As the ten imperial guards moved, one question rose in their minds.

‘Who the hell is he?’

‘Is he actually sleeping on a horse?’

That was what they were wondering.

A master from the academy had come along with Yu Jin-sung.

Of course, the man’s real identity was Mumu, but the guards and officials didn’t know that. In their eyes, however, Mumu was no different from a lazy person.

‘I don’t know who he is, but they said he’s one of the academy’s best.’

‘No matter how I look, he truly doesn’t seem like that.’

‘He became a master just because of his face.’

‘Right.’

That scary face, even they were all shocked and intimidated when they saw it first.

But the more one looked at it, the less intimidating it looked.

According to Gwak Dan, a skilled warrior among the guards, this man was nothing more than a first-rate warrior.

Not a top-quality, first-rate warrior, but a particularly weak one. Definitely not one suitable to be a master at the academy.

‘It is strange.’

No one attempted to speak to the person as he appeared to be mute and could not even ride a horse properly. The man couldn’t even hold the reins.

Wasn’t that why the royal inspector helped him?

‘Isn’t this just a scam?’

‘I am dying from anxiety here.’

Although they didn’t express it in front of Yu Jin-sung, the officials all felt uneasy about this.

There was also a female student that had come with them. Her true identity was said to be someone from the royal family. Although they had been given orders to lay down their lives for her if necessary, this all felt strange.

‘Just the ten of us to escort a member of the royal family?’

‘Isn’t this too much of a burden on us?’

‘No matter how I look at it, this is suicide, right?’

‘I don’t want to say ominous things.’

None of the guards there failed to recognize how unusual the situation was.

Even so, many were dissatisfied with Yu Jin-sung due to his past connections with the academy. This mission only further fuelled their anxiety.

Pang!

Their eyes collectively widened.

“Huh!”

“W-what!?”

Mumu, who had been napping, suddenly caught a pole-sized arrow without even raising his head, shocking everyone.

But that surprise was short-lived as Yu Jin-sung shouted,

“Ambush!”

Chang!

In response, the guards hurriedly took out their weapons and lifted their shields. Jin-sung then asked Mumu,

“Where did it come from?”

In an instant, everything could change.

At this question, Mumu turned his head towards where the arrow had come from. It was from above this valley.

Jin-sung followed his gaze and could faintly see something.

‘Is it starting?’

There seemed to be assailants that were here for Hong Na-yeon.

Jin-sung spoke in a voice that could only be heard by those behind him.

“Run with your shields up. The terrain isn’t in our favor, so hurry…”

Kiiiik!

A strange sound filled the air, making Jin-sung turn his head back to Mumu.

Crack!

At that moment, he could see Mumu’s upper body beginning to swell, tearing his clothes, as the skin on his neck began to turn gray.

-Swisssh!

He grabbed the pole in his hand and turned it around. The muscles around his biceps and arms were also swollen.

‘W-what muscles are those!’

‘I-is he going to throw it back up?’

The surprised guards had incredulous looks on their faces. Just looking at the cliff above them would make anyone lose hope.

If he shot it with a bow, it would be impossible to reach the top, even with martial arts. Using bare hands would be out of the question.

Paaang!

But then the air was ripped apart as the pole flew through it. The speed it was launched at seemed even faster than an arrow shot from a bow.

At the same time, on top of the cliff…

‘No?’

The scarred man wearing the leopard robe, who had aimed for the sleeping Mumu, frowned.

Shooting an arrow down from a high place would increase its speed, but the reverse would have to face enormous resistance.

And this man was throwing something that would be near-impossible to reach with a bow using his bare hands?

“Insane.”

He snorted in derision and raised his hand.

“Throw the rock…”

‘!?’

Before he could finish his words, the man was shocked.

It was because the arrow appeared right in front of him instantly.

‘N-No way…!’

Kwak!

At that moment, the arrow pierced his chest.

It would have been kind if it had killed him, but the arrow that had pierced him was now knocking him back.

“Kuak!”

The man’s body soared up along with the arrow.

Pang!

“Uhhhhh!”

His screams faded into the air.

“H-hyung!!!!!”

His subordinates could not hide their shock at seeing their leader being sent flying into the air by the arrow he had shot. In the blink of an eye, their leader turned into a dot.

‘!!!!’

What does this mean?

How could an arrow thrown from below do something like this?

But something even more shocking happened.

Kwakwakwang!

The arrow had moved with enough force and was followed by the sound of a tearing wind.

No, to be exact, the cliff was being blown apart.

The guards who were watching him couldn’t close their mouths.

“This cannot be…”

“H-he…”

The cliff where their ambushers were standing had been completely blown apart.

This was unbelievable. They weren’t the only ones who were shocked, either.

Yu Jin-sung, who had only vaguely heard about Mumu’s strength, and Hong Na-yeon were also shocked.

‘That child’s strength is… this much?’

‘… It wasn’t just a rumor that he took down two of them.’

Seeing it with their eyes shocked them even more than the rumors. Mumu’s mighty strength was not something that anyone would think a human could possess.

Mumu tried to say something to his companions, who were shocked.

‘Since there is nothing on the cliff, we can leave.’

That was what he wanted to say.

[It would be better if you don’t speak]

[I shouldn’t speak?]

[Right. Your voice doesn’t match your face.]

He remembered what Dan Pil-hoo told him.

“Hmm.”

Mumu then called out to Jin-sung via a fake cough.

