And so, the night grew deep.
The two escorts standing night watch kept their eyes wide open as they surveyed their surroundings. On an escort mission, the most important thing was the night watch. Surprise attacks or thefts during the night were far from uncommon.
The only people awake around the cargo were not just the escorts on night watch.
Two Tang Clan martial artists were also standing guard. Of course, they did not exchange a single word with the escorts, and their methods were entirely different.
And one person was still standing. It was Dan Hyung-u.
"Hah, honestly. Looks like he really doesn't plan on sleeping."
"Indeed. I don't know how he plans to keep going tomorrow. We'll be fine, but for porters who haven't trained in martial arts, it'll be absolute hell."
"If he can't keep up, with Head Escort Ma's temperament, he'll just toss him aside. A bit pitiful, really."
"Tsk tsk… Still, I wonder what he's so uneasy about, just standing there like that."
"Who knows. Maybe something happened among the porters."
The words exchanged between the two escorts reached the ears of the Tang Clan martial artists as well. Even so, the Tang Clan warriors did not respond with a single word, merely sweeping their sharp gazes across their surroundings. This escort mission was so important that it would not be an exaggeration to say the fate of the Tang Clan depended on it.
One of the Tang Clan warriors' gazes lingered briefly on Dan Hyung-u. But only for a moment—soon, he resumed scanning the surroundings.
Thus, the first night passed without incident.
Ma Yuk glanced at Dan Hyung-u, a strange light appearing in his eyes. It was obvious he had stayed up all night.
According to the escorts who had stood watch, Dan Hyung-u had remained standing the entire time until they themselves went to sleep.
Since every night watchman said the same thing, the conclusion was clear—Dan Hyung-u had not slept at all.
Even so, Dan Hyung-u's movements were no different from the other porters. Despite the grueling forced march, he kept up without a single complaint or lagging behind.
"Hmm. He's got more backbone than I thought."
Muttering this to himself, Ma Yuk cut off his interest in Dan Hyung-u. The escort mission had only just begun. There were mountains of other things he needed to worry about.
On the first day, they walked at a relatively moderate pace, but thanks to the forced march on the second day, they were able to reach the foothills of Pyeongjeong Mountain (平貞山) before dusk. Mountain paths were vastly different from flat terrain.
To pull wagons loaded with heavy cargo, thorough preparation was required. Although they were not heading deep into the mountains and would only pass through the entrance, inspections were still necessary.
Ma Yuk ordered the escorts to quickly inspect the wagons and then immediately set off.
They moved far better today than usual. As a result, their travel speed was fast. If they did not push hard on days like this, delays could arise later.
From Heochang in Hanam, where the escort agency was located, to Chengdu in Sichuan, an ordinary escort agency would allow forty days.
But the Hanam Escort Agency could arrive within a month. Thanks to this, the Hanam Escort Agency proudly earned its name among the Five Great Escort Agencies of the world.
"Hurry up! We cross Pyeongjeong Mountain today!"
At Ma Yuk's shout, the porters' expressions twisted. It felt excessive, almost brutal, but since this happened from time to time even in normal circumstances, they had no choice but to endure it.
The escort party entered the mountain path. About half an hour after entering, Tang Cheol-gi raised one hand and shouted softly,
"Stop!"
At Tang Cheol-gi's command, Ma Yuk hurriedly relayed orders to the porters and escorts, and the escort party came to a complete halt.
"W-What is it?"
In response to Ma Yuk's question, Tang Cheol-gi said nothing, instead looking at the old man beside him and asking,
"Uncle, what should we do?"
"It seems they're men of the Green Forest. Let's observe the situation a little longer."
At the old man's words, Tang Cheol-gi gave a slight nod.
"I understand."
After speaking, Tang Cheol-gi signaled to the surrounding warriors with his eyes. The Tang Clan martial artists nodded as if they understood the signal.
Moments later, rough laughter thundered across the mountainside.
"Wahahaha! Looks like some rather important guests have come! Wahahaha!"
The laughter was filled with internal energy. It wasn't enough to affect the Tang Clan warriors, but the escorts' expressions stiffened slightly as they hurriedly raised their own inner energy.
"So, you know it won't be free to pass through our Green Forest territory, right? While I'm being nice, unload all your goods and get lost. I'll spare your lives."
The man who appeared while speaking and blocked the road looked like the very image of a bandit.
A thick, rough beard covered everything below his nose, and he held a massive great saber in one hand, resting it lightly on his shoulder.
His build was enormous—big enough to shame a bear—and the pressure he radiated was overwhelming.
"What, does my talk not sound like words to you? Why aren't you getting lost already!"
As the man shouted again, Ma Yuk hurried forward.
