Kuaiji Mountain In Crisis (1)

“Fire!”

Whoosh, whoosh-whoosh-whoosh.

Six or seven arrows flew through the air and buried themselves in the chests of those who had approached close to the palisade.

“Aaagh!”

At the scream, people’s movements faltered for a brief moment, but it truly was only for a moment.

“Fire!”

Again the arrows tore across the air, and again several men collapsed with screams.

But that was all. The number of those surging forward like a tidal wave did not seem to diminish at all. At this rate, it was certain they would soon be pressing all the way to the palisade that firmly protected the Kuaiji Mountain Fortress.

“Fall back.”

Just then, a booming voice rang out from behind the attackers, and the men who had recklessly rushed in like madmen retreated in a mass, just as they had come, all the way back to their camp in the distance.

“Good grief! Again?”

Nam Yeong, who had been watching the fight, shook his head.

It was always like this. When they had first been surrounded, he had thought Kuaiji Mountain was finished. Even if there were people on Kuaiji Mountain who had learned martial arts, one could not stand against such an overwhelming difference in numbers.

Yet it was always the same. Twice a day, as if they were rehearsing a play, they would surge right up to the palisade, leave behind a few corpses, and then retreat again like that.

Thanks to that, Kuaiji Mountain was still holding out, but for Nam Yeong, who was simply being hit by something he could not understand, it did not feel good at all.

Moreover, the dead were the powerless commoners he had tried so hard to protect. Even if they had fallen into the wicked cult called the Necromancer Cult and were no longer in their right minds.

“It seems we have gotten through another day without too much trouble.”

Baek Sang-cheon came up beside Nam Yeong and spoke.

Aside from Neung Je-gang, Baek Sang-cheon could be called Nam Yeong’s top disciple, and in practice he was the second-in-command of the Kuaiji Mountain Fortress. When Neung Je-gang had entered Kuaiji Mountain, that position had become somewhat ambiguous, but since Baek Sang-cheon had lived only for revenge against the Wokou who killed his family, he was not one to cling to rank, so he had Nam Yeong’s trust.

Up to now, he had been leading the Kuaiji martial artists who were operating outside, but when Nam Yeong had called him back to take operating funds, he had returned to the fortress and ended up stuck there.

“If you relax with that kind of thinking, you might fall for their tricks.”

“I understand. Please, don’t worry. But why do they always avoid a full-on battle like that? Are they truly here to fight at all?”

“They sent us a declaration of war, so they did come here to fight. I think they’re aiming for something else, but I don’t know what that is.”

“What could there possibly be here for them to aim at…?”

Baek Sang-cheon spoke in frustration.

Even as they did this, some fishing village along the coast was probably suffering damage at the hands of the Wokou.

“In any case, since we don’t know when the situation might change, we need to hurry and finish preparing to evacuate the women and children.”

“Yes. We’ve already moved almost all the remaining provisions through the tunnel Elder Bibun dug. Lady So-yeon and the children have already gone there, and the remaining women will all be moved there by tonight.”

Nam Yeong had already taken action to protect the people from changes he could not foresee. Fortunately, because the enemy had been toying with them with these mock battles, they had been able to move not only the people but also the provisions they would need.

“The next time I see that mole, I’ll have to at least say thank you. He insisted on digging that tunnel even when we said we didn’t need it, and now it’s turned out to be so useful.”

“Indeed. We’re fortunate.”

The two of them stood on the palisade and watched as the Necromancer Cult followers went back to the place they had set up like a camp and moved about as they pleased without posting any guards at all. They were in a completely defenseless state, as if begging the fortress to come down and launch a surprise attack.

They showed no sense of caution or fear whatsoever toward the Kuaiji Mountain Fortress.

“Have you spread the rumors properly?”

Inside a large tent, chairs were lined up in rows as if it were a conference room, and on each chair, one person had their backside planted.

The man who asked the question drew out a long-stemmed pipe and skillfully lit tobacco, exhaling an acrid cloud of smoke.

“Yes, First Division Lord. News that the Necromancer Cult is attacking Kuaiji Mountain should already have reached the Martial Alliance and the Black Alliance. Just in case, we also arranged for the information to reach the Beggar’s Sect and the Hao Sect.”

“Good. Then before long, that brat called Secret Shadow will come rushing here in a panic.”

Fwoosh.

This was Jang Gon, the chain-smoker nicknamed Golcho, First Division Lord under Hwang Dong-ryeong, who had come on the Mountain Lord’s orders to dispose of Secret Shadow. He always had tobacco in his mouth, which was why he had been given the sobriquet Golcho, “the Smoker.”

Jang Gon blew the tobacco smoke into the air with a satisfied look.

“Wouldn’t it be better to hit the fortress first? I don’t like the idea of leaving that place intact and then fighting Secret Shadow.”

The man sitting next to Jang Gon spoke. He wore dark red gauntlets on his hands, and the slick gleam they gave off looked ominous.

“It seems our Second Division Lord is unhappy about leaving the fortress alone.”

