Chapter 24
Chapter 24
It was an action taken to help the Division Leader quickly find the hostage.
Seo Mugyeom had grown anxious after seeing a few archers moving secretly on the rooftops.
Fortunately, Pyo Inhaeng also realized his intention and threw himself at one of those approaching the Baek Po-in, tackling him from behind.
As he did so, he glared at the Baek Po-in and, upon seeing the man’s distorted expression, realized that he had indeed secured the correct hostage.
"Warriors of the Guardian Ten Division, gather where the Division Leader is."
At Seo Mugyeom’s command, the warriors of the First Division quickly moved.
They understood that their current actions were necessary to survive the threat from the archers, so they did not hesitate.
The assassins were thrown into complete confusion.
"Valley Leader of Black Kill Valley! What is the meaning of this? We were never told that archers would be prepared for this mission. Why didn’t you inform us? Are you really trying to get us all killed together, just as he claimed? If you don’t speak now, not a single assassin from Black Kill Valley will be left alive!"
That was the moment it became known that the Baek Po-in was the Valley Leader of Black Kill Valley.
In assassination organizations, members' identities were kept strictly confidential, so very few people knew who anyone was.
Black Kill Valley had recently risen to prominence, so its name was familiar, but no one had imagined that their Valley Leader was such a person.
"What nonsense are you spouting? Are you seriously going to press me based on the words of such a fool? Things progressed quickly, and the recruitment of archers was finalized at the last minute. That’s why I wasn’t able to inform some of you in advance."
"If you claim the archers were gathered, we’d think they were hired from outside. Are you also going to lie and say these people are not proud assassins of Black Kill Valley? Looking at you, Valley Leader, it seems that every word out of your mouth is a lie."
At Seo Mugyeom’s spiteful words, the Valley Leader’s face flushed with anger.
"I’m taking the Valley Leader with me. The rest of you can settle your own scores amongst yourselves."
As Seo Mugyeom said this, he kicked the Valley Leader’s ankle hard, making him scream and stumble forward.
"What are you standing around for? Follow him!"
Pyo Inhaeng shouted at the warriors of the First Division.
They had just been in a fierce battle and were in poor condition, and they couldn’t grasp the sudden change in the situation.
But when Pyo Inhaeng roared, they came to their senses and followed him.
The assassins looked at one another, unsure whether they should let them escape or intervene.
Even now, they couldn’t fully understand what had happened.
It was hard to believe that the Valley Leader of Black Kill Valley had indeed plotted such a scheme.
But not everyone was confused; among those who usually lacked awareness, some were thinking quickly.
"I wasn’t informed about the archers by the Valley Leader. If anyone here was told about them, raise your hand!"
Someone shouted.
The force in his voice was not ordinary, and a few people raised their hands.
Seeing this, the assassins realized which individuals had been informed about the archers by the Valley Leader.
Normally, the Guardian Ten Division wouldn’t have known about such details, but the man who had shouted earlier had let it slip.
"I may be breaking etiquette by saying this, but wasn’t the information shared only with mid-tier organizations? It seems the Valley Leader of Black Kill Valley had a snake coiled inside him. Isn’t it too much to call this a coincidence? It looks to me like he tried to use this opportunity to wipe out other assassin groups that were doing better than Black Kill Valley."
Finally, some began to understand the situation.
Looking around, people seemed to realize that the statement was true.
Meanwhile, the archers on the rooftops were paralyzed with indecision.
According to the original plan, they should’ve rained down arrows by now and ended the lives of those on the ground.
But everything had been ruined by the unexpected appearance of Seo Mugyeom.
Seo Mugyeom showed no hesitation.
He had no intention of treating the Valley Leader of Black Kill Valley kindly, and so he harshly kicked him as they walked.
The archers must have felt uneasy hearing the Valley Leader they usually served so respectfully screaming in pain.
They probably felt they needed to save the Valley Leader immediately, but since Seo Mugyeom was sticking so close to him, they had no way to act.
Seo Mugyeom didn’t just threaten with words—he physically turned the Valley Leader into a mess.
As time passed, the Valley Leader couldn’t even walk properly.
Wounds covered his legs, sides, and shoulders.
Even though Seo Mugyeom had inflicted those injuries himself, he continued kicking him for not walking fast enough.
The people of Black Kill Valley, and the other assassination groups who had been on the brink of being destroyed by them, were all at a loss for what to do.
Those who opposed Black Kill Valley feared the archers would shoot arrows at them if they made any sudden moves.
While they remained in a standoff, the First Division warriors escaped quickly.
Seo Mugyeom had initially led the way, but soon the others passed by him and moved ahead.
The one leading them was Pyo Inhaeng.
