Chapter 228 : Struggle Against the Seven Blood Shadow Guards

Chapter 228: Struggle Against the Seven Blood Shadow Guards

As I disappeared from sight, Sam Taegong spoke into the empty air.

“Follow those kids quietly and bring them back. Especially the girl—make sure there’s not even a scratch on her. And that masked one… he's no ordinary fellow. He uses Protective Energy and Nascent Qi freely. Be cautious when dealing with him.”

“Understood!”

Suddenly, accompanied by a chill wind from behind, seven shadows flew into the forest.

They appeared and vanished so abruptly that no one could properly catch a glimpse of them—except for Myeong Gujeong.

Bukri So and Bukri Haeng heightened their vision the moment they heard voices, but even they couldn’t clearly see the figures.

‘So those are the Seven Blood Shadow Guards (七星血影衛), the limbs of Sam Taegong.’

They were subordinates Sam Taegong had raised himself, almost like disciples.

Their martial prowess was said to surpass first-rate masters and reach the peak, so Bukri Haeng and Bukri So observed them closely.

Among the three Taegong, he had the most bodyguards, and was the strongest—earning him recognition as the true power behind the Heavenly Demon Sect.

“Third Master.”

“What is it?”

Lee Yung, still not understanding, questioned Third Master.

“If you used just one move, wouldn’t those bastards be unable to escape? You could’ve rescued Lady Bukri too. Why complicate things?”

He stared silently at Lee Yung and clicked his tongue.

“Ts-ts-ts. That’s why you got played by someone with the surname Yong. Can’t you feel the moles embedded in this forest?”

“Moles?”

When his disciple failed to notice anything, Sam Taegong scolded Lee Yung.

“Useless brat. And yet you’re the Young Master of our sect.”

“Master, I don’t understand what you mean…”

Just then, with a loud burst of laughter, a group of people emerged from the forest.

Seeing them, Lee Yung gasped in shock.

“Why are they here?”

“That’s what I’d like to ask. Does this not mean they’ve completely uncovered my movements? How are you handling intelligence that there are this many holes? They’ve mobilized to capture me.”

Lee Yung glanced at the five newcomers, a sense of alarm rising within him.

They were all renowned masters of their respective factions.

The Four Diamond Vajras (四大金剛) of the Shaolin Temple, the Five Swords of Mount Hua (華山五劍) of the Mount Hua Sect, and the Tyrant Three Sabers (覇王三刀) of the Pang Clan of Hebei.

They were all central figures of the Northern Justice Alliance.

“They wouldn’t have appeared if I hadn’t dispatched the Seven Blood Shadow Guards.”

“So that’s why you sent them?”

“They think they can take me down without them. But those fools are mistaken. They believe I’m on their level. At the very least, the Shaolin Abbot, the Sect Leader of the Mount Hua Sect, and the Clan Head of the Pang Clan would have to come for this to be worth my time.”

Sam Taegong, Lee Kangmin, gestured toward the elite of the Northern Justice Alliance.

“Come on, then. It’s been a while—I want to see how much the orthodox bastards have improved.”

The Four Diamond Vajras were the strongest monks of Shaolin, second only to the senior monks.

The Five Swords of Mount Hua, alongside the Seven Swords of Wudang, were famed throughout the murim.

As for the Tyrant Three Sabers of the Pang Clan, though their fame was slightly below the others, their skills were certainly not.

The Northern Justice Alliance had deployed them in secret, timed precisely with the intelligence that Sam Taegong would enter Jeongju.

They intended to discern Sam Taegong’s purpose in coming to Jeongju.

As Myeong Gujeong approached Sam Taegong, he warned:

“Don’t come near me during the fight. Even if you're my disciple, I’ll cut you down.”

Myeong Gujeong bowed.

But his bowed face was twisted with resentment.

Lee Yung disliked the fact that Third Master would not even trust his own disciple and demanded distance.

Third Master Lee Kangmin cut down anyone who approached during battle, regardless of friend or foe.

