Bu Eunseol and Gongsun Dankyung cautiously walked into the formation.
Saaa.
The interior of the Reverse Cloud Chaos Formation was filled with gray mist where one couldn't see an inch ahead.
The mist had the ability to erase not just vision but also bodily senses.
Even with exceptional martial arts, one couldn't exert proper strength, and it was hard to detect even if an enemy brushed past nearby.
Slash! Whish!
But Bu Eunseol and Gongsun Dankyung, in that vicious darkness and sensory confusion, accurately found the way. And they were eliminating the assassins they encountered one by one.
Since the Reverse Cloud Chaos Formation was deployed in an overlapped state, they had to unravel over six hundred changes to completely escape or reach the desired location.
The first three hundred were memorized by Gongsun Dankyung, so she led, but after unraveling all she knew, she couldn't calculate the directional changes.
From then on, she stuck close to Bu Eunseol's body and cautiously moved forward.
"Hoo, hoo."
The two breathed heavily.
They had already unraveled over four hundred changes and advanced, killing three hundred assassins. Gongsun Dankyung was a talented woman with exceptional intellect, but her martial prowess fell short.
As a strategist who calculated everything with her mind, she had no experience in battles crossing the line of life and death like this.
"...I'm getting tired." Eventually, Gongsun Dankyung threw off her veil.
While dealing with the assassins trapped in the formation with Bu Eunseol, her body was covered in large and small wounds. Fortunately, she had good medicines worthy of being called elixirs, so she could endure somewhat.
The problem was mental fatigue.
She, who had never experienced proper combat, was endlessly cutting down assassins while trapped in the formation.
It was a harsh situation even for a warrior skilled in combat.
Due to that, her body maintained constant tension, while her fighting spirit gradually weakened.
Killing people was different from slicing meat.
In her life, Gongsun Dankyung had never once inserted a sharp weapon into another's body, severed muscles, or cut organs and bones. Yet, she was engaging in a battle close to mass slaughter, using the formation.
Her killing intent gradually decreased, and even her fighting spirit vanished.
As her mind tired first, her body also lost vitality and didn't move as she wished.
"Captain Seon is impressive." Gongsun Dankyung shook her head with a weary expression. "Even if accustomed to battle, one should be tired in this situation."
Despite cutting down more than twice as many assassins as her, Bu Eunseol showed no signs of fatigue, and his killing intent hadn't diminished.
It seemed like even if he cut down a thousand or ten thousand, he wouldn't bat an eye.
"Captain Seon seems to have rich combat experience despite his young age."
"Probably because I mainly dealt with bandit hordes." Bu Eunseol replied calmly. "Bandit hordes are at least three hundred strong. Including families, easily over five hundred."
"Families? Does that mean you wiped out entire bandit groups?"
"Yes. For a while, I did that." Seon Woojin's identity had plausible reasons set for any exceptional abilities he displayed.
It was because it was a fictional character created by the Divine Mountain Sage, who poured immense wealth and manpower for over twenty years with utmost dedication.
"Bandit hordes are like weeds that grow back no matter how much you eradicate them." Bu Eunseol said in a firm voice. "If you don't completely exterminate them when you strike, they quickly regrow."
Even his voice seemed to carry the scent of blood.
Gongsun Dankyung felt dizzy and shook her head.
"Merchant group work isn't easy either."
After resting for a while, the two resumed moving. Extending her hand, she felt a wall. Then, she leaned against the wall entirely and breathed heavily.
"Let's rest a bit more."
"Understood." Bu Eunseol nodded and approached her side, staying alert to the surroundings. "I just can't figure out which faction is behind this."
Bu Eunseol spoke in a voice as if he truly couldn't understand.
"No matter how much money the assassins received, targeting a top executive of the Martial Alliance doesn't make sense."
Gongsun Dankyung shook her head. "There are many assassin groups in the martial world that don't reveal their bases. If they're confident they won't be caught, they might take such contracts."
'She's pretending not to know.'
Bu Eunseol wore a bitter smile.
There's no way someone at the level of Martial Alliance Commander doesn't know about the Three Realms. She probably thought Bu Eunseol was a low-level figure and was casually brushing it off.
"Anyway, after we escape safely, I'll make them pay the appropriate price."
Snap!
At that moment, an assassin's sword sprang out from somewhere, aiming for her neck.
"Careful!"
Shing!
Bu Eunseol immediately drew his sword and blocked in front of her. And he swiftly executed sword techniques, cutting the assassin's neck.
