Chapter 43 Reward (2)

Chapter 43: Reward (2)

In the end, following Danun’s suggestion, I spent the night with Oh Pyodu and the other agents of the Silver Dragon Sect.

If this were a modern pension, the owner would have charged extra per person, but this was an inn in the martial arts world.

Instead, the owner beamed at the extra mouths to feed and brought more food.

After finishing the meal, late into the night.

I was guarding the outside of the annex, prepared for any possible attack.

I did consider just slipping away alone, but it wasn’t that simple.

If I left first and the remaining group got attacked, I could easily be accused of being a spy.

Thanks to that, I ended up standing night watch in a pitiful state under the dazzling moonlight.

‘Brrr, it’s cold.’

Perhaps because we were below the mountain, the late autumn chill felt bitingly cold.

I wished I could light a campfire, but the innkeeper had cleaned so thoroughly that not a single leaf, let alone a piece of wood, could be found nearby.

‘I should at least walk around.’

After wandering briefly, a cart loaded with goods caught his eye.

Whatever was hidden inside, the cart was covered with thick cloth.

‘What on earth could it be…’

If trouble erupted, this would likely be the cause.

As he stared at it for a moment, he sensed movement behind him.

“Not sleeping? What are you doing?”

It was Officer Oh from Eunryong Hall.

“I couldn’t sleep, so I was admiring the moon.”

“I see. But why were you loitering near the cart?”

Because I found the man suspicious.

“…Haha, I just noticed it and took a quick look.”

Oh Pyo-du narrowed his eyes at my answer.

He was probably looking for traces where the cloth covering the cart had been peeled back.

“The contents of the cart are confidential. So don’t be too curious.”

“I know the rules about the cart well, so don’t worry.”

“Understood.”

The audacity to shift their own crisis onto me.

‘I should tell the kids not to play with the Silver Dragon Gang.’

The next day.

“Let’s depart.”

I headed towards Sopasan with Officer Oh and his group.

If we walked diligently, we’d probably cross the mountain by afternoon.

The problem was.

that nothing had happened at the inn—a hotspot for incidents in the martial world.

Then there was only one conclusion.

They were likely waiting somewhere.

I briefly considered taking a detour around the mountain, but quickly shook my head.

‘No. That would only be a temporary fix.’

Having sorted my thoughts, I sent a silent message to Danun.

[Brother Dan, there might be an ambush.]

Instantly, a flicker of understanding lit Danun’s eyes, and a telepathic message flew back, as if he already knew.

[I know.]

[······You knew and still asked me to come along?]

[When a member of the Nine Dragons Sect faces trouble, isn’t it only right to help?]

Seriously, isn’t that a bit too nosy?

[······Are you really insane?]

Twitch.

Unable to hold back, I hurled the curse, causing Dan-un’s eyebrow to twitch. He seemed to be boiling over.

But, I was no different.

The anger that surged up in an instant nearly made me apply for a ‘knockout punch’ without thinking.

‘Sigh, hold it in.’

Fighting him wouldn’t even win.

Anyway, while crossing the mountain, Dan-un, Eunryongdang’s messengers, and I advanced cautiously, keeping our guard up in all directions.

When climbing rocks, we spread our Ki-senses to check the surroundings.

When passing through areas surrounded by trees, we raised shields shaped like turtle shells.

These were the ironwood shields said to be used only by Eunryongdang in all the land.

Thanks to them, what should have taken half a day to cross Sopasan Mountain stretched into a full day.

The inevitable feeling of futility.

We’d concentrated every nerve, expecting trouble, so crossing the mountain was unavoidable.

Even so, Eunryongdang’s couriers never relaxed their vigilance.

They knew that the moment tension eased after a long journey was precisely when ambushes struck.

Another half-hour passed.

By the time they descended the mountain and reached the plains.

Shh. Shh.

The faint whistling of piercing air, barely audible without concentration, reached their ears.

“Jeongbang!”

The moment Commander Oh’s voice echoed, three guards leapt forward, shields raised.

Thud.

The force was so powerful that the iron spike embedded itself deep into the ironwood shield.

Suddenly, Danun, who had leapt from his horse, took a silent step forward. It was the Dark Fragrance Guard.

Swoosh!

As Danun flew like lightning and swung his sword, a bone-chilling sound echoed.

“Form the shield wall!”

At Commander Wu’s voice, the guards encircled the cart, shields and spears raised.

Thud.

Wu Daishan, the supreme master of the Silver Dragon Sect wielding the Bear-Tiger Spear, guarded the front of the cart with identical weaponry.

