Chapter 88
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: 24. Blitzkrieg (8)
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Entering the inner fortress, the first foes the Face Pursuit Unit Jeong ran into were five men draped in wolf pelt cloaks, each gripping a wolf fang mace.
They had a uniform look from their weapons to their outfits, marking them as some kind of special bandit unit. And the way they boldly blocked the middle of the path suggested they were confident in their martial prowess.
The bandit in the center of the five lined up in a row—a hulking brute over six feet tall who seemed to be their leader—stepped forward and bellowed at Jeong's charging squad.
"Halt and state your business. Who the hell are you beggars?"
The giant was basically saying they should exchange proper introductions before squaring off fair and square.
But Ye Dok-du, leading the charge, had no intention of slowing down. Instead, he spouted some nonsense.
"Can't hear you. What?"
"Stop those feet first... Stop, you bastard!"
The giant spat curses in a panic. The bald lunatic was ignoring him completely and picking up even more speed as he barreled in.
Clang~
The giant hurriedly swung his wolf fang mace, but Ye Dok-du deflected it with his shield and lunged forward, grabbing the man by the collar.
Then he yanked him in and smashed his bald head straight into the giant's face.
Crack.
The impact was like hurling a massive boulder at the guy's mug. The giant's forehead split open, his skull cracked, and foam bubbled from his mouth.
At that moment, Dan-geum and A Jeok-gang burst out from either side of Ye Dok-du, leaping at the bandits flanking the giant.
Then Na-mok and Sa-myo raced to the outer edges, charging the remaining two bandits on the enemy flanks.
It was a head-on collision.
In an instant, both sides tangled and crossed paths.
The wolf fang mace looked intimidating enough to sap an opponent's will just by sight—its brutal design screaming, "One hit from that thing's gonna hurt like hell."
Still, it was nothing compared to Dan-geum's war hammer.
The hammer weighed twice as much and was half again as long, making you wonder if any human could even swing the damn thing.
Yet Dan-geum whirled it overhead like a toy before unleashing a full swing. The bandit facing him swung his mace in response but clearly thought better of it.
And the bandit's instincts were spot on.
Clang~
After the heavy ring of metal on metal, the war hammer batted the mace aside and shattered the bandit's arm with a sickening crunch.
Dan-geum followed up by shoulder-checking the bandit, shoving him back.
Then he pursued the stumbling foe and swung again.
Splorch.
A Jeok-gang crossed his twin hand axes to block the descending mace, twisted cleverly to disarm it, and sent it clattering away.
Clang-clang.
He then hacked into the now-empty-handed bandit with both axes.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Mid-combo, A Jeok-gang hurled one axe. It flew toward the bandit just about to clash with Na-mok.
The bandit meeting Na-mok staggered as the axe buried into his shoulder, and in that split second, Na-mok's sword plunged into his gut.
Squelch.
Sa-myo rolled right to evade right before impact, drawing the bandit's gaze. In that instant, Jin Ga-yong shot out from behind like lightning.
Jin Ga-yong slashed down viciously, severing the bandit's wrist, then whipped his blade up diagonally to slice open the throat.
The bandit, dead in one breath, took a few stumbling steps forward without realizing it before collapsing sideways.
Thud.
The simultaneous clashes ended with the Face Pursuit Unit Jeong crushing the wolf-cloaked bandits. To sum it up in four characters: "Mantis Trying to Stop a Chariot."
And it was over in a flash.
The eight warriors of Jeong kept running.
Thud-thud-thud.
They passed the partition walls dividing the areas and entered a narrow alley.
Flanking both sides were clay walls about ten feet high.
As they reached the one-third mark, enemies poured in from the opposite end—twelve in total, armed with shields, spears, and bows.
They formed three rows: the front three blocked the path with massive rectangular shields, spearmen backed them up, and archers filled the third and fourth rows.
Then they advanced in formation, five across.
Step. Step. Step.
"Ye Dok-du!"
"On it!"
Ye Dok-du raised his shield and accelerated, burning with zeal.
The squad fell in behind him single file to minimize exposure to arrows.
The enemy reacted.
The front two rows of shieldbearers and spearmen crouched low, and the rear archers loosed their arrows.
Three volleys in rapid succession.
Ping- ping- ping- ping...
Eighteen arrows rained down in the confined space at close range, engulfing Jeong in an instant.
Clang-clang-clang~
Dozens hammered Ye Dok-du's shield with such force they dented it.
Whether due to the archers' skill or the arrows' quality, the impact exceeded normal limits.
Ye Dok-du braced with both hands, barely withstanding the shock. He couldn't advance—or even stand steady.
Four arrows slipped past the shield, striking the squad behind.
Ugh.
Dan-geum staggered, and Sa-myo following him tumbled.
Wang Baek-gun thrust out a hand to snatch one arrow mid-air, while Jin Ga-yong reflexively flicked his sword to deflect another.
Ting.
Jeong's formation crumbled, halting their relentless advance.
Then the enemy shield wall parted, and three spearmen charged out, thrusting in unison.
