Who am I talking to right now? "I will explain the operation now, so gather and sit down."
The chaotic hall fell silent in an instant.
After clearing the table and tidying up the surroundings, an officer brought over the situation board used by General Byeok.
I calmly waited until the officers were ready to listen.
Once everything was in order, So Gun-pyeong spoke.
"Lord, please speak."
He pointed to the large sheet of paper used by General Byeok.
"Lay that on the table."
The blank paper was placed on the table, and an officer at the end of the table handed me a brush soaked in ink.
I took the brush, stood up, and looked at the white paper before making a dot.
"Heukmyobang."
I wrote the character for water (水) about a hand's breadth high.
"Su Seonsaeng."
I then drew a simple triangular pyramid representing a mountain (山) between Heukmyobang and Su Seonsaeng.
The pointed tip precisely indicated the character for Su Seonsaeng, with Heukmyobang positioned at the base.
"Ruthless assault formation."
Hong Sin asked, "Is it a surprise attack?" I nodded.
"It is a surprise attack. The personnel will be limited to those who can use lightness skill without resting from here to Su Seonsaeng."
"So Gun-pyeong."
"Yes."
"You understand what the operation is about, right?" So Gun-pyeong asked as if confirming.
"We will rush to the Unwoo Association in one breath. Those who fall behind don't need to participate in the surprise attack, correct?"
"That's right. But that's not all. You must also follow the details. This is simply a lightness skill competition following me. I will depart with the officers. I will run ahead, but I won't check if you are keeping up. Naturally, there will be gaps according to each person's lightness skill. It doesn't matter. We will continue moving beyond the walls of the Unwoo Association in the order we arrive. We will go straight to Su Seonsaeng's residence."
So Gun-pyeong's eyes widened.
"Do we keep running even after arriving at the Unwoo Association?" I nodded.
"You must keep running until you find Su Seonsaeng. I am the straight path, the apex, and the spearhead. You should also deal with those who try to block you from behind or throw darts at them before continuing to move. Leave those who run away. Charge forward, killing only those who block you head-on, charge, charge, charge... Just follow me and keep charging until I meet Su Seonsaeng."
I checked the expressions of my subordinates.
"You all understand what the operation is now, right?" "Yes."
"Except for the slow ones, everyone departs."
"When do we depart?" Cha Seong-tae asked.
"Now."
At the word "now," everyone jumped up.
Even Yu Sa-cheong, who had been listening, looked around nervously before standing up.
I said to Yu Sa-cheong, "Exclude the prisoners."
"Yes."
"Seong-tae will oversee the prisoners."
"Yes?" Dokgo Saeng patted Cha Seong-tae's shoulder as he passed by.
"General, good work."
The Death Gods also began to treat Cha Seong-tae more comfortably.
"General Cha, good work."
"Do your best."
"Keep a close watch."
"Wow, now you're earning your keep."
So Gun-pyeong said urgently, "Lord, we need time to explain to the subordinates..."
"There's no time for that. Just tell them to follow. Those who are late can think of it as lightness skill training, and Su Seonsaeng only needs me and you."
Last night, Muakmunju and Cheolseombu-in had defected, and before that, the morale of the Unwoo Association had already diminished.
Of course, before that, I had already killed the deputy leader with my axe.
Naturally, it was necessary to trample the weakened Unwoo Association, not the Yirong Army.
I paused for a moment at the main gate and looked back at the officers.
"I'm curious about the order in which you'll arrive. Think of it as a ranking competition and run. Let's go."
At my words, Dokgo Saeng kicked the main gate and shot out like a gust of wind.
So Gun-pyeong glared at Dokgo Saeng.
"That crazy bastard..."
I said to the officers and disciples, "Why are you dawdling? Depart. I will be faster than you anyway."
"Yes?" "Ah..."
Quick-witted Hong Sin seemed to be concerned about the ranking of lightness skills, so he followed Dokgo Saeng, and Baek In, Cheong Jin, and Baek Yu all started at the same time.
