Chapter 399

Chapter 399 – The Age of Blood Chaos Begins (3)

Rustling sounds came from the darkness. But the owner of the sounds did not easily reveal themselves.

Someone was definitely inside the thicket. Bang Jin-bo, who was beside Dam Ho, tilted his head for a moment then stepped forward.

"Brother, just a moment."

He went straight toward the thicket.

"It's okay! We won't harm you."

Bang Jin-bo's voice was extremely gentle. He kept looking at the thicket with a smile. He waited with patience.

After a while, the thicket shook and someone revealed themselves. They were boys with shabby appearances who seemed to have suffered greatly.

The one who seemed to be the older brother looked about thirteen or fourteen years old, and the one who seemed to be the younger brother looked just over ten years old.

The boy who seemed to be the older brother was glaring at Dam Ho and Bang Jin-bo with wary eyes while hiding his younger brother behind his back.

Bang Jin-bo tilted his head slightly at the hostility contained in their eyes. But seeing their shabby appearance, he thought they might be like this because they had suffered a lot.

"Who are you?"

Even at Bang Jin-bo's question, the brothers kept their mouths tightly shut and didn't answer. The older brother was still wary of Bang Jin-bo and Dam Ho. But the younger brother's eyes were fixed on the food Bang Jin-bo had just made.

Gulp!

The sound of swallowing dry saliva echoed like thunder. Then the younger brother blushed and hid behind his older brother's back.

Bang Jin-bo smiled gently.

"Ah, you must be hungry. There's still food left, would you like to eat some?"

"We're not beggars."

"Yes!"

The older and younger brothers simultaneously gave different answers.

"You?"

The older brother turned his head to glare at his younger brother. Then the younger brother's head shrank. But his gaze was still fixed on the food.

"I'm hungry, brother!"

"You?"

"We've already been starving for two days. I'm really hungry, brother!"

At the younger brother's words, the older brother's eyebrows that had been raised high drooped down.

Growl!

Hungry sounds were also echoing from his stomach.

"It's okay! Since there's food left, I'll share some with you. Come here!"

Bang Jin-bo spoke in a roundabout way so as not to hurt the brothers' pride and led them to the spot. The brothers reluctantly followed him.

Bang Jin-bo served the brothers a bowl each of the remaining food. Then the younger brother ate hurriedly, and the older brother, though still with some suspicious eyes, ate little by little. But that was only for a moment – soon the older brother's eyes opened wide and he began eating hurriedly like his younger brother.

Having starved for so long, the bottom of the bowls was revealed in an instant. Bang Jin-bo scraped the pot clean and gave all the remaining food to the brothers.

Once the greasy food entered their stomachs, even the reason they had barely maintained flew away completely. They no longer minded Dam Ho and Bang Jin-bo and focused only on eating.

"You'll get indigestion. Eat slowly."

Bang Jin-bo looked at the brothers with a worried face. But the brothers paid no attention and concentrated only on the food.

Bang Jin-bo shook his head and glanced at Dam Ho. At that moment, Dam Ho was looking at the boys indifferently with his mouth firmly shut.

Dam Ho waited for the boys to finish eating before opening his mouth.

"Namgung Family?"

"……"

Instantly the boys' faces hardened like ice. Their pupils were shaking as if an earthquake had occurred.

The older brother quickly hid his younger brother behind his back and drew the sword he wore at his waist.

"Demon Cult? To think you've tracked us all the way here, truly persistent."

Killing intent bloomed on the older brother's face. But the killing intent of an immature martial artist couldn't frighten even Bang Jin-bo, let alone Dam Ho.

His hands and feet were trembling, and his face was full of fear. He still couldn't shed his greenhorn appearance. Yet his desperate attempt to hide his younger brother behind his back was worthy of high praise.

Bang Jin-bo made a puzzled expression.

"Why the Namgung Family?"

"Disgusting. To make such a disgusting expression after annihilating the main family. You didn't poison the food we ate, did you?"

"The Namgung Family was annihilated?"

"Why pretend not to know when you know everything? After indiscriminately massacring not only those who learned martial arts, but also women and children who hadn't learned martial arts."

Before he knew it, teardrops were welling up in the older brother's eyes. Bang Jin-bo became even more flustered at this.

