Chapter 90: Five Families Alliance (3)
Seo Baek and his companions left the charred ruins of Yongjeong Inn behind them and set off toward the Five Families Alliance fortress.
The group had gained two new members: one sorceress and one spirit beast.
Each face bore its own thoughts plainly.
Seo Baek's was steely resolve. Ju Eun-ri's haughty pride. Song Hyeon's, as always, an inscrutable detachment.
And Wang Yi Sam's was pure grievance.
Deep down, Wang Yi Sam wanted out of this mess.
When he'd first taken on the Sichuan Tang Clan job alongside Seo Baek, he'd been thrilled. The request had turned out far more sinister and dangerous than expected, but the payout in silver taels had been worth it—a solid deal.
But ever since, tagging along with Seo Baek had felt like one loss after another.
Wang Yi Sam had wanted to follow Seo Baek to Shaolin Temple, too.
The North Star of the Central Plains martial world: Shaolin Temple.
He'd dreamed of striding in like a conquering hero, hailed alongside Seo Baek as saviors of the martial world.
Sure, being a temple, there'd be no liquor or meat, but who knew? Maybe they'd set up a special spot under Song Mountain just for them...
But to get there, you'd need your head still attached to your shoulders, right?
Infiltrate a fortress guarded by hundreds of martial artists with just four people, rescue the hostages, and escape?
To Wang Yi Sam, it sounded utterly insane!
He'd once figured that with his solid grasp of practical combat techniques, a good connection could make his name ring out in the martial world.
But after meeting Seo Baek and Song Hyeon, he'd shelved those dreams entirely.
He'd crossed paths with plenty of masters while scraping by as a sword-for-hire, but these two were depths he couldn't fathom—the first of their kind.
Heaven beyond heaven. A sky beyond the sky.
The Central Plains teemed with countless masters like stars in the night.
Seo Baek and Song Hyeon were undoubtedly among them.
But he? Just your average dao wielder...
So here he was, stuck running an impossible op with these mad geniuses. Wang Yi Sam felt like bursting into tears from the injustice.
On the road, he kept fishing for chances to bail.
"Hey, junior... this infiltration ain't gonna be easy, right? That fortress has gotta have hundreds of guys..."
But every time he broached it, Seo Baek shut him down cold.
"We've gotta make up for missing that braised pork. Right, senior Wang?"
"Y-yeah. Right you are... yeah."
Cowed by Seo Baek's iron expression, Wang Yi Sam couldn't even spit out that he was bowing out.
In the end, he trailed after them like an ox bound for slaughter.
Meanwhile, Seo Baek's mind was filled with the Namgung Family.
The family that had rallied a new Five Great Families to form the Five Families Alliance.
He could overlook them building a fortress, expanding their power, even torching the inn.
Not forgive it, but the world was like that anyway.
Powerful sects and families always bullied the weak to line their pockets.
No one could fix all the world's immorality single-handedly. That was just naive posturing.
'But anyone who blocks my path... I won't forgive.'
That was Seo Baek's creed.
The Namgung Family had leaked the identities of those heading to Shaolin to the Black Dao and slapped bounties on them—a clear declaration of war against the Murim Alliance and Shaolin.
And while claiming their fortress was to fend off the revenant outbreak, they'd burned the inn and snatched hostages instead of helping locals.
On the surface, Seo Baek's reason for infiltrating was to help Ju Eun-ri rescue Wang Il and Wang Yi.
But his true intent differed.
He aimed to uncover why the Namgung Family was obstructing the Murim Alliance.
'If the Namgung Family and Five Families Alliance are exploiting the revenant outbreak for their ambitions, I'll uproot them entirely.'
Heading to Shaolin was all about ending the outbreak anyway.
Punishing villains who exploited it was inevitable, sooner or later.
To Seo Baek, this wasn't a detour delaying Shaolin.
It was just one step on the journey.
The path to the Five Families Alliance fortress wasn't grueling.
After navigating Sichuan's treacherous terrain and the Long River's raging currents en route to Shaolin, trekking open plains felt like a stroll.
They'd occasionally spot lone revenants wandering from the herd and lop off their heads, sending them to the Yellow Springs.
No hordes crossed their path.
And if one did, they'd spot it coming and evade easily.
They stayed sharper around woods or shaded spots, wary of Five Families ambushes.
But no remnants appeared. They'd all withdrawn to the fortress without a trace—proof of their confidence in blocking the Shaolin route.
Five days after leaving Yongjeong Inn...
Seo Baek's group arrived at the Five Families Alliance fortress.
