THUD, THUD, THUD, THUD...
“What? We just got back...”
“Why the hell is this shit starting again?”
“What kind of deployment is this in the middle of the night?”
They had only just entered the Ascending Dragon Sect.
Then the war drums rang out.
It was the ill-omened sound that announced a deployment.
Curses erupted from all around.
They had finally returned after three days, only to be sent out again.
“The Orthodox Allied Forces are attacking again. Move out at once.”
Second Elder Jang Woo-geun’s voice was full of irritation as well.
He, too, had only returned after three days.
‘Damn it. I thought I would finally sleep deeply in my bedding after so long, but those orthodox bastards are raising hell again.’
It was information brought by the Black Dragon Corps.
Then the war drums rang.
Rage welled up within him, but they had to deploy regardless.
The members slung their weapons over their backs and hauled their heavy asses off the ground.
Several members in charge of supplies hurried to the kitchen.
“Where did you go?”
Bong Gyu came running up beside Yoo Hwan-geun, panting heavily.
“A-A-Acorns....”
Bong Gyu proudly held out the acorns he had gathered in both hands.
Judging by his bulging trousers, he seemed to have hidden plenty inside as well.
He was no different from a squirrel.
“Ah, right. Good job. Make sure you stock up on plenty.”
“Hee-hee.”
Bong Gyu smiled at Yoo Hwan-geun’s rebuke.
“Everyone, move out.”
Jang Woo-geun took the lead and set off.
The Ascending Dragon Sect was the sect located closest to the plains where the battle took place.
That was why they could always secure a position first on the mountainside of Scattered Gorge Mountain.
But...
‘Huh? What is this? Why are those bastards already here?’
The moment he reached the plains, Jang Woo-geun sensed that something was wrong.
This was completely different from usual.
They had set out as soon as they received the signal.
Since they had only just arrived, the combatants had turned back without making any preparations.
That was how quickly they had reached this place.
‘Then we should have needed to wait a long time before seeing them... Why are they already crossing the plains?’
The Orthodox Allied Forces had already crossed more than half the plain as they charged toward them.
Had they discovered the Ascending Dragon Sect?
They immediately began forming up.
Their formation was not elaborate, since they had assembled in a hurry, but their momentum was fierce.
“RAAAH!”
“Kill those bastards!”
With thunderous battle cries, the Orthodox Allied Forces charged at the Ascending Dragon Sect.
Even though it was the middle of the night, dust rose thick enough to blur their vision.
‘This is bad.’
Jang Woo-geun grew anxious.
“Get into formation! The enemy is attacking!”
The moment he shouted, he realized he had made a grave mistake.
“C-Close the center further. Do not leave any gaps.”
Ja Cheon-gwang’s absence flashed through his mind.
He had forgotten that the Ascending Dragon Sect’s greatest fighting force, the man who was meant to hold the center, was not here.
‘Did we not already send scouts during the day? Have we fought too peacefully for too long? To think I forgot Instructor Ja Cheon-gwang. I have to quickly reform the Golden Dragon Corps’ formation.’
He could feel that his battle senses had grown dull.
However, before he could remedy the situation, the Orthodox Allied Forces had already drawn close.
SWISH, FWOOSH...
Massive sword energies soon came pouring down.
“Unleash the Heaven-Revolving Mighty Path!”
At Jang Woo-geun’s roar, the Golden Dragon Corps members at the front spun their swords in unison.
In an instant, a massive wall of sword screen rose up.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM...
In the blink of an eye, the sword energies collided with the Heaven-Revolving Mighty Path and shattered apart with piercing whistles.
Yellow sparks flew, and the sound of scraping metal rang out from every direction.
The first attack.
Fortunately, there were no casualties.
The Golden Dragon Corps was indeed strong.
Even without Ja Cheon-gwang, they were the ones who had taken every attack head-on until now.
Their reserves of strength were not to be underestimated.
“Those bastards suddenly came at us so fiercely....”
Jang Woo-geun was startled by the Orthodox Allied Forces’ attack, which differed from their usual offensives.
The other members were the same.
It had been a long time since they had seen such destructive attacks.
“What is this sudden all-out assault? Has everything until now been part of their plan? Otherwise...”
But questions could wait.
