Ian was walking along the lakeside with Jihan.
Though the hour was late, there were many people around the lake.
Those who had come out for a stroll walked slowly along the shore, and peddlers who had come to sell them goods had lined up in rows. Merchants selling liquor, merchants selling snacks, merchants selling firecrackers—all manner of vendors had taken their places.
It was such a peaceful scene that it only made Ian feel more uneasy.
Just then, Jihan spoke to her cautiously.
“This may sound strange, but I smell something ominous.”
Jihan drew in a deep breath through his nose, as if taking a long inhale. He had been concentrating on scents for a while now. His nose was more accurate than his eyes.
“There’s a smell I can’t quite explain. There’s a lot of metal mixed in, too.”
Ian looked around. But there was no strange change in their surroundings at all.
If they could not sense danger by sight, that meant it might be all the more dangerous.
“It’s only a feeling, but…”
“That feeling—I trust it.”
Ian gave a long whistle. Then another warrior of the Ghost Shadow Unit nearby made a birdcall, and that sound passed into a song before becoming a whistle once more. It was the agreed-upon warning to prepare for danger.
In the distance, Chairan could be seen looking this way with the members of Group Three.
Aside from them, the Ghost Shadow Unit warriors stationed here and there all tensed inwardly at Ian’s warning.
Just then, a brilliant light spread from the middle of the lake far away.
A golden radiance.
Ian knew at once.
“It’s Lord Demon Buddha!”
She saw the light that had been stretching in every direction gather into one place. It was the moment when Demon Buddha and the Drunken Demon were breaking through the barrier.
But from where she stood, it was too far to know exactly what they were doing.
Still, she could clearly feel that something was happening.
Ian looked beyond the light toward the Buguiseon.
‘Young Cult Leader!’
If Demon Buddha had to make his body shine, then something had surely happened inside the Buguiseon.
‘You mustn’t even cut a single finger!’
She sincerely wished for Geom Mugeuk to come out safely.
At that very moment.
Her instinct for danger stirred.
Without hesitation, Ian threw herself at Jihan.
The two of them rolled across the ground.
Swish, swish!
Steel needles shot swiftly through the place where Ian and Jihan had been. Judging by their speed and power, they were not hidden weapons thrown by human hands.
Piiik.
By the time Ian sprang to her feet, a whistle was already in her mouth.
The moment the sound announcing an emergency rang out,
their full-scale attack began.
Before she could even identify who had attacked them—
Whoosh.
A bead flew toward her and burst before her eyes.
Bang!
Smoke billowed out from the bead.
Her vision was obscured, and from beyond the smoke came an intense killing intent she could feel.
Swishswishswishswishswishswishswishswishswishswish!
Hidden weapons were fired indiscriminately toward them from beyond the smoke.
Clangclangclangclangclangclangclangclang!
Ian drew her sword and struck down the incoming hidden weapons. Even normally, they were so fast that blocking them would not have been easy, and now her vision was obscured as well. Ordinarily, she should have thrown herself aside to dodge.
Or she could simply have leaped into the air and blocked them from outside the smoke.
But if she did, the Ghost Shadow Unit warriors and ordinary residents behind her would all die. Their opponents did not care in the slightest for the lives of others. No—perhaps they were making use of that very fact.
When the rising smoke settled, a man and woman who had been strolling behind Ian were sitting flat on their backsides, staring this way with startled faces.
They looked dumbfounded, unable to understand what had just happened.
Ian was no longer where she had been.
“Guh…”
A sword was embedded in the chest of a man who had been beyond the smoke.
Ian’s wrist still throbbed from striking down the hidden weapons. And now she understood why the attack had been so powerful.
Attached to the right arm of the man whose chest had been pierced was a cylindrical steel hidden-weapon tube. Even at a glance, it was a hidden weapon of formidable power.
The man died with disbelief filling his eyes. At this close range, he had thought she could not block it even without the smoke, yet Ian had struck down every single hidden weapon inside the smoke.
‘She blocked the Gyeoksatan in the smoke?’
He did not know it, but Ian had not only struck down the hidden weapons flying at her, but also every one headed elsewhere.
This was the ability of a woman who had achieved mastery of the Flying Heaven Sword Art and yet still continued to strive endlessly.
“Be careful!”
When Jihan shouted, another man on the other side was aiming a hidden weapon at Ian.
Just before the Gyeoksatan he was about to release fired—
Shiiik.
Slice.
The man’s throat was cut first, and he collapsed, spurting blood. Chairan stood behind him.
At Ian’s look of thanks, Chairan nodded.
Chairan recognized the hidden weapon at a glance.
“It’s the Gyeoksatan. A hidden weapon with terrifying power despite being easy to carry and use.”
As an assassin, she possessed extensive knowledge of hidden weapons.
“It’s a hidden weapon of the Divine Mechanism Iron Sect.”
The Divine Mechanism Iron Sect.
About fifty years ago, there had been a sect famous for mechanisms and hidden weapons.
The hidden weapons and mechanisms they made were so outstanding that there was no one in the gangho who did not know of them. The Murim Alliance had even bought mechanisms they had made and installed them in the alliance headquarters.
