Sacrificial Lamb
Before the Hengshan Sect became a subordinate branch of the Luoyang Sword Family, the decision itself had split them cleanly in two.
The result was this:
Those who named themselves the Hengshan Northern Branch became a subordinate sect of the Luoyang Sword Family.
The Hengshan Southern Branch scattered across Hunan and each took the path of surviving alone.
Hengshan—the Southern Peak among the Five Great Mountains of the Central Plains.
Once a great martial sect that had stood as one pillar of the Nine Great Sects, the age of the Great Hengshan Sect...
vanished that way into the forgotten corners of history.
Yongbongjihoe Arena Construction Site.
Third Young Master's camp.
Medical tent.
A young warrior of the Luoyang Sword Family—Hengshan Northern Branch stood locked in confrontation with a physician.
His tongue flicked across lips already dried by tension; his hand closed around the sword hilt at his waist, released it, closed again.
"…"
Under ordinary circumstances a cadre-level officer would have been controlling the medical tents. Right now, however, every top-ranking figure in the Third Young Master's camp—including the cadres—had gathered inside the command tent.
"If you are not prepared to cut me down, step aside! The patients must be treated at once!"
At the physician's shout the young Hengshan warrior's brows twitched.
"…"
Slowly his hand drifted away from the sword hilt.
I cannot dare to cut down a physician of the Imperial Medical Bureau.
Everyone watching breathed an inward sigh of relief.
Then another warrior, hollow-cheeked and heavy-footed, approached the young man's side and spoke.
"…Just now, the youngest of your squad died."
"…Ah."
Another comrade who had fought shoulder-to-shoulder with him had left the world.
The face of a boy still in his late teens rose before him—a young government soldier who had once said he wanted to achieve great merit so he could buy his mother an ox.
The young warrior's vision flooded red.
"…"
Through the pouring rain and the chaotic din inside the medical tent, the clear ring of a blade leaving its scabbard cut the air with perfect clarity.
"…!"
Before shock could fully settle in every gaze, the young warrior of the Hengshan Northern Branch raised his sword and spoke.
"I understand that because of your principles you cannot prioritize treatment of my comrades. But…"
Thick killing intent rolled from his entire body.
"Cutting down the prisoners who are stealing the physicians' time—time that should be spent treating those comrades—is no problem at all!"
At that cry, screams erupted from inside the medical tent.
At the same hour, Third Young Master's camp.
Command tent.
"What possible reason is there for the main family's Supreme Operations Committee to intervene here?!"
"They keep dragging their feet—of course this would happen!"
"What on earth is the Supreme Operations Committee thinking? They cannot be unaware that if they interfere clumsily we will dump the entire responsibility on them and ruin everything!"
"Should we not inform the Left and Right Grand Generals of this at once?!"
"Damn it. The water is already spilled—why are we still looking for the Left and Right Grand Generals…"
"Dragging their feet?! It has only been a few days. What delay is there to speak of?!"
"We should send someone to the main family and grasp the situation more accurately…!"
The spark left behind by Elder Yu of the Fourth Young Master's faction had turned the interior of the command tent into a cauldron of chaos.
No. This is not the time to care about such things.
The former Sect Master of Diancang had barely clawed his way free of the confusion.
If that devil Yeon So-hyeon has stuck his hand in, I must get out before I am swept away without even realizing it…!
He did not fully understand the situation. Yet the survival instinct that had once sold Diancang itself in order to keep power was ringing every alarm.
In that case…
The decision came quickly. A thick smile spread across his lips.
"Just whose responsibility is this entire affair supposed to be?!"
From his mouth, hidden among the crowd, a voice charged with internal energy thundered out.
"Who is the one who has ruined this matter to this extent! Should he not rightly bear responsibility for this disaster?!"
At that roar the eyes of every figure of the Third Young Master's faction filling the tent flashed.
That's right…!
Whoever he is, he has opened a path to survival…!
In truth the landscape of the Third Young Master's camp was always this cauldron of chaos; it was their ordinary state.
Just as the old Martial Alliance had been, this place too was a slaughterhouse.
And the political senses of those who had survived such a slaughterhouse were faster than their swords.
"Is it not the security officer who failed the initial response?!"
"No! The initial response succeeded! The problem is those unidentified martial artists who intervened! The intelligence officer who still has not identified them…!"
"Should we not hold accountable the department that withheld the wages of those ignorant laborers?!"
Seizing the moment of uproar, the former Sect Master of Diancang drifted near the entrance and sent a sound transmission to his closest aide.
