Immediately after breaking through the bandits’ encirclement.
Mu-jin, who had leaped onto the carriage, turned to look at Baek Ga-hwan, who was driving it.
The superficial reasons for Baek Ga-hwan and Ju Kyung-il, a young man in the neighboring carriage, to act as bait in the stratagem were twofold.
One was that having Mu-jin’s group, who were highly skilled in martial arts, drive the carriage was a waste of resources.
The other was to make the bait appear more enticing.
‘That was what they said, but…’
However, the biggest reason for Baek Ga-hwan volunteering to be the bait was probably the guilt of having come up with such a dangerous plan.
And Baek Ga-hwan, both when discussing the plan and now, drove the carriage with a look of resigned determination.
They had drawn in all the bandits surrounding Gilanhyeon, creating the time and opportunity for the women and children to escape.
Moreover, they themselves had managed to break through the encirclement successfully.
‘From now on, it’s the real deal.’
Mu-jin turned his head back to see a large number of bandits chasing after the carriage.
It was a chaotic sight. Not because of the typical mismatched attire of the bandits.
The bandits, numbering in the hundreds, perhaps even over a thousand, were closing in or falling behind depending on their individual lightness skill levels as they pursued Mu-jin’s group.
When the carriage initially broke through the encirclement, the sheer number of bandits had caused them to block each other, creating an immediate distance.
But once things settled, it looked as if a massive lightness skill competition was underway.
Among them, Mu-jin’s attention was drawn to a few bandits who were closing the distance with the carriage at an incredible speed.
Although lightness skill does not necessarily correlate with martial prowess, there is some relationship, so those individuals were likely among the highest-skilled bandits who had formed the encirclement.
“What should we do? They’re about to catch up,” asked Mu-gyeong, who was sitting beside Mu-jin.
Mu-jin responded nonchalantly, “For now, we stay on the carriage. If those with high-level lightness skills can’t catch us, the encirclement will loosen. And while we’re comfortably riding the carriage, those guys are using their full strength in lightness skills, so even if they catch us, fighting them will be easier.”
As they spoke, a few of the bandits with the best lightness skills closed the distance further.
Believing they had closed in sufficiently, the bandits each threw weapons or stones they had picked up while running.
As expected, the weapons and stones they threw flew with deadly force and struck the back of the carriage.
The violent impact created holes in the back of the carriage, and the weapons even penetrated through to where Mu-jin’s group was located.
Having been watching the rear, Mu-jin’s group easily deflected the thrown weapons and stones.
“See? It’s easier for us to defend leisurely on the carriage than for them to throw things while running at full speed,” Mu-jin explained calmly.
Perhaps realizing the wastefulness of throwing things, the bandits focused more on increasing their speed by concentrating their internal energy on their lightness skills.
Soon, the bandits with the best lightness skills completely caught up with the carriage.
Without hesitation, they leaped at those on the carriage.
Among them, the most noticeable was a fierce-faced man attacking with his bare hands.
With a face full of scars and a build even larger than Mu-gung’s, he had started from far behind but was now leading the chase.
Blocking the man’s punch, Mu-jin quickly shouted, “I’ll take this one!”
Judging by his martial skills and aura, this man was likely the leader.
While Mu-jin exchanged blows with the bandit leader, his companions began fighting their respective bandit opponents.
But the bandits did not only target Mu-jin’s martial-skilled group.
Some aimed for Baek Ga-hwan and Ju Kyung-il, who were driving the carriage, and others stealthily targeted the horses pulling the carriage.
Fortunately, with Mu-jin handling the leader, they were able to fend off most of these attacks.
With the simultaneous sounds of impact and air being pierced, one of the horses let out a scream.
Immediately after, an arrow pierced through the side of the horse.
The horse, screaming in pain, collapsed, dragging down the other horse and causing the carriage to overturn.
As the carriage toppled, Mu-gung quickly leaped out, grabbing Cheongsu Dojang, who was beside Ju Kyung-il.
Though Mu-gung and Cheongsu Dojang narrowly escaped the carriage, bandits immediately rushed at them on the ground.
“We have to stop the carriage!” Mu-jin shouted, pushing the bandit leader back with a burst of strength and jumping off the carriage.
After dismounting, Mu-jin quickly assessed the situation: there were about fifteen bandits who had successfully chased the carriage this far.
However, numerous bandits were still approaching from the distance.
At that moment, the bandit leader spoke with a murderous glint in his eyes, “Hehe, I wondered which bold ones had dared to provoke Chongpyo Paja, but it turns out you’re just kids.”