Then one day, they were suddenly annihilated.
The Murim Alliance launched a large-scale investigation, but in the end, they never discovered why it had happened or who had done it.
“The people behind this destroyed the Divine Mechanism Iron Sect and stole their techniques.”
At Ian’s words, Chairan nodded.
“It seems so.”
Worry crossed Chairan’s face.
“If they truly are using the Divine Mechanism Iron Sect, the Gyeoksatan will be only the beginning.”
* * *
The Demon Army was waiting with its carriages hidden in a nearby forest.
Jang Ho had carried out countless operations until now, but he had never been as tense as he was today.
It was probably because the Young Cult Leader was with them, and because Ian and several Demon Venerables were involved in the operation as well.
Just then, the sound of a whistle came from outside the forest.
Piiik.
At the whistle announcing an emergency, the Demon Army reacted at once.
“We move out immediately.”
At Jang Ho’s command, the waiting Demon Army soldiers all rushed out at once.
The one at the front was Jang Ho.
Just as they were about to leave the forest, Jang Ho felt an inexplicable sense of wrongness.
“Stop!”
When Jang Ho stopped, the Demon Army soldiers following behind him all stopped at once.
Soon after, Jang Ho realized the source of that unpleasant sense of wrongness.
The peddlers’ carts doing business at the entrance had turned to face them. If they were selling goods, it would only be natural for them to face the lake, where there were many people.
A moment of tension and silence passed.
Then something rose from the carts. It rose so naturally and soundlessly that it caused no sense of incongruity at all.
What pushed up through the center was an iron pillar. Atop it, a large iron cylinder was aimed this way. Dozens of holes were bored into that cylinder.
The other carts nearby were the same.
From all four carts, firing-type hidden weapons revealed themselves at once.
“Dodge!”
The moment Jang Ho’s shout rang out—
Shooshooshooshooshooshooshooshooshooshooshooshooshooshoo!
Hidden weapons fired from every cart at once.
Those who released the hidden weapons were not martial artists. In order to avoid having their disguise discovered, they had used subordinates of the Dark Palace who possessed not even a handful of internal energy, and they had trained their disguises for a long time by actually working as peddlers.
Compared to the portable Gyeoksatan used earlier, these had incomparable speed and power.
Clangclangclangclangclangclangclangclang!
Jang Ho struck down the hidden weapons with his sword as he retreated. Though he had infused his blade with internal energy, his wrist hurt as if it might snap.
Fortunately, because Jang Ho noticed quickly and responded, the Demon Army soldiers following behind him were able to hide themselves behind trees.
Jang Ho did not simply endure the assault.
Shiiiik.
As he retreated, Jang Ho sent out a fierce strand of sword energy.
Kaaaang!
But in front of the enemy firing the hidden weapons, an iron plate that could not be cut by sword energy had already risen to protect him. Unless he sent his sword energy precisely through the small hole through which the enemy looked out, he could not kill him.
But with hidden weapons pouring down like rain, he could not launch sword energy with such precision.
One of the Demon Army subordinates knowledgeable in hidden weapons and mechanism formations recognized what was being fired from the carts.
“It’s the Divine Mechanism Iron Sect’s Gale Repeating Cannon!”
Jang Ho’s expression hardened. He did not know much about the Divine Mechanism Iron Sect in detail, but he knew one thing for certain.
Their outstanding techniques were still spoken of to this day.
Meanwhile, another cart arrived there. It was twice as large as the other carts. It was the large cart that had been selling noodles up ahead. The old man controlling that cart was also a subordinate of the Dark Palace who had not learned martial arts.
The hidden weapon loaded onto that cart was far larger than the previous ones.
“It’s the Heavenly Bow Thunder-Kill Cannon!”
He could tell from his subordinate’s urgent voice.
Puaaaang!
A steel needle, slower but incomparably larger and more powerful than the ones before, was fired.
Boom! Craaack!
The tree they had hidden behind shattered under the tremendous force that came flying in.
“Back! Fall back!”
Jang Ho and the Demon Army soldiers retreated again.
Puaang! Kwaaaang!
The ground overturned and fragments flew, but they calmly withdrew while stepping back. From long experience, they knew that if they lost their composure in a situation like this, they would all die.
While this was happening at the front, the Demon Army soldiers in the rear climbed onto the carriages. It was not to move the carriages, nor was it to avoid the attack.
Click.
When the first Demon Army soldier to board manipulated a device inside the carriage—
Clank, clank, clank, clank.
Lines appeared across the carriage walls with metallic sounds.
The Demon Army soldiers inside the carriages pulled on the handles attached throughout the walls.
Click, click, click, click.
The carriage walls separated into several pieces.
Astonishingly, those separated pieces were large shields.
They had been designed to serve as carriage walls normally, and as shields like this in an emergency.
The letters and pictures drawn on the outer walls of the carriages had likewise been painted so that they would form their own designs when they became shields.
They were tactical shields of the Demon Army, used in battle during emergencies.
As the standing carriage walls were all dismantled, the Demon Army soldiers ran out carrying the shields. The shields were so large that even two of their big bodies could stand side by side behind one.
