At Cheon Ryu-yeong's words, Dokgo Seol gave a bitter smile. She couldn't understand it, but this man seemed to feel considerable fear toward the Cheonma Sword.
Still, she thought, perhaps that was possible. Rumors about the Cheonma Sword were widespread across the continent. And many of those rumors were so exaggerated that any ordinary person, not a martial artist, could be forgiven for being terrified.
"If that person really is the Cheonma Sword, then this is a tremendous opportunity. But isn't that impossible? You said earlier that the commander of this operation would be the Cheonma Sword and would therefore be in the Sichuan Branch. But for the commander to be moving around alone like that… that's far too unreasonable."
Following Dokgo Seol, Neung Un-bi spoke.
"The 5th squad leader is right. By the way, he's really fast. It looks like it won't even take him a quarter of an hour to get here… hmm. Is he an elder of the Demonic Cult? Or perhaps a messenger of the Demonic Cult with exceptional talent in lightness skill?"
Cheon Ryu-yeong and Dokgo Seol guessed that the mysterious figure was a demonic cultist, not a righteous faction martial artist. This was because he was coming from the north—the direction of the Sichuan Branch.
Dokgo Seol shrugged her shoulders, glancing between the front and the right before replying.
"Either way, it's just one person. At this distance, he can't possibly grasp the battle situation here. If he realizes that the Black Wolf Troop is collapsing, he's sure to tuck his tail and run."
Neung Un-bi and Dokgo Seol's opinions aligned. But Cheon Ryu-yeong bit his lip tightly before speaking.
"Considering that incredible speed… he might actually be rushing ahead of his subordinates."
At his words, Neung Un-bi and Dokgo Seol's faces stiffened. It was a very plausible observation.
Neung Un-bi glanced at the escalating clash between the Invincible Sword and the Black Wolf Troop Leader and said:
"Lord Cheon, how about this? Let's send the 3rd squad to intercept him. Then he'll probably stop at a reasonable distance to wait for his subordinates to catch up."
At Neung Un-bi's suggestion, the 3rd squad leader, who had been observing the battle, turned to look.
Cheon Ryu-yeong quickly scanned the 3rd squad.
Earlier, when they had rotated with Dokgo Seol's 5th squad, the 3rd squad had taken the fewest casualties in the Black Tortoise Unit—three dead, four wounded.
That left twenty-three still unscathed. And just as the 5th squad had the Yacha Sword Jo Jeon-hu, the 3rd squad had the middle-aged vice-squad leader wielding the formidable Slashing Moon Blade (斬月刀).
Cheon Ryu-yeong asked Neung Un-bi,
"And if he doesn't stop and keeps charging forward?"
"Then… we'll have to eliminate him."
Cheon Ryu-yeong looked at Neung Un-bi without replying. He didn't voice the question, but those nearby could read it in his eyes and expression—could the 3rd squad truly take him down for certain?
The reaction brought faint displeasure to the faces of the 3rd squad leader, the Slashing Moon Blade, and their subordinates. But given Cheon Ryu-yeong's proven ability so far, they quietly suppressed their rising indignation.
Neung Un-bi looked again at the rapidly approaching stranger and nodded slightly.
"I see. With that level of lightness skill, he's likely an exceptional master. If he's as strong as the Black Wolf Troop Leader…"
The mention of the Black Wolf Troop Leader finally brought tension to the 3rd squad's faces. Cheon Ryu-yeong said firmly to Neung Un-bi:
"Leader, please go with the 3rd squad."
"Me? But I'm needed in this fight—"
Cheon Ryu-yeong cut him off.
"Please do so."
Neung Un-bi shrugged and gave a faint smile. The request implied that Cheon Ryu-yeong would feel reassured only if he went personally—meaning Cheon Ryu-yeong acknowledged his worth. That wasn't unpleasant.
In truth, barely half a day ago, considering their respective statuses, such a request would have been unthinkable.
"Alright. I'll do it."
"If either of two situations arises, you must immediately withdraw your men and rejoin us."
"Two situations?"
"Yes. First, if the enemy is far stronger than expected. If he's too hard to stop, retreat."
Neung Un-bi was taken aback. He had just been recognized, and now Cheon Ryu-yeong was speaking as if he didn't trust him. He wanted to retort, but Cheon Ryu-yeong spoke quickly.
"Second, if his subordinates appear behind him, withdraw as well."
"But if there are only a few, there's no need to retreat, right?"
Cheon Ryu-yeong frowned slightly before answering.
"If there are fifty or more, withdraw. I doubt there will be that many, but still."
"Fifty, huh… alright."
Neung Un-bi had plenty more to say, but knowing there was no time to waste in a war of words, he set off with the 3rd squad immediately.
Cheon Ryu-yeong watched the stranger—now clearly visible as a man rather than a mere speck—and alternated glances between him and the battlefield.
