Sword Peak Dokgo Seol.
At the moment when she was on the brink of losing her life.
In the eyes of Pareuk, the 2nd Squad Leader of the Black Wolf Troop, a flicker of regret passed.
Two men leapt in from the left and right behind Dokgo Seol.
Killing Sword Peak was in his hands. However, if he did not stop, it was certain that he himself would sustain considerable injuries from the blades of these two interlopers.
A master like him could not afford to suffer harm because of a rookie he could kill at any time.
"Damn it!"
He quickly withdrew his Strange-Shaped Saber and struck away the two swords swinging down on his shoulder and waist in succession.
Clang!
The ones who saved Dokgo Seol were the 3rd Squad Leader of the Black Tortoise Unit and the vice-squad leader of the 3rd Squad.
The 3rd Squad Leader brushed past Dokgo Seol and spoke to her.
"Fall back and catch your breath."
"Yes. Thank you."
Dokgo Seol replied, panting. Having just returned from the very threshold of death, chills ran down her spine.
She hurriedly retreated, her entire body drenched in sweat. Blood was flowing down her long neck, likely from a wound on her head.
"Waaaaah!"
The deafening roar surrounding her finally reached her ears. The Black Wolf Troop members were charging in without hesitation, while her allies were being driven back helplessly.
Of course, this was Cheon Ryu-yeong's intent. But even so, she exhaled a heavy sigh as she moved back.
Even if it hadn't been intentional… they would still have been forced back.
That was how strong the Demonic Cult warriors were.
Though they had exchanged only a few blows, her body was still trembling. Her heart pounded violently.
"Miss, are you all right?"
Jo Jeon-hu approached her, massaging his right wrist with his left hand. He too had barely escaped thanks to the reinforcement of the 2nd Squad Leader of the Black Tortoise Unit and his men.
"I'm fine. What about you, Uncle?"
They had agreed to address each other as squad leader and vice-squad leader. But in the chaos, their old forms of address naturally slipped out.
Jo Jeon-hu gave a bitter smile tinged with despair.
"If we'd fought a few more exchanges… I'd be dead. At the very least, I would've lost an arm."
Still breathing hard, the two of them looked ahead.
And then, both froze.
The 2nd Squad Leader of the Black Tortoise Unit, who had been blocking the Black Wolf Troop Leader, was being split from the head down.
The setting sun in the western sky seemed to watch silently as the fountain of blood sprayed from the squad leader—before hiding behind the clouds, perhaps because it was too horrific to behold.
"Waaaaah!"
The Black Wolf Troop's shouts grew even louder. Their relentless advance pressed deeper into the formation.
Dokgo Seol swallowed hard and spoke, her lips trembling.
"Ah… even the 2nd Squad Leader… The Black Wolf Troop Leader is a monster."
She now understood why the Demonic Cult was the faction most feared by the orthodox masters.
Young people like her had never fought the Demonic Cult. In truth, she had once scoffed inwardly when she saw the elders of the martial world tense up at the mere mention of it.
Suddenly, she felt moisture gather in her eyes, followed by a surge of anger.
The 4th Squad Leader and the 2nd Squad Leader were dead. The comrades with whom she had eaten, trained, laughed, and cried were dying.
And that wasn't all. Members of her own clan, the Dokgo family, had been killed or injured in earlier battles.
Her youthful vigor, confidence, and ambition to fight valiantly for merit had blinded her to this—but having narrowly escaped becoming one of the unreturning dead, the reality of their deaths now struck her painfully.
Life and death… just a sheet of paper apart.
Surveying the battle, Jo Jeon-hu spoke urgently.
"At this rate… tactics won't matter. If the Invincible Sword Han Chu-gwang doesn't step up, we won't be able to stop the Black Wolf Troop Leader."
Even as he said it, Jo Jeon-hu recalled the Black Wolf Troop Leader he had just faced. The oppressive presence alone was suffocating! That monstrous strength sent chills down his spine.
Invincible Sword Han Chu-gwang.
Could he really stop the Black Wolf Troop Leader?
In truth, Cheon Ryu-yeong had worried about this.
If the Black Wolf Troop Leader and the Invincible Sword clashed at the forefront, and the result was the Troop Leader's victory, then the battle would be over without the orthodox forces having any chance to fight back—that was Cheon Ryu-yeong's concern.
But Jo Jeon-hu believed that even now, the Invincible Sword needed to move.
