Mamorota had died.
Bato, one of the Squad Leaders of the Gray Wolf War Squad, had remained without retreating until that point. Whether enemy or ally, all others were leaving the battlefield, but he alone couldn't leave. Because there was something like a sense of mission that he had to witness Mamorota's final moments, even if alone.
"You, you have less experience points than I thought."
The enemy commander, whose bangs hung down enough to cover his eyes completely, said that toward Mamorota's corpse.
Naturally, the corpse didn't answer.
He raised his head and swept his gaze around once. Everyone was scattered in all directions, busy surviving, and as if seeing that, he casually turned his head here and there again.
Then he naturally came to see him.
His body stiffened. It was common knowledge that this man was stronger than himself even without fighting, and Bato felt it better than anyone.
However, Dong Bong-su didn't look at him for very long. He must not be interested.
Dong Bong-su soon lowered his head and examined Kaiji, Mamorota's wolf. To Bato's eyes, it seemed already dead, but apparently it wasn't in reality.
No, it definitely wasn't? As Kaiji, who had been dying, made eye contact with Dong Bong-su, the eyelid of one eye, which had been dropping like a thousand weights, flickered while turning blood red. Hostility. Eyes full of it.
"Yes, to become my Pet, you need to be at least that much."
Dong Bong-su said while lifting the corners of his mouth wickedly. Like Mamorota, Bato also couldn't understand what his words meant at all.
His hand moved bizarrely in the air. Was it Bato's misconception if it looked exactly like he was pressing something?
Hummmmmm—
Suddenly, a strange sound rang out and an unknown subtle purple Auspicious Energy appeared throughout Kaiji's entire body. It was a sight Bato had never seen in his life. One thing certain was that the energy emanating from that Auspicious Energy was far too sacred.
The opposite of the smile on Dong Bong-su's lips.
It was an inauspicious energy to the degree that the Gray Wolf Bato was riding unconsciously retreated backward a little.
'Is it one of the strange martial arts he used before?'
There was no way to know. That simple inference was all he could do.
Having witnessed Mamorota's end, Bato had no more reason to remain here. What more would there be than getting killed by Dong Bong-su if he stayed here for no reason?
However, he couldn't easily leave. He didn't know the reason, but he just felt like he should stay at this location longer. Rather, this feeling that he would die if he left.
Bato decided to just stay there. Although there was a very uncomfortable presence nearby.
'Hmm?'
When the auspicious energy disappeared, Kaiji rose from its spot. He thought it was dead... but looking now, it was too healthy.
What was that auspicious energy?
That wasn't the only thing that changed. The hostility toward Dong Bong-su had already disappeared from the creature's eyes.
That... what should he say? There was nothing. If something remained, only emotionlessness. Not even a hair of emotion visible, like that kind of meaningless glisten you could only see in the rotten, decayed eyes of a corpse?
Dong Bong-su stared intently at Kaiji's eyes like that, then stroked the creature's head and said,
"This is also pleasing in its own way. Just like me."
Having finished his work up there, Dong Bong-su rose from his spot. Then he looked at him. No, it wasn't. Looking closely, he was looking not at him but at a much more distant place behind.
Bato unconsciously turned his head to look back. It was the path he should have taken long ago.
The path toward Guisui. The remaining Gray Wolf War Squad members except him were hastily returning.
And Li Zi-song's main force, which had been heading here, was advancing to surround Guisui by modifying its march route.
From what Bato could see, it seemed the Gray Wolf War Squad members would still arrive at Guisui just a little bit faster. Perhaps they could enter inside the fortress even if barely? If only they would open the fortress gate...
"A futile hope."
Flinch.
When had he approached? Dong Bong-su had come right behind him. Even in that situation, Bato instinctively reached his hand toward the Blade Hilt, but he had to stop his hand before long.
Because Dong Bong-su was already gripping his hand.
And somehow, impossibly, he was mounted on Kaiji.
Kaiji was the monster of the North that no one except Mamorota or Timur Khan could ride? How did he tame it? They had been enemies, and in the time of barely one moment that had passed?
"Do you understand my words?"
It must mean whether he knew Chinese. Bato immediately nodded. His father had been a merchant belonging to Ortoq (a large merchant group of the Northern Plains). Like all frontier merchants, most of their Main Customers were Han Merchants. Naturally, the basis of trade was Chinese, and learning Chinese was an extremely natural thing for children who would inherit that occupation.
Dong Bong-su spoke again.
"Timur Khan has already abandoned you all."
"...?"
"The moment you all left the fortress, you were abandoned."
"What does that..."
"Because I would have done the same."
Incomprehensible words. But they felt believable. Well, what could he do if he didn't believe? His lifeline was already in this man's hands.
"You just need to help with one thing."
It was a brief statement, but Bato understood. He didn't know what kind of task it was, but it must mean that if he helped with that one thing, his life would be spared.
Bato nodded again.
Dong Bong-su pulled the reins to turn Kaiji's head back again. His back was visible, but Bato didn't move at all. He was the one who killed Mamorota. An opponent that a small fry like himself couldn't do anything about.
Squelch—squelch.
The sound of the ground forming streams of blood being stepped on by Kaiji's feet was sticky.
Soon, Dong Bong-su and Kaiji arrived at where the last remaining Huihui Cannon was. From what Bato could see, the Huihui Cannon wasn't intact. It must be that Huihui Cannon whose base Mamorota had broken earlier. Still, the base wasn't completely destroyed, as it was dangling at the end of the joint but was stubbornly attached.
Dong Bong-su picked up ropes rolling around randomly on the ground, erected the broken part, and tied it with string. It wasn't perfect, but at that level, it would be able to fulfill its role for a few launches. That's what Bato thought.
Squelch—squelch.
Dong Bong-su rode Kaiji and moved again. This time toward where the corpse hill was.
He touched the foul-smelling corpse masses without any concern. Then, like how the Huihui Cannon had disappeared before, the corpses disappeared.
It wasn't surprising anymore. It was only considered a peculiar technique. Well, he had heard that in the Central Plains there were plenty of people who used martial arts beyond imagination. Wasn't this man one of them?
Bato unconsciously felt around his body here and there. Although unlike Dong Bong-su, no changes occurred.
Having gathered all the corpses, Dong Bong-su returned again to where the Huihui Cannon was.
He immediately approached the Ammunition Pouch containing Stone Projectiles attached to the Front of the Huihui Cannon.
Then he pulled half of the Trailing Rope attached to its end and tied it to Kaiji's neck, tied the other half to his own torso, and dismounted from Kaiji.
Finally, he looked at Bato and said,
"Come here."
Bato approached him without much reply. He knew it was time to fulfill what he wanted to ask.
"When this creature and I mount the Base, cut the Trailing Rope then."
Bato nodded again without knowing what Dong Bong-su was saying.
Creeeak—
Having received the answer, Dong Bong-su suddenly began pulling the Trailing Rope with all his strength.
Kaiji also exerted itself in sync and pulled the Trailing Rope.
Then the Ammunition Pouch, whose weight was unimaginably heavy, was lifted into the sky, and the base, which was the launch platform, began descending downward.
"..."
At first, Bato had thought the task Dong Bong-su wanted help with was pulling the Trailing Rope to lift the Ammunition Pouch. But apparently not.
Screeeech—
When the Ammunition Pouch was pulled up to maximum height, Dong Bong-su tied the end of the Trailing Rope tightly to the Launch Post stuck in the ground. They had finished alone what fifty soldiers should do, but Bato wasn't particularly surprised. For some unknown reason, it felt natural.
Twang—twang.
Like a musician checking an instrument's strings, Dong Bong-su lightly flicked the middle part of the Trailing Rope with his finger. He was probably checking whether the Trailing Rope was pulled taut enough to launch.
The sound cut off briefly. The string's vibration was so slight that anyone could tell it was pulled very well.
After pulling the string two or three more times, Dong Bong-su mounted Kaiji's back again and stood at the end of the Base. Because Kaiji was so large, the creature's front legs reached the middle part of the Base, but it wasn't problematic enough to affect launching.
Bato now seemed to understand well what Dong Bong-su wanted. And that he could only survive by doing this. However, he couldn't predict what would happen to Guisui by doing this.
Nevertheless, he had no choice but to do it. Even if he didn't do it, Dong Bong-su would cut all those Trailing Rope strings in some way anyway. Then shouldn't he at least save his own life?
"Cut it. Right now."
Whoosh. Snap—! Whii—!
Finally, Bato brought down his blade toward the Trailing Rope, and Dong Bong-su flew toward Guisui.
Bato watched that sight, then quietly rode his Gray Wolf and disappeared far away.
-x-X-x-
Timur Khan's blue eyes flashed open. Mamorota was dead. Though he had already abandoned him, it was still the death of a sworn brother.
Timur Khan had watched the battle between the enemies and the Gray Wolf War Squad from beginning to end. Shock rippled through his heart. Had he not seen it, he would not have believed such a bizarre fight. It was too far to see clearly, but it was definitely strange. And the victory of that battle clearly belonged to the man who killed Mamorota—Dong Bong-su.
However, the strategic victory belonged to Timur Khan.
With the Gray Wolf War Squad's 'sacrifice,' the Whirlwind Artillery Gunners unit had fallen into a state of annihilation, and the few remaining mercenaries were scattering in all directions. Wasn't such a military achievement worth sacrificing the Gray Wolf War Squad?
