The black shadow that had been firing arrows quickly closed the distance to the bandits.
The man’s massive silhouette, with the rising sun at his back, swept over them like a tidal wave.
“Get a grip! He’s alone!”
At someone’s shout, the bandits snapped out of their stupor and drew their weapons all at once.
“Everyone, move aside!”
Another sub-leader shouted as he tried to squeeze through from the rear to the front.
However, because of the densely packed bandits, he couldn’t push forward.
It was the exact moment the scene Gangchan wanted was completed.
The entrance was cramped, and the number of people out front was fifty at most.
The bandits tried to break out of the entrance and spread out, but the members following behind Gangchan quickly formed a semi-circular perimeter, blocking their retreat.
“As long as you don’t collapse, it’s fine.
It doesn’t matter if one or two of them get out.
Do not overdo it.”
After giving instructions to his team members, Gangchan swung his Three-Soul Axe toward the bandits.
Within the defensive line established by Gangchan and his men, the Three-Soul Axe flew wildly through the narrow space.
Even if the bandits wanted to dodge, there was no room because the men behind them were blocking the way.
Ultimately, all they could do was try to block the Three-Soul Axe as it flew toward them with monstrous force.
However, the Three-Soul Axe was too strong and too fast for them to stop.
They desperately tried to block the terrifying weapon, but instead, their weapons and torsos were sliced apart together.
“Aaargh!”
“Gah…!”
Bandits collapsed, screaming.
Yet, those who survived still didn’t understand what was happening.
“Move out of the way, you bastards!”
No matter how much they shouted from the back, the bandits crowded at the front were blocked by corpses and couldn’t move.
To make matters worse, the piles of bodies at the front further narrowed their range of motion.
The Flying Axe Sideways Swallow of the Soul Axe Ghost Spirit was the optimal attack against a concentrated enemy.
In less than fifteen minutes, the number of bandits who had died was too many to count.
The entrance to the Blood Wolf Band’s base was filled with the corpses of bandits, truly reminiscent of hell.
Was this Gangchan’s intention?
The entrance, blocked by corpses, had become an inescapable hell for them.
They likely never dreamed that the sturdy wooden fence they had built would become the shackles that tied their own feet.
As the entrance was blocked by bodies, a brief lull followed.
Slight fatigue accumulated in Gangchan’s body after consuming so much energy at once.
For a brief moment, Gangchan regulated his ragged breathing.
Even in that state, he was soaked in blood from head to toe.
Both allies and enemies who saw Gangchan’s appearance gasped.
‘This… is not a fight a human can do…’
The team members stared at Gangchan, utterly dazed.
“The Sect Leader is ending up doing all the revenge by himself,” Du Ilchung said with a smirk.
“I know…
It turns out we just had to watch.
But it’s terrifying just to look at him,” Baek Geombi muttered.
A man in his early 30s, dressed in blue light armor, sat across from Yeopae, the leader of the Blood Wolf Band.
‘Rude bastard.’
Yeopae was extremely displeased with the guest who had shown up unannounced at dawn.
Whether he should have come after daybreak or not, this guy was always like this.
Furthermore, it was noisy outside, as if another fight had broken out.
“It seems there is a problem?”
“It’s always noisy here.
My subordinates are quite rough.”
“I see.
Anyway, I trust you haven’t forgotten our promise.”
“As long as your side keeps the promise, we are ready anytime.”
Even at the half-hearted answer, the man’s expression didn’t change.
He still maintained a faint smile.
‘The vermin has grown quite a bit.’
The man looked at Yeopae with emotionless eyes.
“What you want will be delivered soon, so do not worry.”
Yeopae’s eyes flashed.
‘We’ll see if you can act that arrogant once the second half of the Red Blood Peerless Saber is in my hands, Hae Byeok.’
“I am busy, so I shall take my leave.
We will see each other again soon.”
“I look forward to that day.”
The man named Hae Byeok stood up and walked outside.
“Take care.”
As soon as Yeopae finished speaking, Hae Byeok gave a slight nod, turned around, and leaped away.
Watching his retreating figure, Yeopae muttered in annoyance.
“Impolite bastard.”
Eight years ago, this man had come to him and offered to exchange one secret manual for one contract killing.
When Yeopae said he would decide after seeing the manual, Hae Byeok had thrown one volume to him without hesitation.
It was the first half of the Red Blood Peerless Saber, the martial art of the Red Blood Death God, Sa Jin-myeong, who had dominated the world five hundred years ago with a single broadsword.
Yeopae’s eyes had nearly rolled back into his head at the sight of a high-level martial art that couldn’t even be compared to his own Blood Wolf Explosive Stream Saber.
He had accepted Hae Byeok’s request immediately.
Since then, Hae Byeok appeared once or twice a year to confirm the promise and then vanished.
And today was no different.
The Red Blood Peerless Saber was a martial art of such high difficulty that he had only just managed to complete the first half, but even with that alone, his martial prowess had risen by at least two stages.
The increased power had brought him many things.
One of them was absorbing small and medium-sized bandit groups and expanding his influence.
His heart swelled with pride from that alone, but if he could learn the second half, wouldn’t he be able to compete even with that Hae Byeok fellow?
When he had subtly brought up the second half today, he received the answer that it would be brought to him soon.
Perhaps, along with the second half, instructions to carry out the promised contract would be given.
However, the contract was something he could just order his increased subordinates to do; he didn’t need to worry about it.
With the wealth accumulated while absorbing the bandits scattered across the plains, his doubled manpower, and his martial arts reaching even higher levels, he would soon become the king of the plains.
Thus, Yeopae fell into a happy dream.
Roughly pushing aside the corpses piled at the front gate, Gangchan and his team members slowly walked inside.
Now, Gangchan and his men stood inside the gate, while the bandits surrounded them in a semi-circle.
Gangchan used his Spirit Energy to count their numbers.
Roughly 200 people.
As he used Spirit Energy more closely, he could sense the energy of the men in detail.
What was surprising was that many of them possessed energy that didn’t quite suit bandits.
‘Who are these guys?’
An instinctive question arose, but Gangchan decided to set it aside for now.
He slowly scanned the men surrounding them.
The bandits glared as if they wanted to kill him, but their eyes were full of fear.
The sight of Gangchan, drenched in blood, was enough to send waves of terror through them.
At that moment, a man who appeared to be in his mid-40s stepped forward from among the bandits and looked at Gangchan.
“Who are you to kill people so brutally?”
“Brutal?
Isn’t that a word better suited for people like you?”
Even though they were bandits, the opponent remained calm despite seeing his comrades slaughtered so miserably.
It would be stranger if they didn’t feel fear.
“What is the reason?”
Gangchan looked at the man once and answered half-heartedly.
“Revenge.”
“With just this many people?”
“If you bastards don’t run away, it’ll be more than enough.”
Gangchan lightly shook his empty quiver.
“As you can see, I’ve run out of arrows, so it might get a bit annoying if you run.”
A cruel smile appeared on Gangchan’s face.
The essence of that smile was pure confidence.
Muchideok’s gaze shifted to the space behind the man.
The corpses of his subordinates were piled up, having died gruesome deaths.
‘If it’s true he did that alone in that short time, that confidence is natural.’
Acknowledging his opponent’s skill, Muchideok settled his confused mind.
He seriously observed the opponent again.
He felt nothing.
It was as if he were facing an ordinary person who didn’t know martial arts.
In such a case, the opponent was either a true commoner or a master who had reached the limit.
Since a person who didn’t know martial arts couldn’t have created this situation, the opponent was clearly the latter.
In fact, Muchideok had once thought that a day like this might come.
Whether he wanted it or not, it was a fact that he had been present at numerous scenes of looting and murder.
However, since several years ago, when the Blood Wolf Explosive Stream Saber—a martial art only the leader used to know—was passed down to the subordinates and their skills surpassed the level of ordinary bandits, those thoughts had gradually faded.
