Chapter 62: Hwa Second Order, Han Muyeon (2)

At a glance, those masked figures were clearly capable individuals.

‘I’m screwed. Totally screwed!’

Baek Sang-ah groaned inwardly.

Everyone who usually guarded Teahouse from the Thousand-Day Pass, including the gatekeepers, had gone out, claiming they were off to take care of the Unorthodox Faction.

Honestly, she had wanted to join that mission too. But she had been coldly denied, told that her life might be in danger due to assassination risks, and was left behind at Teahouse.

And this was the result.

For the first time, she cursed Jin Yeomyung in her heart.

‘Damn you, Jin Yeomyung! You should’ve just taken me with you instead of leaving me behind and causing all this. Aaaagh! This is seriously the worst!’

She was convinced that she had already said “I’m doomed” more times this past year than she would in the rest of her life.

“Who are you people, chasing me all the way out to a place like this just to kill me?”

“The continent’s top assassination group—Slaughter Gale Kill Unit.”

Myeong-oh chuckled faintly.

“…Would you believe me if I said that?”

“Do you think I would?”

Baek Sang-ah blurted it out, too dumbfounded to even maintain formal speech.

No matter how renowned the Slaughter Gale was for assassination, even calling it the best under the heavens…

There was no way they could infiltrate the Heavenly Demon Cult of all places.

If they could do that, they wouldn’t be an assassination group—they’d be divine reapers.

“Well, I didn’t say it expecting you to believe me. Just think of it as something to remember.”

Myeong-oh’s gaze turned cold.

“If you’d just died inside the Thousand-Day Pass, it would’ve ended quietly. Why complicate things like this?”

Swoosh—

She raised his hand.

“End it without leaving a trace.”

The moment those words left her mouth, the four assassins known as the Lions of the Underworld King charged at Baek Sang-ah.

“You think I’ll just die like this?!”

Baek Sang-ah desperately raised her will to fight and drew her sword.

But, poisoned by Mountain-Empty Poison, she was nothing more than a powerless girl.

Just as the blades of the Lions of the Underworld King were about to pierce her body—

“Young lady, you’ve got some serious guts.”

Clang, clang, clang!

A series of metallic sounds rang out around her, and she suddenly realized someone was standing behind her.

“…!”

The Lions of the Underworld King, who had been rushing toward her, backed away upon the sudden intrusion of the unknown figure.

“To keep your fighting spirit even in a life-or-death moment… that’s something to be praised.”

“Wh-Who are you?”

“Bodyguard.”

A bald man, Gu Chil, flashed a grin as he looked at the Lions of the Underworld King.

“These guys are pretty skilled, huh? Are you juniors of mine?”

Stroking his chin, Gu Chil scanned the Lions of the Underworld King, then shook his head.

“Ah, guess not. You’re too low-level.”

Myeong-oh frowned slightly at Gu Chil’s sudden appearance.

‘So they didn’t leave her completely unprotected after all.’

Though it was still hard to make out his face in the dark, she was gradually becoming more familiar with it.

This guy—he was clearly a formidable expert!

“Who the hell are you?”

Gu Chil shrugged.

“I just said I’m her bodyguard, didn’t I, pretty lady… huh?”

The moment he laid eyes on Myeong-oh, Gu Chil froze.

“…Wait, what?”

Myeong-oh also froze when she got a proper look at Gu Chil.

There was a brief silence.

Gu Chil spoke first.

“Are you… Myeong-oh?”

“Gu-Guwon Guiryeong, senior?!”

Myeong-oh looked at Gu Chil with her mouth slightly open, clearly just as shocked.

Gu Chil pointed a finger at Myeong-oh.

“You… weren’t you supposed to be dead during the Assassination Decree?”

“Tch!”

Myeong-oh, true to her title as a top-class assassin, quickly collected himself.

“Second Order! Emergency situation. Engage now!”

Tap!

As soon as she gave the order, Han Muyeon, who had been lurking in the shadows, sprang forward, aiming directly for Baek Sang-ah’s neck.

“H-Han senior?!”

Baek Sang-ah screamed in horror, clearly not expecting Han Muyeon to appear here of all places.

“Not so fast!”

Luckily, Han Muyeon’s ambush—enhanced with Sword Qi—was neutralized under Gu Chil’s desperate defense.

Clang!

“Ah! B-Bodyguard!”

“Damn it, there was another one?”

