DUM, DUM, DUM, DUM.
The heavy beating of drums echoed throughout the Ascending Dragon Sect.
“If it weren’t for that damned drum, this place would be perfect….”
Number 48 grumbled as he ran out toward the training ground.
Unlike his words, his face was flushed with excitement.
‘We’re going outside. Outside.’
More than anything else, leaving the Ascending Dragon Sect and venturing outside was something he enjoyed.
Numbers 32, 87, and 92 followed behind him.
It had already been nearly two months since he joined the Iron Dragon Corps.
During that time, he had heard those drums several times.
They signaled the start of a battle.
“Well, it’s nothing special. We’ll just hurry there and come back.”
Number 32 stretched his whole body.
Just as he said, every battle they had fought so far had ended almost disappointingly early.
From things they had overheard from the Silver Dragon Corps members on the way back and forth, it was little more than a regular event.
Apparently, there had even been days when the two sides merely glared at each other until sunset.
Once the Iron Dragon Corps finished forming ranks, the Silver Dragon Corps lined up beside them.
Shuffle, shuffle.
The Golden Dragon Corps sauntered over like a band of idlers, yawning loudly as they took their places.
Soon, everyone had gathered on the training ground.
“All right. We march out again today.”
Second Elder Jang Woo-geun shouted.
“Come on, let’s get going.”
“Think those bastards will actually come at us properly today?”
“Then it’ll just be the bastards from Ironblood Hall and the Tiger Fang Gang getting killed again.”
Thanks to their overwhelmingly powerful defense, the Golden Dragon Corps did not seem particularly worried.
They looked as though they were going out for a casual stroll.
“W-We’ll c-come back e-early t-today too, right? Crunch.”
Number 87 bit into an acorn.
“What could possibly happen?”
“Once we get back, let’s finish reading what we left off.”
At Number 48’s words, Number 92 abruptly stuck his head in.
They had been reading in the Iron Dragon Hall just before coming out.
“Everything else is fine, but can you do something about those chopsticks? Why do you keep hitting me with them?”
“You remember things better when you get hit. Your eyelids keep drooping, don’t they? I’m using the chopsticks to shove the letters into your head.”
“Tch.”
“Looks like Four-Eight wants his penis cut off too. I told you, they cut it off if you become an internal affairs officer.”
“You shut that mouth of yours first.”
“Yeees, yeees… Lord Internal Affairs Officer….”
Number 32 mocked Number 92, bowing and scraping before him.
“Why don’t you two just fight it out and catch up afterward?”
“One does not trade fists with a beast.”
“Yeees, yeees… Lord Internal Affairs Officer….”
“You really are… Ugh!”
Number 92 clutched his head.
Hwang In-gwang had struck him with the back of his great saber.
“You bastards think we’re going out to play? Get your heads straight. You nameless bastards sure talk a lot. Want me to throw you back down to the Non-Dragon Corps?”
“I’m sorry.”
Number 92 bowed his head in apology, then whipped his gaze sideways.
Numbers 48 and 32 flinched under his glare.
CRUNCH.
Number 87 bit into another acorn.
***
The familiar plain.
After coming here several times, it almost felt welcoming now.
‘Come to think of it….’
The mountain soil should have been yellow loess.
Yet now it had a reddish hue.
Perhaps the blood of all the martial artists who had died here had hardened completely, refusing to wash away.
Thirty years of accumulated blood had stored layer upon layer of blood and souls within this earth.
“Form ranks first. Set up the defensive formation.”
As always, the Ascending Dragon Sect was the first sect to arrive.
They began forming ranks with practiced movements.
Numbers 48 and 87 took their places side by side in the center of the third row, while Numbers 32 and 92 moved to the left side of the third row.
“Yaaaaawn….”
At the very front.
Golden Dragon Corps member Ho Jeong yawned widely.
And as usual, he was not the only one.
There was not the slightest trace of tension among the Golden Dragon Corps members in the vanguard.
“Damn. I wanted to spend today taking a nice long nap…. Those orthodox bastards really are ridiculously diligent.”
