Chapter 123. Five Dragons Fight for a Pearl (19)
For a moment, Woo-Moon almost flipped the table over, not caring if he broke all pretenses. However, he bit his tongue and held back. Regardless of the method, they had to stop the hidden forces.
It would be a horrible catastrophe if they were to miss them, leading to the Baek Family being attacked. In the end, he had to go along with Lee Chung’s orders.
‘Fine, you narrow-minded, stupid-ass old man, I’ll let this go. This time.’
“Understood, I’ll follow your orders.”
Although he agreed, Woo-Moon’s eyes were glaring fiercely at Lee Chung.
Thus, it was decided that the operation would begin immediately. During the brief time they had to prepare, Woo-Moon made sure Lightflash and Inkblade were both in pristine condition, and also took a look at Ma-Ra’s weapons.
Since all of Ma-Ra's weapons were unique weapons used by assassins, Woo-Moon greatly benefited from doing some maintenance on them, as that allowed him to gain some insights into their principles and uses.
“Ma-Ra, isn’t this Tang Yuk’s? Just yesterday, he was looking for it everywhere.”
Woo-Moon was holding up a hidden weapon called a Blood Lotus, a weapon that Tang Yuk always carried around with him. As it was forged in the shape of a lotus, it looked extremely pretty.
Inspecting it, Woo-Moon realized that although the weapon was quite deadly even as it was, the moment that someone were to try to block it or deflect it with force, its poison-covered lotus petals would shoot out in all directions, striking the enemy and whoever else happened to be around. Its impressive killing power would thus be most apparent in a crowd, where it could likely kill dozens of people at once.
Still in her flower gown, Ma-Ra abruptly fell from the sky and landed right in front of Woo-Moon, staring at him directly.
“What?” he asked, startled.
Ma-Ra stretched out her long, pale index finger and slowly brought it to her lips.
“Sshhhh.”
Woo-Moon forgot language for a moment.
“...”
Ma-Ra immediately disappeared again, leaving Woo-Moon even more confused than before.
Suddenly, he was reminded of something he had learned from his grandfather: something about the Tang Family—something about that incredibly closed-off family...
The very reason they were so incredibly closed-off was their extreme reluctance to allow their hidden weapons and poisons to leak out. Moreover, if that were to happen, no matter who their opponent was, they would chase them to the ends of hell.
“Ma-Ra, you can’t do this. The Tang Family is really sensitive to these things!”
“I use better.”
Ma-Ra’s response was simple—the Blood Lotus would be much more effective in her hands than Tang Yuk’s. Moreover, she wasn’t wrong. Although Tang Yuk’s hidden weapon techniques were incredible, as expected of a son of the Tang Family, even he was inferior to Ma-Ra.
“Grr.”
Knowing that Ma-Ra was just trying to be as utilitarian as possible and didn’t have any bad intentions, Woo-Moon just patted her fidgety head and said nothing more.
“Anyway, you can’t do this again. You’ll get in trouble if you get caught.”
“Okay.”
Woo-Moon quickly finished his maintenance of Ma-Ra’s hidden weapons and handed them back to her before anyone else could see.
Then, as they prepared to leave, Sleepy Sword Ra-Mi suddenly came to visit.
With her long, straight, unkempt hair hanging down below her waist, she walked forward as if on clouds.
“Thank... you for... back there...”
“No, no, there’s no need for any thanks. I just did what I should have as the captain.”
“Xiahou Jinxian... wasn’t like that. He... all he did was look at me with a strange gaze whenever I fell asleep...”
Although she didn’t seem as innocent as Ma-Ra, Ra-Mi also looked pure in her own way. Moreover, Woo-Moon felt like she was as pure as she looked, too.
‘Well, it makes sense. She spends most of her day sleeping because of her narcolepsy, anyway.’
“Can your illness be cured?” he asked.
However, in the time that it took him to ask, Ra-Mi fell asleep once again. Woo-Moon called her name again to wake her up before repeating his question.
With a heavy-lidded gaze, Ra-Mi looked at Woo-Moon for a moment before responding.
“There is no cure. However, my father says...”
