100 - Missions, Investigation (7) - The Heaven-Slaying Sword

Yong Bong Dan and Seo Ye did not linger any longer. It was due to the words spoken by Seo Ye. “You did not conceal your identities when entering Guizhou. The mines must be aware of your arrival. If they are not fools, they must anticipate that I have sought your assistance from you all. Therefore, we cannot afford to delay further and give them time to prepare.” Her point was valid. Thus, after completing the bare minimum preparations, they executed their mission late at night. They left the city and headed toward the closest mountain and then to a spot between some rocks. “Is this the entrance to the secret passage?” When Dang Hwa-seo asked, Seo Ye nodded. “Yes, it’s the emergency exit known only to the headman and the successor over generations. It’s likely that they are unaware of this entrance on the other side.” A drop of sweat trailed down Seo Ye’s chin. Unlike Yong Bong Dan, she was feeling quite strained by the non-stop movements since leaving the manor. However, there was no time to waste. Thud! As Seo Ye threw a stone between the rocks, a space opened amidst a slight sound of collision. Jegal San's eyes gleamed. “Ho, a formation. Quite a high-level one.” Even Jegal San, until Seo Ye activated it, had not noticed its existence due to the ingeniously hidden formation. “Let’s go in.” Seo Ye entered the passage. “This is…” Mok Riwon looked around. The tunnel was unmaintained. It was a long, dark cave with no light to illuminate the way, finding no source of light anywhere. “You need to move by touching the walls.” “Is there a reason for the absence of light?” “We can't expose the tunnel. I cleared everything when I escaped.” She was thorough. Dang Hwa-seo quietly expressed his admiration and followed her. It might have been about two hours of walking. Seo Ye, in a slightly quieter voice, made everyone halt. “Beyond here lies Hao Mun’s secret base.” Tension surfaced on the members' faces. “Where does it lead to?” “Directly to the entrance of the inner sanctum.” “The entrance? Not the middle?” “The sanctum should have no back doors.” Originally, there was one. Behind the main hall’s chair in the sanctum used to be a different secret passage, but the previous headman had sealed it, rendering it currently unusable. Seo Ye didn’t feel the need to divulge such details. “Anyway, most of the forces are guarding the exterior, but we are short on time. The secret vault is behind the bookshelf in the headman’s office of the innermost sanctum, and we need to reach there within two hours.” The schedule was tight. Just roaming the building would predictably take nearly two hours considering its size, let alone moving while engaging in battles without a moment to hesitate. Dang Hwa-seo said to Jegal San, “...Jegal San, would you be able to distract the forces coming from the entrance?” The thought being it might be easier to prevent the exterior forces from entering, and after some deliberation, Jegal San answered. “For about two hours... I think I can manage.” Two hours. It would significantly ease their operation. “Then, you will take care of that side. Il Woon, please guard Jegal San with Baek Bong.” “Understood.” “The sanctum will be tackled by me, Mok, and the Sword Dragon.” The team was split 3 to 3. Well, with Seo Ye joining, it made four on the sanctum side. Splitting an already small team seemed agonizing, but it was unavoidable. ‘Considering the mines, it is rare to find anyone above the utmost peak. If the sanctum houses a devil, attracting its attention with me, Mok, and the Sword Dragon should be feasible.’ Their aim was Seo Ye activating the formation. According to what they heard, once the formation is properly activated, they wouldn’t need to worry about what follows. ‘Just buy time.’ With that thought, they proceeded. “Then, let’s divide the team as such and commence our move.” “I’ll open it.” Seo Ye placed her hand on the wall at the end of the tunnel. The wall creaked open. What was revealed was a cliffside. This was the backside of the building, a narrow gap between the cave and the building. * Jegal San led Il Woon and Hyewoon towards the outskirts of the secret base, to lay down a formation connecting the inner and outer areas. They already knew the location thanks to Seo Ye. As Jegal San moved stealthily using light-body techniques, he soon halted the two following him. “...Stop, there are enemies ahead.” Il Woon and Hyewoon stifled their breaths. Jegal San only slightly poked his head around the corner to check the number of enemies. ‘Five.’ One of second rank, four of first rank. It was the number of people currently waiting just beyond the door. Even for miners, having four first-rank guards for a single door seemed excessive. It appeared they were indeed prepared for intrusion as Seo Ye suspected. ‘Seems like their efforts are in vain.’ They had already infiltrated the sanctum. Jegal San smirked. “Monks.” Addressing both as they were monks, they focused on Jegal San. “May I ask a favor?” “What is it?” “Please move that way and head towards the exterior. I’d like you to cause a disturbance there.” Hyewoon’s brows furrowed. “I did come for that reason... but are you sure you’ll be okay?” Jegal San was clever. Moreover, his knowledge of formations was exceptional, so it was not as if he lacked anything in that aspect. However, the worry regarding Jegal San always came back to physical strength. Among Yong Bong Dan’s group, his physical prowess was the weakest, even though he had reached the level of absolute pinnacle. “Perhaps you can handle five, Jegal clan head… but what if more come out from the inner sanctum upon hearing the commotion?” Jegal San blinked at her worried remarks, then laughed heartily, waving his hand dismissively. “You worry about too much. Il Woon and Hyewoon will take care of that side.” A look of skepticism deepened on Il Woon and Hyewoon's faces. Yet, Jegal San was unusually stubborn. “Don’t worry about me. If it seems too dangerous, I plan to bash them up and run back to where you two are.” “…” Only then did the skepticism on their faces vanish, replaced by annoyance. Jegal San's sly smile grew wider. “May I ask for a favor?” Both sighed and agreed to his request. “Just don’t run away too quickly.” Hyewoon said, drawing her sword, and Il Woon did the