What Rage Left Behind (2)

Night. It was a pitch-black night. The Martial Alliance elders were lying in ambush at the place Neung Je-gang had pointed out. And far behind them, where they did not know, Neung Je-gang was watching them.

The time had already passed midnight. It was a time racing toward the Hour of the Ox.

Suddenly, one of the elders grumbled, perhaps feeling frustrated.

“No matter how I think about it, it feels like we are doing useless work. How many days has it already been? No matter if it is the Eastern Depot…….”

“Shh! Be quiet.”

Suddenly, one person sealed the mute acupoint of the elder who had been speaking. It was an accurate judgment. Originally, talkative people had to be forcibly made to shut their mouths like that.

Neung Je-gang, who was watching from afar, nearly clapped his hands, saying he had done well. He remembered who had made whose mouth shut. The talkative one was surely someone who would die, and the one who sealed his mouth would live.

The figure of a person appeared over the wall of the Eon Clan. That figure looked around, then secretly launched himself away. The elders followed behind him. Still, when they were elders, their martial arts were fundamental. They were not at a level where they would be discovered by the other party.

“What are those guys doing? Why aren’t they catching him?”

Neung Je-gang, who was watching, was dumbfounded. He had set up an ambush for them so they could catch him, but they were only following behind without catching him.

The person who came out of the Eon Clan seemed impatient and just entered any house. However, perhaps because the target he wanted was not there, he moved to another house. After entering the fourth house like that, he finally seemed to have found a target he liked and came out carrying something.

“Don’t move.”

Only then did those so-called elders jump out and block his path. Neung Je-gang hid behind the elders. If the Eon Clan figure wanted to flee back to the Eon Clan, he had to break through Neung Je-gang.

“You old fogeys, you still hadn’t left?”

“You, you are Eon Jeong-hyeok? But what is that on your shoulder right now?”

“Hehehe! It would have been better if you had simply pretended not to know. Today, you are making me violate the killing precept!”

It was Eon Jeong-hyeok. The first accelerated cultivator of the Small-Hand Art. Right now, he was an existence half transformed into a demon, having reached no less than the sixth level.

“I did not believe Secret Shadow’s words, yet his words were true. Today, I will capture you and question the Eon Clan’s crimes.”

The elders stirred up their internal energy while flinging out lines that were rather impressive in their own way.

“Secret Shadow, you say? Hehehe! That means that bastard is nearby. Then I will kill you all and get rid of that Secret Shadow bastard too.”

At Eon Jeong-hyeok’s words, Neung Je-gang nearly jumped out, strategy or not, and beat him to death.

“Come at me!”

Though it was the sixth level of the Small-Hand Art, the elders were not easy opponents either. Eon Jeong-hyeok was not in his right mind, and he had little experience fighting. In contrast, although the elders did not have the skill to do anything about the Small-Hand Art, they were tying Eon Jeong-hyeok down with their fighting experience alone.

But Neung Je-gang’s eyes caught some ridiculous people. A number of figures who had disguised themselves fairly well as assassins were secretly aiming at the elders. They were probably Eon Clan people who had been watching Eon Jeong-hyeok.

“These ones will not do.”

If even they joined the fight, it would be difficult for the elders to survive. He did not regret it if they died, but one had to live.

Neung Je-gang moved through the darkness and began removing those who were preparing a surprise attack. It was the skill of the world’s greatest assassin. There was no failure. Escape was an action he could allow even less.

“Urgh!”

“Keuheok!”

At last, the elders were caught one by one by the demonic hands of the Small-Hand Art. Forbidden arts were not forbidden arts for nothing. Even a graze was bound to inflict severe internal injury. Experience could be accumulated sufficiently even through the current fight.

Eon Jeong-hyeok gradually grew used to it and became stronger. In contrast, the elders, who were gradually being pushed back by the strength of the Small-Hand Art, grew slower and slower. And finally, only one person remained. Contrary to Neung Je-gang’s expectations, only the talkative one survived. It was something that had happened while Neung Je-gang was dealing with the other Eon Clan members.

