Chapter 64

Chapter 64. They say even dog poop can be used as medicine, yet those who were struck directly by the Flame Master were flattened.

Amidst this chaos, those with keen senses and excellent agility managed to dodge, but it mattered not.

I had succeeded in seizing the initiative.

As soon as I landed on the ground shaped like a palm, I wrapped my right hand in flames once more, as if to unleash the Flame Master again.

As my hand turned red under the moonlight... the ragtag alliance retreated in unison.

This was a normal reaction.

The bodies of those who had been struck directly by the Flame Master lay scattered around.

The leaders of the enemy forces set up the ragtag members as shields and retreated further.

Thus, I had drawn all attention with a single attack.

Not to kill the ragtag members, but to gain the right to speak, that was my purpose.

"Where is Eun Gwi-ja Yu Sa-cheong? Hiding, are you? Where is that madman of the Murakmun, whether a bat or a rat? You’re hiding too, huh? I heard the crazy Lady Cheol-sam joined in, right? Ah, there you are. Listen well, everyone. I killed the vice leader of the Unwoo Association."

I pointed at the glaring Iryongnogun beyond my subordinates.

"And that guy over there. Remember that you are dying today because of that old fool who has only aged and eats whatever the Great Elder gives him."

Phew, I finished it short and sharp.

With this, I had provoked all the enemy leaders.

In chaotic battles, it is effective to provoke first.

The more people die, the more the allies tend to blame each other.

I drew the black cat from my waist and said, "What are you staring blankly at? You fools, come at me all at once."

In an instant, a loud sound came from behind, and Dokgo-saeng, wielding twin blades, charged forward, killing everyone in his path indiscriminately.

Following him, the Twelve Divine Guardians rushed in, and the Black Cat Gang, led by So-gun-pyeong, broke through my rear encirclement.

I laughed, shaking my shoulders in the midst of the enemy ranks.

"The moonlight is nice, my subordinates are in high spirits, and I feel good too."

As I infused the black cat with flames, the blade turned red.

When I suddenly advanced, the ragtag members fell back.

They still moved to protect their leaders.

What I always pay attention to is the psychological state of the enemies.

Because of that, I infused psychological warfare into my steps and tone of speech.

"Ragtag members, step aside. I am the one who kills only the leaders."

As I suddenly burst into laughter and charged with my sword, the ragtag members, who had taken on the role of shields for their leaders, were engulfed in fear and scattered wildly.

Of course, I did not spare the ragtag members.

I unleashed a wind blade on the backs of those fleeing, chased them down, and struck down like Zhang De-shu when he butchers a pig.

In an instant, screams and shouts mixed together.

Amidst this, the calm voice of the white priest came from behind.

"Sister Hong, clear out those who are obstructing from the rear of the Great Leader. The Death Priest should join in a way that supports the Great Leader's rampage, no matter what."

It seemed the white priest understood my overall strategy.

From behind, I could clearly hear the conversation of the dark Hao-mun led by Dokgo-saeng.

"Leader, what should we do?" Dokgo-saeng replied without stopping his attacks.

"Just kill them all."

As soon as Dokgo-saeng's words ended, someone screamed into the sky.

Nearby, So-gun-pyeong was urging his subordinates while cursing.

Most of it was a variation of "Are you not paying attention!" I swung the black cat simply to conserve my energy as I advanced.

When the enemies retreated, it was right to push forward at a slightly faster pace.

Killing the ragtag members did not consume much energy, so my mouth was free.

"Today... did you think something unlucky would happen?" I slashed one ragtag member's shoulder.

Puhak! I beheaded another charging at me and then leaped into the air, driving my knee into someone's face.

Puhk!

"Did you think it was time because the Great Elder died?" I plunged the black cat into the neck of the one who fell from my knee strike.

Puk! As I pulled out the black cat, a long stream of blood poured over the heads of those who kept retreating.

"Why do you keep running away, huh?" I increased my speed and swung my sword.

While swinging, I kicked sideways, kicked forward, spun, and delivered flying kicks, all the while babbling nonsense.

Sometimes words I didn’t even intend to say slipped out, but it didn’t matter.

The important thing was to talk while killing the enemy; it didn’t need to be accurate.

This was merely a way to bring and maintain the flow of battle to my side.

Thanks to this, my subordinates had no trouble locating me.

Naturally, a charge led by me unfolded.

"Why do you think the Great Elder suddenly died? You crazy fools. Why do you think he died?" I pulled one person towards me with the Absorbing Technique, grabbing him by the collar and calmly asked, "Why do you think he died?" I struck the forehead of the stammering man with the handle of the black cat.

Bak! Now, as my gaze fell, more and more of those retreating increased.

But I deliberately chased only those who were noticeably retreating.

"Why do you think he died? Answer me, you bastards."

Someone was the first to scream, "Aah!" and turned to flee.

I roared, mimicking the enemy's scream.

"Aah!" "......"

When all eyes were on me, I infused flames into my blade and blew out a breath.

"Ha—ah. Warm and cozy."

The blade was wrapped in flame fragrance.

"Flame Master’s Great Blade Technique."

A man who chants incantations while fighting, that is me.

In truth, it was an attack not much different from the Flame Master, just with a different name.

But to the enemies watching the red thread wrapping around the blade, it would be different.

"Die."

I advanced, whipping the flame fragrance forward.

With each swing, four or five bodies were torn apart.

