Chapter 16

Chapter 16
## Chapter: 16

### Chapter Title: Midnight Raiders (2)

—

Dang Baek scrutinized Cheol Woo with an intensely wary expression.

Standing before a force of thirty armed men, the figure remained completely at ease, projecting no discernible killing intent or pressure.

This lack of tension served only to heighten Dang Baek’s alarm. It suggested that his relaxed posture was not a bluff, but the result of overwhelming power.

‘He is a master. Not just a common expert, but one of terrifying caliber.’

As a covert operative for the Shadow Fox Clan, Dang Baek had encountered a multitude of warriors both within and outside his organization. His survival instincts screamed that Cheol Woo was dangerous. However, the path to retreat had already vanished. Even if he attempted to withdraw, he knew they would be hunted down without mercy.

Dang Baek cast a sharp look toward Hwan Su and the rest of the unit, who were poised for his signal. No verbal exchange was required.

“Kill him!”

At his command, Hwan Su’s blade lunged directly toward Cheol Woo’s chest.

Following Hwan Su’s lead, the members of the Black Ox Squad encircling Cheol Woo and Sima Geon initiated a coordinated strike from all angles.

Surrounded by a storm of incoming weapons, Cheol Woo merely gave a mocking snort and reached out with his bare hand toward the sword aiming for his heart.

Hwan Su scoffed at what appeared to be a suicidal maneuver, putting even more strength into his thrust.

The blade, however, came to an abrupt, screeching halt in mid-air.

“How is this…”

Hwan Su stared in pure terror at his weapon, which was now firmly caught in Cheol Woo’s palm.

The sword was a masterwork, sharpened to a razor edge that could sever limbs with the slightest contact.

He could not fathom how a hand of mere flesh and bone could remain unharmed by its edge.

*Snap!*

With a sharp, metallic crack, the blade was shattered by Cheol Woo’s grip.

Grabbing the jagged remnant of the steel, Cheol Woo drove it back toward Hwan Su’s face.

‘N-no!’

Hwan Su’s eyes nearly popped from their sockets.

Before he could react, Cheol Woo’s left hand had already clamped onto the back of his neck.

A flurry of strikes descended upon Cheol Woo as the squad tried to save their leader.

Cheol Woo disregarded the incoming blows entirely, plunging the broken shard deep into Hwan Su’s skull.

Hwan Su struggled violently for a brief second, but his body collapsed into a lifeless weight as the metal fragment pierced through the back of his head.

In that same moment, the swords intended for Cheol Woo struck his body.

Not a single thread of his attire was damaged. The Overlord Blood Victory Aura that shrouded him had effortlessly deflected every impact.

The Overlord Blood Victory Aura, a legacy from his stubborn mentor, lacked the terrifying destructive power of the Ink Gang Asura Qi—the technique Sima Geon had refined after his clash with the Ghost Gate Clan. However, as a defensive shield, it was peerless, easily matching the protective qualities of the Ink Gang Asura Qi itself.

Cheol Woo looked at the surviving Black Ox Squad members, who were stumbling backward in sheer fright, with an expression of pity.

“Tsk, tsk. You put on a bit of a show, but is this truly your limit? When your leader falls, you should be attacking with everything you have. You’re nothing but useless vermin.”

With a look of annoyance, he lifted Hwan Su’s corpse and flung it toward the retreating warriors.

“Here. Take this parting gift.”

He casually tightened his fist and threw a devastating punch.

An orb of bluish energy slammed into Hwan Su’s flying body, causing it to detonate like a macabre firework.

Fragments of bone and meat sprayed in every direction, acting like shrapnel that tore through the remaining Black Ox Squad.

“Aaargh!”

“Gah!”

The bamboo forest was filled with the sounds of agony as a fine crimson mist hung in the air from the sudden carnage.

It was a display of power beyond comprehension.

The Black Ox Squad, utterly broken by Cheol Woo’s strength and paralyzed by fear, fell apart. Meanwhile, Dang Baek—who had attempted to circle around to ambush Cheol Woo from the rear—found himself walking into his own nightmare.

Because everyone was fixated on Cheol Woo’s monstrous display, Dang Baek had committed the ultimate error of ignoring Sima Geon.

As Dang Baek utilized the Dark Smoke Steps—a specialized lightness technique of his poison sect—to glide toward Cheol Woo’s side, Sima Geon simply moved his foot.

Even if Sima Geon stayed idle, Cheol Woo would not have been harmed by Dang Baek. It was more likely that Dang Baek would have been crushed by a counter-blow.

However, Sima Geon needed to verify certain details about their attackers and could not permit him to die just yet.

“Gugh!”

A choked sound escaped Dang Baek as his movement was cut short.

As the captain of the Black Ox Squad, his reflexes were top-tier.

The instant he felt the impact, he spun with lightning speed and lashed out with his sword.

A flash of steel raced toward Sima Geon.

Sima Geon, who had pinned Dang Baek’s ankle to the dirt, watched the desperate strike with a look of amusement and flicked his finger against the blade.

*Cling!*

The collision between the finger and the sword produced a high-pitched ring.

The vibration surged through the weapon, up the arm, and into the shoulder, racking Dang Baek’s entire frame.

Losing all strength, Dang Baek dropped his sword and stared at Sima Geon, his mind blank with shock.

Sima Geon retrieved the fallen sword and drove it straight through Dang Baek’s foot into the ground.

The movement appeared slow, yet Dang Baek found himself unable to move out of the way.

“Gaaaaah!”

A blood-curdling scream erupted from Dang Baek as the pain registered.

Sima Geon, who had been suppressing the noise nearby to ensure his brother’s medical treatment wasn’t interrupted, waited calmly for the screaming to die down before speaking in a low tone.

