Part 30 - Outpost Battle
"Phew, it's finally done."
After finishing the cooking, Jeong-a lifted the apron she was wearing and wiped her forehead.
So dust wouldn't settle on the food, she covered everything securely with lids, then finished arranging it so that whenever needed, all she'd have to do was reheat it and the meal would be ready.
She took off her apron, paused, and gathered her thoughts.
Before long, Jeong-a picked up the luggage she'd prepared in advance and left the kitchen.
Inside the closed firebox, the charcoal embers were dying out, glowing red.
***
It was the moment the short winter sun began to sink toward dusk.
On the roof of a tall building near the Black Bone Sect's main camp—
An agent who had confirmed the hand signals sent from afar returned a standby signal.
The high-quality black night garb, worn smooth in places, seemed to speak to the agent's experience.
Weapons were strapped tightly to the back, and side arms—daggers, flying needles, and the like—stood out across the body.
A courier who confirmed the rooftop signal reported to the on-site commander.
"Squad Fifteen has taken position."
"Squad Fifteen in position. Confirmed."
The on-site commander, also in night garb, received the report and synthesized the situation.
After confirming everything, the commander signaled the courier waiting beside him.
The courier sprang lightly across several rooftops and landed on an open terrace jutting from the outside of a building.
A group in night garb had already taken their positions there.
He dropped to one knee before a woman dressed the same.
She wore an eyepatch marked with a crescent-moon motif over one eye.
"Pavilion Master. The civilians in the area have been relocated. All agents and collaborators have also secured their positions and are on standby."
The woman who had been standing with arms folded and eyes closed was none other than Se-a, the Hyunwol Pavilion Master.
She slowly opened her eyes and pulled down the cloth that had been covering her mouth.
"Maintain vigilance at your current positions. Once the situation begins, move according to the rules of engagement. Responses to all unexpected variables are to be reported afterward. From this point, command authority is delegated to the on-site commander."
The courier repeated the orders in a small but crisp voice, then vaulted back up to the rooftops.
It was a scene so systematized it was hard to believe they were merely a neutral intelligence organization.
And that, too, was the reason Hyunwol Pavilion had been able to grow rapidly in Luoyang—one of the foremost great cities in the Central Plains.
A little later, as personnel peeled away one by one to carry out their assignments, only Se-a and her guard remained.
Leaning against a wall and letting the cold wind wash over her, Se-a's guard spoke.
"Are you anxious?"
Se-a reflexively started to answer, then checked who it was—and decided to be honest.
"...It's not so much anxiety. It's complicated."
"I see."
And then her guard fell silent.
Se-a sighed and spoke again.
"Earlier—you heard my conversation with the First Young Master, didn't you?"
The guard shook her head.
"I didn't hear anything. Especially not any word like 'revolution' or whatever. Please don't drag me into something horrible. I'll quit on the spot."
Se-a ignored her and said what she wanted to say.
"How did he seem to you? The First Young Master."
The guard shrugged.
"As I told you before, I think he's a good person."
Se-a snapped a little.
"Even after hearing that conversation? Even knowing he's the Dark Heaven Venerable One?"
"First, I don't know what conversation you're talking about."
"Don't dodge it."
The guard scratched her cheek through the black cloth wrapping it.
"He's frightening. How could he not be? Even so…"
In a calm tone, the guard answered.
"For some reason, I find myself liking the First Young Master."
Se-a let out a sigh.
"What an irritating answer."
For a moment, the conversation stopped.
This time, the guard spoke first.
"...I follow what you decide, miss. I only go where you go."
Se-a smiled faintly.
"Even if it's the Netherworld Mado where a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood spreads across the Inhuman Demon Domain?"
"...That, I may need to think about again."
The guard looked Se-a in the eyes.
"Decide as your heart leads you."
"Okay."
Se-a lightly tapped her shoulder and stepped toward the railing.
Beyond the carefully camouflaged edge, she could see the Black Bone Sect's main camp perched on a distant hill.
People carrying torches were starting to run here and there, preparing for the coming darkness.
'Killing villains again and again until the world changes?'
She could even see patrols—numbers that looked more than ten times the usual—moving with their gear cinched tight.
'Whether he's truly someone so extraordinary that he can say such madness without blinking… I'll see it with my own eyes.'
Just then, the courier appeared again.
"Pavilion Master. Skirmishes have begun sporadically in multiple alleys."
"An outpost battle?"
"Yes. The on-site commander analyzes it as a move to secure escape routes in advance."
Se-a drew in a deep breath.
"...It's begun."
***
A narrow alley.
"You X-shit bastards! We got a little easier to push around and now any stray dog or cow thinks it can pop off?!"
A man with a face densely covered in black skull tattoos screamed at his hesitant underlings.
"What are you doing, you bastards?! Get in there and attack, now!"
As he swung his sword behind them and barked orders, those holding all kinds of weapons let out shrieks and charged the three figures in night garb.
"Uwaaaah!"
The foremost of the three lowered his body and took a drawing stance.
"Die!"
The axe swung by the hulking man in front cut only empty air.
At the same time, the brute's belly split longwise, spraying blood and entrails.
A long sword flashed in the agent's hand—so quickly it was hard to see when it had been drawn—and the charging men's throats were cut, arms hung loose, and chests were opened.
In an instant, the vanguard's momentum shattered.
