76 — Crisis At The Mountain Sword Sect (1)

“Where is Sect Master Heo Gyeong of the Mountain Sword Sect?! Come out at once!”

Gyeong Gadeung, the Righteous Chivalry Guild’s top-tier master, charged boldly through the sect’s inner grounds.

It was early dawn, and with few guards on duty, the place felt like a deserted land.

The few sentries he did meet couldn’t even withstand a single stroke from his blade.

Pwahk!

“Gaaah!”

“Where are you, Heo Gyeong?! I, Gyeong Gadeung, have come to take your head!”

With overwhelming force, Gyeong Gadeung stormed toward the main hall in search of the Mountain Sword Sect Master, Heo Gyeong. Behind him followed two other top masters and nearly a thousand Righteous Guild warriors.

It was an overwhelming sight.

Cold Dart Twin-Sabre Naeng Gu-eon, one of the guild’s supreme experts running behind him, shook his head and muttered,

“Senior Gyeong always overflows with energy. Even without rushing like this, the destruction of the Mountain Sword Sect is already certain.”

A thousand warriors, three top-tier masters, and a surprise attack before dawn—there was less than a one-in-ten chance the Mountain Sword Sect would survive the day.

Thus, Naeng Gu-eon couldn’t understand Gyeong Gadeung’s urgency.

Golden-Spear Prodigy Hong Man-suk, running alongside him, chuckled.

“He was close friends with the late Iron-Staff Grand Hero Hwang Jang-gon. He wouldn’t want to hand revenge to anyone else. Still…”

Now that they had entered between the sect’s halls, Hong Man-suk glanced around.

“No matter how sudden the attack, it’s far too quiet. Unnaturally so.”

Naeng Gu-eon snorted.

“Hmph! Maybe they’ve already fled. Those heretic sect dogs would do something that cowardly.”

At that moment, Gyeong Gadeung burst into the main hall of the Mountain Sword Sect.

“You bastard, Heo Gyeong! Where are you?!”

As the guild’s warriors flooded into the main hall, flames suddenly erupted from the surrounding buildings.

Whoooosh!

“What the—?!”

“Fire?!”

The flames spread violently, as if the walls themselves had been soaked in oil, soon engulfing the entire hall.

The guild warriors who had charged in like a tidal wave faltered in confusion.

“Fire!”

“The flames are too strong! We must retreat!”

Unable to find Heo Gyeong and trapped by blazing buildings, Gyeong Gadeung shouted furiously,

“Heo Gyeong, you rat! Stop hiding and come out!”

Naeng Gu-eon, on the other hand, turned to Hong Man-suk with a bemused look.

“I expected them to run, but this is absurd. Burning down their own hall? Unbelievable.”

But Hong Man-suk’s expression hardened as he scanned the area.

“We can’t assume they’ve fled yet. The ones who started the fire might still be nearby—!”

Before he could finish, he froze and looked up.

Above, the sky was blackened by a rain of arrows descending upon them.

By the time he noticed, the arrows were already falling.

“Arrows! Take cover!” he shouted.

But his warning, muffled by the roaring flames and chaos, reached few ears—and came too late.

Those who glanced up at his cry saw a deluge of arrows raining down upon the crowded guild warriors.

Thud-thud-thud-thud! Thwack! Thud-thud-thud!

“Gaaah!”

“Aaaagh!”

“What the—?! Uwaaah!”

So many men packed into such a narrow space—hundreds were struck.

Within moments, the burning Mountain Sword Sect became a living hell.

“Help me!”

“My eyes! My eyes!”

“My leg! My leg!”

In a single volley, over a hundred guild warriors lay dead or writhing in agony.

And it didn’t stop there.

Whizz-whizz-whizz!

Hong Man-suk shouted again as another volley darkened the sky.

“They’re firing again! Everyone, get out! The enemy is targeting the flames!”

At his command, the guild warriors desperately tried to retreat from the burning sect.

