Chapter 14 - The First Mission (3)
Namgung Jun, who had reached the main gate of the Bae Gong Union, grasped his sword hilt without a word.
There was no need for words.
The sword, drawn horizontally, extended without hesitation and spattered blood.
“Keuk!”
“Kaak.”
The necks of the Bae Gong Union martial artists standing on both sides of the main gate were slit simultaneously.
Though the Bae Gong Union martial artists collapsed with eyes full of questions, Namgung Jun did not give them a single glance.
Creeak!
Then, he personally pushed open the main gate of the Bae Gong Union.
From his leisurely hand gesture, a casualness could be felt, as if he were entering and leaving his own home.
The gazes of the Bae Gong Union martial artists, who had been holding a drinking party amongst themselves since broad daylight, were focused on Namgung Jun.
“Look at the main gate.”
“Who is that bastard?”
At the sight of Namgung Jun entering so naturally, the Bae Gong Union martial artists merely expressed their puzzlement.
But that, too, was only for a moment.
The black bamboo hat and the cloud embroidery stitched onto his blue sleeves.
There was no way a martial artist, especially one from the Unorthodox and Demonic Paths, would not know this attire. For it was a characteristic one had to be most careful of while living on the Unorthodox and Demonic Paths.
The Bae Gong Union martial artists, who had thrown down their cups of alcohol, began to grab the weapons that had been carelessly thrown on their chairs and on the floor.
“The Azure Sky Society! It’s the Azure Sky Society!”
“Report to the Gang Leader!”
The Bae Gong Union martial artists moved in a fairly systematic manner.
Some went inside to inform the Gang Leader and others, while the majority of the martial artists each took up their weapons and surrounded Namgung Jun.
“What? He’s young?”
“Look at the cloud, too. It’s only one.”
“A clumsy brat! It seems he looked down on us and came alone.”
As Namgung Jun remained silent without saying anything, the Bae Gong Union martial artists burst out laughing.
It was because they had mistaken his silence for him being frozen in tension at the sight of them swarming and surrounding him in an instant.
“Hmm.”
Namgung Jun, who tilted up his chin and swept his gaze over the Bae Gong Union martial artists, muttered in a low voice.
“Is this all there is? Tell your Gang Leader to come out as well.”
A man with a menacing face who was nearby and heard Namgung Jun’s words raised the saber he was holding.
“The likes of you are not enough to make our Gang Leader come out!”
Swoosh!
A curved blade, extending in a surprise attack in the middle of his sentence. It seemed he was quite proficient, as if he had performed such despicable acts many times.
But to Namgung Jun, it was a crude attack, too shameful to even be called a feint.
Namgung Jun, whose hand was on his sword hilt, twisted his waist slightly, and a blue streak of light was drawn diagonally.
Spurt!
With the sword drawn that poured out diagonally, he simultaneously sliced through the right arm gripping the curved blade and the man's Adam’s apple.
As the gushing blood soaked his bamboo hat, the gazes of everyone focused on the neck and right arm of the Bae Gong Union martial artist that had fallen to the ground.
Amidst the heavy silence, Namgung Jun’s low voice created a ripple.
“Look at me.”
Crackle!
A fierce aura erupted from Namgung Jun’s entire body. The lightning energy of the Heavenly Thunder True Yang Art created a loud noise.
At the same time, shouts burst out from all directions.
“Rush him all at once!”
“It’s only one opponent!”
“Don’t spare the hidden weapons!”
All sorts of weapons surged indiscriminately from all sides.
As befitting the Unorthodox and Demonic Paths, a variety of unorthodox weapons, such as saw-toothed blades, harpoons, and sickles, were mixed in.
‘How crude.’
Six weapons visible to the eye.
Eight weapons felt by his Energy Sense.
Namgung Jun, who had read the forms of a total of fourteen weapons in an instant, changed his grip.
He relaxed the strength in his ring finger and slightly raised his middle and index fingers to gently grasp the upper part of the hilt, as if pressing down on it.
A switch from the Thirteen Sword-Thunders of the Lightning Flash to the Greater Amplification Sword Style.
K-ka-kang!
A metallic sound that burst out continuously in a flash.
It was the sound of the weapons that had been aiming for Namgung Jun’s entire body being deflected all at once.
