CFZ

Crunch—!!
The Twin Crescent Swords’ face was crushed into the ground. Cracks spread out in all directions like spiderwebs, proof of the pressure forcing him down—even if it didn’t bury him completely.
“Ghh…!!”

The sudden pain made him grit his teeth. He immediately focused strength into his danjeon.
Hooouk—!
Qi surged through his meridians. First, he had to get this damn foot off him somehow.

But—
Smack—!
“Guaahh!!”

A sharp pain exploded in his core. His Qi froze, locked in place.
It felt like his meridians were twisting.
No—his meridians hadn’t actually twisted, nor had his Qi reversed. If that had happened, he’d already be suffering from Qi Deviation.

Even his defensive Qi techniques were useless. He couldn’t even struggle.
Helplessness crept in. It weighed down his limbs and clouded his thoughts.
“Hey.”

The voice broke through the tension.
“Why’d you stop? Keep going.”
It came from the man pressing him into the dirt.

There was laughter in his voice.
“Come on, say something.”
Crunch—!
“Urgh… Ahhck!”

“Bark louder. Like the fucking dog you are.”
The pressure on his face intensified.
Even breathing became difficult. At this rate, his skull might actually shatter.

The Twin Crescent Swords gritted his teeth, his mind racing for a way out.
“Still trying to push back? Do you think I’m an idiot—?!”
Suddenly, the overwhelming force on his face weakened.

He didn’t miss the chance. Summoning all his remaining strength, he swung his arm.
Thunk—!
The impact shifted the foot just enough. In that brief opening, he twisted his body and rolled away, widening the distance.

“Huff… Huff—!!”
Suppressing the pain, he forced Qi through his body and raised his defensive energy before looking up.
Not that he needed to check.

The voice had already told him who it was.
“Star—!”
A violent cough interrupted him.

He frowned. The bastard who had just been stepping on his face was now coughing up blood.
Drip—!
The blood splattered onto the ground. There was a lot of it.

“Goddamn it. My clothes are soaked.”
The man wiping his mouth with the back of his hand—Gu Yangcheon, the Star King—frowned in irritation.
Cough.

Another wave hit, and he spat out bloody saliva, staining the dirt.
The Twin Crescent Swords’ gaze shifted as he processed the sight.
“What are you looking at? Never seen someone spit blood before?”

Gu Yangcheon’s tone was almost mocking.
The Twin Crescent Swords’ brows furrowed as he forced out words.
“What the hell… are you doing?”

“What am I doing?”
Gu Yangcheon suddenly burst into laughter.
“Are you fucking stupid? Can’t you see? I’m beating the shit out of a dog.”

The Twin Crescent Swords raised a trembling hand to his forehead.
His face—his entire skull—throbbed with pain.
‘When…?’

When had the Star King approached him?
Why was the unit commander lying over there?
And—

‘Why the hell was I the one lying on the ground?’
He hadn’t registered any of it.
By the time he noticed, he was already pinned to the dirt.

Twin Crescent Swords couldn’t believe it.
‘No matter how careless I was...’
Had he really allowed such a sneak attack? It was absurd.

This went far beyond mere carelessness.
It was a matter of sheer disparity.
An undeniable reality weighed down on Twin Crescent Swords.

Even if he didn’t want to admit it, he had no choice.
‘...A monster.’
A genius who had reached the Hwagyeong stage before turning twenty and claimed the title of King.

He had assumed that the title was more of a formality, a reflection of the alliance’s expectations rather than his actual abilities.
But—
‘This is…’

It wasn’t just King-level strength.
It might be something even higher.
‘They said he crushed the Blade King with his bare hands.’

It didn’t seem like a lie anymore.
Twin Crescent Swords had only half-believed it before, but seeing this firsthand left no room for doubt.
The man in front of him was far stronger.

And now he knew it.
Then—
“I tried to be understanding, you know.”

Gu Yangcheon wiped the last traces of blood from his lips and continued.
“I thought I’d let your bullshit slide to a certain extent.”
Though he wore a smile, Twin Crescent Swords felt a chill crawl up his spine.

He glanced at his arm. Goosebumps.
‘What the hell...?’
He hadn’t even done anything, so why did he feel this way?

Was it the overwhelming gap in strength?
Had his body instinctively frozen under pressure?
No.

It wasn’t just that.
‘Could it be…?’
Was he scared?

