A Sudden Tempest

Tongseong County in Hubei Province was notorious within Sadocheon as a suicidal posting.

Just as the Martial Alliance and Black Badge Castle had established branches here, Sadocheon had done the same.

Because of its reputation, one might easily imagine the Sadocheon Tongseong Branch to be a living hell where people died every day.

Surprisingly, however, daily life at the branch was relatively peaceful.

This was only possible because the three factions kept each other in check, like the three legs of a tripod.

"Any unusual activity today?"

"Nothing other than the White Night Unit Leader coming from headquarters to retrieve the relic."

"Tsk... That damn relic again."

Yang Gang, the branch leader of Tongseong County, clicked his tongue.

It was obvious that another massive storm would brew because of that relic.

"When is he supposed to arrive?"

"According to the schedule we received, he should have arrived the day before yesterday, but..."

"Late before he even starts? Unbelievable."

Yang Gang clicked his tongue, but felt a simultaneous wave of relief.

It was better if the man did nothing and just passed through.

Stirring up this area would be like poking a hornet's nest, and the Tongseong Branch would have to bear the brunt of the aftermath.

"He couldn't have gotten lost. Send some men to check on him."

"Understood."

Yang Gang ordered his deputy.

With that, the morning meeting concluded.

Or so he thought.

"Urgent report! An unidentified armed force has clashed with the Martial Alliance branch near Mount Bang!"

Before the conference room door burst open and shocking news arrived.

"What? Where?"

"We don't know that yet...!"

"Damn it, then shouldn't you have found that out first?!"

Yang Gang leaped to his feet and roared.

"Don't just sit there on your asses! Run and get more information!"

At Yang Gang's command, the branch members scrambled.

Yang Gang returned to his office, his face grim as he fell into deep thought.

Whatever is happening, I hope it doesn't escalate too much.

A clash between armed forces was no minor incident.

Tongseong County was like a zone of perpetual snow.

One wrong step could trigger an unexpected avalanche that would sweep everyone away.

Even if the instigators were the Martial Alliance and a third party, Sadocheon would inevitably be dragged into it.

Sadocheon would have no choice but to be swept up in the chaos.

Ah, seriously, my term is almost over...

In just a few months, his term would end, and he would return safely to headquarters.

But with an incident of this scale breaking out, far from returning, he would likely be stuck here until the situation completely settled.

It was only a few days ago that everyone was making a fuss about that 'Mad Wolf of Shattered Illusions' guy coming.

A letter had arrived from headquarters a few days prior, stating they were sending a troubleshooter to resolve a Black-grade mission.

The Mad Wolf of Shattered Illusions, Jeok-un, was the man in question.

Even though Tongseong County was quite far from Changsha, where the headquarters was located, all sorts of bizarre rumors about him had reached this place.

It was no wonder Yang Gang had been startled.

Having heard he was an absolute lunatic, Yang Gang had even rented out an entire courtesan house to prepare a welcoming ceremony.

Yet, he hadn't arrived by today.

He had been wondering why...

But the answer had just presented itself.

"Why did this lunatic suddenly attack the Martial Alliance out of nowhere?!"

Since he hadn't shown up the day before yesterday or yesterday, Yang Gang had wondered if the man had changed his mind and turned back to headquarters.

But that wasn't it.

He had committed an act of sheer madness that no one could have anticipated!

"Hey... is this certain?"

Yang Gang tossed down the document brought as an investigation report and massaged his temples.

Even thinking about it again, it was hard to believe.

"Yes, it is certain."

"But Dang Maeng is at the Tongseong branch..."

Yang Gang picked up the report, his face filled with disbelief.

According to the document, the man had marched straight into the Tongseong branch without giving them a single word of warning, creating this massive mess.

He had apparently told the Martial Alliance to pack their bags.

This is an outright declaration of war.

As if that wasn't hard enough to believe, what followed was even more incredible.

He severed an eye and an arm of Dang Maeng and fled?

The branch leader of Tongseong and the second-in-command of the Sichuan Dang Clan?

And the Mad Wolf of Shattered Illusions, barely twenty years old, accomplished this?

No matter how many times he looked at it, he couldn't believe it.

As Yang Gang read the report over and over, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him, the office door suddenly burst open.

"W-what is it?"

Normally, he would have roared in anger at the intrusion.

But he didn't even have the luxury for that now.

"D-Dang Maeng is dead!"

"What? Dang Maeng is dead?!"

This news was even harder to believe than the declaration of war and the escape.

But there was more.

