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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: The Martial World
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Though their outfits varied, they all wore the same gray masks, covering their faces.
Even their weapons were different, but seeing them all unified by their masks, Mujin spoke.
"You people weren't after the Twin Streams merchants from the start, were you?"
…
Not a single one answered Mujin's question.
From the beginning, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
If their goal was to stop those coming to Xichang, they could have easily handled the hired escorts.
Seeing forty assassins, including several first-rate warriors, scattered about, Mujin easily deduced that he, not the Twin Streams merchants, was their target.
"Well, it seems you have no intention of talking. Let's let our swords do the talking, then. Escorts, protect the carriage and the two managers. We'll take care of the rest."
With those words, Mujin raised his sword.
*Rip! Fwoosh!*
The moment he lifted his sword, the cloth wrapped around it tore and scattered in all directions.
"What should we do with their lives?"
"Kill them all."
Mujin answered Cheol-muk's question without hesitation.
At the same time, the assassins charged toward Mujin and his companions.
*Clang! Thwack!*
*Clank! Crack!*
No-sak, who had rushed ahead, parried an assassin's sword and smashed the man's head.
Next, Cheol-muk used the gauntlet on his arm to break an enemy's sword before driving a fist into the man's chest.
The assassin's chest caved in from the blow, and he collapsed.
Mujin smirked as he watched the dozen or so assassins rushing toward him.
Fifth Form. Slaughter.
*Kakakakang!*
As he advanced, swinging the massive sword, the assassins who met his blade staggered back several steps.
Unable to withstand the force, they stumbled, a look of bewildered panic in their eyes as they realized something was terribly wrong.
After completing ten thousand repetitions of the Nine Swords of Dugu, Mujin's blade now carried a presence entirely different from before.
His sword, already possessing immense power due to its 110-catty weight, was now imbued with a formidable aura. Anyone who clashed with it would inevitably falter and lose their balance if they couldn't deflect the force transmitted through their weapon.
*Scccchhhkk!*
In an instant, three heads were severed by Mujin's sword.
The remaining assassins flinched and retreated in unison at the sight of the headless corpses stumbling a dozen more steps before finally falling.
"Where do you think you're going? We've only just begun."
Mujin charged even more aggressively toward the retreating enemies.
The Nine Swords of Dugu knew neither defense nor retreat.
Penetrating the enemy's receding line, relentlessly hounding them, Mujin looked like a wolf pouncing on a flock of sheep.
*Thud. Thudududududududuk.*
!!!
"My heavens…"
The escorts, who were guarding the carriage and preparing for any assassins that might break through, lowered their swords and stared blankly at Mujin.
The sight of the assassins' heads, which had shot up into the air, raining down around him was a spectacle even a lifelong martial artist would rarely witness.
The escorts could only watch in stunned disbelief as the headless bodies, unable to handle the force of the blows, staggered in every direction before collapsing.
Looking at the two remaining assassins, Mujin spoke.
"Just one. The one who tells me who's behind this gets to walk away alive."
Among the group of assassins gathered to take down the Hidden Dragon of Sichuan, there were six first-rate masters.
Of them, only one had survived Mujin's sword.
Seeing the other assassins being cut down by No-sak and Cheol-muk, the two survivors glanced at each other.
"I'll talk…"
*Stab!*
As one assassin stepped forward to throw down his sword, the other's blade pierced through his neck.
"You're going to talk?"
"Not a chance."
*Kakakang! Clang! Shlick.*
The assassin who had lunged forward after his short reply had his head severed by Mujin's sword within a few exchanges.
*Thudududuk!*
Having killed all twenty assassins, including six first-rate masters, in less than a few minutes, Mujin flicked his heavy iron sword. Not a single drop of blood remained on the blade as it splattered to the ground.
As he walked toward the escorts, they naturally parted to make way for him.
"Masok."
Mujin opened the carriage door and called for Masok, who had been cowering inside. Masok, trembling, finally relaxed his tense body with a look of relief.
"Hah… Yes…"
"You brought cloth to cover the sword, right?"
Masok got out of the carriage, rummaged through the luggage compartment, and handed him a long piece of linen.
As he wrapped his sword, Mujin glanced over at Cheol-muk and No-sak, who were still fighting.
"Is it taking you long?"
As if struck by Mujin's voice, which carried his internal energy, the two of them pressed the few remaining enemies even harder.
"Cheol-muk, leave one alive."
After subduing and killing the three assassins who resisted to the end, Cheol-muk grabbed the last one by the scruff of his neck and dragged him before Mujin.
Not long after Cheol-muk finished, No-sak, having smashed the head of his final opponent, also approached Mujin.
"Why are you covered in so much blood?"
Mujin clicked his tongue and shook his head at No-sak.
Neither Mujin nor Cheol-muk had gotten a single drop of blood on their clothes despite killing so many.
No-sak, however, was splattered with blood not only on his clothes but also on his face.
