Friends of the Second Son
The Clan Head's judgment was swift, and his orders swifter.
"All guardsmen, re-form the defensive formation and tighten it. The ones you protect are the clan members at the rear. Do not forget to protect your own lives as well."
"Yes, sir!"
The moment the order left his lips, the warriors of the guard detail sprinted toward the rear at breakneck speed. The scattered fighters drew together like the shell of a turtle, and a formation all too difficult to break took shape.
"We shall lend a hand as well."
High masters of the Council of Elders, arrived none knew when, joined the guards and added yet more steel to the formation's spine.
"Bolster the weak points!"
Elder Jang, a man so unremarkable he had all but vanished from notice, raised his voice and began directing the elders. Each of their attainments stood far above the guardsmen, so their aid would prove a considerable boon.
Attack, by its very nature, carries greater risk than defense. Against a martial formation this solid, even masters of the Harmony Realm could hardly breach it at will. Of course, a defensive formation alone would not defeat Harmony Realm masters — but the ability to buy time was what mattered.
With the guards pulled back to the rear, only my father, my uncle, my elder brother, and I remained at the fore. The most crucial factors standing at the front lines — it called to mind the image of generals on a battlefield.
"You, withdraw."
The Clan Head's stern command fell upon my elder brother, Dancheon Hak.
"I will fight as well."
"Denied."
There was no leisure for indulgence, and the answer came iron-hard.
"This is a battlefield for those who have reached the Harmony Realm. Young Master Hak should fall back," Uncle Bang Yeo-baek added.
"……"
A shadow settled over Dancheon Hak's face at a reality so hard to accept. It would be fairer to call it the responsibility of the direct line rather than mere arrogance. In a moment like this, had my brother not tempered himself mercilessly for precisely the sake of stepping forward?
The Clan Head, reading that heart, offered him a way out.
"This is not a command to refrain from fighting. Protect your mother and the clan members at the rear."
With those words he granted him a justification.
"……I accept your orders."
Dancheon Hak withdrew to the rear, reluctance written across his back. I could tell from the look in his eyes. My brother would train with merciless ferocity from here on. He would surely reach the Harmony Realm.
Even amid all this, I kept running the calculus of the battle. The danger bearing down on us mattered, of course — but defeating the enemy before us came first.
In a way, it was the scar that the Righteous-Demon War had left on Myeong-gae. The information pavilion he had served dealt in intelligence, and accurate knowledge of the outcomes of large-scale engagements was its very lifeblood. There is no such thing as an absolute victor in battles and wars, but when two sides' capabilities are weighed, rough inference is possible. One constantly calculates from the information given and gauges the best move.
Having reached the Primordial Unity Stage, comparing these warriors' strength was far easier for me now.
And the result of that calculation was…
…not good.
Even the danger directly before us was no small matter. On the premise that the guards bought us time, it would have been ideal to have two more Harmony Realm masters on our side.
Put another way, a certain measure of sacrifice was unavoidable as things stood. The number of enemies my father, my uncle, and I could bind at once was six at most — a mere half of them. The remaining half of their assault would not be easy for the guards to withstand. Even in victory, many of the guards would die.
And then it happened.
KWAANG!
Like a cannonball falling from the sky, a single figure crashed down onto the center of the dueling grounds.
"Whew—"
Despite arriving with enough force to shake the earth, he seemed to have absorbed the impact entirely, rising serenely as he glanced around. That figure's eyes finally met mine.
"A relief my timing held."
He said it with a bright grin. There stood the face I had longed to see.
"What brings you all the way here?"
"Myeong, I came to help you."
"How did you know?"
"Are we not friends?"
"Did you spread a mat and divine it?"
"Puh-hah."
My friend with the notoriously low threshold for laughter — Yi Chun-baek. His sudden appearance was startling enough on its own.
"You've entered the Harmony Realm?"
"Ahem."
Yi Chun-baek preened in a manner quite unlike himself, and then his gaze came to rest on my dantian.
"I meant to boast a little, but it seems I'm too late."
He had surveyed my realm and added that remark. He had perceived that I now stood on a higher plane than he did. As they say, one sees as much as one knows — which told me Yi Chun-baek, too, was a warrior of uncommon depth.
"Well, I may be lacking, but I'll still be of some use, won't I?"
"…I will repay the debt, without fail."
"No need. I have my own bones to pick with the Demon Cult's seedlings, so I'd hardly call it a debt."
I was grateful for his kindness in saying so.
Step, step.
Yi Chun-baek approached Dancheon Gang and offered a cupped-hand salute.
