Mount Sword Sect's Crisis – 1
"Where is Sect Master Heo Gyeong of Mount Sword Sect?! Come out at once!"
The Peak master of Jeonghyeop Clan, Blade Tyrant Kyung Ga-deung, charged unimpeded through the sect grounds.
It was dawn, so even the guards on watch were sparse—he might as well have been running through an abandoned city.
The few patrol guards he encountered couldn't withstand even a single stroke of his saber.
Slash!
"Guaaaah!"
"Heo Gyeong! Where are you?! I, Kyung Ga-deung, have come to take your head!"
Behind him stormed two more Peak masters and nearly a thousand Jeonghyeop Clan warriors—an overwhelming sight.
Among them, the dual-wielding throwing master, Frost Crossbows Naeng Gu-eon, shook his head and muttered:
"Hero Kyung is always brimming with vigor. Even without such haste, Mount Sword Sect's destruction is inevitable."
Three Peak masters, a thousand warriors, and a surprise dawn raid. The chance of Mount Sword Sect surviving this day was less than a tenth of one percent.
So Naeng Gu-eon couldn't understand Kyung Ga-deung's impatience.
At his side, Golden Saber Swiftblade Hong Man-suk smiled faintly and replied:
"He was close as a brother to Hero Hwang Jang-gon, who fell in the last battle. He won't want to leave vengeance to another. Still…"
Now within the sect compound, passing between the great halls, Hong Man-suk frowned as he looked around.
"Even for a surprise attack, it feels too empty. Unnaturally so."
Naeng Gu-eon snorted.
"Hmph! Perhaps they all fled already. Such is the way of the unorthodox."
Just then, Kyung Ga-deung burst into the main hall.
"You rat Heo Gyeong! Where are you?!"
His warriors flooded in after him—
And flames erupted from the main hall and nearby buildings.
Fwoooosh!
"What—what is this?!"
"Sudden fire?!"
The flames spread savagely, as if the buildings had been doused in accelerant, and soon engulfed everything.
The Jeonghyeop warriors, charging like a tidal wave, were thrown into chaos.
"Fire!"
"The flames are too strong! We must retreat!"
With no trace of Heo Gyeong and the main hall collapsing in fire, Kyung Ga-deung roared in fury:
"Heo Gyeong, you rat! Stop hiding and face me!"
Naeng Gu-eon sneered to Hong Man-suk:
"I expected them to flee, but this? To burn their own home out of fear—truly the ways of the unorthodox exceed imagination."
But Hong Man-suk's gaze was grim as he scanned the surroundings.
"We can't yet conclude they fled. At the very least, whoever set the fires must still be nearby—"
He cut himself off, sensing something. His head snapped upward.
The sky was black with arrows.
And already they were descending.
Hong Man-suk shouted urgently:
"Arrows! Take cover!"
But amid the roaring flames and confusion, his warning barely carried—and it was too late.
The warriors who looked up saw only a storm of arrows falling upon them.
Thwip-thwip-thwip! Thunk! Thud-thud-thunk!
"Guaaaah!"
"Uwaaaagh!"
"What—what is happening?!"
Packed tightly in the burning compound, the Jeonghyeop warriors were struck in droves.
In moments, the Mount Sword Sect grounds became a living hell.
"Help meee!"
"My eyes! My eyes!"
"My leg—it's gone!"
The first volley alone left over a hundred Jeonghyeop warriors dead or maimed.
And it wasn't the last.
Swishswishswishswish!
More arrows blotted the sky. Hong Man-suk shouted:
"It's the Archery Division! Retreat! They're targeting the fire-lit area!"
Urged on, the Jeonghyeop warriors tried desperately to scatter.
But no warrior could outrun arrows. As they sprinted, another storm rained down.
Fssshhh-thwipthwipthwip!
"Guaaaaah!"
"Kyaaaaah!"
"Uwaaaaagh!"
Furious, Kyung Ga-deung swung his saber wildly, cutting arrows from the air, and bellowed:
"The west! They're shooting from the western forest! Jeonghyeop warriors, charge west! Leave none alive!"
Hearing his roar, the survivors turned westward in a frenzy.
Kyung Ga-deung himself prepared to lead them—
But just then, someone burst through the burning main hall.
"Where do you think you're going, Kyung Ga-deung?!"
It was Heo Gyeong, Sect Master of Mount Sword Sect.
His blade, famed as the Splitting Light Sword, slashed at Kyung Ga-deung's unguarded back.
Startled, Kyung Ga-deung spun and parried with a curse:
"Heo Gyeong, you rat bastard!"
Clang-clang-clash!
As their blades clashed, memories surged in Heo Gyeong's mind—of his conversation with the peerless beauty Yeon-ha.
She had come to him one day, saying bluntly:
"An ambush is coming soon. Do you have a plan, Sect Master?"
At first, he had dismissed it. Jeonghyeop Clan, however aggressive, still prized face and honor above life. They wouldn't stoop to a sneak attack.
But Yeon-ha had shown him proof—a Blood Cult manual.
This was before Sak Muhun had delivered it to the Wulin Alliance.
She explained:
"Their leadership are not orthodox at all, but Blood Cult demonic masters. They may not all know it themselves, but the upper echelon surely does. They will not care about honor."
And she revealed they were covert Wulin Alliance agents hunting those very demonic masters, infiltrating Mount Sword Sect because Jeonghyeop was under suspicion.
Faced with such evidence, Heo Gyeong could only believe.
And yet, even knowing, what could four hundred defenders do against a thousand invaders?
Yeon-ha's words echoed:
"Four hundred cannot defeat a thousand head-on. But if you avoid a direct clash… it might just be possible."
