Book 11 Chapter 9

Annihilation!

Im Gae and Lee Song-hak waved goodbye to them.

"Whew, we almost went bankrupt…"

Im Gae's words were true.

Bing Geom, one of the Five Great Swordsmen of the World, and Yeom Do, one of the Five Great Swordsmen of the World. These two alone had the skill to make this Heukrang Village disappear into dust from the martial arts world. Even facing only these two, victory was not certain. And yet, in addition to these two, there were fifty or so representatives from the Huashan branch! The mere thought sent shivers down his spine.

After the people from Cheonmu Academy left, Im Gae, the leader of Heukrang Village, wiped his sweat-soaked forehead and let out a sigh of relief. Without realizing that the grim reaper was right at their doorstep, they had rampaged with arrogance and committed wanton acts. It was a miracle that their necks were still attached.

If Bing Geom and Yeom Do had not been moved by Lee Song-hak's heartfelt and elaborate story, and had not spared his pride, they would have ended up as ghosts wandering in the netherworld. Im Gae shook his head and exclaimed heartily.

"This must be what they call a narrow escape. To celebrate, I'll do something good tomorrow."

"Something good?"

Something good? It was one of the most incompatible things for bandits. The bandits themselves doubted if such a word even existed, as it had been so long since they had heard it. They suspected the village chief's sanity.

"Perhaps he's lost his mind a bit due to the immense mental shock?" Jang Gyu, a squad leader among Im Gae's subordinates, whispered to his colleague, No Gu.

"Hmm? You might be right. Otherwise, what the hell would a bandit be doing something good? Don't you see these goosebumps?" No Gu thrust his forearm in front of his friend's eyes. "Thump, thump!" His forearm skin was covered in bumpy goosebumps, like a plucked chicken. His forearm clearly demonstrated how much he recoiled at the words "something good." His friend Jang Gyu nodded in understanding.

"I understand. I also got chills when I heard the words 'something good,' 'good deed' just a moment ago. I almost had a seizure."

If their conversation had reached the leader's ears, they were likely to be severely punished, so they had to whisper in voices as small as mosquitoes.

Whoosh!

Just then, Im Gae's sharp and menacing gaze suddenly turned towards them, making their fragile hearts almost drop.

"Hey! Squad leader!" Im Gae called out to them.

"Yes! Leader!" Both answered simultaneously.

"Tomorrow, when we do our work, only take half!" It seemed that the good deed he spoke of took that form. Jang Gyu and No Gu's eyes widened.

"Whoa! Such an incredibly good deed…?" The two looked at Im Gae with awe, as if he were a different person.

But then.

"I don't think that will be necessary."

With a low, eerie voice, Im Gae's head snapped back. His eyes narrowed. No one knew when they had appeared there. There was no one present who had the skill to sense their presence. However, the dark shadows had already completely surrounded them.

"Wh-who are you?" His instincts, honed by a long life of banditry, buzzed with the approaching desperate danger. His keen sense of smell detected the scent of blood, death, and fear emanating from those wrapped head to toe in black cloth.

'Damn it! This isn't going to be fun…' Just by looking, these were incredibly dangerous individuals. He swallowed dryly, his saliva descending his throat. He was instinctively fighting fiercely against the rising fear. The corner of the mouth of the middle-aged man in black leading them twitched slightly. He was the one leading them, named Jeok-hyeol.

"Who are you? Reveal yourselves!" Im Gae asked with a trembling voice. Jeok-hyeol replied in a dry, emotionless voice.

"Grim Reapers! Your memorial day is exactly this day next year."

It was a voice that seemed to belong in hell. The Heukrang Village subordinates, who prided themselves on their courage, were silenced by the surrounding killing intent, unable to utter a word. Normally, they would have at least hurled curses first.

"Don't worry! I'll send you all to the underworld at once, so you won't be lonely."

"Damn it, screw you! Who do you think you are! Go, everyone!" Im Gae shouted, seeing no need to prolong the conversation. There was nothing to gain by stalling for Heukrang Village.

"Woooooooooo!" The bandits of Heukrang Village simultaneously drew their weapons and charged. Then, the dark shadows of the Twelve Blood Demon Corps moved swiftly as if they had been waiting. It could not even be called a fight. It was a complete, one-sided slaughter. Every time the swords of the Twelve Blood Demon Corps swung with the smile of a reaper, the bandits surrendered their lives beneath the blades. No matter how great the name of the Five Great Sects of the Forest was, they were as powerless as children defying adults.

Blood! Blood! Blood! The entire mountain was dyed red, as if autumn had been forcefully brought forward. The massacre continued for half an hour.