"We are the Hanam Escort Agency. I hope the hero of the Green Forest will accept this and ease his anger."
Ma Yuk pulled out a pouch from his clothes and tossed it to the man. The pouch flew straight into the man's hand, and without even checking its contents, he stuffed it into his robes.
"My anger's eased. Now leave the goods behind and get lost."
At those words, Ma Yuk's expression changed.
Normally, Green Forest bandits who blocked an escort would accept a reasonable fee and withdraw. But the man before them showed no intention of adhering to such conventions.
Ma Yuk's face darkened with anger. But before he could even voice his fury, the man's hand moved broadly.
Boom!
The saber in the man's hand swung sideways, unleashing a massive wave of blade energy.
Whoosh!
Ma Yuk hurriedly raised his sword to block the blade energy flying toward him.
Kwang!
The blade energy scattered, but Ma Yuk was sent reeling backward. The force imbued within it was tremendous.
"Urgh!"
As Ma Yuk let out a groan, the escorts leapt into action, forming a formation with the cargo at the center. If nothing else, the cargo had to be protected.
"Kahahaha! What can a mere Hanam Escort Agency possibly do!"
At the man's frenzied shout, people suddenly sprang out from behind rocks and bushes nearby.
They were all dressed like bandits, but the light in their eyes was sharp.
"They're not ordinary thugs."
As Tang Cheol-gi muttered, the man who had first appeared laughed loudly.
"Kahahaha! Did you think we were just common bandits? We are proud heroes rooted in the Green Forest! Kahahaha!"
"The Green Forest, you say? Is that truly all?"
The old man beside Tang Cheol-gi asked calmly, gazing at the man with profound eyes. The man flinched under that gaze, then scowled and shouted,
"Of course! Old man! I'll start by killing you!"
The man charged forward, swinging his great saber. But he was far too lacking to face the old man.
Pashuk!
From the old man's hand, something shot out toward the charging man's glabella.
"Concealed weapon!"
The man, greatly alarmed, tried to knock it aside with his saber, but the concealed weapon was far too fast.
Thud!
A small hole appeared in the man's forehead, and he collapsed forward.
Thump!
The old man swept his gaze over the surrounding men, releasing killing intent.
"Is there anyone else who wants another hole in their head?"
Though their eyes were sharp, none of the surrounding men dared to step forward.
"As expected… the Tang Clan."
From among the bandits, someone stepped forward, muttering. All eyes turned in that direction.
There stood a man clad in black. He looked to be around forty, with a cold, emotionless face.
"The Green Forest alone won't be enough."
The man muttered and curled his lips into a grin. The smile was so chilling that Tang Cheol-gi felt goosebumps rise—but the old man was among the most formidable figures even within the Tang Clan.
"So if you step forward, you think you can do something? To our Tang Clan? No—to me, Tang Ho-gwan?"
"Oh? I didn't expect the Tang Clan to even throw in an elder for this affair. That means the item really must be important."
At the man's mocking tone, Tang Ho-gwan glared at him with icy eyes.
Pashuk!
His hand trembled slightly, and a concealed weapon shot like lightning toward the man's forehead. But with a single casual wave of his hand, the man absorbed it into his grasp.
"Hand Arrow, is it? Piercing the forehead with something this small… As expected of a Tang Clan elder."
A faint blood-red light flickered in the man's eyes.
"Then I suppose we should return the courtesy."
The moment his words ended, black-clad figures burst out from among the Green Forest bandits. There were thirty of them, and they simultaneously swung their swords and charged toward the Tang Clan warriors.
Clangclangclang!
With sharp metallic clashes, the battle began.
Tang Ho-gwan's eyes widened in shock. They had carefully selected only elites. He had been confident that they could be deployed anywhere in the martial world. Yet they were being pushed back. No—this was beyond being pushed back. The skill of the black-clad men was shocking.
"Just who in the world are you people!"
Tang Ho-gwan shouted, pouring his inner energy into his voice. The energy-laden sound crashed toward the black-clad man in front of him.
But with a light flick of his hand, the man dispersed the energy, then hurled himself toward Tang Ho-gwan.
As if on signal, the Green Forest bandits surrounding them charged in, swinging their various weapons. Their targets were the escorts.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sounds of various weapons colliding rang out in all directions. The escorts were highly skilled, but the Green Forest bandits were no pushovers either. Moreover, there were simply too many of them.
The other escorts were struggling, but still managing to hold on somehow. However, Hyeong Pyo, whose skill was inferior, quickly found himself in danger.
"Urgh!"
A sharp blade grazed Hyeong Pyo's shoulder. Gritting his teeth, he swung his sword and knocked it aside.
