novelraw Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Chapter 23
He hadn’t even intended to inject internal energy, yet it felt as if the qi had leapt out on its own and slashed down the Black-Clad Man.
That’s why the wound was much deeper than the sensation transmitted through his fingertips, and bewilderment flickered in the Black-Clad Man’s eyes.
“Captain!”
The assassins rushed toward him.
It didn’t seem like they intended to kill Seo Mugyeom for revenge.
Perhaps the only reason they had been forced to move and push themselves until now was because of the one they called Captain.
When Seo Mugyeom approached the First Division warriors, they looked at him with powerless faces.
At that moment, the other First Division warriors who had been elsewhere came rushing to the scene.
They hadn’t dared to come when the fight between that Captain and Seo Mugyeom was raging, but now that it was over, they had come to tend to their comrades.
Since they were here, Seo Mugyeom felt there was no reason for him to remain, so he moved again.
The clashing of weapons gradually slowed and eventually stopped altogether, but he couldn’t understand what that signified.
Convincing himself that nothing could have happened to the Division Leader, the First Division warriors exchanged glances after Seo Mugyeom disappeared.
Just moments ago, they’d seen the very spot Seo Mugyeom had been standing turn empty, his figure vanishing like a lie, and had wondered what had happened.
“Didn’t he say Tenth Division?”
Someone who had heard Seo Mugyeom speak to the man called Captain said this.
Another nodded in surprise.
Then, realizing it wasn’t the time to be standing around, they hurried to stop the bleeding and took out Golden Wound Medicine from their bosoms and sprinkled it on their wounds.
The battle hadn’t ended yet, but they realized they would be of no help whatsoever.
When Seo Mugyeom arrived, Pyo Inhaeng was not in good shape.
He didn’t seem injured, but he was surrounded and being attacked by dozens of men.
“Division Leader.”
When Seo Mugyeom called out and approached, Pyo Inhaeng looked at him with a worried face.
Once he arrived and realized the seriousness of the situation, he regretted having brought Seo Mugyeom.
He had been hoping Seo Mugyeom would have fled on his own.
But now that he had shown up, his heart sank.
To make matters worse, Seo Mugyeom even had blood around his mouth from coughing it up.
“Seo Mugyeom. I’ll create an opening. You run.”
Pyo Inhaeng whispered in a small voice.
Even though he lowered his voice, others might still hear it, but it wasn’t the time to waste internal energy to transmit sound.
“I think I can take on about three of them. Some of the ones who were unconscious are awake now.”
“What?”
Pyo Inhaeng didn’t immediately understand and looked at Seo Mugyeom.
Then, as Seo Mugyeom pointed toward his dantian, his eyes widened.
It seemed he meant more internal energy had awakened.
Though Seo Mugyeom didn’t have much combat experience, judging from his performance in matches, it seemed he could be trusted to cover his back.
Besides, there was no other way.
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
“Yes, Division Leader.”
While they were having this exchange, the assassins had waited because they now thought the two of them were like rats trapped in a jar.
“What’s a young guy like you doing here? If you came to help, shouldn’t someone more capable have shown up? Or did you drag in someone you wanted to kill?”
A man in dazzlingly white robes swaggered forward and said.
It was absurd that someone dressed like that would show up intending to start a bloodbath.
But seeing that not a drop of blood had touched his clothes despite the ongoing carnage, he must’ve had a strong backing.
He was someone who spoke calmly while others couldn’t even make a sound.
It was easy to imagine he held a higher position than the rest.
Seo Mugyeom thought that if he could take him down, the situation might shift in their favor, so he charged at him.
Then, the men beside him stepped forward to block Seo Mugyeom.
Perhaps the Baek Po-in’s spotless clothes weren’t thanks to his own skills, but because of those who had protected him all along.
The two assassins seemed determined not to let Seo Mugyeom, who had dared to approach the Baek Po-in, go unpunished and raised their swords.
But before their swords even moved, Seo Mugyeom’s blade had already cut through them both.
It happened in a single strike.
The bluish qi flickering along the sword body was still clear.
Because of that, the blade didn’t even need to touch their flesh to take their lives.
Seo Mugyeom realized that his youthful appearance gave him a significant advantage.
Because he was young, people didn’t expect him to have much internal energy.
If he were the heir of a prestigious family or the disciple of a major sect, he might have consumed spiritual medicine from a young age and undergone marrow cleansing, accumulating more internal energy than others.
But if that were the case, they would’ve thought, he wouldn’t have shown up in a place like this.
