Chapter 221
One reason Yeo Un-hwi said he would participate in the World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament was, as he had told the heads of the Five Great Families, to learn what they were plotting. But he had another purpose as well.
That was,
“…What? All of us are participating in the martial arts tournament hosted by the Righteous Alliance?”
The entire White Wolf Unit stared blankly as they asked again about what Yeo Un-hwi had just told them.
Yeo Un-hwi flashed them a grin.
“Why? Are you lacking confidence?”
“No, it's not that…….”
When it came to their abilities, they had confidence.
But using those abilities in a real battle and competing in a martial arts tournament were two entirely different matters.
O Chae-mu fell into thought with a serious expression.
But then,
“Oh! I'll do it! We definitely have to do something like that!”
Gi-su and Gi-sang shot their hands into the air with incredibly excited expressions.
“Hey, wait. This isn't something you can think about so simply…….”
“Woooo! It's here! Finally!”
“Hahaha! A chance to show the world our strength! My heart's pounding!”
Had they plugged their ears?
Gi-su and Gi-sang seemed to have no intention of listening at all.
In the end,
Smack!
Smaaaack!
Gu Tae-san and Do-gyeong smacked Gi-su and Gi-sang on the head with all their might.
“Ow! That hurts!”
“You idiot!”
“When someone is talking, listen!”
Gi-su and Gi-sang grumbled as they rubbed their swollen heads, but Gu Tae-san and Do-gyeong were glaring so fiercely that they had no choice but to shut their mouths.
O Chae-mu sighed and spoke.
“This isn't something you can take lightly. All the most renowned masters in the martial world are coming.”
“Aw, who cares? We're strong.”
Heh heh.
Were they ignorant, or were they simply bold?
Everyone sighed.
“What? Don't tell me you're scared now?”
“What?”
“Think about it, everyone. We have another chance to test everything we practiced and trained so desperately. We should be overjoyed instead of worried, shouldn't we?”
“Right. The opportunity's finally here, so what is there to worry about? We've got nothing to lose.”
At the twins' words, everyone's eyes widened.
They were absolutely right.
Who knew they could say things like that?
Everyone began to reconsider after hearing what Gi-su and Gi-sang had said.
Clearly, this was not something to fear. It was something that should make their hearts race.
Just then,
“I'll give a special gift to whoever among you survives the longest. You can look forward to it.”
Yeo Un-hwi's words stoked their enthusiasm even further.
“Ooooooh!”
Yeo Un-hwi was not a man who exaggerated.
It would be a lie to say they weren't curious about what kind of special gift he meant.
“Great! We'll just knock everyone down and win!”
“Don't make me laugh. I'm the one who's going to win, you know? I absolutely won't yield this.”
Gi-su and Gi-sang were already growling at each other as though the two of them had reached the finals.
However,
“The commander should participate too.”
“……”
Their desire to win quickly went out like a fire doused with cold water.
“Ah. And one more thing. I have something prepared for whoever is eliminated the fastest, so look forward to it. I've prepared a very special gift for that person too.”
“……”
For some reason, none of the White Wolf Unit wanted to know what that meant at all.
Now, rather than excitement, tension and a sense of crisis swept over everyone.
“Whew, we need to train more. This isn't enough.”
“Guess we're not sleeping from now on. Ugh.”
“What a disgrace it would be to be eliminated first. Absolutely not.”
“We have to last longer than the twins, no matter what.”
“What's wrong with us!”
But contrary to what they were saying, every member of the White Wolf Unit wore an incredibly excited expression.
‘A martial arts tournament…….’
Meanwhile, the youngest, Munho, was also feeling his heart pound nonstop.
There was still quite a bit of time before the martial arts tournament.
The White Wolf Unit resolved to train even harder until that day.
Yeo Un-hwi smiled at the sight of them.
And then,
“Please look after us as well.”
Behind Yeo Un-hwi, the heirs of the Five Great Families were also looking on with shining eyes.
“Of course.”
Yeo Un-hwi gave them a hearty nod and smiled.
This took place two months before the World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament.
***
A neatly dressed scholar was walking somewhere, carrying a small bundle.
One could more or less tell what kind of personality he had simply from his calm, measured steps.
Since he did not seem to be in much of a hurry, he leisurely walked along the road, taking in each part of the scenery with every step.
He was none other than Jegal Mun, formerly the chief strategist of the Martial Alliance.
“Ha. I feel so unburdened. Maybe I should have left the moment I first felt that this wasn't where I belonged.”
But from the Martial Alliance's perspective, his remaining until now had allowed them to minimize the confusion and wrap things up as neatly as possible.
The Martial Alliance had been disbanded by Jegal Mun's own hands.
He sorted out the alliance's assets, as well as its important personnel, one by one.
Most of the alliance's assets were absorbed into the Righteous Alliance.
The Martial Alliance's important personnel were likewise transferred to the Righteous Alliance.
Of course, that was only if they themselves wanted it, but no one turned it down.
If anything, they welcomed it.
Thus, once everyone had left and Jegal Mun was the only one remaining, everyone assumed that he, too, would continue working for the Righteous Alliance.
But his choice differed from everyone's expectations, and he set off alone.
And so, Jegal Mun was now on his way somewhere, looking completely carefree.
After satisfying his hunger at an inn he found along the road, Jegal Mun had several dumplings wrapped up, put them in his bundle, and set off again.
