Rebirth of the Thunder God

Murmur, murmur.

Namgung Hui spotted two familiar men at the scene of the commotion.

One was a middle-aged man with red hair exuding a wild beauty, and the other was a middle-aged man with a long spear slung stylishly on his back.

Red hair was a hair color rarely seen in the Central Plains.

Since he had such a unique feature, there was no way Namgung Hui would forget him.

On top of that, since he had a history of carrying out a mission with Namgung Hui at the Blood Cult, he couldn't forget him even if he wanted to.

He was...

'The Red-Haired Monster. He's dyed his hair again.'

Due to the raindrops that had poured down during the last mission, he had been able to deduce that the Red-Haired Monster's hair was dyed.

It must have been dyed with safflower.

Even now, the scent of safflower was faintly wafting from his side.

By the Red-Haired Monster's side, there was only the scent of flowers, and no one was there.

On the other hand, opposite the Red-Haired Monster was the Wolf King, who was indebted to the Divine Physician Sect Leader.

Perhaps because he was leading the Heavenly Wolf Brigade, quite a few ronin were standing behind him.

Among those people, a man with a sharp impression said to the Red-Haired Monster.

"Hey. If you bumped into someone's shoulder, shouldn't you at least apologize? Why is your head so stiff? Should I caress it gently for you?"

"Your people were blocking the way, so I had no choice but to bump into you. Rather, it seems you should be the ones to apologize first."

The Red-Haired Monster's words were not particularly wrong.

In the first place, if one were to walk around the marketplace leading so many people, the road was bound to become narrow.

And there was no way the high-nosed Heavenly Wolf Brigade would make way.

Because it was an unspoken rule among ronin that the weaker one should move out of the way.

The Wolf King narrowed his eyes and looked at the Red-Haired Monster.

"Haven't we met somewhere before? For some reason, you don't feel unfamiliar."

"Well, couldn't we have seen each other while coming and going like this?"

"That's not what I mean. I'm asking if we've met before. But with such impressive red hair, there's no way I wouldn't remember, so it must be my mistake. Then, to get to the point, the way you bumped into me seemed quite intentional. What do you think?"

The Wolf King's words were not greatly wrong either.

In the first place, if the Heavenly Wolf Brigade were to show off their power like that, most people would make way.

On top of that, there was no way a master like the Red-Haired Monster would accidentally bump into someone.

'He must have some business with the Wolf King. Should I watch a little longer?'

Numerically, the Wolf King had the advantage.

But the Red-Haired Monster was a supreme master who belonged to the middle ranks of the Ten Great Masters.

In the first place, Namgung Hui, while carrying out a mission with him, had fully grasped that his skills were by no means exaggerated.

On the other hand, as for the Wolf King, he would have to see him in actual combat, but just by looking at his Ki alone, he was clearly below the Red-Haired Monster.

Moreover, wasn't the Wolf King at the bottom of the Ten Great Masters?

Well, the skills of a ronin honed through actual combat were not to be ignored.

"Captain. Instead of doing this here, let's go to a quiet place with that fellow and have a match. For some reason, that fellow also doesn't seem to be backing down, so he must have some business with us."

"Hmm... Yes. Instead of doing this here, that would be better. What will you do? Will you follow?"

The Red-Haired Monster nodded his head as if he had been waiting.

"Alright. Let's see if your skills are as good as the Wolf King's reputation."

As the Wolf King nodded his head, the Heavenly Wolf Brigade began to head somewhere in a group.

Even if it was a crowded place, the moment they took a step, the crowd parted, and a path was created.

The place they headed to with such confident steps was a spacious clearing in a wild mountain.

Perhaps because a stream was also murmuring nearby, he even felt his mind and body being purified.

As if that peace was tedious, a heavy voice filled the clearing.

"This place should be fine. But it seems too many onlookers have gathered, so we'll have to clear them out. Black Wolf. Clear them out."

"Yes. Captain."

