Battle (3)
"We've received word from the Mad Blood Demonic Shadow Troop," Yu Ran reported to Eum Gu-yeo.
"Where are they now?"
"They say they'll arrive tonight."
"And their position tonight?"
"Their next camp is Jehu Ridge, according to the report."
"Do we still have one of our people there?" He asked only because the report had come through at all—if word had reached them, someone had to still be in place.
"We've turned one of the ronin to our side."
"Good work. Contact the Mad Blood Demonic Shadow Troop and have them stand by near Jehu Ridge."
"Understood."
Yu Ran bowed her head.
"And the two kings—have you contacted them?"
"They said they'd be here shortly."
The moment her words fell, the Mad King Heonwon Man-so and the Force King Sam Gwang-ho dropped down in front of Eum Gu-yeo.
"Welcome."
Eum Gu-yeo cupped his fists in salute.
"I hear you wished to see us..." Heonwon Man-so spoke first.
"I asked to meet because I have a partnership to propose."
"You mean joining hands to obtain the treasure map into the Invincible Fist King's Domain?" Heonwon Man-so asked.
"Not just that—there's the pot to split as well."
"I see. Then state your terms."
Heonwon Man-so nodded.
"There's not much to them. The pot gets split three ways, and the three of us enter the Invincible Fist King's Domain together."
"The three of us, together?" This time it was Sam Gwang-ho who spoke.
"That's right." Eum Gu-yeo nodded.
"And we're to take your word for that?"
Sam Gwang-ho asked, giving Eum Gu-yeo a doubtful look. Since childhood, Eum Gu-yeo had always had a sinister streak about him. No—sinister wasn't quite the word; it was more a kind of negative, draining aura. Conversations with him always felt like speaking past one another, and his temperament had never inspired trust, so a distance had grown between them.
Even with age, that distance had never really closed.
"If you can't bring yourselves to trust me, then don't do it. Simple as that."
"...Fine. Let's do it." Sam Gwang-ho nodded.
"How do things stand with the others?"
Eum Gu-yeo's gaze turned to Heonwon Man-so.
"The Supreme King, the Fight King, and the Night King have joined forces. So have the Fire King, the Demon King, and the Earth King."
However little he trusted Eum Gu-yeo, Heonwon Man-so had accepted the proposal for one simple reason: every other faction was already forming alliances. Besides, he'd told himself he could always bow out if things turned sour.
"Tonight they make camp at Jehu Ridge."
"And we ambush them there?" Sam Gwang-ho asked.
"That's right. We'll draw first blood, so the two of you must commit your troops as well."
"Our identities stay hidden, of course?" Heonwon Man-so asked.
"Naturally." Eum Gu-yeo nodded.
"What hour do we strike?"
"The hour of the Tiger."
"The hour of the Tiger... Very well."
The two nodded.
"Then we meet tonight, at the hour of the Tiger."
"Agreed."
The two cupped their fists in salute and took their leave.
"Let's be off as well."
Eum Gu-yeo departed soon after.
Elsewhere, another meeting was underway: the Supreme King Namgung Won-mu, the Fight King Jeok Sa-in, and the Night King Gul Han-so.
"Word has it the Ghost King, the Mad King, and the Force King have joined hands—and the Demon King and the Fire King have done the same," Namgung Won-mu said. He sounded like a man idly shooting the breeze, but no one tracked the other kings' movements more keenly than he did.
"I'm well aware." Jeok Sa-in nodded.
"Their point of attack is Jehu Ridge."
"And what do we do?" Gul Han-so asked.
"In this world, only one victor is left standing—and that victor must be us."
"So tonight, everyone but us is the enemy."
"Exactly. They'll be masked, and so will we—no one will recognize anyone."
"So while they tear into the Iron Phoenix Troop, we strike from behind."
"That's right." Namgung Won-mu nodded.
"Good. Let's do exactly that." Jeok Sa-in nodded.
"Moving as one group risks detection, so let's each make our own way to Jehu Ridge separately."
"Agreed."
Before long, the three parted ways.
Figures clad in black moved slowly through the night. Their destination was a broad clearing where some twenty bonfires burned. Around the fires sat twenty-odd people, and quite a few more lay sprawled asleep on the ground.
Whoosh!
The man at the head of the column raised a hand. This was Dok Bo, commander of the Wuying Demonic Palace's Mad Blood Demonic Shadow Troop—the man they called the Blood-drinking Mad Demon. At his signal, the figures that had been moving without a sound froze where they stood.
—Scout it out.
Dok Bo issued the order to his men.
—Yes, sir.
With that reply, a dozen men melted away to either side.
Dok Bo turned his gaze forward. Thirty zhang ahead, the main road stretched north to south, and behind it rose a line of sheer cliffs. From the road to the cliff wall was a good twenty zhang.
Thick grass grew wild along both edges of the road—proof that no one had tended this place in years. The cliff face looked to be about fifteen zhang high. Even a master of ascending arts couldn't scale fifteen zhang in a single bound, which meant that sealing off the road's flanks amounted to a siege on all four sides. No carriage could get through, either.
"The north and south ends are already sealed..."
Just then, the scout returned.
—No ambush in place.
—So that's all of them?
—Counting the sleepers, the numbers roughly match what the Young Palace Master told us.
Dok Bo looked back at the clearing. Now that it was mentioned, quite a few figures did lie sleeping.
—Widen the formation, left and right.
—Yes, sir.
