“Huaaaam.”
I walked the streets with Black Cat, who yawned continuously. Even though she was a peak expert, it seemed that the accumulated fatigue from three days of non-stop movement was taking its toll.
“Why not go in and rest?”
“Well, I’m a Sacheon Outcast after all.”
She mumbled, but I knew exactly what she was thinking.
Currently, there were a total of 31 martial artists remaining at Jambongmun. Excluding Elder Gae Myung-bu, there were 10 peak experts, and the remaining 20 were top-tier experts.
The Sacheon Outcasts at the Outcast Inn numbered 28, including Black Cat, with 9 peak experts and 18 top-tier experts.
In terms of raw power, Sacheon Outcasts were slightly at a disadvantage, lacking in numbers of peak experts.
That’s why even if she was tired, she chose to come along to lend a hand.
“Hehe, it’s reassuring to have the esteemed Black Cat, the top expert of the Sacheon Outcasts, joining us.”
“Well… the more allies, the better.”
Feeling a bit awkward from the unexpected praise, Black Cat glanced around and suddenly popped a rice cracker into her mouth.
Seeing that, the outcasts burst into laughter.
It seemed that Black Cat’s reputation among the outcasts had risen due to her previous actions protecting them during the scuffle with Mo Yeobu and her decision to join this mission despite her fatigue.
As we continued walking, we quickly arrived at Jambongmun, only to find its doors firmly closed.
While I couldn’t know the internal circumstances, they likely didn’t want to open the gate and let martial artists wander around, considering the public eye. Currently, every martial artist in Sacheon was out on a hunt. Staying behind would be disgraceful, so they had opted to close the door and play dead.
To enter Jambongmun, we first had to open the door. At that moment, Jaso-gyeong stepped forward, cracking her knuckles.
“I’ve always wanted to smash the door of this pompous sect. Can I go ahead?”
“Of course.”
While the outcasts were exchanging such banter, I looked around. I noticed a few surprised faces hiding as we appeared out of nowhere, and on the rooftop, Miss Yeo Il-ye was waiting.
“Hmm…”
A few outcasts groaned uncomfortably as they followed my gaze, but there was no commotion since it had already been established that Miss Yeo Il-ye would be participating in this operation.
“Let’s start.”
Upon my words, Jaso-gyeong amassed her inner power in her arms. Among local Sacheon Outcasts, she was the strongest after Black Cat, and the reason was quite simple.
It was because Jaso-gyeong was a practitioner of the authoritative arts. She had fully mastered the Tiger Section of Tang Do-gyeong that had been passed down to her.
“Hoo-oo!”
She was also the one who could best use the Tiger Section in actual combat.
Now, Tang Do-gyeong would focus on developing the Bat-Leaping Tiger Method, so it could be said that Jaso-gyeong was the successor of the Tiger Section.
And thus, the Tiger Section unfolded from Jaso-gyeong’s hands.
Tiger Section. First Form. Tiger’s Roar.
KWA-BAAAAM!!!
The ordinary wooden door could withstand this kind of strike. Naturally, the door shattered into pieces.
“What’s going on?! An attack?!”
“Who are these guys?!”
“Sacheon Outcasts?!”
The door guards of Jambongmun, who rushed out in panic at the explosion, stood frozen, momentarily dumbfounded at the sight of the destroyed main gate and the Sacheon Outcasts. It was no wonder they were taken aback, as an attack from the Sacheon Outcasts was unprecedented. Since the Outcast faction had vanished from Sacheon, this was perhaps the first time a sect had been attacked.
“T-These bastards! What is the meaning of this?!”
“The Outcasts have crossed the line! Do you think you can get away with attacking the Great Jambongmun?!”
However, their surprise quickly turned into rage. The glare directed at us, the unexpected intruders who had smashed down the gate of the sect, was fierce.
Cutting through the martial artists struggling to contain their anger, someone stepped forward.
