Ch. 36
It was amazing that the relationship between the Valley Lord of Nether Shadow Valley and Pae Maseong had become like that.
Since Pae Maseong had created that atmosphere, everyone hurried to keep up with his pace.
They seemed to think that Pae Maseong was already in a bad mood, and they shouldn't make him even angrier by moving slowly.
"There, did you see that?"
When Pae Maseong suddenly pointed to the underground cave and flew, the other people followed him in a flurry.
I was amazed at how Pae Maseong's agility had improved.
Pae Maseong stopped near the underground cave and then grabbed a poisonous snake from the wall and lifted it up.
I, who had been watching Pae Maseong from the tree, knew that the poisonous snake had been wrapped around Pae Maseong's arm until just a moment ago, but the other people probably hadn't even imagined that.
"This is here, and you're still going to say such things, Valley Lord!"
When Pae Maseong spoke, the Valley Lord and the instructors all looked at each other in surprise.
If poisonous creatures were really escaping from the underground cave, this was a really big deal.
"Aren't more coming out!"
As Pae Maseong spoke and got very close to the underground cave, the people also followed him.
He had performed much better than the original plan, and I was constantly amazed at Pae Maseong.
Now it was my turn to step up.
The Valley Lord and the instructors were by no means weak people, but considering Yeon Cheongha, they were not just impossible opponents.
Yeon Cheongha was the strongest among the instructors, and even compared to him, Pae Maseong was by no means inferior.
I had also been training without rest next to such a Pae Maseong, and as a result, I had some confidence.
And what was more important than who had stronger martial prowess was who made what strategy and moved with agility in a real battle.
Even after I landed on the ground, almost no one noticed that I had appeared there.
Before they could realize that, I pushed several people at once and made them fall into the underground cave.
Since they had all learned martial arts, they were not people who would be easily defeated by that much force, but since they were pushed without any vigilance or preparation, they were also helpless.
One or two people lost their balance and were pushed, and they tried to stand up by grabbing the person next to them, but it rather became a case of dragging them in.
Pae Maseong was supposed to help me a little later, but perhaps thinking that there was no need, he drove them in.
The person who reacted the fastest was the Valley Lord.
It was to the point where I thought that the Valley Lord was indeed different, and he, who had the highest level of martial prowess among them, immediately used his lightness technique and tried to escape.
"Pae Maseong!"
When I shouted, Pae Maseong, as if he had realized that he had to deal with the Valley Lord, followed him.
Now all the instructors were my share.
When they were off guard, not knowing that I was there, I had easily eliminated some of them by some fluke, but from this point on, I also had to fight properly.
But even after that, luck continued to follow me.
It couldn't just be called luck; it seemed that the fear of the underground cave that lurked in the hearts of everyone in Nether Shadow Valley had frozen them.
I had a strong feeling that people who would normally be able to show more skill were not able to move properly then.
Swish- Swish-
They were probably things at the bottom of the underground cave, but it sounded as if the sound was coming from nearby.
The creepy screams of the people who had fallen into the underground cave seemed to be scratching our ears.
That alone was so scary that sweat ran down my back.
At times like this, the key was who would overcome that fear first, and it seemed that I was better than them.
Thinking that if I didn't survive here, I would be the one to face the poisonous creatures in the underground cave, I moved more quickly and decisively from then on.
When I swung my sword and cut their bodies, the instructors took a step back without thinking about what was behind them.
But thinking that they would be cut by the sword if they didn't run away, they eventually ran away until the end and fell into the underground cave.
The fact that I didn't know how the fight between Pae Maseong and the Valley Lord was going made me more urgent.
If the Valley Lord escaped, Pae Maseong would make the entire Cho family his enemy.
No matter how strong Pae Maseong was, the current Pae Maseong was by no means a finished product, and there was no chance that he could fight and win against the entire Cho family.
There was no need to think for long.
I had to prevent the Valley Lord from escaping from here, and to do that, I didn't have time to deal with the instructors for so long.
Until now, I had never emitted sword ki.
When sword ki arose from Pae Maseong's sword, I had only thought, 'Will I also be able to emit sword ki someday?'
But at that moment, sword ki arose.
I hadn't thought that I had to create sword ki, nor had I expected that sword ki would arise if I did this.
It had happened by chance, so I was also surprised, but now there was no time to be moved.
With a single sword strike, the instructors in front of me took a step back and fell into the underground cave.
And following that, a terrible scream erupted.
I flew towards the remaining ones and cut their bodies.
At that time, it was easier, so I didn't think of putting their corpses in the underground cave.
Seeing the sword ki that had risen from my sword, they seemed to have lost all their will, and in the end, that led them to their deaths.
