I Somehow Became the Leader of the Black Faction - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: I’m Sorry (2)

How I Became the Leader of the Black Path Alliance

Chapter 7

I’m Sorry (2)

My grandfather was obsessed with “survival.”

To be precise, it wasn’t his own survival he cared about, but mine.

I never knew why.

For as long as I could remember, I’d been holding a sword, forced to endure my grandfather’s rigorous training.

I didn’t particularly resent it.

I actually enjoyed wielding the sword, and I felt a profound sense of exhilaration as I grew stronger.

I even resolved to live the life of a chivalrous warrior, a dream my grandfather would speak of whenever he was drunk.

And the day I first told him about my resolve…

…was the first time I saw him truly angry.

That must have been when it all started.

When the sword ceased to bring me joy.

I threw myself into my training, but this power was useless.

I couldn’t even punish the bullies in the village below for tormenting the weaker children.

Why am I even learning martial arts? What’s the point of learning a skill that can’t protect anyone?!

When my grandfather’s contradictions reached their breaking point, the resentment I’d been harboring finally erupted.

Just as I had been flustered when he first got angry at me, he seemed quite shocked to see his grandson talking back for the first time.

I still can’t forget the look of surprise on his face.

That night, drunk, my grandfather said:

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m so sorry.”

When I asked what he was so sorry for, he just wept silently for a long time.

And just before I fell asleep…

“Woo-jin, there is only one reason you are learning martial arts. It is to protect yourself. Even if you cannot protect anyone else, you are learning this art solely to protect yourself. But remember, martial arts are ultimately a last resort. Your first priority should always be to flee from a stronger enemy.”

Then, he revealed the existence of a secret passage within the house for the first time.

He had been building it day by day, ever since they first settled here.

That was how obsessed he was.

With survival.

I descended for a long time, holding the torch that had been placed at the entrance.

Still, there was no end in sight.

I couldn’t even begin to imagine how much time and effort it must have taken to carve out this long tunnel.

A moment later, the stairs ended, and a small clearing appeared.

Various items were laid out there.

There were first-aid supplies like Golden Sore Ointment, and various sets of clothes were neatly folded.

Equipment for disguises also caught his eye, along with forged identification tokens.

“What on earth…”

This was his first time here.

That’s why he couldn’t help but be surprised.

What was Grandfather running from? What was he so afraid of?

Seo Woo-jin hung his torch on the wall and walked to one side.

Two swords lay on an old desk.

One was a worn sword, heavily marked by the passage of time.

[ Do you know what this sword is? Kuhahaha! It’s a sword made directly by the Tang Family of Sichuan! They made it to praise the chivalry of the Sword Star! Huh? Who’s the Sword Star? There is such a guy. A foolish and stubborn bastard. ]

He couldn’t remember exactly when, but Grandfather had boasted about it while drunk.

It had vanished from his sight at some point, but it seemed he’d found it here.

Shring.

Seo Woo-jin drew the sword slightly.

Contrary to its worn exterior, the blade within was a different story. Its edge was so sharp that the mere aura of its intent felt like it could slice through flesh. A bluish dragon pattern, befitting its power, was etched into the steel.

Shring. Thud.

Sheathing the sword, Seo Woo-jin turned his gaze to the other one.

[ On the day your martial arts are perfected, I shall gift this to you. Until then, devote yourself to your training. ]

It was a sword he remembered.

Shring.

He drew it slightly.

The blade also bore a dragon pattern, but its color was closer to black. Strangely, the edge wasn’t as sharp as he had expected.

If anything, they felt a bit blunt.

Thud!

Woo-jin decided to take both swords for now. After all, they were his grandfather’s only remaining possessions.

As he was about to pack them, Woo-jin froze.

There was something else on the desk.

An envelope containing a letter.

Woo-jin tore it open and pulled out the letter. It was quite long, spanning several pages.

[ If you are reading this, it means something has happened to you. It must mean He has finally found you. I despise myself for hoping you would never see this, yet praying my arrangements will save you. ]

Just as he’d expected, it was a letter from his grandfather.

So he had expected me to come here.

The terror my grandfather had fled from… was it all real?

[ If He has found you, then you must know the truth. No… I should have told you long ago. But I lacked the courage to face you once you knew. That is why… why I forced you to pursue a goal without reason. Forgive me. ]

His hands trembled.

The curiosity he had desperately tried to ignore…

At this very moment, it reared its head once more.

And Seo Woo-jin…

[ This is about your parents. ]

…immediately regretted not ignoring it to the end.

[ I killed your parents. ]

Glug, glug, glug.

Song Bi-ryeong filled her cup with liquor and let out a soft sigh.

