"When is the Divine Martial Stage supposed to arrive?"
"They should arrive within ten days."
"We don't have much time."
"What is there to worry about! For the sake of Guiyang, we must strike the Seven Kill Chamber rather than the Evil Family Fortress or the Wolf Union."
"That's right. We must strike the Seven Kill Chamber first."
"I also think the same."
It was the Seven Kill Chamber that had ruled the nights of Guiyang for a long time.
Yifeng Hall was also formed because they could not stand the evil deeds of the Seven Kill Chamber. It was just that their power was so strong that they had not been able to annihilate them yet, but no matter what anyone said, the main enemy of Yifeng Hall was the Seven Kill Chamber.
"Who doesn't know that? Isn't it because the Sword Saint of the Blue Sky personally sent a letter of request that we are having this trouble!"
"I know. But the Sword Saint of the Blue Sky will not protect Guizhou."
"That's right. If he had even a speck of thought to do so, he would have helped long ago."
"I know, but isn't it something that he's sending the Divine Martial Stage now?"
"That's because the Heaven of Killing Emperors sent a person to the Evil Family Fortress!"
If the Wolf Union and the Evil Family Fortress were demonic path groups that fought for the hegemony of Guizhou, the Heaven of Killing Emperors was a powerful demonic path force that could fight for the hegemony of the world. In addition, the head of the Heaven of Killing Emperors was the Killing Sovereign, one of the Seven Sovereigns of the Demonic Path.
"It's been nearly ten years. We've endured for that long time with only the righteous people of Guizhou, without anyone's help."
"That's right. Think of those who have fallen one by one during that time. For what reason did they shed their blood? The Seven Kill Chamber! It was the single-minded determination to drive the Seven Kill Chamber out of this land."
"If the people sent from Tianlian arrive, we will not be able to do anything as we wish. So if we are to move, we must do it now."
"We must make a decision."
"To me, the peace of Guizhou comes before the justice of the world."
"I am the same. I will look at the world only after Guizhou is at peace."
"Hmm, good. Let's decide by a majority vote this time. But whatever decision is made, we will follow it without complaint, and even if the result is wrong, we must never regret it. Will you all do so?"
"We will do so."
"There are no regrets."
The people who were nodding their heads vigorously.
It was the conversation that the leaders of Yifeng Hall had had the moment the Cho Myung party was hired.
***
It was a deep night when even the sound of the night bugs had subsided.
While only the sound of snoring was echoing in the barracks, a person got up from the innermost part.
"Everyone, get up."
As soon as the leader, Mak Lip's, words ended, the sound of snoring stopped, and they got up one by one.
Eom Tak, Gwak Gyeong, and Ilpyeong also got up.
Cho Myung also got up and sat down, looking around to see what was going on.
"Ahem, what's going on?"
Ilpyeong asked, still half asleep.
"I'm going to slit your throat."
The voice of the one-eyed Dongchu was heard gloomily in the darkness.
Ilpyeong, whose heart had turned cold, closed his mouth like a clam.
"Hehe! Be afraid. I'll make sure you can't even sleep properly every night."
"Be quiet!"
Mak Lip said in a low but stern voice.
Dongchu's voice was no longer heard. When it became quiet, Mak Lip looked around at his group members even in the darkness and said.
"Everyone, get ready to go out."
At Mak Lip's words, everyone packed their weapons and moved silently.
"Hehe, you managed to get up?"
The old man with the cinnamon skin and crane-like hair, Gwak No, smiled at Cho Myung.
"Because my ears are sharp."
"Your ears are sharp?"
"Yes. I can hear sounds from far away well."
"That's amazing. Your body smells delicious, you hear well, you're of the B-rank at that age, you're really great, hehehe!"
"Am I great?"
"If you're not great, what do all the people here become?"
"I... I don't know."
"What don't you know?"
"What's so great, and whether it's something I should be sorry to other people for."
"You don't have to be sorry."
"You just said so."
"I didn't."
"It felt like you did."
"It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding."
"Yes."
"I said it's a misunderstanding."
"Yes."
"It's really a misunderstanding."
"Yes."
Cho Myung, who was repeatedly answering only briefly.
Gwak No, who did not feel that his appearance was sincere, looked at him with half-closed eyes.
It was at this time that someone asked the leader, Mak Lip.
"Where are we going?"
"This operation is top secret. I'll tell you when we arrive. Hey, you newcomers!"
"Speak!"
When Mak Lip called, Eom Tak answered as the representative.
"If you're slow or have no practical experience, it's better to stay out."
"You don't have to worry about us."
"I'm not worried about you. I'm worried that the operation will go wrong because of you."
Anyone could see that the leader, Mak Lip's, words were directed at the young Cho Myung.
How could Eom Tak not know?
'If he finds out Myung's skill, he'll probably be very surprised!'
Eom Tak smiled confidently.
"We'll do our part, and we won't be a burden."
"Good, I'll abandon you the moment you become a burden, so don't say anything else later."
"I know that much."
In the world of ronin, you cannot expect things like loyalty or camaraderie. When a crisis comes, the person who becomes a burden is thoroughly abandoned. Because those who can live must live. That is the cold world of the ronin.
"If everyone is ready, don't make any sound and just follow me."
The leader, Mak Lip, went out of the barracks first.
Although it was not a full moon, the moonlight was quite bright.
The ronin led by Mak Lip moved through the streets of Guiyang.
Quickly and silently, they avoided the main roads and crossed the alleys.
"If it's this direction, isn't it the Seven Kill Chamber?"
"Shut up!"
Someone expressed a doubt and then closed his mouth at Mak Lip's low roar.
Mak Lip moved north for about an hour.
'It's the territory of the Seven Kill Chamber!'
'As expected!'
The faces of the ronin hardened rapidly.
The place they had entered was clearly the territory of the Seven Kill Chamber.
Mak Lip, who had stopped in a dark alley, gathered the ronin in one place and said in a low voice.
"From now on, we will strike the Seven Kill Chamber. The territory of the Seven Kill Chamber is from here to the red-light district, and their base is the mansion in the middle of the red-light district. We will cause as much commotion as possible until we reach the front of the mansion."
"Leader, is it a full-scale battle?"
"Probably."
"You're throwing us as bait, aren't you?"
"Has there ever been a time when it wasn't?"
When Mak Lip asked back, he could not answer.
Because that was the reality of the ronin. That was why they were hired, and they were hired knowing that.
"Where are the other groups?"
"They will enter from a different direction."
"Damn it, my neck will be on the line if things go wrong!"
"It's a moment. We'll hold out for that time and then retreat."
"A moment is enough time to die ten times."
"If you don't die, you'll get a special allowance, so live tenaciously. Now, let's all go."
Mak Lip, who had drawn his sword as if there was no more time, emitted a fierce light and ran out of the alley. And his group members quickly followed him.
"It's a surprise attack... ugh!"
"Block them!"
"Aaargh!"
Clang, clang, clang! Thwack! Thwack, thwack, thwack!
Screams, the sound of weapons clashing, and the sound of something being heavily beaten burst out.
Mak Lip, who was in the lead, swung his sword at whatever came his way and led his group members, running towards the base of the Seven Kill Chamber.
When they ran out of the alley and entered the main road, the red-light district, they saw the groups that had run out of the other alleys.
They quickly distinguished between friend and foe, exchanged eye contact, and ran together along the red-light district.
"There are few, few!"
The old man with the cinnamon skin and crane-like hair, Gwak No, muttered.
At those words that were heard right next to him, Mak Lip felt his heart turn cold.
He respected Gwak No more than anyone else among the ronin hired by Yifeng Hall.
Because he had so much experience that he had never said anything wrong.
"This is too easy. We can just sweep them all the way to the base!"
"That's right, the Seven Kill Chamber must have been all bark and no bite!"
The voices of the other leaders chattering happily were heard. They had clearly not noticed the strangeness that Gwak No had felt.
"Gwak No."
Mak Lip called.
"We'll know when we go. We can't stop now."
At Gwak No's words, Mak Lip nodded his head and ran, keeping a close watch on the front.
As Gwak No had said, since they had a mission, they could not stop here.
The seventy or so ronin hired by Yifeng Hall swept away the enemies they encountered along the red-light district and pushed in like a flood.
But it was when the base of the Seven Kill Chamber was visible in the distance.
"Kill them!"
"Sweep those brats away!"
"Waaah!"
From the alleys on both sides of the red-light district, dozens of people holding sharp weapons poured out.
They did not just pour out.
As if they had planned it in advance, they attacked the ronin of Yifeng Hall from both sides at the same time.
The ones in the lead looked particularly strong, they were the assault captains of the Seven Kill Chamber.
They were brutally smashing the ronin, swinging their large broadswords and iron maces. When the momentum of the ronin was broken by their violence, the martial artists of the Seven Kill Chamber rushed in and hacked at them.
"If we don't get rid of those things, it will be dangerous."
Gwak No said with a chuckle.
Mak Lip was already moving. He also had eyes, so he had a hunch that if he did not get rid of them, not only would he fail his mission, but he would also receive a blow close to annihilation in this place.
Mak Lip, who was rushing quickly towards the person swinging the broadsword.
At this time, the leader of the first group was rushing towards the person swinging the iron mace.
Clang! Thwack!
A heavy collision occurred, and the massacre of the broadsword and the iron mace was stopped.
The faces of Mak Lip and the leader of the first group were not good. When they actually clashed, the opponent was much stronger than they looked.
"You son of a bitch!"
The broadsword became even fiercer.
Mak Lip lowered his posture even more and moved like crazy, left and right, swinging his sword. Since he knew that the opponent's strength was strong, he did not face them directly and only aimed for the vital points in a surprise attack. The opponent was startled, so the storm-like attack faltered.
The leader of the first group, who was blocking the iron mace, also fought in a similar pattern. It could not be helped. Because the Seven Kill Chamber had anticipated that only ronin would come and had prepared to a degree that the ronin could not handle.
And there, they had even prepared a reserve force for the case of an emergency.
"I was going to go to that battlefield, but this place seems quite fun too!"
Suddenly, a woman's voice was heard.
And soon, a woman in white clothes came running like the wind from the building on the left, her clothes fluttering.
"We're in big trouble! Who's going to block that one! How about it, will you try to block her?"
Gwak No said to Cho Myung.
Even while talking, his two hands moved like a swimming fish and hit the body of the rushing enemy. The enemy collapsed on the spot.
Cho Myung had been watching Gwak No fight with fascination from a while ago. It was fascinating because every time Gwak No's hand touched, the opponent would collapse.
Eom Tak, Gwak Gyeong, and Ilpyeong were gathered together, so they were somehow managing to get by. It was thanks to having matched their hands and feet for a long time.
"Hehehe! The girl is running wild, and the child who should be blocking her is looking away, so everyone is going to die!"
At Gwak No's words, Cho Myung turned his head.
He saw the scene of the woman in white fighting the leader of the second group, who was thrusting a short spear. She spun her body and deflected the short spear, and then stabbed the neck of the leader of the second group, who was holding the short spear, with a pure white dagger.
At that moment, Cho Myung moved.
Thwack!
With a heavy sound, the one-eyed Dongchu collapsed.
He had been approaching the rear of the three, including Eom Tak, in the chaotic gap, and had been hit in the back of the head by Cho Myung, who had started to move quickly.
When Dongchu collapsed, Cho Myung moved even faster.
Thud!
The woman in white, who was surprised by the sound of the vibration, turned around, and at that moment, Cho Myung, who had moved in front of her, stretched out his fist straight.
Thwack!
The woman in white, whose face was crushed, was sent flying about ten feet and collapsed.
"Hehehehe!"
Gwak No laughed, watching the scene.
Cho Myung examined the neck of the leader of the second group.
It was dangerous. He quickly pressed the vital point to stop the bleeding, and then tore the clothes of the leader of the second group and wrapped it around his neck, leaving just enough space to breathe and applying pressure.
"He won't die. If he just keeps breathing, he will never die. So don't be scared. Got it?"
He had read it in a medical book.
That it was common for a person who had received an unexpected injury to die from shock, even if it was not a fatal wound.
Cho Myung gestured to the ronin who were nearby, leaving the leader of the second group, who was just nodding his head.
"Just make sure he doesn't move, and protect him."
The ronin, who had seen Cho Myung send the woman flying with one punch, nodded their heads.
Cho Myung looked around and thought.
This fight was not his fight. So he had not been actively involved.
Wrong. His thoughts were wrong.
As long as he was in this place, this fight was his fight.
Cho Myung, who had clenched his fist, moved in a straight line.
Thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack!
The enemies were sent flying.
One by one, with one punch.
As soon as they were hit in the head, they lost consciousness and rolled on the ground.
A corner of the Seven Kill Chamber's camp, which had been pushing the ronin like a storm, collapsed.
The battlefield was cleanly organized along Cho Myung's rush.
The ronin, who had lost their opponents, just followed Cho Myung's movements with surprised eyes.
Thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack! Thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack!
The sound of heavy blows and the sound of collapsing were heard without a break.
"Damn it! Retreat! Retreat!"
Yu Guang, who was swinging his broadsword, shouted and turned around.
He did not forget to swing his broadsword wide so that Mak Lip could not grab his ankle.
Mak Lip, who was busy just barely blocking, could not even dare to grab him.
When the retreat order was given, Wei Yang, who was swinging his iron mace, also quickly turned around. He also knew that Leng Meilang, who was stronger than them, was in a state of being unable to fight.
Thwack!
In the eyes of Wei Yang, who was just about to leave, he saw the sight of Yu Guang being sent flying back with his broadsword.
At that, he was startled and the moment he widened his eyes as much as he could, there was a fist that filled his two eyes.
Thwack!
Wei Yang also lost consciousness on the spot.
(End of Chapter)