“Kids are naturally fearless, don’t you think?” Mu-jin replied, undaunted by the fierce-faced opponent.
“Hehe, seems fearless brat has lost his mind.”
“No need to fear mere bandits.”
Without flinching, Mu-jin asked, “You seem to be the leader. What’s your name?”
“What’s the use of knowing the name of someone you’re about to kill?”
“Well, it’s only polite to tell King Yeomra who his guide was.”
“Hahaha, you’re insane. Fine. My name is Cheok…”
As Cheok Gwang tried to boastfully reveal his name, Mu-jin seized the moment when his breathing was disrupted to attack.
However, even with his breathing interrupted, Cheok Gwang managed to block Mu-jin’s strike with his arm.
“It’s not like you have any right to talk, considering you came with hundreds of men!”
They exchanged provocative and psychological taunts as they fiercely clashed with one another.
Perhaps due to their overwhelming presence or their trust in their leader, the bandits did not intervene in their fight.
Instead, the bandits charged towards the rest of the group.
Mu-jin and his companions, positioning the civilians Baek Ga-hwan and Ju Kyung-il in the center, formed a defensive circle and faced the dozen or so bandits.
Having honed their skills through numerous battles, they dealt with the charging bandits with ease.
However, when three bandits fell dead at their hands, the bandits’ demeanor changed.
They started to circle warily, focusing on containment rather than direct combat.
“They’re stalling for time! Reinforcements are coming!” Baek Ga-hwan shouted urgently as he quickly understood their ploy.
“I’m fine, so focus on breaking through the encirclement instead of protecting me. Everyone!”
At Baek Ga-hwan’s shout, just as Mu-jin’s group prepared to attack the surrounding bandits,
The strange arrow that had killed the horse flew towards Baek Ga-hwan.
Responding at a similar speed to the sound, it was Cheongsu Dojang who intercepted the arrow with his Songmun Antique Sword.
However, blocking one arrow didn’t mean he could abandon Baek Ga-hwan and Ju Kyung-il to rush at the bandits, and protecting them both would only lead to being surrounded again.
“I’ll protect the two with my life! The three of you break through!”
At Cheongsu Dojang’s shout, the Muja Trio and Ling-ling hesitated briefly but then charged at the bandits.
In that moment, another arrow shot through the gaps between the bandits.
Once again, Cheongsu Dojang narrowly deflected the arrow, his eyes meeting those of the rat-faced bandit aiming from afar.
Grinning maliciously, the rat-faced bandit shouted with internal energy.
“Target him! The two behind are untrained, use them as hostages!”
Perhaps due to this vile command, as Mu-gung, Mu-yul, and Mu-gyeong fought off bandits, several slipped past to charge at Cheongsu Dojang, aiming for Baek Ga-hwan and Ju Kyung-il behind him.
Cheongsu Dojang, using the Taegeuk Haegum, began to defend the two against the bandits’ attacks and the arrows from the rat-faced bandit.
At this crucial moment, rather than aiming to kill, it was vital to protect.
Unending circles formed, deflecting all attacks from the encroaching bandits.
Even the arrows that flew amidst the chaos were deflected seamlessly.
Engrossed in the essence of Taegeuk Haegum, a thought emerged in Cheongsu Dojang’s mind.
“Can I truly protect them by merely blocking?”
As this realization dawned, a subtle change occurred in his swordplay.
The once soft and silent movements now produced a metallic ring.
However, it wasn’t from Cheongsu Dojang’s sword but from deflecting a bandit’s blade into another’s axe.
Guiding multiple attacks to clash with one another, this technique was refined during his training to overcome traps in Shintu.
But it still felt insufficient.
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In that instant, another arrow flew through the gaps.
Utilizing the profound essence of Taegeuk Haegum, Cheongsu Dojang redirected the arrow towards a charging bandit.
An exquisite technique likened to grafting a flower onto a tree without damaging it, the arrow, like a flower, embedded itself into the bandit.
A scream erupted as the bandit’s shoulder blossomed red.
But, dissatisfied with the scream’s tone,
Cheongsu Dojang’s sudden strike pierced the bandit’s throat.
This was a killing technique he had used when ensnared by Qi Deviation.
Continuing, he used Taegeuk Haegum to guide the bandits’ attacks against each other, striking the exposed openings with lethal precision.
The endlessly circling Wudang swordsmanship, deflecting attacks effortlessly, combined with the straightforward and rapid killing strikes.
Despite appearing incompatible like oil and water, Cheongsu Dojang, with a smile on his face, was forcibly merging the two in a state of Muah Ji-kyung.
It was the moment when the Sword Demon began crafting his unique Taegeuk Haegum.