Chapter 270
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 270
Chapter Title: Still Too Early
Cho Mu-ha and Jin Yeon-sim were stunned the moment they entered the mountains. The other two squad members felt the same.
The reason was Chu Hwi-yeon.
Her movements were incredibly agile.
It was nothing like what she'd shown during training.
They could hardly believe it was the same person.
Before they knew it, Chu Hwi-yeon was leading Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Nine.
They hadn't discussed it separately or anything.
It had just naturally happened as they moved.
Chu Hwi-yeon suddenly raised her hand, signaling them to stop.
She then brought her index finger to her lips.
The cadets clamped their mouths shut at her gesture.
They quietly gathered around her, moving as silently as possible.
"Look over there."
Chu Hwi-yeon whispered.
Five figures were cautiously making their way through the area.
One judge was walking beside them, keeping quiet as well.
"Hidden Dragon Corps."
She could tell from their uniforms.
"I'll lure them in with arrows from over there. Strike from behind when you see an opening."
The cadets swallowed dryly, their faces tense at her words.
"C-can we really do it? It's the Hidden Dragon Corps..."
Cho Mu-ha said in a slightly fearful voice.
"If we pull it off, we win. If we lose, we get eliminated. Why overthink it? It's just a sparring tournament. No one's actually dying."
He was right.
They hadn't entered the tournament expecting to do well in the first place.
Still, a desire to survive as long as possible lingered in the corner of their hearts.
Not quite on the level of last year's Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven seniors, but they didn't want to drop out pathetically.
It was only yesterday they'd resolved to give it their all.
Cho Mu-ha steeled himself and nodded.
"Hwi-yeon, you sure you'll be okay?"
Jin Yeon-sim asked worriedly, since her comrade was volunteering as bait.
Chu Hwi-yeon flashed a grin and vanished in a blur of swift motion.
Chu Hwi-yeon oriented herself.
She headed to the spot that would give her squad the best angle to strike from behind after she lured the enemy.
She nocked a blunted arrow onto her bow.
It wouldn't cause serious injury without a tip, but it would still hurt plenty. Bruises were guaranteed.
And depending on where it hit, the judge would make the call.
A solid vital shot could mean instant elimination with one arrow.
"Hoo."
She let out a deep breath.
Then Chu Hwi-yeon—no, Gong Ya-hwi Yeon—drew back her bowstring.
Tyrannical Heavenly Death Bow.
A bow art with a name that didn't suit her slender frame at all.
This was her signature technique.
Of course, she had no intention of unleashing the full Tyrannical Heavenly Death Bow here.
A bit of focused inner energy would suffice.
Thousand-Li Evil Eye.
Her eyes gleamed faintly.
She activated the eye technique to lock onto her target precisely.
The cadets came into sharp focus.
She aimed for the strongest-looking one among them.
Gong Ya-hwi Yeon fixed her gaze on a single point.
The target's heart.
The moment it entered range...
Gong Ya-hwi Yeon released the bowstring.
Thwip!
The arrow sliced through the air with a sharp whistle!
The four Hidden Dragon Corps Squad Eleven cadets jolted in alarm at the sudden sound, snapping into defensive stances.
"Kuh."
The arrow struck one right in the heart area in an instant.
Its force was enough to tear a slight rip in his uniform.
The judge confirmed it and declared impassively.
"Eliminated."
The cadet's face flushed beet red.
To get dropped so pointlessly without doing a thing...
The judge fired a flare skyward to signal the elimination.
"Damn it. After them!"
The furious four leaped into pursuit.
'Idiots.'
Gong Ya-hwi Yeon smirked at the sight.
Not knowing where an ambush might be.
Not knowing where more arrows might come from, yet charging blindly like that.
It was what she'd intended, but they fell for it too easily. Almost disappointing.
'Orthodox faction kids, huh? Too soft and pampered.'
They'd seemed decent enough back at the Dragon Training Pavilion.
Who knew they'd be this sloppy in actual fieldwork.
