Blue Woman #7: "Easy."
'Easy.'
Sang-ryun of the Jinyiwei unleashed his Golden Iron Thunder Sword, bursting the yokai from within and cleaving its massive body in two. A beast of this level was no match for a Jinyiwei like him. It was just another dime-a-dozen yokai, a run-of-the-mill obstacle.
Splatter!
After swiftly dispatching another yokai in succession, Sang-ryun returned to his position. This much support should be enough for them to hold out on their own. From what he'd observed so far, the righteous Murim folks here were a bit low-tier but surprisingly competent.
'Nachal Bang, huh. The name sounds like some unorthodox scum, but they're working harder than anyone.'
Of course, that wasn't the important part right now.
'Saseon-nyeo.'
Sang-ryun's mission was to uncover Saseon-nyeo's whereabouts, intentions, and goals. Why the hell was she raising these undead and launching attacks? He'd sent Murim scouts before, but they hadn't caught even a whiff of her trail. A wicked witch like her would've surely captured and interrogated any nosy Murim idiots lurking nearby.
'Hmm.'
Right now, she wasn't showing herself directly and was moving through her subordinate, Sihaeseon. She was aggressively assaulting the city, swelling the ranks of her undead legion. There had to be some nefarious scheme behind it.
So he had to keep holding out here, waiting to see if Saseon-nyeo showed up or not. If he could just find a trace of her, sacrificing this one county would be a net gain.
Sang-ryun had deliberately lured the undead into the city, trapping every last one in this county. No doubt these undead were pawns in her conspiracy. If she lost them all, she'd have to reveal herself.
Thus, the Great Ming Imperial Army wouldn't move for the time being. If Saseon-nyeo spotted the army and got wary, the whole plan would go up in smoke. Sang-ryun had no intention of using messenger pigeons until the objective was complete.
* * *
"Does this shit even make sense?"
Once the Jinyiwei started going ham, the yokai we'd been busting our asses to kill got shredded in seconds flat. It was straight-up ridiculous.
Goddamn, he's strong.
If he's that badass, why didn't he jump in sooner instead of hanging back like some edgelord?
Splatter!
But watching closely, the Jinyiwei was methodically only taking out the yokai. Even a master of his caliber probably couldn't solo the entire undead horde. Sure, he could rack up kills alone, but our guys in formation could do that too—and probably better. So he was focusing on the yokai to support us?
"The lord is aiding us! Hold your positions!"
One of the Jinyiwei's subordinates bellowed like a general.
"You heard him! Let's hold out a bit longer! Without the yokai, these undead are nothing!"
"Uwaaaah!"
"Yes, Bangju-nim!"
Thanks to the Jinyiwei handling the yokai, we caught a breather.
"Graaaah!"
The undead were still trying to climb over huts and fences, but trash like that? Just skewer 'em with spears. They couldn't breakthrough like the yokai.
We kept fighting day and night, waiting for reinforcements. Once the Ming army showed up, these undead would be a joke.
Then one day.
"R-Reinforcements have arrived!"
Someone came with the urgent report!
"Finally!"
"At last!"
"See? I told you they'd come!"
Serin and Ha-young cheered loudly too.
"Hey! Jae Mi-son! You said they wouldn't come!"
"Kuk kuk... They could come."
That bastard Jae Mi-son had been yapping about sacrifices and shit, but look at him now. We held out, and reinforcements actually showed.
Now we just had to wait for the Ming army to sweep the undead away.
"Hey! So the Great Ming army's finally here? How many reinforcements?"
I immediately asked the messenger.
"Uh, well! It's not Ming soldiers—it's a unit made up of Murim warriors and ronin!"
"What?"
"They've gathered ronin from the Namgung Family, Maosan Sect, Shaolin Temple, and other righteous sects to form a force! They're entering through the north gate now!"
So... no soldiers, just Murim folk?
"Kik... What'd I tell you? They're locals, so they came to clean up the mess. But the court's got other ideas."
"For real?"
Was the court really not sending troops? These Murim reinforcements were just pissed-off locals stepping up?
Jae Mi-son was still chuckling, but I had to admit, his insight was spot-on again.
"Either way, a strike team like that can turn the tide. Geun-hyeop."
"Yeah! They've mobilized from three major sects! We can win this!"