“What was that saying again? ‘Those who work shouldn’t eat,’ right?”
“What lunatic came up with that crap? Lying around makes me crave sweets even more. But does fighting like this count as work?”
“Work or fighting, whatever. Let’s finish quickly and go eat.”
Another ordinary, tedious, light battle.
For the Golden Dragon Corps members, it was easy work.
After some time passed, the sects belonging to the Hegemon Fortress Alliance began arriving one after another.
They too formed their defensive lines with familiar movements.
Judging by the way they chatted among themselves, they seemed noticeably more relaxed than before.
Especially since there had not been any major clashes for an entire month.
WHOOOOOSH….
A harsh gust of wind swept across the plain, and the forest on the opposite side began to stir.
The Orthodox Allied Forces had arrived.
Number 48 had always thought so, but unlike the Hegemon Fortress Alliance, their steps were remarkably steady.
“Hey, Eight-Seven. Those bastards… Don’t they look a little different from usual?”
“H-Huh? Wh-What does?”
“No, look carefully. Something about them feels different from last time.”
Number 48 furrowed his brow deeply.
Something about them was subtly different from usual.
Unlike the relaxed Hegemon Fortress Alliance, the Orthodox Allied Forces had always shown clear signs of tension.
Their discipline went without saying.
But today, something was even more different.
Something he could not put into words….
“Can’t you shut up?!”
Hwang In-gwang turned around and shouted.
Number 48 really did not like that bastard.
‘I heard the other Silver Dragon Corps members at least treat their support members well on the battlefield….’
The inner arts transmission method transferred one person’s inner arts to another.
No matter how much of a specialty it was for the Ascending Dragon Sect, that did not change the fact that it was dangerous.
They had simply grown accustomed to it and become numb to the danger.
That was why those receiving inner arts could not afford to ignore the members behind them.
There were even occasional cases where the inner arts flowed backward and killed the person in front.
Because of that, it was customary to treat the member directly behind you well.
“Damn bastard.”
“What?”
“Ah, nothing. I meant those orthodox bastards.”
“Tch.”
Fortunately, Hwang In-gwang seemed not to have heard him properly.
‘More importantly, those bastards really do feel different today.’
It was already a strange day, considering he had even noticed the color of the dirt on a plain he normally paid no attention to.
Despite his worries, the two sides finished arranging their formations and began advancing.
The distance between the two forces slowly narrowed.
‘The atmosphere really is different.’
As the distance closed, he could feel it even more clearly.
‘Those bastards are definitely planning something. Is everyone else okay?’
He looked around.
Everyone wore the same expressions as always.
Even Ironblood Hall and the Tiger Fang Gang did.
“Charge! Exterminate the unorthodox bastards!”
At the roar of the Orthodox Allied Forces, hundreds of martial artists came flying forward.
Up to that point, everything was the same as usual.
The Orthodox Allied Forces attacked first.
The front line of the Hegemon Fortress Alliance defended.
Then the assault forces in the rear counterattacked.
It was the same process repeated every time.
‘What? It’s exactly the same as last time. Was I being too sensitive?’
The order of battle was all too familiar.
Everyone moved like machines through the same old motions.
If they endured a little longer, both sides would withdraw and return home, just as they always did.
BOOM, BOOM.
Then it happened.
A new variable forced its way into the usual sequence.
“AAAAARGH!”
A thick cloud of dust erupted as a scream came from the vanguard.
Two positions ahead of Number 48.
Golden Dragon Corps member Ho Jeong.
The impact had been so powerful that all of Scattered Gorge Mountain trembled.
The shock kicked up so much dust that it completely obscured their vision.
SWISH.
A figure burst through the dust.
A middle-aged man in a white martial arts uniform.
A martial artist of the Orthodox Allied Forces.
The fact that he had appeared inside their formation meant….
The Ascending Dragon Sect’s defensive technique, the Heaven-Revolving Mighty Path, had been broken.
The attack had been the same as always.
So had the defense.
