Chapter 68 Dispatch to the Ascension Pavilion (3)

Chapter 68: Dispatch to the Ascension Pavilion (3)

The progression of the Life-and-Death Path was largely unchanged from when I had experienced it before.

The fifteen geniuses advanced, crossing the treacherous mountains of the Nine Dragons Range, traversing valleys, and scaling cliffs.

After two days, the disciples split into front, middle, and rear groups.

As prearranged, the instructors took the front and rear groups, while we handled the middle group.

The front group, composed of Oedang warriors, was too formidable to catch up with. If we lost track of the middle group’s disciples, we could switch with the rear instructors.

It was a formation that anticipated some degree of loss.

Of course, the Oedang warriors were martial artists too.

Their pride wouldn’t allow them to fall behind the children, so they struggled to keep up.

But soon, their pride-fueled mental strength seemed to run dry, and everyone’s exhaustion became noticeable.

Still.

“Everyone’s feet are heavy! Don’t you know the basics of lightness technique?!”

“Treat this as training!”

“Step forward while channeling your qi! Is your internal power lacking? What have you been doing all this time without practicing your mental techniques?!”

It was fortunate that Woo Je-jun kept everyone centered.

The members of the Sun Group moved in perfect unison at his command.

Seeing that made me feel proud.

‘There are no great generals under a poor commander.’

After all, Woo Je-jun’s leadership was practically my own.

‘Anyway, where are we now?’

Unfolding the map and comparing it to the mountain terrain, it seemed we were roughly halfway there.

‘Sweet.’

Knowing we’d finish the Life-and-Death Path in just two more days filled me with satisfaction.

And no wonder—after spending ten days at the Ascension Pavilion, I’d only been assigned to actual duties for four days.

Well, the return trip would take some time too, but that was no worry—I could just practice my flying techniques or cultivation along the way…

‘Wait, practice martial arts while traveling?’

A sudden doubt made goosebumps rise from head to toe.

Not long ago, I would have grumbled about such a long distance being sheer torture.

Needless to say, the me from my past life would have taken a taxi for anything over a hundred meters.

To dismiss such a long journey as just an ‘opportunity to practice martial arts’?

It seemed recent events had caused some shift in my perception.

‘Still, it’s not so bad.’

After all, learning isn’t just for others.

Feeling somewhat relieved, I was walking leisurely when the group ahead stopped.

The sun was about to set, so it seemed they planned to rest here tonight.

There were four members in the middle group.

They began scattering in all directions to find places to sleep.

I told Woo Je-jun.

“I’ll go hunt something, so hold the spot for me.”

I did bring some provisions just in case, but isn’t freshly hunted meat, roasted right away, a real delicacy?

Paired with the baekju I secretly brought along, it’s pure heaven. So, once again, I set out to hunt for tonight’s snack.

Woojun, having tasted that flavor these past few days, licked his lips and replied.

“Yes, I’ll build the fire and wait.”

He immediately deployed his Flying Sword Technique and entered the mountains.

Simultaneously, he expanded his senses to survey the surroundings.

‘Let’s see.’

Just one deer would suffice.

As he sharpened his senses and scanned the area.

‘Blood scent?’

Something he shouldn’t have sensed was present.

In mountains teeming with predators, the scent of blood itself was commonplace.

The problem was.

there was no trace of the strong, pungent stench that should accompany animal blood.

‘No way?’

Praying it wasn’t true, he sprinted toward the source of the scent.

“Fuck…”

A corpse came into view.

And it was that of the instructor from the Ascension Pavilion.

He rushed over and examined it. The body was covered in slash wounds.

‘At least three attackers.’

Judging by the sword still sheathed in its scabbard, he hadn’t even had time to counterattack.

A murder committed right in the heart of the Nine Dragon Mountains, the domain of the Nine Dragon Fortress.

Coincidentally, it happened during the Life-and-Death Training period.

‘This can’t be a coincidence.’

Whoever the killer was, this murder was definitely not accidental.

