“Is this okay…”
Chaejin muttered worriedly as she looked up at the black sky.
After all the ups and downs, it wasn’t surprising that she was concerned, having gotten quite close to the Hongseong clan.
But what could we do? From now on, all we could do was trust and let it be.
Most of the people who needed to evacuate had already done so, and as I glanced towards the now quiet streets, I spotted a girl with gray hair approaching us.
It was Sayoon.
“Huh?”
Why was Sayoon coming this way?
While I was puzzled, she entered the inn and knocked on the door a moment later.
“Innkeeper!”
“Come in.”
The door burst open, and Sayoon, armed to the teeth, walked in.
She let out a small sigh upon meeting Chaejin’s and my gazes.
“Master said to protect the innkeeper.”
I smiled wryly, and for some reason, Sayoon just gazed at me awkwardly.
It was as if she was worried that I might tell her to go where the Hongseong clan was instead since I didn’t need protecting.
But why would I do that? If the Sword Saint thought it was okay, then I’d just follow along.
“Well, let’s just stay here for now.”
According to my calculations, I should be able to fend off Dool without any issues.
The real question was how much power the Ironblood Tree had.
If Hongryeon could capture Dool while leading the Hongseong clan, then the Sword Saint should be able to deal with something like the Ironblood Tree while conserving as much strength as possible.
And there was something else that was bothering me, but… let’s just gloss over that for now.
I sat back in my chair and took a sip from my drink.
“We can win, right?”
At Sayoon’s worried voice, I chuckled.
I knew that asking something like “Can we really win?” wouldn’t provide any psychological comfort.
So, all I could do was smile back.
Whether my reaction was the right one or not, Sayoon faintly returned my smile before sitting cross-legged, seemingly trying to suppress her anxiety and calm her heart.
“Innkeeper!”
The door burst open again, and Jeomsoi came in, looking frantic.
“There’s been an attack at the rear! The people over there have come to the inn!!”
“Huh?”
I glanced at Chaejin, and she tilted her head in confusion.
“Let’s go check it out.”
I took Chaejin and Sayoon and headed downstairs.
In the closed inn, there stood guards dressed in white from the enemy clan and a girl in red.
A girl was standing.
Among the white-clothed troublemakers, some women were gasping for breath, as if they were injured.
It was strange that they were still covering their faces with masks in such a situation.
I decided to talk to Yu-an, the one who seemed the most familiar and in decent condition among them.
“Raiders, huh? Who are they?”
“Whew… they said they’re from Gi Yeonsan. They want to take you, miss…”
Gi Yeonsan.
I recognized the name.
He was one of the martial experts mentioned in Heavenly Bright Moon, a master within the martial realm.
His skills… were probably at least on par with the princess of Cheonhwa Palace.
Chaejin’s expression hardened at the mention of Gi Yeonsan. She must’ve heard that name before too.
“Is it just Gi Yeonsan who’s come? Any others?”
“Well, uh, there seemed to be a few of his subordinates…”
I see. After nodding, I headed towards the troublemakers with the medicine I had brought.
“Let’s have a look.”
“Haah… haah… haah…”
The women, who were panting heavily, slumped down. Seeing this, I spoke to Yohwan and Sayoon, who were watching.
“First, apply the Golden Herb medicine… Once they recover a bit, have them do their breathing exercises.”
“Got it.”
With the medicine I provided, Yohwan began the treatment.
Now, the only people available to fight here were…
Yu-an, Yang Juhui, and the lady from the enemy clan?
But the enemy lady seemed to be trembling in fear, so considering her out of the equation…
That leaves only four of us, including Chaejin and Sayoon.
“Hahaha!! Yu Seonsaeng!! Are you there?!”
At that moment, a rough voice echoed from outside the inn. I glanced towards the window and made my way over there.
A bearded man was staring at us with a single sword in hand.
Behind him stood about ten martial artists.
But they didn’t look too healthy either, as they seemed to have taken some injuries.
“I am Gi Saldo, known as Gi Yeonsan. I would hope that Yu Seonsaeng recognizes my name.”
“How could I not know a distinguished guest from the Ghosts of Ohwang Mountain?”
At my response, he widened his eyes in surprise before chuckling softly.
“Well, this is an honor. Anyway, the person I serve wishes to meet you briefly.”
“Are you referring to Iron-Blooded Hwa-ja?”
He only grinned without answering. But that smile was answer enough, and I sighed.
“Sorry, but I’m a bit busy right now, so it’s not a good time. Please come back later.”
“Hahaha. Don’t say that. With Shinsan Seonja’s prestige so high across the world, when will we get another chance?”
He spoke smoothly, but his attitude showed that he wouldn’t allow any refusals.
I took a quick glance at the darkened sky.