The order was unchanged.
Only the force behind it was different.
Who was he?
Who was that man in the white martial arts uniform?
One thing was certain.
He possessed enough skill to break the Ascending Dragon Sect’s Heaven-Revolving Mighty Path.
Once the Heaven-Revolving Mighty Path collapsed at the center, the repercussions immediately spread outward.
The Heaven-Revolving Mighty Path boasted supreme defensive power from the front, but its sides were inevitably exposed.
The martial artists who forced their way into that opening began attacking the Golden Dragon Corps from the flank.
The Heaven-Revolving Mighty Path was powerful.
According to the Instructors, the only people in the murim capable of breaking it were the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, known as the “pillars of the orthodox path,” and the seven venerables of the unorthodox martial world, the Seven Venerables.
Even allowing for the Instructors’ customary exaggeration, no one could deny its tremendous power.
Yet it had been broken this easily?
“You’re fairly skilled, bastard. To think you dared break my Heaven-Revolving Mighty Path.”
Ho Jeong hurriedly seized his greatsword and rose.
Dark blood streamed from the corner of his mouth.
He had suffered internal injuries when the Heaven-Revolving Mighty Path was broken.
“Die, you bastard!”
A blue force aura flickered over the greatsword.
A greatsword infused with inner arts.
A brutish lump of iron several times larger than the greatswords commonly seen in the Central Plains.
Once inner arts filled it, it looked as though Ho Jeong had ripped a roof beam out of a building and started swinging it.
“AAAAARGH!”
WHOOOOM….
The massive greatsword tore through the air.
The deafening roar of splitting air echoed in every direction.
“Your boar-like sword paths never change. There’s no need to receive something like this head-on.”
The man in the white martial arts uniform twisted his body slightly.
Ho Jeong’s greatsword tore through empty air beside him.
BOOM….
The greatsword smashed into the ground, producing an enormous explosion.
The man in white frowned.
‘As expected. I can’t compete with him in inner arts. How can a mere rank-and-file martial artist possess this much?’
In terms of inner arts alone, Ho Jeong stood far above him.
There was no comparison.
‘But martial arts aren’t decided by inner arts alone.’
A slender, elegant sword.
His blade turned sharply and shot straight downward.
SQUELCH. SLICE.
He had merely twisted his wrist once, yet the tip of his sword sank into Ho Jeong’s neck.
Then he drew it horizontally.
Ho Jeong’s head spun through the air.
THUD.
His enormous greatsword fell to the ground.
His headless body collapsed over it.
‘As expected… Father was right. This works especially well against a rabble like these.’
After bringing Ho Jeong down, the man in the white martial arts uniform looked behind him.
The face there looked a little younger than the man he had just killed.
Silver Dragon Corps member Hwang In-gwang.
Jang Woo-geun’s hands trembled.
“Y-You damned son of a…! Moyong Jeong-cheon! Why are you involved in this battle?!”
He roared at the top of his lungs.
‘Damn it, we’ve been completely had. Was all that weakness just a feint? Was everything meant to conceal what they were planning today?’
Moyong Jeong-cheon was known as the greatest martial artist of the Moyong Family.
Even he could not break a fully powered Heaven-Revolving Mighty Path head-on.
For more than a month, the battles had been utterly trivial.
On some days, the two sides had simply stared at each other before withdrawing.
They had lulled everyone into complacency that way, then struck the center with their full strength.
Ho Jeong, lazily spinning his greatsword as usual, had fallen for it.
“What are you doing?! Silver Dragon Corps, draw your swords! That is why you bastards are positioned behind the Golden Dragon Corps!”
Veins bulged across Jang Woo-geun’s forehead.
Even if Ho Jeong had entered the battle carelessly, Jang Woo-geun was the commander here.
He could never erase the mistake of losing a Golden Dragon Corps member.
A chill ran down his spine.
“Kill that bastard quickly and seal the opening!”
Contrary to Jang Woo-geun’s hopes, Moyong Jeong-cheon had no intention of allowing the door he had opened to close again.
