Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 015
Chapter Title: After the Battle
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Seok Du-myeong and his group pushed through the reed fields and arrived at the assembly point before the hills just as the sun was rising, glowing blood-red.
There were already quite a few Murim Alliance troops who had arrived ahead of them.
As if to prove the traces of the fierce battle from the night before.
Their clothes were mostly tattered, and hardly anyone had avoided taking at least one sword strike to the body. They looked utterly bedraggled.
"Seok Du-myeong, you're still alive. As expected of the Undying Survivor—you live up to your name."
Squad Leader Jo Ja-muk called out in a welcoming voice from across the way as he approached Seok Du-myeong's group.
"Squad Leader, I trust you came through unscathed? I tried to follow you, but the night was so dark I ended up losing you."
Seok Du-myeong quickly jumped in, feeling a bit guilty.
"Bro, you ditched him from the start."
Jin Yeom-pal chimed in without reading the room.
"Yeom-pal, the night was dar.k. Real dar.k. Right?"
Seok Du-myeong lowered his voice and shot Yeom-pal a pointed glare.
"...Yeah. It was so dark I could see ahead. No, couldn't see a thing."
The squad leader must have fought hard through the night too—his uniform was stained with blood.
Behind Jo Ja-muk, Yang Ho and Ma Seong-hu were visible as well.
Judging by their disheveled states, they must have had a rough night.
Yang Ho had his massive head wrapped in cloth again.
Well, in those dark reed fields, even swinging a sword wildly would probably clip that big noggin of his more often than not.
Still, the guy was tough as nails.
His head hadn't split open today either.
Ma Seong-hu had taken at least one or two sword thrusts too—his clothes were ripped and frayed in places.
"Where's Yeom Se?"
Jin Yeom-pal spotted the absence and asked Jo Ja-muk.
Jo Ja-muk shook his head with a grim expression.
The group fell silent for a moment, enveloped in heavy quiet.
Another casualty from Squad 2, which already had precious few members left.
No matter how war went, the death of a comrade was an emotion you could never get used to.
"Did you at least recover the body?"
Jo Ja-muk shook his head again instead of answering.
In a nighttime melee through those barely visible, cumbersome reed fields, retrieving a fallen comrade's body meant risking your own life.
Jin Yeom-pal knew that well enough. Still, knowing didn't stop the anger from bubbling up.
As Jin Yeom-pal glared at the squad leader, about to say something, Seok Du-myeong spoke first.
"Jin Yeom-pal, drop it. Would you risk your neck to haul out a corpse? Don't mind the squad leader. Yeom-pal here nearly died and clawed his way back, so he's on edge."
The squad leader's face fell, and he turned to leave.
As noon approached, survivors from each unit had all gathered.
Subdue Demon Corps: 176. Assault Corps: 203. Demon-Exterminating Corps: 219.
Over 150 hadn't made it back.
It had been a chaotic nighttime brawl in the reed fields, so the Demonic Cult likely suffered similar losses.
If their scouts were right about 300 enemy garrison troops, that meant they'd taken out nearly half.
"Let's regroup immediately and attack right now!"
Subdue Demon Corps Leader Jeong Gu-chu bellowed in fury.
His unit had suffered the heaviest casualties from the Demonic Cult's night raid.
They'd been the first hit, where the enemy struck initially, and the first to pursue the retreating foes into the reeds, sparking the fight.
Hence the biggest losses.
Jeong Gu-chu had every reason to be pissed.
"The men are exhausted from last night's battle."
Demon-Exterminating Corps Leader Wi Ji-hyeok replied with clear displeasure.
Jeong Gu-chu's face twisted, but he couldn't bring himself to challenge Wi Ji-hyeok.
Most of his casualties had piled up early in the pursuit into the reeds—a Demonic Cult lure they fell for hook, line, and sinker.
If the Demon-Exterminating Corps Leader hadn't arrived in time with reinforcements, the damage would've been far worse.
Jeong Gu-chu knew it, so he held his tongue.
"What say you, Assault Corps Leader? If the Demon-Exterminating Leader won't move, shall the Subdue Demon and Assault Corps press the attack alone?"
Assault Corps Leader I Il-so hesitated, not answering right away.
The man had pocketed a hefty sum from Jeong Gu-chu over time.
Jeong Gu-chu, Subdue Demon Leader, was past fifty—transcendent realm peak expert territory.
Transcendents weren't exactly rare, but Jeong Gu-chu's internal energy had a standout quirk.