Yeah, with that caliber, we might shift from defense to offense in this siege.
Just as we were getting hopeful, the reinforcements reached our line.
"Donors! Fear not! The Shaolin Anti-Demon Monks have come to save you!"
First up were baldies with incense scars on their foreheads. Dressed in orange robes that screamed "monk," but their bodies were jacked like bodybuilders, wielding brutal monk spades that looked made for murder, not mercy.
"Lady! Are you here?!"
Next came the Namgung Family's combat unit. High-level pros at a glance. They were rushing over, calling for Serin.
"Taoist Wi! Are you here?!"
Then the Maosan Sect Taoists joined the fray... Wait, isn't their outfit way different from Ha-young's? Unlike that shameless, cleavage-baring disaster Wi Ha-young, these Taoists were in proper, neat robes.
"Waaaaah!"
"Reinforcements!"
"Shaolin monks!"
Anyway, with reinforcements arriving, everyone's faces lit up.
"Geun-hyeop. Those are the Namgung Family's Sword Heaven Squad. An elite combat unit."
"Damn, they look like a hundred-man army. But they're calling for you?"
"Probably under the family head's orders. I'll go greet them."
"Go ahead. Oh, Ha-young, you too?"
"Eh, sorta. That's my master over there. We're acquainted. I'll say hi."
"Cool, go for it."
Those with connections went to welcome their respective groups. There were also supports from minor sects. Of course, the ronin made up the bulk—probably mass-hired for numbers.
Anyway, wartime greetings wrapped up in under half a gye, and the reinforcement leaders headed to the Jinyiwei.
Soon after, the attack plan was set.
The reinforcements plus some of our defenders would punch through a weak spot in the enemy lines and gobble up a chunk of their forces. And yeah, Nachal Bang's top ace—me—was included.
"Donors! Glad to meet you! I'm Do-jin of the Shaolin Anti-Demon Monks! We'll take point! Let's join forces and send these poor undead back where they belong!"
Do-jin was radiating detectable madness and intimidation. Dude's enthusiasm was off the charts, eyes gleaming like Galbi Jong's with that monk spade screaming "mass murder imminent." Made me think even righteous sect guys aren't all sane.
Short briefing over, the monks led the charge. Me, Serin, and Ha-young followed the assault team.
"Lady. We'll escort you."
"Yes. Block the front."
"Got it!"
They listened well.
"But Serin, don't those Shaolin monks look insanely strong? The intimidation's pouring off 'em. And they're hyped as hell."
"Of course. If anyone's best at slaying yokai and demons in the Central Plains, it's the monks."
News to me.
"Shaolin Anti-Demon Monks specialize in yokai hunts. Those monk spades are designed for easier yokai slaughter. With them at the front, breakthrough should be easy."
"Reliable as fuck!"
"Yes. No need to worry much now... But Geun-hyeop, something more important."
"What?"
Serin got serious.
"Once this is over, merit rewards will start. We need to hype up Nachal Bang's contributions big time."
"Damn right."
"And that's not all. These reinforcements are top local warriors. Make connections, get faces known. I'll assist."
"Ah, shit. Again with the intros?"
"Yes. Chance to get Nachal Bang known in righteous Murim. Hehe, time for some wifely support."
She straightened my clothes. Queen of inner support!
"Haha, got it. I'll do it. Meng Hu Dai can fuck off, but these folks? Gotta network."
"Exactly."
"Then I'll plug us with Maosan Sect too."
Ha-young chimed in.
"To that master of yours?"
"She kept asking about me. Time to go public."
So our relationship goes official in Murim? Perfect.
"Awesome. But first, let's wrap this shit up."
"Yes."
"Yup yup."
Soon the Shaolin Anti-Demon Monks roared.
"Uoooooh!"
"Kraaaah!"
"Amitabha!"
Flexing savage muscles, chanting Amitabha, they swung those merciless monk spades. Undead got diced. And with multiple monks, any undead charging went straight into the blender.
These Shaolin psychos.
Flash!
The Namgung combat unit followed, drawing blades and carving undead.
And the hired ronin bellowed war cries too. Not soldier-tight, but seasoned warriors in formation overwhelmed the undead.
"We ain't sitting this out! Lads! Show 'em Nachal Bang's power!"
I kicked off the ground too.