Chapter 27
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: It Begins
Half a shichen had passed since they entered the mountains.
Now, each squad had scattered in all directions and was moving independently.
When the battle commenced, they would seek out their opponents.
"Looks like it was just the first time. They're not following anymore. Figures for those guys. Heh heh. But why did they do it in the first place?"
Dang Chu shook his head with an incredulous laugh.
At some point, the movements of Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven had vanished. It seemed they had veered off elsewhere as the mountains deepened.
"What's the plan now?"
Cheong Wu-ja asked, looking at the four others.
"We just wander around moderately and take down whoever we run into, right?"
Dang Chu said casually.
"We need to watch out for Wa Dragon Corps Squad One."
Yeong Ho-jun cautioned against complacency.
Wa Dragon Corps had also assembled their top talents into Squad One.
The five most outstanding entrants from the New Generation Eight Gates into the Dragon Training Pavilion.
"Well, even so, compared to us..."
Dang Chu shrugged. His gaze turned toward Namgung Ji-hu.
It was a perfectly natural reaction.
Namgung Ji-hu.
No matter how he thought about it, this wasn't a man who belonged in the Dragon Training Pavilion.
Even the finest talents from the New Generation Eight Gates couldn't compare to him upon entering the pavilion.
Someone with that level of talent would have stayed in their sect to master their clan's secret arts.
"Should we wait around here moderately? Or push deeper?"
As Cheong Wu-ja asked, everyone's eyes turned to Namgung Ji-hu.
"Let's go a bit deeper, slowly."
At Namgung Ji-hu's words, they all began strolling along, casually taking in the surroundings as if out for a walk.
Muk Hae-jin was a fourth-year instructor in charge of cadets from the Iron Cavalry Gang.
He had been drafted as a judge for this Summer Combat Festival and assigned to oversee Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven—the only squad from their corps participating.
At first, he had tagged along indifferently, but the more he observed, the more dumbfounded he became.
These guys were different.
He had dismissed Fierce Dragon Corps as a joke, but their thorough preparation made his eyelids twitch.
'These kids... They're really gearing up for war.'
Naturally, Muk Hae-jin's gaze shifted to Ha Mu-baek.
It stood to reason that their instructor had trained them this way.
Muk Hae-jin had fought in the tail end of the last war. Just a year on the battlefield, but he'd gained plenty of experience.
That included guerrilla warfare like the Summer Combat Festival.
The Iron Cavalry Gang was famous for operating the Iron Armored Cavalry Unit. They said nothing remained in the wake of the Iron Armored Cavalry's charge.
In the last war, they had racked up countless merits.
Muk Hae-jin had been one of them. But not every battlefield favored cavalry.
Some were mountain guerrilla ops.
A horrific experience.
Countless comrades lost their lives.
Without aid from Righteous Heaven Alliance's Hocheon Corps, half the Iron Armored Cavalry might have been wiped out.
These squads had advanced somewhat into Mokran Mountain before halting. Up to that point, they had tailed Hidden Dragon Corps Squad One.
After some time, they cautiously resumed movement.
That was when the trouble started.
They meticulously tracked the traces left by their opponents and erased their own. One lagging behind even wiped away the judge's—his own—tracks.
'They left for Mokran Mountain way ahead of time for training, they said.'
Who would've thought it was this kind of training?
No one had ever prepared for the Summer Combat Festival like this before.
What were they thinking?
How long had they been moving?
The leader at the front flashed several hand signals, and they split into five groups.
Muk Hae-jin found himself in a bind.
He couldn't tell which one to follow. After a moment's deliberation, he decided to stick with the one who had signaled.
He judged that battles or changes would revolve around the one issuing orders.
Ha Mu-baek moved alongside him.
A show of not engaging in any foul play.
Piiieek!
Then, the horn signaling the start of battle echoed across Mokran Mountain.
In that instant, their movements grew even stealthier.
Their pace slowed, but it didn't matter.
They were doggedly pursuing Hidden Dragon Corps Squad One's traces.
'Idiots.'
The tracks were plain as day even to Muk Hae-jin's eyes.
Footprints stamped so blatantly, like they were out for a mountain stroll.
One set faint, the other four clear as could be.
Baek Ri-pyeong nodded after checking the footprints.
The faint one was probably Namgung Ji-hu. That was the kind of mark his level would leave.
As expected, Namgung Ji-hu led the way.
He surveyed the direction they'd gone and the surrounding terrain.
He knew this geography inside out.
Thanks to prowling every inch of it.
Baek Ri-pyeong signaled with his hands, and it passed among them.
The five veered off into side paths—some not even trails.
A maneuver to cut ahead of Hidden Dragon Corps Squad One and set an ambush.
Prime ambush spots were etched in their minds.
Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven reached one swiftly and melted into their positions.
Their breathing slowed.
Not quite the Ghost Breath Technique that nearly halted breath entirely, but sufficient to mask their presence at their level.
Thus, the five blended into the mountainside.
"Tch. Horn's blown, but no one's crossing our path."
A short while later, Dang Chu's disappointed mutter echoed through the woods.
As Squad Seven predicted, Hidden Dragon Corps Squad One appeared.
"Everyone, halt."
Namgung Ji-hu's low voice.
"What's up?"
Namgung Ji-yu asked, seeing her younger brother's suddenly grave face.
"Ambush."
Namgung Ji-hu replied softly, scanning the surroundings.
The other four tilted their heads. Their senses detected nothing.
Yeon Ha-min wore a troubled expression. She'd thought this level would suffice, but Namgung Ji-hu's perception exceeded her expectations.
Still, they had to stick to the plan. Not everything would go perfectly.
The silver lining: he hadn't pinpointed their locations yet.
He was quicker than anticipated, but it was time to move.
'It begins.'
Yeon Ha-min's hand signal.
The five cadets nocked arrows on their bows.
Pfiing.
Arrows flew from five spots, targeting the five.
"Tch."
The five deflected them with their swords.
An ambush, as Namgung Ji-hu said. But their faces twisted upon realizing who it was.
Arrows from five utterly different directions.
Only one group would carry bows and arrows.
Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven.
To think they hadn't sensed them. Humiliating.
"You damn bastards! I'll smash you flat!"
Dang Chu roared in fury and charged first.
Losing reason to the arrows—and the prior failure to detect them—he was in a frenzy.
Gritting his teeth, Dang Chu kicked off the ground.
'This time, I'll show you what for.'
He desperately hoped Dang Jin-san was in his path.
"We need to first show Hidden Dragon Corps Squad One that we have bows and make them recognize it. No other squad will bring them."
Yeon Ha-min laid out her plan without pause.
Had she ever spoken this much since joining Fierce Dragon Corps?
All of it sound advice, so the other four just nodded.
A true strategist.
"But terrain like that isn't common, is it?"
Nak Woo-jin, who had listened silently to her lengthy explanation, cut to the core.
"Luckily, there's one a bit removed from the entrance. The small clearing especially is just awkward for Namgung Ji-hu to fully deploy his Soaring Bow-and-Sword Formlessness. Trees interfere enough to hinder it properly, but it's too spacious to ignore. Given their personalities, they'll stick to the path straight ahead from the start. We provoke with arrows from a good spot and lure them in."
She'd even scouted the location, answering fluidly.
Dang Jin-san ran hard, recalling Yeon Ha-min's tactics. Dang Chu pursued like a madman.
As planned, he fired arrows sporadically while fleeing, subtly revealing himself.
To rile Dang Chu further.
"Dang Jin-san!!!"
Sure enough, the enraged Dang Chu bellowed loud enough to echo through the deep mountains.
His name reverberated distantly.
On flat open ground, this lure wouldn't work.
He'd have been caught earlier.
But these woods were different. No proper paths, yet Dang Jin-san was familiar enough, with the route clear in his mind.
Dang Chu couldn't build speed weaving through trees.
Dang Jin-san kicked off powerfully, carefully leaving clear footprints as per the plan.
Dang Chu bolted off alone before anyone could speak. Namgung Ji-hu's expression soured watching his back.
He didn't know what happened between Dang Jin-san and him at the Tang Clan residence.
But dragging those feelings here was unacceptable.
Even back at Devouring Dragon Pavilion.
This was the Summer Combat Festival.
Letting personal emotions drive solo actions like this?
He might hate Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven just for Dang Jin-san's involvement, but causing trouble for the team changed things.
"Ji-hu, relax your face. It's just Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven anyway."
Guessing her younger brother's feelings, Namgung Ji-yu smiled warmly.
That only hardened Namgung Ji-hu's face further.
The other four hadn't detected them, after all.
Chasing deep into the mountains and losing their trail would be disastrous.
And 'just Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven'?
Underestimating them. As if the earlier lapse meant nothing.
"Shouldn't we each pursue separately?"
Yeong Ho-jun said, glancing at the four directions. Delay too long, and another ambush might come.
Though this one was nothing much.
Namgung Ji-hu frowned again.
Frustrating that his squadmates couldn't gauge the enemy's level.
'Whatever. Doesn't matter. I'll clean it all up...'
Namgung Ji-hu trusted his own strength. The others might miss them, but he had sensed their presence and breathing.
Even if the four fell, he'd handle all of Squad Seven.
He'd finish the festival solo afterward, but so what?
At his skill, these perfunctory rules were just annoyances.
His confidence overlooked one fact.
He'd sensed their presence and breath, but not their exact positions.