"Huff, huff, huff!" Panting raggedly, Im Gae looked around with wide, bulging eyes. He seemed to be the only one who had resisted to the end amidst the piles of corpses. His face was already covered in blood, resembling a devil. But most of that blood was from his subordinates.

"Hey! Meokmul! Meokmul! Lee Song-hak!" But there was no answer. None of his subordinates were breathing. Im Gae, covered in blood from his wounds, glared at Jeok-hyeol, the leader of the Twelve Blood Demon Corps. His eyes gleamed with madness, but his axe was now tattered like scrap metal. These were wounds sustained while defending his life from the merciless swords of the Twelve Blood Demon Corps. His right thigh was already numb. His left arm seemed to be in tatters and was just a hindrance. Judging by the throbbing in his sides and stomach, the swords had passed through him more than once.

'Damn it! Is this how it ends?' He had only enough strength left to swing once more. If so, he wouldn't die alone! Im Gae squeezed out the last bit of his internal energy from the bottom of his dantian. When dying, he wanted to take as many with him as possible! The more companions for the journey to the underworld, the better.

"Kuaaak! Die!" CRASH! A sharp scream, as if spitting blood! And a great burst of energy! This became the last trace of Im Gae's existence in this world. Unintentionally, on that day, Mount Gu-gung had to drink dozens of lives.

"Casualties?" Jeok-hyeol, standing in the center of the gruesome corpses shrouded in a thick smell of blood, asked in a dispassionate voice.

"Two dead, three seriously wounded, seven lightly wounded," reported Blood Sword, the first squad leader and concurrently deputy. Jeok-hyeol's expression hardened.

"Are you in your right mind? Two deaths fighting these mere pawns? And ten injured? What kind of training have you been doing to end up like this?" Jeok-hyeol roared. As assassins themselves, boasting of being the elite of the organization, suffering such casualties against mere bandits was a deep blow to his pride.

"Which squad do the deceased belong to?"

"Members of the 9th and 11th squads. It seems the axe of Heukrang Bu, Im Gae, the leader of Heukrang Village, was surprisingly fierce. The title of Five Great Sects of the Forest was not earned in vain."

"Even if he is one of the Five Great Sects of the Forest, he is still just a bandit. Tell the leaders of the 9th and 11th squads that they will be held accountable when we return. And those who are seriously injured will undergo special intensive training, Hellish Cultivation, for three months. Those lightly injured, for one month. Of course, assuming they are still alive by the end of this operation!" At the mention of Hellish Cultivation, Deputy Blood Sword's face turned pale.

'Poor souls!' But it was a deserved price. There was no mercy for the weak here.

"Yes! Understood."

"How can you expect to get anything done if you lose two men to these mere pawns? Useless!"

"Besides Im Gae, there was an unexpected master among them. He was a swordsman."

"A bandit with a sword…" It was truly an unsuitable weapon.

"Judging by his swordsmanship, it seems to be Lee Song-hak, the Gentleman of Leisurely Sword." The Twelve Blood Demon Corps was not a sloppy unit that relied solely on brute force and ignored information.

"Lee Song-hak, the Gentleman of Leisurely Sword, whose knowledge is said to fill rivers, stealing?" This report, for once, surprised even Jeok-hyeol. But such luxury of emotion was fleeting.

"And him?" For a moment, Blood Sword was speechless. He had nothing to say, even if he had ten mouths.

"I…, I'm sorry. We lost him." The core of this operation was to leave absolutely no survivors. A fierce, threatening gaze pierced Blood Sword's entire body. His body trembled.

"I will hold you responsible later. Where is he now?" His tone was as sharp as a howling wind.

"The 8th squad has sent a pursuit team."

"Oh?" Only then did Jeok-hyeol's hardened face relax slightly. The 8th squad specialized in tracking techniques. They had never failed to catch their prey before.

"Search thoroughly, even beyond that horizon, and eliminate him. If you fail, you will pay with your life. We will leave no trace. You must annihilate him. We will now begin reorganizing the unit. Commence!"

"Yes! Understood."

"Re-pursuit immediately after the reorganization. And release the bait! Let the King of the Forest take the bait. Use the seriously injured as bait! It's a good thing. No need to deliberately injure them. And that fugitive must be eliminated no matter what! That's all!" His orders were as cold as ice.

"Report!" A member of the seriously injured, but still mobile enough, hastily changed into the clothes of a dead bandit and disguised his face. The blood still seeped through the bandages from his wounds, making him look like a defeated soldier. In a short while, he had transformed into a wounded bandit grunt. His piercing killing intent was also hidden deep within his body. Those who engaged in this kind of work always possessed strong killing intent, but if they couldn't hide it at times, they couldn't continue in this line of business.

