Kang Sogun

"The south? But that's where the Yangtze River is. Isn't it a dead end?"

Sim Mabaek shook his head as if it were absurd.

"He'll probably think of abandoning the carriage and going by boat."

"That's like a checkmate. If he gets exposed there, there's nowhere to hide."

Sim Mabaek insisted.

"Wouldn't the enemy think so too? That's why I think he would have chosen the south, aiming for the loophole in common sense. And a boat is better than a carriage for transporting a patient."

"Do you really think Miss Yeon, who has no experience in the martial world, would be that clever?"

"Miss Yeon might not, but the man named Jungrang who is escorting her will. He knows the martial world quite well."

Jang Mugang thought for a moment, then, as if an idea had come to him, he said to his younger brothers.

"If we are pushed back while fighting the Heaven's Mandate Brigade, we will flee down the straight path."

"Oh ho. So you're saying we should be the bait?"

Wi Eunghwan laughed and responded.

"We'll see."

Jang Mugang grinned. His face, with its thick beard and scar, looked even more menacing when he smiled.

Just then, Sim Mabaek's eyes glinted sharply.

"They're here."

The Heaven's Mandate Brigade appeared on the main road.

The Heaven's Mandate Brigade, in formation, galloped without hesitation.

About ten horses led the way, followed by the Heaven's Mandate Brigade warriors, their momentum like a storm.

"Hmph! They're ignoring us."

Sim Mabaek snorted. The fact that the Heaven's Mandate Brigade was coming straight for a frontal assault meant that they did not fear their opponents.

Indeed, who in the current martial world could block the path of the Heaven's Mandate Brigade?

Swish!

An arrow shot from Wi Eunghwan's large bow and embedded itself in the main road.

Wu Wonsong, who was running at the head of the Heaven's Mandate Brigade, stopped his horse and raised his hand.

The Heaven's Mandate Brigade warriors following behind stopped in an instant. It was an amazingly disciplined movement.

"Which esteemed person is blocking the path of the Heavenly Martial Faction's Heaven's Mandate Brigade!"

Swish!

Another arrow flew. This time, it landed about ten feet away.

Wu Wonsong looked at the place where the arrow had come from.

He could see three people standing at the foot of a low mountain.

***

Kang Sogun was puzzled.

Yeon Hwasim, whom he didn't even know, had asked him to be her protector. Even though he had refused, she had not left his side.

And now, she was saving him and fleeing.

He also knew that the enemy was chasing them.

If it weren't for Yeon Hwasim, he would have died.

'I'd rather have died.'

He sometimes felt the temptation of death. But he could not die.

That was his fate.

Kang Sogun's body was recovering quickly.

His Mysterious Art was on a different level from ordinary internal arts.

Kang Sogun leaned against the carriage wall, circulated his energy, and treated his internal injuries.

Yeon Hwasim did not come back into the carriage.

The emotion in her eyes when he last saw her was subtle. It was a gaze that alternated between fear, anger, disappointment, and expectation.

'Did she say the Three Blade Sect?'

He didn't know what she was thinking when she came to find him, but he could instinctively feel that he was getting involved in a new relationship.

Whether he liked it or not, as long as he was alive, relationships would constantly come to him.

Jungrang's skill in driving the carriage was quite good. Despite the rough road, the carriage did not shake much.

'If they're chasing, it must be the Heavenly Martial Faction.'

Since the Three Masters were dead, there would be no one left in the Yocheon Pavilion to chase him.

Only the Three Masters knew about the decisive battle with the Yocheon Pavilion Master.

The Three Masters were the witnesses of the decisive battle, but when the Pavilion Master died, they broke their promise and chased him.

Kang Sogun, who had been internally injured in the decisive battle with the Yocheon Pavilion Master, could not face the Three Masters.

He had avoided them and returned to White Dragon Temple by taking a long detour for about a month, but they had eventually found him.

But they too were dead. Now, there would be no one who knew about the decisive battle between him and the Yocheon Pavilion Master.

Even if the Yocheon Pavilion knew, it was questionable whether they would chase him.

The Yocheon Pavilion was an alliance of numerous factions, so its solidarity was weak. They would be more focused on seizing the remaining hegemony than on avenging the Pavilion Master.

The shaking of the carriage stopped.

The surroundings were noisy.

Kang Sogun opened the carriage window.

The scenery of the pier came into view, and he could see Jungrang haggling with a boatman.

A moment later, the carriage door opened, and Jungrang said.

"We'll have to abandon the carriage and take a boat."

Jungrang said bluntly and led the way.

Kang Sogun got out of the carriage without a word.

"Are you alright?"

Yeon Hwasim, seeing Kang Sogun coming out of the carriage, approached and asked.

Yeon Hwasim held out her hand to support him but stopped.

Before considering the difference between men and women, they were not yet on such terms.

Jungrang glanced at the two but pretended not to see and got on the boat.

The boatman came forward and helped Kang Sogun into the boat.

It was a small boat with a single cabin in the middle.

"Please send the carriage to Yueyang."

Jungrang said as he pressed a silver coin into the boatman's hand.

The boatman handed the silver coin to a young man at the pier.

The young man drove the carriage and left the pier.

Kang Sogun leaned against the cabin window and watched all these movements.

The sail was fully unfurled, and the boat flowed along the Yangtze River.

***

The three horses ran like mad. Jang Mugang guarded the rear.

The two horses in the lead ran side by side.

Sim Mabaek held the reins of both horses and drove them.

Wi Eunghwan was slumped over the horse being led by Sim Mabaek.

"Eunghwan! Don't lose consciousness!"

Sim Mabaek felt as if his heart was burning.

It was indeed the Heaven's Mandate Brigade.

They had fought for half an hour and had taken down about ten men, but the three had also had to pay a price.

The youngest, Wi Eunghwan, had suffered deep cuts on his back, side, and both arms, and Sim Mabaek had been stabbed in the thigh.

It was a miracle that they had escaped that place without dying.

Sim Mabaek drove the horses in place of Wi Eunghwan, who could not use his arms.

The main road, on which darkness was falling, was endless, and the enemies were still following behind.

Jang Mugang looked back.

About twenty shadows were following. They were adjusting their pursuit speed, aiming for the fugitives' horses to get tired, and following behind.

Seeing that two horses were leading the way, there were two leaders.

It was clear that two teams of the Heaven's Mandate Brigade had been deployed.

'Then the rest must be chasing Miss Yeon.'

Jang Mugang was curious about Wu Wonsong's choice, but he would not have a chance to ask.

He would probably be buried on an unknown main road tonight.

'Wu Wonsong, he was indeed worthy of being the Heaven's Mandate Brigade Commander.'

Jang Mugang replayed the battle just now.

Wu Wonsong had not been hasty.

He had first sent one team to probe the skills of the three, and then immediately deployed three teams.

He had tried to buy some time and then slip away, but the Heaven's Mandate Brigade had not let him go.

It was the Heaven's Mandate Brigade he had fought once at the Yueyang inn, but he keenly felt how different they could be depending on the leader.

When the Brigade Commander, Wu Wonsong, commanded, the Heaven's Mandate Brigade's movements in switching between offense and defense were different from the start.

Above all, the problem was that Wi Eunghwan had been injured early on.

Wu Wonsong had focused his attack on Wi Eunghwan, who was skilled in hidden weapons.

When Wi Eunghwan could not move, Jang Mugang and Sim Mabaek were also greatly restricted.

They had supported Wi Eunghwan and fled for their lives, rode the horses they had hidden, and went straight at the fork in the road.

They had chosen the straight path to lure the enemy to the end, but Wu Wonsong had not been fooled.

He had only sent two teams.

He must have thought that they were enough.

'I hope he chose the north!'

Jang Mugang hoped inwardly but did not have high expectations.

A man like Wu Wonsong would have chosen carefully.

Just as he had thought that Yeon Hwasim would have chosen the south, there was a high possibility that he would also judge so.

If so, then Yeon Hwasim would not be safe either.

As Jang Mugang looked back again and observed the pursuing Heaven's Mandate Brigade, he heard Sim Mabaek's urgent shout.

"Brother, be careful!"

Jang Mugang's heart sank.

It was a night road.

It was not easy to ride a horse on a night road.

The thing he had been worried about had happened.

Wi Eunghwan's galloping horse had tripped on something and lost its balance.

Wi Eunghwan, who had briefly fainted from blood loss, was thrown from the horse's back.

Sim Mabaek quickly kicked off the horse's back, flew up, and snatched Wi Eunghwan.

In the meantime, the two horses abandoned their masters and disappeared like a flash.

Jang Mugang stopped his horse.

"Mabaek! Take Eunghwan and go!"

Jang Mugang urged as he offered his own horse.

"I can't do that. You two brothers go first."

Wi Eunghwan, who had barely regained consciousness after falling from the horse, said as he lifted the crossbow at his side.

He intended to use a crossbow, which was advantageous in close combat, instead of a large bow.

His injured arms were trembling so much that it seemed difficult for him to even hold the crossbow.

Seeing this, Sim Mabaek shouted tragically.

"Brother! Let's just die together. I can't leave you and go either."

Sim Mabaek also gripped his long spear and limped forward.

Sim Mabaek stood in the middle of the main road on which darkness was falling and glared at the approaching Heaven's Mandate Brigade from the other side.

"To be chased by bastards like that even though I'm injured! I've lost face!"

Seeing Sim Mabaek facing about twenty enemies alone, Wi Eunghwan's fighting spirit soared.

"Khaha. The second brother can't die coolly alone. If my arms don't work, I have my legs."

Wi Eunghwan plopped down on the ground.

He supported the crossbow with his left foot, pulled the string with his right foot, and then loaded an arrow with his endlessly trembling hands.

"I never thought the day would really come when I would use this damn trick."

Wi Eunghwan grumbled and laughed.

It was a trick he had devised after much thought when Sim Mabaek had teased him about what he would do if he couldn't use his arms someday.

Jang Mugang's vision blurred as he looked at Sim Mabaek and Wi Eunghwan.

'These bastards!'

They had fled from the enemy to Yueyang and pretended to be inn chefs.

They were his younger brothers who had not complained even while chopping vegetables with a warrior's knife.

When they had a drink in the evening, they would then reminisce about the past and laugh and talk.

'To have confined such tigers in a fence. Mugang! Can you still call yourself a martial artist after doing that?'

Jang Mugang silently went to Sim Mabaek's side and stood shoulder to shoulder.

As the Heaven's Mandate Brigade got closer, they slowed down. He could feel their momentum as they approached, regulating their breathing.

When they stood in front of Jang Mugang's brothers, not only the team leader on horseback but also the Heaven's Mandate Brigade members who had followed using lightness skill were breathing evenly.

They were indeed experienced men.

One of the team leaders on horseback said to Jang Mugang.

"I am Jo Jeongpyeong, the first team leader of the Heaven's Mandate Brigade. No matter how I look at you, you are not ordinary inn chefs. Who are you? You must reveal your identity so that we can at least engrave it on your tombstone."

Jo Jeongpyeong had taken over as the new first team leader of the Heaven's Mandate Brigade after Bang Geon.

"In the martial world, they call us the Three Tigers of Shandong. I would be grateful if you would call me the Great Tiger."

Jang Mugang said as he shook the kitchen knives in his hands.

A strange light flowed in Jo Jeongpyeong's eyes.

The Three Tigers of Shandong were not unknown nobodies. They were quite famous heroes in the Shandong region.

"So you were the Three Tigers of Shandong. There was a reason why the Heaven's Mandate Brigade struggled. But! This is as far as you go. Where did Miss Yeon and the culprit go?"

"If I were going to tell you that, would I be standing here? Stop talking nonsense and just draw your sword."

Sim Mabaek aimed his long spear.

"You must be the Demon Spear. They say you're the most hot-tempered of the Three Tigers of Shandong, and you're just as I've heard."

"Hmph! The Nine Flowers Demonic Sword is a name that is at least known in the martial world, but you only managed to get the position of an Heaven's Mandate Brigade team leader?"

Jo Jeongpyeong's eyebrows twitched.

The Nine Flowers Demonic Sword, Jo Jeongpyeong.

Although he was the first team leader of the Heavenly Martial Faction's Heaven's Mandate Brigade, Jo Jeongpyeong was not a man without a history.

"Everyone has their own path."

Jo Jeongpyeong got off his horse and drew his sword.

"I will treat you as a martial artist."

Although Jo Jeongpyeong had taken refuge in the Heavenly Martial Faction, he was once a martial artist who had roamed the martial world alone.

He did not want to kill the Three Tigers of Shandong by ganging up on them.

"Good!"

Sim Mabaek swung his long spear up and down and extended it.

Jo Jeongpyeong lightly deflected the spear with his sword. Then the spear spun and came in over the sword.

"Indeed, the Demon Spear!"

(End of Chapter)