Unthinkable in the unorthodox sects, where every day was live combat.
She could see why the Dragon Training Pavilion held the Summer Combat Festival every year for the first-years.
Gong Ya-hwi Yeon waited for the four cadets to draw near.
Once they were close enough, she deliberately showed herself and bolted.
"There! Get her!"
She tossed them a mocking smile as she ran.
Hidden Dragon Corps Squad Eleven's faces twisted in rage.
"That ugly bitch dares mock us?"
"I'll kill her!"
They shouted and picked up speed.
For an archer who gained advantage with distance, swift lightness skill was essential.
Hidden Fragrance Myriad-Li Step.
Gong Ya-hwi Yeon's lightness skill unfolded.
She sped away.
Close enough to catch, yet always slipping away.
The Hidden Dragon Corps cadets' faces grew even redder.
And the moment they passed a certain point...
Thud! Thump thump! Thud!
Dull impacts struck their backs.
"Guhk."
They hurriedly righted themselves, but...
"Hidden Dragon Corps Squad Eleven. All eliminated."
That was all—the judge's indifferent verdict.
The Fierce Dragon Corps cadets looked stunned instead of triumphant upon hearing it.
"I-it actually worked?"
Cho Mu-ha muttered blankly.
"Hwi-yeon! You're amazing!"
Jin Yeon-sim ran to Gong Ya-hwi Yeon as she approached and threw her arms around her.
Her face overflowed with joy.
'The training... it paid off.'
Gong Ya-hwi Yeon herself was quite surprised.
She'd lured them along the optimal path for a rear strike, but she hadn't expected it to end so cleanly in one go.
She'd even kept an arrow nocked, ready to shoot while running.
But the judge had fired the flare regardless of the cadets' reactions.
"No time to celebrate. Let's move."
Gong Ya-hwi Yeon led her squad.
"Others might come fishing for easy pickings after seeing the elimination flare. We need to get out of here fast."
Quick thinking.
The Fierce Dragon Corps cadets bolted at full speed on her command.
"Hmm. Not bad?"
Ha Mu-baek had watched the whole thing.
But no one noticed his presence.
He'd erased his aura perfectly and hidden in a blind spot.
'Tyrannical Heavenly Death Bow, Thousand-Li Evil Eye, Hidden Fragrance Myriad-Li Step. And that bow she's using isn't ordinary either.'
Ha Mu-baek didn't recognize the Four Thunder Bow.
No one could know every weapon in the world.
He never forgot a technique after seeing it once, but this was his first time laying eyes on that bow.
'Looks like she's from Old Man Gong Ya's bloodline. What brings her to the Fierce Dragon Corps?'
She'd mastered unorthodox arts, and every one was extraordinary.
At that level, the possibilities were limited.
Her true identity, as he guessed: blood of the Four Evils Alliance Leader.
A headache was starting to brew.
It had only been days since his trip to the Namgung Clan.
Now the Four Evils Alliance?
"Huh? Elimination flare."
Eun Hwa-ryang noted the blue smoke rising in the sky.
"Blue means Hidden Dragon Corps."
It was unexpected.
He'd thought Fierce Dragon Corps would drop first.
This year's Summer Combat Festival had changed the flare system.
Last year, each judge used different flares, which was too confusing and hard to identify eliminations accurately.
Now, flares were color-coded by squad affiliation.
Hidden Dragon Corps: blue. Wa Dragon Corps: yellow. Fierce Dragon Corps: red.
"Shh."
Na Jung-cheon pressed his index finger to his lips toward Eun Hwa-ryang.
They were currently lying in ambush.
Making noise was a bad idea.
No matter how surprising.
What was the point of practicing hand signals otherwise?
Eun Hwa-ryang realized his mistake and nodded faintly.
Soon, voices murmuring drifted over.
Passersby.
Wa Dragon Corps Squad Nine.
The twenty Squad Twenty cadets' eyes lit up.
They exchanged hand signals.
Wa Dragon Corps Squad Nine marched on, oblivious to the ambush, leaking presence everywhere.
