Chapter 28: Chapter 28

As Lee Byeok stepped out of the carriage, he saw Old Master Go calming the agitated horses.

A huge log had fallen in the direction the carriage was heading, blocking the road.

Just then, without any time to think about the situation further, several arrows flew toward the carriage.

Lee Byeok gripped his sword.

In that fleeting moment, his gaze met Old Master Go's as he jumped down from the driver's seat, and the two stood on either side of the carriage, guarding it.

Chaeng, chaeng chaeng!

They deflected all the arrows. Not a single one hit the horses or the carriage.

Lee Byeok sheathed his sword and looked at the surrounding forest. He could feel presences here and there.

“Keuha, keuhaaaak……!”

Soon, figures began to appear one by one. Each holding a spear or a sword, they slowly closed the distance.

“Hmph, they’re coming out crawling.”

Lee Byeok observed the figures.

They wore a variety of shabby clothes, and their auras were extremely weak. Bandits, and a disorderly mob at that.

But… Lee Byeok felt a sense of unease. Something was strange. They all had dazed faces. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ NoveI[F]ire.net

They didn't say anything or demand money. They just revealed their killing intent with bloodshot eyes.

“If you hadn’t blocked the road, I wouldn’t have bothered looking for you. Come any closer and I’ll kill you.”

Just then, Lee Byeok, feeling a sense of foreboding in Old Master Go's voice, quickly kicked off the ground.

He pushed one of them in front.

The opponent fell back helplessly.

And Lee Byeok dove into the midst of the bandits. He unleashed the Azure River Sword Style in all directions with his scabbard.

They were no match for him. If a weapon touched, the weapon broke, and if a body touched, it was sent flying.

After felling all the bandits in front of him in an instant, Lee Byeok stepped on the roof of the carriage and jumped over to the other side.

He blocked Old Master Go's path.

“What are you doing?”

“They are people who have not even properly learned martial arts. There is no need to take lives unnecessarily.”

Old Master Go, who had been staring at Lee Byeok's back with his wrinkled eyes, sheathed his saber.

“If you don't want me to interfere, then you handle it.”

And as Old Master Go turned back to the driver's seat, Lee Byeok once again rushed toward the enemies.

Every time he swung the scabbard, bodies were violently shaken. In just a few breaths, there was no one left standing.

Lee Byeok climbed onto the carriage.

He looked down at the enemies on both sides.

“Keueueu! I’ll kill you!”

The fallen enemies began to get up one by one, letting out monstrous screams.

Lee Byeok didn't even draw his sword from its scabbard. If they could think, they would know that they were no match for him at all.

A few of them aimed their bows at Lee Byeok. It would not be easy for Lee Byeok to block both sides at the same time.

Lee Byeok released his aura.

“I’m warning you. If you retreat now, I’ll let you go. Otherwise, you’ll have to risk your lives.”

Only then did their movements stop.

They let out beastly groans and slowly backed away. It seemed more like an instinctive action than understanding his words.

He didn't know the reason, but these people were not in a normal state. The best course of action would be to get out of here.

Lee Byeok saw the log blocking the road in front. He had to clear it to open the way.

Just as Lee Byeok was about to use his sword.

A gruesome sound came from behind.

Lee Byeok turned around and saw a huge bald man who had appeared there.

In one of the man's hands was a huge axe. Drip, drip, blood flowed down the blade.

At his feet, two bandits lay fallen. No, the bodies that had lost their heads could no longer be called human.

Two heads rolled on the ground. The bodies twitched and convulsed, spewing blood.

“Pathetic. Pathetic.”

Tuk, he kicked one of the heads.

The bald man took a swig from a wine bottle he held in his other hand. He looked around at the bandits with hazy, unfocused eyes.

“To think you’d get scared and turn your backs on a kid and an old man. You’re all useless.”

The man seemed to be their leader. But his gaze was more like that of someone looking at insects than at his subordinates.

Keueuk, the man burped.

His gaze turned toward the carriage.