Was he—of all people—afraid of this brat?
Clench.
Grinding his teeth, Twin Crescent Swords forced strength into his meridians.

He shook off the stiffness in his body.
There was a gap.
If they fought, he’d lose.

Even if it was certain—even if it crushed his pride—
“What bullshit do you think I pulled?”
He wasn’t going to back down.

Not here.
Not in the Martial Alliance.
“Oh? Look at this guy acting all shameless.”

“Do you even understand where you are? You dare ambush me here—don’t you fear the Alliance’s rules?”
“The rules?”
Gu Yangcheon tilted his head.

Twin Crescent Swords forced a crooked smile.
“You just attacked another unit commander inside the Alliance. That’s no different from rebellion. No matter how favored you are right now, do you really think this will be overlooked?”
“Hah.”

Gu Yangcheon let out a scoff.
“Are you actually insane?”
His expression twisted, as if debating whether to just finish this right here.

“Didn’t I just tell you? I heard every word you said. Or are my ears broken?”
“...”
Twin Crescent Swords flinched.

It was true.
Gu Yangcheon had overheard everything.
But—

“So what?”
“What?”
Gu Yangcheon’s eyes narrowed.

“So what? Are you seriously asking me that?”
He raised a hand and brushed his hair back.
Twin Crescent Swords involuntarily tensed.

His gaze caught the deep blue in Gu Yangcheon’s eyes—
Pure contempt radiated from them.
His chest tightened.

Thump—!
His heart raced uncontrollably.
“…Who’s to say she didn’t use dark arts? Or that you didn’t make a deal with Silver Wolf Sword behind everyone’s backs?”

But he didn’t stop speaking.
Not even his instincts could keep his mouth shut.
“This is just a precaution—”

“Hey.”
“...”
And then his words were cut off.

“I’ve been wondering something for a while now.”
His heart pounded even harder.
His breathing tangled as panic set in.

He had never felt this way before.
What was this sensation?
“Do you have two lives or something?”

Crack.
“No matter how I think about it, I just can’t understand.”
“...!”

Twin Crescent Swords’ eyes widened.
His body was frozen—but his knees were starting to buckle.
“What’s with the attitude? You keep pushing your luck, but one day, you’ll die without anyone even noticing, you son of a bitch.”

Grab—!
“Ugh!”
Gu Yangcheon’s hand shot out, gripping Twin Crescent Swords’ jaw.

The contempt in his eyes bored straight into him.
“Keep going. Go ahead.”
Crack.

“If you say one more word—”
Twin Crescent Swords felt the pressure crush his teeth.
“I might really kill you.”

“Ghhk—!”
“Or maybe…”
Gu Yangcheon sneered.

“Maybe I should just get rid of you right here.”
“...!”
The murderous intent dripping from his voice made Twin Crescent Swords shudder.

This bastard.
He was really considering killing him.
Right here, in the heart of the Martial Alliance.

Even with the guards and other forces nearby.
…Was he not afraid of the consequences?
“That’s probably the right call. Yeah, I think so.”

Gu Yangcheon’s eyes glinted dangerously, as if he had already made up his mind.
“W-wait…!”
Driven by sheer survival instinct, Twin Crescent Swords finally forced out words.

Gu Yangcheon loosened his grip slightly.
“What? Got something else to say?”
“J-just… stop…”

Stop.
Even without hearing the rest, the meaning was clear.
Gu Yangcheon’s gaze twitched.

It was at that moment.
Boom—!!
“Gahk!”

Twin Crescent Swords’ head [N O V E L I G H T] snapped to the side from the force of the blow.
Gu Yangcheon’s fist had slammed into his face.
“That’s not it.”

Drip.
Blood trickled down his philtrum.
His nose had burst.

“That’s not what you’re supposed to say right now.”
“Ghh…”
His vision blurred.

It wasn’t just pain.
The sheer force of the punch made it hard to stay conscious.
A punch like that—

“If you messed up—”
Boom—!!
“Say you messed up.”

Bang—!
“Get down and beg for forgiveness.”
Thud—! Thud—!!

“You worthless mutt.”
Gu Yangcheon’s fists rained down in a flurry.
Splatter—!

Blood sprayed everywhere.
Shattered teeth clattered onto the ground.
His robe was soaked with blood pouring from his mouth and nose.

Pain.
And more pain.
For someone who had survived countless battles, this level of agony from fists alone was new.

