Ten Taels a Head
The defeat of So Rok-pa, the vanguard commander, delivered a shock beyond words.
The fact that a leading figure of the Changcheon Sword Corps had fallen so helplessly to a young man crushed their morale into the dirt and ground it underfoot.
Not a single person could open their mouth or move.
But this was never going to end with a single clash. This was no duel between martial artists—it was war between factions.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
The ground shook under pounding hooves as fifty martial artists arrived, having failed to catch the Anryuk Branch fighters.
It was expected.
They had simply arrived a little sooner than anticipated.
“Damn it, again?”
“Mun-Hyeon, will we be all right on our own?”
“With the ones who stayed behind, there are more of them than before, right?”
Gwan Hwi-pyeong fretted even as he held his ground and adjusted his grip on his sword.
“Mun-Hyeon, this time it really looks too much for you alone. We’ll help.”
Jegal Mun-ho stepped up beside him, eyes flashing fiercely. Jegal Mun-Hyeon could only snort a laugh.
Not because of the words, but because of that expression and those eyes.
They had changed.
The ones who used to shrink before a strong opponent without even trying to fight had finally broken out of their shells.
Probably because they had watched him fight.
Sometimes a fight like that kindled a fire in a martial artist’s chest.
But what now?
He had already achieved his goal.
The martial artists of the Jongsang and Anryuk Branches had escaped without casualties, so there was no need to force a fight.
Jegal Mun-Hyeon eyed the fifty approaching martial artists.
Not a small number.
If his internal energy were overflowing it might be different, but he was no longer at that level.
A tired body and depleted energy always invited accidents.
Even a moment’s hesitation could mean injury.
He could not guarantee the lives of the Jegal Family’s cute little brats either.
Should he pull back?
He considered it briefly, but he had always advanced and fought. He had no desire to turn his back on the enemy and fight while being chased.
“Everyone, listen carefully.”
“…….”
“I am going to hold this place no matter what. So stick right behind me and fight.”
“Understood.”
At Jegal Mun-Hyeon’s words, Jegal Mun-ho and Gwan Hwi-pyeong tightened their grips on their weapons.
Yang Mun, the squad leader of the Changcheon Sword Corps who had just arrived, was thoroughly bewildered.
What in the world was this……
The number that should have exceeded fifty was only half that. And even those were mostly wounded.
And what were these five standing in a wedge formation as if to block the way? Had the fifty of the Changcheon Sword Corps led by So Rok-pa really been stopped by these baby-faced brats?
Before the questions came the need to find So Rok-pa.
“Where is the commander!”
“…….”
At Yang Mun’s shout the martial artists shuffled aside awkwardly.
So Rok-pa lay unconscious.
“W-what is this?”
He looked as if he had been thoroughly thrashed, beaten half to death. It was a miracle he was still breathing.
Who on earth?
Bewilderment quickly turned to rage.
“You crazy bastards! The commander is like this and you just stood there watching?!”
“Th-that is……”
When he exploded they should have dropped to their knees, bowed their heads, and begged forgiveness. Instead they only hung their heads weakly.
There was no fighting spirit left in their eyes.
They looked as if something had terrified them out of their wits.
That only made Yang Mun angrier.
How could the Changcheon Sword Corps—the main force of the Namgung Clan that should be dominating the world—look like this?
“Y-you…… you useless idiots!”
He vented his fury and immediately drew his sword.
“What are you doing! Seize those bastards at once!”
He was roaring and about to start the fight when one of the Changcheon Sword Corps martial artists pointed somewhere and spoke.
“Squad Leader Yang.”
“What!”
“Dust is rising.”
“What?”
The forest behind Jegal Mun-Hyeon.
A thick cloud of dust was drawing steadily closer.
Judging by the scale of the dust, a considerable number of martial artists seemed to be approaching.
“This damned……”
“Squad Leader, with numbers like that we cannot handle it alone. The commander is down as well, so for now we should withdraw and reorganize our lines……”
“Damn it!”
The fifty Yang Mun had brought, plus the little over twenty already here.
But the injuries were severe and their will to fight was gone.
With So Rok-pa—the strongest of the vanguard and the one with decision-making authority—absent, a frontal clash was a poor choice.
“……We withdraw. Put the commander on a stretcher.”
“Yes.”
Yang Mun ground his teeth and spoke toward Jegal Mun-Hyeon.
“I will remember your faces.”
“…….”
With those words the Changcheon Sword Corps withdrew, eyes full of wariness. Jegal Mun-Hyeon snorted a laugh.
So they were saying “just wait.”
Even when generations changed, the expressions people used stayed the same.
Though usually the ones who said that were the first to charge in and die when they met again……
There was no need to chase them.
