By Zephyria 
“Someone please explain what on earth is going on!”
Paeng Oe-cheol shouted in confusion. However, everyone present was just as shocked as he was, so no answer came.
The nephew he had traveled so far to rescue was out of his mind, and the eldest nephew he thought was dead was not only alive but a traitor who held a position in the Divine Demon Sect?
He didn’t want to believe it. He hoped instead that the person called the Left Horse General was a master of disguise and had impersonated Peng Yuan-jin to induce chaos after being pushed into a disadvantage by the appearance of the Hwasan Sect.
But there was no way Paeng Oe-cheol could fail to recognize the eldest nephew he had watched over since birth. The gaze, the aura emanating from his attitude… by any measure, it was undoubtedly his eldest nephew, Peng Yuan-jin.
‘Does that mean… Seong Mu-yeon was truly innocent?’
As that thought occurred to him, Paeng Oe-cheol flinched involuntarily and looked at Seong Mu-yeon. Standing on a ledge of the cliff, Seong Mu-yeon held Peng Yuan-jin’s vital point in his grip, his clothes fluttering in the night wind.
Even from far below, one could feel that he was not in a particularly pleasant mood.
Peng Yuan-jin was the very person who had framed Seong Mu-yeon.
Even if a crime had been committed, blood is thicker than water, and the arm bends inward. Paeng Oe-cheol was worried that Seong Mu-yeon might kill him.
Furthermore, the Paeng Clan had declared Seong Mu-yeon an irreconcilable enemy and pressured the martial alliance to designate him a public enemy of the entire martial world. They had even scattered wanted posters across the Central Plains to ensure he could not set foot on this land.
From the perspective of Seong Mu-yeon, who must have suffered greatly hiding from people’s eyes, the Paeng Clan would be an eternal enemy.
Moreover, his nephew Peng Do-hwan had chased him for three years intending to kill him, and it seemed they had actually fought a life-or-death battle.
Since Seong Mu-yeon’s grudge against the Paeng Clan would not be light, it wouldn’t be surprising if he snapped his neck at any moment.
“Do-hwan! Wake up! I beg you!”
Meanwhile, Peng Do-hwan was causing further trouble.
Paeng Oe-cheol shouted while pinning the frantically thrashing Peng Do-hwan down with his whole body. Even though the entire Paeng Clan had rushed in immediately after Baek Ryeo-il subdued him, for some reason, they were less effective than a single person holding him down.
The battle was still in full swing. Although the Hwasan Sect was playing a major role, they were too busy dealing with the massive number of Demonic humans pouring out of the Demon Subjugation Valley to pay attention to the area above.
How much time had passed while he watched their confrontation with an anxious heart?
Suddenly, Paeng Oe-cheol felt the hair on his body stand on end. A tremendous presence was felt from within the Demon Subjugation Valley.
It wasn’t just Paeng Oe-cheol. Everyone present stopped fighting and stared intently at a certain spot on the cliff.
Rumble…
It approached rapidly. Soon, faint screams and shouts could be heard from inside.
Boom!
Then, a point on the cliff exploded.
“Aaaagh!”
What exploded were people. It was one of the exits where many Demonic humans were still crowding to escape the Demon Subjugation Valley. The thing that flew out violently pushed people aside ruthlessly and soared up under the night sky.
The man dressed in black, with the moonlight at his back, had eyes that emitted a sinister light. Paeng Oe-cheol had never seen this man before. However, he instinctively felt that he was no ordinary person.
“Myeong-gwi…”
Paeng Oe-cheol heard Baek Ryeo-il mutter with hostility. Then, Baek Ryeo-il exploded his aura and vanished from sight. In the next moment, as Baek Ryeo-il and Myeong-gwi collided in mid-air, they scattered sword light as intense as the sun.
Myeong-gwi was the direct guard who followed the Third Young Master like a limb.
The Zegal Clan, which had a history of being defeated by Myeong-gwi several times, erupted in angry voices from various places.
“Do-hwan!”
In the brief moment of distraction, Peng Do-hwan twisted his body in a surprise move and escaped his restraints. Before they could grab him again, he climbed the cliff and headed toward Peng Yuan-jin.
“Take up arms! Myeong-gwi is fighting with us!”
At Myeong-gwi’s appearance, the morale of the Demonic humans, who had been desperate to flee, soared to the sky. In the martial world, what decided victory or defeat was not the number of troops, supplies, or strategy, but a single Master.
The appearance of a reliable Master was effective in boosting morale. The Demonic humans, who knew well that they were qualitatively inferior to the orthodox sect, had been almost giving up. However, as Myeong-gwi, counted as one of the top Masters even within the Divine Demon Sect, joined them, hope that they could win began to spring up, and the battlefield, which seemed to be winding down, regained new vitality.
