By Zephyria 
Ak Mujin’s provocation caused Namgung Munhong to grit his teeth and shout.
“Everyone! Deploy the formation!”
No sooner had the order been given than the Namgung Clan warriors moved swiftly to their positions. As Ak Mujin had anticipated, a middle-aged man stood at the center of the formation. He, like the head of a dragon, was the first to raise his sword and charge, followed by Namgung Munhong who unleashed a combined attack, which was then received by other warriors who seamlessly continued the assault like flowing water.
Ak Mujin smoothly parried the relentless, pouring attacks. Indeed, Moonless was a well-forged sword. He didn’t know what had changed, but Moonless was listening to Ak Mujin very well.
However, even in this situation, he couldn’t bring himself to kill anyone. There had been times when he had no choice but to kill, but that was truly confined to those times alone.
No matter how cheap human life might be in the martial arts genre, the deaths Ak Mujin had witnessed were very real. He wanted to avoid extreme actions if possible.
But contrary to Ak Mujin’s wishes, his moves were filled with murderous intent, a result of the Demon Art he had learned under the Cult Leader. If he were determined, he could kill all the assassins within ten moves, but as he consciously tried not to kill, his sword tip would extend and then falter, extend and then falter, repeatedly.
Besides, Ak Mujin’s main objective was to protect Jin Geum-ryeon. Therefore, there were limitations to his attacks.
“Hiyah!”
At that moment, Cheong-aeng, who had subdued the assassins in front of the courtyard, disrupted the formation and caught the assassins off guard. As the formation collapsed, the pressure on Ak Mujin lessened, making it easier to fight. He felt grateful to Cheong-aeng and briefly met her eyes.
Namgung Munhong had anticipated a tough fight, but as the battle didn’t unfold as he had hoped, he grew anxious. Seeing Jin Geum-ryeon standing idly behind this master without even drawing his sword reminded him of their encounter at the inn.
Back then, Jin Geum-ryeon had clearly blocked Namgung Munhong’s attacks with just the hilt of his sword. Didn’t that action feel as if he wasn’t even worth drawing a sword for? Namgung Munhong became enraged at the thought that Jin Geum-ryeon was mocking him.
Fueled by his competitive spirit, he mustered all his strength to approach Jin Geum-ryeon, crossing swords with the unknown master. However, after exchanging a few blows, he suddenly realized that this master’s swordsmanship was somewhat strange. The master’s swordsmanship was undoubtedly sharp, flawless, and strong. Not comparable to Jin Geum-ryeon, but certainly superior to Namgung Munhong’s skill.
Therefore, a warrior of this caliber should have already decapitated half of the assassins he had brought by early evening. But the opponent’s swordsmanship was filled with hesitation, and at crucial moments, the sword kept retreating.
Namgung Munhong’s lips curled into a smirk. It seemed that the man had only cultivated Inner Force and was merely a showy, inexperienced novice with no real combat experience. If that were the case, there was no need to cling to this master. No. Was there even a reason to call such a man a master?
No sooner had that thought crossed his mind than Namgung Munhong shouted.
“Focus on the Evil Cult Lord, not the ugly fool in front! I thought he was a master, but he’s just a useless guy who can’t even kill a single person!”
Upon hearing those words, the Namgung Clan Elders and warriors all looked at Ak Mujin, then shifted their target to Jin Geum-ryeon, who was standing quietly behind him. They had come to target him from the start, but they were struggling somewhat because of the unexpected master. If he was just a clumsy novice with high defense, the story was different.
The Namgung Clan warriors quickly changed their formation and moved in unison, seemingly determined to confuse Ak Mujin.
“Jin Geum-ryeon, draw your sword!”
Ak Mujin was slightly flustered but steadily fought off the assassins and shouted behind him. He couldn’t tell Jin Geum-ryeon to run away because he was currently unable to use Light Body Skill due to his Inner Force being restricted. If he wasn’t careful, things could really go wrong, so he had to at least hold a sword.
Jin Geum-ryeon, who was still blushing for some reason, was looking at Ak Mujin, but nodded at his words and drew his sword.
It was at that moment.
Namgung Munhong seemed to thrust his sword at Ak Mujin, but then withdrew it and changed direction, reaching out towards Jin Geum-ryeon.
