Absolute Sword Sense Chapter 262

< Episode 86 Tracking (2) >

South entrance of the fuse.

It was not long after Jin Yun-hui went out.

Jeongyang Jinin burst into laughter and looked at the place where Jin Yunhui had disappeared.

“Hehehe. I hope everything works out as planned.”

The Taoist monk holding the yin-yang board smiled broadly and answered his words.

“That’s how it will be. It’s a small talent, but we all passed it on to one person for the first time. Before being agents, we are like co-disciples.”

“A fellow disciple.”

At his words, the Taoists all smiled faintly.

They are people who are cultivating the Tao, but at some point, they started competing with other Taoist disciples.

But this is the first time they have come together to achieve a common goal.

Although it was short, that period felt meaningful.

As they looked at each other as if lost in memories, Jeongyang Jinin said.

“Now go back and teach your disciples.”

"All right."

The Taoists put their hands together and bowed their heads.

Then, Jeongyang Jinin's new form blurred and disappeared.

Following this, other Taoists also left one by one using the method of Chukji.

It was when the Sword Master was about to return to the battle.

“But the death penalty. You said you were going to make a plan to send it out. Have you finished it?”

A Taoist man with a flute on his belt asked him.

To this, Geomseon smiled and answered.

“Shouldn’t it be left as is?”

It is only by leaving it behind that we can reach our current relationship.

“Even without that, it seems like I have nothing left in this world, so in order to avoid any regrets, I am writing down a small enlightenment about music and sending it to you. Please leave it with my disciples when they go on their pilgrimage.”

“Haha. That would work.”

“Okay, let me know when the time comes…”

Before he could finish speaking.

The fog at the southern entrance of the fuse rose and someone appeared.

The swordsman and the master of the flute were astonished when they saw this.

“Yang Seon-ah!”

The one who appeared through the fog was none other than Yeo Yang-seon, the second disciple of Geom-seon.

Her condition wasn't very good as she walked unsteadily.

You could tell how much he had suffered just by looking at the wounds that appeared all over his body and his haggard-looking face.

The master of the taiko caught her as she was about to fall.

“Are you okay?”

“Haa…..s….Master…..”

The master of the flute turned his gaze to Geomseon as he heard her words being spoken with difficulty.

The swordsman came closer and spoke to her.

“What is this?”

“Master! Aaaah!”

She shed hot tears when she saw Geomseon's face.

When she returned in this state after being kidnapped by her disciple, Jagyeongjeong, who had betrayed her, Geomseon felt his heart break.

Geomseon barely suppressed his emotions and spoke to her.

“How did you get away from him?”

“Haa….haa….”

Yeo Yang-seon, who couldn't even catch her breath at his question, answered with difficulty.

“Master…please stop the death penalty…please stop the death penalty.”

“Stop him? What do you mean?”

“The death penalty…the emperor….”

"emperor?"

The swordsman and the flute master looked at each other with serious faces at the unexpected words that came out of her mouth.

* * *

A long flag that can be seen everywhere along the front ranks of the army.

The large letters “皇” written on it can only be used by the Emperor’s army.

It's a strange thing.

For an emperor to lead an army is no different from his own family.

Even if the emperor did not directly lead the army, he would not raise the flag so openly.

Rather, it raises the flag of the general who effectively leads the army to protect the emperor.

But this army raised the emperor's flag as if it were nothing.

The flags lined up behind it have the country's name written on them.

-Is it written as Yeon?

Yeon?

So this army is the army of the Yan nation?

Considering that the Yan state was founded, it is not that far away from my time at least.

I could tell it was at least a few hundred years old.

Then, if you just know which dynasty it is now, you can know who is directly leading that army.

'Is that it?'

It certainly seems certain that there is an emperor in the army.

Usually, generals or generals would march in front, but in the middle there were about three carriages that looked like entire houses had been moved there, and the area around them was heavily guarded.

When I looked at the entire army with my eyes focused on the innate energy, I couldn't find any familiar faces.

'hmm.'

They pull those huge carriages.

As expected from the Emperor's army, it is beyond imagination.

'Go up the Namcheon River.'

-i get it.

The Namcheon Iron Sword has raised its altitude.

-Crunch! Crunch!

