Chapter 13 Flying Dragon Thirteenth Squad (3)

Chapter 13: Flying Dragon Thirteenth Squad (3)

“Gaaaah! It’s over!”

He practically tumbled down from the tree onto the ground.

This damn one-hour sprint had already lasted two months, yet he showed no sign of getting used to it.

Of course, that might also be because I kept increasing the weight of the steel vest.

When I reached the clearing, the other squad members had already begun their breathing exercises.

Excluding Squad Leader Seolpung, who had started again, and Bae Jong-gwan, who would arrive later than me, it seemed I was the last one here.

“You’re a bit late today. Good work.”

Our deputy squad leader, Lady Na Se-yu, who was just about to begin her qigong practice, greeted me with her characteristic bright smile.

With her slightly drooping eyes and perpetually smiling face, Lady Na Se-yu was, as always, kind and beautiful today.

Just seeing her again made me feel happy all over.

“Ah, yes. I increased the weight again, but I couldn’t keep up the pace. I guess my training still isn’t up to par. Hahaha!”

I answered awkwardly with a laugh, and she smiled brightly, praising me again.

“Training is all about improving from yesterday, right? You’re truly remarkable, Young Master Seonwoo.”

“Ah, no. It’s really nothing. Compared to the squad leader, it’s just a drop in the bucket, you know. Hahaha!”

In my past life, Lady Na Se-yu had warmly embraced me, even though everyone else called me a pig and shunned me.

Back then, I had fallen for her.

Even though I couldn’t confess my feelings or prevent her death.

“Then rest a bit before starting. I’ll begin breakfast preparations first.”

“Ah, yes! Please do! Understood!”

Glancing briefly at her face as she entered her qigong practice, I quickly turned my head away, afraid someone might see, and began my own practice.

It had already been two months since arriving at the front lines. About a month ago, the female trainees—Young Lady Qingyan, Young Lady Naseyu, and Young Lady Cheonju-eun—had also begun participating in the training.

From what I heard, Miss Qingyan had wanted to join much earlier, but the other young ladies had persuaded her to wait a little longer, so she had held back.

Early on at the front lines, she had asked me seriously,

‘Don’t you think there are too many masters here?’

‘Huh?’

‘Out of barely seventy people, there are five peak masters in their twenties. That ratio is too high, isn’t it? Even the Martial Alliance, where only geniuses gather, isn’t this extreme.’

I had smiled faintly at her words and replied.

‘Isn’t it because the people here are more desperate than those in the Martial Arts Alliance? If your skills fall behind, you really could die.’

‘Hmm.’

After that, she became intensely focused on her training, her competitive spirit ignited.

It was the same after she joined our training.

Among the women, she was the only one wearing a steel vest for sprint training.

We knew she was naturally curious, but her competitive spirit seemed equally formidable.

She even shocked us by volunteering for external martial arts training.

The idea of slapping a woman’s bare skin with bamboo sticks was something even Bae Jong-gwan, an external skill pervert, couldn’t bring himself to do.

In the end, she had no choice but to back down when told that to practice external martial arts, she’d have to bare her upper body and apply medicinal paste. Yet, the look of disappointment on her face could only be described as that of the unparalleled Qingyan.

Other than that, everything else went smoothly.

The Hun Yuan Wu Ji Gong was truly the supreme heart technique, and now that I had mastered the Xian Wu Shi San Jian, my growth rate was incomparable to my previous life.

The upcoming duel with Zhu Taijing in a month’s time filled me with immense anticipation.

The growth of Biseaeng and Bae Jong-gwan, the friends I desperately wanted to save, was also progressing smoothly.

Biseaeng, though always grumbling, stuck with the training through sheer stubbornness, and the newly learned Kwaeui Mind Technique was giving him wings.

Bae Jong-gwan, unlike in his past life, was no longer solely focused on external martial arts. He was now devoting himself to the Jingxin Technique and the newly acquired mental methods.

His obsession with external skills bordered on stubbornness.

A stubborn determination to be recognized for his external skills, which everyone else dismissed.

It was probably because of his late father’s dying words, and that stubbornness made him abandon all other training and focus solely on external skills.

To him, I had said this:

‘I happen to possess the inner cultivation method of the Vajra Indestructible Gate, a sect that pursued Vajra Indestructibility. Would you care to learn it?’

“…The Diamond Unbreakable Gate?”