A one-eyed man called the Black Wolf, boasting his scars, walked out from among the onlookers.

Even though he had just glared, he felt the temperature of the atmosphere drop.

It was chilling.

His gaze, and the atmosphere.

"The Wolf King said he doesn't need any onlookers. It's a pity for the spectators, but please all withdraw. This is a dismissal order."

Murmur, murmur.

Some of the onlookers with outstanding Ki, perhaps dissatisfied, stepped forward without caring about the Black Wolf's Ki.

"No. Are you saying this wild mountain belongs to the Wolf King? We are just here to enjoy the scenery of the wild mountain... Heop!"

Chwararak!

Something black that looked like a whip extended from the Black Wolf's sleeve and grazed the onlooker's cheek.

Although it looked as if he had actually been hit, there was no particular sound of impact.

Instead, only the sound of swallowing saliva could be heard.

"Next time, it won't just be a graze. This is the last warning."

"...!"

Was it because he had felt the difference in skill with the Black Wolf?

The onlooker, with a frustrated expression, obediently turned his body and left the clearing.

As the onlookers disappeared one by one, only Namgung Hui and Jang Hwang were left in the clearing.

"I clearly said that next time it wouldn't end with just a threat. Do you really have to see blood to leave?"

As the Black Wolf shook his head and was about to whip again.

"Those people are my acquaintances. So I think they have the right to observe like the Heavenly Wolf Brigade."

The Red-Haired Monster suddenly defended Namgung Hui and Jang Hwang.

His gaze met Namgung Hui's for a moment, and a subtle smile hung on his lips.

As if to say, 'I've seen through your disguise.'

'Then again. I also figured out that the Red-Haired Monster's hair was dyed, so there's no law that says he can't see through my disguise.'

No matter how much Namgung Hui changed his appearance with a disguise, there was a unique atmosphere.

Of course, ordinary people couldn't recognize Namgung Hui, whose speech and tone of voice had also changed.

But, there was no law that said some people with a good eye for things and who were knowledgeable in this field, like the disciples of the Hao Faction, couldn't recognize him.

The Red-Haired Monster was a supreme master who was in the middle ranks of the Ten Great Masters.

It wasn't strange for such a master to have at least one such talent.

'However, I'm a little curious if he knows my true identity.'

Reading the atmosphere was possible because Namgung Hui was currently operating the One Yang Divine Art, but it was unknown if he had gauged the Thunder Ki sleeping within.

Well, anyway, since he had been exempted from the dismissal order, it was a good thing for Namgung Hui.

"Oho. To be your acquaintances, they don't seem to even greet you. Well, as you say, since our Heavenly Wolf Brigade is also acting as onlookers, I will allow about two people. Now. Come in."

As the Wolf King's permission was granted, the Red-Haired Monster nodded his head and gripped his sword hilt.

At that, the atmosphere that the Black Wolf had dropped heated up, and at the Red-Haired Monster's momentum, even the Heavenly Wolf Brigade was startled and unknowingly gripped their respective weapons.

The Black Wolf looked at such a Red-Haired Monster and thought.

'This is a different momentum from the Captain...! But if it's the Captain, he's more than a match.'

The Black Wolf, who did not lose his trust even after vaguely realizing the Red-Haired Monster's level.

Namgung Hui, watching such a Black Wolf, had a premonition that the Wolf King's hidden card was not ordinary.

'For a ronin, his Ki control is quite good. Such a well-ordered ronin... Rather, it's to the point of feeling a sense of unease.'

And so, Namgung Hui and the Black Wolf watched from their respective different perspectives.

-Sreung.

-Cheolkeok.

As their respective weapons were held in their hands, it felt as if a sinister wind was raging.

Although the Black Wolf believed in the Wolf King, he couldn't control the cold sweat flowing in his hands.

As for Jang Hwang, since he had no acquaintance with either of them, he watched the duel with the most interesting perspective.

Especially after looking at the sword held in the Red-Haired Monster's hand, he said with a curve on his lips.

