No matter how insignificant the fertilizer may be.(2)

The world is in turmoil , but it also was murky.

Because of that, the world that people see through their own eyes takes on a different hue. Yet even in such confusion, there certainly exists a truth – an unchanging fact.

To anyone who looks, the sky is blue, and the mountains stand tall.

And here, too, one such truth revealed itself right before their eyes: once poison has burst free, it is difficult to stop even by exerting many times one’s strength.

“Uaaaaaaahp!”

Through the gap that Chung Myung had flung open, the swordsmen of the three sects pushed their way in, and at the forefront of course, stood Hwasan.

‘Those bastards!’

The swordsmen of Jongnam and Wudang, who followed behind, glared with eyes wide open. They were not late. They never could have been. They had staked everything on this fight. How could they have been careless?

Even so, those two sects lagged behind. It was not because they were slow. It was because Hwasan was too fast.

Those Hwasan’s bastards were already hurling themselves forward before Hwasan Geomhyeop’s sword energy had fully erupted, as if they had foreseen that a path would open there.

‘How is that even possible?’

To put it plainly, Hwasan is a prestigious sect, yet it is not.

The swordsmen under the name of Hwasan belong to a renowned school, but they never grew up as swordsmen of such refinement. They never truly learned the proper teachings of a Great Sect – such as acting with decorum, giving an enemy a chance to repent [개심(改心)] rather than immediately cutting off their breath, or upholding the principle of a ‘sword of life’ [활검(活劍)] rather than a ‘sword of killing’.

Instead, they possessed something that the swordsmen of a prestigious sect did not.

“Sweep them away!”

Plum blossom petals scattered in a craze.

“Kuh!”

The disciple of Jongnam who was following behind instinctively slowed his step, swatting away the petals that flew towards him.

‘What is this?’

Before his eyes, there was nothing but a sea of plum blossoms.

Hwasan’s swordsmanship was dazzling. Because of that, it could confuse the enemy – but it could also be fatal to allies fighting shoulder to shoulder. Aware of this fact, Hwasan’s swordsmen have been fighting while restraining their specialty as much as possible.

But at this moment, Hwasan’s swordsmen unleashed everything they had been holding back. They drew upon every last ounce of strength and poured it into their blades.

If the enemy showed an opening, they never missed it and tore right through. Once they sensed the momentum shifting to their favor, they poured everything in without a thought for what might follow.

This is Hwasan’s way, and it’s what they have been doing all along.

“Uaaaaaaahp!”

At the forefront stood Yoon Jong.

Bloodshot eyes flashing, he swung his sword. Though he was known within Hwasan for wielding a blade closest to a ‘sword of life’, at this moment he exuded a fiercer killing intent than anyone else.

It was not that he had lost control of his excitement and become consumed by killing intent. He simply knew something: that sometimes the desire to save a life only brings about disaster, and that a merciless hand can bring peace.

“O, oh don’t…”

The blade awkwardly blocking the way was literally cut in two by Yoon Jong. He sliced through the heavy blade as if it were a sheet of paper, splitting the enemy’s heart at the same time. Then, before the enemy had even fallen, he kicked off the ground and pressed forward.

‘Faster!’

He had to widen the gap in one go – make it so they wouldn’t even think of recovering.

Kaaang!

Blocking the blade that came flying at him, a sharp metallic sound rang out. But on its heels came yet another blade. As the heavy strikes continued, Yoon Jong’s arm twisted as though it might break under their force and weight.

No matter how strong he had become, it was still immensely difficult to cut down layer upon layer of enemies in a flash and break their formation. After all, taking the vanguard was never his forte to begin with.

But Yoon Jong remained calm. Right now, he could accomplish this.

The reason was simple. Besides the sword in his hand, he had another sword at his disposal. Perhaps the most reliable sword in all of Hwasan was supporting him from behind at that very moment.

Clang!

At the moment the enemy’s blade bore down as if to snap Yoon Jong’s sword.

Fwoooosh!

Above Yoon Jong’s head, a phantom-like sword energy burst forth. Serene and graceful, yet deadly beyond measure!

Slash! Slash!

That extended sword energy pierced straight through the hearts of those attacking Yoon Jong. It happened in an instant.

“Go!”

“Yes, Sago!”

Without even looking back, Yoon Jong stepped forward.