The Ascending Dragon Sect was the greatest obstacle faced by the Hegemon Fortress Alliance.
He intended to annihilate it completely while he had the chance.
Moyong Jeong-cheon immediately swung his sword at Hwang In-gwang, who stood at the front of the second row.
Hwang In-gwang raised his greatsword to block the sword path.
SWISH, CLANG.
There was no explosive roar of inner arts erupting.
Only the sound of metal striking metal.
Yet Hwang In-gwang was forced backward all the same.
CRASH, TUMBLE….
A massive sword had been driven back by a slender blade.
With only a single clash, Hwang In-gwang was sent sprawling far away.
The Ascending Dragon Sect’s formation consisted of only three rows.
Once the first and second rows collapsed, Moyong Jeong-cheon could reach the third immediately.
‘Once I sever this point, the Ascending Dragon Sect’s back is broken. Then we spread out to both sides and exterminate them. Their frontal defense may look impressive, but everything else is pathetic.’
“AAAAARGH!”
A voice suddenly struck his ears.
A child.
Fifteen or sixteen at most?
His body was large, but his face was still young.
Number 48.
With Hwang In-gwang knocked away, Number 48, who had been standing behind him, now faced Moyong Jeong-cheon directly.
Caught off guard, Number 48 punched with all his strength.
The Ascending Dragon Sect’s enormous weapons had not yet been issued to him.
He had not even received a name yet.
‘The Ascending Dragon Sect even sends children like this onto the battlefield?’
Moyong Jeong-cheon was dumbfounded as he raised his sword to block the fist.
It was the same sword he had just pulled back while preparing to cut the fallen Hwang In-gwang’s throat.
BOOM.
“Ghk!”
A startling impact traveled through the flat of the blade.
Moyong Jeong-cheon’s brow twisted.
‘What is this? How can a brat this young possess such inner force? What kind of training did they put him through?’
He was well aware of the Ascending Dragon Sect’s powerful inner arts.
He even knew the characteristics of their martial arts.
The Moyong Family and the Ascending Dragon Sect had constantly clashed throughout Liaoning even before Hegemon Fortress rose to power.
‘Even so, this is excessive. No. This brat will undoubtedly become an obstacle to us as well. I’ll kill him here.’
A sect with nothing but powerful inner arts and no technique to speak of.
Martial arts like a blindfolded boar.
As long as one did not clash with them head-on, they were easy prey.
Moyong Jeong-cheon quickly reset his stance and swung his sword.
His target was the child’s neck.
There was no need for some absurdly massive weapon to cut down a single person.
One slender sword was more than enough.
“G-Get over h-here!”
Something suddenly yanked Number 48 backward by the nape.
It was Number 87.
SWISH.
Moyong Jeong-cheon’s sword passed so close to Number 48’s throat that it seemed to brush against it.
Had it touched him slightly?
A red line appeared.
Then fresh blood gently welled from it.
“AAAAARGH!”
Number 48 screamed.
It was an unpleasant sensation.
The wound was not deep, but it was the first sword wound he had ever suffered.
He had endured countless punches and beatings, but this was his first time feeling cold metal slice through his flesh.
“You bastard! Moyong Jeong-cheon!”
At last, Jang Woo-geun entered the battle.
BOOM, BOOM.
His greatsword repeatedly carved arcs through the air.
The simple fact that he could wield such an enormous weapon so naturally was enough to reveal just how profound his inner arts were.
“You will regret coming in here. I’ll cut off your head and send it to Moyong Yang.”
Jang Woo-geun’s greatsword was vicious.
A greatsword shrouded in bluish force aura.
Driven back by its momentum, Moyong Jeong-cheon immediately adjusted his stance.
“You think you can do that? Today, the Ascending Dragon Sect disappears from this place.”
“You’re spouting whatever comes into your head, bastard.”
Jang Woo-geun and Moyong Jeong-cheon.
And the martial artists of the Orthodox Allied Forces who flooded through the opening Moyong Jeong-cheon had torn apart.
