POK! POK-POK! POK!
The squeaky hamr’s sound echoed at regular intervals.
anwhile, there hadn’t been a single sound of a pot being banged—not even once—because Ahn Jeongmi was beating them one-sidedly.
Sa as now.
She darted between Depresso-Sloth and Fast-Sloth and swung the squeaky hamr like lightning.
POK! POK!
The two of them rubbed their foreheads and stared at each other.
“......Strategy eting.”
......This won’t work.
They were starting to realize it.
That charging in together with no plan still wouldn’t work on a skilled fighter like Ahn Jeongmi.
“Role division.”
One of us has to pin her down.
While one takes the so-called tank role, the other lands a decisive hit.
The problem was: who takes that dirty job?
It wasn’t like there was any way to block or dodge the squeaky hamr, so whoever did it would have to endure getting beat senseless.
Depresso-Sloth and Fast-Sloth stared at each other again.
“The clone’s role.”
Not necessarily.
“I’m the original.”
Exactly because you’re the original, you should yield. You’re the one who gets the reward.
That was, undeniably, a fair point.
So when you’re less annoying, your brain works better too, huh.
Seo Ye-in seed unable to find a rebuttal either, but she looked away and stubbornly dug in.
“......No.”
At that, Ahn Jeongmi—who had been watching—stepped into the conversation.
“Looks like you aren’t reaching a conclusion.”
“Frustrating.......”
Stubborn to the bone.
The two of them pointed fingers at each other.
Ahn Jeongmi nodded like she understood everything.
“Then helping you reach a quick decision is also part of a butler’s duty.”
POK!
And with the squeaky hamr clenched in her hand, she began advancing.
If they kept getting beaten, it would resolve itself naturally.
*****
While Seo Ye-in and Fast-Sloth were being force-fed a spirit of cooperation.
An unexpected guest visited the Dang family.
Kyu’s uncle, Dang Munhyeong, appeared at the training grounds with soone in tow—and that face was extrely familiar.
‘ShoSho’s here.’
Dang Munhyeong turned around the instant he finished guiding her in.
“If I stay in a place like this, you’ll just end up worrying about for no reason. I’ll be going now, so talk among yourselves.”
“Thank you again.”
Zhuge Soso bowed with impeccable decorum.
Dang Gyu-young watched that as if they were looking at sothing impossible.
Then, when their eyes t, they tossed out a question.
“Why are you here?”
“I said I was coming.”
“Just because you said it, you actually ca?”
“Of course I actually ca. I’m the kind of person who does what I say I’ll do.”
The ekness she’d shown Kyu’s uncle a mont ago was nowhere to be found—she was back in full, imposing ShoSho mode.
Dang Gyu-young made a dumbfounded face, then frowned like they’d sensed sothing off.
They scanned around and craned their neck over Zhuge Soso’s shoulder.
“......Sho, you ca alone?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“They let you co alone?”
Sichuan right now was an outright conflict zone.
A place where the Dang family and other allied groups clashed with the Blood Cult at random, all the ti.
No matter how excellent a swordswoman she was—even if she used to be the Swordsmanship Club’s vice captain—wandering a conflict zone alone was a dangerously bad choice.
Even more so when she was direct line from the Zhuge family and holding a position in the Murim Alliance.
Common sense said ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) she should have at least one or two escorts, but there was no one in sight, so Dang Gyu-young couldn’t help being puzzled.
Zhuge Soso answered like it was nothing.
“Of course they didn’t let .”
“Then how’d you get here?”
“I ran away?”
Dang Gyu-young blinked a few tis.
Then, like they were about to circle behind her, they started pushing her in the back.
“Hey, go. Ho, Murim Alliance, whatever—fast.”
“Go where? I ca all the way here.”
“No, you learn the good stuff from a friend and copy that. Why would you copy this?”
“Yeah, I copied you and ran away! You runaway KyuKyu!”