Timur Khan's eyes gleamed brighter as he continued observing Dong Bong-su's actions, his surroundings, and the entire battlefield.
Dong Bong-su was crouching down examining Kaiji for some reason, and one unidentified Gray Wolf War Squad member remained, watching him.
Meanwhile, the remaining Gray Wolf War Squad members were diligently returning to Guisui, and Li Zi-song's main force was advancing toward Guisui to cut off their return route.
Timur Khan soon stopped paying attention to Dong Bong-su and the Huihui Cannon. What good would it do to focus more on that place that had already turned into an Asura field? He could see one broken Huihui Cannon, but well... at that level, it would be impossible to play a role in determining the direction of this war.
Having made that judgment, he completely shifted his gaze to Li Zi-song's main force.
"Fire the crossbows."
Timur Khan's new order fell upon the entire defensive line on the walls.
"Fire the crossbows!"
The crossbowmen fired their crossbows at Li Zi-song's main force all at once. Additionally, the archers who had been drawing their bowstrings all along released their hands in coordination with the crossbow attacks.
Pip—pip! Ffwhoop—ffwhoop!
With the sound of wind tearing, dozens of those charging at the front of Li Zi-song's main force fell. Naturally, the advance speed of Li Zi-song's main force slowed.
Knowing well that Timur Khan couldn't open the city gates once the encirclement had tightened to this distance anyway, Li Zi-song didn't advance recklessly. Though the defensive strength of Guisui's gates was said to be excellent, he knew well that their flexibility in opening and closing wasn't as good as that defensive strength.
The standoff continued between Li Zi-song, who was waiting for the gates to open, and Timur Khan, who had no intention of opening them at all. However, Li Zi-song knew well that Timur Khan had no intention of opening the gates. If he opened the gates at this distance, it was clear as day that it would allow the main force to enter the city.
From the start, when Timur Khan sent out the Gray Wolf War Squad, he had no intention of letting them back in. Their role ended the moment they destroyed all the Huihui Cannons. The moment he sent them out to the grasslands overrun with the disease, their usefulness disappeared, and only their sacrifice remained.
Shshshsh—!
As expected, Li Zi-song's main force opened fire all at once on the Gray Wolf War Squad, who were trapped with nowhere to go in front of Guisui's gates. Timur Khan seized that opportunity to focus on inflicting maximum damage on Li Zi-song's main force. This was to reduce the enemy's numbers as much as possible when they were this close.
Timur Khan concentrated crossbow fire on Li Zi-song's vanguard, Li Zi-song directed indiscriminate fire at the Gray Wolf War Squad, and the Gray Wolf War Squad lost their way and fell.
Pip—pip!
Guh—aaagh!
A battle without romance. In war, blood should fly as swords and spears clash—that's when it truly lives up to its reputation...
But this was real war. If you can kill without being seen, you do so, and if you can't, you annihilate the enemy while avoiding direct confrontation as much as possible. After all, what's important in battle is winning, not style.
Both Timur Khan and Li Zi-song were conducting war based on such a simple truth.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Kraaagh—!
Though killing and being killed repeated, Li Zi-song's expression wasn't particularly good, while Timur Khan was smiling.
Though he had lost the entire Gray Wolf War Squad, the enemy's artillery position had been completely destroyed, and it had become difficult to obtain materials to rebuild them. Moreover, more than half of Li Zi-song's main force gunners had been slaughtered. In other words, even if there were materials, there were no craftsmen who could build them.
If they just kept the gates locked well, the enemies would collapse on their own. Timur Khan became even more certain of victory from this battle.
The flames that had caught on the Yinshan Mountain Range grew fiercer.
In contrast, the number of Gray Wolf War Squad members was rapidly decreasing. Their annihilation was not far off.
'Now that Kaiji is gone too, it will be difficult to form a new Gray Wolf War Squad.'
That was about the extent of Timur Khan's impression from this battle. He had already forgotten about the sacrifice he had forced, and was more regretful about the fact that he couldn't form a new Gray Wolf War Squad.
More precisely, it was Kaiji's death. That alone was regrettable. Because Kaiji, a Great Gray Wolf, existed, he could easily control the Gray Wolves, wild animals that couldn't be tamed.
Kaiji was dead, and his corpse must be lying over there with Mamorota...!?
Thinking about Kaiji and Mamorota's final moments, Timur Khan glanced once more toward the far southeast where Dong Bong-su was.
However, his head, which had gone to briefly scan the area, didn't return to its original position. It couldn't.
Because something gray-colored was flying this way!
'Kaiji?'
It was nonsense. How could something already dead come here? And flying at that?
But that absurd thing was actually happening.
Kaiji was flying toward Guisui.
And on top of him!
Dong Bong-su was riding.
"How... is this possible?"
Even as he said those words, they were getting closer.
"Fire!"
The crossbows were aimed at Li Zi-song's main force and couldn't easily fire at Kaiji, so only the archer unit quickly changed direction and fired at Kaiji and Dong Bong-su. He didn't know how they had flown here or how Dong Bong-su had managed to tame Kaiji, but it would be difficult to avoid this rain of arrows.
However, expectations don't always pan out. Especially in situations that have gone wrong like now, things often only get more tangled—that's the way of the world.
Dong Bong-su, who had been lying flat on Kaiji's back, straightened his waist and thrust his hand forward.
Then something black appeared in his hand.
A corpse!
And it was another monster, contaminated by the black monsters!
Dong Bong-su threw it toward where the arrows were flying. And threw again. He kept throwing.
"...!"
Corpses kept appearing from somewhere. The corpses flew toward the walls, blocking arrows instead of Dong Bong-su and Kaiji.
Timur Khan drew his sword and threw it at a corpse. But there wasn't just one or two corpses that Dong Bong-su threw.
Growing desperate, he grabbed nearby archers and crossbowmen and threw them toward the incoming corpses.
Thud. Slam.
"Aaaaagh!"
Living bodies and corpses collided with dull sounds.
Then the living bodies also fell below the walls and became corpses.
Right now, the death of one or two soldiers wasn't important to Timur Khan. He had to prevent even one of those black corpses from crossing the walls at all costs. He had abandoned Mamorota and the Gray Wolf War Squad to block those things, so how much more a few archers.
In the end, he blocked all the corpses. But Dong Bong-su and Kaiji were still flying this way. He absolutely had to make them fall from midair.
Burst.
Timur Khan leaped toward Dong Bong-su, who was flying into the fortress at tremendous speed. Now, if he just killed that bastard and kicked him to fall outside the walls, everything would be over.
He didn't think for a moment that he would fail. Though his opponent had defeated Mamorota, he was confident that he couldn't block his sword. The only thing threatening to him on this battlefield was the black monsters.
Shrieeek—
Could an arrow that left the bowstring be faster than this?
Timur Khan flew toward Dong Bong-su and Kaiji at a terrifying speed.
He stretched both arms down as far as possible to minimize air resistance.
Then, when he rose to a position where Kaiji's belly was clearly visible, he raised his lowered arms with all his might. Soon the sword tip would pierce through Kaiji's belly, gouge out the intestines, then protrude toward the back and penetrate Dong Bong-su's lower body. That would finish this matter.
But just as his sword was about to touch Kaiji's belly.
Suddenly!
Kaiji! And Dong Bong-su disappeared.
"...!"
His sword futilely slashed through empty air, and his body along with it also crossed through the air and flew more vigorously upward. Timur Khan hastily tried to brake by doing aerial somersaults, but the force of his upward momentum and the force of swinging his sword upward were so strong that he couldn't help but fly up several more meters even in that state.
"Gah!"
Meanwhile, Dong Bong-su, who had safely landed on the walls, indiscriminately killed archers and crossbowmen. What was peculiar was that Kaiji followed Dong Bong-su well, as if he were his original master.
Dong Bong-su's Man-Wolf Death Method looked far more skilled than Mamorota's, who had trained for over ten years, and that was the actual situation.
Kaiji bit to death the nomadic soldiers blocking Dong Bong-su's path indiscriminately.
Meanwhile, Dong Bong-su took out black corpses and threw them recklessly into the fortress.
Only then did Timur Khan's eyes, who had regained his body's balance and was falling using the Thousand Pound Weight Technique, witness that scene completely. Despite all that effort...
Finally, the black monsters came flooding into Guisui.
-x-X-x-
Dong Bong-su killed the archers and crossbowmen as he crossed the walls and leaped into the fortress.
Then he moved here and there, pouring corpses all over various places inside Guisui.
Under Timur Khan's command, there were several excellent generals besides Mamorota. They blocked Dong Bong-su's path, but he didn't bother engaging them directly. If he got surrounded inside Guisui while dealing with them, there would be no answer.
Riding Kaiji, he moved like the wind, seeking empty spaces. It wasn't like Dong Bong-su, but it was also very much like Dong Bong-su. He killed no one for the sake of later.
"The corpses! Remove the corpses!"
Timur Khan shouted madly as he followed behind Dong Bong-su.
Dong Bong-su especially avoided Timur Khan more than others. The reason was simple. From the moment he first approached the walls, Spirit Eyes had been warning him to avoid that man above all others.
