BOOM, BOOM, BOOM….
Dazzling sword energy slammed into the sword screen.
The sight of the shattered sword energy scattering in every direction was truly magnificent.
To those who had unleashed it, however, it was despair itself.
Scattered Gorge Mountain.
The place where the Orthodox Allied Forces and the Hegemon Fortress Alliance clashed.
No one knew exactly why, but at some point, this place had become the battlefield between the two factions.
When Hegemon Fortress first rose to power, the entire Greater Khingan Range had been a battlefield.
Fighting had even broken out in sizable cities such as Chaoyang, Fuxin, and Jinzhou.
Ambushes were commonplace.
More than ten years had passed since then.
Now, battles occurred only here.
Tediously.
The martial artists of the Orthodox Allied Forces did everything they could to break through the three forces blocking their way.
The Ascending Dragon Sect, Ironblood Hall, and the Tiger Fang Gang.
No.
They merely pretended to do everything they could.
Everyone had assumed this tedious exchange would continue forever, but something had changed.
Or rather, the problem was one particular point that had become unusually solid.
“Tch. That sword screen is astonishing no matter how many times I see it.”
“As long as that exists, breaking through the center is impossible. It would be better to go around.”
“You would change course merely because you’re frightened of some unorthodox faction? Where has your pride as a martial artist gone?”
“This war is fought for victory. Since when was there a righteous path in warfare?”
“That is how soldiers think. We are martial artists.”
The wall was enough of an impassable barrier to make them argue among themselves.
A colossal sword screen towered across the front.
Its blue glow was darker and deeper than any other.
“What did they say his name was? Ja Cheon-gwang?”
***
“Well, well. What brings our esteemed Golden Dragon Corps lord all the way to a humble place like this?”
“Y-You c-came?”
It was a brief rest period.
Ja Cheon-gwang had left the central vanguard he was guarding and moved over to the left.
He had simply come to visit.
One might ask what kind of battlefield had rest periods, but had this place not always been like this?
They had clashed once in the morning, withdrawn, and were now facing each other from a considerable distance.
Ja Cheon-gwang had taken advantage of the lull to come here.
“You sure got lazy after reaching the Silver Dragon Corps. There are Golden Dragon Corps members around. You sure you can act like this?”
“If they hit me, I’ll take it.”
Yoo Hwan-geun and Bong Gyu had become members of the Silver Dragon Corps.
The moment he was promoted, Yoo Hwan-geun began acting as though the world belonged to him, and now he lay sprawled in the grass.
CRUNCH.
Bong Gyu sat beside him, biting into an acorn.
Apparently, becoming a Silver Dragon Corps member had given him more composure as well.
Ja Cheon-gwang, meanwhile, had become a member of the Golden Dragon Corps.
That had been four years ago.
He was now twenty.
The side effect of the Red Heart Art and Settling Heart Art.
Its effects had surpassed imagination.
Once the two heart arts interlocked and began operating together in a stable manner, the amount of inner arts he could accumulate through the Red Heart Art increased explosively.
Furthermore, as he circulated those tremendous inner arts through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and Twelve Principal Meridians, his attainment in the Settling Heart Art also reached an extreme.
Once the two arts fused into one, both the quantity and quality of inner arts filling his qi center improved dramatically.
Even within the Ascending Dragon Sect, already renowned for its tremendous inner arts, he stood alone.
It had taken him only six months to become a Silver Dragon Corps member.
Another six months later, he became a Golden Dragon Corps member.
Now, no one even within the Golden Dragon Corps objected to calling him its foremost expert.
That was why he could wander around the battlefield however he pleased.
Yoo Hwan-geun and Bong Gyu had also been Silver Dragon Corps members for a year now.
Their advancement had been quite rapid.
The other two who received names alongside them were still members of the Iron Dragon Corps.
Without the fortuitous opportunity that came from that strange side effect, Ja Cheon-gwang might still have been in the Iron Dragon Corps himself.
Afterward.
The Ascending Dragon Sect’s vanguard whenever Ja Cheon-gwang defended it had never once been breached.