Only then did So Gun-pyeong and the other officers start to move in surprise.
I took a few steps before finally unleashing my lightness skill.
As I increased my speed, I quickly caught up with So Gun-pyeong and the other officers of Heukmyobang.
I passed So Gun-pyeong and said, "Gun-pyeong, faster."
So Gun-pyeong focused on his lightness skill without answering.
Ahead, Cheong Jin and Baek Yu were running side by side.
As I overtook them, I saw Baek In.
After sending Baek In behind me, I looked ahead to see Hong Sin and Dokgo Saeng competing for the lead.
I whispered as I ran behind them, "I've already caught up."
Hong Sin suddenly screamed and accelerated, taking the lead.
I ran alongside Dokgo Saeng and chuckled.
"Dokgo Saeng, not bad, huh?" Dokgo Saeng let out an incomprehensible roar.
I left the pig-like sounds of Dokgo Saeng behind and pursued Hong Sin.
As I caught up with Hong Sin, I said, "Hong sister, do you need to go to the bathroom? You're quite fast."
Hong Sin seemed unable to respond.
However, she maintained a surprisingly fast pace, perhaps due to her natural talent.
Just because one's internal energy is deep doesn't mean they are necessarily fast.
Hong Sin had deep internal energy and seemed to have a knack for running.
However, I had deeper internal energy and was more suited to running than Hong Sin.
I recalled the masters of the Kwadang after a long time and increased my speed, overtaking Hong Sin.
"Hong sister, you're the fastest. Maintain this speed. If you run like that, the others won't be able to catch up."
Hong Sin replied briefly, "Yes."
As I ran with Hong Sin behind me, I thought to myself that perhaps Hong Sin could join the Kwadang.
It might be difficult at her current level, but if she continued to build her internal energy and trained harder, she seemed to have enough potential to catch the attention of the Kwadang masters.
I was widening the gap with my subordinates, but I didn't slow down.
I ran with the mindset of charging in alone.
Even if Su Seonsaeng had sent scouts near Heukmyobang, I was moving faster than those scouts, so this surprise attack would not be properly thwarted.
As I ran, I imagined what Su Seonsaeng might be doing.
He must have a lot to do.
First, he would be anxious, so he would have started to hide his assets.
He might have urgently requested help from the masters he knew.
If Su Seonsaeng had gone to the Yirong Army, he might be planning to burn down the Unwoo Association altogether.
I ran with the thought that whether Su Seonsaeng was at the Unwoo Association or not, today I would annihilate the Unwoo Association.
Moments later, as I saw the walls of the Unwoo Association, I leaped high into the air.
Now, my subordinates were out of sight, and Su Seonsaeng's subordinates appeared.
Perhaps I had soared too high.
As I descended over the wall, some who spotted me merely stood there, dumbfounded, letting out a sound of "Huh?" As I kicked off the ground and ran again, I finally heard the shout of "It's the enemy!" But it seemed they didn't recognize that the enemy was the man dancing like a madman under the moonlight.
The commotion behind me grew, and those on guard began to follow me.
I passed near the pond and ran beside the incinerator, crashing through the main entrance of the main building with a kick.
The main building, primarily a performance space, was empty.
I leaped over the audience seats and stepped onto the stage before entering the back corridor.
Only then did the attacks from the riffraff begin to come intermittently.
However, as I was still running, I ignored the non-threatening attacks and dealt with only those who blocked me head-on, either kicking them or using my blood technique to move forward.
I passed through the corridor, climbed the stairs, and while striking the faces of those who suddenly appeared, I drew Heukmyoah in front of the room where the guards were blocking the way.
I responded to the guards' usual shouts, "It's me, the madman of the moonlit night..."
When the startled guards hurriedly reached for their swords at their waists, I unleashed a horizontal wave of sword energy and kicked the large door.