Tell all our people to pack their things. We leave this place at once!
The aide's eyes went round.
R-right now? In the middle of this downpour, at night? If there is at least a reason…
This is no time to waste words!
The aide bolted for the exit as if fire had caught his coattails. The former Sect Master spared him one glance, then turned his eyes back to the room.
"If we speak that way, the meal distribution was the greater problem!"
"Exactly! Even if wages were withheld, if only the meals had been properly supplied those fellows would never have risen up!"
"That is true!"
"If you starve men, how can they work properly?!"
"Which department was in charge of meal distribution for those ignorant laborers?!"
"Was that not Hengshan's responsibility?!"
Opinions were steadily converging.
The overall officer in charge of provisions was the Sect Master of the Hengshan Northern Branch.
"A-ah! What is everyone suddenly talking about?!"
The man who had embezzled the laborers' food budget stumbled backward while the others closed in as if to devour him.
"Sect Master!"
"As the great elder of your school, show us the proper way to take responsibility!"
"Where have you thrown away Hengshan's pride?!"
Watching the scene for a moment, the former Sect Master of Diancang wore an open sneer.
As expected, when things get like this, a responsibility hunt is best.
Leaving behind only the sound of his chuckling, he walked out of the command tent.
In this situation no one would notice that he and Diancang had vanished from the camp.
The sneering laughter he left behind was swallowed by the voices of those manufacturing a scapegoat and pursuing him.
Medical tent.
"Y-you…!"
The raised sword was trembling violently.
Treasure comrades like family; regard enemies as mortal foes. That had been the teaching handed down since the days of the Great Hengshan Sect. Yet the prisoner on the field cot, clutching a blood-soaked abdomen and staring up at him with anxious eyes, was far too young.
Almost exactly like the youngest of the squad he had just lost.
"Young warrior of Hengshan…"
Elder Yu, who had approached unnoticed, laid a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"…A martial artist who knows pride will not slaughter a foe who has already been rendered powerless. They are no longer your enemies."
"…"
At her words the young warrior of the Hengshan Northern Branch finally lowered his sword.
"You chose well."
Sensing that the killing intent pouring uncontrollably from him had been reined in, Elder Yu continued in a soothing tone.
"The affairs of the world are complicated, and within them there are not only enemies and allies. If you open your heart wide enough, that many more things—"
"That is enough."
The young warrior brushed her hand away.
"…You said there are not only enemies and allies?"
He turned and walked out of the medical tent with heavy steps.
"If enemies are not merely enemies, then why? For what purpose did my comrades die? Who killed them?"
He did not wait for an answer.
Watching his back as he walked into the rain with sword still in hand, Elder Yu revealed her regret and sighed.
"…Because of the greed of humans that never knows how to stop, there are far too many sacrifices that need never have been made."
The night was growing deeper still.
Yet the downpour showed no sign of ceasing; it only fell more fiercely.
"…"
The young warrior who had left the medical tent let his sword hang and stared blankly up at the rain-lashed sky.
"You there."
He lifted unfocused eyes to the speaker.
"Have you lost comrades?"
The other was a middle-aged warrior fully armed.
At the question the young man of the Hengshan Northern Branch slowly nodded.
"…I see."
The middle-aged warrior clapped his shoulder.
"I have been looking for people like you."
"…What do you mean?"
"They say the Supreme Operations Committee will intervene soon."
"…Does that mean this fight is over?"
The middle-aged warrior shrugged.
"At least our battle is over."
"…"
The young warrior's face, rain streaming down it, grew even more hollow.
"That is precisely why I have been gathering people like you."
Even in darkness and rain the middle-aged man's bared teeth showed clearly.
"Don't you want to take proper revenge on those bastards one last time?"
After a moment's hesitation the young warrior shook his head.
"…If it is over, then that is enough."
Even if a warrior's fate was to kill and be killed, for the time being he had no desire to see more blood.
"Is that so? A pity."
The middle-aged warrior clicked his tongue.
"Disciple! Is that my disciple over there?!"
Just then the young man's martial uncle came running frantically through the rain.
"…Martial Uncle?"
At the sight of the man who had earlier dragged him out of the command tent, the young warrior's eyes widened. His martial uncle was fully armed.
"I knew it was you!"
"What…?"
His martial uncle said,
"The Sect Master has summoned every reserve force of our school!"
"…!"
Listening from the side, the middle-aged warrior grinned.
"As expected, you were fated to join us."
In the momentary flash of lightning his smile looked ominous.
