The Youngest Member Chapter 9

Hwang Byeok, the Tiger Hunt Team Leader of the Dawn Sky Society.

He was at a crossroads of a once-in-a-lifeti choice.

Betray the organization and succumb to the fear before him.

Or uphold loyalty and fidelity and face death with courage.

Cheon Woojin decided to help Hwang Byeok, who seed to be deep in thought. A black haze, darker than the dark Crescent Moon Staff, shimred around it.

Seeing this, Hwang Byeok instantly ended his deliberation.

"I will guide you, great hero."

And so, Zhuge Lin and Cheon Woojin followed Hwang Byeok's guidance. In the anti, Zhuge Lin checked the poison, hidden weapons, and sword hilt she had brought.

Because they were on their way to et the Asura Demon Lord, a second-class public enemy of the martial world...

* * *

The Annihilation Team, which only attacked villages with few martial artists or governnt soldiers. It did not take long to et them.

In the first place, the mission Cheon Woojin had received in the second exam was to subdue the Annihilation Team, so they were on their way to the village expected to be their next target.

The place they arrived at with Hwang Byeok's guidance was Ankang County, a small village in Shaanxi Province.

It was a village with a peaceful atmosphere, as its na suggested, but by the ti Cheon Woojin's party arrived, it was already stained crimson.

Houses were burning, and smoke was rising from all over.

n, both adults and children, were lying on the ground, bleeding.

Won were being dragged by their hair by burly n in black.

The small, peaceful village had turned into a hellscape where screams and cries never ceased.

Cheon Woojin's party was watching this, hidden in a thicket so distance away. To be precise, since Cheon Woojin was not stepping forward, Hwang Byeok and Zhuge Lin were also waiting.

It was then.

"Let go! Let go of , you sons of bitches!"

A snot-nosed boy clung to the trouser leg of a woman presud to be his mother.

The boy was crying, but he did not seem afraid.

The n in black, finding the sight quite amusing, chuckled and kicked the boy.

At that light kick, the boy clutched his stomach and rolled on the ground. Even so, he glared at the n in black with eyes full of malice.

"I'll definitely kill you. I'll definitely kill you bastards."

The voice of the boy shedding tears of blood was heavy for his age. The boy who had witnessed the most brutal side of humanity before his eyes had beco a man.

Seeing this, the n in black's eyes changed.

Sotis, a desire for revenge turns a person into a monster.

The martial world was a place where if you dismissed it as a future event, it would surely return as a sharp sword.

The n in black, who had rolled around in the black path for a long ti, knew this.

A man in black grabbed the hem of the boy's mother's clothes.

The boy looked at this with a frightened face.

"Don't, don't do it...!"

It was then.

The woman, already half-fainted, bit the man in black's hand.

The man in black, who threw the woman away, spat out a curse and raised his dark longsword.

The woman hurriedly shielded her son, and the son, even while being held by the woman, glared at the man in black clearly.

The man in black, while feeling a chill inwardly at that gaze, thought that he must kill him.

Zhuge Lin, who was watching this, couldn't stand it and stepped forward.

"We have to stop them!"

At the sa ti, Cheon Woojin grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"Not yet."

Zhuge Lin was urgent.

But Cheon Woojin's eyes were still calm.

Soon, the man in black, unable to contain his anger, swung his sword at the boy and his mother.

When the mother and son faced death before their eyes.

Clang-!

A sword suddenly blocked the man in black's attack.

Unfortunately, it was not the appearance of a hero.

"Don't touch what's not yours."

"But these dog-like bastards...!"

"Number Seven."

At that low voice, the man in black called Number Seven flinched.

Number Three had deliberately ntioned his rank instead of his na as a warning.

The man called Number Seven spat at the mother and son and then started walking. Number Three looked at the mother and son with a dry gaze, then grabbed the mother's hair and dragged her again.

And so, the won of the village were being loaded onto the carts brought by the n in black one by one.

Zhuge Lin said, as if frustrated.

"Why are we not stepping forward even after coming all this way?"

Cheon Woojin was still watching the whole scene with calm eyes.

How much ti had passed like that?

"It's done now."

"What is?"

"I needed to confirm sothing."

Anyway, the Asura Demon Lord was a disciple of the Dark Heavenly Son. A villain of that level would not do such a thing for fun. His Black Master had repeatedly said that there was always a justification for all the evil deeds of a proper villain.

