138. So Mad I'm Hungry.

I walked down the dark road for quite some time.

Walking all night, running, walking, running.

No one complained, so I couldn't open my mouth either. Since lightness skill was mixed in, we had been traveling south at a considerable pace.

Im Sobaek, who had checked the terrain up ahead, spoke.

"Chil Daeju, explain the One Sword Formation."

"Yes."

What type of sword formation was he talking about?

Without any further explanation, Chil Daeju continued.

"Heo San will serve as the Alliance Lord's aide, observing and reporting on all of the Alliance Lord's actions and the surrounding situation."

A man called Heo San answered.

"Acknowledged."

"From now on, Elder Gwan will watch the Hao Gate Lord, and Elder Cheon will watch Young Master Mong."

The two elders answered.

"Acknowledged."

"Understood."

Chil Daeju continued.

"The objective is the main base of the Namak Nokrim Alliance. Until we reach the main base, maintain the sword formation in the current arrangement. Stride, walking speed, direction, advance, and retreat are determined by the Alliance Lord."

Im Sobaek replied briefly.

"Understood."

"The remaining personnel will maintain the formation as it is now and will not pursue enemies who fall more than thirty paces behind. In special situations, act first and report later. When the situation is resolved, rejoin the formation."

At this, everyone answered.

"Acknowledged."

Chil Daeju cleared his throat and emphasized again.

"To summarize. The Sword Tip is the Alliance Lord. The central army corresponding to the Sword Blade supports the Alliance Lord. The Sword Hilt corresponds to the Elders, the Hao Gate Lord, and Young Master Mong, who will monitor the overall situation and provide support. Does everyone acknowledge?"

"Acknowledged."

I briefly exchanged glances with Saekma.

Since neither of us had answered, Chil Daeju asked again.

"Gate Lord, Young Master Mong. Do you acknowledge?"

"Acknowledged."

"Yes."

Chil Daeju nodded.

"Good. From now on, whether ten enemies appear ahead or a thousand block our path, the Murim Alliance's stride remains the same. We thrust with the sword, cut, and break through to charge until we reach the main base of the Namak Nokrim Alliance."

It was a unique sword formation.

Its purpose and operation were entirely different from the sword formations of Taoist sects that focused on defense or coordinated stepping.

It was right to see it as a breakthrough-type sword formation honed by the Murim Alliance through actual combat.

When I looked up at the sky, the pitch-black clouds had scattered into tiny fragments, and now the moonlight was illuminating the world below.

In the meantime, Alliance Lord Im seemed to be trying to match the formation's breathing as he alternated between increasing and decreasing his walking speed, and at one point he moved using lightness skill before stopping.

Participating in a sword formation was a novel experience for me too.

Because I had never been part of any sword formation before.

Anyway, except for me and that Saekma bastard, everyone looked well accustomed to it.

We walked again until just before dawn, and when Alliance Lord Im gave the order to make camp, the alliance members who took their places in the clearing built a bonfire in the center, while those who looked like the youngest members swept the ground.

It was a camp in a clearing so utterly empty it was absurd.

Shortly after, we lay down in a circle surrounding the bonfires that had been lit here and there.

Im Sobaek spoke briefly.

"We will rest for two shichen. Those who wish to sleep, sleep."

"Yes."

I scratched my head once, and the moment I closed my eyes with a comfortable mind, I fell asleep.

* * *

"We depart."

When I opened my eyes, it was already dawn. Alliance members could be seen putting out the bonfires here and there, and Im Sobaek, who had been walking around stretching, spoke to me.

"Gate Lord, you sleep well. Being able to sleep that soundly is a skill in itself."

"You speak the truth."

I nodded with bleary eyes, then kicked Saekma, who lay sprawled out as if unconscious.

"Get up. The bandits are here."

"Wagh!"

Saekma let out a bizarre cry and sprang up.

The alliance members preparing to depart were startled and looked at Saekma all at once.

"......!"

Saekma's head whipped this way and that.

"Where are they? Where? The bandits."

I answered.

"Were you dreaming?"

"......."

Im Sobaek spoke with a smile.

"Let's depart."

As Im Sobaek took the lead, the alliance members instantly followed like a single sword extending outward, maintaining the formation.

Watching such a scene at dawn, Im Sobaek and the Murim Alliance seemed impressively formidable anew.

While I let out a lengthy yawn, Im Sobaek spoke to the alliance members.

"We will soon enter the vicinity of Namak. The Green Forest bandits may have poisoned ordinary homes, inns, wells, and the like, so we will skip breakfast."

"Yes."