Slash!
The moment Bu Eunseol beheaded the assassin,
Splat!
A sharp sword suddenly protruded from behind Gongsun Dankyung, who had stepped back.
"Ah." She moved like lightning to dodge the attack and swung her sword.
Spurt!
Fortunately, she subdued the assassin, but in the end, she sustained a sword wound on her shoulder.
"This is bad. I don't have any special medicine left."
Bu Eunseol quickly pressed acupoints to stop the bleeding, then tore his sleeve to wrap the wound. "From now on, please stick close to my side as we move."
At Bu Eunseol's words, Gongsun Dankyung nodded and clung to his body. Seeing her face smeared with blood and sweat, Bu Eunseol somehow felt sorry.
Seon Woojin wasn't a master of the Supreme Heavenly realm, so he couldn't extend instances of time.
Thus, even knowing the ambush was coming, he couldn't block it.
"Let's rest a bit more." She murmured lowly, closed her eyes as if fatigue overwhelmed her, and said. "I really can't walk. Let me nap for a short while here."
"Understood." As soon as the reply came, she fell into a deep sleep.
Bu Eunseol, who had been staring at her sleeping face, pondered for a moment.
'Should I just kill them all?' With Bu Eunseol's abilities, wiping out all the assassins gathered here in one go wasn't difficult. 'No need to use the Wishful True Binding; using the Heavenly Glacial Secret would leave no traces.'
After pondering briefly, he shook his head.
'No, traces aren't the issue.'
Gongsun Dankyung wasn't just a talented woman. She was the Commander of the Martial Alliance.
If assassins suddenly started dying inexplicably?
She would undoubtedly investigate until she was convinced.
'Moreover....' Recalling something, Bu Eunseol shook his head.
In any case, in this situation, the best way was to descend underground with Gongsun Dankyung using Seon Woojin's abilities.
'Hmm.' Bu Eunseol looked at Gongsun Dankyung, who had closed her eyes with long lowered eyelashes.
Now that he noticed, her face was slender yet her cheeks were slightly plump. That made her look much younger than her actual age.
'The sisters have completely different auras.'
If Gongsun Dana was a peony, Gongsun Dankyung was like a magnolia with a subtle fragrance.
Unlike her sister, she lacked flashiness, but her calm and elegant aura created a strange and unique beauty.
"Seeing Captain Seon reminds me of my little sister." At that moment, Gongsun Dankyung, with eyes closed, murmured in a low voice. "From childhood, that child showed genius qualities in everything. She was faster than me in whatever she did, and even her appearance was incomparably beautiful."
Gongsun Dankyung was not someone who ever shared her inner thoughts with others. But with her mind and body exhausted, and trapped in the absolute formation for a long time, her mind seemed to have greatly weakened suddenly.
"All I had to boast about was my composure and memory. So I memorized and memorized all the books in the family home. Since I couldn't match her in martial arts or looks, I had to win with my mind at least."
She wore a hollow smile.
"When I was appointed Commander, for a while I prided myself on having surpassed her. But now, I see I'm still like this."
The Reverse Cloud Chaos Formation not only dulled senses but also induced hallucinations or amplified emotions. After being trapped for over two shichen, she seemed unable to control her emotions suddenly.
"Looking back, I've never properly beaten her once."
Her voice and eyes were not those of the Commander commanding the Martial Alliance, but just those of a lovely woman. Even in the darkness, her appearance was dazzlingly beautiful, but Bu Eunseol's eyes and expression remained calm.
"Do you feel lacking to that extent, Commander?"
"Of course. My sister has exceptional talent in martial arts and is truly beautiful. When she's around, I'm often treated as if I don't exist."
"Hmm."
"You don't believe me?"
"No." Now that he saw, she seemed to feel a great inferiority complex toward her sister, Gongsun Dana.
To lift her spirits, Bu Eunseol offered comforting words.
"Beauty is a matter of individual taste and perspective, isn't it? Depending on the person, some might rate the Commander higher."
"If you met my sister, you wouldn't say that." Gongsun Dankyung said in a self-deprecating voice. "Captain Seon has been busy running the merchant group back and forth to the outer regions, so you probably haven't met many beauties. Right?"
Bu Eunseol closed his mouth.
In fact, the man with the most beauty luck in the martial world was him.
He had seen Gongsun Dana's face until he was sick of it, at a distance where their noses touched, while she kneeled.
He had spent much time with Yeon Soha, who rivaled her, in Majeon and the Divine Maiden Palace.
