Chapter 59
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: The Bandits of the Northern Plateau (1)
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"We're striking the Locust Brigade."
Jin Ga-yong stared hard at Dan Geum as he declared it forcefully. Then he glanced around at the squad members and continued.
"You all must have guessed it already. Our Face Pursuit Unit Jeong is going to finish the mission the Punishment Squad couldn't complete—and exact revenge for them!"
"……."
"Why is everyone so quiet? Flying Tiger, do you have something to say?"
"Hm. Was the Punishment Squad's original mission to wipe out the Locust Brigade?"
Flying Tiger had good reason for asking.
The Locust Brigade was a band of bandits that rampaged across a vast expanse—from the northern plateau of Shaanxi, to the western grasslands of Inner Mongolia, all the way to the southern tip of Gansu Province.
Harbringers of death.
They were treated like natural disasters or plagues—terrifying existences.
Their peculiar trait was that they appeared only once a year, right after the autumn harvest ended, and vanished just before the winter snows truly set in.
Then they disappeared like a mirage.
It always began with around a hundred mounted warriors.
Once they raised their banners and charged, small groups of four or five, or sometimes dozens, of mounted warriors would appear in their wake. Over the course of a month, their numbers would snowball until they peaked at thousands.
Thousands on horseback—easy to say, but who could stop such a mounted force on the move, pillaging as they went?
No single sect or village militia could stand against that kind of 'catastrophe.'
They truly swept through everything in their path like the worst plague of locusts.
Which meant.
Capturing such a group with just the manpower of a single Punishment Squad was utterly absurd.
No—even if the Martial Qin Alliance mobilized on a massive scale with elite troops, it would be impossible. The entire Face Pursuit Squad couldn't do it.
"You think it's impossible?"
Flying Tiger thought to himself.
If it were that ridiculous, the Punishment Squad members never would have accepted the mission in the first place. No amount of money mattered if you ended up dead.
"It seems they've finally tracked down the bandits' leaders' hideout—the one that was said to vanish without a trace."
"Ho~ How did you figure that?"
Wang Baek-gun, standing beside Jin Ga-yong, asked Flying Tiger in admiration. But Flying Tiger himself wasn't pleased with his own guess. Even if they'd only found the leaders' lair, he still thought the Punishment Squad alone wasn't enough.
Those guys were real fighters.
Especially their leader, Mad Wind White Horse Deng—a top-tier black path master acknowledged by all.
Shaanxi's Four Evils.
Among Shaanxi's infamous black path experts, each representing rain, lightning, wind, and mist, 'Wind' was him.
How strong was Mad Wind White Horse Deng's martial prowess?
The Ye brothers—Yeo Gyeong-cheol and his deputy Yeo Gyeong-gu, the One Heart Society's leader and vice-leader who became the Face Pursuit Unit Jeong's first victims—were, despite being at the bottom rung, still ranked among Shaanxi's Ten Great Black Path Masters. So, if those two ganged up, could they handle White Horse Deng alone?
The short answer: not a chance.
It was almost embarrassing to compare. The consensus was that even ten of the Ye brothers charging together would struggle.
White Horse Deng and the Shaanxi Four Evils operated across wide areas, their notoriety spreading beyond one region into other provinces.
National-level masters, you might say.
They were on another level entirely.
So how did they stack up against the Sichuan Eight Fiends, the Face Pursuit Unit Jeong's second target?
The Eight Fiends had also shaken up their region with fame.
The eldest, Golden Lion, and fifth, Deng An-gil—known as the strongest—had even drawn attention from Central Plains martial artists. But in the end, they were hunted down by the orthodox sects, so their reputation stopped there.
'Half-baked bunch.'
In contrast, the Shaanxi Four Evils were different—they were still alive and thriving.
Running rampant in the jianghu as they pleased and still breathing? That alone proved their strength.
"Divide and conquer. Otherwise, it doesn't make sense for the Punishment Squad alone to tangle with those bandits. But I still think it's a stretch."
Wang Baek-gun and Jin Ga-yong exchanged glances at Flying Tiger's response. Jin Ga-yong soon nodded in agreement.
"Your judgment is correct. We received crucial intelligence on the Locust Brigade and dispatched the Punishment Squad for an independent operation. The result? A half-success, you could say—because one survivor finally pinpointed their base."
"Just one survivor?"
"They're infamous for their brutality. No precedent of leaving enemies alive."
"So they must all be dead. How'd it happen?"
"They got spotted during follow-up reconnaissance and ambushed."
Flying Tiger glanced over—Dan Geum, the Punishment Squad's sole returnee, looked somber. But Flying Tiger brushed aside pointless condolences and cut to the chase.
"Hm. So, what if the intel they brought back was fake from the start—or even if real, it's useless by now?"
"We double-checked that part. The intel held up, and the enemy showed no movement as of this dawn."
"Even though their hidden base was exposed, they're still hunkered down there?"
