‘This…’

Byeok-woong was shocked.

He had predicted that this warrior from the academy was hiding his energy or skills, but this was too much!

Who would have thought he could jump over a river with a raft in his hands?

‘And such a person’s name isn’t even known.’

He was referred to as Master Yu, but this much strength was absurd. If he had such power and Byeok-woong tried to fight him, victory and defeat would be difficult to predict.

Sure, he could lift a raft, but jumping over a river with it was impossible. This meant that this master was a step above him in abilities.

‘This is shocking.’

At this rate, the man would transport the rest of the party and horses in mere moments.

The chance to do something to them would also disappear.

‘I need to come up with a way to do it.’

The embankment would soon collapse, and the river’s water would flood. Once that happened, he could no longer stop them if they managed to cross over.

Before that, he needed to deal with the variable.

‘If the river is being crossed one way or another and breaking the embankment is also done, what else can I do? Force them into the water…?!’

In an instant, he frowned and turned his gaze to the rest of the group waiting on his side of the river.

‘Forcibly put them in the water?’

Come to think of it, there was no need to aim directly for that master. It would be easier to take down the other targets instead of him. Byeok-woong turned to look at Yu Jin-sung.

He seemed to be the leader of the group. If Yu Jin-sung drowned, the monstrous man would be forced to divert his attention.

Byeok-woong smiled as the rest of the imperial retinue gaped in surprise at Master Yu’s skills.

“H-he isn’t a human.”

“To jump across the river at once! Ah…”

“Master Yu is here, so there will be no more problems on the way back to the palace.”

Jin-sung was also very shocked at this. The more he came to know Mumu, the more different the boy felt. He felt so fortunate now that such a child was his younger sibling.

Furthermore…

‘This is luck.’

This was a great way to cross the river quickly. Once they got past this river and a cliff, only a few mountains and open plains were left, which were easier terrain to respond to potential ambushes.

Thud!

At that moment, Mumu, who had jumped over the river and set down another raft, turned to wave at the rest of the group. It was a signal to transport another group, and one of the men told Yu Jin-sung.

“Inspector, you head in first. I don’t think we must be stuck with the order in this situation.”

“No. You should move first.”

“But…”

“Contrary to what we thought, nothing seems to be happening, but just in case, I will cross over last.”

Hearing these words, the rest of the party thanked him and bowed. Other people would have gone first instead of letting guards go first.

Because of his strong sense of responsibility, many officials and guards from the palace liked him despite his young age.

“Hurry up now! We need to move before the waves get stronger.”

“I understand!”

The imperial guards all climbed onto the raft. Jin-sung lightly nodded his head at Mumu and Mumu lifted the boat by bending his knees.

Kwang!

The ground he stood on sank as Mumu flew over the river again. Jin-sung then looked at the remaining people and horses. Just two more trips. As he thought that, however…

“You have brought such an annoying one.”

‘!?’

The voice of Byeok-woong from behind him shocked Jin-sung.

The fact that someone who had been some distance away was suddenly behind him was shocking.

‘Kuak!’

Pak!

Jin-sung immediately moved away but felt something sharp touch his back. It wasn’t deep, but there was a cut on his back.

Papapak!

Jin-sung, who was hit unexpectedly, fell down before getting back up.

Shhh!

Before he could react, Byeok-woong ran towards him with a shining blue light in his hand.

‘Blade energy!’

It was blade energy.

He was indeed someone who was referred to as one of the top ten warriors in the past to be able to use such skill even with his bare hands.

Byeok-woong, who narrowed the distance instantly, used a wide array of movements and rushed forward.

This shocked Jin-sung once more.

‘Eight Forms Kicking Technique!’

Using a firm lower body for balance, he created the angle needed on the water below him before pushing forward.

Papapal!

“You are nothing.”

Chak!

When Byeok-woong moved his hand in a slash, the dirt on the ground flew up. Jin-sung flew at him like a raging wave in the middle of this.

Papapak!

“Oh.”

Byeok-woong evaded the attacks by moving his upper body, causing Jin-sung’s face to darken.

Even after using all his strength, he could barely even touch this man.

“This young one is quite good. But…”

Shhh!

Byeok-woong easily avoided a kick from Jin-sung, moved to his left, and cut him on the right after a slight diversion.

“Your sides are defenseless.”

‘Huh!’

Drrr!

Surprised by this, Jin-sung tumbled to his rear and landed a kick on Byeok-woong’s shoulder.

Puak!

And…

“Such a shame. A promising young junior with excellent skills and mind will have to die by my hands.”

The difference in power between the two of them was too large to begin with.

