Chapter 60: The Five Venomous Siblings-6
Chapter 60: The Five Venomous Siblings-6
Bae Jong-gwan shouted toward Jeonghyeopbang in a thunderous voice.
"I am Bae Jong-gwan, the eldest of the Five Siblings of Doksu! Among Jeonghyeopbang's five hundred brothers, is there truly not a single one more who will come forth to face me?!"
Some time had passed since Bae Jong-gwan defeated Yang Ho-ung, but no one from Jeonghyeopbang had yet stepped forward.
Impatient from waiting, Bae Jong-gwan had shouted as if to provoke them, yet even so, the warriors of Jeonghyeopbang couldn't bring themselves to come out.
Yang Ho-ung, whose jaw had shattered and who had fainted from a single punch from Bae Jong-gwan, was someone who could be called the greatest even among Jeonghyeopbang's first-rate warriors.
Possessing monstrous strength, innate agility, and even outstanding combat sense.
Even among the warriors of Jeonghyeopbang, he had been a target of avoidance.
So there was no way anyone would dare to come out and fight Bae Jong-gwan, who had silenced him in one blow.
Only Hwang Jang-gon's face grew more and more twisted, having lost the trusted Yang Ho-ung and unable to find another solution.
On the other hand, the sect leader of Sangeommun, Heo Gyeong, was bursting into loud laughter among his subordinates.
"Euhahahahaha! Oh my, how hilarious! Not a single person among five hundred will come out?! Euhahahahaha! Oh, how refreshing! Oh, how exhilarating!"
It felt like he had never experienced anything this exhilarating in his life. If only he could, he wanted to dash over to Jeonghyeopbang's side right then and see Hwang Jang-gon's expression.
Heo Gyeong, who had been laughing refreshingly for a long while, suddenly came to his senses and called for the external steward, Heo Jeon-sam.
"External steward!"
Then Heo Jeon-sam, who had also been smiling contentedly beside him, answered in surprise.
"Yes, yes! Munju-nim!"
Heo Gyeong gazed at Heo Jeon-sam with heated eyes for a moment, then suddenly rushed at him and embraced him tightly.
"Goodness!"
"You've worked hard! You've worked hard! Where on earth did you bring such talents from?! This is all thanks to you! Thank you!"
It was while Heo Gyeong was embracing Heo Jeon-sam and rejoicing like that.
Suddenly, someone among the Jeonghyeopbang warriors shouted.
"Hmph! You've grown arrogant just because you were lucky enough to defeat Yang Ho-ung with some pathetic external arts! These elders will deal with you, you bastard!"
The ones who ran out shouting like that were the Five Swift Blades, masters of quick blades who had made quite a name for themselves in Sichuan Province.
All five of them were first-rate martial artists, famous for their swift dao techniques as well as their swift movement techniques.
Hwang Jang-gon, who had been frowning, not knowing whom to send out, let out an exclamation of 'Ohoh' as they rushed out on their own.
It was because he felt he understood what they were thinking.
Then a martial artist beside Hwang Jang-gon asked him.
"Will it be alright? The Five Swift Blades aren't more skilled than Yang Ho-ung, after all."
Hwang Jang-gon nodded and answered.
"Certainly, they are weaker than Yang Ho-ung. But have you ever seen that fellow called Bae Jong-gwan move quickly before?"
"Huh? Ah, then?"
"Yes, they are probably trying to confuse him with swift movement techniques to gain the upper hand. Then it seems they intend to look for a weak point."
And the concealed Seonwoo Jin happened to be thinking the same thing.
'If this goes well...'
Seonwoo Jin hurriedly spoke to Bi Sa-yeong, who was beside him.
"Sa-yeong! Go to Miss Cheong-yeon right away and relay my words for me, will you?"
"Hmm? What words?"
"If..."
Having heard Seonwoo Jin's words, Bi Sa-yeong asked in astonishment.
"What?! Is that truly possible?"
"Perhaps?"
"Hehehe, understood. I'll go right now and come back!"
As Bi Sa-yeong moved toward Sangeommun's side, Seonwoo Jin also relayed the subsequent plan to Sak Mu-heun.
Then Sak Mu-heun, having heard the entire explanation, replied.
"Understood. We'll do that. But will that friend truly be alright? Just looking from the outside, it doesn't seem like a wrong choice for the opponent to try exploiting him with movement techniques."
However, despite his concern, Seonwoo Jin answered with a gentle smile.
"Jong-gwan is certainly slow. But that's when compared to Sa-yeong or me. Moreover, lately, it seems he's also prepared countermeasures for opponents faster than himself."
At the same time, Cho Woo-seon, the eldest of the Five Swift Blades who had come before Bae Jong-gwan, was keeping his distance and aiming his dao at him.
