Chapter 15 - The First Mission (4)
It was an exquisite moment.
Just as Namgung Jun’s sword pierced the Bae Gong Union Gang Leader’s heart, a new presence appeared. As if it had been waiting for this very moment.
The aura felt from directly behind his head was quite fierce. He was a martial artist stronger than the Bae Gong Union’s Gang Leader, at the very least.
‘I’ll be too late.’
If he tried to pull out his sword and deal with it, he would be hit. The opponent’s move, aimed at his back, was just that exquisite.
Namgung Jun, still gripping his sword, spun his body in the opposite direction and struck back with his left palm.
Crackle!
On the left palm that was thrust out straight, blue lightning energy had, at some point, been cloaked around it like a gauntlet.
It was one of the martial arts he had been learning from Lee Se-ha in his spare time.
The Heavenly Thunder Palm Style.
The palm force, which writhed violently like a bolt of lightning, clashed with the ash-colored palm force that was attacking from the rear.
BOOM!
A sound like a drum bursting erupted, and the hem of Namgung Jun’s sleeve shook violently. But that was all.
He had not received any internal injuries, nor had he been pushed back. It was proof that he had completely countered the surprise attack.
“You blocked this old man’s double palm strike with only one hand?”
Rather, it was the assailant who had attempted the surprise attack from the rear who could not contain his astonishment.
The old man, who brushed away the after-effects of the Heavenly Thunder Palm Style and landed lightly, was dressed differently from the Bae Gong Union.
What was clear was that he was stronger than the Bae Gong Union’s Gang Leader, who seemed to have only barely reached the First-Class realm in recent months.
“Who are you?”
The old man, who ignored Namgung Jun’s question, saw the Gang Leader who had been reduced to a corpse, and his face flushed red.
“You bastard have ruined this old man's retirement business!”
“Retirement business?”
Namgung Jun’s eyes narrowed as he shook out the left hand he had used to clash palm forces with. Based on the words and actions of the suddenly appeared old man and the situation with the Bae Gong Union, a judgment was quickly formed.
Namgung Jun’s gaze fell on the face of the Bae Gong Union’s Gang Leader, whose breath had already ceased. It was an ice-cold gaze.
“So the Bae Gong Union was not the end of it. There was a backer behind the Gang Leader, including you, Old Sir.”
“Of course! Do you think a mere bastard like that could have possibly struck a deal with that place? It was this old man who connected them in the middle.”
“That place?”
Instead of answering, the old man shot forward and generated palm force with both hands. It seemed his intention was to silence Namgung Jun.
Seeing this, Namgung Jun became certain that the Bae Gong Union was not simply selling the commoners they had kidnapped to slave traders.
Spurt!
As if drawing a sword from a scabbard, Namgung Jun’s voice lowered as he nonchalantly retrieved his sword from the chest of the Bae Gong Union’s Gang Leader.
“Old Sir. It would be best for you to give up on a comfortable retirement.”
Namgung Jun sheathed the sword he had retrieved and assumed the starting stance of the Heavenly Thunder Palm Style. To grasp the full story of the incident, he would have to keep the old man before him alive.
In contrast, the old man found it laughable upon seeing Namgung Jun put away his sword.
“A brat who’s only just gotten a cloud on his clothes!”
It could be felt that an impure internal energy was swelling in the old man’s hands. The demonic way he adjusted his forms with his fingertips made it clear that he had learned a martial art of the Unorthodox and Demonic Paths.
‘For his age, his internal energy is considerable. But he has not surpassed the Peak Realm.’
It seemed he was in a state of stagnation at the pinnacle of the First-Class realm. He must have been unable to overcome the wall to the Peak for many long years.
Namgung Jun roughly grasped his martial prowess just from the palm style the old man was unfolding and the aura he exuded.
Namgung Jun, who had assessed his opponent’s capability, immediately thrust out his right palm fiercely and deployed a form of the Heavenly Thunder Palm Style.
Crackle!
A lightning energy, even denser than before, flickered along his palm. The old man’s palm, which had clashed with the Heavenly Thunder Palm Style, was helplessly knocked away.
Meanwhile, the eyes of the old man, who had felt Namgung Jun’s lightning energy, widened. He clenched and unclenched the two hands that had parried the Heavenly Thunder Palm Style, then licked his lips.
“Now that I see it, I know for sure. You bastard, you’ve accumulated Hot Yang Energy. You are a rare prey!”
“Prey, you say? You covet Hot Yang Energy without knowing your place?”
Namgung Jun struck the side of the palm that was extending toward him, pushing it away, then stomped his foot powerfully and struck out with his left palm.
Thump!
The fiercely thrust out left palm (左掌) grazed past the old man’s chest. If the old man’s evasion had been even slightly late, his ribcage would have been crushed.
