Tightening the Noose
At the main stronghold of the Blood Shadow Pavilion, which stood arrayed against the Namgung Family occupying the Jong-sang branch, a heated council was underway to decide their next strategy.
The seat of honor belonged to Jegal Do-ung.
It was their first formal gathering since the alliance had been struck, and who claimed the head seat was no trivial matter—yet the decision came more easily than expected.
So what exactly did the Blood Shadow Pavilion do to save its own martial artists? I'm genuinely disappointed.
At Jegal Mun-Hyeon's words, Ok Sa-yeong had shut his mouth tight.
He had never imagined that Jegal Mun-Hyeon would actually hold the line against their vanguard.
With only five men, no less…
Unlike the orthodox sects, among the unorthodox the measure of who was stronger weighed heavily on rank and station.
The orthodox prized bloodline and honor beneath the weight of long history and tradition; the unorthodox had no such luxury.
Most rose overnight and vanished just as quickly, and if you weren't from the same region you might not even know a given faction existed.
Often enough, some outstanding brute simply seized the master's seat, founded a school, and that was an unorthodox sect.
Even the Blood Shadow Pavilion itself had stood for little more than fifty years.
And this was only its second generation.
So they followed profit.
Who filled their bellies was the only question that truly mattered.
Was it any wonder people cursed them as a rabble of scatter-and-gather opportunists?
That being so, the martial artists present now regarded Jegal Mun-Hyeon as something above even the master of the Blood Shadow Pavilion.
And with the warriors of the Jong-sang branch—whose lives he had saved—enthusiastically spreading every exaggerated rumor they could invent…
Ok Sa-yeong, who already carried the stain of a prior defeat at Jegal Mun-Hyeon's hands, yielded the seat of honor to Jegal Do-ung without much protest.
Besides, without the Jegal Family's aid, there was little hope of weathering the crisis of the Namgung Family in any case.
And then—
"Lord of the Cheonchaekwon!"
Sayo burst in with a shout, and the council broke off for a moment.
"Word from Jong-sang!"
"What news?"
"We've succeeded in planting a mole among them. Luck was with us—they approached him first."
"They would. Information is what they need most right now."
"We've also spread the rumors through the nearby villages. They won't be able to dismiss word that the Demon Shadow Tower has joined the fight."
"Well done. The Beggars' Sect has been an enormous help."
Jegal Do-ung and everyone else in the hall wore smiles.
Their strategy.
It all began with the rumors Jegal Jung-gi had crafted taking proper root.
"And the reverse operation?"
"It should be starting about now."
At Jegal Jung-gi's words, Sayo nodded.
"We gave Gwak Chu, the branch head at Jong-sang, advance notice. That the Beggars' Sect remaining in Hubei have scattered in every direction. Gwak Chu will have cooperated eagerly, so the Namgung Family will believe they've gotten their hands on accurate intelligence."
"That's a relief. But will this Gwak Chu be all right? If he's discovered…"
Worry colored Jegal Jung-gi's voice. Sayo's face darkened for a moment, but she quickly recovered her composure.
"He volunteered. And he said he'll flee the moment the opening intelligence work is finished—so please don't worry and just lay out the strategy."
"Mm…"
Even with Sayo's assurance, it clearly still gnawed at him. Jegal Jung-gi's expression was complicated.
Well—he was still young. Accepting this was hard. It was nothing like watching a go stone die on a board.
But—
"Do you think strategy is always perfect?"
"…"
"I know. Sacrificing the few for the many should never be treated as a matter of course. Even so, a strategist must think of the greater whole first."
Jegal Do-ung rebuked him sharply.
He was teaching him.
Recognizing the talent of a young descendant and opening the path before him.
In truth it was the same for martial artists, not only strategists.
Once you chose to live in the murim, the first thing you had to grow familiar with was death.
"Cast aside idle thoughts and explain the strategy at once."
"…Yes."
Jegal Jung-gi forced his heart to steady.
Overcoming death was part of the road he had to walk.