“Good, good, hehe, to be hiding so well in this situation, there must be a woman inside. I hope she’s a young one.”

The man turned to his subordinates again.

Gulp, gulp, and the man drank again. Thump, the empty wine barrel was thrown to the ground.

The bandits began to rush toward the carriage again. They kicked off the ground with their staggering bodies.

It was like a pack of beasts that had finished weighing the odds between fear and a greater fear.

Lee Byeok's gaze wavered.

Old Master Go did not move. Eon Mi-hee was protecting Ji Soyak inside the carriage, and she should.

Enemies were rushing in from both sides at the same time.

Lee Byeok, who had jumped down from the carriage, rushed toward the enemies on the right. There was not much time.

He swung the scabbard, imbued with inner energy.

In one blow, he swept the bandits' lower bodies.

The bandits collapsed. Whether their minds and bodies were normal or not, broken legs could not support their bodies.

And Lee Byeok's body shot up from its spot again. He passed over the carriage and did a full rotation in the air.

Tat, he landed on the other side of the carriage.

He swung the scabbard again at the enemies who were just about to reach the carriage.

He broke their lower bodies in the same way. He had no leeway to worry about the opponents' well-being.

“Kid, you’re annoying.”

Just then, the sound of a heavy wind pierced his ears. A blood-stained axe was swung toward Lee Byeok.

A clear sign of inner energy was contained within it. Just as Lee Byeok was finally about to draw his sword.

One of the bandits came between Lee Byeok and the leader. It was not of his own will. The leader had grabbed him and pulled him.

Lee Byeok hesitated. And.

Before Lee Byeok's eyes, the bandit's waist was split open.

The man's axe had split his own subordinate with the same momentum with which it had been swung.

Blood, flesh, and entrails poured onto Lee Byeok, and through it, the axe blade, which had not lost its momentum, dug in.

Lee Byeok could not draw his sword.

The moment he was covered in warm blood, his heart wavered, and by the time he came to his senses, the axe was already right in front of him.

Lee Byeok barely blocked it with his scabbard. It was a relief that his inner energy had not been cut off.

Chaeng! Chaeng chaeng!

The axe, riding on the momentum, was swung wildly. It did not give Lee Byeok a chance to draw his sword.

In the thick smell of blood, Lee Byeok's heart began to beat rapidly. Lee Byeok continuously stepped back.

Along with his heart, his inner energy wavered.

Lee Byeok tried to compose himself.

“Keukeu, are you afraid of killing? Your sword is impressive, but a kid is still a kid.”

The leader seemed to have already read Lee Byeok's mind. Another subordinate was caught in his hand.

Lee Byeok's attack path was blocked.

Lee Byeok was pushed back again.

He had blocked it recklessly without proper preparation, and the strain accumulated on his shoulder.

As Lee Byeok showed an opening, the leader once again tore through his subordinate's body and swung the axe. Blood and entrails splattered all over Lee Byeok.

He barely blocked the axe.

A similar pattern was repeated afterward.

Every time Lee Byeok tried to draw his sword and launch an offensive, the leader would grab a subordinate and use him as a shield.

After creating an opening like that, the leader's axe would crush the subordinate's body and dig into Lee Byeok.

He fell for the same trick several times. But Lee Byeok still couldn't make a decision.

One by one, living lives were being consumed like firewood. The bandits whose legs had been broken by Lee Byeok couldn't even escape.

The limbs and heads of people who had been alive just a moment ago were dismembered and scattered.

Heok, Lee Byeok's breathing grew ragged.

Lee Byeok reflexively looked back. His eyes met Old Master Go's from the driver's seat. But his gaze was stern.

A blind sword stabbed Lee Byeok.

While he was looking away, one of the fallen bandits had extended his sword and managed to wound Lee Byeok's side.

“Keukeu, well done, you trash.”

And the axe flew again.

He had to block it. But due to the wound, his reaction was a little too late. It was a life-or-death moment.

For a moment, his body froze.

