Chapter 290: In Conflict (5)

Bang Jin-Hun swallowed dryly.

'A different side again...'

He was under the impression that he had already seen Kang Jin-Ho's true face back then. However, this Kang Jin-Ho was different from that version. The best description Bang Jin-Hun could come up with was that this Kang Jin-Ho was an unsheathed sword with its ultra-sharp edge gleaming under the moonlight.

'Is this Kang Jin-Ho getting ready for a battle?'

Bang Jin-Hun felt rather relieved by this sight. If Kang Jin-Ho had joined hands with Lee Jung-Geol and targeted Bang Jin-Hun instead...

If that had happened, then Kang Jin-Ho would have been standing on the opposite side as an enemy and glaring at Bang Jin-Hun. After imagining how he would have fallen without offering a single proper resistance to the merciless assault, Bang Jin-Hun couldn't help but be grateful that this returner decided to reach out to him first.

'Now isn't the time to worry about my position, though.'

Indeed, his priority was his survival.

Bang Jin-Hun sobered up instantly when Kang Jin-Ho frowned a little. “Yes, we've finished our preparation.”

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at the surroundings. “This is your idea of a preparation?”

“I've only gathered a small number of elites. These are the strongest who would not get detected during...”

“These trash are your elites?”

“...!” Bang Jin-Hun's mouth clamped shut like a clam.

While making an unreadable face, Kang Jin-Ho stared at Bang Jin-Hun. "I can already picture what kind of place the Martial Assembly is after taking one look at this lot."

That was clearly an insult. A degrading insult that no self-respecting martial artist could sit by and ignore! However, no one here dared to raise their voice and rebuke Kang Jin-Ho, and that was because they could feel it.

They could feel that this young man standing before their eyes was as sharp as a razor blade and that carelessly opening their pieholes now could get their heads chopped off instantly. The intense pressure had turned them all into mutes.

“...Mister Kang, they are elites in their own right.”

"I see." Kang Jin-Ho disinterestedly turned away, choosing not to grill Bang Jin-Hun over this matter anymore. It was a pointless endeavor, after all.

In truth, Kang Jin-Ho had been expecting something similar to this. Besides, even if Bang Jin-Hun showed up with a group of stronger individuals, it wouldn’t have changed the situation much.

“Your plan?” Kang Jin-Ho asked.

Bang Jin-Hun felt a streak of cold sweat trickling down his back at that concise question. "Our current position is at the rear of the Assembly's HQ. If we head straight in that direction, the Assembly HQ's rear wall will be visible. By scaling that, we can directly enter the Assembly Master's private residence."

Kang Jin-Ho nodded. “Simple enough. That's good.”

Bang Jin-Hun expressed his concern. “However, the Assembly Master should be aware that we are targeting him. The security is definitely heavier than usual, so it'll be impossible to approach his private residence without being detected.”

What Kang Jin-Ho said next was completely out of Bang Jin-Hun's expectations. "If that's the case, there’s no need to hide, then."

“...I'm sorry?”

Shwiiing...!

A familiar sound rang. It was the unmistakable metallic sound of a blade leaving its scabbard. A noise that martial artists would get to hear innumerable times throughout their lives, but to Bang Jin-Hun's ears right now... What should be a familiar noise sounded bizarrely sinister and spine-chilling.

Shwiiing...!

And then, there was another one. Kang Jin-Ho unsheathed both swords tied to his hips, then turned toward the direction Bang Jin-Hun had pointed out. “Remember this one thing.”

“...?”

“Don’t come close to me. Otherwise, you will die.”

Bang Jin-Hun stared at Kang Jin-Ho in tense silence. As for Kang Jin-Ho, he started licking his lips as impatience filled up his expression. He slowly, oh-so-slowly, began walking forward.

While observing that, Bang Jin-Hun was enervated as the feeling of hollowness washed over him.

'If this is how it'll play out, what did I even prepare for?'

He felt rather wronged about something here, but still... it was fine either way!

'Tonight, history will change!'

The lengthy and tiresome war for power against the Assembly Master was about to come to an end. Bang Jin-Hun didn't know who would emerge victorious, but... there should be a definite result soon enough.

***

Min Dae-Seong yawned grandly. “

Haaaaaahm...

”

Stretching his limbs while yawning like that seemed to have chased away his sleepiness in the meantime.

“

Argh.

What is up with this old-school way of doing things?” Min Dae-Seong leaned against the wall, then lightly kicked the floor a couple of times.