The man with the red gauntlets was Yeon Heung, the “Red Death Fist,” Second Division Lord under Hwang Dong-ryeong.

“Yes, that’s right. If we put our minds to it, a mountain fortress like that feels like something we could sweep away within one sijin (about two hours)…”

As he spoke, murderous intent spilled from him, and the other men unconsciously nodded. They too wondered why they were not launching a full-scale attack on the Kuaiji Mountain Fortress.

“Second Division Lord, how much do you know about this man called Nam Yeong?”

Jang Gon asked with a smile, wearing the expression of an adult watching foolish children act up when they knew nothing.

“I know that, although Nam Yeong’s name is widely known, his actual skill isn’t much. Isn’t he only famous because of his fighting against the Wokou?”

Yeon Heung looked around at the others as he spoke. He was not entirely confident in his words and wanted to gauge their reactions.

But nearly everyone was nodding. Gaining confidence that he was not wrong, Yeon Heung turned back to Jang Gon.

However, Jang Gon was looking somewhere else. Over there was Wi Tam of the Blood-Garbed unit under his command.

As all eyes turned toward him, Wi Tam frowned slightly.

“It seems you have a different opinion about Nam Yeong, Wi Tam.”

Yeon Heung addressed Wi Tam.

Nod.

Wi Tam nodded. For a moment, a vein twitched at the corner of Yeon Heung’s eye. No matter that they belonged to different divisions; he was a Division Lord of the Second, and Wi Tam was merely an ordinary member of the First.

But Yeon Heung had no choice but to hold back. He knew that Jang Gon treated his subordinates like brothers. If he tried to browbeat Wi Tam, Jang Gon would surely step in.

“Wi Tam, let’s hear what you have to say about Nam Yeong.”

Jang Gon intervened, giving Wi Tam a chance to speak.

“Understood. Well… honestly, I don’t know any more about Nam Yeong than what the rumors say either. But one thing is clear. From what I personally experienced, he is a strong man.”

“Are you… joking with us?”

Yeon Heung shouted angrily.

What Wi Tam was saying was something anyone could have guessed. If Nam Yeong had been weak, he would have died at the hands of the Wokou long ago. He would never have had a chance to become known in the martial world. But that had only been possible because his opponents were Wokou.

“I’m not joking. Second Division Lord, if you fought me, how long do you think it would take you to bring me down?”

Wi Tam asked, looking at Yeon Heung.

“What? Th-that…”

Yeon Heung could not answer. Although Wi Tam was only an ordinary squad leader of the First Division, his skill was not something to take lightly.

The same was true of everyone sitting here. Yeon Heung’s skill was a little higher, and he had become Second Division Lord because he had entered under the Mountain Lord earlier than the others, but no one here thought he was someone they could look down on.

In truth, winning and losing were things you only knew once you fought. How could you glibly claim, in front of the person in question, how long it would take you to subdue them? In the martial world, a single careless word could turn someone into your mortal enemy.

“In the past, I was once chased by Nam Yeong. Heh-heh-heh! As you know, I was once called a top expert of the unorthodox side. I feared nothing. So I went around doing every bad thing under the sun. And then, of all people, Nam Yeong started tracking me. At the time, I thought he was getting above himself, acting like some problem-solver. But the result…”

Wi Tam paused for a moment.

“W-what was the result?”

“I was confident in my lightness skill and ambushes, just like my sobriquet says. Especially at night, I considered myself invincible. So I decided to ambush Nam Yeong, who was pursuing me, and kill him.”

Instead of describing the result, Wi Tam suddenly veered off into something that sounded unrelated.

“It was the environment I liked best. A dense forest and deep darkness… I did not even consider the possibility of failure. But in a single second, all my confidence vanished completely.”

“A single second? Are you saying you were taken down in just one second?”

The others looked incredulous. Blood-Garbed Wi Tam was no clumsy amateur. His skill was at that level.

“I don’t know how he knew, but it seems he was aware I was going to ambush him. Yet he did not dodge. Anyway, in the instant something flashed, I found myself staring at a dagger buried in my own body. If I had not fled at once, that spot would have been my grave.”

“You’re saying he used throwing weapons? Nam Yeong used concealed weapons? Isn’t he known for using a sword?”

Nam Yeong was known as a sword master. There were almost no people who had seen him use a dagger.

“That’s why he’s remarkable. The real thing is not what the world sees. In any case, after that I started keeping my head down. I had no wish to be hunted by him again. Still, thanks to that, my temperament calmed, and I’m much stronger now than I was then. I should probably be grateful, shouldn’t I? Heh-heh-heh…!”

Wi Tam ended with a gloomy laugh. His words might have been calm, but it was proof that resentment still boiled in his heart.

Fwoosh.

“It seems you’ve had a different kind of experience from mine.”

Jang Gon looked at the people made silent by Wi Tam’s story, exhaled a puff of smoke, and spoke.

“The Nam Yeong I know uses poison as well. It may not be hard to detoxify and it’s not potent enough to kill outright, but how do you think it feels to suddenly sense poison in the middle of a fight? That’s why he’s known as a sword master. In the instant you flinch from the poison, his blade cuts across your neck. I escaped harm because this tobacco has given me a tolerance to poison, but seventeen of my former comrades all died from that poison.”