Having killed nine out of ten enemies by smashing their heads, it was inevitable that he would be covered in it.
*Thwack!*
"Ugh!"
*Riiip!*
No-sak kicked the back of the captured assassin's knees, forcing him to the ground. He then ripped off the man's shirt and used it to wipe the blood from his face and iron club.
"The nature of my weapon causes a lot of splatter."
"Take that into consideration when you fight. There's no need to reek of blood when dealing with such low-level thugs."
At Mujin's words, the surrounding escorts looked at Cheol-muk and No-sak with fear in their eyes.
Mujin might have called them low-level thugs, but the assassins who appeared this time were on a completely different level from those who had attacked them before.
Among those Mujin had faced, there were quite a few who had surpassed the stage of infusing their sword with internal energy and had reached the level of projecting sword energy.
It was just that their skills were overshadowed by Mujin's divine prowess, which cut through their sword energy as if it were tofu.
A warrior who had reached the mastery of sword aura was by no means considered a low-level martial artist in the martial world.
"I might let you live. What will it be?"
At Mujin's words, the young assassin, whose mask had already been knocked off, cautiously studied his expression.
"I don't know the details about who hired us. The captains who did are all dead by your sword."
The assassin's words made Mujin nod.
"So the first-rate ones were the captains?"
"Yes."
The assassin, his face looking as if he had already given up on life, answered obediently.
"So you're all assassins from the same organization?"
"The Serpent Forest Guild. Some time ago, the Young Master wiped out our guild's best problem-solvers at the Jeodong River, leaving only one alive. That's why the elites of the Serpent Forest Guild were all mobilized this time."
Mujin tilted his head at the name 'Serpent Forest Guild,' then nodded as he recalled the assassins he had killed at the Jeodong River.
"Ah, those guys. The Serpent Forest Guild. I might need to pay them a visit."
At Mujin's words, the assassin shook his head with a look of futility.
"There will be no need. The elites gathered today were the very foundation of the Serpent Forest Guild. With six captains dead, the guild is as good as finished."
"Over something like this? Well, let's say that's true. So you don't know who's behind it?"
"That is correct. In my position, I wouldn't know the client or the full story. I just kill who I'm told to kill."
Mujin looked down at the kneeling assassin for a moment before speaking.
"Well, it doesn't matter. Go."
The assassin looked up at him, his expression one of disbelief.
"I said go. I'm not going to kill you."
With a dazed look, the man rose to his feet. He walked away slowly, his face still showing that he couldn't believe it.
Once he was some distance away, he used his movement technique to flee. No-sak asked.
"Is there any reason to keep him alive?"
"If I let him go, the rumor that the elites of the Serpent Forest Guild or whatever were annihilated will spread, right? That way, riffraff like this won't bother us anymore."
"Ah… As expected of the Young Master!"
Mujin didn't reply to No-sak and climbed back into the carriage.
Masok and Cheol-muk followed him inside. The two managers, still half in a daze, belatedly boarded the carriage as well.
After witnessing Mujin's divine prowess, their attitude toward him had changed yet again.
Before, they had treated him with considerable respect, but not to the point where they couldn't speak their minds.
But after seeing him slice through men like radishes, they found it difficult to even utter a single word to him.
It was the day the two young managers, who had always thought of themselves as martial artists after years of training at a martial arts academy, had their illusions shattered.
In the midst of a battle where men cut off human heads without batting an eye and charged a terrifying enemy even as their comrades' heads were severed, they caught a glimpse of a martial artist's fate. They were able to discard the pride they had in calling themselves martial artists without a second thought.
'We're a different breed.'
'They live in a different world than us.'
The two managers couldn't even bring themselves to mention they needed to relieve themselves, holding it in until the carriage finally stopped.
Mujin was asleep with his eyes closed. In the middle of the journey, Cheol-muk opened the moving carriage door, jumped out to relieve himself, and then hopped back in, repeating this several times.
The oblivious No-sak never once stopped the carriage, and so they arrived in Gamrak around sunset.
"Young Master."
At Masok's call, Mujin slowly opened his eyes.
"*Yawn*. Where are we?"
"We've arrived in Gamrak."
"Mmm. Is that so? I'm hungry. Cheol-muk, go with Masok and find an inn. One that serves good meat dishes."
Just as Cheol-muk stood up at Mujin's command, Manager Do managed to speak up.
"We know a good place."
"Is that so? Then let's go there."
Manager Do quickly jumped out of the slowly moving carriage, climbed onto the driver's seat, and began giving directions.
The carriage entered an inn he guided them to, called the Hwangryu Inn. Attendants rushed out, unhitching the horses one by one and leading them to the stables.
Guided by another attendant, the escorts and Mujin's party entered the inn. The two managers, unable to hold it any longer, dashed for the latrine.
The inn was quite crowded, mostly with small-time merchants carrying bundles on their backs.