Dokgo Seol and the rest of the 5th squad kept their focus forward. They had no choice; the duel between the Invincible Sword and the Black Wolf Troop Leader was reaching its climax.
Han Chu-gwang, the Invincible Sword, gritted his teeth.
He had unleashed every bit of his inner power and strength, pressing the attack, yet the Black Wolf Troop Leader felt like an unbreakable wall—cracked, perhaps, but never shattering.
Every attack Han Chu-gwang poured out, without reserve, was blocked by the Black Wolf Troop Leader's Azure Dragon Halberd. Worse, the wound splitting open across Han Chu-gwang's abdomen was tearing wider, the blood flowing faster.
Cho Ji-myeong, the Black Wolf Troop Leader—he too had become a blood-soaked man.
The Invincible Sword's sword wind, sword energy, and sword threads—such violent, high-level attacks—he evaded only when truly fatal, taking the rest head-on and aiming solely for the real sword.
That was the only reason Cho Ji-myeong was still alive. If he had tried to block even the high-level attacks, he would already be walking the Yellow Springs.
Still, the toll was heavy. Dozens of deep, sharp cuts leaked blood down his body.
Yet Cho Ji-myeong's eyes still blazed. Just as Han Chu-gwang had waited for the perfect strike earlier, Cho Ji-myeong now awaited his own opening.
And at last, it came.
Paaang!
With a sound of air tearing, the Azure Dragon Halberd slashed straight through the void.
Paaaaah!
A fountain of blood erupted.
Han Chu-gwang's chest split vertically. His thick armor cracked open, a red line forming on the bare flesh beneath, and blood trickled down.
Almost simultaneously, Han Chu-gwang's sword darted through a gap created by Cho Ji-myeong's sudden shift to the offensive.
Shak!
A deep diagonal cut split Cho Ji-myeong's face, the blade gouging precisely through one of his eyes.
"Uuugh."
"Ghhrrr."
Both men cried out in searing pain.
Han Chu-gwang clutched his abdomen with one hand and his chest with the other, then collapsed to his knees.
If he didn't hold it in, he felt his entrails would spill out.
The world spun. Already badly blood-lossed, the fresh wound to his chest was fatal. Yet even in that agony, he had struck back.
The result: his wounds tore wider, blood gushing out all at once, pushing him past his limits.
He gritted his teeth, trying to stand, but his body wouldn't obey. He tried to lift his sinking eyelids, but even that failed.
Thus Han Chu-gwang lost consciousness—yet his right hand still gripped his sword firmly.
Cho Ji-myeong, too, clutched his ruined right eye and staggered back. His vision was all red and hazy. For a moment, he closed his left eye and forced his right, but found only pitch-black darkness and a burning pain like fire branding his flesh.
"Save the troop leader!"
"Save the Invincible Sword!"
The Black Wolf Troop's vanguard and the Kunlun and Black Tortoise Unit fighters blocking them shouted almost simultaneously. The front lines dissolved into chaos.
Dokgo Seol, pale-faced, turned to Cheon Ryu-yeong. She didn't need to speak for him to know what she wanted—the deployment of the last reserve, the Black Tortoise Unit's 5th squad.
Cheon Ryu-yeong raised a hand to signal her to wait, then shouted:
"Flank walls! Cut through the Black Wolf Troop's waist! Rear guard Dokgo Se—break through with full force!"
A short command—
But its meaning was anything but light.
The leaders among the righteous faction fighters relayed Cheon Ryu-yeong's words with their own battle cries.
"Flank walls! Charge! Rear guard Dokgo Se—break through!"
"Charge! Advance!"
The Kunlun disciples on both flanks and Dokgo Se-ga's rear guard shouted their battle cries, surging forward like a raging tide. The Kunlun disciples, who until now had been firmly committed to defense, now joined the offensive in earnest, driving the Black Wolf Troop into even greater peril.
"Waaaaaaah!"
Jjaeng-jjaeng-jjaeeeeeeng!
"Uaaagh!"
Screams erupted from all directions.
The Black Wolf Troop's beast-like assault formation completely collapsed. Their rear ranks crumpled, and the righteous faction fighters broke into their flanks. Only the vanguard, where the troop's elite masters were concentrated, still held on in fierce resistance.
After briefly surveying the situation following his order, Cheon Ryu-yeong spoke to Dokgo Seol.
"Have the 5th squad secure Senior Han's retreat."
Dokgo Seol replied with a look of determination.
"Understood."
Taechung Hall Master of Kunlun, Seok Hyeon-ja, rushed inside the battlefield the moment Han Chu-gwang was gravely injured.
Thanks to the 1st squad leader of the Black Tortoise Unit already securing the path to the Invincible Sword, getting there was not difficult. Fortunately, the 1st squad leader was carrying Han Chu-gwang away from the front.
