There was no time limit for this choice, but Seol-Hwi was in a dangerous situation.
Take Ma Taryong, or leave him?
If he doesn’t decide quickly, it’ll be even more difficult to escape from here.
“Captain! Hurry!”
Seol-Hwi closed his eyes tightly at the urgent call. If Ma Taryong was taken, he would receive the Earth Demon’s absolute trust.
But in the current circumstances, where escaping alive would be hard enough, could they bring this man - who was already half dead - with them? And what if he was attacked again while they were retreating…
“Captain!”
Damn it!
Seol-Hwi grit his teeth together.
Didn’t they make it all the way here? The protection circle had been lifted. It’d be unfair to leave the man dying like this.
<You have selected ‘Take him with you’.>
Seol-Hwi cut the chains that held Ma Taryong, and caught him before he could fall on the ground.
With Yorim and Imugi anxiously watching him, Seol-Hwi shouted,
“Let’s go!”
Seol-Hwi, who emerged from the hidden passage carrying Ma Taryong, witnessed a chaotic scene.
Three or four warriors were rushing towards them, while Jeok Song, Yong Jin, and Seo Ryong blocked their advances.
“Head to the roof!”
Yorim pointed upwards, and then clasped his hands together in front of him. He would get them up there faster.
Imugi went first, propelled by Yorim’s strength. Seol-Hwi was next. He made sure Ma Taryong was firmly positioned on his shoulder, and then he was launched skywards.
“Ugh…”
Imugi, who got there before him, sighed. And once Seol-Hwi saw what was happening, he understood why.
Dozens of people from Mount Hua surrounded the building. And it didn’t end there. Disciples of Mount Hua were all lined up on the hillsides.
It was a perfect siege.
“I wonder if we can still get away.”
When the escape route they had previously thought of using was blocked, Imugi lost hope.
But suddenly, a voice came, from an unexpected source.
“…There is…a place…”
“What?!”
It was Ma Taryong, who they had just rescued from the brink of death.
“Around the protection circle… there’s a secret path.”
“…!”
The man lifted up his head. His eyes, which were previously losing focus, were now clear.
“Are you sure?”
“…Yes.”
“Let’s head down there then.”
Seol-Hwi went back the way he came. Anyway, there was no way they could escape with Mount Hua’s disciples blocking them.
When he returned, his subordinates, who were still fighting off the enemies, became puzzled.
“I’m going to open a path from within. If you see an opportunity to escape, follow me.”
“Yes!”
Seol-Hwi gave those orders to his men, and then entered the hidden passageway. He asked Ma Taryong what to do next.
“The wall. If you press somewhere, a secret path to the outside will appear.”
“Really?”
“If you carefully listen, you can hear the sound of gears turning…”
“I’ll do it.”
At his words, Imugi quickly moved towards the wall. Since he was someone who knew how such things worked, he touched various places with his hands.
“I found it!”
Clicking noises and vibrating metal resonated in the passageway.
Click, click, click, click!
Just like that, the secret path to the outside emerged.
Yorim, who left the fighting behind to follow them, was shocked. There really was such a path.
“Bring everyone here. This won’t be open for long.”
“Yes, Captain!”
Yorim replied affirmatively, and ran back to tell the others. Meanwhile, Imugi had already gotten himself into the tunnel.
Seol-Hwi checked again that he was supporting Ma Taryong on his shoulder, and then went in after Imugi.
It definitely makes sense now. Seol-Hwi thought, as he carefully examined their surroundings.
The inside of the tunnel was constructed for a person to easily move around, with shining lights illuminating the darkness. This was a place for the people of Mount Hua alone.
If an intruder came in and broke their protection circle, signal flares would explode all around the village, making it possible to capture them.
Additionally, interrogations were conducted in these secret passages. Therefore, the outsiders who didn’t know any of this, would be caught by members of Mount Hua.
“Did the Earth Demon send you?”
On the way to their destination, Ma Taryong asked Seol-Hwi. He seemed able to speak better than before.
“Yes. And you are… Ma Taryong?”
After hesitating for a moment, the man answered,
“I am ashamed to admit so.”
“Well, anyway, the Earth Demon wanted us to find you.”
The road was getting narrower. Perhaps that was a sign that they were nearing the exit.
“Which unit are you from?”
“I’m the Hidden Truth Corps command unit captain.”
“Hidden Truth… a tracking team?”
“Yes.”
“Then it would be better for you to leave me…”
“Why?”
“It’s impossible. You can’t break through their defenses at your level.”
Just then, the exit became visible to them. But after passing through it, they didn’t find themselves outside, but rather in another building.
To be specific, it was a room in an unknown building. Seol-Hwi heard someone groan.
And in front of them were two old men.
“What did I tell you? Didn’t I say they’ll come here?”
An old man sitting in a chair, and another leaning against the wall.
They seemed rather relaxed.
“There’s nothing wrong with the machine, right?”
“It’s the best out there. There’s no problem with it.”
“Then did the secret leak?”
“No.”
The old man in a chair placed his teacup on the table.
“This is good. Before the other Elders catch up, we can get what we want.”
They were still conversing with each other in a laid back manner.
Seol-Hwi didn’t know their skills or abilities, but just from observing the way they acted, these two weren’t ordinary.
“Now we begin, friend.”
Ma Taryong smiled. But it was more like a sneer, as if saying ‘I was right’.
At that moment, the ground below them shook, signaling the start of a confrontation.
“Captain, everyone’s…”
Yong Jin couldn’t finish the rest of his sentence. He saw with his own eyes that there were two Elders of Mount Hua.
