Chapter 39

With his opening attack halted, Gu Ma-cheon immediately put distance between them.

Just when it seemed he might retreat, he had already vaulted onto the building’s second-floor railing.

The External Protection Troops didn’t even get a proper look at Gu Ma-cheon’s withdrawal.

“……”

From the railing, Gu Ma-cheon glared quietly at Yeon Mujin.

Losing the initiative had been a severe shock.

“What’s your name?”

“Yeon Mujin.”

“What’s your title?”

“My title?”

Come to think of it, even the External Protection Troops didn’t know Yeon Mujin’s sobriquet. A wanderer of his skill would have been known in the murim world; even if not famous, he should at least have a sobriquet. Even Yang Gwan-wol, the deputy captain of the External Protection Troops, had a title, didn’t he?

“I forgot it.”

“You forgot your title? Are you mocking this old man?”

“Not mocking, I really forgot it… agh!”

Where Yeon Mujin had leapt, a dull gray dagger stuck out of the wood.

It, too, had arrived without sound or sign; there had been no sense of when it was thrown.

“You lure someone into speaking and then ambush them. How despicable—just like a thief!”

“Forgetting your title? You planned to humiliate this old man, didn’t you!”

“I really forgot!”

Gu Ma-cheon glanced at the hat-wearing men and said, “Go tell Leader Un: I don’t think I can keep my promise to bring him in alive. I’d feel better seeing this bastard’s blood.”

“Elder Gu, but…”

“Aha, now you show your true colors. So you acted on Un Ji-kang’s orders, did you, you thief!”

From the moment Yeon Mujin first met Gu Ma-cheon at the Night Water Clan, he had recognized his identity. The disappearance of the sect leaders was clearly Gu Ma-cheon’s doing; no one else had that capability. In the end, Gu Ma-cheon was the key to finding the sect leaders.

“Again you call me a thief! Calling me a thief again and again!”

“Yes. You one-eyed thief—did Un Ji-kang order you to set a trap?”

Gu Ma-cheon fell silent.

He resolved not to waste his inner strength on that worthless tactical trick any longer.

Once he decided to kill, his fury eased and his mind cleared. He simply needed to kill.

“Yes. That’s right. Leader Un and I have been close for a long time. He asked me to deal with an annoying fellow for him.”

That was Yeon Mujin’s thought.

“You one-eyed fool. What did you do with the sect leaders?”

Gu Ma-cheon gave a hollow laugh. “What would you do knowing? Now that this old man has decided to kill, do you think you’ll see tomorrow? There’s no need to know.”

“If you’re going to kill anyway, why not tell us before you kill us? Don’t be petty—tell us.”

“Heh heh. If you’re curious, go ask….”

With those words, Gu Ma-cheon’s figure melted into the darkness.

He used the footwork that let him scale palace walls and earned him the sobriquet ‘The Great Thief Guest’—the Night Thief Step.

Yeon Mujin, who had been calmly mocking Gu Ma-cheon moments before, now shouted with a stern face.

“Yu Se-gwang!”

“Yes! Captain!”

“Set the building on fire!”

Yu Se-gwang did not hesitate. He hurled the torch into a pile of thatch.

Whoosh!

Flames licked out and, in an instant, the floor caught fire.

Then Yeon Mujin shouted again. “Those two over there are gold-claw warriors of the Lonely Claw Troops. Their names are Im-gwang and Wei-gwang. Deal with them!”

“What?”

The External Protection Troops were stunned.

Gold-claw warriors all of a sudden? Then they must be affiliated with the Bukgung Family, right?

But the hat-wearing men were even more stunned. Since when had their identities been suspected? They had been secretly dispatched. Now that their identities were exposed, they couldn’t be allowed to live.

The gold-claw warriors flung off their hats and announced themselves. “Our names are Im-gwang and Wei-gwang!”

“Same difference!”

Golden claw weapons flashed along both fighters’ arms, making their affiliation clear.

Solitary Cloud Manor and Flying Swallow Manor. Lonely Claw Troops and External Protection Troops. Yeon Mujin and Gu Ma-cheon.

Seo Nak-il, Wei Gon-chan, and Yu Se-gwang also drew their weapons and took their stances.

Whoosh!

As the flames climbed the pillars, Gu Ma-cheon’s hidden silhouette was revealed. Darkness was his ally; light was his enemy. Yeon Mujin’s quick thinking had worked.

Gu Ma-cheon shouted at the gold-claw warriors, “What are you standing there for? Put the fire out, quick!”

The Solitary Cloud Manor’s gold-claw warriors—until now, their skills had existed only in rumor. Within the Lonely Claw Troops, strength was said to be ranked gold-claw, silver-claw, then bronze-claw. Rumor had it that even a gold-claw warrior would be considered a top master in many sects. Of course, that was rumor—none of them had actually seen a gold-claw warrior.

‘Can we stop gold-claw warriors?’ That question rose in the minds of the External Protection Troops as Im-gwang and Wei-gwang charged.

Neither young Yu Se-gwang nor Seo Nak-il or Wei Gon-chan could be called first-rate warriors. Frankly, they lacked confidence; they had always been washed-out amateurs. By any reasonable measure they couldn’t match gold-claw warriors. The sensible choice would have been to drop their weapons and run.

If it were the past, they wouldn’t have been able to withstand a single technique from a gold-claw warrior.

If it were the past.

“Damn it, block them!” Seo Nak-il thrust his spear forward and shouted.

Wei Gon-chan and Yu Se-gwang snapped awake at that desperate yell.

“If you don’t want to die, block them! Follow the captain’s orders!”

Seo Nak-il shouted without fleeing, clenching his teeth like a madman. Because of their pride, even these washed-out men stood their ground.

“Put out the fire!”

“Protect the flames!”

Conflicting orders echoed through the burning wooden building.

Seo Nak-il, Wei Gon-chan, and Yu Se-gwang, backs to the spreading blaze, stood against the two gold-claw warriors. It was a foolish, reckless stance—already lacking skill, and now with fire at their backs.

Bang!

When Seo Nak-il countered Im-gwang’s stab with a single move, even he was taken aback.

Of course Im-gwang was startled too.

Immediately, Wei-gwang swung his chain spear toward Wei Gon-chan.

Clang!

Wei Gon-chan’s twin staves met the chain strike and held.

Wei Gon-chan, the sort to speak his mind, cried out in bewilderment. “What the hell, why is it being blocked so easily?!”

Somehow the defenders were more flustered than the attackers.

Yu Se-gwang seized the opening and rushed Wei-gwang. Wei Gon-chan twisted his staves to make it hard for Wei-gwang to retrieve his chain spear.

Wei-gwang couldn’t pull his weapon back in time because of Wei Gon-chan’s interference. The chain spear’s strength is its reach—you must close to cutting distance to use its blade. As distance closes, an opponent has many ways to interfere.

One of Wei-gwang’s iron chains trailed to his right while Yu Se-gwang charged on his left. Seeing Yu was a pugilist, Wei-gwang raised his right hand to block the iron chain—better to take a punch than a chain strike, he thought.

But Yu Se-gwang had trained for this day. From being beaten by Yeon Mujin over and over, he had learned how to strike for maximum pain.

Thud!

Flesh and cloth exploded around Wei-gwang’s belly as the kid’s fist connected like a bursting air pocket.

The Flying Swallow Manor riffraff had been complacent, and that allowed a decisive blow to Wei-gwang’s gut.

Gag! Wei-gwang spat blood. The punch had ruined his insides.

Seeing Wei-gwang hit, Im-gwang swung his chain spear to retaliate. Their opponents’ skill was better than expected. He aimed to break the spear shaft, but Seo Nak-il had already withdrawn and created distance.

‘Damn it!’ Im-gwang cursed inwardly.

For some reason, the vermin from the Flying Swallow Manor all knew how to deal with chain spear warriors.

Even while spitting blood, Wei-gwang manipulated his golden claw weapon anew. He’d been struck but not felled; at least he needed to take that bald kid’s neck to feel better.

He shrugged off the staves and swung his chain again, but a spear tip thrust toward his temple forced him back.

Screech!

He had no choice but to step back.

Blood running from his mouth, Wei-gwang shouted at Im-gwang, “Isn’t that your job to handle?!”

But Im-gwang was busy blocking the twin staves hurled at him. His murderous eyes turned on Wei-gwang. ‘What are you going to do about it? You should’ve dodged yourself.’

Just as they thought they’d blocked the staves, a spear thrust came in; just as they thought they’d withdrawn the spear, Yu Se-gwang had closed to a step’s distance. Their timing seemed mismatched yet oddly synchronized. This kind of coordinated technique was happening for the first time in their lives.

And unfortunately for the chain spear, it was not the right weapon to counter such coordination.

Im-gwang and Wei-gwang’s hands went busy. Each attack wasn’t spectacular, but if they dealt with one, another pressed; if they cleared one, another shoved in. It was hard to exploit the chain spear’s unconventional close-range attacks.

What surprised them more was Yu Se-gwang himself.

Whoosh!

Wei-gwang thought, “One more step and I’ll cut him down,” but Yu Se-gwang took another step forward.

—If you’re a warrior, don’t fear getting hit.

It was Yeon Mujin’s teaching.

A red line ran down Yu Se-gwang’s arm, but he didn’t miss the opening.

Thwong!

Give flesh to take the bone—he followed that lesson thoroughly. A clear imprint of a fist marked Wei-gwang’s face. Teeth flew; the man staggered, battered and furious.

“You little brat!” Wei-gwang roared, summoning all six blades to target Yu Se-gwang. Each move was deadly, but somehow the techniques felt familiar.

‘I can see it!’

It shouldn’t be visible, perhaps even unavoidable, yet a way through appeared. The methods he’d learned over months of being beaten and trampled—the sparring lessons Yeon Mujin had shown him—played out against Wei-gwang’s chain spear. He noticed faster than thought; instinct acted faster still.

Wham!

Yu Se-gwang thrust both fists to strike the two vital points at Im-gwang’s sides—a reckless, dangerous counter, hitting between blades, but one he’d drilled a hundred times.

A chain spear is most dangerous when you step back half a pace to flee. All chain spear fighters spend their lives mastering that half-step. Instead of stepping back, Yu stepped forward half a pace. He struck the vital point and saw Wei-gwang’s chest open wide.

But that was the limit—Yu Se-gwang’s fist couldn’t reach the heart.

“Duck!”

“Yes!”

As Yu folded forward with his momentum, a spear tip grazed his head. Had he hesitated a moment, the spear would have pierced his skull; had Wei-gwang been calmer, he’d have noticed sooner.

Today was an unlucky day for Wei-gwang—those coincidences overlapped.

The spear’s thrust crushed bone and tore flesh with a sickening sound.

Wei-gwang heard it clearly—it came from his own chest.

Seo Nak-il’s spear had driven home.

With his lung shattered, Wei-gwang stared down at his chest in disbelief and then collapsed.

It was a brutal, blood-smeared strike that announced the External Protection Troops’ first victory.

“You damn fool!” Im-gwang spat curses at the fallen Wei-gwang as he retracted his twin staves.

At the same time, Seo Nak-il shouted, “These bastards are worthless! Let’s get one more!”

“Yes! Deputy Captain!”