While Ak Mujin and the Namgung Clan were surrounding Jin Sang-aeng, another group’s presence was felt from the bottom of the mountain.
It was another Namgung Clan group. They must have discovered Namgung Cheon’s corpse and were coming up.
Jin Sang-aeng realized that the situation was not going well. At the same time as she thought this, she hugged Jin Geum-ryeon and leaped up, climbing to the top of a pine tree.
“Catch Jin Sang-aeng!”
Crimson Kill Squad Vice-Captain Seo-mok shouted.
“Don’t leave the child behind! He will become a threat later!”
The Namgung Clan martial artists also shouted as they chased after Jin Sang-aeng.
Even in the chaotic situation, Ak Mujin looked around, searching for someone.
It was time for ‘him’ to appear.
However, in this situation where countless martial artists were desperate to kill a woman and a child, there was no sign of another person appearing.
‘What’s going on?’
Ak Mujin thought.
‘Is it not now?’
The mountain quickly turned into a scene of carnage. The Demonic Cult and the Namgung Clan mixed together and simultaneously extended their swords towards Jin Sang-aeng. However, Jin Sang-aeng, as a renowned expert in the Demonic Cult, drew her sword and parried a dozen or so swords.
Without stopping there, she stretched her left arm back and smashed the head of a Namgung Clan martial artist who was trying to ambush her from behind. It was a rather cruel method, but it was to save her child.
‘That’s amazing Blood Hand Demonic Art.’
Ak Mujin blankly admired it as he watched. Behind Jin Sang-aeng, Jin Geum-ryeon was still clinging to her, trembling as he watched the swords coming towards them.
He looked like a pitiful puppy.
Just as Ak Mujin was once again regretting why he had written the story this way, the Namgung Clan group ran towards him from afar. In the center of them, an old man was running ahead.
“Don’t let the Demonic Cult bastards get away either! These guys killed our family’s heir and desecrated the body! We have to bring back the Young Clan Leader’s head!”
When the old man shouted with internal energy, Ak Mujin instinctively knew that his Martial Arts were quite advanced.
“Take this, you Demonic Leader bastard! Revenge for Cheon-i!”
A man standing next to the old man shouted at Ak Mujin, pointing his sword and attacking.
Clang, clang-!
It was the first time in Ak Mujin’s life that he had crossed swords with someone.
Until now, he had only unilaterally taken someone’s life, and he had never encountered an enemy like this.
Ak Mujin began to use Sword Arts to parry the man’s sword.
The man, who had been focused on pushing Ak Mujin back with his flashy and powerful swordsmanship, was startled and stepped back. However, Ak Mujin’s Sword Arts were more advantageous the farther away the target was, and when he swung his sword once, a chillingly blue Sword Aura was emitted, threatening him.
‘Uh oh. This is too strong.’
The man was startled as soon as he saw the Sword Aura and quickly dodged to the side. However, the Namgung Clan martial artist who was blocking the Crimson Kill Squad from the side didn’t have time to avoid it and was sent flying far away.
“Aaaagh!”
“Jeong-a!”
‘Crap, I’m sorry!!!’
Ak Mujin witnessed the scene and was so flustered that he shouted inwardly.
The man witnessed the scene and screamed at his disciple, who was covered in blood.
“You devilish bastard! How dare you even touch Jeong-i!”
The man only shouted, not daring to approach rashly, perhaps because he had been intimidated by Ak Mujin’s power just now.
“Jeong-a?! Mun-a, what’s going on!”
The Elder, who had arrived just in time, discovered the fallen Namgung Jeong and was greatly enraged.
“Uncle! It’s this guy!”
The man called Mun shouted.
Ak Mujin had nothing else to say, so instead, he blocked the old man who had witnessed Namgung Jeong’s fatal blow from approaching and began to use his moves. His momentum was so great that it seemed difficult for Ak Mujin to handle in his current state.
This time, Ak Mujin began to fight him using the Crimson Sky Sword Art. He was being careful not to interfere with the story, focusing only on defense.
“Take this, Jin Sang-aeng!”
Ak Mujin was startled by the sound and looked up, only to see that Jin Sang-aeng was already covered in blood.
“…I won’t give in.”
When Jin Sang-aeng coughed, a handful of blood gushed out, and Jin Geum-ryeon frowned. Ak Mujin also frowned for reasons that others couldn’t even imagine.
‘That must hurt….’
“Die!”
The Namgung Clan’s momentum was quite good, but the Crimson Kill Squad was no less so. If they returned empty-handed, the Cult Leader would not leave the Crimson Kill Squad alone.
A Crimson Kill Squad member’s sword grazed Jin Sang-aeng’s cheek, and when Jin Sang-aeng grabbed it with her bare hand and flung it away, the person was also sent flying.
Clang, clang, clang-!
Ak Mujin could see that Jin Sang-aeng’s energy, who had been parrying the swords of many people for a long time, was noticeably decreasing.
Whoosh-
Is it now!
A pine cone fell.
Or not.
Ak Mujin frowned and looked around while parrying the Namgung Clan Elder’s attack.
Seriously. Just come out already!
But after the pine cone fell, something ethereal and hazy was supposed to appear, but not even a single stone was flying.
“Where are you looking!”