"They're cautious types, so they're probably prepping to relocate. But after years rooting there, can they pack up in a day or two? Just the loot they've hoarded weighs a fortune."
Ye Dok-du nodded, muttering, 'Makes sense. Those bandit scum won't abandon their gold and jewels even if it kills 'em.'
"So the higher-ups concluded we still have some time. Not much, though."
"A lightning strike before then?"
"Exactly."
Jin Ga-yong then recounted the full story.
There had been quiet rumors that Kwang Pyo—Mad Leopard Hyuk Ryeok-chang, second-in-command of the Locust Brigade—frequently appeared in Zhangjia, a northern Shaanxi city.
From the moment the Face Pursuit Squad formed, the higher-ups had investigated. About half a month ago, solid intel came in.
The rumors were true.
Every half-month, Hyuk Ryeok-chang visited a brothel in Zhangjia, stayed a day or two, then left. Digging deeper: the brothel's true owner was Hyuk Ryeok-chang, and the woman posing as madam was his lover.
No one knew where the Locust Brigade's leaders hid during off-seasons or under what identities—until now, they'd caught a tail!
Thus, the Face Pursuit Punishment Squad was deployed.
Primary objective: capture Hyuk Ryeok-chang and escort him to Face Pursuit HQ. Interrogate him there to net the rest like salted fish on a string.
The squad lay in wait on the appointed day. But squad leader Go Gun-gi had a sudden doubt.
'Where does that bandit always wander off to? If his half-monthly brothel visits are like regular leave, then right now he's heading back somewhere, right? Which means that place is...!'
Go Gun-gi urgently changed plans. Instead of ambushing and dragging him here, let him lead them to 'that somewhere' on his own.
From then, the squad tailed Hyuk Ryeok-chang instead of nabbing him.
Half a day later, they entered the yellow earth plateau linking eastern Gansu to northern Shaanxi. Another day, and they reached the outskirts of Luotian Plain.
There—the Locust Brigade's hidden base, never before exposed!
Merit enough already.
But Go Gun-gi wasn't satisfied. He convinced his squad to push further: scout how many stayed there, who came and went—for detailed intel.
Espionage and surveillance.
They first sent a progress report via messenger bird to HQ. Then secured a hideout and began full surveillance.
But their tail was too long?
The very next morning, before dawn broke, the squad was ambushed and wiped out.
That was the whole incident.
"They got jumped in their own hideout—even with a night watch?"
"That's what happened."
"Strange affair. And even stranger that Brother Dan made it back unscathed."
Flying Tiger turned to Dan Geum as he spoke. His expression was mere curiosity, but his words cut deep.
Dan Geum flushed, explaining.
"Ahem. I happened to be out taking a dump. Something I ate the day before didn't sit right. Looking back, it was heaven's luck."
"Dodged disaster because you woke up to shit?"
"Yeah. It all happened so fast. I thought about rushing in, but they were done before anyone could resist. Shamefully, I hid and watched till they withdrew. Luckily, they thought the hideout crew was all of us and pulled out quick."
Na Mok, from a prestigious family, scowled at Dan Geum's tale. Hiding while comrades died sounded cowardly.
The other squad members took it in stride. They weren't without loyalty, but they distinguished chivalry from bravado.
Jin Ga-yong let them murmur among themselves briefly before getting to the point.
Face Pursuit HQ's analysis, based on investigations: the Locust Brigade operated uniquely.
Where did all those mounted warriors come from?
The answer lay with Xiongnu nomadic tribes.
They lived normal lives until the Brigade's banner flew once a year—then flocked to join the 'hunt.' After one or two months of bloody marches, they returned home with their shares of spoils.
A golden opportunity in barren lands—high participation, growing yearly.
Thus, the Brigade had ballooned into a massive force.
Truth be told, the true core—the instigators sparking the blood winds, raising the initial banner and rallying Xiongnu tribes—was small.
Around three hundred strong.
The base the Punishment Squad found was theirs.
So the plan's crux:
While the Brigade scrambled to relocate amid chaos.
Face Pursuit Unit Jeong strikes first—disrupts, harasses, pins their feet. Meanwhile, Martial Qin Alliance rallies troops via couriers for a full sweep with the main force.
In short: Unit Jeong was the advance vanguard, buying time till the main army arrived.
And the known Locust Brigade leadership:
First leader: Mad Wind White Horse Deng of the Shaanxi Four Evils.
Second: Mad Leopard Hyuk Ryeok-chang.
Third: Mad Bear Do Ryeong.
Their joint executor, the mad dog Ho Tae-ah-ho.
The schemer Old Fox Hak Da-won.
Ever the vanguard, Snake Hammer Yu Oro-go.
The lunatic whose hobby was slaughtering commoners, Greedy Worm Pung Bae-dog.
And the archer who sniped scorpions at ten li, Eagle Eye Seok Maeng.
The eight above.