Chapter 16 : Special Mission

Chapter 16: Special Mission (2)

As the group hid themselves, a man leading a monkey-like monster—Ong-hwa—entered the village.

“Why are they telling us to go back to a place we’ve already been to? We’ve already caught everything. Hey, hurry up and search. The higher-ups are demanding we bring back more food. Even unconscious people or corpses are fine, so find something. Search under the floors or big jars… Ah, never mind. There’s no way you idiots can do that.”

From the man’s monologue, who seemed to be a shaman, they could roughly grasp the situation.

As expected, the Thousand Demon Sect had kidnapped the villagers.

Kwak Dong-ha wanted to rush out and catch the guy immediately but waited for orders.

At the moment he locked eyes with Jang Woo-hyun, who was hiding against the wall of a house across from him, Jang Woo-hyun suddenly sprang into action.

“Huh? Leader!”

Leaping into the air as if flying, Jang Woo-hyun landed on the head of the Ong-hwa at the front.

Crunch!

The monster’s head shattered under his foot.

Using that as the start, he stepped on the heads of the lined-up Ong-hwa like stepping stones.

Crunch! Smash!

Each time he stepped on one, the Ong-hwa’s heads were crushed.

It was the footwork technique of the Six-Legged Horse King’s Step.

It was the third step called ‘King’s Dominion.’

The third step, named King’s Dominion, wasn’t just a mere footwork technique.

With every step, it carried powerful internal energy, disrupting the opponent’s momentum and interfering with their movements. It could also be used to directly attack, just like now.

After smashing the heads of the four Ong-hwa, Jang Woo-hyun raised his leg and brought it down on the shoulder of the shaman.

Thud!

“Gah!”

With a strange sound, the shaman’s shoulder shattered, and he was thrown backward.

“Where do you get off running out on your own without saying anything?”

Kwak Dong-ha quickly followed and grabbed the collar of the fallen man.

“Hey, you bastard! Who are you? What are you doing here… huh?”

As he shook the man by the collar, Kwak Dong-ha turned to Jang Woo-hyun with a baffled expression.

“This guy… he’s dead.”

“What?”

“Seriously, how could you hit him that hard? How are we supposed to question him now with so many things we need to ask?”

“He’s dead?”

“Yes, look at this.”

Kwak Dong-ha lifted the limp body of the shaman, showing that he was no longer breathing.

“You should’ve shared the work. You got too excited and ran out on your own.”

Despite the criticism, Jang Woo-hyun couldn’t say anything.

This was truly unexpected.

Unlike when he stepped on the Ong-hwa, he had held back his power when attacking the shaman.

Yet, the man died with a single blow.

He thought he had mastered his martial arts, but he had clearly misjudged.

The Six-Legged Horse King’s Step he used in actual combat displayed tremendous power, far beyond his expectations.

‘To think it would be this strong…’

His body was growing stronger faster than his mind could comprehend.

His growth was so rapid and his training period so short that he hadn’t fully grasped his own strength.

Furthermore, training alone was different from actual combat.

‘I need to reassess my strength after this mission.’

He decided that after this experience, he would properly gauge his abilities.

“Leader, you’ve ruined everything. We thought we caught a lead, but you didn’t just cut the tail, you smashed it completely. What should we do, senior?”

“Don’t worry, we still have clues.”

Hwang An reassured Kwak Dong-ha, who was grumbling.

“What are you talking about?”

“Didn’t you hear what that guy said earlier?”

“What did he say?”

“He said they were ordered to catch more food from the higher-ups. And since food is scarce, they even came back to sweep through this village. If it’s like this, the same must be happening in other places too. Senior Ma, is there another village near here on the way to Old Mount Hua?”

Ma Choong-won took out a map and tried to recall.

“If you deviate a bit from the path to Old Mount Hua, there should be one more small village, assuming the villagers haven’t migrated.”

“Brother Jang, how about heading in that direction? That village might have also suffered, or we could meet other enemies there.”

“Alright, let’s do that.”

“Why are you so out of it? Things like this happen when you work. Besides, these guys deserve to be torn apart.”

