Chapter 43. Subjugating the Bandits (3)
Tak.
The party crossed the fence.
The first thing that caught their eyes upon entering the village were the corpses.
On the road between the houses and fields, several mutilated corpses were scattered about haphazardly.
“……”
‘Scattered about’.
The bodies, which were once human, were torn and mangled, making it difficult to recognize their forms.
It looked less like they had been killed by fellow humans and more like they had been ravaged by beasts.
“This is hopeful.”
Gongson Su spoke in a deliberately bright voice.
“The fact that there are only this many corpses ans they treat humans as commodities. That ans there's a high chance the rest are alive.”
“…Tsk, what a crappy feeling.”
Pa Jin-seong clicked his tongue.
Eon Mi-hee’s complexion had turned pale.
The party thoroughly searched a few of the common houses, going inside. But as expected, there was no sign of people.
“The remaining villagers must have been gathered in one place. If they are still in this village, that is.”
The party followed the path, holding their breath.
As they turned onto the main road in the center of the village, the horror of the corpses beca even more severe. The blood pooled on the ground had not yet dried.
But there were no survivors.
There was no need to check; it was impossible for a body so mutilated to still be breathing.
Whoosh, Lee Byeok felt a wave of dizziness.
In the distance was the corpse of a boy whose eyes had not yet closed. It seed he had tried to protect the village but was no match.
While receiving martial arts instruction from Lee Byeok, Jang Seok-du had said he wanted to protect the people of his beloved village.
A surge of emotion churned within him.
The Innate energy, sensing the turmoil in his heart, moved busily, guiding the Azure River Flowing Leaf Art.
The tracks haphazardly stamped on the ground clearly led in one direction.
As they walked along the road, the party received no resistance at all. And then.
“Keo-eok, keuhaak, ka-hak!”
Kwadeuk, kwadeuk, kwadeuk.
As the central clearing of the village ca into view in the distance, they finally began to sense human presences.
No, but it was too bizarre to be called a human presence. The party slowed their pace even more.
“…There are many.”
About a hundred people were gathered there. But judging by their appearance, they were clearly not villagers.
If so, their identity was obvious.
“……”
Hiding themselves between a nearby private house and a tree, the party carefully observed the ‘bandits’.
Everyone was different. So were just wandering the ground with blank faces, while others crawled on all fours.
Kwadeuk, kwadeuk!
So… were eating live livestock raw. Their appearance, covered in blood and clinging to the beasts, was human but not human.
“…Ugh.”
Eon Mi-hee gagged.
“They’re certainly not in their right minds. Either they’ve all gone mad, or they’ve taken so strange drug……”
Even Gongson Su shook her head.
“In any case… fortunately, apart from being horrifying, they don’t seem very strong.”
“……”
Their numbers were large, and they were not sane.
But as Gongson Su said, no particular montum could be felt from any single one of them.
At best, they would be at the third-rate level.
“Young Master Pa? The star of Hainan, Young Master Pa?”
“? , why……?”
Gongson Su smiled.
“Now, go out and show them what you’ve got.”
“Why, why do you always pick on ……?”
“Because it has to be you, Young Master. Those crazy guys don’t look smart enough to keep the villagers alive, so there’s probably a leader sowhere else, right?”
“……”
“So if you, Young Master Pa, buy so ti against those guys, the leader will pop out. Then I’ll watch for an opportunity and take him down.”
Seuk, Gongson Su made a throat-slitting gesture. Pa Jin-seong’s sullen gaze turned to Lee Byeok and Eon Mi-hee.
“Orabeoni, you must hide in case the enemies are stronger than expected. If any of us are in danger… you have to save us. Got it?”
Seuk, Gongson Su clung to Lee Byeok. Lee Byeok did not push her hand away. And Gongson Su’s gaze turned to Eon Mi-hee.
“And… Unni, you just stay put. You can’t kill people, can you?”
“……”
Eon Mi-hee’s shoulders flinched.
“Those things are still people, after all… If you go out and just get in Young Master Pa’s way—”
“…No, I’ll go too.”
Eon Mi-hee frowned.
“Oh? Will you be okay?”
Eon Mi-hee silently clenched her fists. The gauntlets covering her hands and wrists made a clanking sound.
***
Eon Mi-hee and Pa Jin-seong left their spot. They began to slowly approach the clearing, steadying their breaths.
