Episode 54
Man Jong-im frowned as he was unable to pursue the enemies due to Sun Woo-jin’s insistence, and he demanded, “Why are you telling me not to chase them?!”
Previously, Sun Woo-jin had predicted that those from the Alliance would block their path, and if that turned out to be true, he had asked Man Jong-im to follow his advice.
Moreover, Sun Woo-jin had warned him about this very ambush in advance.
Because of Sun Woo-jin’s track record, Man Jong-im found himself unable to outright ignore his words now.
Still, he couldn’t help but feel frustrated.
Glaring toward the attackers who had fled in an instant, Man Jong-im shouted in displeasure, “If we let them go now, next time they’ll come back with even more! Don’t you get that?!”
Sun Woo-jin just smiled faintly and nodded obediently.
“Yes, that’s probably true. You’re right, Lord Man.”
Man Jong-im was so taken aback by the easy acceptance that he asked again, “W-what? Then why are you…?”
“If we follow them immediately, they’ll just run farther away. Now that they think we’re not chasing, they’ll stop soon enough.”
“…What?”
Man Jong-im’s face twisted in confusion.
He couldn’t understand what Sun Woo-jin meant.
They had already lost sight of the enemy’s trail—what good would it do if they stopped somewhere out of sight?
But Sun Woo-jin didn’t seem inclined to explain. Still smiling, he glanced around at the others and said, “Well then, let’s get moving. Not everyone needs to go—only those who have reached their peak should move.”
Though puzzled, the warriors who had reached their peak—Man Jong-im, Do Mu-gon, Je Won-young, along with Seol Poong and Hae Cheong-yeon—began to follow Sun Woo-jin.
Sun Woo-jin’s foresight in such a short time suggested there was more at play.
Hyu Ja-seung had long realized the enemies weren’t pursuing them. But just in case, he kept running and changing direction until he was certain they couldn’t be tracked, then finally stopped.
Behind him, seven members of the Shadow Squad landed one after another.
Seeing them, Hyu Ja-seung muttered bitterly, “Only seven left… From twenty-two to seven in such a short time?”
It was devastating.
A result he had neither imagined nor experienced.
The others were no different.
All the Shadow Squad members swallowed their tears, unable to lift their heads in disbelief at the grim outcome.
Hyu Ja-seung silently stared at the remaining warriors.
Handling the enemy with their own strength was clearly impossible now. But…
“Fshhh!”
With blazing eyes, Hyu Ja-seung whistled sharply toward the sky.
Moments later, his personal messenger pigeon flew down.
Flap!
Grinding his teeth, Hyu Ja-seung thought, If we can’t take revenge on our own, then I’ll borrow the Alliance’s power. There are eight of us left, but none of them will survive!
He was certain.
Their lives wouldn’t last even a month.
Even if they had defeated two Shadow Squad units before, they wouldn’t survive being marked for elimination by the Martial Alliance.
Hyu Ja-seung planned to exaggerate their actions and threat to request the official dispatch of a military force.
Given the heavy losses to two Shadow Squad units, it wasn’t an unreasonable claim.
After writing the message, he attached it to the pigeon’s leg and sent it off.
Flap!
Watching the pigeon soar into the sky, Hyu Ja-seung let out a cruel smile.
This is the end.
Then, suddenly, one of the Shadow Squad members standing at the back dashed forward like the wind and snatched the messenger pigeon.
Snap!
“Piiik!”
Snatching a pigeon mid-flight was an incredible feat of martial skill.
But Hyu Ja-seung was even more shocked by the sudden, unexpected move and shouted, “What do you think you’re doing?!”
Since the man didn’t seem to recognize him, Hyu Ja-seung guessed he was a surviving member of the Ninth Unit.
But why would a Ninth Unit member stop the messenger pigeon from flying?
And to do so at a speed so fast Hyu Ja-seung couldn’t even react—such skill rivaled that of the fallen Ninth Unit leader, Yang Won-dang.
Furious, Hyu Ja-seung glared at the Shadow Squad member holding the pigeon and demanded, “I asked what you’re doing! Which member of the Ninth Unit are you?!”
The man smirked.