There’s no one to clear the way for him. Then he’ll break through it himself. Whatever strength he lacks, he can make up for it – because Yu Iseol is behind him.

‘Anyway, she’s like a ghost.’

In this war, the role Yu Iseol took on was, to put it bluntly, ‘filling the gaps.’

No matter how intensely Hwasan’s swordsmen trained – even to the point of coughing up blood – there would inevitably be moments when they were pushed back in the midst of war.

Yoon Jong asked Yu Iseol to support them.

It was impossible unless it was her – the one with the keenest senses and the swiftest steps in Hwasan. But it was also a task that wouldn’t easily stand out.

Yu Iseol accepted that role without the slightest hesitation.

Had she not fought tirelessly, darting from place to place, more than a few of Hwasan’s disciples would already have collapsed in pools of blood by now.

And now, Yu Iseol was here.

As if she hadn’t forgotten the instruction to lend her strength at the most dangerous, most precarious places – she suddenly flew in and was now assisting Yoon Jong at the place of greatest peril.

‘I thought she would go to Wudang…’

This is why Yu Iseol is Yu Iseol. With someone like her at your back, what is there to fear?

“Focus.”

“Yes!”

Yoon Jong pushed forward, casting off every last remnant of hesitation. The presence of Yu Iseol following behind filled his shoulders with strength.

“You… you damned bastard!”

The moment the cornered swordsman of Sapaeryeon desperately lashed out at Yoon Jong in frenzied attacks, a slight pressure brushed against his shoulder. Then, like a black vulture, she soared into the sky.

Saaaahhh!

A tearing sound echoed, as though a sharp blade scraped across silk. At the tip of Yu Iseol’s sword, a crisp, chilling arc was drawn – strangely out of place in this raging battlefield.

Five heads shot into the air at once. Headless bodies spewed dark red blood toward the ash-gray sky. Using the shoulder of a corpse that had yet to collapse, Yu Iseol kicked off again, launching herself above the heads of her enemies.

“From above!”

Once you know it’s coming, a mere distraction like that won’t easily deceive you. The true illusion is the one you inevitably fall for, even when you see it coming.

Everyone knew her movement was just to draw their gaze, but who could dare avert their eyes from a master swordswoman diving down from above? Knowing full well, they still had no choice but to fix their gazes on her. They ended up seeing what they should never have.

Yoon Jong and Hwasan’s disciples did not miss this chance.

Using the fleeting gap Yu Iseol created, Yoon Jong and Hwasan drove even deeper into the enemy lines. Forsaking elegance for speed, they slashed and stabbed through Sapaeryon’s forces frantically trying to recover from the mistakes already made.

“Aaaaargh!”

Blades bit into flesh and cut through bone. Noise and screams rose in a jumbled cacophony.

Over the heads of Sapaeryeon’s swordsmen who had fallen into disarray, Yu Iseol descended lightly, lowering her body as she moved her sword.

Fwoooosh!

With a sharp tearing sound, once again the heads of Sapaeryeon’s warriors soared into the air.

A seamless joint attack [합격(合擊)] that permitted not even the width of a single hair’s error. The swordsmen of Hwasan achieved this difficult feat purely by instinct. Without a perfect understanding of one another, it would have been impossible.

“Block them! I said block them! If they break through, we’re all dead! Block theeeeem!”

The rushing torrent that had breached the dam only gained speed. Neither Red Dogs – nor the elite chosen from Sapaeryeon – could patch up the dam that had already burst.

No, they never could have from the start. They themselves were the collapsed and ruptured dam.

Watching from behind, Wudang and Jongnam naturally realized their role.

‘They’re all madmen.’

Jongnam’s Jong Seohan stared at the backs of Hwasan’s swordsmen in disbelief.

Not once did those insane bastards look back. They had to know that if those following behind failed to match their pace, they’d just be leaping blindly into the midst of the enemy forces and getting themselves surrounded.

Is that what people call trust? Or a reckless gamble with no plan?

Whatever one might have chosen to call that outrageous act, Jong Seohan had only one thing to do.

“Cover their backs! Don’t let them get surrounded! Don’t allow a single scratch on those damned bastards’ backs!”

That determination was clearly conveyed to everyone else.

Wudang and Jongnam supported Hwasan from the rear.

This development, rippling through a battlefield already distorted once, shook it even more. The line they had penetrated shook and twisted, then began to split into pieces.

‘We did it!’