Clang!
Jin Geum-ryeon quickly raised his sword to block it, but the sword broke in two with that single attack. Namgung Munhong was surprised even though he was the one who attacked.
No matter how poor the sword was, its strength varied depending on who wielded it. Therefore, a master of the Evil Cult Lord’s caliber would not have had his weapon broken so easily, no matter what weapon he was holding.
In fact, Namgung Munhong had been somewhat afraid of Jin Geum-ryeon’s skill even as he came to strike him. But for some reason, Jin Geum-ryeon’s condition seemed unusual, and he suddenly realized that this was a golden opportunity.
“Haha! Indeed, even the heavens are helping me!”
Ak Mujin felt a chill down his spine and turned around.
“Ugh…!”
It was the moment when the tip of Namgung Munhong’s sword pierced Jin Geum-ryeon’s chest by about an inch. With fire in his eyes, he swung his sword at Namgung Munhong’s right arm without hesitation.
Jin Geum-ryeon’s eyes widened.
“A… Aaaagh!!”
The arm with which Namgung Munhong had wielded his sword was cleanly severed. His scream caused the warriors who were attacking Ak Mujin to stop momentarily.
“Munhong!”
The middle-aged Elder screamed and flew towards Namgung Munhong, supporting him. The seemingly endless battle had continued, but this was the first time so much blood had been shed. The Elder handed Namgung Munhong over to a nearby warrior and shouted at the top of his lungs.
“These Black Faction bastards dared to harm our family…! What are you doing! Go and bring their heads!”
Ak Mujin’s heart pounded for a moment at the fact that he had cut off a person’s arm, but his eyes shone brightly.
I must come to my senses. Jin Geum-ryeon was weakened because of me, and what if he dies because I keep acting like an idiot? The thought made his head grow cold. He couldn’t keep dragging out the battle like this.
He gripped Moonless tightly and took a deep breath towards the group quickly approaching, led by the Elder. And he swung Moonless, shouting the technique he had been unable to utter all along.
“Crimson Shadow Severing Rend!”
“Ack!”
“Cough!”
“Ugh!”
A lightning-like streak of red light split into several branches from Moonless’s blade and burst forth. The group at the front were all struck by the Sword Aura and fell away, disappearing under the roof. The Elder barely managed to withstand being pushed back, but he also suffered a large wound on his upper body, clutching the affected area, vomiting blood, and crouching down.
The Namgung Clan group, who had been watching the scene from behind, hesitated. They couldn’t bring themselves to approach and only stirred. With Namgung Munhong having fainted after his arm was cut off, and even the Elder injured, who could they rely on now?
As Ak Mujin raised Moonless high once more, the warriors who witnessed it began to move hastily. Without a leader to give orders, they had no choice. It would be the most foolish thing to jump into the fire and be annihilated in this situation. In the end, they supported the injured and hurriedly began to leave the Plum Blossom Forest.
Only after confirming that all the assassins had disappeared could Ak Mujin lower the sword from his slightly trembling hand. The sensation of cutting off Namgung Munhong’s arm still lingered at his fingertips, and he couldn’t shake off the unpleasant feeling. As he stood still for a moment, somewhat confused, Jin Geum-ryeon took a step forward and stood before him before he could even sort out his thoughts.
Only then did Ak Mujin come to his senses, but he couldn’t bring himself to look at Jin Geum-ryeon’s face. He could only stare at the chest at eye level, and the bloodstains caused by Jin Geum-ryeon’s injury due to his clumsiness caught his eye.
Ak Mujin frowned as much as he could. Guilt pricked at his heart.
“I’m sorry… because of me…”
He had nothing to say, so he chose to close his mouth after mumbling. Cheong-aeng came up belatedly, but Jin Geum-ryeon did not look back and silently bent down to pick up Moonless, which Ak Mujin had dropped. Then he took Ak Mujin’s right hand and placed it in his grip. Ak Mujin blinked.
“…Don’t you… have a sword.”
Only then did Ak Mujin’s eyes look up at Jin Geum-ryeon’s face. He smiled bitterly.
“Go.”
Cheong-aeng looked at Jin Geum-ryeon in surprise. Jin Geum-ryeon’s gaze was still directed at Ak Mujin.
“…I won’t hold you back.”