He pointed to the cliff with a finger and then waved his index finger to the left and right.

‘There is no one up there.’

That was what he wanted to say.

But the eyes of the imperial guards who saw this clearly changed.

‘Uh…’

‘He is strong.’

‘There is nothing wrong even after the ambush happened. This is nothing, do not worry.’

‘You saw it too, right?’

‘His pride is as great as his skills.’

Contrary to his intentions, the officials interpreted the signs as they wanted.

Perhaps that was why, unlike before, they now trusted Mumu. They even looked at him differently as he stayed silent.

Early the next day, in an area not too far from the Golden Palace in the Imperial Capital—

A guard hastily made his way into a splendid manor. A sharp-looking middle-aged man wearing blue silk from top to bottom delivered something to an old man who was tending to his vegetables.

“Elder. The message has arrived.”

“…”

Despite those words, the old man didn’t pay him any attention. Perhaps familiar with this, the middle-aged man opened up the delivered message.

He then looked at the contents.

“Hmm.”

The middle-aged man groaned, and the old man tending to the plants said,

“It seems like something didn’t happen as you hoped.”

“As expected.”

“It turns out that something that was supposed to be useful turned out to be fake.”

“… I have no face to show.”

“And the money paid in advance is wasted.”

The old man shook his head, and the middle-aged man sighed in response.

Kang Yeon—

He was a well-known warrior among the nobles and was praised for his martial arts, which was good enough to be considered among the top ten. The man had seemed a useful option.

So how did such a person die?

‘This is different from what I was told.’

Oh Muyang was a member of the palace. According to the information he had delivered, there would only have been ten guards and a royal inspector.

He thought sending Kang Yeon and his men would have been enough, but this result was unexpected.

This was…

“There seems to be an unknown variable involved here.”

“What kind?”

“I heard there are many warriors in the academy. They could have asked them for help.”

Pak

Hearing that, the old man got up with a smile.

“Ah. This means this variable wasn’t predicted.”

At this, the middle-aged man bowed.

“It was my mistake. I was half right and half wrong,”

“Half right and half wrong?”

“Since the position of the princess was being hidden, I didn’t think they would receive help from the academy.”

The old man’s eyebrow twitched.

“And that is the end?”

“The information I received was that it would only be low-level soldiers and empty words.”

“Words…”

“Well, elder Byeok-woong is bored, so I asked for a favor.”

“Byeok-woong?”

“Yes.”

At this, the old man snorted and shook his head.

“It is like using a cow slaying butcher to kill a hen.”

The Giant Stab, Byeok-woong.

One of the very skilled warriors available. How much money was spent to get him?

Grrrng!

The old man heard the thunder overhead and looked up at the sky.

The sky above them was full of dark clouds. It seemed that it would rain a bit. The man then smiled.

“Fine. I should also help out with what you prepared.”

Swisssh!

Pung!

In the morning, there was thunder and lightning, and then it rained.

In preparation for such things, the group had bamboo hats if they needed to move, but they didn’t dare in this heavy rain.

No matter how much the body was protected using internal energy, the body would become exhausted if this was constantly done.

Therefore, the imperial guards chose to deviate from their path for a while to look for shelter.

“Over there, inspector.”

They discovered a shabby-looking guest house slightly outside the forest.

As the group was soaked, they hurriedly moved inside. After they entered, the group sighed in relief.

“Phew.”

“For a guest house to be in such a place.”

They had hoped for the rain to stop, but it didn’t. They now finally felt some warmth.

It seemed like it would rain for a while.

“Phew…”

Shhh.

Every time Hong Na-yeon breathed, white smoke came from her lips.

The moment she entered she took off her hat and dried her clothes. Then raised her body’s temperature using internal energy.

The younger guards glanced at her. Her wet clothes clung to her body and showed off her curves.

“Ahem!”

Jin-sung warned them with a cough.

Hong Na-yeon, a little conscious of this, covered her body with both hands as her face flushed red.

She was just embarrassed.

Even in the middle of this, she was curious about Mumu’s reaction. Could Mumu also be looking at her?

But…

‘Ah…’

Mumu seemed to not care and had already settled down inside as he looked around with bright eyes. It must be because he hadn’t gotten to eat anything since the morning.

‘… Doesn’t he have even the slightest interest in this?’

She was curious about Mumu. Meanwhile, an old man with a cane looked down from the inn’s second floor.

‘Has to be them.’

The old man nodded. He had heard their description.

A woman with a bow on her back, a royal inspector, and a group of imperial guards.

‘Hmm.’

But it was strange.

How did they manage to get away from Kang Yeon’s grasp and make it all the way here? Who among them possessed such strength?

The level of martial arts of the young man who seemed to be their leader was acceptable, but that was all.

The variable…

‘Is it him?’

The old man’s eyes turned to the middle-aged man, who had a serious look on his face.

Considering this person wasn’t on the information list, he was likely someone from the academy.

On the surface, he looked fine, but his martial arts were odd.

But this was something that an average person wouldn’t be able to know. Among those who trained intensely, some could not show their internal energy.

‘It doesn’t matter who it is.’

It would be the same as not being able to precisely grasp their level. Even though he had stepped away from front-line duties, he was still good enough.

Now he was an old man whose level was not far behind the Four Great Warriors. The old man looked at the middle-aged man, who was actually Mumu, and laughed.

‘You will die first.’