint, but they were clashing their weapons as if they were blind.

The weapon they were using was a sickle with an iron chain.

It could be used from a distance without moving much, and when you were close, the short sickle was more useful than a sword or a blade.

Shoot! Shwoot! Shoot!

Three swords cut through the water in vain.

They seemed to have finally sensed the feint and were startled, retreating. Because a real move always followed a feint. And the following sword form would take their lives.

The result of mistaking a feint for a real move was very miserable.

But Mongseol did not chase them. The Dark Wind Four Moons she had executed was a fight of a real move versus a real move. When fighting multiple enemies, she would temporarily make the others retreat and face only one.

Shoot! Puk!

The sword stabbed the chest of the man wearing water leather.

‘Ah!’

Only after knocking down one water bandit did Mongseol remember who they were.

Among the martial world sects, there were sects that had thrown away their own sect’s banner and had devoted themselves to the Sacred Sword Sect. In return for moving as the hands and feet of the Sacred Sword Sect, they were guaranteed safety and abundance.

If you thought that they were a trivial or negligible sect just because they had devoted themselves, you were mistaken. The Sacred Sword Sect did not even accept such sects. Only after proving their value to the Sacred Sword Sect and being acknowledged did they get to play the role of wiping away the dirt.

The Water Dragon Gang was one of such sects.

Although it had once been a huge sect that had dominated the Yangtze River, it had been divided due to internal conflicts. The Water Dragon Gang, which had been divided into a whopping five, had eventually been annihilated after a fratricidal war.

These were the Water Dragon Gang.

Although everyone had thought they had been annihilated, they had devoted themselves to the Sacred Sword Sect and had been guaranteed their safety.

Water ghosts, water demons!

‘Flying Eagle Steals the Heart!’

The next command came from the Mud Pill Palace.

The Mud Pill One Sword moves. Mongseol also moves. There is no thought. The Mud Pill Palace and Mongseol’s body move at the same time.

The Dark Wind Four Moons and the Flying Eagle Steals the Heart were separate forms. They were never connected. To execute the Flying Eagle Steals the Heart, you had to kick the ground very strongly. Wasn’t it a form to steal the heart of a flying eagle?

You could not execute the Flying Eagle Steals the Heart in the water.

No matter how hard you kicked the water, you could not get the same speed as kicking the ground.

Pat!

Mongseol kicked the torso of the one whose heart had been pierced. And she shot up vigorously.

One person was visible.

When she had executed the Dark Wind Four Moons, three had retreated. So if they were to be seen, three should be seen. But the other two were not visible, and only one came into her eyes.

‘Steal the heart!’

Puuuuut!

The sword pierced the opponent’s abdomen. The sword that had pierced through the solar plexus came out from his back.

Mongseol did not let go of her sword strength. Without releasing the strength in her sword, she continued to execute the Flying Eagle Steals the Heart. Although she had already killed the opponent, she pushed up roughly as if she had not yet killed him.

She pushed the opponent up to the surface of the water. And she also stuck her head out of the water.

Puwak!

Clear air filled her lungs at once.

‘The others!’

Mongseol immediately raised her guard.

The opponent was four. Because she had shot up to the surface of the water to catch her breath, she had lost the other two. They would be attacking her now. For sure.

‘Where, where are they?’

Mongseol tried to find them. But she did not feel anything.

Were the water ghosts, the water demons, attacking without a sound? Were they approaching without a feeling, like a water arrow attack?

Puuk!

The water splashed greatly next to her. And one person, Ah Geol, stuck his head out.

“Not bad? Your sword has gotten much sharper.”

Mongseol’s heart was completely relieved.

The fact that Ah Geol had appeared meant that the other two were dead.

“It’s the Water Dragon Gang, right?”

Ah Geol nodded.

Mongseol immediately raised her guard and swept her gaze around.

The appearance of the Water Dragon Gang meant that the Sacred Sword Sect had started a second investigation themselves.

A master of the Sacred Sword Sect was close by.

Among the Sacred Sword Sect masters who had come out into the martial world, the highest master was definitely the Third Lord. As far as Mongseol knew.

“Can you beat the Third Lord?”

Mongseol asked, looking around.

Ah Geol did not answer. No, he did not even hear what she was asking. He had already disappeared into the water.

Swoooosh! Kururururuk!

Ah Geol cut through the water as if he were sliding.

A large number of the Water Dragon Gang’s water demons had been mobilized.

He had already killed seven himself. If you included the two that Mongseol had killed, it was nine.

If one or two water demons had appeared, he would have let it go, but since there were nine, they had come in a group with a purpose.

The remnants of the Water Dragon Gang were one hundred and thirty.

They were the remnants of the third branch that had entrusted their bodies to the Sacred Sword Sect after realizing the disadvantage of their forces at the time of the internal fratricidal war.

Those who had opposed the devotion at that time had been brutally killed by their fellow disciples.

The Sacred Sword Sect had accepted them, and had cleaned up the Yangtze River.

The Water Dragon Gang had not been annihilated by a fratricidal war. They had asked them to clean it up as a condition of devoting themselves to the Water Dragon Gang. They had intended to get rid of all the other branches and seize hegemony.

