episode_0119

119. Cowardly.

Pat-pat-

Countless pieces of wood fall from the sky. John slowly straightened his bent posture and looked back.

At first glance, he looked like a child wanting praise, or the face of a farmer exhausted from fatigue.

John was the latter.

“Huff, huff. How is it?”

“Now you’re a bit more presentable. See, shouldn’t you have done well from the start?”

“Do you think I wanted to be like this?”

“Well, it’s because your talent is meager.”

Sama Han said so, and flicked his fingers. It was a gesture to come closer.

‘What is he going to make me do this time?’

John approached him with a hint of anxiety. In the next moment, Sama Han’s left arm became blurred.

‘Right shoulder.’

“Where do you think you’re going!”

John quickly unfolded his fan and brought it to his shoulder. A sound like steel clashing against each other echoed nearby.

John’s complexion turned pale. In contrast, Sama Han smiled happily.

“Yes, that’s it. You learned well.”

“You, crazy, old man!”

John gritted his teeth and swung his fan. Before he knew it, the fan was closed in a straight line.

John’s martial arts were meager, but even so, the fan was a divine object of the world. It was not an attack that could be blocked by hand.

Sama Han drew his sword and swung it horizontally. Another collision. John was pushed back. But he was pushed back less than before.

He gained enlightenment even if it was a little, thanks to the power of the divine object.

“Hoo-oo······.”

John took a long sigh and regained his stance. In contrast, Sama Han opened his mouth with his hands behind his back.

“Excellent. Excellent. Let’s stop here today. I thought you would be caught in the last surprise attack, but your progress is quite fast.”

He had a satisfied expression. John’s insides were boiling. He’s really playing with people. Vicious old man.

At that time, a dark figure was seen in the distance. He used his movement technique to quickly get closer to the two. It was an unfamiliar face. He must be one of the castle warriors of the Black King Castle.

He should have been out of breath, but he was not panting at all. The old man asked first.

“What’s going on?”

“I came by the order of the lord. He says there is a mission to ask of you two.”

“Mission?”

“Yes. You can find out if you meet Commander Sara.”

“Ah, I know who she is. That dark guy boasted so much.”

Sama Han scratched his chin.

“He was so happy to have found the next generation of the Black Wolf, yes. I was wondering what kind of woman she was anyway. Guide us.”

“Yes.”

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you following us?”

Sama Han turned around and scolded John. He had an attitude that he was not even curious about John’s opinion. It was like an old man.

“······Yes.”

Thus, the three moved to the annex of the sword unit to which Sara belonged.

***

“Have you come? I’ve been waiting.”

In front of the annex stood the man with the scholarly impression. This time it was a familiar face.

“Then, I’ll go back.”

The man who had guided the two gave a short bow and left.

As he disappeared, the man led the two into the annex.

Knock- knock-

The man opened his mouth in a calm tone.

“Commander. I’ve brought two people.”

“Come in.”

“Yes.”

Creak-

When he opened the door and went inside, he saw a familiar face. She was standing in front of a square table.

Before she could say anything, Sama Han said, shining his eyes.

“Oh, I heard you’re an otherworlder. Your spirit is well-organized. You’re on a different level from this necromancer. Your body looks much more flexible too.”

John replied indifferently.

“Even if you say that, the fan is mine. Do you know ‘no returns’?”

“······Damn it.”

Sara watched the two young men’s farce and said quietly.

“You must be Senior Ho Sun (Fox Immortal).”

“Oh? Do you know me?”

“The lord told me.”

Sama Han raised the corner of his mouth crookedly and looked to the side.

“That’s how great I am.”

“Ah, yes.”

John ignored him and asked Sara.

“So, what’s going on?”

Sara cleared her throat slightly and then answered.

“Have you heard that Black Dao warriors have been indiscriminately attacked recently?”

“Yes. I know.”

‘There were many attacks on the way to Black King Castle.’

As the person who experienced it directly, he was feeling it more vividly than anyone else.

“The lord said that he can’t stand it anymore. Just holding back is not always the best thing.”

“Then what?”

“Counterattack. The lord wants a counterattack.”

Immediately after, the scholar-like man who had been listening quietly rummaged through his bosom.

Rustle, he spread a yellow scroll wide. There was a map of the Central Plains drawn on it.