“Keke, are you ready?”
“…Yes.”
Taat!
When the distance had narrowed to about thirty or forty feet, the two of them kicked off the ground in unison.
“Keureuk?!”
A few enemies reacted.
But by then, the two had already closed in on the enemies.
Tuung!
“Keureuk— Keooo-eok!!”
Palm force shot out from Eon Mi-hee’s two fists. The enemies in front were all pushed back, tumbling to the ground one after another.
“Keuk, kyaaaaaaah!!”
“En… enemy!! K-kill!!”
But no sooner were they pushed back than the enemies got up again. They began to swarm towards the two with beast-like movents.
“…Keuk.”
“Kekeke! What are you doing? You didn’t even reduce their numbers by one?! Don’t waste your internal energy needlessly!”
Pa Jin-seong brushed past Eon Mi-hee.
A sword was already in his left hand. Pa Jin-seong’s sword, facing the charging enemies head-on, began to dance.
Seogeok, seogeogeok.
A net of waves was drawn.
The bodies of the enemies in the lead were sliced into chunks, and blood and flesh began to pour out.
“Keke, kehehet!! Yes, this is it!!!”
Pa Jin-seong was strong.
The enemies were no match for him.
However, the enemies only flinched for a mont before they threw themselves into the fray without regard for their own bodies. Soon, with beastly cries, they began to hurl themselves into Pa Jin-seong’s sword formation.
Seogeok, chaeng, chaaeng!
“Kehehehet! As many as you want— …Eh?”
Pa Jin-seong, who was swinging his sword in excitent, suddenly felt a chilling sense of crisis. He hastily turned around and deflected a rusty sword.
“Keureuk, keureureu!!!”
An attack ca from behind.
He had been surrounded at so point.
Kwang, kwajik!
But at that mont, the head of the enemy who had thrust the sword was crushed from behind. He collapsed helplessly.
“……”
Behind him stood Eon Mi-hee with a pale complexion. Kwaak, biting her lip, she began to move her fists again.
Kwang, kwaang!
The enemies’ vital points were crushed.
It wasn’t fast, but her fists were certainly taking the enemies’ lives.
“…What are you doing! Get back!!”
“Kehehet, you’re good when you try!!”
Seizing the opportunity, Pa Jin-seong pulled back.
And Eon Mi-hee and Pa Jin-seong stood side by side again. For a fleeting mont, their gazes t, quickly sharing their intent.
Kwang, kwaang!!
Eon Mi-hee hardened her heart. She showed no rcy in her hands. If she didn’t kill, she could be killed.
Splatter!
“Ugh……!”
But the mont brain matter splattered on her face, Eon Mi-hee’s body reflexively flinched. The enemies seized that opening and closed in on her.
Peok, seogeok!
Pa Jin-seong’s sword covered the opening.
“Kehet. It’s always good to repay a debt quickly.”
“……”
Eon Mi-hee righted her heart.
And soon, the sword and fists of the two began to slowly synchronize. Talent shines in battle and grows in real ti.
In proportion to that, the number of enemies rapidly decreased.
Hung hung hung hung!
It was then.
Eon Mi-hee saw a huge sickle spinning and flying towards Pa Jin-seong’s side.
The sickle carried an internal energy that could not be ignored. But Pa Jin-seong, engrossed in his attack, failed to notice it.
At the mont of crisis, Eon Mi-hee leaped up and struck the sickle with her gauntlet.
Chaaeng, hweeriririk!
No, she tried to strike it away.
“…Eut?!”
A chain was connected to the sickle.
The mont it hit the gauntlet, the iron chain spun around and tightly bound Eon Mi-hee’s arm.
Hwook!
And the iron chain was pulled.
Eon Mi-hee’s body was pulled along with it.
“Keuk, damn it!”
Pa Jin-seong, who had just noticed, tried to follow. But he was surrounded by other enemies and was a beat too late.
“Keke, I was wondering who these random bastards were, but it turns out we’ve caught so promising young masters of the Murim. What a windfall.”
Even while being dragged by the chain, Eon Mi-hee desperately held onto her senses. She lifted her head and looked forward.
She confird the figure of a short man holding the chain.
At the other end of the chain held in his two hands, a huge weight was spinning threateningly, imbued with internal energy.
