They’ll Handle It Themselves (3)
"Now, Sect Leader."
"..."
"What are we supposed to do?"
At the anxious voice of the young disciple, Geum Yang-baek could not bring himself to answer. He only stared fixedly at the back of Cheong Myeong, standing alone before the Changgui Squad.
What is he thinking?
No matter how he turned it over in his mind, he could not make sense of it. The enemy before them was the Manin Sect, of all things. Even if it was only one squad, that force alone could wipe out a small or medium-sized sect in an instant.
And yet he had shown himself to them with no plan whatsoever. Worse, the enemy’s main force had not even gone far enough away yet.
"Sect Leader!"
At the second frantic cry, Geum Yang-baek jerked back to his senses.
"W-What was the original plan?"
"We were supposed to rush straight to the shore and seize the boats the moment they gave the signal."
Yes. That had indeed been the original plan. But now that things had turned out like this, one fundamental question arose.
"What exactly was that signal supposed to mean?"
"..."
"Are we supposed to move out now?"
No one could answer him.
In a situation like this, the signal was usually something obvious. Someone would shout and charge forward, and everyone else would follow along at once.
There was nothing to think about, nothing to deliberate.
But what lay before them now was far from what anyone had expected. Who could have imagined that one man would stroll out as if taking a walk, facing the Manin Sect’s armed force all by himself?
"F-For now..."
One of the elders hesitated, then spoke with a reluctant expression.
"Perhaps we should watch a little longer? The others from the Heavenly Friends Alliance haven’t shown themselves yet either."
Geum Yang-baek did not answer yes or no. He only watched Cheong Myeong’s figure.
That man...
He was bewildering, and frightening as well. That irresponsible act was absurd beyond words, and at the same time, he was terrified that one tiny action might throw the whole plan into disarray.
"But..."
"Hm?"
"...why are they acting like that?"
At the question, Geum Yang-baek narrowed his eyes and studied the scene ahead.
Come to think of it...
The Mount Hua Divine Dragon, Cheong Myeong, had approached at a languid pace so slow it was almost enough to make one yawn. So they, too, must have clearly seen him walking toward them.
What was strange began right there.
The Manin Sect were blood-starved killers. They were the southern province’s devils, infamous even among the unorthodox sects for their savagery.
So if they were the Manin Sect Geum Yang-baek knew, they should never have stood by and watched someone approach them with open hostility. Under normal circumstances, they would already have rushed in and torn him to pieces.
And yet...
Why aren’t they moving?
Geum Yang-baek could not understand it. No matter how wide he opened his eyes and looked, he would never grasp it—
What that small young man meant to those Manin Sect members.
What the name Mount Hua Divine Dragon meant to them.
⁂ ⁂ ⁂
"...Mount Hua Divine Dragon."
The face of Beom Chung, leader of the Changgui Squad and the One-Armed Sword Ghost, stiffened.
Why is that man here...?
The Changgui Squad of the Manin Sect.
Just the fact that the name Manin Sect came before the squad’s name was enough to strike fear into the hearts of all under heaven.
Ordinary peasants feared them like death itself, and even martial artists with some ability and a little standing would instinctively lower their tails before the name Manin Sect.
Beom Chung could say with confidence that the Changgui Squad existed to inspire fear, not to feel it.
But in that instant, he felt with bitter clarity that everything in the world was relative.
Who was the Mount Hua Divine Dragon?
He was the one who had stood face-to-face with the Evil Tyrant Alliance Lord Jang Il-so at Black Ghost Fort, the one who had shattered the Water Bandits with force and performed deeds that had entered the realm of myth.
Before that, he had crushed the Red Demons Squad, a force on the same level as theirs, and wiped out the armed men who had invaded Mount Hua, leaving the Manin Sect branded with a rare and humiliating defeat.
And above all...
The one who fought alongside the Alliance Lord to bring down the Demonic Cult.
His mythical display of martial power in Hangzhou was still being spoken of to this day by those who had witnessed that hellish battle.
Those who had gone to Hangzhou with Jang Il-so then were people who would gladly throw themselves into hellfire for the sake of their loyalty to him. They were men who revered him so deeply it bordered on blind worship.
And from the mouths of such men, one could wring out the admission that he had not been one step inferior to the Alliance Lord. That was the man now standing before them.
His blood ran cold, and the hairs all over his body stood on end.
Beom Chung had never once felt fear before an enemy, but in front of the black robes and red plum blossom pattern, it was impossible to maintain his usual composure.
To the unorthodox sects, those robes were no different from a death god’s vestments.
Ridiculously enough, he now understood with painful clarity the feelings of those powerless commoners when they looked at the Manin Sect.
What am I supposed to do?
Cold sweat dampened his palms.
The shore, which had been noisy and chaotic only moments before, fell into a deathly silence. The only sound left was the tide rolling in.
That meant even the members of the Changgui Squad were holding their breath. It meant the men who usually behaved like starving wolves, unable to endure a moment before an enemy without throwing themselves at the attack, were now trembling and huddled like rabbits before a tiger.
