Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 246

246. Black Arrow

By the time dawn broke the next day, the lights of the Murim Alliance were still burning bright.

Fortunately, the night raid that Je Gal-yeon had worried about didn’t happen, and the guards welcomed the morning without incident.

As the surroundings brightened, everyone could clearly see the approaching enemy in the distance.

*Kurung, kurung.* [Sound of a large group approaching.]

The sound of their advance echoed heavily, like distant thunder.

The enemy, which numbered 1,200 at the time of the Black Blood Society’s destruction, had nearly tripled to 3,000.

The force of 3,000, arranged in formation, approached the Murim Alliance step by step. It was hard to believe this was just a band of Green Forest bandits [traditional term for outlaws or rebels].

*Kurung.*

“It finally begins,” Je Gal-yeon said, standing on a high tower with a serious face.

On the tower where the representatives stood, large flags symbolizing each clan fluttered proudly.

This was to showcase the might of the Murim Alliance and to provide a place for the heads and family leaders of each clan to watch the battle.

“To mobilize against mere bandits is truly insulting,” Hyeok Ryeon-pil, the representative of the Hyeok Ryeon Family, said.

“Indeed. Moreover, the Black Blood Society was annihilated by those mere bandits.”

The clear voice belonged to Hwangbo Seon-hye, the representative of the Southern Sea Sword Clan.

“So, now is the time to show our skills rather than talk, wouldn’t you agree?” Hwangbo Seon-hye said with a bright smile.

Hyeok Ryeon-pil frowned.

‘How dare she…’

Hyeok Ryeon-pil was very displeased with her retort.

However, he didn’t voice his displeasure.

The Southern Sea Sword Clan was now an official clan participating in the representative council.

Moreover, Hwangbo Seon-hye, despite her youthful appearance, was a rising star with considerable skill.

There was no need to make an enemy of her now.

“The battle will begin with the advance of the vanguard.”

The vanguard consisted of martial artists and vagrants gathered from near Hangju.

“After that, the left and right flanks, and then the central army will move out, so I hope everyone will do their best in their respective positions.”

The representatives nodded.

The overall command was in the hands of the heads and family leaders of each faction, but the actual command in battle was effectively in the hands of the representatives.

The fact that the supreme masters and the heads of the outer halls and outer offices were absent showed the Murim Alliance’s attitude toward this battle.

Or perhaps it was because of Yun-hyeon’s ‘warning’.

“Sound the drums!” Je Gal-yeon said loudly.

*Thud.*

A great drum sound spread throughout the Murim Alliance.

The representatives nodded to each other and descended from the tower.

Je Gal-yeon, holding a brush-shaped iron pen, Hyeok Ryeon-pil, wielding a greatsword, and Hwangbo Seon-hye and Mo Yong-mi, gripping their swords, all had tense expressions.

*Thud.*

With the drumbeat, the north gate of the Murim Alliance opened.

Martial artists began to pour out.

It was the vanguard, composed of small and medium-sized clans, martial artists, and vagrants.

Each of them held a shield in their hands, their faces hardened with tension, but their eyes shone with determination.

The number was significant, with nearly five hundred martial artists exuding an extraordinary aura.

***

*Thud, thud.*

As the great drum continued to beat, the leaders of each clan of the Murim Alliance ascended the high tower.

“Hehe, welcome, Clan Leader.”

“It’s been a while, Sect Leader.”

“Has the Family Head been well?”

The clan leaders and sect leaders who ascended to the top floor of the tower greeted each other with relaxed expressions.

At first glance, they seemed to be on a leisurely outing.

“Oh, the scenery here is quite nice,” the Clan Leader of the Hwasan Sect, with a long white beard, said.

“Indeed. And those seem to be the Green Forest bandits,” the Clan Leader of the Wudang Sect, also with a long beard, replied.

The fiery glint in his eyes, shining beneath his white eyebrows, was directed at the Green Forest approaching the Murim Alliance.

“How dare a mere band of thieves…” The Clan Leader of the Wudang Sect couldn’t hide his displeasure.

The same was true for the other clan leaders and family heads.

Only one person, Mo Yong Dan-cheon, the Family Head of the Mo Yong Family, was staring at the enemy with a serious look.

*Thud, thud.*

Meanwhile, the left and right flanks were advancing from the north gate.

Their appearance, composed of large clans and prestigious families, was dignified, and their aura was exceptional.

“Hmph, truly the disciples of prestigious families,” the Clan Leader of the Emei Sect said with a satisfied smile.