"You bastards! Push harder!"
At the terrifying roar from behind, Black Bone Sect members kept charging in.
But the combat agent who had broken their edge retreated a step, bleeding off their rush.
Then the two agents who had been waiting naturally moved forward, cutting down those who stormed in.
It was one-sided.
It was hard to believe these were people without internal energy—there was that much difference.
To begin with, most of the Black Bone Sect's people had no aptitude whatsoever for this kind of frontal battle.
Most were no more than thugs and street-level bruisers, and for people like that to suppress Hyunwol Pavilion's elite combat agents—hardened through brutal training and real battle—was a hopeless task.
"Hey… f***. This won't do."
The Black Bone Sect action captain shouted behind him.
"Hey! Everyone line up along the sides! Open a path so the ones waiting in back can come out first!"
At his words, the Black Bone Sect members pressed themselves against the alley walls.
"Damn it…"
Seeing the newcomers being deployed through the gap, a Hyunwol Pavilion agent clenched his teeth.
"Spears."
Dozens of spearheads flashed, reflecting the sunset light.
***
"Commander! Spears! They brought out spears!"
A staff officer shouted.
"For a fight that's supposedly just to secure escape routes, their numbers are far too high. And they're increasing. It looks like they're even pulling out forces that should be guarding the main camp."
The Hyunwol Pavilion on-site commander stroked his beard.
"...Deploy all reserves!"
"Yes!"
The commander stared down at the alleys where fierce fighting was breaking out everywhere.
"Even if it leaves the main camp thin, they're choosing to value aura even more."
***
"Push harder! You bastards—since it's come to this, shove them back hard!"
At a Black Bone Sect officer's shout, even more poured into the alleys.
"Is it really fine to pull out even the ones meant to guard the main camp?"
Another officer voiced his unease.
At first, it had been no more than deploying some men to try to secure escape routes.
But the problem began when that deployment was perceived by many as a chance to run.
Once one or two started jumping in, everyone—one after another—began slipping out of the main camp.
"Even if we order a retreat now, it'll only stir up more chaos! Better to keep the aura alive, f***!"
It was the judgment of an officer with the instincts of a former military officer.
"And besides, the real fight's going to be done by those guys anyway, isn't it?"
His gaze turned behind him.
They weren't visible past the wall.
But he could vividly picture it—Underworld martial artists sitting deep inside, heavy as boulders, not moving an inch.
"Hey! Shit—at least take your weapons! No, wait, that bastard's actually running! Kill him!"
What had been nothing more than localized, scattered outpost skirmishes was expanding beyond anyone's control.
***
"Don't worry about being short on people", Se-a said to the courier.
"Soon, those who received my message will start arriving."
The courier left to deliver it to the on-site commander.
"How many do you think will come?" the guard asked.
Se-a curled her lips into a murky smile.
"A ridiculous number."
She placed both hands on the railing and continued.
"The Black Bone Sect has earned too much hatred."
As if on cue, people in all manner of outfits began joining from every direction.
As they merged in, the tide of battle began to turn again.
"They all seem to have a lot of nerve. Geumju has the Sword Clan Bronze Token. Are they truly not afraid of the Sword Clan of Luoyang?"
At that, Se-a flinched.
"Miss?"
Se-a gave a bitter smile.
"...Truth is, I ran my mouth a bit—said I'd take responsibility for everything."
"..."
At a loss for words, the guard stared at her with an incredulous expression.
"D-Don't look at me like that. If the Dark Heaven Venerable One really is as incredible as the rumors say, we can ride his coattails enough—"
At that moment, Se-a felt her body lift, weightless, as if the ground had vanished beneath her.
A roaring blast crashed against her ears, leaving her dazed, and her vision shook violently until she couldn't even tell up from down.
"...M-Miss! Miss!"
When she came to herself, she saw her guard shaking her hard.
"What the—!"
Behind her, the upper portion of the building where they'd been standing was half-destroyed.
Then a laughter so loud it felt like it would tear her eardrums split the air.
It was laughter packed with overwhelming internal energy—so much that the fighting in the alleys paused, as if the entire area had been forced into silence.
"Miss, look there!"
At the guard's shout, Se-a's gaze snapped upward toward the broken building.
As the dust cleared, what emerged was a woman drenched in red from head to toe—Geumju.
Whatever had happened, swollen red veins bulged across every patch of exposed skin, and tangible, visible qi currents streamed out in threads in every direction.
And along those currents, her clothes fluttered as if they had a will of their own.
"...!"
Gooseflesh rose across Se-a's entire body.
Even though Se-a had no internal energy at all, she could feel Geumju's eyes fixed on her.
The guard stepped in front of Se-a, blocking her, and said.
"Miss. I don't know what happened, but that is not the Geumju we knew."
As Se-a tried to speak, Geumju's clear, ringing voice carried down.
"Hyunwol Pavilion Master!"
It was a voice dripping with killing intent.
"Before he arrives… I'll kill you first!"
The guard shoved Se-a, who was struggling to stand straight.
"Run!"
Se-a didn't look back—she sprinted with everything she had.
"Gyu! You have to live—no matter what!"
Her guard—called Gyu—drew her sword and shouted back.
"You too, miss!"
Se-a clenched her teeth.
'First Young Master! Dark Heaven Venerable One! Where are you—what are you doing?!'