âHow should we destroy them to cause rumors to spread? Should we invade them? Or should we go on a siege defense (æć)? Feel free to speak your mind.â
Cha Sung-tae, who hears the question last and is slow to grasp the situation, asks the room.
âWho is our opponent?â
âElder Hornless Dragon, his ally Mister Su and other unorthodox faction scums.â
Cha Sung-tae replies casually.
âThat might add up to about 4~500 troops, then.â
All the members in attendance look over to Cha Sung-tae. Everyoneâs gaze is questioning, âhow does he know that?â Feeling slightly puzzled, I grant Cha Sung-tae the right to speak first.
âGo on.â
âA siege defense would be interesting.â
âWhy is that?â
âWeâre behind in numbers.â
âThatâs it?â
âThe one who attacks first is usually the bad guy. But weâre not the ones who attacked Elder Hornless Dragon first.â
I nod and settle on the strategy for our fight plan.
âThen letâs go with a siege defense.â
This time, everyoneâs eyes are all on me.
ââŠâŠ!â
Their eyes are questioning why I decided on that plan so easily, but Iâm a man who doesnât need an excuse to do anything.
âI think a siege defense would be fun too. Speak up if you have any more interesting suggestions.â
Hong-shin raises her hand.
âBig Brother?â
âSpeak.â
âIf weâre going for a siege defense, weâd better evacuate the servants and anyone that doesnât know martial arts. They could get caught up and die.â
I nod and raise my voice immediately.
âMiss Son!â
Miss Son rushes to me from behind.
âYes, Leader.â
âGather all the servants, the sick, and people who donât know martial arts and prepare to leave for Ilyang. Iâll call up the guards. So prepare carefully and gather up the people.â
Miss Son answers right away.
âYes, Iâll prepare them right away.â
I look around at my men and ask.
âWho wants to escort them? You are to leave immediately since they might infiltrate us as early as tonight. This task is as important as fighting here, so you donât have to feel sorry.â
Hong-shin speaks up as if she doesnât want to handle the escorting duty.
âIâm gonna have a round today.â
Baek-yu, Baek-in, and Cheong-jin, who all hold a grudge against Mister Su, remain silent.
Being left with no choice, I ask for Cha Sung-taeâs opinion.
âDo you want to go, clumsy Sung-tae? You wonât be of much help anyway.â
As soon as I start to regret being too straightforward, I see that Cha Sung-taeâs face has already reddened.
Cha Sung-tae replies with his eyes wide open.
âLeader, Iâm Cha Sung-tae of Ilyang. Iâll stay as a representative of Ilyang. Please leave me out and decide, Leader.â
I nod.
âLooks like everyone wants to stay. Then Iâll decide for you. Manager Byuk.â
âYes.â
âYou will be in charge of the front, and Sima Bi and his men will take the back. Sima Bi, send those quick on their feet out first to ensure the road is safe.â
Sima Bi and Manager Byuk reply at the same time.
âYes, sir.â
Sima Bi stands up with a look of regret. But I believe Sima Bi is the right man for the job since heâs smart and frequently travels to Ilyang.
As a large number of people are leaving the hall, the place suddenly becomes busy.
I watch over them and call for Geum-hae as the evacuees depart.
âGold Brother.â
âYes, Big Brother.â
âFollow them in the rearguard. If anything happens, do as you see fit and report back to me.â
Geum-hae replies as he stands up.
âYes, I understand.â
Geum-hae is still trying to recover his internal Qi, so he must be concerned with his own condition.
I speak to one of my subordinates from the Black Rabbit Union.
âWe have nothing left to do, so letâs drink.â
âYes, Leader.â
When my subordinates go to get the booze, the sky begins to darken.
As three cups of alcohol are served sometime later, the main hall door swings open, and a man dressed in black appears. Two black straight swords hang around his waist. He looks like a man swirling in darkness due to his clothes, weapons, and facial expressions.
Dokgo Saeng stares at me in the upper seat and says,
âZaha, your hyung is here.â
The greeting is so ridiculous that Iâve become speechless.
âThat crazy son of a bitchâŠâ
Dokgo Saeng looks behind him and tells the officials that came with him.
âGreet your captain.â
Then the scums show their faces and greet me in a disarrayed mess.
âHello, captain.â
âHello. Long time no see.â
âWeâre here. It seems like you were having a drink.â
Dokgo Saeng waves to the officials.
âWait outside.â
After closing the hall door, Dokgo Saeng approaches as he scans the seated crowd.
