Cheon So-Seon (1)
Crack!
The man’s head was crushed in the woman’s thick hand.
As they stared at the horrifying sight, everyone trembled in fear. They were people who had passed through hellish training, but the sight of a comrade’s head being crushed right before their eyes was truly horrifying.
“Say that again. What did you say happened?”
The owner of the sharp voice, which was different from usual and did not suit her appearance at all, was Black Stone.
Her generous figure remained the same, but her kind face had vanished. Rather, once the impression that had seemed so pleasant turned cold, she felt even more terrifying.
She grabbed the second man by the collar and lifted him up in a flash. The men who were prostrating themselves flat on the ground were the Demon Banners who had returned alive.
“Please spare me!”
“It doesn’t make sense, does it? How could you fail?”
“Please spare me!”
Puh-eok! Crack!
This time, under Black Stone’s palm strike, the man’s chest shattered and he was slammed into the ground.
“That is not what I wanted to hear, is it?”
At the sharp killing intent, the Demon Banner warriors all lowered their heads at once.
She was truly furious. Until the Mad Blood Martial Pain Army had been annihilated, she had been able to endure it. Since the opponent was who he was, that level of sacrifice could happen.
But the death of the Demon Banner Leader and the near-annihilating damage they had suffered was a serious problem. It was something for which she could not avoid the organization’s punishment.
Moreover, when she thought about that hateful White Stone rejoicing after hearing this news, her anger rose all the way to the top of her head.
The dozen or so Demon Banners kept their heads lowered in unison and did not even breathe loudly.
“So, what damage did the enemies suffer?”
Because they were watching her mood, no one could answer. They felt that if they opened their mouths first, they would die.
“These useless things cannot even answer! What is the point of keeping you alive?”
Her hand went down toward the iron disc hanging at her waist. At that sight, one of the men spoke quickly.
“Their losses were almost nonexistent.”
“What?”
Black Stone was startled. She had thought that at the very least, the Fierce Tiger Unit would have been completely annihilated. She had thought that Ma Bong-Gi would have barely escaped alive while injured. Even that was the result of giving him the greatest possible concession. Unless there was some unexpected variable, the Demon Banner Leader and fifty Demon Banners should have been more than enough to kill Ma Bong-Gi.
“Ma Bong-Gi’s Martial Arts were tremendous. On top of that, the Fierce Tiger Unit bastards faced us with the Hyeonhyeon Formation, so we were helplessly defeated.”
From the perspective of the Demon Banners who had fled, their only path was to exaggerate the enemy’s skill.
“If it was the Hyeonhyeon Formation, then Gal Sa-Ryang must have commanded them. Still, that alone should not have been enough to stop you. Are you truly saying Ma Bong-Gi had a hidden move?”
“Yes.”
“By now, he must have met him at the Namhyeon Escort Agency.”
“……Yes.”
More than the fact that the Demon Banners had failed, Black Stone found his existence even more troublesome and frightening.
Originally, Ma Bong-Gi should have been dead, and from tomorrow onward, they should have carried out a new plan at the Namhyeon Escort Agency. But things had gone terribly wrong.
She took out the iron disc. The disc’s sharp edge glimmered eerily.
In case it flew toward them, the Demon Banner warriors trembled all over.
Clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter.
The iron disc spun and flew through the air. Fortunately, it passed over their heads and flew far away.
Piiiiiiiiii.
The iron disc, which had flown far away while letting out a metallic sound that irritated the ears, drew a full circle and flew back toward them. The iron disc flew back at a speed incomparable to when it had flown away and swept through the men.
Chwaaaaaak!
Slice! Slice-slice-slice! Slice!
The remaining men were all cut apart by the iron disc and died.
“It would be better if all of you had simply been annihilated.”
Her eyes were utterly merciless.
The iron disc floating in the air flew into her thick hand as if being sucked in. The sharp thing that had been spinning so fast it could not even be seen stopped gently in her hand.
One of her subordinates, who had been watching from one side, swallowed hard. It was not the first or second time he had seen her kill people with the iron disc, but every time he saw it, he had to tremble from the chill.
Fortunately, after committing a round of slaughter, it seemed her anger had eased somewhat.
“Where is Whip Elder now?”
“He is currently……”
At that moment, a booming voice rang out.
“I am here, you damned bitch.”
The voice came from a tree branch a little distance away.
A short old man who looked sturdy was standing at the end of a branch. The thin branch did not bend at all. Just by looking at that, one could tell how tremendous the old man’s level of Martial Arts was. A whip was coiled around the old man’s waist.
Black Stone smiled as she looked at him.
