Chaos
BOOOOM—!
A pillar of flame erupted high into the sky from the very heart of Shenyang’s streets.
And from the rooftop of a nearby building, certain people watched it rise.
Even as the structure shuddered as if struck by an earthquake, they showed not the slightest panic.
They were the ones who had caused that explosion.
In other words, they were the people of the Eldest Young Master, Yeon So-hyeon.
Reports from the field agents deployed by Hyeonwol Hall continued without pause. The young martial artists of the Moyong Family standing on the rooftop, sharing those same transmissions, clicked their tongues in open admiration.
“…What a magnificent explosion.”
“Indeed—the Blazing Flame Artisan of Luoyang…!”
Even as the praise washed over him, the man himself looked far from satisfied.
“Mmm…”
“There are still many points that need improvement. Perhaps it is the difference in powder composition ratios between the Huabei region and the north…?”
He was none other than the very man who, only a few months earlier, had used gunpowder to execute a brilliantly successful delaying action during the unrest at the Yongbong-jihoe arena. The same man who had been extracted from Luoyang by Eldest Young Master Yeon So-hyeon now once again displayed his craft—this time upon these distant northern lands.
“…In any case.”
Turning away from the Blazing Flame Artisan, who was still muttering to himself, the Moyong Family martial artists resumed their conversation.
“With this, the enemy will be scattered.”
“Then next…”
At that moment the rooftop door opened and Hyeonwol Hall agents entered carrying crates.
“Come, come! Everyone pick one out and put it on!”
They were crates of clothing.
Eeeeeee—.
As if her ears had gone completely deaf, the only sound that reached her was a high, piercing tinnitus.
“——!”
The second-generation disciple of the Hwasan Sect called out for the Vanguard Leader and Deputy Leader, yet even her own voice failed to reach her ears properly.
Eeeeeee—.
Perhaps because her head had been rattled so violently, she could not even stand and walk straight. Black smoke and flames filled every direction, blotting out her vision completely. Like a child who had only just learned to take steps, she tried to rise only to collapse again on the spot.
“——!”
The massive explosion that had detonated at point-blank range had robbed her of judgment and motor control in a single instant.
“Ghk—aaa…!”
Yet the second-generation disciple did not rely on conscious thought or pure instinct. She crawled away from the site exactly as she had been drilled. Evacuate the blast epicenter…
Crawling into a nearby narrow alley, she began the standard confirmation procedure for her own condition. Check weapons…
Good. Even in that chaos she had never released her grip on her sword. …Next, physical inspection.
Unable to feel pain properly, she methodically pressed every major region of her body. Contusions and bleeding from shrapnel covered her from head to toe. In addition, one eye no longer functioned.
“Kh—!”
She temporarily sealed the worst bleeding points with pressure-point techniques and continued the check. Next, internal energy inspection…
The shock that had slammed through her entire body had left her qi and blood pathways far from normal. Nevertheless she forced the circulation of her energy.
“Cough—!”
She even spat blood, her mind going white for a moment, but it did not matter.
Eee—.
The forcibly circulated qi gradually quieted the tinnitus; sensation began returning to normal.
“Blood trail continues into that alley—!”
“Pursue the traces and continue the search.”
Enemy voices drifted from beyond the alley. They were tracking the wounded—herself included—who had taken the explosion head-on. Combat is still possible.
The grueling, endlessly repeated training of the Hwasan Sect, combined with the iron will protected by the Jahasingong, had forged her.
“Hoo—”
The second-generation disciple of the Hwasan Sect steadied her breathing, calm once more, and twisted her grip around the sword hilt.
“……!”
Combat Team Leader Hwi-in of the Wongak-jeong Maid Corps reflexively threw her body backward around the alley corner.
Kakakakak!
A streak of violet sword-light skimmed past the tip of her nose, gouging the narrow alley walls and scattering sparks.
Had it been the Hwi-in of before she joined the Maid Corps, that single strike would have claimed her life without resistance. But after enduring brutal real combat in a short span of time, tempered and refined by Eldest Young Master Yeon So-hyeon himself, she was no longer an ordinary martial artist.
