novelraw Chapter 37
Chapter 37
Chapter 37
He had wondered why they were helping Un Jongak, but once they offered their aid, Un Jongak became overconfident and began to attack Seo Mugyeom with fierce intensity.
Seo Mugyeom swung his sword with a blank expression each time.
Un Jongak attacked Seo Mugyeom as if he had been allied with the assassins from the beginning, but to anyone watching, it was clear that even Un Jongak didn’t know who the assassins were.
Seo Mugyeom had initially tried to use Un Jongak as a human shield to eliminate him, but then changed his mind midway. He thought the situation was unfolding that way by coincidence. Then suddenly, he charged toward Un Jongak.
Un Jongak thought Seo Mugyeom would swing his sword at him again, but unexpectedly, the sword didn’t move—instead, he rushed at him like a thunderbolt and wrapped his arms around his waist.
Un Jongak tried to push Seo Mugyeom off, but in an instant, Seo Mugyeom was at his side, entangling him, leaving him unable to respond properly.
Seo Mugyeom planted his feet firmly on the ground and tightened his grip around Un Jongak’s waist.
Even then, Un Jongak didn’t realize what he was trying to do—but when the masked man’s sword flew at him with a chilling sonic boom, his vision went black.
“No!”
Un Jongak shouted at the masked man while watching the sword fly toward him. He was sure the man hadn’t been aiming for him. But now the sword was coming straight for him, hurled by Seo Mugyeom.
Un Jongak hoped the man would pull his sword back.
The masked man seemed to realize it too late, but Seo Mugyeom’s sudden move had been too fast. In the end, the sword stabbed Un Jongak in the abdomen.
Un Jongak thought this was something that simply couldn’t happen.
He wasn’t someone who would die like this. It didn’t make any sense. All he could do was shake his head weakly.
The sword had already pierced through his body and exited out his back. The masked man tried to pull it out without hesitation, but Seo Mugyeom didn’t give him the chance and swung his sword.
The masked man had thought there would be enough time to withdraw the sword, but cruelly, the blade caught on a bone, creating a fatal delay.
Seo Mugyeom smiled faintly and slashed his neck with the sword.
At that moment, the assassin’s sword came free. Even while blood spurted from his neck like a fountain, the man swung his sword at Seo Mugyeom in an attempt to get revenge. But Seo Mugyeom had already stepped back a few paces.
“Seo Mugyeom!”
Pyo Inhaeng rushed toward Seo Mugyeom with a pale face.
Just moments ago, the clash of weapons had been deafening, but now it had suddenly ceased.
Concerned for Seo Mugyeom, Pyo Inhaeng had pulled himself away and rushed over.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes, Division Leader.”
“Good. As long as you're safe. I’ll take over from here.”
There were only two enemies left, but they couldn’t exactly say, "Let’s each take one." These opponents were stronger than anyone Pyo Inhaeng had ever encountered in his life.
Seo Mugyeom knew what Pyo Inhaeng was thinking but believed he had no choice but to step up himself.
With that thought, he gripped his sword and infused it with internal energy—when one of the masked men suddenly charged at him.
But just as Seo Mugyeom was about to swing his sword, the man moved even faster. Strangely, he didn’t raise his sword.
His target wasn’t Seo Mugyeom—it was the corpse of the fellow assassin who had died killing Un Jongak.
Like a lightning bolt, he flew through the air, snatched the corpse, and disappeared.
Even witnessing the movement with his own eyes, Seo Mugyeom found it hard to believe.
Three people had appeared. Thinking there should still be one left, he turned his head—but the spot was already completely empty.
Seo Mugyeom felt like he had seen a ghost. Looking beside him, Pyo Inhaeng didn’t seem much different.
“Division Leader….”
“…”
Pyo Inhaeng stared blankly at the spot where the people had disappeared, as if in a trance.
The swordsmanship and movement arts those people had shown were beyond Seo Mugyeom’s imagination.
It was as if he had seen a sky above the sky. Seo Mugyeom couldn’t regain his sense of reality for a long time.
“Division Leader, have you ever seen people like that before?”
Seo Mugyeom asked, but Pyo Inhaeng didn’t answer.
Thinking the Division Leader must be just as shocked, Seo Mugyeom didn’t press further. Then he suddenly came to his senses and looked at Pyo Inhaeng.
“Division Leader! What if they’re targeting Young Mistress Ak?!”
At those words, Pyo Inhaeng’s eyes widened in realization and he looked at Seo Mugyeom in alarm.
“You’re right. Let’s go, Seo Mugyeom!”
