Chapter 583

Chapter: 583

“Huff… huff!”

In a back alley near Hanam, a man is running like a madman.

Perhaps it was because he was running in the sweltering summer heat; the man was drenched in sweat from head to toe.

“Guh… huff…”

Breath escaping me.

He felt as if he might just collapse and vomit right there, but he had to keep running.

If he stopped, he would die.

That terrible reality drove the man to keep his legs moving.

‘Where… where to…?!’

Which direction should his toes point?

While continuing to run, the man had to consider all kinds of thoughts.

Where should he escape to?

What direction should he take?

Suddenly, the man’s eyes widened as he was panting and contemplating.

‘I have to run…! Run toward the alliance!’

The Murim Alliance.

He had to reach that place. That was his only way to survive at that moment.

Having made that determination, the man braced his legs with renewed strength.

Then, he quickly propelled himself forward and dashed ahead.

Navigating through the alley while calculating the fastest route.

At that moment.

“Ah!”

He crashed into a woman who unexpectedly popped out from the alley.

“Get out of the way!”

Naturally, the man had no time to spare for her.

He ignored the fallen woman and dashed into the alley.

“…”

The woman kept her eyes on the man entering the alley.

Her expression clearly showed her displeasure.

“Huff… huff…!”

As he burrowed further into the alley, he panted heavily. He just had to go a little farther.

It was a desolate place, but if he punched through here, he’d reach the Murim Alliance right away.

‘Just a little bit more… just a bit more…!’

He could survive.

If he could just get out of this place, there was hope. It wrapped around the man like a warm blanket.

Thud.

“Huh?!”

Something pierced through the man’s leg.

Pain shot up, causing him to falter and tumble to the ground.

Thud!

His hefty body hit the ground, and the man clutched his leg.

“Ah… ah… ah!”

He tried to suppress the pain, but a scream still escaped his lips.

A dagger had pierced through his thigh and ankle.

“Ugh… heh…!”

An agonizing ache permeated his body.

Still, the man struggled to rise.

If he remained here…

“Mukdo Seok.”

“…!”

“Has the game of tag ended?”

The man’s breath hitched momentarily at the voice coming from nearby.

Thud, thud.

Footsteps approached.

“I played with you a bit, given your desperate state, but that ends here.”

“Ugh… ugh…”

“Did you think you could survive?”

Masked figures were drawing closer.

Seeing them, the man let out a desperate scream.

“P-please spare me! What have I done to deserve this?!”

“Hmm.”

The lead figure narrowed their eyes at his plea.

“I clearly warned you. If you cause any unnecessary trouble, your life will be forfeit.”

“I— I did nothing wrong!”

“Aren’t you the one who got caught in a bind?”

“That’s…!”

At the reprimand, the man trembled uncontrollably.

“It was because of that strange guy getting involved…!”

“No excuses needed. Frankly, you were at your limit already.”

“Please!”

In response, Mukdo Seok tried to yell urgently, but—

Thwack!

Even before his voice could rise, the opponent’s dagger sunk into Mukdo Seok’s neck.

Before long, the light faded from Mukdo Seok’s eyes.

Confirming this, the masked figure retrieved the dagger.

“Eradicate all traces.”

“Understood.”

As the command was issued, several figures appeared and began to move about.

Not even a trace of blood remained at the scene where the corpse had lain.

The same applied to the dagger the masked figure held.

The masked figure tucked the dagger away with a click of their tongue, feeling frustrated.

‘Did I expect too much from this trash?’

Although they were a foreigner, they tried to assign odd jobs to those who were of elite caliber.

It turned out to be a futile endeavor.

It almost resulted in calamity.

Not only had he been caught up because of some trouble at an inn…

‘I nearly got tangled up with the Dragon.’

What a close call.

That was a problem he absolutely couldn’t afford to encounter with those people.

‘Fortunately, it was handled well.’

But there could still be complications. The masked figure turned their head in thought.

‘I need to report to the Lord.’

It wasn’t just about the Dragon, either.

There were a few matters surfacing in Hanam that required attention.

Not anything overly significant, but it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious.

Only two months remained until the martial arts competition.

‘Before that.’

He needed to lay the groundwork.

The masked figure turned to leave.

At the same time, he whispered in a soft voice.

“Everything is for the revival of the Zhuge family…”

With that, the masked figure vanished, leaving behind the slowly cooling corpse of Mukdo Seok.