"If you handle this properly, I will reduce your Hellish Cultivation by half in consideration of your merit." At Jeok-hyeol's words, he showed a grateful expression. Hellish Cultivation was a difficult process even for those who had trained rigorously. Underestimating Im Gae's axe, who was a bandit, had been a grave mistake.

"Go!"

"Report!" As Jeok-hyeol's order fell, he moved swiftly and disappeared towards the direction of the headquarters of the seventy-two Heuknim villages where the King of the Forest resided.

"Retreat!" With Jeok-hyeol's command, they vanished as if they had sunk into the ground. Behind where they had been, only a cold, silent death remained, accompanied by a thick smell of blood.

Thump, thump, thump! The sound of powerful force kicking the earth.

"Whoa, whoa!" With the sound of horses' hooves striking the earth, a carriage being driven along the mountain path was halted by the driver's command. The horses whinnied and moved restlessly due to the sudden braking. The black carriage, pulled by four horses, stopped at the scene of the massacre where the Heukrang Village bandits had been annihilated not long ago.

Creak! The carriage door opened, and a woman of astonishing beauty emerged. The sudden wave of blood scent forced her to cover her nose with a handkerchief.

"This is brutal." The corners of her beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly. Her lake-like eyes flickered with disgust.

"Whose doing do you think this is?" asked Jang Lao, who was sitting on the driver's seat.

"Judging by the markings found on the bodies, these seem to be bandits from Heukrang Village, one of the Five Great Sects of the Forest. Unlike other miscellaneous bandit groups, the Five Great Sects of the Forest are very well-trained, yet they all died without being able to properly resist. Their wounds are all remarkably clean. Judging by their wounds, it must be the work of professionals. Their skill is terrifying."

"Then…" It was then. Suddenly, Jang Lao put his finger to his lips, signaling her to be quiet. She immediately brought her white jade-like hand to cover her red lips. Jang Lao's keen gaze and erect ears scanned their surroundings.

*Pop!* Jang Lao's eyes flashed sharply, and his hand shot out faster than the wind. A flash from his fingertips disappeared into the bushes as if swallowed.

Rustle, rustle! The sound of rustling grass assailed their ears.

"Did you miss it?"

"I'm ashamed. There was a reaction, but I think I missed it. It's quite a fast little rat."

"It's okay. Let's leave here quickly. I'm worried something might have happened to them."

"Yes, young lady!" In truth, her concern for their well-being was quite ironic given her affiliation and background, but she did not feel ashamed of it at all. Instead, she took it all for granted.

"Giddy-up!" Slap! Jang Lao's whip cut through the air, and the carriage wheels began to roll again. Jeok-hyeol was extremely displeased. It was understandable. After all, one of his subordinates, left behind to clean up the mess, had returned with a dagger embedded in his shoulder. The unreliable and clumsy subordinate was holding his right shoulder with his left hand, prostrating himself apologetically.

'When did I become the leader of such weaklings?' He couldn't help but curse. How could he face his lord upon returning? His face burned with shame.

'I must train them rigorously again!' According to the iron law passed down for a hundred years, there was no room for the weak among the shadows of a thousand tribulations.

"That was a remarkably skilled move," said Deputy Blood Sword, after examining the clumsy subordinate's wound. The throwing knife that pierced his shoulder was ordinary and could be found anywhere, so it was difficult to identify the thrower based on it alone. More information was needed.

"It wasn't the skill of an ordinary carriage driver. I thought I had completely hidden my presence…" replied the injured Number 512. 512 meant member number 12 of the 5th squad. Apart from the squad leader and section chief, they did not have names. Number 512 seemed to want to make an excuse.

"It was definitely the work of a peak master. If I hadn't dodged, it would have pierced my heart." Blood Sword's judgment was likely accurate. He had never been wrong in such judgments before.

"And…" Number 512 seemed to have more to say.

"Do you still have something to say after running away?" Jeok-hyeol asked with a sharp, accusatory gaze.

"I'm ashamed. But the person in that carriage was… the Silver Fox."

"What?" Jeok-hyeol almost grabbed him by the collar.

"Can you vouch for that statement?"

"I'll stake my life on it. It was definitely the Silver Fox."

"Why didn't you say that first? You idiot!" Jeok-hyeol, furious, yelled at the top of his lungs. Number 512 felt despair at the fact that he had become not only weak but also stupid.

"Send a report to headquarters about this fact and get a countermeasure. And investigate who the driver is! He's certainly no ordinary person."

"Yes." At Jeok-hyeol's command, the Twelve Blood Demon Corps began to move busily. And a hawk flew into the sky.