Chapter 95 - The Sharpest Blade in the Dark (2)

"In large-scale battles like this, the one who remains until the end wins."

The first to notice something strange was Song Baek of the Hwayang Escort Agency.

After having his First Gate and Second Gate admission tokens taken by Jin Sowoon, and losing track of them due to the idiotic actions of his main sect's senior brothers he had relied on, he had spent sleepless nights in anxiety. Only today was he finally able to catch his breath.

"It is a force numbering nearly a thousand. With all of them being warriors, no matter if it's the Namgung Clan or the Iron Sword Sect, there is no way for them to survive."

The man speaking reliably was someone who had served as a military officer on the front lines.

Coming from a military outpost, he had abundant experience commanding thousands of soldiers, and his experience in large-scale battles made him all the more trustworthy.

"I will trust only you, Captain Yeom."

Valuing hierarchy, he hadn't stepped forward even once during the recent events. However, it was only after Song Baek had his admission tokens taken and lost his mind upon seeing the Mount Cangshan Sect senior brothers become water ghosts that he finally began to show his true worth.

He had caught up with those they missed in Zhenjiang at Sukcheon, and in Sinhyeon, he had already overtaken them and waited in advance.

It would have been impossible if he hadn't known how to organize troops in a military style and march efficiently.

Now, all they had to do was watch this chaotic battlefield and ambush only those who took the admission tokens of the Taiyi Sect, the Namgung Clan, and the Iron Sword Sect.

And then they could head to the Third Gate.

That was exactly what he was thinking.

"What is that?"

The battle began, and the torches lit by the nearly one thousand people made the Puyang Plains look as if a festival was being held.

"What is the matter?"

"Over there..."

The place Song Baek pointed at was covered in darkness, as if a hole had been punctured through it.

"Isn't it a bit strange that there are no torches only in that spot?"

At Song Baek's words, Captain Yeom stared intently before shaking his head.

"It's perhaps only natural for those unaccustomed to war to fail at maintaining a formation."

"Is that so...?"

He was someone who had shown nothing but reliability so far. Song Baek lacked the confidence to assert his own stubbornness like before.

"Huh?"

But then, another gaping hole appeared in the massive wave of torches.

"C-Captain Yeom! Look over there! Another hole just opened up!"

At Song Baek's pointing, Captain Yeom furrowed his brow.

"Young Master, if you don't understand war, please stay quiet. It is perfectly natural for torches to go out during a night battle."

However, that spot wasn't even the center of the battle for that to be the case.

In terms of the battlefield, its location wasn't much different from where they currently stood.

At that moment.

Song Baek's eyes shot wide open.

The massive hole—the darkness emerging from it—began to move.

As if countless candles were suddenly snuffed out by a gust of wind, the torches extinguished one after another, creating a path of darkness.

"O-Over there!"

"Young Master!"

"Look over there, you bastard!"

"...!"

The path of darkness headed straight for where Song Baek's group was.

"Hup!"

Realizing the anomaly, Captain Yeom immediately snatched a torch from a warrior next to him and charged forward.

SWOOSH!

However, Captain Yeom was swallowed by the darkness, leaving not even a trace behind.

"W-What in the..."

Before he could even finish speaking, darkness descended in all directions. And only then did the screams echo.

"Aaaagh."

"S-Save me..."

"Eek! G-Ghost!"

It was the first time the sound of flesh being pierced had echoed so loudly.

Having completely forgotten even the thought of running away from an incomprehensible terror, Song Baek reached into his robes and grabbed a flare.

It was simply his most instinctive action, desperate to escape this darkness.

FWOOSH!

The flare, which should have shot into the sky to illuminate the night, flew into the darkness and exploded.

Song Baek dropped his jaw, unable to even scream at the sight revealed by the flare.

-----!

What he saw in the darkness was a monster with all its skin peeled off, the movements of its intestines and heart clearly visible.

A bone that looked like a sword suddenly protruded from the monster's hand.

'A corpse... is moving...?'

Song Baek was entirely swallowed by the darkness before he could even finish his thought.

* * *

"When the darkness appears, you must launch Sword Qi or fist qi at it. You cannot face them with a normal sword."

Namgung Seonhwa thought as she cut down what could have been her thirtieth or thirty-second enemy.

'As if that's easy.'

Her Dantian was already starting to scrape the bottom. She had tried to resist by deploying the Cangqiong Sword Array with the Cangqiong Squad members, but even the sword array they prided as invincible couldn't withstand the endlessly surging torches and waves of people.