Not for three years.
To the Orthodox Allied Forces, it had become nothing short of a wall of lamentation.
“Ugh, my bones.”
Ja Cheon-gwang dropped down beside Bong Gyu.
He was the only person who would come all the way down among the Silver Dragon Corps and lie around like this.
The Golden Dragon Corps kept their distance from the Silver Dragon Corps, saying they had appearances to maintain.
“Well, well. The other Instructors would lose their minds if they saw this. Are you really allowed to come here?”
“Who cares?”
“Well, I suppose…. You are the mighty ‘Hegemon Fortress’s Shield.’ Kahahaha.”
“Why the hell does Hegemon Fortress get its name in there…?”
It was the nickname Ja Cheon-gwang had earned after crushing the Orthodox Allied Forces’ attacks again and again for three years.
Hegemon Fortress’s Shield.
“You know something? Ever since you started standing in the vanguard, those Hegemon Fortress bastards haven’t come forward even once. That’s exactly why it pisses me off. This is Hegemon Fortress’s war, so why the hell am I standing in the vanguard for them? I’d at least feel better if they called me the ‘Ascending Dragon Sect’s Shield.’”
“Who told you to get that strong? Damn, I’m so jealous. Someone gets to be Golden Dragon Corps while someone else is stuck in Silver Dragon Corps.”
CRUNCH.
Yoo Hwan-geun bit into an acorn too.
“Those damned acorns…. Aren’t you sick of them yet?”
“They’re addictive once you keep eating them.”
“Sure they are.”
“What else is there to enjoy around here? I’ve tasted so much bitterness in life that acorns taste sweet now.”
Bong Gyu placed an acorn in Ja Cheon-gwang’s hand.
“Y-You e-eat one t-too. Hehe.”
“But, Lord Golden Dragon Corps, are we going home today? It’s already been three days. I’m starting to miss home.”
As the war grew more tedious, the battles themselves grew longer.
The reason was Ja Cheon-gwang.
In the past, even a brief clash produced a fair number of casualties, so both sides had reason to withdraw quickly.
But after Ja Cheon-gwang moved into the vanguard, the Orthodox Allied Forces were barely able to inflict any damage upon the Hegemon Fortress Alliance.
Moyong Yang, leader of the Orthodox Allied Forces, had thought,-There’s nothing to write in the report.
As a result, there were increasingly frequent occasions when both sides remained there for days, doing little more than glare at each other.
At least there had to be some sign that they had fought before he could write a report.
-We inflicted no damage whatsoever.
A report like that was worthless.
It was now the third day.
Three days spent doing little more than staring at each other.
Occasionally, they crossed blades once or twice.
“Don’t know. We can’t withdraw until those bastards do. I’m going to sleep.”
Ja Cheon-gwang picked up a broad leaf and covered his eyes with it.
Several acorns rattled around in the hand resting over his face.
“Come on, Lord Golden Dragon Corps. You’ve got to put in a little effort so underlings like us can get some rest.”
“Not my problem. Tell the elder yourself.”
“Bah. What use is having a friend like you at times like this?”
Yoo Hwan-geun settled down beside Ja Cheon-gwang and lay back.
CRUNCH.
Beside them came the sound of Bong Gyu cracking another acorn.
***
Was this truly a battlefield?
The empty plain of Scattered Gorge Mountain.
The two armies confronted each other from opposite sides while leaving the plain itself deserted.
Several days of sporadic clashes.
Several days of simply glaring at each other.
It was such a tedious exchange that calling the situation explosive would have sounded ridiculous.
The sun began to set, brightly illuminating the unorthodox faction’s encampment.
The deep sunset was almost blinding.
Its warmth was so intense that it seemed to melt their languid afternoon bodies.
By contrast, the Orthodox Allied Forces’ side received none of the sunset and lay submerged beneath the shadows of the trees, looking gloomy and sinister.
“All forces, withdraw.”
How long had it been since Ja Cheon-gwang closed his eyes?
At last, the order they had been waiting for came.
After three days.
“Ugh…. Finally, we can go home.”
