Moyong Yang was frantic.
The family had been attacked, and more than a hundred people had died.
Among them was his wife, Yeon Byeok-hwa.
His second son had also lost both his arms and legs.
‘What has already happened has happened. It will not be too late to deal with the aftermath after I recover the Sacred Relic. Right now, finding the Sacred Relic is more urgent than anything.’
How had those bastards learned of it?
No, who were those bastards in the first place?
‘No matter how I think about it, it has to be them. No one else would dare do something like this. I do not know how Hegemon Fortress learned of the Sacred Relic’s existence, but they are the only ones who would commit such an atrocity.’
There were many powers in the world.
Even in Liaoning, the northern tribes were numerous.
But it could not have been them.
No one had ever dared lay a hand on the Moyong Family.
They were naturally eliminated from suspicion.
That only left Hegemon Fortress.
Considering that they had fought for thirty years, suspecting them was only natural.
In the early days of the war, Hegemon Fortress had even launched a direct ambush against the family.
‘I do not know the reason. They may have learned the Sacred Relic’s nature during our thirty years of war, or they may have some other hidden scheme. For now, they are the only ones who come to mind.’
The Moyong Family’s Sacred Relic.
A family treasure secretly handed down through the generations.
It was the family’s true heirloom, almost entirely unknown to outsiders.
Although the Moyong Family belonged to the Martial Alliance, they were not, strictly speaking, people of the Central Plains.
The Moyong Xianbei.
The Moyong Family were descendants of Later Yan, the kingdom that had risen on this land a thousand years ago.
There had once been a time when they were persecuted as barbarians.
However, after generations of living as people of the Central Plains and actively participating in the Martial Alliance’s affairs, no one treated them as barbarians anymore.
Even so, the history of the once-mighty Later Yan still lived and breathed in a corner of the family’s heart.
The stolen Sacred Relic was an item that symbolized that identity.
Someone had set their sights on the symbol that embodied their history and pride.
‘I have to find Jeong-gi. Please, Jeong-gi. Protect the Sacred Relic. You are our only hope.’
Yet along the way, they could not find a single trace of his third son, Moyong Jeong-gi.
They had heard that he had headed toward Scattered Gorge Mountain.
–One dead black-clad man found.
–A trace of the Dipper Shifts, Stars Move technique was found on the corpse.
It was a report from the scouting party he had sent ahead.
Moreover, Dipper Shifts, Stars Move?
That was a secret martial art unique to the Moyong Family.
That meant Moyong Jeong-gi was still alive.
He must have been desperately fighting the attackers while fleeing.
‘Jeong-gi, please be alive.’
He could not help but grow anxious.
Moyong Yang called out to Moyong Jeong-cheon, who had been following behind him.
“Jeong-cheon. Lead the martial artists and search the Scattered Gorge Mountain area. You must find Jeong-gi.”
“Yes? Then what will you do, Family Head?”
“If it was not Hegemon Fortress, then who could it have been? Even if it was not them, we must stop them. At least while we search Scattered Gorge Mountain.”
The scouting party’s report had arrived from a point not far from the plains of Scattered Gorge Mountain.
Their search could be discovered by the Hegemon Fortress Alliance at any moment.
The instant he identified them as the culprits, there was only one thing left to do.
Moyong Jeong-cheon clenched his teeth.
He could not possibly fail to understand what his father intended to do.
“I understand.”
Nevertheless, Moyong Jeong-cheon nodded.
As the Young Family Head, he knew better than anyone what he had to do.
“Go. Find Jeong-gi at all costs.”
“Yes.”
Moyong Jeong-cheon led two hundred martial artists of the Moyong Family down another path.
He soon divided them into groups and scattered them throughout Scattered Gorge Mountain.
All to find Moyong Jeong-gi.
Moyong Yang and the remaining martial artists headed upward.
Toward the mountainside, where the plain lay.
There, they came face-to-face with the Orthodox Allied Forces, who had dismantled their formation and were coming down the mountain.
“Everyone, go back up. They have come.”
He was not certain.
Even so, Moyong Yang shouted.
