Chapter 59 : Life Believed, Death Doubted (1)

Chapter 59: Faith in Life, Doubt in Death (1)

Jaegal Yohye felt an emptiness gnawing at her, as if the entire Shangguan Clan had been hollowed out.

Even while she was having these thoughts, countless warriors and servants of the Shangguan Clan passed by her. And yet, the loneliness she felt—like standing alone in a vast, empty field—was inexplicable.

‘Just because he’s not here… I can’t believe I feel this way… Pull yourself together, Jaegal Yohye.’

After all, she was the next military strategist of the Southern Hero League.

For a genius like her to be this distracted over one man was an issue of pride.

As she headed toward the dining hall, Jaegal Yohye frowned at the sight of a Jaegal Clan warrior running toward her, breathless.

“What are you doing running around like that?”

There were eyes everywhere—she didn’t like how he was sprinting recklessly around the Shangguan residence.

“My apologies, Vice Lord. An urgent message just arrived from the main household.”

The man who called her Vice Lord was an agent of the intelligence division of the Jaegal Clan.

“Hand it over.”

Jaegal Yohye, her nerves unusually frayed, snapped irritably at the subordinate.

The subordinate looked at her strangely. He’d never seen the Vice Lord so irritable before.

But as Jaegal Yohye read the letter, she suddenly screamed.

“Aaagh! Why are they only sending this now?! I have to confirm it!”

Barking at the top of her lungs, Jaegal Yohye took off in a sprint toward the Shangguan medical hall.

The subordinate stood with his mouth agape, watching the very woman who’d just scolded him for being undignified now run with her skirt flapping wildly.

Bang!

Jaegal Yohye kicked open the door of the medical hall and darted her eyes around. She rushed over to one of the beds.

A Jaegal Clan warrior who had returned with Jeomsoi was seated at the edge of the bed.

“You said the demonic warriors attacked, right? Did you figure out who they were? You said it was one of the Three Demonic Heavens. Was it all of them, or just one group?”

As she fired questions like a storm, the Jaegal warrior stammered in confusion.

“I-I think they were warriors from Blood Demon Castle. They had the character for ‘Blood Demon’ marked on their chests…”

Before he could even finish, Jaegal Yohye slapped him across the face.

“You idiot! Are you even a proper member of the Jaegal Clan?! Is your head just for decoration?!”

Stunned by the sudden slap, the warrior could only blink.

Though she’d hit the warrior, Jaegal Yohye knew she was really slapping herself. The scolding was directed inward.

‘You stupid wench! How could you not think of that?! The letter said the Blood Dragon Unit from Blood Demon Castle was on the move. That means Brother Jaegal Byeok was just bait. They calculated that we’d try to rescue him if he were attacked! The young lords are walking right into it because of a simple diversion! I should’ve thought more when I heard he was attacked!’

With her thoughts quickly lining up, Jaegal Yohye grabbed her skirt and bolted.

She bitterly regretted not having mastered light footwork by now.

Even when the guards tried to stop her, she forcefully pushed past them and charged straight toward the clan leader’s quarters.

* * *

“Blood Dragon Unit, you say? What are they doing here, when they should be in Mount Wutai in Shanxi?”

Pang Giyok muttered to himself.

The situation was far from ordinary.

The Blood Dragon Unit wasn’t just any martial group—they were the main combat force of Blood Demon Castle, one of the Three Demonic Heavens.

If they’d clashed with them without any preparation, no one would have made it out of this bamboo forest alive.

Worse yet, their numbers were more than double those of the clan’s warriors.

Everyone, as if on cue, turned their eyes to Yong Hwarin.

Now they understood why he’d been darting around like a madman, laying traps and gathering poison.

Had they been even slightly slower to respond, they wouldn’t have stood a chance.

Everyone admired Yong Hwarin. But admiration could only go so far—right now, their heads were filled with thoughts of the approaching enemy.

As a result, they all looked to Yong Hwarin once more.

He was the one who had assessed the situation first and set up the formation. Their gazes were filled with a silent question: what do we do now?

In his past life, Yong Hwarin had led hundreds as the head of a merchant union. He wasn’t a warrior, but those people were some of the most cunning in the Upper World.

He was used to leading such eyes, so he understood what those stares meant.

Yong Hwarin spoke toward the crowd.

“They’ll likely try to break through the outer formation set up by the Jaegal Clan. That’s when each of the clans must strike. You need to kill as many of the Blood Demon Castle warriors as possible. The more we take down, the better our odds. That’s all that matters right now.”

Even after his explanation, people just continued to stare at him, so Yong Hwarin let out a dry laugh.

Though each clan had competent warriors, most of them were young lords—still green and unsure without guidance.

He had no choice but to assign directions as well.

“Pang Clan will take the north. Seomun Clan, the south. Shangguan Clan, the east. Jaegal Clan, the west.”

Only then did the clans begin to move.

One of the Two Wook Sword Demons, deeply moved by the way the young lord was giving orders with such command, nearly shed tears.

Seeing the elite warriors of the great clans respond in perfect unison to every command of the young lord overwhelmed him with emotion.

