Reaper of the Drifting Moon

Doyeop sprinted down the street.

‘So that’s where you’re hiding.’

He was a skilled tracker and pursuer, honed in the arts of tracking and shadowing.

He had the talent of accurately pinpointing even the faintest traces, which made him highly valued by Jin Yoo-gun.

For him, tracing the erased traces left by the boys was not a difficult task.

Though it took some time, he eventually found the corpse of Hwa-pyung during the process.

The boys had tied Hwa-pyung’s body to a rock and thrown it into the sea. However, since Hwa-pyung’s body was not tied securely enough, Hwa-pyung’s body ended up resurfacing and floating above the water.

Although the waves made it difficult to recognize the body, Doyeop immediately recognize that it was Hwa-pyung.

After roughly recovering Hwa-pyung’s body, Doyeop resumed his search. He eventually found the inn where Pyo-wol was staying.

Though he made a mistake and was discovered by Geomyeon in his excitement at finding the target, he quickly left the inn after wounding the boy.

His mission was to find the boy that had seen them at the harbor. And now that he did, the only thing left was to report this fact to Jin Yoo-gun, since Jin Yoo-gun would be the one taking care of the rest.

Doyeop ran at his maximum speed, soaring through the night sky.

Those who primarily mastered the art of pursuit excelled in agility. Doyeop was no exception.

As long as he unleash his full speed, he’s sure that even Jin Yoo-gun would be unable to keep up. That’s why he was somewhat relieved.

He did think that anyone would dare to follow him. But, before he could even half-relax, his pride shattered into pieces.

Koo–oo!

He felt a looming presence behind him.

Someone was relentlessly tracking him.

The one pursuing him was none other than Tarha.

His eyes were ablaze like a lion’s, as he run at a terrifying speed.

‘Damn it!’

Doyeop felt a chill run down his spine.

Doyeop didn’t even know Tarha’s true identity, but he could definitely tell that Tarha was not an ordinary martial artist.

“Stop right there!”

Tarha let out a lion’s roar and charged towards Doyeop.

Doyeop felt his chest tremble at the roar.

‘Crazy!’

Just hearing Tarha’s loud roar was enough to let Doyeop know that Tarha is a powerful martial artist, capable of overpowering many opponents.

Tarha is an expert with untold prowess, he dared not to face.

Doyeop’s only answer was to flee.

Doyeop exerted all his strength and unleashed his aerial skills.

As a result, the distance between him and Tarha kept increasing.

“You bastard! Can’t you stop?!”

Tarha’s menacing voice echoed, but Doyeop couldn’t afford to stop.

‘That old man must have killed Hwa-pyung.’

Doyeop thought that he should inform Jin Yoo-gun of this fact as soon as possible.

Fortunately, losing Tarha did not prove to be much too difficult.

Although Tarha might be stronger than him in terms of pure destructive martial arts, it would still be difficult for him to keep up with his aerial skills.

He could now finally relax to a certain extent.

Doyeop deliberately didn’t go straight to the residential neighborhood where their hideout was located. Instead, he wandered around in the wrong direction, taking a detour. This was his tactic of hiding his trail.

As a master of pursuit, he was naturally also prepared being followed by others.

Thus, Doyeop successfully concealed his traces and returned to the residential area where his comrades were.

“Welcome back.”

As soon as he entered, his comrade greeted him, but strangely, there were a lot of missing faces.

“Where are the others?”

“The boss said he had a bad feeling, so he went to retrieve the item first.”

“He went ahead? Without waiting for me?”

“He asked me to wait for you. He told me to bring you to the operation site when you arrived.”

“I see.”

Doyeop’s expression finally relaxed.

He had been misled into thinking he had been abandoned.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay!”

The two hurried to leave the mansion. But at that moment, Doyeop’s companion’s expression changed.

“Someone’s following us.”

“What? That can’t be true.”

Doyeop turned back in disbelief.

There, on top of the fence, stood a black silhouette watching them.