Of course, they were paying the price.

Not only had they not gotten the Yangtze River back, but they also had to shed blood like this for the Sacred Sword Sect.

Nine out of one hundred and thirty had died here.

He didn’t know how many more had come. Probably more than half had come.

‘The Red Wolf Squad has been exposed!’

The water bandits were not fools. Although they had been careful, it seemed that there had been some opening somewhere.

They had contacted the Sacred Sword Sect, and the Sacred Sword Sect had sent them.

The Third Lord would also come soon.

It wasn’t that the contact to the Third Lord had been late. Although he didn’t know, the contact would have been made to the Third Lord before the Water Dragon Gang, but the Water Dragon Gang had come before the Third Lord.

The Third Lord intended to annihilate the Red Wolf Squad. But just in case, he would borrow someone else’s hand. It had to be that they had been hit by the water bandits, not that a Sacred Sword Sect martial artist had used a sword.

The Red Wolf Squad would be completely wiped out by this.

By now, most of the Water Dragon Gang would have also gone up to Sugujin. They would be swinging their sickles like crazy.

He was not worried about the Red Wolf Squad. They could survive. Although many would be injured and would die, they still had a fox den to escape to. They were people who had been running away for a full half a century.

The problem was themselves.

‘Third Lord.’

Just before diving, he had heard what Mongseol had said.

Can you beat the Third Lord?

At another time, he would say that he could. The Ten Lesser Swords had not fully understood the Illuminating Ten Explanations.

It was a fact he had learned after fighting with the Eighth Lord, Jo Chuhan.

If the Ten Lesser Swords had understood the Illuminating Ten Explanations, the one who had died would have been him, not Jo Chuhan.

The Ten Lesser Swords, he could beat them.

However, his body had not fully healed. Although he could use his true energy and could fight, he was not in his best condition. His body moved heavily, as if his hands and feet were tied.

At that moment, he found a round object in the water.

It was similar to a rock, and it also looked like a bundled cloth.

Ah Geol swung the half-iron blade without hesitation.

Shwoooosh!

When Ah Geol attacked, the round object squirmed. It quickly kicked the place where it had been crouching and shot out.

Shwoooook!

The half-iron blade cut the object that was just about to move.

Blood gushed out. The limbs that had been tightly curled up spread out. He could also see the eyes that were wide open in surprise.

‘Eight!’

The Water Dragon Gang had also sent one more to the afterlife.

* * *

The feeling was not good. The back of his head was itchy. It felt as if an unpleasant person was watching him.

Swoosh!

The moment the unpleasant feeling arose, Mongseol immediately turned her body.

Her body was quickly pulled into the water. But this time, she did not move hastily as before. She calmly took a breath and sank into the water.

Shwoooosh!

A water arrow passed by narrowly. If she had moved her body a little later, she would have been pierced by the water arrow.

Peoeok!

When the water arrow reached the surface of the water, it exploded violently.

Mongseol immediately shot up to the surface of the water.

This time too, those who blocked her appeared. But she did not look and continued to go up.

Puwak!

As she came out of the water, she took in the clear air.

The Water Dragon Gang’s water demons should have attacked. But they did not attack. Nothing happened. Instead, red blood spread around her.

Ah Geol was fighting in the water.

He was safely protecting the path she was going. He was thoroughly blocking the attacks of the water demons.

As long as Ah Geol was there, there was no need to worry about the water demon attacks.

* * *

“Ah!”

Mongseol, who had come out of the water, let out a low groan.

Sugujin was burning. The entire village had become a single ball of fire and was burning fiercely.

The houses in Sugujin were connected. It was not wrong to say that the entire village was connected by one roof. In fact, three or four houses shared one roof.

The first person who came to mind was the Hui woman.

She was the only person she had contacted while staying in the village. The other people had not even come near where she was.

Was she safe?

Swoosh!

The water splashed and Ah Geol stuck his head out.

“The village… is burning.”

As soon as Mongseol saw Ah Geol, she revealed her pained heart.

“Don’t worry. Even if the cockroaches are annihilated, the Red Wolf Squad will not be annihilated.”

“Annihilation is not the problem, the problem is that people are dying. Moreover, those people are being hit because of us.”

Ah Geol shook his head from side to side.

“It’s been a full half a century since the Red Wolf Squad was annihilated. It’s a story of a distant past generation. And yet, there are still people who remember the Red Wolf Squad, and they are trying to get rid of them all. Do you know why?”

“…?”

Mongseol looked at Ah Geol with a questioning expression.

“When the Red Wolf Squad was at its peak, there’s a saying that half of the martial world was destroyed. That’s how deep their killing was. Just hearing the name, the smell of blood wafts. So they shudder. Even though the current Red Wolf Squad is not the Red Wolf Squad of that time, it’s the same. Once you’re branded as a bad guy, you’re forever in this state. There’s no place for the Red Wolf Squad in the martial world.”

Ah Geol looked at the burning Sugujin. And he said, “Soon… I and the Drunken Flower Garden will also be branded like the Red Wolf Squad. There will be no place for us.”

(End of Chapter)