The Black Tortoise Unit could no longer hold off the Black Wolf Troop Leader. Collapse was imminent. Worse, the Black Wolf Troop could break through and annihilate all the orthodox forces.
In that case, the water-crossing formation and the crane-wing formation would all be meaningless.
Dokgo Seol bit her full red lips and shook her head.
"You know it's too late. The ship has already sailed. If we overturn the plan now, we'll destroy ourselves."
Her eyes gleamed.
Giving up here was not an option. The initial losses were greater than expected, but the overall picture was still unfolding as Cheon Ryu-yeong had intended.
That was their only hope.
Cheon Ryu-yeong.
If he hadn't been there… how would this fight against the Black Wolf Troop have turned out? If they had stubbornly tried to block that overwhelming force with only sixty reserve members?
The very thought made Dokgo Seol shudder. She considered herself lucky that her head was still attached to her neck.
Though it felt like a long time had passed, less than a single gak had elapsed since the Black Wolf Troop Leader had breached the formation.
"Wahaha! Attack!"
"Block them! Urgh! Don't fall back!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The 1st through 3rd Squads of the Black Tortoise Unit had all joined the fray, but the Black Wolf Troop, riding the momentum, still advanced without hesitation.
Dokgo Seol quickly scanned the battlefield and let out an "Oh?" before speaking.
"Where is the Unit Leader?"
The Black Tortoise Unit Leader, Neung Un-bi, was absent. He should have been advancing alongside Squads 1, 2, and 3. When the two turned their heads, they saw him approaching nearby.
Neung Un-bi was walking, listening to something from a young Kunlun disciple, his face grave as he watched the Black Wolf Troop Leader Cho Ji-myung fight. He let out a strange sigh before speaking to the Kunlun disciple.
"Cheon Ryu-yeong… is it really true, what that person said?"
"Yes."
"Hmmm. That man is truly… No, never mind. I understand. Go and thank him for me."
"Yes, sir."
Neung Un-bi took a deep breath, then, spotting Dokgo Seol and Jo Jeon-hu, gave them a faint smile. Though the smile was there, his face bore a resolute determination.
He parted his lips and said,
"Don't worry too much. The damage is greater than expected… but that's war, and it can't be helped. What we must think about now is winning the fight. Focus only on that."
Jo Jeon-hu quickly responded.
"You must be careful. The Black Wolf Troop Leader is far more—"
"I've seen enough to know. But I was lucky enough to receive some good advice just now."
Dokgo Seol's eyes lit up.
What the Unit Leader had just said to the Kunlun disciple.
He had said Cheon Ryu-yeong. She could not understand how that man, who didn't even know martial arts, could possibly give any sort of advice to the Black Tortoise Unit Leader.
Neung Un-bi resumed the steps he had briefly halted and continued speaking.
"I'll keep holding the Black Wolf Troop Leader and draw him further in. The 5th Squad Leader and the Yaksha Sword, please command the wheel formation with the vice unit leader—"
Neung Un-bi stopped speaking and bit his lip hard.
He had caught sight of the vice unit leader of the Black Tortoise Unit retreating in haste after sustaining injuries. Swallowing his anger at seeing his subordinates dying and being wounded one after another, Neung Un-bi went on.
"The two of you will command the wheel formation. The enemy's penetration is fiercer and faster than expected… One more exchange will be enough."
Jo Jeon-hu asked urgently,
"Can you really keep holding off the Black Wolf Troop Leader alone?"
His face was plainly troubled.
The gap in skill between himself and Neung Un-bi wasn't large. If they fought, the odds of victory would be fifty-fifty. How reckless, then, did it seem to Jo Jeon-hu for the Unit Leader to face the Black Wolf Troop Leader by himself?
"I can't win, but I can hold him off to some extent."
With those words, Neung Un-bi dashed forward. Jo Jeon-hu muttered with an incredulous look,
"He'll come to his senses after taking a blow or two. Tch. Which means I'll have to fight the Black Wolf Troop Leader again. Ugh."
Still massaging his arm, Jo Jeon-hu sighed. Dokgo Seol, too, watched the Unit Leader's back with uneasy eyes, then suddenly turned her head at a passing thought.
Cheon Ryu-yeong, seated on horseback and easily visible.
He was calmly observing the battle.
What on earth was he thinking right now? What advice had he given?
Dokgo Seol forgot for a moment that she would soon have to fight after the front squads and simply gazed at Cheon Ryu-yeong.
The more she looked, the stranger—and even more mysterious—he seemed.
