Episode 60

Bae Jong-gwan shouted loudly toward Jeonghyeopbang.

“I am Bae Jong-gwan, the eldest of the Five Eagles! Among the five hundred brothers of Jeonghyeopbang, is there truly not a single one who dares to face me?!”

After Bae Jong-gwan had knocked down Yang Ho-ung, some time passed, but no one from Jeonghyeopbang stepped forward.

Growing impatient, Bae Jong-gwan shouted provocatively, yet still, none of Jeonghyeopbang’s warriors dared to come out.

Yang Ho-ung, who had been knocked unconscious with a shattered jaw by a single punch from Bae Jong-gwan, was considered one of Jeonghyeopbang’s top fighters.

With immense strength, natural agility, and exceptional combat instincts, he was even feared among his own comrades.

So, no one could possibly challenge Bae Jong-gwan, who had silenced such a formidable opponent with one blow.

Hwang Jang-gon’s face twisted further in frustration, having lost his trusted warrior Yang Ho-ung and finding no alternative.

Meanwhile, Heo Kyung, the head of Sangeommun, burst into laughter among his men.

“Hahaha! Oh, this is hilarious! Not a single one of five hundred dares to step up?! Hahaha! This feels so good! So satisfying!”

He hadn’t felt this exhilarated in his life. If he could, he’d rush over to Jeonghyeopbang just to see the expression on Hwang Jang-gon’s face.

After laughing heartily for a while, Heo Kyung suddenly composed himself and called out to Heo Jeon-sam, the external commander.

“Commander!”

Heo Jeon-sam, who had been smiling contentedly beside him, was startled but quickly responded.

“Yes, yes! Master!”

Heo Kyung fixed him with a fiery gaze, then suddenly lunged forward and embraced him tightly.

“Oh my!”

“You did well! Excellent work! Where on earth did you find such talent? This is all thanks to you! Thank you!”

Just as Heo Kyung was celebrating with Heo Jeon-sam, a voice suddenly rang out from among Jeonghyeopbang’s warriors.

“Hmph! You got lucky taking down Yang Ho-ung with your pathetic external techniques! Now, this old man will take you on!”

The ones who stepped forward were the five masters of swift blades from Sichuan Province, known as Beon Kwae Odo.

All five were first-rate warriors, famed for their rapid swordsmanship and lightning-fast internal techniques.

Hwang Jang-gon, frowning as he wondered whom to send out next, let out a low whistle as they volunteered themselves.

He seemed to understand their strategy.

A nearby warrior asked him, “Are you sure? Beon Kwae Odo’s skills aren’t superior to Yang Ho-ung’s.”

Hwang Jang-gon nodded in reply.

“They’re definitely weaker than Yang Ho-ung. But have you ever seen that Bae Jong-gwan move quickly?”

“What? No, I haven’t.”

“Exactly. They’re probably planning to confuse him with fast internal techniques to gain the upper hand, then look for his weak points.”

Hidden nearby, Sunwoo Jin was thinking the same thing.

‘If this goes well…’

He urgently spoke to Bi Sa-yeong beside him.

“Sa-yeong! Go to Cheong-yeon Sojeo right now and deliver my message, will you?”

“Huh? What message?”

“If…”

Bi Sa-yeong’s eyes widened in surprise.

“What?! Is that really possible?”

“Probably.”

“Heh heh heh, got it. I’ll go right away!”

As Bi Sa-yeong moved toward Sangeommun, Sunwoo Jin relayed the plan to Sak Mu-heun.

After hearing the explanation, Sak Mu-heun responded.

“Understood. We’ll do that. But is that guy really okay? Judging by his appearance, it doesn’t seem wrong for the opponent to try to exploit his internal techniques.”

Despite his concern, Sunwoo Jin smiled faintly.

“Jong-gwan is definitely slow. But that’s only compared to Sa-yeong and me. Besides, it seems he’s prepared countermeasures against faster opponents these days.”

At the same time, Choe Woo-sun, the eldest of Beon Kwae Odo, stepped forward to face Bae Jong-gwan, keeping some distance as he pointed his sword.

