Chapter 56 The Five Brothers and Sisters of Doksu – 2

Chapter 56: The Five Brothers and Sisters of Doksu – 2

“Why did you hide it?”

After being mesmerized by Lady Cheongyeon’s beauty for a while, I finally came to my senses and asked my first question.

Then she looked around and said.

“Is it because you dislike this?”

“Ahh.”

I understood immediately.

I couldn’t say for sure, but if every man around reacted like this, normal life would be impossible.

Looking around, I saw our male team members still staring blankly at Miss Qingyan, while only Miss Na and Miss Tian were giggling.

I was the first among the men to come to my senses.

The condition of the Eleventh Division soldiers was even more severe.

Unlike us, who had been trained by Lady Dang Yeo-eun, they seemed to have no immunity to beauty. Not only were they all dazed, but some were even drooling uncontrollably.

Surprisingly, that disgraceful individual was none other than Je Won-yeong, the First Squad Leader of the Eleventh Division, the Spear-Piercing Sword Saint.

While the others regained their senses, Young Master Qingyan and I were able to sketch out a rough plan for what lay ahead.

Then, before those who had regained their senses, we declared:

“We will infiltrate the Sword Sect disguised as ronin. Questions are welcome from this moment onward.”

Immediately, Young Master Na raised his hand to ask a question.

“Didn’t you say the Mountain Sword Sect couldn’t possibly be Blood Cultists? Then why are we going there?”

He answered with a gentle smile.

“Good question, Miss Na. That’s precisely why we’re going to the Mountain Sword Sect. We plan to use Miss Qingyan as bait to lure them in. If we went elsewhere, we’d have to guard both inside and outside, but if we go to the Mountain Sword Sect, we only need to guard the outside. Also, I hear the Mountain Sword Sect is in a very bad state right now, so we should receive favorable treatment.”

Given the circumstances, it seemed unlikely that anyone would bother with Miss Cheongyeon or the other women, but he decided not to mention that.

Je Won-yeong raised his hand and asked.

“So does that mean all of us will enter the Mountain Sword Gate as ronin?”

Shaking his head at the question, he replied.

“No. We will be divided into three roles. The three young ladies will serve as bait, while the rest will be divided into an escort team and an infiltration pursuit team.”

“An escort team and an infiltration pursuit team?”

“Yes, the escort squad will enter as commoners to protect the three young ladies. From our Thirteenth Division, Squad Leader Seolpung and Bae Jong-gwan will take on that role. I believe Squad Leader Je Won-yeong and the Eleventh Division members should also enter as commoners, acting as if they don’t know each other, to fulfill that duty.”

Je Won-yeong’s face brightened.

“Ah, I see. Understood.”

I couldn’t quite tell if his brightening expression came from understanding my words or something else entirely.

At that moment, Bise-yeong raised his hand to ask a question.

“So I’m on the infiltration pursuit team? Where do we infiltrate, and who do we pursue?”

“That’s right, Sayoung. You and I will be the infiltration pursuit team. We won’t enter as ronin. We’ll lie in wait nearby. When the Blood Sect’s demonic beasts, who came targeting the young masters, are defeated by the escort team, we’ll secretly pursue them to pinpoint their base.”

Brother Sakmuhun will also be with us, but since he’s leading the Eleven Guardians, I didn’t mention it.

Then, Young Lady Cheon Ju-eun asked with a slightly worried expression.

“But can we really enter the Sword Gate as vagabonds? Even if they’re desperate, I doubt they’d hire us as vagabonds when our identities aren’t even confirmed.”

At that question, he met Miss Cheongyeon’s gaze and smiled faintly.

Then he immediately regretted it.

It had always been a habit to smile at her when our hearts connected, but seeing her smile now hit him too hard.

It felt like my heart nearly stopped.

Calming his pounding heart, he managed to reply.

“Ah, Lady Cheongyeon has agreed to handle that matter. It seems her father has connections with the Mountain Sword Sect.”

Upon hearing this, our team members who knew who her father was let out a collective gasp of admiration.

Indeed, the connections of the Heavenly Sword Sect were formidable.

