Chapter 17: Escape

At his question, the unit members tilted their heads.

“I thought the ground was shaking slightly.”

When Ak Mu-yeong added that, Baek Mu-ho took the lead as if it were nothing.

“It’s better to be wary of enemies that might be hiding in the cave than a shaking ground.”

As he said, the most dangerous thing right now was the unidentified enemy hiding in this cave.

Corpses continued to appear inside the passage.

After walking for a while, they reached the end of the cave and a wide space appeared.

And there was a corpse sitting in a meditative posture.

Baek Mu-ho shone the torch in front of the corpse.

The floor in front of where the corpse was sitting was filled with words carved with a sword.

Baek Mu-ho read the words aloud.

「I lament my stupidity and foolishness.

I chased Jo Yang-seung and came this far, but there’s no way out.

Even if I knock and knock, the solid rock wall won’t break, so now I’m going to starve to death here.

How frustrating and regrettable.

I wanted to see my Divine Cult conquer Jianghu and become its master, but now I have to close my eyes without seeing it, how can I not be frustrated? 」

After reading all the writing, Baek Mu-ho raised the torch and illuminated the stone wall.

The wall, made of solid rock, was covered in long, deep, and thin scars.

It seemed like the wounds left by those who had entered this place trying to break down the wall.

The martial artists who followed also read the writing carved on the floor.

“What? So, this place wasn’t the Martial Emperor’s tomb, but a tomb of the Divine Cult bastards?”

“We’ve been tricked, tricked. Completely tricked. Let’s get out of here quickly.”

“Those bastards. They died a good death.”

The martial artists, realizing they had been deceived, turned around and started to leave the cave.

“Let’s go too.”

Baek Mu-ho turned around without hesitation.

However, Yeon Ja-ryong just stood still and stared at the corpse.

“What are you doing? Unit Leader. Let’s get out of here quickly.”

Jang Ryong grabbed his arm and pulled.

Then Yeon Ja-ryong said with a bitter smile.

“There’s a saying that when you feel like you’ve fallen into a trap, it’s already too late. We can’t get out of here.”

At his words, Jang Ryong’s face darkened.

Yeon Ja-ryong tried to draw his sword but put it back in.

He wanted to split the stone wall, but he felt that if he recklessly split it, the ceiling would collapse before they could even create an escape route.

‘Is there no way to escape? We’ve been thoroughly defeated.’

Cough!

Gasp!

The martial artists who were trying to escape the cave suddenly grabbed their necks and fell.

“It’s…… poison!”

“Someone released poison at the cave entrance!”

The martial artists who were trying to escape the cave turned pale and ran back into the cave.

Argh!

Ugh!

Since so many people moved suddenly, no matter how wide the cave was, countless people were falling and getting trampled.

Among those who fell and were trampled, there were those who somehow managed to get up and run away, and there were also those who lay there, gasping for breath as they inhaled the poisonous smoke.

Baek Mu-ho and the unit members, who were trying to follow the martial artists out, also turned around and returned to their original positions.

“Unit Leader Yeon! Someone released poison at the cave entrance!”

Yeon Ja-ryong, hearing Baek Mu-ho’s urgent cry, slowly sat down on the floor.

“Do you think they only released poison? They must have blocked the entrance too. That way, they can surely k*ll the Four Divine Units trapped inside.”

“The shaking we felt when we entered must have been the sound of someone blocking the entrance from the outside. The Black Tortoise Unit guarding the entrance must have been defeated by the enemies.”

It seemed that Ak Mu-yeong had already guessed it.

The unit members, hearing their conversation, were all speechless as if they had lost their souls.

But among the new recruits, there were some who were terrified and cried out.

“Then what should we do? Please tell us how to get out of here!”

“I don’t want to d*e as a corpse in a place like this!”

Amidst the outcry of the new recruits, the Azure Dragon Unit members scattered on the floor and sat down, just like their Unit Leader.

Haha……

“To d*e in a place like this…… I thought I would d*e fighting enemies.”

Baek Mu-ho forced a hearty laugh.

“Save me!”

“The Four Divine Units must have some way! Please save me!”

“Save me! Save us!”

The gathered martial artists grabbed the Four Divine Units and shouted in desperation.

Jang Ryong, watching them, asked.

“Is there really no way?”

Yeon Ja-ryong didn’t answer, as if there was no clear solution even in this situation.

Then, as if a thought suddenly occurred to him, he opened his mouth in a low voice.

“There’s no way, but there’s someone waiting.”

“Someone waiting?”

Jang Ryong, Ak Mu-yeong, and Baek Mu-ho looked at his face.

But he kept his mouth tightly shut.

‘I don’t know if he’ll come or not. Even if he comes, there’s no way to save us.’

How much time had passed?

The outcry of the martial artists gradually subsided.

Instead, they were divided into those who gave up on life and those who burst into tears.

“If I had known it would be like this, I would rather not have come out to Jianghu……”

Sob……sob……!

“My wife and son are waiting for me to come home……”

Some of them were wailing loudly.

Yeon Ja-ryong, who had been closing his eyes quietly, looked around at them.

“If you keep making noise like that, you’ll d*e sooner.”

At his words, the martial artists, not wanting to d*e early, all closed their mouths and stopped crying.

Yeon Ja-ryong, who had silenced them with a single word, closed his eyes again.

And as soon as he closed his eyes, he opened them wide and stood up.

‘He’s here.’

“Unit Leader, where are you going?”

Jang Ryong, puzzled, followed Yeon Ja-ryong as he headed out of the cave.

Ak Mu-yeong and Baek Mu-ho also got up and followed Yeon Ja-ryong.

Yeon Ja-ryong, passing through the martial artists sitting on the floor, entered the passage.