A pitch-black cloak fluttered in the wind, with a stark white face standing out.

He was Pyo-wol.

“Who are you?”

“Who are you!?”

Doyeop and his companion shouted at the same time.

But, Pyo-wol didn’t answer. He just scanned the exterior of the mansion.

‘So this is the place.’

The mansion they had chosen as their hideout had unusually thick walls.

The owner had built the walls thicker than the other mansions, with the intention of making it sturdy. Because of that, even Pyowol’s senses couldn’t detect the movements of the people inside.

Doyeop couldn’t believe that he had been successfully followed.

“So it wasn’t just one person. Then, was the old man just a distraction?”

He gritted his teeth.

He couldn’t stand the thought of being toyed around by Pyo-wol.

Doyeop’s companion shouted.

“Attack!”

He rushed towards Pyo-wol at a frightening speed.

Doyeop, who had come to his senses late, joined in.

In the blink of an eye, they reduced the distance between them and Pyo-wol.

Swish!

A dizzying flurry of sword movements filled the air.

Their swordsmanship was simple, but equally efficient.

They aimed for the vital points of their opponent with minimal movements.

It was a frighteningly practical swordsmanship.

However, their opponent turned out to be just as good.

Pyo-wol effortlessly evaded all of their attacks with minimal movements.

“A skilled expert.”

As they exchanged glances, their movements changed.

They switched to a joint attack.

The fact that they immediately switched to a joint attack as soon as they assessed their opponent’s level indicated the remarkable organization and coordination among them.

Swish!

Their swords attacked Pyo-wol much more fiercely.

The joint attack of the two was carried out meticulously, leaving no room for error.

Their synchronized attacks, filling in each other’s gaps, were as precise as a well-oiled machine. However, despite their coordinated efforts, they couldn’t even graze a single corner of Pyo-wol’s clothing.

‘Where did such a monster come from–?’

‘We can’t do this with just the two of us. We need more people to take down this beast.’

They realized they were at a disadvantage.

At that moment, Doyeop made a decision.

Pow!

He threw himself backward, leaving his companion behind.

As soon as he was out of the way, he fled alone.

Despite Doyeop escaping alone, his companion did not show any signs of resentment.

It was their rule.

If they encountered an enemy they couldn’t handle, one of them had to survive and relay information to their comrades. They had no choice but to do so even if it meant betraying the other.

Doyeop, with his exceptional footwork skills, played the role of alerting and informing their companions, while the other took on the task of buying time and holding the enemy back as long as possible.

“Ha!”

His companion shouted as he attacked Pyo-wol with determination.

Even when facing a joint attack, Pyo-wol remained unscathed. What more now that he was alone?

Thunk!

Something pierced his forehead.

It was a thread of qi, nearly indistinguishable to the naked eye: Pyo-wol’s Soul-Reaping Thread.

After being pierced, the martial artist collapsed lifelessly.

Pyo-wol swiftly leaped away, leaving his opponent’s dead body behind.

Doyeop thought he had left almost no trace behind, but his tracks were clearly visible to Pyo-wol’s eyes.

It was then.

“I’ll join you.”

Tarha, who had arrived late, joined the pursuit.

He manage to caught up to Pyo-wol as he fought Doyeop’s companion.

The two of them sprinted through the streets, shoulder to shoulder.

‘Wow!’

Tarha thought in admiration as he looked at Pyowol.

He was giving his all, displaying the extent of his aerial skills. Yet he could barely keep up with Pyo-wol despite exerting his full power.

Just by listening to Pyo-wol’s breath, it was clear to Tarha that Pyo-wol has yet to give his all. It was evident that Pyo-wol was controlling his speed because of Tarha.

‘I would have never thought that someday I would become a burden, holding someone back.’

This was Tarha’s first time ever experiencing anything like this, so it was natural for him to feel embarrassed. But he couldn’t continue blaming himself up for long.

Right now, catching up to Doyeop was their top priority.

Doyeop had already disappeared into the darkness and was nowhere to be seen.

