Chapter 111 : Judgement (3)

Chapter 111: Judgement (3)

“Huff, huff.”

Peng Daeho’s breath had risen to his throat.

But he couldn't afford even a moment’s rest.

“Die!”

'Dammit, again?!'

It was because enemies were pouring in endlessly.

Slice!

Peng Daeho swung his blade and severed the neck of the foe who had charged at him furiously.

Splash!

Blood spurted into the air from the body that had lost its head.

“Filthy heretics!”

The enemy's comrades charged again, unfazed by the blood drenching their faces and bodies.

They were like fanatics consumed by a demonic cult.

They paid no heed to their own pain or the deaths around them, hurling themselves at him.

Even Peng Daeho, a seasoned veteran of the Jianghu, was startled by the intense madness in their eyes—it was a tension he had never felt before.

A hidden space beneath the main hall.

The only escape route was blocked by them, so the enemies kept pouring in.

At that moment, the vice-captain's voice rang in his ears, laced with fury.

Peng Daeho hurried to rebalance the qi in both his wrists.

He kept apologizing over and over again—something he had never even done to his own master at the main house.

But Peng Daeho wasn’t the only one in this situation.

So was Hu-gae’s successor, Jang Sopyeong.

And Nam Mujin of the Southern Sea Sect, too.

No—every member of the Jecheon Unit was currently being scolded by Sewoon.

Though the vice-captain had said this was a test, to Peng Daeho and the others, it felt more like ruthless "training."

It was grueling for everyone, but there was one saving grace—following Sewoon’s instructions did make it easier to deal with the enemies.

Except for one person, who was clearly suffering through the battle.

She was biting down hard, barely stifling her groans.

Holding a snow-white folding fan reminiscent of the white snowfalls of the North Sea in one hand, Tang Serin was facing the enemy with a pale face.

At a glance, it was clear she wasn’t in normal condition.

“I’ll tear you limb from limb!”

As the enemy rushed in—

Whoom!

Slash!

The Ice Axe cleaved through the air and split the charging foe cleanly in half like firewood.

Having taken down the enemy, Sewoon immediately placed a hand on Tang Serin’s shoulder.

Shhhh!

The cold energy of the White Water Fan, which had been tormenting Serin, slowly subsided.

Color returned to her face.

‘As expected, it’s still too much for her right now.’

Sewoon felt a rush of concern for his sister but suppressed it.

To show sympathy now would be to insult the sister who was struggling so hard to endure.

“You have to become as used to the reception and release of Yin-Cold Qi as breathing.”

“……I’m sorry.”

“If you get overwhelmed by the divine artifact’s energy, the master and servant relationship will flip.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Nodding her head, Tang Serin immediately threw herself toward another enemy.

Some members of the unit watched her with a hint of envy in their eyes.

It seemed certain that Tang Serin would make the most progress after this battle, thanks to the teachings of Sewoon, who appeared to be a top master of Yin-Cold Qi Arts.

Though the White Water Fan was not a divine artifact, the weapons in the unit’s hands all bore Sewoon’s craftsmanship.

He had hidden the weapons prepared for them inside the carriage.

—What is this…?

—It’s a gift from a unit member who joined the support team due to personal circumstances. Arm yourselves with these.

—Of course it was him. There’s no way someone like that would escape the Alliance Leader’s notice.

The moment the members grabbed their weapons, they knew instantly who had made them.

Weapons perfectly tailored to their individual martial arts styles, of incredible quality.

Only Divine Craftsman Tang Sewoon could have made such things.

‘But how does he know the characteristics of our sect’s martial arts so well??’

Only one person—Surin—looked puzzled.

It was because she hadn’t properly met Sewoon even once since his regression.

Whoom!

Splashhh!

At that moment, Sewoon finally cut down the last enemy on the first basement floor.

“We go down.”

With a small hand gesture from Sewoon, the members moved as one and began stepping into even deeper layers of the underground.

The passage leading downward was quite deep and treacherous.

It didn’t seem man-made but rather naturally formed.

It seemed there had originally been a cave hidden beneath the main hall, connected to the mountain surrounding the village.

As they stepped cautiously—

The Life-Taking Assassin Wuyoung’s voice echoed in Sewoon’s ears.

What a noisy brat.

It was enough to make his ears ring, but Sewoon reacted differently than usual.

At Sewoon’s genuine words of gratitude, the guy’s eyes sparkled.

It was the first time he had ever reacted like that.

That damned “friend” line again.

Sewoon barely held back a chuckle as he replied.

The one who had initially disliked being recruited into the Jecheon Unit was now more devoted to the act than Sewoon himself.