Still, Beom Chung did not feel the slightest urge to rage at them or scold them. Even he, as the squad leader, could not hide his own confusion before the situation—how could he possibly blame anyone else?
The signal...
As he swallowed dryly and instinctively began to turn his head, he flinched. Then he bit his lip hard enough to draw blood.
What the hell am I doing?
The enemy was alone.
He did not know how many people might be lurking behind him, but at any rate, the one who had shown himself before them was only a single Mount Hua Divine Dragon.
Then why the hell was he searching for a signal flare to alert the main force? As the leader of the Changgui Squad of the Manin Sect, was he seriously thinking of requesting backup because he couldn’t handle a single man?
To Beom Chung, a man who had made his name in Guangdong’s underworld and who took immense pride in having been personally appointed as the Changgui Squad leader by Jang Il-so, this was unbearable humiliation.
"Mount Hua Divine Dragon."
At the hoarse voice that forced its way out between his lips, Cheong Myeong brightened.
"Oh?"
A sly grin spread across his face.
"Looks like I’ve gotten pretty famous. You recognized me right away without any explanation."
"..."
"Should I be grateful? Up till now, it’s been a pain in the ass having to explain myself to every little punk I meet."
"Why are you here, you bastard?"
Cheong Myeong shrugged.
"What, is there some reason I can’t come to a place where even your filthy unorthodox bastards come and go?"
"..."
"Anyway, that’s not the important thing right now."
Cheong Myeong glanced casually over his shoulder.
In that instant, Beom Chung’s body twitched in a convulsion.
An enemy standing right in front of you turning his head away—after all that, this was contempt beyond even the cruelest words. But though Beom Chung gripped the hilt of his sword so hard it seemed it might break under his fingers, he could not bring himself to draw it. He could only squeeze tighter.
"Hmm."
Cheong Myeong turned his head back and let out a low murmur.
"I can’t let the distance get too wide."
As he muttered and lifted his gaze, Beom Chung saw it.
Cheong Myeong’s eyes were cold enough to make his spine prickle.
Perhaps it was that look. Or perhaps it was the flash of white teeth between Cheong Myeong’s twisted lips that was so eerily chilling for an instant.
Whatever the reason, Beom Chung found himself stepping back before he knew it. And that brought about a result entirely outside his will.
The Changgui Squad’s signal for battle had always been the same. When their leader stepped back, it meant charge the enemy. Always, from anywhere.
The reason this movement could serve as a signal was simple enough. The Changgui Squad never, under any circumstances, retreated in front of an enemy. Especially when their leader Beom Chung was facing off against an opponent, the idea of him being pressured back by momentum was something no one in the squad could even imagine.
One of the men who saw their leader step back charged at Cheong Myeong as if it were only natural. It was the result of training piled up to a vicious degree. His body moved before his mind did, no matter the situation.
"No..."
Only then did Beom Chung realize what he had done. But it was already too late to stop the man as he sprinted forward with all his strength.
"Dieeeeeee!"
With a tearing battle cry, the blade he had raised toward Hainan’s blue sky came slashing down with ferocious force.
And at that moment—
Fwaaaaat!
A flash of sword light, faster than lightning, cut straight through the wrist gripping the blade.
Swish.
"Ghk..."
A hideous sound and a low groan rang out. The sword light, withdrawn faster than it had been thrust out, struck again. This time, it cleanly severed the other wrist as well.
Swish!
The blade slipped from his weakening grasp. But before it could even tumble through the air, the sword light shot out again and began carving into the attacker’s body.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
"Agh... AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
An indescribably awful scream shattered the silence that had settled over the shore.
"Aaaaargh!"
The sword tore through skin and twisted through muscle as it gouged him open. In the face of agony so horrific it could not be expressed in words, all he could do was scream.
In an instant, the tendons all over his body were cut, and he collapsed where he stood as though his bones had turned to water. Whether from pain or from the sheer impossibility of what had just happened, his whole body shuddered like a trembling aspen.
Thud.
And then, in that moment, Cheong Myeong’s Amhyang Plum Blossom Sword touched the kneeling man’s throat.
Looking down at him with utterly cold eyes, Cheong Myeong twisted his lips into something like a smile and said quietly,
"Too weak."
Swish!
Fwaaaat!
A fountain of hot blood burst from the man’s throat, split wide open. Dark red blood splattered across the white sand, staining it.
Thud.
The man’s body crumpled and fell without strength.
Cheong Myeong regarded the corpse with indifferent eyes, then slowly turned his gaze.
Toward the Changgui Squad, who were staring at him almost blankly.
"...That isn’t loud enough to hear."
Cheong Myeong bared his teeth and said scathingly. The killing intent rolling off him spread over the Changgui Squad like a north wind of winter frost.
"Yell louder. Then maybe you might live."
For an instant, a vicious glint flashed in Cheong Myeong’s eyes. Then he charged toward the Changgui Squad with terrifying speed, plunging straight into their formation.
Cheong Myeong’s Amhyang Plum Blossom Sword drew a broad arc through the sky like the sun hanging in the heavens.