#95. The Sharpest Blade in the Darkness (2)
“In large-scale battles like this, the one who survives to the end is the victor.”
Songbaekpungsa of Hwayang Escort Agency was the first to sense something off.
Having lost the Ilgwanmun and Igwanmun passes to Jin Sowoon, and with the incompetence of the main branch seniors he’d pinned his hopes on, he’d let them slip away. Sleepless with anxiety, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief today.
“There’s close to a thousand of them. Even if they’re all warriors, sects like Namgung or Iron Sword Sect have no way out.”
The man speaking so confidently was a former military officer from the front lines. From Wiso, he had ample experience commanding thousands of soldiers and had seen massive battles firsthand, which made his words all the more trustworthy.
“We’re counting on you, Captain Yeom.”
He valued hierarchy above all. Until now, he’d never stepped forward once during the ordeal. But after Songbaekpungsa lost the passes and watched the Jeomcheongpa seniors turn into water ghosts, he’d finally shown his true worth.
He’d caught up to the ones they’d missed at Jingang in Sukcheon, and by Sinhyeon, he’d already overtaken them and lain in wait. Organizing the troops like an army for efficient marching would have been impossible otherwise.
Now, all that was left was to watch this chaotic battlefield and strike only at those from Tae-eul Gate, Namgung family, and Iron Sword Sect who held the passes. Then head to Samgwanmun.
That’s what he’d been thinking.
“What is that?”
As the battle began, the torches lit by nearly a thousand men made the entire Buyang Plains look like a festival was underway.
“What’s wrong?”
“Over there……”
The spot Songbaekpungsa pointed to was shrouded in darkness, like a hole had punched through.
“Isn’t it weird that there are no torches there?”
Captain Yeom stared intently before shaking his head.
“It’s only natural for those unaccustomed to war to fail at maintaining formation.”
“Is that so……?”
He’d only ever shown reliability until now. Songbaekpungsa lacked the confidence to push his own stubbornness like before.
“Huh?”
Yet another massive hole punched through the sea of torches.
“C-Captain Yeom! Look! Another hole!”
Captain Yeom furrowed his brow at Songbaekpungsa’s pointing.
“Young master, if you don’t know war, stay quiet. Torches going out in a night battle is normal.”
But that spot wasn’t even in the thick of combat. Position-wise on the battlefield, it was no different from where they were.
That moment.
Songbaekpungsa’s eyes flew wide open.
The massive hole—the darkness emerging from it began to move. Like candles snuffed by a sudden gust, torches winked out one after another, carving a path of shadow.
“Th-there!”
“Young master!”
“Look over there, you bastard!”
“……!”
The path of darkness headed straight for Songbaekpungsa’s group.
“Hup!”
Realizing the anomaly, Captain Yeom snatched a nearby warrior’s torch and charged forward.
Ssssh.
But Captain Yeom was swallowed by the darkness, vanishing without a trace.
“Wh-what the……”
Before he could finish, darkness descended from all sides.
And only then came the screams.
“Kuaaaak!”
“S-save……”
“Hiiik! G-ghosts!”
The sound of flesh being pierced had never rung so loud. Overwhelmed by incomprehensible terror, Songbaekpungsa forgot even to flee, his hand fumbling into his robes for a signal flare.
A purely instinctive urge to escape the darkness.
Fwoosh.
The signal flare that should have lit the night sky flew into the darkness and exploded.
Songbaekpungsa gaped at the sight, too stunned to scream.
-----!
Visible in the darkness was a monster with skin flayed off, innards and heart visibly pulsing. A bone like a sword protruded from its hand.
‘A corpse…… moving……?’
Songbaekpungsa couldn’t even finish the thought before the darkness fully consumed him.
#
“When the darkness appears, unleash sword qi or fist qi at it. Regular swords won’t cut it.”
Namgung Seonhwa thought this as she slashed her thirtieth—or was it thirty-second?—foe.
Easier said than done.
Her dantian was already scraping bottom.
They’d tried holding with Cheonggung Company and Cheonggung Sword Formation, but even the formation she’d prided as invincible couldn’t withstand the endless waves of torches and men.
“Miss!”
The Cheonggung Sword Formation shattered, and the company scattered.
Dozens of wounded littered the ground with every step, yet the number charging with swords and torches showed no sign of thinning.
“Miss! Fall back into formation!”
Kang Seopyo, who’d insisted on following despite his injuries, shouted desperately.
“Captain Kang! Cheonggung Company is already broken!”
“Form another one!”
“What?”
Another sword formation? Did he mean Sovereign Sword Formation? She hadn’t mastered that yet……
“White Tiger Sword Formation!”
Ah.
Now it clicked—the formation she’d learned just to eat a hot meal.
“But the people around……”
“I’ve got it!”
She turned, and there was Dongryong, drenched head to toe in blood.
“When did you……”
“Miss! Hurry!”
No time to ask. Kang Seopyo and Dongryong took positions around her.
“Form up!”
At Dongryong’s cry, Namgung Seonhwa and Kang Seopyo swung their swords.
Cha-chang-chang.
They barely deflected incoming blades and thrust at vital points. Wounded foes crumpled.
The next wave surged in the gap. They shifted positions per Dongryong’s lead, catching a brief rest.
Miraculous.
No destructive power like Cheonggung Sword Formation, but flexible. Less taxing.
Re-forming a broken sword formation was near impossible, but with three, it was a flip of the hand.
