Kang Sogun

"Stop for a moment!"

As the Heaven's Mandate Second Team Leader raised his hand, the following group stopped with disciplined movements.

The scent of blood flowed in the darkness.

The Heaven's Mandate Second Team Leader stopped his horse and focused his vision to look ahead.

On the moonlit main road, there were clear signs of a battle having taken place.

There were also considerable bloodstains.

But there were no bodies.

'It seems they caught those bastards here.'

There were three ambushers who had stopped the Heaven's Mandate Brigade.

Bloodstains were scattered everywhere. It seemed they had put up quite a resistance.

'But where did they go?'

If they had dealt with the enemy, they should have returned, but he had not encountered them on the way.

The Heaven's Mandate Second Team Leader had an ominous thought.

'Could it be that they were defeated?'

He shook his head, thinking it couldn't be.

Two teams of the Heaven's Mandate Brigade. A whopping twenty men.

Moreover, the first team leader was the Nine Flowers Demonic Sword, a master who was quite well-known in the martial world.

The Heaven's Mandate Second Team Leader discovered the tracks of a group of horses that had run to the other side of the main road. It seemed to be the enemy's tracks.

'I'll know if I follow them for now.'

The Heaven's Mandate Second Team Leader hesitated for a moment and then shouted to his subordinates.

"Let's go!"

He urged his subordinates and ran through the night road.

***

Yeon Seongyeol was running an hour ahead of them.

The Three Blade Sect had only thirty men, but they were elites and all were on horseback.

Jang Mugang and Sim Mabaek were lagging behind on their horses. Sim Mabaek was not making much speed as he was also carrying Wi Eunghwan.

"Sect Master Yeon. I don't think this will work. You go first. We will join you slowly."

Jang Mugang shouted towards the front.

Yeon Seongyeol stopped his horse for a moment and then shouted at Jang Mugang.

"You don't have to come to Yuncheng Port. Go straight to the Three Blade Sect."

Yeon Seongyeol attached one man to Jang Mugang as an escort and led the remaining subordinates to run through the night road again.

Killing intent flowed from the eyes of the Three Blade Sect warriors.

It was understandable, as they had fought a life-or-death battle with the Heaven's Mandate Brigade warriors.

Yeon Seongyeol had searched everywhere for his daughter, who had disappeared without a trace, and had found out that she had gone to Yueyang.

He had met the Three Tigers of Shandong while running through the night road with his elites.

A fight with the Heaven's Mandate Brigade had broken out before he could even hear the full story.

Most of the Heaven's Mandate Brigade warriors had died, and a few, including the Nine Flowers Demonic Sword, had scattered and fled.

The Three Blade Sect had hidden the bodies of the Heaven's Mandate Brigade in a low mountain next to the main road and was on its way back to Wuhan.

Yeon Seongyeol trusted Jang Mugang's judgment.

He believed that Yeon Hwasim was on her way to Wuhan by river and was going to wait for her there first.

"Couldn't the young lady have gotten off in the middle and taken the land route?"

The Fire Heaven Brigade Commander, Cho Jihang, who was following beside him, said, worried that their paths might cross.

Cho Jihang was a master of the Three Blade Sect and a trusted confidant of Yeon Seongyeol.

The Fire Heaven Brigade he led had only thirty men, but they were the most outstanding elites among the Three Blade Sect disciples.

The Three Blade Sect was a small sect with only one hundred martial artists and two hundred family members, a total of three hundred people.

It was more like a merchant group than a martial arts sect, engaging in various businesses.

Yeon Seongyeol was once a martial artist who had roamed the martial world, but he was originally from a merchant family in Fujian.

Thanks to Yeon Seongyeol, who had an excellent talent for business, the Three Blade Sect was a small but solid sect, and this was the reason why the Heavenly Martial Faction had coveted it.

"We have to hope she didn't."

He was Yeon Seongyeol, who had run through the night road himself to save his daughter.

His heart was extremely anxious, but he could not show it in front of his disciples.

Yeon Seongyeol had greatly regretted it after his daughter disappeared.

If he had handed over the business to the Heavenly Martial Faction earlier, he might not have gone through this.

He had been attached to his wealth, and only when he was on the verge of losing his daughter did he come to his senses.

The vanguard who was ahead shouted.

"Yuncheng Port is in sight."

As dawn came, the darkness deepened.

The moon had long since set.

