Blue-and-Red Twin Swords (1)

The master of Yeollak Pavilion smiled leisurely and spoke to me.

“Haha, Great Hero Seonu. Our Hao Clan branches in Sichuan Province would never….”

However, I immediately cut him off.

Then, releasing the pressure of a pinnacle martial artist, I spoke firmly.

“You had better take responsibility for those words. The Hao Clan will probably not be given a second chance. I believed you understood that, but it seems people truly cannot face reality until they have paid the price.”

Then I turned away without hesitation and spoke to Miss Tang.

“Let us leave, Miss Tang.”

This was certainly a threat, but it was not entirely false.

The Hao Clan was undoubtedly useful, but if they could not be trusted, we would be better off without them.

If the pavilion master did not reveal what he was hiding before we left, I intended to contact Brother Hwa immediately and tell him to deal with the Hao Clan.

As expected, he reacted.

He urgently called out to stop me.

“W-wait! Please wait a moment, Great Hero!”

I stopped walking and looked back at him coldly.

Now drenched in sweat, he pleaded with me.

“I-I was never trying to conceal it. We simply do not possess accurate information ourselves, so I could not speak of it so easily!”

As expected.

I had successfully taken the bait.

However, outwardly, I laughed as though his words were absurd.

Then I replied in a cold tone.

“Ah, is that so? What a remarkably convincing excuse. Then I shall see you next time. Though I do not know where that meeting will take place.”

He squeezed his eyes shut.

When he opened them again, he finally forced the words out with an exhausted expression.

“I will tell you. Guizhou—the branches in Guizhou Province appear to be behaving suspiciously.”

I stared silently at him.

It meant he should continue.

He continued with the expression of a man who had given up resisting.

“I do not know how much Great Hero Seonu already knows, but even we do not know exactly which branch in Guizhou is cooperating with the Blood Cult. Communication has not been functioning properly recently. However….”

I clenched my teeth without realizing it.

The Hao Clan in Guizhou Province was cooperating with the Blood Cult.

It was shocking information.

The Un Clan, which had caused the death of Man Jongim, the Demon-Hating Wanderer, suddenly came to mind.

And so did my own family, the Seonu Clan.

I interrupted him and asked coldly.

“What is the probability that every branch in Guizhou Province is involved?”

Unable to answer for a moment, he sighed and replied.

“…It is not entirely impossible.”

I let out a deep sigh inwardly.

After dismantling the Righteous Chivalry Guild, I had hoped that, unlike in my previous life, I had completely prevented the Blood Cult’s advance infiltration this time.

It seemed I had judged too hastily.

Every Hao Clan branch in Guizhou Province—if that were true, then in the worst case, Guizhou Province might be in an even more serious state than Sichuan Province.

Perhaps even the Seonu Clan, where Father resided, had already….

Just then, the master of Yeollak Pavilion shouted urgently.

“B-but! The probability that this is not the case is still far higher! It would be best not to reach such a hasty conclusion…!”

I looked coldly at his desperate expression.

What he feared was probably the extermination of every Hao Clan member in Guizhou Province.

That likely meant he was just as worried about this situation as I was.

In that case….

I spoke firmly in a cold tone.

“If we do not obtain accurate information about this, we will have no choice but to exterminate the entire Hao Clan in Guizhou Province.”

His face turned white as though he had just received a death sentence.

“S-such a thing?!”

He looked ready to collapse onto the floor in despair at any moment.

I watched him briefly, then casually lowered a lifeline.

“However, matters may be different if we have accurate information.”

He immediately raised his head and asked urgently.

“…What do you mean?”

I withdrew the pressure I had been using to intimidate him and spoke with a solemn gaze.

“I mean that the Hao Clan must bring us accurate information. If only to prevent what you fear from happening.”

He froze for a moment, swallowed hard, and nodded with a tense expression.

“Understood. I will do my utmost. I will uncover the situation in Guizhou Province without fail.”

His eyes shone with firm resolve.

With that look in his eyes, he seemed worth trusting at least once.

I smiled faintly and added one more thing.

“And please relay the conversation we just had directly to Great Hero Hwa Yeong-bin. With the Hao Clan’s capabilities, you should be able to deliver it within two days, correct? Naturally, the account must be accurate.”

“…Leave it to me. I will convey everything exactly as it happened.”