Without even drawing the sword he had honed his entire life from its scabbard, a ruthless axe was about to split Lee Byeok's body.

—Be safe, Byeok. Take care of yourself.

—Got it, Lee Byeok? First is self-preservation, second is also self-preservation. Take care of your body like your life depends on it.

The moment he thought of death, a few faces flashed by. He couldn't die. He had decided not to die.

My life is not my own.

A bluish light tinged Lee Byeok's scabbard, which he had not drawn. Lee Byeok swung his sword, and an afterimage created a line.

But by then, a thin line of light had already been engraved on his axe, his face, and his upper body.

Slowly, a gap opened.

Lee Byeok poured the water bucket over his body.

The ice-cold water washed over his entire body. Blood and flesh flowed down and were carried away by the stream.

Lee Byeok looked at the water surface, which was spreading red around him.

The only wound he had was a minor sword cut on his thigh. In other words, all this blood was someone else's.

It was the first time he had cut a person.

But that was the Murim.

No matter what you say, a sword is ultimately a weapon for cutting people, and in front of it, the weight of a life is like a piece of paper.

Lee Byeok poured water over himself again.

Too many lives had died before his eyes, but it was not his fault.

In a life-or-death battlefield, there is no obligation to take care of the enemy's life.

It's just that no matter how many times he poured water on his body, the smell of blood didn't seem to go away.

Just then, he felt a presence in the bushes. When he turned his gaze, Eon Mi-hee appeared with a grave expression.

“What is it, young miss?”

“It’s just… hyaaaak!”

Eon Mi-hee, who was approaching, shrieked in terror. She covered her face with both hands and hastily sat down in the bushes.

Only then did Lee Byeok realize that he was completely naked.

Lee Byeok smiled bitterly.

Lee Byeok came up to the shore, dried his body with a cloth, and put on a new spare set of martial arts uniform.

The uniform he had been wearing was ruined.

“I-I’m sorry, young master! I was careless! I’ve never seen a man’s naked body before— no, I didn’t see anything! Really!”

Eon Mi-hee flailed her arms and legs.

But contrary to her words, Eon Mi-hee couldn't lift her head. She didn't dare to meet Lee Byeok's eyes.

After an awkward silence, the two cut through the bushes and headed back to where the carriage was.

Suddenly, Eon Mi-hee spoke.

“Of course. It’s not even a wound.”

Eon Mi-hee's eyes moved.

Haah, she let out a small sigh.

“…I’m sorry I couldn’t help.”

“That’s not something to be sorry about. I’m an escort warrior, and you and the Pavilion Mistress are the ones being escorted, so it’s natural for you to stay in the carriage.”

“…The first time I killed someone, I was sick for days. Even though the opponent was an evil person who deserved to die.”

Eon Mi-hee's voice trembled slightly.

It took a moment to understand the meaning of her words. Lee Byeok realized that she was trying to comfort him.

“…You are strong, young master.”

“Even if I’m not fine, there’s not much I can do about it, is there?”

Lee Byeok had decided to prioritize his own life.

If he had to bear the weight of killing, then so be it.

There are problems in the world that have no answer no matter how much you think about them.

However, if he were to experience the same situation again, he would not show the disgrace of being unable to draw his sword and putting himself in danger.

One mistake is enough.

Lee Byeok chose growth over getting lost in unanswerable worries. Soon, the carriage came into view in the distance.

The traces of the bodies had all been cleared away.

It was Old Master Go's work. The old man, who had finished disposing of more than ten bodies, sat calmly in the driver's seat.

Lee Byeok recalled the moment their eyes met during the battle. Old Master Go had not helped Lee Byeok until the very end.

—If you don't want me to interfere, then you handle it.

He didn't want to get blood on his hands.

So he stood in front of Old Master Go, and as a result, Lee Byeok put himself in danger.

Of course, the result is just the result.

If you look for the cause, it's countless.

But at that moment, Old Master Go's stern gaze had more meaning than words.