The term ‘Diamond-Hard Immortality’ was like a dream to those who practiced external martial arts.

He couldn’t help but be intrigued.

‘Yes, it was a sect whose aspiration was to achieve true Diamond Invincibility by tempering both the inner and outer. I also happen to possess their formula for combining medicinal herbs. If we compromise with your own formula, we could achieve even better results.’

‘Y-you mean you’d give me something like that? Y-you really are….’

Grasping his trembling hand, I told him firmly.

‘It’s not a gift. We’ll master it together. We’ll become invincible together. What do you say?’

‘Together… invincible as diamond… Sniff! Thank you so much, Jin!’

As I comforted him, tears finally spilling from his eyes, I silently apologized to him.

The truth was, there was no such sect as the Diamond Invincible Sect.

Well, maybe there was one, but at least I didn’t know of it.

What I possessed was the mental discipline called the Iron Heart Mind Method, originating from Shaolin, which I’d read in my father’s study, along with a formula for combining medicinal herbs.

Since it was a training method originating from Shaolin, which valued both external and internal cultivation, it was suitable for Bae Jong-gwan. I just embellished it a bit to motivate him.

My conscience pricked a little, but if the motivation and outcome were good, wasn’t that all that mattered?

Reasoning with myself like this, I continued to train him in external skills.

For now, it seemed the only thing I could do was help myself and my fellow practitioners grow like this.

Two months since arriving here. If my memory served me right, a major incident was about to unfold soon. An event incomparably larger than the confrontation with Joo Tae-kyung…

And my memory was almost never wrong.

Looking back on my past life’s memories, one day, over fifty Gan-gwi suddenly surged in like a tidal wave.

Having never faced more than five or six ghosts at once before, we suffered a catastrophe where nearly an entire squad was wiped out by that unprecedented disaster.

But that wasn’t all.

Though the exact cause-and-effect relationship remains unclear, that incident became a turning point in my past life, making life on the front lines even more difficult.

It felt like climbing a staircase where the steps suddenly became higher, rather than ascending a continuous slope.

The frustrating part was that, even knowing this truth, my current status and martial prowess within the Thirteenth Division meant I couldn’t discuss it with anyone or prepare for it directly.

It was like seeing a fist coming straight at you, yet having no choice but to take the blow. Utterly frustrating.

***

Won Cheong-won, the leader of the Sixth Division of the Thirteenth Division, was patrolling the dense jungle with his division members.

Patrols occurred four times daily—morning, afternoon, evening, and night—rotated among seven squads, meaning they typically patrolled every other day.

Leading the way, Won Cheong-won was cutting through the thickets with his sword to clear a path. With his sword-less hand, he kept waving it about, trying to shoo away the relentless swarm of mosquitoes that kept attacking him.

The Yunnan region, a tropical rainforest, was originally swarming with mosquitoes, but for some reason, Yuan Qingyuan got bitten by them more than most.

Perhaps his blood tasted good, or maybe he had a face that mosquitoes found appealing.

“It should have been women who found me attractive, not mosquitoes.”

Muttering this, Won Cheong-won suddenly snapped and unfurled his sword.

“Ugh!”

Shwaaah!

Instantly, Won Cheong-won’s surroundings were filled with sharp sword shadows like a hedgehog.

It was the Seventy-Two Blade Technique, a secret art of the Blue Star Sect, specifically the defensive stance known as Sword Thorns.

Won Cheong-won smiled with satisfaction as the mosquitoes swarming around him were wiped out en masse.

Soon enough, more mosquitoes would swarm in, but just being free from their incessant buzzing for a moment was quite satisfying.

Behind him, his team members let out exclamations of admiration.

“Wow, as expected of the team leader! You’re amazing every time!”

“That must be the sword master of the Seventy-Two Swords, Sword Master Milmil?!”

Won Cheong-won, puffed up with pride, lifted his head and replied.

“What’s so special about this? For a Qingcheng Sect disciple, this is just the basics.”

But his team members didn’t let him bask in his own glory.

“If our team leader is this good, how incredible must Team Leader Il be, who’s called a genius even within the Blue Star Sect?”

“First Squad Leader Han Gyoseong’s Clear Wind Sword Technique? That’s incomparable to our squad leader. His nickname is the Clear Wind Sword Dragon, right? Our squad leader is the Swift Monkey Prince. How could a dragon and a monkey even compare?”

“Ugh!”

