If It’s To Survive, Then… (3)

Nam Yeong buried himself deep inside the hidden nook of the last trap he had prepared.

He had tried to launch two or three attacks, but the enemy’s momentum had changed too much. The foes he had thought he could easily kill before now seemed to have grown stronger, as if they had taken some strange drug.

Nam Yeong did not know. He did not know that the enemies had reset their resolve. That by killing two of them, he had drawn out every last bit of ability they possessed.

In the end, Nam Yeong decided to wait until the enemy’s momentum eased. Even if it took days, any surge of energy would eventually have a moment when it dropped. When that moment came, his counterattack would begin—and then someone else would die at his hands.

Yeon Heung’s mood was heavy. His instincts kept telling him that an enemy was definitely somewhere nearby.

The problem was that he could not find where. Unless his subordinates were idiots and blind, there was no way they would see someone hiding and just walk past. In the end, the only conclusion was that Nam Yeong’s ability to conceal himself lay beyond their skills.

“That rat bastard!”

All Yeon Heung could do was curse at Nam Yeong for not showing himself. Unless something appeared, unless a figure showed itself, how was he supposed to fight or kill it?

He did not realize that as his own spirits sank, the morale of his subordinates was also falling apart. He did not realize that the very moment Nam Yeong had been waiting for was drawing closer and closer.

However, the real problem was that someone even more terrifying than Nam Yeong—Neung Je-gang—was stalking them from right behind.

Neung Je-gang had already spotted Yeon Heung and his men long ago. However, even he had not discovered where his master was hiding.

There was at least one thing he was certain of: because Nam Yeong hid himself so well, he had not fallen into any real danger.

One man died. His death happened without anyone knowing, and it was only when dawn woke them that they discovered he was already dead.

The cause of death was all too clear. His throat had been slit.

It felt to Yeon Heung like his head was about to explode. He kept half of his men awake at all times in case Nam Yeong launched a night raid, yet of the twelve subordinates he had, three were already dead.

He still did not know about the death of Gam Chaek, who had remained at the mountain fortress.

“Find him! I don’t care what it takes, you must find that son of a bitch!”

Yeon Heung flew into a rage once more at the death of his subordinate.

What shocked him even more was that he had been sleeping right nearby. For all he knew, he could have had his own throat cut and died without the slightest warning.

But he did not know that the killer was not Nam Yeong at all, but Neung Je-gang, Secret Shadow, who had been their true target from the beginning. Because of that misunderstanding, they kept searching for the wrong person, and that night yet another man had his throat cut and died.

“Uaaagh!”

Yeon Heung’s fury pierced the sky.

Whether by chance or on purpose, the killer chose to slay the subordinate who had been sleeping closest to Yeon Heung.

For the first time, Yeon Heung felt something called fear. All the years he had roamed the martial world, no matter what battles he fought or where, he had never once trembled in fear. Nor was this the first time he had lost subordinates.

But there was one clear difference from his past fights. Every enemy he had faced until now had at least had a visible form. The enemy this time, however, did not show himself at all, and yet was planting terror in him.

Neung Je-gang stayed hidden and watched Yeon Heung tremble with rage.

What he was aiming for was not simply the pain or fear of his enemies. He wanted to know that Mountain—the place they had come from, where it lay. So on purpose, he did not kill them all at once. He killed them one by one, driving their fear and terror to a peak.

Those who had nowhere left to rely on would in the end always go back home.

Neung Je-gang hoped that when only one last man remained—or even before that—they would flee back to the Mountain they had come from. He could have captured someone and used torture, but when he thought about what he himself had gone through beneath Aenoe Mountain and Kuaiji Mountain, he doubted he could force anyone to open their mouth by torture.

Yeon Heung and his men began to fall back along the path they had come, toward the mountain fortress.

Yeon Heung no longer clung to his stubbornness. He had made grand boasts to the First Division Lord that he would definitely capture Nam Yeong, but now he chose instead to suffer a bout of humiliation.

In the end, after losing four subordinates, he gave the order to retreat.

“Whew!”

At the edge where the fortress and the forest met, Yeon Heung let out a long sigh of relief at finally escaping that accursed forest. On the way back, he noticed he could no longer see the corpses of the subordinates who had died earlier.

“Looks like Gam Chaek collected the bodies.”

Yeon Heung naturally assumed that was what had happened. Who else but him would take care of the bodies?

But just because they had left the forest did not mean their terror was completely over.

“Huh-urk!”

Yeon Heung’s eyes almost popped out. Corpses were strewn all around. The bodies of his two subordinates were just rolling on the bare ground, and another corpse in clothing he recognized lay face-down, the back of its head stained red with blood.