At that moment, Bae Jong-gwan timidly raised his hand and asked.

“Um, but what exactly do we do there? If it’s an escort team, do we just guard the young ladies?”

I grinned and replied.

“No way. We need to draw as much attention as possible to spread the bait far and wide.”

“What, draw attention? How?”

“How indeed. When you go into battle, you’ll have to smash the enemies to pieces, and when you don’t go into battle…”

“When you’re not going out?”

“You have to crush your own allies.”

“…Huh? What did you say?”

He smiled meaningfully at Bae Jong-gwan, who looked back with an innocent expression.

Jong-gwan, I have very high expectations for you.

***

The training grounds outside the Mountain Sword Sect.

Dozens of ronin gathered in small groups, murmuring among themselves.

They were all men who had come to the Sword Gate without much thought, lured by the promise of high pay, and now found themselves flustered as the atmosphere turned against the Sword Gate.

“Wouldn’t it be better to flee right now? After losing the Western Branch of the Mountain Sword Gate to Zheng Xiaofang in the last battle, they’ll surely come for the main headquarters next.”

“True, but… we’ve already received the advance payment. If word gets out we fled like this, won’t it be hard to get a foothold in major operations going forward?”

For ronin to receive high treatment, trustworthiness was surprisingly more important than skill.

No one would risk giving large sums to a ronin they couldn’t trust.

So if word got out that you took an advance payment but didn’t fight and ran away, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say you’d be completely buried in the big missions—though maybe not for the small ones.

“Trust is important. But it’s not more important than your life, is it? If we stay here, there’s a near 100% chance we’ll die.”

“Can’t we think beyond that? Because of this incident, the Sword Gate Sect is moving desperately enough to form an alliance with the Yun Clan, their sworn enemies. If the two sects join forces, even the Zhengxie Alliance…”

“You’re really frustrating. Haven’t you heard how the Mountain Sword Sect lost in the last two battles?”

“Huh? How did they lose?”

“In the first battle, over a thousand warriors appeared before the Mountain Sword Sect, who had brought all two hundred of their elite troops. And that was just the warriors from the Eastern Branch of the Zhengxie Sect alone.”

At his companion’s words, the ronin’s face turned ashen.

A thousand men was no small number; such a force was only possible for the major sects controlling each province.

It was unimaginable that the scale the CPPCC could mobilize was only the fourth largest in Sichuan Province.

“What? A thousand men?”

“Yes, that’s why the Sword Gate couldn’t do anything and fled. Do you think that’s all? In the second battle, they ambushed a mere fifty-odd Zhengxiefang envoys with two hundred elite troops, yet they were completely annihilated, weren’t they?”

“What? They ambushed fifty with two hundred and were wiped out? How is that possible?”

“So there were three peak masters in that envoy after all. Originally, upon hearing that only Iron Fist Hero Huang Zhanggon was coming, Mountain Sword Sect’s branch master, the renowned swordsman He Zhong, led his elite forces to ambush them. But it turns out that wasn’t the case. That’s why they were all wiped out.”

“Huh, so the Mountain Sword Sect was completely playing into the hands of the Zhengxie Sect.”

“Exactly. What’s even more astonishing is that the peak masters who moved alongside Huang Zhanggon back then weren’t the previously known figures from the Zhengxie Sect. It seems there were new individuals whose identities remain undisclosed.”

At those words, the ronin’s jaw dropped.

It was known that the Zhengxie Sect originally had seven peak masters under its banner.

That alone meant it possessed more peak masters than any sect in Guizhou Province, and if that was true, it actually meant there were even more than that.

“So, does that mean the Zhengxie Sect has nine peak masters?”

“It seems that way for now, but who really knows the details? There might be undiscovered masters as well.”

Another wandering swordsman who had been listening chimed in.

“What?! Does that even make sense?! How could the Zhengxie Gang, merely the fourth strongest in Sichuan Province, be that powerful?! Even the Black Five Gang, supposedly Guizhou’s top force, couldn’t match that! Isn’t all that just empty talk?!”

The wandering swordsman who had been explaining sighed deeply, as if exasperated, and replied.