As I advanced with a chuckle, it felt like a third of the enemies were fleeing.

In reality, those completely breaking formation and running away gradually increased.

Some lost their heads to the attacks of So-sun-seng and Iryongnogun before they could even take a few steps.

I looked at So-sun-seng, who had beheaded a fleeing enemy, and shouted.

"So-sun-seng!" So-sun-seng glared at me with wide eyes.

I spoke in a tone familiar from our long acquaintance.

"Teacher, why don’t you believe me? I killed your vice leader. Didn’t his skull get split by an axe? Am I wrong? It was an axe, right?" So-sun-seng's face turned red.

"That crazy bastard..."

Holding the bloodied black cat, I walked towards So-sun-seng.

"He died by the axe in the incinerator, right? I am the culprit."

The executives of the Unwoo Association blocked So-sun-seng, and I charged straight ahead.

Now, the enemies' conversations were clearly audible.

"So-sun-seng, stay calm. We still have more numbers."

This was Iryongnogun's voice.

"Everyone gather. That guy is the leader."

This voice must be from Cheol-sam.

But in the end, Yu Sa-cheong did not speak.

I asked while facing the executives of the Unwoo Association.

"Executives, where is that Yu Sa-cheong? Did he escalate this situation?" I sliced through one executive's shoulder with the black cat, then carved a straight red line on his face.

"Kuhak!" I quickly plunged the black cat into his neck and shouted.

"Yu Sa-cheong. I will issue a bounty across the Central Plains for you. Even if you run today, it will be useless. I plan to enjoy finding you from now on. Especially you, I will chop you up with an axe."

Suddenly, a massive force surged in from the left like a tidal wave.

Kwaaaang! I responded accurately as the left flank, but due to the motion of swinging my sword, I was slightly pushed aside.

Just as I was being pushed, a meteor hammer flew fiercely from that direction.

I had no choice but to swing the black cat to deflect the meteor hammer, but it wrapped around my blade.

I had forgotten.

"It’s the Meteor Hammer. Good, nice to meet you."

At the same time, something flashed before my eyes, and a projectile presumed to be from Cheol-sam flew at me.

While pulling the meteor hammer, I flipped in mid-air to dodge Cheol-sam and finally faced Iryongnogun, who appeared with his white hair flying, clashing with the force.

Iryongnogun seemed to have a cautious nature, pouring out wind blades and forces but never approaching closely.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

"Old fool."

In an instant, the taut metal wire of the meteor hammer I was holding snapped.

Hong-shin appeared and cut it.

I clashed with Iryongnogun once more, then laughed.

Following that, the white priest, Cheong-jin, Baek-yu, and Hong-shin, who had each killed dozens of ragtag members, took their positions behind me and surveyed the surroundings.

In war, there are times when everything is decided in a single clash, and there are also times when battles unfold with repeated contests and stalemates like now.

In this stalemate, I adjusted my mask and looked around.

Initially, we had been at a disadvantage in numbers, but all those lying on the ground were the enemies' corpses.

The subordinate executive, Cha Seong-tae, who had followed me without killing a single person, pointed at someone and shouted.

"You there!" All eyes turned to Cha Seong-tae.

With a tone full of conviction, he said, "You are the Eun Gwi-ja Yu Sa-cheong, aren’t you?"

The man, dressed plainly and looking unremarkable, stared blankly at Cha Seong-tae.

I shook off the blood from the black cat and asked Cha Seong-tae, "Why him?" Cha Seong-tae replied as if he saw through the truth.

"He’s doing nothing like me. In this chaos."

"A famous detective, huh."

I felt that Cha Seong-tae was impressive in many ways, but I couldn’t think of a suitable idiom, so I said casually, "Even dog poop can be used as medicine, well done."

"Yes."

Even as I glared, the man presumed to be Yu Sa-cheong showed no change in expression.

If he were a ragtag member, it would be natural to be afraid.

Suddenly, Yu Sa-cheong, deciding that hiding his identity was meaningless, smiled.

When expressionless, he looked like an ordinary man, but with a smile, he seemed to transform completely.

Yu Sa-cheong spoke to me.

"You are not the leader of the Black Cat Gang. Who will find out my identity first, you or me? You cannot find me just by the name Yu Sa-cheong. If both sides have set the stage, let’s keep fighting. The outcome must be determined, right?" Yu Sa-cheong spoke as if his true identity was even more remarkable.

Surprisingly, he even threatened our allies, Iryongnogun and So-sun-seng.

"Iryongnogun, So-sun-seng. Are you going to fight like this after receiving my money? It hasn’t been long since I heard your boast about taking control of Namhwa, repaying your debts, and expanding your influence."

In that moment, I almost took off my mask but held back. ‘Look at this guy?’ I carefully observed Yu Sa-cheong’s demeanor.

At first, he looked young, but upon closer inspection, he seemed to be over forty.

Signs of some skill could be seen in his posture and gaze.

Even amidst this, I suddenly thought.

If you look closely at the affairs of the world, those who lend money are the worst bastards.

Rather than killing him right away, I felt a strong urge to torture him until he revealed everything he knew.

There was no specific basis for this.

I was originally someone who acted without any foundation or reason.

Now that the enemy's commander had finally revealed himself, Yu Sa-cheong issued orders.

"Then let’s keep fighting until the outcome is decided. You cockroaches of the Black Path."