‘That bastard!’
Meanwhile, Seong Mu-yeon’s eyes flared upon spotting Myeong-gwi. It was a persistent ill-fate; the man had appeared frequently since three years ago to interfere in everything.
In the midst of this, he noticed Peng Do-hwan approaching him fiercely.
“Ike!”
Peng Yuan-jin didn’t miss the opportunity and launched a counterattack. While his neck was held, he drove his knee toward Seong Mu-yeon’s abdomen.
Seong Mu-yeon quickly deployed a gold-grabbing hand technique to twist the ankle joint. Peng Yuan-jin quickly relaxed his strength and tried to retract his leg.
Seong Mu-yeon’s irritation spiked at Peng Yuan-jin’s sly behavior. Moreover, the memory of how he had tried to cripple him by cutting all the tendons in his limbs resurfaced.
If he applied force now and twisted it completely, Peng Yuan-jin would never be able to use that leg again.
Isn’t it only fair to return what was received?
“Kugh…”
Peng Yuan-jin let out a painful groan as the price for his rash action. Unfortunately, before he could finish the job, Peng Do-hwan climbed up to where they were and revealed a expressionless face.
With one eye—injured during his fight with Seong Mu-yeon—covered by a black eyepatch, his appearance as he crawled up the cliff was eerie.
He immediately lunged at Seong Mu-yeon.
Despite having narrowly escaped the crisis of having his leg bone shattered, Peng Yuan-jin began a joint attack, emboldened by the arrival of reinforcements.
In the chaos of being attacked from both sides simultaneously, Peng Do-hwan’s fist strike lunged accurately toward his chest, forcing him to let go of Peng Yuan-jin.
The place they stood was not wide. It was narrow enough that ten adult men lying down would fill it.
Because the space was cramped, Peng Do-hwan did not draw his greatsword. The two brothers primarily used fist and palm techniques to press Seong Mu-yeon back.
Thus, a 2-on-1 fight began.
“How about you step aside and postpone the final battle? If you do, I’ll at least spare your life,” Peng Yuan-jin proposed with an arrogant smile. He intended to enter the Demon Subjugation Valley and escape through the secret passage.
“I don’t want to.”
With his back to the entrance, Seong Mu-yeon defended like an iron wall. When he held his own against two people without even a weapon, Peng Yuan-jin’s face hardened. It seemed he had significantly underestimated Seong Mu-yeon’s martial prowess.
“You really are a nuisance, Seven Sons. I didn’t expect you to be this capable. Now I understand why the Lord tried so hard to win you over. Therefore, it has become even more necessary to eliminate you here.”
“And you think you have the ability to do that?”
Unlike his relaxed retort, Seong Mu-yeon was not in a very relaxed state.
Though he didn’t show it outwardly, his body was under strain due to the excessive use of inner force. A metallic scent of blood repeatedly rose up his throat, and cold sweat soaked his back.
‘…I can’t let this drag on.’
“This time, you’ll have to make sure the cleanup is thorough. It would be quite frustrating if I were to be resurrected and appear again,” Peng Yuan-jin provoked him, pretending to be composed.
“Haha, you worry too much. Even if you come back to life, I’ll mince you so finely that you’ll beg me to kill you.”
“Oh, how cruel. Do others know this side of the Seven Sons? They probably think you’re soft-hearted based on your appearance.”
As the conversation grew longer, Seong Mu-yeon had less energy to respond.
The brothers’ coordination became more precise as time passed. Having worked together since birth, they were almost like one body. When one attacked, the other supported, and the speed of switching between offense and defense was so swift and accurate that it left Seong Mu-yeon dizzy.
‘If only I had a sword…’
He glanced down at the cliff where the second round of battle was raging and smacked his lips.
‘Swords are practically rolling around down there!’
Precious weapons were being kicked around at the feet of the martial artists, but there was no way for Seong Mu-yeon to get his hands on them.
Hoping that someone might recognize his situation and pick up a sword to throw to him, Seong Mu-yeon peeked downward and spotted Baek Ryeo-il.
‘Master Baek is fighting well.’
He and Myeong-gwi had clashed several times. Perhaps because they hadn’t reached a proper conclusion each time, or perhaps because he was angry on Seong Mu-yeon’s behalf, he was driving Myeong-gwi back savagely. Every second was a cold-blooded killing move aiming for the life, and Myeong-gwi seemed to be struggling.
Actually, this was for the best.
If Myeong-gwi took enough of Baek Ryeo-il’s vented anger in his place, the portion he would have to handle later would be somewhat reduced…