The priority was to establish a formation suited to the situation.
Though they had blocked one offensive, the Ascending Dragon Sect’s formation was a mess.
“What are you all doing? Golden Dragon Corps, form up at once!”
He desperately commanded the Golden Dragon Corps.
The urgent task was to form up the Golden Dragon Corps, the Ascending Dragon Sect’s strongest force.
The Silver Dragon Corps and Iron Dragon Corps would naturally follow.
“I will stand at the front as well.”
Jang Woo-geun stepped forward in front of the Golden Dragon Corps himself.
‘It will take time for the other sects to arrive. Until then, we have no choice but to endure on our own.’
“Close the distance between each other. The center lacks strength. Golden Dragon Corps, move closer together. We have to defend both flanks at once.”
In an instant, he reorganized their formation into a circle.
It was a defensive stance, curled up like a pangolin.
Neither the Ironblood Hall nor the Tiger Fang Gang was here now.
There were no forces to cover their left and right flanks.
Their sole purpose was to buy time.
“Maintain the Heaven-Revolving Mighty Path. Do not withdraw it under any circumstances.”
The Golden Dragon Corps members spun their swords again.
The Heaven-Revolving Mighty Path.
It was a technique that formed a powerful sword screen but consumed an enormous amount of inner arts.
The Silver Dragon Corps and Iron Dragon Corps immediately began using the Transmission Art.
‘It will take time for reinforcements to arrive. I do not know how long we can endure in this formation. At the very least, the Ironblood Hall needs to arrive quickly....’
Even so, his gaze was fixed beyond the shield of sword screen.
The Orthodox Allied Forces were unleashing wave after wave of attacks.
Amid the unceasing sword energies, battle cries, and clouds of dust, the presence of the man at the front stood out sharply.
A familiar face.
‘Moyong Yang.... That bastard.’
GRIND...
He ground his teeth.
Anger gleamed in his eyes.
***
Rummage, rummage...
In the pitch-black darkness, a man rifled through white clothes that gleamed red under the faint starlight.
He wore black, and a thin sword lay beside him.
The silver blade shone beautifully beneath the starlight.
The hands searching through the robe were careful yet urgent.
It was Ja Cheon-gwang.
‘A member of the Moyong Family would not die here for no reason. Something definitely happened.’
Anxiety was plain on his face.
He was not certain whether the people who had attacked him were members of the White Dragon Corps or the Black Dragon Corps.
What mattered was that he had killed three fellow disciples.
‘No one will believe that those bastards were after me. Even I do not know why they targeted me.’
If he could not bring back definite information and a justification, he would be branded a public enemy of the Ascending Dragon Sect.
That was why he was searching for anything at all.
‘The Orthodox Allied Forces definitely descended Scattered Gorge Mountain before us. And that face... I have seen it on the battlefield more than once. He was one of the Moyong Family’s children, was he not? Moyong Jeong-gi... Was that his name? There is no reason for him to die in a place like this. Something must have happened to them....’
Tap.
His fingertips brushed against something hard deep within Moyong Jeong-gi’s clothes.
A small wooden case.
‘There is something here. I do not know what it is, but... I have to take it.’
He did not know why, but he had a powerful premonition.
Ja Cheon-gwang hurriedly pulled out the wooden case.
That was when it happened.
Rustle.
The sound of dry leaves breaking came from behind him.
When he quickly turned his head, two figures dressed in black emerged from behind a tree.
‘Damn it... Again. Are they the White Dragon Corps? The Black Dragon Corps?’
The same clothing and the same masks.
They had said there were more companions.
Had they already followed him here?
“Who are you?”
One of them asked Ja Cheon-gwang.
It was a low voice.
A chilling voice, like leaves brushing through the wind.
‘...Who am I? They do not know me? Does that mean they are not the White Dragon Corps or the Black Dragon Corps?’
Their faces were hidden by masks, but their eyes were clearly flustered.
They had found a stranger dressed in the same black clothing as themselves.
‘Damn it. Whoever they are, I failed to notice them until they came this close... My body really is not in good condition.’
Ja Cheon-gwang touched the wound he had barely managed to stop from bleeding.
A prickling pain surged through him.
More importantly, who were these men?
