Between Peace and Chaos (1)
Half a day earlier.
“Looks like they’re not sending anyone after all.”
**Yayul Jeok**’s eyes gleamed with a murderous light as he stared at Night Castle.
Martial artists generally looked down on assassins. Yet at the same time, they feared them. After all, there was no telling when a blade might slice through their throats while they slept. ‘A cautious one, I see.’ He had not only revealed that he was openly stationed here, but had done so without launching any surprise attacks from hiding. Still, they had not sent a single soldier.
This wasn’t timidity. It was prudence. Even after seizing the enemy’s main base, he showed no signs of carelessness. ‘Well, that makes sense.’ If they had actually sent troops, he would have been suspicious long before they even arrived. ‘If there’s one thing I know, it’s that the ones moving under Yeon Hojeong are no fools. With that bastard’s eye for talent, he wouldn’t keep arrogant idiots under his command.’ In a way, it was fortunate they hadn’t sent anyone. It meant he wouldn’t have to waste time on mind games.
**Yayul Jeok** swept his gaze across the assassins.
The Dark Emperor Corps—one thousand strong.
These were the ultimate assassins he had personally selected and trained for ten grueling years.
Nine hundred of them—excluding the hundred he had left behind at headquarters—now stared back at him.
“We will launch an all-out assault.”
The assassins offered no reply. They simply flashed the beast-like eyes typical of killers.
**Yayul Jeok** continued in a calm voice.
“I am grateful that you endured ten years of hellish training. You once followed me as the Shadow God, but now you serve as my personal elite soldiers, exerting yourselves for my sake.”
“…….”
“I will no longer live as the Shadow God. And from this moment on, you are no longer the greatest elites under the Shadow God.”
**Yayul Jeok** looked up at the sky.
The sky just before dawn was darker than it had ever been. Even though the moon and stars shone so brightly, the world remained steeped in darkness.
He shouted.
“You are proud warriors who would burn your very lives for the Saeum Sect! From this moment forward, your lives belong to the Saeum God! Even if you lose your lives, your souls will live on forever in the embrace of the divine!”
Surprisingly, even after hearing the name of the Saeum Sect, none of the assassins showed any doubt.
Instead, their eyes burned with the knowledge that the decisive battle had come. To them, **Yayul Jeok** had already become an absolute monarch they must follow, regardless of who he truly was.
**Yayul Jeok** turned around.
“Shake the castle to its core. I and the two squad leaders will infiltrate through Passage Twenty-Two and Passage Twenty-Five to ignite the Hwasan-dae-yeon!”
Swwooooosh!
Starting with **Yayul Jeok**’s charge, the nine hundred assassins moved as one.
It was a chilling sight.
Nearly a thousand people moving toward a single objective. It should have been a magnificent spectacle, yet for some strange reason, it inspired only dread.
The reason was the silence.
Nine hundred people were moving at incredible speed all at once, yet there was no sound of wind. No footsteps. Not even the rustle of clothing.
The only ones in the world capable of moving at such speed without making a single sound were assassins.
Beings who approached without a whisper, turned life into death, and vanished just as quietly.
That was why people both feared and despised assassins—while secretly trying to learn their arts.
Flash!
**Yayul Jeok**’s eyes, piercing through the darkness, locked onto Night Castle. ‘Are they on guard?’ Even for him, it was impossible to check every watchtower on the distant castle from this far away.
Still, Night Castle was a terrifying fortress built by the greatest architects and formation masters in the world. If properly utilized, it could easily repel an army twenty times larger. ‘At least that’s fortunate.’ From the outside, Night Castle might appear to be a castle that was merely difficult to conquer. But to someone who knew its secrets, it became an absolute stronghold.
Thankfully, the Martial Alliance’s Yougun unit that had occupied Night Castle knew nothing about its true nature. That meant his side—who knew every secret passage and characteristic of the castle—could break through with less than half their numbers.
Of course, **Yayul Jeok** had no intention of charging in head-on. ‘All I need to do is create chaos.’ Even if every member of the Dark Emperor Corps died, as long as he or one of the squad leaders could slip inside, trigger the Hwasan-dae-yeon, and send a report to the main Saeum Sect headquarters, it would be enough.
After all, he had raised them as warriors who would throw away their lives like trash for the sake of the Saeum Sect. The fact that their time had come sooner than expected didn’t matter. Their lives had always been meant to be burned away.
And the same was true for himself.
Swwooooosh!
**Yayul Jeok** and the Dark Emperor Corps rapidly closed the distance.
When they were still about seven li away from Night Castle, **Yayul Jeok** raised his hand.
Whoosh!
He and the First Squad Leader broke off to the left.
Swishswishswishswish!
From that point on, the Dark Emperor Corps openly revealed their presence.
Rumble! Rumble!
They even abandoned their stealth techniques and ran lightly. Their steps gained weight, and power surged through their entire bodies. Since they no longer wasted energy suppressing their qi, a fierce vitality returned to the eyes of the assassins, which had previously held only murderous intent.
They charged not as assassins, but as soldiers rushing to lay siege. The mountains themselves trembled.
It was then.
‘……?!’
**Yayul Jeok**, who had been about to enter the narrow gap between two boulders leading to Passage Twenty-Two, suddenly froze.
Fwoooooosh!
Massive flames erupted from atop the castle walls of Night Castle.
And it wasn’t just the front. Every single wall surrounding the castle was spewing enormous pillars of fire.
**Yayul Jeok**’s eyes shook. ‘What is this?’ Setting the castle on fire all of a sudden?
Of course, it wasn’t impossible to light a fire. There were hundreds of oil barrels inside Night Castle, along with mountains of well-dried timber.