Rumble……

The sound of moving rocks clearly reached his ears.

Yeon Ja-ryong, stopping in front of the stone wall of the passage, stared at the wall moving sideways.

Then, the stone wall opened and sunlight poured in through a small hole.

The small hole gradually grew larger, and a familiar face appeared before his eyes.

“You, who are you?”

Yeon Ja-ryong shouted at the familiar face.

“It’s Kang Dong-jae.”

I was busy moving to find the rock that my uncle had mentioned.

As I retreated, I noticed the enemies gathering branches inside the cave.

That sight made me uneasy.

My uncle and the Western Heavenly Spear Master had once annihilated nearly two hundred enemies without firing a single arrow.

My uncle lured the enemies into the cave, and the Western Heavenly Spear Master collapsed the cave entrance, starving them to death.

“Like most caves, the entrance is also the exit, so when Mu-il collapsed the entrance, no one could escape.”

“Then how did my uncle get out?”

“The inside of the cave is divided into several paths, and the rightmost path is also blocked, but there’s a recessed rock wall at the end of the passage. That rock wall is made of a large boulder, and it won’t budge even if you push it from the inside. But if you push it sideways from the outside, it moves little by little, and Mu-il opened it to get me out of the cave.”

I ran around the mountain breathlessly, but the rock my uncle mentioned didn’t appear easily.

“Where the h*ll is it?”

At times like these, I really missed my uncle.

“Are you looking for me?”

Surprisingly, my uncle suddenly appeared in front of me.

“Uncle! How did you get here?”

I was so happy that I wanted to shout “Manse!” for ages.

“I was so bored being alone for days.”

It had only been a few days since he told me to return as a hero, and he was already here to find me?

But I was content with just my uncle’s appearance.

“Hurry, hurry. Uncle, it’s urgent. Find the rock quickly.”

My uncle looked displeased at me rushing him.

“You little rascal. No matter how urgent it is, if you rush things, you’re bound to make mistakes.”

“I know, uncle. But the situation is urgent now, so please find it quickly.”

Tsk tsk……

Clicking his tongue, my uncle turned around and slowly started walking.

Following my uncle for a while, a wide river called Hansu appeared in the distance.

“There it is.”

I looked at the spot where my uncle pointed.

As my uncle said, there was a large, round boulder along with other rocks.

Perhaps because quite some time had passed, the boulder was covered in dust.

I quickly ran and placed my hand on the boulder.

This boulder couldn’t be pushed back.

There was a large rock protruding like a chin behind it, preventing it from being pushed back.

Groan……

When I channeled my internal energy and applied force, the boulder moved little by little.

Rumble…… Creak……

Groan……

I pushed again.

The boulder was gradually pushed sideways, and the darkness inside began to show.

I completely pushed the boulder aside and poked my head in.

Then, a familiar face appeared from inside.

“You, who are you?”

“It’s Kang Dong-jae.”

Martial artists continued to emerge through the not-so-wide hole.

Yeon Ja-ryong, who came out first, was staring intently at my face.

“How did you know there was an escape route here?”

When he asked, my uncle whispered in my ear.

“Say it’s thanks to your innate foresight. That way, you can become a hero.”

I ignored the absurd advice.

“My grandfather told me.”

“Grandfather? How did your grandfather know about the escape route?”

“I don’t know that either.”

Perhaps thinking my answer was insincere, Yeon Ja-ryong stared at my face for a moment and then turned his head.

“Is everyone out?”

“There are still more inside.”

“Hurry up.”

I don’t know how many martial artists had entered the cave, but they were constantly coming out through the hole.

The martial artists who came out knelt on the ground and looked up at the sky.

“Thank you, G*d.”

Not only were there those thanking G*d, but there were also those who collapsed on the ground and burst into tears.

Yeon Ja-ryong checked each of the unit members who came out late.

Not only that, but Ak Mu-yeong and Baek Mu-ho were also checking on their unit members.

I approached Yeon Ja-ryong, who was checking on the unit members.

“Um…… I don’t think the enemies have retreated yet.”

“What?”

Yeon Ja-ryong was surprised and turned around, and Baek Mu-ho and Ak Mu-yeong also looked at my face.

“If they’re not at the cave entrance, they must have followed the Black Tortoise Unit down to the village.”

Hearing my words, Baek Mu-ho shouted into the hole.

“Get out quickly! We’re going to beat the crap out of those bastards who trapped us in the cave!”

At his shout, the martial artists who had escaped the cave were also filled with righteous indignation.

“I’ll lend a hand too!”

“I can’t forgive those bastards either!”

I nodded, looking at them.

Somehow, it seemed like things would work out.

The village was in chaos.

The enemies who came down to the village attacked the Black Tortoise Unit before Unit Leader Yang could gather the martial artists.

“Block them! Block……!”

Unit Leader Yang took the lead in confronting the enemies to protect the Jin family’s residence in Suzhou.

The Black Tortoise Unit members also did their best to protect the Jin residence.

With the Jin family’s martial artists and the village’s martial artists joining the fight, the streets were filled with corpses.

Boom! Crash……!

Unit Leader Yang was struggling to fight against the opponent with the Fangtian Ji.

The man with the Fangtian Ji had the upper hand against Unit Leader Yang.

Clang! Thud……!

Kyaaak!

Ugh!

Enemies continued to d*e from left and right, and occasionally, unit members also screamed and collapsed from the enemies’ weapons.

‘At this rate, there won’t be even fifty left.’

About ten had died at the cave entrance, and it seemed like over thirty had already died after returning to the village.

With his mind not fully focused, Unit Leader Yang was inevitably pushed back further and further.

“It’s time to see the end. With your death, the Four Divine Units will be finished.”