Beauty Like Song Yu, Martial Prowess Like a Heavenly General
The arrows fired from the Zhen family estate streaked through the air, striking the rear of the bandits charging toward the defensive line. The relentless assault helped disrupt the enemy’s momentum just enough for the outnumbered defenders of the county to maintain their formation.
Tian Yu stood at the center of the main road’s defensive line, sword in hand, bravely cutting down the surrounding bandits. A considerable number of enemy corpses already lay piled around him.
“You bastard! You’ve got some skill!! I, Zhang Nao-gong, will deal with you personally!!”
Seeing his men hesitate in fear at Tian Yu’s prowess, Zhang Nao-gong stepped forward from the front of the bandit formation.
Shiiiing!
Zhang Nao-gong sliced through the crowd of bandits and thrust his sword straight at Tian Yu’s heart with lethal speed, clearly intending to end the fight in a single strike.
Kaaang!
The two blades collided, sending sparks flying. Tian Yu had sensed the danger and deflected the blow with pure instinct, but it had been a moment that could have cost him his life.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Zhang Nao-gong refused to lose the initiative. Before Tian Yu could regain his balance, he unleashed a flurry of rapid thrusts.
“You scoundrel!!”
Tian Shang, who had been fighting another bandit nearby, saw Tian Yu in peril. He kicked his opponent aside and rushed over, swinging his sword horizontally at Zhang Nao-gong.
“Kahaha! When the little brat gets in trouble, an old man who looks like he can barely eat porridge comes running!!”
Even against the combined assault of the two men, Zhang Nao-gong still appeared relaxed. He was clearly a step or two above both Tian Yu and Tian Shang. His swordsmanship was refined, systematic, and of a high level.
On the rooftop of the Zhen family estate behind the defensive line, Gyeon Yo continued firing arrows while observing the battlefield. Whenever any part of the line began to falter, she provided immediate fire support to help hold the position.
‘If things continue like this, we’ll have to mobilize every last soldier left in the family…’
The situation was growing increasingly difficult for the defenders. At that moment, a female warrior clad in full armor with a sword at her waist climbed onto the roof and stood beside Gyeon Yo. Her lamellar armor and helmet concealed most of her features, yet the beauty that still radiated from between the plates made it clear she was an extraordinary beauty.
“Sister, why have you come out?”
“If that defensive line collapses, it will be our turn anyway. Anyone who can hold a blade should fight to protect the Zhen family until the very last person. Besides, I can’t just sit back and wait when I’ve trained in martial arts.”
It was Gyeon Gang, Gyeon Yo’s older sister. Among the sisters, she was the only one older than Gyeon Yo. The Zhen sisters had been famous throughout the region for their beauty since childhood, receiving countless marriage proposals. Yet Gyeon Gang, who was two years older, had passed the age when she should have married after her coming-of-age ceremony. Strangely, all the proposals had dried up.
The reason was the rumor that she had learned martial arts and led the family’s private soldiers around the region to exterminate bandits. A woman from a respectable family practicing martial arts was already frowned upon; one who went out swinging a sword was even less likely to be welcomed as a daughter-in-law by any noble house.
“At this rate, the difference in numbers is too great. We won’t be able to hold out much longer. And that bandit leader’s skill seems formidable as well.”
Even in Gyeon Gang’s eyes, Zhang Nao-gong’s swordsmanship was exceptional as he faced both Tian Shang and Tian Yu. Though she had trained enough to handle three or four average men, she doubted she could last five exchanges if caught between them.
‘If we can’t take down that leader, there’s no way to turn this battle around…’
As the two women watched the worsening situation with heavy hearts, a thunderous roar shook the air.
Boom!!
“Haaat!!!”
The northern gate, where countless bandits had been pouring through, suddenly fell into chaos.
Slaaaash!!Slice!Stab!Sever!Kwaaaaang!Splaaatter!!
Every time Seo Jun swung his spear or slashed with his saber from atop Heukryong’s back, bandits were torn apart, their limbs flying in every direction as blood sprayed across the battlefield.
“Save me!!”
“It’s a monster!!”
“Uwaaaaagh!”
“It’s a reaper!!!”