She fell asleep again before she could finish her sentence, forcing Woo-Moon to call out once more.
“Ra-Mi!”
“...huh? I need to cultivate to the... Absolute... if I can reach the Absolute stage, my narcolepsy would disappear.”
“Ah.”
Woo-Moon agreed with her father’s theory as well. His grandfather had also told him about the Absolute realm and how one could freely control all aspects of their body once one reached that level. For Absolute Masters, beings who could stop even aging, a natural and inevitable experience to all living beings, curing one’s own illnesses was as simple as breathing.
Ra-Mi wasn’t one to normally speak at length with anyone. After having been hurt frequently when she was young, she was reluctant to speak or get close to anyone, especially men. Even if she were to have a conversation, she would turn around without hesitation if the other person seemed even the slightest bit bored or bothered.
However, Woo-Moon didn’t show anything like that whatsoever, so she wanted to speak with him more.
Above all, he had never once looked at her with a strange gaze.
“My father... he found a practical martial technique after great difficulty... and eventually taught me the Sixth-Sense Sword.”
Woo-Moon realized the sword technique Ra-Mi had been taught was the reason she would instinctively react and attack if anyone approached her or posed a threat within a certain range, even when she was sleeping.
‘So the Sixth-Sense Sword, huh...’
Although she may not have said it out loud, Ra-Mi had definitely been scarred as a young girl by the acts of many people, particularly men, before she was able to use the Sixth-Sense Sword properly. Horrible things were bound to happen to her whenever she inevitably fell asleep, as many people coveted her body after finding out about her illness.
Fortunately, her father had assigned a hidden guardian to her, who was able to protect her in such instances. However, the more it happened, the more emotionally damaging it was, and it thus became the driving force for her to practice the Sixth-Sense Sword as diligently as she could, even through her narcolepsy.
Although she had not said anything directly, Woo-Moon understood—it was obvious as long as one thought even a little about her situation.
The more he understood about her, the more pitiful Ra-Mi’s figure seemed.
“Attention! Depart!”
A voice commanding their departure echoed from afar.
“Ra-Mi, let’s go now.”
“...mmm."
As the diversionary force was made up of only those with excellent movement techniques, its traveling speed was incredible. It wasn’t long before it was able to overtake the Black Bull Gang’s hidden force.
The Black Bull Gang also discovered them as they approached.
Seeing that the enemy was busy sounding the alarm, Lee Chung was momentarily flustered.
‘The chances of them discovering our plan and running increases the more time passes. What should I do next?’
The Justice Coalition had mobilized an incredible portion of its forces to capture the hidden force of the Black Bull Gang. This meant that the forces on the frontlines directly defending against the Black Bull Gang had been reduced to compensate.
They had to quickly take care of the hidden forces behind their defensive lines and return to the front line in order to avoid losing the war, which could break out at any moment.
“Has the messenger arrived yet?”
"No, they haven’t!"
“Damn it! When the hell is the rear force arriving? The enemy will flee again if this continues for much longer!”
The diversionary force had been so fast that it seemed the messenger had been unable to keep pace properly.
“We have to keep waiting. If we intercept the enemy with just our forces, we’ll take heavy damage and fall into dire straits if the rear force arrives too late. Even if it means we lose the enemy here and now, we have to be patient,” Woo-Moon advised Lee Chung.
Unfortunately, it just had to be Woo-Moon who said these words—the one man Lee Chung simply refused to listen to. He wanted to prove that he was right, which led to him opposing Woo-Moon’s advice just for the sake of opposing.
“And what could a mere Wind Sword Squadron Captain know that he keeps acting so audaciously? I trust the rear force. They definitely must be close by now. If we miss this opportunity, the enemy will become even more wary, and we’ll never know when another opportunity will arise in the future. We march, attack the enemy!”
Lee Chung ran ahead, with the entire diversionary force following behind him.
At that moment, their enemy also realized the plan to surround them and pincer them from the front and back. Of course, they bolted away.
“Damn it! He’s like an impatient grandpa.”
Woo-Moon couldn’t hold himself back and started cursing from the side, while the members of the Wind Sword Squadron burst into laughter around him.