Moreover, the fact that an instructor possessing martial prowess above the first rank was slain without even raising a hand meant the enemy’s strength was formidable.

I hoisted the instructor’s body onto my back and sprinted down the mountain.

Before long, I reached the spot where the squad members had gathered.

“Squad Leader!”

Woo Je-jun, seeing me carrying the body, stood up, his eyes wide.

“It’s an ambush. Bring the equipment operators here immediately.”

At my command, the team members quickly scattered and brought the equipment operators.

The equipment operators were equally shocked upon seeing the body.

One of them glared with eyes wide as saucers.

“Brother!”

He must have been close to the deceased instructor.

But there was no time for such personal grief.

Thud.

I grabbed the back of his neck as he clutched the corpse and threw him backward, simultaneously growling in a low voice.

“Get your head out of the clouds!”

“······.”

“Woo Je-jun.”

“Yes.”

“You’re in charge. Lead the recruits and squad members to join those following behind.”

“······What are you planning to do, Squad Leader?”

“I’ll go find the equipment operators and instructors who went ahead and bring them back.”

“Yes.”

“And if your life is ever in danger, surrender if you must. Just stay alive. If it’s impossible, run if you have to.”

“We are warriors who wield swords. We will fight to the end.”

His squad members nodded fiercely, their eyes blazing at his words.

“Stop being stubborn and do as you’re told. If you stay alive, I’ll find a way to rescue you. And you lot too. Stop worrying about your pride and focus on saving your own lives.”

“······Yes.”

The reply was full of resentment, but there was no more time.

Even now, at this very moment, the group that went ahead might be under attack.

“Let’s all meet alive.”

With that, he immediately unleashed the Flying Dragon Wind.

* * *

True to the Kuryong Mountains’ reputation for treacherous terrain, obstacles followed one after another, but he didn’t slow down.

He sped along the sheer mountain paths, and when a deep ravine appeared, he leaped over it in a single bound, channeling his inner energy. When he encountered a dense forest of trees…

CRASH! CRUNCH.

He simply smashed through with his body.

His internal energy and stamina drained in real time, but that didn’t matter.

What mattered now was whether he could rescue those who had gone ahead.

Running along the pitch-black mountain path, he deduced the enemies’ identity.

‘The Ten Demon Clan.’

The Nine Dragon Mountain Range stretching northwest from the middle of Sichuan Province.

And the end of that mountain range borders Qinghai City, the domain of the Ten Demon Clan.

To begin with, no one but them would dare invade the territory of Nine Dragons Fortress and commit such a brazen act.

‘Those bastards!’

An hour passed as I advanced, gritting my teeth.

“Gurgle.”

Under the moonlight, I saw a soldier gasping for breath, a sword lodged in his chest.

Thud.

The moment he spotted me, he pointed behind me with a trembling finger and said in a shaky voice.

“……F-flee.”

I understood perfectly what he meant.

Heart-Extreme Qi.

As my mind moved, my body and qi moved simultaneously.

Pwoong.

With an instant gesture, one enemy’s skull shattered.

Crack. Crack.

Simultaneously, the Zhenwang Qi began to rage.

The Zhenwang Thirteen Piercing was immediately unleashed.

Kwoong. Kwaang.

A single explosive blast tore five bodies to shreds.

Because every move was imbued with the experience of the Explosive Sword.

“Yeeek!”

The one I’d spared for information raised his sword and swung at me, but my hand seized his throat before he could strike.

Crunch.

“How many came?”

“Gurgle.”

A simple question. But his answer surpassed my expectations.

Gurgle.

In an instant, he bit his tongue and burst his own heart, committing suicide.

“Damn it.”

I tossed him aside and approached Gye-jae, who was facing death.

“You held on well.”

“Guh… My comrades… Please…”

Click.

He breathed his last, leaving behind a plea for his comrades.

A terrifying, cold death.

Seeing that, a thousand fires raged within me.

* * *

Meanwhile, Woo Je-jun’s squad and the four recruits were retracing their steps.