The retreating Orthodox Allied Forces turned around and began climbing the mountain again.
And when he reached the plain, he knew.
The ones behind this were Hegemon Fortress.
“I saw those bastards descending the mountain with my own eyes. Yet they have appeared here again? As expected, it was you. Hegemon Fortress... You bastards attacked my family.”
Fire blazed in Moyong Yang’s eyes.
The Hegemon Fortress Alliance, which had retreated, was already climbing the mountain again.
The Ascending Dragon Sect.
Those bastards had already formed up.
‘But it was not the Ascending Dragon Sect. I know their martial arts. Those boarish fools who rely only on inner arts would never carry out a covert attack. But the Ascending Dragon Sect is not Hegemon Fortress’s only force.’
They had to crush them first.
Only then could they break through the defensive line and seize the plain.
“Charge! We must crush that unorthodox rabble!”
Moyong Yang personally took the lead and advanced.
He had thoroughly concealed the matter of the Sacred Relic from the Orthodox Allied Forces.
It was an affair belonging only to the Moyong Family.
If the orthodox martial artists gathered from throughout the martial world learned that they had been mobilized over the family’s private matter, conflict would inevitably arise.
That was why he had secretly given Moyong Jeong-cheon his orders.
If he moved the Orthodox Allied Forces over the Moyong Family’s private affairs, it would be difficult to endure the pressure from the Martial Alliance.
‘Above all, the identity of the bastards who attacked the family remains uncertain. That is why we must annihilate them here. Even if we cannot, we have to keep them occupied. Only then can we search all of Scattered Gorge Mountain.’
“Kill them.”
The Ascending Dragon Sect’s defensive line was now right before them.
A sword screen formed with massive weapons soon unfolded.
It was a wall of wailing that they had failed to breach even once in three years.
“Everyone, attack! Today, we will surely annihilate them!”
Moyong Yang became a moth drawn to the flame and hurled himself at the wall of sword screen.
***
“You want me to come in? You truly are mad.”
The middle-aged man spoke in a low, mocking voice.
‘Damn it.’
Though he had spoken confidently, Ja Cheon-gwang’s body was far from fine.
The sword Millet had driven into his torso was still hanging from him.
‘If I pull it out now... can I withstand the bleeding?’
Still, the sword made it difficult for him to move properly.
He could not fight the middle-aged man in this state.
Even a slight twist of his body sent the metal digging into his flesh, making a chill run down his spine.
‘Even if I pull it out, will that bastard leave me alone at that moment?’
Thinking that made it even harder to pull out the sword.
There was no other way.
He had to finish that bastard first, then pull out the sword.
“You have plenty of leisure.”
“When dealing with a young brat, I ought to show this much consideration.”
Consideration?
The middle-aged man’s gaze shifted to the sword hanging from Ja Cheon-gwang’s abdomen.
This was a fight he could win simply by stalling for time.
There was no need to hurry.
“So your purpose was not scouting.”
“Hmph. That is the work of underlings.”
Underlings.
Ja Cheon-gwang became certain.
They were the White Dragon Corps.
The people assigned to guard the Sect Leader.
“They are probably waiting for me, but it seems there will be no need for that.”
The middle-aged man turned his head and looked into the distance, toward the direction he had been heading.
“Waiting? Are more members of the White Dragon Corps here?”
“White Dragon Corps, Black Dragon Corps... Does that matter? We merely came out for a stroll. It gets stifling staying inside all the time. More importantly, will you not come? You do not have much time left.”
Had the Grand Elder sent them?
No, was that even true?
Jang Woo-geun had merely said so. These men had never mentioned it themselves.
They had never identified themselves as the White Dragon Corps or the Black Dragon Corps either.
“AAARGH! Die, you bastard!”
A sudden roar rang out.
It was the big man who had been struck down at the start.
Having regained his senses, he charged like a boar.
“Urgh... Damn it.”
A searing pain tore through his abdomen.
Ja Cheon-gwang’s counterattack came a beat too late.
BANG, CLANG...
The big man’s fist collided head-on with Ja Cheon-gwang’s sword.
In an instant, the thin blade could not withstand the impact and shattered into pieces.
