Chapter 15: Eunru Valley (3)

The Murim Alliance’s Special Operations Unit was one of the counterintelligence teams active along the frontlines against the Heavenly Demon Cult.

Among them, the Seventeenth Subdivision, which Gwan Sang belonged to, was the most forward-positioned group of the Hidden Spy Unit spread across all of Gansu Province, situated closest to the territory of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

‘I—I have to report this immediately!’

Although murders occurred almost daily in Eunru Valley, it was exceedingly rare for over ten people to be beheaded in one go.

Especially if the perpetrator was a beautiful woman, the likes of whom one wouldn’t expect to see in a place like Eunru Valley!

Seeing the elegant woman standing proudly among the corpses he had just cut down, Gwan Sang was convinced.

‘No doubt about it. It’s the Young Cult Leader! The Young Cult Leader, Cheon Yura!’

The Heavenly Demon Cult certainly had skilled female swordsmen, but there was only one who looked this young—almost childlike.

‘She’s not some witch who’s reversed her aging. The portrait mostly matches too. So what about her guards?’

The only visible escort nearby was a masked man in black standing beside her, seemingly trying to stop her.

Of course, with Gwan Sang’s insight, he couldn’t be sure whether there were other hidden escorts, but he didn’t care.

‘Even if they used stealth techniques in broad daylight, they couldn’t hide many people!’

Confident in this assessment, Gwan Sang didn’t hesitate and went straight to his superior.

“Huuuaaahm… What is it, Gwan Sang? In the middle of the day?”

A fat man lying lazily on a mat under the shade of a tree greeted Gwan Sang.

His filthy, tattered clothes were ripped in multiple places, and he scratched his belly in slothful delight.

Gwan Sang’s superior looked like a beggar.

With a solemn expression, Gwan Sang made his report.

“The Young Cult Leader has appeared.”

“…Did you start drinking in the middle of the day?”

At his superior’s sour reaction, Gwan Sang exploded in frustration.

“No, Squad Leader! You think I’m that kind of person?!”

“Hmm, now that I think about it, you’ve never caused any trouble while drunk.”

Gyeon Myeonggae, one of the Four Beggars of the Beggars’ Sect and captain of the Seventeenth Subdivision, adjusted his reclining posture and looked at Gwan Sang.

“So? Why would the Young Cult Leader show up in a place like this?”

“That… I wouldn’t know.”

“……”

As Gyeon Myeonggae slowly reached for his club—

Gwan Sang flailed his hands in panic.

“No! There’s no way I’d know that, right?! It’s not like I’m stationed at the main cult! You should be praising me just for identifying her, shouldn’t you?!”

Gyeon Myeonggae had no counter to Gwan Sang’s words and slowly withdrew his outstretched hand.

“Ahem.”

“Haah… Haah… Seriously…”

Gwan Sang exhaled heavily, looking like he had just come back from the dead.

His damn superior, being from the Beggars’ Sect, had monstrous martial prowess.

Gwan Sang had seen many captains during his time in the Hidden Spy Unit, but none were as powerful as Gyeon Myeonggae.

Gyeon Myeonggae asked seriously.

“Tell me everything in detail.”

“Alright, so—”

Gwan Sang explained everything he had seen in detail. First, he described the events without exaggeration, then followed with his own reasoning behind his conclusions.

“She cut down ten men who picked a fight with her in an instant? And they were from the Poison Frog Sect?”

“Yes. Doesn’t that mean she must be at least a first-rate master?”

“Well, yes…”

Gyeon Myeonggae trailed off.

‘As trashy as the Poison Frog Sect bastards are, each of them is still far stronger than the average adult man.’

In truth, someone experienced with the sword could possibly cut down ten opponents, but only if they had sufficient strength to back it up—and that didn’t apply to a girl who hadn’t even reached adulthood.

‘To take them out in a single strike… that wouldn’t be possible unless she was at least second-rate. No, not even then.’

Only someone who had circulated qi throughout their entire body to strengthen themselves could achieve that.

That level—one that inspired fear in the wider world—was the hallmark of a first-rate martial artist.

“If what you say is true, even if she’s not the Young Cult Leader, she must be an important figure within the Six Great Demonic Clans.”

“Exactly, right?!”

“You did good work, brat. Well done.”

“What will you do now? I feel like this intel could fetch a high price.”

Although the Hidden Spy Unit was under the Righteous Alliance, selling information to raise funds in this way wasn’t unheard of.

