Chapter 13 – Glimmer of Hope in the Darkness (2)

Chapter 13 – Glimmer of Hope in the Darkness (2)

The members of Huigun's detachment were falling one by one due to the propaganda of the Sixteen Dynasties. That sight instilled courage in the entire sword corps. It was only now that they realized that they might be stronger.

Finally, one by one, among the fleeing new soldiers, those who picked up their swords appeared.

“These bastards, come and attack me!”

“Get rid of that guy first!”

When the new soldiers finally showed signs of trying to fight back, Commander Wi Jin-cheol shouted from the center.

“Don’t back down! Reinforcements will arrive soon!”

There was no need for reinforcements for a surprise attack of two hundred men. Their number was more than ten times theirs, and the tide has already turned. Nevertheless, the word reinforcements further lowered the morale of the enemies and, conversely, raised the morale of the allies.

The general who led the Hui Dynasty's detachment realized that it was no longer a good idea to cause any more trouble. When he blew his whistle, the surviving soldiers quickly gathered around. They want to retreat.

The detachment, which was composed of 200 people, now had less than half of it remaining. And when they began to retreat, General Yang Yang and his adjutant Yang Yeon-jeong appeared at the sword barracks.

General Zhang Yang shouted to the soldiers.

“Don’t chase!”

Wi Jin-cheol, whose face was flushed, quickly approached him and said.

“General, if we chase now, we can catch them all before they leave the gate!”

“I told you to let me go!”

Wi Jin-cheol felt unfair.

His own men died. I finally have a chance to turn the tide and take revenge, but I have to stop. I was very angry.

However, he had no intention of disobeying Zhang Yang's ordered. When Wei Jin-cheol blew his whistle, all the new soldiers stopped chasing and gathered together.

Jang Yang's gaze was directed at Wei Jin-cheol, whose shoulders were slumping.

“Thank you for your hard work. If it weren’t for you, the entire corps would have been destroyed by a small number of separate units.”

“But why did you let them go?”

The Hui Dynasty's detachment was already disappearing from sight.

“Only if they return alive can we have a chance in the coming battle. The general of that special unit is blinded by his major. He will definitely exaggerate his achievements as much as possible.”

What Zhang Yang said was definitely wrong. I won't say that I was beaten by other fellow generals upon returning to base.

“With only two hundred people, they infiltrated the barracks, created a mess, and returned alive, so they must view our army as a ragtag group.”

“That’s it. Their army stationed at Jangan Castle is over 100,000, but they probably think they can take down Hanzhong Castle here on a small scale. The more they let their guard down, the more opportunities we will have.”

Wei Jin-cheol was finally able to understand what Zhang Yang meant. If they had annihilated that separate unit, the enemy might do their best in the future. If something like that happened when we were outnumbered, there was no chance of victory.

“I understand. But next time you come, I will kill you all.”

“Hehe. I won’t stop you then. Anyway, how were you able to control the situation? The new recruits were inexperienced yet, so they wouldn’t have had the courage to respond to the surprise attack.”

Wi Jin-cheol thought for a moment and then said.

“Didn’t I tell you before? I gathered elites from the sword infantry and trained a special force.”

“Am. That’s right. Where are they?”

Wei Jin-cheol sent a gesture to the place where the sixteen ancestors were lined up. Then Zhang Yang began to stare intently at their faces.

All of them have unusual eyes. Moreover, despite fighting at the forefront, there did not appear to be a single injured person. In other groups, as few as five to as many as ten people were killed or injured, so it was a stark contrast.

An expression of satisfaction filled Zhang Yang’s face. Before he knew it, other generals were approaching and casting envious glances at Wei Jin-cheol. At that time, Jang Yang whispered something in a low voice in Wi Jin-cheol's ear.

– Very dependable. Remember that I have the most confidence in you in our military.

Wi Jin-cheol, whose mouth was in his ear, corrected his posture and spoke.

“We will definitely train an invincible sword unit that surpasses the Yongwi Army.”

Dragon Guard . This legendary unit, part of General Yue Fei's legion, has an invincible record of never being defeated. No one knew that it was the two best military units of the Song Dynasty, along with General Han Se-chung's Heavenly Martial Army.

“Am. That’s right. And I’d like to reward them with something.”

Wi Jin-cheol motioned for So-mu to come closer. After a while, So-mu arrived and at the same time, a strong force came into Wi Jin-cheol's shoulder.

“This is the leader of the Sixteenth Patriarch. I have recognized his natural talent and am currently nurturing him as a secret weapon of the Sword Corps.”

Zhang Yang patted Su Mu’s shoulder and asked.

“It’s reassuring to see brave new recruits like you working hard for the country. Since you’ve made a contribution, I should reward you, but what good would that be?”

Usually, they ask for money or a higher rank. However, Su Mu's request completely exceeded Zhang Yang's expectations.

“Can you provide me with alcohol and meat so I can eat with my group members?”

So-mu's request was not burdensome at all. It was difficult to find a simpler reward than this. On the contrary, he should have liked it, but Zhang Yang looked a little embarrassed.

“Hehe. This is the most difficult request for me. The Legion has rules. We can’t have the soldiers drink in the barracks. Instead, we can give you permission to go out. We will give you travel expenses, so how about spending this evening on the streets of Hanzhong?”

He added another drink to the alcohol and meat and even went out. There was no reason to refuse.

"Thank you."

