“The flames are up!”
Jinmu nodded at the report from Jeok Saeng and looked straight ahead.
Woah, truly a scary bastard.
Now he’s making me get goosebumps.
Has he really expected all things to unfold this way?
Let us say that it is indeed the strategy of ‘making noise in the East while attacking the West’. This is a strategy which probably could have been fully figured out by anyone from Evil Sect’s Heaven.
But the strategy developed to allow infiltration of the assault troops inside the enemy camp is what was amazing.
For the sake of that one plan that falls from the sky on the kites, he made even the enemy’s movements flow according to his intention.
By conducting several attacks to measure the distance and observe their internal movements, Jeok Saeng’s vigilance was at its highest, and the time of attack selected was in the deep of the night, allowing the enemy to brightly illuminate the area.
It was unclear whether it was intentional or not, but it further solidified Jeok Saeng’s plan.
It was a huge mistake that they started fires to prevent the shadows from infiltrating.
As long as there is darkness, the eyes can adapt and see things more clearly but eyes adapted to brightness cannot see through the darkness.
The dry straw caught fire in an instant and lit up the area around the castle as bright as day, pushing the darkness back and billowing smoke filled the sky.
Seeing as the fire wasn’t easily extinguishing, it looks like firewood has been piled up underneath. It will probably be smoldering all night.
The winds were blowing from the northerly direction.
It was a self-fulfilling prophecy that if a fire burns all night long, the rising smoke will flow into the castle and obscure the vision of those inside.
It was a perfect situation to infiltrate using the kite plan.
“Jeok Saeng.”
“Yes?”
“What if you were to join the enemy ranks, then we would become enemies, right?”
“Uh?”
“You’ll be the first one I will kill then.”
“…Uh.”
Jeok Saeng was shocked at Jinmu’s words, but then he burst into laughter.
“Heavenly Lord, please do not joke with that look. I will consider it as your intentions.”
I am serious. I will mobilize all my resources to kill you.
Whether Jeok Saeng’s smile was due to embarrassment or not, Jinmu glared at him as if making a promise.
“Hmm… Heavenly Lord, the leader in charge of the south gate should have also started attacking by now.”
“Right.”
“Once we are ready, we will secure a place for the assault troops to disembark within the Evil Sect’s Heaven’s fort, and send a signal.”
“…?”
Inside Evil Sect’s Heaven’s fort?
It seemed like this sneaky brat was up to something again, but Jinmu didn’t ask and just nodded.
“Heavenly Lord.”
“…?”
“You cannot overdo it. Never forget that the Heavenly Lord isn’t just a powerful warrior, but the new Lord of the Evil Sect’s Heaven.”
The smile on Jinmu’s face deepened as he heard those words from Jeok Saeng.
“Don’t worry.”
“……”
But his answer seemed quite unreliable, as Jeok Saeng glanced at Jinmu several times before getting on his horse.
“Jeok Saeng.”
“……”
“Don’t venture too deep.”
“I understand.”
It was a serious tone, but he understood the deep concern within.
Has it ever felt this good to be the object of someone’s worry?
“Then, let us begin.”
As Jinmu nodded, Jeok Saeng swung his whip with a look of determination and rode off into the darkness.
Jinmu briefly looked at his retreating back and then turned his head to the back.
About a hundred warriors were dressed in similar black attire.
Assassin Hall, Lower District Sect, Iron Sword Troops.
Excluding the leader-level warriors, it was an assault troop consisting of the warriors with the highest skills.
And along with them, there were strongmen, each holding a large skein in their hands.
“Is everyone ready?”
“Yes!”
“The outcome of this battle depends on you.”
“……”
“Let us fly the kites.”
At his brief order, the assault troops firmly attached the rectangular black kites they had laid on the ground onto their backs.
“Let’s go!”
Jinmu took the lead and ran ahead quickly towards the castle of Evil Sect’s Heaven and then leaped up sharply.
Pat!
As the assault troops simultaneously rose, they pulled hard on the strings.
Swish!
As the kites, fully swept up by the wind, rose into the sky, the string of the kites behind them were pulled taut until they looked like they would snap.
