The soldiers on the wall were puzzled at the sight of an army that had suddenly appeared on the horizon.
“What is that?”
Those men dressed in black radiated a sinister energy.
“Is it the Imperial army?”
At first glance, they looked very similar to the dreaded Imperial black troops, infamous across the continent.
Suddenly, the soldier holding the spyglass raised his voice.
“W-wait, they’re not continentals.”
“What?”
“They’re Easterners!”
“What are you saying?”
“See for yourself.”
He handed over the spyglass.
“Huh…?”
The soldier who looked through the lens opened his mouth.
“It’s true.”
The top of the wall was once again filled with murmurs.
Meanwhile, Calcio, having heard the news, appeared.
“What’s going on?”
“See for yourself.”
“Give me the spyglass.”
Calcio took it and observed the horizon for quite a while.
The army that had emerged from the east was advancing in an orderly fashion toward Sidor.
High above, banners with large Eastern characters—whose meaning he did not know—were fluttering.
“Boss? What do we do?”
“What the hell are Easterners doing here?”
“And the orcs? Why aren’t they stopping them?”
Calcio raised his hand.
“Everyone calm down.”
But the commotion didn’t stop, so Calcio tightened his abdomen and shouted with force.
“Quiet, all of you!”
The wall went silent.
“Gather all of Sidor’s troops. Prepare the battle formation.”
The meaning was clear—Sidor would defend the city against them.
“Sound the horn.”
“Yes, sir.”
The faces of the chatty soldiers turned serious. They were used to risking their lives against the orcs; they knew when to focus.
“Yes!”
“Everyone ready!”
“Prepare for combat!”
The horn sounded once again, and each man ran to take his position.
The soldiers inside the fortress also finished preparing in an instant and climbed up onto the wall.
Calcio, with one foot resting on the parapet, spoke.
“They’re not here with good intentions.”
His field experience allowed him to recognize hostility in the orcs just by looking at their faces. When it came to humans, he could guess it even more easily.
They had come to fight.
And everything indicated that they intended to destroy everything.
“Get ready. This is going to be a tough fight.”
The Eastern army that had suddenly appeared was large in number. With Sidor’s forces weakened lately, it would be difficult to hold them back.
Calcio swallowed hard.
“Since the count left, things like this keep happening…”
If they had come all the way to these distant lands to wage war, they must surely be well-prepared.
At a glance, from their marching formation, the individual strength of each seemed considerable.
“Well… at least this way it’s fair.”
Calcio gave a crooked smile.
The continent’s heroes had gone to fight a life-or-death war; it wasn’t the time for them to rest in peace.
In Sidor, they too would have to fight with everything to keep the balance.
Calcio shouted,
“Were you bored of fighting those ugly orcs? This time, they’re handsome Easterners! Anyone who gets scared, start writing your will.”
One of the soldiers replied,
“You say the same thing every time the orcs come. I’ve already fought more than a hundred!”
“I’ve fought a thousand, idiot!”
Laughter spread along the wall. It was their way of easing the tension in a place where battle was routine.
“Let’s see… those guys…”
Calcio looked through the spyglass again.
The distance had shortened considerably.
At the vanguard, a man dressed in black raised a bow.
“What’s he doing?”
They were still quite far away.
Even if he shot an arrow from there, he wouldn’t be able to see the target clearly.
And then—
He felt as if their eyes had met.
The arrow that had been nocked disappeared. It was just an instant.
Calcio felt a chill and instinctively ducked his head. At that moment, something passed over him.
The sound came a second later.
A loud whistle of air being ripped apart rang out.
“What was that?”
“Boss!”
Right after, there was the sound of an explosion.
Calcio turned his head.
On one of the towers inside the wall, an arrow was embedded, and part of the wall had collapsed.
“Damn it…”
To spot a target from so far away, shoot it, and with power comparable to a catapult—
Calcio realized the Eastern visitors were far more dangerous than he had imagined.
“What the hell are those guys?”
He thought quickly.
Winning would be difficult.
If the battle was already lost from the start, perhaps the best option was to retreat and preserve as many troops as possible.
“Boss.”
“What? Finally feeling like writing your will?”
“No, that’s not it…”
The soldier on the wall lowered the spyglass and spoke.
“Another group is coming.”
“What?”
Calcio looked in the direction he pointed.
Sure enough, another formation was kicking up dust in the distance.
Despair washed over him.
“Damn it…”
They were almost as numerous as the first army.
“What’s with these Easterners?”
He put his hands on his head.
But then the soldier with the spyglass raised his voice again.
“Wait a moment!”
“What now?”
“Boss, I think… you’d better see for yourself.”
He handed him the spyglass.
***
Ma Gunak felt his chest swell with emotion.
“At last, the secret vow of the Heavenly Demon Sect is fulfilled!”
Hidden away in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, biding its time to seize the Eastern Murim, the Heavenly Demon Sect was now advancing with all its might toward the West.
It was all because of the letter sent by their leader, Dan Socheon.
In it, Dan Socheon declared that he had recovered the Secret Manual of the Heavenly Evil Spirit and planned, in cooperation with the emperor of the West, to bring the entire continent under the feet of the Heavenly Demon Sect. As such, he had ordered all the sect’s forces to march westward.
After conquering the West completely, he intended to invade the East with vast resources and massacre those disgusting people called righteous sects, taking their families as slaves to the sect.
For a member of the Heavenly Demon Sect, it was a plan to make the blood boil.
Dan Socheon was considered one of the most gifted Heavenly Demons in history. When he left alone for the West, everyone in the sect had felt disappointed, even thinking he had abandoned them.
But it had all been a misunderstanding.
