Duel

'...I didn't expect them to arrive so early!'

Peng Seo-jin was hurrying towards the Family Head's room.

It was because of the Scholar Forest Group that had come from the Murim Alliance.

He too had heard the rumors about them and was well aware.

Though he wasn't sure how much was true, even from what he'd heard, the rumors were too vicious to consider them Rising Stars of the Orthodox Faction.

So he had decided that when it came time for the Peng Family's turn in their schedule of visiting each family one by one, he would have to keep a close eye on them, even if it exhausted him.

And finally, upon hearing the news that they were coming to the Peng Family this time, Peng Seo-jin had mentally prepared himself in advance.

He had also roughly estimated when they would arrive at the Peng Family based on their usual travel speed between other families.

That time was supposed to be around midnight tomorrow.

But they had arrived at the Peng Family much faster than Peng Seo-jin had anticipated.

And of all times, it was while Peng Seo-jin and Yeo Un-hwi were away.

"Father!"

Peng Seo-jin hurriedly entered the Family Head's room, looking for Peng Mugang.

"Oh. You're here. What's the matter, looking so urgent?"

"I heard news that they've arrived."

"They? Ah. You mean those arrogant fellows."

Peng Mugang, despite his massive build, enjoyed tea as usual.

Even now, he was calmly enjoying his tea.

He nodded at Peng Seo-jin, looking completely unbothered.

"Come, have a cup of tea yourself."

Peng Mugang seemed much more relaxed than Peng Seo-jin.

"Aren't you worried?"

He must have already heard the rumors about them through the family retainers.

With such ruffians entering his domain, Peng Mugang's face showed no particular concern and looked quite at ease.

"Worried?"

Peng Mugang chuckled at his son's words.

"What's there to worry about a few worms who don't know their place and mistakenly think they've already become dragons?"

"But,"

"Sure, they'll cause some commotion. But how big could the commotion be from those fools?"

It was certainly true.

But from the perspective of the Family Head, even a small disturbance can sometimes feel very troublesome and significant to servants or ordinary warriors.

Moreover, he had heard that they had run wild without discrimination at other families.

So Peng Seo-jin felt the situation couldn't be taken too lightly.

But today, his father seemed different from usual.

"Do you have some other thoughts on this?"

"Hmm. As expected, you have good intuition... I can't tell you exactly what for now, but the more trouble those worms cause, the more pleased I might be."

"What? What do you mean..."

Peng Mugang was saying incomprehensible things.

"Anyway, that's how it is."

Peng Mugang grinned.

Then he poured tea into the cup in front of Peng Seo-jin.

"Try it. It's this father's current favorite tea."

"Father."

"Didn't I say I have it all figured out? Don't worry too much."

Peng Mugang then poured more tea into his own empty cup and slowly began to drink.

Whatever happened, he already had plans in his mind for what would come after.

'I can't wait to see those old fools' faces looking like they've eaten shit.'

While others might find it difficult and frightening to deal with the Murim Alliance, Peng Mugang didn't think that way at all.

Rather, he was always eager to properly confront them if given even the slightest excuse.

So he intended to use this incident as that opportunity.

Above all, chances to pick a fight with those damned Murim Alliance bastards were rare.

Peng Seo-jin couldn't understand what Peng Mugang was thinking at all, so he just stared at his father's face with a troubled expression, barely sipping his tea.

That's when,

"Family Head!"

A voice called from outside.

Soon, one of Peng Mugang's direct subordinate warriors entered.

"What is it?"

"Well, you see..."

As soon as he heard the news the warrior brought, Peng Mugang jumped to his feet.

"What? The White Wolf Unit?"

Peng Mugang's face suddenly crumpled.

Of all things, to get entangled with the one group he least wanted involved, and so quickly at that.

It was truly an exasperating and ridiculous situation.

Peng Mugang wondered if there was some kind of magnetic force drawing troublemakers together.

And with the continued report,

BOOM!

Peng Mugang roared in anger and smashed the large dining table with one punch.

"What?! They beat a servant nearly to death and tried to lay hands on our Yul? Have I ever seen such crazy bastards!"

Peng Mugang looked ready to rush out and beat the Scholar Forest Group to death right then and there.

Peng Seo-jin quickly tried to stop him.

"Father. Let me go check first."

"No! Let's go together!"

Peng Seo-jin shook his head at Peng Mugang's words.

"No. If you're there, things will escalate. Let me go first."

"Hmm... Alright, fine."

Peng Mugang nodded with a very reluctant expression.

As soon as Peng Seo-jin hurriedly left the room, Peng Mugang took a deep breath.

"Ha. These rotten bastards..."

He had greatly misjudged.

These weren't just crazy - they were completely insane.

Just how many offenses had they committed in this short time?

Peng Mugang took another deep breath.

"Whew. Those rotten bastards dared to... our Yul..."

Then he suddenly looked out the window at the sky.

The sky was exceptionally clear today.

He thought it was perfect weather for burying a few bodies.

Sincerely. They're all dead. These bastards.

The White Wolf Unit and the Scholar Forest Group had now moved to a sparring ground prepared within the Peng Family compound.

Even as this was happening, O Chae-mu's face didn't look good.