“I’ll handle the rest. You take the others and fall back.”

“What?!”

“I’m not planning to take all the credit, so wipe that look off your face, brat. You’ll get a hefty reward.”

“Understood, Squad Leader.”

Gwan Sang retreated, somewhat sulky. Still, Gyeon Myeonggae wasn’t the type to break a promise, so Gwan Sang didn’t look too disappointed.

Once Gwan Sang had completely vanished—

“What do you mean, ‘what to do’—what a fool.”

Gyeon Myeonggae’s gaze turned icy.

“Obviously, I’ll capture her.”

An intimidating aura far more chilling than before poured from his eyes.

“Let’s see. Aside from the Young Cult Leader, which other members of the Six Great Demonic Clans possess that level of martial prowess?”

Though he appeared casual on the outside, he was still the captain of a counterintelligence unit that had infiltrated the Heavenly Demon Cult.

In an instant, several candidates flashed through his mind.

“So Soryu of the So Clan, Sa Biyeon of the Sa Clan, maybe one of the twins from the Pa Clan? Surely it’s not ‘her’—the one we’ve been targeting, right?”

Since it was a single person, it wasn’t the twins from the Pa Clan.

That left three possibilities, including the Young Cult Leader.

“Keh keh… Whoever it is doesn’t matter. The more cracks that form in their ranks, the bigger our cut will be.”

Having made his decision, Gyeon Myeonggae summoned others who had been waiting nearby.

These were not members of the Seventeenth Subdivision under his command.

They were executioners directly dispatched from the higher-ups to deal with any anomalies in the Black Spot Blood supply.

An elite unit known as the Death Command Squad—composed entirely of top-class assassins.

***

Deep within the heart of Eunru Valley, a place devoid of all human presence—

Masked figures appeared near the quarters of the Three Old Lords.

“This is a jackpot. To think that brat’s words were actually true.”

Heh!

With a twisted smile, Gyeon Myeonggae stepped forward.

“Sorry, but you’ll have to become our prisoner, Young Cult Leader.”

“Who are you bastards?”

“No need to know. All you have to do is surrender quietly.”

The power gap between the two sides was obvious—or at least, Gyeon Myeonggae thought so.

When the Young Cult Leader saw Gyeon Myeonggae had no interest in conversation, she turned and looked at their side.

“Jin Yeomyung, what do you think?”

“Hmm……”

I looked over the masked men with sunken eyes and said,

“Never thought I’d catch your tail this early.”

“Tail, you say?”

“Surely you don’t think they’re some kind of righteous sect’s special task force, do you?”

“Hmph!”

Cheon Yura let out a small chuckle, perhaps taking my comment as a joke.

Indeed, with the murderous aura those bastards were emitting, no one in their right mind would mistake them for righteous warriors.

“That one over there definitely looks like a Beggars’ Sect dog.”

“That’s why we should keep him alive. He looks like he has a lot to spill.”

“Ugh, u-urgh!”

The Three Old Lords began to sweat coldly and slowly retreated.

Each of the enemies they faced were at least equal in strength, if not greater than them.

I casually shrugged my shoulders.

“At this rate, it’s not about capturing anyone. We should be worrying about staying alive.”

The Young Cult Leader surely had escorts, and a few of the Black Guards were present too—so she probably wouldn’t die.

But if we engaged them head-on, the casualties would be severe.

‘Especially the axe-wielding one standing beside that beggar. He’s a true Master Level expert. That one’s dangerous.’

It hadn’t even been two *shichen* since they arrived at Eunrugok.

If someone could mobilize this level of force in that short time, the hidden power within the cult must be truly terrifying.

“Don’t worry about that.”

Shrrrng!

Cheon Yura finally drew her sword in earnest.

Then she turned slightly to her side and spoke,

“Biyeon, assist me.”

“Yes, Young Cult Leader.”

The Seventh Black Guard responded politely and stepped forward.

“…Huh?”

Wait, what?

“What did you just say?”

I blinked as I stared at the Seventh Guard, who threw off her mask.

Gone was the goofy air she had shown until now, replaced by Sa Biyeon, who radiated the same cold aura as her mistress.

She bowed her head slightly toward me.

“I’m sorry, Young Master.”

“N-no way… what the—?”

I had realized she was a woman, but to think she was actually Sa Biyeon?!

Before I could even react, Sa Biyeon turned and shouted toward the back.

“Black Guards, protect Young Master Jin!”

“Yes, my lady!”

