Chapter 32
The eyes of the Blood Sect warriors darkened.
“Are you saying you want to fight us?”
They knew the young man in front of them was a master, but there were four Blood Sect warriors present.
Unless he was one of the Twenty-Four Masters, it would be difficult.
However, the response they received was unexpected.
“That’s the wrong question. Isn’t that what I should be asking?”
Eunho stepped forward, blocking Hwayeon.
“Are you saying you want to fight me?”
It was an extremely arrogant statement.
One of the men chuckled.
“Where did you come from? Surely, you’re not one of those fools chasing chivalry in this day and age.”
“When you ask someone a question, you should introduce yourself first.”
“Oh, right.”
Eunho nodded.
Were these men more reasonable than he thought?
“Then I’ll kill you without asking.”
“…? Quite extreme, aren’t they?”
There was no way to reason with them.
Of course, Eunho liked that choice.
Eunho slowly raised his index finger, pointing at the man in the lead.
The Blood Sect warriors and Hwayeon also followed Eunho’s fingertip with their eyes.
A moment of silence fell.
Boom!
“I haven’t seen it yet.”
As the thick smoke cleared, it was revealed that the one who had appeared was none other than an Asoche leader Lee Jagwang.
“Please accept me. I’ll earn my keep.”
This was an opportunity for Lee Jagwang.
He intended to earn Eunho’s favor by making a contribution in this fight!
Unless the opponent was a master like the Twenty-Four Masters, Lee Jagwang had the skills to hold his own.
He was at the mid-level of the pinnacle and was known as one of the top hundred masters in the martial world.
However, there was one thing Lee Jagwang hadn’t considered.
He had not yet earned Eunho’s trust.
Hwayeon quickly fled the scene, and Eunho followed her.
Only four Blood Sect warriors and Lee Jagwang remained at the scene.
They glared at Lee Jagwang as if they would kill him at any moment.
The man in the lead spoke to Lee Jagwang without taking his eyes off him.
“Go ahead and chase the woman. We’ll kill this guy and follow you shortly.”
“Yes.”
The warrior who received the order bowed his head and leaped.
No, he tried to leap.
Lee Jagwang quickly moved and swung his axe at him.
As a result, the warrior who tried to leap had no choice but to defend himself on the spot.
“Whew…”
Lee Jagwang let out a deep sigh. He managed to block it, but… to put it bluntly… he was screwed.
The Blood Sect warriors’ momentum began to surge fiercely.
In this situation, they decided to kill this guy quickly and then chase the woman.
It was around that time that a huge shadow covered them.
A chill ran down their spines.
The warriors tried to suppress their anxiety and cautiously turned around.
“So, you guys were here.”
They swallowed hard.
The situation had taken a turn for the worse.
The Fist King, Pang Jiyeol, was glaring at them with fierce eyes.
Boom! Bang!
There was no time to bite down on their pride like before.
***
Hwayeon was pouring all her strength into her lightness skill.
If she got caught here, her revenge and everything else would be over!
The scenery around her flowed like a river beneath her feet.
It was quite a high-level lightness skill.
And next to her, running leisurely with his hands behind his back, was a man.
“Who are you, young hero? Why are you helping me?”
Her voice was filled with deep suspicion.
The person her father trusted had betrayed him to the Blood Sect, leading to the annihilation of her entire family.
It was only natural that she couldn’t trust anyone.
“What should I say?”
Eunho pondered for a moment. It was such an ambiguous relationship.
“Well, you were the woman I loved.”
Hwayeon looked disgusted as if she had heard something she shouldn’t have.
Even after the destruction of her family, the chivalrous warriors who promised to help her never ceased.
However, they all had subtle ulterior motives towards her.
Eventually, when they could no longer oppose the Blood Sect with their own strength, they ruthlessly abandoned her and left.
Perhaps out of pride, they always left secretly in the middle of the night.
Swish-!
Hwayeon spurred her lightness skill.
However, it was impossible to shake off Eunho.
