Chapter 1680
Just believe. (4)
“Damn it! Finally! Just barely!”
Jo Geol gritted his teeth.
He saw the burning sight of Mount Wudang. It was a dreadful scene, but Jo Geol didn’t miss the fact that the flames hadn’t yet reached the highest peak.
“Sasuk! It’s up there!”
“I know!”
Baek Cheon shouted, not slowing his pace as he charged forward.
“No, in front! Vice Sect Leader! First, look ahead!”
“Hmm?”
At Hye Yeon’s urgent voice, Baek Cheon lowered his gaze.
What he saw was a sight that seemed like the mountains below were in turmoil.
‘What?’
No, that’s not it! It’s impossible for a mountain to move. What he saw was the army of Sapaeryeon , which had been densely packed at the base of the mountain, turning in their direction.
The sight was so overwhelming that even Baek Cheon, who prided himself on having experienced countless battles, felt dizzy for a moment.
“What should we do?”
At Yoon Jong’s voice, Baek Cheon glanced back.
Even though he was the vice-leader of the division, that position was second in command. If the leaders were to step forward now…
However, when Baek Cheon turned his head, what he faced was not the division leader but Jin Geumryong’s irritating face, who had somehow taken a position behind him.
“What.”
“Huh?”
Jin Geumryong let out a short snort.
“What are you doing, glancing back now? After doing whatever you wanted all this time.”
“N-No!”
“What, are you scared now that you see them? Coward?”
Baek Cheon’s face twisted furiously for a moment.
“What nonsense…”
“If not, then keep your head forward and give the order!”
Jin Geumryong gestured with his chin toward the front, as if to say don’t even think about looking back.
“Right now, you’re the one who needs to give commands.”
At that moment, Jin Geumryong lifted his sword, slightly extending it as if to show it to Baek Cheon.
“I’ll be watching closely to see if you can act like a proper person.”
“…”
“What are you waiting for?”
“Ugh…”
Baek Cheon, who glared at Jin Geumryong as if he could kill him, snapped his head forward with a face boiling with anger.
‘Damn it!’
What a personality.
Only Jin Geumryong could say, ‘No matter what you order, I will support you with all my might,’ in such an irritating way. In a different sense from Chung Myung, he has a knack for getting under people’s skin. They are almost equally annoying.
But still.
“Sasuk! So what should we…”
“What do you mean, what should we do? You idiot!”
Slash!
Baek Cheon’s sword was drawn like lightning.
“Yoon Jong! Jo Geol!”
“Yes!”
“Attack the enemy’s flanks! Scatter them!”
“Yes!”
No further explanation was needed for Yoon Jong and Jo Geol.
“I’ll break through the center! Namgung Dowi! Hye Yeon! Help me!”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
Even before those words were fully spoken, the forces of Cheonumaeng, which had been charging like a single entity, split into three directions.
People who had never coordinated with each other moved as if they had been working together for decades.
“There’s no turning back! Break through in one go!”
“Yes!”
“Everyone!”
Baek Cheon raised his sword and shouted forward.
“Crush Sapaeryeon’s forces!”
“Let’s gooo!”
Swoosh!
Before the words even finished, two figures brushed past Baek Cheon and charged ahead.
“Huh?”
“Hmm?”
Jin Geumryong and Yu Iseol.
The two who leaped forward at just the right moment glanced at each other with hardened expressions for an instant. But only for a moment.
Swoosh!
Without waiting for a lead, the two kicked off the ground and rushed swiftly toward the oncoming enemies.
“Get out of the way, woman!”
“You’re in the way.”
The tips of their swords, like the wind, pierced through those who didn’t know what to do in an instant.
Thud! Thud!
“Aaah!”
Having created holes in the bodies of over ten men in an instant, Jin Geumryong and Yu Iseol glanced at each other again and hardened their expressions.
“Move aside!”
“I told you, you’re in the way.”
Swoosh!
The two of them penetrated the enemy lines. Even before those pierced by their swords could fall.
“S-Stop them!”
“A-mi-ta-bha!”
“Haaaaap!”
As they tried to react to the rapid assault, their ears were filled with a majestic shout and an immense roar.
Golden light from a Buddha’s radiance and a massive white sword aura descended upon Sapaeryeon.
Boom!
A storm of overwhelming power swept through.
The enemies, struck by the palm force and sword energy, were sent flying in all directions like waves crashing against a cliff and spraying foam.
“W-What is that?”
Sapaeryeon’s warriors were all too familiar with such a battle.
But even for them, the might of Shaolin’s greatest talent and Namgung clan’s Young Lord, unleashing their martial arts with full power, was shockingly overwhelming.
Having great skill and possessing high destructive power are not the same. There might be few in the world who could defeat these two, but there are even fewer who can display such power with a single strike.
The spectacle of their might overwhelmed those who faced them.
“What kind of monsters…!”
However, they weren’t given much time to dwell on that power.
“Pierce through!”
Before they knew it, Yoon Jong and Jo Geol, who had split to lead their groups to the left and right, were coming at the enemy like a beast’s fangs ready to pierce through from above and below.
Break through the center, and slash the flanks.
This precise combined attack was being executed naturally, without any need for extensive discussion.
“N-No! Don’t charge too far ahead! Samae! Jin Geumryong!”
Baek Cheon shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Follow me! Don’t let yourself get isolated!”
“Yes!”
As if drawn to one another, Baek Cheon’s central force charged forward at an incredible speed.