The real question was why they had done it. The moment his forces revealed themselves, flames had shot up. It seemed they had been watching closely, but why set the place on fire? ‘If they had shot fire arrows, I could understand, but they’re burning it so even they can’t approach? Why?!’
**Yayul Jeok** stared at the castle walls for a moment before shaking the thought away. ‘Whatever the reason, a battle is about to begin. I just need to do my part.’
But a short while later, he realized the situation was not going to be so simple.
BOOM!
When they had broken through one-third of the secret passage, a tremendous roar and vibration erupted from the surface.
The sound and shock were so terrifying that dust and pebbles rained down from the ceiling of the passage—one he had believed would never collapse even in an earthquake.
“W-what is that?”
**Yayul Jeok** was a supreme expert. However, trapped inside an underground passage with walls on all sides, he could not discern what was happening on the surface. ‘What on earth is going on?’ Were the Dark Emperor Corps smashing through the castle walls?
That couldn’t be. The Dark Emperor Corps knew exactly how sturdy Night Castle’s walls and gates were.
Of course they could break them if they tried, but it would be an irrational tactic. Every member of the corps would rather scale the walls using hook hands than try to smash their way through.
Then why?
Rumble rumble rumble!
This time the shock was far more intense.
For a brief moment, **Yayul Jeok** felt fear. He was worried the entire passage might collapse.
No matter how great an expert one was, if the underground foundation gave way, there was no escape from death. ‘Something is very wrong.’
**Yayul Jeok** felt a growing sense of unease.
If the source of these shockwaves had been near the castle walls, he would have been less anxious. Since he had already assumed most of the Dark Emperor Corps would die, nothing that happened would be surprising.
But if the source was inside the castle, the story changed completely. ‘It’s faint, but… judging by the flow of air and the distance, these shockwaves are definitely coming from inside the castle, not the walls.’
Suddenly, **Yayul Jeok**’s eyes flashed. ‘These bastards—don’t tell me!!’
Swwooooosh!
Moving at terrifying speed, **Yayul Jeok** opened a hidden door midway through the passage and climbed upward. It was an emergency exit leading outside the castle.
Clank!
The moment he emerged onto the surface, **Yayul Jeok** felt his entire face grow hot.
Fwoooooosh!
The entire castle was burning.
Those insane bastards hadn’t just poured oil on top of the walls—they had drenched the outer surfaces as well. They were clearly trying to turn the entire castle into a fortress of flames, preventing the Dark Emperor Corps from even climbing the walls.
But **Yayul Jeok** knew that wasn’t their true purpose.
It couldn’t be. Setting fire to the outer walls might look like a ruthless strategy, but they didn’t have infinite supplies of oil. Considering the width of the walls, the flames wouldn’t even last half a day, let alone a full one.
So why?!
BOOOOM! BOOOOM! RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!
At that moment, tremendous shockwaves erupted from within Night Castle.
It wasn’t exploding fire bombs. Something was being smashed apart with terrifying internal energy.
BOOM! CRASH! RUMBLE RUMBLE!
As if on purpose, the entire Night Castle shook violently.
“These bastards… these madmen—don’t tell me!!”
Night Castle was being destroyed.
Not from an external attack, but from the inside. ‘They’re carrying out indiscriminate destruction!!’
Exactly.
The Martial Alliance’s Yougun unit that had occupied Night Castle was turning the interior of the castle into a wasteland.
This changed everything. **Yayul Jeok** had planned to sneak inside, trigger the Hwasan-dae-yeon, and send a spirit messenger bird directly to the Saeum Sect’s main headquarters.
But if they demolished the entire interior?
The trigger mechanism for the Hwasan-dae-yeon wouldn’t break from ordinary impacts. However, there were supreme experts inside. Not only was there **Yeon Hojeong**, the leader of the Myeolsa Army, but also **Moyong Woo**—considered one of the top two young geniuses in the world alongside him—and even a Shaolin monk.
What if they destroyed the Hwasan-dae-yeon’s trigger? What if they killed the spirit bird?
“No!”
Swwooooosh!
**Yayul Jeok**, who had intended to create chaos, slip in secretly, accomplish his goal, and escape, was forced to completely revise his plan. At this point, he had to succeed even if it cost him his life.
Tap tap tap tap!
**Yayul Jeok** sprinted back into the passage and finally reached the door leading to the castle’s armory.
Clank!
The moment he opened the door, a violent shockwave slammed into him, momentarily disorienting his senses.
Then **Yayul Jeok**’s eyes lit up.
He saw the worms using all their strength to demolish the buildings.
Whoosh!
**Yayul Jeok** charged forward at terrifying speed. His hand blade sliced through the necks of over a dozen Tangma Army soldiers in a single stroke.
SPLAAASH!
Blood sprayed everywhere, momentarily slowing the building’s collapse.
It was then.
BOOM!
If he hadn’t instinctively dodged, his arm would have been torn off.
The palm strike carried truly terrifying power. Setting aside the level of enlightenment, the raw destructive force of the technique itself was supreme.
**Yayul Jeok** turned his head.
There stood a middle-aged monk radiating golden anti-demonic qi like flames, charging toward him with the Vajra Immovable Movement Technique.
It was **Beom-oh**.
“Amitabha!”
Oooooooooooong!
‘Damn it!’
**Yayul Jeok**’s face twisted.
Along with the Buddhist chant came a voice that shook his mind—the Lion’s Roar of Buddhism. The supreme sound technique meant to purge all evil had delayed his reaction by a full beat.
BOOM!
And there, **Moyong Woo** appeared, gripping the Tangma Greatsword.
“You’ve come at a good time, dog of the Saeum Sect.”