They moved slowly, tension upon tension.

Of course, they knew caution didn’t guarantee safety.

In fact, moving quickly might have been far better.

But considering the recruits experiencing their first real combat, Woo Je-jun judged it far wiser to proceed cautiously.

Nothing was more dangerous than a first real battle experienced in a daze.

Half an hour passed.

Ha Jin-hyeong, sent as a scout, came running back, his face pale.

The reason was obvious even without asking.

“Form the Jeam Formation!”

At Woo Je-jun’s command, fifteen men drew their swords and stood in front.

The remaining five and the support troops drew their weapons behind them, preparing to meet the enemy.

The one fortunate thing was that this place was a forest surrounded by towering trees.

In other words, it was terrain ideal for buying time.

Woo Je-jun gritted his teeth and stared ahead.

Twenty Oedang warriors—a pitiful force, if ever there was one.

But they possessed the experience gained in the Namman Great War.

They knew what they had to do to save their comrades and themselves.

But only for a moment.

Before long, enemies slowly approached from all directions.

A group clad in black night robes, as if deliberately flaunting their villainy.

Their appearance alone gave no clue as to who they were.

Woo Je-jun shouted at them.

“Who the hell are you!”

Nya-nya-

His voice, charged with internal energy, echoed and spread out around them.

He had deliberately shouted loud, hoping any returning radio transmission might pick it up.

The burly man, seemingly catching on to Woo Je-jun’s intent, let out a sneer.

“You’re clever. Heh heh, but it won’t change the fact you’ll die right here.”

The burly man at the front of the enemy group spoke.

“Hmph! This is the territory of the Nine Dragons Fortress! Do you really think you’ll survive after laying a hand on us?!”

“If we feared the Nine Dragons Fortress, we wouldn’t have come this far.”

Hearing the reply, Woo Je-jun inwardly spat out a curse.

The fact that the enemies showed no sign of flinching upon hearing the name Nine Dragons Fortress meant their forces were by no means weak.

“Kill them!”

At the giant’s shout, thirty black-clad figures charged like a whirlwind.

Woo Je-jun, wielding his straight sword, blocked the vanguard with the opening stance of the Jeam Sword, while his subordinates backed him up.

The clash of weapons signaled the start of battle.

* * *

Crackle.

As he stepped forward, the bursting energy swept around him, scattering fallen leaves.

He grabbed one enemy and thrust the attack point of the Jeonwang Sipsamtu into his chest.

Thud.

A dull sound echoed as his fist smashed the enemy’s skull.

Thwack.

Simultaneously, he felt the cold edge of a blade pierce his shoulder.

Thwack!

Without turning, he unleashed a kick that smashed the head of the one who had thrust the sword.

He glanced at the head torn from its neck rolling across the floor before scanning ahead.

Over twenty enemies stood before him, and thirty corpses lay sprawled on the ground.

“Haah, haah.”

Breath came late, and excruciating pain began to radiate throughout his body.

It wasn’t from the enemies’ blows.

It was the accumulated shock from breaking through to this point.

But he endured the agony and charged at the enemies once more.

Crunch.

The windpipe of one caught in his grip was ripped out.

Crunch.

A lightning-fast kick shattered another’s ribs completely.

Thud.

My outstretched fist pierced through yet another’s chest.

Perhaps due to the brutal blows, the remaining enemies faltered.

“Huh, huh, ugh, you fucking bastards. What the hell are you doing, targeting the lives of other people’s kids? Is that what your parents taught you?“

”Die!”

When I openly taunted them, one of them couldn’t hold back and swung his sword at my torso.

Thud.

It bounced off with a hollow sound.

Thanks to the Dragon Scale Armor.

Thud.

I smashed the startled bastard’s head, sending him flying.

The most efficient method when facing numbers.

It’s exploiting fear.

Just as I intended, the enemies began backing away one by one.

Crackle. Crack.

I pulled the Zhenwangqi to its full extent and declared.

“I’ll spare just one of you.”