As the strings, which had been pulled to their limit, made a creaking sound, the leader of the ones holding the strings shouted.
“Let it go!”
Flutter!
The strings quickly twirled and the threads became loosened.
A group of kites riding up with the wind, vanished from the bright space into the dark sky.
“What’s that?”
Go Geum, the leader of the upper defense of the North Gate, focused his gaze on the group of people running from this dim place.
“These are the warriors of the Green Forest, Water Pirates, and the Metallurgy Hall.”
“……”
Go Geum’s face contorted harshly at the report from his subordinate.
How could they have come inside the gate?
And how could he, the leader of the castle gates’ defense, not know about this fact?
Go Geum’s irritation reached its peak, shouting harshly at those who had already crossed the boundary between the darkness and the light created by the burning straw.
“Who is it!”
“It is me! Jong Mok-rip! The leader of Metallurgy Hall!”
“Leader Jong? No, and the Green Forest Lord? How could you have gone outside during the war? That too, without telling me?”
Jong Mok-rip looked up at Go Geum, who recognized the two clan leaders, and looked at them strangely.
It was obvious that they were being chased, and the sound of pursuers running far away could also be heard.
“I will explain it all later! Open the gate quickly!”
“……”
Go Geum frowned and contemplated.
Wasn’t this suspicious?
They came running from the direction of the enemy camp during the battle.
On the high walls, it was impossible to confirm if it was really them or if the rebels had disguised themselves with a backdoor attack technique.
“But how are we to believe that you are the real lords?”
“…What?”
“How can we open the gate when you could also be a disguise taken on by the rebels?”
“This fucking….”
Jong Mok-rip’s face contorted at those words from Go Geum.
They had no other choice but to escape to this northern gate, even though there was a chance of Yu Wol-cheong killing them later.
Even if they were later taken for interrogation, it was more important to survive for now.
“Go Geum! Do you not recognize me? I am Ju Cheon-geol.”
“I do recognize your face. But I cannot open the gate in a situation where you could be the disguised enemy.”
“……”
Ju Cheon-geol, who was already feeling rushed, felt irritated at Go Geum’s attitude, and raised his sword without hesitation and cut his cheek.
Would adding another wound onto his body be a big deal after all he had gone through?
In any case, Go Geum felt startled as the blood flowed from his wound.
“See! I’ve used my weapon and I am bleeding like…”
Poong!
At that moment, the sound of this deafening attack could be heard piercing through the darkness.
“Kuk!”
The arrow which pierced Ju Cheon-geol’s neck as he stepped ahead to persuade Go Geum lodged itself in the gate.
“A-arrow?”
It was unthinkable that Ju Cheon-geol, the leader of Green Forest, would get struck by this mere arrow.
But, no one had any way of knowing that.
The one who fired the arrow was none other than Dae Gung. Leader of the Hidden Troops and a skilled marksman, his skills were so remarkable that even Jinmu acknowledged him.
“Green Forest Lord! Th-this is a mess!”
A single arrow ended the rule of the Green Forest.
Jong Mok-rip quickly turned his head at the sight of the falling man and his wide eyes captured the sight of the archers of the Lower District Sect chasing after them and drawing their bows.
Ping! Ping! Ping! Papak!
As the arrow shot straight down the path and landed close enough near him, Jong Mok-rip shouted with a pale face.
Now, Ju Cheon-geol’s death was out of his mind. Who would worry about someone else while their own life was at stake?
“G-Go Geum! Gate! Open the gate! Don’t you realize that hyung has died!”
Jong Mok-rip’s shout had turned into an affirmation, making Go Geum go into a panic, not knowing what to do.
“You moron! Open it! We are all going to die if this continues! If I live, I will give you a big chunk of money from my clan to give you a comfortable life! Quickly! Open the damn gate, Please!”
“……”
Go Geum, who had witnessed the death of Ju Cheon-geol and heard the begging of Jong mok-rip, ordered his subordinates.
“Damn it, open the gates. Archers, fire the arrows. Do not let the pursuers come any closer to us!”
Ping! Ping! Ping!