“Heaven-Shattering Thunderbolt Sovereign!”

Since it was already a martial art everyone knew, there was no need to hide it.

Puh-eok.

Before the destructive power of that thunderbolt that struck without warning, the Small-Hand Art was completely smashed apart.

“Y-you should have come a little earlier.”

“I was catching the others who came out of the Eon Clan. But now that you have experienced it directly, how was it?”

“We are villains who deserve to be killed by the world. To think we considered someone like Eon Cheong-gun a dear friend…….”

He sprawled out on the bare ground as if exhausted. However, while looking at him, Neung Je-gang asked something he was curious about.

“But why did you fight here? The place I told you to ambush was elsewhere.”

“I am sorry. Even so, we wanted to confirm it. Whether he truly intended to kidnap a maiden, or whether he had come out for another matter. So in the end, we fought here.”

“Did the dead man steal a woman from the first house he entered?”

“No. It was probably the fourth or so.”

“Ahh! It was something that should have been stopped in advance…….”

Neung Je-gang cried out as if regretful.

“Why do you say that?”

“The people in the houses this man entered will all be dead.”

“No, why?”

“To find out whether they were maidens or not, he would have no choice but to wake them all, would he not? Does he look like someone who would leave the people he woke alive? I knew it would be like this, so I told you to catch him as soon as he came out…….”

The surviving elder’s mouth fell open. They had never imagined that there would be such a deep meaning behind Neung Je-gang’s order to attack and catch him unconditionally. Neung Je-gang had also only just thought of it, so how could they have known?

The reason Neung Je-gang had not stopped Eon Jeong-hyeok even after seeing him go through several houses was that all the houses in this vicinity belonged to the Eon Clan’s household retainers anyway. If they fought the Eon Clan, they too would all become enemies. Even if the Eon Clan’s problem was resolved, they were all people who would die as accomplices anyway.

The empire’s law was cruel. Even if one wanted to spare someone out of sentiment, the law killed most of them. And if even killing seemed like a light punishment, they were thrown into the Forbidden Demon Prison.

“Let us go.”

Neung Je-gang called his party and collected the elders’ corpses. Each and every mark left on their corpses was evidence. On top of that, one mouth remained to drive in the wedge. Now it was only a matter of time before the Eon Clan became a public enemy of the martial world.

“What? Jeong-hyeok disappeared? Along with those watching him?”

“That is right. It seems he rushed out during the night.”

“I told him so firmly to restrain himself. Are you saying he could not endure even that short time?”

“It seems Jeong-hyeok’s level was not a complete sixth level. In the end, if there is no blood, it is highly likely that the other children will rush out in the same way.”

“Are there no more maidens inside the clan estate?”

“The servant girls have now been completely exhausted. Whether they were maidens or not.”

The person answering spoke bitterly. Even if the Eon Clan survived this incident, no one would ever come to work for the Eon Clan again.

“There is no choice. We cannot keep blocking them forever. We have no choice but to obtain them from outside again. Even if it is not Hebei Province, bring them from nearby Shanxi or Shandong. And buy up all the young courtesans being raised in the pleasure houses within the county.”

“There was such a method. But whether that will be enough for the children to endure until they reach the seventh level…….”

“If we cannot manage that, then we will have no choice but to explode first. In any case, what news is there about Secret Shadow?”

“There is none yet. They say he has not shown himself in Beijing for quite a while either.”

“Look into it in more detail and report. We absolutely must not lose track of Secret Shadow’s whereabouts.”

“Understood.”

Once again, vicious orders were handed down in the Eon Clan’s main hall. However, they did not know that Neung Je-gang was listening to that very meeting. That was the Eon Clan’s greatest mistake.