A cornered rat sometimes bites the cat, and if they linked up with the support force that had left Wuhan it would put him in a difficult position.
Better to catch his breath and reorganize the lines for now.
Fortunately the Blood Shadow Pavilion martial artists had arrived as well.
“Thank goodness.”
“I was worried what would happen if we had to fight……”
“Whew, we won.”
Gwan Hwi-pyeong watched the retreating Namgung Clan martial artists and patted his chest in relief.
“Mun-Hyeon, you worked hard.”
“Hard work, nothing……”
He nodded at Jegal Mun-ho’s words.
Their first victory.
It meant a great deal.
Above all, this battle had begun to save the Blood Shadow Pavilion martial artists. They had saved them and driven the enemy off, so they had proven the Jegal Family’s capability.
Of course the thoroughly envenomed Namgung Clan would come for another fight after this defeat……
And then.
“Is everyone all right?”
Sayo and Jegal Jung-gi suddenly burst out of the forest, followed by the Blood Shadow Pavilion martial artists.
But the numbers……
“Is this all? Wasn’t the main force of the Blood Shadow Pavilion coming?”
“The main force is still on the way. We put together the ones who escaped from the Jongsang Branch in a hurry.”
“What?”
It was strange.
That had not been the dust of a mere handful.
It had felt like at least several hundred were charging……
Jegal Mun-Hyeon soon realized why so much dust had risen for so few people.
The tree branches tied to either side of the horses ridden by Jegal Jung-gi and the Blood Shadow Pavilion martial artists.
This bastard had imitated his ancestors.
“You raised the dust on purpose?”
“What else was I supposed to do? You went to block them with only five…… The Namgung side has no information on our movements, and when I asked the Beggars’ Sect the support force that left Wuhan still has a long way to go, so I had to use a trick like this.”
At Jegal Jung-gi’s grumbling, Jegal Mun-Hyeon shook his head.
In many ways the guy was impressive.
He had used the fact that the forest blocked long sightlines and the Namgung Clan’s situation to craft a perfectly fitting strategy.
“Looks like you won, luckily.”
“Well……”
“Whew, it was a hastily thrown-together tactic because the Changcheon Sword Corps seemed pinned down, but it worked well.”
Jegal Jung-gi patted his chest in relief.
Well, of course he would.
If they had not been blocking the road here, the combined Changcheon Sword Corps would have passed through the forest toward the Blood Shadow Pavilion before they arrived, and there would have been no chance to use the strategy.
Improvising a strategy to fit the situation—truly a remarkable bastard.
Unlike his older brother……
“But seriously, that was amazing. How did you hold them off with five?”
“…….”
When Jegal Jung-gi clicked his tongue in admiration, Jegal Mun-Hyeon looked at him with half-lidded eyes.
What was done well was done well, but there was something he needed to address.
“Hey, how long are you going to keep talking casually to me?”
“I’m going to keep doing it?”
“What?”
“We’re only a year apart anyway. You talk casually to the older brothers too.”
“…….”
His expression said, Why are you nitpicking something like that?
Truly unbelievable.
Am I the same as you?
He had thought they were different, but brothers did share some similarities.
They were both equally lacking in manners.
What was the point of fighting with a kid?
Jegal Mun-Hyeon sighed and turned his gaze.
“Sayo, what’s the situation with the Blood Shadow Pavilion?”
“The martial artists from the northern front have finished returning, and the Blood Shadow Pavilion Master is organizing the lines and moving.”
“Tsk, they should have moved sooner. Always so crafty.”
“That is……”
At Jegal Mun-Hyeon’s grumbling, Sayo wore a bitter smile.
As he said, when Jegal Mun-Hyeon had moved to save the branch martial artists, Ok Sa-yeong should have immediately ordered the main pavilion’s martial artists to help him.
Regardless of the northern forces rejoining.
But they had watched the situation.
How the Jegal Family, which had received their declaration of allegiance, would move.
Whether they would attack the now-empty northern front contrary to the promise, or whether they would truly move to help them.
They had thought according to their own standards.
Betrayal was so routine for them that they saw only what they expected to see.
Well, he understood. If by any chance the Jegal Family had not helped, they would have suffered even greater damage.
And in another sense it had worked out well.
Thanks to that, they now had nothing to say to the Jegal Family.
“Anyway, if Ok Sa-yeong is moving, that means the main family has started moving as well?”
“Yes. Young Master Jung-gi contacted them about that.”
“Jung-gi?”
“Yes. He impersonated Young Master Mun-Hyeon’s name.”
“What?”
“He said that way it would be delivered much faster.”
