Chapter 48: Standing Alone

At the same time the Dongbang Bureau decided to follow Gangchan, Gangchan and his squad members were approaching the enemies’ base.

“I believe that mountain over there is Samjeok Mountain.”

As they neared the mountain, three red peaks that seemed out of place in the plains stood tall, lined up like a folding screen.

Because of the nature of the plains, they could see far into the distance, but conversely, there were few places to hide.

The group approached to a distance where they wouldn’t be easily spotted by the enemies, then dismounted and took their positions.

“Everyone, wait here.”

“Are you planning to go scout it yourself?”

“We don’t have Mo Geuk-il or Sa Wu with us, so there’s no other choice.”

Among the members of Squad One, Mo Geuk-il and Sa Wu were the ones with exceptional talent for infiltration and assassination.

“Do not move until I return.

Check your weapons once more.”

“Don’t worry about that.

Please be careful, Sect Leader.”

Amidst the concern of his squad members, Gangchan circulated his energy, blending into the surroundings as if becoming one with them.

In that moment, his form blurred and vanished, heading straight for the bandits’ lair.

Watching this, the squad members couldn’t hide their admiration.

“No matter how many times I see it, it’s fascinating.

For a person to vanish like a ghost in an instant.”

At Baek Geombi’s words, Gwak Sugi replied with a sigh.

“I’m even more envious because it’s something we can’t even learn.”

Gangchan moved quickly into the blind spot of the watchtowers.

Five watchtowers surrounded the main entrance, and a wooden fence about 8 feet high encircled the base.

Gangchan moved secretly along the fence toward the right end, examining its sturdiness.

It had looked flimsy from a distance, but in reality, it was a fairly solid and strong wooden structure.

Leaning against the fence, Gangchan spread his energy wide to check for human presence.

Then, he quietly leaped over the wall and slipped into the bandits’ base.

The bandits’ lair was situated at the entrance of the mountain.

The terrain grew higher the further in one went.

Near the entrance, there was a wide courtyard, and behind it stood three large, grand buildings.

Dozens of tents were scattered irregularly around those buildings.

On even higher ground, a small, solitary building stood as if to oversee the entire base.

In the front courtyard, several carriages were tied in a row.

Seeing the looted escort goods loaded onto them, it seemed they had arrived not long ago.

The sound of boisterous laughter and shouting could be heard from all directions.

‘It’s the Dongbang Bureau’s escort goods.’

Having grasped the general layout, Gangchan moved along the fence toward the mountain side.

The relatively steep mountain slope consisted of crumbly, rocky terrain where the stones could easily break away.

If he stepped incorrectly, there was a risk of stones tumbling down.

Gangchan carefully climbed to the higher ground and looked around.

There were men who had been patrolling until just a moment ago, but because the terrain here was so rugged, no one was stationed to keep watch.

The distance from his position to the relatively small building at the very back was approximately 100 yards.

‘Can Gok Jeong pull it off?’

Gangchan spread his energy wide to gauge the number of enemies and the structure of the camp.

Within the tightly packed and sturdy wooden fence, he sensed numerous auras.

Among them, he felt a refreshing energy.

A pond, a rarity in the plains, was located between the front and back buildings.

He thought he understood why they had established their base here.

Gangchan expanded his energy further to accurately count their numbers.

There were approximately 300 chaotic auras mixed together.

At that moment, a plan occurred to him.

Gangchan withdrew his expanded energy and focused one last time on the small building at the back.

Two massive auras were situated there.

One was likely the leader of the Blood Wolf Band.

Then, what about the other one?

Was it the Deputy Leader?

Its magnitude was far too great for that.

It was a variable not included in the information he had previously gathered.

Gangchan focused even harder, minutely exploring the nature of that presence’s energy.

It was firm yet light.

Unlike most of the bandits, it wasn’t unstable.

However, he didn’t feel any ominous energy like Mage Energy or Sagi either.

Rather, it was a clean and pure energy.

Accumulating such power would be impossible without the help of a great master.

The problem was that the magnitude of that energy was comparable to that of Pang Gipyeong, the Gunja Do.

‘Did they have an ally?’

Gangchan stood up and moved toward the summit of the mountain.

The back of the mountain consisted of a sheer cliff, making it look difficult for even an average martial artist to climb.

Gangchan carefully descended the back of the mountain.

Before long, the sun set, and the moon rose high in the sky.

Gangchan hurried back to the place where his squad members were hiding.

“How is it?” Gwak Sugi asked, approaching first as soon as Gangchan appeared.

“The size is about 10,000 pyeong.

There are four large buildings in total.

After passing the main gate, there’s a wide courtyard, followed by three large buildings and dozens of tents.

There’s a pond they use for drinking water, and behind it is a small building where the Blood Wolf Leader is likely staying.”

Gangchan continued,

“There are five watchtowers.

Two sentries are stationed at each tower, and there are personnel patrolling inside the fence.

The total number is about 300.

Most of them are martial artists with first-class or second-class martial arts.”

“The problem is the person with the leader.

I can’t determine their identity.”

“An expert, then,” Du Ilchung said with a certain expression.

“They should be at a significant level.”

“How do they compare to me?”

“If you focus on defense, you might last 100 exchanges.

If you think about attacking, it would be difficult to last 50.”

“Hmm… That is a problem.”

Du Ilchung wore a serious expression.

If it was like that for him, it wouldn’t be much different for the other squad members.