“…Hmm.”
Jongnam’s Sect Leader, Jongli Gok, watched the scene with a hardened expression.
‘Is this really possible?’
The power was one thing, but only a few words of instruction had been given. Yet, those who had never fought together before moved as if it were a familiar task.
Jongli Gok knew how difficult it was to move such a large group according to one’s will. Yet this seemingly impossible feat was unfolding right before his eyes.
“How is this even…”
“It’s simple.”
“Hmm?”
Jongli Gok turned his head.
There stood Im Sobyeong, drenched and panting heavily.
“…Did you fall into water somewhere?”
“It’s because it’s simple.”
Ignoring Jongli Gok’s comment, Im Sobyeong continued to explain, gasping for breath.
“There’s nothing complicated about it. The only command given to them was to follow the vice-leader in front.”
“…Follow?”
“Then there’s no need for systems or anything else. While defense or standoff might require complexity, an attack always starts from a single point.”
Jongli Gok nodded.
‘Indeed…’
There may be no end to military strategy, but its framework certainly exists. Especially in the aspect of attack, it was even clearer.
“One main attacker and four supporting it.”
“…”
“In any military strategy, the branches of attack do not exceed five. In other words, if those five can move, any possible attack can be attempted. As a Sect Leader, you understand the significance of this, don’t you?”
Jongli Gok let out a small laugh.
“That’s nonsense.”
“Yes. It’s not exactly a proper method. But…”
Im Sobyeong pointed forward with his chin.
“It’s working, isn’t it?”
“…”
Jongli Gok couldn’t argue with that.
“There’s no way to develop complex tactics and systems at this point. Even after ten years, they wouldn’t function properly. But there is a simple method.”
“…You mean thinking of five armies as five people?”
“Yes. And assigning them to what they do best.”
Jongli Gok looked ahead again.
One breaks through, two support. And the other two scatter to the enemy’s flanks to create confusion.
“…Five Elements [오행(五行)] Formation?”
“Exactly.”
This is the most basic of the Five Elements Formation. Anyone raised in a martial arts family would have practiced this formation countless times. The only difference is that what is usually done by one person is now being executed by an entire group.
“That…”
Jongli Gok understood.
In this method, a command hierarchy isn’t really necessary. Those leading each group are people who can understand each other with just a glance. They’ve fought through countless battles side by side.
“Is this why it is centered around the Vice Sect Leader?”
“Well, only the General would know that.”
“Heh…”
Jongli Gok let out a small laugh again.
“This is recklessly absurd. This is a half-baked strategy that only works because we’re on the offensive…”
At that moment, Jongli Gok flinched.
As he was about to finish speaking, he recalled something someone had said to him.
– This time, it’s our turn to attack.
“…Attack?”
Not ‘we will attack,’ but we must attack. No, we have no choice but to attack.
‘Since when?’
Was it not merely an intention to mix the sects to suppress their individual desires?
“…Huh.”
Jongli Gok shook his head.
He couldn’t keep up. No, he didn’t even dare to keep up.
“Now’s not the time to be impressed, Sect Leader. You need to put in some effort.”
“…Aren’t our ranks similar?”
“I’m a civil servant, though.”
“…”
Jongli Gok sighed silently and moved forward.
He didn’t intend to stand idly by with his arms crossed, anyway. That would make him feel utterly useless.
“My head may not be sharp, but my sword is still reliable.”
Jongli Gok’s sword gleamed, as if to prove that fact.
“Commander!”
Standing below the blood-soaked white cliff, Ho Gamyeong looked down at the foot of the mountain. He could clearly see Cheonumaeng’s forces that had stormed in, crushing Sapaeryeon below.
“H-How have they already made it here!”
“…”
“Commander! We need to come up with a plan quickly!”
“There’s no need to panic. We expected them to come.”
“…Excuse me?”
Ho Gamyeong’s gaze lowered.
Cheonumaeng was visible, but Ryeonju was not. This meant that Ryeonju had succeeded in his plan. In other words, Chung Myung was not among them.
However, Ho Gamyeong repeatedly scanned the troops, examining them closely. When he finally confirmed that Chung Myung was indeed absent, Ho Gamyeong’s head nodded slightly.
“He’s not here.”
“…Commander?”
“Then they’re just a ragtag bunch.”
Ho Gamyeong spoke coldly.
“Tell them not to engage directly and to retreat while fighting back moderately.”
“But Commander, their momentum…”
The subordinate, who tried to argue, flinched at Ho Gamyeong’s cold gaze and bowed his head deeply.
“We will follow your orders.”
“Draw them to the mountain.”
Ho Gamyeong’s gaze sank deeply, very deeply.
‘An opportunity like this doesn’t come easily.’
Ho Gamyeong glanced up towards White-Faced Cliff.
‘If there’s bait that they can’t resist… we must use it.’
The only thing left was to reel in the big catch.
Ho Gamyeong’s eyes shifted from the fierce battlefield to the depths of the darkness.
“You’ll regret not coming, Maehwa Geomgwi.”
Ho Gamyeong clenched his fist tightly.
Next chapter>>>
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Ho Gamyeong is trying it again. He thinks he can outmaneuver Chung Myung. But Chung Myung had already prepared Cheonumaeng in advance.
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The latest chapters of the novel – Patreon or Buymeacoffee – caught up to the ongoing there. Currently aligning my blog and my Patreon schedule-wise so the new schedule here soon too.
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