For a moment, he recalled his first encounter with Moyong Jeong-gi.
‘He was definitely surprised when he saw us. He looked as though he recognized us. Did he recognize that we were from the Ascending Dragon Sect? ...No, that is not it. He must have mistaken us for other men because of our black clothes.’
Moyong Jeong-gi had participated in the battle as well.
It made no sense for him not to recognize the Ascending Dragon Sect’s uniform.
Ja Cheon-gwang examined the two black-clad men again.
Black clothing similar to his own, masks, and restrained auras.
They were martial artists who had cultivated considerable skill.
‘They clearly asked who I was. Then... these bastards were following Moyong Jeong-gi.’
SHING.
One of the black-clad men drew his sword.
“I asked who you are.”
“Then who are you bastards? Why are you here?”
“That is none of your business.”
The three men stood apart and faced one another in taut silence.
After a moment, the other black-clad man let out a long sigh.
“Fine. Let us do this. I will not pry into your identity. We have business with that man. If you quietly leave, nothing will happen.”
That was fortunate for Ja Cheon-gwang.
His body was not in good condition either.
The pain from the wound piercing his abdomen was worsening, and the dizziness from his blood loss was growing stronger....
Fighting two men in a state where even standing properly was difficult would be reckless.
“Fine. I will leave quietly, so let us each go our own way.”
Ja Cheon-gwang slowly rose and stepped away from the corpse.
“Then, take care.”
Ja Cheon-gwang turned his back on them.
SWISH...
At that instant, sharp sword energy rushed toward his back.
The moment he turned around, one of the black-clad men launched a surprise attack.
“Hmph.”
He twisted his upper body and barely deflected the sword energy.
How many attacks aimed at his back had he endured today?
At least this time, he had been prepared.
“What are you doing? Did I not say that I would leave quietly?”
“There must be an item that came from him. We must take it back.”
“An item? What item?”
Ja Cheon-gwang rejoiced inwardly.
Those unknown men were looking for an item?
They had to be referring to the wooden case in his possession.
‘It is definitely important. If I take this with me, I can excuse the matter of killing my fellow disciples to some extent. There will be no better justification than this.’
It was an item that Moyong Jeong-gi had possessed.
Depending on the circumstances, he might even be able to negotiate directly with the Moyong Family.
However, the black-clad men showed no intention of letting Ja Cheon-gwang leave peacefully.
“Then we will have to find it on your corpse ourselves.”
Before the words had even finished, one black-clad man surged toward Ja Cheon-gwang.
‘Damn it. I had intended to leave quietly.’
SHING.
Ja Cheon-gwang drew his sword as well.
In an instant, dozens of streams of sword energy shot out from the black-clad man’s blade.
‘The sword energy I saw from the Orthodox Allied Forces... Now I am certain. These bastards have nothing to do with the Ascending Dragon Sect.’
Their aura was somewhat different, but the shape of their sword energy clearly resembled that of the Orthodox Allied Forces’ martial artists.
More importantly, defense was the problem.
On the battlefield, he could block it with the Heaven-Revolving Mighty Path.
But all he held now was a thin sword.
There was no way this sword could endure the Heaven-Revolving Mighty Path, which demanded enormous amounts of inner arts.
Above all, the moment he used the secret technique Heaven-Revolving Mighty Path, he risked exposing his identity.
CLANG, CLANG, CLANG...
Ja Cheon-gwang’s sword swept in a wide circle, knocking aside the pouring sword energies.
It was his first time deflecting sword energy this way.
Several strands he failed to block grazed his shoulder and side.
Blood seeped out.
‘How the hell am I supposed to block something like this?’
The bewildering offensive continued without pause.
It was swordsmanship that the Ascending Dragon Sect’s simple sword arts struggled to handle.
‘If only I had a great saber....’
It was difficult to fully channel his inner arts through a thin sword.
However, after blocking several attacks, he began to grasp a subtle knack.
The problem was that he had no time.
‘I cannot drag this out any longer. I do not know how many more men like these there are. Besides, if it becomes known that Moyong Jeong-gi died here, the Moyong Family will not stay still. Someone will come here.’
He had to subdue these men quickly and leave.
‘...Then I have no choice but to gamble.’