[The activation conditions for Spirit Eyes have been met, and Spirit Eyes will automatically activate.]
[An enemy with a level difference of 10 or more from you has approached within 20 meters. 19, 18, 17...]
Ding. Ding. Ding—ding-ding-ding...
Still, Dong Bong-su ran here and there to throw all the corpses into Guisui. However, no one except Timur Khan could easily stop him. Moreover, Footwork, which activated once every five minutes, made it even harder to catch him.
Also, once Timur Khan disappeared from the walls, Li Zi-song's main force tightened the encirclement and directly struck Guisui. Though there were no battering rams, the city gates being attacked was never a good thing.
Furthermore, several ladders had already been placed against Guisui's walls. If they weren't knocked down and left alone, they might accidentally allow enemy infiltration into the fortress.
'At this rate, it's not just one loach muddying the whole pond—the entire rice paddy might be completely ruined.'
Finally, Timur Khan stopped chasing Dong Bong-su and returned to the walls.
Afterward, Dong Bong-su threw corpses much more easily in all directions—north, south, east, and west—before leisurely leaving Guisui. Coming in had been difficult, but leaving was much easier. All Dong Bong-su did to escape was climb a somewhat quiet section of wall and jump outside Guisui.
Thus Dong Bong-su's busy day passed, and Timur Khan's nightmarish day also passed.
***
The situation reversed dramatically when Dong Bong-su pushed the 'corpse biochemical bombs' into Guisui.
In Li Zi-song's camp, which had moved its position to the banks of the Yellow River, the spread of the disease was extremely slowed, whereas in Guisui, where the only way to obtain water was from wells inside the fortress, the disease spread rapidly.
Especially since Dong Bong-su had thrown corpses into the wells inside the fortress, the infection rate of the disease accelerated much faster. No human could live without drinking water. Though all the wells were contaminated, they couldn't avoid drinking water.
Also, even after that day, Dong Bong-su frequently flew into Guisui, threw 'additionally produced' biochemical weapons inside, and disappeared. Additionally, killing dozens of nomadic soldiers came as a bonus.
Time gradually passed, and even Timur Khan could no longer endure. The grand finale of the war was approaching.
***
Huff… huff..
Dong Bong-su sat alone on a base far from the camp with Kaiji.
He still wore tattered clothes and had the Wanderer's Sword, which had become his symbol, slung diagonally across his shoulder.
His indifferent eyes were no different from before, yet somewhere in his appearance, one could feel struggle.
"It's really getting harder to endure now..."
Dong Bong-su spoke in a low voice. His mind and body were as exhausted as that sunken tone.
It was because [Status Abnormality: Disease] had developed.
In fact, the disease had been gnawing at his body for quite some time. The reason he changed infiltration positions and went in and out of Guisui every night was actually to use [Lifesteal]. If he didn't replenish his falling health that way, he felt like he would die soon.
Even that seemed difficult to endure any longer now. At this point, the health lost due to the disease outbreak exceeded the health he could gain from killing enemies.
The enemy was exhausted, Li Zi-song's main force was exhausted, and Dong Bong-su was exhausted.
Nevertheless, Dong Bong-su was still preparing for what came next.
Timur Khan must likewise be preparing for the end. Dong Bong-su knew well what Timur Khan was waiting for even in this situation where he couldn't even drink water.
They will come soon. When they came, Timur Khan would also open the city gates to engage in a decisive battle.
How much more time had passed?
Dududududu—
"They've finally come."
In the far southeast, along with dust clouds, cavalry too numerous to count appeared. They were Salacat's twenty thousand nomadic cavalry who had conquered Datong.
This was precisely what Timur Khan had been waiting for. Remaining isolated inside the fortress would lead to ruin anyway. But if he simply opened the city gates and fought, he would be equally ruined.
So he must have waited. To even out the numbers somewhat. He must have known well that once Salacat learned of Guisui's situation, he would eventually bring his forces to Guisui.
Grrrrruuung—!
Right on cue, Guisui's thick iron gates opened, revealing their inner depths.
Nomadic soldiers who had already finished preparations for deployment could be seen lined up densely. The decisive battle would begin when they burst out.
Dong Bong-su laboriously raised the sword slung on his shoulder and held it vertically to the side. That completed his battle preparations.
Clip-clop. Clip-clop.
Someone approached behind him on horseback. Dong Bong-su didn't bother turning around.
"What will you do?"
As expected, it was Adjutant Dang. He must have been sent by Li Zi-song.
"Who knows. I'm calculating which side is easier and has more."
Adjutant Dang took Dong Bong-su's words to mean he was looking for the side with more weak enemies. In his eyes too, Dong Bong-su looked tremendously exhausted from the many previous battles. To be honest, exhausted enough that he shouldn't be fighting.
"Do as you see fit. If we achieve victory in this war, the military achievement will entirely be yours."
Heh.
Dong Bong-su laughed at that.
Military achievement? What was that?
For Dong Bong-su, fighting this battle itself was the military achievement. Though Adjutant Dang or Li Zi-song wouldn't understand.
Dong Bong-su stroked Kaiji's head but there was no response. That made Dong Bong-su feel better.
"After the battle ends, I'll have to find out if I can change the name written as Spirit Creature 1. You'd prefer that too, wouldn't you? Even if no one acknowledges you, you should at least have a name."
1
As Dong Bong-su roughly tousled Kaiji's soft silver fur, he uttered words Adjutant Dang couldn't understand. Adjutant Dang didn't try to understand either. To him, Dong Bong-su was already an incomprehensible person.
Having said what he came to say, Adjutant Dang turned his horse around.
Then Dong Bong-su's low voice stopped him.
"Before you go, cut this rope for me."
Adjutant Dang pulled the reins and stopped his horse.
Then he dismounted and approached the Trebuchet. He already knew from experience that horses would never willingly come this way because of Kaiji.
"Seeing you determined to fight in the end, you're quite something. If it's difficult, you don't need to fight anymore."
"You've become talkative."
"...I understand. Then I wish you martial fortune."
Martial fortune? Was such a thing necessary? Battles weren't won by luck. They were won with brains and skill, and if that didn't work, you had to wait for the right time.
And that time had come, and if he didn't fight now, he would die.
"Cut it. There's no time."
Adjutant Dang shook his head briefly and then swung his sword down at the tautly pulled trailing rope.
Snap—whip!
The sharp sound of the rope snapping.
Now.
Shrrreeeeeeek—!
It was time for Dong Bong-su's final harvest to decorate the grand finale.
***
"Warriors of the great grasslands! Let's go and sweep them all!"
Salacat's war speech. Like his respect for Timur Khan, it was equally short and powerful.
"Wraaaah!"
The roar of twenty thousand nomadic cavalry, invigorated by it, echoed far into the distance. As if hearing that sound, tension filled the entire Northern Expeditionary Force positioned in front of Guisui.
Dudududu.
Salacat took the lead and initiated a charge toward the rear of the Northern Expeditionary Force.
Sand dust rose thickly from the large force of twenty thousand, and at the same time, the nomadic soldiers who had been inside Guisui also poured out of the fortress. The sight looked like streams of river water draining and merging toward seawater.
The cavalry of the Northern Expeditionary Force, as if prepared for such a situation, charged toward Salacat's ten-thousand-man force. Though Salacat's army was ahead in cavalry numbers, the opposition was mixed with archers and shield soldiers, making them far superior in terms of composition.
"Show those worthless trash from the Central Plains the taste of our blades...!"
Salacat opened his mouth once more to steady soldiers who might waver, but he couldn't finish those words.
Whoosh—whoosh.
Because 'something strange' flew from up ahead and disappeared behind his ten-thousand-man force. It definitely wasn't a bird. But it was definitely flying.
"That's...!"
At a glance, it looked like a dog. But to call it a dog, it was ridiculously huge. As far as Salacat knew, there was no dog that big in the world. No, there was one, but that wasn't even a dog and couldn't fly either.
-x-X-x-
It wasn't a hallucination.
Several of the nearby generals must have seen it too. Their heads had also definitely turned upward toward the sky, if only briefly. However, there was no way to confirm what it really was right now. All the horses had already gained momentum and couldn't be stopped. If they carelessly loosened the reins here, they would be trampled to death by the hooves of the horses following behind, leaving not even an intact body.
"Hyaaaah!"
Salacat rather whipped even more fiercely.
Whatever that thing that flew behind them was, it was alone. What could one individual do?
That was his first mistake.
BOOM!
Salacat's vanguard finally collided with the cavalry at the rear of the expeditionary force.
Thud! Slam-slam!
Heads flew and limbs separated, flailing. They consecutively fell to the ground, were trampled, and burst. Death formed a chain.
"What are you doing? You bastards! Fill the positions immediately! Want to all die? Huh?"
At Salacat's curse-mixed shout, the nomadic cavalry endlessly filled the empty spaces appearing at the front positions.
The battle was fierce, but since both sides were elite soldiers, neither could easily subdue the other.
Especially since archers were positioned in large numbers deep within the Northern Expeditionary Force's formation, it was difficult for Salacat to easily lead the cavalry out to the sides.
Was that all?
Occasionally among the infantry emerging from behind were those holding leg hooks. Whenever the leg hooks—large sickles with blades curved backward—swept below once, the horses' ankles were mercilessly severed. Subsequently, the riders mounted on the ankle-severed horses fell to the ground, and soon their necks also had to fall.