Seol-Hwi’s other subordinates came out, one after another. When they understood what was happening, they became silent.
Jeok Song identified their location.
“This is the southwest side building. We can still escape if we go straight out this way.”
“Good. Let’s do that then.”
Seol-Hwi nodded and said,
“You all leave first with Ma Taryong. Let’s meet up at our agreed-upon site.”
“Captain? What are you…”
“Hurry! If you delay, this place will also be surrounded!”
It was a race against time now.
Fortunately, most of Mount Hua’s people were on the opposite side. So if they managed to escape here quickly, they can avoid being pursued.
The people in this village can search, but it’s impossible to find anyone in such a terrain.
“They’re certainly amusing, aren’t they. Even when they can see me here, they continue to make plans for escaping.”
“Well, they seem confident at least. Who are you taking on?”
“The three in front of me. Including the one who seems to be the captain.”
“Hmph. Then that leaves me with the ones in the back.”
While the old men were occupied, Seol-Hwi thought,
There’s one last combat method.
The only way to defeat these two Mount Hua bastards, and so that the situation can be overcome.
“Go!”
Seol-Hwi ordered them to move, and his subordinates did so. Meanwhile, the two Mount Hua Elders also leapt into action.
Help me once again!
<Combat method, AI>
His vision changed after he selected AI, and Seol-Hwi ended up staring down at his own body.
Was I too late?
Seol-Hwi made some mistakes.
As soon as his subordinates moved, the old men reacted, and it seemed like he wasn’t fast enough in changing his combat method.
But luckily that wasn’t the case.
“Haah!”
It’s the Thrift Wind Sword!
The AI slashed his sword, and the two old men were thrown to the floor.
More than anything, Seol-Hwi was glad that his subordinates escaped without taking damage.
The AI continued to aim its attacks toward the two fallen Mount Hua Elders. It used the Wind God Sword, causing the old men to soar high into the air, before being tossed away haphazardly.
“You fucking incompetent bastard! Always ending up like this!”
The AI glared at Seol-Hwi.
“You just lost five subordinates because of your poor judgement.”
-What are you saying? I lost my men?
“In order for the escape plan you made to succeed, your subordinates should have each had at least 6 million combat power!”
-How do you know that? No, I’m sure they can do it with their current abilities.
That was the wrong thing for Seol-Hwi to say.
“This is why you always hear me lecture you! Idiot! In your current situation where you’re surrounded by enemies from Mount Hua, it can’t be solved unless you and your subordinates are all fully developing your skills!”
-…
Seol-Hwi couldn’t say anything else.
Because the AI was the one who knew the future.
“And these two old men, they should have been removed earlier.”
-Removed?
“Yes. You took down that Gu Yeom guy, which is a good thing. Otherwise, he would be here too.”
“Ahem…”
“Ugh…”
The old men were slowly coming back to their senses. And they both appeared to be exceptionally angry.
-So it was like that?
It was then Seol-Hwi realized that there were people he had to take down before rescuing Ma Taryong. Gu Yeom and these two old men.
Only after getting rid of them should he embark on the mission to retrieve Ma Taryong.
“Listen. If you die here, you have two lives left. But because of your poor decision making, you’ll lose another one. You’re wandering around like this, on the lowest difficulty level from the three choices that the Earth Demon gave you.”
-…
“When the hell are you going to wake up?! What do you think about the lives around you? Aren’t they going to die because of a fucking coward like you!”
Seol-Hwi still couldn’t say anything.
It wasn’t like he didn’t put in effort, but listening to the AI’s words made him think that what he did was all in vain. Whatever the mission was, he was driving his subordinates to their death?
“Now choose again. Even after you kill these two, you won’t find any of your subordinates alive at the meeting spot. The only one left is Ma Taryong, who your subordinates died to protect. Can you still go on after that?”
The AI looked at Seol-Hwi and continued,
“The sword you’re holding right now, and the shoes you’re wearing. Do you want to put them in the toolbox and try again?”
-I… I…
…Can’t say anything.
Speaking felt too difficult for Seol-Hwi. At this point, he couldn’t even decide what was true and what wasn’t.
“Captain!”
“…?”
Seol-Hwi looked up and saw Seo Ryeong standing on the rafters. But he wasn’t the only one shocked.
“What?! Seo Ryeong?!”
The AI was surprised too. His expression was bewildered, like he couldn’t believe this.
“You shouldn’t have come here…!”
…
“Kuak-!”
…
Too quickly to stop it, both the AI and Seol-Hwi witnessed the moment when Seo Ryeong was crushed to death by another old man who had suddenly appeared. Like a spark that was extinguished before it could become a flame, the woman’s life ended at his hands.
“Kukuku. Foolish little girl.”
The third Mount Hua Elder smiled. And Seol-Hwi was enraged.
Yet someone else was more furious than him.
“Fucking son of a bitch…!”
There was an anger on the AI’s face which Seol-Hwi had never seen before. At the same time, unknown text boxes appeared.
<AI Seol-Hwi has attained enlightenment. Understanding of martial arts increases.> <AI Seol-Hwi has attained enlightenment. Understanding of martial arts increases.> <AI Seol-Hwi has attained enlightenment. Understanding of martial arts increases.>
This wasn’t the AI Seol-Hwi had gotten used to.
<AI Seol-Hwi has risen to the top.> <AI Seol-Hwi has attained enlightenment. Understanding of martial arts increases.> <AI Seol-Hwi has attained enlightenment. Understanding of martial arts increases.>
It was something else more terrifying.