Though Jang Woo-hyun was preoccupied with other thoughts, Kwak Dong-ha didn’t know that.

“Let’s move.”

Since they were on a mission, Jang Woo-hyun stopped his wandering thoughts and led the group.

The next village wasn’t far, so the group arrived there in no time.

“It’s the same here.”

There were no signs of people.

This village was no different from the last one.

“There are more traces here. They haven’t been gone long.”

Ma Choong-won estimated that it had been no more than two or three days since the villagers were taken.

“What should we do?”

At Hwang An’s question, Jang Woo-hyun hesitated for a moment.

Tracking the enemy wasn’t difficult.

However, they didn’t know how many people were stationed at Old Mount Hua or what kind of preparations had been made. Charging in blindly was reckless.

The rational decision was to retreat, report, and gather reinforcements to deal with the Thousand Demon Sect.

“Shouldn’t we chase them? If we do well, we might be able to save the villagers.”

It was Seon Chan who spoke. Having lost his family to the Thousand Demon Sect, he was approaching this emotionally. Though the villagers had no relation to him, he wanted to save them.

“I’m against it. We don’t know how many there are or what preparations they’ve made. The wise choice is to retreat for now, assess the situation, and bring more forces from the branch.”

“I agree.”

“No, what the hell are you talking about? We’re not bandits or a demonic cult! We have to save the kidnapped people. Senior Ma! Senior Hwang! Damn it. Leader! What are you going to do?”

Though both sides made sense, Jang Woo-hyun knew that Ma Choong-won and Hwang An were right from a practical standpoint.

Even if they followed now, there was no guarantee the villagers were still alive, and the danger was high.

As everyone’s attention focused on him, Jang Woo-hyun recalled something they had missed.

“We’re going to Old Mount Hua.”

“Brother Jang, don’t be emotional. Even for you, this is dangerous.”

“I’m not making an emotional decision.”

“Then why?”

“They said they needed food. Whether that food is literal or some sort of sacrifice, it means there’s a reason we need to go to Old Mount Hua.”

“What reason?”

“They went back to recheck the place, which means they’re short on food. That means whatever they’re summoning or raising hasn’t been completed yet.”

“We need to attack before their plan is complete. If they’re summoning something, we need to do it before the summoning is finished. If they’re raising something, we need to do it before it fully grows.”

“Ah…”

It was a point that Hwang An and Ma Choong-won had overlooked.

The Thousand Demon Sect was known for summoning monsters.

If they were preparing something, now might be their best chance.

If their preparations had been complete, they would have already launched an attack.

So, as Jang Woo-hyun said, the enemy’s plan was likely still unfinished.

If they gave the enemies more time, who knew what kind of monster would emerge.

“I hadn’t thought of that. It’s a reasonable judgment.”

“I didn’t think of it either.”

“Does anyone have any objections?”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

The group, now united in their decision, moved out.

Although they hadn’t planned to fight immediately upon reaching Old Mount Hua, things didn’t go as intended.

The shamans of the Thousand Demon Sect were already patrolling with monsters, and even though they were cautious, they couldn’t avoid detection.

A monster called Jaeng, resembling a leopard, caught their scent, and a battle broke out.

During the fight, Kwak Dong-ha and the twin brothers realized why Jang Woo-hyun had earned the nickname “One-Strike, One Kill.”

Slash!

With each swing of his sword, everything was cut down.

Small trees, bushes, the Ong-hwa, Jaeng, and even the Thousand Demon Sect shamans—all fell with a single strike.

One by one.

Both monsters and humans either died or lost their ability to fight with just one cut.

“This is ridiculous.”

Kwak Dong-ha wondered, as he followed along, if this was really happening.

With such skill, it seemed like their presence wasn’t even necessary.

Though he had encountered great masters from the Nine Sects and even some of the Ten Great Evils, he couldn’t help but wonder if they were as powerful as this.

It was like witnessing divine power.

Since joining the Demon Extermination Sect, he had never seen such a sight.

“Since we’ve been exposed, we’ll push straight through! Senior Ma!”

When Jang Woo-hyun called, Ma Choong-won, who was shooting arrows from behind, checked the surroundings and found the direction in which people had moved.