Because he trusted no one who approached him.

“No one go near Third Master.”

Lee Yung gave his order again to his subordinates and stepped well to the side.

‘If the Northern Justice Alliance really prepared well, could they defeat Third Master? That monster?’

He gulped as he watched Third Master move like a ghost.

I, Yong Hwarin, reflected on the situation of having to flee with Bukri Sehee as a hostage.

‘This has gone off the rails.’

I never imagined that Lee Yung’s master would be present at Goisan.

Even more so, I never expected a high-level master like Myeong Gujeong to be escorting the grain.

I underestimated things and paid the price.

After running for a while, hearing no signs of pursuit, I set Bukri Sehee down and took a moment to rest.

“Why did you help me?”

I was still wearing a mask and had altered my voice, so I believed Bukri Sehee wouldn’t recognize me.

“You know, sometimes you really are a fool, Young Master Yong.”

When she identified me so precisely, I removed my mask.

“How did you recognize me?”

“How could I not? You used the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm with your left hand, just like Sogun described.”

I stared at Bukri Sehee, finding it odd how well she knew me.

“Sogun always talked about you, Yong Gongja. But can you be doing this here? Shouldn’t we be running?”

She tried to shift the subject.

“I think we’re fine for now.”

As soon as I said that, two middle-aged men in crimson robes descended before me.

Reluctantly, I raised my sword to Bukri Sehee’s throat and spoke.

“Who are you?!”

“Our lord ordered us to bring you.”

I launched Large Needles at the two with the Dragon Scale Finger Technique.

One of them swept his sleeve, while the other swung his sword.

Ting! Ting!

The two members of the Seven Blood Shadow Guards easily blocked the needles.

I had shot them as Single-Finger Projectiles, which any first-rate master could handle with ease.

It was meant to make them drop their guard.

“You thought something like that would work?”

The guards chuckled dismissively.

“Enough. Let’s go.”

As they approached, I took out another Large Needle and set it atop my finger.

Then I amplified the energy of the Three Gaps through my Tai Chi Dantian and fired the needle as a Triple-Finger Projectile.

Piping!

Two large needles snapped off Yong Hwarin’s fingertips with the sound of plucked strings.

"Pathetic!"

The two members of the Seven Blood Shadow Guards grew enraged as the clearly visible needles flew straight at them.

"Eh!"

But in that moment, the two of them lost sight of the needles.

And when they felt a sharp sting on their foreheads like a bee sting, they looked at each other.

From the forehead of one of them, a drop of blood trickled down the needle and fell.

Then, both of them collapsed where they stood.

Watching that, Bukri Sehee exclaimed in admiration.

"That’s truly amazing. These were warriors said to be part of Sam Taegong’s escort—there are few who can stand against them. They’re not the type to die from hidden weapons."

"These aren’t ordinary hidden weapons."

It was a secret martial art created by the greatest legend of the assassin world.

Using the Single-Finger Projectile to catch them off guard proved effective.

Had that not worked, they would have blocked the Triple-Finger Projectile that followed.

"If they made it this far, that means they’ve gotten close. From now on, we’ll be running without rest, so be ready."

As Bukri Sehee nodded, Yong Hwarin tucked her under his arm again and ran.

Not even a quarter of an hour had passed since Yong Hwarin moved, when two more members of the Seven Blood Shadow Guards appeared at the scene.

They examined the deaths of their fallen comrades.

"They were killed by hidden weapons?"

Muttering in a doubtful tone, one of them replied.

"How many people out there could kill us with hidden weapons?"

"I thought it was just simple prey."

"He’s the one our lord warned us to be careful of. How many people has our lord ever said that about? And now we’ve let things turn into this mess because we didn’t understand his words... How can we face him?"

The two exchanged glances and pulled out a small horn from their robes, then blew it.

Piiiiiik!

It was a call for the other Blood Shadow Guards.

They followed the path Yong Hwarin had taken and blew the horn again.