So he watched for a while.

Kill the n, and kidnap so of the won.

If it was to satisfy lust, they would prefer young won. Even if they had strange tastes, there would be a commonality among those they kidnapped. However, the kidnapped won were of various ages and appearances.

Cheon Woojin noticed one commonality among the kidnapped won. That their yin energy was particularly strong.

This ant that they were kidnapping the won not as objects of desire, but to take their energy.

The reason for kidnapping only won with strong yin energy was obvious.

"Severed Pulse Syndro."

If Cheon Woojin's guess was correct, the Asura Demon Lord must be suffering from Severed Pulse Syndro. Soon, Cheon Woojin walked out of the thicket without any warning.

Zhuge Lin and Hwang Byeok were flustered by his sudden action.

"W-wait, let

prepare a little..."

Anyway, the opponents were dozens of trained black path martial artists.

No matter how much of a deputy commander of the Martial Alliance she was, she could not face him alone. Of course, a monster like Cheon Woojin was with her, but she was not the type to just watch from behind.

However, the most flustered was, of course, Hwang Byeok.

"What the hell are you?"

The n in black who discovered Cheon Woojin spat out a curse and then discovered Hwang Byeok behind him.

Soon, Number Three said.

"Isn't that Team Leader Hwang?"

"Hahaha..."

Hwang Byeok, who was reminded of his position again, let out an awkward laugh.

Number Three, while carefully observing the atmosphere of Hwang Byeok, Cheon Woojin, and Zhuge Lin, shouted.

"It's an ambush!"

At the sa ti, the n in black who were burning the village gathered all at once. Even though it happened in an instant, there was no sign of panic. It ant they were that well-trained.

Suddenly, a burly man with red hair pushed through the n in black and strode out. On his chest was written 'Number One'.

Hwang Byeok swallowed hard.

"Annihilation Team Leader."

They were both team leaders, but their martial skills were worlds apart.

The Tiger Hunt Team was an organization of assassins, and the Annihilation Team was an action team.

He might have a chance if he secretly got behind them and stabbed them in the neck, but in a direct confrontation, he had no chance of winning.

The Annihilation Team Leader looked around the situation for a mont and then burst out laughing.

"Hahahaha! Team Leader Hwang, what's with your appearance? Don't tell

you betrayed the Society Leader?"

The Annihilation Team Leader was not nervous at all despite the sudden situation.

One betrayed team leader, and a young man and woman.

There was no reason to be nervous.

Hwang Byeok said, scratching his head roughly.

"...I had no choice if I wanted to live."

"Hahahaha! Do you think that kind of excuse will work on the Society Leader? Do you think the Society Leader will let you live?"

It was a reality he already knew, but hearing it from another team leader's mouth made Hwang Byeok's heart even more gloomy.

"Fuck..."

If he stuck here, he'd die, and if he stuck there, he'd die.

Hwang Byeok felt suffocated by his situation.

Also, after facing that giant-like guy, he felt pathetic for having trusted these brats and coming all this way.

'Should I stick to that guy now?'

The Annihilation Team Leader was arrogant, but he was not a man without affection.

On the contrary, if he used that arrogance to beg and plead, he might enjoy it and accept him.

Just as Hwang Byeok was racking his brain.

Cheon Woojin glanced back.

Hwang Byeok, who t his eyes, sucked in his breath.

Cheon Woojin's words continued.

"Are you going to choose?"

"..."

Hwang Byeok cursed inwardly.

'The Society Leader, and the Demon Lord... do masters also learn mind reading?'

However, it was not sothing like mind reading.

A master observes everything about a subordinate. Breathing, pulse, the trembling of the pupils. He was just deducing through this.

Hwang Byeok t Cheon Woojin's calm and firm gaze.

He didn't know why, but he suddenly had this thought.

'I can't picture that guy getting beaten.'

In his head, he thought that the Annihilation Team Leader, the Dawn Sky Society Leader, and the Asura Demon Lord were stronger than that brat.

However, a sense like a martial artist's instinct was constantly warning him. About the danger of Cheon Woojin.

Soon, Hwang Byeok scratched his head wildly with both hands and said.

"I don't know either, fuck. Just co at !"

Hwang Byeok rushed at the Annihilation Team Leader, prepared for death.

However, sothing blocked his way.

It was a dark iron staff.

Cheon Woojin looked at Hwang Byeok with a dumbfounded face.