There was still a possibility that he might alter the contents, but since he knew Brother Hwa and I could meet at any time, he was unlikely to attempt such a shallow trick.

He must now understand that even the Hao Clan branches in Sichuan Province were not completely safe.

With that final exchange, we walked out of Yeollak Pavilion.

Miss Tang then breathed out deeply as though releasing the breath she had been holding.

“Whew, that was so tense.”

Then she looked at me with sparkling eyes and spoke.

“I am not entirely sure, but you reached an agreement with the Hao Clan to obtain information about the Blood Cult’s forces in Guizhou Province, correct?”

I chuckled and answered.

“Rather than an agreement, it was more of a threat. I told them I would wipe them all out if they failed to bring me proper information.”

She shook her head in amazement.

“You were incredible. You looked so impressive.”

Cough.

Impressive might have been going too far.

Her words pricked at my conscience.

After all, the one capable of wiping out the Hao Clan was not me, but Brother Hwa.

I had merely borrowed the tiger’s authority, so hearing that I had looked impressive was rather embarrassing.

However, unaware of that, Miss Tang was gazing at me with sparkling eyes as though she revered me.

I did not particularly dislike that gaze.

No, it was actually rather pleasing.

I cleared my throat and changed the subject.

“Ahem, ahem. In any case, Miss Tang, are you prepared to move?”

She asked back with a puzzled expression.

“What? Move? Where?”

I grinned, held out a human-skin mask to her, and answered.

“Should we not pay the Sucheon Association a visit? Not as Seonu Jin and Tang Yeo-eun, but as entirely different people.”

She accepted the human-skin mask and smiled brightly.

“Yes, that sounds good!”

It was finally time to save Do Munseung and uncover the secret of Mak Ujeon, the Rising-Heaven Swordsman.

---

Deokchang lay slightly northwest of Yeongnam, the southernmost region of Sichuan Province.

The Sucheon Association’s headquarters, the center of the southern Sichuan sects, was located there.

As the sun slowly set in the evening, the gate guards of the Sucheon Association chatted with relaxed expressions, pleased that the day had ended without incident.

“Want to have a drink after our shift ends?”

“Sounds good. Where should we go?”

“That place near Guho Street?”

It was then.

With the setting sun behind them, a man and a woman were steadily walking toward the Sucheon Association.

The man was dressed entirely in blue, while the woman was dressed entirely in red. Even the tassels attached to the swords on their backs matched the colors of their clothing.

Something seemed unusual.

Upon noticing their approach, the gate squad leader quickly called his subordinates to order.

“Enough! Everyone, stay alert!”

At the squad leader’s voice, the other gate guards soon noticed the approaching man and woman and focused on them with tense expressions.

Step, step!

They continued approaching the Sucheon Association’s main gate at a pace that was neither fast nor slow.

As they drew nearer, the gate guards realized that their faces were deathly pale, without the slightest trace of color.

They were adorned entirely in red and blue, with faces as pale as corpses.

They had to be the strange martial eccentrics the guards had only ever heard about in stories.

The squad leader hurriedly sent one man inside to report, then shouted at the pair in a tense voice.

“Stop! This is the Sucheon Association! What business brings you here?!”

The man and woman glanced at each other, then immediately burst into laughter.

“Kihahahahaha!”

“Ohohohohoho!”

It was a chilling laugh, like the laughter of ghosts.

As their laughter filled the entire area, the gate guards could not endure it and staggered while covering their ears.

“Keugh!”

“Ghhh! Th-this!”

It was not merely because their laughter was unpleasant to hear.

Their voices carried tremendous internal energy.

It was an amount of internal energy that mere gate guards like them could neither withstand nor even measure.

Then, in a single instant, the two abruptly stopped laughing at the same time.

The man in blue opened his mouth.

“We are the Blue-and-Red Twin Swords! Is the man called Mak Ujeon, Sichuan’s greatest villain, here?!”

His voice was sharp and strange, making it impossible to guess his age.

However, the gate squad leader clenched his teeth and shouted.

“How dare you falsely accuse our Association Leader of being Sichuan’s greatest villain?! Our leader is Sichuan’s greatest chivalrous hero!”

The man snorted and spoke to him in the same sharp voice.

“Pitiful creature. You have eyes, yet you cannot judge people! We do not wish to kill pathetic fools like you! Stop talking nonsense and move aside!”

However, the gate squad leader was a warrior of spirit.