Certainly, the Northern Expeditionary Force's composition was organized to face the grassland cavalry rather than siege warfare.
However, Salacat's cavalry Ten-thousand-man force was by no means easy either. Though not as much as the Gray Wolf War Squad, they were still combat soldiers whose reputation was quite renowned in the north.
Salacat's subordinate soldiers didn't fall back and continued to pressure Li Zi-song's force. Probably on the opposite side, Timur Khan's main force must be madly slaughtering the expeditionary soldiers.
If someone were watching the fierce exchange between both sides from the sky, they would judge Timur Khan and Salacat to be at an advantage. At least until now.
'Right. If we keep pushing like this, we win! Though their numbers are many, they're surrounded on both sides! If we just endure, the Khan will surely annihilate all the enemies!'
The second mistake.
Aaargh! Kyaaagh!
Various screams disturbed the front lines as countless died. Naturally, the thickness and length of the front lines also gradually became thinner and shorter.
However, what was strange was the fact that screams could be heard from places other than the front lines. Clearly, the battle should only be occurring at that front area where Salacat stood, but the sounds...
'What is it? From behind?'
Salacat threw a short sword into the crown of a leg hook soldier coming to cut his beloved horse's ankle, then turned his head back. Something was definitely wrong. A considerable number of cavalry groups that should have been quickly entering the flanks of the opposing infantry using mobility were still tied up at the rear.
"Go to the rear and find out what's happening."
"Yes!"
He sent one of his generals who was fiercely fighting right beside him to the rear. Since it had become close combat and the front lines were spread wide, having one horse pull out to the rear wasn't a particularly difficult situation.
'Could it be that thing from earlier? But the tide of war has already tilted this way.'
Salacat's third mistake.
He vigorously swung his blade again after briefly stopping.
Was that the signal?
Suddenly, the soldiers defending the enemy's center rapidly pulled back.
Salacat and a considerable number of the Ten-thousand-man force pursued them, penetrating deep into the enemy formation. He judged there was no danger of encirclement anyway and thought they could pull the forces back if necessary.
That was his fourth mistake and decided the fate of the twenty-thousand cavalry.
Aaaaahhh!
At some point when Salacat and the Ten-thousand-man force were rapidly penetrating inside the opposing formation, the Northern Expeditionary Force's formation suddenly reversed.
The forces that had been lagging at the rear of the expeditionary force quickly jutted out to the sides and began to encircle Salacat's cavalry in a circle. Since Li Zi-song's force was overwhelmingly more numerous from the start, unless the nomadic cavalry retreated, they couldn't change the formation that felt like being wrapped in a cushion. When that happened, a crescent formation was formed that was absolutely advantageous to the Northern Expeditionary Force, with one-on-one becoming two-on-three or three-on-four.
Gaaah!Aaahh!
In an instant, Salacat's entire Ten-thousand-man force shrank. Salacat belatedly tried to retreat to reorganize the battle formation. However, it was already difficult to control the excited nomadic soldiers.
"Damn! We've fallen into a trap!"
Eventually, Salacat tried to escape to the rear alone, but it was already difficult to even find footing due to corpses and horse carcasses.
Ba-bam.
He stood up on his horse's saddle and then kicked hard off the horse's back, soaring straight over the encirclement to the rear.
Naturally, his blocked vision also became completely clear. Then Salacat could clearly see what was happening at the rear of the Ten-thousand-man force.
"...!"
Someone was there.
Someone sweeping through the gaps between allies like a storm, their long bangs fluttering like a blade. And someone riding what appeared to be Kaiji, a Gray Wolf.
No one could stop him. The centurion he had sent seemed to have died long ago. That person was even specifically seeking out and killing only general-level figures.
Tap.
Salacat set foot again at the rear of the battlefield. Now he could know and feel that person's presence even just standing there. He was in a hell-like place where blood was thrown and sprayed like sand.
Thud-thud-thud! Grrrrrr!
The point where the Ten-thousand-man force needed to escape. Right at that location, cavalry corpses were levitating constantly without pause.
"Were we the ones surrounded...?"
By just one person in two units, the entire rear of the twenty-thousand cavalry and the Ten-thousand-man force was being disrupted. He had definitely appeared to be injured here and there, but absolutely didn't feel like he would die.
"I was mistaken..."
He understood how the situation was unfolding, but it was already too late.
The enemy was indeed one, but alone was sufficient to block the rear of twenty thousand. The side that was surrounded wasn't that side but this side.
The tide of war was also rapidly tilting to that side.
Now they had come too deep into the enemy formation to escape easily. Because the enemies were gradually widening the encirclement using their numerical superiority.
If alone, he could somehow escape, but what would he gain by doing so?
Clang!
Salacat drew the twin blades crossed in an 'X' on his back. Since it had come to this, he would at least catch one enemy who looked most dangerous before dying. Wouldn't that be the way to somewhat repay the grace received from Timur Khan?
He ran following that blood storm visible in the distance. Because the cavalry were too densely packed to run through, he mercilessly cut his own allies' necks if necessary.
"Come out! Come out, you bastards!"
The man, Dong Bong-su, was now dyed red all over his body to the point where his original appearance couldn't be recognized.
The nomadic cavalry were already reluctant to approach his monstrous appearance.
Clang.
Salacat approached near Dong Bong-su and clashed his twin blades to draw attention.
Slash.
Dong Bong-su killed one more person again.
Then he turned Kaiji's reins and looked at Salacat. Like Dong Bong-su's entire body, Kaiji's silvery glossy fur was already soaked with blood and gleaming.
Scrrrring—
Salacat brought together the blades held in both hands, scraped the blade edges against each other, and slowly lowered them below both shins. His unique mounted combat style.
Dong Bong-su also slowly raised the Wanderer's Sword straight forward. Then after staring at Salacat a bit more, he dismounted from Kaiji's back.
"Too valuable to take with 60%."
Then he immediately launched his body toward Salacat.
***
Thud.
He didn't know how many thousands of lives had already disappeared. One more again. Soon one more...
There was no end.
The combat noise from that distant rear where Salacat was attacking also seemed to be gradually decreasing. It wasn't decreasing because they were winning. If so, the enemy's forces would have been seen concentrating that way. The Northern Expeditionary Force's troops kept converging only toward Guisui. The last forces he had brought outside the fortress now seemed to remain only in units of several thousand.
'Did we lose?'
Though he hadn't thought even for a moment that they would lose... even Timur Khan had to acknowledge it now.
They lost. They failed.
It was his complete defeat.
For a very brief moment, the words flight and rally crossed his mind.
But he soon erased them.
There was nowhere left to go, no more forces to gather, no remaining generals. Mamorota was dead, and Salacat might have already died as well. Other excellent generals besides them were also fighting while bleeding down there now. It wouldn't take long for all of them to return to nature.
Timur Khan had rather returned to Guisui and climbed the walls when the tide of victory shifted.
A strong wind blew and painfully stabbed his blue eyes, but they didn't return to those wren eyes from before. They couldn't.
He looked down at the battlefield for a while longer, then turned his head to look inside the fortress. Though not the great grasslands, his land. Guisui. This fortress had protected all of the Northern Plains for the past decades.
'This place is ending now too.'
Perhaps because all males from fifteen to sixty years old had been mobilized, the interior of the fortress was very quiet. At most, livestock like cows, pigs, and sheep that had lost their owners wandered around bleating. The remaining people were hiding somewhere holding their breath or couldn't be seen at all.
He bit his lips hard and raised his head to look up at the sky. The wind still fiercely struck his eyes and back mercilessly. Nevertheless, he stood silently with his hands clasped behind his back.
The sky was clear and the clouds plump. Like the livestock below.
"Is it a good day?"
To die...
How much more time had passed? The front lines had almost moved to the entrance of Guisui.
Whoooo—
With a strong wind, a pair of man-wolf flew very quickly toward the walls from afar. Timur Khan didn't look but knew. Nevertheless, Timur Khan didn't turn his head that way. His gaze was still fixed on the sky.
Tap.
The large wolf could easily land on the walls without any interference. That position was about ten meters away from Timur Khan.
"Have you come?"
Timur Khan spoke without lowering his gaze. As if he had been waiting for a long time. Depending on how one heard it, it even felt friendly, like a greeting given to an old friend.
Dong Bong-su rode Kaiji and approached him from behind.
-x-X-x-
Only then did Timur Khan withdraw his gaze from the sky and turn his body.
Dong Bong-su's body, which had become a complete wreck, came into view. Though dried blood covered his body in multiple layers forming a blood membrane, what caught Timur Khan's eyes first was the pus caught here and there between the torn clothes.
"You've been eaten by the disease."
"That's why there's no time."
Did he mean there wasn't much time left until death? It probably meant that, but it was difficult to judge. Until now, all of Dong Bong-su's movements had exceeded his scope. The words that popped out of his mouth didn't seem like they would be particularly different.
Timur Khan opened his mouth again.
"What exactly makes you fight even after becoming like that? You'll die soon anyway."
"Because I'm not dead until I die."
Dong Bong-su answered while shaking the Wanderer's Sword with a flick, dropping freshly stuck blood to the ground.