"Martial student of the Jianghu, the Vagabond Yi Chun-baek, pays his respects to the Head of the Dancheon Sword Clan."
"A pleasure."
"I have formed a bond of friendship with the second son of the Dancheon Clan, and I could not watch this crisis pass by. I wish to lend a hand in the Clan's affair. Will you permit it?"
Though he introduced himself as a vagabond and lived the life of one, his bearing carried far more dignity than that of most scions of great houses.
"A friend of Myeong's?"
"That is so."
"I am grateful."
It was hard to tell which side the gratitude was meant for, but in any case, the Clan Head's sanction fell.
And the reinforcements did not end with Yi Chun-baek.
"Haomun! Aid the Dancheon Clan!"
"Yes!"
With a thunderous cry, a line of warriors joined the guards. Watching their movements, I could tell they were Haomun's elite, raised by Yeo Wol and Ma Sok — the fruit of the Hundred-Year Vine colony I had once told them about.
"Young Master Myeong, we've come to help. One cannot turn a blind eye to a friend's peril."
Soul-Chasing Life-Taking, Ma Sok, approached with a smile. He made no effort to hide his aura, and everyone recognized that Ma Sok was a man who walked the Harmony Realm.
"Just how many friends do you have?"
Uncle Bang Yeo-baek asked me, his voice half in disbelief.
"I've run out, I believe."
Perhaps that was true.
What a delightful reinforcement.
To the Dancheon Clan's fighting strength had been added Yi Chun-baek and Ma Sok, both arrived at the Harmony Realm, along with the warriors of Haomun. Rapid calculations crossed and recrossed in my mind. The conclusion: we had a winning chance. No — it would be more accurate to say we could hold them off with ease. Without great sacrifice, at that.
"And who might you be?"
"I am Cheolsan Magun."
Magun — a Demon Lord. I knew that name. Beneath the singular existence known as the Heavenly Demon stand five Divine Demons. Divine Demon is a term for a rank of sorts within the Demon Cult. In the Righteous-Demon War of Myeong-gae's days, there had been Gwiryeong Sinma, who annihilated the Azure Heaven Pavilion, and Daeryeok Sinma, whom the Azure Dragon Pavilion captured only at the cost of tremendous sacrifice.
Directly beneath them stood the Magun, ranked in the First Tier. In other words, this man was a high-ranking figure who held a considerable position even within the Demon Cult.
I had suspected as much since I sensed his killing intent touching the training ground, so it came as no great shock.
"Remnants of the Demon Cult?"
My father, Dancheon Gang, did not know the man, so that was how he asked.
"Remove the word 'remnants,' and you'd be exactly right," Cheolsan Magun replied.
That he could affect such composure without yielding to Dancheon Gang's formidable presence gave a measure of the Demon Lord's power.
"What say you to withdrawing?"
It was true that our defenses stood at their fullest, and reinforcements besides. The invaders could not have anticipated this, so the Clan Head's proposal was a reasonable one. In truth, from the Dancheon Clan's standpoint as well, avoiding the fight was preferable.
If we repelled the Demon Cult's incursion, the clan would gain renown. But Dancheon Gang was a man who knew that the clan's safety — the lives of his household — mattered more than fame. When the clan members' lives were weighed against glory, this fight was a loss no matter how you counted it. A life is a terribly heavy thing.
But Cheolsan Magun answered with a chill smile.
"Our cult's blade is not so dull as that."
With that finality, the negotiation collapsed.
"What is your objective?"
the Clan Head asked.
"The annihilation of the Dancheon Clan," Cheolsan Magun answered.
"I see. Then there is nothing left to discuss."
Two parties who could not compromise had met, and I judged their outcome already sealed. I had suffered the Demon Cult's seedlings to my heart's content in the days of Myeong-gae, after all. I knew those creatures were beyond the reach of words. For a fanatic, reason means nothing more than blind obedience to orders.
"Kill them."
Expressionless, Cheolsan Magun issued the order for slaughter.
Wuuuuum.
At the same instant, formless sword qi coalesced in his hand.
"Hm."
Dancheon Gang let a low murmur escape at the sight. Formless sword qi — in other words, the Invisible Sword. It marked an ascension beyond the Transcendent Realm, meaning this Demon Lord's attainment reached toward the pinnacle of the world. Even for Dancheon Gang, a difficult opponent.
Fitting, one would say, for the latent power of the Heavenly Demon Cult, which had once sought to swallow the Central Plains as a single force.
Watching that display, I could hardly stand idle either, and I let my killing intent loose without restraint. I knew well the importance of seizing the initiative. A far greater threat was drawing near, and hesitation here would not do.
KUGUGUNG.
"Kgh."
