By Zephyria Is this living? (4)
“I have some medicine. Let me at least give you some first aid.”
“Really? Thank you!”
Namgung Cheon-chu obediently entrusted himself to Seong Mu-yeon.
It was fortunate that his belongings hadn’t been taken. He temporarily treated his wounds with the vulnerary medicine Il-gwang had given him.
Then, he fiddled with a round elixir inside his sleeve. He hesitated whether to give it to him, but soon held it out to Namgung Cheon-chu.
“Eat this. It’s a Jeongsimdan.”
“……H, how can I take something so precious.”
It was a medicine that helped restore strength or recover from minor internal injuries. Martial artists carried one or two as emergency medicine, but it was a precious medicine that ordinary people couldn’t even imagine.
“Use this medicine to recover. And after you get out of here, you must not forget who gave you the Jeongsimdan. Understand?”
“Of course! I will never forget!”
Namgung Cheon-chu ate the Jeongsimdan and closed his eyes to concentrate.
Seong Mu-yeon also closed his eyes, put his hands together, and prayed earnestly.
‘Please, I hope your intentions don’t change after you leave.’
A moment later, a group of people opened the door and appeared.
“Hurry up and get out!”
The thugs lined up the people locked in the iron cages in the hallway in order. Finally, the door of the iron cage where Seong Mu-yeon was locked was opened.
“What are you doing? Why don’t you come out when you have eyes.”
“Ah, yes……”
A menacing-looking thug kicked Seong Mu-yeon’s butt. It was because he wasn’t moving fast enough. Seong Mu-yeon remembered the thug’s face.
“What are you looking at?! Do you want to die?!”
“Ah, no……”
‘Just you wait.’
As Seong Mu-yeon went to the back of the line, the thug slung the limp Namgung Cheon-chu over his shoulder.
They took the people upstairs. The upper floor was a wide-open space, and there were dozens more frightened commoners besides the people who came up with Seong Mu-yeon.
‘……What are they trying to do with these people.’
Seong Mu-yeon was a Young master who had grown up in the Demonic Cult his whole life, so he knew the ecosystem of the Demonic Cult well. Even for him, it was an incomprehensible sight.
Although the Demonic Cult was a scourge of the Central Plains that committed all sorts of bad deeds, they didn’t touch ordinary people. That was what all the Sects of the Central Plains martial arts world were wary of.
The imperial family was turning a blind eye to their existence as an armed group, but the moment they crossed an invisible line, they would send out a subjugation force.
While Seong Mu-yeon was looking around, the door opened and a middle-aged man entered with escorts. But he didn’t even glance at the hostages. It was as if he was treating them like decorations or objects.
Namgung Cheon-chu was also tied up and sprawled at his feet.
‘Oh, that person is……!’
It was someone Seong Mu-yeon knew well. It was Chief Heo Ji-bu, the branch manager who attended when big events were held at the headquarters.
Like other Sects, the Demonic Cult opened branches in other regions to manage businesses, and he was one of the managers.
Chief Heo stood in front of the altar in the center and fiddled with something. He had his back turned, so it wasn’t visible what he was doing.
“W, what are you trying to do to us!”
One of the hostages, a courageous person, shouted at Chief Heo.
But Chief Heo, as well as the warriors, completely ignored him. It was as if they would pay more attention to a dog barking somewhere.
“I said, what are you doing!”
He shouted once more, enraged by being ignored.
That was the beginning. Once one person opened the floodgates, the people who had been as quiet as the dead began to stir and murmur.
Some burst into tears, and some tried to break away from the line.
As the situation became uncontrollable in an instant, Chief Heo gestured to his subordinate standing next to him.
“Make an example of one of them and show them what happens if they resist.”
“Yes.”
The subordinate drew the greatsword from his waist. People were in a state of panic and didn’t even know what was happening, and it was extremely chaotic.
The man strode towards the person who had protested first. Then, without a moment’s hesitation, he raised his sword.
“Ah, no……!”
The moment Seong Mu-yeon witnessed that scene, the greatsword mercilessly cut through the air.
Whoosh-!
“……”
People also noticed the anomaly and closed their mouths. Silence fell in the hall.
Seong Mu-yeon saw it.
Namgung Cheon-chu, who had been sprawled out haphazardly, had somehow risen and was standing there blocking the sword. What blocked the greatsword was none other than his belt. His arms, holding the belt with both hands and bearing the weight of the greatsword, trembled.
“That bastard, when did he……!”
“Keugh.”
Namgung Cheon-chu barely held on. The belt, hastily infused with inner force, gradually sagged, and soon Namgung Cheon-chu’s knees fell to the floor.
“Subdue that guy!”
The middle-aged man shouted. More than a dozen Demonic Cult martial artists, who had been stationed around, rushed in at once.
The moment the belt snapped, Namgung Cheon-chu released his strength and rolled his body.
