At Bu Eunseol’s words, Namgung Woon, who had been lying down, jumped up.
“No, what does that mean?”
Crossing his arms, he spoke with a confident expression.
“Although my martial arts may not be superior to yours, Brother Seol, I am not weak enough to be defeated by wastrels like the Blood Poison Valley.”
“Have you ever fought assassins?”
“I haven’t, but… what’s the big deal about guys who only strike from behind?”
“Assassins are strong. Especially in the mountains, they can be considered almost invincible.”
“Hahaha. Assassin trash invincible?”
Bu Eunseol spoke coldly, “Large-scale combat in the mountains is vastly different from dueling with martial arts, especially on a dark night deep in the forest.”
Bu Eunseol had faced numerous battles while on Hell Island. Fighting multiple enemies in the mountains on a dark night was a perilous situation, where one’s lifeline could be severed at any moment. However, if the enemy were assassins, no matter how exceptional one’s martial arts were, one’s lifeline would inevitably be cut.
“Engaging in combat with assassins in the mountains will provide a more profound realization than repeatedly fighting martial artists in the Gangho,” Bu Eunseol murmured. “That is, if you manage to survive.”
“If Brother Seol’s words are correct, we will surely die.”
“Well.”
Seeing Bu Eunseol smiling while revealing his white teeth, Namgung Woon wore a bewildered expression.
“Are you saying scouts will really come here?”
Instead of answering, Bu Eunseol smiled faintly, and Namgung Woon felt as if he could see a black reaper emitting ominousness behind his back.
“Ah, I think I got involved in something bad.”
Feeling a chill, Namgung Woon lay down flat again. “Damn it. I tried to gain Gangho experience, but I wonder if I’ll just die for nothing.”
Around the third watch, when even the faint sound of insects had faded, the moonlight was obscured by clouds, plunging the entire world into an eerie silence. If the assassins of the Blood Poison Valley had intended to launch a surprise attack, this was the opportune moment. Bu Eunseol remained upright, his eyes hidden beneath the shadows, while Black Leopard stood beside him. Namgung Woon lay snoring loudly, seemingly fast asleep. Yet, Bu Eunseol’s crouching eyes gleamed in the darkness, a silent testament to his vigilance.
“As expected, they are coming.”
As Black Leopard tilted his head, Namgung Woon, who had been lying down, also quickly got up as if sensing something.
Rustle.
It sounded like insects rustling in the wind or clothes brushing against bark.
“Judging by the sound hitting the ground, there seem to be at least twenty of them.”
As Black Leopard put his ear to the ground, Bu Eunseol stood up calmly and said, “No need to wait. Attack first.”
“M-me?”
Black Leopard swallowed hard. He knew well the terrifying nature of assassins. Especially since it was uncertain whether hidden weapon techniques would work against the assassins of the Blood Poison Valley, who were accustomed to night raids while attacking the Thunder Heaven Sect this time.
“Discard the thought of eliminating them. All you can do is endure their attacks.”
“Just enduring… is enough?”
“Correct. As long as you can.”
“Understood.”
At Bu Eunseol’s words, Black Leopard took a deep breath and unleashed his lightness skill. And extending both arms toward the approaching figures, thin and round hidden weapons poured out dizzyingly.
It was the hidden weapon technique Tang Gon had taught Black Leopard, the Flying Flash Blood Chain Ring.
Whiriririk!
The Blood Chain Rings created dozens of shadows. But suddenly, they began to slow down until their rotation speed was visible.
‘What?’
Watching that, Black Leopard’s eyes widened greatly.
‘Because they keep touching the branches!’
Papak!
Amidst the darkness, a Blood Poison Valley master let out a short scream and collapsed to the ground, his shoulders covered in Blood Chain Rings. Despite employing a supreme hidden weapon technique of the Tang Clan and launching a surprise attack, he had failed to defeat even a single opponent.
“Over there!”
At that moment, those who discovered Black Leopard drew their swords and surrounded him.
Normally, he would have unleashed his lightness skill and fled. But at Bu Eunseol’s order to endure as long as possible, Black Leopard did not run away but took out flying darts and scattered them.
Ting! Clang!
But the Blood Poison Valley masters, having seen through the movement of the flying darts, easily deflected them.
“Surround him!”
Being assassins themselves, they began to seal Black Leopard’s movements while shooting hidden weapons.
Clang, clang, clang!