“Have you picked up a hobby of peeping in your old age?”
“Watch your mouth.”
“I only said it because you startled people without making a sound.”
“You rotten bitch. Does it feel good to beat people on your own side to death like that?”
Black Stone’s gaze toward Whip Elder deepened.
“You should worry about yourself first, senior. Right now, everyone is dying left and right.”
Whip Elder frowned. However, her words were true. The Mad Blood Martial Pain Army and the Demon Banners were very troublesome opponents. The fact that they had failed their missions one after another was truly unexpected.
But there was another reason that was decisively getting on Whip Elder’s nerves.
“I heard Elder Go died?”
The Mad Blood Martial Pain Army might have been troublesome, and the Demon Banners could be handled. But Elder Go was not someone one could easily make assurances about. He was a truly troublesome expert.
Black Stone nodded seriously.
“Unless he took a charming woman like me and set up a household somewhere, Elder Go is already dead. Now, choose. Either set up a household with me, or take revenge.”
“Crazy bitch.”
When Whip Elder launched himself from the tree branch, he moved far away from that place in an instant.
“Let us go as well.”
Black Stone launched herself forward. Her generous body flew as swiftly as a swallow skimming over water.
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“Where have you come from?”
When the gatekeeper of the escort agency bowed politely to us, we were tightly on guard against a surprise attack. We had thought hidden weapons might fly from somewhere, but instead, that worry was held by the person who opened the gate.
After all, more than ten Jianghu people reeking strongly of blood were glaring at him while fully tense.
Surprisingly, the Namhyeon Escort Agency was operating normally. Even though the nearby Grand Martial Alliance branch had been massacred, they were no different from usual. It seemed they did not even know such a thing had happened.
“We have come to see the agency chief.”
At Gal Sa-Ryang’s words, the man asked again.
“How should I announce where you have come from?”
“Tell him we have come from the Grand Martial Alliance.”
The man flinched in surprise. That reaction definitely felt as if he had known nothing at all about our visit.
“Understood. Please wait a moment.”
Leaving us standing there, the man went inside. Usually, guests would be guided to a guest hall first before contacting the agency chief, but it seemed he had judged us to be unusual.
A short while later, a middle-aged man who looked like an escort head appeared again.
“Please follow me.”
He led us inside.
The inside of the escort agency was moving busily. In the large training ground, laborers and cart handlers were loading goods onto carriages and carts, while escort heads and escorts moved around busily.
He did not lead us to the main building where the agency chief was, but instead guided us to a detached building in the rear garden.
In the small guest hall of the detached building, one man was waiting for us.
Surprisingly, he was the same man who had once been playing Go alone when he met Bright Moon Unit Leader Zuo Tie-Long. The man, whose skin was as white as white jade and who was truly handsome, greeted Ma Bong-Gi with a smile.
“Welcome, Alliance Lord. It is truly an honor to meet the Murim Alliance Lord, who stands above ten thousand people. My name is Cheon So-Seon.”
Ma Bong-Gi, who had stood blankly for a moment, realized that the person he had so desperately wanted to meet was the man before his eyes.
“Could it be you?”
“That is right. It is me.”
Because the other party was so young, Ma Bong-Gi was startled.
Cheon So-Seon’s greeting continued. This time, he recognized Gal Sa-Ryang.
“I have heard of Strategist Gal’s fame for a long time. I truly wanted to meet you, and it is an honor that my dream has come true today.”
He also recognized Lim Jung-Tae, the Fierce Tiger Unit Leader, and shockingly, he even recognized me.
“You must be Strategist Byeok, who received an exceptional promotion this time. I heard you possessed outstanding talent despite your young age. It is a pleasure to meet you. Now, please sit.”
Ma Bong-Gi and Gal Sa-Ryang sat facing him.
I stood behind Gal Sa-Ryang, while Lim Jung-Tae and the Fierce Tiger Unit warriors stood around us. As if making our vigilance seem meaningless, no one appeared on Cheon So-Seon’s side.
I observed Cheon So-Seon.
First of all, he was handsome. He was so handsome that I wondered if I had ever seen a man that handsome across both my lives. His skin was white and clean, his body was slender, and his arms and legs were long. His bearing was calm, and his eyes were full of confidence.
Surprisingly, I could not sense Cheon So-Seon’s exact skill.
In other words, that meant he was at least similar to my current skill level, or above it.
At such a young age? How on earth?
“Was there anything uncomfortable on your way here?”
Cheon So-Seon spoke as if the Demonic Cult’s attack had absolutely nothing to do with him.
What was uncomfortable was Ma Bong-Gi’s expression. Since it seemed things would go badly if left alone, Gal Sa-Ryang stepped in instead.
