The Five-Wheel Formation
“He is the target to secure. Do not inflict a single wound. Five of you take him; the rest continue with your work.”
The moment Gu Jung-ho confirmed it was Yoo Eunhyeon, he issued the order. Beyond that, he turned his gaze away as if the rest held no interest for him.
Ho Won felt a flicker of puzzlement at the unexpected command, but an order already given left no room for further questions. He erased every doubt and moved solely to carry it out.
“?!”
The instant he took a step toward Yoo Eunhyeon, a strange sensation prickled through the air. Gu Jung-ho roared at once.
“Form up! Five-Wheel Formation!”
At Gu Jung-ho’s shout the warriors of the Cheonhwang Paeundae gathered in groups of ten, shaping themselves into five perfect circles.
No sooner had they done so than a second force poured out from a direction entirely different from the one they themselves had climbed.
“Wh-what?”
Yoo Eunhyeon’s shock was only natural. The newcomers looked to number roughly as many as Gu Jung-ho’s men. Counting everyone present, there had to be a hundred people at least.
Yoo Eunhyeon had never seen so many gathered in one place. And these were no ordinary folk. Each radiated a murderous aura so thick it felt as though violence could erupt at any second.
Trapped between the two forces before he could even react, Yoo Eunhyeon stood frozen in confusion. From the midst of the newly arrived group a man strode forward.
“Well, well. If it isn’t Gu Jung-ho, Third Squad Leader of the Cheonhwang Paeundae.”
The man who appeared to lead the opposing force smirked as he greeted Gu Jung-ho by name.
Light returned to Gu Jung-ho’s previously expressionless eyes. He bit his lip lightly as he looked at the speaker and spat the name.
“Jang Man-eung… Vice Commander of the Red Division of Jeongeumdae.”
Within the Heavenly Martial Alliance existed a unit dedicated solely to bloody conflict with the Demonic Cult: Jeongeumdae. It was divided into the Red, Blue, and Yellow Divisions; of these, the Red Division was a gathering of battle-hungry warriors who had made combat their entire livelihood.
Jang Man-eung, its vice commander, was counted among the Alliance’s foremost experts—and equally famous as a foul-tempered thug. To a Demonic Cult man like Gu Jung-ho, there was scarcely a more unwelcome opponent.
“Have you so little to do that you crawl all the way into these mountain backwaters? Thanks to you we had to trail after you into this endless wilderness.”
Jang Man-eung drove his massive saber into the ground with a heavy thud as he complained, yet his eyes and aura brimmed with hostility and fighting spirit.
Gu Jung-ho refused to yield an inch of presence. He spun his sword in a threatening arc and answered.
“I never imagined you lot would still be sniffing after our heels. Chasing men’s backsides… your tastes are truly questionable.”
“Haha. I won’t deny they’re rather attractive. But whenever I see something attractive, I get the urge to beat it to death.”
“Do you intend to interfere with our work?”
Gu Jung-ho had only been establishing dominance; he had no desire for conversation and cut straight to the point. There was nothing left to ask, really. If they had not meant to interfere, why chase them this far?
“No. From the looks of it you’re just cutting grass. I’ve no mind to stop you.”
Unexpectedly, Jang Man-eung shook his head. Gu Jung-ho answered at once, surprised.
“If you have no intention of interfering, withdraw. Then we will not treat you as enemies either.”
An A-rank directive made everything secondary to securing the target. Whatever reason the others had for appearing here was irrelevant. All that mattered was capturing Yoo Eunhyeon unharmed and withdrawing as ordered.
“Very well.”
The words that followed, however, made Gu Jung-ho pause.
“If you hand that one over.”
Jang Man-eung pointed at Yoo Eunhyeon, who still stood awkwardly, not yet fully grasping the situation.
“Me?”
Every gaze snapped toward him. Yoo Eunhyeon asked back in a dazed voice. Jang Man-eung addressed him with unexpected courtesy.
