Schemes Against Schemes (1)
Seo Baek's gaze turned as cold as ice.
He had experienced the tremendous power of the Thunderbolt Bomb firsthand at Shu Dao Pass, thanks to the Sichuan Tang Clan's scheme.
'Thunderbolt Bombs everywhere I go.'
It made perfect sense, now that he thought about it.
Who among the martial artists of the world wouldn't covet the world's greatest martial arts manual or a peerless famed sword?
It would be a lie to say that the sects and clans vying for dominance in the Central Plains had no interest in Thunderbolt Bombs.
'Is the Sichuan Tang Clan involved this time too?'
No, probably not.
The Five Families Alliance had joined hands while sidelining the Sichuan Tang Clan and the Jegal Clan. Even if they had extended a hand, the prideful Sichuan Tang Clan would have scoffed at them.
There was no doubt that Thunderbolt Bombs, if used properly, could uproot the revenant outbreak.
Yet why did everyone who got their hands on them seem desperate to devour the Central Plains martial world?
Seo Baek simply couldn't understand it.
Didn't hegemony only matter after the revenants were stopped? What use was power if the world ended?
Suddenly, his master's words came to mind.
"The mindset of Central Plains martial artists is different from common sense."
"They are the type who would cook rice with the last seed left even if the whole world starved."
"Give them back exactly what they deserve. Take if needed, eliminate if they obstruct."
'Understood.'
Seo Baek's cold gaze hardened with resolve.
The mission's objective had changed.
They had infiltrated the fortress to avoid the long detour to Shaolin Temple. But now, the goal was to destroy the facility manufacturing the Thunderbolt Bombs before escaping.
He could see why the Five Families Alliance had built the fortress at this pass on the road to Shaolin.
It was the optimal spot to quickly transport Thunderbolt Bombs all the way to Song Mountain, where Shaolin stood.
Seo Baek explained the changed situation to Joo Eun-ri.
"There's a Thunderbolt Bomb manufacturing facility down there. We have to destroy it before escaping the fortress."
But there was no response from Joo Eun-ri.
Feeling something off, Seo Baek turned and saw Joo Eun-ri's face shimmering like heat haze on a spring day.
'......?'
Sensing something eerie, Seo Baek activated the Shika Heart Method to the tenth star.
Flash.
In an instant, Joo Eun-ri's face turned semi-transparent, enough to see the attic behind it.
As Seo Baek reached out, her face vanished completely before his hand could touch it.
No, to be precise, it hadn't vanished—it had never been there to begin with. He couldn't tell how long it had been gone.
'......!'
At that moment, a talisman fluttered down from thin air onto the floor.
The talisman bore the character grace in the center.
One character from Joo Eun-ri's name.
Suddenly, Seo Baek recalled what Joo Eun-ri had said before the infiltration.
"I'll show you what true Qimen Dunjia really is."
It hadn't been bravado.
When making talismans for the warriors, Joo Eun-ri must have secretly created one with her own name inscribed.
And now, she had neatly deceived him.
He had been too focused on the Thunderbolt Bombs to notice, but for her to vanish right beside him without a trace was truly astonishing.
If it had been martial arts instead of sorcery, it would have been peak expert level!
Beneath the talisman lay a sheet of paper.
Seo Baek picked it up.
'This is......'
- The fortress's back gate has blades embedded at the end of the wooden barricade.
- It's also fitted with a mechanism that fires poison-coated steel arrows.
- No matter how skilled the expert, no one could cross the back gate unscathed. Especially a bearded old monk.
- Unlike the front gate, the back gate is always locked with a specially crafted padlock.
- I couldn't figure out how to unlock it and exit through the back gate. Apparently, only Namgung Jin knows the method in the entire fortress.
- This is the information I gathered.
- Stay safe.
Joo Eun-ri ended the letter with a wish for his safety.
An implication that they would not meet again.
Wang Il and Wang Yi were still held hostage.
From the start, Joo Eun-ri had never intended to rescue them.
She had infiltrated the fortress for a different purpose altogether.
'Betrayed?'
It wasn't quite that simple.
Leaving the stealth team midway could be seen as desertion in an army.
Yet Joo Eun-ri had played a decisive role in the infiltration.
And she had provided all the escape information via the letter.
'Lady Joo, I'll consider this a debt you owe me.'
There was no need to hunt her down for punishment.
But Seo Baek resolved to collect on this debt someday.
At that moment, voices shouting from below reached him.
It was the voice of the leader he had heard earlier.
"Fire in Building One! If it spreads to the warehouse, we're done for—everyone, go put it out!"
"What about the hostages?"
"Leave two to guard them and follow the rest!"
Soon, the sound of warriors rushing out of the warehouse echoed.
'Senior Song and Senior Wang.'
Building One must be one of the structures assigned to Song Hyeon and Wang Yi Sam.
Unable to find Wang Il and Wang Yi, they must have assumed they were in Seo Baek's location and set the fire to draw the warriors there.
Shout in the east, strike in the west.
The classic Voice East, Strike West maneuver.
Setting the fire hadn't been part of the original plan.
It had to be Song Hyeon's improvisation to lure the enemy.
'I can't waste the opening Senior Song created.'
Seo Baek decided to descend and rescue Wang Il and Wang Yi.
Looking around the attic, he spotted a floor hatch in the center.
'There.'
But as he approached, the hatch opened, and a shadow climbed up.
"To think a rat slipped in—Namgung Jin was right after all."
The shadow stood tall, his head nearly brushing the rafters.
And on his back, twin spears.
It was Ak Gwanbi of the Shandong Yue Family, one of the Five Families Alliance's five experts.