“You really know nothing. Of course, if it were Guizhou Province, it would be Guizhou’s top sect. But this is Sichuan Province, isn’t it? Have you forgotten what sects exist in Sichuan?”

“Even if it is Sichuan Province…!”

But the vagabond, who had been about to protest, suddenly remembered something and fell silent.

Then, with a sickened look, he asked.

“No… surely not?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. The sects occupying the top ranks of the Zhengxie Alliance are none other than Qingcheng, Emei, and Sichuan Dangjia. Now do you understand why the Zhengxie Alliance, even with such power, is only fourth in Sichuan Province?”

The wandering swordsman who had raised the question nodded frantically.

Two of the Nine Great Sects—Qingcheng and Emei—and one of the Five Great Families—the Sichuan Tang Clan.

Rather, the very fact that they had grown powerful among them seemed to underscore just how formidable the Zhengxie Sect truly was.

“This… This is hopeless. They possess such formidable hidden strength. We must flee immediately.”

Just as the vagabonds’ mood grew restless, as if they might flee the Mountain Sword Sect at any moment,

Suddenly, a loud voice rang out.

“What the hell is all this commotion?!”

It was a voice imbued with considerable inner strength.

The startled vagabonds fell silent and looked over. Before they knew it, Heo Jeon-sam, the Mountain Sword Gate’s Chief Inspector, had arrived leading two groups of men.

Heo Jeon-sam was a fairly renowned top-tier master in Gwiju Province.

Therefore, the ronin, unable to bring themselves to say they would leave the Mountain Sword Sect in front of him, kept their mouths shut for the moment and watched Heo Jeon-sam and the people he had brought with him.

And in that instant, they froze solid.

“Allow me to introduce them. These are the ronin I painstakingly invited from Xinzhi, Zhejiang Province. They are the Wu siblings from Wuxu in Zhejiang and the Guishan Four Swordsmen from Guishan. Despite their youth, they are renowned for their exceptional martial prowess… Now, the Zhengxie Sect… victory is the only…”

Heo Jeon-sam continued introducing the two groups of ronin, but it was futile.

Nothing could be heard in the vagabonds’ ears anymore.

Now, their eyes were filled only with the figure of Hae Cheong-yeon standing in the midst of the five siblings of Doksu.

Nothing else could be seen or heard.

It felt as if they were dreaming.

Even though her blue eyes were covered by a thin membrane carved from black crystal, Hae Cheong-yeon’s mystique seemed entirely undiminished.

“…So stop making a fuss and wait!”

It was when Heo Jeon-sam finished speaking and stepped out of the training ground once more.

The dazed-looking ronin slowly began to approach Hae Cheong-yeon.

Then it gradually sped up until suddenly it began running at full speed.

“Waaaaaah!”

“Young Master! Look at me! My name is…!”

“Do you really think my lady would care to know the name of a lowly creature like you?!”

“Dammit! All of you, get lost!”

Dozens of ronin charged at Cheongyeon like starving wolves encountering prey after three days.

Their momentum was like a massive wave.

But that wave suddenly crashed against a massive boulder that had shifted one step in front of Hae Cheongyeon, shattering into pieces.

CRASH!

“Ugh!”

“Wh-what the hell is this?!”

“Gah! What the hell is this rock?!”

Baek Jong-gwan, who had simply stood still yet deflected the charging rogues, looked down at the rogues sprawled before him and those who had halted, speaking in a deep, resonant voice.

“I warn you. Anyone who dares approach my sister without my permission will be killed.”

Only then did the rogues notice Bae Jong-gwan. They stared blankly at him and then at Hae Cheong-yeon in turn.

“…Sister?”

But finding any resemblance between the massive, muscular hulk that was Bae Jong-gwan and Hae Cheong-yeon, who looked like a fairy descended from the heavens, was nearly impossible.

The ronin shouted with furious faces.

“Stop spouting nonsense! Who would believe a monster like you is that young lady’s brother?!”

“That’s right! Stop talking nonsense and get out of the way now!”

“If you don’t move, I’ll cut you down!”

At those words, Bae Jong-gwan’s eyes flickered.

“…A monster?”