"My Lady!"

The Cangqiong Sword Array was shattered, and the Cangqiong Squad was scattered in all directions.

With every step she took, the ground was filled with dozens of wounded, yet the number of people rushing at them with swords and torches didn't seem to decrease at all.

"My Lady! Step into the sword array!"

Kang Seopyo, who had stubbornly followed despite his injuries, cried out desperately.

"Squad Captain Kang! The Cangqiong Squad has already collapsed!"

"We will deploy a different one!"

"What?"

Another sword array? Was he talking about the Sovereign Sword Array? She hadn't learned that yet, though...

"I mean the White Tiger Sword Array!"

Ah. Only then did the sword array she had learned just to earn a warm meal pop into Namgung Seonhwa's mind.

"But, around us..."

"I'll do it!"

She turned her head to see Dongryong, completely covered in blood, speaking up out of nowhere.

"When did you..."

"My Lady! Hurry!"

Leaving no time to ask when he had even arrived, Kang Seopyo and Dongryong took their positions around her.

"Deploy!"

Namgung Seonhwa and Kang Seopyo began swinging their swords at Dongryong's shout.

CLANG! CLANG! CLASH!

They barely deflected the swords launched by the enemies and thrust their own blades into vital acupoints. The injured enemies collapsed to the ground.

Through that gap, the next wave of enemies pushed in.

Following Dongryong's guidance, they swapped positions and earned a brief moment to rest.

It was amazing.

It didn't have the destructive power of the Cangqiong Sword Array, but it was flexible. It required less strength.

Normally, it was almost impossible to regain position once a sword array was broken, but because this array was formed by three people, disbanding and reforming it was as simple as flipping one's palm.

What was even more amazing was Dongryong.

Despite having less than twenty years' worth of internal energy, Dongryong displayed skill on par with a Cangqiong Squad member the moment they formed the sword array. No, rather, he was currently leading the White Tiger Sword Array.

"What about Geumpyo and Eunho?"

Even in this urgent situation, she thought of those kids who were like younger brothers to her. Having gone through a difficult journey together, an intimacy akin to real siblings had unknowingly formed.

"Eldest Senior Brother told us to form a sword array with the others since we don't know how to wield Sword Qi."

"Ah..."

Amidst the chaotic fighting, she had forgotten about those dangerous entities. On the other hand, she doubted whether those monsters could even intrude in such a chaotic melee.

Moreover, the instruction to strike at empty air felt even less reliable.

"Over there!"

But right then, Dongryong stopped swinging his sword and pointed to one side.

About ten zhang away, darkness descended and approached in a straight line.

As if water had been poured only in that specific spot, the torches went out and the crowd vanished.

"My Lady!"

"I see it!"

This time, Dongryong stepped back while Kang Seopyo and Namgung Seonhwa stepped forward.

The exact thing she had doubted was actually happening.

Namgung Seonhwa furiously scraped together whatever little internal energy she had left.

"Now!"

Simultaneously with Kang Seopyo's shout, she drew out all her strength and launched Sword Qi. Released without adhering to any Martial Move or form, the Sword Qi only possessed raw destructive power.

It completely lacked any sharpness...

However.

SCREECH!

The rapidly approaching darkness stopped, and the scream of a beast echoed from within.

"Eek!"

What revealed itself from the darkness was a corpse-like figure with all its skin seemingly peeled off.

The sight of organs writhing inside its ribcage felt even more terrifying.

The monster, which had briefly exposed its form, tried to hide back into the darkness by wrapping itself in a shell-like layer it unfurled once again.

But both Kang Seopyo and Namgung Seonhwa were now at their limits.

The two fell into despair at the fact that they had to let this terrifying enemy slip away right before their eyes.

"Hah!"

At that moment, Dongryong shot forward like lightning.

"Dongryong! No!"

Squeezing his way into the darkness, Dongryong unleashed a barrage of attacks on the exposed monster.

CLANG! CLANG! CLASH!

Although it was nothing more than simple attacks without any Sword Qi, every time Dongryong struck the monster's bones, the regenerating black shell was forced to unfurl again.

"How in the world..."

Furthermore, Dongryong's attacks were agile and devoid of any wasted movement, precisely targeting vital acupoints.

He stabbed the heart, pierced the organs, gouged the eyes, and thrust into the mouth.

Each time he did, the monster visibly panicked.

"Squad Captain!"

"Yes! My Lady!"

There was no need for a long conversation.