A few lights were visible on the path where the white, shining river twisted like a giant dragon.

Yeon Seongyeol's heart became anxious.

***

The dawn at the port was bustling.

Even in the dim darkness, there were not a few people coming and going.

Boats going out to fish cut through the dawn darkness and left the port.

"We couldn't get a carriage, so we'll have to ride horses. Will that be alright?"

Jungrang asked.

He had only managed to get two horses with difficulty.

Kang Sogun silently nodded.

'Amazing. A person who seemed to be on the verge of death has recovered enough to ride a horse in just one night.'

Jungrang was amazed at Kang Sogun's recovery.

"If we run for half a day now, we'll be in the territory of the Three Blade Sect. Just hold on until then."

Kang Sogun and Yeon Hwasim got on their horses.

Jungrang used his lightness skill and followed behind the two.

The three left Yuncheng Port under the cover of the dawn darkness.

Half an hour after the three had left.

Yeon Seongyeol's party arrived at Yuncheng Port.

When Cho Jihang sent the Fire Heaven Brigade to inquire, he was told that a group that seemed to be Yeon Hwasim's party had left Yuncheng Port half an hour ago.

"The road from here to the Three Blade Sect is a single path. If we hurry, we can catch up soon."

"Let's go!"

As Yeon Seongyeol was turning his horse, he saw a boat entering the port in the distance.

The presence of the man standing on the boat was extraordinary at a glance.

Around him stood about twenty warriors.

Yeon Seongyeol could tell that they were the ones chasing his daughter.

Yeon Seongyeol hesitated for a moment.

Should he block the enemy here, or should he chase after his daughter?

The Fire Heaven Brigade Commander, Cho Jihang, said.

"It was said that all one hundred members of the Heaven's Mandate Brigade came. There are about twenty of them. The rest are clearly chasing by land."

Yeon Seongyeol made a decision right away.

"Hurry. We'll follow Hwasim."

The Three Blade Sect party galloped down the main road.

Wu Wonsong also saw the Three Blade Sect party from the boat.

The movement of a group of cavalry was quite extraordinary.

'Are they the Three Blade Sect's Fire Heaven Brigade? They are indeed as rumored. A bloody battle will be unavoidable.'

He had heard rumors that the Three Blade Sect's Fire Heaven Brigade had only thirty men, but that each individual's martial arts were outstanding.

As soon as the boat reached the port, Wu Wonsong sent a messenger to order his subordinates coming by land to follow, and immediately gave chase.

"What a pain in the ass at this old age."

Unsal grumbled and followed behind.

***

As the Three Blade Sect got closer, Yeon Hwasim's head was complicated with various thoughts.

When she left the Three Blade Sect, she had left with a vague but certain hope that it would come true.

As she had wished, she had met Kang Sogun and was on her way to the Three Blade Sect.

In the process, Gu Yangun had died.

Although it was unintentional, she could not say that she was not responsible for his death.

It was as clear as day how the Heavenly Martial Faction would react.

She had heard through rumors how the Heavenly Martial Faction had treated the sects that went against them.

She had heard that some sects had been completely annihilated. So she was even more afraid.

Yeon Hwasim looked at Kang Sogun.

Initially, she had intended to get his help to repel the Heavenly Martial Faction's marriage proposal and threats.

She would have had nothing more to wish for if she could just form an alliance instead of being under the Heavenly Martial Faction.

Now that she had killed Gu Yangun, that possibility had disappeared.

What would happen if her father found out about this?

Yeon Hwasim's heart was heavy.

Jungrang, who was running with his lightness skill, occasionally looked at Kang Sogun's back.

He was curious about Kang Sogun's identity.

He had never heard of a master like him anywhere.

The man who had been on the verge of death until yesterday was riding a horse today.

'No matter how many strange and eccentric people there are in the martial world, could there be a being who just fell from the sky like this?'

Jungrang felt that the way Kang Sogun rode his horse was somehow familiar.

Jungrang had wandered the northern regions during his ronin days. At that time, he had seen cavalrymen who slept and ate on their horses.

Kang Sogun's horsemanship was reminiscent of a cavalryman.

'Was he in the military?'

Just then,

Yeon Hwasim, who was ahead, suddenly stopped. Jungrang, who was following behind, shot up and landed in front of Yeon Hwasim.

The main road was blocked by a wall of people.

They were all dressed in black martial arts attire, and there was no insignia to identify which faction they belonged to.