Thinking he was indeed an interesting fellow, Timur Khan raised his finger to point at the sky and said,
"Really? Is that so? Like all the people you've killed, you too will soon be up there anyway. Same with me."
The conversation ended there.
Because Dong Bong-su's Wanderer's Sword drew a parabolic arc and swept across Timur Khan's upper body like a receding tide.
Clang!
Timur Khan hastily deflected diagonally with his own sword, repelling Dong Bong-su's sword.
Meanwhile, Kaiji lifted both front paws and attacked Timur Khan's lower body as if clapping hands.
He had to retreat backward like an ebbing tide without even having time to be angry at Kaiji's betrayal, who had been his loyal dog until recently. Because he was his wolf, he knew well. How powerful Kaiji's attacks were.
Wooooom—
Timur Khan hadn't simply retreated backward.
His long sword began rotating at high speed like a top.
"...!"
Seeing that, Dong Bong-su could easily understand what Timur Khan was trying to do. That was undoubtedly Great Force Hegemon Rotation applied to a sword. Since Timur Khan's martial arts were higher than Mamorota's, there was no need to mention its power.
Whooom—!
Timur Khan's Rotation Sword thrust straight forward, and Dong Bong-su's both hands hastily moved upward toward above Timur Khan's head.
"...!"
Timur Khan hastily turned the direction of the sword that had been pointing toward Dong Bong-su upward. Because something huge had suddenly appeared above his head and was falling down.
It was a Trebuchet. Something Dong Bong-su had taken out from the Inventory to block Timur Khan's attack.
BA-THOOM!
Due to gravitational action, the Trebuchet naturally fell above Timur Khan's head, and it collided with his Rotation Sword Energy and shattered into pieces.
Rattle-crash.
When the fragments of the Trebuchet that had met its end poured down like rain, Dong Bong-su and Kaiji's attacks were once again inflicted on Timur Khan.
Timur Khan's sword was extended upward, so there seemed to be no way to block.
However!
At the critical moment, his body began spinning like a top. Moreover, that body was surrounded by Defensive Energy in a ring shape.
BOOM!
Body Ring. A unique martial art of Timur Khan's that extended and applied Sword Ring even to the body. Its power wasn't inferior to Sword Ring at all, so despite Dong Bong-su and Kaiji having struck first, they were rather bounced backward by the ring-shaped bundle of energy that burst from Timur Khan's body.
Snap!
Timur Khan flew directly toward Dong Bong-su while still deploying Body Ring. It was precisely the Flying Ring Sword Unity that made Timur Khan the strongest in the north!
KRA-KRA-KRA-BOOM!
As his body spun in midair, the size of the Body Ring became stronger and larger.
The floor of the walls that entered within that radius was mercilessly gouged and split. If Dong Bong-su and Kaiji also entered within that range, they would be torn like paper sheets like that.
The moment Timur Khan's Rotation Sword Ring was about to touch Dong Bong-su, Dong Bong-su and Kaiji disappeared. They had avoided Timur Khan's attack using Footwork.
However, Footwork worked only once.
Timur Khan's deadly rotation he was performing hadn't stopped yet. He flew again toward where Dong Bong-su had appeared. Though he couldn't secure vision because he was rotating at tremendous speed, he could determine Dong Bong-su's location sufficiently through Energy Sense.
Now his rotation became even faster, leaving Body Ring marks all over the walls.
The eyes of Dong Bong-su watching sank deeply and reached the place of 'nothingness.' It wasn't waiting for death. That would absolutely never happen until death stabbed the tip of that sword into his neck.
That was Dong Bong-su.
Dong Bong-su suddenly held his sword upside down and stabbed here and there on his own body filled with pus.
Blood and pus gushed up like a fountain and soon swept away by the whirlwind Timur Khan had created, spraying in all directions.
[As the player's health has dropped below 20%, all abilities increase by 10%.]
[Survival Instinct Lv.2] was activated.
Contrasting with the pain that swept through his entire body, Dong Bong-su's eyes sank even lower.
Whrrrrr—!
The sword tip that became Timur Khan's rotation axis circled at a speed beyond imagination and closed in right before Dong Bong-su. It looked terrifying enough to resemble a large drill of a machine digging a borehole.
Dong Bong-su dismounted from Kaiji's back. Then after sending Kaiji backward, he held the Wanderer's Sword horizontally with the tip facing forward. And he raised [Sword Energy] and thrust it toward Timur Khan.
A normal skill of Direct Strike at the Yellow Dragon, an ordinary thrust.
A firefly before the full moon?
No matter who looked, Dong Bong-su's Sword Energy fell far short of the momentum of Flying Ring Sword Unity that Timur Khan deployed.
If they collided like this, it was clear as day that Dong Bong-su would be swept by that rotational force and torn to shreds in an instant...!
Ting.
It wasn't. A collision of JP and true qi occurred. However, that sound was unexpectedly not very loud. Though Timur Khan's incoming speed was tremendous and he was being pushed backward, Dong Bong-su wasn't completely swept by that rotation. He was merely being pushed backward by the charging force.
Because the tip of Dong Bong-su's sword had precisely stabbed Timur Khan's rotation axis. If he had missed even by 1mm, he would have been swept by the Rotation Sword Ring Timur Khan had created, but since he stabbed the axis of the top without any error, it became unrelated to rotational force. Just as even if a needle rotates fast, the very tip of the needle, the exact center, isn't rotating.
An accuracy impossible to dream of if it weren't Dong Bong-su. However, even so, tremendous force was loaded at the end of Timur Khan's Rotation Sword Ring.
Splurt.
Blood oozed out through Dong Bong-su's mouth.
Skrrreeee—
[Wanderer's Leather Shoes] that Dong Bong-su was wearing scraped against the wall floor, causing tremendous friction. Electric sparks flashed from it.
Dong Bong-su was pushed backward endlessly. If he was pushed back just a bit more in this state, the tip of the Wanderer's Sword would waver and be swept by the Rotation Sword Ring in an instant.
That was when.
Dong Bong-su's mouth opened and a sword appeared between his upper and lower teeth.
Perhaps some internal organs had torn due to internal injuries, as organ fragments also flowed out of his mouth along with the sword.
Despite such tremendous pain, Dong Bong-su precisely, very accurately stabbed a sword into the point where the Wanderer's Sword and Rotation Sword were joined at the tip. Though he said stabbed, in fact it was merely touching very lightly at the tip of the Rotation Sword.
[2-Strike failed. The player strongly pushes the enemy backward.]
With the activation of [Consecutive Strike], Timur Khan was knocked back.
Dong Bong-su led his body that felt like a thousand pounds and once again extended the Wanderer's Sword, precisely stabbing it into the tip of Timur Khan's Rotation Sword. Of course, this time too a sword popped out from his mouth and reached the same spot. Though it wasn't enough to penetrate Timur Khan's Body Ring, it was sufficient for the system to recognize that action as an attack and activate [Consecutive Strike].
Timur Khan was pushed backward again.
Until this point, Timur Khan hadn't realized at all that he was being pushed backward. He thought only that Dong Bong-su's energy was being pushed back. However, he could soon know that wasn't the case. Because there was almost no collision of energy waves. How could it be so quiet when his Rotation Sword Ring and the enemy's sword collided?
Rotation Sword consumed tremendous energy in proportion to its power, being a one-hit-kill martial art.
Ten times.
He was pushed backward.
Timur Khan finally stopped rotating and landed on the ground.
"..."
Dong Bong-su was fine. Though blood was flowing from his mouth, his expression was no different from when they first met. No, rather, that figure standing expressionlessly couldn't look more relaxed.
How?
However, contrary to what he thought, Dong Bong-su was actually tremendously exhausted and his insides were completely turned inside out from internal injuries.
Timur Khan's insides were also greatly disturbed from the sudden massive consumption of internal energy.
He looked at Dong Bong-su's eyes hidden by his bangs for a moment, then raised his head again to look at the sky. The sky was still blue, unlike the blood-red earth.
"Do you know why the sky is so blue?"
Dong Bong-su had no answer. Still, Timur Khan continued speaking.
"Even humans like you and me, after death, if we cross that blue river, our souls are purified. So humans need not fear death. Therefore die without hesitation. Don't endure any longer unnecessarily."
Timur Khan raised his sword that he had lowered for a moment again. This time he held it horizontally to the side, not above his head, and extended his arm straight. With that, this time the axis of the top became his head, not the sword.
And he began spinning round and round again.
Wooooong—!
If the previous one looked like a high-speed rotating drill, this time it looked like a shot put athlete spinning their body before throwing the shot.
Dong Bong-su this time too looked at Timur Khan's rotation with indifferent eyes, then began spinning in the same direction exactly the same way. His posture was also no different from Timur Khan's. If one had to find a difference, it was only one thing: that rotation speed was incomparably slow.
Ting.
Dong Bong-su's faint Rotation Sword met the end of Timur Khan's storm-like Rotation Sword.
This time too, the sound wasn't loud. As if when wind meets wind, nothing happens.
Dong Bong-su confirmed Timur Khan's rotation cycle with his eyes, then precisely timed his rotation so the end of that rotation would meet his sword tip. Thanks to that, this time too only the sword tips continued to meet, not the sword surfaces. As such an event repeated, this time too Timur Khan was pushed back continuously without substance.