If a mere word had been enough to make him step aside, he would never have taken up the sword in the first place. He clenched his teeth and shouted to the gate guards.

“Everyone, draw your swords! We shall defend this gate with our lives!”

The gate guards responded to his spirited cry by drawing their swords.

“Yes, Squad Leader!”

Chachang! Chang!

Just as they drew their swords and prepared to charge the man and woman—

Swish!

In the blink of an eye, the pair had already closed the distance and appeared before the guards.

“!”

At the same time, countless palm shadows struck them.

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

“Kuaaaagh!”

“Uaaaagh!”

“Kheooogh!”

They did not even have time to react.

The eight gate guards, struck by one palm each from the man and woman, were hurled away in every direction almost simultaneously.

Bang! Kabang! Bang!

The guards flew like stones and crashed into the main gate and walls before falling to the ground, groaning and writhing like insects.

“Ghhh!”

“Uhhh….”

Surprisingly, none of them appeared to have died.

However, none of them could move either.

The man and woman paid no attention to the gate guards writhing on the ground.

They merely glided like ghosts toward the main gate and placed their palms against it at the same time.

The next moment, the Sucheon Association’s main gate exploded outward.

KABOOOOOM!

---

The first expert encountered by the gate guard who had gone inside to report was Cha Hojung, the Ferocious Bear Swordsman, who had been training in the practice yard directly behind the main gate.

A talented man who had reached the early pinnacle realm despite still being in his thirties, he was one of only eight pinnacle masters in the Sucheon Association and also the captain of the Ferocious Bear Unit, its strongest combat force.

The gate guard’s expression brightened when he found Cha Hojung training in the practice yard with the Ferocious Bear Unit.

Alongside Mak Seryeol, the son of Association Leader Mak Ujeon, Cha Hojung was called the future of the Sucheon Association. With fifty members of the Ferocious Bear Unit beside him, the guard believed two strange eccentrics would pose no problem at all.

The gate guard hurriedly shouted to Cha Hojung.

“Captain! Some suspicious people are approaching!”

Cha Hojung looked arrogantly at the gate guard.

It meant he should continue.

“They were a strangely dressed man and woman! They…!”

Before he could finish, chilling laughter suddenly came from the direction of the main gate.

“Kihahahahaha!”

“Ohohohohoho!”

Cha Hojung had been frowning upon hearing there were only two people, but his expression immediately stiffened.

Their laughter carried extraordinary internal energy.

Cha Hojung immediately issued an order to the members of the Ferocious Bear Unit.

“Stop training! All members of the Ferocious Bear Unit, prepare for battle!”

The members, who had been sweating heavily while training, immediately stopped and responded as though speaking with one voice.

“Yes, Captain!”

“Yes, Captain!”

“Yes, Captain!”

Without waiting for another command, they moved at once and formed a wedge formation centered around Cha Hojung.

Their voices rang out as one despite the sudden order, and every subsequent movement was devoid of waste.

They were undoubtedly elite warriors who would stand out anywhere in the martial world.

Just then, the main gate exploded with a tremendous roar.

KABOOOOOM!

Despite the sudden occurrence, Cha Hojung did not panic.

He merely drew his greatsword and shouted.

“Draw!”

The fifty members of the Ferocious Bear Unit drew their swords as one and shouted.

“Haaap!”

Chang!

Beyond the shattered main gate, two strange figures—a man and a woman—were walking steadily inside.

They were pale-faced eccentrics whose bodies were wrapped entirely in blue and red respectively.

Upon seeing Cha Hojung and the Ferocious Bear Unit, they stopped.

Then the man in blue opened his mouth.

“The Blue-and-Red Twin Swords have arrived! Where is Mak Ujeon, Sichuan’s greatest villain?!”

His sharp voice made it difficult to guess his age. Cha Hojung frowned briefly, then shouted in a resonant voice.

“The Blue-and-Red Twin Swords?! Sichuan’s greatest villain?! How dare trash from some unheard-of unorthodox faction speak the Association Leader’s esteemed name?!”

The man and woman burst into laughter together once more.

“Kihahahahaha!”

“Ohohohohoho!”

The chilling vibrations resembled the wailing of ghosts.

As their laughter filled the area, the members of the Ferocious Bear Unit grimaced and groaned.

“Ugh?!”

“What is this?!”

