Chapter 74

Chapter 73. Simulation Lv2 (1)

“Huff… Huff…”

Yongjin, injured, was moving through a small path between the Hakka houses.

Protruding eaves, jutting walls, and tombs planted at the intersections of buildings.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Despite using the surrounding terrain to move nimbly, the distance between him and the pursuer did not easily widen.

“Hah. Hah.”

As he moved breathlessly, the scene from a moment ago resurfaced in Yongjin’s mind.

He had been walking in the back garden of the Xuanwu Hall.

Suddenly, he felt an unfamiliar presence, and soon an attack came from that direction.

“Who are you!”

But the opponent did not respond, easily breaking through his defenses.

After just a few exchanges, Yongjin was covered in sword wounds all over his body.

‘I can’t handle this person!’

After narrowly avoiding the deadly strikes, Yongjin fled with all his might.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The pursuer continued to chase him.

He was a member of the Yin Ying Team, a direct subordinate of the Kunma.

Yet, the fact that the pursuer used assassins so readily was incomprehensible.

‘If I keep going this way…’

Yongjin, who had been running blindly, finally sensed something was amiss.

The pursuer neither closed in nor fell behind, and it felt as if he was being herded like an animal.

Swoosh!

As he dodged the intermittent sword qi, his position was gradually moving away from the Yin Ying Team’s base.

Now, it was difficult to seek help from anyone.

‘Damn. Why did I have to be in the back garden of the Xuanwu Hall…’

He blamed his own feet for leading him to this place among many others.

On days without training, there would be no Yin Ying Team members around this area.

Even if he tried to return to the Xuanwu Hall now, the opponent’s fierce sword qi would surely target him.

There was no choice but to try to survive somehow.

‘Damn. The dense buildings are making my vision blurry.’

There were many houses around, but none of them were where the Yin Ying Team members stayed.

The houses here were used to welcome guests or for training purposes.

Swoosh!

Another deadly sword qi grazed his head.

It was a power he could not withstand.

‘This person can kill me at any moment. But why? What is their purpose?’

Perhaps due to the crisis, Yongjin’s mind became increasingly complex. However,

Whoosh.

“…!”

Suddenly, a presence appeared behind him.

Just as Yongjin was about to scream in terror, his pressure points were pressed, and a familiar voice reached his ears.

“Shh. It’s the Commander.”

* * *

“Hm…!”

As soon as his vision cleared, Seohui found himself standing on the rooftop of the tallest building in the Yin Ying Team’s compound.

From here, he could see where Yongjin was moving and where the Black Shadow was chasing him.

The spot he had chosen was the optimal position, coinciding with Yongjin’s path.

‘What should I do now?’

Seohui was worried.

He had no idea how to help when he actually tried to intervene.

‘It’s not easy to subdue the Black Shadow.’

He knew this from a previous fight with the Black Shadow.

He couldn’t win in a normal fight.

Even if he managed to win through a surprise attack, it might not be the end of the problem.

The Taehwang Pavilion Master, who was outside the Yin Ying Team, could also intervene.

‘It might be better to lure the Black Shadow away…’

In the current situation, this seemed to be the best option.

The problem was how to deceive her.

As he looked around, he saw a house with a half-open door.

‘Damn, she’s coming.’

Seohui’s gaze moved downward as he tried to look around.

Yongjin was approaching quite close.

He could no longer afford to delay.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Seohui moved to the alley where he expected the Black Shadow to be and waited.

At least now,

He had the fastest way to approach her.

[Perfect opportunity! You have found a gap in Yongjin’s defenses. How will you respond?]

▶ Attack.

▷ Use martial arts.

▷ Use the tool box.

▷ Approach the opponent.

And then it appeared right in front of him.

As the turn-based system activated with the pause in time, Seohui chose the fourth option from the list below.

▶ Approach the opponent.

This was originally a method used for surprise attacks, but it was the fastest way to approach her now.

<You have chosen ‘Approach the opponent.’ [East][West][South][North] Which direction will you move to?>

Seohui chose the position behind Yongjin, to the south.

