“Is this the afterlife?”
That was the first thing the middle-aged man said when he woke up.
Before I could answer, a small figure sprang forward and threw himself into the man’s arms.
The boy cried out, his eyes brimming with tears.
“Uncle Gong!”
“Socheon! You’re safe. But what in the world…?”
Socheon explained through his sobs that he had met us on the hill and that I had killed all their enemies. The middle-aged man’s eyes widened.
“Are you from the main family?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Ah, Heaven has helped us!”
“…”
I helped you, you old man.
“I was sure I’d fallen down the mountain… I thought that was the end of me.”
“You nearly did. You were lucky.”
I pointed below the ridge. Two corpses that appeared to belong to the enemy lay with their heads embedded in trees.
If the slope he had tumbled down hadn’t been covered in thick undergrowth, he would have ended up just like them.
I didn’t notice him at first, either.
I had only realized the middle-aged man was there because of the Quest Window.
Even after I defeated all the enemies, the Survivors of the Sakju Branch Quest had not been completed. That meant there were more survivors.
The question was whether there were any more besides him…
The last trace of unease vanished as soon as I helped the exhausted man to his feet.
Ding.
System
- You completed the Survivors of the Sakju Branch Quest!
- A Chain Quest has been created!
- You leveled up!
- You leveled up!
- Merit and Fame increase!
“Whew.”
The middle-aged man exhaled. Though he had only circulated his qi briefly, his complexion had improved noticeably.
He rose and respectfully clasped his hands in salute.
“Benefactor, you saved us all.”
“Not at all. I only did what anyone should have done.”
These days, lies came pouring out whenever I opened my mouth. Then again, it wasn’t entirely untrue. I had to clear the Quest somehow.
If anything, I should be the one bowing and thanking them.
Still, Santa Claus—or rather, the survivors—seemed deeply moved by my attitude.
“Such outstanding martial arts, and such chivalry as well. I, Gong Yacheong, sincerely admire you.”
“Socheon and Soyul owe you a tremendous debt, Great Hero.”
That was how I learned their names. The middle-aged man was Gong Yacheong, and the young siblings were Socheon and Soyul.
“If it isn’t too impertinent, may I ask your name, Benefactor?”
“My name is…”
Then a thought struck me.
Wait. If I tell them my name, won’t they come at me with swords?
Whatever conspiracy lay behind it, the person who had lit the fuse on this war was none other than me, Jin Taekyung. I doubted two people who had lost their home and family would feel kindly toward me.
Right. This calls for a well-intentioned lie.
“Hong Gil-dong. My name is Hong Gil-dong.”1
“Hong Gil-dong…1 I’ve never heard the name before, but it has the air of a hero.”
Socheon chimed in from beside him.
“Here one moment, there the next. It sounds like the name of someone who could appear and disappear like a ghost.”
…How did that kid know?
Before he could bring up the part about calling one’s father Father and one’s elder brother Brother,2 I hurriedly changed the subject.
“More importantly, what happened?”
Dark shadows fell across their faces.
Gong Yacheong spoke first.
“It happened only a few days ago.”
By the time the messenger pigeon arrived with news of the war, the Sakju Branch had already been surrounded so tightly that not even a drop of water could escape. The wandering martial artists hired by the Mount Heng Sword Sect slaughtered the people inside and set fire to the buildings.
“There were no fewer than a hundred of them. The Branch Leader and his martial artists bought us enough time to escape through a secret passage. Most of those who got out were women and children who knew no martial arts.”
I didn’t need to ask what had happened to the others.
The System was absolute and factual. According to the Quest Window, these three were the only survivors of the Sakju Branch.
“I want to know about the enemy.”
“They’re wandering martial artists.”
“Wandering martial artists?”
“As you know, they’re bastards who’ll do anything for money. The Mount Heng Sword Sect hired the worst of them to attack us.”
“They seemed pretty weak for such vile bastards.”
“What do good and evil have to do with strength? The ones they hired were ordinary wandering martial artists, common as dirt. Their leader was the problem.”
Gong Yacheong gritted his teeth.
“Jopil, One Question, One Kill. That was the man. The Branch Leader knew we were doomed the moment he saw him and entrusted his dependents to me.”
Socheon’s small fists trembled.
“I’ll tear him limb from limb and kill him with my own hands.”