They were even chatting idly.
"Heh heh. Hidden Dragon Corps got the first elimination."
"That's five already. One and four. Whole squad wiped?"
"Serves 'em right. Hidden Dragon Corps acting all high and mighty. Heh."
Casual talk like that.
The watching judge swallowed a sigh.
These reckless fools were the Dragon Training Pavilion's prized later-generation talents.
Frustrating.
Wa Dragon Corps Squad Twenty's eyes sharpened as they watched.
'Just a bit more. Just a little.'
The attack point they'd set.
A few more steps...
They still hadn't noticed a thing.
Finally.
The enemy stepped into position.
Swoosh!
Branches flew at them from all sides.
A simple yet covert trap.
That was the signal.
"Wh-what?!"
"Chit!"
As Wa Dragon Corps Squad Nine panicked.
Squad Twenty burst out and attacked in unison.
"A-ambush..."
Before they could finish.
Cold blades hovered at all five necks.
They hadn't landed a single blow.
Done in.
"Wa Dragon Corps Squad Nine. All eliminated."
The judge declared flatly and fired the flare.
Wa Dragon Corps Squad Twenty said nothing and swiftly withdrew.
The judge for Squad Nine watched them go with approval.
'Heard they went out for team training camp early. Properly drilled, unlike these idiots.'
How long did they run?
Wa Dragon Corps Squad Twenty stopped and looked at each other.
"W-we did it?"
"This... this was possible..."
"Hah hah. Wow. Wow."
The five whispered in awe.
Even during training.
They'd believed.
But doubt had lingered.
Yet in their first fight.
A flawless victory.
No difficulties at all.
True to their training.
No—easier than training.
And not against Fierce Dragon Corps.
Wa Dragon Corps.
Fellow Wa Dragon Corps cadets they'd served.
They'd crushed them in one shot.
Only now did euphoria hit, bodies trembling.
"Too early."
Im Dae-chi said.
"Right. Get complacent over this and drop from carelessness, and that's it."
Yeong Hu-in chimed in.
The cadets finally calmed their excitement.
Yeah.
Stay cool.
No time to celebrate taking down one Wa Dragon squad.
They were in a bet with Wa Dragon Squad One, after all.
The five sharpened their eyes again and melted back into the mountains.
"Five Hidden Dragon, five Wa Dragon. Probably two squads out."
Hwa Bo-myeong said, eyeing the flares.
"Fucking morons."
Cheol Ryeong muttered in disbelief.
No Fierce Dragon eliminations yet, and Hidden Dragon and Wa Dragon dropping first.
Embarrassing.
Striding confidently through the mountains like that.
They ran smack into five others.
From the uniforms.
"Fierce Dragon Corps?"
Byeok I-gyeom grinned.
The five Fierce Dragon cadets instantly pulled shields and formed a formation.
Wa Dragon Squad One watched with derision.
"Warriors using puny shields..."
Byeok I-gyeom trailed off, glancing at Cheol Ryeong.
Come to think of it.
The ones who'd tormented them.
The Ironclad Cavalry had used rider shields too.
Even in fights against them.
Couldn't call it puny.
That was just an inner thought to keep to himself.
Cheol Ryeong's eyebrow twitched, but that was it.
They weren't dumb enough for infighting with enemies right there.
"Take these guys out first."
Tak Mu-jeon charged forward.
The other four kicked off the ground.
The fight took longer than expected.
Their formation was solid.
One ke.
It took a full ke to drop all five.
If not for experience fighting shielded Ironclad Cavalry, it would've taken even longer.
And Cheol Ryeong pried the opening first.
"Hah. Can't even break those pathetic Fierce Dragon shields..."
Cheol Ryeong muttered to himself.
But it lodged straight into Byeok I-gyeom's ears.
His face flushed red.
But.
He didn't snap.
He knew they were in the middle of the Summer Combat Festival.
Byeok I-gyeom wasn't idiot enough for infighting now either.