Won Cheong-won, his face crumpled in anger at the team members’ words, bellowed.

“Shut up, you bastards! That guy who reached his peak in his twenties is the weird one! What a soulless bastard!”

“Ah, right, Squad Leader! Come to think of it, I heard Squad Leader Seolpung from Squad 7 catches mosquitoes while running with his eyes closed? His senses are so sharp, he never gets bitten, whether running or walking.”

“Ugh! If that guy was as popular with mosquitoes as I am, he’d have gotten bitten at least once!”

Won Cheong-won, unusually cheerful and informal with his squad members despite being a disciple of the prestigious Cheongseong Sect, was always teased like this by his squad.

But precisely because of this, the unity of the Sixth Squad was stronger than any other squad.

Deputy leader Gong Jong-hwa addressed the team members.

“Don’t be so hard on him. Where else would you find a squad leader with such a great personality? He’s got long arms too.”

“That’s right, that’s right. The deputy leader really knows his stuff.”

When Won Cheong-won nodded contentedly at the deputy leader’s words, the team members jeered.

“Oh, come on! If you like him so much, why don’t you go out with him, Deputy Leader?”

“Exactly. Save our team leader. Don’t leave him all alone.”

“Hmm, that’s a bit… His arms are too long, it’s kind of a burden.”

“Huh? Pwahahaha! But you just said long arms were an advantage!”

“Wahahaha! Team Leader, you got rejected again?”

“Shut up, you brats! I don’t care much for the assistant team leader either!”

It was during the latter half of their patrol, when they were finally relaxing and chatting noisily.

A certain sound suddenly reached the ears of Won Cheong-won, a top-tier elite.

“Quiet, everyone!”

Won Cheong-won’s stern command made all six squad members instantly lower their posture, their eyes tense as if they’d never been noisy.

Ssssssh!

With the surrounding noise gone, something rustling through the undergrowth approached, the sound reaching Won Cheong-won’s ears.

Won Cheong-won murmured lowly.

“Something’s coming. Quite a few. Form a defensive formation!”

The six squad members immediately formed a defensive formation with Won Cheong-won at its apex.

It was a formation that placed a heavy burden on Won Cheong-won, whose combat prowess far surpassed the other squad members.

The rustling sound grew steadily closer.

Won Cheong-won swallowed hard and muttered.

“This… seems like way too many, doesn’t it?”

The next moment, the creatures burst out from the grass.

“Kyaaaaaaa!”

“Kyaaaaaaa!”

They were goblins.

And not just one, but over a dozen of them were charging at once.

Won Cheong-won immediately realized something was terribly wrong.

Even when goblins had swarmed before, the most he’d ever seen at once was five or six at most. But now, the dozen before him were not the end.

More goblins kept charging in behind them.

Won Cheong-won let out a scream-like cry and swung his sword at the ghosts at the very front.

“Deputy Captain! Send the signal!”

Shwaaah!

The sword technique he had used to slay the mosquitoes earlier was unleashed once more. This time, unlike before, it was a full-powered strike, spewing forth a thick, milky-white mist-like sword energy.

But it didn’t work.

Clang! Clang-clang-clang! Clang!

The sword energy bounced off the bodies of the three Gan-gui charging at the front.

These were mid-level goblins impervious to sword energy.

Won Cheong-won shouted urgently.

“There are at least three mid-level ones! Everyone, retreat! Fall back!”

Pwoong!

Along with Won Cheong-won’s shout, the red firecracker shot up into the sky by Deputy Leader Gong Jong-hwa.

It was a distress signal.

***

Ding-ding-ding-ding!

The urgent bell tolled in the Thirteenth Division’s barracks.

An emergency deployment order, heard for the first time in ages, caused all members to immediately gather at the drill ground.

There, the Thirteenth Division’s commander, the Storm Bandit Feng Yang, had already completed his sortie preparations. In place of the taciturn commander, the division’s deputy commander, Heon Yeong-bo, swiftly relayed the situation.

“Three red flares were launched. First one, then two simultaneously. The squad leader and all squad leaders will sortie first, with squad members following under the deputy squad leaders’ command!”

Red fireworks signaled an unbeatable enemy had appeared. If they faced a crisis, a third firework would be launched.

But firing two more after the first clearly signaled a danger unlike anything they’d ever seen.

“Go!”