When their eyes met, Pyo Inhaeng gave Seo Mugyeom a slight nod.
It was a gesture that said, "Be careful and hurry."
Seo Mugyeom responded with a glance and followed.
It was truly a hair-trigger situation.
Once all the warriors of the First Division had escaped, someone shouted.
"Are we just going to let them escape? Even if we deal with our problems later, shouldn’t we catch them first?"
Then someone among the rooftop archers shouted.
"Don’t move a muscle. If anyone moves, the first arrow will go straight through your skull!"
It was a warning to prevent anyone from attacking the First Division warriors, fearing they might end up killing their own Valley Leader.
The words had an immediate effect, and the man who had been shouting went silent.
However, perhaps due to the extreme tension, an arrow suddenly flew from a bow.
An archer lost grip while drawing the arrow, and it was released by mistake.
Unfortunately, it had already been fully aimed, so it shot through someone’s face with precision.
How many people could believe that was just an accident?
From that moment on, the situation spiraled out of control.
The archers had no choice but to fire to avoid being killed themselves.
Those on the ground were already furious for losing the First Division warriors due to the Valley Leader’s scheme, and losing a comrade sent them into a frenzy.
A bloody battle broke out.
Sounds of flesh being torn, blood splattering, and bones breaking echoed horrifyingly from all directions.
It was a fight where no one could retreat.
During the chaos, Seo Mugyeom and his group escaped.
At that moment, several carriages from the Guardian Ten Division arrived from a distance and picked up the people.
They had been sent by the First Division Leader, anticipating Pyo Inhaeng and Seo Mugyeom’s retreat.
Seo Mugyeom chuckled upon seeing that.
The First Division Leader likely didn’t even know who he was, nor did he expect anything from him.
Thus, these carriages must’ve been sent with the expectation that Pyo Inhaeng could rescue the others.
Seo Mugyeom was pleased that his Division Leader was receiving others' expectations.
Through this incident, he had come to understand just how remarkable the Division Leader truly was.
He hadn’t seen the Division Leader display his full skills directly, but the outcome of their sparring had shown how much he himself had changed.
While the warriors of the First Division loaded the injured, the leadership approached.
Up until then, Seo Mugyeom had been holding down the Valley Leader of Black Kill Valley, but now one of the leaders came and looked at him.
"Who is this man?"
Seo Mugyeom answered honestly.
"He is the Valley Leader of Black Kill Valley. Though the group wasn’t directly involved in the assassinations of key figures from the Divine Martial Sect, they used this opportunity to strengthen their forces by hiding archers. It seems he intended to kill the assassins along with us. Only a few knew about the archers, and I believe they were planning to escape first after receiving a signal from him and then start the attack."
As Seo Mugyeom spoke fluently, the man looked at Pyo Inhaeng in shock.
Pyo Inhaeng couldn’t hide his smug expression and nodded.
"It seems the First Division doesn’t even understand such things. Consider it a miracle that we weren’t annihilated today."
"Thank you, Division Leader Pyo. If it weren’t for you, this could’ve been disastrous."
Pyo Inhaeng had never been treated kindly by the First Division, which is why he had spoken first with hostility.
But when the leader immediately acknowledged him and even offered a clasped hands greeting, he was a bit taken aback.
"And who are you?"
The First Division’s leader seemed to think Seo Mugyeom deserved separate recognition.
"I’m Seo Mugyeom, an ordinary warrior of the Tenth Division."
"A regular warrior from the Tenth Division..."
The leader seemed to ponder those words deeply, forgetting to greet Seo Mugyeom.
Seeing that, Pyo Inhaeng flared up.
"If you ever try to steal a warrior from our Tenth Division again, I won’t let it go. Are you seriously scheming even in this situation?"
The leader had tried to deny it, but shut his mouth mid-sentence—it seemed he really had been considering it.
"We’ll take this man and interrogate him ourselves."
As the First Division leader pointed at the Valley Leader of Black Kill Valley, Pyo Inhaeng chuckled coldly.
But Seo Mugyeom thought there was no benefit in holding onto the Valley Leader’s case.
Since their Division Leader didn’t care about taking credit, it was better to leave it to the First Division and focus more on training.
That was Seo Mugyeom’s opinion, even though he hadn’t spoken a word yet—Pyo Inhaeng suddenly paused and looked at him.
"What do you think we should do?"
The most surprised person at that moment was the First Division leader.
He knew very well who Pyo Inhaeng was.
He also knew that the First Division Leader trusted no one more in the Guardian Ten Division than Pyo Inhaeng.
Even the fact that only Pyo Inhaeng was asked for reinforcements showed that.
Yet now, Pyo Inhaeng was asking this young, ordinary warrior for his opinion.