The Vulture Siblings
The Blood Cult's great demon, Jeo Ungwon, who had slipped out of Yunnan Province, and the ten subordinates standing behind him, bowed with rigid formality.
"Jeo Ungwon greets Elder Sa Won-yang, the Small-faced Demon Lord!"
Seated before them on a massive dragon throne was a frail, shabby-looking old man.
His wrinkled, ugly face was marked by eyes slit sharp like a serpent's.
The old man responded with a smile to Jeo Ungwon's greeting.
"You've had a hard journey. Has His Excellency remained well?"
"Yes, Elder! He merely reminded us that the Blood Cult's dominion over the world is not far, and that we must always remain cautious!"
"Mm. Yes, caution is necessary."
The old man nodded at Jeo Ungwon's words, then asked again:
"By the way, you didn't do anything along the way here that might attract the eyes of outsiders, did you?"
At that question, Jeo Ungwon hesitated with a slightly guilty expression.
The Small-faced Demon Lord Sa Won-yang, who had been smiling warmly like a benevolent elder, instantly lost his smile.
"Why do you hesitate? Don't tell me you've caused some sort of incident?!"
In that moment, a tremendous killing aura burst from his small body, flooding the grand hall.
It was a murderous aura so dreadful it made one's body tingle.
Jeo Ungwon hastily replied:
"B–before departure, I did take a few Flying Dragon Troops for my pleasure, but during the journey here, I swear we caused no trouble! Truly, Elder!"
Sa Won-yang's narrow eyes thinned even further as he glared at them.
Together with Ji Gwang-ok, the Blood-thirsty Demon Lord who had been killed by Seol Pung and Seonu-jin at Doklim, Sa Won-yang was one of the Blood Cult's supreme demonic masters, dreaded during the Great Blood War as a living nightmare by the orthodox factions.
"When the smile vanishes from his face, a sea of blood is born."
This saying was famous not only among the orthodox, but also within the Blood Cult itself.
In fact, among the cult, Sa Won-yang was considered even more frightening than the notoriously brutal Ji Gwang-ok.
Seeing the smile disappear from Sa Won-yang's face, Jeo Ungwon hurriedly pressed his forehead to the floor and cried out:
"I have committed a grave sin! Demon Lord Elder! Please forgive me!"
His subordinates quickly followed suit, bowing their heads to the ground.
"Forgive us, Demon Lord Elder!"
They trembled, not daring to lift their heads, awaiting judgment.
To incur Sa Won-yang's wrath did not always end with simple death.
If his anger was true, it might be preferable to take one's own life swiftly.
Then, after a tense moment, Sa Won-yang's voice came again, sounding somewhat eased.
"Well, it would be cruel to demand young men in their prime always restrain themselves completely."
Hearing this, Jeo Ungwon could not help but let out a sigh of relief.
Yet, still cautious, he kept his head lowered.
"Raise your heads."
At his words, Jeo Ungwon and his men chorused together:
"Thank you, Demon Lord Elder!"
Looking up, they saw Sa Won-yang's face once more smiling warmly, as it had at first.
He said to them:
"I have already prepared some fine young girls. Before you depart, I will tell you where and how to take them. Choose about ten each and enjoy yourselves."
Jeo Ungwon and his subordinates pressed their heads to the ground once again, crying out in gratitude.
"Thank you, Demon Lord Elder!"
***
A Different Camp
Man Jongrim and the Twelve Unit's 1st squad members departed first.
Before leaving, they had stressed two, three times how contact must be kept secret and they must never be seen.
Once only the Eleven Unit's 1st squad and ourselves remained, Bi Sa-yeong sighed deeply and muttered:
"If I ever get transferred to the Twelve Unit, I think I'd rather challenge the Blood Demon to a life-and-death duel."
Everyone burst out laughing at that.
Sword Crane Je Won-yeong also laughed and turned to me.
"This Je Won-yeong owes you, Young Hero Seonu, a great debt. I will surely repay it someday."
I grinned.
"If you say it like that, it sounds as though I deliberately sent Chief Man Jongrim to you, doesn't it?"
"Wasn't it so?"
"…The weather is awfully fine, isn't it?"
A sharp one, indeed.
After that, we began discussing again.
I spoke first.
"In my view, the most likely candidates are either the Jeonghyeop Clan or the Un Clan. Since Chief Man said he would investigate the Un Clan, we should take the Jeonghyeop Clan. Though… I do wonder whether he'll investigate the Un Clan properly."
Everyone nodded at my words. Then Lady Cheong Yeon asked:
"Do you believe it's not the Mountain Sword Sect because their current situation is the worst?"