The old man, who had barely escaped the crisis, retreated three steps and glared at Namgung Jun.
“Kugh.”
Namgung Jun deliberately did not give chase and glared back at the old man.
The blue light dwelling in his pupils was in the middle of growing steadily deeper.
“Old Sir, have you learned the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult’s Energy-Absorbing Great Art?”
“How does a bastard like you know of that?”
“If you are targeting my Hot Yang Energy, is it not obvious?”
Namgung Jun let out a sigh.
“So there was a reason the purity of your internal energy was at such a worthless level. It was because not only did you learn an impure internal art of the Unorthodox and Demonic Paths, but you also used the Energy-Absorbing Great Art indiscriminately.”
“You bastard! Do not insult this old man!”
Though the old man, his face flushed completely red, rushed at him, he could not pose a threat to Namgung Jun.
“Old Sir. You connected the Bae Gong Union with the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult and took a cut from the middle. Was the Energy-Absorbing Great Art also part of that reward?”
“That’s right! At this point, what is there to hide! I will surely swallow up your internal energy, you bastard!”
Greed and killing intent shimmered in the eyes of the old man as he glared at Namgung Jun. He had realized it after exchanging a single move.
That if he were to absorb the Hot Yang Energy that Namgung Jun had accumulated with the Energy-Absorbing Great Art, he could rise to the Peak Realm.
‘I might be able to reach the perfection of the Peak Realm in a single breath!’
His martial arts accomplishment had been at a standstill for over a decade, as he had failed to obtain any particular new insight.
It would have been much better if he could have consumed a spiritual medicine instead of an insight, but spiritual medicines were not something that could be easily obtained.
In such a situation, to have met a young boy who had accumulated pure Hot Yang Energy was a fortuitous encounter.
In the old man’s mind, the Bae Gong Union and the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult had been erased.
Only the desire to possess Namgung Jun, who was no different from a walking spiritual medicine, filled his head.
“Die nicely!”
It was the moment the old man’s hand movements became even more malicious.
CRACKLE!
The lightning energy lingering on Namgung Jun’s hands swelled further in size.
“I've roughly heard what I needed to hear.”
CRACK!
Namgung Jun’s Heavenly Thunder Palm Style became a tier faster and transformed into something more powerful.
His right palm, which had shattered the old man’s defense in an instant, crushed the old man’s shoulder, and a knife-hand strike came down to sever his right arm.
GUSH!
“Kkeuaaaak!”
Though the old man, who had instantly lost the use of both his hands, let out a scream, Namgung Jun paid him no mind.
He immediately followed up with powerful stomps to shatter both of the old man’s knees.
Namgung Jun, who had made it impossible for him to move his four limbs, then applied vital point striking to the old man.
Having knocked the old man unconscious, Namgung Jun looked around at the surroundings of the Bae Gong Union.
“I guess the situation is more or less taken care of.”
As Namgung Jun dusted off his hands, Heo Il rushed out from between the pavilions.
“Young Hero Namgung!”
“Senior Heo. You’ve come.”
“Goodness. I am late.”
Heo Il looked at the subdued old man with a bewildered expression.
While he was guarding the prison, he had suddenly felt a new presence.
That presence was even stronger than the Bae Gong Union’s Gang Leader, whom he had already sensed. He had figured that no matter how strong Namgung Jun was, it would be overwhelming for him to face such opponents consecutively.
He had confirmed the safety of the commoners and come up to the surface, but in that short time, the situation had already ended.
“Do you know the identity of this old man?”
“Sang Ho-no. He is a vulgar wretch from the Unorthodox and Demonic Paths who leeches off the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult. So this bastard was the one behind the Bae Gong Union.”
Namgung Jun, who had nodded as if he had already expected it, told Heo Il what he had heard.
‘To capture the Bae Gong Union’s Gang Leader, and then Sang Ho-no on top of that. Has there ever been a newcomer who established such meritorious deeds on their first mission?’
Heo Il, who had been looking on with admiring eyes for a moment, came to his senses and hurriedly looked Namgung Jun up and down.
He had been worried that he might have sustained an injury, but he looked perfectly fine.
For that reason, Heo Il had no choice but to ask in a somewhat strengthless voice.
“Young Hero Namgung. Are you alright?”
“Of course.”
“Hah.”
Heo Il was at a loss for words.
The newcomer before him looked around with a composed demeanor, as if he had just done something perfectly natural.
‘I’ll have to really get my act together to do my part as a senior.’
Heo Il glared at Sang Ho-no, who was sprawled out on the ground, subdued and unconscious.
Judging by the way he was subdued, it seemed there was a reason he had been kept alive.
“It seems there is information that needs to be extracted.”
“That is correct.”
Heo Il nodded and rolled up his sleeves.
There was still a corner where he could play an active part.
“I will take care of this one. As I have some minor talents I’ve learned.”