Dangerous.
In that fleeting mont, Eon Mi-hee concentrated her internal energy into her other, unbound hand. She braced herself for a head-on collision, prepared for injury.
Taat!
At that mont, Lee Byeok, who witnessed Eon Mi-hee’s crisis, also kicked off the ground. He unleashed the Azure River Flowing Leaf Divine Art and rapidly closed the distance.
However.
Seogeok, tuk.
It was just before Lee Byeok and Eon Mi-hee reached the man. The right arm of the man holding the chain fell to the ground.
“Huh?”
Tuk, and then his left arm also fell.
Naturally, the chain lost its strength and went limp, and Eon Mi-hee was imdiately freed from its bondage.
“Eu, euaaaaaak!! M-my arms!!”
“Now, now, that’s enough. Excuse , but you’re the leader of these crazy guys, right? If you don’t want your neck to fall off too, could you please get your subordinates out of the way first?”
A dagger was pressed against the neck of the man who had lost both arms in an instant. Behind him stood Gongson Su.
***
The mont Gongson Su subdued the man, the enemies surrounding Pa Jin-seong began to panic and scatter.
It seed he was indeed the leader.
As Gongson Su’s dagger dug into the skin of his neck, the man scread his head off, and his subordinates hesitantly retreated.
Only then did Pa Jin-seong catch his breath, smacking his lips, jjjeop, as he approached the group.
Clank!
Gongson Su tightly bound and subdued the armless leader with his own chains.
“Now, I’ll just ask a few questions. You know, right? Every ti your answer is late, a certain part of you is going to hurt a lot.”
“Ehehe! A-ask anything! As long as you spare my life… ehe, ehehe!”
Lee Byeok looked at the man.
His bloodshot eyes rolled around in their sockets.
…Was it just his imagination?
He couldn't shake the feeling that, just like the subordinates with beastly appearances, he was similar to the group of bandits they had faced when they were with the Rogues' Guild.
“First, are there any other comrades left? Hiding sowhere……”
“N-none, sir! Absolutely none!”
“Well, alright. Then, where are all the remaining villagers? Are they alive?”
“The villagers? Ah, yes! Y-yes, sir! Th-there are! They’re alive and well! Ah, I will guide you there, sir!”
The man struggled, trying to get up.
Clank!
As Gongson Su quickly pulled the chain, the man’s body tumbled to the ground again. The man let out a wretched groan.
“Who told you to get up? Do you want to die?”
“N-no, sir! I’m sorry, sir!”
Even while bleeding profusely from his severed arms, the man desperately raised his body.
He knelt before Gongson Su.
The party exchanged glances for a mont.
Eon Mi-hee averted her gaze with a haggard face, and Pa Jin-seong shrugged his shoulders. Lee Byeok nodded his head.
“…Well, alright. Lead the way. But if you try any funny business… you know what will happen, right?”
“Y-yes! Of course! Ehehehe!”
As Gongson Su gave her permission, the man quickly got up from his spot again.
The party followed the leader across the village. And they stood before the gate of a large house inside the village.
“Th-they are in here, sir, hehe!”
“……”
The party stopped walking. It was quiet, but they could definitely feel so kind of human presence from inside.
“…I see. Good work.”
Gongson Su smiled. And then.
Peo-eok!
Gongson Su kicked the leader in the back. Kwang! His body broke through the gate and flew inside.
The party quickly assessed the scene that unfolded beyond the broken gate. Fortunately, the man’s words were not a lie.
“……”
In the courtyard of the house, people with wretched appearances were strewn about.
The villagers, tied with ropes like livestock and kneeling on the ground with their heads bowed, numbered well over several dozens by a rough count, but not a single one made a sound.
“…Everyone, we’ve co to save you.”
At that mont, Eon Mi-hee stepped forward.
But no one dared to open their mouth to answer. They still looked utterly terrified.
“I’m sorry we ca so late. But it’s okay now. We’ve taken care of the filthy villains—”
“B-be careful!!!”
At that mont, a child’s voice erupted from among the bowed villagers.
Tat, tatat.
“You damn bastards!!”
“I’ll tear that little brat to pieces!!”
And at the sa ti, several figures mixed among the villagers shot out like arrows.
Swish!
Each of them drew their hidden weapons and rushed towards the party. It was a clear trace of internal energy.
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