Clang!
A man with rat-like eyes saw this and twisted his face into a killing glare. Convinced that Hyeong Pyo was weaker than himself, his murderous intent deepened.
Slash slash slash!
The man's sword curved in like a snake, aiming for Hyeong Pyo.
Clang! Clang!
Hyeong Pyo managed to block the first two attacks, but he absolutely could not stop the third thrust aimed at his heart. Urgency and despair filled his eyes.
And at that moment, lightning struck.
Flash!
Hyeong Pyo stared in shock at the rat-eyed man, who had been split clean in two along with his sword. Slowly, he turned his head to look at Dan Hyung-u, who was standing beside him, radiating a mountain-like presence.
Dan Hyung-u stood next to Hyeong Pyo, silently sweeping his gaze around. One by one, the escorts were dying. Their skill was beyond question, but the bandits' numbers were simply overwhelming.
The Green Forest bandits trampled over their comrades' corpses, swinging their weapons as they continued to charge forward.
"Kraaagh!"
"Urgh!"
Screams rang out one after another.
In the end, most of the escorts had fallen. The escort leader, Ma Yuk, was still fighting desperately, but even that did not seem like it would last long. Five Green Forest bandits were already surrounding him.
Hyeong Pyo calmly steadied his breathing and looked at Dan Hyung-u. Even as the escorts were dying, Dan Hyung-u showed no intention of moving. He had only acted when Hyeong Pyo himself was on the brink of death.
"What's with this guy? Hiding behind a porter?"
With a rough voice, a bandit approached Hyeong Pyo. Startled, Hyeong Pyo looked at him. The bandit sneered and lunged forward, swinging his saber at Hyeong Pyo.
Flash!
Before the saber could even reach Hyeong Pyo, lightning struck. Just like the first man Dan Hyung-u had killed, the bandit was split in two along with his weapon.
Only then did the Green Forest bandits' attention turn fully toward Dan Hyung-u.
"What is this guy? This porter?"
Although the escorts had nearly all been dealt with, there were still many bandits left. Close to fifty remained—some were fighting Ma Yuk, while others surrounded the area to prevent anyone from escaping.
Even after that, five of them walked toward where Dan Hyung-u and Hyeong Pyo stood.
"A porter carrying a sword, huh…"
One of the bandits sneered as he casually swung his saber around. But having already witnessed a comrade's death, he did not recklessly charge in. He intended to move together with the others.
The five men surrounded Dan Hyung-u and Hyeong Pyo, while two more bandits from the remaining group approached the porters with bloodshot eyes.
"You planning to kill the porters too?"
When Hyeong Pyo shouted, one of the bandits let out a snort of laughter.
"You think we'd spare them? We've already killed all the escorts—why would we leave the porters alive?"
The bandit charged at the porters the moment he finished speaking and swung his massive saber. The porter caught within the arc of his blade was none other than Jong-chil.
Jong-chil's face turned deathly pale. He couldn't even think of dodging. Even though he had learned some martial arts, he was barely past the most basic stage.
How could he possibly evade an attack from a Green Forest bandit skilled enough to slaughter escorts?
Flash!
The saber that was about to fall on Jong-chil's neck shattered in two along with a bolt of lightning. The owner of the blade also slowly split apart.
Dan Hyung-u looked at Jong-chil with indifferent eyes. Then he turned his head again to look at those surrounding him. From their bodies, killing intent mixed with fear began to spread.
Feeling it, Dan Hyung-u let out a faint smile. His lips only curved slightly—so subtly that it was hard to notice—but somehow, it sent a chill down the spines of those watching.
In any case, that single move from Dan Hyung-u put the Green Forest bandits on full alert. No one had been able to see him move. No—technically, they had seen something.
They clearly saw him turn his head toward Jong-chil and raise his sword.
But they couldn't see anything after that. By the time lightning struck, Dan Hyung-u's sword had already returned to its original position, and a corpse lay there.
The Green Forest bandits could no longer recklessly charge at the porters. Dan Hyung-u came first.
"What are you idiots doing! He's alone! What can he do if you all rush him at once! Half of you kill the porters, the rest take care of that bastard!"
Someone shouted. At that signal, nearly fifty Green Forest bandits launched themselves forward all at once.
There was a chance that the porters or Hyeong Pyo might escape if the encirclement loosened, but there was no other option now.
The moment the bandits surged forward, murderous intent blazing, a sharp light flashed in Dan Hyung-u's eyes.
Crackle—crack!
Lightning struck repeatedly. It was so fast it was as if rain were pouring down. Each bolt fell without the slightest deviation, striking directly onto the crowns of the Green Forest bandits' heads.