In the end, Timur Khan had no choice but to stop rotating this time as well.
"Huu, huu...."
From extreme energy consumption, rough breaths flowed from Timur Khan's mouth.
Though he said nothing, his expression was frozen to the extreme. That expression said everything. Why on earth wasn't the Rotation Sword working?
But in truth, the Rotation Sword was dealing damage to Dong Bong-su. Though they only met at the sword tips, just that alone was continuously shaking Dong Bong-su's insides. However, it wasn't enough to kill him.
But Timur Khan couldn't know even that much. Dong Bong-su's face was simply 'nothing.'
Dong Bong-su's face had only become slightly paler than before. No other changes could be read.
When Timur Khan's attack stopped, Dong Bong-su turned his head to the side and looked down below the castle wall.
Already the battle line formed by the Northern Expeditionary Force and nomad soldiers had moved almost right in front of the castle gate. Before long, regardless of the castle walls or inner fortress, Li Zi-song's army would occupy Guisui.
Was he smiling? Dong Bong-su's mouth split wide as he watched that.
Then, without a moment's hesitation, he left Timur Khan behind and leaped down below the castle wall.
Krakaboom!
Dong Bong-su raised [Sword Energy] and crashed down into a place where allies and enemies were mixed together. With a tremendous explosion, five or six people were crushed.
He didn't stop there and began wildly swinging his sword. His Wanderer's Sword blindly cut without distinguishing friend from foe, as if it had no eyes.
"...."
Timur Khan was at a loss for words. This humiliation was a first. Both someone who blocked his Rotation Sword was a first, and someone who went elsewhere to do something else while crossing swords.
His Blue Eyes trembled with rage.
He too immediately leaped down below the castle wall following Dong Bong-su. Now victory, defeat, or death—none of it mattered.
'I'll definitely kill at least that bastard.'
1
By then Dong Bong-su had already recovered over 20% of his health. He slashed his own body once more. Sure enough, pus and blood splattered as his health dropped back below 20%.
[As the player's health drops below 20%, all abilities increase by 10%.]
Once again [Survival Instinct Lv.2] activated.
Wooooong.
Soon [Circulating Energy] and [Sword Energy] overlapped onto the Wanderer's Sword.
He immediately turned his body and swung his sword toward Timur Khan falling from the sky. That appearance was like a great dragon coiled then uncoiling as it swept its tail.
"Great Dragon Tail Sweep!?"
BA-BA-BANG!
Timur Khan flew back up into the sky in that same falling posture. But he was more shocked that Dong Bong-su used the Great Dragon Tail Sweep than his insides being shaken.
Of course, that wasn't Dong Bong-su's concern. Dong Bong-su immediately activated [Lightness Arts] and flew up toward Timur Khan.
Clang!
Dong Bong-su's sword and Timur Khan's sword clashed violently in midair again.
"Ghk!"
A thin groan flowed from Timur Khan's mouth as he flew rapidly backward. For the first time, Dong Bong-su had suppressed Timur Khan with strength. Timur Khan had lost almost all his strength from continued energy consumption, while Dong Bong-su was in his strongest state since the battle began. Moreover, though it was only an imitation, he was using swordwork enhanced with Mamorota's fierce techniques.
Dong Bong-su fell toward the ground and swung his sword once more at the soldiers around him.
Splatter-thud.
Blood and flesh splattered as Dong Bong-su's health recovered a bit more. Dong Bong-su pressed that momentum and charged at Timur Khan again, assaulting him like a storm. It wasn't the quiet sword from before.
Whoong whoong!Ba-buk!
Dong Bong-su's sword transformed completely. His sword was powerful as if combining Timur Khan's swordwork and Mamorota's club techniques. Fighting them, he had absorbed both their strong points. Though it wasn't perfectly the same martial arts as theirs, quite peculiarly those strong points had melded well into Dong Bong-su's sword. Dong Bong-su had evolved once more.
Clang, Clang clang!
Timur Khan, whose internal energy was already nearly depleted, couldn't withstand Dong Bong-su who had recovered much health. Timur Khan was continuously driven back and eventually pushed all the way inside the castle gate.
Following that, behind Dong Bong-su, Li Zi-song's Northern Expeditionary Force poured into Guisui like a tide.
Aaaaaahhhh!
At that moment when the soldiers' shouts that hadn't been heard for quite a while registered in Dong Bong-su's ears again.
Thud.
Dong Bong-su's sword finally drove straight into Timur Khan's heart.
Crack, rip.
The sound of ribs protecting the heart breaking and being cut away could be heard without filter.
Timur Khan, as if so aggrieved about something, opened his eyes wider than he had since he was born and glared at Dong Bong-su.
"You... You...."
But he couldn't finish his curse about Dong Bong-su.
Because Dong Bong-su pulled out a new sword with his other hand and shoved it into his mouth.
Fwoooosh.
Timur Khan laid his limbs on the ground while looking at the blue sky he loved, and above him the Holy Light bursting from Dong Bong-su's entire body swept past.
Soon that Holy Light was sprinkled here and there throughout Guisui, and it ignited the bloodlust of the Northern Expeditionary Force.
"The wrath of heaven has reached the barbarians! Slaughter them all!"
"Aaaaaaaahh!"
"Kill them! Wipe them all out!"
Many soldiers who saw the level-up light burst from Dong Bong-su's body looked up at him in reverence, raised their swords high, then immediately rushed at the enemies and swung their swords ceaselessly.
Li Zi-song and the adjutants followed in and saw that sight, but paid it no mind. Dong Bong-su had the right to receive such treatment from the soldiers. There wasn't even a need for jealousy.
Whether the soldiers did that or not, Dong Bong-su silently lowered his head and looked down at Timur Khan. Shadow fell and covered Timur Khan's eyes. With that, he could no longer see the sky he loved. Though it was after death, for Timur Khan it couldn't help but be regrettable.
"Was the reason the sky is blue because the sky is a river at the threshold to the afterlife?"
The dead do not speak. An obvious statement, but…
"The reason the sky is blue is, you see. It's not that sort of thing. Light from the sun collides with gas molecules composing Earth's atmosphere and scatters into various colored lights, and at that time blue or purple light with short wavelengths spreads much more. That's why the sky looks blue."
Dong Bong-su's words continued.
"When you die, you just die. There's no river or anything. If you expect something like that after death, give up even now."
"...."
"And did I ask what you see when you look at that?"
"...."
"That's not the sky. That's your delusion. That's just 'up.' The sky? That's just something weak humans conveniently divided up. Above that, there's just higher 'up.' There's no such thing as the sky you're hoping for."
Having finished speaking, Dong Bong-su raised the Wanderer's Sword high and drove it straight into Timur Khan's right ear.
Timur Khan's ear was severed, and the short but intense Harvest finally ended.
Aaaaaaaahh!
The soldiers' crazed cheers shook all of Guisui. Though clearly not only nomad soldiers but also several Northern Expeditionary Force soldiers had died by his sword, no one cared. The Dong Bong-su reflected in their eyes was an unparalleled hero who couldn't be offset by the deaths of a few comrades.
Whether the soldiers did that or not, Dong Bong-su walked to a corner.
There, Kaiji was by himself tearing off and eating plump mutton. This too was probably included in artificial intelligence—a method of recovering health on its own.
Since Kaiji's Status window was open, he could confirm in real time that the fellow's health was recovering. Though not a real item, either way this mutton was essentially a raw recovery item.
Larger livestock in better nutritional condition would provide more recovery. Of course, there was no experience poi...!
"...!"
The moment of realization—no one knows when or where it will arrive. As various saints like Socrates, Jesus, Buddha, and so on had experienced.
Though Dong Bong-su was a monster far removed from such saints, the moment of realization came to him as well.
'Plump, fattened livestock helps recover health.'
Livestock becomes plump and fat. Livestock is raised by people. Therefore, if raised well, it can become a good recovery item.
Dong Bong-su withdrew his gaze from Kaiji voraciously tearing into the mutton, then turned his gaze to the soldiers cheering for him.
Though exhausted from the widespread Black Epidemic and continued battles, they were all elite soldiers. Those soldiers weren't elite from birth either. They were made through training.
Therefore,
If trained well.
Good....
1
The corners of Dong Bong-su's mouth twisted up cruelly.
He raised his hand high. Then the soldiers shouted madly.
Kill many and receive hero treatment, and many follow. In this place, it's a natural law like a principle of nature.
This time even Dong Bong-su's opposite corner of his mouth rose. This was Dong Bong-su smiling a complete smile for the first time since coming to this place. Perhaps for the first time since being born....
Dong Bong-su mounted Kaiji, who had adequately recovered his health, and walked through the soldiers toward the castle gate.
Of course, Timur Khan's ear was left abandoned on the ground. Because to Dong Bong-su now, ears were as good as trash, something that didn't matter at all. Whether it belonged to the Northern Plains Emperor or not made no difference whatsoever.
-x-X-x-
Although skirmishes were still breaking out here and there, most of the soldiers were simply staring at Dong Bong-su's back. The same was true for Li Zi-song. He slowly rode his horse over and dismounted beside Timur Khan's corpse.
Thud.
Li Zi-song picked up Timur Khan's ear that had fallen to the ground.
"The Ear Ghost has abandoned the ear...."
That was enough for him to understand Dong Bong-su's intent.