While planning this operation, Seon Woo-jin had instructed Bae Jong-gwan thus:

If anything bothers you even slightly, don’t hold back.

From now on, you must become an unruly thug of the Sapa who can’t control his anger.

And Bae Jong-gwan’s willingness to follow Seon Woo-jin’s orders had already been proven during the previous Black Chamber incident.

Bae Jong-gwan uncrossed his arms and looked down at the rogue raging before him with a cold, piercing gaze.

“Get out of my way, you monster! Or else…!”

Then he slammed his palm down like a thunderbolt.

Thud!

“Kwaaah!”

The rogue was pinned to the ground, his entire body trembling violently.

It was the result of Bae Jong-gwan’s massive palm, swung down like swatting a fly.

Having effortlessly flattened one man like a squashed frog, Bae Jong-gwan looked down at the vagabonds with a cold, piercing gaze and said.

“You called me a monster, didn’t you?”

Then, finally realizing the situation, another ronin shook his head and said urgently.

“Ah, no. I never…!”

But Bae Jong-gwan had no intention of listening to that excuse.

“How dare you!”

BOOM!

Bae Jong-gwan’s thick, pillar-like forearm swung horizontally, effortlessly sweeping away all the ronin within its range.

Thwack!

“Waaah!”

“Guhhh!”

“Kweeeek!”

“Keeeeek!”

With a single swing of his arm, Bae Jong-gwan effortlessly sent the four rogues before him flying. Only then did the rogues, who had been too preoccupied with watching Hae Cheong-yeon, finally notice his body.

Then his body came into view.

His stature appeared at least two heads taller than the average man, yet his immense physique seemed thick rather than long. On top of that, rock-like muscles covered his entire body, making it look lumpy.

He was truly a creature bordering on monstrous.

And the monster’s rage was far from spent.

Bae Jong-gwan roared.

“You dare call me a monster?!”

Then he charged toward the bandits clustered ahead.

His speed was so immense the startled ronin couldn’t even dodge in time.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa?!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute!”

“Whaaaaaat?!”

The rogues, who had only been screaming ‘Woooh!’ at the illusion of a giant boulder hurtling toward them, had to feel a new sensation the moment his body made contact.

CRASH!

“Waaaaaah!”

“Kwaaaaah!”

“Save meeeee!”

Their bodies were now floating lightly through the sky.

The pain that made their vision go completely white, followed by the next moment’s dizzying sensation of floating, made the ronin feel as if they were dreaming in a different sense than before.

But the ronin scattered around, who had luckily avoided Bae Jong-gwan’s charge, watched the scene with their mouths agape.

The sight of over twenty rogues being flung aside like pebbles by a single collision from Bae Jong-gwan was nothing short of spectacular.

Outside the front lines, it was the first appearance of the Diamond Rain Star.

Then, from beneath the roof of the outer wall surrounding the training grounds, Biseaeng, who had been watching from the shadows, muttered.

“But we’re on the same side… Is it really okay to do that?”

But Seon Woo-jin watched with satisfaction as Bae Jong-gwan crushed the ronin like a swarm of locusts and replied.

“He didn’t kill them, did he? Everything’s going according to plan.”

“Really? He may not have killed them, but they look like they’re on the verge of death…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Jong-gwan isn’t exactly new to beating people up. He knows how to control himself.”

But just as Biseoyoung was about to retort that Bae Jong-gwan’s past defeats were mostly against amateurs, he suddenly realized there was no point in saying anything here and ultimately kept his mouth shut.

On the training ground, Bae Jong-gwan was now creating a surreal spectacle: charging headlong into the weapons aimed by the ronin who now sensed a threat to their lives, shattering them with his body.

Bisaeng shook his head.

He hadn’t fully grasped it while on the front lines, crowded with peak masters and true monsters like the Demon Men. But Bae Jong-gwan, possessing a body tougher than even a Demon Man’s at the peak of intermediate martial prowess, was nothing short of a monster to those martial artists who hadn’t reached that pinnacle.

Watching Bae Jong-gwan chase down the fleeing rogues and beat them senseless, Bi Sa-yeong murmured quietly.

“So that bastard was actually a man-in too.”