Chapter 41 Shadow Realm – Part 2

Chapter 41: Shadow Realm – Part 2

On a night when the pale waxing moon cast deep shadows across the jungle.

Sak Muheun, the fourth squad leader of the Martial Alliance’s Shadow Division and regarded as the most outstanding warrior among all former Shadow Division members, waited in the jungle for his target to arrive.

His target was a woman named Qing Yan, the seventh member of the Flying Dragon Thirteen.

Today was the day he had decided to kill her.

Of course, he didn’t know what crime she had committed to deserve death. And frankly, he didn’t want to know.

If she was currently serving on the front lines, it was highly likely her death would be unjust.

But orders were orders, and there was nothing to be done about it.

They had no choice.

[If you disobey orders, you will not complain if you are killed.]

That was the pledge they had signed to join the Shadow Corps.

Therefore, once they set foot here, they had no choice but to obey orders to survive.

The only consolation for Sakmuhun was the fact that this life would end in just one more year.

After one more year, once he finally completed ten years, he would be able to step out into the light.

As always, Sakmuhun steeled his resolve before the mission.

‘I will endure this one more year and stand before him with dignity.’

With his resolve set like a ritual before battle, Sakmuhun refocused on the task at hand.

This mission had a slightly more troublesome aspect compared to others.

If he were just a discharged soldier, Sakmuhyun could have simply noted his discharge date and killed him when he ventured out alone. But since he was still active duty, things had become a bit more complicated.

But it was merely more troublesome, not difficult at all.

They had already visited the Thirteenth Division a week prior, posing as inspectors from the Martial Arts Alliance, and had gathered detailed information on each member and their duty schedules.

Upon showing the Martial Arts Alliance inspector’s insignia, the unit commander, Heon Yeong-bo, cooperated fully and willingly handed over all the information.

Based on that information, Sak Muheun decided to kill her during the night patrol of the Seventh Squad scheduled for today.

Gathering his squad members, he spoke in a low voice.

“Squadrons Five, Six, and Seven, gather the ghosts. Can you handle it?”

The patrol members, still referred to by numbers since they weren’t squad leaders, nodded briefly and clearly.

They were just as familiar with the front lines as the regular guards, so there was no issue whatsoever.

“Unho and Iho will block that squad leader Seolpung. From what we know, he’s a peak master, not just a beginner but at a mature level. He might be similar to me, or even surpass me.”

Then, Lee Ho, one of the three peak masters belonging to the Shadow Division, countered.

“That’s nonsense. How could someone barely in their twenties possibly be comparable to a squad leader rated among the best in the entire former Shadow Division?”

As he said, Sak Muheun, now in his late thirties, was regarded as the best in the Shadow Division. It was even said that if he were to step into the open a year later, he might immediately become the leader of a formal martial force.

But Sak Muheun shook his head coldly.

“Overestimating the enemy and preparing thoroughly is better than underestimating them and becoming complacent. I don’t think you’ll lose, but never let your guard down.”

“Yes, Squad Leader!”

“Understood!”

Sak Muhun’s plan was to lure the Gangeui into a clash with the Seventh Division, then kidnap a woman named Cheongyeon.

The key figure, Seolpung, would be contained by the peak masters, First and Second. The remaining squad members would handle the others, allowing Sakmuhun to personally step in, swiftly abduct the woman, and escape. That was the core of the plan.

With all members except Yi Ho and Yi Ho being top-tier martial artists, there should be no difficulty whatsoever.

Blood Sect demons kidnapping women on the front lines wasn’t an uncommon occurrence, so everyone would assume it was the Blood Sect’s doing.

So now, all that remained was to wait for the target to approach.

About half an hour later,

Rustling sounds and the faint murmur of voices could be heard approaching.

They had arrived.

“Boo-oo-oo! Boo-oo-oo! Boo-oo-oo!”

Sakmuhin mimicked the cry of a mountain bird with his mouth.

The sound was indistinguishable from a real mountain bird’s, but his team members, who had been with him all this time, would recognize its distinctive emphasis.