And Dongryong was the marvel. With less than twenty years of internal energy, he matched Cheonggung Company members once formed. No—he was leading the White Tiger Sword Formation now.
“Where are Geum Pyo and Eunho?”
Even amid the frenzy, she thought of the kid brothers.
The grueling journey had forged sibling-like bonds.
“Big senior brother said since we can’t handle sword qi, form up with others.”
“Ah……”
In the chaos, she’d forgotten those dangerous entities.
And in this melee, could they even join? Striking empty air seemed unreliable.
“There!”
But Dongryong halted mid-swing, pointing.
Ten jang away, darkness fell, advancing in a straight line. Torches snuffed out like water doused them; the crowd vanished.
“Miss!”
“I see it!”
This time, Dongryong fell back; Kang Seopyo and Namgung Seonhwa stepped forward.
What she’d dreaded was real.
Namgung Seonhwa scraped her scant internal energy.
“Now!”
At Kang Seopyo’s shout, she unleashed all her power in sword qi.
No forms or stances—just raw destructive force.
Utterly blunt……
Yet.
-Kieek!
The oncoming darkness halted; a beastly screech echoed from within.
“Hiiik!”
Emerging was a corpse-like thing, skin flayed, organs writhing visibly in ribcage—utterly horrifying.
The monster, briefly exposed, tried retreating under a skin-like shell.
But Kang Seopyo and Namgung Seonhwa were at their limit.
Despair gripped them at letting the horror escape.
“Chaa!”
That instant.
Dongryong shot out like lightning.
“Dongryong! No!”
Bursting into the darkness, he assailed the exposed monster.
Cha-chang.
Cha-chang.
Cha-cha-chang.
Plain strikes without sword qi, but each hit on bone made the black shell reform.
“How in the……”
And Dongryong’s attacks were precise, vitals only—heart, organs, eyes, mouth.
The monster visibly panicked.
“Captain!”
“Yes! Miss!”
No need for words. Seize the chance Dongryong created; strike relentlessly.
For the first time since battle’s start, hope flickered.
Attacks landed on an enemy they couldn’t even touch before.
“Huh?”
The examinees and hired warriors charging for passes grew uneasy.
Namgung Seonhwa instinctively turned—eyes bulging.
Darkness spawned again, racing fiercely their way.
Even battle-hardened examinees sensed wrongness, fleeing the dark.
But a field of hundreds wasn’t easy to escape.
“M-move!”
“What the hell!”
“This wasn’t in the intel!”
Dozens of warriors vanished into darkness in seconds, about to swallow Namgung Seonhwa, Kang Seopyo, and Dongryong whole.
Shwaaak!
A shining whip flew from nowhere, ensnaring the darkness.
From empty shadow, human shapes—brothers?—were dragged out, scraping the ground.
“Big senior brother!”
“Well done!”
It was none other than Jin Sowoon.
Whip glowing in his left hand, he poured fist qi into the subdued darkness.
Pupu-pupu-pupu-pupu-pupuk.
Lightning-fast, powerful blows cratered the earth.
The darkness crumpled with a crunch, gushing red blood.
The monster Namgung Seonhwa’s group faced saw it, hastily trying to kill them and flee.
But it couldn’t shake Dongryong amid its offensive frenzy.
Shwaaak!
Jin Sowoon’s left arm extended a radiant whip, coiling the monster’s neck.
-Kek!
Like a trapped beast, it was yanked close—neck severed in an instant.
Bone like steel when it struck now cut like butter. No gauging how much internal energy Jin Sowoon poured in.
“Young master Jin.”
“Hah, hah…… you okay?”
As expected, they looked the ones needing to ask.
“Young master Jin, what in the world……”
His face was ashen, veins bulging like they’d burst.
Symptoms of maxed internal energy. Far past qi deviation crisis.
One slip, and he’d be crippled for life.
“Don’t move anymore.”
Namgung Seonhwa grabbed his arm, but Jin Sowoon clasped her hand.
“I still have to move.”
“What are you saying? Any more, and you’ll really die!”
“Fortunately, I haven’t used innate qi yet.”
His forced smile trembled.
Seong Moran’s “madman” tales suddenly resurfaced.
“I’ve got eight. Eleven more to go.”
Namgung Seonhwa pleaded desperately.
“You’ll die!”
Jin Sowoon exhaled softly, breath steadying at last.
He met her eyes steadily.
“If I don’t move…… others will die.”
“……”
“I don’t want to see that.”
Then what if you die? The words circled her lips, swallowed back.
Before she could speak, Jin Sowoon continued.
“Hold on a bit longer. The examinees here are starting to sense it and pull back. The battlefield will clear soon.”
“……”
“Lady Namgung……”
All she could manage was easing his worry a little.
“……Got it. Sorry. For being weak.”
“Not that…… just stay alive.”
“……Pardon?”
Jin Sowoon flashed a warm smile unfit for the battlefield’s heart.
“I’ll be right back.”
“……”
As Namgung Seonhwa opened her mouth to reply, he kicked off, plunging back into darkness.
The golden whip’s glow trailed like a meteor.
“You okay?”
“He said…… he’d come right back to me, right?”
Kang Seopyo tilted his head.
“……I don’t think that’s what he meant……”
“I heard it clearly. He’d come right back to me……”
“……Miss, you seem worn out. Rest a bit.”
“No. I’m really fine. I’ve recovered.”
Namgung Seonhwa oddly felt her depleted internal energy half-refilled.