He didn't mind being a sentry. He also understood the order to stand guard here. Even though the CCTV cameras of the 21st century could see and record movements far more accurately than a person, such devices came with a fatal flow of 'blind spots.’ As such, Min Dae-Seong could understand the concept of using people to monitor those blind spots.

However, Min Dae-Seong could not understand why it had to be him standing outside the HQ in the middle of dawn!

'Has dementia finally won over the Assembly Master?'

Min Dae-Seong had no thoughts of criticizing the Assembly Master for being a coward. Director Bang tried to kill him recently, after all. The rumor doing the rounds within the Martial Assembly's hallways suggested the assassination attempt had failed by a sheer stroke of luck, too.

Nothing was officially confirmed, but everyone in the Martial Assembly thought it was true—that it really happened. Without that explanation, Director Bang wouldn't have just disappeared from all official meetings, and the Assembly Master wouldn't have started surrounding himself with many bodyguards like a coward.

'Even so, this is a bit too much, isn't it?'

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Unless Director Bang had lost his marbles, he wouldn't dare to assault the Assembly HQ to kill the Assembly Master. Besides, if he were serious about it and mobilized a ton of people, there would be no need for either Min Dae-Seong or anyone else to stand guard outside like this. A big group like that would have been discovered well before they could arrive here, after all! And that many people suddenly 'vanishing' from the Martial Assembly's hall would be rather hard to miss as well.

Since there had been no reports of such a thing, only a small number of operatives should be under Director Bang's command right now. And such a small number of people trying to raid the Assembly Master's residence was sheer insanity.

The residence in question was located right behind the HQ. If something happened, those living in the HQ building would flood the residence in the proverbial blink of an eye!

'So, why is that old man acting like this?!'

The Assembly Master's orders seemed incomprehensible to those privy to the current arrangement. His orders for them weren't about protecting the residence... but guarding all the paths leading to it? It made no sense!

'This is why Director Bang is gathering his forces, isn't it?'

Min Dae-Seong had no idea what the Assembly Master was like in his prime, but the current Assembly Master simply looked like an easily-frightened boomer. It was as if the old man couldn't see that every one of his orders would act as 'yardsticks' for others to evaluate him.

How could that old man not realize that digging deeper into his hiding hole out of fear was incredibly humiliating for a martial artist?

'And it's troublesome for our morale, too...'

If only the Assembly Master were more considerate toward the misery the underlings felt while obeying his stupid order to stand guard as the dawn's cold dew soaked them to their bones... That old man wouldn't have issued such an order. Probably…

“Seriously, this sucks!” Min Dae-Seong grumbled, then banged the back of his head against the wall behind him to chase away his sleepiness.

All of a sudden, his phone suddenly rang. He pulled the phone out slowly as if he couldn't be bothered, then tapped on the green icon before pressing the phone to his ear.

"What now?" Min Dae-Seong grumbled again, then scowled deeply after listening to the voice coming from the speaker. "What do you think I'm doing right now? Nothing but staring at the empty air, that's what! I mean, I can only stare at my phone for a couple of hours, tops, before running out of things to do. What else can I do here? Telling us to stand here until morning when nothing is happening, isn't that like human rights violation or something? At least give us TVs and video games, dammit!"

Min Dae-Seong continued to complain into the phone's receiver, only for his head to tilt.

“...Hey, man? You were the one who called me first, so why aren't you saying anything?”

Wondering if the connection was lost or his phone was broken, Min Dae-Seong checked his device, then ended the call while tilting his head some more.

'What was that all about?'

Why did the dude calling Min Dae-Seong on the phone suddenly stop talking like that? It didn't seem like something untoward had happened to him, so...

If there had been an incident of some kind, it would have produced at least a small noise. However, Min Dae-Seong didn't hear anything. A martial artist wouldn't get done in by an enemy without making a single noise, anyway, so that couldn't be it.

“...Did that idiot's phone finally give up the ghost?”

That was why Min Dae-Seong kept recommending to that idiot to get a newer model of phone...! One of the biggest problems with martial artists was how old-fashioned they could be. The Martial Assembly was a place filled with enemies of the modern communication companies who unabashedly still used feature phones!

“Then again, even our boss man is a stuffy boomer, so what can I say...”

Feeling irritated, Min Dae-Seong shoved his phone into his pocket and leaned against the wall again.