And the plan she outlined was this inferno.
It had sickened him, burning the halls he had built with blood and sweat.
But when asked if there was another way… he had no answer.
The sight before Heo Gyeong made his blood boil.
The burning halls of Mount Sword Sect—
All of it, the fault of Jeonghyeop Clan's dogs.
With murderous fury, Heo Gyeong's sword became a storm of radiant thrusts aimed at Kyung Ga-deung.
"Die!"
Swish-swish-swish-swish!
But Kyung Ga-deung was no easy prey.
"Think not!"
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
Retreating step by step, he blocked Heo Gyeong's blistering assault with his saber, then readied a counter.
"You rat bastard! Today is your funeral!"
But Heo Gyeong only sneered.
"Better guard your back, fool!"
"What nonsense?!"
Ignoring Heo Gyeong's taunt, Kyung Ga-deung lunged forward—
While Heo Gyeong's eyes tracked something else.
From the neighboring burning hall, a figure burst forth—his spear stabbing Kyung Ga-deung's back like thunder.
Thunk!
"Ghhk!"
In the blink of an eye, the spear pierced straight through, its tip jutting from Kyung Ga-deung's chest.
As the blade master's eyes widened in shock and death, Heo Gyeong swallowed hard.
Even as a sneak attack, the sheer speed of that thrust—could it have been stopped at all?
Of the infamous Dok-su Five Siblings, the eldest Iron Meteor Bae Jong-gwan and the fourth Heavenly Beauty Yeo-nha were most renowned.
But the deadliest, without question, was the second—Reborn Flood Dragon Spear, Chang Hyuk.
At that moment, Golden Saber Swiftblade Hong Man-suk saw Kyung Ga-deung fall and bellowed as he charged back.
"Hero Kyung! Heo Gyeong, you bastard!"
Heo Gyeong, seeing Hong Man-suk and Frost Crossbows Naeng Gu-eon rushing back while the rest of the Jeonghyeop warriors had not yet returned, realized Yeo-nha's stratagem had succeeded perfectly.
Her words rang in his memory:
"The only way to defeat overwhelming numbers is to sever the head. If we kill their Peak masters quickly, the rest will collapse."
"But how can we separate them from their thousand men?"
"Simple. Burn the main hall."
"…What?!"
Now, before the scattered enemy could regroup, Heo Gyeong hurled himself at Hong Man-suk.
But in truth, his speed was nothing compared to Chang Hyuk's.
The spear-wielder was already upon Hong Man-suk's back.
And then, yet another warrior burst from the flames—his sword intercepting Naeng Gu-eon just as he reached for his throwing weapons.
"Haaaah!"
Swish-swish-swish!
"What?!"
Naeng Gu-eon's face contorted in shock at the sudden ambush.
This was the youngest of the Dok-su siblings—the Ghost Mountain Saber, revealed here as none other than Jeomchang Sect's famed swordsman, Je Won-yeong.
Chang Hyuk's spear thrust like lightning, but Hong Man-suk scoffed as he spun his halberd with masterful control.
"You dare pit a spear against me?!"
Swish-swish-swish-swish!
Five spear shadows streaked toward him. The halberd's tip coiled and spun like a serpent, deflecting them all.
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
Then with a mighty swing, he knocked Chang Hyuk's spear into the air.
"Fast—but your spearplay is unpolished!"
He readied to strike back—
But Chang Hyuk abandoned his spear without hesitation, slamming Hong Man-suk's weapon aside with bare hands.
Bam!
"Wha—?!"
The shocking impact made Hong Man-suk lose control of his halberd, the weapon quivering violently in his grip as if alive.
Then, agile as a serpent, Chang Hyuk vaulted up the shaft and closed in.
"You—you're no mere spearman?!"
Thud!
Chang Hyuk's iron fist smashed into his face.
Hong Man-suk's world went dark.
As he collapsed, his fading thought was the chilling realization—Chang Hyuk had discarded his spear deliberately.
With Hong Man-suk felled in an instant, Chang Hyuk and Seol Pung wasted no time.
Their next target: Naeng Gu-eon, barely holding out under Je Won-yeong's swordplay.
The plan would only succeed if all Peak masters fell before the Jeonghyeop warriors returned.
Naeng Gu-eon, a master of hidden weapons, already knew he was in dire straits. Once forced into close combat, escape was near impossible.
And the young swordsman before him—his skill was far beyond any "junior."
So Naeng Gu-eon did the only thing left—he unleashed every hidden weapon at once.
"Yaaah!"
Fwish-fwish-fwish-fwish-fwish!
"Tch?!"
Je Won-yeong spun his blade in a whirling circle—
The Fifth Form of the Four Seasons Sword: Whirling Wind Shred.
Whirrrrrrr!
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
His sword deflected the barrage like a rotating shield.
And Naeng Gu-eon, seizing the opening, hurled himself toward the mass of returning Jeonghyeop warriors.
That was his only hope—safety in numbers. Not even these prodigies could fight a thousand alone.
Je Won-yeong cursed bitterly as Chang Hyuk came to his side.
"Damn it, Captain Seol! I should've finished him—my mistake!"
Now hidden among his thousand allies, Naeng Gu-eon threw back his head and laughed madly.
"Haahahaha! Attack! They are but three!"
"Waaaaaa!"
The Jeonghyeop horde surged like a tidal wave.
Je Won-yeong ground his teeth.
"I've ruined the plan! Leaving a Peak master alive—he'll rally them! We must retreat, Captain Seol—too many!"
He leapt back.
Heo Gyeong, Sect Master of Mount Sword, was already turning to withdraw as well.