My energy began to bind the enemies where they stood. Tempered as I had been under the Sovereign of Destruction, Yeom Gi-ha, my killing intent had long since shed its greenness.
"Ho?"
Cheolsan Magun's gaze turned to me. I could tell his eyes, hidden behind the mask, curved into a smile.
"I expected the Clan Head to be my opponent. So it's you, then."
KWAANG!
No answer was needed. The moment space split apart, my blade and Cheolsan Magun's met head-on.
The folk say that those of the Harmony Realm are half-divine, half-monstrous beings. And across the forecourt of the Dancheon Clan's great dueling grounds, a struggle of precisely such beings was unfolding.
Different martial arts though they practiced, techniques that reached the Harmony Realm were all, without exception, mighty.
KWAANG! KUGUGUNG! TWAKANG!
Sonic booms of every color, as varied as their owners' temperaments, tore through the empty air. It meant that the warriors paired off against one another were locked in a desperate, life-or-death struggle.
KWAGWANG!
"Not bad at all, are you."
Cheolsan Magun, our blades having parted for a moment, caught his breath and spoke.
"You have not reached the Divine Demons."
At my answer, he gave an odd little laugh.
"Hm? You know a great deal about our cult, it seems."
SWISH! WHIP—
Amid it all, I evaded a sword thrusting in from my flank. To a Demon Cultist, fairness means victory and nothing more — which was why two Extreme Demon Realm masters were evidently supporting Cheolsan Magun, watching like hawks for a gap in my guard.
Fortunately, I had all three of them bound to me. Next, two Demon Cultists had latched onto the Clan Head, Dancheon Gang. One to Uncle Bang Yeo-baek. One to Yi Chun-baek. One to Ma Sok.
Eight Demon Cultists in all were pinned down by the Dancheon Clan's vanguard.
Which meant, in other words, that three Cultists had slipped past us and were charging toward the rear.
KWAGWANG!
"Kgh!"
"Hold the line!"
"Protect them!"
"The Clan Head and the Elder Master will come to save us! Endure!"
"Show them the might of Haomun!"
The Demon Cultists who had passed us and plunged toward the rear were like a pack of great tigers charging into a herd of bison. The guards were barely holding, and it seemed a sacrifice could come at any moment.
Warriors of the Harmony or Extreme Demon Realm did not have bottomless wells of internal energy and stamina, after all. In the end, the guards might yet prevail.
But I knew great sacrifice would be unavoidable in the process. I could not afford to grow impatient. With three opponents on my hands, the right course was to hold out carefully and advance one step at a time — all the more so, I knew, with the unprecedented threat still to come.
And yet…
And yet my emotions refused to follow my cold reason. I gathered my energy to pivot toward a short, decisive engagement — because I did not want to buy time with the blood of our clan members, with their sacrifice.
I had learned the Yakseon Heart Decision. I had completed the Five Stages and reached the Primordial Unity. Was that not the very reason for it?
To fight a short, decisive battle meant casting aside all thought of husbanding my strength and drawing out the best power I could produce. Answering my will, a resplendent Invisible Sword added itself to that strength.
Formless qi surges from the dantian, racing down the arm and erupting from the blade — a killing edge the eye cannot follow.
"Truly remarkable. To reach the level of a Demon Lord at that age."
Cheolsan Magun said. An honest, plain assessment — and yet an incorrect one.
"Do you believe you and I stand on similar ground?"
Before my words had even finished, I left behind a shifting afterimage with swift, deceptive Treading Cloud Steps.
He flinched.
It was Cheolsan Magun who reacted — but the place I had actually moved to was directly before the Extreme Demon master who had been probing me for openings from start to finish. If Cheolsan Magun had barely managed to respond, the Extreme Demon master could not possibly meet me in time.
"Hah!"
KUGUNG!
The colossal force of the Invisible Sword I unleashed swallowed the Second-Tier Sleeper Agent whole.
"KGHAAK!"
Unable to resist, the Extreme Demon master was flung away with a final scream and left crumpled on the ground.
"My own assessment differs somewhat."
Taking in the corpse that had been an Extreme Demon master, I concluded the matter with unhurried composure.
Cheolsan Magun was strong. But I stood ahead of him. To put it plainly, I had reached the level of a Divine Demon — for I had been tempered directly by the Sovereign of Destruction, who touched the very summit of the world, and I was the sole successor of the great master Yakseon.
"It seems I am stronger than you."
The man who had endured Yeom Gi-ha could hardly be struggling against a mere Demon Lord's level, could he?
"What say you to that?"
It would be right to finish these men off quickly and prepare for the danger still to come.