"That is the Heavenly Wind Sword Art, which was said to have been lost in the past. Although that man has changed his stance slightly, the scent of the wind cannot be erased. Aam."

"!!?"

Unlike Jang Hwang, who was smiling, Namgung Hui couldn't help but open his eyes wide as soon as he heard his words.

Because of the name 'Heavenly Wind Sword Art' that had come out of his mouth.

Namgung Hui had not forgotten the Heavenly Wind Sword Art, a martial art name similar to his own Heavenly Thunder Sword Art.

Of course, wasn't it the sword art that the Black Tortoise Troupe Leader, whom he had once... no, was still suspicious of, had learned?

Although it was known through rumors that he had obtained and learned it through a great fortune somewhere, it was unknown whether the Hoicheon Association had given it to him or if his father, the Martial Alliance Leader, the Divine Monk, had secretly given it to him.

'No. The source is not important. The problem is how that Red-Haired Monster has learned it.'

Namgung Hui asked with a suspicious look.

"Brother Jang. Is it really the Heavenly Wind Sword Art? It's said to be a lost sword art, so how on earth did you recognize it?"

"You didn't know? The Heavenly Wind Sword Art was the only sword art of our Maoshan Sect. If you learn it to the extreme, you can skillfully realize the Sword-Controlling Art as if controlling the wind. That's why its name is the Heavenly Wind Sword Art. I thought you knew the Maoshan Sect well, so I thought you would recognize that sword art too. I'm disappointed."

Unlike his words of disappointment, Jang Hwang's expression was clearly full of pride.

"No. Brother Jang. If that sword art really belongs to the Maoshan Sect, shouldn't you be questioning it?"

Even in the case of the Nine Sects One Union, one could not carelessly learn a lost martial art.

That was why Namgung Hui had thoroughly hidden the fact that he had learned the Two Principles Heart Art.

But the Maoshan Sect was now a sect in name only, and it was true that it had been pushed back by the Nine Sects One Union even in its heyday.

In the martial world, power was soon justice.

Since Jang Hwang also knew that, he just had a bitter smile.

'Come to think of it, I did smell the scent of wind from the Red-Haired Monster before. Was that the sense of unease I felt at that time?'

Namgung Hui, while recalling the appearance of the Black Tortoise Troupe Leader, remembered that he particularly enjoyed wearing dark red clothes.

At that time, he had thought it was the symbol of Xuanwu, but it seemed it was to think about the contamination from the dye.

But another question was why the Black Tortoise Troupe Leader was active as the Red-Haired Monster.

-Chaeng! Chaeng!

While Namgung Hui was harboring his doubts, the sword and the spear were exchanged successively.

The Red-Haired Monster, no, the Black Tortoise Troupe Leader, did not hide his sword art, even though he must have heard Namgung Hui's conversation.

Rather, should he say he was showing off his martial prowess as if to show off?

Perhaps because of that, even the Ten Great Masters' Wolf King was busy just defending.

The Wolf King, who could not gain the upper hand, bit his lip as if frustrated.

-Chae, chae, chaeng!

For the Wolf King, who had been through all sorts of hardships, even a battlefield, the Red-Haired Monster's skillful stance development was an unexpected situation.

It was unbelievable that he was so rich in practical experience in a peaceful era.

Because it was the same for Namgung Hui, who was watching.

'Given the Black Tortoise Troupe Leader's position, he shouldn't have had the opportunity to accumulate so much practical experience...? There are really one or two suspicious points.'

Anyway, the suspicious Black Tortoise Troupe Leader continued to perform his stances, and the Wolf King, who was still on the defensive, could not launch an attack.

The Wolf King's weapon was a spear.

The advantage of a spear was its range.

The Wolf King, having decided to use this, even performed a phantom-like movement in an instant and shook off the Black Tortoise Troupe Leader.

But at that moment, the corner of the Black Tortoise Troupe Leader's mouth curled up, and a wind rose.

(End of Chapter)