"How can he stay so expressionless? Is he really just a merchant guard?"
She felt suspicion. But she knew better than anyone that such a thing was impossible. The idea that a man who didn't even know martial arts had been deceiving her since the inn the previous night was absurd.
Clicking her tongue, she shook her head and steeled herself again for battle.
The fight was raging.
This was no time to be distracted by idle curiosity.
She checked the members of her 5th Squad who had gathered around her and frowned. Out of thirty, nine had already fallen. Of those still standing, three were so badly wounded they were in no condition to fight.
It had only been a matter of holding the line briefly while retreating… but then again, hadn't she herself barely survived?
Compared to the near-annihilation of the 4th Squad, this was nothing. Painful, but something to endure—that was the duty of a commander on the battlefield.
She ordered the three severely injured to fall back, then spoke in a firm tone.
"Just once will be enough. If we block them this time, our comrades will have the time to attack. So survive, and repay the deaths of our fallen comrades properly."
The members of the Black Tortoise Unit's 5th Squad ground their teeth and nodded. But one young man shook his head.
"Squad Leader, we aren't enough on our own."
He was right. With the 4th Squad gone, they had their limits.
Dokgo Seol replied with a faint smile.
"The Unit Leader said he'd keep holding the Black Wolf Troop Leader. That means the 1st Squad will be with us as well."
Jo Jeon-hu, beside her, grumbled,
"I don't know… I think the Unit Leader will be tucking his tail and coming back soon."
Dokgo Seol shot him a sidelong glare before addressing her subordinates again.
"I know it's hard. But now's not the time to complain. When others are fighting, we have to earn our keep."
The young man gave a reluctant nod.
Just as she said, it was still the middle of battle. And though to him the situation looked unfavorable, it was proceeding exactly as planned. Even those not fighting were moving according to Cheon Ryu-yeong's instructions.
At that moment, thirty Kunlun disciples approached her. At their head, the Taoist master and Head of the Taiqing Hall, Seok Hyeon-ja, spoke.
"Master Cheon asked us to come and help."
For a moment, people blinked in surprise, not knowing who "Master Cheon" was. But then faint smiles spread on the lips of the 5th Squad, including Dokgo Seol.
It meant Cheon Ryu-yeong.
Somehow, the honorific "Master" suited him well.
Seok Hyeon-ja continued.
"The Black Wolf Troop is stronger than expected, so it can't be helped… but that fellow Cheon Ryu-yeong asked me to make sure we don't put him in danger."
At his words, everyone gave a wry smile. It was no exaggeration to say that Cheon Ryu-yeong's life was in their hands—because once this wheel formation ended, their only remaining task would be to fall back close to him and guard him. As well as guarding the seriously wounded, such as those from the Mount Emei Sect.
Vroooom!
Cho Ji-myeong's Azure Dragon Halberd never stopped. He carved a path of blood, advancing through that crimson road.
The screams of orthodox warriors whose necks were severed and limbs sent flying were pitiful and heartrending—but his resolute shouts trampled over them.
"Black Wolf Troop! Charge! Keep advancing!"
Bellowing until his throat was raw, Cho Ji-myeong's eyes twisted slightly.
It was the instinct of a general who had survived thirty years on the battlefield.
They were breaking through the enemy's water-crossing formation smoothly, just as planned. Yet something felt strange.
First of all, the expressions of the orthodox warriors were troubling.
With this kind of overwhelming push, they should have been panicking. But the faces of those blocking his path, though grim, had eyes that shone. That meant they still had hope.
Yet what hope could there be in a collapsing water-crossing formation? Even if it were the resolve of those who had set such a formation, it was still excessive.
Strange.
Cho Ji-myeong tilted his head, intending to fall back a step and study the battlefield more carefully.
But—Neung Un-bi came rushing at him like lightning.
"Here stands Neung Un-bi, Unit Leader of the Black Tortoise Unit!"
Cho Ji-myeong's lips twitched into a sneer.
"Now that the small fry are gone, the big fish are coming out? Then I suppose I'll be seeing the Invincible Sword soon. It looks like you plan to face me after I've worn myself out—but I'll show you soon just how wrong you are."
Though his words were aimed at Neung Un-bi, they were in truth a jab at Han Chu-gwang.
His Azure Dragon Halberd once again pierced toward the sky.
The Black Wolf Troop Leader, Cho Ji-myeong.
Thus, he lost his last chance to escape the trap.