Moon-Shadow Sword Emperor

Episode 199

“I think this is enough to explain why I voluntarily set out to chase down the evil beasts.”

“…….”

Hwang Bo-kyung, who was listening to the story with a frown, reluctantly nodded.

Even if I wanted to protest, I couldn’t.

What justification can there be for opposing the subjugation of the demonic cultists?

“For now, let’s divide the number of people.”

“Wouldn’t it be dangerous?”

“The enemy is a small minority. There are many wounded due to the battle with the warriors of the Harel tribe. “It is said that the inaction of the man who is presumed to be the leader is not normal, but this side will not be inferior in terms of power.”

“I agree with the Sacheon branch manager’s opinion. “I think it would be better to spread the personnel out and expand the scope of the search rather than crowding around.”

Namgung Seonghun, the sword dragon, suddenly intervened and said.

Then, the other party members expressed their approval one by one.

I divided the group into four groups.

I, Poison King Gamwon, and Geomhu decided to take on the role of leader of each group.

Each group included one member of the Tang family who was good at tracking.

Additionally, all those who were likely to cause trouble were placed under Dang Sang-jin’s command.

Even Hwang Bo-kyung, with her strong personality, would not have been able to show her courage against Dang Sang-jin.

“Please move with Senior Geomhoo.”

“I understand.”

Mu Jin-cheon and the warriors under his command were also assigned one or two people to each group.

After completing the distribution of personnel, I called the leaders of each group together and handed out fireworks.

“Take this.”

“This?”

“These are signal fireworks. As soon as you spot a demonic cultist, you can use this to report their location.”

“i get it.”

A full-scale search began.

The two warriors and Tang Seo-yeon took the lead and followed the traces of the demonic cultists.

“There are traces of people moving around.”

“Let’s follow along for now. If we check, we will be able to find out whether it is a trace left by the target of pursuit or a warrior from the Harel tribe.”

The territory of the Harel tribe was not that wide.

If the Tang family’s warriors, who were good at tracking, decided to search, it would only be a matter of time before the location of the demon cultists was revealed.

By the time I stepped deep into the jungle area.

Shhh!

An unpleasant noise penetrated my ears.

I narrowed my eyes and raised my head.

Sigh!

A snake coiled on a tree branch swooped down, aiming for the back of the seal’s neck.

Changin Dojang frowned and swung his sword.

Sigh!

The snake’s body, with its head cut off cleanly, fell down in a patter.

Although he was exhausted due to the arduous journey, Changin Dojang was also an expert who had reached the end of his peak.

The level was not low enough to be attacked by animals or something.

But the next moment, something surprising happened.

“Ugh!”

The head of the snake that had fallen to the ground seemed to move as it pleased, and bit the ankle of the seal.

Changin Dojang’s eyes widened at the unexpected situation.

“omg!”

“What is this!”

Everyone looked surprised.

Dead creatures move and attack people.

It was literally an article I had never heard of.

Changin Dojang quickly removed the snake’s head and slapped it on the floor.

‘hmm?’

A sparkling line momentarily came into view.

Sigh!

I immediately swung my sword and cut off the thread attached to the snake’s head.

It was a thread so thin and transparent that you couldn’t even see it unless you strained your eyes.

The snake’s head, which had been bouncing like a ball and hitting Yuhwageom’s knee, lost its strength and fell down.

“Dang sojeo. Please take care of the window seal.”

“If you look at its round head and shiny scales, it doesn’t seem to be a poisonous snake. You don’t have to worry too much…”

“If it’s an ordinary snake, it would be like that.”

“…….”

Tang Seo-yeon, who understood the meaning of the words, quickly approached Chang-in Dojang.

Then, he pushed him hard, breaking his balance.

She grabbed the leg of the master who had hit his butt on the ground, tore off his clothes and examined the affected area.

“her.”

“Oh my!”

The moment the blue-stained ankles were exposed to the sunlight, everyone in the group held their breath.

Even the Changin seal, the person involved, was frozen in place like a stone statue.

“Be alert to your surroundings. “There is an enemy nearby.”

“Do you know something?”

“There was a thread attached to the snake’s head. “It means that the person who manipulated it is nearby.”

“I’ve never even heard of this method.”

I clicked my tongue and swung my sword one after another, saying ‘Tsk’.

The cut bushes were scattered in the air.

Sigh! Screw it!

Everyone in the group, realizing their intention, swung their weapons and cut down the grass.

Soon, a small vacant lot was formed around the group.

After completing the task of securing space in preparation for a surprise attack.

“…….”

I glanced sideways in the direction where Tang Seo-yeon was and let out a soft exclamation.

“Ugh.”

“It will hurt a little.”

Cut open the affected area, drain the blood, and remove any remaining poison with poisonous liquor.

Treatment is completed by sewing the wound with a needle and applying pressure to the affected area using a dry cloth.

The series of processes proceeded smoothly.

‘He is indeed a direct blood relative of the Tang family.’

Changin Dojang heaved a sigh of relief and got up from his seat.

He was frowning so hard that he seemed to feel pain every time he took a step.

“The poison has been removed, but aftereffects will remain for a few days.”

“Thank you.”

Fortunately, the situation where Changin Dojang was poisoned and he had to cross Samdocheon (三途川) was avoided.

If I had not quickly assessed the situation and instructed first aid, something serious would have happened.