Though he had boldly accepted, things were escalating beyond his intentions.

Meanwhile, the injured servant had been sent to the doctor, and one of the White Wolf Unit members had taken Young Lady Yul to the room where Young Lady Seoyeon was.

"There are exactly ten of us, so we can start sparring one by one as a way of exchange," Jo Min said with a grin.

Somehow, it felt like everything was going according to that man's wishes, which greatly displeased O Chae-mu.

But he couldn't openly show his displeasure. Such was the burden of being a warrior of the host family welcoming troublesome guests.

Moreover, these weren't just tiresome guests, but completely beyond common sense, making their very presence torturous.

In any case, O Chae-mu nodded.

Honestly, he wanted to say there was no need for so many people to spar, but he knew that after wasting time arguing back and forth, they would end up doing it anyway.

In situations like this, there was only one solution: start quickly and get it over with.

The sparring ground was equipped with wooden swords, wooden sabers, and wooden staffs.

Those sparring would choose one and enter the arena.

First, one of the Scholar Forest Group members stepped forward.

Then O Chae-mu signaled to one of his men with his eyes.

It was Gu Tae-san.

Gaining the upper hand from the start was important. In that sense, having Gu Tae-san go first was very appropriate.

Soon, the first match began.

"Kuheh!"

Instead of his usual boisterous laugh, Gu Tae-san let out a laugh filled with killing intent.

Gu Tae-san's opponent was a Scholar Forest Group member wielding a wooden staff.

The opponent's attacks came fast and sharp towards Gu Tae-san.

But Gu Tae-san's tremendous strength blocked all those attacks and threw the opponent to the ground.

He didn't slam him down too hard, so it ended with just the wooden staff breaking and the opponent sitting on the ground.

It was Gu Tae-san's victory.

"Uratcha cha cha!"

Gu Tae-san let out a strange cry celebrating his victory.

The sparring continued, progressing much more lightly and quickly than expected.

Next up were Gi-su, Gi-sang, and Do-gyeong in order.

They were all strong warriors the White Wolf Unit boasted of.

They too quickly secured victories by utilizing their strengths.

Once again, the White Wolf Unit kept winning the matches.

The defeated Scholar Forest Group member carefully came down, glancing around.

The other members snickered and openly mocked him.

It was a moment that revealed the nature of their relationships.

After about four matches had proceeded this way, Jo Min's face turned cold.

"Fight properly!"

When Jo Min shouted irritably, all the Scholar Forest Group members stiffened.

"Think of each of your defeats as a defeat for the Murim Alliance. Understand?"

Huh.

O Chae-mu, watching from afar, let out a dry laugh.

It was just ordinary sparring, not a life-or-death duel or even a match staking their honor.

Yet Jo Min was putting so much pressure on his members over such sparring, turning completely serious.

This could cause the sparring to become too heated.

'He's crazy.'

Thanks to this, the atmosphere among the Scholar Forest Group members was no longer the same as before.

The mood had become more serious. Their eyes were gleaming.

This time, it was Peng Do-hwan's turn to step forward from the White Wolf Unit.

"Do-hwan! Do your best."

O Chae-mu, Gu Tae-san, and the other members cheered enthusiastically for Peng Do-hwan as he was about to step forward.

"Hey! What's with the cheering for mere sparring. Haha!"

Contrary to his words, Peng Do-hwan stepped forward with a small smile.

But soon, Peng Do-hwan's face hardened as he confirmed his opponent.

"It's you?"

His opponent was the main culprit who had caused all this trouble today.

It was the man who had mercilessly beaten a servant to a pulp for accidentally spilling water on him and even tried to hit Yul.

The man smirked.

"What? Are you going to do something about how you're glaring at me?"

At the man's arrogant attitude, Peng Do-hwan simply raised his wooden saber without a word.

Soon, the match began.

Without any words, Peng Do-hwan slowly closed the distance as if briefly probing, then quickly launched his attack.

Pat, pat, pat!

His lightning-fast attacks struck at his opponent's body in three consecutive hits.

The young man barely avoided the unexpectedly sharp attacks.

"N-Not bad?"

Perhaps he had underestimated him too much, but Peng Do-hwan's saber was quite fast.

But the man was also a talent specially selected and nurtured from a young age by the Murim Alliance.

His attacks were not to be taken lightly either.

Swish! Pat. Pat!

Though the attacks came straight on, Peng Do-hwan began to struggle against the man's innate internal energy and solid martial arts.

The White Wolf Unit members watched the match with worried expressions.

"Don't worry. Our Do-hwan is no ordinary fighter."

As O Chae-mu said, after some time passed, Peng Do-hwan's movements began to change.

He quickly grasped the simplicity of his opponent's attacks and took control of the flow.

Soon, Peng Do-hwan began to dominate.

The man who had been causing trouble all along started to be pushed back mercilessly.

"Y-You! You rotten bastards!"

Sensing his impending defeat, the man's face grew desperate.

And for a moment, a glint of killing intent flashed in his eyes.

"You think I'll lose? Die!"

He suddenly unleashed an assassin's technique towards Peng Do-hwan.

Peng Do-hwan's eyes widened in that instant.

Splat!

"D-Do-hwan!"

Blood suddenly sprayed across the sparring ground.