Namgung Jun, who had widened the encircling net that was tightening around his vicinity with a single strike, stomped his foot powerfully and extended forward.
Thump!
Every time a form of the Greater Amplification Sword Style was unfolded, four or five of the Bae Gong Union martial artists would collapse.
There was not a single person who could receive Namgung Jun’s sword strikes. They were helplessly swept away like scarecrows.
A saw-toothed blade revealed its fearsome teeth and aimed for his thigh, and a poisoned throwing star circled wide and surged toward the back of his head.
Between them, a harpoon thrust for his side, and from the front, three swords surged simultaneously.
Though all sorts of weapons revealed their sharp edges and poured in, the one that erupted with the fiercest light and cut through the atmosphere was Namgung Jun’s sword.
Though numerous weapons pulsed and moved roughly, the one that stood out among them was, as a matter of course, the blade cloaked in blue lightning energy.
The blue sword strikes, which split into dozens of streaks, extended with unrestrained freedom. Every time they did, the ground was soaked a dark red.
Namgung Jun’s steps did not stop, and the speed at which the Bae Gong Union martial artists fell gradually increased.
‘What a monster!’
‘What the! Didn’t they say a guy with only one cloud wasn’t that strong!’
‘Damn it!’
In the blink of an eye, dozens had been killed. Their comrades were cut down in countless numbers before their morale even had a chance to break.
It took but a moment for the eyes of the Bae Gong Union martial artists, who had charged in so full of confidence, to become clouded with the color of fear.
“Spare me!”
“Damn it! When is the Gang Leader coming!”
Though screams erupted from here and there, Namgung Jun’s sword showed no signs of stopping.
Not a shred of mercy existed in Namgung Jun’s sword as he faced his enemies.
He had already grasped the tyranny of the Bae Gong Union from the documents the Azure Sky Society had given him, and he had also seen it with his own eyes.
Namgung Jun had no intention of talking.
For that reason, he was truly fierce and ruthless.
“Stop!”
A shout laden with a significant amount of internal energy filled the grounds. Even amidst that, Namgung Jun’s sword was piercing through the chest of a Bae Gong Union martial artist.
“So you finally show yourself.”
Namgung Jun looked at the middle-aged man who was slowly walking up from behind. The aura he exuded was quite fierce.
Namgung Jun intuited that the middle-aged man was the Bae Gong Union’s Gang Leader.
“I can guess the reason you came charging in. It must be because of the commoners held captive in this union, right?”
“You know well.”
“To enter a deathtrap like this all alone for the sake of commoners whose faces you don’t even know, you must be a true righteous warrior.”
The Bae Gong Union’s Gang Leader, who was looking Namgung Jun up and down with a sneering smile, drew the sword from his waist.
“I have sent my subordinates to the underground prison. Soon, all the bastards who were locked up will be dragged out.”
As Namgung Jun did not reply, the Gang Leader added, as if it didn't matter.
“I will kill as many of them as the number of men you have killed. I will make you realize what a foolish thing you have just done.”
The Bae Gong Union’s Gang Leader tried to restrain Namgung Jun’s actions by holding the lives of the commoners in his hands.
The corners of the mouth of Namgung Jun, who had maintained an expressionless face, drew an arc for the first time.
“What is so funny?”
“Because it hasn’t deviated from my expectations in the slightest.”
“What?”
Namgung Jun took a step toward the Gang Leader.
“The situation you desire will not come to pass.”
The blade, dripping with blood, was now aimed at the Gang Leader.
“Are you prepared to take responsibility?”
***
At the entrance to the underground prison, the corpses of a dozen or so Bae Gong Union martial artists were rolling about in front of Heo Il.
“A relief I wasn't too late.”
These were the ones who had come, on the Gang Leader’s order, to drag out the commoners to be used in the hostage situation.
‘He means to prioritize the safety of the commoners over his personal meritorious deeds.’
While Namgung Jun drew their attention to the main gate, Heo Il had quietly slipped over the back wall and found the underground prison.
— I have heard that besides the sword, you have a specialty in the art of tracking, Senior Heo.
— It is nothing special. It is merely one of the minor talents I have learned.
— In that case, while I draw their attention, please find and protect the commoners trapped in the Bae Gong Union. This is my request.
— If we do that, your meritorious deeds will be diminished, Young Hero.
