It was a moonless night. The sky was full of dark clouds, and not even the sound of insects could be heard, so only the quiet silence calmed the atmosphere.
Swish!
Eventually, something appeared in the dark.
Although invisible because of darkness, it possessed an indescribable strangeness, as if drops of blood had gathered together to form a human shape.
There were ten of such forms that showed up.
They were completely covered in blood from head to toe and their faces weren’t even visible, and their red eyes were clear in the darkness.
Even as they looked at the large manor in front of them, they didn’t display any emotions.
As if they were wooden dolls.
Their purpose was extremely simple.
To kill everyone in that place.
And all they have to do is drag a child out.
They moved without exchanging any signals. However, like well-trained soldiers, they were advancing in order and forming a formation.
So that they could attack at any time.
It looked like they were trained to do so.
Eventually, those forms jumped to the highest point like ghosts.
Kang!
At the same time, a person in front had swung his knife. Blades falling helplessly flashed before their eyes. But they didn’t panic and knocked them aside.
“Huh… this is fun. You blocked it?”
Someone mumbled, thinking of the sword getting blocked.
Embarrassment was clear in his voice, and it was because these red-eyed people had blocked a sudden attack.
“Wasn’t the attack just weak?”
“Eh? I clearly swung the sword with the intention to kill.”
In the darkness, the Beggar Emperor, Bang No-baek, appeared and frowned. He felt a strange presence a while back, but he never thought that these people would show up.
Bang No-baek opened his eyes and quietly looked at the bloody-eyed and ghost-like people.
Their clothes he was seeing for the first time, and the footwork they displayed were also things he had no knowledge of.
‘Are they someone hidden from us?’
Bang No-baek’s feelings as he looked at the ten of the bloody-eyed ones, were complex. Even if that wasn’t the case, the Justice Faction is divided now, and if such people were showing up, he worried about the future.
“These are not normal people. I guess it won’t be easy then?”
Namgung Chun nodded at Bang No-baek’s words.
Even though it wasn’t a move with all his strength put into it, he was still the Sword Emperor. Being able to block a move of someone like that meant that they had comparable or equal martial arts skills.
At this time, a man from the most advanced of the bloody-eyed ones, stepped forward.
“…Kill them.”
Talking was of no use now.
Namgung Chun and Bang No-baek realized at once at those words that were uttered with eyes as sharp as blades.
That the person in front of them wasn’t someone to be taken lightly.
They thought that maybe he was one who was now in line with the Five Emperors. Also, the subordinates didn’t appear to be of a low level either.
Namgung Chun had a slight smile on his face as he gathered his qi.
“I don’t know what you were thinking when you came here… You came into someone else’s house, so don’t think about getting out alive.”
Namgung Sohye, who was sleeping, opened her eyes.
She saw Dan Somi sleeping quietly next to her. Namgung Sohye slowly stretched out her hand and touched Dan Somi’s blood point.
The action was quite natural and she immediately grabbed the sword she had placed next to the bed.
In an instant, a red form appeared from within the darkness.
Kang!
Namgung Sohye, who parried the blade aimed for her neck, hugged Dan Somi and leaped off the bed. However the opponent too didn’t care to give up, extending his blade and aiming for Namgung Sohye’s chest.
Kakang!
It was so heavy.
She realized that her opponent’s strength was greater than hers.
One more after another, each time the swords clashed, the heavy feeling didn’t leave her body.
Her wrist was throbbing now.
And it was no exaggeration to say this was the worst crisis she had been in till now, holding Dan Somi in her arms.
“Sohye!”
Kwang!
At that time, Zhuge Yeon arrived, breaking the door down.
The moment she saw a person in a red robe, Zhuge Yeon extended her sword without hesitation.
Kakang! Her unique and mysterious technique was used precisely. But it wasn’t enough to completely block out the intruder.
Grumble! Zhuge Yeon and Namgung Sohye were pushed out at the same time.
“Who is this?”
“I don’t know! It seems like it’s noisy outside too…”
Namgung Sohye heard the clashing sounds from outside. As she raised her qi to sense what was happening out there, she was able to detect that everyone in the family, including Ma Jang-kang and Kwon Mujin, was out in the yard.
‘And yet they couldn’t take them down?’
There is the Sword Emperor, and the Beggar Emperor, who are remarkable at what they do.
There might even be another person in the house, hiding and watching all this unfold.
This was a situation that should have been resolved quickly as there were three of the strongest in the Central Plains, but the noise of the clashes were getting louder and louder.
The man in front of her even seemed to draw in the attention of Namgung Chun and Bang No-baek.
Namgung Sohye broke out into cold sweat.
