The Shadow of Ambush

“Gahk?!”

“I have something to confirm.”

His member was caught. It was a foul thing to do, yet strangely, Baek Geon-ha didn’t feel the repulsion he expected. He squeezed it as if he intended to crush it then and there.

“A-ah! That hurts!”

“I’ve been wondering for a while. You, despite practicing a demonic art, have energy that is strangely clear. Almost like the internal energy of the righteous sects.”

“Aagh……. Let go, please…….”

“It’s bizarre enough for a brat like you to master ice arts. It made me think: perhaps the ‘Ice Lump’ isn’t a man at all.”

“I-I am a man! So your hand…… aaaaagh!”

As he applied steady pressure, the fellow screamed for his life. It was a reaction that made the effort of dirtying his hand feel worthwhile.

Just as he said, the evidence of his manhood was clear. Since the boy was thin, he thought his member would be too, but it was surprisingly substantial. Its size and girth were respectable, and it was straight without any curvature.

However, that wasn’t what Baek Geon-ha was curious about.

“A man you may be, but could you be a man without seeds?”

The hand gripping the shaft slid down to the root, finally touching the two spheres. Seol Ah-heon’s entire body trembled. Pressing down on his thigh with his other hand, Baek Geon-ha drawled:

“Not castrated, then. And here I thought you’d made yourself a eunuch on purpose.”

“No, I haven’t. P-please let go now…….”

Seol Ah-heon pleaded, sounding as if he were on the verge of tears. This is why you shouldn’t get cocky; act above your station and this is the price you pay.

In truth, this wasn’t just to humiliate him. Baek Geon-ha had genuinely suspected for a moment that the fellow might be a eunuch. In this world, there were certain martial arts that required one to be castrated to learn—the Sunflower Manual, for example. Even within the Sun-Moon Cult, there were warriors who castrated themselves to reach higher peaks of achievement.

But he sensed no sign of such arts in Seol Ah-heon. After thoroughly kneading the two spheres, Baek Geon-ha finally pulled his hand away.

“Such Yin energy in a male body. You might not be a martial genius, but you were born with a peculiar constitution. No wonder that Ice Blood Demon Queen took you as a disciple.”

His regret only deepened. If Seol Ah-heon had been a woman, he would have drained every drop of that Yin energy……. On the other hand, a thought occurred to him: with Yin energy this pure, perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad to embrace even a man.

“Hic, I think they’re ruptured……. What am I going to do…….”

The fellow muttered as if he’d lost his mind, fumbling to check his groin. Seeing that pathetic display, Baek Geon-ha’s interest vanished instantly. He’d rather manufacture a new Soul-Freezing Pill than embrace Seol Ah-heon.

“The joke ends here.”

Baek Geon-ha surged his internal energy. Golden Sword Qi, infused with Extreme Yang properties, swirled around his hand like liquid fire.

“Hiieek! Spare me! I won’t say anything stupid ever again! So please……!”

“Shut up and move.”

Seol Ah-heon ducked his head instantly. For a guy who seemed to lack wit, he certainly knew how to move when his life was on the line.

Baek Geon-ha struck the iron door with the edge of his palm. Like a lightning bolt, the golden energy flashed, and the iron door split apart. Through the gap, the open tunnel was revealed once more.

“Huh? Oh……?”

Seol Ah-heon let out a dazed sound. Ignoring him, Baek Geon-ha strode forward, and the fellow scrambled to follow.

“Young Leader, wait for me— agh!”

He slammed his head against the now-lowered ceiling and groaned—a truly pathetic sight. Clicking his tongue, Baek Geon-ha continued forward, slightly stooping his back to clear the ceiling.

***************************************

Seol Ah-heon kicked at the pebbles on the ground, grumbling internally about what had just happened.

‘”Not ordinary steel,” he said. “Difficult even with all my energy,” he said!’

Thousand-Year Cold Iron, my foot. The way Baek Geon-ha sliced through it made it look like tofu. Even Mu Il-young had cut his way out easily.

‘Did Mu Il-young hear me? He must have…….’

There was an iron wall between them, but it wouldn’t have been soundproof. Furthermore, martial arts masters had incredibly keen senses. With his hearing, he surely heard the entire conversation.

Seol Ah-heon clutched his hair. What would Mu Il-young think of him? A loyal servant willing to sacrifice even his chastity for the Young Leader?

‘……He probably just thinks I’m a pervert.’

It was sorrowful enough to have his sensitive parts handled, but to be branded a pervert on top of that was the height of injustice. The sin of suggesting the Yin-Harvesting Yang-Nourishing Art first was heavy indeed.