The mocking curl of his lips beneath his hood twisted Hyu Ja-seung’s face in anger.
Then, a Ninth Unit member standing behind him spoke with a pale face.
“Th-that’s not a Ninth Unit member, Captain Pal.”
“…What?”
“There’s no one like that in the Ninth Unit. I thought he was from the Eighth Unit…”
“What?!”
Hyu Ja-seung was about to shout in disbelief when the image of the Shadow Squad member who had ruined their ambush earlier flashed through his mind.
The one who had dashed out alone and messed everything up.
His eyes widened.
If it wasn’t a miscommunication that caused the failure…
If someone had deliberately sabotaged the ambush and exposed them…
Now horrified, Hyu Ja-seung shouted, “Who the hell are you?!”
At that moment, Sak Mu-heun, his face hidden beneath his hood, smiled faintly and replied, “Now’s not the time to be curious about my identity.”
“What?!”
Sak Mu-heun pointed behind Hyu Ja-seung.
“Look behind you.”
But Hyu Ja-seung gritted his teeth and shouted, “Don’t try that nonsense—!”
Then, like a tidal wave, the peak warriors of the Flying Dragon Unit, led by Seol Poong, crashed down from the rear.
Pwahak!
“Gyaaaah!”
Seol Poong, Man Jong-im, Je Won-young, Sun Woo-jin, Hae Cheong-yeon, Do Mu-gon—
All the peak warriors dispatched.
Veterans hardened by countless battles on the front lines.
They slaughtered the Shadow Squad members with the force of a tsunami.
Shuaak!
“Ughhh!”
Sshh!
“Guhhh!”
The Shadow Squad members couldn’t even mount a proper resistance as they died.
They no longer had the strength to fight six peak warriors.
Or rather, they didn’t even have the will.
Mentally broken by the overwhelming power and the betrayal of one of their own who had led them into a trap.
Pwahak!
“Gyaaaah!”
“Ahhh!”
Seol Poong, like a raging tiger, charged at Hyu Ja-seung in a blood-soaked storm.
But Hyu Ja-seung, unable even to think of defending himself, turned around in a daze.
The Shadow Squad member who had deceived them had already vanished.
And that was the last thing Hyu Ja-seung saw.
Pfuuk!
“…”
“So, if I understand you correctly, you’re saying that the Alliance’s communication system has been infiltrated by Blood Sect agents?”
“I can’t be certain, but if that weren’t the case, how else could they have confirmed the Lord’s reports and launched an ambush? The Alliance, as a pillar of the righteous faction, wouldn’t want us dead, would they?”
“Hmm, that’s true.”
I was currently deceiving Man Jong-im.
Trying to explain the situation with Jegal Ji-gang and the Shadow Squad to this stubborn man wouldn’t be easy, and it might only increase the danger if he found out.
So I chose to tell him only what he wanted to hear.
“I suspect that Blood Sect operatives, like Georyeokma, have infiltrated the front lines and are intercepting reports. That’s why I asked the Lord not to send any reports for now.”
“Indeed! If they weren’t such people, they wouldn’t have seen my reports or attacked us. Blood Sect agents meddling in the Alliance’s communication system between the front and the base—that’s truly deplorable.”
“Yes, I agree.”
After a long tirade against the Blood Sect, Man Jong-im asked me again.
“So, what do you think we should do now?”
All eyes turned to me.
Their bright, expectant gazes were almost overwhelming.
Since the Shadow Squad’s ambush, people seemed to regard me as the military leader of this dispatch.
It was quite embarrassing.
Honestly, it wasn’t because I was exceptional, but because of my past memories, knowledge about the Shadow Squad, and Sak Mu-heun’s help.
If we were talking pure wisdom, Cheong-yeon Sojeo was probably far superior.
But when I looked at her, she just smiled and shook her head.
I figured she didn’t want to step forward and was silently telling me to take charge.
Just by looking at her, she somehow knew what I was thinking—she was truly remarkable.
Someone like her should be leading the people.
Anyway, I decided not to shy away.
It was easier for me to take the lead on this matter anyway.
So I composed myself and began.