"Hall Master Taechung, here's Senior Han—"
Before the 1st squad leader could finish, Seok Hyeon-ja took Han Chu-gwang into his arms.
"Thank you!"
He quickly turned back toward the rear where Cheon Ryu-yeong was, but before he could break through the Black Tortoise Unit's 1st and 2nd squad lines, the Black Wolf Troop's 2nd squad leader, Pa-reuk, leapt forward to block him.
"You're not going anywhere. I'll end the Invincible Sword's life here!"
His long hair had been cut short—clearly sliced off by someone's blade—and blood poured freely from his right shoulder and chest.
As Seok Hyeon-ja faltered, Dokgo Seol and Jo Jeon-hu charged in with a shout.
"Hall Master! Get to the rear, quickly!"
"Th-thank you."
Their blades fell upon Pa-reuk like lightning. Gritting his teeth, Pa-reuk roared:
"You persist in standing in my way to the end! Fine, I'll kill you here and now!"
Pa-reuk was a veteran who had survived countless battles. He already knew there was no way he would leave here alive.
If so… he would take at least one more soul with him to the underworld.
Jjaeng! Jjeoeeoong!
The final battle from which there could be no retreat began.
—
Black Wolf Troop Leader, Cho Ji-myeong.
His vision was still red and hazy. A ringing "wiiing" filled his ears, punctuated by faint screams and the clashing of weapons. Even the hellish pain flooding his body seemed to drift away.
"Troop Leader! Are you alright? Troop Leader!"
The 1st squad leader of the Black Wolf Troop rushed to his side, tears in his eyes.
For thirty years in the field, this iron-blooded man had never stopped—yet here he stood, one eye lost, his armor soaked in blood, staring blankly.
"Troop Leader."
The 1st squad leader grasped Cho Ji-myeong's shoulder and shook him. The leader's body trembled, then his lips parted.
"Who…?"
"It's me. 1st squad leader, Mong Chu."
"Ah! Mong Chu. But… where is this place? Why is it so noisy…?"
While speaking, a gleam flashed in Cho Ji-myeong's left eye.
The red haze came into focus. Gradually, his vision sharpened.
"Troop Leader, are you coming to your senses? Let me carry you. I'll get you out of here, no matter what."
As Mong Chu spoke, Cho Ji-myeong slowly scanned his surroundings.
Blood splattered everywhere. His subordinates were dying. Suddenly, a red tear slid from his one remaining eye—
Blood tears.
"Troop Leader! There's no time! Get on my back!"
Mong Chu shouted desperately.
Cho Ji-myeong looked at him with sorrowful eyes.
"I am a defeated, incompetent general."
Mong Chu's eyes widened at the foreboding words.
"Troop Leader!"
"But I cannot be a shameless general who abandons his men and runs."
"..."
"I will do what I can, here and now."
Cho Ji-myeong turned his one eye toward the front. He saw the Invincible Sword being carried away by an elderly Taoist from the battlefield.
Mong Chu followed his gaze.
"You intend to pursue the Invincible Sword?"
"No. Someone far more important. A man who could bring calamity to our cult. A man who… might one day become a God of War. I should have heeded the Heavenly Wolf Troop Leader's warning."
Cho Ji-myeong's gaze passed beyond the Invincible Sword—
To a young man on horseback overlooking the battlefield, commanding his forces. Not long ago, he had been surrounded by many guards, but now… it was empty.
If he could break through the disorganized front lines, there was a real chance. And even if there wasn't, it had to be attempted. Only then would the Black Wolf Troop's end not be meaningless.
Cho Ji-myeong stepped forward.
"My life… for that young man's."
Covered in blood, he walked past Mong Chu. Mong Chu immediately rose and said solemnly:
"I will follow you to the end, Troop Leader."
Cho Ji-myeong's step—
Heavy.
The Azure Dragon Halberd he always carried—
Too heavy.
The blazing sun felt like it was searing him, and even the light breeze tore at his wounds.
Yet he endured the pain burning through his entire body and pressed on.
He was a sinner.
A sinner who had led his loyal men into hell.
He had no face to beg for forgiveness. But revenge—revenge might let him offer at least an explanation to them in the afterlife.
That he had slain the one responsible for their fate.
Cho Ji-myeong drew up the last of the inner strength remaining in his dantian.
It wasn't enough. Far from enough.
His brief duel with the Invincible Sword had drained too much. But he intended to make up for the lack with his own life. A murderous light burned in his lone eye.
His stamina, his inner power—both were in ruins. His injuries were grave.
But he still had a general's duty.
Buuuuung.
The Azure Dragon Halberd moved again.
"Kuaaaagh!"
A Black Tortoise Unit 1st squad member blocking his path fell with a scream. Cho Ji-myeong charged forward.
"Haaaap!"
His powerful battle cry burst through blood-filled teeth.