That was an unusual choice of words for a child, but considering the grudge carved into his bones, it was understandable.
I patted Socheon on the head.
“And you will. I’ll help you.”
“Really?”
“A man’s word is worth a thousand pieces of gold. Do you think I’d say one thing and do another? I’ll definitely catch that bastard and level u—”
“Huh?”
“No, I mean I’ll kill him and avenge your grudge.”
“Ah… Thank you. Thank you so much, Great Hero Hong!”
“Thank you. Truly, thank you!”
The two of them repeatedly expressed their gratitude. I felt like a real scumbag, and a sharp stab tore through one corner of my chest.
No, this is fine. They’ll be happy when their enemy dies, and I’ll be happy when I level up. It’s mutually beneficial. Mutually beneficial.
Having forced myself to accept that logic, I asked, “How many are there?”
“While scouting their position, I overheard them talking. They said there were about thirty, including Jopil.”
“Thirty? Thirty men?”
“That’s right. So we must flee at once…”
Gong Yacheong’s voice faded into the distance. In its place, I heard a faint sound drawing closer.
Ding. Ding. Ding.
I could hear it—the sound of leveling up. The sound of logging out!
Struggling to keep the corners of my mouth from rising, I said, “Let’s wait here for the rest of them.”
“Wait? What do you mean?”
“We’ll wipe them all out! We can’t let such vile bastards live!”
“No, Great Hero Hong, listen to me…”
“A master like you can do it! Thank you, Benefactor!”
Socheon ran into my arms with tears in his eyes. I spread my arms and pulled him into a hug.
“That’s right. Let’s kill them all!”
“Let’s kill them!”
“Jopil, you son of a bitch!”
“Son of a bitch!”
That was when Gong Yacheong spoke.
“Jopil is a Peak master.”
“Jopil is a fucking bast—huh?”
“Jopil, One Question, One Kill. He’s one of the few Peak masters in all of Shanxi. What do you think is the reason he has survived until now, despite being tangled up in all kinds of gratitude and grudges?”
“Don’t tell me…”
“Everyone who challenged him died. That’s the kind of man Jopil is. Cruel—and every bit as strong.”
“Ah.”
Sensing that something was wrong, Socheon looked up at me.
“Socheon.”
“Yes, Great Hero.”
“Now that I think about it, this probably isn’t the right time.”
“Huh?”
“I was being foolish. Our first priority should be getting you and your sister safely back to our family. Right?”
“…”
“I was injured during the fight, and my men are exhausted. It would probably be a difficult battle.”
Socheon looked me up and down. My clothes were soaked in the enemies’ blood, but they were perfectly intact, without a single tear. There was no way I could have been injured.
“I suffered an internal injury.”
“…”
This time, he turned to the reconnaissance squad. They hadn’t even swung their swords during the fight and were practically overflowing with energy.
“Things aren’t always what they seem.”
“…Great Hero.”
I gently pulled Socheon away and shouted, “We’re returning to the main family. Everyone, prepare to leave!”
I hurried back toward the squad, but Socheon’s hand clutched my collar tightly and refused to let go. Tears glimmered in his round eyes.
“Great Hero.”
“Hey, why aren’t you moving? Move, move! Socheon, I’m a little busy right now, so let’s talk later. Okay?”
“Great Heeero.”
“Mister Gong Yacheong. No, Great Hero Gong, what are you doing? Every second counts.”
“…Socheon, come here.”
Gong Yacheong looked at me as if I were a complete idiot and pulled Socheon away. It was the protective gesture of a guardian keeping a criminal away from his child.
Socheon practically wailed.
“Great Hero Hong Gil-dooong!”
That was the signal.
Boom!
The cabin door shattered, and someone burst through it.
System
- Level 22 Hyuk Mujin
“Jin Taekyung, you fucking bastard!”
Hyuk Mujin stood there panting, his furious eyes fixed squarely on me. Gong Yacheong and Socheon stared at me blankly.
“Great Hero Hong?”
“Great Hero Hong Gil-dong?”1
“Ah. Well, you see…”
…Fuck.
“Hmm.”
Jopil stared silently down at the corpse. Its face was twisted, its eyes bulging. Frozen beneath blood and snow, the man had once been known as Black Mountain Blade.
“Tsk, tsk. How did you end up like this, my friend?”