Maybe it was even more dangerous than outside.
Shhh!
At that time, the body of the man in front of her blurred.
The moment she realized it, Namgung Sohye’s sword moved like an arrow. Since the opponent’s location couldn’t be specified, the intention was to disperse Sword qi everywhere.
Kakang!
After detecting the opponent’s location at the metal clicks, she took a step back and drew her sword into a horizontal slash.
Slash!
“Euk!?”
However, the sword sliced through the air without resistance, and red blood splashed from Namgung Sohye’s back.
Predicting the opponent’s movements is a natural task for a skilled warrior.
And now the opponent was taking advantage of Namgung Sohye’s mental dilemma.
The man landed with light movements. This time, he looked at Namgung Sohye intently and drew his blade back like he wanted to cut her down in a single hit.
The moment when the two people were looking at him nervously.
The man stepped ahead.
Puak!
“Kuak!”
At that moment, a blade was embedded into the neck of the man. It was the swift movement of Bi Chun-woong’s dagger, who appeared with a black hue around him.
“…It is the nature of assassins to look for gaps in the opponents to kill.”
Bi Chun-woong mumbled, looking at the opponent’s collapse.
Even gaps in regular movements, would not be missed. That is the qualification of an assassin, and because of his extreme efficiency, he is called the Assassin Emperor.
Bi Chun-woong pulled the dagger out with a cold smile.
Drip!
Namgung Sohye gave a bewildered laugh at being pushed back several steps despite doing her best.
“Pretty good, eh.”
The other person said nothing though.
It was like a puppet with just instincts remaining, but possessed power at the same time.
It was an opponent one could never let down their guard against.
Even though there were already over a hundred spars, there was no winner, so it meant that this opponent was on a comparable footing against Namgung Chun.
“Are you alright?”
“Hehe, you worry about yourself.”
He smiled at the voice he heard from Namgung Chun, and glancing over, he saw the Beggar Emperor catching his breath.
Around him, five corpses were crushed to death.
“Would you like me to help you?”
“Hehe, now that that’s done, go look for the others. How many more are still left for us to handle?”
Bang No-baek glanced around. This place is being cleaned up with those warriors being killed, but not inside. Those inside were having a hard time against those bloody things, and Kwon Mujin and Ma Jang-kang had to be having a tough time.
The moment he clicked his tongue and turned around.
He felt this incredible presence which he didn’t feel before.
He stopped walking and turned back in surprise.
This undoubtedly had to do with the presence of Namgung Chun. He was entering a formation he had never seen before.
“It has been so long since we have come this far in fights. So I think I should start taking things seriously.”
Namgung Chun adjusted his sword and gripped it.
An overwhelming presence rose from his body.
A thuggish spirit which threatens to devour everything around it and bring everyone to their knees.
It felt like he was facing the ruler of the world.
Drip!
Bang No-baek even broke out in sweat.
The other person must be feeling more horrible facing Namgung Chun.
It felt like even people have changed.
“Sa Dohak, that bastard, this is meant for when I fight him… but since it cannot be helped, I will use this first.”
Namgung Chun grinned.
It seemed as if his true self was revealed, as he had roamed the Central Plains for a long time, catching and killing all kinds of evil people.
Bang No-baek realized.
That Namgung Chun was quite happy right now.
The presence he felt for the first time in a long while, and the determination to destroy the one blocking his sword, all of it was being conveyed.
What his sword carried was strength which couldn’t be ignored, even if it was Sa Dohak himself.
‘That guy. What did he make of them?’
The moment when Bang No-baek couldn’t help but be shocked.
The man, the opponent, feeling the impending crisis, took the initiative to attack first.
Unlike before, when he had some qi to spare, the blade was swung frantically as he poured all his effort into it.
The sword approached, filling the air to not give the opponent any gaps.
Bang No-baek acknowledged that this attack cannot be blocked so easily.
But.
Kakakang!
Namgung Chun’s sword began to move slowly.
The qi in that sword felt as heavy as the great mountains, and the movement felt as majestic as that of a dragon roaming the sky.
Immediately, he put down the wild and ferocious beast-like swordsman and punched him for daring to raise his teeth at the Emperor.
Kang! Kang! Kang!
Just as no sword, no matter how swift or sturdy, can stop the approach of the Sword Emperor, the opponent’s sword collapsed.
Euk!
Slash!
The sword of Namgung Chun cut down the opponent’s sword in half.
Shhh!
The qi on the sword was so heavy that instead of causing blood to splatter, it only wet the ground.
Namgung Chun still didn’t lose his force and mumbled softly as he looked at the sword with not a drop of blood.
“Great Emperor’s Sword Form.”