“I am Ak Pae-yeol, the lord of Bongmyeong-dang. I have no idea what makes you so confident to pull such a stunt.”
There was confidence in Ak Pae-yeol’s eyes as he looked at the Outcasts. He assessed the situation and saw that their numbers, including peak experts, were superior. He must have thought there was no reason for him to lose.
“Even if the main force of Jambongmun is absent, do you really think you can invade the stronghold of the Great Jambongmun? Foolish fools! Who sent you to attack us?!”
“The survivors of Tangsu Sect.”
Yeong Ji-hu-yeol replied.
“…What?”
Ak Pae-yeol’s eyes trembled. It seemed he recognized something, as he was clearly someone who had a title and knew a thing or two.
“I was tasked by the survivors of Tangsu Sect to disrupt Jambongmun by controlling Gu Ak-geom Dok Yeong-chan.”
“What kind of absurd slander is this?! Is there any evidence connecting our Jambongmun to Gu Ak-geom Dok Yeong-chan?!”
“That’s not for me to care about.”
“What did you say?”
Rustle.
Yeong Ji-hu-yeol drew his sword, which had a ridge.
“We are Sacheon Outcasts, doing the work we’ve been commissioned. When have we ever questioned the justification for the tasks assigned to us? We simply carry out our missions. I have no interest in evidence.”
After all, the Sacheon Outcasts had been treated like the Outcast faction. Why should we care about justification? The evidence could be obtained once the hunting troops returned or we caught Gae Myung-bu.
Let’s just serve a beating for now.
This was an act that only the Sacheon Outcasts could commit in Sacheon.
Chwa-zhat-zhat-chang!
The Outcasts all whipped out their weapons, and the faces of the martial artists realizing they could not avoid a clash turned tense.
Yeong Ji-hu-yeol calmly issued an ultimatum.
“Those who drop their weapons shall not be killed.”
“Fight! Attack!”
With Ak Pae-yeol’s command, the Sacheon Outcasts and the martial artists from Jambongmun charged at each other.
By my side, Jeong Sam and Yeo Jin-sang had joined me.
“Ho Cheon-an, don’t fall behind!”
“You’re the lowest rank among us.”
“Kyaak!”
As the banter continued, we were already on the verge of collision. Jeong Sam slowed down with Yeo Jin-sang as he stepped forward and drew a large Half-Moon Blade.
The Half-Moon Blade could be classified as a heavy weapon compared to typical weapons used in the Martial World. A top-tier martial artist raised his sword to block, but he couldn’t withstand the shock and opened a gap.
Then, Yeo Jin-sang and I aimed our swords at him simultaneously. I stabbed his thigh, while Yeo Jin-sang targeted his heart.
“You coward!”
The opposing martial artist shouted in protest and twisted his body to evade Yeo Jin-sang’s blade. A good choice.
I figured he wouldn’t have actually wanted to kill Yeo Jin-sang, so he dodged just in time. But aiming too close to the heart could have easily been lethal.
“Uaaah!”
Of course, the price for that decision was his thigh. Jeong Sam punched the fallen martial artist’s face, who was falling to the ground.
I could see the faces of other outcasts, each grappling with their opponents amid the commotion as I scanned the battlefield for peak experts among the opponents.
The momentum of the Outcasts was quite fierce.
Having been on the losing end against the martial artists of Sacheon frequently, they must have had quite the pent-up frustration. They finally had a chance to prove themselves against martial artists of equal standing, so it was no wonder they were enthusiastic.
“Ugh. How embarrassing to be the only ones in this situation.”
“This is all Ho Cheon-an’s fault.”
I could hear the grumbling of Jeong Sam and Yeo Jin-sang, but since it was indeed my fault, I silently looked for my next target.
Our goal was the peak experts.
Jambongmun had ten peak experts, while the Outcasts, including Black Cat, had nine. So, some top-tier experts would need to group together to take on a peak expert.
And only three of us could fulfill that role since we could utilize the Combination Skill.