Yoo Hwan-geun stretched as he stood.
“Those bastards are finally leaving.”
Across from them.
The trees stirred, and signs of people began disappearing one by one.
“Hey, Lord Golden Dragon Corps. They’re withdrawing. Hurry back to the center.”
He shook Ja Cheon-gwang, who was sleeping without a care in the world.
“Damn it. I only just closed my eyes.”
“Only just? It’s been at least four hours. Hurry up, bastard.”
Ja Cheon-gwang sluggishly rose and stretched his stiff body.
“I’m going.”
“Take care.”
It was only a few steps away….
“Instructor.”
Someone called from behind.
It was Heo Jung, Second Elder’s aide.
A member of the Silver Dragon Corps.
“Yeah, what?”
“Second Elder is calling for you.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know either. He’s waiting farther inside the grass over there.”
They were not an army.
They were merely an unprepared rabble of unorthodox martial artists.
Of course they had no proper tents.
Thanks to that, the corps members had unexpectedly spent three nights sleeping outdoors.
Second Elder Jang Woo-geun had found himself a suitable spot inside the grass and slept there alone.
It served as both his outdoor office and sleeping quarters.
As Ja Cheon-gwang headed over, the Iron Dragon Corps members were packing up for the return journey.
Not that they had much besides the cooking pots they had hastily brought with them.
He was Golden Dragon Corps now.
None of that concerned him.
***
RUSTLE.
After pushing through the tall vegetation, he emerged into a small clearing.
It was the place Jang Woo-geun used as an office.
“You called for me?”
“Oh, Instructor Ja Cheon-gwang. Come, sit.”
Jang Woo-geun was particularly fond of Ja Cheon-gwang.
From the moment Ja Cheon-gwang took his place in the vanguard, the Ascending Dragon Sect had become an iron wall.
How could Jang Woo-geun not adore him?
More importantly, most of the Ascending Dragon Sect’s finances came from this war.
From the moment Ja Cheon-gwang became a Golden Dragon Corps member, the Ascending Dragon Sect had never once been breached.
Thanks to that, the amount of support Hegemon Fortress provided had risen considerably.
Naturally, Sect Leader Lee Woo-yang held his head higher.
And as an added benefit, Jang Woo-geun’s own life had become easier.
But….
Three men dressed in black stood behind Jang Woo-geun.
Not only were their clothes black, they wore black masks over their faces.
It was impossible to distinguish their features.
‘Who are they? Did the Ascending Dragon Sect have people like this?’
Most members of the Ascending Dragon Sect wore dark, dingy clothing.
Blue cloth was added along the collars, sleeves, and hems.
There were no completely black outfits.
And certainly no masks.
‘Their presence… around the level of the Golden Dragon Corps? Maybe even among the upper ranks.’
They were not to be underestimated.
More importantly, Ja Cheon-gwang could not think of anyone in the Golden Dragon Corps whose presence resembled theirs.
‘Could they be the Black Dragon Corps? They’re standing behind Second Elder like guards, so it’s possible.’
The Ascending Dragon Sect had Six Corps and One Hall.
The large organizations directly responsible for combat were the Golden Dragon Corps, Silver Dragon Corps, and Iron Dragon Corps.
Then there was the Non-Dragon Corps, which trained the children.
And the Internal Affairs Hall, which handled domestic administration.
Those comprised most of the forces known publicly.
But there were two additional combat corps that were not widely known.
The White Dragon Corps, which served directly as the Ascending Dragon Sect Leader’s personal guard.
And the Black Dragon Corps, which answered directly to the Grand Elder.
‘I’ve never seen them personally, but I’ve heard of them. Didn’t they say suitable people are selected from the Golden Dragon Corps? That’s why they’re said to be among the upper tier even by Golden Dragon Corps standards.’
Both the White Dragon Corps and Black Dragon Corps were composed of former Golden Dragon Corps members.
Only the very best martial artists were allowed to enter.
‘If the White Dragon Corps guards the Sect Leader, then the Black Dragon Corps handles information gathering and espionage, right?’