Then, to avoid detection, he and his team began slowly retreating backward.

When the fifth, sixth, and seventh units lured the ghosts over, that was the moment to act.

***

– There are ambushers ahead. They’re retreating in step with our pace. Seems they have a preferred strike point.

It was Squad Leader Seolpung’s voice transmission.

We looked at Lady Cheongyeon’s face with regret.

Outwardly, she seemed unaffected, but anyone could guess she was likely the most distressed of all.

Lady Cheongyeon had already anticipated this.

If an ambush was truly coming, it would most likely be today.

She had learned that not long ago, those men calling themselves the Myeong’s Inspectors had obtained information about the Thirteenth Division from the commander, Heon Yeong-bo.

She had already anticipated that if they were the attackers, they would most likely strike at night, and if so, it would be today.

But having anticipated everything, she added one more sentence with a dark expression.

‘Of course… I hope all this is just my own unfounded worry.’

For her, the best possible outcome could only be that her own predictions were wrong.

If the attackers truly came, it meant the Martial Alliance had indeed been killing martial artists from the real front lines, just as her hypothesis suggested. And for her personally, it meant that Cheonnoe Je Gal Jikang, whom she had considered her uncle since childhood, had truly decided to kill her.

The feeling of someone she believed to be a close acquaintance now targeting her life.

Because she understood that feeling better than anyone, she could probably understand his heart too.

That filthy feeling of being left utterly alone in the world.

But now was not the time for comfort, but for action.

She absolutely could not be left to die.

The attackers might not realize it yet, but they had already made two major mistakes.

First, they had brazenly gathered information under the guise of Myeong’s inspector. Second, they had failed to properly gauge the detection range of Seolpung’s squad leader.

So they would soon realize.

That their covert raid had been doomed from the very start.

And that they were not the ones playing the role of the hunter.

We continued advancing, pretending to know nothing.

Seolpung Jo-jang seemed to judge it best to follow them until their intentions became clear.

It was about an hour into our advance.

The squad leader shouted.

“Ghosts! Ghosts! Ghosts are coming from three directions!”

At that, Biseyoung shot out like a ray of light in the direction the squad leader pointed, shouting.

“Damn it! This again!”

***

“Skulls, Sa-yeong! Skulls are coming from three directions!”

Sak Muhyun, who had been lying in ambush, was startled by the voice of the man called Seolpung.

They couldn’t have noticed us yet—how did they already?

And their subsequent response was even more disconcerting.

One man flew toward the approaching ghosts with incredible speed, then suddenly sprayed something at them.

“Here you go!”

Swoosh!

Then, absurdly, the goblins that had been charging this way went berserk and started chasing only after him.

“Grrrrrrr!”

“Kwaaang!”

The man lured all the ghosts from three directions in this manner, then vanished from the area in an instant.

The Shadow Corps members who had been secretly luring the ghosts were utterly flustered by this unforeseen turn of events.

The fact that the attackers could lure the minions to ambush them was also well within Hae Cheong-yeon’s expectations.

That’s why Bi Sa-yeong had prepared in advance, collecting his own blood to use as bait.

However, Saek Muhun and the Shadow Corps members, unaware of this fact, were thrown into temporary confusion by the plan going awry from the very start.

Sak Muheun hesitated for a moment.

With the plan to confuse them using mines thwarted, forcing ahead now risked casualties beyond their target.

It was in that brief moment of hesitation—whether to wait for the next opportunity or push forward regardless—

“Kraaaah!”

The sudden scream snapped him back to his senses.

It was Seolpung.

Seolpung, having drawn the four claws of the Mighty Tiger, had pounced and pierced the body of the ambushed team member.

By the time Sak Muhyun grasped the situation, the second body was already being pierced.

Thud!

“Aaaaaah!”

Sak Muheun was horrified by the sudden realization.

They knew about the ambush?!

They knew we were going to attack?!

How the hell?!

Realizing the situation, Sakmuhun shouted desperately.

“First squad! Second squad! Take care of that man!”

Then he too dashed out like a bolt of lightning.