The force of the big man’s charge knocked Ja Cheon-gwang down, and their bodies tangled together.
As they rolled across the ground, Ja Cheon-gwang’s and the big man’s fists flew back and forth.
THUD, THUD, CRACK...
However, Ja Cheon-gwang’s inner arts far surpassed the big man’s.
Though his abdomen had been pierced and he had lost much blood, the big man had never been his match in the first place.
It was a one-sided beating.
Ja Cheon-gwang’s fists struck without pause, and the big man’s face was gradually driven into the ground.
His nasal bones collapsed, and his teeth flew out.
Blood and dirt mingled together.
SWISH...
At that moment, the whistle of a sword came from behind him.
Ja Cheon-gwang instinctively rolled forward.
The sword slashed across his back.
His flesh split open, and fresh blood sprayed out.
The middle-aged man glanced down at the fallen big man.
The face beaten by Ja Cheon-gwang’s fists was too mangled to recognize.
Even his skull had caved in.
“Hmph. Even in the middle of all this, you made sure to finish this bastard. They said you were the strongest of the Golden Dragon Corps, and it seems you can manage a few tricks.”
He calmly flicked the blood from his sword and slowly approached Ja Cheon-gwang.
‘Damn it... I grew complacent again. To leave my back open so easily.’
Until now, Ja Cheon-gwang had served only as a defensive wall in the Golden Dragon Corps.
There had always been allies behind him.
No sword had ever flown at him from the rear.
That was what he believed.
And that was how it had always been.
It was the Ascending Dragon Sect’s tactic after they formed their formation.
Enemies in front.
A shield that blocked them.
No matter how many times he stood in the middle of the battlefield, his experience was inherently lopsided.
Even so.
‘All I have to do is kill him. Then I can get out of here.’
However, the middle-aged man’s martial ability was not to be underestimated either.
If Ja Cheon-gwang had been uninjured and held his great saber in his hand, it would have been different.
In his current state, this was not a man he could deal with easily.
‘My inner arts are definitely stronger. But the longer I drag this out with this pain, the more disadvantaged I become. I have to settle this as quickly as possible.’
Blood ran from his abdomen every time he moved.
The wound on his back was no different.
Ja Cheon-gwang gritted his teeth and gradually drew up his inner arts.
A bluish force aura began to envelop his body.
“Do you intend to resist to the end?”
“If it were you, would you willingly offer up your neck?”
“Heh heh.... A man about to die is still struggling. With that body, you cannot face me.”
“You talk too much.”
Ja Cheon-gwang drew up even more inner arts.
CRACK...
The ground at his feet split apart as though it were roaring.
Ever since the side effects from four years ago, the amount of inner arts he had accumulated had already far exceeded the Ascending Dragon Sect’s ordinary level.
“I was caught off guard by the sudden attack, but... killing one bastard like you is nothing.”
BOOM.
Ja Cheon-gwang kicked off the ground.
His body shot forward like an arrow toward the black-clad men’s leader.
The middle-aged man’s skill was also at least on par with the Golden Dragon Corps.
He did not panic and sent his sword flying at Ja Cheon-gwang.
BAM.
Ja Cheon-gwang’s fist collided head-on with the black-clad leader’s sword.
The moment both men’s inner arts poured into the blade at once, the sword let out a thunderous roar.
CRUMBLE...
‘W-What is this?’
The middle-aged man’s eyes widened.
Ja Cheon-gwang’s fist shattered the black-clad leader’s sword and drove forward.
The broken fragments scattered in every direction like silver dust.
There was no blade left to break.
His fist continued without stopping and slammed directly into the middle-aged man’s face.
THUD.
“Ghk.”
The middle-aged man’s head twisted unnaturally, and his body was lifted into the air before being hurled away.
It was a blow loaded with inner arts.
It was not something he could endure.
The middle-aged man’s body went limp after a single strike.
“Cough, cough....”
However, blood also burst from Ja Cheon-gwang’s mouth.
The wound in his abdomen was opening wider.
He staggered over and grabbed the middle-aged man by the collar.