Ja Cheon-gwang withheld judgment about their identities for now.
Just because they were standing behind an elder did not mean he could immediately conclude they belonged to the Black Dragon Corps.
He had never actually seen them before.
He had seen the White Dragon Corps a few times.
Martial artists standing behind the Sect Leader with gleaming eyes.
Those had presumably been the White Dragon Corps.
Their duty was protection, so naturally they appeared in public.
The Black Dragon Corps, on the other hand, had duties that meant ordinary members rarely crossed paths with them.
Jang Woo-geun spoke.
“The Grand Elder has ordered a reconnaissance mission deeper into Scattered Gorge Mountain. Apparently, the movements of the Orthodox Allied Forces have been unusual.”
“Because the battles have been lasting longer lately?”
“That is what we believe.”
It was clearly different from the past, when they fought for half a day and withdrew.
There had even been situations where the two sides faced each other for as long as five days.
But reconnaissance?
They were already standing on Scattered Gorge Mountain.
What part of Scattered Gorge Mountain did he mean?
“Isn’t reconnaissance the Black Dragon Corps’s duty? Why are you asking me to go?”
It was strange.
He had never gone on a reconnaissance mission before.
Had he not always served as a defensive wall in the formation?
“How would I know what the Grand Elder is thinking? You’re the strongest member of the Golden Dragon Corps, so perhaps he trusts you enough to assign the task.”
“Did the Grand Elder personally give this order?”
“I don’t know the details either. Still, go take a look. It shouldn’t be difficult. You won’t have to go very deep. This may even become a good opportunity for you.”
A rumor had begun circulating some time ago.
Both the White Dragon Corps and Black Dragon Corps had their eyes on Ja Cheon-gwang.
It was not a bad rumor.
They wanted to recruit him.
‘A good opportunity…. Then is the Black Dragon Corps trying to take me? Since he called it reconnaissance?’
“We’ll miss you greatly if you leave. It pains me to lose such a dependable corps member, but what can be done? Hoho.”
Jang Woo-geun meant it.
Had Ja Cheon-gwang not made the Ascending Dragon Sect’s defensive wall even stronger?
It was not merely that casualties had decreased.
Both the frequency and intensity of attacks directed at the Ascending Dragon Sect had fallen drastically.
To Second Elder Jang Woo-geun, who commanded the sect in battle, Ja Cheon-gwang could only be considered a blessing.
“Understood. I’ll prepare immediately.”
Ja Cheon-gwang answered with a sullen expression.
He did not want to go.
Truthfully.
But this was Second Elder’s order.
Perhaps it even represented the Grand Elder’s wishes.
He could not refuse.
“Prepare? There’s no need. We brought everything. You only need to put this on.”
Casual speech?
The largest man among them held out several items to Ja Cheon-gwang.
Black clothing and a mask.
‘Since when are we familiar enough for this bastard to speak casually to me? The Golden Dragon Corps and Black Dragon Corps aren’t even in a superior-subordinate relationship.’
Ja Cheon-gwang gave him a slight glare.
The burly man raised his chin and looked down at him, as though refusing to back down.
Ja Cheon-gwang could almost hear the words in his expression.
‘A mere Golden Dragon Corps member dares….’
They might not officially outrank the Golden Dragon Corps, but both the White Dragon Corps and Black Dragon Corps were organizations formed by selecting the most exceptional members of the Golden Dragon Corps.
Privately, they considered themselves above the Golden Dragon Corps.
Of the two, the White Dragon Corps, which answered directly to the Sect Leader, was even worse.
‘Tch. I shouldn’t make them hate me from the start.’
Ja Cheon-gwang obediently accepted the black clothing.
“Leave the great saber behind. It’ll get in the way during reconnaissance.”
“Leave my weapon behind? Go empty-handed?”
This time, Ja Cheon-gwang spoke casually as well.
The burly man’s brow furrowed slightly as he held out a sword.
A thin, short sword.
An ordinary blade about three feet long.
“Fine.”
Compared with his great saber, it was as light as a feather.
Ja Cheon-gwang took the clothes and sword, then left the clearing.