“First, regarding the communication system, I’ve asked that reports be sent only to genuine Alliance warriors—not impostors. The Lord has been informed of this. An investigation from the Alliance will likely follow soon. So, let’s leave the rest to them and focus on Georyeokma for now.”
By “genuine Alliance warriors,” I meant my brother, Sak Mu-heun.
I had asked him to alter the contents of the messenger pigeon that the Shadow Squad leader tried to send and then send it again.
The dispatch team had returned to the front lines, reporting that it seemed the Blood Sect’s forces had infiltrated the Guizhou Fortress area and requesting an investigation.
They also sent word to the Flying Dragon Squad to report the same.
I asked Je Won-young, the squad leader of the 11th unit, to send back the least skilled members and to relay this information to both the 11th and our 13th units. As for the 12th unit, since their leader was here with us, there was no problem reporting directly.
Man Jong-im was now following my instructions quite well.
“Now, I’m curious to see what the Martial Alliance will choose.”
I had informed them that the Giant Demons had gone to Guizhou Fortress, but I hadn’t specified exactly where within the fortress.
If Je Gal Ji-gang was determined to capture them, he would likely scour the entire fortress.
I wondered if he would come to the same conclusion I had—and whether he would then turn his attention toward the Zheng Xie Sect, the Yun family, or the Mountain Sword Gate.
“If they don’t investigate, that would be serious. It would mean the Martial Alliance is either turning a blind eye to the Blood Sect’s northern invasion or, worse, cooperating with them.”
But that was a problem for later.
For now, I began explaining our course of action to the group.
“As I mentioned before, we expect the Giant Demons to be hiding in one of the three factions currently at odds: the Zheng Xie Sect, the Yun family, or the Mountain Sword Gate. So our first priority is to find out which of these three is serving as the Blood Sect’s forward base.”
Man Jong-im scoffed.
“Hmph! Then the answer’s obvious. It can’t be the Zheng Xie Sect, so it must be either the Yun family or the Mountain Sword Gate. Especially since the Mountain Sword Gate is in a bad state right now, the Yun family is the more likely candidate.”
I smiled faintly at his words—I had expected him to say exactly that.
“You really think so?”
He replied confidently, as if I were asking something obvious.
“Isn’t it? The Zheng Xie Sect is a righteous faction. If the Blood Sect had set up a forward base, it would naturally be with the heretical Yun family or Mountain Sword Gate.”
“But the current situation is that the Zheng Xie Sect from Sichuan has already extended its influence toward Guizhou Fortress, and the Yun family and Mountain Sword Gate have united to block them. In fact, the front lines are reportedly heavily in favor of the Zheng Xie Sect. Doesn’t that suggest it could be the Zheng Xie Sect after all?”
Man Jong-im vehemently denied my objection.
“No way! The Zheng Xie Sect is a respected righteous faction that even sends warriors to the front lines. We have a warrior from the Zheng Xie Sect in our 12th unit—he’s a formidable fighter who’s slain countless demons. If they were allied with the Blood Sect, why would they send warriors to the front to block their own base? That makes no sense!”
I didn’t bother pointing out that if they really were the Blood Sect’s forward base, having their warriors at the front could be even more dangerous.
Nor did I mention that while the rank-and-file were righteous, the leadership’s loyalties might differ.
I simply said, “I see. Then how about this?”
“How do you mean?”
“We’ve already been spotted by the Blood Sect’s forces. Moving together as one group is risky—it makes us an easy target for ambushes like last time. So I suggest we split into three smaller teams and investigate each faction separately, staying under the radar. What do you think?”
In truth, another ambush was unlikely.
The Shadow Squad that knew us had been wiped out, their reports blocked, and the Martial Alliance’s attention was focused on the Giant Demons infiltrating Guizhou Fortress.
But it was still true that moving in smaller groups was safer if we wanted to avoid detection.
More importantly, I wanted to operate separately from Man Jong-im. His exceptional combat skills were impressive but, aside from that, he was more of a hindrance than a help.
Above all, being around him made me feel stifled.
Unaware of my true feelings, Man Jong-im readily nodded at the suggestion.
“Sounds like a good plan. Then the 12th unit and I will investigate the Yun family.”
I smiled brightly at his words.
Success.