"If you're an external arts master with a body tough enough to even take Yang Ho-ung's axe, your gate of vulnerability must be even more lethal, right? I'll slowly find your gate of vulnerability!"
For martial artists who had tempered their bodies by learning external arts, there inevitably existed a gate of vulnerability, a part weaker than in others.
And the higher the level of external arts, the more lethal that gate of vulnerability tended to be, so Cho Woo-seon was now declaring that he would find and attack that spot.
Then Bae Jong-gwan, who had been silently listening to his words, wordlessly took out the short moon blade and long staff he carried on his back and simply assembled them to create a long guandao.
It was the guandao that Seonwoo Jin had brought from Heuksangbang and gifted him the other day.
Seeing that, Cho Woo-seon sneered.
"Hmph! Do you intend to prevent approach by extending your reach? You've used your head quite a bit! But don't think you can catch my movement technique with that! Now, shall we begin?!"
Then, grinning sinisterly, he lowered his stance and prepared to leap forward.
That was when it happened.
Pabak!
Bae Jong-gwan's massive body came charging at him first with explosive speed.
It was a charge like a boulder shot from a catapult.
"Guh?!"
Cho Woo-seon, who had been just about to leap forward, urgently changed direction and tried to dodge to the side with an expression of horror.
But at that instant, the guandao Bae Jong-gwan swung horizontally descended upon him.
Buaaaaang!
As the guandao swept toward him, drawing a semicircle of enormous diameter, Cho Woo-seon frantically swung his dao to try and strike the guandao away.
"Eeik!"
But it was an impossible task.
Chaekang!
It was because the moment his dao clashed with Bae Jong-gwan's guandao, carrying his monstrous strength, it shattered like a reed stalk.
"Wh-what?!"
That wasn't the end.
The guandao that had destroyed his dao then violently cleaved Cho Woo-seon's very body apart.
Puhwaak!
"Keoheok!"
Cho Woo-seon's upper and lower body were separated in a single strike.
It was a strike that overlapped with what Yang Ho-ung had done earlier, but a far more violent strike that drew an even larger arc.
Then the surroundings fell silent, as if dead.
Not only the Jeonghyeopbang sect members but also the Sangeommun sect members just stood there gaping, mouths wide open in shock.
But only for a moment.
Immediately, cheers erupted again.
Of course, from the Sangeommun sect members' side.
"Uwaaaaaaah!"
"Incredible!"
"Bae Jong-gwan!"
"The Five Siblings of Doksu!"
The other brothers of the Five Swift Blades were also shouting.
Except they were crying out in mournful voices.
"Eldest brother!"
"You bastard, how dare you?!"
"Next is my turn! I will certainly kill you, you bastard!"
"Woo-sang! I go first! Keep to the order!"
"But second elder brother!"
It was while the remaining brothers of the Five Swift Blades were arguing about who would step forward first.
Bae Jong-gwan lowered his stance again with a grim expression.
If opponents were at this level, dealing with them one at a time was even bothersome.
"If I die, avenge me...!"
Cho Woo-yeong, the second brother, who had been in the middle of telling the third, Cho Woo-sang, to carry on, couldn't finish his words and was forced to open his eyes wide.
Pabak!
Bae Jong-gwan had suddenly, without any warning, come charging toward them.
"Th-this bastard?!"
"What are you doing?!"
The horrified brothers tried to raise their daos to resist.
But Bae Jong-gwan, who had already charged right up to their front, swung his guandao horizontally once again.
Buaaaaaang!
As the guandao drew a massive crescent moon, just like with Cho Woo-seon, his younger brothers could not block Bae Jong-gwan's guandao either.
Chaekang! Puhwaak!
"Kuaaaak!"
"Eueoeok!"
"Keoheok!"
"Heoeok!"
The sight of four weapons and bodies being separated in a single strike could not help but be an unreal scene even for martial artists who had lived their lives amidst constant carnage.
At that horrific spectacle, the martial artists of Jeonghyeopbang were at a loss for words, and the martial artists of Sangeommun, who had been staring blankly for a moment, poured out the most intense battle cry yet.
"Uwaaaaaaah!"
"Vajrapani Bae Jong-gwan!"
"Reincarnation of Hangwu, Bae Jong-gwan!"
It was when even Hwang Jang-gon of Jeonghyeopbang and Heo Gyeong of Sangeommun were staring at Bae Jong-gwan, mouths agape and speechless.
The external steward of Sangeommun, Heo Jeon-sam, having heard a telepathic message from Hae Cheong-yeon, urgently spoke to Heo Gyeong.
"Munju-nim! Now is the time!"
"Uh, huh? What do you mean, now is the time?"
"You must charge in now! There may never be another chance like this again!"
"Huh?"