How long had he walked like that?
Before he knew it, his steps had carried him onto a deep mountain path.
But then,
“Hmm?”
While he had been walking for quite some time, a commotion reached him from far ahead.
To avoid being drawn into some pointless trouble, Jegal Mun slipped out of sight and listened carefully.
“That's all we have. We'll give you even that, so please spare us just this once.”
A merchant caravan had been captured by a band of bandits, and its members were trembling in fear.
A man who appeared to be in charge of the caravan was pleading desperately with the bandits.
“If you just let us go, we'll give you the same amount of money on our way back.”
“Oh, come on. Say something that makes sense. Why should we trust you and let you go? Besides, unless you're idiots, you won't pass this way again.”
“No, sir. I truly will keep our promise.”
“Don't be like that.”
The man who appeared to be the bandit chief grinned broadly as he looked over the trembling members of the caravan.
“Leave your possessions—and your lives—behind. Heh heh. But we'll spare the women.”
“What? How can you do this? Oh, please spare us!”
“I've made up my mind. Boys, finish them off.”
“Yes!”
The bandits' swords soon flew toward the caravan leader's neck.
‘Damn!’
Jegal Mun, who had been watching the situation, hurriedly tried to stop them by firing finger qi.
But then,
“Ha. These bastards. They're making this such a pain.”
The caravan leader's demeanor, which had been trembling in fear just moments earlier, changed completely.
And then,
Thud.
He caught the blade flying toward him with his bare hand.
For an instant, the eyes of every bandit present widened.
“W-what? Who are you?!”
“I was going to let you leave quietly, but this is all your own fault. You brought death upon yourselves, got it?”
“You lunatic…! Boys! Kill him!”
“Give me a break. Hey. Shall I take care of all of these?”
The caravan leader laughed as though the bandits charging at him were utterly ridiculous.
But whom was he talking to?
“What a joke.”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The bandits' bodies rose into the air from all around them.
“I was feeling stiff anyway. This works out nicely.”
“They wouldn't even make a decent warm-up.”
The entire group of caravan members who had been trembling in fear of the bandits had transformed into completely different people.
Moreover, the energy radiating from them was enough to make it difficult to breathe.
In an instant, all those bandits froze like blocks of ice.
But they couldn't simply stand around doing nothing.
“What are you all doing?! Kill them quickly! We outnumber them by far!”
No matter how strong someone was, there was no overcoming sheer numbers.
But that rule did not apply everywhere.
There were masters in a realm where those words no longer applied.
And the people standing before his eyes were absolute masters who had reached that realm.
Shrrrraaaack.
They flew into the midst of the countless bandits and brought them down in an instant.
The more than one hundred bandits were not even worth a single exchange.
“Is that all? How dull.”
The man who had been leading the caravan strode leisurely toward the bandit chief with a bored expression.
“U-uh, uhhh… D-don't come any closer!”
“What nonsense. I don't have time to bicker with you.”
The man raised the sword he had drawn at some point high into the air.
“Die.”
The sword flying toward him was reflected in the bandit chief's eyes.
It was the last thing he saw in this world.
‘Good heavens.’
Jegal Mun, who had unintentionally witnessed the scene, wore an utterly astonished expression.
The caravan that had seemed to be in danger of being killed by bandits had turned out to consist of incredibly powerful masters.
If so, what on earth were they pretending to be a merchant caravan for?
As he wondered about that,
“Hmm?”
The man leading the caravan sent a massive wave of sword qi flying toward Jegal Mun's hiding place.
In an instant, the ground beneath Jegal Mun was sliced away, and he tumbled over the cliff below.
“Waaaaaaah!”
Thus, Jegal Mun nearly departed this world without even knowing what had happened.
But then,
Whoooosh!
One of the men who had looked like a caravan member—a huge, heavily built man—planted a foot against the cliff, caught Jegal Mun in his arms, and shot back upward.
He soon set Jegal Mun down and grumbled at someone.
“Hey. What are you doing, firing sword qi around so recklessly? Can't you look carefully?”
“Huh, huh? That wasn't a bandit… was it? Ah. I'm terribly sorry about this. Hahaha……”
“This gentleman's already fainted?”
“We've got a problem. We've got a problem. Squad Leader, you really need to fix that hotheaded personality of yours. Please. I'm definitely going to report this straight to the chief.”
The suspicious members of the caravan could only look awkwardly at the unconscious Jegal Mun.
And several hours later,
“…Haha. I see. I made a mistake because I didn't know that.”
At an inn not far from where the incident had taken place,
The caravan leader scratched his head and laughed heartily at Jegal Mun, who had just regained consciousness.
“And to think you're from the famous Jegal Clan. It's an honor.”
“Not at all.”
“I run a small merchant caravan.”
“Haha, for someone who says that, your martial arts are unbelievably formidable—and so are everyone else's.”
“I suppose it's because I enjoy training in martial arts.”
“……”
As if anyone would believe that.
A brief silence followed.
Hollow laughter escaped not only Jegal Mun but also the mouths of his companions.
It felt as though they had just heard the stupidest lie in the world.
“Ahem. I'd appreciate it if you would simply believe that. We have our own circumstances, you see. Ha, hahaha……”
Who on earth were these people?
This was a most coincidental encounter on the road to Hebei.