‘Who would dare take revenge on us?’
Arrogance had taken root.
Muchideok shook off the encroaching thoughts and calmly gathered his internal energy.
No matter who the opponent was or what their strength was, what did it matter?
These people were likely the sons, grandsons, acquaintances, or friends of someone they had killed.
And they had a clear justification.
Revenge.
“I am Muchideok.”
“Pyehyeolsu Muchideok?”
“Do you know me?”
In that moment, Gangchan once again read Muchideok’s energy in detail.
Unlike most bandits who had chaotic energy, he felt an energy that was extremely domineering but not evil.
‘Is this guy…?’
Stories from when he reunited with his older brother in the past flashed through Gangchan’s mind.
His brother, while explaining how he survived, had once said this:
‘I was attacked and lost consciousness, but someone appeared in my dream and said,
“Your injuries are severe, so even if I leave you like this, I don’t know if you can survive.
But if you do live, it must be the will of heaven, so live if you can.”
Perhaps it wasn’t a dream, but someone who saved me.’
Gangchan’s eyes sparkled sharply.
“I will ask one thing.”
“Ask whatever you wish.”
“Twelve years ago, in Guihon Village, was it you who saved the young man who was injured?”
At Gangchan’s words, Muchideok searched his memory for a moment.
‘Twelve years ago, Guihon Village…
Was it that gold?’
And then, a faint memory suddenly surfaced.
“Was that young man hiding under the tree roots, dying, you?”
“I was right after all.”
It was a short exchange, but they were able to confirm each other’s identities within it.
“I see.
That was the reason for your revenge.”
“I will tell the truth only to you.
That young man in your memory is my older brother.
And I am one of the lives the village people desperately saved that day.”
Hearing Gangchan’s words, Muchideok suddenly burst into a loud laugh.
“Hahaha!
Truly, it is said that the net of heaven is vast and wide, and though its mesh is coarse, nothing slips through.
To think we would meet like this.”
“The net of heaven is vast, and though it is coarse, it does not lose anything.
I don’t know if that saying is right, but one thing is certain.
Twelve years ago, you people shouldn’t have done that.”
The scenes of that day surfaced dimly in his memory.
People struggling desperately to live.
And their despair, which he had turned away from.
Apologies flooded his mind.
Although it had been the leader’s order, the fact that he hadn’t kept his promise to let them live remained unchanged.
“Fine.
I shall do my best.”
“If you don’t want to die, you’ll have to do your best anyway.”
As the two men pulled up their full strength, the surrounding air swelled as if expanding, pushing the bandits back.
Thus, a space with a radius of thirty feet was formed.
Gangchan gathered his Spirit Energy to the maximum, revealing an entirely different presence.
Muchideok instantly closed the distance and threw a blow toward Gangchan’s face.
Watching the energy contained in Muchideok’s lunging fist, Gangchan slightly turned his head to dodge and struck the opponent’s face with his right hand.
Muchideok quickly turned his head to the left to avoid the attack and prepared for the next movement.
However, in the instant Gangchan’s hand brushed past, his right arm coiled around Muchideok’s extended arm and surged forward.
‘What?’
Muchideok, unable to pull his right arm out from the entanglement, felt his body being lifted into the air.
Crash!
Coiled in Gangchan’s arm, Muchideok’s body was slammed directly into the ground.
The impact was so great that his body bounced up like a bow before crashing back onto the floor.
For a moment, in this unrealistic situation, Muchideok didn’t even realize he was in pain and sprang to his feet.
Forcefully swallowing the blood rising in his throat, Muchideok checked his body with an absurd expression.
There was pain in his back, but it didn’t hinder his movement.
The problem was the internal injury that had occurred without a proper exchange of blows.
The moment Gangchan utilized the “Strike” followed by the “Entwine” of the Ghost Spirit Dance, his Spirit Energy had swept through Muchideok’s internals.
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