Byeok-woong was still strong enough to be counted among the top thirty current strongest warriors.

Therefore, both his internal energy and experience were exceptional.

Pak!

Byeok-woong grabbed Jin-sung by the ankle and tried to cut off his leg. At that moment, someone rushed towards Byeok-woong with a raised sword.

It was an imperial guard.

“Let go of the royal inspector, you bastard!”

“Huh!”

Byeok-woong caught the blade with two fingers and bent it lightly.

Chang!

The sword then broke into two, and he lodged the piece between his fingers into the imperial guard’s chest.

Puak!

“Kuak!”

The guard who had tried to help stumbled backward. Byeok-woong tried to cut off Jin-sung’s leg again but was interrupted by yet another guard.

‘This cannot be helped.’

Puak!

“Ack!”

He repeated his earlier action and kicked Jin-sung in the ribs to keep him at a distance.

Chang!

“Kuak!”

“Why are you so surprised at this?”

Pak!

Byeok-woong grabbed a guard by his robes and threw him into the now-overflowing river.

Plop!

“Jip Young!”

Jin-sung’s shout made Byeok-woong laugh.

“I will push you down there, too, don’t worry so much.”

“What?”

Puak!

As soon as those words were uttered, Jin-sung was kicked in the chest.

“Kuak!”

Jin-sung was unable to avoid the kick due to his injured ribs. He bounced across the ground and fell into the river.

Plop!

Jin-sung, who had fallen into the river, managed to reach the water’s surface by swimming and struggling.

“Kuak!”

He could not move as he wanted due to his internal wounds.

Jin-sung also wanted to find Jip Young, the guard who had fallen in and saw the man being swept away by the current. However…

“Euk!”

Plop!

Another guard fell into the river nearby, surprising Jin-sung. He then turned to the shore to see Byeok-woong sending members of his group randomly into the water.

Another one fell in with them.

Plop!

The imperial guards began to struggle in the water as they yelled.

“S-save me! He-help me… I cannot swim… gurgle!”

At that moment.

Baaaang!

A figure crossed the river, grabbed the guard who could not swim, and pulled him up.

“Ugh! M-master yu!”

It was Mumu.

He had arrived on the river’s other side and noticed something happening as he set the raft down.

Mumu rescued the man who could not swim and turned to his brother to pull him up as well.

Plop!

More imperial guards were thrown into the river.

Plop!

Mumu glared at the opposite bank to see Byeok-woong laughing at him as he threw the guards to random spots. He was even injuring them to ensure they could not swim to safety.

‘Let’s see if you can help them too.’

Grrrr!

Byeok-woong smiled as he felt a strange vibration.

It seemed like the embankment was finally collapsing.

He could see a large wave rushing downstream as he looked up at the river. It was so large that one wouldn’t think this was a simple river.

Kwakwkawang!

“N-no!”

Hong Na-yeon and the others who were on the other side were shocked at this sight. The sight of the water rushing down was too fast, meaning that saving everyone from drowning was impossible.

They would also get swept away by the water if they didn’t move away.

“Puaaah! Forget us and get out of here!”

Jin-sung shouted at Mumu.

If Mumu tried to save them, the child would end up dead too. In this situation, it was more important for Jin-sung that Mumu survived.

But…

“M-master Yu? No…”

Paaaang!

“Achhhh!”

Mumu picked up one of the officials and threw him across the river. He then moved his hand towards the bands around his wrist.

Mumu’s skin began to turn black as his muscles swelled further.

Crack!

Pung! Pung!

Mumu floated in the air as he clenched his fist. Mumu’s right arm constantly contracted and released as it became more defined.

His biceps, on the other hand, expanded.

“W-what is he doing… puah!”

Jin-sung was shocked and tried to speak as he was swept away by the waves. He couldn’t understand what Mumu was doing.

But…

Kwakwakwang!

‘T-this…’

He was late.

Jin-sung fell silent at the sight of the river rushing toward them. No matter how strong a human his brother was, it was impossible to face this. Mumu clenched his fist and then punched forward.

‘Insane. That is insane.’

Byeok-woong laughed inside at this sight.

No matter how strong his body was, how could he stop nature? Even the Four Great Warriors would not be able to…

Kwaaang!

At that moment, something unexpected happened.

Tremendous wind pressure blew around the rushing currents and split them into a fan-shaped space.

And that wasn’t all.

Kwakwakwa!

The powerful river flow reversed across the broken embankment, causing the water to split through the immense force.

‘!!!!’

Byeok-woong’s smile vanished as his jaw dropped at this unbelievable sight.