Geom Mugeuk stepped into the darkness.
The moment he entered the fog, a suffocating tightness pressed in on him. His whole body grew heavy, as though his clothes had been soaked through with water.
If the Heavenly Demon Protective Divine Art had not pushed that energy away, he felt he would not have been able to display even half his usual strength. Without a martial art that countered it, this was surely an energy that would exert a tremendous influence.
Geom Mugeuk sharpened every nerve and stepped forward.
Whoosh.
Something suddenly sprang out from within the darkness.
Shiiiik. Thunk!
At a glance, it had a human shape, but it was not human. Its neck severed by the Black Demon Sword, it vanished with a puff, turning into smoke.
Then someone’s voice was heard.
“What would you have done if it had been a real person? Swinging your sword so recklessly.”
The instant he heard the voice, Geom Mugeuk knew instinctively.
“It’s you, Dark Palace Lord.”
“That’s right. It is me.”
It was not actual speech, nor was it a voice transmitted by sound transmission. His words were being conveyed through this dark fog.
“How did you know it was me?”
“With a cursed fate as rotten as ours, how could I not?”
At that, something rippled within the fog.
Srrrk.
The Dark Palace Lord appeared before Geom Mugeuk.
It was the first time the two of them had ever met.
“You look just as I imagined.”
“How did you imagine me?”
“Old, ugly, greedy…”
Geom Mugeuk strode over and placed a hand on his body. His hand passed right through him. He looked vividly real, but he was an illusion.
“And a coward. You’d never come out unless you threw all your subordinates at me first, would you?”
A strange smile formed at the corners of the Dark Palace Lord’s mouth. To think he would speak so crudely from their very first meeting. He was exactly the Young Cult Leader the reports had described. The way he struck at an opponent’s blind spot.
“Betraying friendships built over long years, using people’s hearts. That’s your method, isn’t it? Have you ever once gone to someone fair and square and said, ‘Let’s fight’?”
Instead of taking the bait, the Dark Palace Lord said something unexpected.
“Young Cult Leader, would you care to see what was done by this unfair, cowardly man?”
When the Dark Palace Lord spread his hand, a scene unfolded beside him like an illusion.
“This is the scene outside.”
Ian could be seen leaning against a boulder.
Blood was pouring from her chest. No one helped her as she was dying.
Soon after, her figure receded, and the surroundings came into view. The squad leaders and members of the Ghost Shadow Unit had all become corpses as well.
Cha Iran lay fallen, her body split in two, and Cheongmyeon lay dead beneath her half-shattered blue mask. Seojin had died with hidden weapons stuck in him like a porcupine, and Jihan had died with his face buried in flowing blood.
Ian was looking around at the sight in anguish.
“…I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.”
Blood gushed from her mouth.
Watching this, Geom Mugeuk shouted.
“You bastard! I’ll kill you!”
Geom Mugeuk yelled in fury. He tried to seize the illusion by the throat, but he could not.
“Come out already, won’t you? You bastard, I said come out!”
The Dark Palace Lord, who had been quietly watching him, said,
“You are not excited at all.”
At that, the gaze of Geom Mugeuk, who had been shouting at the top of his lungs, instantly grew calm.
“You must have been hoping to see me go mad and run wild. Sorry. As you can see, acting excited isn’t easy.”
Geom Mugeuk did not believe a single thing he had been shown.
“Why are you so sure it’s fake?”
“I didn’t raise them to be that weak. And there’s also a guardian who wouldn’t let them die like that. Most decisively, Ian didn’t call for me as she was dying, did she? If she’d said, ‘Young Cult Leader, I’m sorry I couldn’t serve you to the end,’ then even I might have gotten a little tense.”
A look of disbelief flickered through the Dark Palace Lord’s eyes.
Then Geom Mugeuk said something unexpected.
“Since you’re showing me anyway, show me the real scene outside. I’m curious what everyone’s doing without me. In any case, today either you or I will disappear from this world. We waited three hundred years and only just met, so there’s no need to rush, is there? Honestly, you’re curious too, aren’t you? Who knows? Maybe if I really see Ian die, I’ll fall into qi deviation.”
The Dark Palace Lord stared silently at Geom Mugeuk, then waved his hand again.
The scene of corpses strewn about vanished, and the true lakeside appeared before his eyes.
* * *
The attacks were being concentrated on Ian.
They were far too persistent to be explained as an attempt to kill the leader first and break morale.
There was no doubt an order had been given to kill Ian by any means necessary.
But they had overlooked one thing. Her skill surpassed what they had expected.
Thanks to that, while the attacks were focused on Ian, Cha Iran and the members of Third Squad caught the ambushers.
Originally, it would never have been an easy fight. The enemy consisted of people raised without internal energy solely to unleash hidden weapons. Moreover, they had been trained not to reveal killing intent, making them difficult to detect.
They suddenly sprang out from among the ordinary people who were fleeing with screams and unleashed their hidden weapons.