"A massive explosion has occurred at Mount Bang!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Moyong Geon, the direct heir of the Moyong Clan, is also presumed to have been caught in the blast! We are currently tracking his whereabouts!"

"Ugh..."

The sheer scale of the news made Yang Gang's mind go blank.

He stood up abruptly, only to collapse back into his seat.

Dang Maeng is dead? And Moyong Geon is missing?

Only one question remained in Yang Gang's mind.

What happened to the culprit who caused this catastrophe?

He must be dead, right? Surely?

Dang Maeng was dead, and Moyong Geon's fate was unknown.

There was no way Jeok-un could have survived such a situation.

However, every piece of news so far had defied all expectations.

Yang Gang desperately needed a report confirming Jeok-un's corpse.

"Then what about him?"

"Who do you mean...?"

"The Mad Wolf of Shattered Illusions! That bastard!"

At Yang Gang's roar, the subordinate hurriedly flipped through the pages, quickly finding the relevant information.

"For now, he was not found among the corpses. It appears he successfully escaped."

"!!"

Yang Gang's mind raced.

Two key figures of the Martial Alliance were either dead or missing.

And the culprit who caused the disaster had vanished.

Above all, the deed was already done.

If this is the case, we must assume Jeok-un pulled all of this off.

Given that there was an explosion, the main force of the Tongseong branch must have been severely crippled.

Even if the Martial Alliance headquarters sent reinforcements, it would take time.

That meant there was only one thing Yang Gang had to do.

"Everyone, prepare to move! We will seize the Tongseong ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠branch and focus all our efforts on finding the White Night Unit Leader!"

"U-understood!"

Yang Gang bellowed, the veins in his neck bulging.

Though the possibility of Jeok-un being dead still lingered in his mind, as the branch leader, he had to do what needed to be done.

He had to take action.

And if, by some miracle, the Mad Wolf of Shattered Illusions is still alive...

It meant he was a monstrously powerful master.

This was nothing short of a desperate struggle to protect his own neck from such a master—especially one who was a certified lunatic.

The Black Badge Castle's Tongseong branch was practically a water fortress.

The open ground in front of the residence of the fortress chief and branch leader, the Sea Overflowing Fist Madman, Seo Do-yeom, served as their meeting hall.

"W-what did you say?"

At this moment, every member of the Tongseong branch was gathered.

"Say that again. What happened, and how?"

Seo Do-yeom blinked his eyes and asked back.

Had he ever been this shocked since reaching the peak of the Transformation Realm?

"Well, that is..."

Ho Chi-myeong, the deputy chief and deputy branch leader who held the report, was no different.

Though it was incredibly hard to believe, he had no choice but to read aloud what was written in the intelligence report.

"The Mad Wolf of Shattered Illusions attacked the Martial Alliance branch, lured them into a pre-arranged trap, killed Dang Maeng, and wiped out the Martial Alliance members..."

"Why on earth did he suddenly attack the Martial Alliance...?"

The cause and effect were tangled from the very beginning.

Wasn't the Mad Wolf of Shattered Illusions, Jeok-un, on his way to Geukrak Island to retrieve the relic?

"Before that, did that brat really kill Dang Maeng?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"What nonsense are you talking about? How could such an absurd thing happen?"

"It is the truth! According to the secret informants we planted on the mainland, clear signs of the self-destruction of the Poison Source Blood Flow Art were found at the Mount Bang battlefield."

Self-destruction was the ultimate proof of the viciousness of the Poison Source Blood Flow Art.

If those traces were found, it was undeniable proof.

"...Ha. So he really attacked the Martial Alliance? And it was a massive success?"

At Seo Do-yeom's muttering, the key officers fell into a frenzy.

Arguments broke out over whether they should prepare for an attack immediately.

Just like Sadocheon and the Martial Alliance, they also monitored the movements of Tongseong County through their secret network, so they could not remain ignorant of what Jeok-un had done.

They had expected Jeok-un to head straight for Geukrak Island.

To think he would suddenly launch a surprise attack on the Martial Alliance out of nowhere.

It was an unprecedented absurdity.

"Then what happened to the Mad Wolf of Shattered Illusions? Was he caught in the explosion as well?"

"We... do not know. They say no corpse was found."

If there was no corpse, it meant he was at least in a state to escape.

In other words, he had survived.

"...He survived?"

Seo Do-yeom shook his head in disbelief and muttered softly.

"Did he clean out the Martial Alliance beforehand to secure the relic? If so, he really is as crazy as the rumors say."

No sooner had Seo Do-yeom finished speaking than arguments arose that they must prepare since Jeok-un might come to Geukrak Island next.