"Who told you to fight? Get back."

"W-what?"

Hwang Byeok was moved for a mont. He thought that this monster-like and unaffectionate man was taking care of him.

However, Cheon Woojin's following words were the opposite.

"If you die, who will guide

to the Dawn Sky Society?"

"...Fuck."

Hwang Byeok cursed again.

"Hahahaha! What the hell are you guys doing?"

The Annihilation Team Leader burst out laughing at the sight. His voice was so loud that the air seed to tremble.

Cheon Woojin faced him with a calm face.

At that, the corners of the Annihilation Team Leader's mouth twitched.

"Why, are you going to fight

alone? That idiot Hwang Byeok aside, the amazing lady behind you seems to know how to fight too?"

Zhuge Lin had also already drawn her sword.

When she t the montary lust that flashed in the Annihilation Team Leader's eyes, she felt nauseous and a desire to kill welled up.

However, Zhuge Lin was not a woman who acted on her emotions. She was a deputy commander of the Martial Alliance and a person of the Zhuge family.

She maintained her composure and assessed the situation.

In any situation, she would coolly analyze the strength of the enemy and allies and make an appropriate judgnt. That was a martial artist of the Zhuge family.

'Young hero Cheon's martial skill is unknown. But it's true that he's stronger than . If so, I'll take care of the rest of the small fry...'

It was then.

Cheon Woojin's back blurred for a mont and then disappeared as if he had sunk into the ground.

Zhuge Lin, whose eyes widened, hurriedly looked around.

Crack-!

Soon, a clear and therefore brutal hitting sound was heard. Zhuge Lin hurriedly looked in the direction of the sound.

"W-what..."

A terrible sight was unfolding.

Cheon Woojin's dark staff had smashed the Annihilation Team Leader's head, and through his neck, chest, dantian, and crotch...

He had literally crushed his body in half.

"..."

A suffocating silence fell on the scene.

The surrounding n in black also froze.

No one could move. No, it was even difficult to breathe.

In that fearful silence, Cheon Woojin calmly retrieved the Crescent Moon Staff. Then the Annihilation Team Leader, who had been crushed in half, collapsed to the ground, and blood dripped from the Crescent Moon Staff that Cheon Woojin had let hang down.

Drip, drip-

It was so quiet that the sound of blood dripping from the Crescent Moon Staff sounded like thunder.

Soon, Cheon Woojin's figure, who was observing the n in black with slow, unhurried movents, disappeared again.

The n in black of the Annihilation Team were terrified.

Because they had clearly seen how their leader had died.

Soon, when Cheon Woojin reappeared.

Crack-!

Another chilling hitting sound erupted.

Where everyone's attention was directed, a scene that was no different from what was expected was unfolding.

After that, Cheon Woojin calmly swung the Crescent Moon Staff.

For a while, blood splattered like a mist in the village.

However, no screams erupted. Because most of the n in black had their heads smashed and died before they could even open their mouths.

The n in black began to flee one by one.

Starting with that, the terrified ones ran towards the outside of the village without looking back.

Cheon Woojin looked at them with a calm gaze, and then.

Swoosh.

He took out the pure white Crane Feather Fan.

Soon, a small breeze ca from the end of the lightly shaken Crane Feather Fan.

The wind, like the flapping of a butterfly's wings, headed towards the n in black and gradually grew in size, eventually transforming into a gust of wind that shook the village.

Whoosh-!

It was just a single strike like that.

Blood, flesh, marrow, and the fear of the n in black mixed with Cheon Woojin's white gust of wind and scattered in the air.

Thud, thud-thud-thud-

Soon, the miscellaneous things that had scattered into the air rained down.

The expressions of Zhuge Lin and Hwang Byeok, who were watching this from a short distance away, beca dazed.

Hwang Byeok's legs were even trembling so much that it was difficult for him to even stand properly.

In the crimson rain of blood, he stood alone with the white Crane Feather Fan in his left hand and the dark Crescent Moon Staff hanging down.

He looked like a demon who had finished a massacre, and also like a divine being who had subdued a demon.

Hwang Byeok, who had seen all sorts of things in the black path, and Zhuge Lin, who had faced all kinds of villains while carrying out the Martial Alliance's missions.

They were sure that they would never forget the scene they were seeing now for the rest of their lives. It was a mont when an impression so strong that it was unprecedented in their lives was clearly engraved deep in their hearts.

(End of Chapter)