Episode 76

“Where is Heo Kyung, the Mountain Sword Sect Leader?! Show yourself at once!”

Do Gang-pae, the supreme master of the Jeonghyeop faction, thundered through the Mountain Sword Sect’s compound without hesitation.

Since it was still dawn, there were hardly any warriors on guard—almost as if he were running through an empty ghost town.

Even the few sentries they encountered couldn’t withstand Do Gang-pae’s overwhelming presence.

Whoosh!

“Graaah!”

“Where are you, Heo Kyung?! I’ve come to take your head myself!”

With a fierce, unstoppable momentum, Do Gang-pae charged toward the main hall in search of Heo Kyung, the sect leader. Behind him followed two other supreme masters and over a thousand Jeonghyeop warriors.

It was an utterly overwhelming sight.

One of the supreme masters trailing behind, Naeng Gu-eon of the Twin Flow Flying Daggers, shook his head and muttered, “Master Do always brims with energy. But there’s no need to rush like this. The Mountain Sword Sect’s destruction is already a foregone conclusion.”

With over a thousand warriors, three supreme masters, and a surprise dawn attack that caught the enemy completely off guard, the odds of the Mountain Sword Sect surviving the day were slim to none.

So Naeng Gu-eon couldn’t understand why Do Gang-pae seemed so impatient.

Beside him, Hong Man-sook of the Golden River Swift Strike smiled faintly and replied, “He was especially close to the late Master Hwang Jang-gon from the last battle. I doubt he wants to leave revenge to anyone else. Still…”

Now entering the inner courtyards of the Mountain Sword Sect, Hong Man-sook glanced around and said, “No matter how sudden the attack, it’s strangely quiet. Almost unnaturally so.”

Naeng Gu-eon scoffed. “Hmph! Maybe everyone already fled. That’s typical of those heretics.”

Just then, Do Gang-pae, who had taken the lead, finally burst into the main hall.

“You bastard! Heo Kyung! Where are you?!”

As the Jeonghyeop warriors poured into the main hall behind him, suddenly flames erupted from the building and nearby structures.

Whoooosh!

“What the—?!”

“Flames out of nowhere?!”

The fire blazed fiercely, as if something highly flammable had been doused on the buildings. In no time, the entire hall was engulfed in roaring flames.

The Jeonghyeop warriors, who had charged in like a tidal wave, were thrown into chaos by the sudden inferno.

“Fire!”

“The flames are too strong! We have to get out of here!”

Failing to find Heo Kyung inside the main hall and seeing it consumed by fire, Do Gang-pae shouted in fury, “Heo Kyung, you coward! Stop hiding and come out right now!”

Meanwhile, Naeng Gu-eon looked at Hong Man-sook with disbelief. “I expected them to flee, but for heretics to burn their own home out of fear… it’s beyond imagination.”

Hong Man-sook’s expression hardened as he scanned the surroundings. “We can’t be sure they’ve fled yet. Whoever set the fire must still be nearby…”

Before he could finish, Hong Man-sook suddenly looked up, sensing something.

Above them, a dark cloud of arrows blotted out the sky, raining down from high above.

“Arrows! Everyone, take cover!”

But his powerful warning was drowned out by the chaos and crackling flames inside the Mountain Sword Sect.

It was already too late.

Those who heard Hong Man-sook’s shout looked up just in time to see a deadly hail of arrows descending upon the disorganized Jeonghyeop disciples.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

“Graaah!”

“Ahhh!”

“What’s happening?! Ahhh!”

Packed tightly in the narrow courtyard, many warriors were struck by the arrow storm.

The burning Mountain Sword Sect quickly turned into a scene of carnage.

“Help! Save me!”

“My eyes! My eyes!”

“My leg! My leg!”

In a single volley, over a hundred Jeonghyeop warriors were killed or wounded, writhing in agony.

And it wasn’t over.

Pssshhh! Pssshhh!

Another dark cloud of arrows filled the sky. Hong Man-sook shouted urgently, “More archers incoming! Everyone, get out of here! They’re aiming for the burning buildings!”

Spurred on by his command, the Jeonghyeop warriors desperately tried to flee the Mountain Sword Sect.

But no matter how fast they ran, they couldn’t outrun the arrows. Another deadly rain of arrows poured down on their heads.

Shshshshshsh!

“Ahhh!”

“Ughhh!”

“Arghhh!”

Do Gang-pae, now furious, swung his sword to deflect the incoming arrows as he shouted.

