12

#12 “Because We’re Brothers”

“Attack together!”

As if the lightning was their signal, nine Black Shadow warriors from all directions targeted Cheol Gun-ak.

At the moment the lightning faded—

When darkness enveloped them—

Whoosh—.

Heuk-ya (Black Night), heralding the complete night, began to scatter death.

“Kuh—!”

Cheol Gun-ak slashed the hand of a warrior attempting to throw a net.

Krrrrt—.

Withdrawing the blade after cutting through the bone, he spun around and stabbed the man in the side.

“How is this possible?!”

It was a precise strike aimed at the lungs of the warrior who had been holding daggers in both hands, targeting Cheol Gun-ak’s blind spot.

Whooosh—.

Cheol Gun-ak exhaled deeply.

In one breath, multiple lives fell.

Thud!

He stomped on the foot of a warrior approaching from the side with his left foot, simultaneously swinging Heuk-ya with his right.

Schwing—!

The blood-soaked Heuk-ya splattered across the window, painting it crimson.

“Die!”

A Black Shadow warrior, spotting an opening, charged forward with certainty of victory.

After all, the opponent’s sword was in his right hand.

Convinced that Cheol Gun-ak wouldn’t be able to block his attack from the left, he swung his sickle.

Krrrrt—!

The room was bathed in vivid scarlet as sparks flew when the sickle struck Cheol Gun-ak’s protective armor.

Stunned by the unimaginable divine artifact, the warrior’s eyes widened.

Kaboom—!

Cheol Gun-ak’s left fist smashed into the warrior’s head.

‘Is the place where I stand always a sea of blood?’

Cheol Gun-ak smiled bitterly to himself.

Whether alive or dead—

In the end, he was still fighting.

But he had no complaints.

That was why he became the Martial Emperor, and why he fought against the Dark Emperor Sect until the very end.

‘Or perhaps this is what the martial world truly is.’

Now, with his life hanging by a thread—

This was the only time Cheol Gun-ak could feel truly alive.

“Come!”

Thus, the Martial Emperor roared with exhilaration.

“You’re dead!”

The Black Shadow warriors, unfazed by their fallen comrades, unleashed waves of murderous intent.

The small room trembled.

Life and death crossed paths in an instant, faster than lightning, and the battle reached its conclusion.

Simultaneously, everyone instinctively sensed it.

Soon.

This fight would end.

Krrrrt—!

Cheol Gun-ak deflected the blades charging at him from both sides using the protective armor on his arms, leaning his body backward.

At the same time, he grabbed the waist of the warrior behind him with both arms, using the momentum to slam his knee into the man’s face.

At that moment—

“Let’s go together.”

Rumble-rumble.

The Black Shadow Captain rolled a small sphere onto the floor.

The sphere began emitting thick smoke instantly.

“Cheol Gun-ak.”

The leader of these Black Shadow warriors smiled.

“…!”

Cheol Gun-ak’s eyes widened as he recognized the object.

But it was too late.

In an instant, Cheol Gun-ak’s vision and the corpses of the Black Shadow warriors were dyed crimson by the light.

Kaboom—!!

The firebomb exploded, spewing a massive inferno that swallowed everything—including Cheol Gun-ak and the others.

Kaboom—!

The explosion tore apart Mu Hwa Pavilion.

Swish-swish-swish—.

Heavy rain poured down over the courtyard of Mu Hwa Pavilion.

Cheol Weigang, the third son of the Cheol Family, stood there with his arms crossed, not bothering to avoid the rain.

On either side of him stood five Black Shadow warriors, and beside him was his guard, Jin Yeong-chung.

Jin Yeong-chung reported what they had gathered so far. Cheol Weigang tilted his head in puzzlement and asked:

“No one else but the Young Master?”

“Yes. That doesn’t mean we missed anything.”

“Could he have escaped?”

“It seems so…”

“How?”

The ambush plan couldn’t have leaked.