Although there were some martial artists with weapons, the atmosphere in the inn was pleasant.
It was a cheerful scene of people soothing their travel fatigue with a drink.
Thanks to the attendants who set up a large space for them by pushing three tables together in a corner, Mujin and his party were able to sit down.
"We'll get you rooms on the third floor. Will five four-person rooms be enough?"
"That's plenty. But food first. Lots of your best meat dishes."
Mujin shook his head at Cheol-muk's crude order.
Seeing the bewildered attendant, Mujin spoke.
"About ten different dishes will do. Please prepare whatever you have with meat as an ingredient. We don't need any alcohol. For the meal, please bring us noodles for the number of people we have, and plenty of your most popular tea. We'll order more if we need it, but that should be enough for now."
The attendant bowed deeply at Mujin's words and rushed off to place the order.
After the order was placed, the two managers returned from the latrine.
Looking refreshed, unlike when they had gotten out of the carriage, they found the group and took their seats.
"We've ordered some noodles and dishes."
"We should have done that. Our apologies."
"What does it matter who orders? It's nothing to apologize for."
After some time, the food arrived, and the party filled their stomachs. They then followed the attendant to their rooms and went to bed early.
Thus, an eventful day came to a close.
The next day, Mujin and his group prepared to set out before sunrise.
They had a light meal in the early dawn, ordered steamed buns and rice balls for the road, and left Gamrak before the sun was even up.
No-sak, driving the carriage, yawned and rubbed his sleepy eyes. The escorts also looked exhausted, either from the lingering fatigue of the journey or from sneaking drinks during the night.
Only Mujin, having skipped his usual training, looked full of energy.
For him, who dedicated himself to training from the moment he woke until just before he slept, a single day of rest felt like it had completely washed away all his accumulated fatigue.
The carriage had been traveling for about two hours when…
*Cha-cha-chang! Kakang!*
The sound of clashing weapons brought the carriage to a halt. The escorts riding alongside also stopped, their horses snorting.
"Cheol-muk. Go see what's happening."
"Yes!"
Cheol-muk, ordered by Mujin, opened the carriage door and went out, returning shortly after.
"There's a bunch of nuns and an old man having a sword fight in the middle of the road. Should I take care of it?"
*Smack!*
Mujin smacked the back of Cheol-muk's head.
"Take care of what? Do you just take care of every martial artist you see? Did you say nuns?"
"Yes."
At Cheol-muk's words, Mujin's eyes deepened as he fell into thought for a moment.
Nuns near Gamrak in Sichuan… it was hard to think of anyone other than the Emei Sect.
"Hah."
Mujin opened the carriage door and stepped outside.
*Clang! Kakang! Kakakang!*
Just as Cheol-muk had said, an elderly man dressed in dark green martial arts attire and a black robe was in the middle of a fierce fight against three nuns.
The old man clearly exuded the aura of a true master, while the three young nuns looked like they were first-generation disciples at best.
Mujin watched the fight for a moment, then glanced at the side of the road and spoke to No-sak.
"Can you get around them on the side?"
"I don't know… The ground looks muddy. We'll be in trouble if we get stuck… Why don't we just take care of it and go?"
"Why do you guys always want to 'take care of' everything? Forget it."
Mujin shook his head and shouted at the people engrossed in their fight.
"Hey, can't you move off the road to fight?"
The old man didn't even snort at Mujin's words, but the three nuns, seeing the armed escorts and Mujin, cried out.
"We are disciples of the Emei Sect! We're about to be captured by this wicked unorthodox faction member! Please lend us a hand!"
Mujin shook his head at the words of the nun whose sword tip seemed quite sharp.
"I have no hobby of getting involved in other people's fights. If you could just move aside a little, we'd like to pass. Can you do that?"
At Mujin's question, one of the nuns, who was in a precarious situation, glanced his way for a moment, and in that instant, the old man's hand seized her by the neck.
"Junior Sister!"
"Jeong-yeon!"
"Kekeke! As if Emei is what it used to be! How dare you point your swords at the Red Moon Sword? You bitches. Today, I'll be the one to take your chastity!"
The old man, spewing vile words, licked his lips as he looked at the two nuns who couldn't attack recklessly. He then turned his gaze to Mujin's party.
"You've seen what you shouldn't have. Why were you in such a hurry so early in the morning to hasten your deaths?"
Mujin tilted his head at the old man's words.
"He's talking to me, right?"
Cheol-muk, who had come outside at some point, nodded.
"Yes. Should I really take care of him?"
"He's not someone you can handle. He's a true master. This has become a headache."
At the words of Mujin, who had never hesitated before an enemy until now, Cheol-muk and No-sak tensed up.
No-sak, who had been holding the reins, was now standing beside Mujin, iron club in hand.
—When I charge, attack all at once with your killing techniques!
Cheol-muk, No-sak, and all the escorts gave a slight nod at Mujin's telepathic message, their hands moving to the swords at their waists.
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