I Was Mistaken for a Coincidence Chapter 44

Chapter 43 – Honey Belly Sword (3)

Under a clear sky without a single cloud, the path we walked together, admiring the charm of the waterfall flowing from the cliff of the steep mountainside, was truly a magnificent sight.

The attendants assigned from Sunmoo Academy were also walking leisurely, each engaged in casual conversation. And I, standing at the very front, maintained a rigid expression.

“As expected, the Supreme Master never relaxes his vigilance.”

“With all the ominous rumors lately, I think we’ll be safe this time.”

“……”

Unfortunately, people were chattering freely behind me, but I had no leisure to stop them. Because this was my first time riding a horse.

‘This is… Scarier than I expected. It didn’t seem like much when watching dramas or movies.’

From the time I first learned martial arts until now, I have lived as a martial artist for nearly 25 years. But regrettably, not once during that time had I ever ridden a horse.

To begin with, I had never even learned how to ride a horse from the old man. In a situation where we could barely feed ourselves through farming, how could we possibly manage a horse in those mountains?

If the old man had lived longer, I might have learned horseback riding. But he suddenly died just two years after I began learning martial arts. There was simply no opportunity to learn.

At first, I didn’t notice anything strange. Because as soon as I saw the horse sent by Sunmoo Academy, I found myself naturally placing my foot in the saddle.

But as I rode along the path, a thought suddenly occurred to me. Was horseback riding something that could be done so easily without any prior learning? Surely not?

‘Could it be that I inherited things other than martial arts from the old man?’

Sometimes such cases exist. When a master leaves something like memories or missions to his disciple, apart from martial arts or internal energy. Is this the same thing?

But I couldn’t dwell on my concerns for long. That’s because I sensed someone approaching from behind. Indeed, when I turned my head, a young man with a massive build was standing behind me.

His impression was closer to a bear than a human. Enormous build with hair as rough and tangled as an animal’s fur. But at least the man’s eyes were certainly alive.

“Are you Mu-myung Great Master?”

“I am. And you are…?”

“Pardon my rudeness. I am Ma Kang.”

“Yes, Ma Kang. Is there something I can help you with?”

I had already heard about Ma Kang from Namgung Yeon. He is a master listed among the Hundred Great Masters, and earned the nickname ‘Black Tiger Great Sword’ for wielding his greatsword like a tiger.

It seemed he had something he wanted to say to me. Ma Kang showed signs of hesitation, which seemed unsuited to his large frame. Just as I was puzzled by this…

“Actually……”

“Oh, so this is where you were! Ma Kang.”

“Master Go Gyeom?”

Go Gyeom approached with a refreshing smile and placed his arm on Ma Kang’s shoulder, interrupting. As if trying to interfere with the conversation between Ma Kang and me. That’s just my imagination, right?

“What brings Master Go Gyeom here?”

“Ah, actually, this guy admires you so much that he keeps breaking formation to approach you.”

“Is that so?”

“…I apologize, Great Master.”

Ma Kang obediently bowed his head in apology and retreated with Go Gyeom. Just as I was wondering if I was really that famous, Namgung-yeon approached beside me, leading a horse.

“Master, shall we find a place for lunch soon?”

“That would be good.”

“I will relay the message immediately.”

As the saying goes, ‘Even a rotten bream is still a bream’ – perhaps it was because he was of the Namgung family bloodline. Namgung-yeon knew how to ride a horse skillfully. If judging purely on riding skills, he was even better than me.

Thanks to this, Namgung-yeon took on the task of relaying instructions to the attendants and guard warriors on my behalf, standing at the very front, which allowed me to relax a bit.

As the saying goes, ‘even Mountain Geumgang is best viewed after a meal.’ No matter how beautiful the view, it’s ultimately useless if one’s stomach is empty. We found a suitable spot and had our meal.

“Master, I’ve prepared a meal. Please join me if you’d like.”

“Me too! Me too!”

“Yes, Seolhwa. Eat as much as you like.”

“…Seolhwa, eating is good but shouldn’t Master eat first?”

“S-Sorry. I just couldn’t help myself……”

As we peacefully settled down and opened our meal boxes to eat, it truly felt like peace itself. But unfortunately, the peace did not last long.