Their target: Ye Dok-du, legs trembling at the front.
A Jeok-gang shoved him aside, hooking one spear with his left axe and batting the other two away with his right.
Clack. Shatter~
But the hooked spear bucked wildly, and unable to hold it, A Jeok-gang lost his left axe, exposing his front.
Na-mok darted in to strike the left spearman, forcing the one aiming at A Jeok-gang to pivot toward Na-mok instead.
That was the moment.
As shieldbearers advanced and spearmen fell back to swap.
They didn't need to overextend—the goal was buying reload time for the archers.
But how could Jeong let that chance slip?
From the rear, Jin Ga-yong and Flying Tiger split left and right, dashing out.
The spearmen scrambled behind shields, but those weren't the targets.
Jin Ga-yong and Flying Tiger ran to the walls, leaped, kicked off the clay surfaces, and scaled diagonally!
Thud-thud.
They vaulted over the shieldbearers and spearmen atop the walls, then dropped onto the archers just finishing their reloads.
And went berserk.
Jin Ga-yong's sword carved clean paths for Flying Tiger's blade to follow, ripping savagely.
Flying Tiger's wild swings opened gaps that Jin Ga-yong's precise strikes sealed.
Sword and blade danced in harmony, crumbling the enemy rear.
The archers didn't even get a chance to drop their bows and draw short swords.
In the chaos, Ye Dok-du reformed the front line, slammed his shield into the enemy shields, and rolled with them to sow more disorder.
A Jeok-gang and Na-mok pressed in, swinging axes and sword.
Caught between foes front and rear—with Ye Dok-du rolling amok on the ground—the enemy couldn't muster any real resistance and melted away.
Huff. Huff. Huff. Huff.
Battle over, Ye Dok-du crawled out gasping, drenched head to toe in blood and sweat.
"How's the body holding up?"
"Just a graze. No hindrance to the fight, so don't worry. But what about Sa-myo over there?"
Dan-geum's side, which he claimed was fine, was swollen red. The arrow had grazed it, alright—but tore out a chunk of flesh. He looked anything but okay.
But since the man himself wrapped it in bandages and played it cool, the squad pretended to buy it despite his pale face. No other choice in the moment.
Watching from the side, Ye Dok-du chimed in cheerfully.
"The guy's lucky. In your words, he's just fine. Can't lift one arm is all. Right, buddy?"
The "buddy" in question, Sa-myo, had his left shoulder wrapped tight.
The arrow had pierced clean through—lucky, as the broad head protruded from the back, making treatment simple: snap the head and pull it out. If it had barbed into the meat, extraction would've been hell.
Sa-myo's face was ashen, twitching in pain, but he forced a grin at Dan-geum and the rest.
"Fit as a fiddle. Legs are good, aren't they? Arm? Never was great with swordplay anyway—no hit to overall strength. Heh heh."
"Good to hear. Let's move."
At Jin Ga-yong's curt words, the squad rose after a brief rest.
They pressed on.
No more fights. Their goal was in sight—they'd blasted through twice to clear the path.
The building's signboard gleamed with gold lettering: "Three Kings Hall."
I'd figured an executive cafeteria was some slapped-together joint.
But the structure, though modest in size, was a standout three-story temple meticulously carved and adorned.
The map made it seem tucked in a corner.
In reality, it jutted out against sheer cliffs, accessible only by a hundred steep steps.
A fortress within a fortress.
That was Flying Tiger's first impression.
"That's the executive cafeteria? Up that high, all fancy, climbing daily for chow? They perverts or what?"
"Who knows. Maybe built for fitness too. Gotta build stamina."
"Sheesh, resistance on the way felt kinda slack... Guess the rest are holed up inside."
Squad members muttered their takes, tones laced with barbs, side-eyeing Sa-myo none too kindly.
The mismatch with expectations chafed.
Plus, reasonable suspicion that their intel source had goofed—or worse.
Layer upon layer of mountains, regardless!
Wang Baek-gun grumbled sourly.
"Three Kings Hall... Maybe they eat there too, but to my eyes, it screams private office for the three bosses below White Horse Lantern. What say you, Sa-myo?"
Sa-myo sweated bullets—shoulder wound or otherwise.
"Well... It does look that way. But from days of watching, only used for meals and meetings. So, uh, maybe Great Black Cat was too picky with words and skipped the details..."
"Enough."
Jin Ga-yong cut him off, tired of it.
Sa-myo's point: he'd reported facts as observed.
Lame excuse.
But not the time or place to hash it out.
"Anyway, Protector Wang's guess fits as a final hideout. Flip it: high chance the Yellow Worm Unit brass are inside. But Sa-myo."
"Yes."
"I meant it when I said stick with us till mission's end. Past is past, future who knows—but while we're together. Thoughts?"
"That's the plan. I swear it!"
"Good. Then I'll stand with you too."
"...!"
A sort of pardon.
With Jin Ga-yong closing the matter, no one else piped up.
The squad already respected his calls—he had that sense of honor.