Black Leopard, wielding daggers in both hands, attempted to deflect their hidden weapons. However, his efforts proved futile. Within fifteen minutes, he found himself surrounded, unable to move an inch. Without the lightness skill Bu Eunseol had imparted to him, he would have succumbed to their onslaught, becoming a solitary specter in the mountains.
“Hmm.”
Watching the scene, Bu Eunseol spoke.
“Now.”
Bu Eunseol pointed to Namgung Woon, who was standing blankly.
“Help him.”
At Bu Eunseol’s words, Namgung Woon frowned and pointed to his own face.
“Me too?”
“Did you not say you wanted to gain combat experience?”
“That is…”
“It is a good opportunity. Dealing with those accustomed to surprise attacks on a dark night.”
“Hmm.”
Namgung Woon hesitated. Because he didn’t like the look of fighting assassins in the mountains.
“Brother Seol. Despite appearances, I am a member of the Namgung Clan.”
“Are you afraid?”
Namgung Woon, startled, flashed his eyes and shouted, “Afraid? Who said I was afraid?” He spat on his hands with a “ptui” and gripped his Golden Needle Sword. “It’s simply embarrassing to be entangled with assassins like that.”
“Once you fight, you’ll know the terror of a forest devoid of light,” Bu Eunseol said with a solemn expression.
“Just watch!”
Running down the mountain where Black Leopard was fighting, Namgung Woon swung his Golden Needle Sword widely.
“Take this!”
Crash! Boom!
Every time the Golden Needle Sword embroidered the air, surrounding trees were cut down. But contrary to that tremendous power, most of the Blood Poison Valley masters surrounding Black Leopard were fine.
“These bastards?”
The assassins, despite not making any evasive movements, managed to keep missing Namgung Woon’s sword strikes. He diligently unleashed sword techniques at them for a while, but almost no enemies fell. Upon closer inspection, they were skillfully dodging his attacks by using the surrounding terrain, such as trees and rocks.
“Damn it!”
Frustrated, Namgung Woon cursed and swung his Golden Needle Sword.
“You rats! Don’t cower like that! Come out fair and square!”
The Namgung Clan’s Azure Heavens Soaring Swallow Sword was a sword art specialized for one-on-one combat with masters. It was not an appropriate sword art for dealing with multiple enemies in a darkness-stained forest.
Thwack! Whack!
The unleashed sword stances repeatedly struck trees and rocks. Furthermore, unaccustomed to the dark, Namgung Woon sometimes poured sword stances toward where Black Leopard was.
“Young Master! It’s me!”
“S-sorry.”
Namgung Woon had traveled alone all this time and had never fought joining forces with anyone. Flustered and swinging his sword wildly, he kept overlapping with Black Leopard’s movement path.
“Dammit!”
As he stopped his sword in panic, the Blood Poison Valley masters did not miss that opportunity and swung their swords.
Swish, swish, swish!
The Blood Poison Valley masters repeatedly scattered and gathered, cornering Namgung Woon and Black Leopard. Both fought them with full power, but they were helpless against the assassins’ tactics using the rugged mountain terrain and darkness.
‘I’m going to die at this rate.’
Namgung Woon was so out of it that he couldn’t even display one-tenth of his true skill.
Watching Namgung Woon struggling to swing his sword while avoiding his own dizzying movements, Black Leopard’s mind spun rapidly.
‘Rather than joining the attack, what if I hinder the movement paths of those assassins?’
Having followed Bu Eunseol all this time, Black Leopard had reached a level where he could analyze the flow of battle broadly and come up with strategies.
“Young Master! I will try to stop their movements!”
Finishing his thought, Black Leopard immediately separated from Namgung Woon and circled around the assassins.
Pop-pop-pop-pop!
And catching an opportunity, Black Leopard poured out hidden weapons in succession. Not to hit the Blood Poison Valley masters, but to restrict their movement paths.
“Now!”
“Understood!”
As the assassins, unable to use the terrain, revealed themselves, Namgung Woon swung his sword. It was not the Azure Heavens Soaring Swallow Sword but a struggle solely to pierce the enemy’s weakness.
“Ugh!”
Unlike before, the assassins suffered great injuries from the sharp sword stances.
‘So that’s it.’
Regaining his composure, Namgung Woon did not swing the Golden Needle Sword randomly but poured out sharp killing moves matching the moment the enemies moved.
“Aaaargh!”
Then screams erupted repeatedly.
