Chapter 38 – Blood Cult (2)

Wang Mun-pung’s face twisted with distress.

He had hoped they might make it to Lanzhou without being caught if they were lucky, but they hadn’t even made it halfway before being caught.

“Ugh, if this were during a mission, I could ask for help even if it meant pouring out all my points.”

Since this wasn’t during a mission, it was an impossible situation.

He could glimpse warriors running through the bushes. Judging by their speed, at least first-class level or above. It would be difficult for him and Cho Ryeong to handle more than two.

Wang Mun-pung secretly sent hand signals to Cho Ryeong, and though Cho Ryeong looked tearful, she had no choice but to nod at his signal.

The two had decided to abandon the women and run away. Since they were women who had been kidnapped rather than killed anyway, the probability of them being killed wasn’t high.

Though they felt sorry, the two needed to survive first.

Wang Mun-pung folded his fingers one by one behind his back.

Three, two, one.

Snap!

Cho Ryeong started running as soon as Wang Mun-pung made a fist.

But she who had been running forward soon stopped. Because Wang Mun-pung wasn’t following.

“These bastards!”

Wang Mun-pung was glaring at the sky with a twisted face.

[Mission assigned. Please protect the party from the pursuers. Support will arrive soon.]

A mission had fallen to him.

“What kind of nonsensical talk is this!”

He looked around at the bewildered maidens and burst into anger. At his fury, the maidens became frightened.

“Why are you doing that?”

Cho Ryeong, who had hurriedly returned, asked Wang Mun-pung, and he could only sigh.

“Let’s all go together.”

“What? We should escape first by ourselves… Oops!”

Cho Ryeong hurriedly covered her mouth and glanced around at the women.

Fortunately, they didn’t seem to have heard Cho Ryeong’s words.

“First, I’ll try to buy time. Find a place to hide with them.”

“What? Even if we hide, we’ll be discovered soon, won’t we?”

“Support will come before that. Probably.”

Cho Ryeong tilted her head at Wang Mun-pung’s words. He said support would come, but since he wasn’t someone who relied on such things daily, it was hard to understand.

“Just do as I say for now.”

Wang Mun-pung left her with those words and began running back the way the party had come.

“What on earth is going on?”

Cho Ryeong shrugged her shoulders and gestured to the party. At least the burden on her mind was lessened since she wouldn’t have to run away alone.

Cho Ryeong took the tired maidens and hid into the bushes.

***

“I wonder how much time I can buy.”

Wang Mun-pung muttered while scattering small sea urchin-shaped throwing weapons on the ground. The killing intent was already approaching right in front of him.

The killing intents he could feel all seemed to have energy no weaker than his own.

After scattering the throwing weapons, Wang Mun-pung took out a gourd and sprinkled alcohol around. A strong alcoholic scent began spreading around.

“What kind of hardship is this at my age?”

Wang Mun-pung stepped back while tapping his legs and clicking his tongue. Now he had to run around for quite a while leading the Blood Cult bastards.

Soon Blood Cult warriors appeared in front of Wang Mun-pung. Among them, the warriors at the very front stepped on the throwing weapons and fell forward with their bodies stiffened, but the warriors behind stopped walking in front of where the throwing weapons were scattered.

“Tsk, only caught two?”

Though they were throwing weapons coated with paralysis poison for strong immediate effect, they were bound to be discovered quickly when scattered like this.

When the Blood Cult members began leaping over the throwing weapons and running toward him, he turned around and began running backward.

The direction he ran was opposite to where Cho Ryeong had taken the women.

When he ran away, all the Blood Cult members began pursuing him.

‘Yes, well done. Everyone follow me.’

Wang Mun-pung was inwardly sighing with relief and trying to increase his lightness skill speed when:

Meow~.

A cat sound came from among the Blood Cult members pursuing him.

“Stop! It’s not that way.”

The Blood Cult member from whom the cat sound came immediately gave orders, and the Blood Cult members who had been chasing Wang Mun-pung stopped in place.

When the Blood Cult member who gave the orders slightly opened his collar, a white cat poked its head out from his chest.

Meow~.