Un Jongak’s corpse still lay on the ground, but they didn’t even consider retrieving it. The authorities and the Murim were in a state of non-interference, and Un Jongak hadn’t been killed by either of them directly anyway.
Had the situation been different, they might have retrieved his body out of pity, but now was not the time to worry about Un Jongak.
Fortunately, the horses they had ridden hadn’t run far and were nearby. They mounted immediately and spurred them forward.
As they rode, Seo Mugyeom mentally replayed the sword techniques of the masked men.
What kind of grudge did they hold against the Ak Clan to go this far?
Nothing made sense.
More than anything, they seemed like people completely unknown to the Murim. If they were truly that powerful, they would have been famous across the Murim.
While Seo Mugyeom was lost in thought, Pyo Inhaeng glanced at him. He was thinking about the sword style Seo Mugyeom had used.
He had seen Seo Mugyeom fight before, and he knew the kinds of sword techniques he practiced. He also knew Seo Mugyeom had some unknown internal energy. But that sword technique—what was it?
It was a style Pyo Inhaeng had never seen before. During their duel, he had pushed Seo Mugyeom to the limit in order to draw out everything he had. He believed he knew most of what Seo Mugyeom had learned.
But what he saw against Un Jongak and the assassins had been utterly unfamiliar.
If it was an advanced version of what Seo Mugyeom already knew, that would be one thing—but it wasn’t.
This wasn’t just a development of a known martial art; it was an entirely new sword technique he had never seen before.
He couldn’t understand how such a thing was possible.
‘And with that, he nearly sliced the man’s neck in half.’
Perfectly mastering a martial art and actually using it in combat were two very different things. Many people who trained their entire lives couldn’t fight well in actual combat. Yet Seo Mugyeom had used a technique he had never shown before to kill someone on the spot. There was no telling when Seo Mugyeom would stop being surprising.
With both men filled with unanswered questions, they finally rejoined the group. Fortunately, the group had not been attacked and was traveling peacefully.
Only after seeing that were they able to breathe a sigh of relief and relax.
“What happened, Seo Mugyeom?”
Pyo Inhaeng asked, though even he wasn’t sure what exactly he meant. But instead of asking what he meant, Seo Mugyeom simply explained what he could, then asked a question in return.
“What level do you think their martial arts were, Division Leader? I’ve never seen people like them. It was truly shocking. If people like that moved together, they could wipe out even a great orthodox sect.”
“And yet, you killed one of them.”
“That was just luck. Un Jongak helped me right before he died. If he knew he helped me kill one of them, he’d probably die again from the rage.”
Seo Mugyeom seemed to genuinely believe it had been sheer luck, but Pyo Inhaeng shook his head.
He, too, knew the masked men were far from ordinary, and that’s why he had been paying close attention to Seo Mugyeom.
If Seo Mugyeom had even slightly lost ground or been in real danger, Pyo Inhaeng had been ready to risk injury to help him.
He had been looking for an opening, but the masked men were too relentless, delaying his move. In fact, Pyo Inhaeng had been prepared to sacrifice an arm to get to Seo Mugyeom.
Had Seo Mugyeom not sliced off that man’s head in the meantime, that might have come true.
“But come to think of it, that was odd too. They got that shaken up just because one of them died.”
Seo Mugyeom stared at him.
“Why is that odd? Wouldn’t you be shaken too, Division Leader? If I died, I think you’d be shaken.”
“Me? Why would I? If you’re the kind of guy who dies in a situation like that, you’re not qualified to be my subordinate. I wouldn’t feel sorry for you at all.”
Seo Mugyeom knew he was just saying that.
“Seo Mugyeom, about that sword technique you used earlier.”
When Pyo Inhaeng brought it up, Seo Mugyeom looked at him. Staring into Seo Mugyeom’s eyes, Pyo Inhaeng thought it didn’t seem like he had used that technique consciously.
If it had been a hidden skill and he realized Pyo Inhaeng had noticed it, his eyes wouldn’t look like that.
“Do you remember what sword technique you used?”
Only then did Seo Mugyeom recall the technique he had used.
“Uh…”
Now that he thought about it, it hadn’t been any of the sword techniques he had been training all this time. It was something completely unfamiliar, something he had never practiced before.
How could that be possible? Seo Mugyeom stared blankly into the air.
He had realized the masked men were not ordinary, and that startled him. He had thought he couldn’t face them using his usual methods. But he hadn’t clearly decided on what to use in response.
‘What was that?’
Even now, Seo Mugyeom didn’t know he could use something like that.
Had Pyo Inhaeng not brought it up, he might have completely forgotten he had used such a technique.
They were still quite far from Ak Seol-ah’s group.
Pyo Inhaeng believed now was the right moment.