Click—.
At this distance there was no need for aiming. Even while her upper body arched backward, the barrel that had maintained a straight line forward spat fire the instant the trigger was pulled.
BANG!
The muzzle velocity of the lead bullet, launched amid a cloud of powder smoke, surpassed the speed of sound. In a cramped alley at such close range, there was no way to evade.
Yet—
Kak!
With perfect precision, the bullet was pierced straight through its center and shattered by the lightning-fast thrust of the Hwasan second-generation disciple.
Plum Fragrance Becoming Flow
The thrust did not stop at merely intercepting a lead bullet mid-air; it continued straight toward Combat Team Leader Hwi-in’s heart.
“Hup…!”
The short breath she had drawn was filled with the scent of plum blossoms mixed with gunpowder. And that single breath was enough.
Swift Sword Form — Esoteric Technique: Minute Severance
Using the recoil of the gunshot itself to spin, she drew her blade by applying the principle of Entangling Silk Force. The sword engraved with the plum-blossom crest of the Hwasan Sect and the crude yet practical blade of the Luoyang Sword House crossed in mid-air.
CLANG—!
Sword-light flared; sparks scattered in every direction. In pure power the blades were evenly matched. Yet the incomplete posture from which Combat Team Leader Hwi-in had exchanged the blow completely collapsed her stance. The result was the absolute superiority of the Hwasan second-generation disciple. A mere maidservant…!
The Hwasan disciple’s rebounding sword continued its path straight toward the fallen Combat Team Leader’s heart.
“…….”
Even as the blade that would take her life stabbed toward her chest, Hwi-in did not blink once. And the instant that sword tip cleanly parted her armor and night gear and touched her skin—
BANG!
A bullet fired from behind made the Hwasan second-generation disciple’s body jerk.
“Ghk…!”
Even then she tried to drive the sword deeper. Violet energy exploded one final time from her remaining eye.
“At least you—!”
TAT-TAT-TANG!
The muzzles of the Maid Corps members who appeared at the alley mouth spat fire in rapid succession.
“Guh-hurk…!”
Holes punched through shoulder, abdomen, and chest, the Hwasan second-generation disciple still poured her entire weight into the sword as she fell.
Pshhk!
But the hand of the prone Combat Team Leader Hwi-in flashed first. Her right hand clamped the Hwasan disciple’s blade in a death grip; her left held a small flying dagger.
“Ghk…!”
The Hwasan disciple collapsed as though leaning on her own sword, blood pouring from her split throat.
“Grrrk…”
Even in her final moment, spraying blood from her neck like a fountain while still glaring at Combat Team Leader Hwi-in, a hand axe buried itself in her skull.
THUD—!
“They say Mount Hua never forgets a grudge. Truly monstrous vitality.”
Hwi-in grasped the hand of the axe-wielding chivalrous fighter and rose to her feet.
“…It is one of the functions of the Jahasingong.”
She spat onto the ground—spittle mixed with the enemy’s blood and brain matter—and continued.
“It allows them to maintain combat capability until the very last breath.”
“Maintain combat capability…?”
“They burn every last scrap of true qi and do not stop until the breath is fully cut off.”
“…Insane.”
The axe-wielding fighter clicked his tongue.
“And the Hwasan bastards teach that kind of internal art even to ordinary disciples?”
Years as a wandering chivalrous fighter had long since stripped him of any remaining faith or hope in the so-called righteous Taoist sects. Yet because he had never been able to completely silence the voice of his own conscience, he could only sigh.
“How is it that human desire knows no end…?”
Combat Team Leader Hwi-in offered no answer to that lamenting question. Instead, with the help of her team members, she rearmed herself.
“Let’s go.”
Her voice was calm and matter-of-fact.
“There are still many enemies left to eliminate.”
“…….”
Deputy Leader of the Hwasan Vanguard, the Fully Blooming Sword Phoenix Mae Ok, crouched by the window of an empty house and stared outside.
