[Chapter 51]
'Has he escaped?'
No matter how many times he knocked on the wall, there was no response. It seemed he had successfully escaped.
Nyle moved swiftly yet naturally.
"Who's there?"
"It's me."
"Ah! Man, you almost gave me a heart attack!"
"Sorry about that."
"But why are you here? You're assigned to the east wall, aren't you?"
"My shift has ended. I'm off to change guard."
"Tsk, as if you'd come on your own."
"I haven't eaten all day. I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."
"Sometimes I wonder how big your heart is. Aren't you tense, knowing the chief has been captured by the enemy spies?"
"He's already been caught, what's there to be tense about?"
"Good grief, man. Have you ever seen a spy infiltrate alone? There must be a leak somewhere."
"Leak or not, I need to eat."
"You're something else. Hand over your shoulder armor."
"Here you go."
"Be careful. On a day like this, your nonchalance could be poisonous. Go eat quietly and rest."
"That much?"
"You're so oblivious. It's the chief we're talking about, the chief! Didn't you see the look in the eyes of Lord Beopin earlier? Filled with murderous intent."
"Hmm… I definitely need to be more cautious today."
"You're quite the odd one."
"Thanks anyway. I'll be going now."
"Sure, go rest."
Nyle, clutching his stomach, trotted away gently.
The warrior watching his retreating figure tilted his head.
"What an odd fellow. Can someone really be that inconspicuous? Is it because he's so nonchalant?"
Shortly after, Nyle entered the dining hall and scooped up a few cold side dishes with his rice. Then he hurried back to his quarters.
Clunk.
Nyle opened the door to his quarters.
And immediately, he froze.
'…?!'
The quarters were meant for ten people.
Yet it was empty. Even though it was the time when at least four should have been fast asleep.
A sense of unknown dread made his hair stand on end.
That's when it happened.
"Your food's gone cold, hasn't it?"
Nyle felt chills run down his spine.
"I know a place that serves good food, shall we go together? Looks like you can afford the meal."
"…"
"If you don't want to, that's fine too."
Yeon Hojeong emerged from the shadows, a cold smile on his face.
"They say even a ghost looks prettier after a good meal. Since there'll be no one to hold a memorial for you, might as well enjoy your last meal."
Whack!
A large rice bowl flew towards Yeon Hojeong's face. At the same time, Nyle's form shot up to the roof of the quarters like lightning.
"…!!"
Nyle's eyes widened.
Swish. Swish-swish-swish.
Beyond the roof of the quarters.
Numerous warriors revealed themselves atop various buildings within the inner courtyard.
What was astonishing was where they stood. Each spot had been marked by Nyle as a potential escape route in case of an emergency.
Nyle's eyes wavered.
'How, how did they…?'
These were paths only known to spies or assassins, retreat routes that even experienced warriors of the pugilist world wouldn't know without being taught.
And now, all those paths were blocked. Nyle felt darkness closing in on him.
"I have no desire to argue with a rat at this late hour. So let me tell you in advance."
Nyle looked down.
Yeon Hojeong stood there, an axe resting on his shoulder. The thrown rice bowl and its contents were rolling on the ground.
"The contact you had working in the outer stable has had his throat slit by Chang Eung's sword."
"…!!"
"Come down."
They knew about the existence of the contact as well?
Nyle was dumbfounded. In most organizations, it was rare to use two spies, let alone a contact.
Raising a contact was no easy task, and there were countless cases where poorly infiltrated contacts were caught.
But the contact planted by Yeongho was different.
He was a top-class expert in this field. Contacts, by nature, were less likely to take risks than spies, making them harder to catch.
It was surprising enough that they knew of the contact's existence, but how did they know he worked in the stables?
Swoosh. Whoosh.
Nyle descended to the ground.
His footsteps were light, and though his feet touched the ground, they made no sound. His skill was incredible.
"Who are you?"
"Yeon Hojeong."
A murderous intent flickered in Nyle's eyes. He sensed there was no way out.
But there was one thing he wanted to know.
"Who told you about the contact?"
"I did."
"You?"
"What's so great about that?"
"You, raised like a delicate flower, are telling me you know about spy infiltration and assassin training?"
Yeon Hojeong chuckled lightly.
"If you saw the greenhouse where I grew up, you wouldn't say that."
Spy infiltration? Assassination? Contacts? Such things were commonplace in the underworld.
The underworld, which prefers treachery over justice and lies over truth, is a place where deception is momentary and killing is routine. There are plenty who may not match Nyle's martial arts but surpass him several times over in skill.
And it was Yeon Hojeong who had unified that crazy battlefield of deceit and betrayal.
Once their existence is known, catching a spy or a contact is as easy as swatting a fly.
Nyle's eyes wavered.
"I can't believe it. Are you saying you've become a shadow god?!"
"Is this some newfangled way to insult someone? Where did you dig up such a gloomy creature?"
Thud!
The end of the spear hit the ground, causing a tremor with its intense impact.
"Kneel."
Tssst.
An ominous aura began to emanate from Nyle's body.
Yeon Hojeong nodded.
"As expected, that won't work, will it?"
Boom!
Nyle charged in.
Spies and assassins, due to the nature of their trade, are mostly masters of light-body techniques. They learn martial arts in a completely different way than ordinary martial artists.