Worse—despite the beating, he hadn’t passed out yet.
“Ghh… Ughh…”
Twin Crescent Swords’ limbs went limp.

“I’ve always known this.”
Gu Yangcheon’s eyes glowed faintly blue.
“You’re no better than beasts.”

Thud.
His legs gave out, and he crumpled to his knees.
Or rather, he was dangling—barely held up by Gu Yangcheon’s grip on his collar.

“The demonic sect bastards at least know they’re rotten. But you pieces of shit? You don’t even realize it. That’s what pisses me off the most.”
His hand rose again.
Drops of blood fell from his clenched fist.

All of it—Twin Crescent Swords’ blood.
“It’s disgusting. Rotting away and still acting righteous. Or are you too stupid to even realize you’re rotten?”
He could hear the words, but his brain was too scrambled to process them.

“If you knew, you wouldn’t have ended up like this. But you didn’t, and now here you are.”
The words were aimed at him, but it felt like Gu Yangcheon was speaking to someone else entirely.
“Pathetic bastards.”

His voice dripped with anger and contempt.
And his fist moved.
At that moment—

“…I—I was wrong…”
Gu Yangcheon paused.
Twin Crescent Swords finally managed to choke out the words.

“I… was wrong…”
“...”
“I admit it… I was wrong…”

“Tch.”
Gu Yangcheon clicked his tongue and lowered his fist.
Annoyance was written all over his face.

Thwack!
“Ugh.”
His arm shot out and struck Twin Crescent Swords in the jaw.

His head lolled forward as if he’d finally blacked out.
Gu Yangcheon let go and dropped him to the ground.
Thud.

He wiped his hands, but blood still stuck to his skin, sticky and irritating.
With nothing nearby to clean up, he just flicked his fingers and brushed it off as best as he could.
As he stared down at Twin Crescent Swords, he muttered:

“What a pathetic bastard.”
It was laughable.
“You beg for forgiveness over this? You’re a goddamn joke.”

After talking such a big game, he folded the moment he got a few hits.
And this guy was supposed to be a unit commander?
He’d expected at least some backbone—but there was nothing there.

“He’d piss himself the moment real torture started.”
Gu Yangcheon’s lips curled in disdain.
Skin flayed slowly, layer by layer.

Or needles inserted just under the nails, heating the tips to cauterize wounds as they went.
Or worse—the kind of torture Demon Sword Queen used to specialize in.
Even the most basic torture methods would break someone like this.

With trash like this holding power, it was no wonder the Alliance was crumbling.
Tap.
Gu Yangcheon nudged Twin Crescent Swords’ bloodied face with his foot.

‘Demonic sect or righteous sect, it doesn’t matter. Judging by this mess, he probably died early in my past life anyway.’
It was just a hunch.
But he felt certain.

A nobody.
Not even worth looking at.
Gu Yangcheon turned away without hesitation.

His attention shifted to the other figure—the unit commander lying nearby.
“I know you’re awake.”
“…!”

The ‘unconscious’ man flinched violently.
Slowly, awkwardly, he turned his head toward Gu Yangcheon.
“Stop pretending and clean up this mess, will you?”

“Uh… I… uh…”
“Or would you rather end up like him?”
“N-no! Star King! Sir! Are you alright?!”

“...”
Faced with the threat, the man scrambled over to Twin Crescent Swords.
What a joke.

There wasn’t even a hint of loyalty in his reaction.
Watching this farce, Gu Yangcheon couldn’t help but think—
‘It won’t be long before Golden Dragon Squad collapses too.’

“Hah…”
With a deep sigh, Gu Yangcheon turned his focus outward.
Traces of qi began to trickle in from multiple directions.

Even though he’d suppressed his aura, the waves had already spread far enough to alert the guards and martial artists inside the Alliance.
Gu Yangcheon subtly shifted his gaze.
Toward the top of a tree.

Hidden high above, where few eyes could reach.
He was there.
Gu Yangcheon could barely sense him through the tightly restrained presence—but he was sure of it.

The Azure Dragon Commander.
‘What do you think?’
Gu Yangcheon smirked internally.

‘Are you convinced now?’
Of course, no answer came.
But—

Buzz.
A faint ripple in the air.
And then the presence disappeared completely.

Gu Yangcheon let out a small, satisfied laugh.
This much bait should be enough.