Although Gu Chil had managed to fend off the attack, he paid the price with a long gash across one arm.

Blood immediately flowed down his arm.

But Gu Chil ignored the wound and glared daggers at Myeong-oh.

“Hey, you damn brat! If you were alive, you should’ve at least contacted me! And what the hell did you dye your hair red for?!”

Myeong-oh didn’t back down, shouting right back.

“Same to you, senior! Everyone thought you were dead, so if you survived, you should’ve just lived quietly instead of showing up and messing with my plans!”

She was furious that he had suddenly appeared to ruin everything.

“I was living quietly!”

As the situation turned unexpectedly chaotic, Han Muyeon, who had retrieved his sword, frowned.

“You two know each other?”

“We’re old comrades.”

“…!”

Han Muyeon was clearly shocked, knowing what organization Myeong-oh had once belonged to.

“We can’t let our guard down. This man is the infamous Demonic Ghost of the Demon Emperor Execution Unit, once known as the strongest fiend among them. He’s one of the survivors from the day of the ‘Great Purge’.”

Sensing the strange atmosphere, Gu Chil frowned.

“You… Don’t tell me you betrayed the Cult?”

Myeong-oh scoffed.

“Isn’t it obvious, senior? What loyalty is there to a group that threw away its entire organization just because a few people showed signs of betrayal?”

“Assassins were never really about loyalty to begin with… Bah, whatever.”

Realizing how hollow his own words sounded, Gu Chil sighed bitterly.

“So then, who are you working for now?”

“Do you think I’m crazy enough to tell you that?”

Well, of course. With her thirst for revenge boiling over, if she hadn’t retired, she must’ve joined an anti-Heavenly Demon Cult faction.

“That’s a shame. If I’d known you were alive, I would’ve brought you to the Jin Clan.”

Gu Chil sounded genuinely regretful, and Myeong-oh curled one side of his lips.

“That wouldn’t be so bad either. But I can’t rest until I kill that bastard myself.”

“I agree with you on that, but…”

Fwoosh!

Gu Chil and Myeong-oh leapt at the same time and collided mid-air.

“But right now, protecting that girl comes first!”

“That goes for me too!”

As former members of the Demon Emperor Execution Unit, they moved in a dazzling flurry, their hands weaving a chaotic dance.

An assassin couldn’t just be good at one thing.

Because they faced countless unpredictable variables, assassins had to master all kinds of obscure skills to the limit.

Throwing knives, shurikens, and poison darts scattered wildly from both their sleeves.

“Ghhhk!”

Their fierce battle spread so widely that even the Lions of the Underworld King couldn’t easily get close to Baek Sang-ah.

“As expected, senior, your skills haven’t rusted at all!”

Myeong-oh admired Gu Chil’s tactical prowess.

To the untrained eye, it looked like he was just throwing weapons at random, but he was actually factoring in the movements of the Lions of the Underworld King and Han Muyeon, controlling the entire field precisely.

“But how long can you keep that up? With one of your arms injured!”

“Tch!”

No matter what, there was a limit to how many concealed weapons one could carry.

On top of that, the person he had to protect was poisoned by Mountain-Empty Poison and a paralysis toxin.

“More importantly, where’s that Thread of the Nine Heavens you used to brag about, senior?!”

“You think I’d use that here and blow the whole place to hell?!”

That weapon wasn’t something meant for protecting anyone.

“Second Order!”

“I know!”

At Myeong-oh’s shout, Han Muyeon dashed forward with his sword aimed at Baek Sang-ah.

“Damn it!”

Gu Chil urgently hurled his remaining throwing weapons at Han Muyeon.

“Too slow!”

Clang clang clang!

With his Sword Qi-infused blade, Han Muyeon deftly deflected all of Gu Chil’s attacks.

‘A master!’

To so easily deflect all of his well-honed weapons—this was beyond the level of a Thousand-Day Pass gatekeeper.

‘That bastard… he’s the one the Young Master had put under surveillance!’

The one suspected to be behind the major assassination attempt at the Thousand-Day Pass.

Gu Chil had doubted at first whether such a refined-looking man could be involved, but now he was only impressed with the Young Master’s judgment.

“Use everything except ‘Awakening,’ Second Order!”

“I know already!”

Annoyed, Han Muyeon suddenly threw his sword at Gu Chil.

It was just a simple toss with no martial technique behind it, so Gu Chil easily dodged it—

—but only had a moment to wonder why, as a thick, ominous demonic energy began to rise from both of Han Muyeon’s hands.