Only the Golden Nine Pavilion knew about the Black Shadow’s movements, and it was impossible for information to leak from there to Mu Hwa Pavilion.

Cheol Weigang narrowed his eyes as he gazed at Mu Hwa Pavilion.

“The other two aren’t here, but the most important one is.”

He smirked.

An unexpected situation, but it didn’t matter.

In the end, old women and children were irrelevant.

The most crucial task was dealing with the recently erratic eldest son, Cheol Gun-ak.

With ten Black Shadow warriors sent to the Young Master’s room, there shouldn’t be any issues.

He brushed back his wet bangs, slicked down by the rain.

“What annoyed me most about the books I used to read was how they always gave the protagonist room to grow.”

Why leave someone alone when you have power, authority, and wealth?

Target the weak points mercilessly.

Crush your opponent before they grow stronger.

The best approach is to eliminate troublemakers before they become threats.

That was Cheol Weigang’s way of surviving in the Northern Heavens.

Whoosh—.

Startled by the sudden sound, Cheol Weigang furrowed his brow and turned his head.

It was clearly coming from Mu Hwa Pavilion.

Thanks to a distant bolt of lightning, he caught a glimpse of red bloodstains being painted across the scene.

“Surely they’re not fighting them in this storm…?”

Cheol Weigang shook his head.

If it were daytime or in an open area, maybe. But to fight assassins in such a night?

Unless the Young Master possessed overwhelming strength or immense experience, it was impossible—

Kaboom—!

A massive explosion shook the earth.

Mu Hwa Pavilion was torn apart by crimson flames.

Cheol Weigang, along with Jin Yeong-chung and the warriors, scrambled to dodge flying debris and withstand the shockwave.

“What on earth…?”

Embers scattered everywhere as the explosions subsided. Their ears, momentarily deafened by the sudden blast, slowly recovered.

Cheol Weigang couldn’t comprehend the situation.

Neither could the other warriors.

“Could the captain have…?”

The Black Shadow Captain carried a single firebomb.

It was their secret weapon—a tool meant to ensure mutual destruction if they failed to kill their target.

And now it had detonated.

This meant they hadn’t gained the upper hand despite sending ten warriors.

Cheol Weigang, familiar with the Black Shadow’s suicide bomb, stared at Mu Hwa Pavilion with disbelief.

“Investigate!”

Roar-roar-roar—.

Darkness receded.

Flames clinging to various spots flickered in the heavy rain but continued to emit light.

The Black Shadow warriors stationed on either side of Cheol Weigang entered the pavilion and discovered bodies.

Guard Jin Yeong-chung sniffed the air.

The scent of the battlefield he’d smelled daily long ago in the Extreme North lingered on the wind.

“My lord, let’s retreat.”

Feeling an ominous chill creeping up his neck, he advised retreat.

But Cheol Weigang firmly shook his head.

“With the suicide bomb detonated, it’s definitely over.”

The Black Shadow’s suicide bomb was their ultimate technique.

Even a peak master wouldn’t survive being caught in its explosion inside that pavilion.

“Clean up the situation—!?”

Before Cheol Weigang could finish issuing orders, he suddenly found himself unable to continue.

The same went for the other Black Shadow warriors who had already rushed in to clear the bodies.

Crunch—.

The wall collapsed.

From amidst the crimson flames that refused to be extinguished by the rain, a man began walking out.

“Weigang.”

Crunch—.

He stepped over rubble.

Over corpses.

In his right hand was an ominously black demonic sword that sent shivers down the spine just by looking at it.

Roar-roar-roar—.

The first hell of Zhu Rong Devil Arts slowly consumed Cheol Gun-ak’s burns.

“Well, isn’t this thorough, even unnecessarily so.”

Cheol Gun-ak surveyed the warriors around him.

Ten had entered the room.

Another ten waited outside.

Including Cheol Weigang and his guard, there were twenty-two enemies in total.

‘Even I wouldn’t go this far against myself.’

Cheol Gun-ak clicked his tongue.