He had seen countless times in Majeon A-Yeon, Dan So-ok, and Jin Seol, called the Flower of Majeon, who had comparable looks.
In Shaolin's underground passage, he was with Tang Cheong, called the First Beauty of Sichuan.
Moreover, the beauty with exotic and mysterious charm, Soyo, stayed by his side constantly.
He had also seen Jeok Mumi, the Yeolha Holy Palace Lord, with the unique beauty of southern beauties.
They each exuded different charms, and it was hard to say who was more beautiful.
And Gongsun Dankyung, in Bu Eunseol's eyes, didn't seem much different.
Perhaps it was due to his personality, which had little interest in women's beauty or ugliness.
"It's common not to see the magnolia hidden by the peony." Bu Eunseol offered calm but sincere comfort. "Honestly, I don't distinguish well between women's beauty and ugliness. But everyone in the Alliance praises the Commander's outstanding beauty."
Bu Eunseol's clear eyes were not lying at all. For a moment, puzzlement and surprise flashed in Gongsun Dankyung's eyes.
But it was very brief. Soon, she returned to her usual plain expression.
"Thank you." Seeming energized, she stood up and said again. "Then, let's go now."
Standing up again, she moved beside Bu Eunseol.
"I can swing the sword, so let's fight together."
"But Commander-"
"It's fine. You've sustained many injuries too, Captain Seon."
Indeed, Bu Eunseol had no choice but to take several assassin swords.
Because he had to act thoroughly as Seon Woojin.
Knowing Bu Eunseol's injuries were serious, Gongsun Dankyung wanted to fight together.
She was an independent woman who didn't just rely on others' help.
But because she had always handled everything alone, in the end, trouble arose.
The moment she stood side by side, unfortunately, assassins who had somewhat grasped the formation's changes poured out.
Snap snap!
In an instant, several scratches appeared on her body.
Nevertheless, Gongsun Dankyung didn't panic and fought the assassins with all her might.
"I'll handle them." When Gongsun Dankyung was in danger, Bu Eunseol quickly threw hidden daggers.
But among the assassins, there was one with exceptionally fast movements.
He used his fellow assassins' bodies as shields, swiftly dodging attacks and persistently targeting Gongsun Dankyung.
'Must be a squad leader.'
If a thousand assassins had flooded in, there must be squad leaders commanding certain troops.
That exceptional assassin was undoubtedly in a corps leader position.
Flutter.
Just the appearance of one excellent corps leader made the assassins show completely different movements than before.
Bu Eunseol bit his lip.
'No choice.'
If they couldn't escape this crisis, surviving alone would be useless.
Bu Eunseol had no choice but to double his internal energy and execute the Boundless Master's true ultimate technique, the Thirteen Iron Sword Forms.
Splash! Splat!
The assassins' poisoned swords poured onto Bu Eunseol's body. But the sword moves they unleashed rotated fiercely and soon poured back onto their own bodies.
'Disperse strong forces, gather and rotate weak ones.'
It was the ultimate move of the Thirteen Iron Sword Forms, Unifying Forces.
"Aaah!" The assassins who had attacked all at once suffered counterattacks and collapsed to the floor.
'The formation has been largely broken.'
Seeing the mist clear and senses return, it was clear part of the formation was destroyed. They needed to head to the underground passage as quickly as possible.
"Commander, this way!" Bu Eunseol quickly ran forward, breaking through the encirclement, and she followed.
He pushed the assassins back with all his might, prepared for injuries. The assassins poured attacks, but he took ordinary ones with his body and returned unavoidable ones with the Thirteen Iron Sword Forms.
'Over there.' Finally seeing the mechanism to descend underground, Bu Eunseol pushed Gongsun Dankyung in first and immediately entered.
Boom! Clank.
As the door finally closed, Bu Eunseol and Gongsun Dankyung breathed heavily.
"Hoo. Hoo." Gongsun Dankyung looked dazed.
She had experienced numerous things until now, but this was the first time she was in such a life-threatening crisis.
"You're truly impressive." Even in the midst of it, Gongsun Dankyung praised Bu Eunseol's swordsmanship. "Was that the Boundless Master's Thirteen Iron Sword Forms you just used?"
"Yes."
"The sword forms seemed modified." When Bu Eunseol made a surprised expression, Gongsun Dankyung chuckled. "Would a Commander in name use subordinates without even grasping them?"
And she continued in a soft voice.
"It wasn't just because you could develop the Myriad Goods Store and discern forgeries that I chose Captain Seon."
