The Youngest Member Chapter 43

"Young hero Cheon, they say that Henan is famous for its vegetable dishes. It's probably because of Shaolin."

"Actually, I prefer at."

"Unlike how you look, you're a picky eater. Basically, since each food has different nutrients, it's important to eat a balanced diet."

Cheon Woojin ignored Song Yiyeon's nagging by feigning indifference.

The bandit, Deok-woo, who was walking ahead, couldn't hide his bewildernt.

Although they were at the bottom of the Green Forest, and it wouldn't be strange if they were pushed out at any ti, they were still part of the Green Forest.

Even decent martial arts sects or families couldn't ignore them so openly.

But, these young brats were discussing what to eat for dinner as if they were going to the marketplace.

'Of course, they're not just young...'

Just recalling that one move that the brat with the rude face had shown made his legs tremble.

Deok-woo was busily racking his brain while guiding the way. Of course, he was thinking of a way to prolong his own life.

How long had they walked on the rough mountain path like that?

Soon, with the mountain stronghold ahead, Deok-woo glanced back at the two.

At that, Cheon Woojin raised his Crescent Moon Staff.

"Why are you stopping for no reason? Don't use your head for useless things."

"T-that's not it. Are you really going to be okay? We'll be arriving at Heungsan Fortress soon."

"Guide ."

Deok-woo cursed. Of course, only in his mind.

'This young brat is so damn rude.'

At the sa ti, the Crescent Moon Staff struck Deok-woo's shoulder.

"Ugh!"

Deok-woo, who grabbed his shoulder, continued to guide them, breathing heavily through his nose. No matter how he thought about it, these guys had no chance of winning.

The number of bandits remaining in Heungsan Fortress was over fifty.

Of course, half of them had not even properly learned martial arts, but still, there were close to thirty martial artists who could fight quite well.

In particular, the fortress master was a man who could be called a master even in this wide martial world. It was all thanks to the fortress master that the lacking Heungsan Fortress could beco part of the Green Forest.

"If we just pass that bush, it's the mountain stronghold. If I may dare to say a word, how about trying to resolve it through conversation first? If they had known that the Yicheng Escort Agency had the ability to employ masters like you, things would have been different."

"I'll keep that in mind."

At Cheon Woojin's dry answer, Deok-woo gave a smirk. Of course, it was a smile that the two behind him would not see.

Heungsan Fortress had a pretty good plan in place for intruders.

'Conversation, my ass. You guys are all dead.'

Soon, after passing the bush, a mountain stronghold that seed to have been built with considerable care was revealed.

Deok-woo bowed his head and said.

"I will bring the fortress master, great heroes."

Cheon Woojin nodded his head.

Deok-woo slowly walked towards the mountain stronghold, wary of the two martial artists behind him.

He was planning to inform them of the intruders after securing a minimum safe distance. The forces that were always on standby would pour out and surround those guys in an instant, and soon, the fortress master and the deputy fortress master would co out and tear them to shreds.

And so, one step, two steps...

His heart was pounding as if it would explode.

Soon, as Deok-woo was about to take a step to use his movent skills.

Thwack-!

His head burst into pieces, scattering blood all around.

Cheon Woojin, who had shaken off the blood on the Crescent Moon Staff and then spread his senses to grasp the strength of the mountain stronghold, said calmly.

"This ti, you do it, young hero Song."

"...?"

Cheon Woojin nodded his head firmly.

At that sight, Song Yiyeon, who let out a deep sigh, drew the dao at his waist and then took a step forward.

After taking a deep breath once...

"I am Song Yiyeon from the Black Tortoise Unit of the Martial Alliance! Heungsan Fortress Master, co out imdiately and confess your wrongdoings with your own mouth!"

After shouting confidently, he glanced back, and Cheon Woojin was standing there with a dumbfounded expression.

Song Yiyeon gave a smirk.

"This is how you do it."

"Whatever."

Cheon Woojin crossed his arms and took the attitude of a spectator.

Soon, curses that could not be uttered began to erupt from within the mountain stronghold. It seed they had trained their tongue skills more diligently than their martial arts.

* * *

Cheon Woojin sat down on the spot.

The area around the mountain stronghold was already filled with blood and corpses.