<You have chosen South.>

As soon as he moved, he pressed Yongjin’s pressure points and quickly covered his mouth.

“Mmm…?!”

“Shh. It’s the Commander.”

Yongjin’s eyes were wide with confusion, his face asking what was going on, but his resistance decreased. A hint of relief also appeared.

‘Alright. Now we need to move.’

With Yongjin secured, they needed to avoid the Black Shadow’s eyes. Seohui carried him and ran to the house he had seen from the rooftop.

‘Please… please…’

While moving at full speed, Seohui silently prayed.

If they could enter the house, he could execute the plan he had thought of.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

He exerted all his inner energy to perform the lightness technique.

Thump. Thump.

“Phew.”

Fortunately, Seohui entered the house and quickly closed the door, finally able to let out a sigh of relief.

Cough. Cough.

In the dim light coming through the window, his heavy breathing turned into coughs.

Thump. Thump.

“Commander. How did you…?”

Swoosh.

As soon as he released the pressure points, Yongjin spoke in confusion. But when Seohui put a finger to his lips, he asked in a hushed voice.

“What’s going on?”

“No time to explain. That person will find us soon.”

Seohui said calmly.

The moment he appeared behind Yongjin, he was lucky to hide in the shadows between the buildings.

But the opponent was not ordinary. They would thoroughly search all the houses from the point where they lost the trail.

“Do you know who that person is?”

“Black Shadow. The secret guard of the Taehwang Pavilion Master.”

“The Taehwang Pavilion Master? Then…?”

“Yes.”

Swoosh. Rustle.

Seohui answered and removed his mask. He also took off the K-military uniform he was wearing.

“Commander, what are you doing…?”

“Change clothes. I’ll be the target.”

“Huh? Why don’t we fight?”

“If we do, the Taehwang Pavilion Master will follow. Then we’ll both die.”

“Oh!”

Yongjin, finally realizing the situation, spoke urgently.

“But why is the Taehwang Pavilion Master doing this to us?”

“I don’t know. Hurry up and change.”

Seohui had a rough idea but played it down.

The Taehwang Pavilion Master had asked Jipseong about his whereabouts and, after extracting Jipseong, now targeted Yongjin.

This clearly had a purpose.

The target was probably Seohui himself.

The reason for targeting the squad leaders was to interrogate or intimidate them to find out his whereabouts without Kunma’s knowledge.

‘He’s probably trying to find out about the Jade Map.’

Seohui thought.

“I’m done.”

“Good. Then you wear this.”

Seohui was wearing the clothes Yongjin had taken off.

Yongjin, while putting on the clothes, said,

“But will this work? We have different builds and faces…”

“Don’t worry. I have a technique I learned during my samurai training.”

“Samurai training?”

“There’s such a thing.”

After putting on Yongjin’s clothes, Seohui immediately performed a martial art.

His body began to shrink, and his build became smaller.

Thump. Thump.

His face also changed.

Fortunately, his hair was long enough to look almost identical to Yongjin.

“It’s really amazing.”

Yongjin’s eyes were filled with amazement at the transformation.

He had never imagined that the transformation could be so perfect.

It was a stroke of luck.

He never thought he would use the abilities he gained through samurai training and missions here.

“You look good too.”

Seohui chuckled at Yongjin’s unusual attire.

“Commander, I’m sorry. I’m not strong enough…”

“Don’t say that. I’m your commander.”

Seohui said and slowly turned around.

Time was running out. To deceive the Black Shadow’s tracking, he needed to go out and lure her away as soon as possible.

<You have gained Yongjin’s trust. Yongjin’s affection has reached its maximum.>

<Affection>

Squad Leader Yongjin 100/100 (↑20) [Trust]

‘Of course. This is it.’

As expected.

Yongjin’s affection changed as if waiting for it.

[Affection has reached the Trust level.]

[Unless a special situation occurs, affection will not decrease.]

[You can now assign tasks directly to Yongjin.]

However, as he was about to leave, there was something he couldn’t ignore.

<You can obtain the following information from Yongjin.>