Namgung Un’s face twisted in shock.
Having experienced the fierce battle with the assassins before, he knew all too well how terrifying combat in a forest could be.
Boom!
At that moment, a flare shot up from below. It was the signal Black Leopard had launched.
“You must have felt it from the last fight,” Bu Eunseol said in a low voice, gazing at the forest. “In a place like this, it’s not about wielding martial arts but disrupting their flow and fighting with instinct.”
“Of course,” Namgung Un replied, taking a deep breath and nodding, his tension easing slightly. “Thankfully, it’s not the dead of night this time!”
Rustle, rustle.
The Human Sword Corps and the mercenaries, who had been waiting behind, charged into the forest, shaking the trees.
The real battle between the Valley of Hidden Death and the mercenaries had begun.
“Mercenary group, forward!” Mun Kwang, standing at the forefront, shouted in a solemn voice.
As a seasoned martial artist, he anticipated a chaotic battle in the forest. He held back the Human Sword Corps and sent the mercenaries, experienced in mountain combat, to the front.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
As hidden weapons rained from the forest, the mercenaries skillfully used the terrain to dodge or counter with their weapons.
Watching this, Namgung Un let out an exclamation of awe. “I see. The terrain can help me too.”
While he marveled, Bu Eunseol shot forward.
Swish. He navigated the terrain even more adeptly than the leading mercenaries.
Boom! Crash!
He pinpointed the assassins’ hiding spots and struck with a single punch. The Valley’s assassins were seasoned in forest combat, but none could withstand Bu Eunseol’s blow.
What kind of fist technique is so heavy? Namgung Un, following behind, gaped. A seemingly light punch shattered rocks and trees in an instant.
“Attack from above!” Bu Eunseol commanded, dominating the battlefield.
The assassins changed tactics, climbing trees to evade and launch hidden weapons.
Whoosh!
Bu Eunseol deftly dodged the barrage and extended both arms. Sharp throwing knives shot from between his hands, and with each flash of light, hidden assassins fell to the ground. Seeing their comrades drop like flies, the remaining assassins lost their will to fight and descended from the trees.
Is Brother Seol not using his sword? Namgung Un, a sword master himself, noticed that despite Bu Eunseol’s relentless use of fists and hidden weapons, his right hand was always ready to reach for the sword on his back. From his stance alone, Namgung Un could tell Bu Eunseol was a supreme sword master.
“That guy…” the assassins’ leader shouted, pointing at Bu Eunseol as the tide of battle turned against them. “Take him down first!”
The mercenaries and assassins were evenly matched, but Bu Eunseol’s rampage, felling assassins like straw, had tipped the scales.
He’s supposed to be a high-ranking mercenary? Mun Kwang, fighting fiercely alongside the assassins, realized Bu Eunseol’s prowess far exceeded that of a high-ranking mercenary. And he wasn’t even showing his full strength.
We got lucky. Mun Kwang inwardly sighed in relief. Without Bu Eunseol and his group, the assault on the Blade Family Manor would have failed completely.
“Brother Seol, slow down a bit!” Namgung Un, assisting him, was nearly out of breath. “We’re getting too deep! The enemies are converging on us!”
“It’s a good opportunity,” Bu Eunseol said with a cold smile. “A perfect chance to gain real combat experience. Watch closely.”
He accelerated his movement technique, charging forward. His movements were precise, adapting to the enemies’ attacks. They weren’t rigid techniques but fluid, like a dragon slicing through water.
“Your hiding spots are obvious,” Bu Eunseol said, striking at assassins concealed behind a rock.
Boom!
Each punch shook the ground, sending blood and flesh flying. He rained blows from above, like boulders crushing the assassins.
“What kind of fist technique is this?” Namgung Un muttered.
The fist techniques of the Fist Demon were unlike any in the martial world. The force, unleashed freely in all directions, was unstoppable even for seasoned masters.
“He’s too strong to face head-on! Hide and use secret techniques!” the assassins, realizing Bu Eunseol’s prowess, resorted to stealth and assassination methods.
But Bu Eunseol, with his Beast Way senses spread in all directions, was their natural predator. No matter where they hid or what they did, they were in the palm of his hand.
“For assassins, you’re pitifully weak,” Bu Eunseol remarked.
Having experienced the extreme assassination techniques of the Demon Realm, the Valley’s stealth and secret techniques seemed like child’s play to him.
“He’s a reaper,” one assassin muttered.
Assassins, who killed as easily as eating, were supposed to be fearless. But Bu Eunseol, pinpointing their hiding spots with eerie precision, was terrifying—especially in their own stronghold.
“The forest we made as our last bastion is choking us instead,” an assassin lamented.
The Valley had turned the manor’s interior into a forest, a deadly trap. Even if someone breached the entrance formation, blocking the retreat would ensure no escape. But as the battle turned against them and the enemies blocked the entrance, the assassins became rats trapped in a cage.
“That damned bastard,” growled Heuksal, the First Killing Ghost, the Valley’s top assassin, hiding in the manor’s most concealed spot while directing his forces.