Thus, Nyle's movements were fast, faster than any master he had seen since his return.
Whoosh!
A half-fist aimed at the jaw missed its mark.
It wasn't blocked but rather deflected. Nyle was now certain of his opponent's expertise.
'This guy is a professional!'
An attack from a spy trained in body techniques should never be blocked head-on. They always coat their fingernails with a poison that doesn't emit any scent.
Papapapang!
Nyle's assault continued.
It wasn't the same one-hit-kill martial art as Yeon Hojeong's. Since a single scratch from the poisoned nails could incapacitate an opponent, there was no need to waste energy.
Nyle's attacks were relentless. It was a series of continuous strikes requiring extreme endurance. Once unleashed, it was a top-tier assassination technique that was hard to counter.
And Yeon Hojeong was easily neutralizing this industry's top-tier martial art.
Papapa!
'How is this possible.'
The swift and sharp, yet seamless, shadow punches were all missing their target.
'How!!'
Yeon Hojeong's responses were so simple they almost seemed disinterested.
His seemingly careless gestures twisted all the sinister shadow punches.
Being so well-versed in such martial arts, he knew exactly how to counter any attack. If he couldn't block them knowing what they did, he wouldn't be the Dark Emperor.
'Damn it.'
Nyle felt a sense of despair creeping in.
He had planned to defeat his opponent, take him hostage, and escape. But he hadn't landed a single blow, let alone bring him down.
'I can't win…'
A dire situation. It was the worst decision to attack a master who couldn't be taken hostage.
Yeon Hojeong's eyes flashed.
A broken spirit affects the martial arts one wields. Nyle's shadow punches gradually lost their characteristic sharpness.
Whoosh!
Yeon Hojeong targeted Nyle's lower body with his long legs. Whether the spirit was broken or not, it was a difficult angle to defend against.
Crack!
"Argh!"
Nyle's face turned pale. His right knee buckled inward. It was broken.
"As clumsy as ever."
Nyle looked up at Yeon Hojeong.
Yeon Hojeong raised the axe high with both hands.
"Sending you off without even a scratch? What confidence."
Kaboom!
"Aargh!"
A single, brutish axe swing severed the leg. Nyle screamed, shuddered several times, and then fainted.
Yeon Hojeong looked up at the sky with cold eyes.
The moonlight was clear.
"This side is done, Father."
* * *
Panting heavily…
Taekyung's body was drenched in sweat as he raced through the rugged forest.
Though he had cultivated inner strength, he seldom practiced martial arts. Yet, his sprint was swift.
'Faster, must go faster!'
Once trapped in solitary confinement, it would take time to be free again.
But it was an uncertainty. His past life had been too rough to gamble on uncertainties. He couldn't rest easy until he was beyond the borders of Gangso Province.
'I must at least make it to the first safehouse!'
Fortunately, he knew the local terrain like the back of his hand. A spy dispatched without memorizing the geography simply did not exist.
How long had he been running?
The modest peak of the mountain was now within reach. Over this mountain lay the outskirts of Gwandu and the beginning of the Cho Forest. There, the Moyong Clan had painstakingly built a safehouse.
Panting intensifies…
Now it was all downhill. He would pick up speed, much faster than on the uphill.
Just as Taekyung was about to resume his run…
"Is that all you've got?"
Crack!
The sound of a snapping branch echoed unusually loud. It was the branch Taekyung had stepped on.
Taekyung's sweat-soaked face turned ghostly pale.
"So, you've been lurking in the shadows for nearly a decade, deceiving me, just to end up like this?"
Taekyung's hands trembled uncontrollably.
He slowly turned his head.
Rustle.
A middle-aged man emerged beside a large tree.
Tall and slender. On the left side of his waistband hung an ordinary longsword, devoid of any fancy adornments.
But while the sword was ordinary, his gaze was anything but.
The epitome of indifference. The pinnacle of ruthlessness.
"…Clan Leader."
"So, you still address me as Clan Leader?"
Taekyung closed his eyes.
'It's over.'
Yeon Wi was among the top martial artists of the Seven Great Clans' leaders. There was no escaping from the hands of such a rare and supreme master for Taekyung.
Taekyung looked at Yeon Wi.
His eyes, shining under the cold moonlight, were the embodiment of terror. Even the eyes of a wild beast wouldn't be so frightening.
"I… I just…"
"Just?"
"Just wanted to reach the pinnacle of the world."
"With such vile actions?"
Taekyung shouted without realizing.
"What does it matter how one reaches the pinnacle of the world! Not everyone is like you! You, born and raised within the confines of the Yeon Clan, could never understand me!"
"I don't think I need to understand you."
Taekyung bit his lip.
"Please, let me go."
"That I cannot do."
"It wasn't just me who infiltrated as a spy! There are others in the Yeon Clan…!"
"The prison guard Nyle, stablemaster Janghak."
"…!!"
"Anyone else?"
"How could you…?!"
Yeon Wi's eyes deepened.
"You underestimated my son too much."
Only then did Taekyung realize. Yeon Hojeong had lied to him until the very end.
He had been deceived until the moment before heading to the brain prison.
"Any last words?"
"You… that damn cur!!"
Swish!
Taekyung's head fell to the ground.
Yeon Wi looked coldly at the fallen head of Taekyung.
"I asked if you had any last words, not to insult my son."