Thwack.
Li Zi-song cut off Timur Khan's head, picked it up, and climbed onto the castle wall.
Then he held it high so that all the soldiers who had entered the city could see, and shouted.
"Timur Khan is dead! Meaningless resistance will no longer be tolerated! Everyone drop your weapons and surrender, and your lives will be spared!"
With that, the long and tedious war came to an end.
Li Zi-song now turned his head outside the castle.
Dong Bong-su was still pushing through the path the soldiers had made, slowly moving away from Guisui.
Li Zi-song shouted loudly toward Dong Bong-su.
"Where are you going?"
Dong Bong-su pulled the reins and stopped Kaiji. However, he didn't turn his head.
"The Central Plains."
His manner of speech had been curt from the beginning, but now it was outright half-severed. Nevertheless, Li Zi-song smiled.
Whoosh.
Something left his hand and flew toward Dong Bong-su's back.
Thwack.
Without even turning his head, Dong Bong-su reached back and caught it. When he received it, it was one ear with a splendid ring-shaped earring attached.
"Take it. I'll keep the other one. If by chance I return to the Imperial Court and secure a position, wouldn't it help you a little?"
"...."
Dong Bong-su didn't answer and put Timur Khan's ear into his Inventory.
That was enough to satisfy Li Zi-song.
"Farewell."
Kaiji began moving again. Then soon it galloped away, cutting through the earth soaked in blood and disappearing far to the southeast.
"Is it alright to let him go like that?"
Before he knew it, Adjutant Dang was standing behind Li Zi-song.
"He's the one who harvested the Northern Plains alone. Do you have a way to capture him?"
Adjutant Dang couldn't give any answer. He already knew it too. That he was someone who absolutely couldn't be caught, and shouldn't be caught either.
Li Zi-song gazed in the direction Dong Bong-su had disappeared, smacked his lips for a moment, then opened his mouth.
"A storm of blood will blow through the Central Plains."
A cold wind blew, and the sharp scent of blood stung the noses of Li Zi-song and Adjutant Dang.
This world is New Murim Online—within a game yet not within a game.
Even here, enlightenment comes suddenly. And it fell upon Dong Bong-su's head. Like how an apple suddenly fell on Newton's head—whether that was real or fabricated by people of later generations didn't matter.
1
***
New Murim Online 9th Law: The system recognizes appropriate targets (still requires further research) as Spirit Creatures. For a player to tame a target as a Spirit Creature, they must fulfill certain conditions designated by the system.
Tamed Spirit Creatures have separate Status Windows, Equipment Windows, etc., and 60% of the experience points they earn are attributed to the player's experience points.
Spirit Creatures can recover health by consuming food.
※Everything about this law is not fixed or certain.
***
Rumors are fast.
They're even faster because they have many legs. Sometimes horses, other times people, and in some cases birds become the legs of rumors.
A rumor originating from the north struck the entire nation.
Timur Khan of the Northern Plains is dead. Guisui had fallen.
That was the core content of the rumor.
Timur Khan was a great hero of the Northern Plains and an extremely powerful master. His death delivered no small shock not only to the government and common people, but also to the martial artists of the Martial World.
And.
A story about one man was also attached as a footnote to that rumor and spread.
A man riding a wolf that flies through the sky. A man who severs enemy throats like an evil demon. A man who commands dozens of swords like his own limbs. Also, a genius strategist.
All of it was rumors pointing to one particular man. But it was soon buried among other rumors.
Because it didn't make sense.
How could a wolf fly through the sky, and how could a person with only two hands freely wield dozens of swords?
Everything was dismissed as a story fabricated by soldiers to praise Li Zi-song, the Commander of the Northern Expeditionary Force and Datong Military Command.
The rumor....
In the end, ended as a rumor, and soon public attention was withdrawn from the north.
Originally, the lifespan of a rumor lasts only until the next rumor circulates. As a new stimulating rumor began spreading through the Martial World, the rumor from the north quietly died down.
[The Murim Alliance is holding a martial arts tournament!]
[The Murim Alliance Leader is selecting young masters under thirty years old to create a new military organization!]
Normally, the Murim Alliance is merely a symbolic organization of the Orthodox Faction.
However, when the Central Plains is invaded by foreign forces, it becomes the true center of the Orthodox Faction.
Now was precisely that time. Heavenly Demon Castle was constantly invading the borders of the Central Plains, and the Hall of Gathering Evil was extending its reach to various places throughout the Central Plains.
Therefore, the current Murim Alliance Leader, Hyeoncheon Jinin, was in some ways the Lord of the Martial World. The fact that he was holding a martial arts tournament and gathering young masters was an important event that would determine the direction of the next generation of the Martial World.
The Martial World was abuzz with this matter, and Eulji-tae, the Breaking Heaven Hegemon Blade who was Hyeoncheon Jinin's right-hand man, was returning to Zhengzhou after completing a special mission related to this matter.
Together with one person who weighed on his mind....
***
Sanmen Gorge.
A gorge where Yu, the founder of the ancient Xia Kingdom, split a mountain with an axe and divided the river's flow into three using Ghost Stone and Divine Stone.
Since ancient times, this place has been famous for having the strongest currents in the Yellow River. The banks on both sides of the forty meters wide river are steep cliffs, and the river is divided into three by Renmen, a peninsula protruding from the north bank, and two islands in the middle of the river—Shenmen Island and Guimen Island—creating tremendous rapids.
Because of this, there has always been the joke that once you cross this place, you've passed half of the Yellow River.
However, no matter how treacherous it was, it was difficult to go from Xi'an to Zhengzhou without passing through here, so many boats always passed through this place.
People could use another tributary of the Yellow River to the south, but that route was roundabout in many ways compared to passing through Sanmen Gorge, so people would often risk the danger and pass through here.
Swoooosh—
Even now, one boat carrying three people was rapidly passing through Sanmen Gorge via Shenmen, between Shenmen Island and Guimen Island.
One person was moving two oars here and there, riding the currents—the oarsman. The other two had their arms crossed and were just watching, so they must be passengers of this boat.
One middle-aged passenger in gray robes with a cold impression.
And one passenger with long bangs hanging down to his chin, making it difficult to gauge his appearance. However, judging from his slender physique and the glimpses of his sharp, wrinkle-free jawline, he was a young man.
The middle-aged man in gray robes was staring intently at the young man's back inside the mercilessly rocking boat. With the boatman at the very back and the young man at the very front, his position was in the middle of the boat.
The middle-aged man in gray robes, Eulji-tae, was curious about the young man sitting in front.
The young man was extremely taciturn.
In this Murim, there are two types of people who don't speak.
The strong and the weak.
The strong don't speak because they're strong, and the weak don't speak because they're weak. Not because they can't speak, but because there's no need.
The strong don't particularly need to speak because those around them handle everything even without them speaking, and the weak don't need to speak because they just need to do work as instructed.
But he couldn't get any sense of which type the young man in front was.
Was he strong? Was he weak?
To fulfill the Soldier Eccentric's request, he had waited for him at the Eight Directions Armory for over a month. Even when hordes from the Northern Plains invaded and shook the entire Datong Military Command, Eulji-tae didn't hide and waited for the young man.
Some time after that, the young man finally came, and they met.
Since conversing with him at that time, the young man still hasn't spoken.
'Where is he?'
'If you're looking for the Elder, he's in Zhengzhou.'
'Zhengzhou?'
'Right now, he's at the Murim Alliance. To meet him, you'll have to go to Zhengzhou.'
'I understand.'
That was all.
When leaving Datong and coming to Hejin, and when boarding a boat at Hejin and coming here to Sanmen Gorge, the young man remained silent. Who exactly the 'Elder' was, why he went to Zhengzhou, why he had to follow him.
Even though Eulji-tae hadn't told him anything, the young man remained quiet.
Judging only by atmosphere, the young man was definitely on the strong side. However, the energy emanating from his body was insignificant, and his Sun Point (where the end of the eyebrow and the end of the eye corner meet in a hollow) was flat. In other words, he had almost no internal power and had never learned mental cultivation methods.
These were conditions that prevented him from being strong. There's a limit to the level that can be achieved with external energy arts alone.
The young man should be weak eight or nine times out of ten. If not that, then he was a different kind of strong person accomplished in other fields, or perhaps a hidden eccentric who had reached the realm of returning to simplicity and truth.
The Yangtze River flowing alongside splashed rapidly, pushing forward the water ahead and scattering in all directions, landing even on his knees. Eulji-tae thought that possibility was slim, but suddenly wished that the young man in front would be like the rear current of this Yangtze River.
The current Martial World was chaotic and difficult. Heavenly Demon Castle was greatly rampaging, and the Hall of Gathering Evil was also expanding its influence here and there throughout the Central Plains based on enormous financial resources. On the other hand, the Murim Alliance and the Orthodox Faction side had merely been damaged and diminished.
New young blood. Such things were needed. Moreover, though not many knew it yet, somewhere someone born under the Full Star of Extreme Yin Star of Heavenly Calamity must be operating in the shadows.
Much blood had been shed over the past few years, but much more blood would still have to flow before peace would return to the Martial World.
-x-X-x-
After traveling a bit further like that, Sanmen Gorge ended and a fairly large ferry dock nestled against a village appeared.