Ja Cheon-gwang instead hurled himself toward the incoming sword energies.
At that moment, the blade caught his left hand.
He had protected it with inner arts, but a chunk of flesh was torn away.
GRIP.
Ja Cheon-gwang seized the black-clad man’s blade with his bare hand.
Red blood flowed down the sword.
“I finally caught you.”
“Urgh... Y-You madman....”
The black-clad man hurriedly tried to pull his sword free, but he could not escape Ja Cheon-gwang’s grip.
The moment his balance collapsed.
SLASH.
Ja Cheon-gwang’s sword lopped off the black-clad man’s neck.
The man tried to evade it, but his balance had been thrown badly off because his sword was being held.
The now-ownerless head fell straight to the ground.
‘Damn it... I have lost too much blood.’
He was barely in his right mind anymore.
Even though he had somewhat anticipated and prepared for their surprise attack, simply moving in his current condition was too much.
His mind and body were both so exhausted that he could collapse at any moment.
“You are quite capable. But you look like you will die soon even if I leave you alone. Do not struggle needlessly and hand over the Sacred Relic. Then I will let you leave quietly.”
The remaining black-clad man slowly approached.
Was he accustomed to this sort of thing?
Not a trace of expression changed on his face, even after watching his companion’s head get cut off.
“That line... I feel as though I heard it before. Are you going to stab me the moment I show you my back again? Should I trust that?”
“That was his decision alone, not my intention. So hand over the Sacred Relic obediently.”
“Search properly if you want it. I have never seen anything like that.”
“You are truly hastening your death.”
The black-clad man took a starting stance.
He intended to fight in earnest now.
After all, he had watched the first man lose his head.
‘Now I cannot endure any longer. Whether it works or not, I have no choice but to try.’
His eyelids drooped on their own.
His vision flickered.
Ja Cheon-gwang gambled everything.
He charged at the black-clad man with his sword leading the way.
WHOOOOOM...
At that moment, the sword let out a strange hum.
An enormous amount of inner arts poured into it at once, making the thin blade tremble.
He thrust the sword forward.
BAM, CRUMBLE...
The thin sword could not endure Ja Cheon-gwang’s inner arts and exploded.
“Urgh. What are you?”
CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG...
Fragments of the exploded sword rained down upon the black-clad man.
He quickly retreated and knocked away the flying fragments.
THUD.
However, he could not stop the figure that had rushed in behind the fragments.
Ja Cheon-gwang’s fist struck the black-clad man’s abdomen directly.
He had blocked every fragment of the sword, but he could not avoid the strike that followed.
“Ghk.”
The black-clad man’s body bent like a sickle.
‘Do not give him an opening. End this now.’
Ja Cheon-gwang had almost no time left.
It had nothing to do with his inner arts.
His eyelids were steadily falling due to the blood he had lost so rapidly.
His fist took on a bluish glow.
A tremendous amount of inner arts filled it.
THUD.
When he struck upward, the black-clad man’s jaw shattered, and his head snapped sharply backward.
Then—
THUD, THUMP, THUD...
He did not stop.
Ja Cheon-gwang’s fists repeatedly battered the black-clad man’s skull.
The dull sound of something breaking spread through the air.
A human skull was far too fragile to withstand fists loaded with inner arts.
“Pant, pant.... Is he dead...?”
After confirming that his opponent had stopped breathing, Ja Cheon-gwang gasped harshly.
He sank to the ground.
‘At this rate, I will die first. I need to rest for a little while before moving.’
His head spun.
The pain rising from his abdomen made him grit his teeth.
However, he was not granted the rest he wanted.
He sensed new auras from farther down the mountain.
‘Damn it.... How many of them are coming?’
There seemed to be quite a few people.
He did not know their level of skill.
But ordinary men would not climb this mountain in the middle of the night, so they had to be connected to Moyong Jeong-gi.
He could not handle them in his current condition.
The moment he gritted his teeth and forced himself to stand, a voice came from below.
“Young Family Head, the trail of blood continues this way.”
Young Family Head?
The voices came from below the mountain.
‘Tch. This is the worst.’
Ja Cheon-gwang quickly hid himself in a crevice between the rocks.
Then he slowly regulated his breathing.
In an instant, he concealed his aura.