A chaotic melee erupted between them and the Ascending Dragon Sect.
The center had already lost the Heaven-Revolving Mighty Path.
The Ascending Dragon Sect and Orthodox Allied Forces became entangled together in a scene of utter carnage.
The Ascending Dragon Sect, whose only outstanding strength was its powerful inner arts, struggled to respond to the blades of the experienced Orthodox Allied Forces.
They lacked the finesse to deal with martial arts filled with variation techniques and feints.
But the Orthodox Allied Forces faced the same problem.
Even if the Ascending Dragon Sect’s attacks were simple, the orthodox martial artists lacked the inner arts needed to withstand those greatswords and great sabers laden with overwhelming power.
One hit was all it would take.
Their bodies would be split apart, whether from side to side or from top to bottom.
Number 48 was dragged toward the rear by Number 87.
His face was blank.
The moment the thought struck him that he could truly die, his entire body had frozen.
This was different from getting beaten.
This meant bidding farewell to the living world.
“F-F-F-Four-Eight, a-are y-you o-okay?”
“Huh? Yeah… Yeah, I think I’m okay now.”
“Y-Your n-neck is b-b-bleeding….”
Blood continued seeping from the wound Moyong Jeong-cheon had left.
There was no pain.
Number 48 was far too agitated to feel it.
Grab.
“What the hell are you two doing? Why aren’t you fighting?”
A Silver Dragon Corps member suddenly grabbed Numbers 48 and 87 by the napes.
“F-Fight? We don’t even have weapons.”
Their duties were either combat support or carrying loads.
Those were the tasks given to the lowest members of the Iron Dragon Corps.
The third row was not normally sent directly into battle anyway.
Weapons would only add unnecessary weight.
Under ordinary circumstances, they served as supply carriers, transporting whatever the battle required.
“Shut up, you bastards! Pick up whatever’s lying around and fight! There are dead men everywhere!”
The Silver Dragon Corps member flung both of them away.
“AAAAARGH!”
THUD.
The two boys flew through the air and were thrown straight into the middle of the carnage.
The sight before them.
Members of the Ascending Dragon Sect swinging enormous greatswords and great sabers with brutal force.
And the Orthodox Allied Forces slipping around them, performing dazzling sword dances as they dodged every blow.
“Eight-Seven! Grab this!”
Number 48 pulled a great saber from the hand of a fallen Silver Dragon Corps member.
Then he threw it to Number 87.
“Wh-Wh-What about y-you?”
“There are plenty here.”
CLANG.
By the narrowest margin.
Number 48 picked up someone else’s greatsword and hurriedly raised the massive blade over his head to block an incoming sword.
He had no technique whatsoever.
He had managed to block it only because the enormous weapon was large enough to cover his entire body.
But.
SLICE, SWISH…, SLASH.
He instinctively flinched and tried to block the incoming swords, but before long, small sword wounds began appearing across his arms and legs.
He hid himself as completely as possible behind the massive weapon, but there was nothing he could do about the limbs that stuck out.
Sword energy that had lost its original target came flying in with repeated HISS, HISS sounds, striking the great saber and cutting into his flesh.
The sound of sword energy smashing into the great saber felt as though it would deafen him.
‘I’m going to die here like this.’
His arms and legs grew heavy.
He wanted to let go, but Number 48 stubbornly endured.
Number 87 likewise stood back-to-back with Number 48 and blocked the swords coming from the front.
No.
They were hiding.
How much time had passed?
An instant felt like eternity.
They had done nothing.
They were merely holding up their great sabers and hiding behind them, yet their inner arts and stamina drained away at terrifying speed.
They had never fought like this before.
From the very beginning, they had spent every bit of inner arts they possessed simply blocking sword energy.
Before they knew it, their qi centers were nearly empty.
‘I can’t… I can’t hold on anymore.’
There was no strength left in his hands.
Not even enough remained in his grip to support the great saber.
He could only lean against the heavy weapon, slowly sinking beneath its weight.
Number 48’s consciousness gradually began to fade.