A rush of exhilaration filled Jong Seohan’s eyes.

Breaking open the dam was never the ultimate goal. The true aim was to use the breach in the line to scatter and divide the enemy. If you split up a massive army, that alone is a huge step towards victory.

That triumph was now nearly within their grasp.

No matter how brilliant Jang Ilso or Ho Gamyeong might be, it was nearly impossible to immediately reorganize a formation once it had fallen apart. Even if the legendary general Yue Yi [樂毅] returned from the dead, it would be no easy task.

So now, all they needed to do was squeeze out every last bit of strength and charge ahead. Just when Jong Seohan was about to shout again, veins bulging in his neck…

“Huh?”

He was about to kick off the ground when he suddenly faltered.

Something had caught his eye. It didn’t seem like a particularly significant movement, but he couldn’t ignore it.

Far off in the enemy’s rear, someone was firing something into the air.

‘A signal arrow [효시(嚆矢)]?’

But it didn’t quite seem like a signal arrow….

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!

The object that had shot up into the sky exploded right there, shaking the surroundings.

“Th-Thunder bomb [벽력탄]?”

The disciples of Wudang, who would grind their teeth at even the thought of explosives in their sleep, opened their bloodshot eyes wide and glared ahead.

“You damned bastard again…!”

Mu Jin’s single remaining eye also turned red. He glared at the lingering remnants of the blast in the sky with deep hatred.

‘Is it an attack?’

Have they decided to just throw bombs in all directions now, whether their allies are harmed or not?

But if that were the case, there’d be no reason to send a signal like this. It would have been far more effective to rain bombs down before anyone noticed.

Mu Jin was momentarily confused. But that confusion was quickly replaced by something else.

Beneath the thick gray smoke that had spread across the battlefield, a single man revealed himself. Those who recognized him trembled and ground their teeth.

“Ho Gamyeong!”

“Poisoned Heart Rakshasa!”

Ho Gamyeong gazed at them without any emotion. He looked like nothing more than a humble scholar, but anyone who stood for justice knew full well how dangerous – and how insidiously cunning – he truly was!

Even Hwasan’s disciples, who had been pressing the enemy with confidence, faltered.

‘No way?’

Ho Gamyeong was a commander of Sapaeryeon. And such a man had appeared at this life-or-death moment, drawing everyone’s attention to himself.

In a situation like this, there could only be one thought.

Under the barrage of stares, Ho Gamyeong slowly opened his mouth.

“All troops [전군(全軍)].”

After uttering these words, Ho Gamyeong briefly bit his lips. Then he returned to his usual blank expression. Slowly, he raised one hand.

Yoon Jong stopped his sword and fixed his gaze on Ho Gamyeong’s hand, raised overhead. Tension tightened around his throat.

‘Is there something else here?’

At last, Ho Gamyeong’s hand swept sideways. And the words that spilled from his mouth were enough to stun Yoon Jong and all the disciples of Hwasan.

“Retreat.”

Yoon Jong froze.

It wasn’t only Hwasan and Cheonumaeng who were stunned by Ho Gamyeong’s unexpected command. Sapaeryeon’s warriors before them seemed even more flustered, exchanging uneasy glances.

“What did he just say…?”

Everyone had the same thought: they must have misheard, because there was no way that order could be real.

But Ho Gamyeong cut through all their doubts in one fell swoop.

“Protect your lives on your own.”

The blood drained from the faces of Sapaeryeon’s warriors, and the members of Cheonumaeng were thrown into a momentary panic.

“J-Just…”

“After retreating, regroup! Carry it out!”

The moment he finished giving the order, Ho Gamyeong turned his back coldly and walked away.

A chill ran down Yoon Jong’s spine.

“…”

For a moment, silence fell over the battlefield. Even those who had been fighting fiercely, determined to kill their opponents, paused and stared blankly at each other.

But only for that moment.

“U-uaaaaaah!”

“Run away!”

Sapaeryeon’s  forces convulsed as if struck by lightning. Their faces white, they began screaming and sprinting away, turning around in a panic.

They grabbed and shoved one another, leaping over each other in desperation, rolled around in a mad scramble, and ultimately swung their blades at their own allies.

“What on earth…”

Confronted with the hellish spectacle unfolding in an instant, Yoon Jong let out a groan before he even realized it.

“What is happening?”

His eyes shook with bewilderment.