At Go Geum’s command, the archers stationed on the wall fired arrows all at once.
Papapak!
The pursuers retreated to avoid the arrows flying from the wall, and in the meantime, the surviving warriors, along with Jong Mok-rip, ran into the open gates of the castle.
“Euk, euk…”
Jong Mok-rip, who had finally reached safe ground, gasped for breath and sank to the ground.
He looked around and saw that there were less than ten survivors around.
Go Geum, who confirmed that Jong Mok-rip and the others were already inside, hurriedly turned his gaze outside.
New formations were taking place where the pursuers had retreated to.
But, the arrows which were effective in scaring them, no longer approached.
And yet, the atmosphere felt so different from the previous small battles.
The rebel warriors lined up in a dim space, filling the space in front of the North Gate.
And behind them, a large number of warriors piled up in layers.
Go Geum’s face contorted.
He couldn’t accurately count the number of people in the darkness.
They had clearly said that the enemies would set up a camp near the southern gate, but there were so many that he thought the entire enemy troop had settled near the North Gate.
“What’s the situation at the South Gate?”
Go Geum turned his head in case something happened there, and heard a commotion in the distance, as if a battle had broken out in the South Gate.
The soldiers in the castle were already rushing to that side, and some from the West Gate were moving down South too.
“Damn it…just how many of them have gathered!”
But, there was no time to worry about the South Gate.
Right now, it was time to focus on the enemy in front of them.
“Captain. It seems like they have launched an all-out attack towards the gate.”
“Hmm.”
Go Geum nodded at the subordinate’s words. With that number, there was almost no chance that they would be planning something else.
“Contact the East Gate and tell them to leave behind some guards and send reinforcements to the North Gate. Build additional embankments behind us and activate the defense engines. Now that we know they are targeting the gate, we concentrate to defend us!”
“Yes, Captain!”
His subordinate moved swiftly.
However, the enemies stationed in front of the North Gate were frozen in place, as if nailed down, and not a single person moved.
Go Geum, who had no idea what they were after, ordered the archers once again.
“First, let us threaten them. Archers, prepare!”
Swish!
At Go Geum’s command, the archers on the wall drew their bowstrings.
“Aim! 150 meters!”
The bows in the hands of the archers were all raised up.
“Fire!”
Piiing!
The bowstrings were released, and the arrows obscured the sky.
Normally, warriors rarely used bows, but Evil Sect’s Heaven was different.
Having guarded the castle at the center of the Justice Faction for a long time, they gathered warriors with poor skills and trained them professionally in archery solely for the four gates.
“Commander!”
At the sight of the incoming arrows, Dae Gung shouted, and the enemy who had arrived at the very front of the line, raised the black-winged item in his hand high.
“Shield!”
Tak! Tak! Tak!
In an instant, the warriors in line took out the shields they had on their backs and built a solid defense line.
Puak! Puakpuak!
Countless warriors were pierced by the arrows.
“Kuak!”
“Euk!”
The groans of the warriors who had been shot in the arms and legs could be heard around, but no one actually fell.
“Woahhh!”
The warriors who blocked the first batch of arrows lowered their shields and shouted.
“Commander, the first line of attack is over!”
“Damage?”
“Minor injuries were sustained.”
“Good. Wait a little longer. Take turns with the first and second lines, push the injured to the back, and start their treatment.”
“Yes!”
Dae Gung nodded at Jeok Saeng’s words, having learned the strategy in advance.
The battles taking place in the main castle of Evil Sect’s Heaven was different from the wars in Central Plains.
The siege and war themselves were military tactics.
Jeok Saeng was able to occupy an extremely advantageous position since he had chosen such a tactic.
He was once a failed scholar, and a capable strategist who had served in the military too.
Siege?
He had already fought countless times. In such cases, ranged attacks to reduce the enemy’s power is an obvious thing.
But he cared not for that.
It wasn’t even the type of military crossbow which could pierce through horses, just normal bows.
They could ward the arrows off with the shields.
The important thing was that they had taken the prisoners in.
Now all they had to do was wait.
For the signal to come from inside the Evil Sect’s Heaven’s fort.
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