I quickly changed the shape of my face using the Chehwamanbyeonsul.

I was at a much higher altitude and at a greater distance, so there was no chance of the military finding me, but I needed to be prepared for any eventuality.

-Since there are so many of them, they won't come close, right?

'okay.'

As Namcheon Cheolgeom said, it is difficult to approach rashly.

Even if you are only about 2 ri away, there is a high probability that you will be noticed if you lower your altitude here.

-What should we do? Unhwi.

Let's think about this for a moment.

-Whirrrr!

Looking at the needle of the compass shaking violently, it is clear that the Dharma tool is inside that yellow army.

Besides, it seems like they are using the law openly now.

That means there is a disciple named Jagyeongjeong who betrayed Geomseon within the Emperor's army.

-Why on earth are you there?

How could I possibly know that?

However, in order to capture the vigilante, he memorized all the information that the Inspector General had about him.

-What? That you think about the people and have a good personality?

okay.

The problem is that the information is almost like compliments.

The more I hear about the self-defense from Geomseon, the more I think he is better than the famous politicians.

He was a person who worried about the safety of the people and lamented the reality that Taoists were trapped in this situation.

-Why is that guy so twisted?

How could I possibly know the human nature?

-Then did you go under the emperor?

Under the Emperor?

There's something strange about that.

Because he often clashed with the Sword Master, he insisted that he should actively step forward and help the Emperor, who was suppressing the Taoists and martial artists in the royal family.

But then you suddenly get a position under the emperor?

It was completely nonsense.

-…..Then, did you sneak in there to kill the emperor?

'Kill the Emperor?'

I squinted my eyes and watched the advance of the imperial army.

It certainly suited him better than being attached to the royal family and holding an official position.

If it was that level of inaction, they might have even considered killing the emperor.

However, being a royal family is not something to be taken lightly.

If the royal family had no power, the martial artists would never have noticed.

-Aren't you just pushing through the water?

The imperial army of a million men is scary, but I heard there is a hidden power within it.

If there was something that could compete with the martial arts people's inaction, wouldn't the government have tried to subjugate the martial arts world without fail?

-So that's why you're sneaking around, waiting for an opportunity?

It seems highly likely that that will happen.

Now the outline is starting to take shape.

If my guess is correct, it seems that Jagyeongjeong also knew that he could not deal with the imperial family with just the legal instruments, so he infiltrated the imperial family in some way.

So, he may be trying to gain the emperor's trust to accomplish something.

-Maybe so? Then you're going to infiltrate there too?

That's the problem.

You have to infiltrate the Imperial Army to catch him, but you can't just blindly join in.

If that army was in the process of being drafted, then how could they enter while they were still advancing?

-Hey. You have the ability to transform into a living being.

It's impossible right now.

Even if you try to disguise yourself as one of them, if it's night and they're stationed there, you can sneak in and impersonate one of them, but they're on the move right now.

-Then what are you going to do?

Looking at the sun in the sky, it seems like it will set in at least an hour.

I guess I'll have to go down, keep my distance, hover around, and wait for them to set up camp.

It's not too late to aim for that moment.

No matter how strict military discipline is, there will be some loopholes at night.

-Then let's get out of here for now.

If we lower our altitude right now, we'll be visible to them, so we should do that.

By the way, what a coincidence.

If you continue to advance like this, you will reach a foggy forest with a fuse.

Of course, the fuse will disappear soon enough, so they won't have any chance of coming into contact with it, but the timing is clever for a coincidence.

Well, this could be a coincidence.

Given the fuse's whereabouts and the speed at which the army is advancing, there's no way they'll ever encounter the foggy forest.

Anyway, the priority is to infiltrate there…

-Shoot!

At that moment, I caught something flying towards me quickly.

It was none other than a long arrow, like a pole.

'arrow?'

It would be impossible for ordinary archers to shoot something this thick and long.

Moreover, the direction it was flying from was none other than the direction in which the Imperial Army was advancing.

'no way……'

You fired an arrow from two miles away?

Moreover, if you calculate the altitude, the distance increases significantly.

Even if one had innate divine powers, this was too far.

Even for a master who had climbed over walls, accurately aiming at someone at this altitude at this distance was not easy.