Eunho, who quickly caught up beside her, kept asking questions.
“It looks like you’re being chased?”
It’s really troublesome.
If she stopped, the Blood Sect guys would catch up soon, and if she kept running, this man with incredible lightness skill would follow endlessly.
After a moment of contemplation, Hwayeon opened her mouth.
“Thank you very much for your help earlier.”
She didn’t say anything about repaying the favor.
She couldn’t guarantee her own life or death either.
Hwayeon was not one to make empty promises.
“But, I think it’s best if you leave now. The ones chasing me are….”
“The Blood Sect?”
Hwayeon suddenly stopped in her tracks.
“How do you know that?”
Suspicion once again filled her eyes.
It was still a time when the Blood Sect had not officially rampaged.
Very few people knew about it.
“How could I not know? Those crazy guys wearing bright red clothes are obviously from the Blood Sect.”
Eunho was skillfully using what he had learned from Pang Jiyeol and his master.
“If it’s too much for you alone, why not ask for help?”
Although Hwayeon still had some doubts, she answered since he had helped her.
“Yes. That’s why I’m heading to the Murim Alliance now. There’s nowhere else to seek help against those guys.”
She had a connection with her father as well.
She swallowed the bitter words as she thought of her father.
“Hmm, I see. But it looked like you were going to die before reaching the Murim Alliance.”
She wasn’t confident either.
If it hadn’t been for Eunho just now, she would have been caught without a doubt.
Eunho’s gaze turned towards a bush.
Rustle.
Seven warriors in blood-red uniforms appeared from there.
They weren’t the ones chasing Hwayeon earlier.
Those guys were probably being defeated by Pang Jiyeol’s fist techniques by now.
Moreover, the stench of blood was even stronger than the previous ones.
Just like the ones they encountered on their way to Inwangchae.
“Have they set up a trap?”
Despite Eunho’s question, the warriors silently approached.
“Step aside.”
His words were brief.
The warriors who arrived here belonged to the Blood Wind Squad.
As the elite of the Blood Sect, if more than six of them gathered, they were confident they could take down even the Twenty-Four Masters.
“Hmm, alright.”
Eunho nodded and stepped aside without resistance.
They were puzzled, but their target was Hwayeon anyway.
It was a good thing.
Realizing she couldn’t run any further, Hwayeon glared at them and drew her sword.
The Blood Wind Squad warriors quickly surrounded her.
With their objectives clear, there was no reason to delay.
Clang! Clang!
Their swords clashed together.
Her martial skills were better than expected, but she couldn’t possibly overwhelm the Blood Wind Squad.
In fact, because their goal was to capture her alive, Hwayeon was still able to fight them.
As she was gradually pushed back, small cuts began to appear all over her body.
Due to the fierce momentum, sharp winds blew in all directions.
Eunho lightly brushed away his fluttering hair and stretched.
It was as if he was in a completely different space.
“Need some help?”
Eunho asked casually, but Hwayeon refused.
“They can’t kill me anyway…”
Their objective was different.
Moreover, she couldn’t drag an innocent person into this mess.
‘Her personality hasn’t changed.’
The only one who could intervene in the cycle of life was that guy.
The more he looked, the more mischievous Buddha seemed.
Her appearance was almost identical, and even her name and personality were the same.
Thinking of Buddha looking down from somewhere made him a bit annoyed, but he didn’t feel too bad.
At that moment, one of the men’s swords aimed at Hwayeon’s waist.
She quickly twisted her body.
If she dodged now, she would suffer severe injuries from the subsequent attacks, but there was no other way.
Ping-!
The sword that should have cut her waist suddenly bounced off.
It was Eunho’s wind technique that deflected the sword.
The distance between them widened for a moment, and silence fell.
“Even if they can’t kill you, they can push you to the brink of death. If they capture you, then what?”
“…”
Eunho’s cold gaze swept over the Blood Wind Squad warriors.
“Just by looking at them, they seem to be experts in torture. Can you endure that?”