"When we reach the foot of the mountain, we will force a breakthrough according to the signal. We will eat breakfast at the main base of the Namak Alliance."

Chil Daeju said,

"Alliance Lord, there will be no breakfast."

"Then let it serve as both breakfast and lunch."

"Yes."

Chil Daeju said,

"Jongchan, hand out the jerky."

"Yes, Commander."

At his words, a young man approached me and handed pieces of jerky wrapped in paper to me and Saekma.

"My thanks."

I chewed the jerky as I walked. Looking around, everyone was chewing jerky pulled from their waists or robes.

I chewed the jerky and let my thoughts flow out.

"This is sweet, so sweet, bittersweet. It's sweet, it's salty. Sweet-salty, sweet-salty."

"......."

Saekma, who had been looking at his own jerky beside me, asked,

"Want to trade?"

"It's the same damn thing, so just eat it."

Elder Cheon, who was nearby, approached Saekma and held out his jerky with an innocent expression.

"Young Master Mong, would you try this? Have a taste."

"Ah, yes. Senior. I will enjoy it."

As Saekma chewed the jerky, Elder Cheon spoke teasingly from beside him.

"It's the same thing. All jerky is the same, isn't it?"

"Hah!"

“Hahahaha.”

Suddenly, Elder Gwan and Elder Cheon burst into laughter at the same time. It was nothing much, yet the two elders were laughing as if they might die.

The Lecher walked along with a complicated expression, looking utterly deflated.

Seventh Unit Leader said,

“Elders, you’ll wake all the bandits standing watch nearby.”

“My apologies.”

“I forgot. This is the perfect place to keep watch.”

Sure enough, it was a mountain path with cliffs rising on both sides, the perfect terrain for an ambush.

But even before that, the Namak Green Forest Alliance must already have seen the Murim Alliance approaching, for the sound of a horn echoed from somewhere a short distance away.

Boooooo…….

Alliance Leader Im seemed to know the terrain inside and out as he explained the place they were moving through.

“There are places for ambushes on both sides. It’s a basin-shaped area where the front and rear can also be blocked off, so prepare for an attack soon.”

“Yes.”

The morning sun was rising so brightly that it hardly felt as if we were in the middle of an assault on the Namak Green Forest Alliance.

The tranquil mountain scenery made the situation seem all the more unreal.

A moment later, when Alliance Leader Im, who was at the front, stopped walking……

Green Forest bandits revealed themselves ahead on the broad mountain path.

In an instant, the Namak Alliance blocked off what looked like the entrance……

And on the left and right of the mountain path, Green Forest bandits appeared like spear-wielding primitives, showing their grimy faces.

A voice laced with internal energy rang out from the Namak Alliance’s side.

“Alliance Leader Im, what brings you all the way down here? Have you come with that shabby force to surrender to our alliance leader?”

Im Sobaek replied,

“Is Alliance Leader Yelu here?”

“Naturally, he is asleep. If you have business, speak to me.”

“Tell him it is not too late, and that he should surrender even now.”

The bandits laughed as one.

“You brought a mere hundred men and are telling us to surrender?”

At that moment, Im Sobaek raised one finger from the very front.

“……Break through.”

Before the words “break through” had even finished, Im Sobaek’s form suddenly shot forward alone. Then the hundred Murim Alliance members sprinted at full speed after him.

Dudududududududu!

Absurdly enough, the instant a flustered atmosphere could be sensed up ahead, stones, arrows, and hidden weapons poured down in haste from atop the cliffs on both sides.

But they were far too slow for Alliance Leader Im’s speed.

Nor did they reach the alliance members chasing fiercely after him.

It was truly an advance like a flash of lightning…….

Before long, Im Sobaek was alone in midair, drawing his sword and pouring out sword qi like an axe chopping down toward a group of bandits that easily numbered over a hundred.

Swaeeeeeeeeek!

When the sword qi struck the ground after cutting through flesh, Green Forest bandits were sent flying in all directions with a thunderous roar. It was a sight so absurd that I felt disbelief even while seeing it with my own eyes.

Immediately after, the Guard Hall protecting Alliance Leader Im charged as a group, and the Seven Swords Unit led by Seventh Unit Leader rushed forward with their swords drawn.

In an instant, the Seven Swords Unit advanced while cutting through the Green Forest bandits, charging on without precisely taking their opponents’ lives as they followed after Alliance Leader Im.

They opened the path like a death squad made of assault, charge, advance, and fierce attack all combined.

In truth, I had nothing to do at the rear.

It was my first time seeing such an easy role as a supporting force.