The Mad Blood Demonic Shadow Troop stretched out to both flanks.
—Move out!
Dok Bo gave the order and advanced.
"Someone's coming," Jin I-gang said, sliding his sword back into its sheath.
"They're coming?" Ji Yak-ran looked at him.
"Through the forest across the road, heading this way. Their energy's about on par with a wild beast. No—stronger than a beast."
"..."
Ji Yak-ran couldn't hide her disbelief. It wasn't as though she'd neglected her Thousand-Li Hearing—she had kept careful watch on their surroundings this entire time. And yet Jin I-gang, a man with no internal energy to speak of, had sensed the enemy before she had.
"What did I tell you? Popping pills for years pays off."
Jin I-gang sprang to his feet and tore off toward the front. A stone had already found its way into his hand. Sprinting at the head of the line, he dug his foot in hard and whipped his right arm around.
Shweee!
The stone left his hand and vanished into the darkness in the blink of an eye.
"What in the—!"
Na Hu-jeok clucked his tongue. He had clearly seen the stone leave Jin I-gang's hand—and then it was simply gone, swallowed by the dark in an instant. The speed defied belief.
THWACK!
"Gwaaagh!"
A moment later, a low groan drifted back from the darkness.
"Unbelievable..."
Na Hu-jeok shook his head slowly.
Shweeeek!
A stone flung from his left hand ripped through the air.
Shwaak!
Shwaaak!
Left hand and right took turns, and stone after stone vanished into the dark beyond.
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!
"Kraaagh!" "Aaargh!" "Gwaaagh!"
The screams came one after another.
"Charge!"
A bloodthirsty roar burst from the darkness.
Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
The Mad Blood troopers sprinted at full tilt, soon reaching the near edge of the road.
Shwaak!
"Hrk!"
THWACK!
"KRAAAGH!"
One of the Mad Blood troopers let out a hideous scream. As he crumpled to the ground, half of his head was simply gone—sheared away by a stone hurled from Jin I-gang's hand.
"Watch out for hidden projectiles!"
One of the squad captains roared the warning.
Those running at the front had already crossed the road.
"Tah!" "Chah!" "Haa!"
The instant they landed, figures in black surged up from the grass along the road's edge, weapons swinging at the Mad Blood troopers. The Iron Phoenix Troop.
CLANG! Shing! CLANG!
Shrak! Skreek!
"Kraaagh!" "Aaargh!" "Uwaaagh!"
Hideous screams began to erupt. The Mad Blood Demonic Shadow Troop and the Iron Phoenix Troop locked together across the road. The Mad Blood troopers were strong, but the Iron Phoenix was no pushover either—the two forces fought to a near standstill.
—Mad King.
Eum Gu-yeo sent a voice transmission to Heonwon Man-so, who lay hidden north of the road with a hundred of his men.
—Understood.
Reply sent, Heonwon Man-so gave the attack order with a hand signal, and his hundred-odd men shot toward the battlefield.
"Enemies to the north!" Jin I-gang shouted, glancing back at Ji Yak-ran.
"They'll know."
The "they" she meant were the Fire King Dang Chwi-ryo and the warriors of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
"Loose!"
Before her words had even faded, Dang Mun-ok's cry rang out from the north, and hundreds of hidden projectiles streaked toward Heonwon Man-so's men.
"H-hidden weapons!"
Fwip! Fwip-fwip-fwip! Fwip-fwip! Fwip!
"Kraaagh!" "Kraaagh!" "Krrgh!"
Heonwon Man-so's men dropped where they stood, screaming.
"Kraaaaaagh!" "AAAAAAAAGH!"
Soon they were shrieking in raw agony. It was the poison smeared on the projectiles. Those who didn't die outright writhed as if needles were stabbing every nerve in their bodies, and died slowly.
"Kill them!"
Roaring with killing intent, Heonwon Man-so's men swung their weapons.
—Attack.
This time Eum Gu-yeo's transmission went to Sam Gwang-ho, hidden in the south.
—Understood.
"Attack!"
Sam Gwang-ho bellowed and hurled himself forward. Unlike the other kings, he took the vanguard himself—masked, like all his men.
"Waaaaaah!" "Uwaaaaaah!"
Before they had covered even ten-odd zhang, Heonwon Byeok's men surged up with a thunderous battle cry and met them head-on.
WHAM! WHAM-WHAM!
Sam Gwang-ho's fists detonated left and right.
"Aaargh!" "Uwaaagh!" "Aaaaargh!"
Those who rushed him went flying with screams on their lips. Sam Gwang-ho punched his way forward, his gaze sweeping the field ahead without pause.
"Found you!"
He fell back. Reaching the rear of the formation, he shot toward the cliff. He glanced up at the rock face, charged, and launched himself up the sheer stone. Running straight up the cliff for a dozen zhang, he bent his knees and shoved off with everything he had. His body sprang away with tremendous force, covering another dozen zhang in an instant before he kicked off the rock face once more and leapt a second time.
Soaring to a height of ten-odd zhang, his eyes found his target: none other than Jin I-gang, who stood behind his comrades hurling stones into the enemy ranks.
"Got you, bastard!"
A cold smile curled across Sam Gwang-ho's lips.
"Oh no—!"
Spotting the masked figure rocketing toward Jin I-gang, Heonwon Byeok immediately launched herself.
"Sam Gwang-ho."
She had recognized him at once.
"Je Su-ryong, dodge!" she cried as she flew.