same. “We’ll meet again in a bit.” Crack! The two jumped over the wall towards the exterior. Only then did Jegal San exhale deeply. “Finally alone.” He stood up. * “Arrgh!” “Ugh!” Thud! The five guards at the entrance collapsed simultaneously. Jegal San, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, smiled with satisfaction. “That takes care of the small fry.” What was left was to set up the formation. However, Jegal San refrained from doing so. “How long do you intend to watch like a pervert?” He spoke louder than a murmur. A man emerged from the darkness, fully cloaked and masked. It was Yangdon, the deputy of the evil Yang Go-Hye. “...You are quick-witted.” “I’ve survived on such quick-wittedness for more than a day.” “Do you have time to be so leisurely?” “And what would I be busy with?” Jegal San looked at the man and grinned. “I sent all my companions away, hoping to have a bit of fun with the executioner. How cold of you to disappoint me?” “...” Yangdon observed Jegal San carefully. ‘His martial arts are at the initial stages of the pinnacle.’ Given the sly impression and the slick attitude, it must be the mischievous Jegal San. Yangdon could not understand. ‘He intentionally stayed behind alone…’ Even among pinnacles, there was a difference in levels. Yangdon, a matured pinnacle middle-stage practitioner, focused on destructive demonic arts unlike Jegal San. In a head-on fight, Yangdon believed he had no chance of winning. ‘...He’s overconfident.’ Yangdon made his judgment and drew his broadsword. Swoosh! The sharp sound of metal resonated. “I'll make sure it’s a painless end.” “Oh, how kind of you.” “You won’t have to worry about being lonely. Baek Bong and Gwon Ryong out there will soon join you.” Jegal San kept smiling slyly. Yangdon’s expression darkened. “What's so funny?” “It seems to me you’re overestimating yourself.” “You seem to be the one doing that.” In an instant. “Is that how you see it?” A voice sounded from behind. Surprised, Yangdon turned and swung his sword. Slice! But he cut only air. “Where are you looking?” When he swung his sword towards the voice behind him again, he again cut through nothing but air. “What, what is this…!” Yangdon was flabbergasted. Jegal San still appeared to stand in the same place, yet his voice echoed from elsewhere, startling him. Yangdon felt a chill. ‘Danger.’ He couldn’t delay. This man had a hidden trick. Boom! With that thought, he unleashed his demonic energy. Jegal San, still wearing a grin, spoke. “I know an old story, care to hear? Ah, it’s not a long story. In fact, I can summarize it very shortly.” Yangdon lunged and swung his broadsword again. However, Jegal San’s figure dissipated like a mirage the moment it was cut through, reappearing behind Yangdon. “It’s a story about stars. The same stars our Namgoong brother possesses.” Yangdon, unleashing his demonic energy, swung his sword repeatedly, hoping to somehow catch Jegal San. He chased the increasingly fading figure of Jegal San. But he couldn’t catch him. Slice! Jegal San continued to scatter. As if he had never been there to begin with. ‘What is this!’ What trick was he using? ‘A formation?’ Did he set up a formation just now? No, there was no time for that. Yangdon had been keeping an eye on him since he arrived alone. ‘A step technique?’ Jegal's step technique was said to be marvelously mysterious. Was that what he utilized? "...No." No matter how exceptional the step technique, it was inconceivable it would enable him to evade to this extent. Martially, I was far superior. The confusion intensified. Now, an unexplainable sense of unease began to surface. Despite this, Jegal San's story continued. "A lonely star. A star destined to be alone." Slash! Yangdon began swinging his sword frantically. "There was a child born under that star, who deeply loved his mother." He swung his sword, hoping that eventually, he would strike the true form amidst the mirages. "The child was happy. Unaware of the star that resided within him, he enjoyed the warmth of his mother's embrace, the wealth of his family, and the joy of his keen intellect." But he could not reach. Yangdon was only chasing after mirages. "Happiness did not last. The star had called upon the child too early." Yangdon came to a stop. In an instant. Swoosh! Three long blades pierced through his chest, protruding out. "Cough!" Blood spilled from Yangdon's mouth. He turned his head. Behind him, Jegal San smiled slyly, whispering to him. "You are destined to be forever alone." In Jegal San's right hand was a peculiar weapon fitted onto his arm. A handcuff-like armor covering his forearm and back of his hand, with three thin blades attached like claws on the back of it. It was a Claw Blade. Yangdon looked at Jegal San with trembling jaws clenched tightly. "Dark." People's pupils are naturally dark. But these were excessively dark. So dark, he thought no light of this world could ever shine through. Yangdon recognized those eyes. "...Absolute Severance Star." The star that leads its bearers into solitude. The cursed star that shortens the life of everything its bearer loves. This man was the master of that star. Jegal San smiled slightly. "You know of it?" Swoosh! As Jegal San withdrew the Claw Blade, Yangdon collapsed. Now, he could see Jegal San properly. "...The very edge of the pinnacle." He was at the very edge of the pinnacle. So close to reaching beyond the pinnacle, he seemed to teeter on the precipice. Yangdon realized. 'I was complacent.' He had hastily judged based on the inferior level of internal strength. Jegal San lacked only in 'internal strength'. Indeed, as Jegal San said, it was overconfidence on his part. "Originally, only two people knew this story." Jegal San said, bending down to look at Yangdon. He remembered. The words his mother used to say to him as a child. "-San, never tell anyone." "...There was one, and today, there became two again." "-Smile, for you are very beautiful when you smile like your mother." Jegal San smiled bitterly. "And now, it's just me again." Yangdon felt his vision blur. Within it, he thought. '...Dangerous.' This man was too dangerous. With this thought, Yangdon's life faded away. And where Yangdon now lay as a corpse, Jegal San murmured. "I'm sorry. I've been feeling a bit suffocated lately, wanted to talk to someone about it."