Song Yiyeon let out a rough breath repeatedly. However, the corners of his mouth were strangely raised, as if he was enjoying this situation.

'It's understandable.'

The martial arts that Song Yiyeon was displaying were on a different level from what he had shown so far. Because Cheon Woojin, who already knew the secret of the Virgin Boy Art, had no need to hide his full power.

Every ti Song Yiyeon's dao was swung, a part of the bandits' bodies was cleanly cut off.

Cheon Woojin closed his eyes and felt the fine energy scattered around.

'It's a pretty high-level Virgin Boy Art.'

Although there were few types of Virgin Boy Art, they were divided into high-level and low-level martial arts. In Cheon Woojin's view, the Virgin Boy Art that Song Yiyeon had learned belonged to a rather high-level martial art.

The proof of that was this pure energy. A clear energy without a single blemish, just like that of his White Master, was dominating the surroundings.

In the anti, Song Yiyeon's dao moved without rest. Since the bandits had already lost their will to fight, the fight was getting easier as ti went on.

He thought that if Song Yiyeon didn't have to hide thirty percent of his full power, second place in the selection exam might have been his.

Soon, by the ti the situation was almost settled, Cheon Woojin got up from his seat.

Song Yiyeon, who had cut a long gash in the deputy fortress master's side, distanced himself and let out a rough breath.

"Heok, young hero Cheon, I think I'm about to collapse."

"You're still far from it."

Cheon Woojin was firm. But he was also accurate.

Song Yiyeon had almost no experience of displaying his martial arts at full power. Especially in a real battle, he had none at all.

So, his first experience was bound to feel very difficult.

Of course, only by accumulating such experiences could one finally have the experience of a martial artist.

As Cheon Woojin got up from his seat, the battle entered a lull.

The deputy fortress master, who was spilling his organs from the long gash in his side, and the fortress master, who was still uninjured, knew.

'...That guy is the real deal.'

He could tell just by the montum and atmosphere he felt.

Cheon Woojin, who had walked over leisurely, said.

"You can kill the deputy fortress master."

Soon, Song Yiyeon rushed forward without any warning. The startled deputy fortress master covered his side with his left hand and raised his axe with his right.

The fortress master next to him also tried to step forward, but.

"Ugh..."

For a mont, he couldn't do anything due to the pressure that was crushing his entire body. It was to the point where even breathing felt difficult.

The fortress master's gaze turned to Cheon Woojin.

'A trendous formless ki...'

He was surprised that that young brat had reached a level where he could draw out a formless energy and pressure his opponent, but the power contained in that formless ki was absurd.

The greatest master he had seen in his entire life was the head of the Green Forest. He was a man who had killed the man who was called the Green King in the martial world and had newly taken that position, and he was a dangerous person who made one's heart uneasy just by making eye contact.

However, surprisingly, he was feeling a similar emotion when he made eye contact with that young brat.

While the head of Heungsan Fortress, Shin Mogak, was standing there like a fool, the dao ki that Song Yiyeon had poured out tore the deputy fortress master's entire body to shreds.

'This guy is also a considerable master...'

A dao ki of that size.

Considering his apparent age, it was a level that was hard to believe.

The energy commonly called sword ki, dao ki, etc., was a technique that could only be properly displayed when one reached the peak.

Of course, it was a rather impossible one-shot for Song Yiyeon at the mont. Cheon Woojin, who noticed this, asked calmly.

"Young hero Song, why did you overdo it?"

"I wanted to end it in one go. Also, young hero Cheon is here."

It ant that even if he got tired and collapsed, Cheon Woojin would take care of it.

Cheon Woojin shook his head.

"We can't always be together. Always keep that in mind."

Song Yiyeon, who had beco sowhat sullen, nodded his head.

Soon, Song Yiyeon's sharp longsword was aid at the Heungsan Fortress Master.

"Wait."

Cheon Woojin restrained Song Yiyeon.

The Heungsan Fortress Master, Shin Mogak, took a step back with a tense face.

"Who on earth are you guys..."

"I told you we're from the Martial Alliance."

As Song Yiyeon answered so, Shin Mogak got angry.

"Are you telling

to believe that now! A re unit mber has this kind of martial might? Even a dog that was boiled yesterday would laugh."

