Chapter 75 - Paitan

Dong Bongsu knew perfectly well that the Northern Ghosts were no fools. Martial strength alone could not have kept them alive so long in this barren land.

'Then why?'

He watched the enemy a little longer, studying them for any movement. But they did not move at all. In the end, he sent several more mercenaries to scout the rear, preparing for a possible attack from behind. He expanded the area under reconnaissance from roughly ten li to thirty.

Then he arranged the mercenaries in two ranks, with himself at the center. Since they outnumbered the Northern Ghosts nearly two to one, the two forces appeared to be facing off man for man—except that each man on this side was actually two, one behind the other.

There was much about this standoff that left him uneasy, but now that they faced the enemy, they had to fight. There was no reason to avoid battle, and nowhere on these grasslands to escape it. The mercenaries could not hope to match the Northern Ghosts' mobility in the first place. Fleeing was simply not an option.

By any measure, his force was clearly inferior. Their only advantage was numbers. Nearly half the enemy's full strength was missing, but even so, the Northern Ghosts remained vastly stronger than the mercenaries.

Dong Bongsu had fought Northern Ghosts several times on previous ear hunts. They were fast and strong, beyond comparison with the low-grade vagabonds who made up his mercenaries. Would three men attacking one of them barely be enough to win? Perhaps it would take four or five. The mercenaries knew that just as well. However much they loved money, they valued their lives more. Had Dong Bongsu not been their mercenary captain, several might already have fled.

He swept an indifferent gaze over the mercenaries, then spoke quietly.

["Do not be afraid."]

There was something strange about his voice. No, strictly speaking, it was not a voice at all. Somehow, his voice was driving itself into the minds of every mercenary. Yes—how else could they describe it? The voice was being etched directly into their brains. Yet its cadence was unmistakably that of Ear Ghost, Dong Bongsu.

Thousand-Li Voice Transmission? Six-Direction Voice Projection? Or was it Wisdom-Light Mind Speech?

A brief stir ran through the mercenaries. But the commotion soon died away, for they could all see Dong Bongsu walking steadily forward alone.

["All of you, close your eyes."]

A strange command following a strange action. Yet every mercenary obeyed. Everything Dong Bongsu had shown them so far compelled them to do so.

Why on earth an expert like him was working as a mercenary was a question for later. What mattered to them was that Ear Ghost, an expert of the Peak Realm or even Beyond Peak Realm, was their captain.

Now, whatever he did would hardly surprise them, and they would gladly follow his orders.

["Even if the enemy charges, do not open your eyes. Your signal to open them is light. When a bright light shines through your closed eyelids, open your eyes. And..."]

Dong Bongsu kept walking toward the enemy alone. His peculiar means of communication, “Area Chat,” remained active as well.

Over the past year, he had not merely grown physically stronger. He had studied the System ceaselessly, discovering many things and learning to use them. Area Chat was one of those discoveries.

He knew perfectly well how the mercenaries were interpreting this. It was an extraordinary ability, one he should not reveal lightly. But he had already made his decision and acted on it.

And that decision encompassed more than merely using Area Chat.

["Begin the slaughter."]

As Dong Bongsu finished speaking, the enemy finally began to move.

The Northern Ghosts and the mercenaries had originally stood roughly a hundred zhang apart. When Dong Bongsu had walked about ten zhang forward alone, a man slowly stepped out of the enemy ranks as well.

He was a vicious-looking fellow with the braided queue typical of the northern barbarians and rings through his nose, ears, tongue, and elsewhere. His body and face bore scars as varied as his rings, testifying to the countless battlefields he had traversed.

At last, Dong Bongsu and the queue-haired Northern Ghost stood facing each other midway between the two forces.

Despite the considerable distance, the Northern Ghosts' cries of “Kill him!” carried to them. In response, the queue-haired man noisily struck together the crescent blades fitted over his hands like knuckledusters. Dong Bongsu, meanwhile, stood motionless with both arms hanging loosely at his sides. The Vagabond's Sword in his right hand almost looked as though it had been planted in the ground.

The queue-haired Northern Ghost gave a low growl as he watched him. He was not underestimating Dong Bongsu. It was more like the low roar a predator—a tiger or lion—used to cow its prey.

But that could never work on Dong Bongsu. He was a predator of an entirely different order from felines such as lions and tigers.

Perhaps displeased by the indifference with which Dong Bongsu shrugged off his killing intent, the Northern Ghost launched the first attack sooner rather than later.

