The Fragile Sword Formation
‘Sloppy.’
That was William’s first impression of the Sura Annihilation Sword Formation.
To a man who had broken through countless formations alongside his knight order during the war, the flaws in the array were glaringly obvious.
‘Swords alone have clear limitations. If they truly wanted to seal someone in, they should have brought shields at the very least. And when the gap in skill is this wide… a formation like this is meaningless from the start.’
The formation was created by martial artists who had learned the same mental technique and wielded the same internal energy. By linking identical energies they amplified their power, and by using the same swordsmanship they wove a web meant to restrict the enemy’s movements like a spider’s silk.
The greatest strength of a sword formation was its ability to overwhelm a superior opponent through sheer numbers, but that only worked when the difference in strength was moderate.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
William called out to the demonic cultists, his voice thick with disappointment. At his words, the cultists who were experiencing the formation in real combat for the first time hesitated, unable to close the distance. The biggest reason, of course, was that William still held both the branch leader and the two hall masters hostage.
‘If I just close my eyes and kill them all…’
Hidden behind the formation, the vice-branch leader—Number 37—watched the situation unfold and sank into deep thought.
If everything was already exposed anyway, wouldn’t killing all three and reporting it to his superiors earn him the branch leader’s seat as a reward? His mind raced.
‘Since saving both is impossible anyway, I’ll kill all three at once.’
Number 37 quietly signaled his subordinates with hand gestures.
The order was clear: ignore the hostages and kill them. The cultists hesitated for a moment before gripping their swords tighter and tightening the encirclement.
“I’ve got hostages right here, you know?”
“You damned bastards! What the hell are you doing?!”
“Number 37! What are you doing?!”
“I’m in the process of succeeding the branch leader.”
‘They’re playing their parts well.’
William leisurely observed the farce unfolding inside the formation. The only thing that surprised him was how casually the cultists under the branch leader accepted the betrayal.
‘They were already stabbing each other in the back in the original story. So this is just everyday life for them. Well, whether the head changes or not…’
They couldn’t stop William.
Trying to block a knight with raw physical force alone was nothing short of foolish.
If they couldn’t even pierce his Aura Armor, then no formation in the world would matter.
To face a knight, they would have needed heavy armor, nets, and poison—not some half-baked sword formation.
The faint blue light surrounding William’s body grew noticeably brighter.
“If you’re caught here, you’ll at least die painlessly. Anyone want to surrender?”
“...”
“No answer means you’re refusing the offer. Really, no one?”
“...Attack!”
The formation suddenly contracted. Their movements showed no regard for the hostages. William immediately hurled Yang Munpyeong and Song Un far away, then began walking straight toward Number 37.
His steps carried no trace of urgency. Demonic energy flooded the surroundings, but to William, the aura emitted by a group of first-class experts was hardly threatening.
Compared to formations deployed by thousands at once, this was nothing.
As William advanced, swords rained down from every direction. Though they hadn’t reached the level of Sword Qi, the blades carried a subtle energy. The attacks came from all sides, almost reminiscent of the Flying Sword Technique, yet William’s expression remained calm.
As if daring them to try.
‘What the—? Even surrounded by the formation, his face…’
When Number 37 looked at him with unease, their eyes met.
William pointed a finger at him.
‘I’ll be seeing you soon.’
Number 37 felt an unprecedented sense of crisis.
‘Run. I have to run!’
But for a newly ascended Peak expert to escape a Super Peak master was nearly impossible without extraordinary luck. William advanced toward Number 37 as though the formation had never existed, simply pushing through it with his body.
The Sura Annihilation Sword Formation collapsed in an instant, like a sandcastle built by a child.
“The formation—!”
“Stop him!”
“Use the Law of Reversing Heaven! For the sake of the cult, we must kill him!”
“For the cult!”
In desperation, the cultists began activating the Law of Reversing Heaven one after another. Dozens of them simultaneously bulged with veins and turned red-eyed, a sight that looked as though hell itself had descended upon the mortal world. Yet William merely gazed at them with indifferent eyes.
“How troublesome.”
The Sword Qi they unleashed was slightly more refined than before, but it still couldn’t even scratch his Aura Armor.
When their attacks proved completely ineffective, the cultists charged at William without any regard for their own safety. Swords struck his body. Hidden weapons and heavy blows rained down on him.
But such things could never halt his advance. Like Goliath from the scriptures, William charged forward with his massive frame, heading straight for Number 37.
For Number 37, it was nothing short of hell.
There was only one escape route, an unidentified monster was closing in from behind, and his subordinates couldn’t even buy him a moment’s time—they were simply flung aside.
‘Damn it! If I can just shake him off and escape to the safe house…’
“You thought you could shake me off?”
“Huh?!”
A heavy impact struck the back of Number 37’s neck, sending him sprawling. He only stopped after crashing into a wall. Staggering to his feet, he looked up to see William standing with one arm extended to the side.
“It’s been a while. My throw’s gotten a bit crude.”
“Damn it…”
‘The only option left is mutual destruction.’
If he was captured like this, it would bring great disgrace to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. Before that happened, even if it was only a small blow, he had to inflict some damage on this man. Number 37 immediately activated the Law of Reversing Heaven and drew his sword from his waist.