When Elder Cheon and Elder Gwan, who were waiting on the left and right, waved their hands a few times, the incoming projectiles were knocked away in midair.

At that moment, up ahead on the right, a massive boulder that looked as if a full moon had briefly descended to earth was swaying precariously, and behind it, over a dozen Green Forest bandits were straining with all their might to push it loose.

Then the Lecher’s form wavered briefly before he climbed the cliff vertically, shot upward, and poured out a snow-white palm force. When the Green Forest bandits froze without any particular sound, that Lecher bastard drove a finger technique into the boulder once, then descended from the cliff again. The Green Forest bandits clinging to the massive boulder froze along with it.

But the impressive one was not the Lecher, but Elder Cheon.

He had leapt atop the cliff at the same speed as the Lecher, caught up as if covering the Lecher’s rear, and returned together with him.

When the Lecher and Elder Cheon returned and rejoined the sword formation, the speed of the charge increased again.

As Alliance Leader Im had said, these people were the elites of the Murim Alliance.

In the blink of an eye, they traversed the mountain path with Alliance Leader Im at the lead and ran up the uphill road that the enemies had blocked here and there.

Now there were more enemies we had passed by and who were following behind us than enemies standing in our way.

Only then did I finally have something to do, occasionally pouring out palm force or swinging my blade. But even this work did not offer many chances, since the elders of the Murim Alliance were rampaging like young men.

Im Sobaek’s calm voice came from the front, where he was breaking through.

“Stand by.”

Seventh Unit Leader picked up the order.

“Stand by.”

When we climbed the hill road, a wide space appeared, as if there were plains halfway up the mountain, and beyond it the mountain stronghold could be seen. A long stretch of wooden palisade had been built along the terrain of the mountain.

There truly were many bandits.

They looked like bandits who had come from another world (別世界). Their attire was like that, and the colors of their clothing were unusually striking. Was it because they made clothes out of animal hides? Somehow, I got the feeling that their civilization lagged slightly behind.

Which meant words would not get through to them…….

I had a premonition that nothing but slaughter was about to unfold.

Only then did the old story of the Seven Captures and Seven Releases (七縱七擒) come back to me. If we were not going to kill them all, it seemed we really would have to capture and release them about seven times.

Judging by Alliance Leader Im Sobaek’s personality so far…….

In my previous life, it seemed someone among the alliance members had been wounded or killed during the assault on the Namak Alliance.

So I guessed that he had probably staged a massacre so brutal it could be considered unnecessary.

Without thinking much, I slipped to the side and looked around.

We had broken through to the main camp far too easily.

Alliance Leader Im and the Murim Alliance were certainly impressive, but I found myself wondering if the Green Forest Alliance was really this incompetent.

Before I knew it, the forces surrounding us were increasing more and more. I looked over the faces of the Green Forest bandits and moved with my hands clasped behind my back, then came to a stop.

A bandit bastard with a head full of white hair was glaring at me.

“…….”

I looked at him, then let out a sigh.

“Alliance Leader Im.”

Im Sobaek, who was facing off against the enemy at the front, replied,

“What is it?”

“There are members of the unorthodox faction mixed in among the bandits here and there. It is not just the Green Forest Alliance.”

“The unorthodox faction and the Green Forest are the same, so there is no need to concern yourself.”

The Murim Alliance members, including me, looked widely over the encirclement. Only then did the main gate of the palisade split open to the left and right, and a tall man and a scrawny man walked out.

It seemed the Namak Alliance Leader had come out, and soon a brief war of words broke out between him and Im Sobaek.

Whether they continued their war of words or not…….

With an indifferent expression, I first wrapped Yeomhwahyang around my right hand.

At the sound of Fwoosh— the lecher looked at me.

“What are you doing?”

I met the lecher’s eyes, then raised my left hand with a blank gaze. This time, I wrapped the Hyeonwol palm force of the Wolyeong Mujeonggong around my left hand.

The lecher approached with an urgent expression.

“Ah, don’t do it…….”

“Too late.”

The lecher shouted to the Murim Alliance members.

“R-run!”

In an instant, the people around me scattered outward like ripples spreading in a circle.

As I combined Hyeonwol and the Flame Realm, I thought. Was I hungry because I was pissed off, or pissed off because I was hungry?

Either way, I was pissed off.

‘……I’ll kill him first and think later.’

Since I could die as well if I was hit by this, I gritted my teeth and forcibly combined the crimson Flame Realm and the white Hyeonwol before my eyes, crumpling them together into the shape of taiji.

Crackle, crackle, crackle……!