The Elder’s sword grazed Ak Mujin’s cheek, leaving a scratch. Ak Mujin tightened his grip on his sword and stabbed it into the old man’s lower abdomen. The Elder blocked it with his sword and instead pushed Ak Mujin’s sword away with his own.
“Lightning Thirteen Sword Thunder!”
The Elder attacked relentlessly. He moved as if Ak Mujin was his family’s sworn enemy. Ak Mujin had only intended to watch for a bit and leave, but it was proving to be unexpectedly difficult.
At that moment, a sword blocked their path, deflecting Tthe Elder’s attack.
“Young master! The Namgung Clan recruits are indeed elite; their skills are quite advanced! I’ll handle this one, so please take cover!”
“Seo-mok.”
Ak Mujin, feigning a dignified voice, looked at her.
Seo-mok now stood against the Namgung Clan Elder in Ak Mujin’s place.
Ak Mujin surveyed the overall situation and realized that the Namgung Clan’s other assassin squad must be highly skilled, as the Crimson Kill Squad was at a disadvantage.
“Let go of me!”
Jin Geum-ryeon’s youthful voice echoed across the battlefield. Ak Mujin couldn’t help but look up again. Realizing that the child was only a hindrance, a Crimson Kill Squad member seized Jin Geum-ryeon by the scruff of his neck, taking advantage of Jin Sang-aeng’s defense.
Jin Sang-aeng, startled, turned around.
“Ryeon!”
In that instant, the tip of a sword emerged from Jin Sang-aeng’s chest. A Namgung Clan warrior had pierced her through the back.
“Keuheok…!”
“Mother!!”
Jin Geum-ryeon, dangling from the Crimson Kill Squad member’s hand, screamed.
The warrior roughly pulled the sword out, as if tearing through Jin Sang-aeng’s chest.
Jin Sang-aeng’s eyes lingered on Jin Geum-ryeon’s face for a long time. But in the end, she couldn’t reach out to save him. She had been standing on a pine branch the whole time, and as the sword was withdrawn, she slumped down to the ground below.
Thud.
Ak Mujin was startled. He had expected Jin Sang-aeng to use her Light Body Skill to get up again, but she simply fell to the ground.
He instinctively knew something was wrong. He didn’t remember every detail, but at least ‘Mae-yeong’ was supposed to appear right before Jin Sang-aeng died and save Jin Geum-ryeon. So Jin Sang-aeng died knowing the child was safe.
But he hadn’t appeared even now, after Jin Sang-aeng had died.
This, this… this isn’t how the original story goes.
“Seo-mok, I’ll leave the rest to you.”
The moment that thought crossed Ak Mujin’s mind, he used his Light Body Art and leaped into the air.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
The Namgung Clan Elder, left below, immediately tried to follow him, but was blocked by Seo-mok’s attack.
“Finish off Jin Sang-aeng! Take the child too! Kill the rest of the Demonic Cult bastards!”
The Elder shouted from below, and Namgung Mun rushed towards Jin Sang-aeng, who was lying on the ground. As ordered by the Elder, a couple of Namgung Clan members approached Jin Geum-ryeon, pointing their swords at him.
“A-are we really killing the child too, Elder?!”
The Namgung Clan warrior, now facing Jin Geum-ryeon, hesitated to swing his sword and asked again, looking down.
“Leave no one alive! They’ll be trouble later!”
The one who asked sighed softly and raised his sword.
Swoosh-
Jin Geum-ryeon squeezed his eyes shut.
And the moment the sword was about to strike Jin Geum-ryeon’s neck—
Clang!
The sword was sliced in half and flew away, embedding itself in a pine tree.
Ak Mujin, with Jin Geum-ryeon’s slender waist tucked under his arm like a piece of luggage, leaped through the pine forest and began to move away from the area.
“Mother!”
‘This isn’t right. This isn’t right.’
Ak Mujin muttered to himself as he quickly escaped the scene.
‘Crazy, crazy, crazy.’
Ak Mujin easily eliminated the few Namgung Clan members who were chasing them—otherwise, they would have followed him all the way to Bukmang Mountain. He offered a silent apology—and hid deep in the mountains.
“Let me go…. Mother…!”
Jin Geum-ryeon, held in Ak Mujin’s arms, screamed and cried for his mother the entire time. Ak Mujin, fearing he would run away like a puppy if given the slightest chance, had no choice but to strike Jin Geum-ryeon’s Acupoint to immobilize him.
Now, whether he was exhausted or his throat hurt, he couldn’t scream anymore and just lay there, shedding tears.
‘What do I do? Why did I bring him? What am I going to do?’
Ak Mujin looked down at Jin Geum-ryeon and internally sweated buckets. But if he left Jin Geum-ryeon alone, the protagonist might die. If that happened, he might never be able to return to his original world.
All roads lead to Rome, as they say.
He just needed to follow the original story from now on. Yes, that’s right. As Ak Mujin made that resolution, Jin Geum-ryeon’s face came into clearer view.
Although his face was covered in tears and grime, he was definitely handsome for a child. Pretty enough to warrant the word. Ak Mujin rummaged through his pockets, but of course, he didn’t have any candy.
He had only intended to watch from a distance, who knew he would end up being a babysitter.
Ak Mujin sighed softly.