Fortress Infiltration (1)
The Namgung Family had long harbored ambitions to undermine the power of the Murim Alliance.
A few years prior, one of the family's strategists proposed building a fortress in a canyon along the route to Shaolin Temple.
At first, people laughed it off.
With the vast Central Plains dotted by countless roads, suggesting they block a single pass with a fortress? It sounded like a pipe dream!
Yet Namgung Jin, rising as the family's de facto leader in place of the aging patriarch, pushed the plan forward.
He transported materials in secret to avoid rumors. And so, the fortress began to take shape under utmost secrecy.
No one could have foreseen that this scheme would prove a prescient stroke of genius.
When the revenants rampaged across the land, the Central Plains' great cities—Luoyang and Kaifeng—suffered devastating blows. Their massive populations had all transformed into revenants.
Among the martial world, Shaolin Temple found itself in dire peril.
Proximity to Luoyang and Kaifeng left Shaolin surrounded and besieged by hordes numbering in the tens, hundreds of thousands—millions, even.
The canyon the strategist had mentioned was one of the key passes to Shaolin, long recognized as vital due to the treacherous terrain surrounding it. Without traversing the canyon, travelers risked getting lost or plummeting to their deaths.
But now, with swarms of tens of thousands of revenants roaming the open plains...
The canyon had become the sole path to Shaolin.
Namgung Jin seized the opportunity, accelerating construction without mercy.
The death of Namgung Yu—the patriarch's only child and daughter—while dispatched to the Murim Alliance only bolstered his position.
With his sole heir gone, the patriarch all but named his nephew Namgung Jin as successor. No one dared oppose him.
As Shaolin became isolated amid the revenant hordes, other families who had stood idly by now rushed to align with the Namgung Family. Lining up late meant smaller shares of the glory.
And a few months ago, the fortress was complete, flying the banner of the Five Families Alliance.
The newly allied five families of the Alliance.
Now, all that remained was to watch with folded arms as Shaolin crumbled under the revenant onslaught.
What if another sect or family came to Shaolin's aid?
That would be the moment Namgung Jin's ambitions truly came to fruition.
They would all be turned back by the fortress.
And if Shaolin somehow held out without falling?
Namgung Jin had prepared a final contingency for that scenario as well.
A devastating measure to bury Shaolin forever in the annals of Central Plains history.
It was then that a spy embedded in the Murim Alliance sent word to the Five Families Alliance.
—There is someone coming from Sichuan to Shaolin.
—Presumed to hold information that could end the revenant outbreak. Block them at all costs.
The other Alliance leaders—Ak Gwanbi, Paeng Jagol, Eon Ja-seong, Moyong Hwa-jeong, and the rest—scoffed at the report. What difference could one person make?
But Namgung Jin was different.
A perfectionist who left no gap for even a needle to pierce, he tasked his strategist with predicting the route the Shaolin-bound traveler would take.
The strategist reported two possibilities.
One: boarding a boat up the canal to Luoyang, then heading to Shaolin.
The other: disembarking midway and proceeding directly to Shaolin.
If the traveler reached Luoyang, it would be a disaster.
Whether they could break through the revenant hordes to Shaolin was questionable, but they would at least slip from the Alliance's grasp.
With no clear way to intercept the Shaolin-bound figure, Namgung Jin's resourcefulness shone once more.
He deployed spies to spread rumors in the shadowy corners around Yang Province, where the canal boats departed.
—Capture the Shaolin-bound passenger on the boat and drag them to Yongjeong Inn near Sukju. The Namgung Family will pay a handsome bounty.
Of course, he placed no faith in the vile black path rabble.
It was merely his perfectionist nature, mobilizing every possible means... and then the boat sank at Sukju, a jackpot beyond imagining.
The Shaolin-bound traveler who disembarked midway had nowhere to go but the Five Families Alliance's fortress blocking the canyon.
Even if they hadn't taken the boat, it didn't matter.
The path to Luoyang was gone forever.
'Everything is going my way.'
To Namgung Jin, brimming with sky-piercing confidence, Eon Ja-seong's jealous glare was laughable.
"It doesn't matter if the prisoners won't talk. The Shaolin-bound one will come to the fortress."
Namgung Jin stated his conviction with iron resolve.
Moyong Hwa-jeong watched him, her eyes flushing red as if brimming with tears. When women chose a man, confidence was the ultimate virtue.
No woman in the world spared a glance for a loser like Eon Ja-seong.
Namgung Jin, who had embraced countless women in his youth, could hardly miss her gaze.
"Then this meeting is adjourned."
He turned and exited the building, and Moyong Hwa-jeong offered a perfunctory nod before following him.
The pair departed openly, heedless of the others, off to indulge in their tryst.
To Eon Ja-seong, the sight was a profound humiliation.
'They just did it, and now again?'
Eon Ja-seong clenched his fists in silent fury.
Ak Gwanbi and Paeng Jagol, sensing it, sneered inwardly and mocked him.