In a battle where it was impossible to tell who was the killer and who was not, Cha Iran and the assassins displayed truly supreme skill. They, too, were people well versed in concealing murderous intent.
Meanwhile, First Squad and Second Squad rescued the civilians.
Another ambusher sprang out and fired hidden weapons at Ian.
Shik-shik-shik-shik-shik!
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!
Though the hidden weapons had flown in by surprise, Ian struck them all down. Worried that the weapons flying behind her might hit someone else, she did not dodge but knocked every one of them away with her sword. It was a truly astonishing display of divine prowess.
The one who dealt with the person who had fired the hidden weapons was Cha Iran again. Of the women who had once vied for the title of the greatest beauty under heaven, one blocked the hidden weapons, while the other killed the enemy.
Ian spotted merchants trembling beside a cart, unable to escape in time, and shouted,
“Go to where those martial artists are!”
The moment she warned them, Ian sensed something out of place.
Her eyes met those of one of the merchants, and there was no fear in his gaze.
Srrr.
A device that fired hidden weapons rose from his cart.
It was the Gale Repeating Cannon they had faced earlier against the Demon Army.
Shiiiik.
Ian instinctively sent sword energy flying, but it was blocked by an iron wall in front of it.
To take down the enemy, she had to strike precisely through the small hole made for looking outside—the eye slit.
In that instant, Ian’s heart sank.
Even deflecting the hidden weapons worn on the enemies’ arms earlier had been truly difficult.
But the mechanical device mounted on the cart looked incomparably more powerful than those.
And there was not just one cart. Including the other carts to the left and right, a total of three Gale Repeating Cannons were aimed at her all at once. Amid the chaos, they had been waiting for this moment alone.
It was the worst possible situation, but Ian was not afraid.
If she died here, the ordinary people behind her and her subordinates protecting them would all die as well. As a commander, that was something she could never allow.
‘Block it. Ian, you can block it.’
She steadied her mind and brought all her focus to bear.
Shuk-shuk-shuk-shuk-shuk-shuk-shuk-shuk-shuk!
At the very moment the Gale Repeating Cannons fired!
Something astonishing happened. Was it because she had exerted a level of concentration pushed to the absolute limit?
Everything around her began to move slowly.
Through the hole beyond the mechanism, she could see the enemy’s pupil move.
She could see hidden weapons pouring out from the device. One, two, three… she saw them emerge one after another in slow motion.
Hidden weapons were also being fired from the left and right, flying toward her.
The instant her instincts gave her the answer as to which of these hidden weapons she had to evade and which she had to strike down,
the slowly flowing time returned to normal.
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!
Deflecting the incoming hidden weapons as she surged forward, she was already in front of the cart.
Shiiiik!
She brought her sword down vertically.
Slice.
The iron plate that had not been cut even by sword energy earlier was split apart, and the face of the man behind it was cleaved in two as well.
“Haa.”
Just as she exhaled the breath she had been holding,
the mechanism on the left had also stopped firing.
While it had turned its direction to attack Ian, Cha Iran had leaped over the iron wall and driven a dagger into his throat. Her movement had been so fast it was almost unbelievable.
Shuk-shuk-shuk-shuk-shuk-shuk!
The mechanism on the right was still firing into the air.
Something like a pitch-black serpent rose from beneath the cart and forced its direction completely upward. It was Seojin’s ghost art at work.
The one who drove a dagger into the heart of the man who had lost his balance and was firing wildly into the air was Cheongmyeon.
Ian looked down at her sword for a moment in a daze.
Experiencing time slowing down was one thing, but the iron plate that had not been cut even by sword energy had been sliced as easily as a radish.
She had no idea how that had been possible. It was something she would have to ask Geom Mugeuk about later.
A short while later, the Demon Army arrived there.
For some reason, the explosive hidden weapon attacks that had kept flying at them had stopped all at once, allowing them to break formation and rush over.
And at the sight unfolding before them, Jangho and the Demon Army alike looked shocked. The situation had already been settled.
The three mechanical devices were completely smashed. Corpses of people wearing portable hidden weapons lay scattered everywhere.
The martial artists of Third Squad of the Ghost Shadow Unit were recovering the hidden weapons from their arms. They intended to collect every last one and bring them to the Iron Workshop.
On one side, the martial artists of First Squad and Second Squad of the Ghost Shadow Unit stood around the common people, protecting them.
Jangho realized that he had underestimated the Ghost Shadow Unit’s abilities.
Ian could feel just how urgently Jangho and the Demon Army had rushed over.
“Lord Jang.”
“Commander Ian.”
The two stood facing each other.
Jangho could feel it. The Ian from their drinking gathering at the tavern before and the Ian now on the battlefield were so different in skill that they could almost be called completely different people.
“I am glad you are safe.”
“It’s thanks to you worrying about me.”
Jangho wanted to say something encouraging to Ian, who had fought splendidly.
“Congratulations on your first real battle. If the Demon Army is ever in danger next time, please be sure to come help us.”
