Chapter 93

The branch manager, Gal Wuseon, who had been waiting on the first floor, still looked gloomy as Zhang Jian came down. He briefly said to Zhang Jian, who had come down, without showing any curiosity about what he and Bixian had talked about.

"Let's go. The martial artists at the branch are waiting for us."

After saying that, he tried to leave, but Zhang Jian held him back.

"Are we going back to the branch?"

"…We have to. There are so many of them gathered there. What can we do with just the two of us?"

Indeed, if the calculation he had made a while ago was correct, there were over a hundred members of the Huilong Sect gathered at the hideout. If it were a bandit group of the same size, the Martial Alliance would have formed an expeditionary force and sent it out. The fact that such a sect had formed within the city and not been stopped meant that Branch Manager Gal Wuseon was likely to be dismissed as soon as this matter was over. That was why his face didn't just show sadness or anger.

But Zhang Jian didn't let go of the shoulder he had grabbed.

"Then just guide me."

A look of bewilderment appeared on Branch Manager Gal's face.

"Are you in your right mind? I don't know how great a martial artist you are, but there are few who can stand against a hundred ordinary people armed with iron rods. Moreover, I doubt you have the stamina to defeat all hundred of them. It's completely different from a one-on-one duel or fighting a few subordinates—"

"Just guide me."

Branch Manager Gal, seemingly at a loss for words at Zhang Jian's calm tone, closed his mouth for a moment before continuing.

"I don't know what confidence you have… but I'll guide you up to there."

He said that and started walking ahead with large strides. Zhang Jian followed him, and the attendant inside the brothel bowed deeply to their backs.

By the time they had finished their conversation inside the brothel, the night rain had already stopped. The air, damp and cool from the rain, seeped into Zhang Jian and Branch Manager Gal's clothes.

Dark clouds still partially obscured the sky, so the moon and stars did not shine. The night in Ganshan, which usually evoked the image of a city that never sleeps, had become unusually quiet as people huddled in their homes, deterred by the recent events, the night rain, and the cool air. The two of them walked steadily through the dark streets of Ganshan.

It was dark, making it hard to see the road, but Branch Manager Gal led the way without hesitation. They left the brothel district and entered the inn district.

Unlike the brothel district, which had been completely quiet, the inn district still had lights on in various inns. It was a strange sight, considering that the brothel district usually stayed open much later into the night. After walking for a while, Branch Manager Gal stopped.

"Do you see that? Huangxian Pavilion and Jeyang Tower. Both still have their lanterns on."

He pointed to two large inns facing each other across a small alley. A side street extended deep between the two inns, and the inside was shrouded in deeper shadows due to the bright lights of the inns, making it hard to distinguish.

Branch Manager Gal said,

"If Bixian's words are true, we need to go inside there. But…"

Zhang Jian passed the stopped branch manager. Branch Manager Gal, looking at his back, hesitated and then said,

"…Be careful of the two inns with the lights on. If I were in charge, I would have hidden troops there to monitor anyone entering."

Zhang Jian, in response, slightly nodded the tip of his hood and continued walking. Branch Manager Gal, swallowing hard at the unusually bright appearance of the two inns, quickly turned and started running. He didn't know how well Zhang Jian could fight, but he needed to lead the branch's martial artists to the scene before the Wang brothers escaped to another location due to the commotion.

Zhang Jian walked towards the two inns, listening to the sound of Branch Manager Gal's footsteps fading away behind him. He stopped at the entrance to the alley and looked up.

The two inns standing on either side looked like the pillars of a giant gate, and the dark, cloudy sky above seemed like the roof resting on those pillars. The inside of the alley was pitch black.

The atmosphere was strange. It was a place filled with a gloomy aura and an indescribable darkness, making it hard to believe it was just a hideout for ruffians.

Suddenly, Zhang Jian realized that the black spear tip of the Plain Tribe, which he had tucked into his waist, had been trembling for some time. As he touched the spear tip and felt its trembling, the door of the inn next to him suddenly opened.

A man, who appeared to be a waiter, came out with a basin and froze upon seeing Zhang Jian. He said,

"…What are you doing here?"

Zhang Jian's eyes turned to him. He already knew that this waiter had been hiding behind the inn door, watching him since he stopped. So, this must be an act.

"Wang brothers, are they in there?"

"Wang? What are you talking about? Alone?"

Zhang Jian answered the question by grabbing the scabbard with his left hand. The waiter, apparently satisfied with this answer, quickly wiped the puzzled look from his face and looked around.

"…It seems you're alone. What are you doing, kid?"

"There's a smell of blood inside."

The man disguised as a waiter was startled by this. Then, the people hiding inside the two inns suddenly burst out, about twenty of them.

"Damn. Where did this guy come from? Looking for an inn? I'm sorry, but both are closed."

"We're closed. Huh."

The men who came out, chuckling, each held various weapons, from small knives and axes to the occasional long sword. All of their weapons were stained with roughly wiped blood.