Thud!

His target was the woman at the very back, her face hidden beneath her lowered bangs.

Il Ho and Yi Ho, peak masters, clashed with Seolpung, who was slaughtering their comrades while unleashing powerful energy from their swords and daggers.

“Haah!”

“Taah!”

“Hmph!”

Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa

But the surprise attack seemed to have no effect whatsoever.

Watching him casually block the attacks of the first and second waves, it seemed this time would be anything but easy.

They had to finish the job as quickly as possible and get out.

Just as Sakmuhin leaped over their heads in an instant and flew toward his target,

Seolpung suddenly shouted.

“Three!”

Number Three?

Even as he closed in on his target, Sakmuhun felt a twinge of doubt about the meaning of those words.

But he didn’t need to wonder about it.

He found out the very next moment.

The moment Seolpung shouted “Three times!”, Haecheongyeon immediately spun around and launched himself into flight, beginning his escape.

“!”

Three strikes was Hae Cheong-yeon’s strategy to flee and buy time when an opponent’s martial prowess proved formidable.

“I won’t let you escape!”

Gritting his teeth, Sak Muheun immediately gave chase.

It seemed like a clever move, but perhaps this was even better.

It would take more time, but separating her from her comrades might actually make dealing with her cleaner.

Of course, this thought stemmed from his confidence that he, possessing over seventy years of cultivation, could never fail to catch her, who was merely a top-tier first-class practitioner.

But then, one of Hae Cheong-yeon’s handsome young companions shouted.

“Young Master! The enemy is pursuing us! Be careful!”

Na Sojeo?

At his words, Sak Muheun couldn’t help but pause.

Could it be that the target wasn’t her, the one hiding her face with her bangs?

But as he felt confused and glanced once more toward the other women, he caught sight of one woman beside the young man looking at him with a flustered expression.

And that young man was staring at her with piercing eyes.

I’ve been tricked!

He realized it instantly.

When he looked back, the woman who had seemed to be his target was already far away.

“Damn it!”

Gritting his teeth, he lunged forward again when a voice called out from behind.

***

“Jin! Chase after her! She’s at least seventy years old!”

But even without the squad leader’s command, I was already in mid-air. The enemy pursuing Lady Qingyan seemed to be moving at an alarming speed.

We had laid traps, but at that speed, it seemed Lady Qingyan would be caught before she even reached them.

A peak master with seventy years of cultivation…

If I confronted them head-on, I’d be cut to pieces in an instant, right?

I instantly decided on a countermeasure and sprang into action.

“Haah!”

Pssshhh!

I hurled hidden weapons toward his back.

He glanced back, then kicked off a tree and shifted his direction slightly, escaping the projectiles’ range.

Thud!

As expected.

He was cautious.

He could have easily blocked it, but he chose to evade instead.

It was an excellent stance, but for me right now, it couldn’t have been a more welcome response.

I immediately unleashed another wave of dark energy.

Pssh!

He changed direction again to dodge the attack.

His fierce glare at me seemed incredibly irritating.

Because I had deliberately thrown the dart toward Miss Qingyan, forcing him to delay his pursuit.

Annoying, isn’t it?

So, one more time!

I focused on throwing a few more projectiles around him to slow his pace.

It was the so-called mosquito tactic—buzzing around annoyingly to irritate him.

Then it seemed the bastard had finally decided to deal with me first.

He suddenly changed direction and lunged at me.

A blue sword aura flashed from his blade.

The feeling of a peak master with over seventy years of cultivation attacking with full force was utterly deadly.

But it didn’t matter.

I’d been preparing to flee since earlier anyway.

“Haah!”

POW!

Shouting my battle cry, I launched myself with all my might.

In our team’s speed rankings, Team Leader Seolpung and Biseaeng were tied for first, and I was right behind them.

No matter how peak a master they were, there was no way they could catch me if I was truly running for my life.

After all, my nickname was the Heaven-Defying Black Wolf.

He shot me a look of utter disbelief as I vanished like a flash of light. Then he immediately turned to leave.