Although it wasn't a place suitable for people to live, thanks to its geographical advantage as a grain transport route, it was quite a prosperous place. It couldn't compare to large castle towns, but it was sufficient to relax the minds and bodies of weary boatmen and travelers.
Now, if they transferred to a large boat here and went straight to Zhengzhou, the journey would be over.
Eulji-tae paid the oarsman his fare and walked into the village, taking the lead. The long-haired young man followed behind him.
The village wasn't usually a quiet place. But right now it was bustling much more than usual.
Judging by the many people walking around wearing martial robes and carrying swords, most of the newly arrived guests were martial artists. Young ones at that.
Eulji-tae knew very well why so many young people from the Martial World had suddenly flocked here.
'Candidates.'
He muttered in a very low voice and walked past them toward the nearest inn. The young man followed right behind him.
"Welcome! Two people?"
A young server who still looked immature greeted them loudly. Behind him, a large plaque inscribed with Cheongcheong Pavilion also beckoned them.
Eulji-tae entered the inn without another word.
Inside was already quite crowded. The first floor was already full, so the server led them up to the second floor.
On the second floor, there were plenty of tables for two left.
The seat the server guided them to was by the window, and though the fairly bustling outside scenery was visible, Eulji-tae wasn't originally the type of person to care about such things. In his view, the young man seemed the same way. Though it was hard to be certain.
Eulji-tae simply ordered Five Spice Soy Sauce Meat from the server.
"One more of the same, please."
The young man spoke indifferently in a level voice. It was the young man's voice heard after a long time.
Was it because he heard the voice of someone who hadn't said a single word even when stopping at inns before? Eulji-tae chuckled. What about this young man had made the Soldier Eccentric laugh like that? Perhaps it was this taciturnity—such an idle thought flitted through his mind.
'Come to think of it, this fellow made me laugh too, following the Soldier Eccentric.'
In some ways, he was someone with even less laughter than the Soldier Eccentric. Since he was fundamentally a man of few words, it couldn't be helped. Yet for whatever reason, the young man had made him laugh.
He found it amusing.
Just as a smile formed on Eulji-tae's lips after a long time.
"Dong Gwang-cheon."
The young man's flat voice caught the ear of Eulji-tae, who had been about to cast his gaze out the window to hide his awkward smile.
"...?"
"That's my name. You seemed curious."
He finally learned the young man's name.
The young man's lower jaw that was revealed here and there as he spoke was long and smooth. He was clearly a handsome man. But why did he grow his bangs so long to cover his face?
Once the name was resolved, now other things became curious. The other party was a questionable man who induced such curiosity. Frustrating, but an interesting opponent.
"Eulji-tae."
Eulji-tae said.
"...."
"That's my name."
An exchange of names at this point after a week might seem awkward, but there was no such thing between the two. Just like that, a belated mutual introduction ended as if it were natural.
After the introduction ended, the two silently appreciated the scenery outside the window.
Most of the young martial artists coming and going were martial artists from unknown, nameless sects. But among them were also those who came from major sects like Mount Hua, Kunlun, and Kongtong Sects. Probably the disciples of the Nine Great Sects and the young masters of the Five Great Families had all come out to participate in this martial arts tournament.
However, Eulji-tae wasn't particularly interested. He would see them plenty once he returned to the Alliance anyway.
But Dong Gwang-cheon seemed different, surveying the passing martial artists with great interest. Probably interested in martial artists his own age.
After waiting like that for a moment, Five Spice Soy Sauce Meat came out—pork simmered in soy sauce with added flavoring from spices like fennel and cinnamon. The smell was so good that the chef here must be quite skilled.
Saliva pooled beneath his tongue naturally. Even when Eulji-tae first picked up his chopsticks and lifted a piece of the sliced meat, Dong Gwang-cheon was still looking out the window.
"Is there something interesting outside? Hurry and pick up your chopsticks. Shouldn't we eat quickly and arrive in Zhengzhou even an hour earlier?"
Was it because he had opened his mouth once? Now he could speak a bit more comfortably.
Just as Eulji-tae threw out that question. As if his words had become a seed, 'entertainment' appeared outside the window.
Crash—!
The wall of the inn's first floor collapsed and something shot out onto the street like lightning. Several tables and some broken branches from a flower tree cultivated on the side also spilled out together. It was a person.
'Did a fight break out?'
It seemed that with hot-blooded young men gathered together, it was difficult to avoid quarrels. Especially with young people from the Martial World full of competitive spirit crowding together, it was pointless to even say more.
The young man who burst out breaking through Cheongcheong Pavilion's wall was a handsome Kunlun Sect disciple in his twenties wearing white robes. The evidence was the cloud-shaped embroidery attached to the shoulder hem of his robe.
Whirl—
Though he had collided hard enough to break the wall, he nonchalantly flipped in midair and stood straight on the ground. Quite impressive.
"That's the fellow called Kunlun White Dragon."
Eulji-tae recognized the young man at a glance.
Kunlun White Dragon Hundred-Breaking Sword U Sim-gi.
One of the Three Stars Five Phoenixes Nine Dragons created by the gossips of the Martial World who love ranking. Three Stars Five Phoenixes Nine Dragons referred to seventeen outstanding people among the rising stars of the Martial World.
Eulji-tae wasn't particularly one to believe in such things. He wasn't particularly pleased that he himself was included in the Twenty Great Masters under Heaven either. He didn't know about Two Divinities Three Eccentrics, but the Five Supremes Ten Greats below them was a bit much. In the Martial World, there were many stronger than them.
The Martial World was truly vast—a place where one never knew what masters might be hiding where. Naturally, countless eccentrics existed whose exact martial prowess was difficult to know. Yet they so easily ranked such people. Even in the Council of Elders of each major sect, there might be one or two masters at the Ten Greats level among the Five Supremes Ten Greats.
Wasn't that all?
This ranking itself was mostly composed of the Orthodox Faction, so it didn't properly reflect the actual entire Martial World.
What does Orthodox, Unorthodox, or Demonic have to do with whether martial arts are superior or inferior?
Except for a few like the Heavenly Demon Castle Lord who absolutely couldn't be denied, almost all of the Twenty Great Masters under Heaven were filled with figures from the Orthodox Faction. Even the Three Stars Five Phoenixes Nine Dragons were all composed of children from the Orthodox Faction.
'Probably before long, all those standards will be overturned.'
Eulji-tae was certain of it. Because they had been getting along without major friction with Heavenly Demon Castle, the Hall of Gathering Evil, or other forces, the Martial World had stagnated, and many masters of the Demonic Path and Unorthodox Faction hadn't become known to the Central Plains.
However, through the wars of the past year, several masters of the Demonic Path had already become known to the Orthodox Faction. Probably in a few more years, many names in the Twenty Great Masters under Heaven would be replaced.
Of course, the same went for the Three Stars Five Phoenixes Nine Dragons.
Anyway, whether Eulji-tae liked it or not, U Sim-gi was currently one of them. As such, his skills must be outstanding among the young generation of the Orthodox Faction.
But someone sent one of them flying like that?
'Is the opponent another one of the Three Stars Five Phoenixes Nine Dragons?'
Eulji-tae guessed so. Though the gossips' words weren't that trustworthy, at least here in front of the Murim Alliance, they were believable. Wouldn't it be nonsensical to think that a young master from the Unorthodox Faction or Demonic Path had suddenly appeared here and sent one of the Nine Dragons flying?
As he slightly enhanced his eye power and waited for that opponent to come out, someone wearing blue martial robes slowly walked out through the broken wall.
Thud, thud.
He was a man with a leisurely appearance like a middle-aged veteran master. Should it be called rhythm? There was a strange breathing pattern in his gait, and one hand naturally gripped a sword hilt.
Since he was male, he was excluded from the Five Phoenixes....
Was he one of the Three Stars or Nine Dragons? He thought he would be one of the remaining ten excluding the now-dead Blade Star Do Heo-ok and U Sim-gi who was standing there, but that wasn't it either.
Eulji-tae hadn't met all of the Three Stars Five Phoenixes Nine Dragons, but he knew their appearances and clothing in detail.
A tall figure appearing over seven feet. Long hair grown out scraggily tied back carelessly. Several strands sticking out and fluttering randomly in the wind. Worn martial robes that had originally been deep blue but had faded so much they turned sky blue, with even patched marks and worn parts visible here and there. A beard left unshaven that covered his entire lower jaw.
Yet he didn't seem particularly old. His eyes, overflowing with vigor and sparkling, were a young man's eyes.
Among the Three Stars Nine Dragons, there was no one with such an appearance. None of them were heirs of families or sects who would wander outside their sphere of influence in such a shabby state.
However,
Unlike the blue-robed young man's shabby appearance, the longsword held in his left hand was antique and venerable. The blade length was about three feet eight inches, the width about three fingers combined. Though old, it was a genuine sword from which refinement flowed. There was no pattern drawn or jewel embedded in the scabbard or hilt, but a subtle blue light circulated making it look mystical. If only the white dust covering it was wiped away, it was undoubtedly a famous sword that would boast a truly unique color.
"That is...?"
Eulji-tae recognized that sword. Though it was the first time he'd encountered the sword in decades, it was such an impressive sword that he couldn't fail to recognize it.
"Heavenly Rigid Sword!?"