“Talk. Who are you bastards? I do not know you. We should have no grudge between us. That means someone must have hired you. Who gave you the order?”
“Heh heh heh... Did I not tell you? We came to scout the Orthodox Allied Forces...”
THUD.
White objects shot into the air.
The middle-aged man’s teeth.
“Are you saying you are the Black Dragon Corps? Scouting? What kind of scouts fail to recognize the Moyong Family’s martial arts uniform?”
The Black Dragon Corps were the ones who beat the war drums.
They were the first to observe the movements of the Moyong Family and the Orthodox Allied Forces and report them to the Ascending Dragon Sect.
There was no way they would fail to recognize the Moyong Family’s martial arts uniform.
“Ah... No wonder it looked familiar. That was the Moyong Family’s uniform? It happened so long ago that I had forgotten.”
The White Dragon Corps and the Black Dragon Corps were both former members of the Golden Dragon Corps who had served as shields on the front lines.
Of them, only the White Dragon Corps had not gone to the battlefield because they accompanied the Sect Leader, so it was understandable that they might have forgotten.
“Was it the Sect Leader? Or the Grand Elder? Who ordered you to do this?”
If it was the White Dragon Corps, then it was the Sect Leader’s order.
If it was the Black Dragon Corps, then it was the Grand Elder’s order.
“Heh heh heh... As expected, you are someone who must be removed.”
The middle-aged man smiled instead.
THUD.
Ja Cheon-gwang’s fist crushed his nasal bones again.
The unpleasant smile did not leave his mangled face.
“You think you are preserving your loyalty? It does not matter. I will ask them myself.”
He could not waste any more time.
Judging by the man’s manner of speaking, there was a good chance that his companions were somewhere nearby.
The corpse of the Moyong Family martial artist also weighed on his mind.
Besides, this man did not look as though he would open his mouth anyway.
THUD, THUD, THUD...
His fists, loaded with inner arts, struck the middle-aged man’s skull several more times.
Before long, the man’s body went limp.
“Whether you are the White Dragon Corps or the Black Dragon Corps... I will find out when I return to the Ascending Dragon Sect.”
Ja Cheon-gwang quickly stripped off his clothes.
The hilt embedded in his abdomen dangled.
Blood bubbled from the wound.
“Urgh...”
He forced his strength into his body and pulled the sword free.
It felt as though the metal were tearing through his body.
The pain and the chilling sensation made goosebumps rise across his skin.
“Gah.”
SCHLICK.
The sword, drenched in crimson blood, came free as he was splattered with blood.
Blood seeped even through his tightly clenched lips.
His gums seemed to have torn as well.
As soon as the sword came out, blood streamed from the wound that pierced through his body from front to back.
Darkened blood was already mixed in with it, as though the blade had thoroughly churned his insides.
“Pant, pant.... Damn it. To be stabbed in the back by a worthless bastard like that.”
Ja Cheon-gwang tore his clothes apart.
He used them as bandages and wrapped them tightly around his body.
Breathing became difficult once he tightened them, but the bleeding slowed somewhat.
He had lost more blood than he had thought.
It was a wound he could not have endured if he had not trained in martial arts.
RING.
His vision suddenly spun.
‘I am getting dizzier. They say you get dizzy when you lose a lot of blood....’
No matter how badly he had been beaten before, he had never lost this much blood.
Ja Cheon-gwang held his head and forced himself to stand.
His knees buckled on their own every time he moved.
He stripped the middle-aged man’s clothes and put them on.
He had already used his own clothes as bandages.
Ja Cheon-gwang retraced the path he had come from.
He had to check the person wearing the Moyong Family’s martial arts uniform.
The men he had just killed belonged to the Ascending Dragon Sect.
He did not know whether they were the White Dragon Corps or the Black Dragon Corps, but they were fellow disciples nonetheless.
They were either the Sect Leader’s guards or the Grand Elder’s direct subordinates.
There would surely be trouble if he returned like this.
He needed a plausible excuse.
Scouting?
Then he needed to bring back at least one piece of information.
‘The Moyong Family.... I need to examine that bastard’s corpse.’
Ja Cheon-gwang quickened his pace.