Light Novel: Volume 13 Episode 16
Thud!
Pyo-wol and Yul Ayeon landed on the deck of the massive ship simultaneously.
Yul Ayeon immediately hid behind a large crate upon landing.
The impact of the landing caused her ankle to twinge.
Even though she was an extremely skilled martial artist, jumping down from a height of nearly twenty feet without any injury was nearly impossible. Nevertheless, she managed to catch some wind to minimize the impact. If it were anyone else, their ankle would have already been broken.
“Everyone, stay on high alert and be cautious of any suspicious activity!”
“If anything seems off, report it immediately, as there might be pursuers.”
Shortly after Yul Ayeon concealed herself, a group of martial artists poured out onto the deck.
They took up positions on the deck and masts, their eyes meticulously scanning their surroundings.
‘If I were even a little bit late, I would have been in big trouble.’
Yul Ayeon breathed a sigh of relief, but then suddenly realized that she couldn’t see Pyo-wol anywhere.
They had both jumped off the ship almost simultaneously, yet she couldn’t see him. And now, that she thought about it, the only sound she heard upon landing was the sound of her own footsteps.
She didn’t hear the sound of Pyo-wol’s footsteps landing at all.
‘Did he infiltrate in first?’
A chill ran down her spine.
No matter how exceptional Pyo-wol’s martial arts and stealth skills were, they still had jumped together, and yet she hadn’t noticed a single movement of his beside her.
If he had changed his mind and hesitated during the jump, then it’s possible that he wouldn’t have survived.
‘What the hell?’
She regretted not paying more attention to Pyo-wol, treating him merely as a passing connection.
As soon as she was done with this, Yul Ayeon promised herself that she would have to find out more about Pyo-wol.
It was already too late to search for him.
Deciding to move alone, Yul Ayeon infiltrated the corridors of the ship. Fortunately, apart from the deck, there were no other guards roaming around.
The crew members on the ship didn’t think that someone had already sneaked into the ship. After all, it was unimaginable for an outsider to freely roam around an isolated ship in the middle of the sea.
Yul Ayeon swiftly moved through the cabins.
Unlike Pyo-wol, she hadn’t mastered the art of infiltration.
Her martial arts might be strong, but she was terrible at sneaking around like this.
She only had one option left.
That was to find the Demonic Soul Blade as quickly as possible and escape to the small boat where Tae Musang was waiting.
Crea–ak!
At that moment, she heard the sound of a door opening from deep within the corridor.
Almost instinctively, Yul Ayeon pressed herself against the wall.
She completely held her breath, trying to suppress her presence.
Eventually, the door opened, and a white-haired man stepped out.
He was Jin Yoo-gun.
He immediately walked straight to the spot where Yul Ayeon was.
Yul Ayeon’s heart pounded violently against her chest, threatening to burst at any moment.
‘What should I do?’
The darkness was covering her now, but if he got any closer, she would undoubtedly be discovered.
In an instant, countless thoughts raced through Yul Ayeon’s mind.
It was then.
Jin Yoo-gun, who was heading straight for Yul Ayeon, suddenly turned to the left.
She thought that place was a dead end, but there was a staircase leading downward.
Yul Ayeon remembered what Pyo-wol had told her, that a white-haired man was in possession of the blade.
‘I should follow him.’
She followed Jin Yoo-gun down the staircase.
The stairs leading downward were even darker, and there was a nauseating stench permeating in the air, making her head throb.
The smell seemed like a mixture of rotten fish and feces.
Just breathing the air made her want to vomit.
Yul Ayeon forced herself to suppress the urge to retch and cautiously descended the stairs.
The moment Yul Ayeon arrived in the unknown space below the stairs, her eyes widened involuntarily.
‘Oh my god!’
The underground space was filled with cells surrounded by iron bars. Each cell had numerous people trapped inside.
The people trapped inside looked like animals. They were naked, wounded, as they were crammed into narrow cages. Their appearances and races were diverse as if they had been captured from various places.
While these people had their eyes closed, despair was evident in their figures. It was as if they had lost all hope.
‘This can’t be happening!’
Yul Ayeon’s shoulders trembled.
She had never witnessed such a horrific sight before.
The shock she felt was even greater because it was her first time seeing humans treating fellow humans like animals.
It didn’t take long for Yul Ayeon to find herself having a strong sense of hatred for Jin Yoo-gun and his crew for having committed such an inhumane act.
She clenched her teeth and stepped further inside.
The deeper she went, the worse the stench became, and the condition of the trapped people grew more wretched.
Many of them were huddled, wandering in their distress, and the floor was covered in their own excrement.
Under normal circumstances, Yul Ayeon would never have come to a place like this. But, she was so consumed with anger right now that she didn’t even notice that her clothes were getting dirty.
“HNG!”
At that moment, a loud groan came from the front.
Yul Ayeon immediately hid behind a nearby cage and peeked to see where the sound was coming from.
Her gaze soon landed upon Jin Yoo-gun, who stood with his crew members.
All of their clothes were stained with red blood.
Yul Ayeon quickly realized why.
It was because a man had turned into a human beast in front of them.
He was the man who had stolen the dagger and escaped. Upon being captured, he was brought here and subjected to brutal torture.
“K…kill… me…!”
The man pleaded, barely lifting his head.
Jin Yoo-gun squatted down and locked eyes with the man.
In his hand, there was a small dagger.
Swoosh!
Jin Yoo-gun slashed the man’s arm with a dagger.
“Ugh!”
“Who said that you can escape? With the Demonic Soul Blade, too.”
“That’s–”
“Oh, I understand! You seized the opportunity to escape and wanted to take something with you, right? Even so, you shouldn’t have done that. Do you know why?”
“I… I don’t…”
Thud!
At that moment, Jin Yoo-gun forcefully plunged the dagger deep into the man’s arm. Already battered from torture, the man couldn’t even scream. He could only tremble uncontrollably.
“Do you know that over ten people have died because of you? More than ten. They climbed up onto the ship without any preparation just to capture scum like you, and they died. All because of a pathetic human like you…”
“Ugh! I, I’m… s-sorry…!”
“Don’t apologize. I don’t want to hear your apologies. Do you think hearing your apology will make me feel better?”
Jin Yoo-gun’s eyes had now turned red and bloodshot.
The men he had lost in Haimen were all his loyal subordinates.
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