‘I brought him here with the promise of personal safety, but if Changin Dojang dies here, I will no longer have the courage to see the Jangmunin of the Jeomchang faction. ‘I almost ruined the job by trying to gain favor.’

A heavy silence fell.

Everyone looked around with tense expressions.

Only the sound of the bushes swaying in the wind and the sounds of insects chirping loudly echoed throughout the area.

I muttered to myself as I stared at the snake’s corpse lying on the floor.

‘It’s called a puppeteer.’

It was a nameless name I had never heard of.

Did you say that it is a martial art that connects threads to objects or living things and manipulates them as if performing a puppet show?

‘I remember passing by something stored in the Cheonryung Library.’

A martial arts skill that could control life at will might seem like something amazing, but in reality, it wasn’t like that.

If it had been a martial arts skill with only merits, my past life self would have been interested right away.

Basically, the puppeteer was not a very efficient martial artist.

As the distance from the object being controlled increases, internal power is consumed exponentially, and precise manipulation becomes impossible without great prowess.

‘The creatures that can be controlled there are at most small animals. It is a martial art that has many limitations in many ways to be used in actual combat.’

It is true that it was an unusual martial art, but it also had a large drawback.

It may be useful as a way to outwit the opponent, but it is difficult to use for other purposes.

My personal opinion was that it wasn’t worth digging into.

‘I guess I’ll have to counterattack to put out the fire in a hurry.’

I continued to expand my senses and scan the area, but there was no sign of being caught.

It had to be one of two things.

Either the opponent is that far away or he has learned advanced stealth techniques.

‘Probably the latter.’

As mentioned earlier, puppetry was a martial art in which the greater the distance from the object being controlled, the more internal power was consumed.

It was better to think that the enemy was close by.

He will be hiding somewhere not far away, keeping an eye on me and my group.

‘It’s just right.’

I drew a faint smile on my lips.

I just happened to want to try the hand sound technique in real life.

Wow!

After inserting the sword into the ground, he clashed his hands together strongly.

Heavy waves spread out in concentric circles.

* * *

Voila!

The sound of palms hitting each other resonated loudly.

“……?”

The masked man who was hiding in the thick bushes, waiting for an opportunity, tilted his head.

Not only the masked man, but also the group of people lined up around the Heavenly Dragon looked back at him with puzzled expressions.

Cheonryong continued to clap his palms together, paying no heed to the gaze of those around him.

Then at some point.

‘omg!’

Disparate waves passed through the masked man’s body.

Instinctively feeling a sense of crisis, he jumped up from his place and kicked the ground.

Immediately after that, a chunk of brain energy hit the spot where he was hiding.

Quaaaang!

A loud noise rang out and a cloud of dust rose up.

With the masked man’s expression of disbelief, he launched a light attack and attempted to escape.

‘how?’

I never thought that my location would be discovered so easily.

Even if the other person was an expert in fireworks, I was confident that I wouldn’t be caught.

He pulled out two daggers from his belt and rested them in his hands.

It was a weapon with a quite unusual shape.

The length of the blade was similar to that of a regular dagger, but the back of the sword was jagged like a comb instead of being straight.

‘For now, step back and join your subordinates.’

The masked man jumped off the ground and landed on a thick tree branch.

At the same time, a soft voice pierced my ears.

-I never thought they would attack from there first.

The masked man looked up with a startled expression.

When did it get this close?

A young man was standing on a thin tree branch, looking down and licking his lips.

-Jeolyeong-gaek, the head of the Palgakdang belonging to the Makyo Oewon (外院).

The masked man’s pupils trembled slightly.

‘what!’

My heart was pounding like crazy.

I wanted to scream and ask.

How do you know my identity?

However, there was no time to do so.

“This way!”

“Catch him!”

A loud voice coming from below.

We had to leave quickly before the siege was completed.

Immediately, the masked man who grabbed a tree branch poured out a bunch of sword energy to keep the young man in check.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwak!

Tree branches broke and debris flew everywhere.

The young man, Yeonsun, followed behind the masked man at a frightening speed.

‘You didn’t even get hurt after that attack!’

The masked man clicked his tongue and quickly looked around.

On the left is Jeomchang Ogeom and on the right is Shaman Chilgeom.

As I watched the enemies closing the distance by every moment, I felt anxious.

‘There’s no choice.’

He took out a small bead from his pocket.

He then threw it forcefully backwards.

Pow!

The beads burst and acrid poisonous smoke encroached on the area.

It was a poison so deadly that it could kill even an ox in half an inch.

It was a waste of money to waste it like this, but I was in no position to decide right now.

“…….”

The masked person rolled his eyes and looked left and right and nodded slightly.

Jeomchang Ogeomdo and Shaman Chilgeomdo.

I hesitated, not daring to jump into the poisonous smoke.

This could buy some time.

The moment he breathed a sigh of relief.

Quick! Quick!

‘……uh?’

An eerie noise penetrated my ears.

Peeing!

The masked man instantly felt goosebumps rising on his back.

I hurriedly grabbed hold of the hanging vine and twisted the new model, and a small chunk of brain energy passed by under my feet.

The moment the brain’s sphere collided with the tree in front, a tremendous roar engulfed the entire area.

The masked man, who had been staring blankly at the top of the tree that had disappeared without a trace, urgently looked back.

Whioooooo!

There was a large circular hole in the middle of the wall of Dokyeon.

The moment he saw the young man jumping into the hole, the masked man screamed in his heart.

‘What on earth is that monster?!’