BANG! TAT-TANG!
Sporadic gunfire echoed through the night streets in every direction. It was the sound of the enemy hunting the Vanguard that had been scattered by the explosion and the subsequent assault. …Damn it!
The enemy was terrifyingly meticulous and thorough. The images of disciples bleeding out and dying flashed vividly before her eyes. We should never have entered Shenyang in the first place…!
Just how had that Eldest Young Master Yeon So-hyeon, in such a short time, subdued the Moyong Family and even seized control of Shenyang’s streets? The Moyong Family civil war only began this morning…!
She simply could not comprehend it. She had to forcibly suppress the urge to scream herself hoarse. Sama Dae-gunsa’s warning about the Eldest Young Master had ample reason behind it.
If she could only return, she wanted to smash in the head of Senior Brother Gam Woo-hyeon for chasing merit, smash in her own head for failing to stop him to the end, and above all else, tear that Eldest Young Master bastard limb from limb. Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!
Swallowing the curses, she left the window to another disciple and stepped back.
“Report personnel!”
Groans drifted among the Hwasan disciples filling the dim empty house.
“Total of fifteen, two seriously wounded.”
“How many have we lost?”
“…We do not know.”
The first-generation disciple delivering the report shook his head weakly.
“At present, those gathered here are all we can account for.”
Grit.
Deputy Leader Mae Ok ground her teeth and asked,
“The Vanguard Leader’s location?”
“…….”
The first-generation disciple only shook his head once more in reply.
Damn it.
With superhuman patience she once again forced down the curses rising in her throat. This was absolutely not the time for a commander to spit out whatever came to mind.
“…Rather, this is fortunate.”
She spoke only of the positive aspects of the situation to the disciples.
“The initial explosion split our Vanguard roughly in two. If the Vanguard Leader is on the opposite side, that is actually better.”
The faces of the disciples brightened a little at her words.
“Then…! If we rejoin the Vanguard Leader, somehow—.”
“No.”
Like a competent commander, Deputy Leader Mae Ok drew a firm line against empty hope.
“The enemy will never allow that. If we try to rejoin, our movements will be completely read instead.”
There were extreme situations in real combat where one had to endure on hope alone, but this was not one of them.
“…Y-yes, of course. Then what should we do now?”
“We escape this hellhole on our own.”
Had she possessed no plan whatsoever, she would never have spoken to the disciples in the first place. Deputy Leader Mae Ok continued without hesitation.
“Shenyang is a large city, and the enemy’s forces are not sufficient. There will certainly be gaps.”
One of the disciples voiced concern.
“…How do you know the enemy’s forces are not many?”
The first-generation disciple answered in her place.
“If they were, they would have wiped us out completely before we could even take shelter here.”
“Exactly.”
Nodding in agreement with the first-generation disciple, Deputy Leader Mae Ok continued.
“The most important thing for escape is to grasp the geography. Is there a disciple here who is a native of Shenyang?”
After a brief hesitation the first-generation disciple answered via transmission.
“…….”
Looking back, the Eldest Young Master’s marksmen had not chosen their targets at random. …They knew we would send a disciple familiar with the area on reconnaissance, confirmed it at the reporting position, and then sniped him?
It was meticulous enough to make one’s teeth chatter.
“In that case…”
She continued speaking before the disciples could feel any unease.
“The best method is to find a local collaborator.”
“A local collaborator…?”
“In this case, that would be the remnants of the Moyong Family rebels.”
At that moment the sound of a door opening reached them, and every hand flew to a sword hilt.
“W-wait…!”
A figure in white martial robes, dragged in by the disciple guarding the entrance, raised both hands. Seeing those robes, Deputy Leader Mae Ok’s eyes narrowed.
“Moyong Family martial robes.”
“That’s right!”
If he uttered even a single word of nonsense he would be cut down on the spot. The Moyong Family man shouted,
“I am a revolutionary of the branch that resists Moyong Un-jeong’s tyranny! I have come to aid you!”