Hearing this, Seo Do-yeom clicked his tongue and looked at his subordinates as if they were pathetic.

"Tsk, tsk. How short-sighted of you."

"Pardon?"

Not one of the Five Heads of the Ghostly Sea understood Seo Do-yeom's thoughts.

Since they were the key officers of the branch, including the deputy chief, Seo Do-yeom explained his reasoning so they could comprehend.

"From the beginning, his target was never this place."

"But Chief, according to the spies, he was definitely coming to retrieve the Snow Soul Gauntlets..."

"Retrieving the Snow Soul Gauntlets... That was a mere bluff. A deception tactic."

The Five Heads of the Ghostly Sea let out a brief murmur of admiration at his use of strategic terms.

"To put it simply, he used us to deceive the Martial Alliance."

"Ah."

"Therefore, his goal from the very start had to be crushing the Tongseong branch."

"!!"

It was a theory spun entirely from Seo Do-yeom's own imagination, but logically speaking, it seemed sound.

Making a feint to the east while attacking the west was a tactic used throughout history, after all.

Thus, the Five Heads of the Ghostly Sea marveled at Seo Do-yeom's wisdom.

Basking in their admiration, Seo Do-yeom shrugged and spoke.

"It's simple when you think about it. Didn't mysterious martial artists lay a trap at the battlefield where Dang Maeng died?"

"Pardon?"

"The Mad Wolf of Shattered Illusions never stopped by the Sadocheon Tongseong branch. If their forces had moved, there's no way we or the Martial Alliance wouldn't have noticed."

"Which means...?"

"Exactly. A brat like him couldn't have pulled this off alone. There must have been orders from higher up."

"Then, as expected...!"

"You've finally caught on. Just as you suspect, the Sovereign of the Evil Path must have assigned subordinates to the Mad Wolf of Shattered Illusions from the very beginning."

"!!"

Seo Do-yeom spoke with absolute confidence.

He was entirely certain of his deduction.

"Isn't he a bastard abandoned by his own bloodline and family? He likely wanted to attack the Martial Alliance to drag his father's and family's reputation through the mud."

"Oh..."

"The Lord of the Evil Path benefits too. It's the perfect opportunity to make a laughingstock out of the Martial Alliance. He ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠must have secretly attached a combat unit to him in preparation for this."

As the Five Heads of the Ghostly Sea and the mid-level officers nodded in admiration, one officer cautiously raised a concern.

"But, Chief... What if he leads that mysterious unit and targets us next?"

"Ah! That's right! If they could crush Dang Maeng, we must prepare immediately...!"

"There is no need."

Seo Do-yeom cut off his subordinates' panic with a firm reply.

"...Pardon?"

"Tsk, tsk. This place is surrounded by the river. To bring a force of that size here, they would absolutely need large ships, or at least a significant number of rowboats. Do you think we wouldn't notice that?"

"Ah."

Geukrak Island was surrounded by water on all sides.

No matter how powerful a unit was, they couldn't cross the vast river using the Water Glide technique.

Well, perhaps only the Lord of the Evil Path himself could achieve such a feat.

"So all we have to do is wait here. They probably expect us to come sniffing around for scraps anyway. There's no need to play into their hands."

"You are truly magnificent, Chief!"

At his subordinates' praise, Seo Do-yeom smiled warmly and stroked his beard.

Yet, he wasn't entirely satisfied.

They said the Mad Wolf of Shattered Illusions fled the Jegal Family carrying an extraordinary relic. It seems the rumors were true.

According to the reports, there were traces of immense cold energy left behind.

Since the Jegal Family possessed no ice-based martial arts, it was undoubtedly the power of the relic.

Seo Do-yeom coveted it deeply, but...

It can't be helped. I cannot afford to take unnecessary risks.

Though Dang Maeng was weaker than him, he was still a master who had reached the Transformation Realm.

Even with assistance, if Jeok-un had managed to kill him, it was only right to assume the Mad Wolf of Shattered Illusions possessed a similar level of strength.

Therefore, it was wiser to wait for him to come.

Just as the boy was waiting for him.

"Heh, whether you are the Mad Wolf of Shattered Illusions or just a mad dog, I am standing far above your head..."

At that moment.

BOOM—!

Along with a deafening explosion, the ground shook violently as if an earthquake had struck.

"W-what is this?!"

The moment everyone, including Seo Do-yeom, leaped to their feet.

"Enemy attack!"

"Our ships are under attack!"

Shouts that utterly shattered Seo Do-yeom's calculations echoed through the air.