"Gone?!"
"Y-yes, that's right!"
"Why is she gone? Why is she gone, you bastard?!"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
Chagwang bowed so low that his forehead touched the ground. His posture demonstrated just how flexible a human waist could be.
Seoryang roared.
"You bastards! Even if it was the Great Lord's order, how could none of you know where she went or what she's doing? Aaargh!"
He was on the verge of exploding. No, he had already exploded.
Chagwang, as well as the rest of the Demon Horse Squad, all shrunk their necks like turtles.
Who was this young man before them? He was the disciple of the Sect Leader, the highest-ranking figure in the Divine Sect. Moreover, he was the tyrant who had effortlessly beaten the respected Great Lord to a pulp.
Though they were infamous as mad demons, they didn’t dare raise their heads. And now, seeing him up close, the Third Young Master didn’t seem particularly sane either.
As the saying goes, only a madman can truly understand another madman.
They realized that if they provoked the Third Young Master now, they would be utterly destroyed to the point where even hellish training would seem beautiful in comparison.
"Uh..."
Seoryang suddenly turned his head.
"What?!"
One of the Demon Horse Squad members stammered.
"Perhaps... she went out for a drink...?"
"You bastard! What kind of damn drink are you talking about? In this situation, do you think alcohol would go down smoothly? Are you insane?"
The Great Lord was indeed insane.
The squad member couldn’t bring himself to say that out loud.
If Seoryang had known that he had told Weihongryeon to go drink, he wouldn’t have been able to say anything at all.
It would only confirm that the Third Young Master was completely out of his mind.
"Then... perhaps she went to the Demon Horse Squad...?"
"Think logically! If she had gone there, there would have been chaos in the neighboring area by now! Did you hear any fighting? Did you feel it? Did you smell it?!"
"...Your words are a hundred times correct, Young Master."
Seoryang scratched his head furiously.
"I must be insane! I must have been out of my mind! How could I have trusted that wretched woman with anything?!"
Now, he had moved beyond anger and into self-blame.
The Demon Horse Squad instinctively realized that this was a very dangerous state.
"Uh..."
"What now?!"
The squad member shrunk his neck. The Third Young Master’s glare was truly terrifying.
"Still, perhaps you should go to the Demon Horse Squad..."
"Do you want to fight me?"
"N-no! That’s not what I meant!"
"Then what? Are you picking a fight with me? Do you want to die? Should I split your skull into two hundred and thirty pieces?!"
"N-no, that’s not it... If it’s hard to find our Great Lord, perhaps we should focus on finding the Demon Horse Squad Leader..."
"You bastard! In the end, it’s all the same..."
Suddenly, Seoryang’s eyes widened.
"Huh? Huh?"
What’s this? This isn’t a bad idea.
No, it’s not just not bad—it’s groundbreaking. It’s a complete shift in thinking, isn’t it?
"You! What’s your name?"
"W-wonwoo, sir."
"You bastard! Wonwoo! I’ll remember your name! Thanks, man!"
Seoryang ruthlessly patted Wonwoo’s head and then quickly activated his movement technique.
Leaving behind only a storm of madness, he disappeared into a dot.
"..."
An eerie silence fell over the Demon Horse Squad.
Chagwang glanced at Wonwoo.
"You’re not bad, huh?"
"No, Vice Leader."
"Don’t be modest. You saved us, man."
"And also... we should have some fun too."
"Fun? What fun?"
"The Third Young Master came here to find our Great Lord, right?"
"That’s right."
"We know how scary the Third Young Master is, so we kept our heads down, but the Demon Horse Squad doesn’t know that."
"...Huh?"
"Those bastards have always been annoying. Let’s bring a calamity upon them."
Chagwang’s eyes gleamed.
"You!"
"Yes, Vice Leader."
"Well done, man."
"Thank you."
Crash!
Weihongryeon, who had been thrown through a perfectly fine wall, quickly regained her stance.
But that was all. Her low stance kept wobbling as if her legs had lost all strength.
"Gasp! Gasp!"
Her breath reeked of blood.