Ju Eun-ri had said it'd take a week on foot, but they'd covered it in five with their forced march. Exhausted, they took a moment to rest and recover.
Once composed, Ju Eun-ri pointed to the gorge.
"We have to sneak from here on. No telling where enemy sentries might be."
To avoid detection, the group picked a narrow crevice between sheer cliffs and climbed up.
The slope was steep, making the ascent tough.
But it beat the monotony of the plains—minds eased by the thrill of the fortress soon unfolding before them.
They soon reached the summit.
Huddled behind a massive boulder, they peered down at the fortress in the gorge below.
"That's the Five Families Alliance fortress."
"...!"
The first impression was breathtaking splendor.
"Man, if we weren't infiltrating, this'd be perfect for spreading a mat and cracking a bottle."
Wang Yi Sam couldn't resist his booze talk, but even the others nodded in agreement. The vista was that stunning.
Two sheer cliffs stabbed skyward.
A narrow pass stretched between them.
The walls soared endlessly, vanishing into the clouds.
Below, god-carved boulders and vibrant thickets clustered—enough to make even mid-mission warriors gape.
They'd barely scaled this far, but ahead lay a chain of sheer drops where one wrong step meant death.
No lightness skill master could traverse those cliffs to Shaolin. Better to walk on air.
"The wilderness beyond the cliffs crawls with the revenant horde from Luoyang."
Revenants choked the outer wastes, forcing any Shaolin-bound traveler through this natural screen of twin cliffs.
And now a fortress blocked it?
No wonder the Five Families hadn't hunted Seo Baek—they didn't need to. No way around without passing the fortress.
Detouring the gorge could delay Shaolin by a month or more.
Through the cliffs, the main gate came into view: a massive log palisade with a central door.
But craftsmanship lagged far behind Wang Family Fortress.
No pitch sealant on the logs, ends blunt—not sharpened. Any martial artist with lightness skill could vault it easily.
The real issue: reaching the palisade.
Wang Family Fortress sat in a basin ringed by cliffs on three sides. This was a natural bastion beyond that.
The "gorge" was just a narrow gap between walls. Fence the front and rear, and intruders were bottled.
Its position amid sheer drops was masterful.
Wang Fortress constantly braced for hordes, but here, cliffs barred approach—negligible horde threat.
Fewer guards needed.
Sure enough, tall watchtowers flanked the main gate, with more faintly visible inside.
Against hordes, two at front and rear sufficed.
But extras inside?
Watchtowers to scour for infiltrating martial artists!
"Too many watchtowers... This won't be easy..."
Wang Yi Sam muttered, catching on.
"The guards are trouble too."
"Guards?"
"Wang Fortress had minor sect warriors. Here, it'll be Five Families martial artists."
"Ugh, things just keep getting steeper."
Even with Pearl Eon and Moyong shoehorned in, these were Central Plains' top five famed families.
Obviously superior to Wang or Jegal warriors.
"Junior, what if we loop around? There's that saying—haste makes waste..."
Wang Yi Sam wheedled, but Seo Baek shot it down.
"No."
"We'll break straight through."
"...!"
Overpowered by Seo Baek's aura, Wang Yi Sam shut up.
Seo Baek had zero intention of detouring.
He couldn't let Namgung ambitions slide.
"Miss Ju, send Chorang to scout the fortress."
"No, there's a better way."
"Pardon? What way?"
Even unflappable Seo Baek tilted his head.
Better than sorcery-linked scouting via Chorang? What could it be?
"Follow me."
Ju Eun-ri turned and descended the peak.
Baffled, the group trailed her down the cliff.
At a spot hidden from fortress watchtowers, she halted.
"This'll do."
She drew a bundle of talismans from her bosom, selected one, and scanned around. Spotting a go-board-flat rock, she laid it flat.
The talisman bore eerie red runes, but the script inside was familiar.
Mao. Fourth of the Twelve Earthly Branches—rabbit.
"Isn't that a rabbit? What're you doing?"
"Just watch."
Moments later, a hawk sliced through the wind from the sky. It flared its wings to brake, talons splayed toward the rock.
Then the group got it: a talisman luring birds by mimicking live prey!
No real rabbit, so talons snagged air.
The talisman sprang alive, whipping around the hawk's ankle.
Bewildered by the vanishing "rabbit," the hawk instinctively arced back skyward.
Talisman bound tight.
Ju Eun-ri spoke softly.
"Two watchtowers at the main gate. Two at the rear. Seven total inside the fortress—six lining the long walls on either side. Scaling the cliffs for infiltration looks impossible."
She relayed the fortress layout seen through the hawk's eyes.