Ak Gwanbi, who had passed Seo Baek and Joo Eun-ri first, had sensed something amiss and pursued them. Following his instincts, he had found Seo Baek hiding in the attic.
'So the infiltration ends here.'
Seo Baek smirked inwardly.
'Senior Song, I've learned much.'
When preparing the infiltration from the cliff face, Seo Baek had devised the plan, but Song Hyeon had provided the direction.
Song Hyeon had subtly suggested key details and revisions through glances while Seo Baek planned.
Seo Baek had executed the infiltration faithfully with Song Hyeon's help.
Yet during the stealth operation, he couldn't shake the stifling feeling of wearing ill-fitting clothes.
He preferred charging head-on over sneaking.
Facing enemies directly and crushing them suited his nature far better.
Seo Baek tucked Joo Eun-ri's letter into his bosom and stood.
'From now on, I'll do it my way.'
"Put out the fire!"
Shouts echoed throughout the fortress.
The warriors were frantic, hauling water buckets toward the burning building.
The back gate guards watched the distant flames with worried eyes.
"What the hell is with the sudden fire?"
"Dry weather like this, fires spread easy in the mountains."
"Then blocking the cliff and building this fortress was ultimately......"
"A self-inflicted wound. Everyone knows this is a key pass. No one built here for a reason, but that Namgung bastard......"
At that moment, the very Namgung Jin they were cursing appeared at the back gate.
The warriors snapped to attention, mouths shut in surprise.
"What are you doing? Go put out the fire now!"
"But sir, we were told intruders might come and to never leave our posts......"
The warriors exchanged troubled glances.
They belonged to the Pearl Eon Family. Their leader, Eon Ja-seong, was notoriously rigid—even a single misplaced word could bring down his wrath.
"If they come this way, it's a blessing. The back gate won't open anyway... Putting out the fire is the priority. We can't let it reach the warehouse."
"Then the back gate guard......"
"You two stay. The rest, go—now!"
"Understood!"
Reluctantly, the warriors rushed off to fight the fire.
Namgung Jin ground his teeth, glaring at the flames.
'What the hell went wrong?'
The fortress between the cliffs.
Eleven watchtowers scanning tirelessly around the clock.
Warriors lurking everywhere.
Preparations had been thorough. Yet he couldn't tell if the Shaolin-bound intruders had infiltrated or not.
And now, a fire.
If the intruders had slipped in and started it?
Where the hell were they that no one could find them!
'Useless lazy bastards, every one of them!'
As things didn't go his way, Namgung Jin blamed the other families.
'Even if I have to kick out those unworthy of the Five Families Alliance, I'll make them pay for this.'
Fuming, Namgung Jin glared at the two innocent guards before storming off.
After Namgung Jin left, moments later.
The nearby wall in the shadows slid down silently, revealing Song Hyeon and Wang Yi Sam.
Wang Yi Sam whispered hoarsely.
"That guy's the fortress leader, right? Didn't notice us at all? Lady Joo's disguise is the real deal."
"......"
Song Hyeon only half-agreed with Wang Yi Sam.
From the conversation and the scar on his face, the leader was surely Namgung Jin of the Namgung Family.
Someone like Namgung Jin should at least sense their presence, even if he couldn't pierce Joo Eun-ri's disguise.
Song Hyeon guessed he hadn't noticed partly due to the disguise's effectiveness, but mostly for another reason.
'Is his martial prowess that lacking?'
The Namgung Family, long considered the pinnacle among the Five Great Families. As a candidate for its leadership, it was natural to assume he was the strongest among the Five Families Alliance's experts.
Yet the Namgung Jin before them had panicked and hectored the warriors when things didn't go as planned.
Too frivolous for a true expert.
Come to think of it, while rumors abounded of Namgung Jin's cunning schemes, he'd never heard tales of his martial arts or swordsmanship.
'Smaller fry than I thought.'
In a way, it was inevitable.
In the current Central Plains martial world, brawn yielded to brains, and brains to the three-inch tongue.
Nothing more ridiculous than a weakling fooling everyone into thinking him the top dog.
The problem was how to escape the fortress.
Song Hyeon had caught something odd in Namgung Jin's words just now.
"If they come this way, it's a blessing. The back gate won't open anyway......"
'He's confident the back gate can't be breached.'
As proof, he'd left only two guards and sent everyone else to the fire.
Meaning it couldn't be opened by ordinary means.
And crossing it would be impossible too.
A schemer like Namgung Jin surely had traps laid.
'Poison-coated? Easy to avoid. Mechanisms? More likely.'
Of course, even with mechanisms, crossing wasn't impossible.
But while Seo Baek might manage, others—especially Wang Yi Sam—risked falling victim.
'Need to figure out what scheme that Namgung bastard pulled.'
The flames lighting the night sky had died down a bit.
Meaning all the fortress warriors were busy with the fire.
'Time to move.'
Song Hyeon signaled Wang Yi Sam with his eyes, then stepped from the shadows. Lightning-fast, he struck the pressure points of the two back gate guards.
Song Hyeon and Wang Yi Sam dragged the warriors into the darkness, stripped their upper garments to wear over their own, and donned their hoods.
"Suffocating under that disguise— this is way better."
Typical Wang Yi Sam.
Now, to others' eyes, Song Hyeon and Wang Yi Sam would look like Pearl Eon Family warriors. In broad daylight, maybe not—but in the dark night, they wouldn't be spotted easily.
Yet Song Hyeon's improvisation was exposed in no time.
'......?'
As Song Hyeon sensed something and turned, a thick voice boomed from behind.
"Got you, you little rats."
Paeng Jagol grinned cruelly.