Having just escaped the main hall, he called out, “To the west! The archers are firing from the western forest! All Jeonghyeop warriors, charge west! Don’t let them live!”

At his booming command, the fleeing Jeonghyeop disciples changed course and charged toward the west.

Seeing that all able warriors were heading west, Do Gang-pae prepared to follow.

Then, suddenly, someone burst out from the burning main hall.

“Where do you think you’re going, Do Gang-pae?!”

It was Heo Kyung, the Mountain Sword Sect leader.

Known as the “Spectral Swordmaster,” his swift blade was already flashing toward Do Gang-pae’s back.

Startled, Do Gang-pae spun around, blocking the strike and snarled, “Heo Kyung, you rat!”

Clang!

As he fought alone, having sent his men ahead, Heo Kyung’s mind flashed back to a conversation with Cheon Sang-mi-hee Yeon-hae.

One day, she had come to him abruptly and said, “The enemy will soon launch a surprise attack. Do you have a plan, Sect Leader?”

Though Heo Kyung had grown to trust the words of the Doksoo Five Siblings, he hadn’t fully believed her.

After all, the Jeonghyeop faction was a proud sect that valued honor above life. They wouldn’t launch a sneak attack when they had the upper hand.

But Yeon-hae had explained, “Their leadership isn’t truly from the righteous sect but from the Blood Sect’s demonic leaders. They may not all know the full truth, but the Jeonghyeop leaders don’t care about honor.”

She had even shown him secret Blood Sect manuals as proof—before Sak Mu-heun sent them to the Martial Alliance.

Moreover, Yeon-hae revealed that they were actually undercover agents from the Martial Alliance tracking the Blood Sect’s leaders, and because they suspected Jeonghyeop, they had infiltrated the Mountain Sword Sect.

Heo Kyung had no choice but to believe them.

Not only because of the Blood Sect’s manuals but also because three supreme masters were among their ranks—there was no room for doubt.

Still, even after accepting their words, Heo Kyung had no plan to face an assault by over a thousand Jeonghyeop warriors with fewer than four hundred defenders.

Yeon-hae had said, “There’s no way fewer than four hundred can win in a head-on fight against a thousand. But if you avoid a direct clash… it might be possible.”

And that was the strategy unfolding now.

Heo Kyung had been reluctant.

To burn down the main hall he had nurtured with his own blood and sweat—it was a cruel tactic.

But when asked if there was any other way, he had no answer.

Now, watching the result before his eyes, Heo Kyung felt his blood boil.

The burning buildings of the Mountain Sword Sect—all because of the Jeonghyeop bastards.

Driven by rage, Heo Kyung’s sword flashed like multiple beams of light, stabbing at Do Gang-pae.

“Die!”

Shshshshsh!

But Do Gang-pae was no pushover.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

Clang clang clang clang!

Retreating while blocking Heo Kyung’s sharp attacks with his own sword, Do Gang-pae prepared to counterattack.

“This rat! Today’s your funeral!”

Heo Kyung scoffed, “Watch your back, idiot!”

“What nonsense is that?!”

Ignoring Heo Kyung’s warning, Do Gang-pae charged forward, sword swinging.

But Heo Kyung’s eyes were fixed elsewhere.

From a nearby building, someone else had broken through the flames and thrust a spear like a lightning bolt into Do Gang-pae’s back.

Thunk!

“Ugh!”

It took only an instant for the spear to pierce through Do Gang-pae’s back as he gasped in shock.

Heo Kyung swallowed hard as he watched the spearhead emerge from Do Gang-pae’s chest.

Even if it was a surprise attack, the speed and precision of that strike were almost impossible to defend against.

Though the Doksoo Five Siblings were best known for the eldest, Chul Shin-yu-seong Bae Jong-kwan, and the fourth, Cheon Sang-mi-hee Yeon-hae, the most terrifying was undoubtedly the second sibling, Reincarnated Dragon Chang Hyuk.

At that moment, Hong Man-sook, who had witnessed Do Gang-pae’s death, shouted loudly as he rushed back.

“Master Do! That bastard! Heo Kyung!”

Watching Hong Mansook return to this blaze-filled place, followed by Ssangryu Bipyoh’s cold-blooded assassin, and seeing that the warriors of Jeonghyeopbang had yet to come back, Heo Kyung had no choice but to admit that Cheon Sangmihee Yeonhae’s plan had worked perfectly.

Because this was exactly what Yeonhae had said.