“If you’re such a master of external techniques that you can even take Yang Ho-ung’s axe blow with your body, then your vital points must be even more vulnerable. I’ll slowly find your weak spots!”

For warriors who trained their bodies through external techniques, there was always a vulnerable vital point.

And the higher their mastery of external techniques, the more fatal that weak spot became.

Choe Woo-sun was warning that he intended to find and strike that point.

Bae Jong-gwan listened silently, then pulled out the short crescent blade and long spear he carried on his back.

He quickly assembled them into a long polearm—the crescent blade staff that Sunwoo Jin had gifted him earlier from Heuksangbang.

Choe Woo-sun scoffed upon seeing it.

“Hmph! Planning to keep your distance and block my approach? Clever. But don’t think that’ll stop my internal techniques! Now, shall we begin?”

He lowered his stance with a sinister grin, ready to charge.

Then—

Thud!

Bae Jong-gwan’s massive body surged forward explosively, like a boulder hurled from a catapult.

“Ugh?!”

Choe Woo-sun, about to charge, twisted sharply in shock to dodge.

But at that moment, Bae Jong-gwan swung the crescent blade horizontally, striking him down.

Whoosh!

The massive arc of the blade came crashing down.

Choe Woo-sun desperately tried to parry with his sword.

“Yah!”

But it was impossible.

Clang!

The moment his sword clashed with Bae Jong-gwan’s powerful crescent blade, it shattered like a reed.

“What?!”

That wasn’t the end.

The crescent blade then violently sliced through Choe Woo-sun’s body.

Shing!

“Gah!”

In a single strike, his upper and lower body were severed.

It was a brutal blow, even more devastating than the one Yang Ho-ung had suffered earlier.

Silence fell like a shroud.

Both Jeonghyeopbang and Sangeommun warriors stood frozen, mouths agape in shock.

But only for a moment.

Then, cheers erupted again—from Sangeommun’s side.

“Wooooah!”

“Amazing!”

“Bae Jong-gwan!”

“The Five Eagles!”

The other Beon Kwae Odo brothers shouted too, but their voices were filled with grief.

“Dae-hyeong!”

“How dare he?!”

“Next, it’s my turn! I will kill you for sure!”

“Wo-sang! I go first! Wait your turn!”

“But second brother!”

As the Beon Kwae Odo brothers argued over who would face him next, Bae Jong-gwan lowered his stance with a grim expression.

For opponents of this caliber, even facing them one by one was a bother.

“If I fall, avenge me…!”

Choe Woo-young, the second brother, was about to entrust the task to their third brother, Choe Woo-sang, but before he could finish, his eyes snapped open wide.

Thud!

Without warning, Bae Jong-gwan charged straight at them.

“Y-you bastard?!”

“What are you doing?!”

The shocked brothers raised their swords to defend.

But Bae Jong-gwan, already upon them, swung his crescent blade horizontally again.

Whoosh!

Like with Choe Woo-sun, none of his brothers could block the massive arc of the crescent blade.

Clang! Shing!

“Gah!”

“Ugh!”

“Kuh!”

“Huh!”

In a single strike, four of their polearms and bodies were severed.

Even for seasoned warriors accustomed to slaughter, the scene was surreal.

Jeonghyeopbang’s warriors were speechless, while Sangeommun’s fighters erupted with their loudest cheers yet.

“Wooooah!”

“Diamond Warrior Bae Jong-gwan!”

“Reincarnation of King Hangwoo, Bae Jong-gwan!”

Even Hwang Jang-gon of Jeonghyeopbang and Heo Kyung of Sangeommun stood dumbfounded, mouths agape as they stared at Bae Jong-gwan.

At that moment, Heo Jeon-sam, Sangeommun’s external commander, who had just received a message from Hae Cheong-yeon, urgently spoke to Heo Kyung.

“Master! Now is the time!”

“Huh? What do you mean now?”

“You must strike now! This opportunity may never come again!”

“Huh?”

Heo Kyung, puzzled by the sudden words, suddenly understood their meaning.