A scion of the Jeong Merchant House and lay disciple of Mount Zhongnan Sect.
As the current head's younger brother, he'd shown martial talent despite his merchant roots.
His father, Jeong Do-sang, recognized it and poured the family fortune into him without stint.
Massive donations secured his lay discipleship; elixirs flowed, and even private masters when needed.
That support plus talent propelled him to peak realm by mid-thirties, earning fame in Alliance strike forces and the moniker Swift Plum Sword.
And at over fifty, he shattered the transcendent wall—a realm most warriors only dreamed of.
Late by some standards among noble houses and old sects, but a first for his merchant lineage.
Merchants and murim were inextricably linked.
Sects and clans needed cash to thrive securely; merchants needed muscle for safe trade. Symbiosis.
So when Jeong Gu-chu, second son of Jeong Merchant House, hit true transcendent heights, Alliance key posts beckoned.
Snagging one meant sway over decisions favoring business interests.
But fame and merit were lacking—precisely what this war offered.
Nothing built renown like battlefield glory.
Hearing Thunderbolt Sword Jin Seong-hu—a fellow Mount Zhongnan elder—assigned as District 5 Commander was a golden chance.
Jeong Merchant cash flowed generously to Point Star Sect and Jin Seong-hu alike, landing him Subdue Demon Leader under District 5.
Knowing coin's power, he'd moved fast to bind Assault Leader, Justice Leader, Demon-Exterminating Leader with bribes.
Wi Ji-hyeok proved immune, but the Assault Leader before him? Easy mark.
I Il-so's greed had cost thousands in silver so far.
Owing that much, he couldn't casually defy Jeong Gu-chu.
"Subdue Demon Leader! Attacking makes sense, but with heavy casualties and no sleep last night, the men are beat. How about we rest here, regroup, then hit 'em?"
Even so, I Il-so balked at charging in now.
His Assault Corps lost over fifty dead and countless wounded—not as bad as Subdue Demon, but bad enough.
No way it wasn't suicide.
"...Fine. If both leaders say so, I won't push a reckless assault."
Jeong Gu-chu grudgingly withdrew the demand.
No choice—his depleted Subdue Demon Corps couldn't solo it, especially with so many wounded.
'That bastard I Il-so! After all the silver you wolfed down, this is how you betray me?!'
His guts burned with resentment, though.
All units pitched camp atop the hills for rest. Tending wounds and sleeping—that was the drill.
Demon-Exterminating troops had pulled back, marched, fought sleepless. Sleep was non-negotiable.
Squad 2 men wolfed jerky and sprawled wherever for shut-eye.
Luckily, the hill looked modest but offered wide-open sightlines.
Song River to enemy stockades—all in view.
A few sentries, and everyone else could crash worry-free.
"Zzz... Snort..."
Yeom-pal snored away beside him, Squad 2 scattered, sleeping their ways.
Seok Du-myeong dozed off briefly, then woke.
"Yeom-pal sleeps like a rock. Makes sense—we nearly died for real this time."
Without meeting Master Dan Mun-hyeok, his Undying Survivor rep would've rung hollow—he'd be dead for sure.
'But Master's something else.'
This battle proved it.
He wasn't some middling second-rater anymore.
Eight months back, pre-master—one Demonic Cult mook's strike was beyond him. Now he'd slain one. First-rate at least, roughly speaking.
Grade leap in eight months.
'Damn, at this rate, peak realm in months. Scary fast. Peak's strong... no, insanely strong. In this war, that's plenty—no dying to random blades. I'll hole up at inns, avoid murim drama forever. Peak's overkill. Master's Augmented Piercing Swift Sword hit hard—skip Clear Wind Sword Technique?'
Laziness and hassle—fiends grinning in his mind.
But he shook his head.
'Nah. What if I run into a real monster? Stronger arts are always better.'
Diligence and resolve—angels straining back up.
'Clear Wind Sword Technique was a nightmare—complex as hell. Do I really need it?'
Fiend whispered again.
He shook his head once more.
'No. I've got principles. Master saved my ass yesterday. Wind Step practice paid off big. Train harder.'
Angel nearly retreated, but poked back up.
'Nah. Clear Wind Heart Formula's enough. Clear Wind Sword Technique? Master's head would explode.'
Fiend nodded smugly.
'Still, for Master's sake...'
Seok Du-myeong couldn't finish the thought.
The exasperated angel, ping-ponging in and out, flushed red and yelled.
"Argh, fuck this! Just do whatever the hell you want!"
The angel was cursing too.