"Since Gwak Chu has leaked the information… they will gradually come to see the Jong-sang branch not as a forward base for attack, but as a lonely island ringed on every side by blades."
"…"
"Mok Ja-un will no doubt try to reverse that atmosphere. Falling morale would be a disaster for him. So I intend to squeeze."
Jegal Jung-gi proposed spreading the Blood Shadow Pavilion's martial artists wide, encircling the entire Jong-sang branch.
"You mean to force them into a siege?"
"Exactly. They'll believe they're facing the combined strength of the Blood Shadow Pavilion and the Demon Shadow Tower—so they won't dare venture out lightly."
At that, Jegal Mun-Hyeon grumbled, clearly unsatisfied.
"So no attacking? Just squeeze and sit?"
"No. We attack."
"…?"
"Squeezing alone won't make them feel threatened. So we hit them relentlessly from different directions. Cut their supply lines, and they'll start to think they might die of exhaustion and hunger, trapped right where they are. The chaos will only grow."
"Then the attacks…"
"Hyung, you take them."
"Huh?"
"It's not like you were going to sit still anyway."
"…"
Jegal Mun-Hyeon stared blankly at the smiling face across from him and blinked.
Hyung?
That was definitely the same brat—had the kid somehow grown a conscience overnight?
"Hyung, we'll hit them from two places, alternating."
"Mm… all right."
Hearing him do something he never did was almost creepy.
"But don't go in too deep. The martial artists with you could be put at risk. Hit hard and pull out."
"Fine."
"Pavilion Master of the Blood Shadow Pavilion—please prepare attacks as well. Form units of those who are fast on their feet and strong in martial skill."
"Understood."
"If we keep changing the direction of attack, they won't get a moment's rest. Bear in mind that the purpose of the opening phase is to drain their stamina."
Jegal Do-ung, watching with open satisfaction as Jegal Jung-gi took charge of the council, cut in as if to fill any remaining gaps.
"And if they dig in for a desperate last stand?"
"We don't let them."
"How?"
"When they're exhausted enough to turn vicious, I plan to open a living path."
"A living path?"
"Yes."
"Ho? Desire to capture, first set free."
Deliberately releasing in order to catch.
If you laid an escape bridge for men already trapped with their backs to the wall, who would still be willing to stake their lives? Once internal cohesion crumbled among those who wanted to live, a death-or-glory stand would become impossible on its own.
"Can you make it work?"
"We'll make it work."
"Meaning?"
"Gwak Chu, who has infiltrated as our mole, will ensure they believe our scheme."
"Gwak Chu?"
"Yes. They already know that the Jegal Family, the Blood Shadow Pavilion, and the Demon Shadow Tower formed this alliance in haste under the threat of the Namgung Family."
"True enough."
"But what if that alliance suddenly collapsed? What if, with the fighting over and each side already counting the spoils, they fell out over claims of merit?"
"Hah! You mean to run a full deception campaign as well?"
"Yes. Of course, it only works if Gwak Chu first earns their trust…"
"Mm. And have you prepared a contingency for if we can no longer use Gwak Chu?"
"I'm still working on it."
"Draw it up quickly. The most important part of strategy is preparing for the unexpected. Once you've set a single plan, you should have at least five contingencies ready."
"I'll keep that in mind."
At the sight of Jegal Jung-gi bowing his head with such courtesy, Jegal Do-ung looked all the more pleased.
To Jegal Mun-Hyeon it was a curious spectacle.
He had never seen the Jegal Family prepare for war in earnest before.
In his past life he had simply charged the enemy lines and taken the opposing general's head, and that was the end of it…
But he was a Jegal now.
Following their methods was only proper.
More than that, this was not a fight that ended with cutting off an enemy commander's neck. Payday…
"Well then—the strategy is set, so let's move at once. It will need to be in motion before the night is out. Jung-gi, present the deployment."
"Yes."
Jegal Jung-gi laid out in detail how the encirclement that would slowly strangle the enemy would be formed, and from where the attacks would begin.