If he hadn’t achieved the first meridian breakthrough at the Peerless Armory and obtained Heuk-ya, he would’ve surely died.

‘I thought I was fast, but barely made it.’

When completing the first meridian, Cheol Gun-ak had confidently believed that at this pace, he’d eventually overpower the Dark Emperor Sect.

Yet here he was, nearly killed by his own brother.

“Impressive, but enduring the ambush and surviving that explosion means you’re far from unscathed.”

Slink-slink—.

The Black Shadow warriors drew their weapons.

Cheol Weigang retreated, smirking faintly as he finished his sentence.

“But since we’re brothers, I won’t cut you down with my own hands, Brother.”

“Oh?”

Swish—.

Cheol Gun-ak extended his left foot forward.

Heuk-ya stretched horizontally, taking on a stance resembling an archer preparing to shoot. It was an awkward posture that would draw sneers from those well-versed in martial arts.

But Cheol Gun-ak’s gaze was deadly serious.

“If it were me, because we’re brothers, I’d cut you down with my own hands.”

Kaboom—!

Lightning struck the burning Mu Hwa Pavilion.

The sudden burst of light forced the warriors and Cheol Weigang to close their eyes.

In that fleeting moment—

Whoooooosh—!

A storm-like presence surged forward.

While they were blinded, Cheol Gun-ak, silhouetted against the lightning, charged like a beast!

Bam—.

Cheol Gun-ak’s fist shattered the raindrops.

The resulting shockwave immediately rattled the skull of a warrior wielding a dagger nearby.

“To think the Young Master is this strong—”

Drip-drip.

Blood gushed from every orifice on the man’s face—eyes, nose, ears, and mouth.

In a normal duel, it would’ve been the end.

Swish-swish-swish—!

As the bleeding warrior collapsed—

Another warrior, who had been waiting for an opening, threw a chain. Cheol Gun-ak staggered backward drunkenly, dodging it.

“Got him!”

The problem was that the chain wasn’t originally aimed at Cheol Gun-ak.

From the opposite side, a warrior wielding a sickle moved it to wrap the chain around him.

Clang—!

The chain, pulled taut from both sides, lunged toward Cheol Gun-ak’s abdomen.

‘These bastards trained for situations like this.’

It was natural for warriors of the Northern Heavens to be stronger than those of the Central Plains.

Surviving constant battles made them far superior to those in the Central Plains who bickered among themselves in comfort.

Even accounting for that, the Black Shadow warriors had clearly surpassed expectations.

‘Did the Dark Emperor Sect interfere?’

There was a saying in the Central Plains.

Or rather, there had been.

During the era of the Martial Emperor, Cheol Gun-ak had repeatedly muttered, “If something strange happens, kill the Dark Emperor Sect. Then it’ll resolve itself.” This became a proverb.

The same applied now.

He vaguely remembered the Black Shadow being a formidable group, but their current strength suggested influence from the Dark Emperor Sect.

‘No Black Blood.’

However, the Black Blood seen in Jin Myeong-hwa and Sudeok wasn’t present in these warriors.

They were likely disposable pawns raised for convenience.

Of course—

‘Whether they are or not, they’re all going to die.’

Cheol Gun-ak clenched his fists.

Enemies were enemies. Whether he tore them apart or beat them to death, the outcome was the same, so he stopped thinking about it.

Each attack from the warriors was like individual points.

But now, the chain attack formed a line.

It was fairly threatening, and dodging upward or downward would leave him open to immediate follow-up attacks.

Naturally, directly countering the chain would result in his internal organs bursting or being ensnared.

In this life-or-death situation—

Zhu Rong Devil Arts.

Whoosh—!

Cheol Gun-ak hurled Heuk-ya high into the sky. The sudden action startled the warriors, causing them to hesitate.

Equal Vitality.

Roar—.

He awakened the first hell.

Blade Wheel Realm.

Clang—!

Cheol Gun-ak crossed his arms, clad in protective armor.

The armor caught the chain.