“We came comfortably.”
“Haha, that is a relief.”
A few formal words were exchanged about the scenery of Zhejiang.
In the end, Ma Bong-Gi could not control his emotions.
“Is it really you?”
Ma Bong-Gi spat out a cold sentence that froze the atmosphere.
Cheon So-Seon quietly stared at Ma Bong-Gi. It was impossible to tell what thoughts his deep eyes contained. To the rude question, Cheon So-Seon answered politely.
“Yes, it is me.”
“Is it really you?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
I could understand the meaning contained in that question.
Are you truly the person behind me?
And hidden within this question was one key doubt.
A young bastard like you?
Ma Bong-Gi could not believe it. Among the people behind him whom he had imagined several times a day, there had not been even one bastard this young.
Cheon So-Seon said that it was him, but the conclusion I reached was this.
It is not him.
Cheon So-Seon was certainly an extraordinary person with unfathomable depth.
But he was not the one. Based on facts only I knew, even Number Seven had been raised by an elite organization from a young age. It was an organization that had been prepared for at least ten to twenty years. Perhaps even longer than that. Unless Cheon So-Seon had prepared it all since he was a little child, his age did not match.
Cheon So-Seon calmly asked Ma Bong-Gi.
“I heard the Alliance Lord wanted to see me?”
Ma Bong-Gi was speechless and could not say anything. The first emotion that rose in him was anger.
Of course, Ma Bong-Gi could also sense that the man possessed tremendous bearing. Cheon So-Seon was an expert whom everyone here would acknowledge.
But the problem for Ma Bong-Gi was not the opponent’s skill.
He was enraged to the top of his head by the fact that such a green youngster, and one who looked like a girl at that, had been manipulating him.
If there was someone else behind Cheon So-Seon, that too was something to be angry about. After all, that person had not come personally and had instead sent such a young man in his place. In every way, Ma Bong-Gi was on the verge of exploding.
“Are you satisfied now?”
Ma Bong-Gi still did not say anything.
I thought that this moment explained the human being Ma Bong-Gi better than anything else.
He was a terrible authoritarian.
If the other party had been an old man with white hair, by now many different words would have come out of his mouth.
Why did you make me the Alliance Lord? What is it that you want?
But he could not escape his anger. His pride had been wounded, and he did not know what to do.
The important thing was that the person behind him had manipulated and toyed with him. What did the other party’s age matter?
It was because Ma Bong-Gi had this thought in his heart: young people were targets for him to use, so being defeated by young people was shameful.
On the other hand, Cheon So-Seon’s eyes seemed to see through all of it.
Inwardly, I sighed.
Ma Bong-Gi, Ma Bong-Gi. He may be younger than you, but he is an opponent you cannot handle.
Cheon So-Seon smiled and said,
“Well then, you must be tired from coming all this way. Please rest for today, and we will talk tomorrow.”
“That would be best.”
Gal Sa-Ryang agreed with that opinion. He must have judged that if the conversation continued like this, Ma Bong-Gi might cause an accident.
We also stood up together.
The escort head who had guided us to the guest hall earlier came again and guided us to our quarters.
Cheon So-Seon remained alone in the guest hall after everyone had left.
Black Stone, dressed entirely in black, entered the place. Unlike her usual self, she was tense.
“Were you not originally supposed to receive a report here about how Ma Bong-Gi died?”
His question was calm, but his eyes were very cold.
“I apologize.”
Black Stone lowered her head without making any other excuse. She was a woman who feared nothing in the world, but there were exactly two things she feared. The Elder, and the man right in front of her.
“I do not think this is something that ends with an apology.”
He spoke as if offering a casual comment on someone else’s affair, but Black Stone trembled. It was because she knew very well that just as she had cut down the Demon Banners without warning, Cheon So-Seon was more than capable of doing the same.
“Ma Bong-Gi’s skill was greater than we expected.”
“Or perhaps your skill was lower than I expected?”
Cheon So-Seon stared at Black Stone as if glaring, then turned his gaze out the window.
“When one thing gets tangled, everything gets tangled.”
“I apologize.”
“Now then, in any case, what has become tangled must be untangled. Ma Cheol-Gun is coming here. What do you intend to do about him?”
“Ma Bong-Gi will definitely be dealt with tonight. Therefore, though the details will change slightly, the plan will be able to proceed without a hitch.”
Cheon So-Seon nodded.
“It had better. If Ma Bong-Gi is still in my sight tomorrow morning……”
Cheon So-Seon looked at Black Stone meaningfully.
“White may win by resignation.”
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