“I can’t endure this slander!”
The shadow club swung, but Zhuge Soso opened distance with fluid footwork.
ShoKyu tag went on for a while, until Dang Gyu-young finally gave up and stopped in place.
“You’re fast for the stupidest reasons.”
“Heheh. You can’t catch .”
“I’m being serious. It’s really dangerous. Go first, then co back when things quiet down.”
“You think I ca without knowing? I ca to stake my life and add one sword stroke, and you keep trying to send away.”
Zhuge Soso answered with a serious face.
Dang Gyu-young lifted their brows.
“......Are you really okay?”
“I’m telling you I’m fine. How many dungeons have we gone into together—why are you acting like this now?”
“I’m moved, all of a sudden.”
The two of them smiled at each other.
Warmth seeped into the air, and Zhuge Soso walked over to and put a hand on my shoulder.
“Since I’m here, I’ll play with the WAAH Sovereign too.”
“......I knew she’d do that.”
Dang Gyu-young’s emotion shattered into pieces.
*****
With Zhuge Soso joining in, we trained.
When evening ca, we returned to the guest annex.
Dang Gyu-young opened a room for her.
“You can use this one.”
“Clean. Where’s your room?”
“Right next door.”
“I wanna see it.”
They’d probably look identical anyway, but Zhuge Soso—maybe stirred by pointless curiosity—peered inside.
Then she fired off another question.
“Where’s Kim Ho’s room?”
“Here.”
“Where’s Seo Ye-in’s room?”
“Here.”
“.......”
Zhuge Soso fell silent for a mont, then nodded.
“......I’m unpacking here too.”
“Unpack in your room!”
“From now on, this is my room! That’s my bed!”
As if they weren’t best friends—her lines were practically the sa.
Dang Gyu-young let out a hollow sigh, like they couldn’t believe it.
“Unreal. Fine, use this room. We’ll move, then.”
“Fine, but leave the baby sovereign behind.”
“Who says I’m leaving him behind?”
While ShoKyu waged a stare-down, Seo Ye-in unexpectedly cut in.
She tugged my arm and said,
“No.”
Dang Gyu-young froze for a beat, then added as if that settled it.
“Did you hear? Under the Depresso-Kyu Agreent, Kim Ho can only be used by the two of us.”
“I never agreed to that.”
“Why do we need your agreent? Just get out.”
“No. I’m sleeping here too.”
“Are you really going to be that childish?”
This ti, I stepped in.
“Then how about I move to the next room and the three of you use this one?”
Once in a while, sleeping alone without being a pillow wouldn’t be so bad.
But as if it was out of the question, three hands grabbed all at once.
“Can’t go.......”
“Where are you going, WAAH Sovereign!”
“Sit here, baby sovereign!”
Bound by Depresso-Kyu-Sho, I kept talking.
“Then at least let’s have a constructive conversation.”
“Yeah. I’ve been wanting to ask since earlier—what’s going on? How did things end up like this?”
Since she’d only just arrived, it seed she hadn’t fully grasped what had happened so far.
So I started explaining the incidents, cutting them down to a manageable summary.
Starting with how the Dang family hadn’t welcod Dang Gyu-young, and there’d been several clashes under the Elder Council’s instigation.
And because a friend is a friend, Zhuge Soso got furious like it was her own problem.
“No, why couldn’t they just leave you alone? Why did they have to challenge you to a duel? Dang Junyeop, Dang Huiyeon—where are they now?”
“They’re lying down.”
Dang Gyu-young answered, clicking their tongue.
A while back, during the Blood Cult’s massive offensive, the Dang siblings had gotten hit too.
Thankfully they hadn’t died, but they’d need a long recovery period.
Zhuge Soso looked like she wanted to ask more about that “massive offensive,” but it would be faster to understand if I explained in order, so I moved on.