Having been at Overlord's Stronghold on Mount Huang, he had no idea about the Namgung Family's situation. Since he had thought the Namgung Family could hold out to some extent, his surprise was all the greater.

Dam Ho's eyes sank deeply. He too hadn't known the Namgung Family had already been annihilated.

The older brother threatened Dam Ho and Bang Jin-bo with his sword.

"We brothers would rather take our own lives than be humiliated by the Demon Cult."

"We're not from the Demon Cult."

"Don't lie. Do you think we'd believe such lies?"

"It's true though."

Bang Jin-bo made an aggrieved expression.

The older brother's posture holding the sword was somehow clumsy. Though he had clearly learned martial arts, he had the appearance of a young child who hadn't experienced real combat yet.

He could have subdued them easily if he wanted, but Bang Jin-bo didn't do so. He couldn't use martial arts against children who were already scared enough.

He tried to persuade the children through dialogue somehow. But the children were so wary that his words didn't get through.

Then Dam Ho opened his mouth.

"My name is Dam Ho."

"……"

Instantly the air in the area turned cold.

The older brother blinked his eyes. Because he thought he had heard an auditory hallucination.

"Wh-what did you say?"

"I'm the one who killed Namgung Chang at the Martial Alliance."

"Re-really?"

"I also killed Namgung Su and the Sword King Unit with my own hands."

"This enemy!"

"But I'm not from the Demon Cult."

At Dam Ho's answer, the older brother's body trembled violently. Bang Jin-bo clutched his head with his hands at the sight of the two.

'What on earth is brother doing……'

Everything was a mess. He couldn't imagine how to resolve this situation.

"I'll kill you. The Namgung Family collapsed because of you. If only you hadn't existed……"

"Who told you that?"

"Everyone did. They said the family head and main forces all died because of you, greatly weakening the main family's power. That's why we were annihilated by the Demon Cult."

"You're mistaken."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"The Namgung Family was annihilated purely because the Namgung Family was weak."

"Don't lie. The Namgung Family is strong! We're the overlords of Anhui Province. If only our forces hadn't been weakened because of you, we would never have collapsed so futilely."

"There are many hypotheticals. If this hadn't happened, if that had happened…… Such things have no meaning."

"Grr!"

The older brother gritted his teeth.

"So are you aggrieved?"

Dam Ho's indifferent words left great wounds in the brothers' hearts. Tears immediately welled up in their eyes.

"The young family head, the elders, the senior brothers – they're all dead. Everyone's dead. Then who should I resent?"

"Your weak self."

"Grr!"

"Don't act spoiled. Being a martial artist from a martial family means you can face life and death at any time regardless of age."

"Th-that's……"

"If you're weak, you get trampled and collapse, and if you're strong, you enjoy everything. The Namgung Family is no different. All those benefits you enjoyed at the Namgung Family were things the Namgung Family stole by trampling other sects. Yet you alone pretend to be a victim, pretend to be weak."

It was rare for Dam Ho to speak at such length. But his words ruthlessly stabbed the brothers' hearts like daggers.

The older brother was at a loss for words, and the younger brother blinked his large eyes, unable to take his gaze off Dam Ho's face.

Bang Jin-bo looked at Dam Ho with fresh eyes. For Dam Ho's personality, speaking to this extent was considerable consideration.

Finally, the tears that had been welling in the older brother's eyes flowed down.

He hated Dam Ho. He resented him.

Whenever two or more family members gathered, they cursed and reviled Dam Ho. They said the impregnable Namgung Family was shaking because of him.

The older brother thought so too. That's why he disliked and hated Dam Ho. But when he actually heard Dam Ho's story, he felt his worldview being shaken to its roots.

The older brother gritted his teeth. The younger brother grasped his brother's hand tightly and looked up at him.

"Brother?"

"It's okay! It'll be fine. Whatever happens, I'll protect you."

"Yes!"

The younger brother nodded vigorously.

The older brother put more strength in his eyes as he looked at Dam Ho.

"Will you kill me?"

His tone had changed. He seemed somewhat deflated.

"Why do you think I'd kill you?"

"Because the Namgung Family and you are mortal enemies."

"The Namgung Family might think so, but to me, the Namgung Family isn't that significant a place."

"Ugh!"

The older brother's face contorted at Dam Ho's answer. But he couldn't refute it. Because that was actually the case.

