Chapter 33: Into the Summer (4)

Translator: Hwarang

Editor: Kidyeon

I was able to receive our final mission for the summer through Kong Su Chan. It was a guard assignment from the Righteous Eastern Merchant Guild. They wanted us to protect them for a day while they were signing an important contract. They were willing to pay two thousand nyang for a single day of protection.

This was a pretty lofty sum for only a single days worth of protection, signifying that they were being threatened somehow. Either way, they said that the job would be dangerous, thus Id decided to take that wed do it.

Before we left, my father gave me some advice. Dont be blinded by the your previous success. Accidents can happen at any time.

Yes, father. I wont forget.

This was one of the things that I liked about my father; he was a righteous and straightforward person. On the contrary, my mother was an extremely carefree person.

Son, go and make a lot of money!

How could I not know her true feelings? She was simply hiding her true feelings by saying carefree things such as this.

Yes, mother. Ill make sure to bring you back a gift.

Bring back something expensive!

I laughed. I will.

When the members of the Lesser Sword Sect and I reached the Righteous Eastern Merchant Guild, the atmosphere was extremely heavy. There were guard everywhere; even the servants were holding knives, clubs, and farming tools with the intention of protecting their master. However, when they saw us arrive, they loosened up a bit.

Once Baek Yeo, the man whod hired, saw us, he rushed towards us and greeted us as if we were gods from heaven, Welcome! Thank you for coming here on such a short notice.

Why is everyone acting like this?

Look at this.

What he proceeded to show me was a threat letter. It was written such that, If you dont stop this contract, you and your family will die.

Who sent you this?

A certain someone whos looking to stop our contract. They just want to get rid of me and take the contract for themselves.

You know, this could be an empty threat. Just to make you scared and step down.

However, he shook his head.

One of the relatives of the person who sent this isthe guild leaderof the Seo Jong Guild.

The Seo Jong Guild?

The Seo Jong Guild is a pretty famous dark guild. Theyre a guild that follows their leader, Seo Ryang, and call themselves the Seo Jong Guild.

Dark guilds arent part of the Murim Alliance nor the Demonic Alliance. Theyre independent backwater groups that usually cause trouble wherever they are. They usually take over a region and tax the residents of that area, or become bandits and rob from merchants.

Since were here, you dont have any need to be afraid of them.

They shouldnt be ignored simply because theyre a dark guild. Theyre an evil group with many members. A lot of their members are proficient in martial arts too.

All right. Then, lets prepare to set out.

...Ill trust you.

After leaving the roomthat Baek Yeo had led me to after seeing us, I called Kwan He immediately. Our opponent might be someone from the Dark Guild. Thus, they might rush us at any time. Spread the word to the others that they need to prepare themselves.

Yes.

The place that Baek Yeo needed to go to for his business contract was five-hours away from his house. We were only going to escort Baek Yeo since the guards of the Righteous Eastern Guild were staying behind in order to protect their headquarters.

Since we expected to have disturbances, and we knew who was going impede us, I raised my guard and concentrated on my senses. If they decided to shoot arrows at us from far away when they attacked us, there might be some casualties.

I had plenty experience doing this sort of thing,as Id taken many missions when I was still the Mengju.

Id heard of quite a few cases like this, but this was my first time both protecting someone and escorting them due to the threat of a dark guild.

Baek Yeo started a conversation with some members of the Lesser Sword Sect while I was gone. I heard that you guys took down a group of bandits.

Yes, we have.

Impressive. Ive also heard that they were pretty famous.

Thats why we told you to not worry about a thing. The person sitting next to you was able to take out four bandits by himself.

Oh, is that so?

The person sitting next to Baek Yeo was Kwang Du.

Kwang Du replied in a loud voice, Dont worry, well protect you.

So, youre keeping an expert by my side.

Kwang Du flinched. That wasnt why he was riding in the carriage. Even though Kwang Du had started practicing horse riding, he still wasnt comfortable doing it. Id told him to ride a carriage because of this.

Even though he only had a few days of practice, hed tried to convince me to allow him to ride a horse. It was obvious that he wanted to impress Do Sun-ee with his horse riding skills since Do Soon-ee still hadnt attached the decoration to her sword.

We were finally ambushed whilst crossing a flat plain. No one was surprised when the first thirty appeared, but more and more of them continued to show themselves in group of tens and twenties as they proceeded to surround us completely. By the time theyd all shown themselves, their numbers had reached three hundred.