Even Cha Hojung, a pinnacle master, was no exception.

Although he did not let out a groan, even he could not help frowning.

Their voices carried immense internal energy, but more than that, the two peals of laughter resonated with each other as though shaking his very soul.

‘Is this a sinister sound art?!’

Thinking that, Cha Hojung wasted no more time.

He immediately ordered the members of the Ferocious Bear Unit.

“Ferocious Bear Unit! Attack!”

The groaning warriors reflexively shouted and charged forward.

“Haaaaaap!”

There was not the slightest hesitation in their advance.

It was an instinctive response born from an incredible amount of training.

The sight of fifty Ferocious Bear Unit warriors charging toward only two people resembled a pack of wolves rushing to hunt rabbits. Their momentum was like a raging tide.

Cha Hojung smiled coldly as he watched.

Even if those two were stronger than him, they could not possibly withstand a coordinated attack by fifty people.

However, Cha Hojung’s eyes soon widened as though they might pop out.

“H-how is that possible?!”

The woman in red moved first.

Gliding like a ghost, she evaded the sword of the leading Ferocious Bear Unit warrior and planted a palm strike into his chest.

Boom!

“Keugh!”

However, that much was understandable.

The woman was clearly an expert, and she had only sent one warrior flying.

What came next was astonishing.

After springing forward, the woman immediately traced a circle and swung backward again.

It was because one of her hands was tightly clasped with one of the man’s, as though they were connected.

As she switched places with him, the man shot forward.

He entered a space where three swords were already descending.

Swoosh!

The man holding the woman’s hand acted as though he could not even see the swords flying toward him.

He merely swept his leg around like a whirlwind toward the incoming blades.

Then something astonishing happened.

Chachachang! Thud-thud-thud!

The man’s leg, spinning like a whirlwind, knocked away both the swords and the Ferocious Bear Unit warriors at the same time.

The warriors’ swords shattered as though they had collided with an iron mace made of solid steel.

“Kheooogh!”

“Kuaaaagh!”

“Kuhugh!”

Three members of the Ferocious Bear Unit were hurled backward like cannonballs.

That caused a problem for the warriors charging behind them.

A gap formed in their formation because they could not bring themselves to cut down their own comrades flying toward them.

As the warriors behind them faltered, the woman in red, who had already exchanged positions with the man again, flew toward them like a whirlwind and unleashed a barrage of kicks.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!

“Kheooogh!”

“Kuaaaagh!”

“Kuhugh!”

The Ferocious Bear Unit warriors struck by her feet were hurled backward once more.

At the same time, the man in blue shot forward like a whirlwind again.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!

It was almost like watching the Taiji symbol itself.

The man in blue and the woman in red rotated while holding one another by one hand.

The formation of fifty Ferocious Bear Unit warriors was caught within that unprecedented, whirlwind-like combined assault and completely shattered.

Cha Hojung grew anxious.

He could not allow this to continue.

At this rate, it did not seem as though their complete annihilation would take long.

Cha Hojung, the Ferocious Bear Swordsman, hurriedly coated his sword in yellow sword aura.

Then he charged toward the enemies.

“Haaaaap!”

The violent greatsword that had earned him the title Ferocious Bear Swordsman shot toward them.

Swoooosh!

His target was the clasped hands of the man and woman.

If he could break that connection, he would be able to destroy their combined assault.

However, before his sword reached them, he achieved his objective.

The two simply let go of one another’s hands.

“What?!”

As Cha Hojung faltered in surprise at how easily they had separated, the man in blue flew toward him.

He retained the beam-like speed generated by the tremendous rotation from moments earlier.

Despite the sudden development, Cha Hojung, a pinnacle martial artist, did not panic.

He merely changed the direction of his sword tip and thrust his blade toward the approaching man.

Thunk!

His greatsword pierced the man’s chest.

Or so he believed.

That would have been true had the man’s body not suddenly moved as lightly as a flower petal carried by the wind.

The man smoothly diverted his sword and closed the distance. Cha Hojung’s eyes widened in horror.

“What?!”

The next moment, Cha Hojung felt a dull impact beneath his jaw.

Thud!

His consciousness immediately vanished.

It was caused by the man’s palm heel striking upward into his jaw.

It was the moment the Ferocious Bear Unit, the Sucheon Association’s foremost strike force and the dominant power of southern Sichuan Province, was destroyed by only two people.