The Desert Gale riders stared, jaws slack, at Yeon Cheon Baek with his hands clasped behind his back.That man is really the Lord of Martial Deity Heaven?Their eyes slid to Buk Mu Gyeol.If the Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace followed him——then the odds were very high he truly was the Lord of Martial Deity Heaven.The Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace alone was more than they could handle. But the Lord of Martial Deity Heaven?And that Lord wanted the Desert Gale erased from the earth?They had to get word to the Desert Gale, somehow.So they could prepare and respond.The Great Khan can beat him. He broke through to the realm they call “divine,” the Mythic Realm, not long ago. And we have our strongest force readied for the Central Plains invasion. He can’t do this alone.They were fully prepared to invade the Central Plains.That was why, unlike before, they were shaking down Central Plains merchants without mercy.Once they seized the Central Plains, those merchants would be back to watching their faces.What could they do about it?So they robbed at will—and then, rotten luck, ran into them.What were the odds of meeting the Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace—let alone the Lord of Martial Deity Heaven—in the middle of a desert?Just bad luck.Terrible luck.The captain flicked a glance at Yeon Cheon Baek and spoke to Buk Mu Gyeol.“I heard the Northern Sea Ice Palace is marching with us to strike the Central Plains. Are we not comrades, Palace Lord?”“We were. Not now.”He could guess why.Buk Mu Gyeol was watching Yeon Cheon Baek’s eyes.Did Martial Deity Heaven crush the Northern Sea Ice Palace?And now it was their turn?Did that mean troops of Martial Deity Heaven were closing in behind these two?A bad day.Judging by their talk, these men were looking for the Desert Gale.They hadn’t found it yet.He had to make sure they never did.In fact, this was perfect.Trap the Martial Deity Heaven people here and the Central Plains would be that much easier to take.To do that, he had to lure them.Not to the Desert Gale—but to the Valley of Death.How to lure them?He bit his lip.He would have to sacrifice himself.They would surely keep one alive to ask where the Desert Gale was.The odds were high that “one” would be him.And if he spoke too readily, they would not believe it.He’d have to take some torture, then “reluctantly” talk.Then he would pretend to lead them to the Desert Gale and drive them—and the warriors of Martial Deity Heaven—into the Valley of Death.If he could draw them to the center, the natural formation would lock them in.For the Great Khan.For the Desert Gale.The captain steeled himself to lay down his life.To make that happen, he had to be the one left.He sent his plan by Voice Transmission to his men.They nodded grimly—and all at once spurred their mounts at Buk Mu Gyeol.Dudududu—“Ironclad Horse Bolt!”A transparent shell formed around the galloping horses, then sharpened to spearpoints and drove at Buk Mu Gyeol.Buk Mu Gyeol raised a foot and hammered it down.Boom—Crack—From the spot his foot struck, white rime surged. The ground flash-froze and the ice spread toward the onrushing horses.“Leap it!”The horses vaulted the whitening ground.Then—Papapapat—From the frozen earth, razor ice awls surged up toward the leaping mounts.Pupupuk—Kiiiih!The skewered horses thrashed in agony.The Desert Gale riders sprang clear and avoided being spitted themselves.As the horses collapsed, the riders charged Buk Mu Gyeol as one.Like moths hurling themselves into flame knowing it would kill them.Buk Mu Gyeol stretched a hand toward the men rushing to die.Vwooom—“Hundred-Ice Divine Palm!”Kkra-krak—A white torrent crashed over the charging riders and, in a breath, turned them into blocks of ice.Still airborne, they fell as ice.Pakakang!They shattered on the ground.Only the captain remained.Buk Mu Gyeol fixed him with a killing gaze.“—Tch!”The captain yanked his reins and bolted.Clatter—clatter—Buk Mu Gyeol gave chase, loosing a Projected Finger-Force at the horse’s legs.Ting—Slaaash—The flying force sheared off the hind legs.Thud—Kiiiih!Crash-rattle—The horse writhed on the ground; the captain tumbled free.He spun in the air and landed, face hard.“So you don’t mean to let me go.”“Guide us to the Desert Gale and you live.”“Kh, kh, kh. You think I’ll do that?”“If you don’t, you die.”“Kill me.”Ting—Thud—Buk Mu Gyeol’s shot punched through the captain’s calf.“Kh!”It didn’t just pierce; it froze the flesh around the hole, doubling the pain.“I won’t kill you—until you talk.”“Nh—Torture me all you like. I won’t speak.”Ting—Thud—“Kh!”This time, the shot took an arm.“Speak.”“I… cannot.”Buk Mu Gyeol walked toward him, slowly.His hand whitened with killing cold.“Let’s see if you can endure while your skin freezes—inch by inch.”Sssaaa—He gripped the captain’s wrist with that frost-reeking hand.Crack—The instant he touched, ice crawled; the captain writhed in pain.“Talk. Then you lose only one arm.”“I—I cannot!”Craaaack—“Aaaaagh!”