It turned out to be a stupid idea I had in the past when I thought, “If I teach these two the Combination Skill, they might become useful.”
“Over here! This guy’s the peak expert!”
One of the Outcasts shouted, rolling on the ground. At a glance, he looked like he was barely hanging on to life, but first, I caught sight of their Bai Di position and shouted.
“Charge!”
As I unleashed my sword technique, Jeong Sam and Yeo Jin-sang dashed forward.
“Chiiit!”
Thud!
It seemed my Half-Moon Blade’s skill wasn’t yet at a level to deceive peak experts, as one of the martial artists wielded his sword to deflect both of my blades.
However, I managed to interrupt a peak expert’s attack with a barrage, allowing Jeong Sam and Yeo Jin-sang to take control. The Outcast who was rolling on the ground escaped.
“Is this a surprise attack? You shameless bastards!”
“Shameless? What’s that? Do you know?”
“How do you write it? I should write it down and look it up later.”
“I don’t know that, but the blade’s coming!”
“Son of a b-*ch!”
It was true that the three of us had practiced the Combination Skill, but that was an ancient memory now. Ever since I had taken a detour through gambling, I had stopped caring about the Combination Skill. Sure, we had briefly matched our techniques just yesterday, but a gap of over five years wasn’t something we could fix in a moment.
“You stupid moron! The order’s wrong!”
“When was the last time we practiced together? How am I supposed to remember that!”
“The muscles have the answers!”
“You guys! Fight seriously!”
The martial artist before us was a consummate peak expert. Why did they leave someone like him behind? Before we could even mobilize the Combination Skill, we might end up dead. Recognizing the strength of our opponent, we constantly jabbed at him verbally and threw our blades.
We stumbled and wobbled as we seasoned fighters, stumbling due to poor posture or scraped bodies, but thankfully without severe injuries, we somehow managed to land one, two, and started a casual flow of attacks.
The more time passed, the more our synergy began to align.
Once that troubled gear began to fit together, everything else started to flow more smoothly. It wasn’t quite smooth as water, but a more tolerable connection began to form.
Klock!
The downward strike of my Half-Moon Blade countered that of the peak expert’s blade. In that moment, Yeo Jin-sang stabbed forward, followed by my blade, which swept out widely toward his lower body.
“Ugh!”
Top-tier experts couldn’t unleash their full power. How could a group of top-tier experts defeat a peak expert?
The answer was simple.
You pull the peak expert down to a top-tier level.
You unleash an assault that robs them of their strength in their base form.
Normally, martial artists would share their fighting space according to pre-established agreements; in our case, one would strike and raise their foot when necessary, allowing Jeong Sam to increase the lower strike. While I backed off, Yeo Jin-sang would jump in to create openings for them.
By the time the attack ended, Jeong Sam would retreat, allowing Yeo Jin-sang to land in another spot, and then I would utilize the middle to mount another assault.
We kept pushing our attacks according to the predetermined pattern.
Accelerate. Accelerate. Accelerate again.
How many exchanges had we had by now? Easily dozens had flown back and forth, but that peak expert was still standing.
However, knocking him down was merely a matter of time.
Our combination technique was revealing its true power the more we utilized it. This old Combination Skill was slowly shedding its rust and returning to form.
Bang! Bam! Ding!
Faster.
Even faster.
As our opponent felt his limbs growing sluggish, balance breaking as he retreated, we only grew faster. Actually, perhaps our increase in speed was making our opponent crumble.
But even that was a pointless thought.
We just focused on moving faster. Excluding emotions, suppressing our martial artist instincts, we became a single gear and concentrated solely on speed.
Tatatatatam!
Could our opponent see us getting faster than they could keep up? Their balance finally broke in an instant.
My sword skimmed their side, and Yeo Jin-sang’s blade struck their leg.
Twaaaang!
And Jeong Sam’s Half-Moon Blade sent the opponent’s weapon flying away.
“Phuuh…”
My concentration waned.