A wave of self-loathing washed over him. He was certain both Mu Il-young and Baek Geon-ha now viewed him as a deviant. His image was utterly ruined. He wasn’t just a thief anymore; he was a “pervert thief.”

“Sigh……. I have to look on the bright side.”

Right. Loyal servant or pervert thief, what did it matter? He had made it out of the chamber alive, just as he’d hoped.

‘I lived.’

Seol Ah-heon spread his arms wide and savored the air. Fresh air filled his lungs. The desolate landscape now looked beautiful, and even the dark, cloudy night sky felt dreamlike.

He had achieved his primary goals: he was alive, and Baek Geon-ha had obtained the Mad-Blood Demonic Sword.

Yes. At the end of the secret chamber, Baek Geon-ha had found exactly what he was looking for.

The Mad-Blood Demonic Sword.

The blade, said to have claimed hundreds, thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of lives, had been thrust into the ground. Once it was in his possession, they exited the chamber. Just like when they entered, traps were triggered, but not a single projectile could graze the hem of Baek Geon-ha’s robes.

By following closely behind him like a clever little parasite, Seol Ah-heon had also remained unscathed. Looking at this, he understood why Baek Geon-ha called him a “mouse.”

‘So what? When a newbie starts a game, they’re supposed to follow the max-level veteran.’

That was the only way to clear dungeons easily and receive items. This exploration had been exactly like that. Even though there was a certain incident he’d rather not recall, things had gone better than expected.

‘Wait, is it really a good thing……?’

The person who most definitely shouldn’t have the Mad-Blood Demonic Sword now had it. There was nothing he could have done to stop it, but he couldn’t help but worry.

Seol Ah-heon watched the source of his concern. In the distance, Baek Geon-ha was discussing something with Mu Il-young while holding the sword.

“How is it?”

“It’s surprisingly ordinary. I sense nothing but demonic energy, and even that is extremely faint compared to its reputation.”

Baek Geon-ha unsheathed the blade. Just then, moonlight peeked through the clouds, allowing Seol Ah-heon to see the weapon’s appearance. But something was strange.

‘The sword…… looks so worn out?’

The edge was chipped in places, and the hilt was tattered. Even from a distance, it looked to be in terrible condition. He wondered if it could even be used as a kitchen knife.

“Indeed, it hasn’t been tamed yet.”

“Shall you begin now?”

“We’ll see.”

As Baek Geon-ha lightly flicked his wrist, the moonlight shimmered gracefully along the blade.

‘Maybe it is something great after all…….’

Was it because a demonic sword is still a demonic sword, even if it’s old and battered? He felt an extraordinary energy emanating from it, though it might have just been his own bias.

Baek Geon-ha muttered casually:

“It seems I can’t do it right away. We have guests.”

‘Guests?’

Seol Ah-heon instantly went on high alert. He couldn’t sense anything out of the ordinary.

Ssssh…….

Under the cloudy night sky, only the withered trees stretched their branches. The bizarre rock formations remained unchanged. Only the sound of the night wind echoed.

But if Baek Geon-ha said there were “guests,” then someone had surely arrived. After a few moments of bated breath—

An assassin lunged from the darkness.

“Ugh……!”

Fortunately, Seol Ah-heon’s “instincts” reacted.

Reflexively drawing his sword, he parried the opponent’s strike. He was amazed at himself for being able to respond like this in the pitch-black night. It was swordsmanship relying on a sixth sense rather than the usual five. Fearing that fully snapping to his senses would break the flow, he deliberately maintained a dazed state.

However, he couldn’t stop the thoughts from rising…….

‘Who is the opponent?’

He didn’t know. Not because he couldn’t think of anyone, but because there were too many possibilities.

The First Young Lord, who had recently challenged Baek Geon-ha to a duel and suffered a crushing defeat.

The Second Young Lord, who had lost his influence after failing to unseal the (fake) Mad-Blood Demonic Sword.

The Third Young Lord, from the most powerful of the six great demonic families.

The Fourth Young Lord, the Heavenly Demon’s biological son, whom he doted upon.

‘……At this rate, even Baek Geon-ha won’t know whose doing this is.’

Why did the Heavenly Demon have five Young Leaders? Since only one could take the throne, wasn’t this just an invitation for the five of them to tear each other apart?

……But that was exactly the point.

The law of the Demonic Cult was Survival of the Fittest. Each Young Leader engaged in a constant struggle for power, testing their superiority. They used martial arts, strategy, and every means at their disposal to become the best.

Only the one who emerged victorious from that fierce competition could become the Cult Leader.