The cat looked toward the opposite direction from where Wang Mun-pung had run and meowed, and the Blood Cult members left Wang Mun-pung behind and ran toward the direction the cat was looking.

“Damn, they had a snow cat.”

When Wang Mun-pung heard cat meowing from the Blood Cult members pursuing him, he could immediately understand the situation. The Blood Cult members had a snow cat, a spirit beast specialized in tracking.

A snow cat was a spirit beast that would never forget a scent once it caught it, and even Wang Mun-pung, a former divine thief, had rarely seen such a spirit beast in his life.

“I went to the trouble of sprinkling expensive dragon musk, but a snow cat. Did I use up all my luck for this year in the last mission? My luck is completely terrible.”

When the alcohol he had sprinkled to confuse tracking dogs became useless, Wang Mun-pung could only grind his teeth and turn back.

***

Among the tall bushes, Cho Ryeong and the women were hiding using a formation Cho Ryeong had hastily set up.

Stones and branches placed here and there, and a talisman attached to the central ground. It was a small illusion formation Cho Ryeong had learned from Wang Mun-pung.

Though it was a formation that could hide them from people’s sight for a short time, it had no effect this time.

Because black-clad warriors appeared before them while ignoring the formation. Trusting the snow cat’s guidance, they had jumped into the formation while ignoring what was visible to their eyes.

“Ah, we’re screwed.”

Cho Ryeong looked at the warriors who appeared and hurriedly looked for a place to run, but the Blood Cult members were faster.

After the Blood Cult member with the cat confirmed the women’s side, he pointed at Cho Ryeong.

“Kill her.”

Cho Ryeong, who had been late in preparation trusting the formation, fumbled at the sudden attack, and a sword struck down toward her.

Clang!

Fortunately, the sword was blocked just in time by Wang Mun-pung who had returned. But Wang Mun-pung who had blocked the sword could only sigh.

Because he too had entered the encirclement.

“Please let this be the last of bad luck… If my luck is bad again, I’ll be receiving ancestral rites this day next year.”

Wang Mun-pung muttered while looking at the sky, and Cho Ryeong had no choice but to scold such Wang Mun-pung.

“Master, did dementia already set in?”

Wang Mun-pung was about to burst out shouting at Cho Ryeong’s words, but the Blood Cult members had no intention of listening to their banter.

The six Blood Cult members who had surrounded the two began approaching them.

“Ah, I haven’t even dated yet!”

Cho Ryeong made a tearful face while raising her sword toward the approaching Blood Cult members, and Wang Mun-pung’s face also hardened at that moment.

Boom!

The ground of the area began exploding and bursting apart. Dry grass flew wildly and dust shot up to the sky.

The moment everyone covered their faces with their hands from the dust clouds, someone moved within the dust.

Slash! Slash!

Spurting blood and suppressed screams burst out. After several screams passed like that:

Clang! Clang!

The sound of swords colliding began to be heard. Soon the dust settled.

On the ground, Blood Cult members could be seen fallen while bleeding, and one Blood Cult member was crossing swords with a man in unfamiliar clothing.

“So the support was you!”

Wang Mun-pung looked pleased. Because the person who had appeared from the dust was Sun-woo.

But Wang Mun-pung didn’t have time to exchange greetings with Sun-woo. Because the remaining two warriors rushed toward Sun-woo.

“I’ll take one!”

Wang Mun-pung shouted to Sun-woo and blocked the front of the Blood Cult member who had been giving orders.

The other Blood Cult member immediately rushed at Sun-woo but was slightly too late.

Because the sword of the Blood Cult member who had been forcibly blocking Sun-woo’s sword was shattered. Sun-woo unhesitatingly sent the opponent’s head flying and then faced the Blood Cult member who attacked next.

***

The fight soon ended. Though they were both at the end of first-class level, there was too much difference in swords and martial arts between Sun-woo and the Blood Cult member. The match was decided when Sun-woo’s sword quickly penetrated the chest. When Cho Ryeong helped, Wang Mun-pung’s fight quickly tilted in Wang Mun-pung’s favor.

Realizing he would lose, the Blood Cult member put his hand to his chest and took out the cat.

