The Rear
"Break through!"
One of the Moyong Family rebel martial artists drove his sword into a government soldier's body and roared.
"Give your lives for a new Moyong Family!"
Harsh breath steamed white in the cold. Even as he floundered through the rain, he cut down several more soldiers.
"Hold the line!"
The government troops clenched their teeth and charged, thrusting their spears with everything they had against the rebel warrior.
"How laughable…!"
The martial artist's blade flashed through the rain. Several more soldiers toppled into the mud.
"Uwaaaa…!"
But the gaps they left were filled in an instant by fresh troops. In the end, the newly arrived spear points punched into the rebel martial artist's body.
"Ghk…!"
Even with the blades buried in his flesh, blood streaming from his mouth, he refused to fall. He swept his sword left and right.
"You rabble who know nothing of the greater cause…!"
"I will not die in a place like this—!"
His cry ended there.
"-------!"
"-------!"
From the alley burst massive spirit beasts, bellowing as they exhaled white breath. A colossal carriage smashed both walls of the alley under its enormous weight, sparks flying.
That was the last sight he saw in this life.
CRUNCH—!
The ironclad fortress that had erupted from the alley crushed the rebel martial artist flat, then swung half a turn at the intersection of the lanes.
CRACK! CRRRACK!
Rebels along its path were pulped without even a chance to scream; a thick mist of blood rose into the air.
SCREEECH—!
Having completed its turn amid a shower of sparks, the ironclad fortress halted. From its roof came the continuous twang of bowstrings.
It was the maid corps' heavy repeating crossbows.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Someone's head burst. Someone else's eyeballs and brains spilled out. An arm flew free; another man lost every one of his entrails. Massive iron bolts rained down, pinning rebels to the alley walls on every side.
"R-retreat…!"
The rebels faltered, then, confronted by the carnage, hastily withdrew from the alley.
"We have to find a new escape route…!"
As they fell back through the rain they gritted their teeth. How many times have we been stopped like this?! They no longer remembered which alley this was, or how many attempts they had already made. With every try, half their comrades vanished. It was despair itself.
Among the structures on the rooftops, others were watching the scene below.
"……."
"……."
They were martial artists of Mount Hua and Wudang. They did not move, gave off no presence, and uttered not a sound aloud.
What if we help them break through together?
Enemies on every side! If we engage them one by one there will be no end to it!
Yet sound transmissions flew back and forth like the pouring rain itself, frantic and nonstop.
But—!
As I already said, we of Mount Hua were attacked by the rebels! Those people cannot be trusted! They are not our allies!
The first-generation Mount Hua disciple carrying the gravely wounded Gam Woo-hyeon on his back shouted through the transmission.
Where in the world are the Neutral Tribal Alliance forces supposed to be?!
Most of them are naturally over there beyond!
The Wudang martial artists had plenty to say as well.
Isn't this all because we came in too deep trying to rescue the Mount Hua vanguard?!
Listening to the flood of transmissions from every direction, the old man kept his mouth tightly shut.
"……."
In the end they were only the emotional outbursts of men who knew little of true military strategy. There was no need to pay them heed.
Even so, the old man—Baek Cho Jin-in, commander of the Wudang vanguard—was in a foul mood.
An underwater battle, a night battle, and now urban street fighting piled on top of it all… the battlefield was a nightmare.
Yet…
Originally…
He who was called Hyeonhyeon-ja had spent his entire life on every kind of filthy battlefield.
Every battlefield is hell.
To him this place was nothing special. Just another hell.
What truly displeased him was something else.
That damned brat of a Young Master from the Sword House…
The very fact that the Mount Hua and Wudang vanguards, advancing in good order, had somehow become entangled in the battle for Shenyang was already infuriating.
Does he think he can play with us like Buddha toying with the palm of his hand…?
And the fact that the entire situation was unfolding atop the palm of a Young Master not even half his own age was hideously unpleasant.
Senior Brother.
Steel Dragon Fang Baek Cheong called to Baek Cho Jin-in.
What will you do?
Baek Cho Jin-in smoothly reined in his emotions and asked in return.
The enemy masters? Have their positions been confirmed?
The greatest obstacle to escape would of course be the enemy's absolute elites.
Tal-myeong-gwi-geom.
Cheonui Mubong, Yeon Seo-rin.
And the newly risen master known as the Golden-Eyed Divine Maiden.
Cheonui Mubong's exact location remains unclear, but the other two appear to be engaged with Neutral Tribal Alliance forces.
Disciples who had been lying in wait brought the information.
…I see.
It was a logical deployment. In the present situation the side that would give the Young Master's forces the most trouble was not the utterly exhausted rebels but the fresh Neutral Tribal Alliance troops. They were veteran mercenary companies. Individually they outclassed government soldiers, and in numbers they even exceeded the rebels.
Moreover, the most important point that could be read from the report was something else.
It is certain the Young Master has currently lost track of our position.
Choosing to wait rather than force an immediate breakthrough had paid off.
As expected of you, Senior Brother.
Baek Cheong nodded toward Baek Cho Jin-in.
If we had forced a breakthrough the moment we shook off Cheonui Mubong, all of the Young Master's masters would have gathered on us.
Instead they had shifted position, hidden, and waited. The enemy's elite warriors had dispersed to wherever the battlefield required them.
In other words, a gap had opened.
Everyone, attention.
At Baek Cho Jin-in's transmission, the chatter ceased as one.
"……."
"……."
Good.
With only the rain and the distant din of battle reaching his ears, Baek Cho Jin-in felt a quiet satisfaction and issued the order.
The time has come.
He raised a hand and pointed far beyond the maze of rooftops toward the breached section of the city wall.
We will cover the shortest possible distance in a single burst to that single point and escape this place.