The family head had returned after being severely wounded by Dam Ho and died, and numerous forces including the Sword King Unit had been shattered and collapsed.

At least it was certain that the Namgung Family posed no great threat to Dam Ho. Especially now that the Namgung Family had been annihilated by the Demon Cult.

The Demon Cult that had taken over the Namgung Family was truly vicious. They were desperately trying to find and kill every last survivor of the Namgung Family.

Fleeing to this place while avoiding them was practically a miracle. And encountering Dam Ho in the vast Anhui Province was some kind of trick of fate.

His father had been one of the elders of the Namgung Family. He was the pavilion master responsible for the Namgung Family's library pavilion. The library pavilion was where all of the Namgung Family's martial books were collected.

Just before the Namgung Family collapsed, his father had helped him and his younger brother escape and said:

―You must protect Yeong-hwi. No matter what happens. Promise me.

The older brother looked at his younger brother.

His younger brother's name was Namgung Yeong-hwi.

Since childhood, he had been physically weak to the extent that he couldn't learn even a single form of the Namgung Family's martial arts. In contrast, he as the older brother had considerable talent in martial arts and could learn to a certain extent.

But he knew his talent had limits. He was just a little better than others, but wasn't material to take responsibility for the Namgung Family's revival. Knowing this fact made the reality of being chased by the Demon Cult all the more painful and frightening.

'Can I really protect Yeong-hwi to the end? No, I mustn't have weak thoughts. I must protect him. Even if I have to sacrifice my soul.'

He looked at Dam Ho.

A monster-like man sitting with darkness at his back.

Because of that one person, the great Namgung Family of the world had been shaken, and because of that, they were easily conquered by the Demon Cult. From his position, he was no different from an enemy. But now he needed him.

"My name is Namgung Seon-hwi."

"So?"

"Please protect us."

At the older brother Namgung Seon-hwi's words, Dam Ho stared at him intently. Namgung Seon-hwi's face turned as red as if it would burst at any moment.

Dam Ho's gaze was something even martial world supreme masters found difficult to receive head-on. There was no way Namgung Seon-hwi, who was still just a young boy, could meet Dam Ho's gaze.

Just looking at Dam Ho's indifferent eyes made Namgung Seon-hwi feel like his heart would stop and his eyeballs would burst out. Still, Namgung Seon-hwi didn't avoid Dam Ho's gaze.

"Yeong-hwi is the Namgung Family's last hope. He must be protected."

"Why should I?"

"Don't you owe a debt to the Namgung Family?"

"A debt?"

"Yes!"

"Do you really think so?"

"……"

Namgung Seon-hwi bit his lips hard.

He knew it was unreasonable. But at this moment, Dam Ho was the only one he could rely on. So he decided to be even more shameless.

"I think so. You have a debt. If not, then you can abandon us."

Dam Ho didn't answer. His gaze turned to Namgung Yeong-hwi hiding behind Namgung Seon-hwi's back.

It was still a frightened face. On one hand, there was also unhideable curiosity toward Dam Ho.

It was when Dam Ho had been looking at Namgung Yeong-hwi's eyes for a long time.

"This way."

"Their tracks lead here."

"I see a light over there."

Suddenly noisy voices came from the direction the brothers had appeared from.

Namgung Seon-hwi's complexion changed completely.

"It's the Demon Cult. They've tracked us here. We must flee quickly."

More than ten Demon Cult martial artists had been mobilized to track the brothers. Considering the brothers' martial arts level, it was excessive force. The Demon Cult was that determined to completely eliminate even the last seeds of the Namgung Family.

At that moment, Dam Ho stood up.

His gaze was still fixed on Namgung Yeong-hwi.

"You."

"Yes?"

"You resemble my master."

"I do?"

Namgung Yeong-hwi's eyes widened.

Dam Ho moved his steps toward the darkness from which voices could be heard. Namgung Yeong-hwi stared blankly at Dam Ho's retreating figure.

Dam Ho's eyes were rippling in the darkness.

Namgung Yeong-hwi had the makings of a scholar-warrior. His eyes that resembled Taoist Hyeon-so proved that fact.

He could well imagine what was contained in that small head.

Clatter clatter!

Seeing the firelight, the Demon Cult masters were rushing over.

Like moths rushing into fiercely burning flames. And Dam Ho became the massive blaze that would consume them.

BOOM!