We were completely surrounded by the members of the black guild whod threatened Baek Yeo, whod armed themselves with all sorts of weapon, be it spear, sword, or any blunt weapon they could find. This was honestly a pretty intimidating situation.

When Baek Yeo looked out the window of his carriage, he received quite a fright. Oh my god. Were all doomed!

Dont worry. Kwang Du tried to calm him down, but the tremor in his voice just made Baek Yeo even more terrified.

Following Kwan Hes order, the members of the lesser sword sect enveloped the carriage in a circular formation. Even though there were some of them that had plenty of real experience, when they saw the number of enemies in front of them, they couldnt help but be at least a little nervous.

There was no way that a single organization had this many members. More than likely, theyd asked for assistance from another organization.

However, Baek Yeo was a person who had a conscience. I can just give up on this deal. Theres no need for you guys to take unnecessary casualties.

Baek Yeo then yelled, Ill give up on the deal! Just let us go.

Afterwards, someone who seemed to be their leader stepped out of the ocean of people that surrounded. Seeing that the other members of the dark guild had both made way and were respectful to this man, it seemed that he was Seo Ryang.

Why did someone as reasonable as yourself make such a stubborn decision?

It was because of my ignorance. Please let us go.

This isnt something that can be solved that easily.

When the people around him saw him approach our vanguard, they quickly surrounded him.. The members of the lesser sword sect were all quite nervous because of how many of them there were. We absolutely couldnt fight them head on, considering the fact that they outnumber us by a large margin. Not only that, but there were many of the enemies who had spears. If they rushed us and simply swung their spears, we wouldnt be able to do anythingeven if we were master martial artists.

They proceeded until they were ten steps in front of us, at which point Seo Ryang said, How can I trust you after what youve done? If I let you go back just like this, you might make plans to meet again tonight. All the people that you see are busy men; we cant just gather them up for you again tonight.

No, Ill give up on it for sure. Ill even sign a contract for you.

What good will a piece of paper do?

Then what can I do?

Why dont you give us one of your hands?

What?

Baek Yeo turned pale, causing Seo Ryang to burst into laughter.

I was just joking. You seemed rather scared. Seo Ryang finally stopped laughing, then gave him a cold threat. However, if we meet again, youll lose more than just your hand. Make way for that elder, hes going back home.

But he didnt forget to insult us. Simply beingMurim-In and wearing sword at your waist doesnt mean dog shit to this daddy. Disappear before this daddy changes his mind. This daddy has generously decided to let you live.

The dark guilds members all laughed and proceeded to open a pathway for us.

Baek Yeo looked at me and said, Lets go back.

Seeing that I hadnt responded, he became desperate. I said lets go back. If they change their mind, were all dead. Lets hurry!

I finally decided to open my mouth. If theyre that scary to you, then you shouldve just hired them instead.

What kind of tone is that?!

Since youve hired us, you should at least trust us a little bit.

What?

I stared coldly at Seo Ryang and said, Hey, you worthless piece of dog shit. Do you really think that well leave just because you said to leave, or come just because you said to come?

How could someone like me, who was once the Mengju, say these words you ask? Well, who were my opponents? If I think about all the curses that Ive received from the Demonic Alliance its enough to make anyone vomit blood.

Seo Ryang proceeded to ask one of his men, Whats that little punk saying?

I think that he wants to fight us.

Is there something wrong with his eyes?

Everyone around him burst into laughter.

However, if thats his wish, then its our obligation to grant it.

When Seo Ryang drew his weapon, everyone around him else readied their weapons. He trusted the three hundred men he was leading.

I quickly gave Kwan He an order. Make a half circle using the carriage as a wall around Mister Baek and protect him.

Yes.

Look carefully at how I deal with these punks. Ill show you the difference in class between a Murim-In and these pieces of trash.

Shiiiing.

I pulled out my sword and casually walked towards them.They got a bit nervouswhen they sawme approach themsocasually.

What was the way to fight in this situation? Easy.

Step step step step.

Iquicklyrushed towards Seo Ryang.Just like in everyothergroup fight,getting rid ofthe enemy leaderis key.

The enemies rushed towards me in waves, but I cutthem down easily.

Slash! Slash!

Several menquicklylost their heads.I quicklyswung my swordand cut down the nextwave ofmen.They were intimidated when they saw me easily cut down their comrades.

The ones with spears started swinging their spearsaroundwildly.However, Iwas as fluid as water as I dodgedtheirspears. My movement was repetitive, yet extremelyelaborate.

Dodge, slash, block. Dodge, slash, block.