The left and right flanks consisted of six factions each, and the central army consisted of seven.

Since the disciples of each faction in the Murim Alliance numbered from fifty to seventy, the number of the left and right flanks reached four to five hundred.

Including the central army, which had the largest number, and the vanguard of small and medium-sized martial artists, the total exceeded two thousand.

“I heard the Black Blood Society faced 1,200 enemies?” Hyeok Ryeon Cheol-hu, the Family Head of the Hyeok Ryeon Family, the ‘Tyrant Blade’, asked.

Je Gal-myeong, the Family Head of the Je Gal Family, the ‘Gentleman Sword’, replied, “Including those they had hidden, they say there are about three thousand in total.”

“Three thousand.”

Taeheo, the Abbot of the Shaolin Temple, muttered.

“There are more than originally expected.”

Everyone knew what that meant.

It meant that Yun-hyeon’s, the divine monk’s junior brother, words were partly correct.

Of course, whether Taeheo meant it that way or not was another matter.

“Numbers are meaningless,” Hyeok Ryeon Cheol-hu, the ‘Tyrant Blade’, said in a firm tone.

“They are just thieves and a disorganized rabble. If we break the vanguard, they will collapse on their own.”

He didn’t mention that the vanguard they had to break was the Short Bow Unit and the Black Spear Cavalry, and that after that, they would have to face the Iron Blood Four Kings.

None of the leaders mentioned such facts.

*Thud, thud.*

Meanwhile, the representatives leading each army were advancing from the north gate.

The momentum of the left, right, and central armies was further heightened by the appearance of the great disciples of each clan, the rising masters who would lead the next generation.

Mo Yong Dan-cheon also watched the figures of Mo Yong-mi and Mo Yong-jin.

‘Please be careful.’

Mo Yong Dan-cheon’s eyes, looking at his grandchildren, were filled with concern.

“Waaaaaah!”

A sudden cheer erupted from the vanguard.

“Hmm? What’s going on?”

The leaders looked at the north gate with rather relaxed expressions.

They wondered if a disciple from their faction was coming out.

However, their faces soon slightly distorted.

The person who was just leaving the north gate was someone they had never seen before.

However, Mo Yong Dan-cheon was different.

‘That person is…’

The extraordinary aura that was clearly visible even from this distance, the resolute will felt even in the simple movement of just walking.

“Samjeon Mujeok! [Invincible in Three Battles]”

“Samjeon Mujeok!”

The martial artists of the vanguard began to shout like crazy.

Like a single blade, he was none other than Samjeon Mujeok, Dokgo-rang.

“Samjeon Mujeok!”

Jang Cheon-ho flinched at the cheer from behind.

Who wouldn’t be surprised when a loud noise came from behind, especially when they were already tense?

However, Jang Cheon-ho didn’t get angry.

Rather, Jang Cheon-ho’s expression brightened as he turned around.

“Great Hero Dokgo!”

Jang Cheon-ho shouted with an almost tearful expression.

The Green Forest bandits, which he had doubted, numbered three thousand.

It was no wonder that Jang Cheon-ho’s heart turned cold in the face of the tremendous power that unfolded before his eyes.

The Murim Alliance, which had advanced behind them, also made Jang Cheon-ho even more nervous.

With the Murim Alliance of fifteen hundred behind them and the Green Forest forces of three thousand in front of them.

Jang Cheon-ho, caught in the middle, felt as if he had been thrown into the middle of a battlefield.

If Jang Cheon-ho, the sect leader, was so shaken, what about the other martial artists?

The tension of the small and medium-sized clans and vagrants forming the vanguard was at its peak.

It was then that Dokgo-rang appeared.

The supreme master of Sword Energy Manifestation, the swordsman Samjeon Mujeok Dokgo-rang, who had defeated the great disciple of the Gongson Family without even using internal energy.

“Waaaaaah!”

“Samjeon Mujeok!”

“Samjeon Mujeok!”

There was no one among the martial artists of the vanguard who didn’t shout his name.

Perhaps it was due to the excessive tension of the battle, but Dokgo-rang was the only person who had helped them and was a supreme master.

The martial artists’ cheers were only natural.

“Samjeon Mujeok!”

“Samjeon Mujeok!”

The martial artists of the vanguard shouted at the top of their lungs.

Jang Cheon-ho hurriedly ran to meet Dokgo-rang.

“Great Heeero!”

His voice was filled with emotion.

“You’ve come! You’ve really come! Great Hero!”