Between the Un Clan and the Mountain Sword Sect, both opposing the Jeonghyeop Clan in Sichuan, the Mountain Sword Sect was said to be in dire straits, nearly on the brink of collapse.
But that alone wasn't enough to be certain. Everyone turned to me with curious eyes.
"That's one reason, yes. But also because I heard information about the Mountain Sword Sect while I was at the Seonu Clan. I believe they can be excluded from suspicion."
At that, everyone except Lady Cheong Yeon exclaimed "Ahh!" and nodded.
But in truth, this was a lie.
Back at the Seonu Clan, I had no reason to care about the other factions of the Guizhou Eight.
What I did know for certain, however, was the outcome I had witnessed in my past life, after the front collapsed and I returned to the Seonu Clan—what became of this three-way struggle.
"At that time, only two of the three remained."
By then, everything had already ended. I only heard vaguely that there had been clashes with the Jeonghyeop Clan, but nothing more.
One thing was clear: by that point, the Mountain Sword Sect no longer existed.
Only the Jeonghyeop Clan and the Un Clan had survived intact.
"Looking back, it's suspicious. After clashes with the Jeonghyeop Clan, nothing else changed, and yet only the Mountain Sword Sect was annihilated? And their territory conveniently taken over by the Un Clan? Does that make sense?"
Judging by the Jeonghyeop Clan's current strength and momentum, they seemed capable of pushing into Guizhou itself.
So to think the Un Clan alone could fend off the Jeonghyeop Clan's expansion—it was unthinkable.
"Judging by the results, the Un Clan is clearly the most suspicious."
Lady Cheong Yeon gazed at me quietly.
Naturally, she must have thought my certainty lacked solid grounding.
Yet she soon simply nodded, as if to say: I can't accept it, but since you've said so, I'll let it pass.
Inwardly, I breathed a sigh of relief.
I was grateful.
She asked again:
"So between the Un Clan and the Jeonghyeop Clan, how do you plan to investigate them?"
Everyone, who had been alternating glances between me and Lady Cheong Yeon whenever we spoke, now looked at me expectantly.
They thought I'd surely come up with a clever plan.
Unfortunately, this time I had no good solution.
Breaking into their strongholds to investigate would be no different than walking willingly into a trap.
At best, we could inquire through Hao Sect, but even that might tip off our targets that we were investigating them.
The Hao Sect did not discriminate between clients, after all.
Sighing, I admitted honestly:
"To tell the truth, I don't know yet. I've thought of no good plan."
Everyone let out a disappointed groan.
"Aaaah!"
Just then, Lady Cheong Yeon spoke.
"If finding them is difficult, why not lure them out instead?"
At her words, everyone looked at her with renewed hope.
So did I.
"And how would we do that?"
"By showing them what they desire."
"What they desire?"
What they desire…
What They Desired
What they desired?
It didn't strike me immediately.
What could be so tempting that those hiding in the shadows would come out on their own?
Captain Seol Pung couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked:
"What is it they supposedly desire?"
Lady Cheong Yeon answered:
"When I assumed this was all a carefully laid plan, one thing struck me as odd. Why would people who should act with utmost secrecy attack the Twelve Unit?"
At those words, I suddenly responded:
"Well, that's because…"
Then, as a thought flashed in my mind, I quickly asked:
"So that's what you mean?"
Cheong Yeon smiled faintly and nodded.
"Yes. We show them exactly that."
"Ahh."
I nodded knowingly, but soon frowned again.
"But to do that…"
She smiled brightly and asked:
"Why? Do you think we're not enough?"
I couldn't bring myself to answer—but honestly, yes, that's what I thought.
At that moment, Bi Sa-yeong suddenly scowled and shouted:
"Ugh, enough! Stop talking in riddles between yourselves and translate into human words! What on earth are you two going on about?!"
Everyone else was nodding with annoyed faces at Bi Sa-yeong's outburst. Clearly, they had all been getting frustrated.
Smiling, I explained:
"When the great demon Jeo Ungwon wiped out those two Twelve Unit squads in succession, there was one thing in common, wasn't there?"
But people frowned, unable to recall.
"In common? What was it? What common trait?"
Then Lady Cheon Ju-eun quickly raised her hand and answered eagerly:
"Me! I know! It was that no women's corpses were left behind!"
As expected, being a woman herself, that detail must have stuck in her memory.
I smiled and nodded.
"Correct, Lady Cheon."
At that, she squealed with childlike delight.
"Kyaa! I got it right!"