“Who is your master? What is your objective here?”

“Y-you… who are you people?”

Sima Geon’s brow twitched at the defiance, and he gave the sword in Dang Baek’s foot a slight twist.

Dang Baek’s jaw dropped as a new wave of agony surged through him.

No sound came out this time.

Biting his lip until it bled, Dang Baek stared at Sima Geon with bloodshot eyes.

“Who… are you… guk!”

Sima Geon twisted the blade once more to keep him quiet, then took a step back.

“I am the one asking. You are the one answering. What is your goal? Is it the Clear Heart Clinic? The Living Immortal Medical House? Or perhaps the Celestial Pure Jade Milk?”

As he listed the possibilities, Sima Geon noticed a sharp reaction in Dang Baek’s eyes at the mention of the “Celestial Pure Jade Milk.”

“So, it is the Celestial Pure Jade Milk.”

Dang Baek lowered his head, falling into a grim silence.

“Very few people knew I had acquired it. How did the word spread? Was it the Water Dragon…”

Sima Geon paused and shook his head with a chuckle, remembering the killers from the Heaven Killer Hall who had pursued the Celestial Pure Jade Milk during his journey from Hangzhou to Shaoxing.

“If even common thugs were aware of it, then calling it a secret was a joke from the start.”

“Y-you were the one who took the Celestial Pure Jade Milk? Does that mean… you are Sima Geon?”

Dang Baek snapped his head up, his voice trembling with realization.

“My name is known to you as well. It seems the information has leaked quite extensively. Yes. I am Sima Geon.”

Upon hearing the confirmation, Dang Baek’s face contorted with regret.

‘What a catastrophic oversight!’

He cursed himself for merely confirming that the Heaven Killer Hall had been defeated by the guards of the Living Immortal Medical House without looking into the identity of Sima Geon himself.

‘We ridiculed these monsters, thinking they were just simple butchers.’

The idea that people wealthy enough to purchase the Celestial Pure Jade Milk would run a meat shop should have been suspicious.

Under normal circumstances, he would have investigated, but for some reason, he had overlooked it. He couldn’t understand his own negligence.

“I have provided an answer. Now, give me yours. Which organization do you serve?”

Dang Baek felt a chill run down his spine at Sima Geon’s steady, cold voice.

In his line of work, he knew that those who remained calm were far more dangerous than those who shouted threats.

“Refuse to speak? Very well, it makes no difference…”

Sima Geon’s expression shifted suddenly into a frigid smirk.

He reached out to grab Dang Baek’s jaw, but he was a moment too late.

Dang Baek began to shake violently, blood leaking from his eyes, ears, and nose.

Realizing there was no escape from Sima Geon, he had swallowed a hidden poison pill.

Seeing the man was beyond saving, Sima Geon turned his head quickly.

“Don’t kill everyone! Save at least one ali—”

Sima Geon stopped mid-sentence.

Cheol Woo was walking toward him, having already finished off every single attacker without a single survivor.

“Boss, these guys were a joke. They looked like they had some spine, but they were hollow. They reminded me of the Black Heaven Gang, so I had high hopes… but they couldn’t compare. Why the long face? Did something go wrong?”

Cheol Woo paused as he saw Sima Geon’s dark expression.

“Are they all dead?”

“Of course. I couldn’t have spared them if I tried. They broke too easily.”

Cheol Woo gave a casual shrug and a smirk, then looked down at Dang Baek’s corpse at Sima Geon’s feet.

“This one’s finished too?”

“Yes.”

“Did you get the info?”

Sima Geon shook his head in frustration, leaving Cheol Woo looking genuinely surprised.

“The boss actually got involved and came up empty-handed? That’s almost impressive.”

“He killed himself before I could stop him. I was careless. I didn’t see the poison pill in time.”

Sima Geon sighed, blaming himself. Cheol Woo gestured toward the Clear Heart Clinic with a light laugh.

“Well, your mind was focused on what’s happening in there, so it’s understandable. At least he was the leader. He took the secret to his grave. It’s a pity we can’t find out who sent them. More of these pests will probably keep showing up.”

“There won’t be any more. The Celestial Pure Jade Milk will be gone after tonight. But if anyone else comes…”

Sima Geon looked down coldly at the body of Dang Baek, who had died in a fit of agony.

“They will meet the same end.”

“Heh. Maybe it’s not so bad if more show up. It keeps things from getting too boring around here.”

Cheol Woo chuckled, but Sima Geon shot him a look of pure annoyance.

“Boring? You want more blood just to spice up your life?”

“That’s not exactly what I meant.”

“I despise it when this peace is ruined.”

“I do too, honestly.”

Cheol Woo offered a sheepish grin. Sima Geon huffed.

“Liar.”

“No, I’m serious.”

“Be quiet!”

Sima Geon cut him off.

“Scrub this area clean. We can’t have the neighbors finding a pile of bodies in the morning.”

“You want me to do it?”

Cheol Woo looked startled.

“Did you think we were just going to leave them here?”

“No, but… how am I supposed to clean all of this up by myself?”

Cheol Woo rubbed the back of his neck, looking at the carnage. More than half the bodies were torn to pieces, and the rest were horribly mutilated. The ground was saturated, and the bamboo trees were painted a deep red.

“Who told you to be so messy? You could have finished them cleanly and saved yourself the trouble.”

“You’re the one who always tells me to use full strength, even when hunting a rabbit.”

Cheol Woo muttered under his breath, feeling wronged.

“I said use your full strength, not turn them into mincemeat. Stop complaining and get to work.”

Sima Geon turned his back and walked away.

Watching him leave, Cheol Woo let out a long, weary sigh.

“Haaa… When will I ever…”

Despite his grumbling, his heavy boots were already moving as he began the grim task of clearing the grove.