With the single thought that they absolutely couldn't miss the opportunity Dongryong had created, they relentlessly unleashed their attacks.

For the first time since the battle began, they felt a sense of hope. Their attacks were working against an enemy whose true form they hadn't even been able to grasp until now.

"Huh?"

The atmosphere among the examinees and the warriors they hired who had been rushing in for the admission tokens was unusual.

Namgung Seonhwa instinctively turned her head, her eyes flying wide open.

Another patch of darkness had formed and was fiercely charging toward them.

Even the examinees who were already in the heat of battle sensed something wrong and began fleeing from the darkness.

However, a battlefield crammed with hundreds of people was not a place one could easily escape from.

"M-Move!"

"What the hell is that!"

"This wasn't in the information!"

In an instant, dozens of warriors were consumed by the darkness, and just as it was about to swallow Namgung Seonhwa, Kang Seopyo, and Dongryong all at once.

CRACK!

A shining whip flew out of nowhere and entangled the darkness.

From the darkness where there should have been nothing, a human figure wrapped in a whip was dragged across the ground.

"Eldest Senior Brother!"

"Well done!"

Its identity was none other than Jin Sowoon.

With the glowing whip coiled around his left hand, he poured fist qi into the darkness he had suppressed.

BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM!

It was a swift and powerful attack that indented the ground in an instant.

Soon, the darkness let out a sickening *CRUNCH*, flattened out, and gushed crimson blood.

The monster that Dongryong, Namgung Seonhwa, and Kang Seopyo had been fighting must have seen the sight, for it quickly tried to kill the three of them and flee the scene.

However, it couldn't shake off Dongryong, who was completely focused on offense.

CRACK!

In the end, the radiant whip extending from Jin Sowoon's left arm coiled around the monster's neck.

GURK!

Like a beast caught in a trap, the monster was dragged forward before its head was swiftly lopped off.

Seeing the bones—which had felt like steel when she struck them—severed in an instant, Namgung Seonhwa couldn't even fathom just how much internal energy Jin Sowoon was pouring in to deal with that monster.

"Young Master Jin."

"Hah, hah. Are you alright?"

Sure enough, he looked like he should be the one being asked if he was alright.

"Young Master Jin, what on earth..."

His face had turned stark white, and the veins all over his body were bulging as if they were about to burst.

These were the symptoms that appeared when one pushed their internal energy to the absolute limit.

He was already well past the critical stage of qi deviation. It was a situation where the slightest mistake could instantly turn him into a cripple.

"Do not move any further."

Namgung Seonhwa grabbed Jin Sowoon's arm, but Jin Sowoon clasped that hand of hers.

"I still need to move."

"What do you mean, Young Master Jin! If you move any more right now, you really could die."

"Fortunately, I haven't used my innate qi yet."

The corners of his forced smile were quivering uncontrollably. The words Seong Moran had muttered a few times—calling him a 'crazy person'—suddenly came to mind.

"I've caught eight. Now, I just need to catch eleven more."

Namgung Seonhwa spoke desperately.

"You'll die at this rate!"

Jin Sowoon let out a small sigh. It seemed his breath had only just returned.

He stared deeply into Namgung Seonhwa's eyes and said.

"If I don't move... other people will die."

"..."

"I do not want to see that."

*'What if you die doing so?' * The words hovered at the edge of her lips before she swallowed them back down.

Before she could bring up anything else, Jin Sowoon continued what he had to say.

"Please hold out just a little longer. The examinees gathered here are also starting to notice the strange anomalies caused by them and are backing off. The battlefield will soon disperse."

"..."

"Lady Namgung..."

The only thing she could say right now was probably something to slightly ease his worries.

"... I understand. I am sorry. For not being of more help."

"It's not that... Please, just stay alive."

"... Pardon?"

Jin Sowoon flashed a warm smile—one that felt unimaginable in the middle of a battlefield.

"I will be right back."

"..."

The moment Namgung Seonhwa tried to reply, Jin Sowoon kicked off the ground and threw himself back into the darkness.

The light of the golden whip he held trailed behind his trajectory like a shooting star.

"Are you alright?"

"He said... he would return right back to me, didn't he?"

Kang Seopyo tilted his head.

"... I don't think that's what he meant..."

"I heard it clearly. He said he would return to me shortly..."

"... It seems you are exhausted, My Lady. Please rest for a moment."

"No. I really am fine. I've recovered."

For some reason, Namgung Seonhwa felt as if her depleted internal energy had been half-restored.