Heo Gyeong, who had looked bewildered at Heo Jeon-sam's unexpected words, could understand his meaning in a single moment.
He suddenly looked around.
The martial artists of Sangeommun were so fired up that their morale could not possibly climb any higher, while the morale of the Jeonghyeopbang martial artists had completely sunk.
It was certainly clear that this was an opportunity that would not come again.
Of course, they had agreed not to wage an all-out battle today but only to engage in one-on-one duels, but that had been Hwang Jang-gon's idea, not something he himself had promised.
But even so, Heo Gyeong spoke with an expression devoid of confidence.
"However... could there not be two unknown peak-level masters? If they are present, then no matter how high our morale is, we will ultimately be defeated..."
At that, Heo Jeon-sam confidently declared.
"I conducted a separate investigation, and those masters appeared to have temporarily returned to the Jeonghyeopbang main headquarters. Therefore, the only peak-level master they currently possess is Hwang Jang-gon alone."
In truth, it was not something he had investigated but something Hae Cheong-yeon had told him, but Heo Jeon-sam had now reached a state where he would believe Hae Cheong-yeon even if she told him that fish flew in the sky.
The fact that she was the Sword Saint's daughter was more than trustworthy on its own, but the performance the Five Siblings of Doksu had shown so far had been far too moving.
And that was similar to Heo Gyeong's thoughts regarding Heo Jeon-sam. If it was the word of Heo Jeon-sam, who had brought the Five Siblings of Doksu and enabled such achievements, then he felt he could fully believe it.
Heo Gyeong's eyes gleamed as he asked.
"Is that true, External Steward?"
"Yes! It is certain!"
At that, Heo Gyeong smiled a grimly fishy smile and slowly looked around at the Sangeommun warriors.
And he raised his voice toward them.
- Disciples of Sangeommun, hear me!
At Heo Gyeong's sudden voice, the disciples of Sangeommun stopped their cheering and listened intently.
- Those hypocrites who call themselves Jeonghyeopbang cowardly ambushed us without warning, slaughtering the deputy sect leader and over two hundred of our brothers!
Of course, it was a lie that Jeonghyeopbang had ambushed them without warning. Also, the death of the deputy sect leader and the over two hundred men had not been due to an ambush, but because they themselves had proposed talks and were actually attempting an ambush of their own, but for the unorthodox faction, such trifling details did not matter.
What mattered was that the enemy had struck first, and thus the deputy sect leader and over two hundred disciples had been slaughtered.
So the disciples of Sangeommun, whose morale had been surging sky-high for some time, now began to boil with unbearable rage.
"Cowardly bastards!"
"You hypocrites of the orthodox faction!"
"Let us have our revenge too!"
"Let us avenge our brothers' grudge!"
Heo Gyeong, who had waited briefly for the atmosphere to heat up, smiled with satisfaction and raised his voice again.
- Disciples! Can you forgive those hypocrites?!
Then all of the Sangeommun disciples answered as one.
"We cannot!"
- Can you forget the grudge of your brothers?!
"We cannot!"
- Then what is it we must do?!
At that, the Sangeommun disciples now each drew their own weapons, raised them toward the sky, and shouted with all their might.
"Revenge!"
Sangeommun Sect Leader Heo Gyeong now personally flung himself forward, leaping out as he shouted.
- Yes! Revenge! And now is the time for revenge! Disciples of Sangeommun! All of you, follow me!
"Uwaaaaaaaah!"
The disciples of Sangeommun, led by Heo Gyeong, began to charge forward like a raging wave.
It was a fierce charge from which not a speck of fear could be felt.
"Those stupid fools! I was trying to spare them!"
At the Sangeommun disciples' unexpected charge, Hwang Jang-gon, his face hideously contorted, shouted toward the Jeonghyeopbang fighters.
"All hands, prepare for battle! Show those dregs of the unorthodox faction the might of Jeonghyeopbang!"
Then he shouted toward the rear.
"You two, prepare as well! Let us strike down Heo Gyeong together with me!"
Their identity was unknown and their behavior displeased him, but the two peak-level masters the faction leader had attached and sent to him were on standby in the rear.
So even if the morale of the fighters was currently low, if three peak-level masters including himself killed Heo Gyeong, the leader of Sangeommun, first, that morale would surely be reversed immediately.
But Hwang Jang-gon, who had been waiting for the peak-level masters with such thoughts, was soon bewildered.
The two people who should have been on standby in the rear were not coming forward.
In the meantime, the Sangeommun disciples were now charging to within a dozen jang of them.
He had missed the opportune moment to respond while waiting for them.
Hwang Jang-gon had no choice but to issue his command first.
If he delayed any longer, they would have to receive the enemy's charge while standing still.
"All hands, cha..."