Even with Tarha’s abilities, he couldn’t determine where Doyeop had disappeared to. However, Pyo-wol’s movements showed no hesitation.

It seemed like Pyowol could see something that Tarha couldn’t.

‘What on earth?’

It was then.

Boom!

In the distance, in the direction they were running, flames suddenly soared up accompanied by a deafening sound.

The explosion was so intense and powerful that the area momentarily brightened as if it were on broad daylight.

‘So that’s the place.’

Pyo-wol realized that Doyeop’s escape route was where the flames were shooting up.

Tarha, who was running alongside him, spoke.

“Isn’t that the Sea Dragon Sect?”

* * *

Kwah!

The flames, soaring high into the sky, engulfed the Sea Dragon Sect with fierce momentum.

“What’s going on?”

Jang Hamun, the head of the Sea Dragon Sect, looked around the devastated premises with a desolate expression.

The pavilion, which had been perfectly intact just a moment ago, was now engulfed in a tremendous blaze. This was a separate pavilion where they stored gold, so they had always taken extra precautions to keet flammable objects away.

The fact that such a place still manage to be engulfed in such a massive fire was beyond comprehension.

“Quick! Extinguish the fire! Hurry!”

Jang Hamun shouted at the top of his lungs.

His attendants and workers, who finally come to their senses, hurriedly grabbed buckets and fetched water.

“Move faster!”

“We have to put it out before it spreads any further!”

They attempted to extinguish the fire with water from the well, but it was in vain. As time passed, the flames grew even fiercer. If they continued like this, the entire Sea Dragon Sect would be consumed by the fire.

“Who on earth would do such a thing?”

Jang Hamun didn’t believe that the fire was caused by accident. It was obvious that someone had deliberately set the pavilion on fire.

“But for what?”

There were countless people who held grudges against the Sea Dragon Sect.

It was impossible to accumulate this much wealth and not cause harm to others. However, among those who had a grudge against their sect, it was hard to think of anyone who would be so bold.

“If not them–”

Suddenly, his thoughts drifted to his personal warehouse.

For the past few days, the only notable item that had attracted attention in the Sea Dragon Sect was the dagger brought by Lee Seong-hak and that man.

Jang Hamun urgently called out to his attendant, Woo Gunchang.

“Attendant!”

“Yes, my lord.”

Woo Gunchang, who was leading the subordinates in suppressing the fire, rushed over hastily.

“Gather our troops right now and follow me.”

“Pardon?”

“We need to go to that man right away. Whoever started the fire must be after the goods in the warehouse.”

“Understood.”

Woo Gunchang’s expression hardened as he realized the situation.

He quickly gathered the sect’s elite members and followed behind Jang Hamun.

It didn’t take long for Jang Hamun and his subordinates to arrive in front of the warehouse.

“Oh no!”

“This can’t be!”

Jang Hamun and Woo Gunchang simultaneously exclaimed in disbelief.

The martial artists guarding the warehouse were lying motionless, in a pool of blood. It was clear that they had already met their demise.

At that moment, nearly twenty martial artists burst out of the warehouse door.

At the forefront was a white-haired man.

In the white-haired man’s hand was a blade with gems embedded on it, while the men behind him supported the unconscious man who had initially brought the blade with him.

It was at this moment when Jang Hamun’s guess was confirmed.

“Who are you? How dare you break into the Sea Dragon Sect?!”

The white-haired man, Jin Yoo-gun, wrinkled his nose slightly in response to Jang Hamun’s anger and murmured,

“We were just trying to quietly pass by…”

They wanted to go quietly without being seen which was why they had set the sect on fire, but there was no point in that now that Jang Hamun and his men had seen them.

Jin Yoo-gun twirled the blade in his hands and gave orders to his men,

“Breakthrough as quickly as possible and return to the fleet.”

“Understood!”

Jin Yoo-gun’s subordinates shouted in reply as they darted forward.

Jang Hamun glaring at the intruders, also issued a command,

“Block them! Don’t let any of them escape!”