He swept his finger along the area near the wall as he continued.
The Neutral Tribal Alliance forces will have pushed deeper than when we first entered. The distance we must cover has grown shorter.
And yet…
Baek Cheong asked,
Do we abandon the Moyong Family rebels?
We do.
Baek Cho Jin-in nodded at once.
You all feel it yourselves. The present situation is not so generous that anyone can afford to look after anyone else.
The surviving Mount Hua vanguard members who had flinched for an instant straightened their postures.
"……."
They meant to show that, unlike the rebels, they themselves were not baggage.
If we succeed in a single clean breakthrough, the enemy will fall into confusion in the process, and that will naturally create an opening for the rebels as well.
"……."
It was a cold decision. This was the battlefield.
I will take the lead.
Baek Cheong stepped forward.
Very well. Baek Cheong at the point. No one—absolutely no one—is to aid a straggler.
"……."
The old man's gaze lingered for a moment on the Mount Hua first-generation disciple carrying Mount Hua Sword Dragon Gam Woo-hyeon.
"……."
The disciple nodded, signaling that he would bear no grudge no matter how things turned out.
"……."
For a time, thick tension hung in the air. Only the white breath rising here and there among the rooftops was torn apart and scattered by the rain.
Brothers and sisters of great Mount Hua.
The first-generation disciple solemnly declared to the Mount Hua disciples.
We will live, and we will have our revenge upon the Young Master without fail.
No reply was needed. They answered by drawing up their inner power.
Preparations complete.
Confirming that everyone was ready, Baek Cho Jin-in gave the signal.
Commence the operation.
There was no hesitation. The first to leap was, as promised, Steel Dragon Fang Baek Cheong.
"Hup!"
Thud!
He flipped nimbly through the air and unfolded his movement technique; the rest launched as one.
Shooting out in front were the Mount Hua disciples.
Whoosh!
In the free and marvelous aerial movement Wudang's Je-unjong might excel, but in pure speed Mount Hua's Dark Fragrance Drift was superior.
And that was precisely why they were exposed faster than the Wudang martial artists.
Thwip!
In an instant one of the Mount Hua disciples lost his balance and plummeted.
"……?!"
What had just happened? A simple misstep?
Abandon the straggler!
Everyone clenched their teeth and poured more strength into their legs. But it was no simple misstep. That disciple never managed to correct his posture to the end.
CRASH!
He traced a low arc, smashed into a wall, and fell. The face of the Mount Hua first-generation disciple who had watched to the last twisted.
"This is—?!"
Thwip! Thwip!
The tiny sound of objects tearing through the air. Disciples staggering one after another. And the noise arriving a beat late.
BANG——!
At the nightmare's return, the first-generation disciple needed no second thought. He roared until his throat tore.
"Enemy snipers!"
Under the sudden volley, both Wudang and Mount Hua were forced to scatter and take cover on separate rooftops.
"……!"
At the front, Steel Dragon Fang Baek Cheong was at a loss. They had agreed to abandon stragglers, but when the majority became stragglers the rule lost all meaning.
Once they grasped that enemy shooters were present, further casualties from bullets ceased. The problem was not that.
Do we take the alleys?!
And throw ourselves into that slaughterhouse?!
To drop down would mean plunging into alleys packed with both sides' forces—a living hell.
Then forcing the breakthrough—?!
The wall is still too far!
To accept losses meant the remaining distance was far from trivial. Their breakthrough had gone badly wrong from the very first step.
CLANG!
Baek Cho Jin-in calmly sliced a bullet aimed at him and scowled.
"……."
Firearms in the rain…
CLANG!
Standing on the highest point, he bisected yet another bullet meant for him and calmly swept his gaze in every direction. His eyes locked onto one spot and flashed.
Indoors…?!
Yes. Figures who appeared to be the Young Master's maid corps had thrown open windows of buildings here and there and were sniping them from inside. They kept ample distance and had even been positioned with a fire net in mind.
Just how…?!
The thought was brief. There was only one answer.
From the beginning the enemy—the Young Master—
Had known our location all along…?!
Yet an unanswered question still remained.
But how…?
How had the Young Master pinpointed their position?
The answer came from his own side.
Swish—!
"……!"
Half luck, half instinct. Reflexively he threw his body backward in the Iron Plate Bridge technique; a razor-sharp sword light skimmed past above him. His neatly severed beard whiskers fluttered in the air.
"Tch."
A voice of regret reached his ear.
"Not bad instincts for a half-dead old man."
Baek Cho Jin-in recovered his stance in an instant and his eyes flew wide.
"You…?!"
Standing there was none other than Cheonui Mubong, Yeon Seo-rin.
"So you didn't escape back then…!"
Yeon Seo-rin shrugged.
"Just running away completely from that situation felt a little unsatisfying, you know."
She had used the collapsing building as cover to slip away, then tailed them all this time.
"Thanks to that I could report your location to command. Not bad, right? And besides…"
She raised her antique sword and smiled brightly.
"I figured I'd settle the debt for letting you show me your back."
"Arrogant wench!"
Enraged, Steel Dragon Fang Baek Cheong sliced a bullet and charged.
"What do you think you can do alone?! We know your main masters aren't here!"
"Alone, you say…?"
Yeon Seo-rin laughed as if she had heard something ridiculous.
"Our most powerful main master never left in the first place."
A chill.
Baek Cho Jin-in and Baek Cheong, senior and junior brother, turned their heads in almost the same direction at the same moment.
"Everyone, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Standing there was a figure clad in a black overcoat that seemed ready to melt into the night.
"I am Yeon So-hyeon."
It was the Eldest Young Master of the Luoyang Sword House, Yeon So-hyeon.