“There’s a lot of poison ahead. Those who are weak against it, use the Poison-Repelling Wine I gave you.”

“Understood, Vice Captain.”

“Yes, sir.”

It was thanks to offering him the Vice Captain position in the Jecheon Unit as bait—he had more ambition for a title than expected.

Nameless, even without Sewoon’s prompting, was acting like a senior and taking good care of the members.

For someone used to carrying out solitary missions under the Gate of Assassins, this was clearly a new experience.

It was then, after they had gone much deeper inside.

Ssssss!

“Ugh!”

“Ugh, what’s that smell?!”

All the members were shaken by the stench comparable to corpse rot.

Even Nameless, who had trained his endurance to the extreme under the Gate of Assassins, furrowed his brows slightly.

Inside, the cave remained as it was above, but like before there were pits filled with liquid dye.

However, unlike the ordinary dye aboveground used for coloring cloth, these pits were filled with blood.

Bubble, bubble.

And ominous bubbles were rising from it.

“Die!”

At that moment, the last remaining fanatic, hidden in the darkness, lunged at the members.

Thud.

Nameless casually hooked his foot and tripped him.

“Gaaah!”

Splash!

The fanatic fell helplessly into the pit.

He turned pale, thrashing in the pool.

“Ahhh! S-save me! Save meeee!!”

As the fanatic’s screams turned strange—

Fyuup!

Fyu-fyuup!

A horrific noise echoed.

The faces of the members watching the pit turned to shock and terror.

“H-hiiek!”

Unknown wriggling bugs inside the pit bored through the fanatic’s Seven Chambers (칠공) and burrowed into his body.

Squelch!

With a sickening sound, the fanatic’s mangled corpse sank to the bottom.

“Uueegh!”

“So-hye, get a hold of yourself.”

It was so ghastly they were left speechless.

Surin, too, barely managed to hold back her gag reflex.

“W-what is this?”

“It’s Gu Poison.”

“G-Gu Poison?!”

“More precisely, the larvae of Gu Poison.”

Everyone’s eyes went wide at Sewoon’s words.

Gu Poison was no ordinary insect.

It was a grotesque parasite that burrowed into the heart or brain and stayed dormant, but if the antidote wasn’t taken regularly it would cause pain and convulsions worse than death.

Because the antidote allowed it to be used as a means of control, it was naturally ranked among the highest forbidden items in the Jianghu.

Sewoon gazed at the writhing larvae in the corpses, lost in thought.

‘When Tang Hoyeol seized the upper world, he poisoned countless people with Gu Poison.

This place was a Blood Cult outpost—a kind of production facility where Gu Poison was raised to later enslave many orthodox and unorthodox martial artists.’

“To think there’s this much Gu Poison. If this had been spread across the Jianghu…”

No one answered Peng So-hye’s muttering.

It was obvious it would cause chaos on the scale of the Kaifeng Blood Massacre.

It now made sense why the pit was full of blood.

It was said that to create a single Gu Poison, at least one hundred people were needed as sacrifices.

At that moment, Sewoon spoke to Nameless.

“Vice Captain.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Take Namgung Baek and destroy all the larvae here. With his Thunder Qi, he should be able to burn them all.”

“Understood.”

After speaking, Sewoon suddenly began stretching his body.

Everyone stared in puzzlement at his unexpected behavior.

“Uh, Captain… do you have another purpose?”

Unable to hold back his curiosity, Do Yecheon finally asked.

Sewoon replied casually.

“I’m going to remove the source.”

“Pardon? W-wait?!”

Do Yecheon and the others’ eyes went wide as Sewoon suddenly leapt into the largest pit.

Splash!

“Waaah!!”

“C-Captain!”

Nameless and the other members stared into the pit with shocked expressions.

At the same time.

On the surface.

Step, step.

A lavishly adorned Four-Person Palanquin stopped at the roadside.

Four handsome men, their faces painted and dressed as ornately as courtesans of a pleasure house, each held a leg of the palanquin.

“Master, why have we stopped?”

One of them addressed the owner seated inside.

Tiriring.

From within came the pleasant sound of a pipa.

Then the curtain of the palanquin was lifted.

A man playing the pipa revealed himself from within the Four-Person Palanquin.

Though he too wore white powder makeup, unlike the men carrying the palanquin, he had a grotesque appearance.

A neutral voice—neither quite male nor female—spoke.

“Prepare for battle.”

“Yes?”

One of the men tilted his head at the master’s sudden words.

But their master simply stared silently at the house he had briefly left behind.

It was the Blood Cult outpost Sewoon had infiltrated.

“Heh, to think I return from a dull time to find uninvited guests awaiting me.”

Tiriring.

The eerie sound of the pipa echoed all around.