In a melee, a moment’s carelessness or misjudgment could completely change the outcome.
And that was exactly what was about to happen.
Before the two men who had stood before the Baek Po-in even hit the ground, Seo Mugyeom’s blade was already at the Baek Po-in’s neck.
Seo Mugyeom had no intention of merely threatening him.
Even if others didn’t understand, Seo Mugyeom at least knew how this situation had come to be.
A trap set to lure the First Division.
And the alliance of assassin groups.
If all the assassins here were it, they might still hope to escape.
But who knew how many others were lying in wait elsewhere?
From what Seo Mugyeom had heard, the First Division warriors had a chance to escape, but then a sudden downpour of arrows from the sky caused even more casualties.
That memory came back to him just now.
Had he not accidentally spotted an archer hiding on a roof, he might never have remembered.
“Division Leader, take a hostage! There are archers!”
Seo Mugyeom shouted, and Pyo Inhaeng was startled before pressing his blade to the throat of someone nearby.
“That one may not be enough.”
There were assassins from various groups here, and to those with bows aimed, this could be seen as another opportunity.
Originally, the ones meant to die today weren’t just the First Division warriors.
In fact, more assassins would die, and the ones who killed them weren’t the First Division warriors.
The alliance between assassin groups could never be built on trust.
They could temporarily cooperate for a shared goal, but once it ended, they would return to competition.
And even agreeing on when that goal had ended was difficult.
What was happening now stemmed from that very issue.
In his previous life, the archers were originally meant to kill the First Division warriors, but they also slaughtered a large number of assassins from the other groups present.
And the group to which the archers belonged would rise rapidly in power after this incident and dominate for a long time.
Seo Mugyeom noticed the Baek Po-in glance briefly at the roof as he walked toward him, and realized he was part of that assassin group.
And he feared that at any moment, a volley of arrows might rain down due to a signal he didn’t know.
Pyo Inhaeng, confused about what Seo Mugyeom meant, slashed the hostage he had taken.
The others stared blankly at Seo Mugyeom, not understanding what was going on.
Then a few looked up and actually spotted archers on the roof.
“Who are those people?!”
Someone exclaimed in shock, and the Baek Po-in smoothly answered.
“To make this easier, we positioned some archers. They will kill the Divine Martial Sect bastards.”
Even with Seo Mugyeom’s sword at his throat, he acted as if he believed he wouldn’t be harmed.
“If you don’t lower your bows and throw them down, I’ll cut this man’s throat!”
Seo Mugyeom shouted loudly and lightly drew his blade across the Baek Po-in’s neck, making him flinch.
Until then, he had been acting like nothing could possibly affect him.
But now, at the first taste of pain, his body stiffened.
“What are you all doing?! Save me!”
The Baek Po-in shouted at the assassins within the compound.
His bravado was truly something else.
Even with a blade digging into his neck, he could yell like that.
The pain in his throat was clearly unbearable, and he desperately pulled his head back, but Seo Mugyeom held firm, making it useless.
Hearing his cry, the assassins seemed to think they should follow his orders.
But before they could approach Seo Mugyeom, Pyo Inhaeng stepped in to block them.
The tip of his sword was sharp, and to get past him to Seo Mugyeom meant risking one’s life.
Even if one survived, it seemed likely they’d lose a limb, so no one rushed in carelessly.
“You lot... Why are you so naive for people who call themselves assassins? If the goal was only to kill us, why would this man have told you about the archers?”
Seo Mugyeom, now opting for psychological warfare, spoke up.
The Baek Po-in snapped irritably.
“Don’t spout nonsense! I already told them about the archers!”
“Oh, really? But it seems not everyone knew. Why tell some and not others?”
Just looking at the expressions on the gathered people’s faces was enough to know he was right.
Seo Mugyeom, now convinced that the rumors he’d heard in his previous life were true, continued with more confidence.
“Claiming this is about eliminating the Divine Martial Sect’s Guardian Ten Division is just a pretext. The real goal was to use that excuse to eliminate your rivals, wasn’t it? The timing was perfect. You seem clever and fearless—so what are you afraid of? That your plan to use the Divine Martial Sect to wipe out competitors might be exposed?”
At Seo Mugyeom’s words, murmurs began to rise from the crowd.
Then, mid-sentence, Seo Mugyeom tightened his grip on the Baek Po-in’s neck and plunged his sword into the man’s shoulder.
No one watching could have predicted it.
“Valley Leader!”
“Valley Leader, sir!”
Several people dashed forward using movement arts, shocked by the sudden scene.