The Blood Wind Squad warriors felt their hair stand on end as they met Eunho’s gaze.
They were warriors too, and quite strong at that.
Their instincts kept warning them of danger.
They should have leaped to kill Eunho and capture her, but they couldn’t.
Eunho moved to stand beside her.
Eunho walked leisurely as if he were out for a stroll, but no one could restrain his movements.
In fact, it seemed as if their movements were restricted instead.
“I understand that you have a strong sense of pride and don’t want to involve anyone else. But I heard you’re seeking revenge for your father. Is your pride more important than that? Do you think it’s easy to achieve while considering others?”
Hwayeon couldn’t say anything.
For some reason, Eunho’s words stung.
She still couldn’t completely let go of her pride as a warrior.
“And I’m strong enough not to be easily swayed. Choose, should I help you?”
If she shook her head again, he planned to leave without hesitation.
No matter the connection from their past lives, he had decided to cut all ties when he chose to reincarnate.
Eunho was stepping in now out of a sense of guilt.
Living as a human, he could somewhat understand the feelings she must have experienced in her past life.
She lost her family because of Eunho, loved him without knowing the truth, and eventually got entangled with him and died.
He could at least offer this much help.
Of course, only if she wanted it.
Hwayeon looked at Eunho intently.
He was clearly a man she had never seen before.
Yet, looking at him made her feel strangely at ease.
She felt trust and reassurance.
For some reason, he reminded her of her father.
‘Maybe this time, he’s really someone I can trust.’
There was no basis for it. It was just her intuition.
Among those who had abandoned her before, there were some she had genuinely trusted.
She had vowed never to trust anyone again.
But this time, she wanted to believe.
She nodded slightly.
Eunho’s red lips curled into a smile.
Yes, that’s the way.
Leaving her here would surely lead to her death.
It would have left a lingering regret.
“Good.”
Eunho slowly began to release his aura.
A gentle breeze blew around them as if agreeing with him.
“Ah, don’t run away.”
This was directed at everyone.
Both the Blood Wind Squad warriors and her.
Facing Eunho’s aura, they felt a tingling sensation all over their skin.
It was truly an overwhelming presence.
Although they had never met the Twenty-Four Masters in person, they were confident that he was at least their equal.
The Blood Lord, whom they worshipped as a god.
It felt as if they were standing before the Blood Lord himself.
One of them, who seemed to be the leader, stepped forward and glared at Eunho. He instinctively knew.
“You’re the one who killed our disciples.”
Besides the ordinary warriors, the Blood Lord had the Blood Wind Squad, consisting of the vice-leader and thirteen disciples.
Six of them had been killed by the Fist King and Eunho earlier. Realizing they wouldn’t make it back alive, they bit down hard on the small poison pellets hidden in their molars.
The poison reversed the flow of blood in their bodies, allowing them to draw out their true energy.
For the Blood Lord’s grand cause and to avenge their disciples, they would take his life!
The iron-like blood vessels near their hearts began to spread to their necks, arms, and legs.
The blood vessels in their eyes burst, and thin lines of blood flowed from their mouths.
Hwayeon’s face showed signs of anxiety as she watched this.
She knew more about the Blood Sect than anyone else in the Central Plains.
Her family had been torn apart by them.
She knew the man in front of her was overwhelmingly strong, but… the fear engraved in her from witnessing her family’s brutal slaughter was too deep.
Three Blood Wind Squad warriors, who had drawn out their true energy, charged at Eunho with intense momentum.
At the same time, she gripped her sword tightly.
‘Should I step in now…?’
At that moment, Eunho lightly swung his sword.
She saw it happen twice.
It’s unclear how many sword strikes there actually were.
Even those two strikes were too blurry to see clearly.
Tap. Tap.
Tap-tap-tap.
The blood fragments of the three warriors who had charged at Eunho fell like rain.
“……”
Amidst the surroundings dyed entirely in red, like a scene from hell, stood a solitary man.
Eunho’s figure came into view.