‘Since the Eon Clan is targeting me, should I use myself as bait and wipe them out in one sweep? Where would be a good place to set a trap?’

Neung Je-gang went to the Eastern Depot’s secret safehouse where his party was hiding and examined the map. However, it was difficult to know the terrain just by looking at the map.

“Is there a place between Beijing and Jinju that would be good for setting a trap?”

In the end, he called an Eastern Depot agent and asked.

“There is none in this vicinity. Though if we insist on looking, it is not as if we cannot find one.”

“Looking?”

“If we go to a suitable point and ask herbalists, we will know. There are few people as knowledgeable about the geography as they are.”

“Good. Then before the Martial Alliance and Black Alliance people arrive, find a plausible location. A place where the Eon Clan might set up an operation to kill me.”

“Understood.”

One word was enough for him to understand. The Eastern Depot agent noticed that Neung Je-gang intended to become bait. If it was a trap set up for that kind of operation, the Eastern Depot was also an expert.

“Captain, would that not be too dangerous?”

Cheong Yeon asked, seeming worried.

“It will be dangerous. But I will have them set their trap at a place where the Martial Alliance and Black Alliance are already lying in ambush, so there is no need to worry much.”

Neung Je-gang was full of confidence. No matter how many people who had learned the Small-Hand Art swarmed there, its power varied depending on their degree of achievement. In the case of Eon Jeong-hyeok, who had died at his hands, he had been quite strong, but his power had not reached Neung Je-gang’s thunderbolt.

Two days later, the Eastern Depot found a plausible location.

“There is a traffic hub between Beijing and Jinju. It is a place where five minor official roads are intertwined, called An-guk. They say that if one takes the southern minor official road from there, there is a wide basin-like place in the middle. It was made by Beijing’s merchant groups as a place to rest, and they say that place is suitable for an ambush. They said the nearby mountain slopes overlap in layers, making it good for hiding.”

“If the Eon Clan lies in ambush there, can it become a place to surround them?”

“It is sufficient. They say there are no large mountains, and it is a place where small mountains are entangled, so if they are surrounded, it will also be difficult to escape.”

“Good. Who is the Eon Clan’s current information line?”

“Lately, it seems they are mainly connected to the Hao Sect. Since their existing information source, the undertakers, has been shattered, they likely have no other method.”

“Then have the Hao Sect leak information that I will be coming down that way.”

“Understood.”

“And send agents to redirect the Martial Alliance and Black Alliance people coming here to that place, and this fact must absolutely not leak.”

“Understood.”

The operation was all set. Now he only had to return to Beijing and then come back down along that road.

“Let us go to Beijing.”

Neung Je-gang took his grumbling party and returned to Beijing. There, he was nearly caught by Princess Jang-ok and almost ruined the operation, but after receiving the report on the atrocities committed by the Eon Clan, Princess Jang-ok could no longer stop Neung Je-gang.

“This time, we should all go together.”

Neung Je-gang was feeling Princess Jang-ok’s demonic claws gradually reaching out. So he intended to move together with Jo Su-won and Jo Ja-myeong, father and son. On this occasion, he had no intention of returning to Beijing at all.

However, when he thought about it again, it was too dangerous. Even fighting ordinary Eon Clan warriors would not be reassuring, and this time, they had to fight those who had cultivated the Small-Hand Art. While trying to catch the Eon Clan, he might end up losing all the close people around him. In the end, he left even the Jo father and son and Je So-yeon by Princess Jang-ok’s side.

Leaving Je So-yeon behind put him at ease. This time too, she stubbornly insisted that she would go with him, and he had barely managed to detach her.

An-guk County was not a small county. There were no major roads, but minor official roads extending to key locations in Hebei Province were concentrated there, so there were many businesses targeting merchant groups and armed escort convoys.

Neung Je-gang and his party appeared there. They took lodgings at an inn and gave time for the Eon Clan to confirm their appearance.

“They came and went.”