Strangely, it looked very different from modern maps. It was not just the terrain and names of the regions that were written, but also sects and families were marked.

“From now on, I will explain. First, this is our current location.”

Xinjiang. It was the region where the Black King Castle currently exists. Below it, the Kunlun Sect of Qinghai existed.

“And here. Coincidentally, the Black King Castle and Kunlun are located within spitting distance. This is because our Black King Castle is located at the end of Xinjiang.”

Sama Han asked from the side.

“So, are you saying we should strike Kunlun now? It won’t be easy?”

Sama Han pointed to Qinghai with his finger.

“In fact, erasing the Kunlun Sect from the Central Plains is not difficult. But the important thing is what comes next.”

Sama Han moved his finger again. His long finger was pointing to the ‘Sichuan’ region.

“Even if Sichuan’s mountains are steep, it’s not enough to stop the movement technique of an expert. Even if we somehow erase Kunlun, we will eventually be defeated by reinforcements.”

“That is correct.”

The man raised his glasses with his index finger. He opened his mouth with a expressionless face.

“So, we decided to change our minds. Instead of attacking Kunlun in Qinghai first, we will conquer Sichuan first.”

The man continued to speak.

“Of course, if we attack Sichuan, the White Dao groups who notice will come to Sichuan. So, we will immediately rush to Qinghai.”

“Oh? I understand now. The Black King Castle above, and us below. Are you going to carry out a pincer operation?”

“Yes. If we can attack from both sides, it will be much easier than conquering Sichuan.”

“Indeed, it’s quite an effective strategy. But······.”

Sama Han’s eyes changed sharply.

“It’s not easy to just say that. There’s no guarantee that we won’t be caught on the way to Sichuan. If we fail, we might just die in vain.”

Scratch, his finger pointing to Sichuan dug into the table, making a rough sound. He growled in a quiet but cold voice.

“There’s no way that dark guy would have come up with such a ridiculous strategy. Hurry up and get to the point.”

“······!”

The man’s chin trembled. His body was moving on its own due to the intangible force that Sama Han was emitting.

Just as he was about to say something, John intervened from the side.

“Old man. Why are you suddenly acting so serious? I have a way, so don’t worry.”

“······You?”

Sama Han narrowed his eyes and looked at John up and down. Then he said as if he realized something.

“Ah, you were a cowardly necromancer? Yes. What method do you have?”

“Among my necromancy, there is a necromancy that digs the ground. I’m going to dig the ground and move to Sichuan. I think that’s what you were talking about, right?”

John looked at the man who had barely escaped the trembling. He answered with difficulty.

“······Yes. It’s a suggestion from Commander Sara. She said that it is possible with the help of the lord.”

John answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“Yes. It’s not a difficult task. By the way, what is the date of the operation?”

This time, Sara opened her mouth.

“Now, right now. There’s no good in being late. Have you had a meal?”

John answered reluctantly.

“I ate, but······. It’s a bit sudden. Is there a reason to do it quickly?”

The scholar man said. His answer was somehow out of the blue.

“The operation was planned this morning. Now that there may be spies hiding in the Murim Alliance, we don’t know when the information will leak out.”

“Ah, are you saying we should move before the spy steals the information?”

“Yes.”

“That makes sense.”

John nodded, then rolled his eyes and scanned the map once. His absolute memory perfectly stored the yellowish picture.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

The four came out of the room. As the group headed to the training ground, members of the sword unit were lined up there.

Among them, there were some faces that John was familiar with.

One-Armed, Master, Jang Qing. A total of three.

Sama Han pointed to one place with his finger from the side.

“That’s Sichuan over there. Now, show me that necromancy.”

“Yes.”

John bent his fingers a few times, then put both hands on the ground.

At that moment, Sama Han felt a huge amount of inner energy fluttering around the necromancer. The corners of his mouth were torn by the emotion of interest.

‘This guy. Just how many cycles of inner energy does he have?’

Although he didn’t know for sure, he was definitely the one with the most inner energy among the warriors he had experienced so far.

Thud thud thud thud thud thud-!

Based on the necromancer’s palms, a huge hole was created. A size that at least a dozen people could enter horizontally.

Sama Han’s mouth opened without him realizing it. He never imagined it would be this much.