Her complexion was as pale as a sheet of paper, and her left arm hung limply, possibly broken.
"You bastard! That half-crippled bastard has trained his martial arts to a ridiculous level."
Crunch.
Through the broken wall, Songgyeong appeared.
Songgyeong was also covered in blood. Like Weihongryeon, his left arm was broken and dangling, but his dislocation seemed more severe.
Sizzle.
Yet, he was still alive. His bloodshot eyes glared at Weihongryeon as if he were about to shoot fireballs.
Weihongryeon smirked.
"What a beautiful night."
"...You bitch."
"The longer the night, the longer the dreams. Come on, stick your neck out. I’ll cut it cleanly and preserve it in my room."
"I’ll skin you whole and wear you like a cloak on special occasions."
"Disgusting pervert."
"Even a dog wouldn’t bite a crazy bitch like you."
The insults and killing intent between them grew more intense with each passing moment.
But neither of them could easily make a move.
The angrier they got, the more they wanted to win, and they knew that to win, they couldn’t make the first move.
In the vast world, finding someone with comparable martial prowess is no easy task. In that sense, the two of them, though stained by a bad relationship, were a well-matched pair.
"Whew!"
Weihongryeon exhaled deeply and relaxed her stance, sheathing her sword.
Songgyeong frowned deeply.
"Surrendering without declaring it? What are you trying to do?"
"What am I trying to do? I think I can beat you with my bare hands, so I’m doing this."
"...You’ve gone even crazier after taking a few hits."
"I’m not like you, who needs a weapon to talk big."
"..."
"What are you doing? Come on. I’ll personally fight you bare-handed."
Songgyeong, who had been staring intently at Weihongryeon, casually threw his sword away.
Thud!
The sword flew and embedded itself deep into a rock. Despite his severe injuries and significant internal energy consumption, he still had some strength left.
Crack.
He adjusted his broken left arm, hardened it with demonic energy, and raised both fists.
"After all, slashing or stabbing to death is too simple."
"Huh? You don’t need your sword?"
"Someone like you, I can handle with just my feet..."
Suddenly, Songgyeong crouched.
Crack!!
His body, which had been pushed back, hit the wall and stopped.
Weihongryeon, who had charged at an incredible speed and delivered a kick, laughed.
"Is this all you’ve got?"
"...You sneaky bitch!"
"In a life-and-death battle, who cares about sneaky or not!"
Bam bam bam!
The two exchanged punches.
As expected, they didn’t dodge or deflect. Their faces were quickly ruined in the brutal exchange of blows.
Crash crash bang!
Their feet gradually sank into the ground.
To avoid retreating, they kept rolling their feet, leaving no ground untouched. The cracked earth shattered, scattering sharp stone fragments everywhere.
After several exchanges...
Whoosh!
A powerful demonic energy pressed down on the surroundings.
As if they had been waiting for it, both stopped their punches. The density of the demonic energy was too significant to ignore.
"Great Lord Weihongryeon!"
Whoosh!
With the sound of air bursting, Madongpil rushed in from afar.
Songgyeong’s face, swollen to the point of looking smooth, twisted like a pig’s bladder.
"What’s that guy?"
"What do you think, bastard?"
Weihongryeon smirked. Her face, too, looked like a pig’s bladder.
"Reinforcements have arrived!"
Crack!
Songgyeong staggered back.
A palm strike to the chin. If he hadn’t tilted his head back at the last moment, he would have been knocked out.
At the same time, Weihongryeon also retreated. As soon as Songgyeong was hit in the chin, she kicked him in the abdomen with her toes.
Even in this situation, they exchanged blows. It was a testament to their equal martial prowess.
"Cough!"
Weihongryeon vomited blood.
"Great Lord!"
Swish!
Madongpil quickly arrived by her side and supported her.
"Are you alright?"
"Ugh... bastard, does this look alright to you?"
The martial arts of the Demon Horse Squad and the Demon Horse Squad Leader were clearly on par.
But Weihongryeon was still suffering from internal injuries from a previous battle. She had been at a disadvantage from the start.