Dan Socheon was, in truth, the rightful supreme sovereign of the Heavenly Demon Sect.
“Heavenly Demon! Heavenly Demon!”
“Heavenly Demon! Heavenly Demon!”
When Ma Gunak shouted the sect’s slogan, all the members joined in.
Excited, Ma Gunak stepped forward to shout even louder, but someone interrupted him.
“Chief of the Black Assassin Division!”
“What is it?”
“Don’t you think it would be better not to rush ahead alone?”
“Hm?”
Ma Gunak frowned.
“Does the Chief of the Demonic Blood Division dislike me?”
“I’m saying this because the other five chiefs aren’t saying anything, but you act like you’re the leader.”
“Leader… With the Heavenly Demon absent, I wouldn’t mind taking that place.”
“What?”
“Is there anyone here stronger than me?”
When Ma Gunak’s expression turned threatening, Jo Bong-seol, Chief of the Demonic Blood Division, pursed his lips.
“That attitude… I’ll report it all to the Heavenly Demon.”
“Do as you please. Hey, you!”
Ma Gunak suddenly shouted, calling for his lieutenant. He only wanted to annoy Jo Bong-seol, but the man didn’t react at all.
With a mischievous grin, Ma Gunak extended his hand.
“Bow!”
“Yes!”
As he received the bow, Jo Bong-seol stepped back and asked,
“What are you doing?”
“There’s a rat spying on us, so I’m going to greet those Westerners.”
“Always acting on your own…”
Ignoring the protest, Ma Gunak released the bowstring.
The arrow, infused with his internal energy, flew an enormous distance and embedded itself into the tower on the wall.
Although it didn’t bring it down, the outer wall cracked, and the soldiers on the wall could be seen stirring.
Ma Gunak let out a hearty laugh.
“Let’s go. All we have to do is attack this so-called Briol and, in its capital, kidnap the most beautiful woman on the continent, right?”
A few days ago, a messenger from Dan Socheon had reached the sect on its march westward.
He brought the order to kidnap the most beautiful woman on the continent, supposedly in the capital of a country called Briol.
Ma Gunak had no reason to refuse.
“They say that country’s main forces are away. But even so, we mustn’t underestimate it.”
“No need to make it too complicated, either.”
Ma Gunak smiled wickedly.
“The most beautiful woman on the continent… I can’t wait to meet her. Hahahaha…”
“Tsk…”
Jo Bong-seol, looking at him with disdain, turned away.
“There are strong ones in the West too…”
As he muttered, he noticed something fluttering on the horizon.
At first, he thought he was mistaken, but yes, it was a flag.
“Hm?”
Thanks to his high martial level, he was the first to notice. Soon, his subordinates saw it as well, and unease spread.
The six division chiefs of the Heavenly Demon Sect, including Ma Gunak, fixed their eyes on the horizon.
On the flag were written Eastern characters:
『Break the false and establish the true, renounce life for justice.』
It was an audacious slogan that made clear who they were.
“The Murim Alliance!”
“How did they get here…?”
Though the Heavenly Demon Sect had strengthened its forces in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, it had never been able to take the Eastern Murim precisely because of the Murim Alliance.
For them, the Murim Alliance was a sworn enemy and rival.
Next appeared a brilliant golden flag.
『Righteous Path, Righteous Conduct.』
Upon seeing it, Ma Gunak’s face hardened.
It could mean only one thing—
The leader of the Murim Alliance, Jang Yeonghak, was here in person.
***
Jang Yeonghak was marching westward with the warriors of the Murim Alliance.
His decision was based on several reasons.
First, he was interested in the swordsmanship of a man named Bernard, and he had heard that in the West there were even stronger warriors. Once called the “Heaven-Defying Sword” for his love of battle, the idea of witnessing a new martial world thrilled him.
Second, the goods a merchant named Elaine had brought were rare items in the East. If they could open trade with the West and gain monopoly over certain products, the Murim Alliance would gain great influence.
And most importantly—the Heavenly Demon.
For the Murim Alliance, destroying the Heavenly Demon Sect, that is, the demon sect, had always been a goal. And now, the Heavenly Demon Dan Socheon was in the West.
At first, it was hard to believe, but soon came reports of strange movements in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, transmitted by infiltrated spies. They said the demon sect’s army was marching to the West.
Everything fit.
Thus, trusting the words of merchants, swordsmen, and ronin from the West, he summoned the Murim Alliance and set out. It was a risky decision—if something went wrong, he could lose his position as leader.
But he no longer cared much for the title of leader of the Murim Alliance. Before obtaining it, he had desired it intensely, but once he had it, he found it hollow.
In the latter half of his life, he wanted to achieve something greater than a mere position.
And that goal was now before his eyes.
“You said your name was Cheongun?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“You were right.”
Jang Yeonghak spoke.
“There they are, those bastards from the Heavenly Demon Sect.”
But Cheongun didn’t seem to sense anything. Perhaps lower-level warriors couldn’t perceive it, but Jang Yeonghak could.
He could feel the demonic stench of the sect beyond the horizon.
And not only that—something even more terrible covered the sky of the West, a malevolent energy distorting the heavens.
As a Taoist of Mount Wudang before becoming leader of the Murim Alliance, he knew the fate of the world was at stake.
“Perhaps meeting you was Heaven’s will.”
Little by little, the demon sect’s army came into view.
Before unrest could spread, Jang Yeonghak shouted,
“There are the demon sectarians. Prepare for battle!”
He drew his sword.
In front of Sidor, a war that would decide the fate of the Eastern Murim was about to begin.
Meanwhile, watching from atop the wall, Calcio murmured in disbelief,
“What the hell are these people doing here?”
____
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