Swish! Swish!

Over ten Black Guards from the Sa Clan encircled me.

Seeing this, Cheon Yura turned and shouted,

“Amyeong, Hoyeong, Gwonyoung. Assist me!”

“Yes, Young Cult Leader!”

Three figures appeared at her side.

They were likely the elite protectors of the Cult Leader—guardians assigned to her at all times.

In an instant, the numbers had shifted: twenty against five.

Even with four more added to our side, Gyeon Myeonggae showed no signs of backing down.

“What a cute little act of defiance.”

He sneered at Cheon Yura.

“So what if they’re from the Guardians? Without the Cult Leader, the best they can do is slightly below Master Level. But on our side, we have someone who’s reached Master Level.”

Cheon Yura replied calmly,

“You seem to know quite a bit about our cult’s inner workings.”

“Hehehe, I couldn’t help but know. Especially when it comes to the affairs of the Cheon Clan.”

Flinch!

At the words ‘affairs of the Cheon Clan’, her expression shifted ever so slightly.

“Seems like cockroaches have been crawling under the foundation of the main family. Looks like we’ll need a thorough extermination.”

“You’re still clinging to false hope, Young Cult Leader.”

“Ha… Ahaha! False hope, you say?”

Cheon Yura began to laugh.

There was a flicker of madness in her expression, and I instinctively shuddered.

That was not a look someone her age should be capable of.

“Listen well, you vermin.”

Whoosh!

And then, her blade was enveloped in a brilliant aura of pitch-black light.

“W-what is that?!”

Too radiant to be mere Sword Qi. Far too intense to be just Internal Energy.

At that moment, the leader standing beside Gyeon Myeonggae shouted urgently.

“Attack!”

At the leader’s command, the assassins charged at Cheon Yura without hesitation.

Cheon Yura looked at them with a cold smile.

“Not a single one of you will leave Ten Thousand Mountain alive.”

***

Roughly one quarter-hour later

‘D-Damn, that was brutal.’

I gulped as I looked around at the corpses of the enemies lying in heaps.

Twenty against five.

The outcome of that clash was, shockingly, a complete victory for Cheon Yura’s side.

“T-This can’t be…”

The leader of the enemy forces knelt down, clutching his severed arm.

Then he screamed in disbelief.

“I-I’ve never heard of the Young Cult Leader possessing such martial prowess!”

“Of course not.”

She looked down at him as if he were a bug.

“I’ve never revealed my true strength to anyone in the Cheon Clan.”

“…!!”

“Except for Father, Biyeon… and that guy over there.”

She briefly cast a sidelong glance at me when she said ‘that guy’.

Gulp!

‘So when she fought me before, she was holding back that much…’

I thought she had gotten annoyed and started fighting seriously toward the end—but honestly, if the Cult Leader hadn’t stepped in back then, I’d be dead for sure.

Well, leaving that aside—

‘She’s incredible.’

I couldn’t help but marvel at the aftermath of the battle before me.

Even among First-rate martial artists, not all are created equal.

Those who served as Cheon Yura’s escorts were specially selected young talents—future elites chosen to match the next Cult Leader in spirit and skill.

Not only had they mastered powerful demonic martial arts and inner cultivation methods, but they’d also trained rigorously under senior Guardians and proven themselves thoroughly.

Even within the same tier, the difference between them and other First-rates was enormous.

But what was even more remarkable was Cheon Yura herself—her performance didn’t pale in comparison to those elite Guardians at all.

She had taken down five First-rate warriors and one Master Level leader, without so much as a scratch on her body.

A true genius of battle!

“T-This isn’t over…”

Twitch!

‘Hmm?’

For some reason, that enemy leader was staring at me now.

“I won’t let it end like this—!”

Fwoosh!

The bastard sprang forward, charging straight at me.

A faint crimson glow—axe qi—flared on his axe.

“If I can’t take you all down, I’ll at least kill you, Jin Yeomyung!”

I let out a sigh and muttered,

“So you did hear my name earlier.”

It was obvious.

Cheon Yura had openly mentioned my name when asking for my opinion.

‘Tch, foolish guy. Do you even know how many guards are around me right now?’

I had no doubt the Black Guards would intercept him before he could even touch me.

But then—

Even as he rushed in close, not a single one of the nearby Black Guards moved to stop him?!

‘What the—?!’

“Die, Jin Yeomyung!”

The arc of his axe swung in a powerful curve straight toward my crown.

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