Black Leopard scattered hidden weapons even more excitedly at that sight. The assassins tried to ambush Black Leopard, who was directing Namgung Woon, but each time, Namgung Woon blocked those attacks like an iron wall.
“Their coordination is quite good.”
Watching from afar, Bu Eunseol nodded.
As the two endured tenaciously, the Blood Poison Valley assassins gradually began to be pushed back. Namgung Woon was pouring out killing moves freely, breaking away from fixed sword forms, and Black Leopard fired hidden weapons grasping the enemy’s weakness and the battle situation.
—Combat with assassins in the mountains will give you a greater realization than fighting martial artists a hundred times in the Gangho.
The words Bu Eunseol had said came to mind simultaneously in Namgung Woon and Black Leopard’s heads.
—That is, if you can survive.
Only now could the two realize the meaning of those words.
If they could survive this battle. They would surely be able to raise their skills by another level.
“Th-these day-goblin-like bastards…”
The Blood Poison Valley assassins ground their teeth. Due to Namgung Woon and Black Leopard, who endured like water ghosts even while seeming about to die, the plan to scout the scale of the barracks had gone down the drain.
“Retreat!”
With an annoyed shout, the Blood Poison Valley assassins retreated instantly and vanished into the darkness on the opposite side.
“Huff. Huff.”
As they retreated, Namgung Woon and Black Leopard gasped for breath, panting heavily.
“R-really almost died.”
“Indeed.”
A melee with assassins in the deep mountains on a dark night. In this fight, the precision of sword arts or the speed of hidden weapons had been of no help.
Bu Eunseol spoke calmly, looking down at them, “Now you must understand that it’s different.”
Combat with multiple enemies in a dark forest. It was a clash of killing intent against killing intent, different from competing in martial arts.
“Indeed. Ugh.”
Namgung Woon, rising using the blood-soaked Golden Needle Sword as a cane, caught his breath and said, “But I really don’t understand. Why didn’t my main house conduct such training?”
“Because there is no need.”
Bu Eunseol stared into the dark forest and said, “Deep night, and in the mountains at that, for a direct descendant of a noble family to fight multiple enemies… That would not happen unless it was a fight staking the fate of the sect or family.”
“That is true.”
Sheathing his sword, Namgung Woon smacked his lips.
“Then does that mean you have fought staking the fate between sects, Brother Seol?”
At that question, Bu Eunseol remained firmly silent. To become a Disciple of the Ten Demons, he had fought risking his life against countless talents on Hell Island. Such a training method was almost nonexistent in the history of the Murim, something only the Disciples of the Ten Demons who survived Hell Island had experienced.
“Young Master. Was the surprise attack successful?”
At that moment, Black Leopard wore a worried expression.
“If they sent scouts here, it means the Saber Tyrant Sect has seen through our movements… so I don’t think the surprise attack could have succeeded.”
Black Leopard observed Bu Eunseol’s character and deduced that he hadn’t anticipated the wandering vagrant squad’s surprise attack. Given his personality, he wouldn’t have been leisurely guarding the barracks.
“To execute a surprise attack, one must thoroughly understand the battle situation, as if examining the palm of one’s hand. However, the Thunder Heaven Sect has scheduled it too hastily,” Bu Eunseol remarked, raising his head and gazing north where the wandering vagrant had vanished. “They are likely to fail miserably.”
Black Leopard nodded silently and uttered something peculiar, “It appears that you possess an extensive knowledge, Young Master. Regardless of your extensive experience with Gangho…”
“It is not Gangho experience.”
“Pardon?”
Instead of answering, Bu Eunseol turned around.
‘At that time, there were countless martial artists dying away from home in the Huangzhou Prefecture.’
And suddenly, he recalled the past.
At that time, the Huangzhou Prefecture was a place where disputes and clashes between Orthodox and Unorthodox forces occurred constantly. Countless martial artists, or spies, fought battles and met their deaths.
While preparing corpses, Bu Eunseol always deduced their cause of death with Bu Jan-yang. And such acts were akin to researching and grasping the strategies or habits of martial artists every day.
“Rest a little now.”
Bu Eunseol lay down in the bushes and closed his eyes.
Around dawn, shadows walked near the barracks with the sound of footsteps. They were uniformly soaked in blood, and their eyes were unfocused.
“……”
Black Leopard and Namgung Woon, resting against a rock, looked at each other and dropped their jaws. Bu Eunseol’s prediction had been chillingly accurate.