âHow are you doing? Youâve gathered quite a number of masters, huh.â
Dokgo Saeng naturally takes the seat where Geum-hae had been sitting. It just happens to be next to Cha Sung-tae.
When Dokgo Saeng extends an empty cup to Cha Sung-tae, Cha Sung-tae, with growing annoyance, immediately cusses.
âWhat the heck? Pour it yourself.â
When Dokgo Saeng pours for himself without much response, Cha Sung-tae, who has downed three consecutive cups, begins to nag at Dokgo Saeng.
âHow dare you tell the leader, âyour hyung is here?â Youâve really lost it.â
Ignoring Cha Sung-taeâs words, Dokgo Saeng takes out a stick of daylilies.
I ask Dokgo Saeng.
âHave you come up with a name?â
Fiddling with the daylily, Dokgo Saeng replies.
âWe used to be the Black Hurricane Castle, and now weâre the Low-Down Sect. Weâre all stupid, so we couldnât come up with a name. Youâre a fool to expect wittiness from us. Letâs just go with Low-Down Sect. And our rules have already increased to ten. Being the head gives me a headache.â
It is a brief report, but a report nonetheless.
Cha Sung-taeâs eyes only grow bigger when he hears that Dokgo Saeng is from the Black Hurricane Castle.
ââŠâ
Cha Sung-tae hurriedly averts his gaze and drinks quietly.
Dokgo Saeng takes a deep hit of the daylily and blows smoke toward Cha Sung-taeâs face.
Then Cha Sung-tae fans his hand with an annoyed look.
Dokgo Saeng looks around the people gathered here and fixes his gaze on someone.
âWho are you?â
Baek-in answers the question calmly.
âIâm White Tiger of the Twelve Generals.â
Dokgo Saengâs mouth curls in the shape of an O.
âOh, Dae Na-chalâs disciples. Youâre alive and not dead.â
Instead of Baek-in, Blue Dragon retorts.
âYou should wash up.â
I tap the table a few times with my hands.
âStop it. I didnât ask you guys here to fight. Dokgo Saeng, how many people did you bring?â
Dokgo Saeng looks at me.
âYou told me to bring a hundred people, so I only selected the best and brought 30. They are 30 people with the abilities of a hundred, so donât worry.
âGood job, asshole.â
Ultimately, Dokgo Saeng isnât asking me who we are fighting. He just smokes his joint of daylily and drinks as if he is here on a casual visit.
âThis tastes like water. Do you guys get drunk from this? This must be a joke.â
Only then did the officials of the Black Rabbit Union, as well as the Twelve Generals, finally seem to adapt to the personality and mannerisms of Dokgo Saeng. No one answered because they didnât want to take up his challenge.
With no one willing to answer his retort, Dokgo Saeng then asks me.
âWhatâs your plan?â
âNothing.â
âAre we killing all of them?â
I nod my head.
âKill them all.â
Dokgo Saeng nods and says his piece as he gets up.
âAll right. Wake me up when the enemy comes. Iâll be taking a nap.â
Dokgo Saeng goes to the corner of the hall, lies down in a regular posture, and closes his eyes.
I ask So Gun-pyeong amid the gloomy silence.
âIs the moon bright today?â
So Gun-pyeong nods.
âItâs bright. Just the right time to fight.â
âIs anyone on Elder Hornless Dragonâs side proficient with poison?â
âNot that I know of.â
This time, I ask Baek-in.
âAre you sure Elder Hornless Dragon and Mister Su are the strongest?â
Baek-in replies.
âMost likely.â
âHow are they compared to Dae Na-chal?â
âThey have their own strengths and weaknesses, but they donât fall behind Master.â
âThen leave them alone. Iâll deal with them on my own. Fight enemies that match your strength. This is going to be a long battle, so if you run into someone stronger than you, retreat.â
---
I drink another glass and then suddenly look to the front.
âOpen the door.â
As my guests turn their gazes forward, So Gun-pyeong gives an order in a voice injected with internal Qi.
âOpen the door.â
The main hall, the inner courtyard, the outer courtyard, and the main gate all open one after another. I point to the display stand and tell my subordinates.
âBring me my mask.â
White Tiger, Blue Dragon, White Rooster, and I wear our Twelve General masks. Itâs better to wear a mask when you do bad things. Since I killed the vice leader of Cloud Rain Society, they would bring people who have seen my face.
I speak as I get up.