A fish in water if ever there was one.
They said the seat made the man—and that was exactly how Jegal Jung-gi looked now.
Perhaps that was why Jegal Do-ung had deliberately held back from intervening.
And then—
"Pavilion Master."
"Speak."
Jegal Mun-Hyeon stepped up beside Ok Sa-yeong and murmured low.
"Let's keep as many alive as we can."
"What?"
"Wherever possible—wound them just enough that they can't move. You can do that, can't you?"
"No—why bother?"
"It's extremely important, so please make sure of it."
"…"
"Of course, don't force it. You could get hurt that way. Only when you can spare them without taking damage yourselves, understand? Ah—and if you can drag any back with you, go ahead and do that too."
Ok Sa-yeong did not understand why Jegal Mun-Hyeon would say such a thing, but by now he trusted the young man enough to nod in silence.
Probably because he was a son of the orthodox, Ok Sa-yeong thought.
But—
I have to keep as many alive as possible. As many as I can.
Of all the wars he had walked through, Jegal Mun-Hyeon intended this to be the first in which he practiced the art of sparing lives.
Because every death was a loss.
Late that night.
Fires burned bright around the Jong-sang branch.
The faces of the Namgung Family martial artists, eyes sharp and open, were thick with tension.
You hear?
That the Demon Shadow Tower and the Blood Shadow Pavilion went under the Jegal Family?
Those damned Jegals… have they decided to turn unorthodox outright?
They're just thrashing to stay alive.
Damn it, this is bad. Are we in real danger here?
The intelligence on Hubei's situation that Gwak Chu had fed them spread in an instant among the martial artists of the Changcheon Sword Corps, as footless rumor always did.
Mok Ja-un tried to stem it, fearing unrest—to no avail.
The unease began with the rank-and-file, who made up the greater number.
A mere three hundred.
The Changcheon Sword Corps was composed entirely of masters who had surpassed the Hyeongi stage—yet even they could not help growing anxious under the sheer pressure of numbers.
There were too many of them. Far too many.
Add the Jegal Family's martial artists to the Blood Shadow Pavilion and the Demon Shadow Tower, and it looked as though the enemy would easily top a thousand.
Squad leaders at Tangi and above might manage—but how were ordinary fighters supposed to win against more than three times their number?
And with the command still doing nothing but hold endless meetings, the anxiety only swelled further.
Are we all going to die like this?
Exactly… wouldn't it be better to withdraw? In this situation we can hardly expect support from the main family…
Right. We came in too deep for no good reason.
They understood now.
The weakness of a plan that had scattered them in small units to strike the Blood Shadow Pavilion's subordinate schools at speed before hitting the main stronghold—and then collapsed.
They had no rear to fall back on.
The moment the wall had stopped them and they had been forced to retreat, they might as well have been isolated deep in enemy territory.
Everyone was keeping quiet about it, but talk that they were already surrounded was already making the rounds.
And then—
Rustle.
"…!"
A martial artist startled by a sound nearby ripped his sword free and swung without a second thought.
The blade split the air.
A sharp clash rang out—then the cry of a beast.
"Whew… nearly gave me a heart attack."
The way they flinched at every small sound, and only pressed a hand to their chests once they knew it was just an animal, laid bare exactly how desperate the Changcheon Sword Corps' situation had become.
And soon after, the man who had checked the dead beast's carcass and was returning in relief found himself puzzled by the expressions on his comrades' faces.
They looked thoroughly shocked.
Why?
The moment the question formed, the nape of his neck went ice-cold.
As if someone were standing right behind him…
"Ugh!"
The martial artist spun in panic and swung his sword.
A harsh ring of steel.
And a young, smiling face that had caught the blade.
"Heh heh heh. Payday…"
"…"
Payday?
The instant the question rose at the strange young man's word, light exploded before his eyes.
A crushing impact.
A night raid under cover of darkness.
And of course—for someone, it was a chance to make money…