Jang Cheon-ho bowed repeatedly, forgetting even his dignity.

That was because he and the other sect leaders had rejected Dokgo-rang’s advice.

His last advice that the Murim Alliance would be defeated and that they should leave this place.

―Sect Leader Jang, do you believe those words? That the Murim Alliance will lose?

―But if the Iron Blood Four Kings are there…….

―It’s not like we’re going to fight the Iron Blood Four Kings, so what does it matter? The Murim Alliance is telling us to deal with the bandits, not to take the heads of the Iron Blood Four Kings.

―And would the Murim Alliance collapse just because we’ve been pushed back once? Either way, our only way to survive is to side with the Murim Alliance. I’m afraid morale will drop, so keep your mouths shut so that words don’t leak out.

Every word was right.

But he had openly rejected Dokgo-rang’s advice, so he had no face to show.

Since Dokgo-rang had said that he had to serve a lord, Jang Cheon-ho had no choice but to give up on his participation.

That was why Jang Cheon-ho’s emotion was even greater.

The other martial artists in the vanguard didn’t know the circumstances, but they were cheering just because Dokgo-rang had come to this place for them.

Step.

“Thank you! Great Hero!”

“The lord I serve,” Dokgo-rang said in his usual dry voice, “told me to come back alive.”

In an instant, the five hundred martial artists of the vanguard became silent.

In fact, Yun-hyeon didn’t want to send Dokgo-rang.

However, Dokgo-rang was a person who didn’t ignore his responsibilities.

So Yun-hyeon had to send Dokgo-rang, even giving the order ‘Be sure to come back alive’.

Dokgo-rang continued, calmly meeting the gazes of the martial artists looking at him.

“I will definitely come back alive. With you all.”

“Waaaaaah!”

A tremendous sound erupted.

The voices of the five hundred martial artists of the vanguard were truly deafening.

*Taptaptap.*

“Great Hero!”

About thirty young martial artists ran to Dokgo-rang’s side.

They were elites specially selected from each clan.

Although they had only been together for three days, their sparkling eyes showed clear respect and trust for Dokgo-rang.

One of the young men handed Dokgo-rang a shield.

Dokgo-rang silently accepted the shield.

*Chuck.*

“…Let’s go.”

At Dokgo-rang’s words, the thirty young men bowed their heads in unison.

They walked proudly to the front of the vanguard.

Step, step.

“Samjeon Mujeok!”

“Samjeon Mujeok!”

“Samjeon Mujeok!”

The cheers of the vanguard were clearly heard not only by the Murim Alliance but also by the Moon King’s camp.

It was then.

*Flap.*

A large flag was raised from the Murim Alliance tower.

It was the signal to start the battle.

Je Gal-yeon of the central army, who was wondering about the cheers of the vanguard, immediately shouted with internal energy.

“Raise the flags!”

The question about the incomprehensible cheers of the vanguard was put aside.

Now was the time to start the battle.

*Flap, flap.*

Flags were raised not only in the left, right, and central armies but also in the vanguard.

“Vanguard, advance!”

As if answering his cry, a shout echoed from the vanguard.

“Waaaaaah!”

Step, step.

The five hundred martial artists of the vanguard, holding shields, began to advance.

For the first time in decades since the Great Righteous-Demonic War, the Murim Alliance had begun a full-scale war.

***

“Tsk.”

The Moon King clicked his tongue.

He was looking down at the battlefield from a low hill behind the Green Forest forces.

He had a rather interested expression when he heard the cry of ‘Samjeon Mujeok’, but the Moon King soon frowned as the vanguard began to advance.

Looking at the different costumes and haphazard shields, it was clear that the vanguard was a hastily gathered group.

The Moon King frowned as if looking at something dirty.

*Flutter.*

The Moon King’s fan made of peacock feathers, the peacock fan, covered his mouth and nose.

“The Short Bow Unit?”

The subordinate immediately replied.

“They are ready. They are already within range, but…”

“Shoot.”

The subordinate hesitated for a moment. Originally, it would be right to draw them in a little more.

However, he couldn’t disobey the Moon King’s order.

“Short Bow Unit, fire.”

The subordinate conveyed the Moon King’s order.

*Flutter.*

A small flag was raised, and the Short Bow Unit, which had already been waiting, fired arrows.

*Thudududud.*

With an eerie sound, the sky was covered with arrows.

The black arrows that had turned the Black Blood Society into a bloody mess.

The rain of those arrows was pouring down on the vanguard of the Murim Alliance.