‘So this is what he meant when he said he’d make our main household the strongest martial family in Henan…’

While one of the Two Wook Sword Demons was caught up in emotion, Mo Biyoung spoke to Yong Hwarin.

“Give us an assignment too.”

Even though they were injured, they couldn’t just sit back.

All the more so because the one leading the battlefield was her Young Master—she felt she had to fight harder.

“You three should support the weak points. We need reinforcement squads, so don’t go out aggressively attacking. Just focus on strengthening the spots that look like they’ll be breached. The same goes for Seok as well.”

“Yes, Brother!”

Jong Seok responded with the precision of a soldier.

“Advance together and destroy the formation!”

At the command of the Blood Dragon Unit leader, the members of the Blood Dragon Unit threw themselves toward the formation.

Thus began a fierce clash between the Blood Dragon Unit and the warriors of the great clans.

“We have to defend this formation as if it’s the last one. If we retreat too easily, the enemy will assume we have more traps waiting. So we need to kill them—enough to make them afraid to advance!”

Every instruction Yong Hwarin gave fit the situation perfectly.

Watching him, Jaegal Byeok couldn’t help but be amazed at Yong Hwarin’s ability to command.

Those weren’t things one could know without having actually formed and commanded a formation before.

Even the words Yong Hwarin spoke while overseeing the battle stirred something in Jaegal Byeok, making him want to leap up and fight despite himself. It was clear this wasn’t Yong Hwarin’s first time commanding.

‘Was he always this capable? Cheongyeong may end up bitterly regretting what she did. One shouldn’t judge people by their appearance…’

Jaegal Byeok admitted he wouldn’t have been able to command as precisely and systematically as Yong Hwarin did. Commanding required experience and depth.

The fact that even the famed warriors of the Jaegal Clan followed Yong Hwarin’s orders without question made Jaegal Byeok reflect deeply.

He realized he had learned a great deal from this event.

And he regretted it.

When Jaegal Cheongyeong said she wanted to break off the engagement, he had been her strongest supporter. He had thought Yong Hwarin was clearly unworthy of his sister.

‘I want to gouge out my own eyes. Jaegal Byeok, are you truly the genius called the New Thunder Mind of the Jaegal Clan? A genius who can’t read people is no genius at all!’

Jaegal Byeok shut his eyes completely, ashamed of his injured and immobile state.

“Aaaaagh!”

“Graaaagh!”

As he saw his subordinates fall, screaming and bleeding, Song Deok, the leader of the Blood Dragon Unit, felt like his blood was boiling.

His precious men were dying without even breaching the formation, cut down by swords that shot out from within.

Half of his fury was directed toward the Guardian Lawkeeper, Zhao Qiansheng.

‘That bastard! He sat on his hands while they set up the formation, and now my men are dying like dogs because of it!’

He knew casualties were inevitable—but he had no intention of just sitting back and taking it.

Even so, with more than twenty dead already, Song Deok began to feel a growing sense of urgency. If this had been an all-out battle, the losses might’ve been tolerable. But for just trying to break through a formation, the toll was far too high.

‘So this is the Jaegal Clan, huh…’

Still, Song Deok thought that, at best, they’d bought themselves a little time. Their fate of death wouldn’t change.

Song Deok hurled himself forward, charging at the formation.

“That ignorant brute! As if formations can be broken with just brute force. And he’s their unit leader.”

Zhao Qiansheng muttered under his breath, to which the martial expert beside him replied,

“He thinks being ignorant is a trait of a demonic cultivator. He’s the real fool.”

“We should be living more gracefully too. Just because we’re demonic practitioners doesn’t mean we have to live like idiots. But thanks to people like him, we’re all treated like morons.”

As Song Deok surged forward with tremendous sword energy, the Seomun Clan’s side wavered, as though on the brink of collapse. From behind, the Two Wook Sword Demons and Mo Biyoung rushed over to reinforce that flank.

Crash!

When Song Deok charged again, Yong Hwarin shouted,

“You have to attack him simultaneously to disperse his force!”

Boom!

At that moment, three warriors of the Seomun Clan couldn’t withstand the impact and collapsed, vomiting blood.

That was the level of martial strength worthy of the leader of the Blood Dragon Unit.

Among their group, no one seemed capable of going head-to-head with him just yet. That’s when Yong Hwarin remembered the technique used by the white-clad warriors he encountered when rescuing Jaegal Yohye.

He vividly recalled being struck by the precision of five swords converging on a single point.

“Form a squad of five and become the First Line. Then form another group of five and become the Second Line. When that man charges, the First Line should focus all their internal energy into a simultaneous strike at a single point. After that, the First Line should retreat and the Second Line will strike in the same way. That’s the only way we can stop him.”

Meanwhile, thinking his power had begun to disrupt the formation, Song Deok charged once more.

“First Line, prepare.”

The elite warriors of the Seomun Clan took their positions.

They carried out Yong Hwarin’s plan with zero deviation.

But was it not enough? With a single blow of Song Deok’s force, all five were blasted backward. They didn’t even need to retreat—the force of the impact naturally cleared the way for the Second Line.

“Second Line! Now!”

At Yong Hwarin’s command, five swords shot forward at a single point.

That point was Song Deok’s chest.