Chapter : 80
“Let’s hurry and go!”
“But how can we leave Master Bundan behind?”
There were a few cultists pointing at Na Hyorin, who had fallen up ahead, but not many.
As their numbers dwindled rapidly, even they eventually chose to flee.
Yeonhwa did not pursue the disappearing cultists.
Because she would never let them go willingly, Yu Geonmyeong, who was fighting alongside the Changsu squad, frowned.
Sensing something unusual, he tried to approach Yeonhwa, but she held out her palm to stop him.
‘A problem has arisen.’
It was obvious what kind of problem would appear in this situation.
Yu Geonmyeong’s expression hardened.
He signaled with his fingertips to the Changsu squad beside him and to the martial artists checking the broken carriage.
He had seen Seong Yeontaek demonstrate a signaling system slightly different from Namgung Jang’s, so he knew what to do.
Some of those initially confused sensed the anomaly, and the atmosphere changed instantly.
At that moment, laughter echoed from all directions.
“Who’s there!”
One startled Changsu soldier looked up at the sky and shouted, but the voice’s owner was nowhere to be seen.
“I thought you’d be weak, but to have taken down Pasimsoo… impressive.”
When the same voice rang out simultaneously from all directions, the faces of Namgung’s warriors darkened.
It was then that Yeonhwa noticed a change in the fleeing cultists.
“Guhk!”
Ping, piing!
With the sound of slicing air, throwing knives descended from below onto the cultists.
Many clutched their chests, crouched, or fell backward, closing their eyes in fear.
Shhssk!
Some slid while lying down, others hid behind trees or rocks.
No one could evade the deadly weapons.
“Are they from the Murim Alliance?”
A few cultists at the rear of the fleeing group muttered.
But the reaction of the Murim Alliance warriors behind them was strange—they weren’t happy; instead, they were tense and alert.
Without a leader to give orders, the cultists under Na Hyorin, Master of the Ak Yang faction, panicked and ended up facing the very one who had killed their comrades.
“Gah!”
The figure that appeared from below was already a familiar face.
Having traveled together in Honam and parted ways in Hyeongju not long ago, it was impossible to forget.
“Master Bundan! Why… why are you…!”
When asked why he was killing his own allies, Ma Jinseong sneered and extended his hand.
Grabbing a cultist of the Ak Yang faction by the neck, he said:
“The Shin Sect’s principle is survival of the fittest. If someone gets hit in the back of the head without guarding themselves, that’s their own fault—there’s nothing to debate.”
But that didn’t mean it was acceptable to abandon fellow cultists.
Especially in front of the Murim Alliance, turning one’s back and tarnishing the Shin Sect’s prestige was intolerable.
Moreover, if the cultists scattered down the ridgeline like that, it would soon draw attention, revealing that they had entered the Murim Alliance’s territory to target Namgung Yeonhwa.
Then, how could they take Namgung Yeonhwa out of Hubei safely?
If there had been time, he might have grabbed her and pulled her toward himself, but now there was no such luxury—he had to act immediately to prevent an accident.
“You’re a step too late, Ma Jinseong!”
Seeing Kang Munpyo smirking from the other side, Ma Jinseong’s face twisted in anger.
The path from Hyeongju to Uichang was predictable, so even if the three had scattered, their assigned points weren’t far.
He had moved immediately after receiving a report from those left in Hyeongju, but Kang Munpyo had apparently been slightly faster.
Unlike Kang Munpyo, who blocked Yeonhwa’s group head-on from the opposite ridgeline, Ma Jinseong had come up from below and encountered the fleeing cultists directly, losing time to handle them.
He was frustrated, but now was not the time to pick a fight.
Kang Munpyo’s specialty was a fast sword, but he was also skilled in the Jeonseonggong technique, producing the same voice in all directions simultaneously.
His method was to unsettle the opponent with Jeonseonggong, then strike swiftly with a keen sword.
A man like that could easily seize Namgung Yeonhwa amidst the chaos and escape.
With Namgung Yeonhwa between them, Kang Munpyo in front and Ma Jinseong behind faced off, and the tension soared.