“Gam Chaek!”

Yeon Heung rushed over and turned the head of the corpse he assumed was Gam Chaek. It truly was Gam Chaek’s body. Around him, the corpses of the low-level warriors the Cult had sent to command its followers were lined up in a row.

“Uwaaa! Who did this? Who the hell did this?”

Yeon Heung raged once again.

While he was in a frenzy, Neung Je-gang was meeting his master.

While he was hiding, Nam Yeong noticed that something had gone wrong for the enemy. Part of it was Yeon Heung’s rage-filled shouts, but their overall momentum had also changed greatly.

He hesitated over whether to move or not, then decided to move in order to find out just what was going on.

That was when he realized there was another person hiding nearby besides himself.

Not knowing at all that it was Neung Je-gang, Nam Yeong hid himself again.

The next day, because Yeon Heung retreated, Nam Yeong ended up, absurdly enough, hiding as if he were avoiding Neung Je-gang.

“Master!”

It was then. A very familiar voice reached him. It was Neung Je-gang calling him.

Without realizing it, Nam Yeong broke into a bright smile. He had not imagined his disciple’s voice would feel this welcome.

“What happened? How have you already come back?”

“The Hall of Ten Thousand Sounds of the Black Alliance informed me. They said Kuaiji Mountain was under attack by the Necromancer Cult. So I left Majil behind and rushed here first.”

“That is a relief. But have you heard any news of the others? How are our children outside doing?”

“I have not heard any such news. I ran straight here without any chance to pick up information.”

“Mm. That worries me. I wonder if Baek Sang-cheon got down safely… Nothing must happen to him…”

“Uncle Sang-cheon was here?”

Neung Je-gang called Baek Sang-cheon, who was technically his senior disciple, “Uncle.” Although they had both learned martial arts from Nam Yeong, Baek Sang-cheon was in truth not that different in age from Nam Yeong.

“I sent him down, but I fear that may have been a mistake. Even if the enemies were only as strong as the ones I faced, Baek Sang-cheon would not be able to handle them…”

“He will be fine. Master, please go to U-hyeol.”

“To U-hyeol?”

“Yes. I will take care of the fortress.”

“Very well, I understand. Be careful. It seems the Necromancer Cult has come at us with firm resolve.”

“I know. And it does not seem like this attack will end with just this one time either.”

“What?”

Nam Yeong’s eyes went wide in surprise.

“It seems the Necromancer Cult has a place they call the Mountain where only their top experts gather. I first clashed with them over a matter involving the Black Alliance and almost got done in. And the ones who swarmed this place appear to have come from that same Mountain, targeting me. I am sorry. Because of me, the fortress ended up completely ruined…”

“You are saying their target was you?”

“I am fairly certain of it.”

“Mm! Then this is serious. I was planning to pair you with So-yeon, but it seems we cannot simply rush that.”

“Sir?”

“If the Necromancer Cult is mounting such a large-scale attack, it means they have judged you to be dangerous. That means not only you but those around you may be swept up in danger. Even if you keep So-yeon by your side and protect her, you cannot guard her house forever, can you? It seems your marriage will have to be something we consider after we resolve this Necromancer Cult matter.”

“Marriage? What are you talking about all of a sudden…?”

Neung Je-gang had no idea how the conversation had suddenly veered into his marriage. He was even more shocked because he had never once thought about such a thing.

“Exactly, I am saying we will postpone it.”

“No, I do not mean postponing it. I mean, why would I marry So-yeon in the first place? I have no such intention. Maybe after I have completely settled the matters of my own life, but for now I have absolutely no intention of doing that, so please do not even think about it.”

“So what you are saying is that once your personal matters are all resolved, you are willing to marry So-yeon. Then we will simply put it off until then.”

“Pardon?”

“Either way, the moment So-yeon’s dantian was ruined because of you, you became responsible for her for life. I have already made a promise with So-yeon’s grandfather, so keep that in mind. By the way, did you obtain the Ice Essence Crystal?”

“Ah, yes! Here it is.”

Neung Je-gang took out the Ice Essence Crystal he had not let out of his possession for even a moment.

Nam Yeong quickly snatched it up and put it away.

Neung Je-gang wanted to argue about the marriage again, but Nam Yeong did not give him a chance to speak.

“With this, the betrothal gift to send to So-yeon’s family is also ready, so that is a relief. I will go to U-hyeol and take care of the children there, so come once you have finished things here.”

“…Understood. Damn it!”

Since Nam Yeong said everything he wanted and then immediately shot off toward U-hyeol and vanished, Neung Je-gang could only stare blankly at his receding back and give his belated reply like a mutter to himself.