Anyone who can shoot by looking at what appears to be a blurry dot can be called a master archer.

'Did it really fly in from there?'

It may have flown in from a little closer, but there's no one in the immediate vicinity.

It was a moment when I was wondering.

-Shushushushush!!

Arrows were seen flying one after another from the exact direction where the Imperial Army was.

It was flying from the center of the army.

-Papak!

I waved my hand gently and caught all the flying arrows.

'Could it be that the self-defense forces shot it?'

If it were his inaction or cultivation, he might have discovered me.

But the bastard was clearly nowhere to be seen.

I focused my eyes and looked straight ahead at the direction the arrow had come from.

At the front of the house-sized carriage, I saw someone vaguely visible like a dot, aiming a flag at me.

It was blurry because it was so small, but it was definitely not a self-defense weapon.

'That guy saw me?'

If you do that, you are definitely not an ordinary person.

The distance was so great that it was difficult to judge his skills, but at least his visual and agility were on par with those of a master who could overcome walls.

'Namcheon. Let's get out of here quickly.'

The people around the archer all look at this place, wondering what's going on.

They might not notice, but if the commotion gets too loud, the vigilantes might catch you.

I was in a hurry to get away from the army because of the blackmail.

As the distance grew longer, even I could no longer see the advancing imperial army.

'shit.'

-What should I do?

I wonder if they will be able to rest comfortably while stationed here.

I never expected that someone would have such ridiculous vision.

It would have been surprising if it had been discovered at such a high altitude, even if it was just a coincidence, since it was at a somewhat noticeable angle.

-Didn't you see that you were flying on a sword?

That's impossible.

Even though I had trained and become stronger at the fuse, the archer still appeared as a blurry dot even though I had raised my vision with the innate energy at that high altitude.

No matter how good the archer's eyesight is, he cannot see something as thin as a sword.

If you looked, it would have looked like it was flying in the sky.

-Even so, I think this has heightened the level of vigilance.

It's difficult.

If this is the case, waiting for stationing is unreasonable.

What should I do if I have to find another way?

-Unhwi, look over there.

'where?'

-southeastward!

I looked down at the place at Sodamgeom's words.

A group of about thirty people appeared there.

There were about twenty men riding horses,

'Military uniform?'

They were wearing armor similar to the imperial army we discovered earlier.

Looking at them, they seemed to be scouts.

Otherwise, there was no way to return exactly in the direction where the Imperial Army was.

'ah!'

That's good.

It seems like we could use them to infiltrate the Imperial Army.

-What are you going to do?

'Namcheon, come closer to them.'

-i get it.

Namcheoncheolgeom lowered his altitude and approached them.

I didn't notice it because it was dim from a distance, but when I got closer, I saw what appeared to be scouts on horseback, leading about ten people with a rope.

No matter how I looked at it, he looked like a prisoner.

What's more interesting is that I thought they were just ordinary scouts, but one of them was a top-notch expert and the rest were first-class experts.

-Those guys are so cruel.

The mounted imperial troops continued on, completely oblivious to the prisoners falling and being dragged along the ground.

Among them was a boy who looked to be about fifteen years old.

The boy, who was shorter and slower than the adults, was dragged away covered in blood, which was enough to make one frown.

-Pot!

I jumped down from the Namcheon Iron Sword without hesitation.

And landed right in front of the guys riding their horses.

-thud!

The imperial soldiers could not hide their bewilderment when they saw me suddenly falling from the sky.

They pulled out their weapons from their waists.

-visor!

“Who are you!”

The top-notch expert who seemed to be the leader shouted at me.

I said, grinning at them.

“I don’t know about that, but I have to release those guys later.”

“What the!”

At my words, the faces of the people who were exhausted from running with their upper bodies tied with ropes brightened.

But when I came down here and looked, their abdomens were soaked in blood.

To be exact, it was the danjeon area.

They seem to have trained in martial arts, and it looks like their danjeon has been destroyed.

“I came to save these guys. Catch them!”

“Yes, Chief!”

I didn't think you were a scout, but you're now a sergeant?

A commander is a general who is in charge of a thousand soldiers.

Somehow, he said that his martial arts skills were quite good.

At the command of the commander, the imperial army, consisting of first-class experts under his command, charged at me on horseback.