Jegal Mun-Hyeon frowned and glared at Jegal Jung-gi.
“You bastard, now you’re even impersonating my name?”
“That’s not something the person who impersonated the Young Family Head should say.”
“Who impersonated the Young Family Head? That was Mun-ho hyung! You little—! Talking back is just everyday for you!”
At those words Jegal Mun-ho could not hide his absurdity.
You were the one who ordered it……
But he had no desire to get between the two of them.
“Anyway! I told the main family to secretly move the Hyeonho Unit so they can position themselves behind the Namgung Clan’s support force.”
“Behind them?”
“So we’re just going to let them run away?”
“What?”
“You were planning to win anyway, weren’t you?”
“Well, yes, but……”
“Then we have to cut their lifeline completely. And reclaim every bit of the territory they took. Heh heh heh.”
“…….”
Jegal Jung-gi looked as if his head were packed full of strategies and he was thoroughly enjoying himself. Jegal Mun-Hyeon could only let out a hollow laugh.
As expected of a Jegal descendant—did he enjoy using his head that much?
It was the same expression he wore when playing go.
A strategy of pouring out a merciless offensive while secretly digging into the opponent’s weak points and severing their pulse.
Anyway, manners or not, the guy’s ability was outstanding.
He had no choice but to leave the strategy to him.
“Let’s head back for now. We need to work out a strategy with the Blood Shadow Pavilion Master on how to drive out the Namgung Clan.”
“Of course. Before that……”
Jegal Jung-gi looked at Sayo and spoke.
“Miss Sa.”
“Yes?”
“Could you spread a rumor in the areas the Namgung Clan has occupied?”
“What kind……”
“That the Blood Shadow Pavilion and the Demon Shadow Tower have pledged allegiance to the Jegal Family and will drive out the Namgung Clan that invaded Hubei Province.”
“Yes? But the Demon Shadow Tower is……”
“They will believe it. Until they check. They already know the Blood Shadow Pavilion has joined our side. It only needs to last long enough to drop their morale.”
“…….”
“More than anything, they were so sure of victory that they pushed too deep into Hubei Province. The way back is too far. And they left nothing behind on the path they took. In that situation, if they learn that the main family’s Hyeonho Unit has moved to their rear and blocked the land and water routes?”
They would wither and die with nowhere to run.
At Jegal Jung-gi’s words, Jegal Mun-Hyeon found himself nodding without realizing it.
“Wait, that strategy is good.”
“Right?”
At Jegal Mun-Hyeon’s words, Jegal Jung-gi’s eyes sparkled as if he had been recognized.
“If it goes well, we can isolate three hundred Namgung Clan martial artists deep in Hubei Province.”
“Oh? You understood my strategy properly. But it will not be complete isolation. We have to leave them a little path to live—in the direction we want. And if we can take them prisoner, we will hold the advantage in later negotiations.”
“Negotiations?”
“Of course. Can we just send them back? We have to hold them until the negotiations are finished.”
“Mm, that is true. We sent them back last time and it came to this. They really treat promises like garbage.”
Jegal Mun-Hyeon frowned and grumbled.
A verbal promise was still a promise, yet instead of an apology and compensation they had sent swords.
This time he would absolutely not let it slide.
He would definitely receive money through negotiations and then…… wait!
“Hold on, if we take them prisoner and get just ten taels per head…… nearly three hundred people…… ack! Three thousand taels?”
“Huh?”
Jegal Jung-gi felt something was off.
Somehow this was flowing in a completely different direction from what he had thought.
Per head?
“Damn it! If I had known it would be like this I would not have killed those bastards earlier! That was all money……”
“…….”
“Huh? Why?”
“No, it just sounds like you are saying you will take money for each captured martial artist and hand them over.”
“Wasn’t that the negotiation you were talking about?”
At Jegal Mun-Hyeon’s words, Jegal Mun-ho and Gwan Hwi-pyeong both sighed.
And then.
“You crazy bastard! Are we the unorthodox path? What the hell is this ‘per head’ nonsense! Do you think I made this strategy for that?!”
Jegal Jung-gi, who had been staring blankly, lost his reason and went wild, but it did not reach him.
In Jegal Mun-Hyeon’s head, “per head” had already been engraved.
Heh heh heh, you Namgung bastards.
I have lived a life detached from money, but this time I will squeeze you for every last coin. Per head!
“Let go! Let go of me! Today I am going to fix that bastard’s habits!”
And when Jegal Jung-gi saw that sly smile and shouted even louder, Jegal Mun-ho and Gwan Hwi-pyeong sighed again and again.
They did not grab him.
No one did……
If you can fix his habits, go ahead and do it.
Just stop shouting.