With every slash, another man fell. It only took an instant for more than ten corpses to appear. Everyone was shocked. All Id done was dodge when needed and swing my sword when needed. It was much easier than dealing with a single person. Every time I swung my sword somebody had died; ten more bodies now laid on the ground.

Seo Ryang became flustered and quickly yelled, Stop him! Kill that bastard!

His flustered voice lowered his subordinates morale.

He shouldve told his men to kill Byeok Yeo. If hed done that, hewould havediverted my attention.Either way, the result wouldve been the same considering the fact that Seo Ryung wasnt someone capable of something as complex as that.As of now, hed most likely lost his reasoning.

They all charged at me, but the ones dying were them. It didnt matter how many of them there were, they were still just a rag tag group of bandits. Even if they had learned some form of martial arts, they still werent better than the members of the Lesser Sword Sect. However, I didnt plan to kill all of them.

I stepped off of one of the corpses around me and leapt forward. I easily passed twenty man, and neared Seo Ryang, who was only about ten paces in front of me. When he saw how close I was to him, he screamed, Stop him! Block him!

There were only ten people between him and I. How could just ten men stop me if that many hadnt been able to previously?

Shiiing!

Splash!

Another five fellto my sword, causingthe resttoturn tail and run away.

Stop him! Stop that bastard!

However,no one made a single stepto help him. Their faceswerefrozen in fear.

I hadnt even lost my breath yet.

Seo Ryansteppedaway from mein fear.Wellwithdraw. So

Ignoring what he was saying,I launched myself towards him. If I wanted to beat them,I couldnt let him live.

He drew his weaponandwildly swungit. It might have worked againstone ofhis subordinates,but against me?Ha, dont even think about it.

Swish!

Slice!

WhenI landed behind him,Seo Ryangs movementsstopped. A red lineslowlyappeared on his neck.

The next moment...

Thump!

The next moment his headfelloff ofhis neck.

Splasshhh!

Afountain of bloodproceeded toshoot out of his neck. Everyone was shocked stiffwhen theysawSeo Ryangs headhit the ground.

Whip!

I whipped my sword in the air andsaid, Drop whatevers in yourhandsand getdown on your knees.

Sincemy voicewas infused with internal energy, itwas loud and clearenough foreveryonetohear it.

Theyall lookedat each otherfor a few moments,not knowing what to do. Afterwards,the one closest to me threw down his weapon and droppedto his knees.Please, spare me!

Thiscausedeveryone elsetothrow down their weaponsand drop down ontotheir knees.

Pleasespare us!

Pleasespare us!

There wasno way three hundred rabbitscould take down a tiger. Moreover, they were busy trying to keep themselves alive.

When I saw this,I yelled at thelesser swordsect, Cut down anyone that openstheir eyes and looks up!

Yes!

The Lesser Sword Sect membersrepliedin unison.

Hearing this,the members of the dark guild quickly closedtheir eyesand lowered their heads.Seeingthree hundred people boweddownwith their eyes closed was quite a sight.

As I approached my subordinates,I said, This is what Murim-In is.In fact were called Murim-Inbecause of things like this. Do you understand?

Yes.

The members of theLesserSword Sectshad facesbrimming with pride andadesire forstrength.

Especially Kwang Du and Kwan He;theylooked likethey were dreaming.

This was what I wanted.I wanted them to beinfluencedby this. Even ifyourefacingthree-thousand enemies,you should never show yourback to them. Imsure that, someday,they will display this sort ofthing.Thatssomething that Im truly looking forward to.

Baek Yeostaredblankly at me with his mouth wide open. He was so stunned that he didnt know whatto say.

I smiled and said, Lets go.You still need tofinish your contract.

Seo Ryong,as well as his two vice-leaders whowereprotecting Seo Ryong tothe end,hadallbeenslain by me; theSeo Jong Guild was no more.

Since the restof themwere just subordinates,I let them go after scaring them a bit. I threatened them by sayingthat,if Ieverheardthat they were up to no goodagain,then Idcome backtoeliminate them. Evenifthey go back to their old ways,theyllat leaststay hidden for a while.

The deal that day ended without a hitch,and Baek Yeo gaveusthe moneyhe owed us.

I added someextra justfor you.

You didnt have to.

However, since he most likely has a decent amount ofmoney,I didnt decline. When I opened up the envelopehed handed me,I saw five one-thousand nyang notes. Hedadded three thousand more toouroriginal deal.

Thank you. Well be on our way now.

Ill call you again when I need you.

Please do.

But by that time,you wont be able to hire us withthis muchmoney. Our value will haveincrease by tenfold.