* * *
Seo Baek set the time for infiltrating the fortress.
"We'll infiltrate right as the You hour ends—around seven in the evening."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Slipping in at the tail end of the You hour served two purposes.
First, it was the time when the sun set. Not as dark as midnight, but in the mountains, darkness fell swiftly once the sun dipped, ideal for evading the eyes of warriors accustomed to daylight.
Second, fortresses typically rotated guards at the end of the You hour, after the evening meal.
The mass movement for shift changes created lapses in vigilance.
Hungry guards from the day shift trading with drowsy ones fresh from dinner— that was the fortress's weakest moment for security.
Those were Seo Baek's reasons for choosing the hour.
With time to spare until then, the group found a warm spot, lay down, and caught a brief rest.
And so the You hour arrived.
Seo Baek's party began preparations.
They started by drinking water and eating.
Once inside the fortress, they'd spend at least half a day hiding and sneaking about. If things went wrong, far longer.
Stocking up on hydration and nutrients beforehand was crucial.
For food, they shared the Wall Valley Pills Joo Eun-ri carried.
She gave Chorang water and fed it small slices of raw meat.
"Tch, we're chomping on rough Wall Valley Pills, and that little guy's getting meat."
"Then you have some too."
When Wang Yi Sam grumbled at the sight, Joo Eun-ri offered him a piece of Chorang's meat.
The scraps Chorang ate wouldn't satisfy an adult even after dozens of bites. Feeling awkward, Wang Yi Sam snorted and turned away.
After food and water, they checked their gear.
"This mission hinges on swift movement and stealth. Lighten your loads as much as possible."
Following Seo Baek's orders, they discarded non-essential items for infiltration.
Next, they tightened straps to secure swords and packs flush against their bodies.
With preparations complete, the group approached the crevice where two cliff faces met.
The infiltration order: Seo Baek, Wang Yi Sam, Joo Eun-ri, Song Hyeon.
Seo Baek and Song Hyeon at front and rear, protecting the relatively weaker Wang Yi Sam and Joo Eun-ri in this formation.
Especially safeguarding Joo Eun-ri, who would deploy her Qimen Dunjia—that would decide success or failure.
But before entering the crevice, Song Hyeon spoke up.
"Not without flaws, but a solid infiltration team. If Yu So Un were here, it would be perfect."
"Infiltration team? Isn't sneaking in the same as infiltration?"
Wang Yi Sam tilted his head at the term, prompting Song Hyeon to explain.
"Scouts call infiltrating heavy fortifications or secret places and escaping 'stealth operations.' They divide into three phases: preparation first, the infiltration we're about to do second."
"Three phases? What's the last?"
"The most critical: escape."
"...!"
Wang Yi Sam swallowed hard and fell silent.
Until now, they'd only pondered how to sneak into the ironclad fortress.
But Song Hyeon's words reframed the challenge of the operation.
Escape was the hardest part of any stealth op.
Getting in might be feasible, but getting out alive? No clear path.
Seo Baek, who had been mulling the issue himself, spoke.
"He's right. More important than getting in is how we get out."
A fortress guarded by at least a hundred warriors—perhaps two or three times that. Plus the five Alliance elites.
Snuck in? Not impossible.
But how long before detection? Hard to predict.
Rescuing the two prisoners without stealth prep—Wang Il and Wang Yi—then evading hundreds of martial artists to slip out?
It seemed impossible, no matter how he sliced it.
No guarantee the rotten palisade hole and cliff crevice discovered by Joo Eun-ri and Wang Yi Sam would be safe for escape either.
The moment infiltration was spotted, fleeing through the narrow gap would trap them like rats in a jar.
Then Joo Eun-ri cut in.
"Don't worry about escape. I'll handle it."
"How?"
"I'll show you what true Qimen Dunjia is."
She said no more.
The group was curious about her plan but didn't press.
Given her techniques so far, they trusted she had a way to fool the fortress guards.
"Then let's go."
Seo Baek knelt low and crawled into the cliff crevice.
Wang Yi Sam, Joo Eun-ri, and Song Hyeon followed in order.
The crevice was wide enough for one person at first.
But it narrowed steadily, especially vertically, giving the sensation of a descending ceiling.
Thankfully, it stopped narrowing at some point—but the height squeezed to where crawling was impossible.
They had to belly-crawl, bellies to the ground.
All seasoned in lightness skill, the distance was trivial—yet the prone position dragged out the transit considerably.
Finally, the crevice's end came into view.
One by one, starting with Seo Baek, they emerged.
Nearby loomed the hole in the rotten palisade—Wang Yi Sam's suggested breach.
Seo Baek crouched and peered through.
Mountains darkened early. The fortress, sunless, was already dim.
He scanned intently but saw no patrolling sentries along the path.
Emphasis on watchtowers over internal patrols.
With towers handling main defense, it made sense.
This overconfidence would be the Alliance's fatal flaw.
Seo Baek pressed index and middle fingers forward—the signal to advance.
Infiltration began.