But then, realizing what that implied, she froze with an 'Ah!' and quickly quieted down.
We cleared our throats and pretended not to notice.
I continued.
"It's a common trait of the Blood Cult's great demons. Even in a mission where secrecy was vital, they still couldn't suppress their lust for women. That tells us they're incorrigible lechers. So I believe Lady Cheong Yeon's suggestion is to exploit that weakness."
When I looked at her, she nodded.
"Exactly. If word of an extraordinary beauty were to reach their ears, I believe they would not be able to restrain themselves."
Now the others finally understood, and gasps of realization escaped them.
"Ahhh!"
Then Je Won-yeong, captain of the Eleven Unit's 1st squad, tilted his head and asked:
"But where would we find such a beauty? Ah—please don't think I mean to slight the ladies here. But for the kind of rumor to spread widely, even beyond the frontlines, it would take someone on the level of one of the Ten Beauties of the Martial World…"
He was still speaking when Lady Cheong Yeon suddenly lifted her hand and slowly brushed her bangs upward.
As her bangs swept back, our eyes widened along with them.
Je Won-yeong too fell silent, struck dumb.
When she revealed her face, it was as though radiant light burst forth, illuminating the entire world.
I could no longer tell whether I stood upon clouds or water, whether this was reality or dream.
The face revealed for the first time before us was… truly—
Mystical.
Yes, mystical.
Her beauty possessed something that the word beautiful alone could never contain.
Above her small, rose-colored lips stood a high, delicate nose, and above that, eyes like celestial jewels—one black, the other blue—shimmering with dazzling brilliance.
With such an unusual eye color, she should have looked uncanny. Yet because of her beauty, it instead seemed divine.
I had thought myself somewhat immune to feminine beauty after often seeing Lady Tang Yeoeun recently.
But now I realized with piercing clarity—such a belief had been nothing but foolish arrogance.
As we stood dumbstruck before her unveiled face, she turned her gaze directly upon me and asked:
"Will this be enough to draw out the great demon?"
We all nodded vigorously, up and down.
***
The Mountain Sword Sect
The Mountain Sword Sect, in the Inhoe region bordering Sichuan, was inevitably the first to clash with the Jeonghyeop Clan in their eastern advance toward Guizhou.
Already, they had fought the Jeonghyeop Clan twice—and lost both times.
In the first battle, the Mountain Sword Sect suffered humiliation, forced to retreat without even a proper fight before the overwhelming numbers of the Jeonghyeop Clan.
Two hundred elite Mountain Sword warriors had marched out, only to face a thousand of the Jeonghyeop Clan's fighters.
They never stood a chance.
The second defeat was even more disgraceful.
Feigning a desire for peace, they invited the Jeonghyeop Clan to negotiations—only to ambush the envoys. But instead of a victory, they themselves were shattered once again.
This time, one of their only two supreme masters perished, along with two hundred elite warriors. They lost both honor and strength in a single blow.
No wonder the wandering martial artists now regarded the Mountain Sword Sect as a fallen clan.
So at their recruitment office, not even flies came anymore.
What vagabond would risk his life for a sect already doomed, no matter how much silver was offered?
Thus, today again, Wang O, the clerk in charge of recruiting, sat dozing at his empty desk.
Then suddenly, the warm sunlight dimmed as though something had blotted it out.
Blinking awake, Wang O looked up drowsily—and froze.
Before him loomed something massive, blocking the sun.
So enormous, he thought for a moment a giant boulder had rolled in.
But then a heavy voice came from that "boulder," snapping him fully alert.
"Is this the recruitment office? We came at the invitation of General Heo Jeonsam."
It was a man—a gigantic man.
So gigantic that Wang O hadn't even realized others were standing behind him, hidden in his shadow.
Looking up at the giant's shaded face, Wang O stammered:
"You mean… you've come to contract as mercenaries? Did you say at General Heo Jeonsam's invitation?"
The giant nodded.
"That's right. We are the Vulture Siblings of Zhejiang, and I am their eldest, Bae Jonggwan."
Wang O, hastily scribbling the name, suddenly paused to ask:
"P–pardon? The Vulture… Siblings? Did you say five siblings?"
Bae Jonggwan nodded and stepped aside slightly.
"Yes. These are my younger siblings."
Naturally turning his gaze past Bae Jonggwan, Wang O froze as if struck by lightning.
Behind him stood one man and three women.
The man held a spear, his build sturdy and imposing. The three women were strikingly beautiful.
But Wang O's eyes fixed upon only one of them.
The third woman's beauty was so stunning that Wang O swore he had never even dreamt of seeing such a vision.