The Eastern Depot secretly contacted him. It meant that the Eon Clan had confirmed Neung Je-gang’s appearance and left. Still, Neung Je-gang did not move. There were people who had not yet arrived.

“The Black Alliance is too late.”

That was right. Because the Black Alliance was too far away, they still needed time before they arrived. It was at least fortunate that the Martial Alliance had already arrived and entered ambush.

“There is no choice. We will have to do it with only the Martial Alliance.”

In the end, Neung Je-gang could not wait any longer and slowly departed. That was because information had already come in that the Eon Clan had finished setting up its ambush in that basin.

“How many?”

“More than seventy.”

“You mean all those people cultivated the Small-Hand Art?”

That was the number of Eon Clan members who had gone into ambush. If they had truly learned the Small-Hand Art in such numbers, then as a single force, they would become the strongest military power. There had never been a group in all history that had released forbidden arts so recklessly. Even Neung Je-gang had not taught it to anyone else at all.

“Surely that cannot be the case.”

“It is possible. In any case, to face the thunderbolt, they need people who have cultivated the Small-Hand Art, so other people would only be a hindrance even if they were present. It seems Eon Cheong-gun really did love his son. Seeing him go this mad because his child died.”

Neung Je-gang’s party soon entered the basin. There was only one minor official road pierced through north and south. When the party entered the basin, dense killing intent finally began to spread. Neung Je-gang laughed bitterly. Perhaps because they were truly desperate, the Eon Clan had rushed out without even looking before or behind them.

“Wahahahaha! Secret Shadow, you bastard! You have come to the place where you will die.”

Eon Cheong-gun burst into wild laughter.

“Keke.”

Neung Je-gang gave another bitter laugh. This time, it was a sneer.

“The fool of the Eon Clan has come. Because someone with such a head is serving as clan head, the Eon Clan will perish today.”

“What did you say?”

“I am saying you have fallen into a trap. Do you understand?”

After saying this, Neung Je-gang waited for the Martial Alliance’s encirclement to rise from their positions. According to the original plan, once he revealed that it was a trap, the Martial Alliance was supposed to come forward and surround and annihilate them. However, the Martial Alliance did not come forward.

Eon Cheong-gun, who had flinched and looked around, saw no sign of anything and thought Neung Je-gang was using some petty trick to escape.

“Wahahahaha! Secret Shadow, you bastard! You are using tricks because you want to run away. But you will never be able to escape from here.”

Eon Cheong-gun burst into wild laughter again.

Neung Je-gang’s face hardened. Even the faint smile that always seemed to hover there disappeared. Instead, his face was slowly reddening. A killing intent that could not be any denser stretched out from his body.

“Hehe! So they are aiming for killing with a borrowed blade and mutual destruction. A good idea.”

To Neung Je-gang, all of the Martial Alliance’s deeds were completely visible. It was the Martial Alliance’s desire for Neung Je-gang’s Heaven-Shattering Thunderbolt Sovereign to disappear no matter what. That was why they were hoping the Eon Clan and Neung Je-gang would clash first and both be broken.

“Ma-jil.”

“Yes.”

“Dig the ground. Hide.”

“What?”

“If I go mad, I cannot guarantee your safety. So hurry and hide underground.”

“Can’t we just fight?”

“With your current skills, you still cannot block the force energy of the Small-Hand Art. Do not hesitate and hurry.”

“Understood.”

Those words were true. Even Cheong Yeon, the strongest among them, had not yet completed force energy. If he had at least completed force energy, it would have been worth trying to fight an incomplete Small-Hand Art, but in their current state, they could not defend even against the third level of the Small-Hand Art.

Eon Cheong-gun saw Ma-jil digging into the ground. To him, it only looked like a trick to escape.

“To think the Secret Shadow under heaven would dig into the ground to escape. Attack.”

At last, with Eon Cheong-gun’s order, the Eon Clan’s attack began.