"Form ranks! Form ranks!"
"Those without reserve armament, come to the left and receive issue!"
Over the past several days countless reconnaissance teams had conducted forced reconnaissance of the operational area, and today's failed operation had drawn even larger numbers.
Every one of them had been excluded.
Even the government troops who had merely filled out the headcount had all been pulled out.
Those belonging to the schools that had shifted responsibility had also been removed entirely.
Yet the warriors streaming in already numbered in the dozens and kept increasing.
It was one more demonstration of why the Third Young Master's faction remained a powerful force even while being a complete mess.
Among them were those who sought revenge.
Those who hoped to earn merit.
And those like the young warrior of Hengshan who had simply been mobilized by order.
"…"
Even while looking down from the platform at the ever-growing throng of warriors, the Sect Master of the Hengshan Northern Branch wore a thoroughly sour expression.
…Those damned bastards!
The faces of the men who had cornered him in the command tent rose before his eyes.
Fire surged so hot inside him that he wanted to slash open the canopy over the platform and simply stand in the rain.
They themselves embezzled budgets from every area they oversaw without exception…!
"Still, with this many we can give it a try."
"Is it not enough?"
"In the end they are nothing but a pile of beggars with a few martial artists mixed in. More than enough."
There were other figures on the platform as well.
Toward those chattering at his side the Sect Master of the Hengshan Northern Branch clasped his hands in thanks.
"…I am grateful to you all. Had it been Hengshan alone, we would never even have dared."
At his words the men standing with him on the platform waved their hands.
"Haha. We likewise would never have dared without Hengshan."
"To be able to stand with the Sect Master of Hengshan, whom we have always admired—how could we miss such a chance?"
"Indeed, indeed. We may be old, but we are still martial artists. Men who have become martial artists cannot simply fold their arms and step aside merely because the situation is unfavorable."
"Are we not all brothers of the same Sword Family?"
The words sounded fine enough, but they were nothing but flattery.
The Sect Master of the Hengshan Northern Branch did not believe a single one of them.
Brothers of the same Sword Family?
Rather, their self-important air only irritated him.
A pack of riffraff who saw an opportunity and forced their way in to snatch merit…
In ordinary times they were men far beneath standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him, the Sect Master who carried on the line of the great Hengshan Sect.
They were merely the leaders of small- and medium-sized schools that had once belonged to the old Martial Alliance.
"Heh heh. This old man will never forget your aid until the end."
Duplicity.
Despite his thoughts, words of gratitude left his mouth once more.
In a situation like this one cannot afford to be picky about even one extra hand.
"By the way, as expected the Sect Master of Hengshan is different."
One of the masters from the lesser schools shook his head as he spoke.
"To think of exploiting the gap and wiping out the enemy command in a situation like this…"
"To aim for the interval before a proper order from the Supreme Operations Committee has even arrived!"
"Truly impressive."
At those words the Sect Master of the Hengshan Northern Branch smiled.
"…It is nothing much."
Through Elder Yu the Supreme Operations Committee had merely placed temporary restrictions on the use of force.
No proper order had yet come down.
If more time passed, there would be no method left to act.
If we are to exploit a gap, it must be now…!
The temporary formation and operation of a decapitation unit.
They planned to eliminate the enemy command in a single stroke before the Supreme Operations Committee could intervene.
He knew the plan was reckless. Yet it was the only remaining measure to break free of the situation he now faced.
If that succeeds, I will not be the scapegoat who bears responsibility for this incident; I will become the hero who resolved it.
The enemy might demolish more buildings, but that would only give him further justification.
Because they were the ones who detonated first—
Inside the encirclement, atop a nearly completed spire.
At the summit of the tower from which the lights of the Third Young Master's camp could be seen far off through the rain, a figure stood.
A wild, unrestrained wind battered his body; the downpour lashed him together with it. Yet he did not move so much as an inch.
"In the end they crawl into the killing ground of their own accord."
The black silk-thread outer robe draped across his shoulders melted into the darkness and flapped roughly.
"Fools who entrust their bodies to desire."
A bolt of lightning sought to strike the spire, yet space warped under demonic energy and the stroke went awry.
In that flash the white mask shone even whiter.
"Because the principles of the world are incomplete, the karma one accumulates may not be judged after death."
The surroundings the lightning had briefly illuminated sank back into darkness.
"Do you truly believe there is none who will demand the price of that sin even while you still live?"
Within that darkness the two wisps of ghost-fire caught upon the white mask only burned more distinctly.