Footprints and broken branches here and there—it wasn’t difficult to find traces.

“This way!”

Jang Woo-hyun dashed

in the direction Ma Choong-won indicated, with the rest of the group following behind, dealing with the few remaining monsters he had missed.

After some time, they arrived at a fairly wide basin.

Upon entering the basin, they saw those waiting for them.

Five shamans and about a dozen monsters.

The Thousand Demon Sect was not foolish.

They had prepared and waited.

“The commotion below was because of you.”

The man standing in the center of the five spoke.

He had a slightly thin build and an ordinary face, but his presence was markedly different from the others.

His gaze scanned the group.

Their mismatched clothes and varied weapons made it easy to discern where they had come from.

“Demon Extermination Sect members.”

“Insect Monster!”

Upon hearing the man’s conclusion, Hwang An also reached one of his own.

Having seen this face in the wanted posters, he immediately recognized who the man was.

“I guess I’m famous, judging by how even weirdos like you recognize me. But seriously, did you come here knowing I’d be here?”

The man didn’t deny that he was Insect Monster, and from the group’s reaction, he realized once again that his guess was correct.

“You idiots are blinded by the chance for glory.”

“I guess so. But thanks to you, I won’t be bored.”

At the sound of a woman’s voice, the group turned their heads.

From a crack in the cliff at one side of the basin, a small woman emerged.

She wore a red robe and was quite beautiful, but one side of her face was marred by severe burn scars.

Her scarred face was familiar to Hwang An, who had seen it in the wanted posters.

“No way…”

“Yes, that ‘no way.’ The one you call ‘Fire Monster.’”

Upon hearing her words, Hwang An clenched his fists.

This was bad.

Both Insect Monster and Fire Monster were together.

‘No, it was possible from the beginning.’

Even though no one had directly witnessed her, the traces of the Fire Monster had been discovered during the investigation by the branch.

After being with Jang Woo-hyun for so long, he had come to trust his skills too much, making overly optimistic decisions. He should have prepared for the worst but hadn’t.

The rest of the group was just as startled. No one had expected to encounter two of the Five Monsters.

“Well then, die here. No, actually, become our food instead. Heh heh heh.”

As Insect Monster raised his hand, a loud buzzing sound filled the air.

However, the sound was far too loud, as if the insects were flying right next to their ears.

It was because the bees flying above Insect Monster’s head were the size of an adult man’s forearm.

They were monsters known as Giant Bees.

At a rough estimate, there were more than twenty of them.

Flying at high speed, each of their stingers carried deadly poison, making each one like a living projectile.

“This is dangerous.”

“More than dangerous. I think we’re completely screwed.”

It was like facing twenty living throwing knives, a difficult situation.

As if they were preparing to charge, the buzzing grew even louder.

No one in the group wanted to face two of the Five Monsters. Everyone gripped their weapons tightly in nervous tension.

But.

There was one person who wasn’t flustered.

After calculating the distance between himself and Insect Monster and the Fire Monster, Jang Woo-hyun released his Internal Energy Skill.

“Huh?”

“What the…!”

As his presence surged, all eyes turned to him.

It was even more shocking than when the Fire Monster had appeared or when the twenty Giant Bees took flight.

The level he had displayed back at the Demon Extermination Sect was nothing compared to this.

Back then, he had stood in front of the wall, but now he had broken through it.

The wall of a Master.

Leaving behind everyone’s astonishment, Jang Woo-hyun slightly lowered his stance. Then, he drew his arm back.

Taking a deep breath in, he swiftly thrust his sword into the air.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

From the tip of his sword, flashes of sword qi shot out like arrows.

“Qi Projection!”

Hwang An exclaimed in awe.

The standard that separated a First-rate Martial Artist from a Master.

It was the ability to release qi externally and target distant enemies.

The ten or so blades of sword qi that shot out from Jang Woo-hyun’s sword aimed for the flying Giant Bees.

Splat! Boom! Pop!

The heads and bodies of the Giant Bees burst as they were struck, their remains raining down to the ground.

The overwhelming sound of buzzing had vanished, leaving only the thuds of the fallen insects hitting the ground.