— To me, saving all of the commoners is the greatest meritorious deed.
To prioritize the safety of the commoners.
It was a basic virtue of the Azure Sky Society.
But most newcomers, on their first mission, would be blinded by the desire for meritorious deeds and would tend to miss this point.
But Namgung Jun did not.
Rather, he was looking clearly toward the commoners.
A smile spread across the lips of Heo Il as he replayed the conversation he had with Namgung Jun before entering the Bae Gong Union.
“He’s quite an interesting junior.”
He was born with dazzling talent, and he himself knew it. He had every reason to be filled with conceit, and he was at an age where that would be natural.
But Namgung Jun was not overconfident in himself and had no hesitation in asking for help.
“That’s not to say he has no pride, or no desire for meritorious deeds, either.”
Nevertheless, it was clear what Namgung Jun prioritized.
And Heo Il gladly accepted that.
Though the Ink Scent Division held a strict entrance exam, it was not as if they could always filter everyone out correctly.
Furthermore, wasn't Namgung Jun in a situation where he had only taken the martial arts-related test due to the Hall Master’s recommendation?
He had been inwardly worried, but now Heo Il was able to completely cast aside his concerns about Namgung Jun.
The fact that he had, on the contrary, grown to like him was an added bonus.
Heo Il turned to look behind him and looked at the commoners locked inside the prison.
“Please bear with it for just a little longer. I will release you when this situation is all over. For now, it will be safer for you to be inside.”
And so, Heo Il guarded the prison entrance and absolutely did not leave his spot. From time to time, he would only tap his gourd bottle with his fingertips.
Even though Namgung Jun was facing the Bae Gong Union alone up above, he showed no signs of worry at all.
Heo Il trusted his new junior.
Just as his junior had trusted him and wholly entrusted the commoners to him.
****
Ch-ch-chang!
With a sharp metallic sound, the Bae Gong Union’s Gang Leader was pushed back without resistance.
‘What kind of sword skill does this young bastard possess!’
He was a young boy, and a One-Cloud at that.
The Gang Leader had been confident that he could subdue Namgung Jun. He still had subordinates left, and he himself was a swordsman who had entered the threshold of the First-Class realm.
But with the first exchange of blades, the Gang Leader’s confidence had crumbled like foam.
His internal energy, aside from the fact that it handled lightning energy, was not that special. Rather, even considering his young age, the maturity of his internal energy was severely lacking.
In contrast, the talent with the blade that Namgung Jun displayed went far beyond the level of ordinary.
As if a veteran swordsman who had only trained the sword for decades had entered the boy's body.
He was compensating for all his shortcomings with nothing but pure talent with the blade.
“Tah!”
The Gang Leader let out a kiai and extended his sword in a long thrust. Namgung Jun unfolded a thrust of his own to match.
The moment the tip of his sword and the tip of his opponent's sword exquisitely met, Namgung Jun’s wrist twisted.
Clink!
With a light metallic sound, the Gang Leader’s sword path was turned aside.
In that interval, Namgung Jun’s sword used the rebound force to create three successive variations, extending toward his shoulder.
“Kuk!”
Simultaneously with a hot burning sensation spreading across his shoulder, the Gang Leader felt a sense of crisis.
‘This bastard. Something is strange.’
He had intended to treat this as light amusement, and then kill him on a busy street to make an example of him.
But looking at how the situation was turning out, far from making an example of him, he was on the verge of being swallowed up instead.
The Gang Leader, who had been continuously retreating, urgently opened his mouth.
“Young Hero. Wait a moment.”
Namgung Jun thoroughly ignored the Gang Leader’s words.
His upper body spinning to the left, the extended sword strike pierced through the Gang Leader’s heart in a single breath.
A First-Class swordsman had given up his life in merely eight exchanges.
The Gang Leader could not even let out a scream. The limit of what he could do was to glare with his bloodshot eyes as if full of resentment.
But Namgung Jun did not even pay him any mind.
He just coolly moved his hand and plunged the sword deeper.
FLARE!
Before Namgung Jun could pull his sword from the Gang Leader’s body, a new presence suddenly shot up from behind him.
A sinister and venomous palm force, which had at some point filled the space, attacked Namgung Jun’s back.
FLARE!
The cerulean light in the eyes of Namgung Jun, who had not missed this, flickered.