But they couldn’t outrun the arrows. Another wave rained down upon their heads.

Shshshshshk!

“Gaaah!”

“Uwaaaah!”

“Kyahhhh!”

Furious, Gyeong Gadeung slashed through the falling arrows and roared,

“They’re firing from the west forest! All Righteous Guild warriors—charge west! Leave none alive!”

At his shout, the surviving warriors turned and rushed westward.

Gyeong Gadeung prepared to follow—

When suddenly, someone burst from the burning main hall.

“Going somewhere, Gyeong Gadeung?!”

It was Heo Gyeong, Master of the Mountain Sword Sect.

His blade, famed as the Light-Splitting Sword, sliced toward Gyeong Gadeung’s back in a flash.

Startled, Gyeong Gadeung turned just in time to block.

“Heo Gyeong, you rat!”

Clang-clang!

Watching the man who had stayed behind alone, Heo Gyeong suddenly remembered his earlier conversation with Yeon-hae, the Heavenly Beauty.

That day, she had come unannounced and said,

“Your enemies will attack soon. Do you have a plan, Sect Master?”

Heo Gyeong had trusted the Five Eagle Siblings for their earlier feats, but he had still doubted her.

After all, the Righteous Chivalry Guild was an orthodox sect that valued honor more than life. Surely they wouldn’t stoop to ambush.

But Yeon-hae had answered calmly,

“Their leaders are not righteous men—they are Blood Cult demons. The guild’s elders might not even realize it, but the leadership doesn’t care for honor.”

She had then shown him a Blood Cult manual as proof.

It was before Sag Muhun had sent it to the Martial Alliance.

She also revealed that she and her comrades were covert agents of the Martial Alliance tracking the Blood Cult, infiltrating the Mountain Sword Sect to observe the guild.

Heo Gyeong had no choice but to believe her.

Not only because of the Blood Cult manual, but also because her group’s martial prowess—three top masters among them—was undeniable.

Yet even believing her, he had no way to defend against a thousand men.

Then Yeon-hae had said,

“With fewer than four hundred soldiers, there’s no winning head-on. But if you don’t fight head-on… you might win.”

What she had suggested was exactly this scene before him now.

Heo Gyeong hadn’t liked it.

To burn the main hall he had built with his own blood and sweat—it was too cruel.

But when she’d asked, “Do you have any better plan?” he’d been unable to answer.

Now, seeing his sect engulfed in flames, Heo Gyeong’s blood boiled.

This was all the Righteous Guild’s fault.

With wrathful eyes, he thrust his sword—splitting into multiple streaks of light.

“Die!”

Shshshshk!

But Gyeong Gadeung wasn’t easily subdued.

“Fool!”

Clang-clang-clang!

He deflected Heo Gyeong’s furious strikes and shouted,

“You rat! Today is your death day!”

But Heo Gyeong sneered.

“Better watch your back, idiot!”

“What nonsense—?!”

As Gyeong Gadeung lunged, ignoring him, Heo Gyeong’s eyes were fixed elsewhere—

On a spear piercing through the flames from another building.

Thwack!

“Guhk!”

It struck straight through Gyeong Gadeung’s back, bursting out his chest.

The man wielding it had pierced him in the blink of an eye.

As Gyeong Gadeung gasped his last, staring at the spearhead protruding from his chest, Heo Gyeong swallowed hard in shock.

Even as a sneak attack, that strike’s speed was monstrous.

Among the Five Eagle Siblings, the eldest, Bae Jonggwan the Iron Meteor, and the fourth, Yeon-hae the Heavenly Beauty, were famous—but the most terrifying was clearly the second, Chang Hyuk the Reborn Zhao Yun.

Seeing Gyeong Gadeung fall, Hong Man-suk shouted as he raced back.

“Gyeong Gadeung! You bastard, Heo Gyeong!”

Heo Gyeong saw Hong Man-suk and Naeng Gu-eon returning through the flames, while the other guild warriors had yet to regroup.