“The only way to defeat an overwhelmingly powerful enemy is to cut off their head. In other words, if we can quickly eliminate their top masters first, we can win.”

“But how can we possibly take out those who move with over a thousand warriors before they do?”

“It’s simple. We burn down their base.”

“…What?!”

Heo Kyung lunged toward Hong Mansook, who was now isolated from the other warriors.

They had to take out all the top masters before the others returned.

But as Heo Kyung charged, he couldn’t help but notice the back of Changhyuk, the second of the five eagle siblings, closing in on Hong Mansook at a speed far beyond his own.

And then, something else caught his eye.

With a flash!

Another man burst out from the burning building, his sword striking at Ssangryu Bipyoh’s assassin, who was about to throw a hidden weapon.

“Haah!”

Shush!

“Gah?!”

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, the assassin’s face twisted in surprise.

The man who had set fire to the buildings around the base was said to be the youngest of the Gwesan Sword Sect.

Heo Kyung didn’t know that this man was actually Jeon Won-young, a master of the Jeomchang Sword Sect.

As Changhyuk thrust his spear forward, Hong Mansook, the famed spear master of Geumcheon Swift Strike and one of Sacho’s finest, scoffed and swung his spear’s tip.

“How dare you challenge me with a spear!”

Shush-shush-shush!

Changhyuk’s spear split into five beams of light as it stabbed forward, but Hong Mansook’s spear tip bent and twisted as if alive, spinning to deflect the attack.

Tat-tat-tat-tat!

Then, with a sharp strike, he knocked Changhyuk’s spear shaft aside, shouting,

“You’re fast, but your spear technique is still unrefined!”

Just as he moved to stab again, Changhyuk, having lost his spear, didn’t hesitate. With a powerful strike from his bare hand, he smashed Hong Mansook’s spear shaft.

Paaang!

“Ugh?!”

The tremendous impact threw Hong Mansook off balance, his weapon vibrating like a living serpent, trying to slip from his grasp.

At that moment, seeing Changhyuk approach with such fluidity, riding along the spear shaft, Hong Mansook cried out in shock.

“Y-you… you’re actually a spear master?!”

Bam!

The next instant, a solid punch struck Hong Mansook’s face, and he lost consciousness.

In the fading haze of his mind, Hong Mansook finally realized that Changhyuk hadn’t lost his spear by accident—he had deliberately discarded it.

Having subdued Hong Mansook in an instant, Changhyuk and Seolpoong wasted no time.

Their next target was Ssangryu Bipyoh’s assassin, who was barely holding his ground against Jeon Won-young’s assault.

For the plan to succeed completely, all the top masters had to be eliminated before the thousand-plus warriors returned.

But the assassin, skilled in hidden weapons, knew the situation had turned dire the moment he was ambushed at close range and forced into melee.

The swordsman attacking him looked too young to be one of his subordinates.

Desperately, he searched for any chance to escape…

But then, he saw another young man who had just subdued Hong Mansook pounce on him like a wild beast.

He muttered under his breath without realizing it.

“Damn it.”

Just dealing with this swordsman was tough enough, but if that one joined in too…

In a desperate move, the assassin scattered all his hidden weapons at once.

“Yaaah!”

Pshshshshsh!

“What?!”

Jeon Won-young quickly stepped back, spinning his sword in a circular motion.

This was the Ocho technique of the Silent Sword Style—the Whirlwind Slash.

Wheeeeee!

Cha-cha-cha-cha-chang!

As his sword spun like a circular shield, deflecting the hidden weapons, the assassin threw himself toward the approaching Jeonghyeopbang warriors with all his might.

That was his only chance to survive.

No matter how strong the enemy, they couldn’t possibly face over a thousand warriors with just a handful of fighters.

Jeon Won-young watched the assassin flee with regret, then apologized to Seolpoong, who had just arrived.

“Sorry, Chief Seol! I should have taken care of him…”

Now, hidden within the wave of over a thousand warriors, the assassin laughed wildly.

“Hahaha! Strike! There are only three enemies!”

“Waaahhh!”

The Jeonghyeopbang warriors surged forward like a tidal wave.

Grinding his teeth, Jeon Won-young said,

“I’ve ruined the plan! Letting one of the top masters escape who was supposed to be the linchpin! Let’s retreat for now, Chief Seol! There are too many enemies!”

With that, Jeon Won-young was the first to flee.

Heo Kyung, the Mountain Sword Sect leader who was approaching, had already turned and was running away.