“Hmm. Are you sure this is a good idea?”

No one answered her.

Muk-yeong was eating silently, and Bae Seok-jin remained motionless, his eyes closed.

Song Bi-ryeong frowned, her elegant eyebrows furrowing as she drained her cup in one rough gulp.

Thump!

“Hey, Captain! I asked if you’re sure!”

Only then did Bae Seok-jin slowly open his eyes at her sharp tone.

“About what?”

He only listens when I raise my voice, she thought, snorting softly before continuing.

“The Young Alliance Leader. Are you really just going to leave him like that? Anyone can see he’s practically screaming, ‘I’m going to run away!'”

“Is Geon-woo not with him?”

“That’s exactly why I’m worried. I played along because that guy signaled me, but do you really think that softie can handle him properly?”

“…”

Song Bi-ryeong sighed again at Bae Seok-jin’s silence.

“So, you sent Geon-woo on purpose?”

“The Strategist’s orders.”

Song Bi-ryeong tilted her head. “What? Rin did?”

“He said if… if the man tries to flee, we should let him go.”

“Why?”

“He said that’s all he’s good for.”

“Hmm. I don’t get it.”

Bae Seok-jin let out a faint sigh. “Lure. He’s being used as bait.”

Song Bi-ryeong’s elegant brows furrowed. “Did we catch the tail?”

Bae Seok-jin shook his head with a bitter smile. “We didn’t, which is why he’s using that man. But he said if there’s a reaction, we can be certain of one thing.”

“An information leak.”

Bae Seok-jin nodded at Song Bi-ryeong’s chillingly cold voice.

“If we’re lucky, we’ll find not just the tail, but the whole body.”

Song Bi-ryeong sighed and shrugged.

“You’re just going to let him go? What if he starts spreading rumors?”

“He’ll probably keep a low profile… but even if he doesn’t, it seems the Strategist wants a new variable to emerge.”

Song Bi-ryeong’s expression turned incredulous.

“What? A variable? That arrogant bitch. Does she think she can handle whatever chaos ensues?!”

Though her words were furious, her voice trembled with deep concern.

Bae Seok-jin, understanding her feelings, replied bitterly.

“As you know, the entire Black Path Alliance is watching us. The Alliance Leader’s death. The Young Alliance Leader’s disappearance, though not yet public. We can’t escape these problems.”

“Hmph. Is that all? Even within the Black Dragon Guard, the looks they give us aren’t friendly.”

Even the Black Dragon Guard was sharpening its blades against the Four Black Dragons.

If the Four Black Dragons were the ones to be sacrificed to take responsibility, the Black Dragon Guard might be spared.

Besides, they had never looked kindly upon those in such a special position with such outstanding abilities anyway.

“That’s probably why the Strategist is pushing yourself even harder. For now, put your worries aside. If anything happens, I’ll take the responsibility.”

Song Bi-ryeong let out a hollow laugh and spat out sharp words.

“Bullshit. Captain, are you always the one who has to take responsibility? Aren’t we trustworthy enough now? Or did we hurt your feelings by bullying you too much at first?”

Bae Seok-jin chuckled softly.

“Hahaha. I guess you were bullying me. I’m generous enough to overlook a child’s tantrum. I’m only taking responsibility because you two keep calling me Captain.”

Song Bi-ryeong frowned at Bae Seok-jin’s joke. Just as she was about to raise her voice in protest—

Swish!

Muk-yeong’s right hand shot out, and he pressed his left index finger to his lips.

‘Shh.’

The two instantly held their breath and erased their presence.

After a moment of silent focus, Muk-yeong’s eyes snapped open. There was no time for a warning. He drew a short sword from behind his waist and plunged it straight into the ground.

CRUNCH! STAB!

SQUELCH!

“Kugh!”

As he yanked the blade free, a groan erupted, followed by a geyser of blood.

The two who had sensed the danger sprang to their feet, scanning their surroundings.

“How many?” Bae Seok-jin asked.

Muk-yeong shook his head—a silent admission that the numbers were impossible to gauge.

“Assassins?” Song Bi-ryeong asked.

Muk-yeong nodded.

Of course, Bae Seok-jin thought. To get this close without Muk-yeong sensing them, they can’t be ordinary thugs.

“Maybe renting out the entire inn was the right call after all.”

At least they had managed to confine the enemy’s attention to this one location. The real question was their objective.

“It’s just as Lin predicted, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Bae Seok-jin confirmed. “They’re after the Young Alliance Leader.”

He was certain. No one would hire assassins to target the Four Black Dragons. The White Path factions wouldn’t even have known who they were.

The Black Path…

They would know.