This time it signaled the direction of Yong Hwarin’s escape.

"So now I’m a fugitive."

Yong Hwarin muttered.

Three Blood Shadow Guards had blocked the path at the bottom of the mountain, forcing him to retreat back toward the middle slopes.

The guards were relentless, pursuing him so persistently that shaking them off proved impossible.

Yong Hwarin even began to feel the pressure of being cornered.

"If I keep being driven like this, I won’t make it out."

As Yong Hwarin murmured, Bukri Sehee spoke with frustration.

"Take me hostage and break through head-on. They must be here to rescue me. If I’m your hostage, they won’t dare attack recklessly. It’s the only option we have now."

Even Yong Hwarin thought that was the best course of action.

"But judging from what you said, it sounds like the Bukri Clan supports the Heavenly Demon Sect. Why are you helping me?"

"I don’t like the way my clan behaves either. And besides, you’re the person Sogun likes. That’s why I’m helping you."

Before she could even finish, Yong Hwarin suddenly stood up.

Five members of the Blood Shadow Guards had already encircled him.

"Astounding. How did they surround me this quickly?"

Yong Hwarin had no choice but to acknowledge that these were no ordinary warriors.

He thought he had shaken them off entirely, yet they caught up. Even though he had used the Cloud-Soaring Dragon Art at full force, they still matched his pace, which meant they too possessed powerful movement arts.

"None have survived once caught by us. Capture him."

The squad leader of the Seven Blood Shadow Guards gave the order, and four of them charged at Yong Hwarin.

Their attacks showed no concern for Bukri Sehee’s safety—brutal and unrestrained.

Yong Hwarin hadn’t expected such reckless tactics and was pushed into a defensive stance.

He shielded Bukri Sehee and met the incoming attacks.

It was the first time he had ever received a combined assault from martial artists beyond the level of a First-rate Martial Artist, and he felt the overwhelming pressure.

"I must admit, you are impressive. No one has ever withstood the four of us attacking together."

Even the squad leader expressed admiration as Yong Hwarin parried the coordinated assault without much strain.

‘If I just keep stalling like this, I’ll be done for. I need to take at least one down.’

Yong Hwarin pulled out three large needles from his waist and fired them using his Tai Chi Dantian.

Three needles were shot, but the sound was as one.

Whing!

"Hmph!"

One of the Blood Shadow Guards attacking from the front blocked two of the needles launched directly at his face—but failed to stop the last.

The needle struck his shoulder.

As the guard lost his balance, Yong Hwarin thrust his sword forward using the technique of Yeoigwanchun.

The guard hurried to block the sword, but the immense force fueled by the Tai Chi Dantian caused the sword to blast a handspan away.

In that moment, Yong Hwarin unleashed the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm and infused it with qi.

Pit!

The Black Silk Celestial Silkworm pierced through the guard’s throat.

At the same time, to block the attack of another Blood Shadow Guard charging from behind, Yong Hwarin wrapped the silkworm around the first guard’s neck and threw the corpse backward.

Whirik!

But the enemy cleaved the body of his fallen comrade in two and continued the attack.

‘Vicious bastards!’

His plan to use the corpse as a shield was ruined, so Yong Hwarin quickly pulled out another needle and fired it using the Dragon Scale Finger Technique at the one rushing in.

At this close range, even a Blood Shadow Guard couldn’t evade the large needle.

Piiing!

But the guard dodged the moment Yong Hwarin’s left hand moved, lowering his body in anticipation.

Rather than reacting to the needle’s trajectory, he had predicted Yong Hwarin’s motion and evaded preemptively.

It proved how experienced and seasoned this Blood Shadow Guard truly was.

Still, Yong Hwarin never expected to kill someone like that so easily with a needle.

In fact, this too was part of his plan.

He had intentionally made his use of the Dragon Scale Finger Technique obvious.

The goal was to get the guard to lower his center of gravity—so he could strike with the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm.