Chapter 50 : Inevitable (5)

“Have some water.”

The Eighth Elder brought water in a broken bowl.

The garden master received the water and drank.

Everyone was in a sorry state. Their entire bodies were covered in blood and sweat, so there was no trace of their once beautiful appearances.

“Is this all?”

The Drunken Flower Garden master said as if groaning.

“You did your best. It couldn’t be helped.”

The Seventh Elder said as if to console her.

She had run around in all directions with all her might, but it was not enough. Her subordinates had scattered too widely.

The survivors were four elders and twelve subordinates.

The subordinates could still live longer.

Unless their identities were blatantly revealed like the elders, they might not have become targets for murder yet.

In any case, five elders had died.

When she had run after hearing that there was an elder, they were already dead.

It was certain that five elders had died, and it was estimated that three hundred and seventy-two Drunken Flower Garden assassins had been murdered.

If she had known it would be like this, she would rather not have disbanded.

It was the garden master’s fault. She had been in such a hurry to disband that she had not fully explained the dangers of disbandment. It was her fault for assuming that they would know well about the dangers that would come.

But still… who would have known that the Drunken Flower Garden assassins would all run to the flower garden after retiring? If they had farmed, done business, or just played, they would not have become targets.

“Who on earth are those guys? Who are they to use such a blade?”

The Third Elder picked up a sharp blade.

It was the blade that the men who had ambushed them had used.

The types of blades were all different. Hwandos, daedudos, gwidudos… it seemed that they used whatever blade they wanted to use in their own way.

The blade art was needless to say. There was no such thing as a blade art.

They used a blade, but it was a single blade. They did not execute forms. They fought a sensory battle.

This kind of method brought about extreme results.

If you did well, you could become a king, and if you did poorly, you would be struck down.

They were in the middle. So they were also struck down, and they also became kings. They were very fierce, but you could fight them.

“I think I know who they are.”

Mongseol said, her eyes shining.

The men’s blades were similar to Ah Geol’s martial arts that she had seen in the stable. It was the very blade art that had split the world with a chopper.

Come to think of it, their weapons were all blades.

“Who are they? What kind of guys are they?”

The Third Elder asked, her eyes shining.

Mongseol did not answer.

It was the Single-Instant Blade. And they were her father’s disciples, the Single-Instant martial artists, who were completely buried in her distant memories and she could not even remember.

It was unlikely that Ah Geol had raised such people. If so, they were people raised by one of the three… Seori Gaheon, Seori Hyeonggae, or Dongbak. That was why they were killing without hesitation.

If she told them, their fighting spirit would be broken.

It was no exaggeration to say that there were almost no martial artists in the central plains who wanted to fight a Single-Instant martial artist.

Mongseol knew almost nothing about the Single-Instant martial artists.

What she knew, no, what she had seen, was only Ah Geol’s blade.

That alone was frightening enough. But the Drunken Flower Garden master said something even more frightening. She said that Ah Geol’s martial arts were shabby in the Single-Instant Sect. That his senior brothers’ martial arts were truly the sky.

How could she fight such people?

Mongseol’s colleagues did not know about the Single-Instant Sect. So even if she told them, their fighting spirit would not be broken.

The elders knew the Single-Instant Sect. Around the time the elders were active, the Single-Instant Sect had also clearly revealed its presence. How else would there be a saying, ‘The Single-Instant Sect is above the Sacred Sword Sect’?

As expected, it was better not to talk about the Single-Instant Sect.

“I’ll check a little more. I think I know, but I’m not sure.”

The Drunken Flower Garden master glanced at Mongseol.

The garden master had already read Mongseol’s inner thoughts. She had noticed the part she had not said.

Was it because of that? The garden master’s brow furrowed even more deeply.

“They’re coming!”

The assassin who had been guarding outside rushed in and shouted.

“Again?”

The Seventh Elder looked at the garden master with a pale face.

Everyone’s clothes were covered in blood. There was no one who was not a blood person. It was not their own blood, but the blood that the men had shed.

They had killed so many people, but they were coming again.

“How many did we kill?”

“It seems to be almost a hundred.”

A hundred was more than enough to form a single sect. Moreover, if it was a pack of wild dogs like them, it was overflowing.

They were a sect.

It was an unknown sect that the Drunken Flower Garden could not grasp. They were people they had never seen before, with martial arts they had never seen before.

“We’ll do something about this place, so you take the kids and escape.”

The Drunken Flower Garden master said, pushing Mongseol’s back.

“No. This place, I…”

“This one!”

The Drunken Flower Garden master’s eyes widened as if she were angry.

“Garden Master!”

“Your martial arts are… hoo! Still young. You’ve just started to know, haven’t you? It’s okay to use it to your heart’s content after you’ve grown a little more. But if you swing it around to your heart’s content now, you don’t know what the result will be. Save it. You have to save it.”

The Drunken Flower Garden master said something that only Mongseol could understand.

The true energy that had entered the Mud Pill Palace would create a Heart Sword.

The garden master was afraid of this part.

If you created a Heart Sword with dantian true energy, there were plenty of words to explain it. You could know if it was good or bad. But a martial art that utilized the upper palace true energy was so unfamiliar that it was impossible to judge.

Common sense told her that it would not be good to operate the brain too much.

The words that she did not know what result the Blood Sword would bring meant that. So, she was telling her to save the Blood Sword now, and to use it after she had completely trained in the Blood Sword Sutra.

“No. I can’t lose you, Garden Master.”

Mongseol said firmly.

“Do I die if you’re not here!”

“If it’s those people, even you, Garden Master, could be hit.”

Mongseol said boldly.

She was fine, but the garden master could be hit. It was something she would not have dared to say in normal times.

“Hoo!”

The Drunken Flower Garden master let out a sigh.

If they were martial artists raised by Seori Gaheon or Seori Hyeonggae, Mongseol’s words were right. You could not face them with the Drunken Flower Garden’s martial arts. If the attackers were on the same level as the ones they had killed so far, they could face them, but it would be difficult if even a slightly stronger person came.

The only martial art that could face them was the Blood Sword.

“I’m sorry.”

The Drunken Flower Garden master touched Mongseol’s cheek.

The elders and the Drunken Flower Garden assassins just looked at Mongseol, who had become a top master overnight, with surprised eyes.

They did not know what martial art Mongseol had trained in.

When the blood-colored sword flashed, a person would die.

Mongseol’s sword was a demonic sword. When Mongseol swung the Blood Sword, it was very beautiful. But a person would die in the beauty. They wondered if there was another demonic sword like this.

They were dying to ask where and what martial art she had trained in. But there was no time for that. If there was even a little bit of rest, they had to prepare for the next fight.

“Let’s go.”

Mongseol took the lead and went outside.

The attackers… were only four. This side had eighteen, but the men were only four.

Who was attacking whom?

But Mongseol’s expression hardened.

“Garden Master, the second from the left. I’ll take him.”

“…Alright.”

The Drunken Flower Garden master said, glaring at the men.

The men were all strong.

The one Mongseol had mentioned was the strongest of the four, and the other three were also so strong that it was impossible to rashly assert.

“Who is Mongseol?”

As expected, the one standing second from the left spoke.

“Me.”

Mongseol said, walking towards him.

“Haha!”

The man laughed.

The man had a blade stuck in his left waist. He was holding the hilt with his left hand.

Using a blade stuck on the left with the left hand? It was a reverse blade.

A reverse blade generally focused on speed. A short and strong strike, a quick change in forms, an attack that continued without giving you a moment to breathe… it was predictable what kind of blade art the man would execute.

“Haa!”

Mongseol took a deep breath.

Her true energy spun quickly. The true energy concentrated in the Mud Pill Palace created a reddish Heart Sword.

The Heart Sword looked around in all directions.

“It’s the Blood Sword.”

The man smiled faintly.

When you used the Blood Sword, your face would flush red. It was a phenomenon that occurred because the blood rushed to your face.

The complexion would turn red, purple, black, and then back to red depending on the proficiency of the Blood Sword. Of course, the red color when you were inexperienced and the red color after you had reached the peak showed a lot of difference in terms of luster.

A person who knew the Blood Sword could tell the proficiency just by looking at the face.

The man knew the Blood Sword.

He smiled, looking at Mongseol’s complexion. He smiled brightly, as if he were confident against that level of the Blood Sword.

Mongseol quietly held her sword.

She gathered all her nerves on the Heart Sword. Her five senses observed the opponent. She saw with her eyes and felt with her senses.

“Chaat!”

The man shouted as if he were attacking.

Mongseol did not move. He just shouted, he did not attack. The Heart Sword did not move.

She waited quietly even after hearing the fierce shout.

“Chaat!”

The man shouted again.

This time too, she did not move. The Heart Sword located in the Mud Pill Palace did not move at all. The eyes might make a mistake, but the entire body’s senses did not.

“Chat!”

The man let out a third shout. In that instant,

Chwaaaak!

A blade rushed in. A fierce blade came to split the Mud Pill Palace.

Mongseol drew her sword. She moved, following the movement of the Heart Sword in the Mud Pill Palace.

The sword shot up. She also raised her sword up.

She strikes down with the sword. She also strikes down.

It was not that she was following after seeing the Heart Sword in the Mud Pill Palace. The Mud Pill Palace and she were one. The Heart Sword in the Mud Pill Palace and the sword in her hand moved at the same time as one body.

Kaang!

The sword and the blade clashed.

“Hook!”

Mongseol staggered back.

The opponent had blocked the Heart Sword of the Mud Pill Palace. Not only that, he had pushed her back with a fierce force.

There was an overwhelming difference in internal energy.

“Kuk!”

Mongseol sensed that her blood flow was reversing.

She had suffered an internal injury from just one clash. Her true energy was in turmoil and would not stabilize easily.

The man had come, knowing how to break the Blood Sword.

As the garden master had said, if she had been a little more proficient, this would not have happened. She had used a high-level ultimate technique in a state of low proficiency, so she could only suffer like this.

“Go!”

Shwaaaek!

The man’s shout and the blade wind were heard at the same time.

Mongseol tried to dodge the blade. But her qi and blood were already tangled, so she could not move.

“Ah!”

She just watched the flying blade.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Fortunately, the Drunken Flower Garden master, who had been watching her, rushed in and blocked the blade.

Kaang!

The blade and the sword clashed. And the Drunken Flower Garden master was also pushed back by the tremendous internal energy and staggered.

“Kuk!”

The garden master spat out a bowlful of blood.

They had only clashed weapons once, but she had suffered an internal injury. That’s right. The man had not only put internal energy into his weapon. He had added the method of killing a person with a weapon, the technique of hitting a cow through a mountain.

It was not the sword and the blade that were clashing. It was internal energy versus internal energy. Although she had been mindful of the change in forms, it was actually like being beaten with internal energy in a defenseless state.

“Who… are you?”

The Drunken Flower Garden master said, looking at the man.

It was unlikely that a man with this much martial arts would be a nameless soldier.

Pushing back the Drunken Flower Garden master with one blade, striking the Drunken Flower Garden master with internal energy was not easy.

The man said with a faint smile, “You wouldn’t know even if I told you. I’ve been living in a mountain valley for so long. Ah! Would you know if I said I was the one who killed the prison master?”

The man raised his blade.

He intended to kill Mongseol first, rather than the Drunken Flower Garden master. Because he had aimed his blade at Mongseol.