Chapter 9
Seo Cheon Ho’s Tiger Hunting team Leader, Hwang Byeok.
He stood at the crossroads of the greatest decision of his life.
Would he betray his organization and succumb to the fear before him?
Or would he uphold loyalty and honor, embracing death with courage?
Cheon Woo-jin, seeing Hwang Byeok deep in thought, decided to help him. A black haze, darker than the midnight darkness in colour, wavered ominously.
Upon seeing this, Hwang Byeok made his decision in an instant.
“I will guide you, sir.”
Thus, Zhuge Liang and Cheon Woo-jin followed Hwang Byeok’s lead.
As they walked, Zhuge Liang checked the poison, hidden weapons, and blade she had brought along.
After all, they were on their way to meet Suramagun, the second-tier martial arts public enemy.
***
The Blood Excursion Troop, which specialized in ambushing remote villages with few martial artists or government troops, didn’t take long to be tracked down.
Cheon Woo-jin had already been tasked with eliminating them in the second test, and they were heading toward a village suspected to be their next target.
Under Hwang Byeok’s guidance, they arrived at Angang County, a small village in Shaanxi Province.
True to its name, the village had once had a peaceful atmosphere, but by the time Cheon Woo-jin’s party arrived, it was already bathed in blood.
Houses were in flames, with smoke rising from every corner.
Men, both young and old, lay on the ground bleeding.
Women were being dragged away by men clad in black, their hair yanked mercilessly.
A once quiet, peaceful village had turned into a hellscape of endless screams and wails.
Cheon Woo-jin’s group observed from a concealed spot nearby, waiting. Or rather, since Cheon Woo-jin had yet to move, both Hwang Byeok and Zhuge Liang were also holding their positions.
Then it happened.
“Let go! Let go of her, you *****s!”
A snot-nosed boy clung desperately to the hem of a woman’s clothes, presumably his mother.
Though tears streamed down his face, there was no fear in his eyes.
Finding this amusing, the black-clad men laughed mockingly and kicked the boy.
The light kick sent the child rolling on the ground, clutching his stomach. Yet, he still glared at them, his eyes burning with hatred.
“I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you all, no matter what.”
The boy’s voice, thick with blood and grief, carried a weight beyond his years. He had witnessed the cruelest side of humanity and, in that moment, was no longer a child.
The black-clad men’s expressions changed.
Revenge turns people into monsters.
Ignoring such a threat as a mere child’s empty words could one day lead to a sharp blade in the dark, this was the way of the martial world.
The experienced men of the underworld understood this well.
One of them grabbed the woman’s clothing.
The boy, now frightened, stared in horror.
“No, stop it…! Please!”
At that moment, the half-unconscious woman bit down on her captor’s hand.
Cursing, the man flung her to the ground and raised his dark-colored blade in anger.
The woman quickly shielded her son with her body, while the boy, still in her arms, glared unwaveringly at his attacker.
The black-clad man, unsettled by that gaze, made up his mind.
He had to kill the boy.
Seeing this, Zhuge Liang could no longer hold back.
“We have to stop them.”
Just as she was about to move, Cheon Woo-jin grabbed her arm.
“Not yet.”
Zhuge Liang was desperate, but Cheon Woo-jin’s expression remained calm.
The black-clad man, unable to contain his frustration, finally swung his sword at the mother and child.
Clang!
A sword suddenly blocked the attack.
However, this was no heroic rescue.
“Don’t touch what isn’t yours.”
“But these **** wretches—”
“Number Seven.”
The low voice made the man called Number Seven flinch.
By using a rank instead of a name, Number Three was clearly issuing a warning.
Number Seven spat at the mother and son before stepping away. Meanwhile, Number Three, looking indifferent, grabbed the woman by her hair and dragged her off once more.
One by one, the women were loaded onto the carts brought by the black-clad men.
Zhuge Liang, frustrated, asked,
“Why aren’t we doing anything?”
Cheon Woo-jin, still calm, continued watching.
Time passed.
Finally, he spoke.
“Now, it’s enough.”
“What do you mean?”
“I needed to confirm something.”
Suramagun was a disciple of the Dark Emperor. Such a villain wouldn’t commit acts of evil purely for pleasure. Cheon Woo-jin’s mentor, Heukno, always taught him,
– A true villain always has a purpose behind their evil.
So he had watched.
They killed the men and kidnapped some of the women.
If it was for lust, they would have preferred younger women. Even if they had peculiar tastes, there would have been some pattern in the type of victims they chose.
Yet, the abducted women varied greatly in age and appearance.
Then, Cheon Woo-jin noticed a single common trait among the kidnapped women.
They all had an unusually strong Yin energy.
This meant they weren’t being taken for pleasure but rather for their energy.
There was only one reason why someone would selectively kidnap women with strong Yin energy.
“Sever Pulse Syndrome.”
If Cheon Woo-jin’s guess was right, then the Suramagun was suffering from Sever Pulse Syndrome-a deadly martial condition.
Without warning, Cheon Woo-jin stepped out of the bushes and walked forward.
Zhuge Liang and Hwang Byeok, taken aback, quickly reacted.
“Wait! At least let us prepare-!”
Anyway, the opponents were dozens of trained black-clad warriors.
No matter how skilled she was as a vice-captain of the Martial Alliance, she couldn’t handle them alone.
Of course, there was the monster known as Cheon Woo-jin with her, but she wasn’t the type to just stand back and watch.
The most shocked person, however, was Hwang Byeok.
“What the hell are you?”
The black-clad warriors noticed Cheon Woo-jin and started cursing, but then they saw Hwang Byeok behind him.
Then, Number Thee spoke.
“Aren’t you the leader of the Tiger Hunting team?”
“Haha…”
Feeling awkward about hearing his title again, Hwang Byeok let out a dry laugh.
Number Three carefully observed the atmosphere between Hwang Byeok, Cheon Woo-jin, and Zhuge Liang before shouting,
“Attack!”
At that moment, the black-clad warriors who were setting the village ablaze gathered immediately. Despite the sudden situation, they showed no signs of panic. It meant they were well-trained.
Then, a large man with red hair pushed through the crowd and walked forward. The characters on his chest read Number One.
Hwang Byeok swallowed nervously.
“Blood Excursion Squad Captain…”
Although they were both captains, their martial prowess was worlds apart.
The Tiger Hunting team was an assassin unit, whereas Blood Excursion Squad was a direct combat unit.
If it was about sneaking up and slitting throats, maybe he could manage.
But in a head-on fight, there was no chance of victory.
The Blood Excursion Captain briefly scanned the situation before bursting into laughter.
“Ha ha ha! Captain of the Tiger Hunting team, what the hell happened to you?
Don’t tell me you betrayed the Lord?”
Despite the sudden turn of events, the Blood Excursion Squad Captain showed no signs of tension.
A single traitorous captain, a young man, and a young woman.
There was no reason to be nervous.
Hwang Byeok scratched his head and said,
“I had no choice if I wanted to live…”
“Hahahaha! You think that excuse will work on the Lord? You think he’s going to let you live?”
Hearing the words from another captain’s mouth made the harsh reality sink in even deeper, and Hwang Byeok felt even more dejected.
Stay here and die, or go back and die.
His situation was utterly hopeless.
On top of that, looking at that towering beast of a man, he started questioning how he could’ve been foolish enough to trust these youngsters and come all the way here.
‘Should I just turn on them now?’
The Blood Excursion Squad Captain was arrogant but not completely heartless.
Maybe if he begged and groveled, he’d find amusement in it and decide to spare him.
Just as Hwang Byeok was contemplating this,
his eyes met Cheon Woo-jin’s.
Those calm, unwavering eyes.
For some reason, a strange thought crossed his mind.
‘I can’t imagine this guy losing in a fight.’
Logically, he knew that the Blood Excursion Squad Captain, the Lord of Seo Cheon Ho, and even the Suramagun were all stronger than this brat.
But every fiber of his being, his instincts as a warrior, were warning him.
They were telling him that Cheon Woo-jin was dangerous.