But he had forgotten.
That there was someone who had been charging far ahead of even the Sangeommun disciples.
"Iron Body Meteor!"
Bae Jong-gwan, who had charged like a rhinoceros, crashed into the Jeonghyeopbang fighters at the very front line.
Kwaaaaaang!
"Uwaaaaak!"
"Keuaaaaak!"
"Keueoooook!"
The sight of over a dozen Jeonghyeopbang fighters being lightly bounced into the air by his body slam was an extremely surreal spectacle.
Bae Jong-gwan, who had cleared out his surroundings empty with a single collision, did not stop there.
He stepped forward once more, rotating his body in a full circle as he swung his guandao with all his might.
Buaaaaaang!
Then, the great full moon drawn by his guandao became stained with the color of blood.
Tchut-tchut-tchung!
Puhwaaaak!
"Kuaaaaak!"
"Keueoooook!"
"Save meeeee!"
No person, no weapon, could stop Bae Jong-gwan's guandao from painting its bloody full moon.
For to martial artists of first-rate mid-level and below, Bae Jong-gwan's monstrous strength was practically like a calamity.
But martial artists of first-rate upper level and above could immediately grasp that Bae Jong-gwan's guandao was not all that fast, and that a large opening appeared above him while he swung his guandao horizontally.
So, the moment Bae Jong-gwan slashed his guandao horizontally again, several first-rate warriors leaped upward to strike down at Bae Jong-gwan's head.
Pabak!
"Got him!"
"Die, you bastard!"
Of course, considering the bastard's external arts, they likely could not inflict immediate damage, but if they got inside the range of his guandao and stabbed at his whole body, surely even his vital gate would be exposed, would it not?
It was as they harbored such thoughts and thrust their weapons toward Bae Jong-gwan.
Suddenly, someone leaped out like a flying tiger from behind Bae Jong-gwan.
It was a handsome man gripping a long spear twisted like a snake, as if one were seeing Zhao Zilong from Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
"Hyaaap!"
His long spear split into over a dozen beams of light, sweeping away the Jeonghyeopbang fighters who had been closing in on Bae Jong-gwan.
Pusyusyusyuk!
"Wh-What?! Uwaaak!"
"A-A master!"
"Keuaaaak!"
The dead would have no way of knowing, but he was Chang-hyeok, the second of the Five Siblings of Doksu... or rather, it was Seol Pung, who had introduced himself as such.
Behind him, the remaining three women of the Five Siblings of Doksu were falling upon the Jeonghyeopbang fighters.
Puhwaaaak!
"Keuaaaak!"
"Aaaak! Save me!"
There were also Jeomchang Sword Tiger Je Won-yeong and the indignant Four Swords of Goesan, three of whom were his juniors.
Shwiiiiik!
"Hurk!"
"Wh-What, this guy?! Aaaak!"
To Je Won-yeong, the Jeomchang Sword Tiger, who was acknowledged as the second best among the many disciples of Jeomchang, there were none who required a second sword strike.
Everyone was breathing their last without even properly seeing Je Won-yeong's sword.
Seol Pung, Hae Cheong-yeon, and even Je Won-yeong.
Though they had disguised themselves as being at the first-rate level, there was no way the Jeonghyeopbang fighters could stop this group to which three original peak-level masters belonged.
Nor was it a situation where they could stop them.
"What are you doing?! We outnumber them vastly! If we just respond properly...! Hurk!"
Every time cadre-level personnel tried to reorganize the formation, they were dying for unknown reasons.
- That makes twelve.
- That makes seventeen, junior brother Seon-woo. Still much lacking, aren't we.
It was because Sak Mu-heun and Seonwoo Jin, who had been on standby in concealment beforehand, were assassinating cadre-level warriors from places unseen.
The Jeonghyeopbang formation began to collapse rapidly.
Once all the morale-boosted Sangeommun disciples plowed into them from behind, the numerical difference of two hundred versus five hundred had now become meaningless.
Hwang Jang-gon could only grit his teeth and watch the sight.
He wanted to rush over immediately and prevent the collapse of the formation, but he could not.
Because the Sangeommun sect leader Heo Gyeong, also a peak-level master, had arrived right before his eyes.
Heo Gyeong laughed ferociously and yelled.
"Hwang Jang-gon! Try running your mouth again like you did earlier, if you dare!"
Hwang Jang-gon's expression distorted.
As far as he knew, Heo Gyeong's level was also that of a peak-level master, with internal energy similar to his own, between seventy and eighty years.
So determining the victor between them would probably not be easy.
Their duel would probably be influenced more by the surrounding circumstances than by their own actual skill.
He then suddenly looked around.
Everywhere his eyes fell, the Jeonghyeopbang fighters were being massacred.
It was a crushing defeat.