The man disguised as a waiter, taking an axe from someone next to him, said proudly,

"Well, if you were looking for an inn, you're out of luck. We've been ordered to cut off the heads of any ruffians hanging around here. That's life."

Zhang Jian glanced at the ruffians who had roughly surrounded him and smiled slightly at the words.

"Right. That's life."

The ruffians, who had been chuckling, stiffened at his smile and words.

"…Ha. This kid, scared out of his—"

The man disguised as a waiter, speaking, suddenly felt something flash at his waist and his words were cut off. As he blinked, trying to understand the situation, his vision tilted, and he fell to the ground. He died in confusion.

"…What, what the hell!"

The ruffian behind him shouted in shock at the sight of his companion, whose head and body had separated, collapsing. Zhang Jian's blade then cut through his neck.

Zhang Jian didn't give them time to be shocked or react. After striking the first one, he moved without hesitation, reducing their numbers.

When four of them had fallen, the ruffians regained their senses and started attacking Zhang Jian, shouting. Among them, some seemed to have learned some martial arts, showing a sudden increase in speed.

But even with their increased speed, they couldn't catch up to Zhang Jian. It was as if he had eyes in the back of his head or some other sense to detect his surroundings. He dodged the weapons of the ruffians attacking from all sides with minimal movement.

None of them had deeply studied martial arts, so a missed attack left a large opening. Zhang Jian, unlike the first two, where he struck their heads, lightly stabbed their openings. That was enough. Those with holes in their necks or chests gasped once and fell, bleeding to death.

When about a dozen had fallen, the ruffians near Zhang Jian all lay on the ground. Those who were a bit further away, who had seen Zhang Jian's movements, turned pale.

"Damn. He's a martial artist…"

"The Martial Alliance isn't supposed to move, right? They're not supposed to move at all…?"

One of them shouted,

"Shit! Let's go inside! We can't handle this alone!"

He shouted, but no one moved. Zhang Jian stood there, his blood-dripping sword hanging, looking at them.

After a moment of glancing at each other, they threw away their weapons and fled into the alley. Zhang Jian didn't chase them.

He followed the one who tried to escape through a different alley and stabbed him in the back. Three more died this way.

Zhang Jian, after shaking off the blood from his sword, looked at the alley where they had fled and then turned to the inn they had come out of. Peering inside, he saw a dead person lying on the counter. The well-dressed and well-built person seemed to be the inn's owner. The inn was bright but quiet, with a few bodies scattered around and no customers.

After slowly inspecting the inn, Zhang Jian turned and came out. Outside, he saw a group of people with torches rushing from the end of the side street. The dozens of weapons they carried glinted in the flickering torchlight.

Zhang Jian couldn't help but laugh. Their actions and equipment made them no different from a bandit group. What were these crazy people thinking? Did they really try to occupy Ganshan with such ruffians?

Even if they could temporarily suppress the Martial Alliance by kidnapping the branch manager's son, Ganshan was a crucial city, the economic artery of this new continent. Even if they unified the back alleys of Ganshan and Zhang Jian hadn't come, the city's underworld would have been swept away in no time. Of course, the city's commerce and trade might have cooled down in the process, but what good would that do to the madmen who had learned martial arts?

At that moment, the group that had filled the road stopped in front of Zhang Jian. The one at the front stepped forward and shouted,

"Who are you, kid?"

Zhang Jian, who had been lost in thought, looked up at the sound. The one who stepped forward, wielding a large sword, was a bulky man. The others behind him also held large spears, swords, and sabers, glaring at Zhang Jian.

After looking at them, Zhang Jian raised his left hand, untied the hood, and said,

"It doesn't seem like we're in a position to introduce ourselves. Let's keep it simple."

He threw the hood to one side and pointed his sword at them.

"Drop your weapons and lie down. I won't spare anyone standing from now on."

There was a moment of silence. Then, the Huilong Sect members started laughing, as if they had heard an absurd joke. The dozens of them laughing made the narrow road noisy.

However, Zhang Jian, seemingly unaffected by the laughter, lowered his sword and walked towards them.

"What, I was surprised to hear a martial artist had come, but it's just a joker! Kids! Attack! Let's finish this quickly and have some drinks!"

At his shout, the group, who had been laughing, raised their weapons and started charging at Zhang Jian. It was the movement of someone who had never feared weapons, the kind of movement shown by a back-alley brawler when he picks up a large sword.

Zhang Jian, taking a step forward, entered the clumsy attack and delivered a short punch with his left hand. The ruffian who had charged from the front fell, his chest caving in.

Before he hit the ground, Zhang Jian's sword began to draw a relentless line in the narrow alley.

In the dark alley, under the flickering torchlight, dark red blood spurted in all directions. Severed wrists and arms flew, and the blood that gushed out painted the walls of the alley. Occasionally, Zhang Jian's sword cut through a ruffian and the wall, and sparks flew, blinding the eyes.

The ones who had been laughing and charging from the front clutched their split chests and fell, choking and crying. The ground, which had been wet from the night rain, was now covered in