“Let's go."
Woo-Moon ran after Lee Chung, arriving to see an already-unfolding battle.
“We’re heading over there!”
Woo-Moon motioned to a part of their lines that was being particularly pushed back.
Just as he arrived and started fighting, one of the four present Ten Demon Generals shouted at his troops, “Attack with all your might! Don’t worry about preserving your lives, just push forward! If we delay here, we’ll be surrounded! We have to kill them all before the others arrive!”
As expected, they had also noticed it.
‘Damn it, why hasn’t the rear force arrived yet? Something is going to go wrong if they don’t arrive soon!’
Even though the rear force should have arrived by now, they were nowhere in sight.
As Woo-Moon had expected, the members of the Wind Sword Squadron didn’t fight with much effort like the rumors had said. All they did was protect their surroundings while dealing with any approaching enemies.
However, Woo-Moon had no reason to blame them and just said, “You guys stay here! I’m going ahead and fighting!”
In truth, strategy played much less of a role in a war within the murim as compared to a war with ordinary soldiers. The difference in power between individuals was simply too severe.
This was the murim, where one could cut down a hundred with a single swing just to turn and cut down a thousand more.
Tap! Thud, thud, thud!
After kicking off the ground and stepping on the head of the gang member in front of him, Woo-Moon continued to step on the heads of the crowded group of gang members as he moved forward.
“Agh!”
“Stop him!”
All of those he stepped on died immediately with their necks bent at odd angles. A few moments later, Woo-Moon quickly landed in the midst of the enemy and twisted around, swinging his sword.
Squelch!
A circle of blood formed around him, spewing out in all directions.
A large hole in the enemy lines appeared around Woo-Moon in a split second. He stopped spinning and fired two Raging Wind Palms in front of him.
“Aghk!!!!!”
Dozens of gang members were struck by the palm winds at the same time, flying backward and getting crushed.
Swish!
Ma-Ra appeared like a ghost among those surrounding Woo-Moon.
‘A girl?’
When one of the gang members opened his eyes wide in surprise, a dart fired by Ma-Ra flew and directly pierced through his eye.
Woo-Moon and Ma-Ra flew around like wolves in a flock of sheep, blood spraying in all directions from the center of the Black Bull Gang’s force.
Meanwhile, the Black Bull Gang’s experts were fighting Lee Chung, and the Justice Coalition experts supported him. In the middle of their fray, they spotted Woo-Moon and Ma-Ra’s slaughter from a distance.
“Who the hell is that bastard?! Go and kill him quickly!”
Woo-Moon was still a critical variable in this battle, as the Black Bull Gang was still unaware of his existence and the extent of his abilities. They could not possibly expect someone of his caliber to be fighting among the troops in a measly squadron captain position. If the captain present during this battle had been Xiahou Jinxian instead of Woo-Moon, the situation would have been much worse.
“Understood!”
After receiving the order, two of the Ten Demon Generals leaped away from their battle and ran toward Woo-Moon and Ma-Ra. The warriors of the Justice Coalition between them dropped like flies, spewing blood in succession.
“How audacious!”
“How dare you go this deep into our lines with just the two of you!” shouted the two of the Ten Demon Generals, the Black and White Impermanence.[1]
They released a black and white palm force respectively as they attacked Ma-Ra and Woo-Moon.
‘Ma-Ra is disadvantaged when she’s forced to confront experts head-to-head out in the open like this!’
"Ma-Ra!" Woo-Moon shouted.
She immediately read the intention in his gaze.
Woo-Moon tightly grabbed her hand and yanked her back hard.
Woosh!
She flew over his head and handed behind him as his palm, and her hand moved simultaneously!
Thwip, thwip, thwip!
Dozens of hidden weapons fired from Ma-Ra’s pale white hands, turning those attacking Woo-Moon from behind into porcupines. Woo-Moon’s left hand blasted forward with a Raging Wind Palm while his left hand slashed forward with Lightflash.
1. The Black and White Impermanence, or Heibai Wuchang, are two Chinese death deities that serve under the Supreme Judge of Hell and guide the dead to the underworld. ☜