He glanced around.

Sangeommun’s warriors were brimming with morale, while Jeonghyeopbang’s had completely collapsed.

This was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

Of course, they had agreed to only one-on-one duels today, avoiding full-scale battle—but that was Hwang Jang-gon’s decision, not his own promise.

Still, Heo Kyung hesitated.

“But… what if those two unknown supreme masters are still around? Even with our morale up, we’d lose if they appear…”

Heo Jeon-sam confidently replied.

“I’ve investigated separately. Those masters seem to have returned temporarily to Jeonghyeopbang’s main hall. So, the only supreme master they have here is Hwang Jang-gon.”

In truth, it was Hae Cheong-yeon who had provided that information, but Heo Jeon-sam now trusted him as if he’d seen fish flying through the sky.

Just being the daughter of the Sword Saint was already enough to inspire confidence, but the way the Five Eagles siblings had fought so valiantly until now was truly moving.

And that aligned closely with Heo Gyeong’s thoughts about Heo Jeon-sam. If Heo Jeon-sam had brought the Five Eagles siblings here and made them perform like this, then his words were surely trustworthy.

Heo Gyeong’s eyes gleamed as he asked, “Is that true, Outer Commander?”

“Yes! Absolutely!” came the firm reply.

Heo Gyeong let out a sharp, bitter smile and scanned the Sangeommun warriors standing before him.

Then, raising his voice, he addressed them.

— Hear me, disciples of Sangeommun!

The sudden shout made the disciples stop their cheers and listen intently.

— Those hypocrites who call themselves the Jeonghyeop faction cowardly launched an unannounced surprise attack on us, slaughtering the deputy sect leader and over two hundred brothers!

Of course, the claim that Jeonghyeop had attacked without warning was false. And the deaths of the deputy sect leader and those two hundred disciples weren’t due to a surprise attack, but rather because they had proposed a meeting and were ambushed instead. But to these outlaws, such details were irrelevant.

What mattered was that the enemy had struck first, and because of that, the deputy sect leader and over two hundred disciples were wiped out.

Fueled by this fiery spirit, the Sangeommun disciples now boiled over with uncontrollable rage.

“Cowards!”

“Hypocrites of the righteous sect!”

“Let’s take revenge!”

“Let’s avenge our fallen brothers!”

Heo Gyeong waited a moment, letting the atmosphere reach a fever pitch, then smiled with satisfaction and raised his voice again.

— Disciples! Can you forgive those hypocrites?!

The Sangeommun disciples answered in unison.

“No, we cannot!”

— Can you forget the hatred of our brothers?!

“No, we cannot!”

— Then what must we do?!

At that, the disciples drew their weapons and raised them high toward the sky, shouting with all their might.

“Revenge!”

Heo Gyeong himself leapt forward, leading the charge.

— Yes! Revenge! Now is the time for vengeance! Sangeommun disciples! Follow me!

“Waaaaaaaah!”

Led by Heo Gyeong, the Sangeommun disciples surged forward like a tidal wave.

Their charge was fierce, without a trace of fear.

“What fools! I tried to spare them, and this is how they repay me!”

Caught off guard by the sudden onslaught, Hwang Jang-gon twisted his face in anger and shouted at the Jeonghyeop warriors.

“Everyone, prepare for battle! Show these outlaws the true power of the Jeonghyeop faction!”

Then he called toward the rear.

“You two, get ready! Let’s take down Heo Gyeong together!”

Though their identities were unknown and their actions suspicious, two top-tier masters sent by the sect leader were waiting in the rear.

Even if the morale of the Jeonghyeop warriors was low now, if the three supreme masters—including himself—could kill Heo Gyeong, the Sangeommun leader, that would surely turn the tide.

But as Hwang Jang-gon waited for the masters to step forward, he soon grew flustered.

The two who were supposed to be waiting behind did not come forward.

Meanwhile, the Sangeommun disciples had already charged within a dozen paces.

By waiting for reinforcements, they had missed the chance to counter the enemy’s advance.