He wasn't the only person displeased by the Assembly Master's recent behavior. As a matter of fact, there were lots of them. It was just that most of them chose to keep their mouths shut since openly rebelling was out of the question. However, the number of folks supporting the Assembly Master but secretly rooting for Bang Jin-Hun should be pretty high.

The unfortunate thing about that situation was that those people couldn't just change their alliances since their sects and clans were also intimately tangled up in complicated relationships. Generally speaking, the younger generation tended to support Bang Jin-Hun, while the older generation usually sided with the Assembly Master.

“Who cares about that, though?”

Indeed, why should Min Dae-Seong care about who would win? Whether it was the Assembly Master or Bang Jin-Hun, it was still a conflict between the head honchos at the end of the day. Min Dae-Seong's job was just to sit by and watch who would win, then obediently enjoy the fruits of their labor.

So, he didn't really care whether or not the higher-ups wanted to rip each other apart.

“

Geez,

I wish I can clock off already...”

The sunrise was still some time away. Min Dae-Seong started wondering about what he should do to keep himself awake until then, only for his brows to rise slightly.

'...Mm? What was that?'

He thought he saw a faint... something in the distance. Initially, he thought he made a mistake, but that faint, blurry something was gradually getting closer.

'...Could that be a ghost?'

Obviously, Min Dae-Seong knew that wasn’t possible. However, he couldn't help but think that way. This was in the middle of a mountainside, after all. And he happened to be guarding a spot far, far removed from the nearest road, too.

In other words, no ordinary person would even think about coming to this particular spot on the mountain.

In that case, could it be an enemy? That didn't seem likely, though. The enemy forces wouldn't be that low in number while approaching the Assembly Master's residence. Dealing with Min Dae-Seong wasn't the end of the story, after all!

The blurry shape got close enough to become more distinct in Min Dae-Seong's view. It was a... person. Definitely a person, but...

This person—a young man—wore black clothing and was holding two slick, lengthy things in his hands. His gait was leisurely and relaxed while closing the distance, which momentarily confused Min Dae-Seong about what he should do to face this situation.

If only that man were rushing toward here...! Min Dae-Seong would have shouted and tried to stop that man. But now, such a slow stride made it hard for him to perceive the stranger as an enemy.

'Mm? Isn't that...?'

Although Min Dae-Seong couldn't exactly see the approaching unknown person's facial features, he did recognize the two lengthy items held in the latter's hands.

'Aren't they swords?'

Min Dae-Seong frowned, then narrowed his eyes to focus his sight on the objects. Those blades gleamed white... and red?

'...Blood?!'

Min Dae-Seong finally realized that the droplets falling off the edges of the lengthy objects—swords—in the stranger's hands were blood, and he hurriedly cried out. “

Ene...

”

But before Min Dae-Seong could cry out for reinforcement, the stranger suddenly appeared literally right in front of him! It was as if he had shrunk to the ground and teleported!

Min Dae-Seong's eyes shot wide open in shock. How could anyone close the distance in one breath unless they were some kind of a specter?! He suffered a shock so great and sudden that his heart nearly leaped out of his throat just then!

At the same time...

Slice.

A familiar yet strange noise registered in Min Dae-Seong's ears. Familiar, as it was the noise of a keen blade slicing past malleable flesh. What was strange about it was the location it came from. Then again, no one on this planet would be familiar with the noise of a blade slicing past their own throat!

Slice, slice!

A few more... 'indifferent' noises later, Min Dae-Seong sensed extreme pain shooting up from all four of his limbs. He tried to scream again, this time not for help but from the intense pain, but his throat could only produce the faint noise of leaking air. His voice wouldn’t come out.

Only the gasping whimper and the noise of leaking air quietly spread in the still forest. Min Dae-Seong's limbs weren’t moving, either. It seemed his tendons were severed just now.

Beyond terrified, Min Dae-Seong inadvertently pissed his pants. However, he wasn't even aware of what he had done. Both terror and pain had already robbed him of his senses.

The monstrous stranger beneath the cold moonlight quietly stared at the whimpering Min Dae-Seong. The corners of the frightening man gradually curled upwards. “Consider yourself lucky.”

Because Min Dae-Seong would get to live unlike the ones in the residence… After all, those people wouldn't be lucky enough to greet a quick and easy death!

Kang Jin-Ho easily jumped over the wall as the moonlight continued to coldly illuminate his movements. There was still a long and cold night up ahead.