"What do you mean?"
"This matter had to be kept top secret. Thus, I had to grasp everything about Captain Seon's martial prowess, personality, etc., in advance."
Gongsun Dankyung continued explaining with a faint smile. Bu Eunseol, listening silently to her words, couldn't hide his surprised expression.
If he could discern the forgery of Moonlit Pine Radiance, which even experts had trouble with, just by eye.
The time to discern all forgeries in the Myriad Goods Store would be about a day.
And Bu Eunseol was a person who would absolutely keep secrets, with hidden martial prowess so great that he could protect her in a crisis.
And if attacked, it would start at this Soho warehouse...
She had predicted everything.
'A Commander is a Commander.'
After hearing all explanations, Bu Eunseol's mind sharpened. If he had underestimated Gongsun Dankyung earlier and altered the formation or secretly dealt with assassins?
She would have noticed immediately and become suspicious.
"But you couldn't have calculated that I could follow and deploy the Reverse Cloud Chaos Formation."
If Bu Eunseol couldn't overlap the formation?
They would have been captured immediately, unable to block the pouring assassins.
That is, she must have prepared a way to block the assassins even without deploying the formation.
"Of course, I had a backup plan. But since Captain Seon excellently overlapped the formation, there's no need to use that method."
"If you anticipated the attack, there must be a way to wipe them all out." When Bu Eunseol said as if relieved, Gongsun Dankyung became serious.
"No. There isn't."
"There isn't?"
"I'm also just believing that the Star Guard Division Commander will definitely come, as Captain Seon said."
Bu Eunseol opened his mouth as if dumbfounded.
'She thought that far and was pretending innocently.'
She, who had seen through his inner thoughts, said calmly. "Their power and influence are tremendous. If I had stationed forces near Soho or prepared devices for ambush...."
She shook her head with a dark expression.
"They would never have carried out the attack."
"By 'they,' you mean...."
"I can't tell you that."
When Gongsun Dankyung said firmly, Bu Eunseol changed the topic.
"Then, from the beginning, you planned to trust just me and hold out until the Star Guard Division Commander arrives?"
"You're being modest." She smiled and opened her mouth. "Captain Seon's martial prowess isn't properly known in the martial world, but I know it's tremendous. And above all...."
After sighing briefly, she continued. "If I had accompanied a renowned master, they would never have carried out the sudden attack. But Captain Seon has tremendous actual strength, yet his fame isn't well-known... so he was the perfect person for carrying out this plan."
"I don't understand." Bu Eunseol shook his head. "Is there a reason to take such risks and receive the attack?"
"It was necessary to confirm."
"What?"
"Three things. First, whether the enemy's intelligence is superior to mine. Second, if given the chance, do they really intend to kill me. Lastly...."
A flash surged in Gongsun Dankyung's eyes.
"As Captain Seon said, whether there really is a traitor in my office."
A leaden silence flowed in the underground warehouse. After blankly staring into space, she opened her mouth again.
"Going forward, I have to handle various matters. Thus, I had to confirm these three things with this opportunity."
Bu Eunseol swallowed dryly. Only now could he understand how she became the youngest Commander.
To grasp the enemy's intentions.
And to gauge intelligence superiority and find the traitor... she had gambled with her life. In the end, all this was her meticulous plan, and Bu Eunseol was just a puppet placed on the board.
A useful puppet, thoroughly calculated in ability and potential.
'A terrifying woman.' Bu Eunseol inwardly sighed. 'Chillingly so.'
All the appearances she had shown until now were undoubtedly planned.
The confused look in the Reverse Cloud Chaos Formation.
Bringing up Gongsun Dana and revealing inferiority complex.
They must have been actions based on thorough calculations.
To personally confirm if Bu Eunseol was trustworthy.
Whether he was swayed by feminine charms or had an impulsive personality. And if he had shown any improper behavior or irreverent attitude even slightly...
She would surely have deployed a hidden trump card to deal with him.
'Then, around here, I need to act as well.'
For Bu Eunseol, who had lived in Majeon where all sorts of conspiracies, schemes, plots, and tricks ran rampant, Gongsun Dankyung's meticulously laid plans felt somewhat natural on one hand.
Because she had to gauge the enemy's power. Had to confirm if there was a traitor. That's how she could survive.
But now, his identity was Seon Woojin, the peak master of the Martial Alliance.
Having learned that the Martial Alliance Commander had intentionally executed such a plan risking her life...
He needed to show a response befitting that.
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