‘A second ambush.’
Yeonhwa was displeased with being surrounded again.
The number of opponents had doubled, and there were two apparent leaders, leaving no gaps in the front or back.
If there hadn’t been even a slight gap caused by their mutual distrust, her group would have suffered heavy losses from the attacking cultists.
Yeonhwa looked back at her companions.
Worry, fear, tension. And Yu Geonmyeong.
Her gaze lingered on him the longest.
The moment they met eyes, Yu Geonmyeong instinctively sensed danger.
As he tried to approach, those nearby restrained him.
Yeonhwa raised her palm to stop him, then faintly smiled and whistled sharply.
Clack, clack!
The commotion caused Jeokrye, who had been kept at a distance from the other horses, to run over alone.
“What’s that?”
The cultists widened their eyes.
Unlike the beginning of the battle, now no one in Yeonhwa’s party was mounted except for the two horses of the carriage carrying Namgung Gyu and his son.
As Jeokrye, rushing like a red arrow, reached them, Yeonhwa leapt onto its back without hesitation.
Ihing, ihing, ihihing!
Excited, Jeokrye shook its body.
“Stop her!”
The cultists in front and behind judged that Yeonhwa was trying to escape and looked to their respective masters for orders.
While waiting for a command, Yeonhwa left the formation.
She urged Jeokrye in the opposite direction from the incoming threat, then pulled the reins to halt it.
Looking back, she said,
“Not chasing? They should be coming for me.”
She had thought that if they couldn’t take her alive, at least they would want her body.
As expected, the two masters stepped forward.
Yeonhwa, drawing their full attention, nudged Jeokrye’s side lightly.
The horse moved forward briskly.
“Huh? Huh, huh?”
At that moment, the cultists panicked.
Leaving the warriors in the center, those positioned front and back rushed outside the right path.
The left had scattered trees and rocks, while the right was more heavily wooded.
Yeonhwa steered Jeokrye right without hesitation.
The horse navigated obstacles effortlessly, descending the ridgeline.
“Catch her!”
A shout came from behind.
Yeonhwa inwardly sighed in relief.
She had feared that some enemies would remain behind to attack her companions as hostages, but fortunately, all were chasing her.
‘So they don’t want to lose credit.’
Yeonhwa deliberately avoided the Murim Alliance direction and ran the opposite way.
Hyeongju was close to Uichang, and the area was heavily watched by the Murim Alliance.
Heading that way would have provoked the enemies into reckless pursuit, which could have endangered her companions.
As she ran, she swung her sword at the visible trees.
Kwaaang, bang, bang!
Leaves and bark flew like snow, though she did not break the trunks.
She only wanted to create a commotion and alert the surroundings, not damage the trees.
The sound alone was loud enough.
“That…!”
Ma Jinseong and Kang Munpyo, who moved with light-footed speed rather than horseback, ground their teeth at the sight of Jeokrye’s red tail disappearing ahead as if mocking them.
In the brief standoff, Yeonhwa rode alone, drawing them all out.
The plan itself was simple, but her judgment and execution in that moment were remarkably sharp.
“She could be taken to the Shin Sect and trained well,” Kang Munpyo chuckled.
Ma Jinseong said nothing.
The young woman’s gaze was unnervingly cold.
Her glances back were not of a fleeing person but of one observing her pursuers.
‘Strange… it’s not that she’s fleeing, it’s like…’
Ma Jinseong swallowed the words he wanted to say.
He couldn’t admit that he felt tempted.
He changed the subject.
They had been running without pause for over two hours.
“How far does she intend to go? Does she think the Murim Alliance’s rescue team will arrive if we keep going?”
Kang Munpyo answered him:
“She’s heading toward Gamri-hyeon. It’s the region adjoining Honam. From there, she could be pushed into Honam and captured, or else…”
He paused, recalling Yeonhwa’s evasion, having sent his subordinates to track her.
“She’ll have no choice but to call a detachment from Honam.”
Kang Munpyo said this with certainty.