Clang!
Thanks to that, the greatsword couldn’t overcome its inertia and plunged into the floor. Namgung Cheon-chu tripped the man, whose center of gravity was disrupted, and snatched the greatsword.
As Namgung Cheon-chu raised the greatsword high into the sky, the martial artists hesitated and couldn’t approach any further.
“Wow!”
Cheers erupted at the appearance of the savior. Namgung Cheon-chu showed off a feat of twirling the sword as if to show off.
Seong Mu-yeon’s face, who was watching the scene, quickly soured.
‘Is this the time to be doing that…….’
Unlike his boasting, Namgung Cheon-chu fought well. Having recovered some of his inner force and internal injuries with the elixir, he was truly like a fish in water.
“You’re all dead, you filthy Demonic Cult bastards!”
Whoosh-!
“Kuaaagh!”
Every time the huge greatsword, filled with inner force, stirred the air, the Demonic Cult martial artists were helplessly sent flying and crashed into the wall.
It was so refreshing that just watching it made one’s heart feel clear.
‘Win! Namgung Cheon-chu, win!’
Seong Mu-yeon cheered enthusiastically from among the people. There was no other way to help.
At this rate, it seemed like he could safely escape with his help.
But life was not so easy.
Thump, thud.
An eerie vibration began to sound and gradually grew closer.
A martial artist with an enormous physique, large enough to fill the door, appeared. For a moment, Seong Mu-yeon thought a heavenly god had descended. Holding a huge glaive that ignored perspective in one hand, he looked like a grim reaper from hell.
Thump, thud.
The floor shook every time he took a step.
Chief Heo, who had been hiding somewhere when Namgung Cheon-chu was rampaging, reappeared and shouted.
“Geo-ryang! Subdue that Namgung bastard! Just keep him alive!”
“Yes! Branch manager!”
Namgung Cheon-chu’s face turned pale at the appearance of the new enemy. The thing was, Geo-ryang was 1.5 times bigger than Namgung Cheon-chu.
Geo-ryang moved his huge body nimbly, unlike his size.
Clang!
Geo-ryang’s glaive tried to cut Namgung Cheon-chu in one fell swoop, but only struck the innocent floor.
Namgung Cheon-chu narrowly avoided the attack.
As the two began to fight, the other martial artists took a step back and watched leisurely. They firmly believed that Geo-ryang would get rid of Namgung Cheon-chu.
On the other hand, Namgung Cheon-chu was already seriously injured, so his reactions were dulled. Namgung Cheon-chu, who was flustered, looked clearly nervous.
Seong Mu-yeon was just as flustered.
‘This shouldn’t be happening.’
According to his plan, Namgung Cheon-chu was supposed to wipe out this branch. At least, he had to buy time to call for help from the outside.
‘Ugh, wasn’t I just wasting a precious Jeongsimdan?’
If Baek Ryeo-il had been in this place instead of Namgung Cheon-chu, that Geo-ryang bastard would have died without even making a peep. He had subdued Il-gwang, a renowned master, with one move.
‘It’s my fault for comparing him to Baek Ryeo-il.’
Seong Mu-yeon felt a little sorry for Namgung Cheon-chu. Still, wasn’t he fighting so hard?
Clang!
Namgung Cheon-chu’s greatsword and Geo-ryang’s glaive collided head-on.
“Keugh……!”
Judging by the difference in size, Namgung Cheon-chu was displaying amazing strength to block the glaive, but his feet kept sliding backward. There was no way to overcome the disadvantage of the difference in physique.
Eventually, Namgung Cheon-chu tried to retreat by retracting his sword first. Geo-ryang did not miss the opportunity.
Thwack!
He struck Namgung Cheon-chu with the body of the glaive.
After that, a breathtaking exchange followed. Geo-ryang’s glaive relentlessly drove Namgung Cheon-chu. Namgung Cheon-chu swung the greatsword here and there to block it.
But the greatsword itself was heavy, and as Namgung Cheon-chu’s body gradually lost strength, small wounds began to appear.
“Keugh!”
Eventually, Namgung Cheon-chu dropped his sword.
Geo-ryang’s fierce kick sent the greatsword flying. Namgung Cheon-chu tried to get up without giving up, but he reached his limit and kept collapsing to the floor.
Geo-ryang approached him with the relaxed steps of a victor.
“Haa……. Haa…….”
Namgung Cheon-chu’s eyes were still shining brightly without dying. But it was clear that he didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger.
“You told me not to kill him. I’ll have to take one of his legs. It would be troublesome if he rampaged again.”
Geo-ryang raised his glaive. A huge shadow fell over Namgung Cheon-chu’s body.
At that moment.
“Wait!”
The person who jumped between Namgung Cheon-chu and the thug with a loud shout was, of course, Seong Mu-yeon.