“Let’s see how long you last.” ****“Guh… s-stop… I’ll… guide you…”At last, after a long session of torture, the words they wanted came from the captain’s mouth.“Impressive. You’re the first to last this long.”Buk Mu Gyeol believed him completely.In this state, he judged, the man could not lie.Slice—slice—He cut away the captain’s frozen arm and leg.Left as they were, they would necrotize and rot.He stanched the bleeding and looked to the caravan.“Lend me an empty cart.”The caravaners flinched and hurried over an empty cart.“Shall we give you a horse as well?”“Thank you.”On second thought, better than pulling it himself.“Tell me your caravan’s name; I’ll return them later.”“N-no need. Please don’t. You saved us; take them as thanks.”“By no means. We’re repaying a kindness.”“What we received was far greater. We nearly lost everything, and now we’ve lost nothing. Thank you.”“Very well. Then I accept, with thanks.”“Th-then we’ll be going.”When Buk Mu Gyeol nodded, the caravan hastily withdrew.He loaded the captain into the empty cart and took the reins.“Where? Lead.”With eyes barely open, the captain pointed.“This way…”Buk Mu Gyeol looked the way indicated and told Yeon Cheon Baek,“He says this way.”Yeon Cheon Baek nodded and set off.“Let’s go.” ****Whoooo—In the middle of the desert yawned a deep gorge with no end in sight.“Well now. This existed.”“A perfect natural fortress.”“Hiding here… no wonder no one could find them.”Yeon Cheon Baek nodded.“They’re inside?”“Yes.”“Move.”“What about him?”“He comes with us.”“Understood.”Watching the three step into the gorge, the captain smiled to himself.You fools… Once you enter, you never come out. A Bottomless Abyss.The Valley of Death.A thick fog clung to the approach.Push through the dense fog and your sense of direction vanishes; the toxins mixed into the mist induce hallucinations.You can’t see it through the fog, but the entrance is narrow.Because of the fog, you don’t feel that narrowness as you enter.Once you pass through, the fog hides the entrance from sight.In short, you’re trapped.The more you search for the entrance, the deeper you wander into the gorge—and you never get out.“Climb the wall” sounds easy, but it isn’t.A natural formation operates inside, and your body turns heavy as a mountain.Lightness skills are a dream.Even if you use them, you cannot leap high.You wander a blind maze, dragging a leaden body, until you die.How do I know?One man once explored it.He tied a rope to his body so he wouldn’t lose the way and probed inside.Even he stopped at the entrance.Any farther and he felt he would never return.Hallucinations came; his body turned to lead.So he hurried back——following the rope.As he traced it back, the rope seemed to emerge from a solid wall.On a hunch he reached out; it wasn’t a wall at all—just fog that looked like one.If he hadn’t gone in with a rope, he wouldn’t have found the entrance and would have died trapped.So yes: once you enter, no one comes out. The Valley of Death.The same would apply to him, the guide.Enter, and he would not escape.He didn’t care.If your companions are the Lord of Martial Deity Heaven and the Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, that’s a bargain.He kept smiling to himself.They pushed through the fog; the weight on their bodies grew.They had passed the entrance.“Can’t see a hand in front of my face. How do they even move in here?”“Doesn’t your body feel heavier?”At Buk Mu Gyeol’s words, Yeon Cheon Baek seemed to notice.“Hm? You’re right. Definitely heavier.”“Something’s wrong. No one would base themselves in a place this absurd.”“Looks like he brought us somewhere else.”At Yeon Cheon Baek’s words, the quiet captain burst into loud laughter.“Khahahah! You fools! You’ve been had! This is the Valley of Death! Once you set foot here, you never come out! You die here—with me! Khahahah!”Yeon Cheon Baek dug a pinky in his ear.“What’s he on about? We just go back the way we came. Right?”“Correct.”The captain snorted.“Kh-kh-kh. There is no way back. Try all you like—you’ll never find the entrance.”Yeon Cheon Baek said to Buk Mu Gyeol,“Clear the fog so we can see the entrance.”“Understood.”Even as the words left him, killing cold surged off Buk Mu Gyeol as if to freeze the world.He thrust his hands wide; the cold spread in all directions.Kra-kra-krak—The wave of cold clumped the fog into ice and dropped it to the ground.But only for a moment.Billows of mist rolled back in, smothering the briefly revealed world.Buk Mu Gyeol faltered.This wasn’t right.The crushing weight on his body disrupted his internal energy.He had never experienced this; it rattled him.The captain took glee in it.“Kh-kh-kh. Something not working?”“Silence.”“Kh-kh-kh.”“W-what shall we do?”Yeon Cheon Baek spoke to the flustered Buk Mu Gyeol.“Tsk. You panic over this? Step aside.”“Yes.”Watching Yeon Cheon Baek step up so confidently, the captain thought to himself:So the Lord of Martial Deity Heaven isn’t much after all.

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