I couldn’t remember how many exchanges had just happened, but my body was drenched in sweat, and I could feel my breath hitched in my throat. It was clear that it was no small number of exchanges.
The opponent had already exhausted their internal energy and stamina. They had avoided any fatal injuries, but their internal energy had hit rock bottom, and their hands had long since been torn apart by the repeated shocks.
With the opponent barely standing, Yeo Jin-sang slammed them down with the hilt of his sword.
“Haa… Haa… Hah! Seriously, what the hell is this because of Ho Cheon-an!”
“Hah, hah…! You bastards! You should be grateful to me for catching that peak expert!”
“Phew… Don’t speak while I’m catching my breath.”
As I took stock of my surroundings, I noticed that most of Jambongmun’s guards had fallen. A few peak experts were still engaged, but it was clear to everyone that it was a crushing victory for the Sacheon Outcasts.
“T-This can’t be… How could the great Jambongmun be beaten by Outcasts?!”
The fallen peak martial artist muttered, clearly unable to comprehend the situation.
It wasn’t surprising to see such a reaction. If people watched peak martial artists purposely lose, they might find it laughable. To the martial artists of a respectable sect, Sacheon Outcasts probably looked like a pathetic bunch relying on flimsy martial arts manuals from the market.
And they weren’t wrong.
Most of the Sacheon Outcasts were mediocre practitioners who began their martial arts journey with inferior manuals.
That said… just because they were both top-tier didn’t mean they could be considered equal. The Sacheon Outcasts had started with those trifling manuals and grown into unique top-tier and peak experts.
There was a depth of experience and a life’s worth of intensity among the Outcasts that ordinary martial artists didn’t possess. Did they think their levels were the same? No, the truth was, the caliber of martial artists in the Sacheon Outcasts was leagues above theirs.
Victory for the Sacheon Outcasts was a given unless of course, the peak expert Gae Myung-bu intervened.
“In the end, Gae Myung-bu fled, huh?”
It seemed that Gae Myung-bu had chosen to run. There was no reason for him to remain with the sect if his faction was about to fall apart.
Elder Yu Ji-gyeong too was determined; a real honor-bound fellow in his own right. What a cowardly master.
Earlier, looking at the spot where Miss Yeo Il-ye stood, I realized she had vanished. If our operation had gone as planned, she would have likely chased after Gae Myung-bu.
I trusted that Yeo Il-ye would handle it well. Now, it remained for us to finish what was left.
“Alright, let’s search Jambongmun.”
“Umm. But what do you expect to find in Jambongmun?”
“Normally, nothing much. But right now, there should be quite a few useful things.”
After all, Gae Myung-bu was the High Elder of Jambongmun. But could he really move seamlessly into Hwangbo Clan? Especially with his faction in tow?
It was possible, but… departing a sect without a significant reason would damage a person’s reputation badly.
I couldn’t believe Gae Myung-bu would risk his reputation to leave Jambongmun for Hwangbo Clan.
So what kind of measure would Gae Myung-bu take?
What if…
There were uglier truths hidden within Jambongmun that would shock everyone? What if Gae Myung-bu planned to expose them and unveil the face of Jambongmun?
Then, he could potentially justify his departure with his faction to join Hwangbo Clan.
He might even become known as a hero who corrected the injustice through whistleblowing.
This was a coward who could easily abandon his entire faction and run away without a second thought. Would he leave Jambongmun, now only hosting an adversary behind? He would probably utilize every aspect he could find.
I wasn’t entirely sure, but it was highly likely that Gae Myung-bu was gathering evidence of corruption or incidents within Jambongmun now that the sect leader had vacated.
After all, the only ones remaining in the sect were his faction, who would soon betray him. What could he possibly be hesitant about?
If my assumptions were right, there was a high chance that Gae Myung-bu’s office contained various pieces of evidence during his ongoing evidence collection.
“Let’s thoroughly search everything before the hunting troops return.”
Somehow, I had a feeling we might reel in a big catch.