His stance screamed that anyone who approached would be skewered instantly.

Then it happened. A massive presence appeared from the right.

Thwack! Crash.

A projectile the size of a child’s fist flew in, shattering one guard’s shield.

‘A meteor hammer?’

A weapon rarely seen.

Moreover, only one place in the world possessed martial arts skill capable of wielding a meteor hammer with such devastating power.

‘It’s the Namcheon Palace!’

It was indeed the Southern Heavenly Palace, the headquarters of the Southern Martial World and a major powerhouse in the martial arts realm.

Thwack!

Another meteor hammer flew in, this time clearly aiming for the guard’s head.

“Hmph!”

Thud.

Without thinking, I extended the Zhenwangbo and stood in front of him.

Crack.

My wrist, which had parried the meteor dart, tingled.

‘I mustn’t give him space.’

I deployed the Zhenwangbo again and shot forward like lightning.

Thud.

As I reached his side, the warrior turned to look at me with a startled expression.

An utterly common face.

Yet even such a face couldn’t hide the murderous intent blazing from his eyes.

“Die!”

The enemy swung his dagger at a terrifying speed.

Instinctively unleashed the Dragon’s Thirteen Piercing Strikes.

Pop-pop-pop.

Hand against hand, wrist against wrist, fist against dagger collided at breakneck speed.

‘Now!’

The Light Version of the Exploding Blade struck the enemy’s dagger.

CRASH!

“Guh!”

The dagger shattered as the enemy stumbled backward.

Blood trickled from one eye, likely pierced by a blade fragment.

“……Damn bastard!”

An advantage gained far too easily.

Considering the matchup between a ranged fighter and a melee fighter like me, the result was hard to comprehend.

As I pondered the cause, I soon reached a conclusion.

‘Could it be?’

It wasn’t that the opponent was weak.

I had grown stronger.

The more I moved, the stronger I became. The more I fought, the stronger I grew.

The ancient mantra of the Zhenwang style came to mind.

In other words, through all those battles, the Zhenwang style had grown.

‘Could I… actually be strong?’

Resolved, I unleashed the Zhenwang Bo.

I could definitely feel it had become a little faster.

Whoosh!

The explosive light I unleashed against the meteor hammer flying toward me with fierce power swept the surroundings.

“Yeeek!”

Sensing mortal danger, the creature tried to flee its position.

“You came this far and just leave? That’d be a bit disappointing, don’t you think?”

It couldn’t match the speed of the Zhenwangbo.

Swoosh!

I calmly fired the Extreme Star Mirror towards the creature’s back.

Thud.

Its body was split in half, blood soaking the ground.

Behind it, the Silver Dragon Sect’s guards were seen protecting the cart against nearly twenty enemies.

A 3-against-20 fight.

Even worse, the opponents were top-tier martial artists like themselves.

It was a situation ripe for instant slaughter, yet the guards never retreated.

Instead, they completely blocked the enemies’ advance with sturdy iron shields and ghostly spear skills.

Martial arts for defense.

That was the very foundation of the Silver Dragon Sect.

‘They’ll be fine over there.’

Ultimately, the final decision must be made between masters.

Having made up my mind, I launched myself toward the old man facing Odaesan.

Thwack!

The old man, who had been retrieving his sword blocked by Odaesan’s shield, turned around in shock.

The old man swung his great sword horizontally to block the bursting explosion.

Kwaaang!

As the blades clashed, an explosion erupted in the air.

“Hmph!”

Odaesan’s spear shot out at an unseen speed.

“Eek!”

The old man twisted his upper body, barely dodging the spear tip.

I immediately unleashed the Dragon Thirteen Piercing Strike.

Puff-puff-puff-puff.

My hands and feet struck indiscriminately at the old man’s upper and lower body.

“Khm.”

At the old man’s muffled sound, Odaesan twisted the corners of his mouth upward.

It felt as if he had been waiting for this very moment.

It was clearly the timing for his fatal strike.

I unfolded the Zhenwangbao and immediately left the spot.

The old man, sensing something amiss, tried to dodge too.

But Odaesan’s spear shot forward first.

The spear technique of the martial world’s peerless master, the one who had elevated Eunseong Pogyuk—the predecessor of Eunryongdang—to the position of the world’s greatest pogyuk.

The Galaxy Spear, Meteor Branch.

The spear shot forth, its tip filled with a silver current.

The panicked old man ignited his qi, attempting to cleave the spear vertically.

Whoosh.

A resonant boom echoed as the spear pierced through his qi.

And then.