It seemed he, too, had only intended to threaten and chase me away rather than truly confront me.

But what can I do?

I had no intention of letting him go.

So, halting my movement, I spat out the magic word to seize him.

“Martial Alliance.”

He flinched, halting his lunge, and looked at me.

He tried to look calm, but the moment he stopped moving and looked at me, pretending not to know was already a lost cause.

I gave him a bitter smile and added one more thing.

“You’ve got some nerve. A warrior of the Alliance doing such filthy work.”

His eyes twisted in anger.

And he began to radiate killing intent.

His thoughts were obvious.

Since his secret was exposed, he must be thinking he needs to eliminate the threat.

He’d be wondering how far it went, who else knew.

Crack!

As he lunged at me like a predator, I, already prepared, immediately leaped away.

The chase began again.

Whoosh!

This time, he threw daggers at me while chasing.

Our roles had reversed from before.

And as the situation reversed, I began to understand a little of what he had been feeling just moments ago.

Dodging daggers while fleeing was no easy task.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

I barely dodged them.

The sensation of the flying projectile grazing my clothes was utterly chilling.

But this was only the beginning.

My footwork itself was slightly superior to his.

But the hidden weapons of a peak master boasting over seventy years of cultivation were threatening enough to render that skill difference negligible.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

‘Ugh!’

I couldn’t even count how many times the dagger had already grazed my collar.

The fact that none had yet struck my body was reason enough to praise myself.

It wouldn’t have been surprising if one had pierced my body at any moment.

My spine was no longer just cool—it had turned cold.

Thankfully, I’d trained my senses with the squad leader; otherwise, I doubt I could have escaped like this.

Lately, I prided myself on my senses being sharp enough to rival most beasts, if not quite as keen as the squad leader’s.

But dodging the throwing knives of a peak master while fleeing meant every moment was a life-or-death crossroads.

Shhhhhhh!

‘Guh!’

Even as I dodged the throwing knives and fled, the distance between me and the enemy was steadily closing.

And the closer I got, the more accurate his darts became.

It was a damn vicious cycle.

‘Damn it!’

Suddenly, the temptation surged—wouldn’t it be better to stop and fight than keep running and get hit by the dagger?

But he gritted his teeth and kept running.

And he repeated to himself in his mind.

‘Just a little more, just a little more. Just a little further!’

And a moment later, I finally reached the place I’d been aiming for.

It was the spot where I had laid traps to confront the enemy.

‘Got it!’

Shouting a silent cheer inside, I lunged forward and severed the rope hidden behind the tree.

Swoosh!

As the taut rope snapped, dozens of hidden arrows were fired simultaneously toward him, who was following behind me.

Pssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

“Huh?!”

He let out a startled cry as the arrows rained down on him like a sudden downpour.

But that was all.

It was a mechanism I’d poured my heart and soul into creating, but a master at the peak of his art, with over seventy years of cultivation, was no pushover.

Though momentarily flustered, he swung his sword, deflecting every incoming arrow.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Tada-da-da-da-da-dang!

For an instant, it seemed his sword had created a blue wall in the air.

It must have been the legendary sword barrier I’d only heard about.

He was undoubtedly a formidable master.

‘But! I wasn’t expecting anything big either!’

I hadn’t expected to kill him with this trap either.

All I truly wanted was to divert his attention for just a moment.

He parried the arrow and looked around in dismay.

In that brief moment, he had lost track of my whereabouts.

Hidden behind the tree’s shadow, I concealed myself using the stealth skills honed against the Mains on the front lines. I began tracking his movements with senses other than sight.

Then, I opened the mouths of the sacks I had prepared and placed behind the trees on either side of me. Immediately, dozens of snakes began slithering out from within.

The snakes, seemingly repelled by the scent emanating from my body, hurriedly moved away from me as soon as they emerged.

The effect of the scented pouch, made using the secret technique I’d obtained from Dakam, was indeed undeniable.

‘Alright, this is where the real battle begins.’

This battle was a duel using stealth techniques.

It was a battle of stealth.