“Master.”

“I noticed it too.”

The ominous energy felt from the cliff made even my appetite disappear. I placed my hand on my sword with a cold expression. I wasn’t sure what they were after, but…

“Aaargh?!”

“W-What is the meaning of this sudden attack?!”

“……?!”

However, if there was a problem I hadn’t anticipated at all, it was the commotion that broke out behind us. Looking back at the sudden disturbance, wasn’t there a massacre taking place out of nowhere?

It wasn’t even someone attacking from outside. The Hundred Great Masters who had been guarding the attendants until just a moment ago suddenly drew their weapons and attacked.

I was stunned by the completely unexpected scene. But it was none other than Sua who moved in my place. A sword strike like lightning cutting through clouds.

Slash!!

However, what the lightning-like strike cut down were the attendants who were fleeing towards us from nearby. This caused another mental freeze.

“Sua!! Why are you suddenly attacking innocent attendants?!”

“Look carefully. See if those are harmless attendants.”

“…Huh?”

At Sua’s words, Namgung-yeon and I finally noticed what the attendant was holding. Hidden in the sleeve was none other than a dagger. An ordinary attendant with a dagger?

That can’t be.

In other words, there were conspirators who planned this attack even among the attendants. And that means the already chaotic situation was about to get even worse.

Naturally, I wondered why she hadn’t said anything if she knew about this in advance. But before I could voice that question, I instinctively drew my sword.

Kwang!!

I barely blocked the fist that struck like lightning with my sword. Even though I blocked it mercilessly with the blade, not even a scratch appeared on the fist that was as hard as steel.

“Are you the famous Sword Demon? I hope this will be an interesting fight!!”

“How dare a mad beast like you…!!”

“Do you know what beasts are good at? Pulling down those who are above them!”

Crack! Kwaaang!!

Just as I was regaining my stance to kill the beast-like man, the ground beneath me crumbled like a lie, and my body began to tilt downward. I desperately threw myself to escape, but…

“Please play with us a little longer.”

“And who are you?”

Due to another person’s intervention, I failed to escape and fell.

◇

I don’t know what happened.

Literally, a red lightning struck before my eyes. Feeling that I shouldn’t touch that lightning filled with ferocious energy, I closed my eyes briefly, and when I opened them again, wasn’t the Master gone?

“Master!!!”

Namgung-yeon’s voice crying out desperately for the Master who had fallen due to the sudden attack echoed around. But Sua instead grabbed Namgung-yeon by the collar and glared fiercely.

“You must be crazy to die. Don’t you understand yet?”

“What? What are you suddenly……”

“Are you still not aware that the Evil sect has taken root deep within the martial arts world to the extent that they would intervene even in a light procession traveling a relatively short distance?!”

Sua is no fool. A place like Sunmoo Academy would certainly have properly verified identities. Moreover, the Hundred Great Masters are masters whose identities are vouched for by the Righteous sect.

In other words, the current situation can be considered one where we’ve been thoroughly betrayed by those we trusted. Nevertheless, why didn’t the Master refuse the procession?

The answer is simple.

The battles that the Master has experienced until now…

They were exactly these kinds of battles from the beginning.

The fact that the Evil sect had deeply infiltrated both the righteous and evil sects was already realized since the time of the Murong family. This means that nothing that happens would be surprising.

“The Master will be safe. So we must focus on the current battle.”

“…No way.”

“That’s right, Junior. Look ahead, those things have started to bare their teeth at us.”

Thanks to Seolhwa, who was staring ahead with coldly calm eyes that seemed ill-matched with her almost pure white hair, Namgung-yeon was able to regain some of his lost composure.

The Hundred Great Masters.

Young masters who had been recognized by the righteous sect Martial art Alliance as having the highest potential to reach the pinnacle. Those who had seemed so reliable had transformed into enemies in that instant and now stood before them.

‘Tsk, were they aiming for the Master to disappear? I don’t know who it is… But they’ve laid out a meticulous plan.’

They were at a great disadvantage both numerically and qualitatively. But despite this, Sua did not give up until the end and raised her sword. And the other disciples did the same. 

Because the Master had never taught them to give up.