Hwang Byeok suddenly grabbed his head with both hands and shouted,
“Screw it! Let’s just fight!”
He charged at the Blood Excursion Squad Captain, ready to die.
But something blocked his way.
A black iron staff.
Cheon Woo-jin looked at him with an exasperated expression.
“Who told you to fight? Step back.”
“W-What?”
For a brief moment, Hwang Byeok felt touched.
Was this monstrous and cold-hearted man actually looking out for him?
But then, Cheon Woo-jin’s next words shattered that illusion.
“If you die, who’s going to guide us to Seo Cheon Ho?”
“…**** it.”
Hwang Byeok cursed again.
“Ha ha ha! What the hell are you two doing?”
The Blood Excursion Squad Captain let out a thunderous laugh, his voice shaking the air.
Cheon Woo-jin faced him calmly.
At that, the captain’s lips curled into a smirk.
“What, are you going to fight alone?
Hwang Byeok, that dumb**s, is useless, but that fine lady behind you looks like she knows how to handle a sword.”
Zhuge Liang had already drawn her sword.
The brief flash of lust in the Blood Excursion Squad Captain’s eyes disgusted her, making her murderous intent surge.
But Zhuge Liang was not someone who acted on impulse.
She was a vice-captain of the Martial Alliance, a member of the Zhuge family.
She kept her composure and assessed the situation.
No matter what, she had to analyze the enemy and allies calmly to make the right decision.
That was the way of the Zhuge family.
‘Cheon Woo-jin’s skills are unknown. But he’s stronger than me, that’s clear.
Then I’ll take care of the small fries…’
At that moment–
Cheon Woo-jin’s figure blurred.
Zhuge Liang’s eyes widened, scanning the surroundings.
KWAJIK!
A sharp, chilling impact rang out. Zhuge Liang quickly turned toward the source of the sound.
A horrifying sight unfolded before her.
Cheon Woo-jin’s black staff had crushed the Blood Excursion Squad Captain’s skull, shattered his neck, chest, and down to his groin.
He had been completely torn in half.
A suffocating silence fell over the battlefield.
The black-clad warriors who had been ready to fight stood frozen in place.
No one could move. No one could even breathe.
In that crushing silence, Cheon Woo-jin calmly retrieved his staff.
The Blood Excursion Squad Captain’s bisected corpse collapsed to the ground, and droplets of blood dripped from the tip of his black staff.
It was so quiet that the sound of blood falling onto the ground rang out like a thunderclap.
Then, slowly and deliberately, Cheon Woo-jin turned his gaze toward the remaining black-clad warriors.
And disappeared again.
The warriors trembled in fear. They had seen exactly how their captain had died.
When Cheon Woo-jin reappeared,
KWAJIK!
Another gruesome impact echoed.
All eyes turned toward the sound, only to find exactly what they had expected.
And yet, it was still horrifying.
Cheon Woo-jin continued to swing his staff without emotion.
For a while, the village was shrouded in a mist of blood. But no screams were heard.
Most of the black-clad warriors died before they could even make a sound, their heads crushed.
That was the trigger. The survivors, overcome with terror, turned and fled without hesitation.
Cheon Woo-jin watched them impassively.
Then, slowly, he pulled out a white feather fan.
With a simple flick of his wrist, a small breeze formed.
A butterfly’s wingbeat of wind swept toward the fleeing warriors, growing larger and larger, until it became a raging storm.
It was a single strike.
Blood, flesh, and bone mixed with their fear, swirling within Cheon Woo-jin’s white storm.
Plop. Plop.
Scattered remains rained down from the sky.
Zhuge Liang and Hwang Byeok, watching from a distance, were dumbfounded.
Hwang Byeok’s legs trembled so much that he could barely stand.
Amidst the crimson rain, standing alone, holding a white fan in one hand and a black staff in the other…
He looked like either a demon who had just finished a massacre—or a celestial being who had slain one.
Even for seasoned warriors like Hwang Byeok and Zhuge Liang, who had seen all sorts of horrors, they knew…
That they would never forget this sight for the rest of their lives.
