Boooooo!
The horn sounded far away, reaching the defenders at the East Gate. For a moment, they found themselves wishing it belonged to reinforcements coming to help them.
But the truth was cruel and unmistakable.
“The Yangtze River Channel League…”
The groan that slipped from someone’s lips spoke for every defender there.
They could not see its source, but they heard it clearly.
Not the west. Not the south. Not the north.
It came from beyond the East Gate wall where they stood. That could mean only one thing.
They’re here.
Everyone knew who was coming from the east.
The Green Forest Alliance and the Yangtze River Channel League.
Two vast bands of outlaws who roamed the broad, blue rivers and mountains, yet still wanted a piece of the world itself.
And with them would come the forces of Dark Heaven.
An enemy army estimated at thirty thousand had finally arrived, following the long course of the Yangtze and pushing upstream against the Yellow River’s mighty current.
As the defenders fell silent before that reality, the two corpse sorcerers twisted their mouths into grins.
“You fools.”
“Do you understand now how shallow your little scheme was?”
The black-robed man and his companion made no effort to hide their delight.
They might have fallen for the defenders’ trap and ended up inside the fortress, but their forces were strong enough to overcome a three-to-one disadvantage. Now tens of thousands of reinforcements had arrived at just the right time. They were almost embarrassed to remember how tense they’d been when they realized they were trapped.
The Lord of Heaven truly is helping us.
The black-robed man smiled faintly at the thought of the new heaven he served. Then—
Step.
A group moved forward. They ought to have retreated at once, but instead, they came closer.
Of course. I knew the Kunlun fools would come out like this.
He spotted Cheongheoja and the Kunlun Disciples at the front and nodded to himself. Then several others popped out beside them, and he sighed.
“I’ve been meaning to ask… Who the hell are you people?”
If they’d looked ordinary, he wouldn’t have given them a second thought. But even to a corpse sorcerer, the seven men and women made up a bizarre group.
Unfazed, they answered—or rather, the young man at their center spoke for them.
“Swift Wind Sword Hyuk Mujin. That’s who I am.”
The black-robed man’s eyes widened.
“Swift Wind Sword?”
“That’s right. So you’ve heard of—”
“Never heard of you.”
“…Fine. Let me introduce myself again. I’m Hyuk Mujin, Vice Squad Leader of the Jin Dragon Squad. Though I’m taking a break from that for now.”
“I haven’t heard of that either. You might as well keep taking a break. Not that you’ll be in this world after today.”
“…Damn it. Then how about Hyuk Mujin, Vice Captain of the Fire Dragon Pavilion?”
This time, his companions’ eyes widened.
“What? Since when? Do Vice Captains get extra pay?”
“Why would they choose Warrior Hyuk, of all people? Wasn’t the position vacant?”
“I don’t know. Honestly, I thought I was the best fit among us, but it seems I’ve been passed over because I’m from the unorthodox faction.”
“Discrimination. Know. Delicious.”
“Is this guy possessed by a glutton? In all my life, I’ve never met anyone more of a beggar than my Master.”
“Oh, so your Master’s a beggar too. No wonder. The moment I saw you, I thought you looked like you’d be good at begging for a living.”
Greed and distrust they couldn’t hide even now. Disappointment with the orthodox faction’s rigged playing field. Endless appetite. And last of all, disrespect toward their Master and a steady stream of rudeness, as natural as breathing.
The black-robed man and his companion felt dizzy, as though they were staring into a true abyss. If not for Hyuk Mujin’s answer, they might not have dared open their mouths.
But Fire Dragon Pavilion was familiar even to them. Everyone in Dark Heaven knew the name, regardless of rank, because of its connection to one particular man.
“The Fire Dragon Pavilion… You’re Jin Taekyung’s people?”
Hyuk Mujin gave his companions a cool look, then answered solemnly.
“That’s right.”
“Thanks, but strictly speaking, I’m with the Beggars’ Sect, not the Fire Dragon Pavilion.”
“Neither am I. I think.”
“…Could the two of you please keep your mouths shut? Please?”
The black-robed man looked them over again.
His duties hadn’t required him to know minor details like Swift Wind Sword or the Jin Dragon Squad, but he knew of the Fire Dragon Pavilion. Whenever Jin Taekyung had stood in the way of Dark Heaven’s grand plans, the Fire Dragon Pavilion had helped him, and its reputation had spread throughout the world.
He didn’t know why the one who looked most like a nobody was its Vice Captain. Still, he could see how this strange assortment had ended up together—and why they dared step forward in a situation like this.
“Birds of a feather flock together. You’ve gathered all the crazy men and women who don’t value their lives, just like your Pavilion Master.”