Bu Eunseol’s sudden appearance had ruined all their plans.
“I’ll kill that guy no matter what.” If nothing else, he’d take down that pale, fist-wielding menace.
Grumble.
The ground beneath Heuksal sank, and his body seemed to vanish into it, using the Hundred Killing Shadow Earth Escape Technique, a secret assassination skill of the Valley. This technique allowed stealthy movement underground but was notoriously difficult to master. Heuksal was the only one in the Valley to have perfected it.
Grumble.
Approaching Bu Eunseol from below, Heuksal raised a small tube to the surface—a Corpse-Dissolving Needle Tube prepared to assassinate Heavenly Tremor Sect masters.
It’s a waste to use on this guy.
As he aimed the tube at Bu Eunseol, ready to fire—
“You’re here,” Bu Eunseol said, looking down at the ground with a cold smile. “I was waiting for you.”
When assassins fought in large groups, the commander was crucial. Without strict leadership, their strong individualities would make them a disorganized mob. Thus, commanders stayed hidden, directing from the shadows.
This damned monster!
Realizing he’d been detected, Heuksal tried to use the Earth Escape Technique again, but Bu Eunseol was faster.
Boom!
With a low tremor, Bu Eunseol’s fist struck the ground.
Whoosh.
A hissing sound followed, and the ground turned red with blood. Heuksal had been buried alive by Bu Eunseol’s single punch.
“Kneel now!” the mercenaries and Human Sword Corps shouted, surrounding the remaining assassins.
Assassins were akin to military soldiers. Killing their commander ended the battle swiftly, as they only fought according to training.
“It’s over,” Black Leopard muttered quietly, standing behind Bu Eunseol.
Namgung Un sheathed his sword, surveying the manor. While the mercenaries and Human Sword Corps had taken some losses, Bu Eunseol’s group’s efforts had kept them minimal.
“Thank you,” Mun Kwang said, approaching Bu Eunseol’s group with vigor. “We won because of you.”
“Corps Leader!” a nimble young man rushed to Mun Kwang, alarmed. “We’re in trouble!”
“What trouble?”
“While we were fighting here, the Blade Tyrant Sect led the remaining Valley assassins to invade our sect!”
“Our sect?” Mun Kwang’s eyes widened in urgency.
The Heavenly Tremor Sect’s greatest strength lay in its three corps—Heaven, Earth, and Human. With the Human Sword Corps absent, they couldn’t possibly fend off the Blade Tyrant Sect’s forces.
“Everyone…” Mun Kwang shouted, his expression frantic. “Return to the sect!”
***
Heavenly Tremor Sect.
Originally a small martial academy teaching the Heavenly Tremor Sword Technique in the Sangyang region, it had grown over time. As its disciples gained fame in escort agencies and constabularies, the sect expanded into a mid-sized martial faction.
This growth threatened the Blade Tyrant Sect, which operated a smuggling business near the Sangyang border. Despite both being orthodox sects, the Heavenly Tremor Sect, rooted in teaching martial arts, followed the path of righteousness, leading to constant clashes with the Blade Tyrant Sect.
Let’s see who rules Sangyang!
The battle for dominance between the two sects had reached its climax.
When Mun Kwang, leader of the Human Sword Corps, left for Hamchi Mountain to deal with the Valley’s assassins, the Blade Tyrant Sect seized the opportunity, leading a large force to attack the Heavenly Tremor Sect.
“Raaah!” With fierce battle cries, the Blade Tyrant Sect’s masters stormed in, swinging their swords wildly. Each flash of their blades brought down Heavenly Tremor disciples with piercing screams.
“Ugh,” Gwak Cheon, leader of the Heaven Sword Corps, gritted his teeth as he cut down enemies at the forefront.
Normally, the Heavenly Tremor Sect’s strength slightly surpassed the Blade Tyrant Sect’s, making such a sudden invasion unlikely to succeed. But with the Human Sword Corps absent, and the Valley’s assassins causing chaos with ambushes, the tide was turning against them.
They’ve hired the entire Valley of Hidden Death. Gwak Cheon had thought the Blade Tyrant Sect only employed a portion of the assassins for the Hamchi Mountain raid. Now, it was clear they had hired the entire Valley for a coordinated pincer attack.
Our intelligence was leaked. The Blade Tyrant Sect had attacked the moment the Human Sword Corps left with the mercenaries for Hamchi Mountain. The Heavenly Tremor Sect had been outmatched in both funds and information.
How did a smuggling sect suddenly gain such financial power? Hiring the entire Valley, teeming with first-class assassins, would require nearly a million tael. How could the financially strained Blade Tyrant Sect afford it? Gwak Cheon couldn’t fathom the reason.
“Argh!” The screams of Heavenly Tremor disciples continued to ring out.
In chaotic battles, momentum was key. As the Valley’s assassins rampaged through the battlefield, even the weaker Blade Tyrant Sect members began overwhelming the Heavenly Tremor disciples.
A heavy sense of despair gripped Gwak Cheon’s throat. There seemed no way to turn the tide.
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