Chapter 30

Part 5 – Opening Engagement

"Phew... Finished."

Having completed the cooking, Jeong-ah took off her apron and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

She carefully covered each dish so that no dust would settle on the food. Everything had been prepared so that, when the time came, all she would have to do was warm the dishes before serving them.

After removing her apron, she stood still for a moment, gathering her thoughts.

Then, carrying the bag she had prepared in advance, Jeong-ah left the kitchen.

Inside the extinguished hearth, the dying charcoal glowed a dull red.

***

The winter sun had begun to sink below the horizon.

On the roof of a tall building overlooking the vicinity of the Heukgol Sect's headquarters—

An operative spotted the hand signal sent from afar and returned the signal to remain on standby.

His high-quality black night garb was worn in several places, a testament to long experience in the field.

Weapons were firmly strapped to his back, while auxiliary weapons such as daggers and throwing needles were concealed all over his body.

After confirming the signal from the scout on the rooftop, the messenger reported to the field commander.

"Team Thirteen is in position."

"Team Thirteen confirmed in position."

The field commander, likewise dressed in black night attire, calmly pieced together the situation.

Once he had received all the reports, he signaled the messenger waiting beside him.

The messenger lightly vaulted across several rooftops before landing on a protruding observation platform extending from a building.

A group clad in black night garb was already waiting there.

He immediately dropped to one knee before a woman dressed the same way.

An eyepatch bearing the emblem of the Crescent Moon (玄月) covered one of her eyes.

"Pavilion Master, the evacuation of civilians in the area has been completed. All operatives and cooperating forces have also secured their assigned positions and are standing by."

The woman standing with her arms folded and eyes closed was none other than Se-ah  , the Master of Hyeonwol Pavilion.

She slowly opened her eye and lowered the cloth covering the lower half of her face.

"Everyone is to maintain their current positions. Once the operation begins, move according to the established rules of engagement. Leave responses to any unforeseen circumstances to the reserves. From this point onward, battlefield command is transferred entirely to the field commander."

The messenger repeated the orders in a quiet yet distinct voice before leaping back onto the rooftops.

The operation was organized with such precision that it was difficult to believe it belonged to nothing more than an intelligence organization.

That very efficiency was one of the reasons Hyeonwol Pavilion had risen so rapidly within Luoyang, one of the greatest cities in all of Zhongyuan.

***

Before long, everyone departed to carry out their respective assignments.

Only Se-ah   and her guard remained.

Leaning against the wall as the cold wind brushed past her, Se-ah   heard her guard speak.

"Are you uneasy?"

She instinctively started to deny it, but after recognizing who had spoken, she answered honestly.

"...Rather than uneasy... I'm conflicted."

"I see."

The guard said nothing more.

With a sigh, Se-ah   spoke again.

"You heard everything I said with the Young Master earlier, didn't you?"

The guard shook her head.

"I didn't hear a thing. Especially not any words beginning with 'rev—' or anything like that. Please don't drag me into anything even more terrifying than I already am. I'd rather quit immediately."

Ignoring the complaint, Se-ah   asked what she truly wanted to know.

"What do you think of him? The Young Master."

The guard shrugged.

"As I've said before, I think he's a good person."

Se-ah   shot back somewhat sharply.

"Even after hearing that conversation? Even knowing he's the Dark Heavenly Venerable?"

"To begin with, I have no idea which conversation you're talking about."

"Don't dodge the question."

The guard scratched her cheek beneath the black cloth covering her face.

"He's frightening. How could he not be?"

She answered calmly.

"...But for some reason, I find myself liking the Young Master."

Se-ah   sighed.

"That's an annoyingly honest answer."

Silence settled between them.

This time, it was the guard who spoke first.

"...I'll simply follow whatever you decide, my lady. Wherever you go, I'll go with you."

A faint smile appeared on Se-ah  's face.

"Even if that road is the Demonic Path of the Underworld... where mountains of corpses and seas of blood await beyond the realm of humanity?"

"...I might have to think that one over again."

The guard met Se-ah  's gaze.

"Just follow your heart."

"...Mm."

Giving the guard's shoulder a light pat, Se-ah   walked over to the railing.

Beyond the carefully concealed railing, she could see the Heukgol Sect's headquarters standing atop a distant hill.

Its members hurried about with lanterns in preparation for nightfall.

Kill evil men until the world itself changes...?

She could see well over a hundred armed men patrolling the compound.

I'll see with my own eyes whether he's truly extraordinary enough to calmly say something that insane.

At that moment, the messenger reappeared.

"Pavilion Master, scattered skirmishes have begun in multiple alleys."

"The opening engagement?"

"Yes. The field commander believes they're attempting to secure escape routes in advance."

Se-ah   took a deep breath.

"...It begins."

***

The vanguard's momentum was broken in a single instant.

"You bastards! Keep pushing!"

At the terrifying roar from behind, the Heukgol Sect members charged forward once more.

In a narrow alley—

"You sons of bitches! The moment we looked even a little weak, every damn stray dog thought it could challenge us!"

A man whose face was covered in grotesque black skull tattoos shouted at his hesitant subordinates.

"What the hell are you standing around for?! Attack already!"

As he barked his orders while swinging his sword from behind, the men armed with every manner of weapon let out savage cries and rushed at the figures dressed in black night garb.

"Raaagh!"

The foremost of the three operatives dressed in black lowered his body and assumed a sword-drawing stance.

"Die!"

The axe swung by the burly man leading the charge cut through nothing but empty air.