No martial artist enters a life-and-death battle in perfect condition. But considering her condition, Weihongryeon’s venom was definitely a step above Songgyeong’s.
Madongpil clicked his tongue.
"That’s why you should’ve waited until I arrived. Why did you go out and get yourself beaten to a pulp?"
"You bastard. So I should’ve just stood there when that guy showed up?"
"Did he show up, or did you go looking for him?"
"..."
"You’ve had a rough time."
Weihongryeon muttered under her breath.
From what could be heard, it was a mix of "Have you ever been hot for anyone, you bastard?", "Cold-hearted bastard," "Emotional cripple," and other mind-numbing insults.
At that moment, Songgyeong spoke.
"Who are you?"
Madongpil took a stance.
"I am Madongpil, Third Captain of the Law Enforcement Division."
He showed some respect to his opponent.
Even as the leader of an internal combat unit, it was proper to show some courtesy. The position of a Law Enforcement Division Captain was not a light one.
But, as if they were a matched pair, Songgyeong didn’t seem to care about such trivial matters.
"Law Enforcement Division or whatever, get lost! How dare you interrupt a fight?!"
Madongpil’s eyes deepened.
If the opponent was going to act like this, there was no need for him to show courtesy either.
"I won’t waste words. Kneel."
"What?!"
"I said kneel. The Third Young Master will be here soon..."
Whoosh!
Madongpil paused.
The sword he had half-drawn emitted a faint smoke where it had blocked Songgyeong’s fist wind.
"You have some skill to talk big."
"Last warning. Kneel."
"...How dare you!"
Songgyeong’s hands moved like lightning. He swung his broken left arm as if he felt no pain.
Bam bam bam bam!
A barrage of fist winds and palm strikes.
Madongpil’s eyes flashed.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Though not fast, his heavy and powerful sword strikes blocked all of Songgyeong’s attacks.
Swoosh!
He even went a step further. The tip of Madongpil’s sword was now just an inch away from Songgyeong’s chest.
Songgyeong’s cheek twitched.
"Did you hold back?"
Madongpil said coldly.
"Kneel."
Weihongryeon muttered.
"Hey! Leave him! That bastard’s mine!"
Swoosh.
Just when it seemed like it was over, the killing intent surged again. Songgyeong was almost becoming the embodiment of killing intent.
"...Fine."
"Kneel..."
Boom!
Madongpil staggered back.
The palm strike exploded right in front of him. Songgyeong, too, seemed to have overexerted himself, vomiting blood. His trembling legs suggested he could barely stand.
But Songgyeong had a reason for overexerting himself.
Sizzle! Boom!
A small cylinder he pulled from his chest. A red firework shot into the sky, flickered a few times, and then went out.
Madongpil sighed.
"You’re making things difficult."
"That bastard’s always been like this. He’s fundamentally sneaky."
"What do we do now? He called for reinforcements."
"What about our reinforcements?"
"..."
"Why? Aren’t they coming?"
"It’s all your fault!"
"You bastard? Why are you suddenly yelling?"
"If you survive, be careful. Your Young Master is going to beat you senseless."
"Hmph! Nonsense."
As the two bickered inappropriately for the situation, Songgyeong spoke coldly.
"You, Law Enforcement Division Captain, deal with the reinforcements. You! This damn bitch, come out right now!"
"You come in first, bastard! Scared?!"
"You bitch!"
...The situation was getting quite messy.
At that moment, in the Demon Horse Squad.
"S-sorry..."
"Sorry my ass! What’s this? Why are fifty people missing? Where did they go?"
"With the Great Lord..."
"Huh?"
At that moment, a bright red firework appeared high in the sky.
Seoryang whistled softly.
"How lovely."
But the Demon Horse Squad’s reaction was different.
"Huh? Move! Now!"
"The Great Lord’s call..."
"Gasp! Hey! Shut..."
At that moment, Seoryang wrapped his arm around the shoulder of the squad member who was about to tell him to shut up.
"What did you say?"
"Gasp!"
"Is the Demon Horse Squad Leader over there?"
"..."
"Oh ho."
Seoryang’s eyes filled with madness.
"You bastard, you’re caught now."