He had been fairly loyal and sharp. Jopil had never imagined he would meet such a pointless end.
“See? Haven’t I told you time and again to keep your eyes wide open?”
Jopil grabbed Black Mountain Blade’s bulging eyelids and pried them farther apart.
The frozen flesh tore with a hideous sound.
Rip. Riiip.
The others watched without daring to breathe.
His expression and tone were no different from usual, but they could feel in their bones that Jopil was furious.
The killing intent radiating from the Peak master left them struggling for breath, cold sweat trickling down their backs.
And no wonder.
More than twenty men had been wiped out while carrying out a simple mission to dispose of the remnants of the Sakju Branch.
Jopil was called One Question, One Kill because of his bizarre habit of asking any enemy who caught his interest exactly one question before killing them.
The wandering martial artists were relieved that Black Mountain Blade was dead. If he had survived, he would have suffered an even more horrifying fate.
“That’s better.”
Jopil wiped the blood on the front of his trousers and rose.
“So, what does everyone think? Speak freely.”
“We should follow our orders, of course.”
One man stepped forward. The neatly dressed, dignified middle-aged man and the dozen or so martial artists standing at attention behind him were the overseers and guides the Mount Heng Sword Sect had sent to keep the wandering martial artists under control.
Jopil smiled faintly.
“Ah, yes. I’d forgotten the Hall Master of the great Mount Heng Sword Sect was here. But what’s this about an order?”
“Erase the Sakju Branch and rejoin the main force. Have you already forgotten the Young Sect Leader’s order?”
“An order? I remember accepting a commission.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
The middle-aged man glared at Jopil, displeased.
“Coming this far was your own unilateral decision. And what came of it? You lost more than twenty subordinates to the remnants of a single branch!”
“Which is why we should pursue them. We can finish them off in half a day.”
“Jeongyang might be one thing, but if we pursue them as far as Honju, we risk a counterattack. I won’t permit any more unilateral decisions.”
“Permission. Permission…”
After mulling it over, Jopil spoke.
“No. That won’t do. I don’t like it.”
“What do you mea—”
Crunch.
The middle-aged man’s neck shattered, killing him before he could finish. Jopil had snapped it with blinding speed. He licked his lips.
“I like war. No matter who dies, they’re forgotten.”
“You bastard!”
The Mount Heng Sword Sect’s martial artists realized what had happened and drew their weapons, but Jopil had already plunged into their midst.
Crunch! Slash!
Warm blood poured across the snow. Every time Jopil rampaged like a wild beast, someone’s neck, arm, or leg was torn free and sent flying.
“Gaaah…”
The groan of an unnamed martial artist was the last sound.
Standing atop the heap of corpses, Jopil spoke into the crushing silence.
“We’re pursuing them.”
This time, no one said a word. As his subordinates hurried to prepare as though fleeing for their lives, Jopil continued to stare at the bodies.
What kind of man was it?
He was a Peak master. From the wounds on the corpses and the footprints left behind, he could reconstruct his opponent.
Only one man. A highly skilled spearman had been here. He was the one who had slaughtered the other twenty-odd men.
If he killed Black Mountain Blade in one strike, he must be something else.
The final strike that pierced through Black Mountain Blade’s chest had been particularly interesting.
This should be a fun fight.
Who was he? A master from the Jin Family of Taiyuan? Or someone unknown?
It didn’t matter. Jopil let out a pleased laugh.
“Let’s meet soon, friend.”
“What news has come in?”
“None. All we can do is move as quickly as possible…”
“Damn it! Damn it!”
Wipeng vented his frustration, but there was nothing he could do. As his subordinate had said, their only option was to find the Third Young Master as quickly as possible and protect him.
Jopil, One Question, One Kill…
Wipeng knew the man’s reputation well. If the Third Young Master fell into his hands, death would be the only possible outcome.
If that happens, I won’t be able to face my lord.
Jin Wikyung had endured with superhuman patience.
He currently stood at the head and center of the Jin Family of Taiyuan. He had weighed his beloved younger brother against the lives of hundreds of family members and, after long deliberation, sent his most trusted subordinate, Wipeng, to protect him.
But if I fail…
I won’t be able to face my lord.
His grip tightened around the reins. Wipeng spurred his horse onward, with more than twenty mounted riders racing in a long line behind him.
Comments
Comments need a network connection.