“Oh my, so cute!”

At that sight, Wang Mun-pung flinched and stopped attacking, and Cho Ryeong exclaimed in admiration at the white cat’s appearance.

The Blood Cult member threw the cat he had taken out backward with all his strength.

“Damn!”

Wang Mun-pung was surprised and tried to pursue the snow cat, but the Blood Cult member blocked him and he ended up missing it.

The blocking Blood Cult member died at Sun-woo’s hands, and only then could Sun-woo and Wang Mun-pung exchange greetings.

“You seem to have changed atmosphere.”

That was what Wang Mun-pung said as soon as he saw Sun-woo. As he said, Sun-woo’s atmosphere was different from before.

His eyes that had been continuously moving to survey the surroundings were now looking directly at Wang Mun-pung with deep composure, and his movements that had been somewhat scattered now looked very heavy.

But more important than such appearance was what had changed. Considerable killing intent was emanating from him. Seeing how he had no hesitation at all in killing the Blood Cult members just now, unlike the last mission, it seemed his hesitation in killing opponents had disappeared.

Wang Mun-pung looked with a somewhat worried expression, but Cho Ryeong’s eyes looking at Sun-woo from beside were sparkling as if they contained the Milky Way.

Sun-woo only nodded at Wang Mun-pung’s words. As he said, he too knew he had changed.

Because learning that contamination sources and contaminated summoned had killed his family had given him a clear goal.

“Did you come alone? Couldn’t Mount Hua Sword Flower come?”

“‘Mount Hua Sword Flower’?”

“Ah, it’s the alias of the Mount Hua female swordsman who reached peak level recently. Originally it was ‘Mount Hua Twin Flowers’ but after reaching peak level, she got a separate alias called ‘Mount Hua Sword Flower’.”

Cho Ryeong quickly explained from the side. At her words, a slight smile crossed Sun-woo’s face, and seeing Sun-woo’s smile, Cho Ryeong shyly twisted her body.

“She was injured in the last mission. It’s not a major injury, but it seems she’ll have difficulty moving for a while.”

“Tsk tsk, how did that happen.”

Wang Mun-pung clicked his tongue at Sun-woo’s words. He felt sorry for the injured Nan-seol, but felt even more sorry that Sun-woo had come alone.

“No, then they should summon other summoned instead of just summoning you alone. This is serious.”

“What? All the pursuers are dead though.”

Since Sun-woo had also received the same mission as Wang Mun-pung, he couldn’t understand his worry.

“We just missed the snow cat. Soon the snow cat will bring others. Since they know the pursuit team is all dead, stronger ones will definitely come.”

Wang Mun-pung additionally explained about the manor incident and the snow cat. Sun-woo nodded at his words, but a scream burst from Cho Ryeong’s mouth.

“Eek! It was a Blood Cult secret branch?”

At her scream, Wang Mun-pung clicked his tongue.

“The Underworld Sect has deteriorated too. What did they teach the kid?”

“If it’s Blood Cult, they should be wearing red clothes and walking around. All the dead people here and the people at the manor were in ordinary clothing!”

It seemed she and the Underworld Sect had fallen into the trap of prejudice.

“If I knew it was Blood Cult, I would have run away without looking back. I must have been crazy.”

Cho Ryeong became tearful. Having heard of Blood Cult’s evil reputation, she immediately felt like she had fallen into a quagmire.

“No, why were you monitoring such a terrifying place, Master? Weren’t you the one who always shouted that safety comes first in everything?”

At Cho Ryeong’s words, Wang Mun-pung’s face twisted. If he had a choice, he would have already run far away.

“Then let’s move first. We should get as far away as possible.”

At Sun-woo’s words, the party began leading the women toward Lanzhou.

Wang Mun-pung took the lead to guide the party, and Sun-woo took the rear guard to monitor behind. Cho Ryeong stuck close to Sun-woo’s side rather than Wang Mun-pung’s and bombarded him with questions, and Sun-woo only answered her questions in short responses.

The maidens walked toward Lanzhou with frightened and tired expressions, but only one woman in plain white clothes walked with a dignified appearance while continuously looking back at Sun-woo.