They would know that mere assassins couldn’t kill them.

Then there was only one answer.

“They’re trying to tie us down and target the Young Alliance Leader. Muk-yeong, we’ll carve a path. You go straight to the mountain—”

K-BOOM!

As if the enemies had anticipated Bae Seok-jin’s realization, they had already prepared a countermeasure.

“Aaaah!”

“Fire! Fire!”

Screams erupted amidst the thunderous explosions.

Swish! BOOM!

Song Bi-ryeong burst through the inn’s doors, her body a blur. The moment she stepped outside, she saw men in black firing flaming arrows.

“You… you bastards…!”

Bae Seok-jin and Muk-yeong, who had emerged moments later, were speechless.

The black robes the attackers wore…

They were the uniforms of the Black Dragon Guard.

The assassins had attacked the village wearing the Black Dragon Guard’s uniforms.

Even the Strategist couldn’t have anticipated such a tactic.

Though this is a small village, there will still be people who recognize the Black Dragon Guard’s uniforms! We must stop the damage first!

Grind!

Bae Seok-jin hurled a stone from the ground at an assassin chasing a fleeing woman.

Shwoosh! Thwack!

The assassin’s head split open, and he collapsed.

Bae Seok-jin issued a command, his voice dripping with killing intent.

“Leave the Young Alliance Leader to Geon-woo. We’ll handle this place. Leave no one alive.”

“Yes, sir!”

Song Bi-ryeong and Muk-yeong shot off in different directions.

Bae Seok-jin swung the wooden box in his hand.

KRA-BOOM!

The assassin approaching from behind was struck head-on and sent flying.

Inside the shattered wooden box, a silver glow shimmered.

Grab.

Bae Seok-jin seized it with his hand.

Whirrrrr—! BOOM! BOOM! KRA-BOOM!

As he spun his body and swung his arm, his figure was obscured by the silver radiance.

Thunderous booms erupted repeatedly, tearing up the ground.

The assassins hidden all around were utterly helpless against the sudden meteor.

Thud! Clang!

Amidst the swirling dust, Bae Seok-jin’s eyes gleamed with a cold light.

Blood dripped from the end of the Meteor Hammer gripped in his fist.

The Head of the Four Black Dragons.

The Iron Dragon’s heavy killing intent began to shroud White Cloud Village.

Not a sound was heard.

Yet, he could feel Seo Woo-jin’s presence vanish.

“A secret passage?”

Of course, he thought. That explains why he was so desperate to get back home.

“Hah… What a shame. I thought we could have been good friends.”

To him, Seo Woo-jin was a man of contradictions.

One moment, he seemed to prioritize his own safety above all else; the next, he was spouting righteousness.

The story of how Seo Woo-jin, instead of hiding while fleeing Hangzhou, had stepped forward to save a woman, had made him chuckle in disbelief time and again.

On the surface, he was a mere novice, a greenhorn new to the Jianghu. But beneath that facade, an unknown fire seemed to burn.

It was amusing.

More accurately, it was intriguing.

Seo Woo-jin himself was intriguing.

When was the last time I found something this interesting?

Yu Geon-woo shook his head, shaking off his stray thoughts.

“Well, whatever. He lives in a completely different world from us anyway. The real question is whether things will unfold exactly as the Strategist planned…”

A deep smile spread across Yu Geon-woo’s lips as he muttered to himself.

“Our Strategist. How is it that not a single one of his predictions ever misses? What a nuisance.”

A murderous intent, sharp enough to pierce his entire body, washed over him.

And it was coming from all directions.

I wonder.

Was it a coincidence that Seo Woo-jin’s question came to mind right now?

When will Martial Artist Yu draw his sword?

Yu Geon-woo slowly drew his blade.

In that instant, the temperature around him seemed to plummet.

No, it wasn’t just a feeling. A white mist was actually escaping from his lips.

“There are two possibilities.”

Whoosh!

Yu Geon-woo kicked off the ground and surged forward.

When he revealed himself before the assassin who had been approaching in stealth, the assassin’s eyes widened in shock.

“One of those cases is when someone messes with us—we take it out on them.”

Shink! Slash!

Thud.

He landed on the ground at the same moment the severed head fell.

Strangely, no blood leaked from the severed neck.

It was as if it had been frozen solid.

Swish!

Yu Geon-woo flicked his sword once, a deep smile still etched on his face.

“I’ll show you what it means to mess with the Four Black Dragons.”

Had they realized they were already exposed?

The assassins, who had been approaching cautiously, now charged at Yu Geon-woo all at once.

Four Black Dragons. White Dragon.

Yu Geon-woo’s sword also scattered a chilling frost, ready to meet his foes.