"You boiled a dog? Wow, you're in big trouble now. The young hero Cheon here is a huge dog lover. He raises five dogs at ho."

Shin Mogak took a hollow breath.

At that, Song Yiyeon let out a smirk.

"I'm kidding. But it's true that you're in big trouble."

"..."

Shin Mogak's face flushed with sha.

He was ashad of being teased by young brats, but what was even more shaful was that he could do nothing about it.

Cheon Woojin asked calmly.

"Why did you target the Yicheng Escort Agency?"

It was a situation that Cheon Woojin could not understand.

Originally, bandits managed the mountain roads and received passage fees.

Escort agencies would hand over a pre-agreed amount as a rite of passage and pass through the mountain roads safely.

Although there were tis when conflicts arose because their opinions did not match, at least there were no cases where they would swing an axe at a head escort out of the blue like the dead bandit guys. Because they had to take too great a risk to get a small amount of money.

Especially in a place where a Martial Alliance mber was present.

In a word, Heungsan Fortress was overdoing sothing.

Shin Mogak raised a huge axe that was larger than the torso of a decent grown man. The axe blade, which had been sharpened quite diligently for a bandit, sparkled as it reflected the sunlight.

"I have no intention of having a useless Q&A. I'd rather fight and die like a man."

It wasn't particularly because of his loyalty to the Green Forest.

It was just because he felt it was disgraceful to bow to young brats and talk about his internal affairs in detail.

Cheon Woojin nodded his head.

"I understand."

"W-wait...!"

As Cheon Woojin approached with a dry expression, Shin Mogak instinctively took two steps back. In the anti, the bloodstains on that dark iron staff ca into his sight particularly well.

* * *

It didn't take long to make Shin Mogak open his mouth. By the ti his arm was broken and his collarbone was half pulled out, Shin Mogak smoothly explained his internal situation as if he had polished his speech skills his whole life.

Cheon Woojin and Song Yiyeon left the mountain stronghold, leaving behind about fifty corpses.

"By the way, I don't know if this is okay."

Song Yiyeon asked with a worried tone.

At that, Cheon Woojin tilted his head.

"What is it?"

"The person who has newly beco the head of the Green Forest seems to be a rather aggressive man. I'm concerned that he might pick a fight with the Martial Alliance, making this incident an issue."

Shin Mogak's explanation was long, but to summarize, it was simple.

The new head of the Green Forest always talked about so kind of reform, and that he would exclude mountain strongholds without ability from the Green Forest.

Heungsan Fortress, which was at the bottom, beca anxious. It was probably more so because of its location, with the Wudang sect and the Zhuge family to the west, and the main headquarters of the Martial Alliance to the east.

The mont Heungsan Fortress was excluded from the Green Forest, there were too many factions that would subjugate them.

So, they had overdone it. They had tried to raise the passage fees unreasonably to prove the ability of the mountain stronghold, but they had been unlucky and had been caught by the martial artists dispatched from the Martial Alliance.

Cheon Woojin, who was looking at Song Yiyeon's worried face, said in a tone as if it were a matter of course.

"We're Martial Alliance mbers, aren't we? If we don't subjugate evil when we're in front of it, what is the reason for the Martial Alliance's existence?"

"T-that's true, but..."

Soon, Song Yiyeon shouted that he didn't know and scratched his head.

In fact, in Song Yiyeon's view, the reason Cheon Woojin had subjugated the mountain stronghold was not particularly because they were evil.

'Didn't he just subjugate them because they were in the way of the mission...'

Of course, he didn't bother to say it out loud.

Thinking that what's good is good.

* * *

Cheon Woojin and Song Yiyeon rejoined the escort.

The escorts, including Jang Seongguk, were startled.

"Y-you're already back?"

At so point, the way they spoke to the two had changed to honorifics.

"Fortunately, the mountain stronghold was not that far."

Cheon Woojin, who said so, sat down nonchalantly. Of course, that was not what Jang Seongguk had ant.

The escorts who were following at the end of the escort said among themselves.

"What? What about a real battle?"

"..."

The escort who had said that he would be stronger in a real battle, even if not in a duel, because the new Martial Alliance mbers were martial artists who had been raised delicately, firmly shut his mouth.

(End of Chapter)