“You should’ve just surrendered quietly.”
Instead of his usual longsword, William drew a gladius.
A sword optimized for Roman gladiatorial combat, one that countless swordsmen had wielded throughout the ages, right up to the blades of knights.
William charged at Number 37 with his empty hand held forward as though gripping a shield. At the same time, Number 37—now devoid of reason—lunged forward, his sword aimed at William’s neck.
A sharp strike. But the moment it touched the back of William’s hand, it was deflected away.
As Number 37’s stance crumbled from having his attack blocked as if striking a shield, William’s gladius mercilessly pierced through his shoulder and drove him into the wall.
“If you want to tame a mad dog, beating it is the answer.”
William raised his leg and kicked Number 37’s stomach with all his might. The force was enough to crack the wall behind him. Number 37 coughed up blood and thrashed about.
But no amount of struggling could reverse the outcome. William pressed down with the sword in his right hand, toppling Number 37 to the side before speaking.
“Any last words? Though from the look of you, you probably can’t even speak.”
“The Heavenly Demon… shall return… All demons… shall submit…”
“So you still have the leisure to say that.”
William pulled the sword from Number 37’s shoulder and drove it into his heart.
“So this is the safe house?”
After subduing the cultists, we found the underground passage and immediately crossed it toward the hideout.
The safe house we arrived at after passing through the tunnel was completely silent.
“...Still, there’s plenty of emergency rations.”
“Benefactor, I see medicinal herbs used for stopping bleeding as well.”
“Uncle! There’s a fancy-looking box over here!”
“A box?”
At Hyeryeong’s words, I immediately approached the box and opened the lid to check its contents.
“...Whoa. How much have these guys been skimming?”
“A-at this rate, you could buy ten thousand servings of Danghoro, couldn’t you?”
“If we’re going by Danghoro standards, even a hundred thousand would be possible.”
There had to be at least thirty gold bars in there.
“Hyeryeong, we’ll take this with us later, so pack the box.”
“Okay!”
Hyeryeong grunted as she lifted the box. Naturally, her chest rested on top of it.
It was a sight that made it impossible not to notice her prominently displayed figure, but I forced my gaze away and continued searching the hideout.
Unfortunately, the only things inside were emergency medicines and some preserved food, so we decided to take only the gold bars and return to Seopyeong for now.
“Is it really okay to just take these like this?”
“They’re the Demonic Cult’s assets. Just stealing this much will deal them a blow.”
The basics of war were supply lines.
That was why cutting off supplies was the most certain way to subdue an opponent.
No matter how skilled a martial artist was, they couldn’t exert their full strength if they were starving.
“Let’s head back, wrap things up, and then go loot the other places too.”
“Yes!”
“Understood.”
We immediately returned to Seopyeong through the passage and met with the Open Clan’s branch leader. He looked at us curiously when he saw the box we were carrying, but after hearing it contained gold bars, he smacked his lips and stepped back.
It was ours now, after all.
Since I had essentially done all the work, there was no room for him to butt in anyway.
“I’m willing to give you one as a reward for your efforts.”
“No need. What would a beggar do with gold bars? A beggar’s fine with just begging for meals.”
“As expected of the Open Clan… impressive.”
“If I wanted gold bars, I would’ve taken up escort work somewhere.”
“Ah, yes.”
“We’ll finish cleaning up here… Are you heading back to Wuhan?”
“There are a few more suspicious areas, so I plan to stop by them on the way back.”
“Hmm. Got it. Ah, and… wouldn’t it be cumbersome to carry those gold bars as they are?”
“Ah, it would be difficult to carry them like this. I was thinking of exchanging them for something more manageable.”
“Take them to the Hao Clan and entrust them to the gambling house they run.”
“...Is it okay for someone from the Open Clan to say that?”
It didn’t seem like something the Open Clan should be suggesting.
“If no one knows, it’s fine, isn’t it? Since there’s nowhere else suitable to entrust them, that would be best. The Hao Clan is everywhere.”
“Understood. Then…”
“Well then, let’s meet again if fate allows.”
We immediately headed toward the Hao Clan branch leader’s location.
“Thirty gold bars… They must have more assets hidden somewhere. We can search for those gradually. We’ll take care of these for now. If you take this letter to the Golden Dragon Casino, you’ll be able to exchange it for silver equivalent to thirty gold bars.”
Without a card, this was how one had to deposit money, I supposed.
I tucked the letter I received from the branch leader into my robes and turned around.
“Then I’ll be going.”
“Ah, before that… Sir Wi. We’ve received information that the abbot of the Shaolin Temple visited the Wulin Alliance not long ago.”
“The sect leader? Suddenly?”
Had that happened in the original story?
I tried my best to recall, but I didn’t think he had come at this point.
The position of Shaolin’s sect leader wasn’t one that moved lightly. He would only move if the Wulin Alliance leader was assassinated or something of that magnitude.
“Thank you.”
“I merely did what needed to be done.”
With that, I could just quickly check the remaining suspicious areas and head to Wuhan.
Things were going better than expected.
Was this a coincidence, or…
Did it even matter right now? As long as the work was progressing properly, that was enough.
I shook off my unease and set off toward Wuhan.