Nevertheless, he could tell who they were.

'The Heavenly Martial Faction?'

Yeon Hwasim and Jungrang exchanged gloomy glances.

'We only have an hour to go.'

The number of enemies seemed to be about thirty.

But the number was not the problem.

'Each and every one of them is a formidable person.'

Jungrang muttered to himself as he looked at the men blocking the front.

Their momentum was different from the Heaven's Mandate Brigade. Should he say that he felt a kind of gloomy scent of blood?

Jungrang instinctively knew that they were a cut above the Fire Heaven Brigade, the elite that the Three Blade Sect prided itself on.

He felt like he knew why the Heavenly Martial Faction occupied one of the Four Great Powers of the world.

"Who are you?"

"You don't need to know. If you submit obediently, you won't die right away."

The Amcheon First Team Leader, Heukgwi, said to Yeon Hwasim without even glancing at Jungrang.

Yeon Hwasim retorted.

"You don't even explain who you are or what your intentions are, and you just tell us to submit unconditionally. Moreover, this is the territory of the Three Blade Sect! Who on earth would follow that order?"

A cold killing intent rose from Heukgwi's entire body.

Yeon Hwasim and Jungrang had to raise their internal energy to withstand the surging killing intent.

"Kill that bastard and capture the woman and the man on horseback alive."

Heukgwi ordered his subordinates.

The Heavenly Martial Faction's Dark Heaven Brigade was divided into three teams of thirty men each. The number of members was small, but each individual's martial arts were outstanding. So they were deployed when an enemy needed to be quietly wiped out.

The Dark Heaven Brigade was a place where ruthless killing demons gathered. Among them, Heukgwi, who was the first team leader, was in a bad mood.

This was the first time he had received an order to capture someone.

He just wanted to finish it quickly and go back.

The thirty Dark Heaven Brigade members instantly raised their killing intent like sharp swords.

Jungrang drew his sword and stood firm.

Yeon Hwasim bit her lip, then rode her horse forward and stood in front of Jungrang, shouting.

"Stop!"

Heukgwi looked at Yeon Hwasim and raised his hand to stop his subordinates.

"What is it?"

"I will go with you. But I have a condition."

"A condition?"

"Those two have no responsibility for Gu Yangun's death. If you let them go, I will follow you obediently."

Yeon Hwasim tried to make a deal for the safety of Jungrang and Kang Sogun. Jungrang stepped forward again.

"What are you talking about!"

His face said it was out of the question.

Yeon Hwasim said to Jungrang with tears in her eyes.

"I'm grateful just for coming this far. There's no need for you to die too, Jungrang. It's something I have to face anyway."

Jungrang, as if it were not even worth considering, stood facing the Dark Heaven Brigade and aimed his sword.

"If you want to take someone, you'll have to break this sword first."

Heukgwi let out a strange laugh.

"Kekeke. I've seen countless bastards like you. The result was always the same."

Heukgwi gestured with his hand.

"What are you doing? Do as that bastard wishes!"

The two Dark Heaven Brigade members who were in the lead ran out like the wind.

The men in black, who were running with their hands on the sabers at their waists, drew their sabers when they reached Jungrang.

The moment a cold gleam flashed, two sabers flew towards Jungrang's neck and side.

Instead of avoiding, Jungrang took a step forward and spun his body forcefully.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The two sabers and Jungrang's sword clashed three or four times in an instant.

The men in black seemed to retreat to the sides, then turned and attacked again.

As if they had been working together for a long time, one persistently aimed for the neck and the other for the waist.

A whirlwind arose from the momentum of the sabers, and dust flew.

Jungrang's sword deflected the flying sabers and avoided a direct clash.

In an instant, the three exchanged over twenty moves.

A strange light flashed in Heukgwi's eyes.

The combined attack of two Dark Heaven Brigade members could face an elder of a sect.

He had not thought that a mere escort warrior could fight on par with two of them.

The sabers of the men in black were fierce, but Jungrang's sword was flexible and fast.

Clang, clang!

Jungrang felt that his sword forms were flowing much more smoothly than usual.

Jungrang had accepted this place as his place of death today. When he emptied his mind, his sword became freer.

The essence of the Heavenly Star Sixty-Four Forms, which he had so desired while training every night, flashed through his mind.

Jungrang's sword stirred the sky and then fell.

Swish! Swish! Swish

(End of Chapter)