It was the highest praise Jangho could possibly give.
“Thank you, my lord. I don’t think there will ever be a need for us to go help, but call us anytime.”
It was just then, when they thought everything had been settled.
Shaaaaaaak!
Something flew toward the two of them.
A shield-bearing soldier of the Demon Army beside them threw himself forward to protect Jangho and Ian.
Jangho and Ian turned together and infused their internal energy into the shield.
Boom!
The three of them were shoved backward in a long slide. Realizing that the sound of what was flying at them was unusual, the two had added their strength together; otherwise, the Demon Army soldier who had tried to protect them would have died from the force.
Craaaack.
The shield he was holding split with a crack, then soon shattered and fell apart. The tactical shield that had never once broken throughout the entire battle had been destroyed.
Thud.
Someone landed there.
The instant everyone saw him, they were startled.
He was a man with a massive build, his entire body clad in iron armor. Several chunks of metal were attached to the armor as well, making his bulk look even larger.
Cha Iran recognized him. No, to be precise, she recognized what he was wearing.
“Divine Mechanism Iron Armor!”
The greatest masterpiece created by that Iron Gate earlier was precisely this Divine Mechanism Iron Armor. It was armor that gathered all of their technology and capabilities.
“It absolutely cannot be cut by sword energy or sword aura.”
That was not the only problem.
Weapons were arrayed all over his body, and forbidden weapons were attached to his shoulders, arms, and waist. They were far more powerful than the ones they had experienced earlier.
Ian knew. The only weakness was to aim for the eyes of that iron mask protecting his face.
But judging from his bearing, his martial skill was anything but ordinary. He would never easily allow them to take his eyes.
“You arrogant Demonic Cult bastards. Did you think we would be so frightened we’d run away just because you came swarming in like a pack of dogs?”
The armored man slowly raised both arms. The hidden weapons attached to his arms made an unpleasant metallic sound.
“I wonder just how many of you will survive here?”
The shield-bearing soldiers of the Demon Army rushed forward in a cluster and blocked the front of the Ghost Shadow Unit. Their eyes showed no fear whatsoever.
“Demonic Cult bastards, this place will be your grave—”
Before he could finish speaking, something flew in.
Without wavering, without hesitation, it simply shot straight forward and struck the eye of the iron mask with perfect accuracy.
Thwack!
It was faster than a shooting star cutting across the night sky. It had flown in so quickly that the sound arrived only afterward.
Shiiiiiiiiiiik!
Silence settled over the place.
Blood was trickling from the ironclad man’s eye.
The man who had seemed ready to slaughter them all at any moment slowly began to collapse.
Thud.
By the time he fell to the floor, he was already dead.
Ian, of course, and everyone else there turned around in astonishment. When they confirmed where that finger wind had come from, they were aghast.
‘No way. From that distance?’
Far away, from behind a rock atop a small hill, a person appeared.
It was Geugak Soma, wearing a pure white mask.
From that great distance, he had struck with Hyeorangji with perfect precision.
It was not the Hyeorangji of the past. It was faster, more accurate.
They all understood.
Geugak Soma had been watching this fight from the very beginning. The reason they had all been able to finish the battle safely was also because he had been quietly protecting them.
In the chaos, there must surely have been enemies the squad members had missed.
But Geugak Soma would not have missed them. The silently flying Hyeorangji must have sent the reapers back.
Perhaps that battle had consumed far more of his mental strength than if he had stepped forward and fought himself.
Jangho could tell that the one who had dealt with those who had attacked them at the end was Geugak Soma. He realized that Geugak Soma had been silently ranging across the battlefield, fighting alongside them the entire time.
With a face full of emotion, Ian called out to him with all his strength.
* * *
“Lord Soma!”
At the same time as Ian, Geom Mugeuk also shouted.
Geom Mugeuk’s face was filled with emotion. Had there been any moment recently when he had felt this moved? Ian and all the squad members, who had fought so splendidly, made him proud. They had all fought well!
In contrast, the Dark Palace Lord’s expression hardened. The scene that had unfolded beside him like an illusion vanished with a pop, as if it had been extinguished.
“Do not think this is the end.”
The Dark Palace Lord’s phantom wavered. It was as if his rage were piercing through the illusion itself.
“Your Geugak Soma will be trapped in eternal darkness today.”
When Geom Mugeuk showed no reaction, the Dark Palace Lord asked,
“You do not believe this either?”
Geom Mugeuk shook his head.
“I do. Knowing Lord Soma is there, you wouldn’t have sent only them. You must have sent someone very, very frightening. Because you have to shake my heart somehow by killing the person I cherish most or taking him hostage. This matter is very important to you, isn’t it?”
The power of the years contained in those fine wrinkles, and even the threats filled with the energy of darkness, could not bear the weight of this heart.
“That’s why I left Lord Soma there, and no one else.”
His trust in Geugak Soma was absolute.
“To make sure that sort of trick would never work.”