Hwang Jang-gon had no choice but to give orders immediately.

If he delayed any longer, they would be forced to endure the charge standing still.

“All units, charge—!”

But he had forgotten one thing.

There was someone charging far ahead of the Sangeommun disciples.

“Steel Meteor!”

Like a rhino, Bae Jong-gwan crashed into the foremost Jeonghyeop warriors.

KRAAAASH!

“Uaaaaaah!”

“Gyaaaah!”

“Guhhh!”

With a single body slam, Bae Jong-gwan sent a dozen Jeonghyeop warriors flying through the air in an almost surreal sight.

But he didn’t stop there.

Taking another step forward, he spun his crescent blade with all his might.

SWOOSH!

His crescent blade traced a huge full moon stained red with blood.

CLANG! SHING!

“Gyaaaah!”

“Guhhh!”

“Spare me!”

No one, no weapon, could stop Bae Jong-gwan’s crescent blade as it painted that bloody full moon.

To mid-level warriors, Bae Jong-gwan’s monstrous strength was like a calamity.

However, the top-tier warriors quickly noticed that his crescent blade wasn’t especially fast, and that while he swung it horizontally, a large opening appeared above him.

So as Bae Jong-gwan swung again, several elite warriors leapt upward, aiming to strike his head.

SMACK!

“Got him!”

“Die, you bastard!”

Of course, considering his external power, they couldn’t land a decisive blow immediately, but if they could get inside the range of his blade and stab him, wouldn’t his defense be exposed?

Just as they thrust their weapons toward Bae Jong-gwan, suddenly someone leapt out from behind him like a protective shadow.

A handsome man wielding a long spear, reminiscent of Zhao Zilong from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

“Hah!”

His spear split into a dozen gleaming streaks, sweeping away the Jeonghyeop warriors attacking Bae Jong-gwan.

SWISH SWISH SWISH!

“What—what is this?! Aaaah!”

“A master! A master!”

“Gyaaaah!”

Unaware of the dead, this was Seol Poong, the second eldest of the Five Eagles siblings, introducing himself.

Behind him, the other three sisters of the Five Eagles were also attacking the Jeonghyeop warriors.

SWOOSH!

“Gyaaaah!”

“Ahhh! Spare me!”

Also present was the terrifying Goe San Sword Sect, led by Je Won-young and three disciples.

SHHHH!

“Ugh!”

“What is this?! Aaaah!”

Among the many disciples of the Goe San Sword Sect, Je Won-young was recognized as the second strongest.

For those facing him, no one needed more than two sword strikes.

Most died before they could even properly see his blade.

With Seol Poong, Hae Cheong-yeon, and Je Won-young—all top-tier masters—there was no way the Jeonghyeop warriors could hold their ground.

Nor was it a situation they could defend.

“What are you doing?! We outnumber them! If we just respond properly…! Ugh!”

Every time the officers tried to regroup, they were inexplicably cut down.

— Twelve down.

— Seventeen now, Sunwoo Soje. Still far from enough.

Sak Mu-heun and Sunwoo Jin, who had been hiding in ambush, were assassinating the Jeonghyeop officers from unseen positions.

The Jeonghyeop formation began to collapse rapidly.

With the momentum, the entire Sangeommun force crashed in, rendering the numerical difference of two or five hundred meaningless.

Hwang Jang-gon gritted his teeth, forced to watch helplessly.

He wanted to rush forward and stop the collapse, but he couldn’t.

Because right before his eyes stood Heo Gyeong, the Sangeommun leader and a supreme master.

Heo Gyeong sneered fiercely and shouted.

“Hwang Jang-gon! Try opening your mouth again like before!”

Hwang Jang-gon’s face twisted in frustration.

As far as he knew, Heo Gyeong’s cultivation was similar to his own—seventy to eighty years of internal energy, a supreme master.

So the outcome of their duel wouldn’t be easy to predict.

Their battle would likely be influenced more by the surrounding circumstances than by their true strength.

Then, as he glanced around, he saw Jeonghyeop warriors being slaughtered everywhere.

It was a complete rout.