Storm Bandit Feng Yang barked the order and launched himself forward. The squad leaders at the pinnacle of their skill followed his lead, their bodies soaring.

Han Gyoseong, the Blue Wind Sword Dragon of the First Squad; Sa Gunil, the Piercing Spear Sword Dragon of the Second Squad; Dang Yeo-eun, the Dang Family Sword Staff of the Third Squad; Ma Yu-gyeom, the Piercing Spear Sword Eagle of the Fourth Squad; and Seol Pung, the Whirlwind Flying Dragon of the Seventh Squad.

As the peak masters vanished from sight in an instant, the deputy squad leaders of each squad also began moving, leading their members.

The deputy squad leader of the Seventh Squad, Na Seo-yu, hesitated briefly before speaking.

“Let’s go too. We can’t wait for the missing squad members now.”

And so, all the members of the Thirteen Division present at headquarters began to move.

It was the first time since the Twin Blades and Seven Fiends incident.

***

Sixth Squad Leader Won Cheong-won immediately dropped his sword when three mid-level Gangeui pushed through, deflecting his blade.

Had he been a swordsman, this would have meant certain death, but fortunately, Won Cheong-won was not a swordsman.

“Ugh!”

With a battle cry, he spun his body, whipping his long arms like a whip to lash out at the surrounding Gan-gwis.

Whack! Whack! Whack! Whack!

The goblins struck by his arm were being flung out in all directions.

Though he couldn’t pierce or shatter their skin, he could easily push them back and send them flying.

He was originally a fist master, not a sword master.

The direct successor to the Yuan Gong Quan within the Qingcheng Fist School—that was Yuan Qingyuan’s true identity.

He had only taken up the sword to utilize sword energy, since he hadn’t yet reached the pinnacle and couldn’t wield his martial energy.

But even after escaping danger, Yuan Qingyuan still looked back with a panicked expression.

While he, as a martial artist, could push back the ghosts, it would be impossible for his team members, whose specialty was weapon techniques.

Won Cheong-won saw his squad members being overwhelmed by countless goblins.

He rushed in urgently, shouting.

“No!”

The basic tactic against goblins was for two members to form a team: one would distract the goblin’s attention while the other attacked.

This exploited the goblins’ weakness of being unable to focus on multiple things at once. Yet now, for the first time, the six squad members found themselves facing more goblins than they could handle.

Far from working in pairs, each member was forced to fight two or more alone.

When a Gan-gwi clamped down on one team member’s sword with its teeth, the team member’s face turned pale.

Unable to move his sword, other Gan-gwi closed in from both sides.

“Ah, no! Aaaah!”

His arm was torn off and his throat ripped open in an instant.

Three ghouls had pounced on him, tearing him apart and devouring him alive.

Deputy Leader Gong Jong-hwa was also in dire straits.

He unleashed a sword qi, slicing open the chest of one lower-grade goblin, but the creature charged forward, its chest split wide open.

Too shocked, Gong Jong-hwa thrust his sword straight into the goblin’s heart.

Thud!

But that was a mistake he shouldn’t have made.

Her blade was embedded in its heart, and before she could pull it out, two more Gangeui were already charging at her.

“Kyaaaaaaa!”

“Kyaaaaaaa!”

Realizing she couldn’t block or dodge, Gong Jong-hwa closed her eyes and screamed.

“Kyaaaah!”

But it seemed her time was not yet up.

Puff!

Just then, Won Cheong-won arrived and swung his arms, flinging the ghosts flying to either side.

“Deputy Chief! Run!”

Even as Won Cheong-won saved her, another team member screamed as the ghosts tore into him.

“Save me! AAAAAHHHH!”

As Won Cheong-won’s heart-wrenching gaze lingered on him for a moment, the mid-level ghouls he had briefly repelled were charging at him again.

There seemed to be no end.

Just as Won Cheong-won, his eyes filled with despair, was about to reach out to them again…

Suddenly, a massive object flew in from somewhere.

“Whoa! Iron God Meteor!”

“Ugh! Diamond Rain Star!”

Puff-puff-puff-puff-puff!

It was two men.

Contrary to their grandiose battle cries, they charged like wild boars, mindlessly ramming their bodies into the enemy, sending the guards flying left and right. They were none other than Bae Jong-gwan and Seon Woo-jin of the Seventh Division.

It was the dramatic entrance of the men who had been pointed at and called quacks by everyone in the Thirteenth Division.