He was fast. As befitted his place at the vanguard, his movements were anything but ordinary. They stood about ten paces apart, but with a single stamp and leap, the queue-haired man was already descending upon Dong Bongsu's head.

By comparison, Dong Bongsu moved languidly. Half a step. The instant the Northern Ghost jumped, he merely moved half a step sideways. But that was enough. Any larger movement would have been meaningless to him.

Move only when necessary, and only as much as necessary.

If a mere twitch would have let him evade an attack, Dong Bongsu would have done no more than twitch. He had no need for any excess movement.

Having evaded the crescent blade with that half step, Dong Bongsu shrugged one shoulder upward. A crescent blade was a weapon used by gripping a half-moon-shaped bladed frame in the fist. Thus, as the attack missed, the Northern Ghost's fist and wrist were brushing over Dong Bongsu's shoulder.

His shoulder struck the man's wrist. It was the lightest of movements. The result, however, was anything but light.

CRACK.

Dong Bongsu's shoulder had delivered a sudden impact to the Daling point, a vital pressure point at the wrist. For an instant, paralysis seized the Northern Ghost's entire body. He had intended to swing the crescent blade on his other fist as Dong Bongsu dodged, but that plan was already useless.

That instant—that brief span of time—was enough to decide the fight.

Dong Bongsu's other arm rose from where it had been hanging at his side, bringing the hand holding the Vagabond Sword up with it.

One of the queue-haired Northern Ghost's arms was cleanly severed at the shoulder.

The sound of muscle fibers and tiny blood vessels being sliced apart was crisp. Then blood poured from the artery, spattering the Vagabond Sword. The dark-red blade grew darker still, and redder.

The Northern Ghost screamed. Not a trace remained of his earlier confidence.

Dong Bongsu's right arm moved again. This time, the man's remaining arm fell to the ground. He screamed again.

One cut to the neck would finish it. But Dong Bongsu did not kill him. Instead, he seized the queue of the Northern Ghost, who lay rolling on the ground and wailing, and advanced swiftly toward the enemy ranks, dragging him along.

At the sight, the noisy muttering of the Northern Ghosts fell silent. In its place, the killing intent emanating from them grew denser.

The malevolent aura of 476 men was so intense that an ordinary martial artist would have struggled to withstand it. Dong Bongsu endured it as though it were nothing and kept running forward. He approached to within about twenty zhang of the enemy.

Then he cut off the queue-haired Northern Ghost's ear. It was an unmistakable provocation.

Still gripping the man's hair with one hand, Dong Bongsu raised the severed ear in his other hand high above his head.

“That bastard!”

“Kill that son of a bitch!”

The Northern Ghosts went wild, all charging forward at once. Their leader, standing among them, had no time to stop them. No—perhaps he had never intended to, for he flew toward Dong Bongsu at the very front.

But Dong Bongsu had never intended to fight them all alone.

He began fleeing back toward his own lines, dragging the queue-haired Northern Ghost behind him. Running with his [Qinggong] Skill pushed to its limit, he moved at tremendous speed. Though the Northern Ghosts' lightness arts—particularly their leader's—had reached an impressive level, they struggled to keep pace with him.

Even so, they pursued him without stopping. One man chased by 476 across grasslands already darkened considerably by the falling dusk.

“Aaaaaah!”

“Kill that son of a bitch!”

“Charge!”

“Tear them all to pieces!”

The enemy's furious roars poured forth as though to overturn the entire plain. Their killing intent spread farther and farther, until it reached even the mercenaries. Several forgot Dong Bongsu's orders and opened their eyes.

They saw him running toward them, dragging a blood-red lump of flesh. Naturally, they also saw the ferocious Northern Ghosts pursuing him.

“Th-that...!”

“D-damn it...!”

Some of the mercenaries who had opened their eyes cursed and stumbled backward. Others wet themselves and sank to the ground. That was how terrifying the Northern Ghosts' killing intent and momentum were. Yet the majority still kept their eyes closed, trusting Dong Bongsu. Even among those who had opened them, most merely tightened their grips on their blades and prepared to charge rather than retreating or collapsing.

They had seen Dong Bongsu's eyes. That empty gaze, utterly impossible to read. In this situation, nothing could have inspired greater trust.

A hundred paces... fifty paces... thirty paces...

The distance between Dong Bongsu and the mercenaries shrank rapidly. And with it, the distance between the Northern Ghosts and the mercenaries was closing just as fast.

Once again, Ear Ghost's voice pierced the mercenaries' minds, whether by “Six-Direction Voice Projection” or “Wisdom-Light Mind Speech,” they could not tell.

["Close your eyes."]