âLetâs go.â
Dokgo Saeng, who is lying down, jumps up.
When I walk outside, I see that most of Dokgo Saengâs men are scattered on the wall. After taking a few steps into the inner courtyard, I jump into the air and land on top of the inner courtyard door.
As So Gun-pyeong mentioned, the moonlight is shining bright.
Outside the premise of the Black Rabbit Union, the glints of eyes and weapons are increasing.
The Twelve Generals jump to the left, while So Gun-pyeong positions himself on the right.
Something cuts through the wind in the dark and flies straight at me.
At soon as White Rooster wields his iron fan, an incoming weapon is deflected by his fan wind (æéąš).
A low voice rumbles in the dark.
âWho killed the vice leader?â
âI donât see him here yet.â
A voice that I presume to be Mister Suâs follows.
âLook, Four Generals Juniors. I will generously take you in if you take care of the person who killed our vice leader. You couldnât do anything when Dae Na-chal was here, so I didnât get why youâre going as far as resisting. As your sunbae, I donât have anything against you. You better make the right choice.â
I murmur softly.
âWhat a nice way to separate us.â
White Tiger, who is standing next to me, replies as our representative.
âItâs been a while, Mister Su.â
âYes, White Tiger.â
White Tiger speaks in a gentle tone.
âHow can you lower your head to Elder Hornless Dragon? Master will be ashamed if he hears this in the afterlife. You were a rival he respected.â
Mister Su scoffs and looks around for someone.
âWhere is our cutie Hong-shin? Is she dead?â
Hong-shin spits on the wall.
âKyaa⊠Tu!â
Mister Su says to Hong-shin with a low laugh.
âIâll especially spare you.â
Then, Dokgo Saeng, who belatedly jumps up the wall, speaks as he pulls out two black swords.
âHey, you morons. I killed the vice leader.â
Our armed forces and, for some reason, the enemies all ignore Dokgo Saeng in unison. There are humans who get caught up too quickly when theyâre crazy, and thatâs precisely who Dokgo Saeng is.
In the meantime, the number of troops has increased.
Mister Su is getting worked up and has come all the way first, and now his other troops are joining us. At this time, as the crowd split between sides, an elderly man with long white hair hanging out of a gray Jangsam walked out.
Anyone can tell that it is Elder Hornless Dragon.
The white-haired old manâs face that is reflected in the moonlight is pale. Then an unpleasant voice goads.
âDonât just stand over the wall. Those who donât want to die, come over here. Unorthodox factions are all mixed up anyway, so there are no original roots. Isnât surviving the only virtue? Only the one who killed my old friend will face my wrath, so you little punks should stop struggling. It wonât be so hard to decide if you think about why Dae Na-chal offered me his fortune regularly.â
While listening, I rub my hands and mutter.
âDang, there are a lot of people here to kill today.â
I whisper to the brothers next to me.
âHey, brothers.â
âYes.â
âDonât betray me today. My condition is not good. My madness gets even wilder when I fight under the beautiful moon. I might lose myself, so donât be misled by that geezerâs words. I canât spare you today.â
âYes, we understand.â
I turn my back against the enemies and speak to White Tiger.
âTiger Brother, lock your fingers together.â
Baek-in clasps his fingers in astonishment. Putting my right foot on White Tigerâs hands, I say.
âThrow me as high as you can. Let me watch the full moon.â
Baek-in responds with honorifics, albeit with puzzlement in his voice.
âPardon?â
âUse your internal Qi and throw me as high as you can. See you in a bit.â
I make eye contact with White Tiger. At last, White Tiger makes up his mind quickly and says.
âIâll see you later, Big Brother.â
I grin under the mask.
âAlright. Letâs do that.â
Then Baek-in throws me into the air with both hands using his full body strength. I, too, step on White Tigerâs hands as hard as possible and shoot into the air.
How high am I soaring? My mind feels refreshed to the point where it feels like my spirits are being lifted.
âHahahahahahaâŠâ
I burst into laughter.
As I reach the peak of my flight after soaring into a curve, I briefly enjoy the shining, beautiful full moon and land on the ground where the unorthodox factions await.
Expecting various hidden weapons, palm forces, and sword winds, I wrap my right hand in the Fiery Fragrance and launch the Fire Chicken Great Handprint (çé·ć€§æć°).
Not only the enemy and their troops but also the shining full moon opens its eyes wide.
A large palm gleaming red surges through the air to stamp (ćç« ) on the troops of Elder Hornless Dragon.