Thud.

The old man, half his head gone, collapsed without even closing his eyes.

And at that moment.

Clang. Crash.

With a sound like a mortar exploding, Danun’s sword fell downward, and the enemy he was facing vanished without a trace.

The Blue Cloud Slashing Sword had erupted.

Seeing their leader dead, the enemies who had swarmed in began to flee.

But Danun wasn’t one to just let that happen.

Roar!

Like a lion leaping into a herd of sheep, his sword sliced through the enemies’ bodies.

Then, the Five Great Mountains and the Biao warriors also charged out to annihilate the remaining foes.

As for me… well, not exactly. I was too lazy to join in, so I leaned against the cart and watched.

I figured I was already exhausted enough; there was no need for me to get involved too.

A one-sided slaughter.

In martial arts novels, righteous faction guys would sometimes spare fleeing enemies.

I really don’t get why these guys act like this.

‘Wait, did I just get dropped into some weird martial world?’

Like how even the same game has easy mode and hard mode.

As I waited, lost in these pointless thoughts, something felt off.

‘But a courier chasing enemies while carrying goods…’

That doesn’t make any sense?!

I explosively expanded my spiritual sense. Not satisfied with that, I poured out all my inner energy, spreading it in all directions.

Simultaneously, I sensed dozens of objects.

I’d heard about this before.

The Iron Arrow Unit of the Southern Heavenly Palace could hit targets 3km away, earning them the name ‘Hundred-Zhang Kill’.

“……!!”

Just as I suspected.

Whoosh.

A barely audible whistling sound, whatever trick they’d pulled.

But dozens of iron arrows flew into my field of vision.

The problem was.

‘I can’t dodge this!’

It was that I’d noticed them too late.

In the end, there was only one way.

I had to strike them all down.

The moment I made up my mind, I wrapped my internal energy around both hands.

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

I unleashed the Samyangsu, the fastest technique I knew, wildly striking the iron arrows away.

But I missed the last one, hidden behind the others.

“Ugh!!”

Thud.

A heavy impact.

But the iron arrow didn’t pierce my body.

The Dragon Scale Armor I received from the Great Lord protected me.

‘What the hell is this?!’

The item I thought was junk turned out to be a rare piece!

Trying it on just in case saved my life.

I wanted to take off the Dragon Scale Armor immediately and inspect it, but there was no time.

Dealing with those bastards as quickly as possible was the priority.

As I unfolded the Zhen Wangbao and charged forward, their iron spears instantly focused on me.

Had I not known the Dragon Scale Armor’s capabilities, I would have been struggling to parry the spears while advancing, but not now.

Thud thud thud.

Their iron arrows could never pierce the Dragon Scale Armor.

And then.

Thud.

Nearly a hundred paces ahead, a group of Baekjang soldiers had gathered.

As I reached close range, the one who seemed to be their leader released an arrow toward my head.

Sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

“Hello.”

It was the start of a one-sided massacre.

* * *

“My apologies, Team Leader Jin.”

“In that moment, my mind went blank, consumed by the urge to kill the enemies…”

“I truly have no face left.”

After the battle ended, the Eunryongdang archers and Oh Pyo-du gathered and bowed their heads.

Because their absence had left me in danger.

“Haha, it’s fine. Besides, isn’t the treasure intact?”

“I’m truly grateful you think that way.”

Because I’m generous.

“Anyway, isn’t it a relief the treasure is safe?”

“It’s nothing short of divine fortune. We nearly suffered a major setback.”

“It truly is fortunate. The treasure, the treasure, the treasure is intact, I say.”

“······.”

“What do you think, the officers who abandoned the treasure? Now that the treasure is perfectly intact like this.“

Perhaps moved by my humble demeanor, the Head Treasure Keeper leaned in close and whispered.

”Ahem, I’ll reward you handsomely when I return.“

”As far as I know, the Silver Dragon Sect rewards benefactors who aid treasure expeditions with one-tenth of the treasure’s value. I wonder how much that will be.”

“Hmm, if you consider it valuable, it has value; if you don’t, it has none at all…”

“Haha, Chief Officer Oh, you’re quite the joker. The most valuable thing in the world is a human life—how can you say it has no value?”

“Th-that… how could you…”

Chief Officer Oh was visibly flustered by my remark.

And then.

Gulp.

A small boy emerged from inside the cart.

“See? I told you I’d get caught no matter what. And I explained several times that smelling the scent of the Mad Soul would make you lose your senses, yet you fell for it again… Are you gentlemen really from the Silver Dragon Sect?”