Gu Chil’s eyes widened in horror.

“True Demonic Art?!”

Whether the man was a spy or not, that wasn’t something one could display without training under a proper master.

“Hrrrrrah!”

Sun and Moon Heaven-Shattering Demonic Art

Golden Heaven Shatter!

Flame Qi in his right hand. Water Qi in his left.

As the familiar forms of demonic energy surged from both hands, Gu Chil’s shock reached its peak.

“Th-that’s! Sun and Moon Heaven-Shattering Demonic Art?!”

The problem wasn’t just that he was using a traditional Demonic Art.

“That’s the exclusive martial art of the Seventh Elder! Why the hell is he using it?!”

The technique being used was none other than the signature art of the Seventh Elder of the Heavenly Demon Cult, the Yin-Yang Fist Demon, Jan Hyeol.

‘This is insane! How deep does this conspiracy go?!’

A man suspected of betraying the Cult was now using the Seventh Elder’s exclusive martial art?!

This wasn’t just serious—it was a full-blown catastrophe!

Gu Chil hurriedly shouted toward the upper level of the training hall.

“This should be enough! Please assist us now!”

“…?!”

“What?!”

In an instant, both Han Muyeon and Myeong-oh looked upward.

“Yes, it seems this is far enough.”

KA-BOOM!

A cold voice echoed down—followed by black streams of light crashing down from above, pounding the ground.

“Gasp!”

Everyone except Gu Chil was stunned.

Each of those black streams was pure Sword Qi!

This wasn’t something that could be done just with strong Internal Energy.

It was a divine technique—possible only with profound enlightenment!

The first floor of Teahouse was quite literally torn apart in a single strike.

Myeong-oh, clearly shaken, murmured.

“What…? There shouldn’t be any instructors stationed here.”

And among the instructors, only one had this level of skill—the Head Instructor.

But he wasn’t supposed to be here!

Whoosh…

Two figures descended from the upper level into the now-ruined first floor.

When Han Muyeon and Myeong-oh realized who they were, they were utterly shocked.

“Young Cult Leader?!”

“How can she be here?!”

How the hell could the Young Cult Leader show up here?!

Cheon Yura looked at Myeong-oh with a cold smile.

“You might not know since you can’t enter the Teahouse, but as an instructor, you should’ve known.”

Swish—

At that moment, Cheon Yura’s face subtly changed.

Her sharp features remained, but the shape of her face transformed completely.

“Hyun, Hyunwol?!”

“…….”

A few days ago, two unidentified young women had been hired at Teahouse alongside the assassination target, Baek Sang-ah.

One was Hyeonwol, known for her sharp features and blunt demeanor, who had quickly gained popularity among the patrons. The other was Black Glory, nicknamed the “Ten Thousand-Inn Ghost Beauty” by the merchants.

At first, people assumed Jin Yeomyung had simply recruited some skilled courtesans from somewhere. But who would’ve guessed that one of them was actually the Young Cult Leader herself!

“Ku-Kuhuhup!”

Just then, a voice struggled to suppress laughter from the back.

The source of the voice was none other than Sa Biyeon, who had been going by the alias Black Glory in this Teachouse.

“M-My apologies, Young Cult Leader.”

“…….”

Cheon Yura glared at Sa Biyeon with eyes that could kill.

Even if she was her trusted subordinate, how could she be laughing at a time like this?!

Sa Biyeon couldn’t meet her eyes and turned her head away.

‘This is all Jin Yeomyung’s fault.’

It was after meeting that bastard Jin Yeomyung that her once-serious and cold subordinate’s expressions had started to change.

“Sigh… That took the wind out of me.”

Cheon Yura let her shoulders sag slightly, then pulled herself together and turned her sharp gaze toward Myeong-oh and Han Muyeon.

“Young Cult Leader, w-wait!”

“What is it?”

“I am Han Muyeon! Disciple of the Seventh Elder, Yin-Yang Fist Demon, and also a gatekeeper of the Thousand-Day Pass!”

“I-Second Order?”

Myeong-oh’s expression twisted in disbelief at Han Muyeon’s sudden madness.

Coming out with something like that out of nowhere—it was more bewildering than infuriating.

“I—I…”

Han Muyeon clenched his teeth and shouted:

“I intend to claim the position of Demonic Faction Lord!”

“…!”

“…?”

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