If I drag things out here long enough, the battle will end, and they’ll come from over there, so there shouldn’t be any problems.
Also, the Murim people in charge of evacuation will show up if they confirm the commotion here…
In the end, my only job is to stall for time.
“Well, putting that aside, why did you attack the support?”
“Haha. I heard your precious treasure is so beautiful that I had to come and see it for myself. There are some nasty cats with bad tempers in there, but if you come along willingly, I won’t touch your precious treasure.”
Gi Yeonsan shrugged, but the expressions of the subordinates behind him were different.
Was it because of the attack on the support? Their twisted faces were filled with rage and lust.
They looked ready to storm into the inn at any moment.
“Why don’t you keep the expressions of your people in check while you talk?”
“Hahaha… What can I do? They’re in a passionate mood right now. But seeing you just talking over there without coming out, you must be hoping the Murim Alliance will come, right?”
“Why do you ask when you already know?”
Despite his bear-like size, he was quick on the uptake.
He shook his head with an easygoing smile.
“My subordinates are blocking the way, so if you want to stall for time, you’ll need to take a while. And that famous Hongseong seems busy with outside matters right now. Come on, let’s wrap this up.”
Clank. He grabbed his great sword and swung it vigorously; as the black energy clung to the sword was about to crash into the inn, I infused my talisman with my inner energy.
-KWAANG!!
The energy collided with a translucent barrier surrounding the inn and disappeared. Seeing the shocked expression on Gi Yeonsan’s face, I tossed away the half-burned talisman and pulled out another one.
It was a guardian talisman worth ten gold coins at the auction, but I didn’t feel sorry about it.
I saw his expression hardening.
“Indeed, it’s Shinsan Seonja. Did you predict this?”
“I have a lot of people aiming for me in various ways. Now, let’s continue.”
“Hoo… very well.”
-KUUUNG!!
He stomped the ground, gathering his inner energy. As he started to openly gather power for a big attack, I looked at my remaining talismans and considered the transformation talisman.
Should I use this?
Then I could take him out in one go…
I was about to shake my head, thinking it over.
They say a stitch in time saves nine, but I can’t waste it on something frivolous and miss my chance.
Let’s save it for later.
“HAAAH!!”
He charged at me with a fierce shout. As the black energy on his great sword clashed with the translucent barrier, my talismans began to ignite one by one.
As the black energy collided with the translucent barrier, talismans began to ignite one by one.
“Gold coins worth ten, twenty, thirty.”
In an instant, hundreds of coins’ worth of talismans burned away, leaving him gritting his teeth in disbelief.
“Damn it!!”
“Control your expression a bit.”
“…Okay… Let’s see how long you can hold out. Guys! Attack!!”
Was it because of the massive strike that drained his inner strength? He shouted wildly as his lackeys charged in.
By the way, there aren’t many protective talismans left…
Chaijin seemed to read my expression and asked in a small voice.
“How many are left?”
“Two left.”
Honestly, I wanted to save more protective talismans, but this was not something you could buy just because you had money.
It was an incredibly precious item, strong enough to withstand an attack from Gi Yeonsan, so I had to enlist Cheonilhwa to help me participate in a proxy auction, scraping together just enough to accumulate this many.
Even finding them in Heavenly Bright Moon was difficult, so I didn’t expect to use this many talismans that most people just kept for themselves.
“…I understand. Save that for later. Sayoon, you stay up with the Innkeeper. And the rest of you.”
“Y-yes?”
“Yes.”
“If you’re going to protect the treasure of the enemy clan…”
She coldly stated that before gathering her Black Moon Sword and heading outside.
“Follow me.”
*
Chaijin knew even better than anyone that this was not a situation where they could laugh and joke around as usual.
She was well aware of Gi Yeonsan’s skills.
Someone who had hit the ceiling of superhuman abilities.
Someone who would do anything to break that ceiling.
In other words, they were a level above her, at least someone like Hansoo.
That kind of person was after Yu Wol.
While she was preoccupied with the Iron Blood Clan and the evil monsters from Hongseong.
They had found just the right opening.
Of course, she had no intention of freely handing over Yu Wol.
Chaijin glanced at Sayoon, Hongseong’s youngest and the friend of her younger sister, Chaeran.
If this were the skill level from when they first met, she wouldn’t have entrusted Yu Wol to her.
But she was strong.
Strong enough to be considered a formidable martial artist, even if not on the level of herself or Hongryeon.
On par with Chaeran, or maybe even a bit stronger.
Then, she decided to trust her.
Chaijin spoke to Yu-an and Yang Juhui, who had followed her out.
“Handle the scraps from Gi Yeonsan. I…”
Gripping her Black Moon Sword tightly, she glared at Gi Yeonsan, who was catching his breath.
“I will take that guy down.”
She felt no pressure from having to surpass someone stronger than herself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