Then I quietly put my hand on my shoulder.

The imperial army, which was charging forward with spears in their hands, was dumbfounded.

“This guy has lost his fear…”

-bang!

Then I stepped hard on the step towards the floor.

-Paang!

“Ugh!”

"100 million!"

At that moment, about ten imperial soldiers in the front row, who had been charging at the same time with strong wind pressure, were immediately thrown off their horses.

The eyes of the prisoners, including the imperial army, widened at the sight.

He had an expression on his face that said he never imagined that such an incredible expert would appear.

“Hey, run away!”

Is it because he showed such great authority?

The judgment of the man called Cheonbujang was very quick.

As soon as that shout was heard, the imperial soldiers let go of the ropes holding the prisoners and tried to run away.

-Exactly!

The moment he snapped his fingers, the ten remaining imperial soldiers, including the commander, fainted and fell from their horses.

A few were unlucky enough to fall head first, breaking their necks.

'Eek.'

I didn't intend to kill you like this, but I had no choice.

When I turned my head, the prisoners who were tied up with ropes were looking at me in amazement.

I was so surprised that I couldn't even speak.

As I approached them, several of them asked me:

“What kind of deceased person is this that has come to us…”

-Whack!

"Huh?"

I didn't answer, but grabbed the sword and swung it around, cutting their ropes with a slash.

They said they were wondering when they were freed from the rope.

“Okay, tens of thousands of imperial troops are coming here right now, so run away quickly.”

“Eek!”

They started to fight at the mention of tens of thousands of imperial troops.

I was amazed at how much he had suffered and how he reacted like this.

“Thank you for saving me.”

“Please tell me your real name.”

As I untied the remaining ropes, the prisoners asked me:

One I shook my head.

Anyway, this was the end of our relationship with them and I wasn't going to stay here, so I didn't feel it was worth telling them.

After asking several times, they soon gave up and ran away to the other side with a word of thanks.

But there was only one person left.

It was a boy who looked to be about fifteen years old, the youngest.

The boy's appearance, covered in wounds from being dragged by a horse, was horrific.

“Why aren’t you going?”

In response to my question, the boy sat up with difficulty.

And then he suddenly bowed to me.

“Thank you for your help. As a descendant of a noble family, I am unable to learn martial arts, so how can I be considered alive?”

'hmm.'

I think it's because my danjeon was damaged.

This boy, like the other prisoners, had blood all over his abdomen.

They were truly heartless people.

This is why I thought that maybe the self-defense forces hated the imperial army.

I sighed and said to the boy.

“It’s not like there’s no way out just because your danjeon is destroyed. If you’ve managed to survive, think of it as fate and try to survive somehow.”

At my words, the boy stood up from his seat without saying a word.

Then, he immediately picked up the sword hilt that the emperor had dropped on the floor.

And then he tries to cut his own neck with a sword.

“This guy!”

I blew up the new model and tried to grab the guy's sword.

As soon as I closed the distance between us, the bastard shouted at me in surprise and swung his sword without realizing it.

“Please don’t stop me!”

But the moment he moved his feet and swung his sword, I couldn't help but stop.

'What is this?'

I caught the boy's sword as it came in with two fingers.

Even though he had no power, the boy let out a gasp at the sword being blocked so easily.

"iced coffee….."

I asked that boy.

“Who taught you this sword?”

The boy looked embarrassed and stuttered at my question.

“Why, why are you asking that?”

“Just answer.”

Then the boy, with his head down, spoke to me.

“This is our family’s swordsmanship.”

“Family swordsmanship?”

“Why on earth do you ask that?”

“Where are you from?”

“……I’m from Yunnan Province.”

There was only one reason I asked this.

This swordsmanship that the guy unconsciously swung was crude, but it was the basic style of the swordsmanship of the Holy Spirit.

I asked the guy again.

“What is your name?”

“No. Why on earth are you doing this? No matter how much you are kind to me, how can you allow me to die by my own hand…?”

“Just answer the questions.”

The boy was startled by the intimidating voice.

Then, after observing the situation, he opened his mouth in a crawling voice.

“Huh….this is Ho Jong-won.”

'!!!'

ⓒ Hanjungwolya