Yeon-hae’s strategy had worked flawlessly.

Her words echoed in his mind:

“The only way to defeat a stronger enemy is to cut off its head. If we take out their top masters quickly, victory will follow.”

“But how can we isolate them from their troops?”

“Simple—set fire to the main hall.”

“…What?!”

Heo Gyeong now hurled himself toward the separated Hong Man-suk.

They had to kill all three top masters before the rest arrived.

But before he could reach him, someone shot past him at blinding speed—Chang Hyuk, the Reborn Zhao Yun, spearing straight toward Hong Man-suk.

At the same time, Heo Gyeong noticed another figure bursting from the flames, sword flashing toward Naeng Gu-eon as he prepared to throw hidden weapons.

“Haaaah!”

Swish-swish!

“Wha—?!”

The sudden ambush left Naeng Gu-eon stunned.

That was Je Wonyeong, the youngest of the Swordsmen of Gwaesan—though Heo Gyeong didn’t yet know his true identity as Je Wonyeong of the Diancang Sect, the renowned Sword Tiger.

Chang Hyuk’s spear thrust, swift as lightning, was met by Hong Man-suk’s confident smirk.

“To face me with a spear? Foolish!”

Swish-swish-swish!

Five streaks of light stabbed forward, but Hong Man-suk’s spear-axe twirled and deflected them all.

Clang-clang-clang!

He finally struck Chang Hyuk’s shaft, knocking it upward.

“You’re fast, but your spear art is still immature!”

He moved to counter—

But Chang Hyuk suddenly released his spear and struck the shaft with a Tiger Claw Strike.

Booom!

“Ugh?!”

The impact was so great that Hong Man-suk momentarily lost control of his weapon.

It quivered like a living snake, slipping from his grip.

Then, before he could react, Chang Hyuk raced up the shaft like a beast.

“You—you’re not a spearman, are you—?!”

Wham!

Chang Hyuk’s fist smashed his face, and Hong Man-suk collapsed unconscious.

As his consciousness faded, Hong Man-suk realized too late that his opponent hadn’t dropped the spear—he’d discarded it deliberately.

Chang Hyuk—Seol Pung—wasted not a second.

His next target was Naeng Gu-eon, still barely holding off Je Wonyeong’s assault.

For the plan to succeed, they had to finish all three masters before the thousand warriors returned.

But Naeng Gu-eon, a master of hidden weapons, already knew he was in danger the moment the duel turned close-range.

Though young, his opponent was far too skilled to be dismissed.

Desperate to escape, he prepared to retreat—

Then saw the beast-like Chang Hyuk charging straight toward him.

He cursed under his breath.

“Damn it.”

Even the swordsman alone was a problem—now that monster too?

Panicking, Naeng Gu-eon unleashed every hidden weapon in his arsenal.

“Yaaah!”

Whsssh-whsssh-whsssh!

“What—?!”

Je Wonyeong quickly spun his sword into a circular defense.

It was the Fifth Form of the Four-One Sword Method—Whirlwind Cut.

Wheeeee!

Clang-clang-clang!

His blade whirled like a shield, deflecting the rain of darts.

Naeng Gu-eon seized the moment to flee toward the oncoming guild troops—the only chance of survival.

No matter how strong his enemies were, they couldn’t face a thousand men.

Je Wonyeong grimaced as he saw him slip away, apologizing to Seol Pung.

“My apologies, Captain Seol. I should have finished him.”

Now hidden among the tide of returning warriors, Naeng Gu-eon laughed maniacally.

“Hahaha! Kill them! There are only three of them!”

“Uwooooooh!”

The guild’s army charged like a flood.

Grinding his teeth, Je Wonyeong said,

“I’ve ruined the plan. I let the key master escape! We must retreat, Captain Seol—there are too many!”

He leapt back.

Meanwhile, Sect Master Heo Gyeong had already turned and was withdrawing as well.