The black-robed man let out a short laugh.
The Fire Dragon Pavilion? He’d admit they had been a thorn in Dark Heaven’s side. But only because Jin Taekyung had been there.
Without him, the people before the black-robed man were merely young prodigies who had yet to come into their own. Puppies drunk on bravado and dreams of heroism, unable to tell when to advance and when to retreat.
“You spent your chance to run spouting nonsense. That’s why you’re going to die.”
What more was there to say to puppies whose teeth hadn’t even come in? An old, wounded beast quietly gathering its strength for one final struggle would be another matter.
There’s a Supreme Peak master among them. We still can’t let our guard down.
You worry too much. With the forces they have, they can’t get through the monsters to hurt us.
The black-robed man and his companion exchanged a silent glance. Watching Cheongheoja and the Kunlun Disciples aim their swords at them, they raised the ritual bells in their hands.
Tss-tss-tss-tss.
—Grrrrrr.
The thousand monsters growled in response to the waves from the bells.
Each was as large as two grown men put together. Their bodies were so tough, and healed so quickly, that nothing short of the level of injuring others with Sword Energy could leave a fatal wound. Ready to lunge, they fixed their eyes on the defenders.
Ssshhhh.
Beside them, the two Black Ghosts radiated a terrifying energy. Together, they gave off such overwhelming killing intent that even the defenders, resolved to fight to the death, instinctively stepped back.
Then, at last—
“Kill every last one of them.”
At the cold command, the two corpse sorcerers swept their ritual bells through the air.
Tss-tss-tss-tss-tss.
The cursed sound waves, branded deep in the souls of the Black Ghosts and monsters, swept across the East Gate.
From beyond it came a quiet voice.
“Why would we run? We need to buy time by spouting whatever bullshit we can.”
“…?”
“…?”
The black-robed man and his companion stopped without realizing it and blinked.
Was it because they couldn’t understand the words of that nobody—Hyuk Mujin, who’d butted in out of habit and now claimed to be the Fire Dragon Pavilion’s Vice Captain?
No.
The Black Ghosts were charging toward the defenders. The thousand monsters were not. Their limbs trembled as though something invisible held them in place.
I gave the command… So why?
Just as the question struck the two corpse sorcerers—
“Hey, can’t you do it?”
Hyuk Mujin turned, and someone appeared behind him. Someone the two sorcerers had never expected to see here.
“I tried to focus as hard as I could. Hngh. But there’s no way I can manage the Black Ghosts…”
“……!”
“……!”
His voice trailed off as their eyes met.
The two corpse sorcerers stared wide-eyed at their missing companion. They’d thought he would be dead by now. Ever since the Slaughter Saint had captured him at Qinghai Lake, he’d vanished without a trace.
Then they saw the dozen or so ritual bells in his hands. The bells had clearly belonged to the other corpse sorcerers who had died near Qinghai Lake. A sad smile spread across his bruised face.
“Sorry. That’s how it went.”
At that moment—
SHWEEEE!
A dazzling streak of light cut through the darkness and blocked the two Black Ghosts, who were racing forward like the wind alongside their ghost horse.
KWA-BOOM!
A deafening crash sent wind sweeping in every direction.
At the same time, through the thick cloud of dust, Cheongheoja and a wild-haired eccentric—no, a Great Sir—appeared and spoke to the Black Ghosts.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Couldn’t we talk this over first…? Oh, that was quite a good line.”
The two corpse sorcerers gritted their teeth. Amid the frantic fighting at the four walls, they had failed to notice another Supreme Peak master.
Perhaps what angered them most, though, was the insolent smile on that nobody’s face.
“If Captain—no, if the Pavilion Master were here, he’d say this.”
At Hyuk Mujin’s gesture, the captured corpse sorcerer shook the bells in both hands like mad.
Not one bell. More than ten.
Tss-tss-tss-tss!
The desperate jingle, driven by a stronger instinct to survive than at any other point in his life, pushed him one step beyond the limit of his usual ability.
In other words—
—Ghk, grrk?
He could not wrest complete control from the two corpse sorcerers who had been his companions yesterday and were his enemies today. But he could throw the thousand monsters into confusion.
—Kraaaagh!
—Gueeeeee!
Red eyes flashed wildly. Their killing intent lost its original target.
THOOM!
KRRRUNCH!
Freed from whatever had held them still, the monsters rampaged without distinguishing friend from foe. As the two corpse sorcerers froze at the sight, Hyuk Mujin’s words struck their ears like arrows.
“From now on, kill each other.”
Boooooo!
Over the horn sounding ever closer by the moment, the monsters’ ferocious roars mingled with the defenders’ shouts.
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