The enemy’s weapons could not fire indefinitely either. They had to take turns reloading hidden weapons.
The moment the Heavenly Bow Thunder-Kill Cannon, which had displayed the greatest power, paused briefly to reload its steel needles—
“Now!”
At Jang Ho’s command, the Demon Army soldiers in the rear charged with the shields at the fore.
Their first target was the Heavenly Bow Thunder-Kill Cannon, which even the shields could not block.
The Gale Repeating Cannons poured fire in order to protect it.
Bangbangbangbangbangbangbangbang!
The pouring hidden weapons hammered against the shields. But the two Demon Army soldiers drew their internal energy up to the limit and pushed forward. The other Demon Army soldiers ran close behind them. More than ten men clung to a single shield.
The shields were not ordinary metal. They were the pinnacle of the Iron Workshop’s craft, specially made for the Demon Army.
The farther they pushed, the more the Demon Army soldiers at the front holding the shields staggered under that powerful force. Other soldiers following behind changed places with them and pushed on.
The faces of those firing the hidden weapons were filled with bewilderment, never having imagined that the Demon Army would use shields. Moreover, the men were brutishly forcing their way in.
“Hurry! Swap it out!”
The hidden weapon of the Heavenly Bow Thunder-Kill Cannon was loaded once more.
Puuuung! Kwaaang!
As the Heavenly Bow Thunder-Kill Cannon struck the lead shield, the Demon Army soldiers were pushed back, unable to withstand the force. The two Demon Army soldiers holding the shield suddenly vomited blood.
The Demon Army soldiers behind them took the shield in their place and moved the injured men back.
The Demon Army’s shield did not break, and their will could not be stopped.
Before the second shot could be fired, Jang Ho leaped over the shield and charged through the air.
The fast-firing Gale Repeating Cannons all aimed at Jang Ho at once, pointing skyward, and the Heavenly Bow Thunder-Kill Cannon instinctively aimed at Jang Ho as well.
Shooshooshooshooshooshooshoo!
Jang Ho swung his sword in midair and deflected the incoming attacks. Blocking in midair was twice as difficult, a dangerous act that required him to risk his life, but Jang Ho bravely became the bait. Fortunately, the Heavenly Bow Thunder-Kill Cannon was slow compared to its power, so he was able to avoid it.
And the Demon Army did not miss that moment. The shields opened, and from within, the Demon Army charged.
Swaaaaaaak.
Those massive bodies pushed forward at truly insane speed. By the time the startled men took aim at them again, they had already arrived.
Kwaang!
The Demon Army slammed bodily into the carts.
Jangho, too, plunged straight down from midair and thrust his sword through a hole in the iron plate.
Puuuk!
The face of the man behind it was pierced through, and he collapsed.
A cart that had not yet been attacked turned in that direction.
But a shield-bearing Demon Army soldier who arrived right after charged straight ahead.
Bang.
The cart shattered and overturned. The moment the martial artist who had been firing hidden weapons from the cart sprang to his feet, the enormous shield struck him.
Puh-eok!
His whole body smashed apart, he tumbled across the ground. The last thing he saw was the large characters 魔軍 painted on the shield.
The Demon Army swept through the place as if a storm had passed over it. Just as they were catching their breath—
Thung, thung, thung, thung thung.
A series of sounds rang out from afar, as if something was being fired.
Then something flew in an arc toward where the Demon Army stood. Dozens of iron balls, each the size of an adult’s fist, came hurtling in.
Jangho shouted.
“Deploy the Tortoise-Shell Iron Wall Formation!”
The next instant, the shield-bearing Demon Army soldiers converged around Jangho all at once.
Clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack!
Like the shell of a tortoise forming, they blocked every side and even the ceiling with their shields.
Bang! Kwaang! Bang! Bangbangbang!
The iron balls exploded in midair.
Pakpakpakpakpakpakpakpakpakpakpak!
What burst out in every direction at tremendous speed were hundreds of tiny iron pellets.
The iron pellets, flying in with immense force, hammered against the shields. Because the pellets were so small and yet so powerful, they were not easy to block without shields. And on top of that, the iron balls kept coming.
The Demon Army infused their shields with internal energy to withstand them. The shields vibrated as if they might shatter at any moment.
Bang! Bang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
Jangho was also pouring his internal energy into the shields overhead along with the Demon Army.
Truly, he had never imagined that men armed with the hidden weapons and mechanisms of the Shingi Iron Gate would be waiting here.
One thought made Jangho’s heart grow anxious.
‘What if this attack is unleashed on the Ghost Shadow Unit?’
Even the Demon Army, equipped with tactical shields, was finding this attack difficult to block. The Ghost Shadow Unit would suffer tremendous casualties.
Given Ian’s personality, he would try to protect his subordinates no matter what. Even Ian could be placed in danger. That could not be allowed. If Ian were to die or even be injured? How could he face the Young Cult Leader afterward?
“We protect the Ghost Shadow Unit. Charge forward like this!”
With the Tortoise-Shell Iron Wall Formation maintained, the Demon Army began to move swiftly while enduring the explosions.
It was the strongest and fastest tortoise in the world.