***
Namgung Jun and Heo Il released the commoners and searched the Bae Gong Union from top to bottom.
Heo Il, as if he had a great talent in this area, found the hidden passages and safes with great ease. Furthermore, he also took charge of the task of extracting information from Sang Ho-no.
If Namgung Jun had come alone, he either would not have found them, or it would have taken a considerable amount of time.
Heo Il, who felt Namgung Jun’s admiring gaze, merely let out a bitter smile.
“I am only skilled in miscellaneous arts. Compared to you, Young Hero Namgung, my capability as a swordsman is severely lacking.”
“That is not true at all.”
The various abilities that Heo Il possessed could not be belittled as miscellaneous arts.
They were proving to be of that much of an immense help.
In Heo Il’s hands at that very moment were the wealth and the documents that the Bae Gong Union’s Gang Leader had hidden.
It was then.
A young boy, cautiously reading their expressions, approached Namgung Jun and Heo Il.
“Um…”
“What is it, young one?”
As Namgung Jun knelt on one knee and met the boy’s gaze, the boy, as if he had gained courage, spoke while whimpering.
“My older sister is gone. We were locked up together until this morning, but she was dragged away somewhere.”
Other commoners who had followed the boy chimed in with anguished faces.
“She’s a girl who looks just like this child, but she would be about five years older.”
“There are children who are not among those who were released, Great Heroes!”
“Those bastards picked out a few of the children and took them somewhere else!”
The expressions of the two swordsmen, who were listening to the words of the commoners, hardened.
“Senior Heo.”
When Namgung Jun turned his head, Heo Il was already scanning the documents he was holding at a very fast speed.
“Hmm. It is recorded in this document.”
The document detailed how many people were sent to the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult on which dates.
It seemed it was not something the Bae Gong Union’s Gang Leader had made, but something Sang Ho-no had created separately to report to the upper echelons of the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult.
“Should we not rescue them?”
“What Young Hero Namgung says is right, but…”
Heo Il, who had been contemplating, shook his head.
“Young Hero Namgung’s mission ends here. It seems I must go forth alone from this point on.”
Heo Il recalled the story he had heard from the Hall Master before setting out on the mission.
That there had been a debate in the meeting regarding Namgung Jun’s venturing out into the Martial World.
If he were to get entangled with the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult on his very first mission, it would only be a hindrance to Namgung Jun’s future path.
Heo Il tried to move on his own, but Namgung Jun’s left foot blocked his path.
‘It is a clear fact that it is dangerous.’
But even so, he could not pretend not to know and retreat.
The Sword is what he had learned so that he would not turn back, so that he would not retreat.
If he must retreat simply because his life was in danger, then the sword at his waist would be nothing more than an ornament.
He had gripped the sword with that mindset in his past life, and his present life was no different.
Namgung Jun felt that the sword hanging at his waist was exceptionally heavy, but he lightly swept his hand over the hilt.
Because he believed that this weight he felt from the sword would support his steps.
“I will go with you.”
“It is too dangerous for a newcomer to step in. Please stand back.”
Heo Il, who had always shown a good-natured smile, put on a stern expression for the first time.
Namgung Jun smiled.
“I am no ordinary newcomer, am I?”
Heo Il, who had been contemplating deeply, answered seriously.
“A righteous warrior is not one who simply throws their life away for the sake of righteousness. What use is it if you save others but cannot, in fact, save yourself?”
“I am aware.”
At Namgung Jun’s firm resolve, Heo Il let out a sigh and spoke.
“Young Hero Namgung. There is the reason I stated before, but I also have a wish that you do not get entangled with the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult. You are of a unique constitution that the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult is targeting, are you not?”
“I am fully aware of that danger.”
“And yet, why?”
Namgung Jun smiled. A calmness that resembled the blue sky dwelled within it.
“I am holding a sword, so how can I turn away?”
“Turn away, you say.”
Heo Il understood the meaning of those words.
If they did not act now, the children they had not yet found would never be able to return home.
At this moment, they were the only ones who could extend a helping hand of salvation.
To turn away depending on one's ability.
To turn away depending on the situation.
What use was a stable righteousness that was achieved at the end of all that?
No, could that truly be called righteousness?
Heo Il, whose thoughts had reached this point, slowly lowered his gaze and looked at Namgung Jun.
Namgung Jun, who met Heo Il’s eyes, continued his words in a low voice.
“This is the first step I take as a Cloud of the Azure Sky Society.”
After contemplating for a moment, Heo Il burst out laughing.
“Very well. Let us move. However, just in case, I should request support from the main fortress.”
Namgung Jun asked Heo Il.
“But will tracking them be possible?”
“Of course. My nickname is The Sword That Surely Finds. It means I am certain to find them.”
The two men immediately began to move, following the trail that led from the Bae Gong Union.