After dealing with all the instructors, I flew to where Pae Maseong was.
There was no need to struggle to find out where the two of them were.
Since a fierce battle was taking place with a huge explosion around them, I could easily find them.
When I landed, Pae Maseong glanced at me.
Pae Maseong seemed to be relieved to see that I was not hurt.
For the same reason that I had hurried, Pae Maseong must have also hurried.
It would have been more difficult to deal with one Valley Lord than to deal with all the instructors, and it seemed that he had intended to quickly sort things out here and come to help me.
Only then did the Valley Lord see me properly.
"How are you here!"
"It seems you know who I am?"
The Valley Lord glared at Pae Maseong with an angry gaze.
"Pae Maseong! You!"
I don't know what he wanted to say, but it seemed that he thought that Pae Maseong had betrayed the Cho family.
From then on, Pae Maseong continued with his cruel sword strikes.
The Valley Lord was by no means a weak person.
The position of the head of Nether Shadow Valley would not be entrusted to just anyone.
But in front of such a Valley Lord, Pae Maseong, without being intimidated in the slightest, silently unleashed his sword techniques.
When he accurately executed his techniques with overwhelming power, the Valley Lord began to be pushed back little by little.
The Valley Lord also had a face that said he hadn't expected things to turn out this way.
While fighting the Valley Lord, Pae Maseong changed every moment.
It seemed that if he thought he had to be faster, he became faster, and if he thought he had to be stronger, he became stronger.
It seemed that his will was breaking through the limits of his body and making his body continue to move forward.
It was to the extent that I wondered if the internal energy that had been sleeping in his blood vessels was newly awakening, and an unknown power continued to well up from him.
If I had had to help him, I would have, but now it seemed that Pae Maseong could handle the Valley Lord on his own.
If so, it was better for me to take in everything about Pae Maseong.
Watching Pae Maseong fight with all his might, revealing everything he had, was always a great help to me.
At that moment, I couldn't understand everything and couldn't follow it, but as time passed, there were moments when those things became my own and were unfolded through the sword I held.
It was a much more valuable fortuitous encounter than poring over any martial arts manual for a long time.
Pae Maseong moved his body without getting tired.
The one who was being pushed was the Valley Lord.
The Valley Lord was breathing heavily, and his footwork wavered a few times.
But each time, Pae Maseong drove the Valley Lord like a skilled hunter.
Sword ki soared from Pae Maseong's sword.
When it cut across the Valley Lord's chest, a fountain of blood gushed out.
Even seeing that, Pae Maseong's expression did not change.
He didn't even frown when he saw his opponent feeling pain.
"Pae Maseong! Why are you doing this to me! I have done nothing wrong to you. Don't do this to me. Please spare me. I will give you ten thousand gold taels. I will give you whatever you want, Pae Maseong!"
The Valley Lord seemed to have realized that there was no longer any chance for him to survive.
"Do you think the family head will stand still when what you have done is revealed! Undoing a formation leaves traces. I'm saying that the family head will know who undid the formation and came in!"
That was something I hadn't thought of.
I don't know if that was true or if he was just saying it to get away, but I thought that it would make Pae Maseong hesitate.
Confronting the Cho family would be like a suicide act for Pae Maseong.
But Pae Maseong approached the Valley Lord as if he hadn't heard those words.
"Pae Maseong."
If it turned out like this, I wondered if I should stop him, but he swung his sword and cut the Valley Lord's neck without even listening to my words.
The Valley Lord's neck was cut almost halfway, and blood gushed out.
Pae Maseong slowly sheathed his sword and then shook the blood from the blade.
"Let's look for any remaining instructors."
Pae Maseong said.
When the Valley Lord was alive, there was room to worry about whether to save him, but since he was already dead, it was better to complete the task we had decided on when we came here.
I divided the area with Pae Maseong and searched it thoroughly.
The children of the training facility who saw us had scared faces, and no one could move properly.
I didn't know how we would look to the children, but for now, it was a priority to find the instructors.
"We came to save you. We killed the Valley Lord. We also killed most of the instructors, but if there are any instructors who are still alive, you have to tell us."
At that, some children pointed to a place with their hands, and we went to the place the children pointed to and found the instructors who were hiding inside.
In that way, we found more instructors.
Seeing the instructors fall to the sword, the children could not hide their astonishment.
It was a sight as if they hadn't thought it was possible.
I understood the children's expressions.
When I was in Nether Shadow Valley, I had hoped that someone would appear, kill the Valley Lord and the instructors, and save us.
But until the end, such a thing did not happen.
'No. We met our master. Our master saved us.'
(End of Chapter)