In the mere ten minutes Seo Jun had spent rampaging through the bandits near the northern gate atop his black steed, nearly two hundred men around him had either been dismembered and killed or lay screaming on the ground, wounded and writhing in a scene straight from hell.
“Huuuuuu~”
Seo Jun exhaled a long breath to steady himself.
“Move forward, quickly!! If you stay here any longer, you’ll all die!!”
Between the defensive line held by Tian Shang and Tian Yu and the northern gate, roughly two thousand bandits had been pressing forward to break through. But now, the bandits near the gate, terrified of Seo Jun, kept shoving those in front of them forward. The men trapped in the middle were now completely immobilized, crushed between their own forces.
One side couldn’t break the defensive line, while the other was being pushed back by Seo Jun’s overwhelming might. The narrow space was now packed with far too many bodies.
Watching the bandits continue to retreat, Seo Jun dismounted from Heukryong. There were now too many enemies crammed together for him to charge through on horseback.
Srrrng.
After sheathing his saber, Seo Jun gripped his spear with both hands. He intended to break through using only spear techniques.
Tatata-tatata!
“Hap!!!”
Shuk! Shushushuk! Shuk!Thud! Thud! Thud!!Slaaaash!
He thrust and swung his spear with blinding speed, using only the most basic spear forms to methodically cut down the nearest bandits one after another.
“It’s a monster!!!!”
“Run away!!!”
From the rooftop of the Zhen family estate, they could now clearly see Seo Jun as he carved his way into the very center of the enemy formation.
A mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
The path Seo Jun had taken through the bandits had turned the rumors into reality—bodies piled into mountains, blood flowing like an ocean.
Having witnessed his monstrous display, the bandits lost all will to resist and focused solely on fleeing. Unable to escape through the crowded streets, they began scrambling up walls, leaping across rooftops, and scattering in every direction.
His appearance is as beautiful as Song Yu,
and his martial skill is like that of a general descended from heaven.
A girl with a doll-like, delicate beauty suddenly appeared beside Gyeon Yo. In a small, clear voice, she spoke.
Her small face held refined, delicate features. Though her body was still young, she radiated both grace and breathtaking beauty.
“Mi-ah! This place is dangerous—why have you come up here?”
“Hehe~ We all came up together.”
When Gyeon Yo turned at Zhen Mi’s words, she saw that all her sisters had already climbed onto the rooftop and were looking outside. She had been so focused on the battle and Seo Jun’s dramatic entrance that she hadn’t noticed them arriving.
“His outer beauty matches that of Song Yu, and his martial prowess is like a heavenly general. It is indeed a cruel sight to behold, but Mi-ah’s words fit him perfectly.”
Gyeon Yo nodded in agreement as she interpreted Zhen Mi’s words. The five sisters beside her all nodded at once, expressing their consent. In particular, a faint blush colored Gyeon Gang’s cheeks beneath her helmet.
Mua-jigyeong.
Seo Jun had entered a state of no-mind, no-thought. Like a machine built solely for killing, he moved his spear without emotion, slaughtering the bandits.
Taaang!
For the first time since he began carving through the enemy lines, his spear was properly blocked.
Drip… drip… drip…Drop… drop…
Blood flowed from Seo Jun’s halted body and spear like water streaming off a surface.
“You bastard!!! This is as far as you go!!”
Zhang Nao-gong had been unable to focus solely on Tian Shang and Tian Yu because his subordinates kept fleeing past him from behind. Seeing the formation collapsing from the rear, he could no longer delay. He abandoned the two men and turned back to stop Seo Jun.
Yet in the short time it took him to reach Seo Jun, the overwhelming display of martial prowess he witnessed caused tension to flood his face and cold sweat to trickle down his cheeks.
Clang! Clang!
‘If I can’t stop this man, our entire formation will collapse and we will be defeated.’
Zhang Nao-gong steeled himself for victory and unleashed three rapid thrusts. All three were easily blocked by Seo Jun.
Seo Jun’s counterattack.
When Seo Jun swiftly swung his spear toward his opponent’s neck, Zhang Nao-gong quickly retreated to avoid it.
‘His skill is certainly too good to be wasted as a mere bandit leader.’
His movements were on an entirely different level from the rabble Seo Jun had faced so far. Excluding Zhang Liao, this man was the strongest opponent Seo Jun had encountered until now.