With a loud bang, the heads of the guards, severed by the sword energy, rolled away from their bodies.
I charged into the room and immediately greeted, "Su Seonsaeng, it's me. Did you sleep well last night?" It was indeed a spacious room, with a large bed at the far end.
Su Seonsaeng, who had just put on his pants, was flustered and rushed toward the sword on the table.
There were more people, but my eyes were only on Su Seonsaeng.
As I swiftly closed the distance, I swung Heukmyoah, and just as Su Seonsaeng barely caught the sword, he finally looked at my face while blocking my strike. "…!" In that moment, we clashed fiercely without a word.
I swung Heukmyoah with my mouth shut.
Su Seonsaeng, unable to properly dress, swung his sword fiercely in resistance.
I gazed into Su Seonsaeng's eyes while swinging my sword, pouring out my strength as the head of the table, unleashing a series of sword energies, then using the Wind and Flame Great Technique to deflect Su Seonsaeng's sword and employing the Absorption Technique to seize Su Seonsaeng's neck in an instant.
"Kuh."
I locked eyes with Su Seonsaeng.
"Su Seonsaeng?" At the same time, I thrust Heukmyoah into Su Seonsaeng's abdomen and pushed him against the wall.
With a dull sound, Heukmyoah pierced through Su Seonsaeng's abdomen and lodged into the wall.
I grabbed Su Seonsaeng's chin and examined his face.
"So this is how you look?" Only then did I pull out Heukmyoah.
Puhak! Su Seonsaeng slumped down against the wall.
I wiped the blood off Heukmyoah and sheathed it.
After tidying my disheveled hair, I looked around.
Only then did I see two young women covering themselves with a blanket on the large bed.
Both had blank expressions.
I crouched down and looked at Su Seonsaeng again.
It seemed he wanted to say something, so I asked, "What? I can't hear you."
"Dog..."
"Dog? Is that how you want to end your last words? Pathetic fool. Why didn't you come to surrender? Did I say you wouldn't get another chance to live? You should believe what others say a bit. Stop thinking only your words are right. What kind of nonsense is this in broad daylight, Su Seonsaeng?" "……."
It seemed he had lost his breath.
I spoke to the women who were still staring at me.
"Who am I talking to right now? I ended up talking to a corpse."
The women replied, "Save us..."
Before they could finish, I responded, "Oh, right. I should save you."
Just then, my subordinates appeared at the door.
Blood dripped from the weapons they were carrying.
The disciples looked on in shock at the lifeless Su Seonsaeng.
It seemed absurd that their master's long-time rival had died so easily.
The late-arriving Dokgo Saeng looked inside and asked, "Is it over?" I told my subordinates, "Go down and clean up. Inform them that Su Seonsaeng is dead. Don't kill those who kneel, but kill all those who continue to attack."
"Yes."
The gathered officers clustered together and headed back down.
I also went back down the stairs to finish things up.
As I slowly descended, the sounds of shouting and clashing weapons, along with screams, gradually diminished.
Stepping out in front of the main building, quite a few people were kneeling.
Given that the situation had been sorted out, there were still many subordinates from Heukmyobang who had not yet arrived.
Some were panting as they emerged one by one from the front gate of the Unwoo Association.
I looked at my panting subordinates and said to So Gun-pyeong, "We need to train them more harshly. How can we fight against a strong force like this?" So Gun-pyeong nodded and replied, "I will make it more rigorous."
I slowly surveyed the kneeling people and my allies.
They were all looking at me. "…Last night, I slept well, had a hearty breakfast, and drank some wine while waiting, but since Su Seonsaeng didn't surrender, I came to kill him myself. Those who are out of their minds and attack will be sent to your master. Cooperate with my subordinates' orders as much as possible. The Unwoo Association is finished now."
I felt that my subordinates were expecting something different, so I reluctantly added, "But I won't be finished. Do you think I will be finished?" "……."
The reaction was not very good.