Tension hung over everyone’s faces.

At that, Gangchan smiled and looked at his men.

“What are you all worried about?

My concern is that the leader might escape, not what might happen to us.”

“Huh?

I didn’t realize… Haha.”

Jo Mu scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed.

“I will explain the operation now, so listen closely.”

“Yes.”

“In 4 hours, just before the morning sun rises, Gok Jeong and I will eliminate all the enemies in the watchtowers.”

“Gok Jeong, your mission is to quickly move to the rear once the enemies in the towers are down and provide cover from behind them.”

“The mountain is steep and the ground is soft, so you’ll have a hard time climbing up.”

“The distance from the spot I saw to the buildings is about 100 yards.

Can you do it?”

“100 yards is a bit…”

Gok Jeong felt sorry to the others, but he answered honestly.

If he made a mistake, it was a situation where everyone’s lives could be at risk.

‘If you aren’t confident, you shouldn’t make promises.’

Knowing his feelings well, Gangchan quickly issued instructions.

“It’s fine.

Once the fight begins at the main gate, all attention will shift to the front.

At that time, descend to a range where you’re capable.

However, be careful not to go too deep, or you might be detected by the Blood Wolf Leader.

Baek Geombi, move with Gok Jeong and take care of anyone trying to escape.”

“Once we attack the enemies in the watchtowers, they’ll know immediately that we’ve arrived.

Then, they’ll swarm toward the entrance.

I will block the front from a spot about 30 feet from the entrance.

The rest of you, line up in a semicircle to my left and right and just make sure they don’t come out more than 30 feet from the entrance.”

“If you find yourselves overwhelmed while blocking them, there’s no need to hold on at the cost of your lives.

Just let them through.

If the line is breached, run as far as possible and then come back.”

“But Sect Leader, this seems more like a brute force push than an actual operation.”

“What kind of fancy operation do you need to deal with bandits?

It’s even more ridiculous to worry about such things.”

When Gangchan spoke sternly, Gwak Sugi nodded.

“I suppose that’s true.

Haha.”

“We are members of the Underworld.

I’ll say it again: the first duty of the Heavenly Mandate Hall is to survive.

Fair play or honorable victory — those words have nothing to do with us.

Survive no matter what.

Then win.

Winning means nothing if you’re dead.”

As the eastern sky turned red and the world was bathed in crimson light, Gangchan circulated his energy and slowly approached the main gate of the Blood Wolf Band.

Behind him, seven squad members spread out wide and followed him secretly.

The entrance to the Blood Wolf Band’s base came into view in the distance.

The crude wooden fence and watchtowers also entered his sight.

The height of the fence was a little over 8 feet.

There were five watchtowers in total.

Two sentries stood on each tower.

However, they had not yet noticed Gangchan and the squad members approaching.

Stopping at a distance of about 200 paces from the main gate, Gangchan took out his bow and notched an arrow.

Gok Jeong then moved to Gangchan’s side and drew his own bow.

A slight vibration occurred in Gangchan’s bow.

Then, like a bolt of lightning, the arrow flew out.

Shhhhk— thud!

The first arrow struck accurately into the chest of a bandit in the watchtower to the left of the main gate.

Shhhhk— thud!

The arrow fired by Gok Jeong from Gangchan’s right also flew swiftly, piercing a bandit in the right watchtower.

In an instant, Gangchan fired five arrows, and Gok Jeong fired three.

The surviving bandits in both towers quickly lowered their bodies and screamed.

“Enemy!

An enemy has appeared!”

As the last remaining bandit crouched in the watchtower to hide, Gangchan fired a sixth arrow at him.

Shhhhuuuuu— thud!

The arrow cut through the sky, and its speed increased further mid-flight.

In an instant, it pierced through the wall of the watchtower and went straight through the forehead of the hiding bandit.

A Yinyang Arrow had been fired.

Watching this from the side, Gok Jeong shook his head in disbelief.

When Gangchan looked toward the last remaining bandit in the leftmost tower, the bandit, now alone, jumped down from the tower in terror.

“Enemy!

An enemy has appeared!”

Startled by the shouts of the bandit from the tower, the others began to swarm toward the entrance.

After instructing Gok Jeong and Baek Geombi to head to the rear, Gangchan quickly approached to within 100 paces of the entrance.

Of course, the other members, excluding Gok Jeong and Baek Geombi, followed him secretly.

“They’re starting to swarm.”

Hearing the commotion, the bandits began to wake up.

However, some of the startled bandits rushed out in a flurry without even being properly dressed.

Numerous bandits gathered at the entrance of the wooden fence.

Yet, Gangchan continued to stand and wait quietly.

How long had he waited?

The entrance, which he had thought was large, was now packed with bandits.

However, no more than fifty men had actually made it out to the front of the entrance.

The rest were stuck behind, unable to pour out.

‘It seems the entrance is too narrow for more to come out.’

The bandits didn’t think for a second that someone would come to attack them alone.

So, even though Gangchan stood there by himself, no one stepped forward readily.

“What is all this fuss before breakfast?”

One of the sub-leaders shouted grumpily as he pushed through the crowd of bandits.

“I don’t know who he is, but he killed the guys standing guard at the watchtowers.”

“What?

Is it those Black Wolf Band bastards attacking?”

“Sub-leader!

It’s not that…

please look over there.”

The bandits’ gazes turned toward one spot.

And there stood Gangchan, standing in absolute stillness.