At the same instant, his abdomen split open from end to end, spraying blood and entrails everywhere.

A moment later, the long saber that had somehow already been drawn flashed again.

Heads rolled.

Arms were severed and dangled uselessly.

Chests were cleaved open.

The operative who had broken the enemy's momentum immediately fell back, robbing the charging mob of its force.

As if by prior arrangement, the two operatives waiting behind him stepped forward and cut down everyone rushing toward them.

It was completely one-sided.

The disparity was so overwhelming that it was hard to believe neither side possessed internal energy.

Most members of the Heukgol Sect had no experience whatsoever in battles like this.

The vast majority were nothing more than gangsters and thugs.

There was simply no comparison between them and Hyeonwol Pavilion's elite combat operatives, who had endured brutal training and countless real battles.

"Damn it, this isn't working."

The Heukgol Sect squad leader shouted toward the men behind him.

"Hey! Everyone move to the sides! Make room for the ones waiting in the rear to come through!"

Following his order, the Heukgol Sect members split apart, lining both sides of the alley.

"Damn..."

One of Hyeonwol Pavilion's operatives gritted his teeth as he saw fresh enemies advancing through the gap.

"They're spearmen."

Dozens of spearheads glinted in the setting sun.

"Yes, sir!"

The field commander surveyed the fierce fighting erupting throughout the alleys.

"So they're willing to weaken the headquarters as long as they can maintain their momentum."

***

"Commander! Spears! They've brought out spears!"

The staff officer shouted.

"This is far too many men for a simple operation to secure their escape routes. Their numbers keep increasing. It looks like they've even pulled out the troops that were supposed to defend the headquarters."

The Hyeonwol Pavilion field commander stroked his beard.

"...Commit the entire reserve force!"

"Push them back! Push harder, you bastards!"

At the Heukgol Sect officer's roar, even more men poured into the alley.

"Is it really all right to strip the headquarters of its defenders like this?"

Another officer voiced his concern.

At first, they had only intended to send enough men to secure a retreat route.

The problem began when everyone interpreted the deployment as an opportunity to escape.

Once a few people started rushing out, everyone else followed suit, abandoning the headquarters one after another.

"Even if we order them back now, it'll only create more chaos! We might as well keep our momentum going, damn it!"

It was the judgment of a former military officer.

"Besides, the real fight is going to be handled by them anyway, isn't it?"

His gaze shifted behind him.

The walls blocked his view.

Yet he could vividly picture the martial artists sitting quietly inside, motionless, waiting.

"Hey! Damn it, at least take your weapons with you! ...No, wait. That bastard's really running away! Kill him!"

What had begun as scattered, localized skirmishes rapidly spiraled into a battle far beyond anyone's control.

***

"Don't worry about manpower."

Se-ah   spoke to the messenger.

"The people I contacted earlier should be arriving soon."

The messenger immediately departed to relay the message to the field commander.

"How many do you think will come?"

At her guard's question, Se-ah   smiled crookedly.

"A great many."

She rested both hands on the railing and continued.

"The Heukgol Sect has earned the hatred of far too many people."

No sooner had she finished speaking than figures clad in all manner of disguises began arriving one after another.

As they joined the battle, the tide of war began to shift once again.

"They're all incredibly bold. Geumju possesses the Sword Family's token. Aren't they afraid of the Luoyang Sword Family?"

At those words, Se-ah   hesitated.

"My lady?"

She gave an awkward smile.

"...The truth is... I boasted a little that I'd take responsibility for everything."

At a loss for words, the guard stared at her in disbelief.

"D-Don't look at me like that. Besides, if the Dark Heavenly Venerable is really as incredible as the rumors say, we'll be able to ride his coattails just fi—"

At that very moment—

Se-ah   suddenly felt her body become weightless.

A deafening explosion crashed into her ears, leaving her senses numb.

Her vision spun violently until she could no longer distinguish up from down.

"...My lady! My lady!"

When she regained her senses, she saw her guard shaking her violently.

"W-What in the world...?!"

Behind her, the upper half of the building they had been standing on had been blasted apart.

Then a peal of laughter rang through the air, loud enough to split one's eardrums.

The laughter was infused with such overwhelming internal energy that every battle taking place throughout the alleys momentarily came to a halt.

"My lady! Look!"

At her guard's shout, Se-ah   looked toward the shattered rooftop.

As the dust slowly settled, the figure that emerged was—

Geumju.

Her entire body seemed drenched in crimson.

For some unknown reason, thick blood vessels bulged grotesquely beneath every patch of exposed skin.

Visible waves of aura poured from her body in all directions.

Even the hem of her robes fluttered as though possessed by a will of its own.

"...!"

Goosebumps erupted across Se-ah  's entire body.

Despite possessing no internal energy whatsoever, she could clearly feel Geumju's gaze fixed directly upon her.

Her guard stepped in front of her protectively.

"My lady... I don't know what happened to her, but..."

"...she is no longer the Geumju we knew."

Just as Se-ah   was about to respond, Geumju's clear, ringing voice echoed across the battlefield.

"Pavilion Master of Hyeonwol!"

Every syllable dripped with murderous intent.

"Before I kill him, I'll kill you first!"

The guard shoved the still-stunned Se-ah   backward.

"Run!"

Without looking back, Se-ah   sprinted away with all her might.

"Gyu! You must survive!"

Drawing her sword, Se-ah  's guard—called Gyu—shouted back,

"You must survive too, my lady!"

Se-ah   bit her lip.

Young Master...! Dark Heavenly Venerable...!

Where are you... and what are you doing?!