A look of puzzlement appeared in everyone’s eyes.

In truth, none of them knew Jang Gon’s background clearly. Just what had he done to end up fighting Nam Yeong, and with eighteen men against one…?

Jang Gon did not satisfy their curiosity.

“Our target is that youngster called Secret Shadow. The Third Division Lord and all his subordinates died at that one brat’s hands. The fact remains that he’s young but strong. If we fight Nam Yeong first, we might suffer losses in our forces. Of course, if we fight, we will be the ones who win, but Nam Yeong is more terrifying than what we think we know. He might have something besides throwing weapons and poison. So we will take Secret Shadow down with our full strength first, and then go after Nam Yeong.”

“Understood.”

Yeon Heung nodded and replied.

If Nam Yeong was that dangerous, there was no need to touch him first. Their objective was Secret Shadow. They had come under orders that, if they failed to take Secret Shadow down, they were to die here to the last man.

To that end, it was best not to create any situation that might cause even the slightest loss of strength.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea, First Division Lord.”

“Hm?”

Jang Gon’s mood, which had soared at the positive reactions to his plan, plummeted.

“I understand why you don’t want to strike Nam Yeong first. But I never imagined you feared him this much. What if Secret Shadow doesn’t come by this road and instead goes around to the back of the fortress? If he moves that way and links up with Nam Yeong, then this entire plan becomes useless. And in that case, it will only become harder for us to deal with Secret Shadow. If Nam Yeong is not just some middling fellow but a true expert, we might not be able to kill Secret Shadow at all.”

The man who spoke had sharp eyes and belonged to the Second Division. He was Gam Chaek, the “Divine Seducer of Hearts and Robes.”

He had once been extremely famous; more than a few wives of high officials had been seduced by his words into giving him their bodies and even their fortunes. As a result, he had become a target of Eastern Depot investigations and vanished from sight.

As quick-witted as his smooth tongue suggested, Gam Chaek had picked out a flaw in Jang Gon’s reasoning. It was true that they could predict Secret Shadow’s movements in a broad sense. At the first rumor or report, Secret Shadow would surely rush toward Kuaiji Mountain.

But they had no idea where and by what path he would come. As his nickname implied, if he was confident in his lightness skill, he could ignore the roads entirely and simply run over the terrain into the fortress.

“Indeed, there’s no guarantee he’ll come by this road.”

Jang Gon grimaced.

Gam Chaek had pierced his inner thoughts with painful accuracy. Deep down, Jang Gon harbored a kind of fear toward Nam Yeong.

There had been eighteen of them, including himself, against one man, Nam Yeong. Even so, Jang Gon had had to watch as Nam Yeong’s sword lopped off his comrades’ necks.

A great deal of time had passed since then, and compared to his younger self, he had improved by leaps and bounds; now he was confident he could defeat Nam Yeong in a one-on-one fight. But the memory buried too deep in him kept crying out that he must not lay a hand on Nam Yeong.

So, after taking care of Secret Shadow, he had planned to make some excuse, leave dealing with Nam Yeong to the Second Division, and then withdraw.

But if they struck at Nam Yeong first, he could not simply dump it on the Second Division. He would have to step forward himself—and he found that prospect horribly distasteful.

“Then do you have some better idea?”

Jang Gon backed off a step. If he stubbornly insisted on his own plan after being challenged and things went wrong, he would bear all the responsibility.

The First and Second Divisions did not have a strict superior-subordinate relationship. Because of that, he could not simply force his will through.

“Of course we have to strike Nam Yeong first—before he and Secret Shadow can join forces. There is no better approach.”

At Gam Chaek’s unequivocal declaration, the flesh of Jang Gon’s cheeks quivered.

There was no further room to retreat. He could still enforce his plan by sheer authority here. But failure would mean their deaths. And afterwards, he might even die at the hands of enraged Second Division members.

“Fine, then we’ll leave taking down Nam Yeong to the Second Division Lord. Second Division Lord, are you confident you can wipe out Nam Yeong and that fortress of his?”

“Hahaha! I truly don’t understand why you fear Nam Yeong that much, First Division Lord. You know we’re not the sort to fall to a bit of poison or a few throwing blades. I’ll bring you his severed head myself.”

Yeon Heung might be a little lacking in brains, but he was by no means an easy opponent. The reason he was so confident regarding Nam Yeong was that he too worked with poison.

The very substance that stained his gauntlets that dark red was poison. It only took effect when it broke the skin, but as he had handled it, he had unconsciously developed a tolerance to poison.

“Confidence is good, but too much of it can become a disaster. Do not underestimate Nam Yeong. Then we’ll have the Second Division deal with Nam Yeong, and the First Division will take responsibility for Secret Shadow. Remember that failure means our deaths…”

At Jang Gon’s final words, the hall fell briefly silent.

Failure meant death.

Right now, they all needed to steel their hearts together.