With help from the Twin Heroes of the Dang Family and Hyeseong Group staff, we went searching for the hidden Blood Cult, and not only found many of their temporary bases—we dealt with the Asura Blood Sword Squad as well.
And in that process, we’d also fought a heated match against the Blood Sword Squad Leader.
Then an exclamation mark practically popped over Zhuge Soso’s head.
“So that Kyu Sword Squad Leader thing you showed earlier—that was him?”
“Yeah. Since we’re talking about it, look again.”
Dang Gyu-young puffed up and summoned the Dark-Shadow Commander, then even stretched it out to six arms.
CHK!
Zhuge Soso watched with fascinated eyes.
“......Looking again, it kinda looks strong?”
“It is strong. I should’ve gotten it before graduation.”
If they had, they could’ve beaten Song Cheongi and Oh Sehun down easy too—Dang Gyu-young muttered, sounding regretful.
Zhuge Soso nodded like she agreed, then looked back at .
“Anyway, after that?”
“The Blood Cult left sothing behind.”
That “massive offensive” I’d ntioned earlier had been to steal those items.
By the ti she heard that, an ominous tension surfaced on Zhuge Soso’s face.
“......When was that?”
“A few days ago.”
“Then soon, sothing’s going to blow. Like, for real.”
“Probably.”
By now, the Blood Cult would’ve had more than enough ti to reorganize.
Even if a full-scale war broke out tonight, it wouldn’t be strange at all.
Zhuge Soso looked at Dang Gyu-young.
“......Hey. Did I just catch the last train?”
“Yeah, you idiot ShoSho! It’s not too late even now. Go ho.”
“You think I will?”
Zhuge Soso snorted.
Then, with a subtly uneasy expression, she added a line.
“But I am a little worried. I should stay close.”
“The next room is plenty close.”
“No, I’m saying we should share.”
“Why do you keep insisting we share! Get out!”
The two of them couldn’t hold back and started bickering again.
*****
Deep night.
The street felt unusually dark.
Martial artists patrolling near the Dang family looked up at the sky and saw the faint crescent moon being swallowed by storm clouds.
Feeling a touch of unease, they glanced toward the streetlights planted here and there.
“Good thing we at least have those.”
“Agreed.”
Maybe it heard them.
The streetlights flickered and sparked a few tis—then went out.
It didn’t take long for the street to be swallowed by complete darkness.
“......!”
“......!”
It was clearly an artificial phenonon, so the martial artists imdiately tried to report it.
But in the next mont, what they saw was black silhouettes rushing straight at them.
One by one, the patrolling martial artists were dragged into the darkness.
Then, for a brief mont, the storm clouds parted and the crescent moon lit the area.
The silhouettes’ clothing, now that they could see it, wasn’t black at all—it was dark red, the color of blood.
CLINK.......
From sowhere, an eerie bell sound drifted in.
And at so point, an old man in blood-colored martial robes was standing there.
He silently watched the blood-robed n encircle the manor, then murmured like he was talking to himself.
“There were a few snags, but in the end, it turned out exactly as intended.”
“.......”
“Defeat and death were already accepted. For the great undertaking of our Blood Cult, what is there to fear?”
If there were no need to maintain secrecy, every last blood-robed man in the grounds would have shouted.
BLOOD DEMON, DESCEND! BLOOD WORLD UNDER HEAVEN!
They were nothing more than pieces on the board.
Pieces to stir chaos, and to fulfill the cult leader’s purpose.
Soon, the blood-robed n took their positions and began unfolding a massive formation array.
Sothing they normally used to conceal branch bases and safehouses—now they ant to use it to cover the Dang family.
So that no one would know what was happening inside.
Next, rolled-up parchnt ca out from their robes.
Magic scrolls.
A dium prepared to make the job faster and easier.
Then the old man spoke in a low voice.
“Begin.”
At once, the sound of parchnt tearing—rrip, rrip—rose from all around, and pitch-black energy poured free, spreading as it blanketed the Dang family.
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