“You must be Young Master Yoo Eunhyeon. They said only one person lives here.”
Though a touch blunt by nature, his tone was incomparably kinder than the one he used with Gu Jung-ho.
Yoo Eunhyeon answered with silence rather than words, confirming it. Jang Man-eung seemed already certain and did not press further.
“We received orders to protect you, Young Master. Come to our side. We will keep you safe from the clutches of these vicious Demonic Cult dogs.”
“Whose orders?”
“That I cannot say.”
Jang Man-eung shook his head firmly.
Naturally Yoo Eunhyeon’s mood soured further. They had turned the front of his home into a wasteland and still refused even to explain the situation.
“That cannot be allowed.”
Before Yoo Eunhyeon could reply, Gu Jung-ho cut in. Jang Man-eung’s eyes instantly turned vicious.
“Cannot? Do you have any idea how much we are already conceding?”
“I know. Even so, it cannot be allowed.”
Gu Jung-ho understood perfectly how unusually accommodating Jang Man-eung was being. When anything involved the Demonic Cult, Jang Man-eung became endlessly cruel. No matter how strong the opponent, he would rather fight to the death than watch a Demonic Cultist turn his back and walk away.
No one wanted to deal with a madman if it could be avoided.
“Huu…”
Having his proposal rejected outright, Jang Man-eung’s expression darkened markedly. The killing intent rolling off him suggested he might charge at any moment, yet he did not move. He merely forced down the rising fire, bloodshot eyes fixed ahead.
Though he had traded barbs, Jang Man-eung was not a talkative man by nature—especially not with the Demonic Cult. He had a mission, however, and so he endured. Above all, the one who had issued the order was So Biwon, the man Jang Man-eung respected most in the world. He could not simply run wild.
Jang Man-eung exhaled a long breath and looked at Gu Jung-ho once more.
“What is your mission? Just cutting grass here? Or did you receive orders to kill the young master as well?”
“As you said, our mission is to raze this place. And also to secure Young Hero Yoo Eunhyeon without a single wound.”
Gu Jung-ho revealed their orders without hesitation. Ordinarily one concealed the contents of a directive, but once they had come face-to-face with Jeongeumdae there was no longer any need.
“I agree he must not be wounded, but securing him is our task. Young Master, come to us. Those are vicious Demonic Cultists. We are the Heavenly Martial Alliance, upholders of justice in the martial world.”
Jang Man-eung frowned as he called to Yoo Eunhyeon. The young man flinched and began to hesitate.
Yoo Eunhyeon had long heard that the Heavenly Martial Alliance was the righteous side and the Demonic Cult the wicked one. He knew nothing of the finer distinctions between Orthodox and Demonic paths, but that hardly mattered.
The ones calling themselves Demonic Cultists were destroying his farmland right now. That alone was more than enough for him to brand them the most vicious scoundrels under heaven.
As Yoo Eunhyeon began to edge cautiously toward Jang Man-eung’s side, Gu Jung-ho snapped a warning.
“Young Hero. Do not move. If you approach any closer I will not stand by and watch.”
The sharp words made Yoo Eunhyeon freeze. They also proved the final spark that ignited Jang Man-eung.
“Keh-keh-keh… So you want a fight after all?”
“If you interfere with our work.”
Gu Jung-ho knew full well that having provoked Jang Man-eung, he must be prepared to leave his bones here. Jeongeumdae alone was filled with formidable experts, and Jang Man-eung’s strength nearly matched his own. If the two clashed, one of them would surely fall.
Yet an A-rank directive left no room for such calculations. As long as even the slightest chance of success remained, every other path was discarded.
“Fine… I never expected your side to pick the fight first. Perfect. It’s been far too long since I last slaughtered Demonic Cult dogs; my digestion’s been off lately. Leaving things like this would be a shame. Young Master, I’ll butcher every last one of these Demonic Cult bastards and turn them into fertilizer for you. This year’s harvest should be excellent. Keh-keh-keh.”