* * *

The mood of the team members was soaring. New recruits who had not even completed training were allowed to go out. The feeling of receiving benefits that others cannot feel was something that cannot be described in words. Ilkwang was leading the way, waving his arms in excitement.

“Let’s go to the biggest guesthouse in Korea! Who lives in this neighborhood?”

At Il-gwang’s call, a member of the group named Cheol-du stepped forward.

“Brother Il-gwang, I am a native here. It’s just a hundred miles over there.”

“Come! Guide me~!”

It must have seemed funny to see Il-gwang playing the role of leader after so long, and Cheong-hae kept giggling behind him. The faces of the group members moving in a line behind them all had bright expressions on their faces. So-mu smiled faintly at the very back of the line.

After half an hour passed, they arrived at the target location. A huge guest house built in a two-story structure. I saw a plaque with the name Hwayang engraved on it. It was the most famous and historic guest house in Hanzhong, and So-mu also remembered visiting this place a long time ago.

“Come on, let’s go in! Let’s drink to our heart’s content!”

“Waaah!”

Following Il-gwang, new soldiers flowed into the guest house like a tide.

However, a puzzled expression appeared on the face of So-mu, who was following at the very rear. This was because Cheong-hae was hesitating in front of the door without going in.

“What are you doing? You’re not going in.”

Cheong-hae's expression looked somewhat anxious. The eyes were shaking.

“Hyung So-mu… can’t we go somewhere else?”

So-mu, who had an idea, looked around in silence. And soon I was able to find out why Cheong-hae hesitated. This was because I saw four martial artists occupying a seat in the center of the guesthouse. A white gi decorated with a blue collar and a long sword with a plum blossom pattern engraved on it. Consisting of three men and one woman, they were Taoists of the Mount Hua sect.

Since the location of the Mount Hua waves was not far from here, it was not strange for them to often appear at Hwayang Tavern. The problem was that Cheong-hae was uncomfortable with them.

But So-mu’s worries did not last long.

‘You can’t keep avoiding it. ‘It’s something we have to face at some point.’

So-mu grabbed Cheong-hae's wrist and led him to the guesthouse.

“It’s already all in, right? Let’s enjoy it for the first time.”

Coincidentally, the location where So-mu took his seat was right next to where the monks were. Of course that was his intention. Five group members sat together at their table.

As the dirtied-looking soldiers sat next to them, the Taoists of the Mount Hua Sect frowned. Their whispered conversation was vividly transmitted to the superhuman So-mu's ears.

One of the monks continued to complain in an irritated voice.

“Sahyungs, eat quickly and leave. It stinks….”

“Sama Baekhee is right. Let’s just drink this and leave. The alcohol doesn’t taste as good.”

So-mu's eyebrows narrowed for a moment, but soon returned to their original state. They were new recruits of the Sixteenth Group who just ran out in their training uniforms to save a little more time outside. It was natural for them to smell like sweat.

So-mu looked around silently. New recruits, in groups of five or six, were seated here and there, excitedly ordering. Il-gwang also took a seat to one side and was chatting enthusiastically.

Unlike the new recruits, who were all excited, Cheong-hae was the only one with his head down. However, such unnatural behavior actually attracts the attention of those around you. The new soldier sitting next to Cheong-hae kept calling him without notice. It was a new recruit named Song Hwa, who was the same age.

“You have to ask, what’s wrong? Where does it hurt? Lift your head, you have to ask!”

Is it because I heard a familiar word? The Taoists' attention suddenly focused on this place. Next, an angry voice reflexively burst out from the mouth of the Taoist monk called Baekhee.

“Sahyungs, isn’t he Cheong-hae?”

“Who is Cheong-hae?”

As Baekhee's frustrated voice grew louder, the new recruits at So-mu's table could hear it clearly.

“Don’t you know that Cheong-hae was beaten to death by the Plum Swordsmen and kicked out?”

“Ah. The guy who was excommunicated for spying on martial arts in Mageomji while being one of the three great disciples?”

Embarrassment and anger appeared on the members' faces. And Cheong-hae’s face, which lowered its head, was as hot as a blush.

These were people I know. They were Yi Dae disciples of the Mount Hua Sect. Even during normal times, he was famous for being a gang that moved around within the sect and played a lot of practical jokes on the priests.

The Taoist monks who checked Cheong-hae continued to talk without paying attention to the other soldiers. The intention was probably to intentionally embarrass Cheong-hae.

“Do you think he was invited? We sent him away alive as a lay disciple, but he became a soldier?”

“I have to ask, I saw the executioners and they didn’t even say hello?”

The new soldiers next to Cheong-hae were furious and their whole bodies were shaking. However, the opponents were the famous Taoists of the Mount Hua Sect. They were not confident that they would be able to deal with it.

The recruits' eyes turned to So-mu, but he looked away as if he hadn't heard anything.

“You have to ask, why don’t you say hello to your brothers!”

“Aren’t you holding your head up?”

When Cheong-hae did not respond, anger appeared on the faces of the monks. They could not tolerate Cheong-hae, who was the youngest, dared to ignore their words.

It was then. Suddenly, someone stood up in one corner of the room and let out a irritated yell.

“Oh, that’s so loud! Shut up and eat it! Before I tear your mouth open.”

There was silence in the room, and everyone's eyes were focused on it.

A soldier with a huge bear-like physique had a grim face scrunched up.

It was Il-gwang.