Yoo Eunhyeon wanted to point out that burying corpses took years to enrich the soil and would be of no immediate help, but he kept his mouth shut. He could feel the air growing heavier by the second.
Starting with Gu Jung-ho and Jang Man-eung, the entire Cheonhwang Paeundae and Jeongeumdae began to unleash their auras in answer. Overwhelmed by the crushing pressure, Yoo Eunhyeon swallowed hard.
Then, while both sides watched him, Yoo Eunhyeon slowly edged backward—and bolted.
Whether they fought or not was none of his concern. He simply wanted nothing to do with any of them.
“Tch… After him!”
Gu Jung-ho clicked his tongue and gave the order. One Cheonhwang Paeundae warrior shot after Yoo Eunhyeon. Jang Man-eung tilted his chin, pointing; a Jeongeumdae warrior followed at once.
“No further words are needed.”
“Kill them!”
With Gu Jung-ho’s and Jang Man-eung’s simultaneous roars, the Cheonhwang Paeundae and Jeongeumdae crashed together.
Around that same time, Yoo Eunhyeon, who had been fleeing blindly, came to a stunned halt. The peach trees that had already been a chaotic mess were now being hacked to pieces by the martial artists’ blades.
“Wh-what the hell? Those lunatics? Why are they suddenly doing this to someone else’s home?”
Yoo Eunhyeon muttered, utterly bewildered.
Why would martial artists come to destroy a farm in the first place? He had no connection to the martial world at all.
“Well… not none, I suppose. But both of them left looking so grateful. Why on earth…?”
Sa Unsik and So Biwon had visited once before.
No matter how he turned it over, he could find no reason for them to attack. Yet the idea that completely unrelated martial artists would attack made even less sense.
So Biwon was one thing, but Sa Unsik’s attitude had left a lingering unease. If the man simply wanted to take him away, why bother destroying the fields?
Yoo Eunhyeon’s experience was still far too shallow to grasp such ways of thinking.
“This is no time to stand around thinking. A fight is a fight, but I still have to protect the fields at least…”
He declared boldly while eyeing a relatively undamaged plot—yet the resolve did not last long.
KWA-BOOM!
“Uwaagh!”
A thunderous crash from outside tore a scream from Yoo Eunhyeon. The ground began to tremble in scattered bursts, accompanied by a rising cacophony. It felt as though a typhoon had descended. He clenched his teeth.
“You’re making this more troublesome than necessary.”
A dry, emotionless voice came from behind him. Ga Un-seok of the Cheonhwang Paeundae, who had pursued him, was approaching at a measured pace.
“What exactly are you people? Why are you doing this…?”
Recognizing Ga Un-seok as one of the men from moments earlier, Yoo Eunhyeon demanded an answer. Ga Un-seok merely shook his head.
“I cannot tell you. I simply carry out orders. I was commanded to escort you safely, so you will have to come with me for a while.”
He reached out as he closed the distance. At that moment another man stepped between them.
“That is not your job.”
Sun U-gi of Jeongeumdae shrugged at Ga Un-seok. Ga Un-seok’s brow twitched faintly.
“An interloper has appeared.”
“I was about to say the same.”
The two men exchanged a single glance, then moved as though further words were unnecessary.
Of the two, Ga Un-seok was slightly faster. He lunged straight at Yoo Eunhyeon, intending to subdue him in one stroke. Once the objective was achieved, Sun U-gi would no longer matter.
Nothing was better for capturing someone unharmed than sealing their acupoints. Ga Un-seok stretched out his hand to strike the Hunxue point and instantly block the flow of blood and qi, knocking the young man unconscious.
Tak!
The motion was stopped dead.
“?!”
Shock flooded Ga Un-seok’s face as his wrist was seized in an iron grip.
At the end of his gaze stood not Sun U-gi, but Yoo Eunhyeon.